The Express. — London, England, 1847-09-16 00:00:00

THE m*PRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 16, 1847. England is now upon every man and board in Ire land entrusted with public authority. There is no escaping its scrutinising gaze. If boards of guardians wish that their proceedings should be done in dark ness we well know the construction which will be put on it. The English people would not trust an unre ported House of Commons, and in this country all our public boards are properly reported. We do not see why we are not entitled to have accurate reports of the Irish guardians in their public conduct Surely the gentlemen who constitute these important boards ought to be desirous of some legitimate public channel through which they might convey their real wishes and views to the English public. We can answer for it that, in England, we are moot desirous that all facts which throw light on society in Ireland should be brought forward. More valuable and effective representatives of opinion could not be devised than boards of guardians, if they are properly worked, and if their members habitually act under a quick and lively sense of public responsibility. To the form aionof a stable public opinion in Ireland they could effectively contribute. We trust that our hints will not be thrown away upon them. We can scarcely suppose that the Irish press can be to blame for the absence of proper reports from the boards of guar dians. Surely no morn vital or important topic could engage its attention than the conduct of the various guardians in different districts, representing as they do so mach of social influence and popular sentiment in Ireland. We may probably have to return to this subject again, as the absence of proper information respecting the Irish guardians has been very gene rally commented upon in English society. TIIROUGHOLT the special inquiries we have lately been pursuing, in the hope of throwing light on the duties and claims of the railway interest, we are met at every step of the process by the necessity of arriv ing at some general decision on the principle of state interference, as a corrective of the assumed error of private enterprise employed in a business of imme diate public concernment. This topic, which we have already named as often referred to, and seldom, if ever defined, we cannot pretend to exhaust within the proper limits of the subject we have now in hand. The nature and tendencies of administrative action; the bounds within which it should be restrained ; the duties it ought to fulfil, present one class of materials for discussion on a general theory of the beet possible organisation of a body politic ; and another, quite dis tinct from thew, on a practical view of such ques tions as applied to a given state of society and a par ticular object. On this occasion, leaving general hy potheses at a distance, we must confine our remarks oh state interference to the matter immediately before us—as we find it in these times, and in this country. One general remark, however, may precede more special observations. The action of a government may be highly efficient in either of the two following ways. It may treat the governed as minors, requiring at every step the guidance and restraint of supreme authority ; discourage all exertion that does not ori ginate with the ruling power ; take minute cogni sance of all transactions; and leave no scope whatever to spontaneous motions in the body of the people. This, which has been practised w ith considerable effect, in some continental kingdoms, is a consistent, if not a very advanced system ; and may be recom mended by various reasons at certain stages of social progress. A government presiding over a nation more mature, and used to self-dependence, may adopt with equal consistency the opposite course ; attempt no special interference with the acts of the sub ject in a capacity purely administrative ; leave duties and prohibitions to the guardianship of laws; and, within the limit of these, allow to every man and association of men the free use of their energies. This, which to us appears to be a kind of rule well suited for a nation arrived at mascu line power, and favourab!e to the further develop ment of such power, is the second clear and intelligi ble way of dealing with the affairs of a people. I From both of the systems named, if duly applied to suitable conditions of society, good results may be looked for—though in different ways. But from a mixed system, that combines some properties of each. without arriving at completeness in either—from an interference that lacks power to determine thoroughly —from a license to act that is continually thwarted by attempts to apply arbitrary checks—from such a hybrid composition of irreconcilcable systems of governing—it is to be feared that nothing but confu sion and evil can ensue. The mixed method will have the disadvantages of both systems, without the good of either ; it bears the taint of original weakness, and belongs to a class of dispositions which, neither in individual men nor in bodies politic, has ever pro-. duced beneficial or exemplary results. Such, however, is the system that we hare been advised to apply to the control of railways. Hitherto they have been left—under the direction of general laws—to the principle of free adjustment between the demands of those who use them and the interests of those who have prepared them for use, which has usually been found sufficient for the transaction of the business of varied and practical life in this kingdom. We are now told that for the railways this is too liberal a condition—that it is not enough to make them obedient to such specific laws as can be justly enacted for their regulation—that a discretionary interference, ready for use in presumed special cases, which cannot safely be left without some peculiar control, mast be entrusted to a department of go vernment: in other words, that an occasional and temporary direction of those concerns, without the responsibility attached to the entire charge over them, shall be exercised, in cases that cannot be previously defined, by individuals appointed by the state superseding, in a manner variable and uncertain, the authority of those who are responsible for the daily course of the service. This is the process which in some quarters the state is clamorously called upon to undertake; as if by dividing the power, or rather setting one power to check another in the working details of a given business, all errors that human fal libility can commit, would be rendered impossible. We are told that there should be a government officer to inspect this part of the system; and another, without whose authority nothing shall be done in another part of it ; and that the complicated scheme of overseers, and reporters, and informers, should be entrusted to a state department, in order to prevent the abuse of " leaving the national communications in the hinds of private individuals;' the whole of this assumed ex pediency being founded on two assumptions, one of which may be true, bat the other is certainly false. That the actual managers, being mere men, are apt to err, and do occasionally err, is possible and pro bable ; that the men whom government shall appoint to control their propensities to error by occasional interference will be impeccable in conduct and infal lible in judgment, must also be assumed to justify any hopes of good from the system ; and this is an assumption the fallacy of which vitiates the whole plan. One might be surprised at the confidence with which it has been made use of, without an apparent doubt of its soundness, by men living in the daily view of public and private affairs—by men even who are apt enough to distrust and denounce such government offices and officers as they see in action already—were it not observed how few even of those who lay claim to authority in public affairs can bring themselves to look at more than one side of a given question at a time. Accord ingly, we need not wonder at hearing an eloquent hI.P. one day laying before the house a catalogue of the grievances of alleged mismanagement in the Poet office, or haranguing on misdeeds of the poor-law commission, and abuses in the convict department ; and the next day crying shame on the government for not appointing new commissions, new officers, to look after the railways. To-day we are told the public servants are incompetent, lazy, hostile to im provement—arc appointed, not for their merits, but through patronage; to-morrow it is a crime in the state that hundreds of other such men are not set in motion throughout the length and breadth of the land to restrain the works and watch the ways of a body against which, so far, no single established in stance of serious default, disobedience to law, or abuse of powers, has been proved. And this inconsistency is exhibited in a case where the magnitude of the interest at stake, and the good already done by those who have created it, might seem peculiarly to require deliberate and just conclusions. Considerate persons, who are familiar with this subject, far from believing in any magical powers of the method proposed, will be apt to judge the plea for a new issue of state functionaries by a reference to the practice of establishments which are now under state control. Without inquiring, meanwhile, whether . than the • rage of human institutions, they will have little he sitation in asserting that they are infinitely better managed, as they are, than any existing department in the hands of the state. It will be not untruly asserted that in the system, as it now exists, the popular wants are more sensibly felt, the public con venience is more attentively regarded, the redress of grievances more prompt and satisfactory, the progress of improvement more willing and rapid, the general arrangements more rational, the despatch of business more punctual, quick, and courteous, the cases of personal default er misdemeanor rarer than in any public establishment of similar compass and importance. It will be added, that there are two great reasons of this contrast in favour of the rail ways : one, that they are governed by men not hamp ered by official machinery, or set above popular reach by the dignity of place ; another, that the prevailing rule is to choose for the work the best men that can be got. We know that two main causes of the defects of public offices are, that the men employed there are usually chosen on a totally different prin t ciple, and that the public voice is but faintly heard amidst the pompous routine of office. And when such is the contrast shown by the state service as it now exists, when such are known to be its defections in points of the last consequence in a business like that we have in hand,we may fairlyrejeet the assump tion that errors in private management—admitting them to exist to an extent demanding amendment, which, also, is another unproved assumption—will be certainly abolished by merely calUng in a new set of the same kind of agents. To justify the proposal, in short, two things should be made clear. Ist. That the railway companies at present are ill-governed, and require forcible amendment. 2nd. This necessity being proved—that the state may be depended upon toappoint functionaries qualified to produce the amend ment required. As far as the evidence of facts can be taken, we see no reason for admitting either the one or the other. At all events, the ejfleary of calling in the state as regulator, which is constantly dealt with in this discussion, as a matter of coarse, has vet to be prored before we can accept it as a remedy, even taking for granted the existence of disease. SONIE of the opponents of national education lay great stress on its expense. In counting up what it would cost, however, they uniformly leave out of view what is already paid for education throughout the country. The whole cost of an adequate system of national education would not be an expenditure entirely new added to what people already lay out in the course of a year. It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that if all that is actually paid from one year's end to another by those who can and do give their children an education (omitting what are called accomplishments and professional education) were taken into account, it would be found that it costs more to train and instinct the portion of our juvenile population who are trained and instructed, than it would cost under a judicious system to educate all. Dr. Nicitoz. and M. Mut—both men of a wide practical experience—concur in the opinion that, under a properly organised system, ten teachers would be amply sufficient for the wants of any town or parish with six thousand inhabitants. Dr. NICHOL says : Upon the estimate of one teacher sufficing for every hundred pupils, the efforts of ten teachers—half for the boys' school and half for the girlie—are enough to implement the wants of any town or parish of six thousand inhabitants, in the matter of primary education ; they would sustain—in a wag so effective, that nothing, in our present state of know ledge on those subjects would seem to be desired—not merely the primary school itself, but an infant school, indispensable as a prep oratory, and doubly so, because of the lug reme diable ports of existing civilisations of Western Europe; and a supplemental school, for adolescents, in which funda mental instruction may be carried on. The instruction, be it recollected, is not what, in this country, we have been accustomed to in our first schools, or dune schools ; but a culture that in truth aspires to reach the profounder roots of our human nature—which starts on its work with an avowal of the amazing fertility or power of that life which dwells in that whole complex fabric, even in infancy ; and which has, u years pass along, to communicate a structure, fit, through its greatness. for eternity. Now, whatever may be the case in the rural districts, there are few towns of six thousand in habitants in which there will not be found from two to three times the number of teachers here men ' tioned. They support themselves by their profession, I some of them wretchedly enough, but some of them with tolerable comfort, and others in what may almost be called affluence. la estimating how much a complete system of national education would add to the national expenditure of the com munity, we must make allowance for what is already paid to all employed in the task of tuition, from the keepers of " select preparatory seminaries "to the teachers of those schools which, by the voluntary endeavours of societies and individuals, are esta blished for the children of the poorer classes. We believe that what is at present expended in this way would be found sudicient, under proper management, to defray the expense of educating all the children in the kingdom—of educating them well ; whereas, under the present scrambling no-system, we too often find the time spent in school so much time wasted. Admitting, however, that something would be added by the introduction of a national system to what is at present expended for educational purposes, still we deny that the opponents of such a system are entitled to look upon the increased outlay for this purpose as an actual augmentation of the national expenditure. They must write off against it what would be saved in the matter of precautions for pre venting a machinery for punishing crime. It is as undeniable that a good primary education—such as we hastily sketched an outline of on Tuesday—is a preservative from crime, as that the mere teach ing imparted at most schools is either ail utter nullity, or imparts to the pupils knowledge which depraved hearts can make the instrument of more skilful and effective dishonesty. The greater security of property, the reduced expenditure for police and for the institutions of penal law, which would be the result of universal education in the true sense of the word, would render the establishment of a national system, though at a considerable addi tional cost, a real economy. There is a subject intimately connected with these reflections, to which, however, we approach with some hesitation. But it has already been again and again alluded to, and cannot fail ere long to engage general and earnest consideration. In all parts of the country, and especially in London, there are large amounts of property vested in trustees for educational purposes. Are these now administered in such a manner as to spread sound and useful education over as large a surface as possible ? Are they really administered in conformity to the intentions of the donors? If these two questions are to be answered in the negative, by what means can a more efficient and satisfactory ad ministration of these funds be insured ? There can be no doubt that in many instances the number of children who derive benefit from educa tional charities is less than might be the case were a pedantic conformity to the forms of administering the charities prescribed by the original trust deeds less strictly adhered to. As little can it be doubted that, with the growing value of the property of many foun &lions, they have been adapted to the educational wants of an entirely different class from that which the founder had in view. The middle and even the wealthier classes do not scruple to avail themselves of funds which are the rightful property of the children of the poor. The rich man spares his own flock and feeds his children on the poor man's ewe lamb. The facts of ex penditure disproportioned to results, and of the appro priation to one class of society of what belongs to another, are beyond dispute. But the remedy? We sincerely believe that want of reflection, net positive bad intention, has occasioned the neglect sad perversions at which we point. Still, the means et obtaining redress are far from obvious. It is i i c t tz to persuade men that what they have been aceu l j i to do and see done can possibly be wrong. Then the parties to the misappropriation are either emprisoned at fortified—it is difficult to say which—in the forms of law. Many who would gladly reform arc afraid that in so doing they may compromise themselves by contravening the technical forms of deeds ; while others, who would resist all reform, are glad to in trench themselves behind legal formalities. In the first instance it is desirable that every means should be used to induce corporations and other trustees to take the first steps to render the application of the educational funds placed at their disposal more et& dent and more generally useful. If they are die , posed to have this done they are entitled to tin honour of doing it. But if it be found that from apathy. or prejudice, or less honourable motives, they still bigotedly adhere to the old barren way, there will be nothing for it but to act upon this hint of Dr. NICHOL : Shall we be doomed to lament for ecer,that—owing to the nervous feebleness of an English legislature, on its approach older times - ' ' -es of "olaertnene'valoso4 of untoli Amman—Wl by good men in put oentwriss, with the siactere desire to benefit public edu cation, 14, remain—to say nothing worse of them—so often only oonsumirli their means ? Is it to be established finally by the authority of England, that every great benefactor, while framing some important scheme for futurity, must feel himself at the hazard of those inevitable but Inde finite changes of time, which, by modifying in some unknown manner the society he would beneficently affect for ever, may withdraw it from harmony with the mode of his designs? Rare guardianship of law ! In the name of pro tectton, to remove from whomsoever would do prolonged good to their species all shadow of security egaiost the chances of a world that is always vacillating ; and out of so called respect for memories that deserved to pan through many sges as a living presence, to refuse to forbid that hos tile and ever altering circumstance—withdrawing reality and life from their operations—should reduce them, in regard of their cognisance by society, to the likeness of some withered mummy, pertaining to the epoch of the Pharaohs ! A cabinet council was held at St. Cloud on Monday, at which all the ministers were present. The subjects of consideration were understood to be the affairs of Spain and Italy. Queen Christina and the Duke of Rianzares arrived at the chateau at an early hour, and had a long conference with the King and NI. Guizot previous to the assembly of the ministers. The recall of the Duke de Glucksberg is definitively settled. It is said that ho has committed some in discretions, by maintaining in a manner too open and undisguised his intercourse with the agents of Queen Christina. It is said that an aide de-camp of the King is to be sent on a special mission to Queen Isabella. The Dukes of Nemours, Aumale, and Montpensier were present at the cabinet council. Marshal Oudinot, Duke of Reggio, Governor of the Invalides, died on Monday evening. The age of the marshal was 81. Among the embarrassments which beset M. Guizot at this moment, Greece is not to be forgotten. M. Piseatory is coming home; and M. Coletti, having got his waggon into a slough, screams oat for help to the Hercules of the Hotel des Capucines : It is n (says the National) either that M. Coletti shall yie d and retire, or that he shall accept the responsibility of a state of things wi , h which war is inevi table. At this moment the unfortunate minister must have his eyes turned towards France, whose protection has caused him so many modifications. Austria, whom he had chosen as arbitrator, has united with England, Russia, and the other powers, in approving of the conduct of the Sultan. M. Bourqueney alone has protested at Con stantinople. There, therefore, remains to the King of Greece no other resource than M. Guizot. Sad position and sorrowful hope! Otho may ask his neighbour, the Pacha of Egypt, whet that support is worth, and at what value he ought to esteem the promises which he has received. M. Placatory, who has driven Greece into this difficulty—who has pledged himself in word and honour to support Coletti, is, it is said, on his way home to sec M. Ouizot, to defend • policy which has been theirs in common. We offer to bet that all our ambassador will gain, will be the expense of his journey. Nevertheless, M. natatory will gain this on his return—not to be recalled, and will avoid the eclat of the disavowal which he expects. It appears that the news of the success of Abd-el- Kader, which we gave from the Journal des Didnds, has greatly exaggerated it. The following is quoted from the Echo d'Oran of the 4th, as representing the situation in Morocco more exactly : Ever since the Emir has taken refuge in Morocco he has established himself on a mountainous zone peopled by Ka byle tribes, who have been independent for centuries. His position as a retreat is a good one, but his means of acting beyond it cannot be considerable, from the very constitu tion of the populations on which he has contrived to force himself. The interior of the empire, on the contrary, is peo pled by a numerous "ULU , 71, whose existence is connected with that of the Cherifs. The Kabyles would not adventure themselves there after the Emir, and even if they consented to follow him, he himself would not dare, with his small army, to march with banners floating against the chief of the religion. There Is in what passes, and bsyund what our eyes can distinguish, more of reciprocal circumspection than is imagined between the two leaders in this struggle, one of whom is seated on a throne which is splendid in the eyes of Islamism, and the other of whom is under the necessity of not quitting the character of detender of the faith. Thus it is that we saw the latter, albs having seized the camp of the Caid El-Amar, endeavour to excuse himself for his Tido; y by pleading the necessity of his own defence. The corpse of eke Caid was not yet cold when he protested his respect for the sacred authority of the emperor. Such are the two situ ations ; they may be prolonged in these conditions of equili brium, but any one may calculate the effect which a christian influence would produce thereon. In a few weeks it is expected that the line of rail way from Paris to Boulogne will be open for traffic to a place within eight miles of the latter town. The time of transit between Paris and Boulogne, for the fast trains, will then be reduced to eight hours. The mails which leave Paris at seven in the evening, will arrive at Boulogne at three in the morning, and if a post-office steamer lay in the roads ready for their conveyance to Folkestone, they would reach the latter place before six, and, with a fast train, might be de livered in London before nine o'clock. Thus, by pro per arrangements, the correspondence between Paris and London might be so regulated that the letters and despatches leaving either city it. the evening might be delivered in the other the next morning. The Madrid mails of the 9th, with the journals and despatches, have arrived, but their contents have little to interest. The I)uke de Frias had not yet arrived, but was expected that evening. The vacant places in the cabinet had not yet been filled. M. I'acheco was reported to have been nominated to the embassy at Rome, with a salary of 15,000 piastres. The mode. rado party affirms that a difference prevails in the cabinet on the questions of admitting to the army some of the officers included in the late amnesty, on the organisation of a national guard, and on the convoca tion of the Cortes. We continue to receive from day to day a mass of correspondence from Italy, with reports of the pro gress of the great movement which prevails on that peninsula. The popular celebration appointed for the Bth, at Leghorn, was not confined to that city. The occa sion was seized for like demonstrations elsewhere. At that city, at Pisa, and Sienna, but more especially at Genoa, the manifestation assumed a most im posing character. At the latter city the people as sembled in vast numbers, displaying the flags of Rome and Sardinia, and paraded the streets with cries in favour of Pius IX., Charles Albert, the army, and the independence of Italy. The cortege included the mem bers of the families most distinguished among the Genoese noblesse, mingled with the mass of the people. Daring the day innumerable copies of an autograph letter of the King were circulated, addressed to M. de Castagnette, his private secretary, in which his Majesty declared that in the event of any aggression on the part of Austria he would not hesitate to put himself at the head of the army and present himself as the rampart of Italian independence. This letter, whether authentic or not, elicited the most unqualified expression of enthusiasm. Letters from Leghorn, of the 9th, say that since the Lucchese affair the excitement has only in creased. The celebration appointed for the Bth took place without disturbance. The inhabitants of Pisa, availing themselves of the railway, poured into Leghorn. The troops issued from their quarters and fraternising with the people assumed the Italian tri color cockade. A Te Deum was sung in the cathedral from the high altar, from which the clergy blessed the national flag, the multitude being on their knees. A Te Deum was afterwards celebrated is honour of the Pope and the Grand Duke Leopold 11. A statue of the grand duke was exhibited amidst the acclama tions of the people, and inspiriting and patriotic speeches delivered. At Lucca, on the Bth, the hereditary prince pre sented himself to the populace, in front of the palace, and delivered to them the Italian tri-color flag, amidst shouts of " Viva Carlo Ludovieo l" Such is the condition of Italy. Surrounded by the populations of Sardinia, Lucca, Tuscany, and the legations, all entering on the ways of enlightenment and freedom, will the excitable Milanese and Vene tians rest tranquil under the narcotic despotism of Vienna? Hardly. And we have already symptoms of the movement, which cannot long be repressed. Letters from Milan of the 9th bring intelligence of • popular movement which took place in that city on the evening of the Bth, on the occasion of the festi vities in celebration of the appointment of M. Romilli, the new archbishop. The people collected on the Piazza Fontana, with cries of " Viva Romilli "Viva Pio IX!" " Viva Italia!" A fresh acces sion of 500 or 600 arrived suddenly, when the hymn composed by Rossini to Pius IX. was sung by the multitude. The police and military came to disperse the populace. It is impossible to describe the scene of confusion which ensued. The people resisted, crying, " Down with thee' police! Down with the Austrians." The new archbishop, seeing the autho- rities overpowered, came out of the cathedral on the piazza, harangued the people, and after much difficulty persuaded them to disperse. The patrols of gendarmes and the regular troops were, however, everywhere insulted and disarmed, the people spitting m their faces, and crying, " Down with the Germans." On the piazza Campo Santo there was another movement, and the police and military were compelled in a moment to retreat before the people. It wee not till four in the morning, on the arrival of reinforcements, that order was restored. Letters from Parma represent the excitement in that duchy to be extreme, and say that the Count de Hombelles, at one of the last meetings of the council of state, declared that a general amnesty and the liberation of the state prisoners were the only means of putting a term to the fermentation which followed the celebration of the election of Pius IX. The ma jority of the council was of a contrary opinion, and the count quitted the meeting in anger. The Picea° of Ancona gives the following as part of the letter written by the King of Sardinia to the Pope. offering him support. The latter portion of the extract is of such a nature as to throw a doubt over the whole, which is, in fact, contradicted by the German papers : "As a king and an obedient non of the Holy See, I acknowledge that we are bound by the same ties as father and son. I highly disapprove of the conduct of Austria, and place at the disposal of your Holiness the whole of the forces of my king dom. At the same time, I have directed some of my troops to march upon that part of Italy which is in the possession of the emperor, with orders not to re turn till after the Austrians have evacuated the Pontifical States." Advices from Sicily render it evident, notwith standing the devices of the government to obstruct the transmission of intelligence, that the island is in a state of insurrection. Popular movements have taken place with various results at Messina, Catana, and Syracuse, and were expected at Palermo and Trapani. At Messina the populace rose, seized the guard-houses, and attacked the citadel. The guns from that fort being made to play on them, they were compelled to retire to the hills that surround the town. The loss in this enieute (variously estimated) is said to be 30 killed and 100 wounded. The fact that this loss was equally divided between the troops and the people indicates that the latter must have been well armed and disciplined. The measures taken by the Neapolitan government render it impossible to obtain correct and reliable in formation regarding the movements in Calabria, but all reports concur in representing the insurrection as having assumed a most formidable character, and as spreading and augmenting in extent and force from week to week. lteggio has declared for the insur gents. It is said that Cosenza and other towns have adopted the same course. The resources of govern ment are drained between the necessity of sending at once reinforcements to Sicily and to the Calabrias. Five steam-boats were despatched from Naples on the 6th, taking the 6th regiment of the line, two battalions of the 6th, and a battalion of pioneerk General Nun ciante received the command of these troops, of which two battalions were destined for Reggio, and the re mainder for Monteleone. ALEXANDRIA, Al . O. 12. By way of screening the teal subject of Lord Pal merston's despatch, and of satisfying the curious at the same time, certain parties have most industriously circulated a re port that its purport was, to order that in future, "All British subjects guilty of offence,' in the Ottoman dominions, were to be delivered up to the local authorities for punish meat." With such as are wholly unacquainted with any form of government eseept the "absolute," thieve/tort attracted some attention ; but with others, and British suujects more parti cularly, it only excited a smile of incredulity and contempt. The cu-tom by which British offenders in the Ottoman em pire are judged by their own authei itiee, is the result of a solemn treaty entered into between the Turkish government and the British crown, and assured by act of parliament to all British subjects. Thus, before any change could be made in that or any other law, a new treaty must be made, a new act of parliament obtained repealing the former one. True it is, that with a view to preserve that high moral charac ter for which British subjects are generally distinguished, the British consuls in the Lqvant have the power of punishing British offenders, agreeably all to the English law, and after the forms of " trial by jury , " ' &c., have been complied with. There is one instance of this on record, that of " Paolo X ueneb," a Maltese, who was executed at Tunis for a double murder. This power was granted to them by an act of parliament passed in 1812. Turkey and the Turks have ever found a friend in Lord Palmerston, not in his seeking to give them a power over Christians, but by doing his ut most to induce them to encourage education. Another re port, as foolish as the preceding one, was ales current. It was, that "all British subjects, whether residing in Great Britain or the colonies, were to have passp irts,' and to be placed under the same police regulations as certain 'people in certain parts of the continent." This "on " came from the same quarter as the previous one ; a quarter from which it would be as useless to expect the truth so milk from stones—the same. in fact, which a short time ago represented the Duke of Northum berland when Lord Prudhoe, who is well known in Egypt, and who is remarkable far the simplicity of his manners and the soundness of his judgment, as wantonly insulting the whole mercantile community at Alexandria in the parson of one of their most eminent specimens of commerci.il acivity, information, and intelligence—the same which emitted an observation, upon the occasion of the arrival in Egypt of the portrait of Queen Victoria, of such a nature that no Briti.h subject could " repeat" or refrain from " avenging" if any opportunity occurred—in short, the same that, by way of ridiculing a clam, which, be it said, en passmat, " as a class," I mean the English nubility, feats no comparison with any known class, ancient or modern—calls an ugly mongrel dog which he keeps in his house at Cairo "Mi lord,' and which seeks upon every occasion, whether as regards official judgment or private employment, to bear down modest merit when the possessor is a Briton. The party now alluded to considers it one of his brat jokes to say to the Turks and French, " I have Fa a great' milord' in my court; shall I introduce you 1' Then the animal is introduced. Two agents from Egypt are now in England, but upon different missions. One, Mons. Bedin, is the bearer of some hones and antiquities from the Pacha to Queen Victoria. The other, Sarni Pacha, is seeking by frequent vi.its to the Foreign-office, to explain away the dissatisfaction of Lord Palmerston, and by dint of entreaties and promises of future Food conduct, to obtain his lordship's consent to the remain ing in office of the individual who is the cause of the present coolness between the British residents and the Egyptian go. vernment. It is to be hoped, and is hoped by everybody here, that the consul's request will be complied with: it will he for the benefit of all Europeans, and an eternal blessing for the Lind of Egypt. NOVA SCOTIA.-STATE OF PARTIES, AND RESULTS OF THE LATE ELECTION. Sir,—Knowing the deep interest which you take in the Weirs of these colonies, and especially in the progress of thaw constitutional principles which have lately been in troduced, I believe you will gladly accept an impartial, though rapid, sketch of our late eleeLon, and of the relative positions in which the returns have placed the two parties. At the close of the last session the executive council, formed of that "fragment" entailed upon his excellency Sir John Harvey by his predecessor Lord Falkland, had a maio rity of six in the assembly, who, although they did not fol low them in their measures, were ever ready to rally in a close-set phalanx upon any question effecting their " tenure of office." How that majority was obtained it may be of little consequence now to inquire : but the opposition assert that it was composed of some who had violated pledges to their constituents ; by others bribed into the ranks by official favours; by a heterogeneous and unpriucipled union of high churchmen and professing baptists; and that, whenever the trial came, it would be bend that they did not reflect the true opinions or enjoy the confidence of the country. If I were here to detail the arts used by Lord Falkland himself, and at his own dinner-table, to canvass, ay, to cajole or bully, members to support his government, and the mode in which patronage was dispensed to increase the majority, it would open a view of corruption—the secret springs and machinery of colonial rule—which would shock the honour of English statesmen, and the manlier tone of British feeling. The two parties are divided by the names of conservative and liberal; but the real distinction is, that one is in favour of the old system of colonial management, the rule and do minance of an official clique or aristocracy ; the other, of the departmental system, and the constitutional doctrine of an executive, advising the Queen's representative, and transact ing the public business, while responsible, like ministers., to tke sasembly. The one desire to have the government carried on by a system of despatches to the Colonial-office, which practically, have ever been framed by those in power to con vey enough only of the truth to suit themselves, thus con trolling the policy of the government, settling the emolu ments and pay of the public officers, and defeating and over coming the assembly in every measure of troublesome eco nomy and reform ; while th: other, smarting under the evils of official tyranny, knowing its tendency to foster discontent and rebellion, its influence in restraining public spirit and enterprise, liberal education and general pros perity, seek to introduce the British principle of responsibility, to place the executive, advisers, and officers, under constitutional checks, and to seesre to the people a substantial control over the management of their own local affairs. Give any body of men absolute power over the people they rule, and let their check be administered by a head or principal 3,000 miles distant, whom they, them. selves advise and guide—the result will be just what has happened in Canada, and in the lower provinces ; the host of abuses detailed in Lord Durham's report, and a thorough disorganisation of all the social and moral elements of happiness and prosperity in the body politic. The struggle here has been on the one side to maintain the ascendancy of a clique—the power of a few overpaid and ex clusive officials ; while the other have been endeavouring to introduce into Nova Scotia the responsible system, which has conferred comparative peace on Canada, is now supported there by the leading men of both parties, and which, by giving the people a constitutional power over the govern ment, has made them contented with their institutions, se ! cured their affections to the crown, and rendered them loyal, happy, and prosperous. Lord Falkland came to Nova Scotia to carry out the latter system. In • petulant and evil hour, yielding to his pas sions, and to a boyish and silly desire of personal supremacy —of moving all the wires of the government by his own' hands—he deserted the liberal party, who hid sustained him, and threw himself into the arms of their opponents. If, by this change, he intended to ',Noire increased power, he was soon taught to feel his error. He was iastently entangled in the toils of the unscrupulous politicians who surrounded him ; they wed him for their own purposes ; inflamed his passions to gain their ends, advised the local patronage to be dispensed purely to promote party aims, made him exclude from all intercourse and gourd with the opposition as a body, and brought down his despatches to the assembly, purposely prepared beforehand, to justify every extreme act ; so that, in place of standing themselves as shields to protect him, they actually made Lord Falkland a se-ape-goat fur all the sins of the party. It is, however, an old trick of a colonial compact, to sacrifice a governor—to set him in front to bear the shock of popular odium, and to fire away while they are safe behind. And these, forsooth, are the men who are ever prating of their loyalty and profound de votion to the queen I have already tad you how their majority was obtained; how it was preserved and attempted to be perpetuated fora s as curious a his ory of political fraud and jugglery as ever was attempted to be played off in the face of a free and intelli gent people. The conduct of the conservatives boa been most injudicious and ruinous to their own party influence. Their leader, the Attomey.General, Mr. Johnston, was never born to be a statesman—he is a subtle lawyer, and aims at his ends, regardless alike of the means or consequences; but, on the floor of the assembly, his want of temper, tact, and ability to govern a popu lar body, soon become manifest. The retirement of the ex.councillors, the dissolution of Lord Falkland's coalition, the contest and turmoil of the last four years, originated in an act of treachery to his colleagues and to the governor. The appointment of Mr. M. B. Almon, his brotherin.law, to the council; a man whose talents are not above mediocrity, and whose appointment, although the majority sustained it, because it became a party question, mole than half of them secretly condemned, gave general offence. Nineteen-twentieths of the province said he was en indefeasible selection, for he had not a single claim on constitutional grounds to such distinc tion; but the Attorney• General fancied then that he bad the reins in hand—that the liberal councillors, Howe, Uniacke, and M'Nab, would not quit their offices, nor abandon Lord Falkland and the coalition—and that he had secured a majority for four years upon the "denominational system "of colleges. Believing the liberal party to be in his power, he determined to crush them and their principles; but he calculated without his host—his selhihnetis fearfully misled him. The councillors amity quitted him and office, and struck for principle. The people have sustained them, and the Attorney-General has lost office and power, and con signed his party to hopeless ruin and disgrace. While ho held the reins, he resorted to desperate strate gems to confirm his power, to destroy his opponents, and to give the tree of conservatism broad-set and firm roots. The consistence of practice with professions was but little re garded. He recommended a man of worthless character as Queen's printer, who published a paper, the dforning Pose, from the same office as the Royal Gazette, systematically tided with the foulest slanders and the most barefaced un truths. The sanctities of private life, and decency of lan guage, were alike forgotten. The debates in the assembly, the reports of public meetings, and even arguments and trials in the Supreme Court, were reported, not as they oc curred, but in a style best fitted to injure the opposition. They waged in it a warfare alike against pecuniary means and private and public reputation. Despatches were written to the Colonial-office damaging the r. putation of public men, and impeding every practicable measure favourable to the responsible system, some of them full of statements and references positively untrue, which were afterwards read on the floor of the seiembly, havir.g tokens of approval from the minister, to bear down those assailed with the weight of the Colonial-office and the crown. The provincial secretary, while professing to be the member of a council responsible to the assembly, was allowed to transmit a private letter to the colonial minister, which defeated a bill passed by the three branches of the legislature, curtailing his emoluments and salary, and the government afterwards refused to give this letter to the assembly, although applied for. The Civil List Bill, effecting a saving of 2,200/. a year, shaped by the three branches, was defeated by despatches conveying prin ciples which the opposition resolved to be untrue. The clique professed a horror at party government, and sounded their anxiety to "do equal justice to all ;" but, although holding before all the principal offices, they filled every vacancy with nominees from their own side. The debates in the house became acrid, discourteous, aad ungentlemanly, and the whole fabric of society, political and social, was un hinged. Had the conservatives got back with a majority, it is the opinion of many they would have irritated the people to loud murmurs, it not to violence. But the oppcsition held en a steady constitutional course. They had still im plicit faith in the crown, confidence in his Excellency Sr John Harvey, and hope in the future. The last election wis unexampled in the history of these provinces; it was a fierce struggle between the supporters of the new system and the old: each felt that it would settle the policy and fate of the province for the next twenty years, awl that if the conservatives were defeated then they were not likely to rally apia. . . _ Both parties did their best. but the efforts of the coeser retires were tremendous. Their press breathed with a new activity. They circulated their sheets in sheafs. Slips were sent abroad assailing the leaders of the liberal party, which after publication were either disowned by their leaders or defended by inferior men. The cry raised by them in 1843, that the responsible system was rebellious, now that it has been reduced to practice in Canada, and had the express re. cognition of the crown, would no longer avail. But they struck out a new liae of p Airy ; they raised a large fund in Halifax to buy and bribe the county constituency; they used their wealth and the di Us due to them to deter electcrs from exercising their freedom of franchise; they denounced the departmental system as " Yankeefied ;" they eoundid loudly the increase of the revenue, as resulting from their superior vigilance and care ; and, because they could not bring ovir the catholic to support them, they raised a fierce cry against a catholic ascendancy, to alarm pious and simple-minded :pro testants, and to bring over such of them as they could alarm and terrify from the liberal ranks Their press daily proclaimed they were certain of a victory ; and, in arch r to keep up the spirits of their friends in the interior, asserted that they would even carry the four seats in the me tropolitan county. The liberals knew all the while this was only vain boasting. Howe led the poll fur the county of Halifax by 500 votes, and Mr. M'Nab had a lead of 300 in the city. The departmental system denounced by them is that of the heads of departments recommended by Lord Durham, and now adopted in Canada. The late increase in our re venue was attributable to improvements in the tariff and regulatioes made by three of the leading liberals in the as sembly—the Speaker, Huntingdon, DP:Cab—who never made the revenue bills a question of party—and by the general revival of trade felt since 1844 both in England and here ; while the catholic ascendancy cry in Nova Scotia is a foul stain upon a moderate and loyal body, who, in this elec tion, have, as before, returned protestant., wbo have only six seats in 51, who have never pushed even their fair claims, and who in this election, to their honour be it said, although availed with every coarse epithet of slander and abuse, have not committed a single act of violence. The catholic' of Nova Scotia, except in one solitary instance, have ever voted with the liberal party. No later than 1814 the conservatives, while trying to form a coalition upon terms which would have preserved their ascendancy, offered them two scats in the executive council ; and had they only abandoned their former principles, and rallied under the conservative banner, not a whisper -would have been heard "of the dangers of popery." It was a pure electioneering manceuvre, under stood sad thoroughly estimated by most intelligent pro testants, and, except as to one or two rural constituencies, it utterly tailed ; but it has been a cruel and dastardly attempt to raise a cry, not believed by the conservative leaders thaw selves, and thus to introduce and inflame a religious feud for the sake of preserving political power. To the liberal party kite results have been most gra'ifying. The country have responded to their principles, and the sacrifices made while in opposition, in a voice which cannot be mistaken. Out of seventeen counties twelve have re turned members to sustain them, their majority stands by the returns 29 to 22, but there are two seats disputed in the minority, which, it is believed, will be added to their strength, making it 31 to 21. All their leaders have come in with increased majorities. Mr. Uniacke was returned without opposition. Ill'Nab polled S6O votes in the city of Halifax, Filing a superiority of about 300 over a popular conservative. Howe led the county be 500 votes. W. Young, the late speaker, polled 1,043 out of 1,160 votes. Hunting ton led the poll 210 in opposition to a picked conser vative candidate. Desbanea and George It. Young came in with leading majorities, and brought with them liberal, in place of conservative, colleagues. Doyle was returned for Halifax, in defiance of bribers and threats, and the cry of a catholic ascendancy ; and in the new re turns the party have added to their strength by the accession of some good speakers and excellent business men. As to the conservatives, they have lost several of their debaters— Wilkins, a member of the executive council; Marshall, Ross, Holmes; Dodd, the soliritor.general, bad to depend upon the favour of liberal friends, and the attorney-general's majority . was largely diminished; they are wea k ene d not only in numbers, but in talent and legislative efficiency; like a diseased subject, they have not only lost limbs, but are palsied through the whole system. The question remains now, what is to be done ? It is believed that the conservatives will, if permitted, hold on to office till the legislature meets, embarrassing Sir John Har vey, who has now, in feet, no council, for he is too prudent to take any decisive step, or make any appointments under their athice. They have not the dignity to retire ; they have no hope to rally ; but they will not look to the moral influence of a graceful resignation. They will pocket their salaries to the eleventh hour, and it is even said that they will have the meanness to go to the colonial-office and pro mote an appeal against that people whom they are bound to serve. The liberals will bear their opposition calmly, but witness this delay with regret. There are several important ques tions, which, if the prosperity of the province is to be con sidered, ought to be dealt with and settled at our next session. The arrangement of the civil list; the modification of our present offices, to give the departmental system prompt and beneficial action ; the adjustment of a new tariff throughout all the colonies, on the principles of the Ger manic Zollverein; the Post.ottice, which the Treasury have offered to surrender to us; the "Great Itsilroad" from Halifax to Queb4, as connected with a sound system of colonisation; the electric telegraph; the questions open with the General Mining Association relative to our mines and minerals--all these require negotiations with the home government, and the executives of the sister colonies. At present our executive is powerless to move. If, therefore, the conservatives bold oa till the usual season for the meeting of the legislature in January, the elections which will then follow the new appointments to office, will delay action next session, and postpone the public business for another year. The leaders of the sionservatives see all this ; but this foresight will only induce them to maintain their position with more tenacity. conservati rts Colonial never look to the public—their polar star is themselves. In the sister colonies the result has been hailed with tokens of warm approval ; it is regarded as a decisive testimonial in favour of the constitutional struggle in which Nova Boobs and her sister dependencies have been engaged. Whaling apprehensions may have been entertained in Canada M e devoted attachment of this people to British institutions and alliance have never been suspected. It is my own opinion that the responsible system—the transference to the peopl e of the management of their local affairs, under the guards of the constitution, is the only sound theory and safe practice of colonial government; and when once fully established and carried out in good faith, will preserve these dependencies to the parent state for ages to come.—A COLONIAL Wino._ Halifax, Sept. 2. I STEAM COMMUNICATION WITH AUSTRALIA Stu,—ln my letter of the 30th ultimo, which you were good enough to publish, I drew your and the guile' attention to the affairs of the Indian and Australian Royal Mail Steam Company, and, according to my promise, now trouble you with a few further remarks on the same interest ing subject. In your issue of yesterday I observe with pleasure that my former letter has attracted the attention of Mr. J. Bette Jukes, who, however, does not agree with me g. nerally. It was for the purpose of drawing forth such men so Mr. Juke. that I originally took up the pen on these matters, and I feel obliged to that gentleman fur his letter. lie (hlr. Jukes) evidently knows the ground he and I are sailing over; and if the hints we may throw out do not prove useful to the com pany, it will be no fault of ours. With Mr. Jukes remarks on the importance of an inti mate connexion between the Dutch authorities in the Malay Archipelago and the new steam company I quite agree, though I scarcely think the time has yet arrived for their giving it so much of their attention es Mr. J. thinks would be for their interest. By and br, Timor Coepang may be made one of the company's calling-places, and by degrees they may send their feelers and extend their branches to the numerous islands, ports, &c., in the neighbourhood. Let the main or trunk line frum Singapore to Sydney be fairly started, and the rest will follow in due time. I sin not quite prepared to agree with Mr. Jukes as regards Cape York, my principal objection to which as a coaling station for the company is the want of protection their servants would experience there. Mr. Jukes will agree with me when I say that it will be necessary for the company to send a twelvemonths' supply of coals to Cape York or l'ort Essington, as the case may be, during the soutk-cast monsoon from Sydney, or, rather, Newcastle, at the mouth of the river Hunter; and also, that during the prevalence of the north-west winds and thick weather, a party would have to be left in charge of the depot. It is protection for this party that I require, and which Port Essington alone furnishes in that neighbourhood. I am aware of the difficulties to be looked for in sailing through the dangerous channels after leaving Cape York nevertheless, taking everything into consideration, I cannot help giving the preference to Port Essington as the head quarters of the company in those sets. Now, I come to Mr. Jukes' remarks on my squatters; ani in reply to his question, start by st sting that my mean ing did not extend to squatters, properly so called, on a large scale, but to men who, like the thousands of Singapore, front time to time pick out a nice location near a township for a sat,* or gair.bin house. With these nice, when the plan gets fairly started, I wish the authorities to deal liberally. As to what squatters are to do at Port Essington, I want them neither to rear sheep, cattle, nor horses, nor even to breed buffaloes. Ido want them though to establish something like the Singapore Bazaar there—to start on trading exlcditions to the nemh- Louring islands with supplies of English goods. Who so fit for the purpose as Chinamen ? as, witness their daring exertions in former days in open boats with entire bazaars of manufactured goods and opium in the very teeth of tho north east monsoon, from Singapore to Pahang. I want them to barter these supplies (which, rely upon it, will be required in very considerable quantities within my limit of five years), for the products of those islands, which will all be - brought to Port Essington, and turn it into an emporium for the entire produce of the ex treme cast, as Singapore was of those of the Malay world. I want them also to encircle Port Essington with kitchen gar dens, orchards, &e., as they did Singapore, to extenct by degrees into the country or along the coast, when it will go hard with the Chinamen, if they cannot find soil enough to yield gambin (terra japonica), pepper, and perhaps sugar— to say nothing of cloves and nutmegs. It is not, however, the produce of Port Essington that I value so much as its 10-fthty. Singapore yielded literally nothing for ten sears after its establishment; yet see how it throve. To this day nine-tenths of the fond of its inhabitants, including poultry, eggs, fruit, &c., are imported. Is it then unreasonable to expect in five years some importance may ne attached to l'ort Essington, with the incalculable advantage it will derive from regular monthly communicaton by steam with Sydney, Batavia, a.id Singapore? If her Majesty's government would furnish the same protection at Cape York they now do at the other place my opinions might change ; as it is, I regret having to differ with one who knows the ground se well as Mr. Jukes. Amongst the numerous benefits Australia must naturally derive from the establishment of the new steam company, and the extension of the overland mail to her shores, I may men tion the facilities the company's steamers would afford the colonists for importing Chinese labourers. I speak advisedly when I say a Chinese labourer at field work is equal to any European. I have seen them pitted together in Australia, and never found the Chinaman wanting. A supply of cheap labour thrown into the colonies by the monthly steamers would be of the greatest importance to all irate rested in them. Again, there is that tract of land lying between 11 deg. south and the tropic, lately brought to the notice of the cheater Chamber of Commerce by the Rev. Dr. Lang, wlicse scheme for forming a colony there for the purpose of grow ing cotton I think highly of, and would strongly recommend to the attention of the Colonial-office. On one point, however, I cannot agree with the reverend gentle man, viz., when he states the climate is such as to allow European labourers to work in the fields. My expe rience between the tropics compels me to express en opinion directly opposite to Dr. Lang•s on this particular point, and to recommend Chinese field labourers being placed there by a joint-stock company to a system I will point out, if need be, to Dr. Long or any one else. I need hardly add that steam boats passing and repassing such an establishment twice a month would be the means of all others to start and cherish it.—l remain, &c. G. F. DATIMON. Mull, Sept. 13. ARRIVAL OF THE PETEREL.—FALMOUTH, SEPT. I:s!,—Thi. packet sailed from Rio July 11; Bahia, 24 ; Per n►mbuco, 2'J; and arrived here this morning. Her intelli gence hu been anticipated. Ebt Court. ARDVERIME, SEPT. 13.—Her Maj esty and his Royal Highness walked is the grounds ea rly this morons!. The Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal, attended by Miss Halyard, went on their ponies to the hills. The Duke of Cambridge left Bushy House, Bushy Park, the residence of her Majesty the Queen Dowager, oa Tuesday afternoon, and returned to Richmond. The Duchess of Gloucester arrived in town yester day morning from her residence at Richmond, and left Glou nester House in the afternoon, on her return to Richmond. The Governor of the Bank of England had an inter view with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his official residence in Downing-street.--Mr. Carey, Bailiff of Guernsey, had an interview with Sir G. Grey yesterday. —Mr. H. Vernon had also an interview yesterday with the right hon. baronet at the Home-office. The Chancellor of the Exchequer arrived in town on Tuesday night from Yorkshire. TIIE QUEEtetl VISIT TO SCOTLAN D. —Nett Thursday it one of the days of the no rthern meeting at Inverness. The northern meeting is an annual gathering of the nobility and gentry of the northern counties, when competition in pipe-music, dancing, highland game' Be., takes place. l'rinee Albert is eipteted to yiiit Mr. Bailie , of Dochfour, whose villa is situated on the side of Loch Ness. The Fairy is already through the lochs at the west end of the canal, and it is expected that the Prince will return by sea and join the Queen on board the royal yacht at Fort William. It is definitely fixed that the Queen will embark on Friday. THE GRAVEYAIIDS OF THE METROPOLIS. A public meeting on this subject wan held at the Crown and Anchor Tavern yesterday evening, having been convened by the Metropolitan Society for the Abolition of , Burials in Towns. The attendance was numerous, and much interest was apparent throughout the proceedings. B. B. Cabbell, Esq. was called to the chair by acclamation. The secretary read letters from Dr. Bowring, M.P., Mr. C. Pearson, M.l'., Mr. Muterman, M.P., Mr. E. Ronan, M.P., the Hon. W. Gore, the Rev. James Carlile, D.D., and other gentlemen, expressing concurrence in the object of the meeting, and in some instances regret at their in. ability to attend. The CHAIRMAN said the subject which they had met to discuss was the practice of interring the dead in the midst of the living —a practice which, having been introduced, pro bably, through the superstition of ancient times, was now sanctioned and continued from a desire of gain —(hear, bear) and it was only by means of an appeal to the public that such • practice could be abolished. It was matter of astonishment that the first city in the world should sanction interment within its walls, especially as the sanitary question was now so fashionable ; for interment in towns lay at the very foundation of that question. (liters) He hoped that the public feeling exhibited on that occasion would direct the attention of the sanitary commission jot appointed to that important subject. He would now intro duce to the meeting a gentleman who bad devoted kis linen tion to the question fur many years. Mr. G. A. WALfint, who was received with loud cheers, said, that facts and figures demonstrated that the condition of the burial grounds of the metropolis was such as must shock humanity. The month of September appeared to be especially devoted to these upturning' of the dead, on which the public attention was now fixed. Elim chapel, Fetter-lane, was at present most conspicuous for this practice ; and he would appeal to gentlemen then re sent, who had accompanied himself to that chapel a few days since, whether any language could adequately express their sense of the terrible condition of the place. (Cries of "ho, no.") In that spot, measuring about 40 feet by 40 feet, there had been thousands of human bodies placed where proper space could not be found for hundreds. (Seesition.) An acre of ground would, according to Mr. Chadwick, give decent burial to only 136 adult bodies per annum. railways are better or woree goerued than the are- to aught that in older times was established—those masses of people spitting in their faces, and crying, " Down with L. O - 7 '''''"' allthe wires of th o government 17;orowq _ _ _ e a n li