The Press. — London, England, 1854-02-11 00:00:00

TERMS OF FOR Ebe Prezo: Per Annum.. .. • • .. £1 6 0 .. Half• Yearly .. .. • • .. 0 13 0 Quarterly .. • • .. 0 6 6 Payable in advance. Subscribers are requested to send their Orders through their News Ageut ; if direct to the Ottice, accompanied by a Ilemit tance. Money Orders to be made payable to Mr. ALFRED IVE 110, Strand, London. TO CORRESPONDENTS. " SYBIL" may hear the debates in the House of Commons without infringing any rules. There is a " Ladies' Gallery," for which tickets may be obtained as an extreme favour from the Speaker or the Sergeant-at-Arms. It is impossible to acknowledge the mass of letters we receive. Their insertion is often delayed, owing to a press of matter ; and when omitted, it is frequently from reasons quite inde pendent of the merits of the communication. We cannot undertake to return communications of which we do not avail ourselves. Canmunications should always be legibly written, and on one side of the paper only. If long it increases the difficulty of finding apace for them. Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenticated by the name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publics. ion, but as a guarantee of his good faith. THE PRESS. FEBRUARY 11, 1854. THE PEELITES.---No.IV. TO THE EDITOR OF "THE PRESS." SlR,—When the Caledonian Cynic who for the present refreshes his exhausted Radicalism by weekly inspirations from Clumber made acquaintance with certain prominent Peelites, he, or his frills Achates, exclaimed with appreciative sympathy, " These are precisely the old Radicals,' with the addition of a conscience." The author of this notable phrase may possibly be absolved of a sarcastic intent, though he gave utterance to a sarcasm. Radicalism and a tender conscience combine naturally when they are set in the same key, but not when they are disconnected by a considerable interval. Had the Peelites been less Radical or in their sense less conscientious, they might have pre served their equilibrium, but the combination of hysterical ethics with democratic opinions has been a never-failing source of perplexity and hesitation. Their conscience has been incessantly getting between their legs and tripping them prostrate ; and, if their Scotch panegyrist had described them as old Radicals with the addition of tails, he could not have awarded them a more inconvenient appendage. Mr. GLADSTONE is the recognised type of the Peelite sect, and it may serve those whose political memories are treacherous to observe that I allude to the same Mr. GLADSTONE who was described by MACAULAY as " the rising hope of the stern and unbending Tories." The " stern and unbending," par excellence, is now CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER in a Cabinet which threatened a democratic Reform Bill, avowedly too large for the Whig Lord PALMERSTON, and which, in its modified shape, may yet be found too large for the Conservative noblemen and gentry of England. At the same time the Stern and unbending casts wistful glances towards the benches occupied by his quondam associates ; and this, I remark, is precisely what might be expected from an old Radical with the inconvenient encumbrance of a Conservative conscience. All that I contend for on behalf of Mr. GLADSTONE is allowance for that hybrid Peelite nature which he participates with the feeblest of his feeble brethren, and for his enforced submission to the sad necessity which deprives him of the power of gratifying his conflict ing inclinations. As an illustration of the same unhappy predicament I call to mind that at the outset of his career Mr. GLADSTONE made certain ecclesiastical professions for the remembrance of which he is still 133 venerated by young Oxford. He inscribed his devotional exercises to his Alma Mater as to one who "had been tried and not found wanting in the hope that the temper of his pages might be found not alien from her own." It is true that he afterwards supported the grant to Maynooth and the admission of the Jews to Parliament; that he forwarded the Dissenters' Chapel Bill, and the confiscation of the Canada clergy reserves ; that he sustained the pretensions of Cardinal WISEMAN against the colleagues with whom he is at present leagued to procure the abrogation of that Roman Catholic oath which has been hitherto esteemed one of the chief securities of Protestantism ; but I doubt whether when another election occurs at Oxford the slightest suspicion will cross his ingenuous mind that the temper of his con stituency is alien from his own, or that he has been subsequently tried and in these particular respects found wanting. In 1838, when he was publishing the fourth edition of the same spiritual exercises, he was so perfectly unconscious of his equivocal pretensions that he protested that " the lapse of time and opportu nities for reflection " had " brought out into much clearer conscious ness the confession he had made two years and a half ago." A corollary of that confession, if I may credit Mr. MACAULAY, was a coin , mination of the British Government in India " for distributing a small sum among the Catholic priests who minister to the spiritual wants of our Irish soldiers." Since then, if I mistake not, I have heard a Government charged with the distribution of small sums to ministering Papists in the British army, and, whatever foundation there may have been for that charge, I have no doubt as to the con siderable sums paid, with Mr. GLADSTONE'S acquiescence, to minister ing papists, priests, and professors at Maynooth. In the acquirement of a clearer consciousness of his own convic tions Mr. GLADSTONE has satisfied himself, but has not succeeded in making them as clear to his constituency or to the public. It is one of the most pleasing proofs that hero-worship is not extinct—that a considerable number of gentle M.A.'s and ruminating curates still con fide in his churchmanship. As bears live through the winter on the fat they have accumulated in summer, Mr. GLADSTONE and his asso ciates are enabled to draw largely on their acquired reputation. The stern and unbending Tories may be practically democrats; the Oxford churchmen may be patrons of papistry and dissent ; but allowance is properly made for the pressure of circumstances upon slight and debilitated natures already overstrained in the conflict of their good intentions. I remain, sir, your obedient servitor, JOHN OF THE FUNNELS. - nr :0) Tog. LONDON, SATURDAY, FEBRUARYII,IBS4. POSTSCRIPT. HOUSE OF LORDS. —FRIDAY. RUSSIA AND TURKEY. Earl FITZWILLIAM inquired whether the Govern ment could furnish any information wit h regard to the mission of Count Orloff to Vienna? The Earl of CLARENDON believed that Count Orloff was not the bearer of any counter project or counter terms to those anteriorly suggested by Austria. He believed that his mission was to state, in the first instance, that it was indispensable that the Turkish Plenipotentiary should proceed either to St. Peters burg or to the head-quarters of the Russian army to negotiate for peace ; secondly, that if he came to St. Petersburg the representatives of the four powers might have power to treat with him, but that there should be no formal conference; thirdly, that a pro tocol should be drawn up containing agreements with the Sultan with regard to the privileges of the Greek subjects, and that the Czar should undertake to evacuate the principalities ; fourthly, that arrange ments should be made respecting refugee agitators and revolutionists. Lord Carendon added that Count Buol had condemned the propositions as altogether inadmissible. With respect to any fur ther objects of the count's mission he was not in pos session of official information. If any such existed he believed that they would be found to relate merely to the relationship between Russia and Austria, and bad resulted in the vindication of the entire inde pendence of the latter State. In reply to the Earl of Ellenborough, Lord ABERDEEN stated that assurances of perfect neutrality in any war that might ensue had been given by Sweden and Norway. Earl GREY inquired whether her Majesty's Govern went intended to proceed with the Reform Bill before bringing forward the army and navy esti mates ? The Earl of ABERDEEN said that the bringing for ward of the Reform Bill on Monday evening would not interfere with the estimates. It would be introduced, but would not impede the estimates. He denied that war was inevitable ; and, although preparations for war were going on, he did not yet abandon hopes that peace would still be maintained. The Earl of DERBY expressed his regret at the determination evinced to proceed with the Reform Bill, which, although it might not check warlike preparations, would engender party strife. A resigna tion of the Ministry or a dissolution of Parliament might be the result of contention on this measure, and a dissolution at such a crisis would be dangerous in the extreme. He believed the noble earl was the only man in the country who would affirm that war was not inevitable. The Marquis of CL-kNRICARDE asked whether nego tiations for peace were still going on ? The Earl of ABERDEEN disputed the position that I this country was actually at war. So long as that was the case he would entertain hopes of peace. The noble earl added that the negotiations at Vienna were brought to a close, and he was not aware of any others going on at present. Lord BEAUMONT denounced the continuance of such a state of incertitude, and Earl GRANVILLE complained of these questions being put without notice given. After a few words from the Marquis of CLANIII cARDE and Earl GREY, the subject dropped, and the house adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—FRIDAY. Mr. R. Clive and Colonel Herbert took the oaths and their seats, the former for South Shropshire, and the latter for Ludlow. In reply to Mr. Wise, The CHANCELLOR of the ExcHEQuEn said he hoped to be able to introduce a bill relative to savings banks during the present session. THE COMBINED FLEETS. In reply to Mr. French, Lord J. RUSSELL stated that the return► of the combined fleets to Beycos Bay had occurred in con sequence of the admiral in command being of opinion that to remain in the harbour of Sinope might disable the fleet. The conduct of the admiral would, he believed, meet with the approbation of the Government, and ships would be sent occa• sionally to preserve the command of the Black Sea. UNIFORM COLONIAL. POSTAGE. Mr. WILSON stated that arrangements were in pro gress for the establishment of an uniform sixpenny colonial postage. It would be proposed to allow one penny for the inland postage, one penny for the colo nial postage, and threepence for the ocean convey ance ; the remaining penny to be for the profit of the Post office. THE REVORX BILL. On the motion that the house at its rising adjourn till Monday, Lord JOCELYN inquired of Lord John Russell whe ther it was the intention of the Government to bring on the above measure on Monday ? He urged its postponement on the ground that it was of the last importance at the present crisis that all parties should be in accord, and that this measure would act as a disturbing element. (Hear, hear.) - " .