The Press. — London, England, 1857-03-07 00:00:00

MARCH 7, 1857. approve a policy with respect to China which has begun in outrage, and which, if pursued, will end in ruin. ( Lona cheers.) _ _ . But. what defence of the policy of the Government in China had Lord Palmerston offered ? Has he laid down a single principle on which our rela tions with China ought to depend? Has he enunciated a solitary political maxim which should guide us in this moment of peril and perplexity ? On the contrary, he has covered a weak and shambling case by saying—what?— that he is the victim a a conspiracy. (Cheers and laughter.) It's the old story. How often does a prisoner at the bar, when he is in the unfortunate position of having no defence, declare that the whole thing is a conspiracy ? (Cheers.) The noble lord was singularly inconsistent in the language which he addressed to the house. He care fully enumerated the various influential sections which are combined against him. He alluded to the different dis tinguished statesmen who, disagreeing on other subjects, agreed in their opinion of his policy. He did not enter into any manly or statesmanlike defence of his conduct. He reproduced petty observations made in the course of the debate which I thought really had become exhausted and obsolete, and then be turned round and said that the whole was a conspiracy ! (Cheers.) Accustomed to majorities which have been obtained without the assertion of a single principle, which have, indeed, been the consequence of an occasional position, and which have, in fact, originated in the noble lord sitting on that bench without the necessity of expressing an opinion upon any subject, foreign or domestic, that can interest the heart of the country or influence the opinion of the nation, the noble lord will at last find that the time has come when, if he be a statesman, he must have a policy—( cheers)—and that it will not do the instant that the blundering of his Cabinet is detected, and every man accustomed to influence the opinion of the house unites in condemning it, to complain to the country that he is the victim of a conspiracy. (Cheers.) Let the noble lord not only complain to the country but let him appeal to the country. (Cheers.) I hope that my constituents will return me again ; if they do not, I shall be most happy to meet him on the hustings at Tiverton. (Renewed cheers.) I should like to see the programme of the proud leader of the Liberal party—" No reform, new taxes, Canton blazing, Persia invaded." That would be the programme of the statesman who appeals to a great nation as the worthy leader of the cause of progress and civilisation. (Cheers.) I hope that the house will not for a moment be in fluenced by the languid menace of the noble lord. I hope that hon. members will feel to-night that they have a duty to perform which will be remembered long after this Par liament shall have ceased to exist ; and that, not frightened by the menace of a Minister, they will dare to vindicate the cause of justice, and to lay down a principle without the observance of which the empire of which we are so proud may soon be questioned. (Loud and protracted cheering.) Mr. COBDEN replied in a few pointed words, pro testing against the charge of a conspiracy to over throw the Government, for his motion, before it appeared on the table of the house, was unknown to any single member except Mr. Milner Gibson ; show ing also that Lord Palmerston's anticipation that an adverse vote of the house would sacrifice the British residents in China was quite illusory, and pointing out that, if a change of Ministry occurred, it would materially benefit the nation by a certain reduction of taxation ; and appealing to members to give an honest and conscientious vote, free from party bias. The house then divided, and the numbers were— For the motion Against it Majority against the Government --16 As soon as the clerk at the table handed to Mr. Cobden the paper containing the statement of the numbers, and it was seen that the Government was defeated, there was loud cheering, which was sus. pended while the numbers were announced, but after their announcement it was repeated and continued for some minutes. The house adjourned at twenty-five minutes after two o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS.-WEDNESDAT. INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS BILL. Sir STAFFORDINORTHCOTE moved and Mr. HADFIELD seconded the second reading of this bill. Mr. Baxter, Lord Stanley, and Mr. Gordon sup. ported the measure, which was opposed by Mr. Alcock and Mr. Bowyer. Sir J. PARINGTON'S only objection to the bill was, that it dealt on the one hand with what ought to form a portion of our general system of national education, and on the other it interfered with what more properly came within the province of the poor law. He thought his hon. friend would do well to confine his measure solely to reformatories, and to children who, if they had not yet come under the lash of the law, were about to do so. He should vote with much pleasure for the second reading, leaving the questions to which he bad adverted to be dealt with at. a more appropriate stage. The bill was ultimately read a second time without a diviNion. Sir J. PAKINGTON postponed the second reading of his Education (Cities and I3oroughs) Bill until Wednesday next. _ The CoUrt of Chancery Ireland (Titles of Fur chaseni) Bill was real a second time, ou the motion of Ur, Wginbzur. THE PRESS. HOUSE OF LORDS.—THURBDAY. OPERATIONS AT CANTON. The Earl of CLARENDON and Lord PANMURE, in reply to questions put by the Earls of Ellen. borough and Hardwicke, admitted that Admiral Sey mour had retired from the Dutch Folly to Bird's nest Fort, first destroying the suburbs of Canton. TREATY WITH PERSIA. The Earl of CLARENDON, in reply to the Earl of Malmesbury, stated that a treaty was signed at Paris on Wednesday, between Lord Cowley and Ferouk Khan. OPIUM TRADE. Lord SHAFTESBURY, in reply to the Earl of Derby, said, that he would bring forward his motion upon the opium trade on Monday. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TnrasDLY. MINISTERIAL STATEMENT. Lord PALMERSTON rose, ins crowded house, to make the expected Ministerial statement. lie said:— Mr. Speaker, in order to regularise that which I am about to say, and to put it in the power of any hon. mem ber who has anything to say on this subject to address the house, I intend to conclude the statement which I am about to make by a formal motion, that this house do now adjourn. The house must naturally expect that after what happened on Tuesday night I should state to the house the course which, upon due reflection, her Majesty's Govern ment mean to pursue. Under ordinary circumstances, after a vote by which the house by a majority—whatever the amount of it might be—affirmed that which many at least who voted considered to be a vote of censure upon the conduct of the Government, there could hardly be an alternative left to the Government as to the course to be pursued. The natural course would be that they should tender to their Sovereign a resignation of their offices, and leave to those who had obtained that majority the task of conducting the affairs of the country. But the present case seemed to us to be of so peculiar a character that we have not thought it our duty to submit to our Sovereign a resignation of our offices. There is another course which the Government under such circumstances might consti tutionally adopt, and that is the course which we have deemed it our duty to pursue. We have deemed it our duty to advise the Crown at the earliest period at which the state of the business of the house will permit us to call upon the constituencies of the country to exercise that privilege which the Constitution places in their hands. say the circumstances are peculiar, because, while on the one hand, looking to the simple result of that last debate, we might say that we had lost the confidence of this house, yet, on the other hand, looking to the divisions which took place very shortly belore upon questions involving very important portions of the policy of the Government, the result was of a very different character. And I feel myself free to say that some of those who concurred in the vote of Tuesday night made it understood that that vote was not to be considered as implying a want of confidence on their part in her Majesty's Government. (Hear, hear.) But it is vain to deny that that vote would recder it very difficult, if not unseemly, for the Government, with regard to which it was passed, to undertake the conduct of the business of the country in the ordinary manner during the remainder of a long session. Moreover, the state of parties which that vote indicated appears to me to show—connect ing it with the various votes and fluctuating opinions of the house with regard to those majorities on former occa sions---that it would be extremely difficult for any Govern ment—whether that which now exists or that which might be formed, however efficient it might be—and I admit, not merely by way of compliment, but as merely stating the truth, that that Government which might be formed by a combination of parties (using that expression not by way of taunt) would be very efficient—to carry on the business of the country throughout a session in the state of feeling which at present happt ns to prevail in this house. The noblo lord then briefly alluded to the important events witnessed by the present Parliament, and concluded with the following propositions with regard to public business : The course which I humbly beg to propose to this house, therefore, is, that we should do on the present occasion that which has been done on former and similar occasions, that which was done in spirit during the Ad ministration of Lord Derby, when it was announced that there was to be a dissolution—that the house should content itself with those provisional and temporary mea sures which may be necessary to provide for the public service until the earliest period at which a new Parliament can assemble. We had proposed to arrange certain taxes for three years ; we shall now propose to determine them for only one year. There are some taxes with regard to which it would be very embarrassing to commence to have them settled for too short a period, but we do not think that a Parliament which is about to be dissolved could properly be called upon to fix them for a period longer than the year for which provision is to be made. ( Hear, hear.) Upon the same principle, we shall propose to the house to vote sums on account of the estimates for only a portion of the year, and to pass a Mutiny Act for a similar period, thus leaving the new Parliament, which may probably assemble somewhat towards the end of May, free to deal with all these great matters according to its dicretion. I should hope, sir, that this house will see that the course which we are prepared to adopt is one which is in accordance with the principles of the Constitu tion—( Hear, hear)—and that gentlemen will therefore place no obstructions in the way of our arriving at a time when fresh elections may take place, by interposing any unnecessary diffieulties In the way of the adoption of the course by witielt we propotie to Mt* ter the public 225 service. We shall abstain from proposing anything but that which is necessary for this purpose. There are many gentlemen who entertain strongopinions upon many subjects which they would wish to bring under discussion in this house, but they will, I think, feel that steps of importance cannot properly be taken by a Parlia ment situated as thia House of Commons will now neces sarily be. I therefore hope that the same honourable forbearance which has been shown by former Parliaments under similar circumstances will be exhibited by this one. There is this to be said, that now at least the country will have a really fair choice between two different Administra tions—a choice which, without meaning to say anything offensive to any party in this house, I think I may say it could not have had, at least not to the same degree, under that ccmbination that took place which has led to the state of things in which the Government now finds itself. As I said before, lam stating a fact without making the slightest imputation upon those who have formed that combination ; but I say that--so far it may be an advantage to the country—it will have the opportunity of choosing between two different efficient Administra tions That also is a ground which the more justifies us in throwing upon the country the responsibility of deter mining what Administration shall be invested with the conduct and management of the affairs of the nation: (Cheers.) The noble lord concluded by moving the adjourn ment of the lii,use. Mr. DISRAELI and Mr. COBDEN rose together. The SPEAKER having called upon the former, Mr. DISRAELI said : The noble lord has dealt frankly with the house, and I wish, as I am sure that every other hon. gentleman will wish, to respond to his appeal in the same spirit. I am nut surprised at the counsel which the noble lord and his colleagues have tendered to their Sovereign. I think that the course which they have recommended will, on the whole, be the most advantageous to the public interest. With these feelings, I shall myself give every poesible facility to the provress of public business— (cheers)—consistent with what I conceive to be the true interest of the country. Sir, I share in the anticipation expressed by the noble lord, that this appeal to the country, which I for one look to with no apprehension, will prove of great advan tage to the public service. I do think that it is of the utmost importance to the character of Parliament, and to the interests of the realm, that parliamentary parties should be more defined than they have been. (Cheers.) I am myself persuaded that that habit, which has of late been much adopted, of decrying the influence of party, has had a very injurious effect upon the conduct of public affairs. Party, well defined and well appreciated, is the best guarantee for public and private honour ; and I trust that when this recurrence to the sense of the country has taken place, members will be returned to this house with definite opinions —(cheers]—that we shall know who is prepared to change and who is ready to maintain the institutions of the country ; who is in favour of the reduction of the burdens of the people ; and who is iu favour of increasing them ; who is in favour of a foreign policy which, while it maintains the true interests and dignity of the country, is conciliatory to all other States ; and who is in favour of that turbulent and aggressive system—(cheers)—which, I believe, must increase the burdens of the people and ultimately endanger and dimi nish the power of our nation. (Hear, hear.) I repeat that I shalt meet the invitation of the noble lord with the same frankness and candour with which it has been given ; he will experience from me, and I think I may answer for every gentleman on this side of the house, no sinister conduct. We shall give every facility to any measure which we believe is sincerely intended for the public service, but at the same time we shall expect from the Government a clear description of what is to be their course, because several matters have been brought before the house which, so far as I can judge at present, cannot be cast aside so lightly as the noble lord seems to anticipate. With this exception, I repeat that, so far as the public interests are not endangered, the noble lord may depend upon my most cordial assistance in bringing this session to a close. (Cheers.) Mr. COBDEN said Lord Palmerston had ignored a very important question. What was to be done by the Executive in pursuance of the late vote of the house of Commons, and as regarded the disturbances in China? Sir C. WOOD assured the house that the safety of British lives and interests in China had not been left uneared for. Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT repeated the question, which, he observed, had not been answered, as to the future conduct of the war in China. Were the proceedings still to continue, and the same functionaries to retain the management of affairs, after the condemnation passed upon them by the vote of the house Sir G. GREY stated that the Government did not intend to supersede those functionaries in China, nor to instruct them to abandon their demands. He denied that the Government were making war upon China to secure the admission of Sir J. Bowring at Canton. Lord J. RUSSELL considered that the house was entitled' to ask for an explanation of the policy in tended to be pursued during the next three months after it had determined that conduct which had been approved by the Government was worthy of its cen sure. Ministers should state the terms that were to be asked of China—what, in faot, was the object of the hostilities? Be declared the charge against him of combination with the Concervativo party to be false and ealumnietts, The cimourrenee 4 he said, was en