The Press. — London, England, 1858-03-13 00:00:00

bring in a bill on the matter. He next referred to the bankruptcy law and the banking system as requiring legit.. Winn, and then referred to a Reform Bill. He did not think they should have parliamentary reform too often, but he would be in favour of it when the advancement of the country in education and wealth required it. (Applause.) Mr. Cairns then referred to the system of go vernment pursued latterly in Ireland, by which one political party or faction had all favours lavished upon them. He would oppose any party getting all Government patronage and support, and would not hold office under a Government which would give all support to any one party ; but that course had been pursued in Ireland lately. It was a great mistake for any Government to thiuk of ruling Ireland after that fashion. There should be no backstairs in fluence at the Castle. The late Lord Chancellor's letter to Lord Londonderry was an insult to the magis tracy of every shade of politics. (A cry having been given of " Groans for Brady," was heartily responded to.) Mr. Cairns then declared his own policy to be a strong determination to maintain the Protestantism of the country, which gave liberty to England such as was not possessed in any other country in Europe ; and after thanking the electors for the honour con ferred upon him, he resumed his seat, loudly applauded. ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR IRELAND. ENNISICILLEN.—On Tuesday Mr. Whiteside was re elected for the borough of Enniskillen without oppo sition. The right hon. and learned gentleman was proposed by Paul Dane, Esq., and seconded by Dr. Clvenden, and, no other candidate appea►ing, he was declared sleeted. Mr. Whiteside then presented himself, and was received with great enthusiasm. When the cheering had subsided, he expressed his acknowledgments, and, alluding to the advent of Lord Derby to power, gave the followidg definition of Conservative policy : My notion of true Conservative policy is, to maintain with inflexible fi rmness all the landmarks of our happy constitution, while I would remove the obstructions which impede its free and useful action. It is true Conservative policy to govern the people wisely and well—to keep them contented and peaceful, in the pursuit of industry. But in order to make the nation contented with the laws under which they live, we must adapt these lass to the wants and wishes of the people. (Hear, hear.) I believe in this sense there is no limit to improvement, and that the progress of decay must be met by that of renovation. (Hear, hear.) Here we have ample scope for the exer tions of the best men; and, believe me, there is much more useful work to be done here than in tampering with the constitution of the country. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Whiteside then entered into the reasons of the fall of Lord Palmerston, and contrasted the comp°. sition of the late Ministry with that of the present, and observed that, while Lord Palmerston confined himself within the charmed circle of Whiggery, Lord Derby selected the best men he could find from the representatives of the people; and went on to say that the duties of the office to which ho had been appointed, as first law officer of the Crown, were high and solemn, and to be performed under a sense of responsibility to God. In the government of Ire land he had the happiness to serve a nobleman whose love for Ireland was only equalled by his zeal to promote her best interests. He returned to her shores not a stranger. His former sojourn bad en deared him to the hearts of the Irish people. He (Mr. Whiteside) believed that the Chief Secretary for Ireland, his noble friend Lord Naas, would apply himself diligently, and be hoped successfully, to the public service and to the promotion of useful mea sures. He also expected, confidently expected, that the Lord Chancellor would maintain on the bench the high reputation be held at the bar, and adminis ter justice to the satisfaction of all parties; and he hoped that the members of the Administration, one and all, would labour to the utmost to promote the good of the country, the happiness of the people, and the glory of the empire. Mr. Whiteside con cluded a lengthened and eloquent address, of which the foregoing is but a summary, by again thanking the electors for the honour done him, and resumed his seat amidst loud and long-continued cheering. PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF WORKS. Nowa LZICKSTRRSHIRE.—Lord John Manners was re-elected on Monday without opposition. The noble lord, in his admirable address to the electors, gave a lucid explanation of the fall of Lord Palmers ton and of the advent of the Conservative party to power. Alluding to the introduction of the Con spiracy Bill and the laying on the table of the Wa• lewski despatch, Lord John Manners remarked : Partly, therefore, from a oonstitntionsl deference to her Majesty's Government, sad partly because we wished to asiagent our abhorrence of the dastardly offence which it bed bass eoagb t to perpetrate in France, we did not oppose Ate wee introduction of the bill. During the discussion qvbioh took place upon that occasion, however, fair warn mg was given to her Majesty's Ministers that the honour of England must be vindicated from the aspersions which bad, at ill events in appearance, been cast upon it, and xbicb voald cop4nuo .to ottocipt to it so 10P0 w tho tls• THE PRESS, MARaz 13, 1858. %patch of Count Walewski remained unanswered. That warning was given in vain. Tan days elapsed, and to that despatch no reply had been made. It had in the mean time been circulated throughout the length and breadth of Europe. There was not a Cabinet in Europe which bad not become aware of the fact that the French Govern. ment had charged the laws and institutions of England with being favourable to the dastardly crime of assassina tion. (Cheers.) Lord Palmerston paid no attention to the circumstance. He pressed on the second reading of his bill, and then it was that Mr. M. Gibson proposed that amendment the terms of which a right hon. friend of mine, Mr. Henley—one of the acutest critics in Parlia ment—pronounced to be as true as gospel, and which was carried against the Minister in a full house by a majority numerically the taros as that which in 18. 2 displaced the Government of Lord Derby. You have all been informed by the speech of that noble lord of the proceedings which were consequent upon the defeat of Lord Palmerston's Administration ; and I feel convinced that no one who has read that speech can fail to perceive that Lord Derby in accepting office, when it was, I may say, absolutely thrust upon him, has done so with a sincere desire and a firm resolve to discharge the onerous duties of his position in the manner most conducive to the maintenance of the dignity of the country, and so as best to subserve the real happiness and prosperity of its people. (Cheers.) - - - - With reference to India Lord J. Manners stated that a measure was now under the careful consideration of a member of the Government in whose knowledge and experience of Indian affairs the people of Eng land may place implicit confidence, and upon par liamentary reform the noble lord remarkad : I see no reason why I, in conjunction with my col leagues, should not when the proper time arrives do my utmost to devise a measure of parliamentary reform which, while it would serve to uphold the equilibrium of the different elements which compose our English social and parliamentary policy, would at the same time tend to rectify admitted abuses, and impart additional stability to those great and time-honoured institutions which have rendered this country the proud abode of tempered liberty and self sustained order. (Loud cheers.) PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. NORTH .—Mr. C. B. Adderley, Pre. sident of the Board of Education, was re-elected on Monday last without opposition. Mr. Adderley, alluding to the recent vote which bad displaced Lord Palmerston from power, expressed his firm convict• tion that the friendship between England and France would not be weakened by that vote. The two great questions with which the new Government would have to deal would be India and Reform. In the reconstruction of the Indian Government, it must be borne in mind that the Government of India must in future be mainly conducted at Calcutta. The two cardinal points to which the Home Govern ment must attend would be the maintenance of a special training for the Government servants in India and the securing Indian patronage front home job bing. With respect to Reform, Mr. Adderley thought that the promise of a Reform Bill from Lord Derby was far more real than any promise made by the last Government : I looked upon it, as I stated here, simply as a juggle between Lord John Russell and Lord Palmerston. I thought that each of the two thimbles was anxious to make the country believe that the pea was under it, in order that the country might take it up. (A laugh.) And I am convinced that a promise from Lord Derby, given under no such pressure, offers a much more certain pro- speet of realisation. As to my own opinions upon this subject, I need but repeat what 1 said in so many words on the hustings at the last election. In a free country like this, admission to the political franchise ought to be the rule, exclusion the exception, and as property and intelligence spread so ought the franchise to be extended pari passe. It is said that Lord Derby is not likely to introduce such a measure as might be expected from true Reformers. I have a great mistrust of those men who call themselves Reformers. I look upon many of them as simple theo rists, mere politicians, men who are prepared to square the institutions of this old country with their new theory of last night, end who have a model taken from America to which they would by some ready and royal process adapt the constitutions of all other countries. 1 can have very little confidence in men such as those who recently met in London, and whose leader stated that representation ought to be in exact proportion to population—a principle which would give to London one-tenth of the representa tion of England, and would almost exclude the whole kingdom of Scotland from what lawyers call entering an appearance in the Legislature of this country. These are the doctrines of theorists who call themselves Reformers. I have much greater faith in men who are taking part in public business, who have a share in the sympathies of the country, and whose doctrines on this great question, if not so universally and abstractedly perfect, are much more likely to be practical and acceptable to the country. (Loud cheers.) CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND. COCKERYOUTH.—Lord Naas, Chief Secretary for Ireland, was re-elected last week without opposition. Lord Naas said : In Ireland there was much to be changed—much that needed reform. There was considerable skill required to prevent party spirit taking ha place al wind and sob,: udgment, and there was ample opportunity for any o wishing to do no to serve his country well. With regard to the future of the present Government, it would be its. possible that he should enter into explanations, or give say programme of the measures which the present Government intended to propose. But he was sure the present Govern. meat would not be above continuing good measures originated by the late Government. The spirit of Partyor of faction would have no place in their counsels, and if they found good measures prepared for them, and a good line of conduct marked out for them, they would be the first to follow it. But they would not follow in the steps of their predecessors if they thought they had been wrong, and would not, for any temporary convenience, carry ou t measures already framed, or bills already drawn, unless they were really for the benefit of the nation. With rega r d to home affairs, the present Government would devote all its consideration to measures of improvement and progress. The opinion of almost every man iu this country was, that the time had come when some advance might be made in our representative institutions ; and he was mire that the men who at present held the administration of affairs would bring to the consideration of that subject a most unbiassed judgment, and would propose such measures m would meet the growing intelligence of the age, as would guarantee extended powers to the people of this country_ powers which, if extended, would not be found Moore patible nith the faithful working of a tree and indepen- dent constitution. He believed the present Government was one which, on all general questions, he could support; bat be would not do so if he could not do so honestly, and without sacrificing his independence. PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TROE. OXFORDSHIRE.—The Right Hon. Mr. Henley, Presi dent of the Board of Trade, was re elected without op position on Saturday last. Mr. Henley, in the course of his address. spoke in favour of the question of Indian administration being at once settled and decided, and against any alteration of the law of asylum for political refugees, but if the law as regarded con spiracy was faulty it should be amended : Great men in the State have some doubt how the law exactly stands. I believe we shall have the best means of judging of that when our justices of the bench jail. cialy, and from the case before them, have given their opinion ; but I very much mistake the opinion and temper of my countrymen if they wish a foreigner to be allowed to carry on here iniquitous machinations without being amenable to the same law as an Englishman would be. PRESIDENT OF THE POOR-LAW BOARD. NORTH Wiurs.—The Right Hon. Sotheron Est court, President of the Poor-law Beard, was re elected last week without opposition. Mr. Estcourt, in him address to the electors, declared himsslf in favour of progressive improvement and of temperate measures of reform, but opposed to organic changes. TREASURER or HER MAJESTY'S HOUSEHOLD. Traoxs.—Lord Claud Hamilton, Treasurer of her Majesty's Household, was on Thursday re-elected for the county Tyrone. In returning thanks, be denied that Lord Derby's policy was one of retro. gression. In his negotiations with a foreign power, Lord Derby would not., like Lord Palmerbton, be swayed by considerations relative to the amount of physical force with which they could support their arguments. As the present Ministry bad not sought for office, neither would they seek to bold it if they found themselves repeatedly thwarted by the fac tious votes of coalitions interfering with the benefi cial exercise of the legitimate functions of Go vernment. LORD OF THE TREASURY. CHICHESTER.—Lord Henry Lennox was re-elected on Saturday without opposition. His lordship, after referring to the late appeal Ito the country on the China question, and commenting upon the events in India and the present affairs in China, touched upon the subject of France, and referred to the attack on the Emperor on the 14th of January last:— That an outcry should take place was but natural, but to the opinion that the plot was hatched in England be would give a flat and unqualified denial, and would m en • Lion the fact that some of the miserable conspirators had actuall resided in France many days before the diabolical attempt, and bad had the temerity to expose the very infernal machines that were to be used. What then be. came of the activity of the much-vaunted French police? (Cheers.) His lordship then proceeded to say that the late de mend-made by the French government was no other than an attempt to add an English trophy to those won from Belgium, Switzerland, and Piedmont: — The Emperor Napoleon was not to blame for that, for his was a despotic Goternment ; and deeming it the most conducive to the welfare of his people, he ought not to be blamed for trying to tuhieve triumphs in its name. Ought we to wonder if be who had obtained his presentf eminence and throne through the name and prestige o his uncle, should gladly obtain by the pen conc e ssio n s which the First Consul and Emperor could not win with all his armed legions? No; Louis Napole on was not intrusted with the maintenance of our hon our—be was not the Minister of England ; but, unluckily for us, he found that England had no Minister, for Lord Palmerston was the willing Minister of France. The noble lord then referred to his vote on the Con. "piney Dill ) and said be believed if to be in tleeer.