The Press. — London, England, 1854-06-24 00:00:00

No. 60.—VoL. 11. LONDON, SATURDAY, JUNE 24, 1854. Vrtss. Lord ABERDEEN does not find himself in the position of Lord GREY. His colleagues are indeed selected from two parties, but there is no identity of sentiment between them, except upon one subject, which has entirely disap peared from the political stage, and therefore no longer affects conduct. On every im portant topic of external or internal interest there are equally important differences among the members of the present Cabinet. Lord ABERDEEN does not agree with Lord JOHN RUSSELL on our foreign policy; Lord JOHN RUSSELL does not agree with Lord PALMERSTON on Paliamentary Reform ; Lord PALMERSTON does not agree with Sir WILLIAM MOLESWORTH on election by ballot; Sir WILLIAM MoLEs- WORTH does not agree with Mr. GLADSTONE on Church Rates. No one can name any ques tion of first-rate importance on which the existing Cabinet is unanimous. Very shortly after the formation of the Ministry, Lord JOHN RUSSELL, a friend of religious liberty, expresso& his opinions very frankly on the aggressive policy of the Court of Rome, and the consequent danger to the civil liber ties of Europe. Upon this, three inferior placemen, who were Papists, resigned their offices, and, as their retirement would then have been injurious to the Government, Lord ABERDEEN actually wrote a deprecatory letter to these third-rate subordinates, entreating them to retain their posts, as the sentiments of Lord JOHN RUSSELL which had offended them were " not shared by many of his " colleagues"! Some of the fruits of a Coalition among public men, who are not homogeneous, are, indeed, these sudden and scandalous seces sions from office, and returns to duty as in explicable and abrupt. The Roman Catholic members of the Administration struck in the spring; in the autumn Lord PALMERSTON retired, and sulked, like ACHILLES, for ten days. The fashion now is to say that his Lordship never resigned, only remonstrated ; but these mythical exponents of his insubor dination forget that he not only resigned, but that his office was offered to another, and refused. This year Lord Joi( himself, it is understood, quitted the Administration for at least a day, and returned in hysterics. Now it is the respectable Mr. BAINES who is the evidence of internal dissensions, and now the decorous Mr. STRUTT. No wonder that measures fail when they are prepared by agents so discordant. Seven members of the Administration have been in revolt during its brief existence, and the same number of first-class measures have been de feated. This week another is to be added to the list. Not content with their mishaps on Parliamentary Reform, Education, Poor Law, Civil Service, Redemption of the Debt, Par liamentary Oaths, our accomplished Ministers have thought fit to introduce a Police Bill, — have aroused the country, and, frightened by the impending storm, have already withdrawn their project. The week has been indeed disastrous. On every Government night the occupants of the Treasury bench have been covered with disgrace. On Monday, with con cealed or downcast visages, they listened to the marvellous " explanation " of Mr. Sraurr, which touched their private honour; on Wed nesday, deserted by his party, and himself throwing over Mr. GLADSTONE, Lord JOHN RUSSELL made a true-blue speech in favour of Church Rates, and headed a majority of 209, of which the Ministerial side of the House fur- LONDON, SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 1864. His Highness Prince MErrEarneir, at the spe cial and personal request of his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of AUSTRIA, has embo died in a State paper his view of the arrange- ments which, in the present condition of affairs, may conduce to "a just and honour " able peace." We have reason to believe that these views have been communicated, although not offi cially, to the Earl of ABERDEEN ; and that little doubt prevails, from previous commu nications that have taken place, that they will be substantially adopted by the English Minister. The prospects of a speedy termination of hostilities are very favourable. Tea condition of the political world is uneasy, restless, and, in the fullest sense of the epithet, unsatisfactory. No one is pleased : the Ministers, the Parliament, the country, are alike discontented. Nobody knows exactly why, but everybody murmurs. Down ing -street is as querulous as St. Stephen's; and the Royal Exchange and Manchester are as dissatisfied as official men and members of the House of Commons. Why is all this ? The war is not unpopular, provided it were prosecuted with any vigour or purpose ; the state of trade might be better, but it has often been much worse with less repining; the summer is not brilliant, but there is no deluge. The fact is that we are just begin ning to comprehend that " England does not love Coalitions." In a country like ours, periodical recon structions of parties are inevitable and ad vantageous. But the reconstruction of one party, and the coalition of two parties, are very different things. When Lord PALMERSTON, Lord MELBOURNE, Mr. CHARLES GkLNT, and the other followers of Mr. CANNING, united themselves with Lord GREY in 1830, the Whig party was successfully reconstructed on a broad basis, with rich materials, and in a strictly constitutional manner. The chief of the Cabinet and the followers of Mr. CANNING were in perfect unison on all the principal subjects of foreign and domestic policy. They took their stand on the French alliance, and a large measure of parliamentary reform with its legitimate consequences. Their clear and distinct policy was favoured by the coun try, and, though it may sound paradoxical to say so, the only infirmity of their parlia mentary position was, that they were too strong. moo zet t rt 6,5 j,..r - - PRICE SIXPENCE. Dished only twenty-six members ! Bu t Thursday seemed the crown of his dis ()matures. The management of the House escaped out of his hands. Accepting battle on a clause on which his chance was always bad, and beaten ignominiously, he declined, in despair, fighting on another which he dis approved, and which involved the most im portant consequences. The Opposition in sisted on resistance, and forced the faint hearted Lord President to support them, and then it turned out that the foe he thought irresistible was vanquished! Such repeated instances of want of power and want of judgment would iu ordinary times be sufficient to destroy a Government. But these are not ordinary times. They are times which require unexampled vigour, admirable skill, and irresistible strength on the part of an Administration—unanimous councils, a confiding Parliament, and a devoted country. . It is impossible to conceal from ourselves the danger to our system of public life which must be the consequence of the present state of affairs continuing. Ours is a Government of opinion ; parties embody and organise opinions. At present " the Government of opinion" has no opinion. Office must be the lot of a few ; power a still rarer possession. The main reward of the great majority in a free community is to witness the triumph of their principles. No wonder there is general dissatisfaction with a state of affairs which deprives a free people of their most precious right. The struggle to establish and promul gate their convictions is the surest source of public spirit, and the best security for public liberty. Without this ennobling incentive all would subside into indifferen.-e, or sink into corruption ; the Houses of Parliament would faithfully represent the tainted and spiritless community ; and so it would go on, until there came some great crash, the natural re action from our supine depravity. Lord JOHN RUSSELL said on Wednesday that, if the Bill for the Remission of Church Rates were car ried, the institutions of the country would be endangered. He might with more truth have said that the Constitution is imperilled if the Coalition continue. WHERE IS MR. COI3DEN NOW? THE age has outgrown the period when com missions of young gentlemen were appointed for the investigation of social subjects. If such were not the case, we would ere now have had to record that the Radical portion of the Cabi net had named some of its country cousins or its younger brothers from the Temple on a committee for ascertaining what has become of Mr. COBDEN. Once upon a time a vast por tion of political capital stood to the credit of that name. It would appear either that th• value of the stock has greatly declined or else that it has been egregiously misapplied. Some assert that it is " an open secret" (as the Ger. mans say) that the Peace Society has made away with it in wild speculations. It is whis pered that the Cobden stock has been lout in voyages in search of Utopia and the New Atlantis ; and it is insinuated that, as the North-West Passage has been found, Mr. Cos- DEN desired to make himself illustrious by discovering the countries described by MORE and HARRINGTON. r hi