The Press. — London, England, 1857-07-04 00:00:00

I 642 measure which never can become law until the Radicals have more independent spirit, or until the Conservatives have lost both their social power and their public spirit, which at I I present save England from the infliction of a measure suited possibly to the circumstances of other countries and of other periods, but whbli is entirely unreasonable in a people where publicity is the social law paramount in political affairs. The cnly interesting circumstance in the discussion on Tuesday was the striking con trast between the style of the speeches deli vered by Lord JOHN RUSSELL and by the CHANCELLOR of the EX:HFQUER. The first made an admirable speech—keen, close, and practical in its views, and inspired by a manly tone. It was fluent, forcible, and ready, and was warmly cheered by the Conserva tives. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was relieved of a powerful piece of prose on the same side of the question. It was as pon derous as if intended for a cyclopedia, meant to be sold, but not to be read ; and it was deli vered as solemnly as if the Right Honourable Gentleman were speaking the funeral oration of the Cabinet It was good matter spoiled by a bad manner; a didactic literary exercita tion, not a persuasive political address. Its stilted solemnity did not command the atten tion ; its valuable illustrations, and s•,me were of high merit, were thrown away for want of ease, variety, and graceful art on the part of the ineffective speaker. Dissertation much differs from debate. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER disclaimed being influenced by popular objections to the Ballot, " not because I think that voting by " Ballot is un-English or unmanly, but " because in one form it is utterly irreconcil " able with the habits of this country." But surely that which is " utterly irreconcilable" with English habits may fairly be called un- English. " Habits," moreover, are of the utmost importance. National character is of more value than any positive institution whatever. When some of the Whigs in 1809 praised the measures of NAPOLEON in Spain, as tending to civilise that retrograde country, a Conservative statesman indignantly told them, " National feeling, iu every country that " had n history and a name, was prior to and " paramount, over all desire of political anie " lioration." So with secret suffrage in Eng land. It is not enough to see only what the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER perceives, that the Ballot would not work practically with Eng lish habits. We should look further and deeper. We should know that even if it, could work for a season with English habits, it would be at peril to their manners and that traditional spirit which are the support of this country's greatness. But English habits would either destroy, or be destroyed, by secret suffrage. Gentlemen of opposite sides, and all persons of spirit, would wear rosettes, or adopt some particular method of showing for whom they polled. In that ease " Ballot" would be an imposture. On the supposition that its secrecy could be practicable, we must first believe that English love of open dealing, English dislike of underhand proceedings, and English aversion to foreign customs, must all be changed. That is to say, in order that the Ballot should succeed, England must be denationalised, lts partial application would be a mere mockery; its positive success would be a real revolution. We cannot, however, blind our eyes to the fact that there is a most un-English party in this country. There are, unhappily, a large nutnber of our countrymen who regard them• selves as mcro citizens of the world. They care nought or littlo for the inspiring recol lections, or the grand old institutions, which have made England what it is. Consistent patriots of tl , e world alone, And friends of every country but their own. This party, for such it is, looks to numbers, platforms, and simulated public opinion for overbearing the wisdom of tl►e Legislature. Although they do not at present dominate in affairs, they exercise a dangerous influence visible in naives for [be;•alism," into dose and the hyposwiy of the Whigs is v • tbaJLastAksat thel• fly to the Cunserva aid against this anti-English" Libi while on some questions they enter THE PRESS, JULY 4, 1857. alliance with these advocates of levelling views. It is to Conservatism, and to Conservatism alone, that the people of England must look for the preservation of all that is great in their character as a nation, and all that is glorious in the institutions of the realm. If secret suffrage, and all the long train of questions of which " Ballot " is only the precursor, were passed, the greatest of revolutions, that of opinion and sentiment, would have begun; and in CANNING'S words we would have to say : Though wealth gild our cities, commerce crowd our shores, London may shine, but ENGLAND is no more. THE MILITIA. WE desire to call the attention of our readers to a very suggestive article on this subject which has appeared in the recent number of Fraser's Magazine. We cmfess we are not sorry that circumstances should have occurred to revive the consideration of this ancient and useful force. None can doubt the capabilities of the Militia who witnessed the excellent discipline and soldierly appearance of nume rous militia regiments during the late war Nor is it a very extravagant supposition that they would have shown themselves quite as efficient in the field as the young untrained recruits of the line who in the assaults on Sebastopol confessed their inability to dis charge their own rifles. For home service, such as the suppression of riots, or attend ance on ceremonials, a militia regiment would perform all the duties of regular soldiers, without exciting anything like the same jealousy. And certainly in the remote, but still not impossible, event of a foreign inva sion, a well-trained militia would feel, in addition to the general patriotism and esprit du corps of the linesman, a special interest in the defence of actually existing homes with stationary families and property. We are not alarmists. In fact, we have all along sought to cool down the excessive military ardour of certain of our contempo raries, and to throw discredit on the idea that Europe was " a vast volcano " or a " hotbed of rebellion," and such like rubbishing rhetoric. But we must not be seduced into the opposite extreme. It is a circumstance worthy of notice that within little more than a twelve month of the Treaty of Peace England has been involved in three successive wars. Intelli gence arrived yesterday of an outbreak at Naples—probably suppressed by this time, but a symptom, nevertheless, that we cannot afford to disregard. And during the past year we have not been altogether free from dangers ' on our Caffrarian frontier. Under these cir cumstances the mode of placing our military service on the most efficient footing becomes a proper subject of inquiry, and we trust that dui ing the recess this question may receive full and unprejudiced investigation. The two most obvious and practical diffi culties in the way of turning our Militia to more account are, first, the expense, and, secondly, the inconvenience of withdrawing our population from agricultural labour. On the first point we shall only say briefly that we have excellent reasons for believing the objection invalid. These colum n s are not the place for a long arithmetical demonstra tion ; but we fancy it will be found on in quiry that we should positively save money rather than lose it by the employment of the Militia. Supposing it possible to give the latter an efficient training, it is clear that their numbers would he such as to enable us mate rially to reduce the regiments of the line in time of peace, and in time of war to dispense with so large an increase as usual. These are matters of detail that must of course be worked out hereafter ; but we entertain no doubt of the justice of our own anticipations. The second objection is truer, as far as it goes, but then it goes a very little way. Twenty-eight days in the year, Sundays and other inevitable interruptions deducted, are confessedly quite insufficient to make, we do not say an actual soldier, but even a soldier in posse. But, us is well suggested by the writer in Fraser, if the recruits cannot go to the sergeant, there is no reason why the sergeant should not come to them. Half holiday drills in the less busy times of the year is the expedient he suggests, derived front the practice of the Swiss. In this there would be a double advantage—agricultural work would suffer but a slight interruption, and, on the other hand, we should get rid of the billet ing system, with all its drawbacks of drunken ness and license, one month of which is suffi cient to convert a tolerably steady village lad into a confirmed profligate. The whole neigh bourhood, too, lookers-on as well as actors, would then acquire something of a martial spirit. And what harm would accrue to the country if our peasants were able to stand upright, walk in step, and hit a mark six times out of ten instead of three, we are at a loss to comprehend. Of professional objections to the employ ment of the Militia we shall only say simply that those who entertain them ought to be ashamed of them. The author of the essay in Fraser has very properly treated them with silent contempt ; and we can only hope that when his plans are a little more matured he will favour the public with his views on this important question. THE INDIAN MUTINIES. MR. DISRAELI was quite right when he said in the House of Commons on Monday that the first thing to be done in regard to the Indian mutinies was to put them down, no matter at what cost of men and money to the State. When this is effected, we trust that nothing will be allowed to prevent a full, com plete, and searching inquiry into the causes which have led to so disastrous and so discre ditable a revolt. The readers of this journal will have no difficulty in guessing at them, be cause they are the very fruits which we have all along proclaimed that the mismanagement of the Government must sooner or later pro duce; and, however criminal the Sepoys may have been, their guilt is morally of a tar lighter dye than that of their rulers, whose miscon duct has brought about the crisis, by acting in defiance of the warnings they have so re peatedly received. More than once did the late Sir CHARLES NAPIER, when Com mander-in-Chief in India, tell tile Government there what its mismanagement would lead to, but the only reception his warn ings met with was mockery and jeers. Others of high rank and great experience have pressed similar views on its attention, but always have their representations been at tended with the like ill-success. General TUCKER, the late Adjutant-General in Bengal, distinctly informs us, through the columns of the Times, that this very question about the cartridges could never have arisen had the Government of India but attended to his and the Commander-in-Chiefs advice. The Govern ment, however, as if in the very wantonness of the power with which it seems to have been Latterly intoxicated, set the admonition at de fiance and pursued its course. To the Ei►glishman, the prejudice may seem absurd which makes it so obnoxious to the Sepoy to be compelled to handle a cartridge greased with materials which he cannot touch without loss of caste. People here appear to think that less of caste is a mere trifling matter, similar at the worst to being cut at Brookes's or White's Loss of caste in India, however, and in England, are very different things. The dreadful ostracism to which the time•expired convict is here liable is the nearest approach, but even that is a very faint approach, to the ostracism entailed on the Hindoo by loss of caste Excommunication, as enforced in the early Christian Churches, is the only thing that at all resembles it. By it the man becomes an outcast, and never more can be associated with by his family or friends. No house in the village will receive him ; no one will eat or drink any more from vessels polluted by his touch. His wife and children will no longer dwell with him ; they are sepa- rated from him for ever by the law. Ho is incapable of inheriting property of any kind.