The Press. — London, England, 1858-11-13 00:00:00

1108 THE WEEK. Certain of our contemporaries have been trying hard to find fault with Lord DERBY, because he didn't anticipate the Queen's Speech in returning thanks to the Lord Mayor. It is true enough that Lord DERBY, had he been so minded, might have screwed some political capital out of the occasion. A precedent, and a very recent one, was not wanting. It is but one short year ago when the walls of the Mansion-house were ring ing with the applause showered on either a less cautious or a more ne cessitous Minister. Nor were the temptations to a great political mani festo less obvious in 1858 than in 1857. A Reform Bill is even nearer at hand. Cherbourg has become known to the British public. And in one recent action of a foreign Power there lay the excuse for a flourish of defiance, to which the recent warning of M. de MosTAr.EM BERT would have lent additional point. Yet can those who profess wonder at what they style Lord DERBY'S reticence have forgotten the results of Lord PALMERSTON'S loquacity ? Can they have forgotten that it was the un provoked challenge of November the 9th that prepared the minds of Frenchmen to put the worst construction on the atrocity of December the 2nd ? Has it escaped their memory that this example of bad taste and bad judgment on the part of Lord PALMERSTON added one more to his long list of offences in the eyes of independent men, and detracted much from that general good opinion which had borne him through so many storms ? If it has not, we presume that the remarks to which we allude can only have been prompted by a feeling of annoyance that Lord DERBY did not commit the same indiscretion, or exhibit the same eagerness for a momentary cheer. His Lordship's speech was sensible and moderate. Neither shrinking from the profes sion of principles, nor courting popularity by the premature disclosure of details. He stood before his audience—as an Englishman whose word could be trusted, as a Minister who, it was well known, would scorn to purchase a life-long tenure of power by the misrepresentation of a single moment—to tell them on the highest authority what was the existing condition of affairs. They heard from his lips a declaration, which, however gratifying to themselves, they felt they could implicitly rely upon ; and we cannot but think that, in adopting this style of oratory, his Lord ship showed a much truer conception of what a Minister ought to say inter lances mensasque nitentes, than he who either plunges into thorny political details, or soars into martial invectives. Only think of the nightmares which an outline of the Government Reform Bill might have entailed upon one portion of the audience—of the permanent indigestion which an overdose of finance might have inflicted upon others—of the domestic terrors which an unwary allusion to the army and navy might have brought upon a third Verum luee impransi mecum disquirite is what we should observe upon the subject ; and much as we like to hear Lord DERBY at most times, we confess we should rather have been away had he made an official after-dinner speech. Many of our readers must during the last twelve months have fre quently noticed a spectacle in the streets of London which has occasioned them considerable perplexity, not always intermingled with danger. The ear of the passer-by is now continually liable to be assailed by sudden, wild, and unfamiliar cries, as though he were being warned of some great impending danger—a house about to fall upon him, or a mad dog bearing down upon his calves. He becomes aware at the same time of a more than usually violent tumbling and crushing among the street vehicles. If an elderly gentleman, and engaged in getting over a crossing, the con sequences may perhaps be serious. But at best the effect is highly irritating and disagreeable. On looking up or do wn the street, as the case may be, he will observe some three or four lumbering vehicles dashing madly along, not racing, but with apparently no purpose whatever—while the drivers and conductors thereof are exercising their lungs and their invention by an interchange of the choicest slang, and oath following upon oath like the bullets from a revolver. We have often paused in astonishment at one of these absurd and vexatious exhibitions. But as we never had time to sit down upon a bench, like Sir IBAAC NEWTON, and think the phenomenon out, we remained in ignorance of its import up to the present week. How ever, on taking up Monday's journals, we found no less than two columns and a half devoted to the solution of this enigma. The cause of all this unusual disturbance turns out to be merely the existence of two rival omnibus companies—an explanation which to any but the true philosopher might possibly have occurred sooner. But the interesting question which arises out of the quarrel is not quite 9) commonplace. It is, whether " nursing " is or is not contrary to law. It seems that whenever one of the new, or Saloon Company's vehicles, starts upon its journey, four of the old Metropolitan Company's are immediately started to accompany it. So pressing are their attentions, that a passenger trying to get into the first omnibus is frequently in danger of being impaled on the pole of the pursuer ; while throughout the progress horrid yells are kept up which tend to the advantage of the " nurses, " inasmuch as eight men can shout louder than two. The result of all this, of c ourse , i s , th a t th e d r i vers o f th e Saloon omnibus are in turn so " druv " by this incessant persecution, and the proprietors so nearly ruined, that they have determined to bring the thing to an end, if possible. And a sort of preliminary inquiry is now going on before Mr. PAYNTER. The cross-examination of the conductors, if it ever comes to that, will, to some extent, compensate the public for the annoyance to which they have so long been subjected. THE PRESS, NOVEMBER 13, lB5B. The universal approval bestowed on one of the most recent acts o Lord DERBY'S Government—the permanent embodiment of the Militia Artillery—is honourable alike to all parties, and evinces the ch ange i n public feeling which has taken place of late years with regard to th at national institution, the Militia force. Few persons could now be found so unpatriotic or so prejudiced as to quote with satisfaction DRirnEs'sunjust and bitter lines:— Mouths without hands, maintain'd at vast expense ; In peace a charge, in war a weak defence ; Stout, once a month they march, a blust'ring band, And ever, but in times of need, at hand. Under a Constitutional Government the liberties of the people can never be endangered by a standing army, any more than the Government itself can be imperilled by placing arms in the hands of the people. The only true and enduring form of a commonwealth is where every class is concerned in the welfare of the others, and all are ready to co-operate for the common good. The natural exponent of this feeling, as regards the defence of the country from internal disturbances and from foreign invasion, is the Militia force, consisting of free-born citizens armed and equipped at the expense of the State. At present we are happily free from all dissensions within, and no man, while enjoying the good things that fall to his own lot, is disposed to grudge his neighbour the possession of a larger share of worldly prosperity. Abroad, too, the political atmosphere is apparently clear and unclouded ; but who shall answer for the continuance of its serenity? How often within the last few years have not men's minds been disturbed by the announcement of a small black speck on the horizon just rising above the sea ? Hitherto the storm has spent its fury before reaching these favoured shores; but it would be presumptuous thence to infer that we stand secure and inaccessible. An experienced statesman, as well as an eloquent writer, only the other day raised a friendly voice of warning from across the Channel. Count DE MOSTALEMBERT has frankly told us that we have more reason to expect danger from Europe than from Asia. It is not in Hindostan that we have to apprehend the greatest peril, but at our own doors. That we arc not popular on the Continent is notorious to all who have ever crossed the waters that have hitherto proved our chief bulwark of defence. Our " advancing and prosperous freedom," we are told, "has " created in Europe a common ground of animosity" against this country. Influenced by such motives, Ministers have acted wisely and with com mendable foresight in giving permanence to one great and invaluable in strument of defence ; and it must be gratifying to them to observe how justly the measure they have taken has been appreciated by men of the most opposite views in political matters. Our readers may have noticed that for some time past we have not ceased to call their attention to a particular class of police cases as often as they occurred. We mean those in which persons in a respectable station of life are taken into custody for " interrupting the police in the discharge of their duty." If the reader will refer to the daily papers of Thursday last, they will there find the details of a case of this description. Two respectably dressed men, named BROWN and TEE, belonging, as it seems, to the lower middle class, were in the pit of the Britannia Theatre. A dis turbance arose among the audience, and the police interfered to restore order. One of them on getting into the middle of the crowd was assailed, as he asserts, by most offensive language, and on endeavouring to turn out the offender, was struck by the prisoner TEE, who he alleged to be ver y muchintoxicated. Another policeman, going to his assistance, declared that he was struck two violent blows by BROWN, and both prisoners were accordingly given into custody. Now mark what took place before the magistrate " Sergeant BOWLER deposed to its being a scene of very greatconfn m - on, and seeing BROWN deliberately strike HEATH. TEE was both intoxi cated. and violent.—TEE denied the whole of this. He was not intoxicated, unless tea, ham, and eggs, which were all that he had had, could make him so. His character was well known to be totally different from violent, and, though he might certainly have raised his hand to the officer, it was done gently, and to deprecate the violence of the latter, who was dragging the other man away. The conduct of the officers was brutal ; they knocked the people about like beasts.—BßOWN declared he had never raised his hand at all; the evidence of the police was the grossest perjury; he had never heard anything like it." We are sorry to say that we have. But the difficulty is to see how the magistrate can come to the assistance of the injured person under such circumstances. Mr. IYEYNCOURT did all that could be done. lie was not, as too many magistrates are, satisfied to take the policeman s oath against any other man. Ile sent for the inspector on duty at the station to which the prisoners had been taken, and, on his confirming th e statement of his associates, the magistrate had nothing for it but to act , and fined the defendants accordingly. Now the sending for the inspector was , a very right and proper thing to dosed Buis custodiet ipso: custodes ChV ln g._ a policeman by an inspector is like checking a cook by a policeman . • ue.,_`; are, of course, some miracles of honesty whose virtue is inaccessible tolnu. charm of cold pie, or to the nobler temptation of esprit du corps . f o rc e 16 these are rare birds indeed; and we fear that among this black sheep are more common than swans of that colour. But, sero.u s _ l Y: we would . call upon all persons who are unfortunate enough to find them we selves in the proximity of " a row " to remember these two pom . ts -11 " nic of . all, that it is too much to expect from officers engaged in quieting so,_ violent and possibly mischievous knot of fellows that they should exercf" . any very . subtle discrimination of character upon the crowd around tne,w_. gallant. Even in their calmest moments, there are few of them capable of that nicety of judgment which would be required to insure us takes on such occasions. And, in the next place, we must remember that it is only natural for them to put down any excitement of deineanou against all t.i.a • 1 • 5 1 5 1 •