The Press. — London, England, 1853-08-13 00:00:00

AUGUST 13, 1853. usual resembling the English which plain men are accustomed to speak and write—such are the characteristics of Mr. Carlyle's "Ocea sional Discourse." which is substantially a reprint, with additions, of au article dating as far back as 1549. Method and order in the work there is none ; but its leading arguments are these. The West Indian negroes, says Mr. Carlyle, are worse oft than in the time of slavery, worse otr—inanonneh as it is better for a man to be overworked than idle—better to sutler oppression than to live in sensual indolence, doing nothing, and cumboing the earth. Fruitful lands lie uncultivated, lands not ori ginally belonging to the African immigrants, but conquered with the blood, and improved by the skill, of Englishmen. Money raised from English working-men has been lavished in order that a semi-savage race might gratify their natural taste for inaction, undeterred either by fear of punishment or fear of want. Nothing is done to train this nice and raise it in the social scale. On the contrary, it retrogrades visibly ; yet England looks on applauding, and the sueeess of emancipation is held as a fact undoubted. Here is the state of things in this year 's3—where shall we turn for a remedy ? "To immigration," answers the practical man ; and planters impatient for labour take up the cry. But such common place remedies do nut suit Mr. Carlyle's genius. He assumes that immigration must mean immigration from Africa, and forthwith propounds the query, " What will you do if " your immigrants turn out as idle as the " settled population? You will oily be estab " lishing a . Nark Ireland—strengthening the " elements of barbarism which you want to " destroy." But this objection—perfectly just, though by no means novel, when applied to the importation of Bozal negroes from the west coast—is nugatory as regards Coolies and Chinese, on whom, but especially the latter, we believe our planters must hencefialli in great measure rely. Labour can be had, though by paying dear for it : and until of late the chief obstacle to its being obtained has lain in the Colonial-office. Mr. Carlyle, how ever, is too full of his own project to discuss this contingency. In filet, his ostensible sub ject, the negro question, is merely a peg whereon to hang a new social theory. "No " man," he lays it down, " has a right to eat " who does nut work "—which is very much the doctrine of the French Communists. All men, therefore, should be induced, encouraged, and, if need be, compelled, to work. How compelled, we are not very clearly told ; but the principle is of universal application, for we learn that "Europe is taking extensive " measures, as at Paris, Berlin, and elsewhere, " to get its rich white men set to work." "The " thing must be done everywhere : must is " the word. Only it is so terribly diffieult to "do !" Difficult certainly; and, if practicable, destructive of that principle of individual free (loin which Mr. Carlyle systematically under values, but which we hold to have been the great instrument of modern civilisation. How are men to be compelled to work, except in a model prison or a French phalanstere! The approximation to such a scheme of universal compulsory labour, in the case of the. West Indies, is to reduce the negro population to at state of serfdom—bind them as " adscripti glebte," and exact from them a certain amount of yearly labour-tribute for the benefit of the State. What this means we do not exactly understand : if a mere road tax, or other local impost, such as that which Sir E. Tennent in troduced into Ceylon, the idea is feasible enough ; if, as the words would rather imply, a kind of vassalage, accompanied with prohi bition to change their residence, WO suspect that neither Sir C. Grey nor any of his succes sors would find it easy to carry out such a measure. And this is the sole remedy which Mr. Carlyle has to suggest for the social and financial evils of the British sugar-islands ! In some of our author's remarks we cor dially agree, as where he tells us that American emancipation, to succeed, must be gradual, the slave not being set wholly free at once, but caused to pass through an intermediate stage of modified servitude or dependence. On the slave trade, too, Dir. Caslyle's views, THE PRESS. though opposed to the traditions of diplomacy. are sound and reasonable. " Strike." he says. "at the root. Don't iraste lives and ships on "an African blockade ; but d ea l w ith th e " slave-importing eountries—enba and Brazil. " They art the responsible authors of all this " mischief Most thi n ki ng people'.—lf hen•stealin pre % ail to a plainly unendurable extent, will you station at evvry hennaed : and keep thou watelting :mil cruising incestutntly tee and f►o over the pettish. in the WM hob, saute dark, at enormous expt nse. with almost no effect ? tkr will yun not try rather to discover when• the fox' s d en is, and kill doe fox ! Which of those two things will you the? Moat ti t i n ki ttg people, yon know the fox and laden: then• he bun, and discharge your cruiser% auti police•e etchers Speteheo, Parliamentary and iliseellaneinm, by the Right Hon. T. R. Maeau London: ('lntl.►•, Becton, and Co. Wm are not at all sorry that at least one edition of Mr. Macaulay'a spceehes should have been thus issued without his personal superintendence. In the ease of so strong a partisan, and so seven. a critic upon many of the " Peolites," we are etortaitt that, if the matter were entirely in his own power, Mr. Altwattlit)'s •'snp►eriutendeuee" would have la_'eu synonymous with summation or some at least of those speeeltes. We doubt. ti►r example, whether of his own accord he would like to reprint those three attacks on Sir .lames Graham's "spy system" which we find here, and in one or which the member ter Edinburgh spoke of the present First Lord of the Admiralty—" I say that there is a wide distinction between the toomluet of the right honourable gentle man t Sir J. (Ingham) anal that of any ps•rsons who have preceded hiu► in Akio"! 107.) Some other very invidious passages in the arraign ment of Lord Aberdeen and Sir J. tiraham will perhaps require special annotations in Mr. Macau lay's •• authorised" edition. Neither will Sir .lames tintham like to n•ad the passage (vol. .141) in which Mr. Macaulay fastens on the assertion of the member for Carlisle " that ho (Sir -lames ttraliantl said that ho was pledged to William IV., or some body else, vet to alter the ReArut We will deter our estimate of Mr. Macaulay a s a parliamentary speaker mail we have the opportunity of comparing the two editions of his speeches. We shall wait with entiosity to see whether he will otter any explanation of the eontratlictions that. appear in his public life. We could cite several, but w e content ourselves with pointing to his elaborate onslaughts against. O'Connell and the Repealer% in 114:1:1, and his attacks on the Conservative Cabinet in 1544 for its having vmseented the Agitator. it is worthy of ape cial notice that. 31r. Macaulay, two years before the ill-starred Lichtteld-house compact, told ri'onnell that he should never succeed in searing or haunt • dating the Whigs" (vol. i., p. Thus, the member for Edinburgh, though eminent as a re viewer and historian, cannot lay claim to distinction as a prophet—an office which he seems to aspire to, from the oracular manner in which he propounds ambiguities. Hut, as we have intimated, tve shall defer our critical estimate of his claims to the title of " an orator." and conclude by saying that, in the ease of one who has been so memiless a critic to his political adversaries, we are not sorry that rut inde pendently-published edition like the present. is in existence to riattintl him that, with all his brilliancy anal versatile faculties, he ham tuade Its great mistakes in judging of "men anti things" as others of his eontemporaries, to whose errors or shortcomings he has shown little of that forbearance which, after all. he most ask for in his own case. Nu;;onby. A Tale of Trott'dons Thne4. Second F.dition. London : .1. Whitaker. Timm: is something very pleasing in the calm tone and smoothly-flowing style of this historical novel ; and we are not surprised ut its having meek much general appreciation as is shown when an anonymous work appears in a " second edition." The " troublous time" is '45, the plot of the story introducing "tho Chevalier" on the English side of the Border; and tho bemniful scenery of our north. ern counties is picturesquely described with all the feeling of a poetical mind. Amongst the real histo rical characters depicted are John Wesley and the Countess of Huntingdon, who are portrayed with a grace of manner and delicacy of touch that show the author of " Ponsonby" has nothing in commmon with that sign-painting class of novelists who daub all their strung subjects without regard to chasteness of colour, or truth to nature. The pictorial skill and pleasing sentiment that we find in this writer induce its to look forward with interest to his next publica tion. d Letter to the Archbishop .!Dublin on Miss SeUon's Establishment at Plymouth, Sc., Sc. By the Rev. W. 6. Cookesley. Fifth Edition. London: Ridg way. Tuts edition of Mr. Cookesley's correspondence with the archbishop contains. in addition to former mate rials, a letter from I►r. l'usey, with Mr. Cookesley's reply, and the pamphlet tl u ►s amplified is commended to all who watch with a►tsiety the development of a not nalotts principles and of foreign institutions within the boson► of the English ('lunch. It deserves attentive pentsal, as it will probably h i l oro l ong l ea d to further inquiries on the subject of these establish ments. The Happy Premier. Cabinet Melodrame. By Nemo. London : Kent and Co. .t In in illustration of this motto : - - .fine bed Itin till! itNeilrii it 14Ia1 bell a rows The Thane hiniself—one I 'olonins "—Misty, Berna l'::, and .lean the Iteiver, bear a singular rementblanee to certain characters to whose perfigimuices we have inirseli es called attention. The plot is an imbroglio, in whieh the 11MM:1h. piTSlOnte appear to be at ero:o4 TOIITOSC , , Mid Hhieh bass no clear dinaufairat : but the cultse that such are the perplexities of existing personages, mid thin the author has studiously copied nature. available in its behalf. ‘le wish every success to this new drainittie artist. A Stll: ry is being formed under title of the " to= n nes Institute," which, if successful, will supply an obvious want in our popular educational institu • boas. It is, in fact , intended to WINO as a national school of geography, and to be the means o f thr o wi n g open to the public, under the fewest possible restric tions. a vast collection of gtstgraphieal end etistito graphical knowledge at present accessible only to professed *grans. The virtual author of this when' s , is Mr. Wyld, the geographer, who has transferred to the institute his celebrated globe in Leicester-square, with the models, maps. sod books appertain ing thereto; a property which, with the buildings. is estimated at upwards of :HyNNIL These 'loadings it is proposed to enlarge, and also to increase the collection of seitlitilie works, until it boesittivit what it, is nltimately destined tole, a museum and repertory of geographical learning. We understand that the capital of the new company under whose auspices this plan is to his carried out will not exceed 50.01101. The shares will be of the valno of 11. each, and the pos session of a share will confer the perpetual right of Recess to the collection. A charter will shortly be obtained, the capital required is expected to be raised without. difficulty, and we believe that the new build ings will be proeeeded with immediately. dint ;Alts. 1:1:ENC1I FItESCO PAINTINGS. AFTER the construction of buildings, their pictorial adornment in fresco is the most important tines tion,—one bearing largely on the education and reereation of the people. In France art has been largely encouraged by almost every succeeding (4)- I.m-foment, and our Parrs contemporaries justly ob serve that the average price paid now for a pletare to the lending artists of the day is far higher than that obtained formerly ley the rarest talent. Nicolas Ponssin, the first painter of France, obtained for his Penitence" only WM yens Itomains, viz., Ltltrif., while the present price for a good pieture in Furls is 10,11(/Of. This general liberality on the part of tin. vernment not private individuals has mightily re• llected on public works and their decoration. Thum, the e• Ilomi•rn" of M. Ingres. in the Music Charles X., is one of the finest phsfundst ever painted in molten) times. The three chapels of Notre I►ame de Lorette, painted by Messrs. (lased, linger, and l'enin, bear also is very high character. To the same class belong the mural paintings of the IlAtel de Ville by Messrs. Lehmann, Leon Bentonville, Calomel, Lendel, and Chopin. In a similar way the Kglise de la Villete has been orna►nented by M. Itain►ond, and the Chapel de Saint Severin by M. Selinete—works which outstrip all that has been attempted in other capitals of Europe. These works have now received a worthy accession in the fresco paintings of M. Signal in the Eglise St. Eustuche, as well as that remark able decoration of the interior of the Church of St. Vincent de Dane by Messrs. Picot and Fharlain. In the latter edifice the architect, M. llittdorf; has followed the plan of the Latin Bud liens, and it was required that the pictorial ornamen tation should he adapted thereto. In placing our se•lves in the tuition° of the great nave, and directing our steps toward: the entrance, we see on the frieze the apo,tles St. l'etet• and I'aul, who from the height of aplatform pruelanu their faith, and command those