The Press. — London, England, 1858-05-29 00:00:00

518 TO CORRESPONDENTS. Avertisements sent from the country must he accompanied by remittance or a reference fur payment in town. THE PRESS, MAY 29, 1858. ment. He could not rely now so much upon the pacific policy of the Government as he had done. The house was now going to consider the army esti mates, and the policy of disbanding the militia—men who hail been well disciplined were to be discharged at a time when the best part of our veteran troops had been sent out to India. He could not, however, imagine that such a course would be adopted by the Government if they believed this country was in danger of war at any moment—so imminent, indeed, that when the Government came into office war was not a question of weeks or days, but of hours. (Hear.) He hoped ho should be allowed to say that he believed both the people of this country and the people of France, taking them in the main, were sin cerely and cordially disposed to keep and maintain the peaceful relations existing at present between the two Governments. ( Hear, hear.) They did not believe that war would be of any commercial ad vantage, or irnprave communication, or add to the maintenance of civilizathn ; but that friendly rela tions warded off those many evils, burdens, and dangers which under another state of things would fall upon thorn. He fully believed that both nations were inclined to peace, and the great difficulty would he either in France or England to induce the nations to take up arms without there being the most serious cause of dispute. (Hear, hear.) He should be glad to know what was the meaning of those ominous sentiments of the right hon. gent.eman, and it this country were upon the brink of a war how it was that the Government were not makirig greater prepara tions to meet it. (Hear, hear.) The right hon. gentleman said in another part of his speech that there had been an endeavour to promote hostilities between Sardinia and Naples, and that that had been done with a view of upsetting the present Government. (Hear, hear.) Now the right hon. gen tlnnan should explain what he meant, for he (Lord John Russell) would repeat that there had been great forbearance shown to the Government on that side of the house, and a feeling had existed that this country should not betray or abandon Sardinia. (Hear, bear.) Though there was no desire to destroy the Govern ment, there was a desire to see those people released. ( Hear, hear.) 'There was another subject to which lie would refer. The right lion. gentleman stated to his constituents that the policy pursued in India by the late Government was a policy of extermination— that we should have to keep a force of Europeans there four times larger than that ever maintained there before, and that they were going to rule by force alone, without showing discriminating policy, and taking the chance of restoring peace. (Hear, hear.) He (Lord J. Russell) wished to know who had proposed that policy, and where it had been pro. posed. (Hear, hear.) Was it by the late Govern ment it was proposed that no mercy should be shown—that all persons taken with arms should be put to death without exception, and that a generai massacre should take place of all those who had been subjects of the Queen? Did Lord Canning propose such a policy ? Where did the right hon. gentleman get his information from ? He was not aware of any statement having been made either here or in India that such a policy would be pro posed. (Hear, hear.) The right hon. gentleman in his attack upon certain members of the house had raised in his own imagination a terrific scene, for it had no reality. (Hear, hear.) It reminded him of the lines of the poet that— Existence saw him spurn her bounded reign, And panting time toiled after him in vain. For the right hon. gentleman had put time out of breath in his speech to his constituents, who, he dared to say, believed all he had said to them. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) There was another matter to which he wished to call attention, and upon which the right hon. gentleman gave some informa tion to his constituents. It appeared the right hon. gentleman told them that if a majority of the house had voted a censure upon the Government, they pro bably would have had to defend their opinions upon the hustings. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) He would beg leave to recall to the house those measures of other statesmen who had bad possession of the con fidence of the Crown. They had thought that when great questions depended upon which no satisfactory conclusion could be arrived at by the house, when the house and the Ministers were decidedly at variance—as in the case of the India Bill of 1784, the Reform Bill of 1831, and the question of Free Trade in 1811—that the true solution of these ques• nuns was to appeal to the people and ask the electors to decide that difference, but it was quite another matter when the question was whether a particular Minister or a particular party should remain in office. Sir Robert Peel in 181 d explained his conduct in resigning office, and stated that he declined to advise her Majesty to dissolve Parlia ment, because it was his opinion that that was a delicate and sacred prerogative of the Crown, and ought not to be exercised fur the purpose of any indi• vitinal who might happen to be at the head of affairs. In the year MU, when he was Prime Minister, ha claimed to advise her Majesty to dissolve the then 1 1 Parliament. But there appeared to be an opinion gradually acquiring weight, an d w hi ch he was sores to observe, that w!ien a Primo Minister had not a majority in the House of Commons he might revert to what Burke had called a " a p ena l di saolutien " that was, he might expose the members of the house to the expense of an election, and also to the danger of any tnisrepresentation to which they might be sub ject as between themselves and their constituents for the honest performance of their duties. li e lamented that the late Government bad thought it advisable to dissolve Parliament in the spring of last year, as he thought they ought to have tendered their resignations, and that Lord Derby should have been summoned to form a Government. (" Hear, hear," from the Ministerial benches.) He did not, how ever, think that evil would be remedied if Lora Derby were now to say that whenever his views were not in conformity with those of the majority of the house he should dissolve Parliament, and use that threat to coerce lion. membvrs to vote contrary to their opinion. Nothing in his (Lord John Russell's) opinion could he more likely to derange the constitutioc of the country, and to raise the question of shortening the duration of Parliaments Then, with respect to the question whether her Ma jesty's Government enjoyed the confidence of the majority of the house, it appeared to him, after all that had happened, and the triumph which the right hon. gentleman had recently achieved, that the position of the house as regarded the Ministry was the same as when the new Administration was first formed. He thought it remained still to be seen whether the Government could obtain the support of a Liberal House of Commons—that was, of a House of Commons favourable to reform and other questions of great public interest. if the Govern. went were prepared to bring forward those measures the house might support them. He did not wish to anticipate the course which they meant to pursue, but there were various questions which the Govern. ment must either bring forward or be prepared to defend their opinions. If they obtained a majority in the house those who agreed with them would be rejoiced, while those who did not agree would be corn. pelled to bow to the decision of the majority. He did not, however, think that when the Government had not the confidence of the House of Commons it was entitled to hold out the unworthy threat of a disso lution to obtain that support which it could not otherwise hope to gain. (Rear, hear.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHHVJER, Who was greeted with loud cheers from the Miuisterial benches said, " I can hardly flatter myself that hon. gentlemen could have read those observations which I made to some of my constituents upon a recent occasion, but of this I am quits sure, that the noble lord opposite has assumed thron4hout that no lion. gentleman present can have read them, for the noble lord has endeavoured to convey to the house that I have been abusing the member; of the House of Commons, and that I have declared that her Majesty's Ministers have not received in this house fair and equitable treatment. But perhaps I may be per mitted to remind the noble lord, who has at last read, and is still reading, the speech—(the noble lord com menced to read a newspaper extract as soon as he had resumed his seat)—that in my opinion he would have done much better if he had studied it, for had he done so he would not have found a single sen tence or a single phrase to justify the impression he has endeavoured to convey. (Hear, and cries of Oh, oh.') To hon. gentlemen who cry Oh, oh,' I repeat that if the noble lord had read the speech he would have found statements and phrases which convey the very reverse of what lie meant to imply. Speaking from memory, and not a very inaccurate memory, I am prepared to state that what I did say was this—that, considering that the House of Com mons was elected under the auspices of our rivals, and that under the peculiar circumstances by which a large majority had been returned, supposed to be hostile to the principles which we were generally supposed to maintain, the Ministry had received from the House of Commons a general courtesy, and that on several occasions the sense and spirit of the house had saved us from the restless intrigues and unceasing machinations of those who wtsiied to disturb her Majesty's Government. (Cheers.) Was that an attack upon the House of Commons? 1 say it was not, and I am sure the majority of this house will exonerate me from the imputation which the noble lord has endeavoured to convey. (Hear, hear.) Aline was a dinner, and the noble lord's was a dessert—(laughter)—and his part of the festival is not, I think, as happy as that which I enjoyed. (Laughter.) The noble lord has also attacked me in consequence of what I said about foreign affairs. He seems astonished that I should have said that the question of peace or war was immediate when We acceded to office. He said be consulted members Of the late &Tenant on the subject, end that be bid CID iprrgg+ LONDON, SATURDAY, MAY 29, 1858. POSTSCRIPT. LAST NIGHT'S DEBATE. HOUSE OF COMMONS. The house reassembled yesterday after the Whic• suutide holidays. THE "CARLISLE PATRIOT." After some explanations from Mr. CLIVE, the order of the day was agreed to for summoning to the bar the proprietor and publisher of the Carlisle Patriot, to answer fur some accusations which had been thrown out in that journal against the member for Hereford, as chairman of a committee on the Carlisle and Howick Railway. Mr. W. Wilkes, having accordingly appeared at the bar, answered some interrogatories, and being ordered to withdraw, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved reso lutions declaring that Mr. Clive had been falsely and scandalously accused ; that the accusation amounted to a breach of privilege; and ordering that Mr. Wilkes should be committed to the custody of the Sergeant at-Arms. The resolutions were agreed to. FOREIGN RELATIONS. On the motion for going into committee of supply, Lord J. Russxu said that before going into com mittee upon the army estimates he would beg to bring before the house the question of cur foreign relations. This course was one which he would not have been disposed to take on the present occasion hat' it not been that he had seen reports in the news papers of what appeared to him to be a most extra ordinary speech of Cie Chancellor of the Exchequer. i s Hear, hear.) It appeared to him that there were various parts of that speech to which lie must call the attention of the house. If it had merely been a speech expressing exultation at the result of a late debate in that house, brought on upon the motion of the right lion. member for Oxford, certainly neither he (Lord J. Russell) nor any one else had any right to find fault with the right hon. gentleman fur any, even excessive, expressions of exultation. But there were other matters touched on in that speech which deeply concerned the relations of this house to the I Government, and the relations of this Government to the Governments of other countries. ( Hear, hear.) The right hon. gentleman appeared to have endea voured to show that, during the three months in which the Government had ,hell office, they had brought forward such measures with regard to public affairs at home, and likewise with regard to India, as entitled them to command the confidence of the house. It appeared to him (Lord J. Russell) neces sary to examine a little the grounds on which the right hon. gentleman had put forward that statement; and it would be impossible to examine those grounds without considering the relations of the Government of this country to foreign Governments, because the very first statement made by the right hon. gentle. man was, "that it might be very well now for us to think lightly of the perils we had passed through— even to forget them—but when he told them, and told them seriously, that the question of peace and war, when they acceded to office, was not one of months or weeks, but one of hours—they would see bow by the exertions of the Government peace had been main tained, and the honourof the country upheld." ( Hear.) He asked how it was that our relaCons were such that there was a question of peace or war, which was a question not of weeks or of days, but of hours ? (Hear, hear.) He had inquired, but he could not learn from any member of the late Government, what the question was. When the late Government was in office there was no war iteminent, and no question of importance existing beyond the one which was supposed to affect the relations between this country and that great country with which we have hail a firm and cordial alliance, which alliance he hoped would lung continue—( Hear, hear)—and the only question upon which a misunderstanding could arise was with reletence to the right, of asylum and the Conspiracy Bill ; but lie did not believe that the Emperor of the French, whn of all persons who ever sat upon the throne of France was the sincerest !acrid of the alliance between the two countries, would, because we ref used to alter our laws, break off friendly relations with us. (Hear, hear.) The right hon. gentleman should have said what he meant, for he (Lord J. 'IMMO implied from the right hon. gentlem an ' s speec h t h at t h ere was l ead ioonruy for pew now tbsu under the late Govern-