The Press. — London, England, 1858-10-23 00:00:00

THE PRESS, OCTOBER 23, 1858. 1028 THE WEEK. The state of Prussia is the chief foreign subject of interest at the present moment. The opening of the Chambers and the establishment of the Regency are events that may deeply affect the destinies of Europe. At present, however, the public mind is in suspense, and it will of course be some time before we shall be justified in expressing any decided opinion on the policy of the new regime. We hope sincerely it will prove to be of a character congenial to English interests. Various untoward causes have operated to keep Prussia more in the background than is befitting her rank in Europe and the character of her people. We look forward to her future with the greatest interest and sympathy, and hail recent events as the commencement of a new era. The election intelligence of the week promises a smartish contest for the boroughs of Greenwich and Reigate. In the former case we wish well to Mr. ANGERSTEIN, because we like to see local connections cherished. Mr. ANGERSTEIN has property in, and old associations with, the borough, members of his family having represented it formerly. At Reigate only Mr. MONSON and Mr. WILKINSON appeared on nomination day, and the show of hands was declared to be in favour of the latter. The poll is fixed for to-day. Mr. EDWIN JAMES was hissed out of the Town-hall on Thursday, and has not appeared since. At Leominster Captain HANBURY was returned yesterday morning without opposition. He declared himself a supporter of the present Government. The inquiry into the Army Clothing system recommenced on Thurs day last, after a fortnight's adjournment. Mr. CALVERT, of the firm of Cox and Co.; Mr. RAMSAY ; Colonel HORNE, of the 13th Regi ment ; Colonel HALLIDAY, of the 36th ; and Colonel amitinsT, of the 9th, were examined as witnesses. One point on which the Chair man endeavoured to gain some information was the emoluments derived from the colonels under the old system. Here Mr. CALVERT and Colonel ELMIIIRST were at issue, the former denying, the latter affirm ing, that all the surplus clothing was the colonel's perquisite. In the general mismanagement at Weedon all the witnesses concurred, and described the delays and mistakes that occurred in furnishing the men with clothing as extremely vexatious and harassing. As the War-office, however, has consented to place all the Weedon books in the hands of Mr. JAY, the public accountant, it is hoped that in the course of a few months these mysterious documents will be interpreted. The Times correspondence from India has this week been filled with complaints of the conduct of young English officers towards the natives and their native servants. Persons well acquainted with India are, however, • inclined to believe that these statements arc exaggerated. We send out -gentlemen, at all events, to officer our Indian army, who are not likely, as a rule, to be guilty of playing practical jokes upon their servants, whatever ' they may do on one another. Native servants, we believe, are exceedingly • difficult to manage, and calculated to try the most equable temper. Indi • vidual cases of oppression may occur, but it is not right to bring a sweeping charge against the whole army in consequence of two or three isolated cases. The Agricultural Meetings for this week have been held in Essex, Cambridge, Somerset, Nottinghamshire, and Norfolk. The speakers on politics proper have been Major BERESFORD and Mr. Du CANE in the first mentioned county, and Lord Wommousz in the last. Lord HARDWICKE and Captain HANBURY dwelt upon the national-defences question, and Mr. CuowLEli and others addressed themselves more especially to agriculture. In this department of our Journal we do not undertake to argue out politi cal questions at any length. And we shall, therefore, do no more than record the fact that Major BERESFORD justified his support of Lord PAL MERSTON when Premier, and regretted that he could not support Lord DERBY in everything. While Mr. DU CANE, already one of the most pro mising members of the house of Commons, drew a graphic picture of the benefits which the country had experienced by the change of Ministry, and, more especially, contrasted the factious conduct of Lord PALMERSTON, both on the great Cardwell fight and Mr. LoCKE KING'S Bill, with the frank support which he had himself received from the Conservatives. We would only take this opportunity of again reminding our readers that, notwithstanding the plausible sound of " measures not men," the phrase is in reality but the merest political cant, and that to vote with one's party is, after all, the truest political honesty. Lord WourmousE did not see in the present state of parties any ground for accusing the nation at large of political apathy. Just now we were more intent upon questions of social improvement, and none of our ancient institutions could be consi dered in danger. But the time, he thought, would come when questions of this nature would again arise, and prove that Englishmen had lost none of their characteristic attachment to political principles. We hope that his Lordship is right, but we hope still more that ere that day arrives, the representative machinery of the country will be in such a condition as to allow its full weight to the voice of every class in the community. Neither Major BERESFORD nor Mr. Du CANE professed any knowledge of the forth coming Reform Bill; but we sincerely hope it will be of such a character as to defer for some generations the realization of Mr. COBDEN'S dream—the government of the country by the towns—i.e., the complete subordination of agriculture to commerce, and the destruction of the influence of the landed gentry. There is a form of optimism at the present day which seeks to win assent by a sort of bluff affectation of common sense. If the " influence" of one class interferes with the rights of another, is is not legitimate influence. It wont do now-a-days to talk in this way, stc. But this Itay of looking at things involves the complete ignoring of the great truth that all political systems are a compro m i se . F or t h e very exist ence of civil society each individual member of it g i ves up certa i n rights, and for the maintenance of constitutional government every order in the State gives up certain rights too. To say, tberefore, that such and such things are wrong, merely because they interfere with certain " rights," is in a prac tical sense pure nonsense. We know what that sort of thing ends in . Such, no doubt, were the arguments put forward by th e d emocratic . reformers in ancient Athens. The most preposterous claims were gradu a ll y and successively put forward as the people's rights, till at last it became the established practice that the poor should be clothed, f e d, amused, and protected at the expense of the rich, without doing anything in return. Yet while this consummation was in progress and not yet complete, what a vile aristocrat, what an obsolete politician would he have been considered who even ventured to hint at the doctrine of " legitimate influence" ! In his remarks on Russia, and the hostility towards this country which the late wars had produced Lord WonmousE might have reminded his hearers that that war was the result of " Coalition " diplomacy, and that the peace which left Turkey worse off than before was the crowning effort of a statesman whom his admirers have ere now designated as a future Premier. On the subject of' our national defences, Lord Ilaanwitxr. spoke with great earnestness. But although we strongly advocate a reasonable outlay of public money on the maintenance of a numerous and efficient navy, we scarcely think the comparison drawn by Lord Bann \VICKI,: between the number of our ships during the Russian war and during the American and French wars a fair one. In the two latter instances we had our whole Colonial empire to defend, and in one of them our own coast to protect as well ; in addition to which the seabord or the colonies of either nation presented vulnerable points of attack. In the Russia war but few of the circumstances were similar. The Noble Earl also touched upon a point to which Mr. Cnow- LER alluded, and on which we offered some observations to our readers last week. We mean the distribution of prizes to farm labourers. The question is a very simple one. If the present of a sovereign be objec tionable as such, let a hole be bored through it, a piece of blue tape fastened to it, call it a medal, and then ask the recipient which he would rather have, that or the original donation. The honour consists not in the actual value of the gift, but in the public acknowledgment of the man's services and character. Why he should not have a sovereign in addition, we are certainly at a loss to understand. If he could have more, so much the better. If every honest workman in the country, be his calling what it may, could have a pension at sixty years of age, what a capital world we should live in ! But he cannot. And to carp at whatever is done in the same direction as inadequate may gratify a perverse love of fault-finding, but can do no good to the public. Of the other meetings—scientific, religious, or otherwise—of the past week, the concluding sittings of the National Association claim the first place. As, however, they came to a termination so long ago as last Satur day, we shall be very brief in our account of them. Some of the most in teresting Papers were the following :—A Paper by Miss CmirErmi upon Reformatories and Ragged-schools, in which she expressed strong dis approval of the regulation by which a previous conviction is made a condi tion of admission to the former. We believe this Lady's opinion to be in ac cordance with that of the majority of experienced persons, there being a vast amount of juvenile population homeless and vicious, but not criminal, whom it is desirable to save from taking the final plunge. Captain CROF TON'S Paper upon Prisons was also a most useful practical essay. lie dwelt very urgently on the beneficial effects to be expected from a classification of prisoners, the neglect of which led, as he seemed to imply, to the rejec tion of our convicts by the colonies, and would, if continued, multiply our difficulties in dealing with them at home. We ourselves go even farther than Captain CROFTON ; for we still adhere to the opinions ex. pressed in this Journal just two years ago—that, with a proper classifica tion of prisoners, a revival of transportation is desirable. In the Department of Health a valuable Paper was contributed on the subject of Lunatic Asylums. We should wish to add that in our own opinion the evils which have recently received so large a share of public attention will by no means terminate with the abolition of Private asylums. We can assure our readers that a much more effective system of supervision is required for public ones. if they would feel any con fidence that the inmates are exempt from the brutality and degradation against which they have just been so indignant. In the Department of Social Economy two long Papers were read on Emigration and Prostitution. The first was valuable front the statistics it furnished on the subject of the colonial labour market. The second, however well-intentioned, was, how ever, deficient in that practical knowledge which it is so difficult to obtain in an unsuspicious shape upon this question. If we would probe this painful subject to the bottom, we must have a scientific clas sification of the phenomena it presents. The last lecture of import ance was the Paper contributed by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, President of the Department of Jurisprudence. This paper was read by Lord JOHN RUSSELL, and the eloquence and ability evinced in every line of it elicited the warm approbation of the whole meeting, as well as a pointed panegyric from Lord litioucalam. So that if laud,ari a laudato vim be so great an honour as it is usually considered, the author of this paper may felicitate himself upon this tribute a laudatissimo, for every one has vied in heaping eulogies upon his Lordship's head throughout the late meeting. The proceedings of the Association were appropriately followed up by the delivering of prizes to the successful candidates at the recent middle class examinations. An address on this occasion was delivere d by Mr. GLAnsTosr., whose encomiums on the new system were adapted to meet g a class of objections likely enough, perhaps, to be urged by man among audience, but which leave other difficulties untouched. 1 e woul d ask Mr. GrAnsTomr., for instance, whether his own adm ission of the materialistic tendencies of the present age does not furnish a reason for increasing rather than relaxing our efforts to cherish a love of 'earwig for its own sake ? id to n. is ly is id et Ic 10 Lis to at ce a re cs: a id id er ae he of Lr. V- Ile 'S. C- Id he fs n, !it it se is D .. , st st r- -3n S. Ir- .c- Lit al, ;It dy en a- In he ur re of ye n- in ot 1 3. he w- in be Is- by ne a r to liS ne