The Press. — London, England, 1858-03-27 00:00:00

/ ~~ i i • 4, /// LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 1858. moral considerations. We shall not stoop to notice these calumnies in any more particular manner, but shall con , ent ourselves with say ing to our own friends, " Be not influenced by the false reports which aro put into circula tion by needy and desperate men. Judge us by our own doings. Have patience for a few days, until our new arrangements are matured, and then wo shall confidently expect that your verdict will be—that Tun PRESS of 1838 is in nothing inferior to that PRESS of 1833, which in so short a space of time took its place in the very first rank of the Con servative journals." As to tli mendacious statement that our position with reference to the Conservative party had undergone some change, our readers will find abundant proof, in the pages of the present number, of the falsehood of all such assertions. SUFFERANCE, AND OPEN QUESTIONS. THESE are two well-known Parliamentary terms, and have been freely used by the oppo• nents of the new Government. Lord DERBY'S Cabinet, say they, is only saved from its ene mies tly the first, and from its friends by the second. It lives and gets along by virtue of weakness without and disorganisation within. That is the allegation which has been thrown against them in the House of Commons, and is bandied to and fro amidst party journalists out of doors. Is this true ? Is there any ground for asserting it? If it were, we would rather see the principle upon which we take our stand, and the policy which we advocate, resting for support upon the party struggling in Opposition than upon the Ministers sitting on the Government benches. There is no thing we should regret more than to see public affairs administered by men whose policy was shaped according to the provisions of their Parliamentary Whip, and whose measures commanded no unity of action among the ranks of their own party. It is not true. There has not been since 1846, nor could there be devised so long as the present Parliament exists, any Govern ment to whom the description is or would be less applicable. It is quite true that the members of the House of Commons who are known as the absolute and immediate ad• herents of Lord DERBY, and who form the organisation known as his Party, do not con stitute numerically a majority of the six hun dred and fifty-six who sit under the ru'•e of the Speaker; but neither can it be disputed that their conduct as a united Opposition during the existence of the Administration of Lord ABERDEEN and of Lord PALMERSTON, and their management of public affairs during the short time that they have themselves had the Go vernment in their hands, has convinced the large body of politicians who acknowledge No. 256.—V0L. VI. (il2c Vrtss. LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 1858. WHEN we announced, last summer, the loss we had sustained by the death of our excellent editor, Mr. COULTON, our statement necessarily implied that, after due consideration, some changes would be made in the management of this Journal. A void having been left, that void, of necessity, would have to be filled The needful changes have been long delayed, and the paper has been left for several months under an interim management. Re cently, however, having regard to the altered position of the Conservative party, and to its present requirements, the necessary steps have been taken; and after that inevitable delay which always attends such changes, THE PRESS will, it is hoped, renew its youth, and give fresh proofs of that talent and energy which placed it at the outset in the foremost rank of weekly journals. These remarks have reference merely to the supply of our loss, and the increase of our literary strength. In other respects, there will be no change. The peculiar position which this Journal has always occupied, with reference to the Conservative party, it will continue to occupy. It has always possessed, and it will still possess, the confidence of the leaders of the party; and will be enabled to have access to the best sources of information. Neither in its principles, nor in its position, will there be any alteration. We are thus explicit upon these points, be cause, during the last few days, we have been exposed to attacks of the most nefarious kind. Learning that some change was about to take place, and that the vacant chair of the editor was soon to be filled, two or three would-be rivals of ours have been actively employed for several days past in circulating the most absar,l stories with reference to supposed changes in the principles and conduct of this paper. An entire alteration, it has been said, was about to take place ; the paper was to be severed from the Conservative party, and to advocate some other principles. The drift, however, of all these stories was usually shown towards the close of these paragraphs. The practical advice was generally tendered, "Good folks, leave off reading THE PRESS, and buy our paper." All this is miserable work ; but it is not nur purpose to retaliate. Our only answer is, that the stories in question are for the most part wholly groun , lless awl false : they are the wretched devices of men of lo,v morals and lower circumstances, and who are not to be deterred from calumnious falsehood by any LATEST EDITION. ST I PEI) ....SIXPENCE. U N STAM PE I) .. FIVEPENCE. allegiance to no particular leader, and who claim to be free from the trammels of party organisation, that it is not possible to form from the elements furnished by Parliament a Government so capable of maintaining the dignity and interests of the country abroad, and of managing the stewardship of her affairs at home. The Government of Lord DERBY lives arid moves in virtue partly of organised party support, and partly by the aid of inde• pendent men, whom persuasion of its fitness for the time combines in action to maintain it in power. This is not existence upon suffer ance. A state of sufferance is always patent enough. It exhibits itself in the anxiety of the Minister to postpone or shelve session ally all disputed questions, and a contemptu ous tone upon the part of the House. We see none of this on either side. The Ministers show no timidity nor slackness in bringing forward measures ; they maintain a courteous but dignified and properly independent bear ing towards the House ; and the House in re turn has received their communications with regard to acts dune or policy contemplated always with respect and generally with appro bation. The position of the Government may be difficult, and the determination of their course may require great sagacity and care, and devotion on ►.he part of their pledged ad herents, and impartiality of treatment on the part of politicians at large; but there is nothing in that position that need make those who accept it feel that it is unbecoming the dignity of the advisers of the Crown or incon sistent with the beneficent administration of public affairs. Neither of the Governments which preceded them were really ever in so sound a position neither the Government of Lord ABERDEEN nor the Government of Lord PALMERSTON. Neither was supported by a party majority owning undivided allegiance. The one containing within itself the elements of destruction lost its majority the moment its faggot of ill-combined materials was un tied ; and the other, less a Government than an Autocracy, created, like all dictatorships by a great emergency, was overthrown by a rising of its subjects, irritated by too despotic and careless a treatment. The Government of Lord ABERDEEN was turned out with con tempt. That of Lord PALMERSTON was upset with anger. Neither ever had a Party they could command or call their own ; and both only lived by the sufferance of an independent House of Commons. The party of Lord DERBY is in a position now very different from that which they held in 1852. They were then in the position of Sir ROBERT PEEL in 1834. They bad opposed with great energy and great ability the doc trines of Free trade, any through a series of years I their application. They - - mately completely; but id had e oured . to, pa c -•"c • . , 3". 104 . I s r •, . rVP •. 1 . 1 ,:, ~.• • _ NO . . ' . k,„ , •':'l' • igfie W CZ 4 • :1,0 'ot i--1-1 s • - -,- r - .-0 44 ' • - i l . ^-I,s' .... 4 's 6... • .!-.).• 4 . Irmowl ~.,.! 11-11----7—.."444.