The Press. — London, England, 1858-05-22 00:00:00

482 worth his acceptance. Mr. HEADLAM, Mr. ROEBUCK, Mr. MILNER GIBSON, and several Others of like rank and standing, are regarded as candidates for high office. Our rcadr.rs may s well accustom themselves tp think q( suck a state of things, for it k to *wile such Anne that the Times is evidently pointing. Another important wmint Rf the mai is this : " The country," says the Times, " must have a "stable Government—a Government with a ,4 policy. " By all means, gentlemen—but pray how do you mean to get it ? The Saturday Review, which just now coincides remarkably with the Times, says, in its last number, that "g to " render the formation of a Cabinet possible, the "permission of a large number of open questions "is unavoidable, a large number of open ques " tions must be permitted." Now, it is quite evident, that a Cabinet in which "a large number of open questions" is permitted, is a Cabinet without a policy. This is a self-evident proposition. But, then, will any reasonable man inform us, why the people should feel the least interest in the establishment of a Ministry which, on a large number of important questions, is to have no opinion—no policy ? Meanwhile, the old device of "being all things to all men " is carried to a great extent by the Cambridge-house people. The journals which support their movement, and yet pretend to Liberalism, keep saying, " Mind ! the next Ministry must be less Whiggish, and more Liberal, than the last." The Liberals who go to Cambridge-house repeat the same phrases to Lord PALMERSTON himself, and the Noble Viscount nods approvingly, and promises that "It shall be done." But while more full-blown Liberalism is thus promised on the one side, to the Clergy the Record declares that " Lord Paz.mnawrox is quite as good a Conservative as Lord DERBY." Thus, as it was last year, so now ; all parties are to help Lord PALMERSTON back into office; and then, before another year had elapsed, all parties would find themselves equally disappointed ! But what if it should turn out that the bear's akin has been sold quite prematurely ? What K after all, there should be neither Resignation or Dissolution, nor even a Ministerial defeat of any kind? It is this way that things are now tending this, Friday, morning. Already; so large a number of previously " doubtful men " have given in their adhesion to Mr. DulArnes amendment, which " gives a triumph to neither party," that the speculation last night was, that it would be carried by a majority of between 20 and 30 votes. But since then Sir JAMES OUTRIIIeB protest has appeared (which we give entire on a subsequent page), and that document must have great weight in the still pending discussion. It will not surprise us in the least 1 . 1 no division be taken on Mr. Cardwelts original motion. (We write this on Friday morning.) Assuredly, to pass a Vote of Censure in a British Rouse of Commons on a Government because, on a practical East iietion of Indian policy, it ha s agr with thelndian Directors, and with a e er JAMIE OUTRAN", one of the most wise and prudent men in India—would be a piece of factious spite iiimost without a parallel. We know, indeed, that there are some friends of the Government who wish to be beaten, be cause they wish to go to the country on this question. But, although we agree with them that " we never can have a finer opportunity for " a Dissolution," we still hope and believe that they will be disappointed. The present Members of . the House of Commons will not be foolish enough to force Government to send them to their constituents on such a question. THE PRESS, MAY 22, 1858. DIRTY!-RATHER. HIATORIANS have gladly remarked the onward progress of thp Pritiph people in virtue and mnpgs. The fosces of this advance are of many ifinds, an 4 no do} bt the growth of a fil gious feeling is Ow perpnling cause of the whole. Vven to go lincic Ant more than forty years, we moy call to mnnl, That, at the clqop of the great European war, pugilistic combats were found in almost every week's papers, with Peers of the realm for bottle-holders ! The pillory was in frequent use, and the gallows was in req• -; 'on at Newgate oftener in a month than it now is in a year. In the year 1815 we did not raise, for the spread of the Christian faith, so much as 60,000/. a year, whereas we now raise 600,0001.! In the sear 1815 we doubt if a single nobleman or gentleman in England built a church at his own sole cost ; in the present year, 1858, we have no doubt that more than fifty churches will be so built. Along with this advance in the tone of morals and religion there has naturally grown up also a just and proper feeling of honour and truth in public affairs. The notorious corruption of Wm,roLE's days is gone, never, we trust, to return. But more than this, a high and gentle manly feeling has been cultivated, and men can withstand each other manfully on the floor of Parliament, and afterwards meet at the social table without anger or malice, or the loss of self respect. Is it not highly desirable that such a state of things should endure, and, if possible, be even advanced ? But how lamentable would it be if trickery and chicane and underhanded dealing were gradually to supersede this improved condi tion of public morals. Some circumstances which have occurred within the last few days lead to doubts and apprehensions on this score. A visible deterioration has taken place; and it concerns us all to know the reason why. A great question has recently been opened, between the Governor-General of India and her Majesty's Government at home. Lord CANNING prepared a Proclamation, to be issued imme diately on the fall of Lucknow, of a kind which seemed to the Government at home to be fraught with peril. In such an emergenc y rt it was ob viously most desirable that the communica tion should take place between the Governor- General at Calcutta and the Government at home, on this, and all other kindred topics. Yet, strange to say, during three months which have elapsed since the present Government came into office, no private letter or communication has reached the India Board ! When, however, the question which has un happily arisen, between the Government at home and the Government at Calcutta, began to assume a serious aspect, it occurred to some friends of the Government to ask—Whether Lord CANNING, in ignorance of the change of Ministry which had taken place, might not have been communicating with the late President of the Board of Control, instead of with the present one; and, if so, what had become of his letters ? Accordingly, about a week ago, Mr. NEWDRGATE asked Mr. VERNON SMITH, in his place in the House of Commons, whether letters from Lord CANNING had not come into his hands. So questioned, Mr. VERNON Slum poured forth a multitude of words, the substance of which, how ever, is contained in the following paragraph of his reply : " My answer is this. I received a private letter, dated March 6, from Lord Comm, the nature of which I will communicate to the House presently. There are three modes of communi cation between the Governor-General and the Board of Control—through the Court of Direc tors, which is public and official; through the Secret Committee; or by private letter, which is, of course, the most confidential manner. I am perfectly prepared to admit in the fullest sense that every ex-Minister and every man who hears anything that may be of advantage or im portance to the public service is bound to com municate it to the Minister of the day ; but there is this reserve in dealing with private corre spondence, that they are not bound to do any -_-,....... thing to betray unnecessarily th e confide, nce of a private correspondent, and that is the limit which I should ‘ipt twa a* iptorcourse bet ween ex . Ministers ed t- r plecessors. My first act after quittiAg ptlice was f 9 epmntunicate to Lord 1 ELLT^Nprou a pq.vat letter from Lord ELPNRISTRIt/E, whit tile Ole Earl returned wit *t Wviti . apt f u . r communication. Will . :4, •to 'rd 1 , 34/9Tpro the ca se i s some krhaf ' ; ~. nt. ..; OPINING was my public colleagpe and my private friend, and his letters were more familiar, more confidential and inti mate, than those of other Governors. I therefore did not send Lord CANNING'S private letters to Lord ELLENBOROUGH—(a laugh)—but in perusing them I watched carefully to see if they contained anything that could possibly make them of such a nature as to require me to communicate them to the existing Government. (Hear, hear.) Now, the particular communication which has been alluded to in another place, and to which, I think, undue importance has been attached, as I shall show presently, was dated March 6. It arrived when I was absent in Ireland ; but I do not dwell upon that circumstance, because un doubtedly that was not the reason why it was not communicated to the Noble Earl at the head of the Board of Control. That private letter, referring to many circumstances, contained one paragraph which stated,— "' I intend to issue a Proclamation to the talookdars and landowners of Oude which will reach you officially by the mail. I had hoped to have accompanied it with a full explanatory despatch, but more urgent business has prevented me from doing so from hour to hour.' " That letter did not contain any copy of the Proclamation itself, nor any explanation respecting it, or I would certainly have forwarded the Pro clamation or the explanation to the Government —(Hear)—but as it stood I confess it appeared to me at the time, and still appears to me, that the letter was not of such importance that I should communicate it to the Government. (Laughter.) I may state, however, that I read it the moment I received it to my Noble Friend the Member for Tiverton—(derisive cheers from the Ministerial side)—to whom it did not appear, any more than to my•self that it was necessary to communicate it to the Government. (Laughter.) I am perfectly prepared to justify my not having made that communication, and I have not the slightest feeling of regret for not having done so. (A laugh.)" It will be observed that while Mr. VERNON Shunt particularly spoke of one letter, he after wards dropped the expression, "Lord CAN " snro's letters," and spoke of " perusing " them." So, then, Mr. VERNON SMITH, since his retire ment from office, has been in the habit of receiving letters—a series of letters—from Lord CANING. And he knew—he could not but know—that these letters were sent to him as President of the Board of Control, and that all in them which was not private and domestic was public property, and belonged to the Board of Control ! And yet it does not appear that in all these three months he ever communicated one line of these letters to his successor in office ! Granting the probability that in these letters there were private allusions and private commu nications, still Mr. Smines duty clearly was, omitting such passages, to have copies made of all the rest of the letters, and to transmit those copies without an hour's delay to his successor at the India Board. We say that this was his plain duty, and that his omission of so obvious a duty is nothing less than FOUL PLAY. We say, too, that had such conduct been traced to a Tory ex official instead of to a Whig, we should have found Mr. BEILNAL OSBORNE, or some such useful emis sary, moving before now for a Select Committee, "to examine the late President of the Board of " Control touching certain official letters said to " have been received by him and improperly " secreted." ------- But have we any right to assume that a single line in these letters had any reference to public affairs ? Yes, we have, for two reasons, viz. Mr. VERNON SMITH, when further questioned on another occasion, said : " The lion. and Learned Gentleman had spoken of some possible reproaches which Lord CAN mo would make ; but he (Mr. V. Sxtrru) did I