The Press. — London, England, 1854-08-05 00:00:00

AUGUST 5, 1854. general policy of Government. If, as 1 before observed, such exceptions are to constitute the future rule of Govern. ment, there is an end to public confidence in the honour and integrity of great political parties, a severance of all ties which constitute party connections, a premium upon the shabg and shuffling conduct of unprincipled politicians." Sir Robert Peel was often wiser in his speech than in his action. Whatever opinion may be formed of his political conduct, no one can doubt that these sentences express sound principles of statesmanship. And they were principles which Peel himself, with all his versatility, never abandoned. In a subsequent part of the article a just tribute is paid to the policy and vigour of Lord Derby's Government:— " Is not that Government now admitted to have been the instrument of more good to the country, in its short tenure of office, than was ever effected by any of its predecessors within so short a time ? And if we remember the immense amount of opposition which was brought to bear against it ; that, in the first few months of its existence, the completion of the business of Parliament, previous to its dissolution, was all that was expected or required at its hands ; that, after the dissolution, a majority of nineteen effected, though with the greatest difficulty, the overthrow of the Adminis tration, without allowing the smallest time for the trial of their legislative powers, it must be admitted that the mem bers of that Conservative Government, in the face of the greatest difficulties, exhibited administrative abilities of a high order They were the first Government who dared to come down to the Britsh House of Commons and tell it the national defences were insecure, and demand the means of placing England in a position to resist any threatened invasion. Do we not owe to them the establish ment of our militia? Was not that a bill than which none has been more perfect in its details, or more universally satisfactory to the country? Do we not owe to them the establishment of our Channel fleet on such a footing that it secured England from all aggression ? Then was laid the basis of that splendid fleet which a few months back left our shores for the Baltic Sea. Again, it is to their prescience that we can trace the advantages which are de rived to ourselves, and to the cause of civilisation and inde pendence, from our present amicable relations with France." Next in interest is a paper on the " Insurrection in Spain," written by a resident in Madrid, and giving details which have not previously been published. The letter in which General Duke justified his desertion of the Court is especially important, as showing the feeling which pervaded the mind of many honourable and distinguished men i,n Spain : " ' I seek neither places nor honours, for I have them in abundance. No desire of revenge of any kind has moved me, for I cherish neither dislike nor resentment agaihst the persons composing the present Government, and much less against the Queen. The cause of my in surrection is entirely the memory that I have of the oath taken by the King of Castile when he ascends the throne. He swears upon the Holy Scriptures to observe and en force the law of the State—" and if I should not do so, I desire not to be obeyed." "` My conviction is, that the Queen has violated her oath, and, in this cue, T prefer being guilty of kze-majesty to being guilty of lere-nation. " I well know that the sentiments I have expressed will not convince you, because they must be felt ani not ex plained. For my justification I appeal to the inexorable tribunal of posterity, and to the secret police of the con sciences of yourselves in the first place, of the Queen her self, and of this unhappy country.' " The critical articles, though varied, are of a heavy character, but the articles we have specified, with a continuation of the pleasant story of " Stoke Manor," worthily maintain the repute of this able periodical. There are several gocd reviews in the Dublin University, but it is beyond our province to notice them. The political article asks a question " Who is to carry on the Queen's Government?' without at• tempting to answer it. In a memoir of Sir Samuel Grew, the career of a bold Scotchman who rose to great distinction in the Russian navy is narrated at some length. Certainly the numbers of natives of these islands who have distinguished themselves in the service of foreign, powers is very remarkable. " A Vase of Lilies," interspersed with original poetry, is a pleasing piece of sentimental writing. The article on "The Plurality of Worlds" wants clearness of view, but it balances the pros and cons with philoso phical impartiality. On the whole the present is a good number. A miscellaneous number of Fraser opens with an elaborate statement of the Russian army, a subject to which special attention has been paid in this ma gazine. " Photographs from Russian Life," com posed of sketches of Russian society, furnished by a Russian gentleman, M. Tourghenief, will be read with interest from the evident fidelity of the portraits. An article on Dryden, sugge s t e d by Mr. Bell's diligent life of the poet, is one of the best critical papers. An account of " The Storming of Badajos " will interest many readers. The description of that terrible scene is one of the most brilliant passages in Napier's " History of the War." The writer in Fraser has entered into copious details, and amongst his own personal authorities for his statements he refers particularly to General Sir Robert Harvey, C. 8.. The article g i ves a detailed picture of that Ong exploit of our army. The editor of • NII THE PIIEBB. Fraser is usually successful in making up an attractive table of contents, but his magazine wants that tone which can only result from decided views and definite aims. A number of merely amusing superficial papers following each other are often felt as tiresome, while there is no pleasure comparable to that which results from the mind obeying the guidance of a superior intellect. To be well amused, the mind must be thoroughly roused, and it is the fault of our light literature that it rather occupies the eye than really engages and fascinates the thought. The New Monthly maintains its character for animated writing. In the paper on " Promotion in the Army" old-fashioned ideas of military propriety are pleasantly ridiculed, and some sensible sugges tions are made for improving the efficiency of our military service. " The Last Days of Charles the Fifth " are elucidated from the contents of recent his torical works. In " A Tnp to Boulogne" Mr. Dudley Costello exhibits his practised ease and vivacity in expanding a humorous anecdote. The " Diary of a First Winter in Rome" is sketchy and gossiping on a subject of which people never tire. There is a racy article on Mr. Ruskin's " Edinburgh Lectures." Doc tor Veron helps to some facts the writer of the paper on "A Royal Family in Distress." Tales, cri ticisms, anecdotes, with sketches of travel and ad venture, combine to make up an agreeable number, excellently suited to the table of the drawing-room and the tastes of loungers. The Rambler, a Roman Catholic miscellany, at tempts, not very successfully we think, to combine notices of general literature with steady adherence to Romish principles. There are some amusing com plaints in the first article : " Go where we will, it is undeniable that one-half, or one-third, of the individuals whom we come across would with the utmost satisfaction consign its to the treadmill, or banish us beyond the seas. Luckhy for ourselves, our countenance and gait do not tell tales, and the zealous Papist passes undetected in the sound Protestant crowd. But it is perfectly certain, nevertheless, that were our creed suddenly revealed to a room full of our fellow-coun trymen, there would be instantly manifest an instinctive shrinking from our touch, a cloud would gather over many a manly brow, a pallor would overspread many a fair cheek, and many an eye would steal a furtive glance at our coun tenances, akin to that mingled curiosity and horror with which the gaping multitude stares at Madame Tussaud's ' chamber of horrors.'" There is some truth in this picture, and the writer might with advantage, we think, inquire into the causes of this general antipathy he laments. Would he say that it results from pure prejudice ? But can prejudice be so widely spread and so lasting ? Un doubtedly there is at the present time a stronger feel ing against Romanism in this country than has existed since the commencement of the nineteenth century ; but a candid inquirer need not go far to find a perfectly rational explanation of the fact. BOOKS RECEIVED. BOOKS. Louis XVIII. and Charles X. Eyre Crowe. Bentley. Gibbon's Roman Empire. Vol. IV. W. Smith, LL.D. . Murray Annotated Edition of English Poets, " Songs from the Dramatists." R. Bell. Parker and Son. Evenings with the Romanists. Rev. M. H. Seymour. Seeleys. Sister Agnes. Ditto. Ten Thousand 4 Year. S. Warren. Blackwood and Sons. The Violets Close. E. Rnmae'. Hatchard. 7'he City of the Sultan. Mies Pardoe. Routledge. Firmiliin. T. P. Jones. Itlackwwood and Sons. American Handbook. Rout ledge. The Nemesis of Pow•er. J. A. St. John. Chapman and Hall. The Removol of the Poor. Butterworth. Moral Results of the Romish System. Seeleys. Clergy Charity Societies. Hatchard. The Czar. Piper, Stephenson, and Co. Music. A Lecture. Parker and Son. Masada and its Tragedy. W. Freeman. Our Own Correspondent. Tinsley and Co. The State of the Church at the Time of Augustin. Seeleys. The Opening of the Crystal Palace Comidered. Smith and Elder. Sin JOAN RAMADEN, the youngest, and it is said the richest, member in the House of Commons, owns all the land upon which the town of Huddersfield is built, with the exception of one plot of ground upon which stands the dwelling of an eccentric Quaker. This piece of freehold has been always much coveted by the Hamsden family, and its pnasesion has been as obstinately retained by the present holder, in spite of most tempting offers. On one occasion the father of the present Sir John, then plain Mr. Ranutden, called upon the Quaker, and is said to have offered to cover the roof of the house with sovereigns as the price of its purchase. Broadbrim, however, refused unless the sovereigns were placed edgeways. Mr. llamsden naturally thought this would be paying rather too dear, and refined the offer, upon which the Quaker closed the chaffer by saying. "Then thou mayst go home to thy friends, John, rndtell them that all Huddersfield belongs to mould to thee." An ;Id, Sittraturt, ft, 79 r• NOTHING will come of the plans for railways in Sweden. Between the two stools—Mr. Peto's scheme, and that of the Government—the whole movement falls to the ground. The parliamentary committee accepts neither. It has decided on recommending a commission to inquire into the lines laid down in the drawings for South Sweden, and to report on the same to the next Diet, and grants a sum of 100,0t1) r.d. bko. for this purpose. The Moniteur has filled two pages lately with a list of citizens who, during the second quarter of the present year, have established their claims to the gold and silver medals appropriated to the reward of such as have exhibited great courage and self-devoted ness. They are 257 in number ; and the one who has obtained the grand gold medal of the first class is M. Francais Armonet, Lieutenant of the Sapeurs- Pompiers of Vienne. THE report of the directors of the Berlin Wate r works Company states that the operations of the company continue to progress very satisfactorily. The works have considerably advanced, and they meet with the perfect satisfaction of the Prussian Government. The directors, to provide funds so as to keep pace with the rapid progress of the works, announce their intention of making a call of 11. 10s. per share, payable on or about the Ist September; and of making further similar calls at intervals of about three months, until the entire capital shall be paid up. sfAT Hesselmoor, in Bavaria, there is a manufactory where a sort of peat is made which possesses almost all the qualities of coal, and is used by the engines on several of the railways in that country. This manu• factory last year supplied ten millions of cubic feet of the fuel. The Austrian Government has sent Professor Gurusay to examine the works in detail, in order to establish similar ones in the neighbour hood of Loiboch, in Illyria. A French imperial decree orders that for the future the new gold sf. pieces shall be coined with a milled edge, the smooth edge having been found very oh. jectionable. LAYING THE SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH TO CONNECT EUROPE AND AFRICA. Os the morning of the 21st nit. was performed the ceremony of inaugurating the laying down of the cable of the submarine telegraph which is to unite Europe to Africa, and no doubt to India. The Persian, with the cable, 110 English miles in length, weighing nearly 9(X) tons, left Genoa on the previous night, at a quarter past ten, follow ing the steam-frigate La Cons fiteriene, on which had em• barked his Royal Highness Prince Carignan ; their Excel lencies Pleocopa, Minister of Public Works; La Marmora, Minister of War ; the French Ambassador, Due de Quiche ; the English Minister, Mr. Hudson, and some other public functionaries. The steamers Malfatiano and 7'ripoli, which had been by the Government placed at the service of the director-in-chief, Mr. John Brett, preceded the two above-mentioned steamers, toprepare things, and to convey some few persons that had been invited. Nothing occurred in the short voyage. At half-past four a.m. of thellat the Persian cast anchor at about 100 yards from the spot fixed on to receive the end of the cable. It is at the mouth of the River La Magra, on a recess of a small promontory called St. Croce, opposite the mountains of Carrara, three miles distant from Levici and twelve ftom Spezzia. The moment the Persian arrived were begun the preliminary operations for sinking the cable. At half past eight all was ready, and a boat with about 450 yards of cable approached the place where part of the company were already Blanding, and the remainder, with the Prince, soon came. Pictu resque as the spot may be, it was the most uncomfortable piece of ground in the universe. It is a sort of small crag cut in a rock of no more than ten or twelve square yartle. The sun, which shone in full at the time, was scorching, and the place could not have been tenable an hour to gether. At exactly nine, the Prince took the cable and accomplished the ceremony of laying it down, the two war steamers firing a salute of twenty-one guns each. The steamers with the distinguished company then fol. lowed the Persian a few miles out to sea, but speedily put about, and returned to La Spezzia, where a banquet had been prepared for sixty guests. Meanwhile, the Persian proceeded on her way, laying down the cable as she went. Her course was, however, interrupted more than once by the " unravelling" of the cable, which obliged frequent stoppages for repairs. These accidents were owing to a deficiency of mechanical power, and some imperfection in the " paying out" apparatus. From this cause the steamer was only able to be under way ten hours on the 21st, and five and a half hours on the 22nd, and it was not until the evening of the 26th that the operation was completed. For the weather continued calm during the whole time. At 6 p.m. on that day the Persian arrived with the end of the cable off Cape Corso, in Corsica, and a gun fired on board, by an electric spark transmitted from Santa Croce, announced the full success of the undertaking. The direct line from the bay of Santa Croce to Cape Corse is seventy five English miles. The cable will be cut at Cape Corse, and laid down again on +lie other side of the island, at the strait of Bonifacio, to unite Corsica to Sar dinia. The length is übout ten mil. a. and, with the courses by land in those two islands and the sea line, from St. Croce to Cagliari, there will be a complete line of about 600 miles. Next month (September) this line will be ex tended by another cable of 100 miles in length to Bons lit Algiers. _4*