The Press. — London, England, 1855-04-28 00:00:00

THE PRESS. 402 object of the mission upon which I set out, the mode in which I dis charged that mission, and the results at which I have had the honour of arriving. Sir, the House is aware that, by a complication of cir cumstances to which it might be more painful than profitable to ad vent, the Government of my Lord Aberdeen suddenly became extinct. Without entering into the question whether the necessity—the con scientious necessity—which compelled me to withdraw from that Administration had anything to do with its Decline and Fall—(laughter from Mr. Macaulay)—l may say that the feeling out of doors was th a t though it was a most beneficial thing that the Cabinet had fallen, those who were instrumental in producing that event did not deserve any overwhelming amount of gratitude. tinder all circumstances, I felt that I might render myself more acceptable in the eyes of the nation if I devoted myself to serving it abroad, and therefore I sug gested to my noble friend at the head of the succeeding Government that I should cro as the representative of England at Vienna. My noble friend, with l that candour which is his characteristic, admitted, in the frankest manner, that I was, to use his own words, in a con founded ugly mess. (Laughter.) Lord PALM ERSTON : I didn't say ugly. (Roars of laughter.) Lord JOHN RUSSELL : My impression is that you did; but no matter. My noble friend fully acquiesced in my views, and not only expressed himself eager to get me out of the way, but with a consideration based on an erroneous estimate of my lingual deficiencies, but for which I am still most grateful, presented me with an invaluable little rudimentary book of French lessons, by M. Isidore 13rasseur. I set out for Vienna, and, after certain interviews at Berlin which convinced me that the Prussian difficulty is one of gravity, I arrived in the capital of Austria. Now, Sir, I must ask the House to recollect, for a moment, a certain speech delivered by myself in the course of last session—towards its close. In that speech, Sir, which was made early in the evening, I declared—and the reiterated applause of the House testified to its satisfaction—that there was no hope for the indepen dence of Turkey until Sebastopol should cease to be a Russian arsenal; in other words, that Sebastopol must be destroyed. (Hear, hear.) My Lord Aberdeen, then in office, had to speak on the same subject in another place that evening, and, being apprised of the lan guage I had used, he sent me au urgent message, amounting to a demand, that I should take an opportunity of greatly qualifying the language. As a subordinate, I could not refuse compliance ; but, before rising again, I mentioned the circumstance to the Noble Lord now at the head of the Government. He evinced great indignation, and observed, in reference to the Noble Lord then at the head of her Majesty's Government—" What a thundering old pump !" (Roars of laughter.) Lord PALMERSTON : My noble friend's memory is a little at fault. I neither alluded to thunder nor to pumps. What I said was, " Demet, bungle your jump," meaning that my noble friend shoul TAW neatly out of the consequences of his imprudence. I borrowed the phrase from—a—a—a—the language of pantomime. (Great laughter.) Lord JOHN RUSSELL : I am at issue with my noble friend. I considered his words highly important, as indicating his view of our Crimean policy. I wrote them down on my ass's skin in my ports- HOUSE OF COMMONS.—Fimax. STATE OF THE COUNTRY. Mr. Len= gave notice that at an early day he should move resolutions to the effect that the state of the nation is such as to cause serious alarm — that the sacrifice of efficiency to family and party interest is the cause of great misfortune and disgrace to the country—and that the house will support any Ministry which will enforce efficiency in the public service, and the vigorous prosecution of the war. MR. LAYARD. On the question that the House adjourn till Mon day, a discussion of some length was raised on the statements of Mr. Layard, in his speech at Liverpool , and in his letter in the Times on Thursday. Mr. ' Ewart complained that Mr. Layard had intimated that his relative, Major Ewart, had been promoted to the staff by parliamentary influence. Mr. Henry Baring refuted his allegations as to the officers of the Coldstream Guards by reading a detail of their services; and General Peel at some length justified the promotion of Colonel Hardinge without purchase, by reference to the rules of the service, which had been punctually followed, and according to which, in promotions with or without purchase, there was of necessity much good or bad fortune. Mr. F. Peel followed up these statements, showing that no undue influence had been used in any of the army promo tions referred to, in a speech full of the details of military practices, and called on Mr. Layard manfully to retract his statements. Mr. LAYARD Mended himself on the ground of the difficulty of his position, by which he was liable to technical mistakes in dealing with true principles. Few members or officers in the house dared express themselves freely on the subject. He again asserted that the rules of the Horse Guards in respect of pro motion were constantly broken through in favour of privileged persons. There were chances, but those chances generally fell on persons of rank and in fluence. He should show in a few days at length the way in which the public interest was sacrificed to private and party influences. The discussion was continued on strictly personal and technical subjects by Mr. C. Hardinge, Captain Lindsay, Major Bp*, Colonel North ) and Colonel SATURDAY, monnaie. And when several members, including the Honourable Mem ber for Buckinghamshire, sought to fix me to the words I had used, I obeyed my Lord Aberdeen, and explained that I only meant that the power of Russia must be reduced. (Hear, heat.) Well, Sir, my noble friend succeeded to my Lord Aberdeen, and I proposed to go to Vienna. But, Sir, will any one in this House tell me that I had not a right to believe that my noble friend's sentiments were the same as those he professed when describing the Noble Lord as a thundering old pump ? Had I any reason to suppose that the Noble Lord had adopted the policy of a thundering old pump ? Could I imagine that I was to be—if the House will allow me the metaphor—the handle for working that pump—the medium for promulgating anew the principles of that pump ? (Here the noble lord was visibly affected, and eat the skin of an orange in mistake for the inside). No, Sir, I relied upon that declaration, and I went to the Congress, determined that Sebastopol should be destroyed. (Hear, hear.) Mr. BRIGHT : I retract the cheering with which I greeted the Noble Lord on his entrance. I believed that he had had the sense to humble himself in earnest at the Conference. Lord JOHN RIISIET.L : I am better cheered by my own convictions, which, in the words of Cowper, cheer but not inebriate. (Laughter.) Now, Sir, I come to the result. On my arrival in Vienna I received despatches from the Government at home, in which the Noble Lord reminds me that I am occasionally what he is pleased, in the height of his discretion, to call indiscreet, that I must recollect that the present Government had adopted all the traditions of its predecessor, of which it was indeed but a continuation, that its composition was even more exclusively aristocratic than that of the last, and that there must be no nonsense about its representative. Enough, my noble friend con tinued, had been done in the way of demonstration by destroying an army before Sebastopol, and there was nothing like moderation I was, therefore, decided to consult the Austrian Minister, and to shape my course, as fax as possible, in accordance with his views. ( Sensa tion.) Well, Sir, I was obleeged to obey. The interests of England would not permit delay, and I obeyed the orders of the War Minister, who had come into office to crush Russia, and who commanded me to act towards her with the utmost courtesy, and, so far from forcing any thing upon her, to beg that she herself would have the extreme kind ness to consult her own wishes and dignity, and offer something which would justify the War Minister in patching up a peace. The rest is known, Sir. Russia affected to consider, in order to gain more time, and it is understood that the bombardment waited her answer. Then she contemptuously apprised us that at present she was the victor in the struggle, and had no proposals to make, and, upon our timidly hinting that her ships might be reduced in number, her repre sentatives flatly refused to hear of anything of the kind. Else the 1- lopse may be assured we should have effected a peace. I have only radd, that nothing in the course of my noble friend, who has a right to his own convictions, has shaken my confidence in him, and that I return to office under him, assured that this Government, like any other in which I have a Owe, is the very one most agreeable to Pro vidence, and most qualified to promote the interests of this mighty nation. ( Hoar, hear.) Lord PALDIZREITON rose, and was ( Left joking.) Knox, who all agreed in their attacks on Mr. Layard for his unfounded assertion, which he refused to re tract. At last Lord Palmerston rose to express his regret that any member should have placed himself in the position of Mr. Layard. He might have thought himself justified in making his charges, but after it had been proved that the charges were false and calumnious it might have been expected that he would have had the gallantry to retract them. The Loan Fund Bill and the Customs Duties 13111 successively passed through committee, after Mr. Jolm MACGREGOR had proposed, supported, and withdrawn amendments to both measures. The second reading of the Lord Advocate's Scotch Education Bill was opposed by Mr. BLACK BURN, who deprecated disturbance of what was good for the sake of introducing something better, and especially objected to the composition of the pro posed Educational Board. Mr. DUNLOP, saying that the votes of English members had caused the division in the Scotch Church, called on them to repair the mischief by giving to Scotland common schools. Mr. H. BAILLIE said that under this b ill school masters might be Jesuits, or of no religion at all. Mr. BAXTER denied that the bill was a Free Church measure; it was supported rather by the Dissenters than the Free Church. He warmly supported it as necessary to the religious liberty of Scotland. Sir J. PAKINGTON objected to the violent abolition of a system of schools which had worked so well, and the substitution of a system with no religious cha racter whatever. The proposed arrangement would lead to perpetual squabbles between the different parties in Scotland. He admitted that an extension of education was necessary for the great towns. The LORD ADVOCATE went through the details of the bill, with the view of correcting the misappre hension respecting it, in an eloquent and able speech, which was loudly cheered. Mr. WALPOLE argued that nothing had been said to show any defect in the working of the national system in Scotland, which might require extcnsion, but not abolition. The house divided—For, 210; Against) 171. Ad.. journed at ten minutes to two._ - il - Ajir _it) Tvgg. LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 1855. POSTSCRIPT. HOUSE OF LORDS.-FRIDAY. The Bishop of EXETER in presenting a petition on the subject of church-rates, entered at length into the mischiefs that would result from their abolition, the evils of the extension of the voluntary system, and the risk that the compulsory enactments for the support of church edifices would lead to the separation of church and state. The LORD CHANCELLOR detailed the perplexities arising out of the present state of the law, and hoped that some means would be found for maintaining the fabric of the Church without perpetuating the irritation and quarrels now of such frequent occur rence. The Earl of ALBEMARLE, moving for returns respecting the Russian trade, expressed his convic tion that a commercial war upon Russia would be more effectual than a military one, denounced the negligence of our last blockade, and urged the Ministry to take more efficient steps, especially to check the large trade carried on through the Prussian territory. Lord STANLEY of Alderley repeated the explana tions of the lenity of last year's blockade. In the present, the blockade had been already strictly esta blished in the Black Sea, and would be so in the Baltic as soon as the communications were opened. He proved from returns the diminution in Russian exports, amounting to one-half its trade, and asserted that she had already been severely crippled in every branch of her resources. ALBEMARLE made a few further ob uncertainty of returns, and the at Live minutes to nine. The Earl of Au nervations on the 11 666_ Wu. adjourned at