The Press. — London, England, 1857-04-25 00:00:00

. . . . . f . ,• b i . m bt .. . .. ~: iiilttl;s. . . •,:.., +•.. 1. ' E - • ;; n •'1 , ... No. 208.—VoL. V. LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 1857. STAMPED .... SJXPENi'P. UNSTAMPED .. Fl VEPENCE. gly ]Tess. suave demeanour, his courtesy, and ingra- tiating 'winners are acknowledged and ad mired even by his political opponents. The high forensic eminence of ML. WALPOLE would impart additional force to his judicial decisions ; and those against whom they might prove adverse would serenely acquiesce in his ruling upon disputed cases, which might be argued either way. Mr. WALPOLE has temper, legal experience, tried intellectual powers, and great technical knowledge. On the other hand, Mr. DENisoN has never been eminent in affairs, in debate, or in the action of Parliament. His doubtful temper, also, and want of the required knowledge, seem positive disqualifications. Pomposity, self importance, and want of deference to others in a less influential position, would be great drawbacks to the official dignity of a Speaker of the House of Commons. reconcilinc; the treaty rights with the de Jae t state of affairs. If, as the Government press infers, Lord MALNIESBURY had acknowledged the King's future right to Neufchatel, negotiations would have been surplusage, but their estab lishment of itself assumed that the ob ject of the great Powers was to arrange the dispute honourably to both parties. This was of as much consequence to the Swiss as to Prussia. because, if the former repudiated one article of the Vienna Treaty which was against them, they could not avail themselves of an other in the same treaty which gave them the Canton. LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 1857. TT is to be regretted, in the circumstances of the case, that the Prime Minister did not make a more careful selection of a candidate for the Chair of the House of Commons. We differ entirely from those who look upon the Speakership as a post of mere form and ostentation. To discharge the duties with success taxed the abilities, in former times, of leading practitioners at the Bar, and of senators of no mean renown, afterwards in trusted with the seals of high Secretarial de partments. The progress of the country has enlarged the importance of the Speaker's duties ; for, in addition to its constitutional sig nificance, the office has become one urgently requiring administrative ability of no common order. On constitutional grounds the Speakership, it is clear, ought not to be bestowed as the prize of a party, or the gift of a Minister. The fact that the choice of the Commons must be submitted to the Sovereign for approba tion, shows that the nomination should be made " Pro rege, lege, grege." Parliamen tary considerations alone should govern the choice. The exalted post should neither be proposed nor accepted as part of the patronage of a Prime Minister. In these times, when " official aptitude " is so much insisted upon, the Prime Minister ought not to have made his selection of a can didate for the Chair merely on the ground of strong personal friendship. Mr. DENISON is deficient in many of the prime requisites for till ing the Parliamentary Chair with tact, smooth ness, and efficiency. His rather peculiar temper would render him ill-suited for presiding over a House of Commons to which an excessive number of " new members" have been re turned. The tone of a dictator in the Chair has never been liked in Parliament. Mr. DENISON, it must be observed, has shown no previous qualifications for the dis tinguished post. He is not a constitutional lawyer, nor an authority on precedents. Above all, the Honourable Gentleman has never been accustomed to exercise control over others with pretensions equalling, and even surpassing, his own. To meet dignified persons on terms of equality is infinitely easier than to exercise sway over them, without wounding their self respect. Capacity for affairs, also, is abso lutely demanded by the daily duties of the office. Legislation cannot rapidly advance if an uncertain, timid voice issues from the Speaker's chair, or if a faltering hand hold the helm of Parliament The most competent observers concur in thinking that Mr. DENtsoN would not be popular in the Chair. His habitual tone is not suited for the position. His age, also, seems a great disqualification. Can it be ex pected that a gentleman in his fifty-eighth year may look forward to so long a tenure of office as to entitle him, in point of justice, to the honours of a peerage? The claims of Mr. WALPOLE to the Chair, on the other band, are certainly vastly superior to those of Mr. DENISON. Eminent at the Bar, distinguished in debate, a practical judge of the exact limits of controversy, inheriting an old Parliamentary name, and representing the University of Cam bridge, the public claims of Mr. WALPOLE are immeasurably beyond the pretensions of Mr. DENISON. The personal aptitude of Mr. WALPOLN is, also, of a far higher kind. His THE NEUFCHATEL QUESTION. IT appears that the British and French Plenipotentiaries are still floundering in the mire of the Neufchatel quarrel. The cause of their difficulties is obvious to all Europe— namely, the impracticable character of the King of PRUSSIA ; but it suits the organs of Lord PALMF.RSTON'S policy to attribute them to Lord DERBY'S Administration. Hence we have an article in the Globe assuring the public that the present claims of Prussia upon Neuf. chatel arc entirely attributable to the Protocol signed by Lord MALMESBURY in 1852. We need hardly remind our readers that the Congress of Vienna in 1815 restored the Prin cipality of Neufchatel to the King of PRUSSIA, whilst at the same time it annexed it as a Canton to Switzerland. In 1848 Neufchatel repudiated all connection with Prussia ; and until now has de facto, though not de jure, been practically independent. In 1832 the King continued to urge his claims upon Lord DERBY'S Government, as ho had done on that of his predecessors, declaring that his only object was " to save his honour,"' and that he would place it in the hands of the great Powers to do so by an acknowledgment that de jure he was Prince of Neufchatel. The Protocol, signed in London in May, recorded merely the historical fact that such was the case by the Treaty of Vienna ; but, by agreeing that nego tiations should be opened with Switzerland upon the subject whenever the signing Powers thought it opportune, and that, until then, the King would not have recourse to any other measures to make good his claim, it admitted and even affirmed the necessity of But Lord DERBY'S Government resigned before the end of the year, and its suc cessors left the Protocol to moulder in Down ing -street, until, in 1855, the anticipated collision between the two parties at Neuf chatel occurred. Yet had they every opportu nity of carrying out its objects. The recogni tion by the great European Powers of NAPOLEON BONAPARTE'S empire was the signal triumph of the defacto over the de jure principle. The) were bound by the same Treaties of 1814 and 1815 to oppose by force of arms a Bonaparte dynasty ; but they bowed to facts, and all accepted it without delay. Could any of these Sovereigns—and, above all, NAPOLEON lII. have then refused to have carried out the Neufchatel protocol had Lord CLARENDON, Lord MALMESBURY'S successor, insisted upon their doing so? Could Prussia have dared to urge her claim upon a worthless and imaginary title in Switzerland, when she had hastened to recognise the practical results of 1848 in France ? And could the King have involved the agreements of 1815 for himself, whilst he re nounced them for the Bourbons? Lord CLARENDON lost his opportunity, or per haps torgot Switzerland altogether. The favour able moment passed by—NAPOLEON is now safely seated on his throne; and, if ouraccounts from Paris be true, he is not so much disposed to defer to English feelings on the subject of Switzerland, as when in 1852 he accepted the mediation of Lord MALMESBURY to settle his dispute with the Swiss, and to stay the inva sion he threatened that brave and free people. THE NEW MEMBERS. AMONGST the points of personal interest con nected with the coming session of Parliament is the probable character of the " New Mem bers" just elected. Will any of them become celebrities in politics, or materially influence the decisions of the Legislature ? It would be impossible to answer these questions deci sively, for there is nothing so difficult to cal culate as the likelihood of a man's succeeding or failing in Parliament. It sometimes happens that abilities of a particular kind, or knowledge of a special character, enable their possessors to attain success on certain occa sions when the same resov would not aid them at other periods. "oratorical age," "a administrative period, the new M.P.'s is abilities can be associated knowledge, or official Of the members ( there are undoubtedly s. Parliament h „ reign of @no or m ! 1," and the *l. - ' whether t ki . ated either • 4, 4 . in.. . U) aptitude. $ l4 s...;:yvt'sfir , ,, chosen for • • : °to dly hove •