The Press. — London, England, 1855-02-10 00:00:00

126 the Cabinet and in the House, the equivocal form of bluster. At no time can he effectively address the House without great preparation. He is quite unequal to the task of habitually conducting great debates, and of closing with command important discussions. The hopeless condition of our army et thtit moment is mainly oceasioned by his neglect of his duty at the Home-office in regard . to the Militia. He promised fa Fclottaty, just a twelvemonth ago—that the Irish . and Scotch Militia should be called out, but he neglected to take the proper steps for carrying this most necessary measure into execution. War was declared on March 28th, 1854, and still Lord PALMERSTON remained inactive. it was not until Mid summer that the promise made in February began to be redeemed. Hence, when regi• Inents of the line left Ireland early in the year, English militia regiments had to be sent to supply their place, and, through the improvi dence and delays of the Home-office, that force was rendered unavailable from which an army of reserve might most advantageously have been formed. Justice has been done to the policy which framed and carried the Militia Act. It is now acknowledged that that measure of Lord DERBY'S Government was dictated by wise foresight and due regard to the probable necessities of the country. That it has not been more effective in actual practice, and furnished a powerful army of reserve, is solely chargeable to Lord PALMERSTON'S neglect of his duty. It is no wonder that the mental re source which, as accounts came thick and fast of the terrible reduction of our army before Sebastopol, could devise no better scheme for its relief than the enlistment of a foreign legion—did not discern at the commencement of the war the expediency of organising the entire militia force of the United Kingdom. Had that step been taken, reinforcements might have been sent to the army in the Crimea, which would have kept it above its work, and spared that sacrifice of life which has resulted from fatigue without necessaries, and exposure without rest. And at this time another army might have been in readiness to embark at the proper moment for the Crimea, and take part in the operations of the spring campaign. Lord PALMERSTON was in effect War Minister for England, and the failure of our army before Sebastopol, to whatever cause it may be attributed, is not more conspicuous than the failure of the Home-office in organis ing the Militia. It was a saying of GUICCIARDINI that " avarice doth the more creep upon a man " the older he doth grow," and this is espe cially true of the avarice of power. Lord PAL MERSTON was offered an honourable retreat : he has grasped the Premiership, and his in competency to rule in the Home-office is to be accepted as a proof of his ability to administer the government of England at a great crisis of her fortunes like the present. A great crisis!—for while warring with Russia, it is equally our duty and our interest to lose no ground in honourable rivalry with France. THE PREMIER'S POSITION. - - _ " THE position of Lord PALMERSTON at this " moment," say his friends, "is singular, " perhaps unique. He has crowned a long " life of social and political success by the " attainment of the highest post open to a " British subject. He is First Minister and " Leader of the Commons, the representative " of a popular policy, backed by the support "of a large portion of the press. He has the " advantage, moreover, of exercising these " high functivs during a time of war, when " faction is merged in patriotism, mea " sures of organic change are not demanded " by any section of the people, and when a " highminded Opposition would rather see " the Ministry strengthened than shaken. He " is neither the servant of the Court, nor the " friend of despotism abroad ; and if Perlia " went should not prove sufficiently submis " sive, he need have no fears or scruples in " appealing to the people by a dissolution. He will not be called upon by his supporters .‘" out of doors to reform abuses, to attack 111. THE PRESS. " existing interest s, or to take a single step " which may u.sturb the popularity of his " career. He may be as Conservative as he " pleases in act, yet retain and enjoy the " prestige of Llberaltem. These are great " cards to play, and they are in the hands of e " skilful gamester. What, then, except death, " or signal military dingo', should interrupt " his-tenure of power ?" We ism stated the OM, we believe, faitly. overlooking no plea width the most thorough going adherent of the new Government can put forward ; and we , repeat once more that, while refusing an implicit confidence to an untried Minister and a Cabinet scarcely yet formed, we desire that both one and the other should receive a fair support from Parliament. Our interests as Englishmen, and our feelings as supporters of Lord DERBY, are here at one. Nevertheless, it is not good that exaggerated expectations be formed, lest a nation, too apt to construe into treachery the disappointment of its hopes, should in its anger overthrow more than the Minister whom it seeks to replace. There are circumstances in Lord PALMERSTON'S position, as well as antecedents in his life, which suggest a doubt how far he may be able or fit to grapple with existing difficulties. In the first place, is he master of his own Cabinet ? In the next, does that Cabinet share with its chief the approbation of the public ? These two questions are inter woven, and cannot be discussed separately. The situation of an English Prime Minister presents many anomalies. The office itself is not recognised by the Constitation—its powers are ill-defined, and their extent depends more on the character of the holder than on either law or tradition. According to received ideas, every member of the Cabinet in a greater degree, every member of the Ministry in a less degree, is responsible for the acts of the whole. Only in dealing with affairs purely depart mental—and not in the more important of these—can this rule admit of relaxation. The budgets of Mr. GLADSTONE, the India Bill of Sir C. WooD, the Reform Bills and Education Bills of Lord JOHN RUSSELL have severally reflected credit or discredit on the colleagues of those Ministers. To judge, then, what policy is likely to be pursued, we must look to the constitution of the Government as a whole. Now, who are the Ministers? With the ex ception of Lord PANMURE, a very worthy Whig Peer of third-rate abilities, supposed to have retired from politics in '52, and who now fills the important post of Minister for War, we have the Aberdeen Cabinet over again. Nay, even the posts are not changed. Mr. GLADSTONE remains to starve our troops, Lord CLARENDON to conduct our diplomacy, Sir JAMES GRAHAM to deliver hilarious speeches at Reform-Club dinners, and to send line-of-battle ships for the capture of forts near which nothing larger than a gun-boat can float. Two Ministers only are made scapegoats for the rest, nor have pains been spared to show the undiminished confidence which their more fortunate col leagues place iu these. It is, we believe, solely the prudence or the pride of Lord ABERDEEN which has precluded him from ac cepting a seat at the Council-board. The ex Premier, condemned by the House of Commons, afraid to defend himself in the Lords, exe crated by the public, receives the highest honorary distinction which the Crown can bestow, and is earnestly pressed not to let such a trifle as a parliamentary censure stand in the way of his continuance in power. The Duke of NEWCASTLE, that model martyr to faction, waits quietly until the return of Lord DALHOUSIE, when his unmerited sufferings are to bo rewarded by the Viceroyalty of India. Does this look like the in auguration of a new era in politics ? " Wait," say the Ministerialists, " till you have " seen our measures." Well, we do wait ; but meantime we judge the measures by the men. The late Cabinet, among its other peculiarities, was eminently depart mental. The individual opinions of its mem bers were as marked as their dislike of the individual opinions of their colleagues. The Home office snubbed the Treasury ; the Trea sury retorted ; the Admiralty attacked the Horse Guards ; the President of the Council quarrelled with the Wanoffice ; the Finance Minister made his own hobby, from which he SATURDAY, has not yet dismounted ; the President of the Board of Control carried au India Bill which his secretary went about openly ridiculing; the Home Secretary wrote, on an average, two letters a week, and passed his abundant leisure in quizzing the Prime Minister; the Prime Minister cioutinued to mutter pro phecies of peaces while his oolleagues, amidst ihe cheers of Parliament, were vaunting the atiticiplited capttite of Sebastopol, and the humilhaion.of Russilt. It is too much to ask us to presuppose the fusion of these dis cordant elements into a homogeneous execu. tive, merely because the idlest of all possible Home Secretaries has become the most pro mising of all possible Premiers. As regards Lord PALMERSTON'S colleagues, their position is not easy to comprehend. It is folly, and worse than folly, to treat the conduct of the war us a matter for which Lord ABERDEEN and the Duke of NEWCASTLE are alone responsible. Either that con:duct was approved by the rest of the late Cabinet, or it was not. If not, they had, as honest men l no alternative except to resign—a step which Lord JOHN RUSSELL alone had the manliness to take, and which even he took, by his own confession, too late. If it was so approved, the war must either be conducted on the same principles as hitherto— in which case the country will ratify and repeat the vote of Parliament ; or, by submit. ting to a practical reversal of their policy, Mr. GLADSTONE and his friends will acknowledge the justice of the censure passed upon them, and consequently their own unworthiness of a renewed lease of power. It is not for us to decide how this problem will be solved; meantime, we say to our Conservative friends :—" Be patient, but be vigilant; sup " port the Government as though it were one " in which you could confide, but watch it as " one which you have reason to distrust. " Office is not your object, nor yet a personal " triumph, but the wise exercise of high " national functions, and the maintenance of " those great principles which have bound, " and which bind, you together. You. have " formidable numbers, a compact organisation, " able leaders. Without your aid, or at least your " neutrality, ne Government can long endure. " You may control, if you do not direct, the " course of public affairs ; but in unbroken " union, in temperate conduct, in unwearied " patience, lies the secret of your strength. " Act as you have acted during the last two " years. Your time will not be long delayed ; " justice will be done you by the people ; you " will save the imperilled reputation of par " liamentary government, and, by maintaining " the constitutional doctrine of party, rescue " England from the ascendancy of intrigue." THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY. Tux anxiety felt by the public on the Com mittee of Inquiry into the conduct of the war, is perfectly natural. We cannot be surprised at people indignantly desiring to know the reasons why the fair fame of England has been so disparaged by the shocking mis management in Downing-street, and they dread a repetition of the same misconduct, unless a strong sense of individual responsi bility be brought home to all the officials engaged in the war. It is not to gratify any prurient love of " scandalous disclosures," nor is it from any malignant desire of trampling on fallen characters with ruined reputations, that we earnestly require that the inquiry should be followed up with vigour. We have no vindictive feelings in urging it forward. Humiliation has already overtaken the authors of the calamities of the country, and any further exposure could scarcely bring them lower. But it is on public grounds, and for prospec tive reasons, that the beneficial example of a strict investigation should be made. Unless an inquiry takes place, we shall present the singular spectacle of a constitutional country with an irresponsible executive. Through all ranks of the civil service a feeling will be diffirsed that by the aid of parliamentary in fluences the most shameful errors can be screened from the publio gaze. A cloak of