The Press. — London, England, 1855-03-17 00:00:00

of " Inquisitors," in 1855, though he told the House of Commons to take care not to offend the Emperor of the FRENCH (a privilege which, it would seem, he had reserved for himself) ; figuring foremost in the counsels of the Carl ton Club, and noisiest of all at the orgies of the Reform Club—toadying a British Admiral one month, and all but slandering him the next ; pouring forth jeremiads at one time—but we must stop. Columns would be required to recite the contradictions o f this versatile and able, but most singularly inconsistent, public man, whose changes are stamped in his con stituencies, Cockermonth, Carlisle, Cumber land, Penrhyn, Dorchester, Ripon, and Carlisle again) It was once wittily remarked by a Conserva tive Squire, " That Sir JAMES GRAHAM, after " all, appeared to have one really fixed idea in " his mind, viz., that England was progressing "to a Republic, and that he should play for " being its first President." In that humo rous saying, the strange recklessness and wild plunges of Sir JAMES GRAHAM are happily in dicated. He is always for casting himself and his political fortunes into the lottery of change. There is a characteristic lubricity in his nature which forbids all hope of steadiness in one purpose. Even a vane on a steeple should be consistent in turning with the winds. But Sir JAMES GRAHAM is not a weathercock, but a whirligig. His rapid circumvolutions would amuse a philosopher, while teaching a plain man of the world the real " reason why" such eminent parts, such decisive though desul tory vigour, such hoarded knowledge, and such effective eloquence, have failed in securing " double-firsts" in the course of public honours. Unstable as water, Sir JAMES GRAHAM Could never be relied on as chief of a party. He can only produce his results, while acting sub. ordinately to other minds. When he attempts to stand alone he totters. He has made bril liant speeches, and yet cannot be said to he a man of genius ; he has done bold deeds, and yet he has never become the hero of any party in the land, winning no more lasting conside ration than belongs to a great special pleader in the politics of England. THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY. THE evidence given before the Committee of Inquiry continues to be heard with great interest, but it were to be wished that more method was pursued in the investigation. The inquiry is left to be prosecuted by the desultory zeal and chance exertions of in dividual members of the Committee. The Chairman, Mr. ROEBUCK, is unfortunately an invalid, and ho cannot lead the examination in so complicated a case with that energy which would he absolutely required; Lord SEYMOUR has not taken the chair, and the proceedings might be more systematic. We think it ought soon to become a question what special issues should be raised, and that wit nesses might be examined consecutively on distinct points. _ _ The evidence given more than authenti cates the previous descriptions in the news papers of the horrors suffered by our troops. Squeamish persons may recoil from reading the odious state in which our men were left after being wounded, in miserable rags, swarm ing with vermin, and perishing amid filth. The description of the plague in Thucydides, or the details given by DE FOE of the horrible epidemy in London in the days of CHARLES 11., are surpassed in horror by the plain matter of fact narratives given by the various witnesses this week. Brave men stretched on death beds, amidst yerminiand dirt, form too horrible subjects for the imagination to dwell upon. We prefer, rather, to direct attention to the mass of facts proving that the Quartermaster- General's Department and the Commissariat totally broke down. It is evident that Mr. FILDER is seriously inculpated, and how far that gentleman may endeavour to escape by throwing the blame on the War-office is not for us now to determine. But no special pleas can relieve the War-office of the cruel neglect Ibi.._ THE PRESS. about the men's clothing. They were left almost to the very last without clothes. " Often," says Mr. MACDONALD of the Times, " the men had thrown away their shirts from 4 4 disgust at their filth and being swarming with vermin; their trousers were tom in every direction, and their coats, when they ' retained them, were ragged." Surely, if ever there was a case when reasonable foresight might have been anti cipated, it would be that of clothing the troops in a campaign ; and his remissness in that instance is alone enough to damage seriously the character of the Duke of NEW CASTLE. For what can be more discreditable to the War-office than the now undoubted fact that English soldiers were left to the aid of a Times' almoner? " Just before this time," says Mr. MACDONALD, "accounts had reached " England of want of supplies of all kind. " These statements were denied by the Duke of " Newcastle and Dr. Smith. At least they ques " tioned the accuracy of the statements. But " even admitting that wants of the kind had " existed, they said that such wants would " have ceased, and that by the time I arrived " there would be no necessity for the adminis " tration of the fund." Well, here is a precise and definite charge against both the Duke and the Doctor. Ob serve that the Duke of NEWCASTLE, if we are to believe Mr. MACDONALD, was quite tranquil as to the provisions made for the health and comfort of the troops. What was his Grace then thinking of about their clothes? Where are the proofs that he anticipated the certain wants of a winter campaign ? What orders did his Grace give upon the subject? What did his colleagues think upon the subject, or did they think at all upon it? These are questions on which we should like that the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, was extracted from the ex-Minister, whose nomination to the War office was sanctioned by the leaders of the Whigs. For it is evident that if there was " credulity " in his talents by some of his col leagues, there was " connivance" at his blun ders by others, until one of them in a panic fled from the Ministry. THE NEW CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER. WE shall look with curiosity to the career of the new Chancellor of the Exchequer. All through life Sir CORNEWALL LEWIS has been considered as " a man of the closet." He as sisted in one of the earliest translations of Niebuhr's " History of Rome ;" he analysed the evidence before a committee on " Irish Disturbances," and wrote a tame treatise on that exciting theme. He published a work on the " Government of Dependencies," and left the subject where he found it, while he omit ted to enumerate the Radicals of England as amongst the " dependencies" of the Whigs. A theorist in his mode of looking at mankind, he has always been a partisan in politics, and, though he was a laborious Financial Secretary to the Treasury, he never exhibited practical capacity for dealing with complicated affairs of life. Such is the man selected for the office of financier of England. His attainments are those of a classical scholar, versed in lexicons, and familiar with "crack" passages in ancient authors. If Sir CORNEWALL LEWIS be a man of commanding energy, he may rise superior to his antecedents, and prove himself equal to first rate parliamentary office. But we must be excused for doubting the ♦ersatility of the new CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER. His energy is more mental than personal, and he is better adapted for routine than for a depart ment which now requires an originative mind and a bold genius. Hitherto he has never signalised himself in Parliament, though he has sat in the House of Commons for several years. When the " Birch " scandal was brought forward, he was unable to defend his brother-in-law, Lord CLARENDON, and left the case in the hands of abler debators. Yet this is the man whom the official Whigs rely upon as " a trump." SATURDAY, We have no doubt that Sir CORNEWALL Law's would make an excellent professor in a Germanised University. He might fathom " Transcendentalism," but we surmise that " the City" will be too deep for him, and that the House of Commons will demand more facility in debate than he is likely to exhibit. His mind is not of that order which can grapple with sudden difficulties, and we ques tion whether his health is equal to the in creased strain upon his physical powers. It is to be remarked, also, that from his col leagues Sir CORNEWALL LEWIS can expect little assistance. The Whigs have always failed in finance, and their present race of statesmen have a marked aversion to political economy, as its teaching on the subject of " monopoly" is opposed to their own exclusive system of rule. Lord Jonx RUSSELL confessed, some years since, that he " was not very familiar " with those topics" (finance), and our present Prime Minister would make a joke of arith metic. Sir CHARLES WOOD is the only one amongst them who would even pretend to be able to assist with hints for a budget, derived from the recollection of his former failures. But Sir CORNEWALL LEWIS will leave Sir CHARLES to flounder in the Admiralty, and attempt a budget of his own, which we hope, for the benefit of the empire, will be better re ceived by the public than some of his profound hut non-appreciated treatises on political metaphysics, addressed to drowsy readers, who nod their approbation of one of " The Great Unreadables ' of our age. THE LITERARY FUND. THE anniversary meeting of the subscribers to this fund was held on Wednesday at the society's rooms in Great Russell-street, and attracted an unusual number of members, owing to the belief that some serious objections would be urged to the manage ment of the fund, and suggestions of reform offered. The gathering of literary celebrities were numerous, including Sir B. Lytton, Dean Milman, the Rev. Dr. Croly, Mr. C. Dickens, Mr. Nike, &c. The report read by the treasurer showed that the income of the society for the past year had been 2,5721., out of which 1,4701. had been issued to forty-eight re cipients. Mr. Drum then made a long speech, commenting upon and censuring the past management of the fund. His objections were based chiefly upon the score of extravagance, and he contended that the administration and other expenses were large be yond all proportion either to the income of the so ciety or the amounts granted out of its funds for the relief of distress among literary men. To support his views Mr. Dilke read a comparative statement, from which it appeared that while the Literary Fund had in the decennial period 1844-54 relieved 429 applicants at a cost from mere expenses of 5,0941., an analogous institution, the Artists' Benevolent Fund, had spent only 9041. in the ten years, though providing relief for 559 applicants. The bare cost of each grant out of the fund was, he calculated, 11/. 175., exclusi4,e of the collector's poundage, ad vertisements, and some other outlays. He proposed a resolution declaring the expenditure in managing the Literary Fund unreasonable and enormous, and recommending some great change in the administra tion of its affairs. After a good deal of discussion, Mr. Dilke's reso lution was negatived by a narrow majority, 32 to 28 of the members present. Mr. DICKENS proposed and succeeded in carrying a resolution appointing a committee to consider whe ther it would not be advisable to apply for a new charter, or act of Parliament, in order to remodel the constitution of the society. REAR-ADMIRAL THE VISCOUNT DE CHABANNES has arrived in London from Paris, commissioned by the French Government to arrange with the Admiralty a service of transports. M. de Chabannes com• manded the Charlemagne on the 17th of October at Sebastopol. She led the van of the French squadron of attack, and the gallant viscount was promoted to his present rank for his conduct on that occasion. GENERAL LA MARMORA left Paris on Saturday for Genoa. He has completed his arrangements with the Governments of France and England. ORDERS have been transmitted to India for the following regiments of infantry to be held in readi ness to proceed to the seat of war—viz., 10th Foot, from Bombay ; 29th ditto, under the command of Lieut. Colonel Sir G. Congreve, C.B. ; the Ist Batta lion of the 80th Royal Rifle Corps, from Bombay ; and the 75th Foot, from Bengal. THE colonelcy of the 80th Regiment has become vacant by the death of Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Brown. V