The Press. — London, England, 1857-07-25 00:00:00

,'UW, 4 'w•T . • •• - . • t ,(T 11:1 rt 61 El + No. 221.—V0L.V. LONDON, SATURDAY, JULY 25, 1857. STAMPED ....SIXPENCE. UNSTAMPED..FIVEPENCE. c~jc Vrtss. logs the reverse of friendly. Such is not the sort of chief who can smoothly work a Depart ment of State in times of gravity and peril. LONDON, SATURDAY, JULY 25, 1857. THE present crisis is undoubtedly of the gravest character, and causes great alarm. Although Government was " forewarned," it has unhappily turned out that it was not " forearmed." But Parliament is still sitting. and the duty that devolves on the House of Commcns is of immense importance. There has been positive imbecility in the recent mis management of Indian affairs. There has been neglect of advice, and disdain of prudent counsels. A blind security has been fostered. Alarms have been scouted; sagacious remon strances have been spurned. The effect of the Indian crisis on the domes tic affairs of the country is visible in animated discussions in every circle as to how the Whigs mean to carry on affairs. " Reform " is virtually shelved. The Premier will be only too glad to ride off from it upon any excuse ; and " the indifference " which Lord. PALMERSTON expressed for the opinion of Lord JOHN RUSSELL, simply means that there is an end of the only question in the Premier's cal culations on which the Noble Member for London could b 3 troublesome to the Govern ment. It is known that a large portion of the Liberal party has long been looking for some plea to escape from a new Reform Bill ; and, right or wrong, they will seek for it in the peril of the Indian empire, and rely on the chapter of accidents for further dilatory ex cuses. The old form of Parliamentary apology, " Besides, Sir, this is not the time, etc.," will be adopted eagerly by Ministerial supporters only too glad to escape from their pledges. The spreading schism in the Ministerial party, and the serious doubts as to whether the departments responsible for Indian affairs are properly filled, are the subjects of the day. Many of the Liberals are impracticable on the whole subject of " Re form "; the majority of them use it as a mere phrase. By these latter Lord JOHN RUSSELL is considered as a politician whose fashion has passed; and even if " Reform " were upon the cards, they would plot that the question should be taken out of his hands. Lord JOHN Res- SELL shows signs of thoroughly understanding the nature of the feelings entertained towards him by his former supporters. If they dis like him, he despises them. Ile does not fear their enmity, as he knows by experience that their faction must have some leader ; and, after Lord PALMERSTON, the Noble Member for London is resolved that none other but himself shall lead the Whigs. Quick in per ception, with an unceasing passion for keeping LATEST EDITION. himself beforo the public eye, Lord JOHN RUSSELL will not fail to teach the Premier that, after all, "indifference" is not the tone to he taken with a statesman under whom Lord PALMERSTON acted for twenty years. Besides this rising schism in the Whigs, which is hourly increased by the Indian crisis, and by the certain shelving of Reform, there is a more pressing public question as to whether special departments have administra tive abilities equal to the urgency of the occasion. The offices upon which the strain will be heaviest are the War-office and the Board of Control. It will not be asserted by any one that Lord PANMURE signalised himself by remarkable talents. When the Duke of NEWCASTLE ceased to be responsible for the conduct of the Crimean contest, a " Secretary of State for War" was specially appointed ; but, in point of fact, the war was managed by a sub-committee of the Cabinet, meeting on every Monday, as if the War•oflice had been under a commission. In the organisation of departments, in the choice of officials, in the development of resources, Lord. PANMURE showed no fertility of mind, nor boldness of design. Nor did his administrative acts show any atrong desire to anticipate or fulfil the national wishes. He had long experience of the War.office, and he knew its details, but no improvements can be associated with his rule. We may be certain that if Lord PAN MURE had done anything particularly credit able in the War-office, a step in the Peerage would have been conferred upon him long since, and the old earldom in his family might possibly have been revived. Many there a;:e, also, who wish to know what special aptitude Mr. VERNON SMITH possesses for filling the Presidency of the Board of Control. Mr. SMITH has been in Parliament for nearly thirty years, and the Whigs have always treated him as a mere subordinate. His relationship to a leading Whig grandee has more to do with his official elevation than any abilities that Mr. SMITH ever displayed. Tame, decorous, and re spectable, Mr. VERNON SMITH IS the incar nation of routine. Lord JOHN RUSSELL set no great value on his services ; and in his own case we admit that Mr. SMITH showed some sort of resolution. We have never heard of any political acts, any luminous speeches, any intellectual exploits, which would induce us to think that Mr. VERNON SMITH was equal to the task of smoothing the asperities and healing the divisions in the East India Di. rectory. We must confess, also, to entertaining strong doubts that Sir CHARLES WOOD is not equal to the First Lordship of the Admiralty in a time of pressure. As yet, he has shown in this crisis no peculiar activity, no bold deci sion, no sagacious views. In quiet times, Sir C. Woon is an efficient politician of the secondary class, and he has far greater abili ties than Mr. VERNON SMITH; but no oue could ever assert that Sir C. Woon was a first rate man. In thought he is sharp, not deep ; in manner he is smart, not strong. A political novice is easily vanquished by him, but he is not equal to taking up the foils with an emi nent debater. It is tho weakness of Sir CHARLES WOOD to think that he excels in " putting people down ;" and there are a large number of respectable personages in the public offices who entertain towards him feel- Lord PALMERSTON, we fear, underrates the magnitude of this crisis. Diplomacy, or Par liamentary adroitness, will not conquer the difficulties before him. The occasion requires the immediate application of practical abilities of the highest kind. The speeches of Lord ELLENSOROIIOII have been left without reply. and the suggestions of his great experience have been thrown away upon the - chiefs of the departments most responsible. Orders have been sent to outlying stations to forward all the available troops, but we have not seen regiments speeded from this country with the activity that we might expect. The question of Indian Finance complicates the crisis, and Sir CORNEWALL LEWIS Can find no hint in Tacitus or Thucydides that would be avail able in present circumstances to a British Chancellor of the Exchequer. We have ourselves much confidence in the Legislature and in the opinion of the en lightened classes. We trust that the House of Commons will teach Ministers that trifling with the national expectations cannot be allowed to go on longer with impunity. There has been time enough lost already. Govern ment must act with more energy ; and in order to do so, the departments involved should be placed in proper brands. It is for the House of Commons to think of these things. Changes must be made, and the sooner they are effected the better will the in terests of the empire be looked after. Neither at the Board of Control, nor at the War-office, nor at the Admiralty, are there leading officials with the qualities imperatively demanded by this crisis. Administrative talents equal to the occasion are not to be found in Lord PALmEnsToN's "appendages," and India is not the field upon which the Noble Viscount ap• pears to most advantage. THE COMING INDIAN DEBATE. MONDAY evening is fixed, in pursuance of the suggestion of Mr. DISRAELI, for the discussion on the state of India, in the House of Com mons. There can be no doubt that the audience will be in proportion to the impor tance of the subject at the present juncture. and we trust that the result will be to place more clearly before the people the true nature of the struggle that we are engaged in. There is no use in mincing the matter ; the most painful truths are preferable to the most Bat tering unction on such occasions. The former may lead us to follow even at this the eleventh hour the path that alone can lead to safety, while the effect of the latter would be surely to allay the pain of the nation, as opiates faci litate the departure of the dying man. , There has been already too much of. cenetialment regarding the state of India, and too great a ' neglect of the advice that has been proffered as to the remedies to be The late Sir CHARLES NAPIER strove in viiin to driiw . the 7 attention of the country to the-eviis•he fore- . saw. And we ourselves, for months past, have pointed out the inevitable consequences ox , r A