The Press. — London, England, 1855-11-17 00:00:00

1086 dismemberment of Russia, or for any other end foreign to the purpose of our alliance with France, we must be prepared to take on our selves all the responsibility of our resolve, and to stand alone in its proseentiOn. THE BEDFORD WHIGS :AND EXETER-HALL. THE exhibition of Lord JOHN RUSSELL this week, at Exeter hall, was eminently charac teristic of the man, time, and place. In his language, and with thorough superficial read ing, there was visible the pupil of the moral philosophers of Edinburgh of the olden school, and the Noble lecturer showed the skill of a practical Parliamentary debater in his selec tion of matter likely to prove attractive with his peculiar audience. Without saying any thing that could gall the Roman Catholics, the sitting Member for London contrived to cater for ears accustomed to the philosophy of Exeter-hall. There was adroitness in the reference to GALILEO and his persecution. At first it would appear to have been a mere " cheer-trap," but with peculiar dexterity the Noble Lord gracefully alluded to the best commentary on the Newtonian philosophy having proceeded from the nimble pens of a couple of Jesuits ; and he gave a piquant anecdote of the tact with which they avoided the consequences of their promulgation of scientific truth. And, thus, when Lord JOHN had to speak of religious persecution, the literary and lecturing Member for London selected the dragonnades of France French ladies talk of a " suspicion "of rouge," and in the allusion to the bigotry of Louis XIV., a listener got a hint of the writer of the Durham Letter. There was evi dently a desire to catch at Protestant opinion; but we are afraid that the inconsistent part played by the Member for London in attacking the POPE, and afterwards succumbing to Lord ABERDEEN and the Brass Band, will deprive him of Protestant sympathy. If he had retired from Whig leadership, and stood alone amidst his party on the Protestant question, what a nigh position would now be given to him by public opinion! The lecture bore evident marks of careful deliberation, and it is no satire to say that there was an oblique reference throughout to the " independent electors of the City of London." The circumstance that Lord PANMURE and Mr. VERNON SMITH escorted the Noble Lecturer to the platform, would seem to show that some of the "Old Old Whigs" compassionate the position of Lord JOHN RUSSELL, while others of that party only laugh at him. It is quite evident that he has not lost those qualities which made one of the most generous of his adversaries designate him as " Pluck Per sonified." He is resolved still to combat for a niche in the British Walhalla. The sibilla tions at Guildhall were largely compensated for by the cheers at his literary lecture. He showed himself off, also, and that was some thing. Like an old actor, he could not live without the noisy applause to which he was accustomed before "the cold shade " of ABER DEEN chilled his fiery Whiggism and destroyed his popularity. Next session will certainly see a Cabinet in Parliamentary difficulties. All the leading reputations of the House of Commons are ad verse to Lord PALMERSTON. His political opponents include the most eloquent and ex perienced statesmen of the age. Lord STANLEY has declined his appeal for aid, and Lord JOHN RUSSELL, at the head of the Bedford Whigs, stands aloof from his Ministry. Mr. DISRAELI is, on his part, supported by a great connec tion, powerful in wealth, in numbers, and in unity of purpose. Sir JAMES GRAHAM and Mr. GLADSTONE menace him in the flank, and Mr. COBDEN and Mr. BRIGHT assail his rear. We do not recollect any previous Cabinet so weak in the House of Commons. Sir GEORGE GREY'S health is infirm, and neither Sir GEORGE LEWIS, Sir CHARLES WOOD, nor Mr. VERNON SMITH ere capable of supporting a tottering Ministry. Nor can anonymous writers, with unscrupulous pens, silent and salaried in the THE PRESS. House of Commons, prop up a Ministry with out a fixed purpose or a firm connection. In such a state of affairs the facetious First Lord of the Treasury may be sobered on ob serving the art with which the Bedford Whip cast out baits to Exeter-ball. Lord PALmus- TON relies too much on his friends in " the City," and on certain " organs." He may find that the Bedford Whip are not so far wrong in thinking that Exeter-hall has a wider don nection in the country than those who toasted his name at the Guildhall, inspired by that " punch" which accompanies turtle-soup, while, in a literary sense, it is always present in the sayings of the " Grey Momus " of the Ministry. " WHAT WOULD ' THE DUKE' HAVE SAID ?" SOME time since it was sought to edify the public with considerations on what Sir ROBERT PEEL would have thought, if he were now alive. It would bo still more important and interesting to reflect on what " The Duke " would have said. Yet, in uttering that opinion, we are aware that there is at least one person —the Premier of England—who would not concur with us. Lord PALMERSTON had not the highest opinion of the Duke of WELLING TON, and the feeling on the Duke's part was intensely reciprocal. His Grace despised the character of the volatile Viscount ; the latter disliked the stern dignity of the uncompro mising "F. M." It may be of no use, therefore, to quote " Gurwood " for the instruction of the present Prime Minister. Possibly even the name of " Gurwood " is disagreeable to the gay deceiver of all parties. It is certainly a most curious fact that Lord Viscount PALMERSTON makes so particularly small a figure in the pages of the great Duke's despatches. There are twelve volumes of them, besides an additional one, with an index, of two hundred and thirty-five pages, and only twice did ARTHUR WELLESLEY address himself to the present Viscount PAL MERSTON, who was then Secretary at-War. The fact is certainly curious, for the Duke wrote freely and frequently to all descriptions of official persons. Last session, the Earl of ELLENBOROUGH informed the House of Lords about the Duke's opinion on " small birds " of the genus Palmerston. The public at large, however, might care to know whether there was any parallel case in the Duke's own times which presented ana logies with the pre s ent state of affaira. We can show from GuawooD's authentic pages, that the Duke of WELLINGTON'S opinion on the necessity of defining clearly the objects of military campaigns, was exactly in unison with the opinions advanced in these columns during the present emergency. For example, µn 1813, while NAPOLEON was still on the throne of France, and when the English army had not yet crossed the Pyrenees, a proposition was made by the Duc de BERRI on the part of the BOURBONS, to join the Duke of WELLINGTON in Spain with twenty thousand armed Frenchmen. The proposal had many attractive aspects ; amongst others, if accepted, it would have taken away from the foreign character of an entry into France, and a less wary leader would have jumped at the accep tance of the proposition. But the Duke, with his circumspective sagacity, saw that there was great difficulty in receiving aid from the BOURBONS in that form. Just as in the present instance, the ultimate objects of the war were not then agreed upon amongst the Allies in various parts of Europe. Was this object to dethrone NAPOLEON, or to confine him within the bounds of France ? Was his dynasty to be accepted, and his ambition restrained, or was his per *sonal existence as a Sovereign to be obstinately struggled against? (These various consider ations were, in the Duke's mind, so many ob stacles to the acceptance of the proposal. What, therefore, did the Duke of WELLING TON recommend to the English Cabinet of that time in relation to that proposal? Writing from " Lesaca, Bth August, 1813," after enumerating the eventualities, and en- SATURDAY, larging upon them, his Grace proceeded to say :—" We must, before the Duo de BERRI "be allowed to join the army, get from the Allies "in the North of Europe a declaration how far " they will persevere in the contest with a view "to dethrone BONAPARTI, and the British " Government must *sake sip their minds on the "question, and come to an understanding upon " it with those of the Peninsula." SO that, even in so comparatively small a question as the acceptance or not of twenty thousand Bourbonic troops, the Duke of WELLINGTON emphatically urged the necessity of the Allies first agreeing distinctly as to their ultimate objects in warring against NAPOLEON. His Grace saw that if the Due de BERRI'S offer was taken, and that if afterwards some of the Allies should have disavowed the object of dethroning NAPOLEON, that vast con fusion and increased discord would be intro duced amongst the various confederated Powers. In the present case, a fortiori, the great Duke would—consistently with that opinion—have strongly urged the necessity for a clear and distinct purpose being publicly avowed and acted on by the Allies. He would not have been satisfied with being told that the war was carried on against " Cossackism," " Oriental Despotism," or the other phrases, not objects, which are vulgarly employed. Vagueness of purpose is necessarily fatal to the ultimate success of all great operations in war. It is now admitted on all sides that Mr. Pirr's military operations during the French revolutionary struggle were rendered futile for many years by the haziness which he allowed to envelope the public mind. This error was also largely partaken of by some of the Allies, who contented themselves with declaring that they fought for no other pur pose than to put down " Atheism " and Ja cobinism." In the same way the Holy Alliance did enormous evil in later times to the amity of nations, by assembling great physical forces and concentrating them on a fictitious object, while they indulged in indefinite cant, and refrained from any clear understanding of what they were to do. We are almost sure, therefore, that the Duke would have said, that a war without distinct objects, clearly seen, and openly avowed, would not be terminated with satisfaction, and would drag on a protracted existence. The worst of carrying on such a war policy as that which Lord PALMERSTON supports, is, that it tends to an indefinite prolongation of hostil ities. The enormous length of wars, it should be recollected, is one of their direst curses. In ancient times the Peloponesian war lasted twenty-seven years ; one Punic war was twenty four, and another eighteen years. In modern times, the treaty of Westphalia concluded a war of thirty years, and the length of the French revolutionary war was scarcely shorter. It deserves, also, to be recollected that the Duke of WELLINGTON never at any time under rated Russia. After NAPOLEON had astounded Europe with the gigantic nature of his arma ment against Russia, the Duke of WELLINGTON quietly wrote (25th July, 1812)—" If the Em " peror of RUSSIA be prudent, and has any re " sources, and if his Russians will really tight, " BoNapswrz will not succeed." Since that ! war commenced, " prudence," " resources , and " Russians that will really fight.," have not been wanted to the enemy, of whom some people think so lightly. CURRENCY AND CAPITAL. WHILE the accounts from Australia and Cali• fornia speak of continually increasing yields of gold—of the discovery of new fields, and of the more successful working of those already known—there is a party in this country which contends that the supply of gold is insufficient to maintain our existing system of currency. The product from Australia in this year of 1865 is estimated to be of the value of 10,000,0001. sterling ; the product of California will be more considerable. These yields are in addition to the produce of the mines worked before the new discoveries took place. Alto gether, the total yearly produce of gold cannot