The Press. — London, England, 1855-12-08 00:00:00

1158 force, and which side must inevitably suffer most, not in material losses only, but in repu tation, from a continuance of the contest. It proved that the supremacy of Russia in the Black Sea rested on no 'solid foundation, but had been merely tolerated ; and it seemed U Qt unreasonable to conclude that she would be prepared to yield pretensions which it had bee proved in the face of the world she was totall unable to maintain. The Eastern Question was, in act, settled, as far as force of arms could settle it. Not only had it been shown that Russia was unable to succeed in her aggressive designs, but it had been proved that she was powerless to protect her own territory from invasion. Were the War to be continued through the obstinacy of Russia or the ardour of the Allies, it would, if its original principle were observed, only lead to a wanton and cruel loss of life and waste of resources on both sides, as it was apparent that Russia could never hope to recover the ground she had lost, and that the Allies would never consent to yield the advantages they had won. If, on the other hand, the original purpose of the War was to be lost sight of, or exceeded, there was imminent danger that what was at first a war of policy would degenerate into a war of passion, and be continued in the hope of reducing our enemy to the last extremity of exhaustion and distress. We might have withheld these considera tions, and have indulged, like some of our contemporaries, in vague nonsense or rampant bombast. We preferred to submit to our readers frank views and plain speech. Our course was not taken without serious con sideration, nor without lights, which we affirm, with perfect freedom from vanity or exaggeration, this Journal alone possesses. On a question vitally affecting the welfare of our country we thought that silence was de nied to us. A continuance of the War would deeply wound the enemy, but it would cer tainly damage the Allies also ; and if Peace were practicable, on the basis of such a settle ment as would take from Russia all pretext of future encroachment, and oppose an insuper able barrier to her aggressive policy, we felt that no narrow views of party interest, and no rage of popular passion, should he allowed to st mil in the way of its realisation. It has been charged against us, that the tine we have adopted has a tendency to divide the Conservative party. To what does this charge amount? No great party can exist in this country without much diversity of senti ment on leading topics of the time. For a journalist to be silent on such topics, would be to betray his trust and destroy his in fluence It is his part to endeavour to form opinion; but if this be beyond his power, at ltast to place before his readers the most authentic information he can obtain, and the soundest conclusions he can form. Our articles have been accused also of basing a tendency to derange the French Alliance, and to retard the Peace we professed to desire. We can now leave those accusations to speak for themselves. It has become ap parent that the Emperor of the FRENCH, with his accustomed sagacity, has discerned that the period has arrived when a rational pro tweet exists that a solid and satisfactory Peace may be established. The writers who hazard the French Alliance are not those who would confine the War to its original and legitimate purposes, but those who would recklessly ex tend it, and whose arguments, if fairly carried out, would give to it a revolutionary character and -hake every Throne in Europe. We are at a loss to conceive bow arguments which had tor their object to show the evils wiiich must inevitably attend a continuation of the War, to prove that Peace was now prac ticable, and to explain the means by which it 3night be accomplished, could by any miscon struction be supposed likely to prevent or retard the growth of pacific influences. If the negotiation now in progress should be brought to a happy conclusion, the result will be mainly due to the conviction entertained both by our enemy and our Allies, that there is in England a party with just aims and moderate ♦iews, strong enough to control the bluster which would perpetuate the War for the sake Of Mir, and ready to support a Peace which THE PRESS. would secure the one great end for which the War was undertaken—the limitation of Rus sian power in the South. We humbly conceive that we have done the Qonservative Cause ediMe service by showing that 1 cohViction was well founded, 44 by re lilting those anarchical schemes Alic t ia were ectlY: calculated to lead, not to that new, fe, &Ad staoe settlement of Europ# whic),‘ onsetyative statesmen desire, but to disttlbance and convulsion abroad, and to difficulties and diviiiions at home. For a time we stkbil alone in the metropoli tan press. What is the case now? Where are our accusers, and what is their tone ? We do not fear to challenge a comparison of our columns, since the fall of Sebastopol, with those of our most powerful contemporaries. That line which was stigmatised as indicating a "New Coalition," is now the line openly adopted by the French Court, and timidly taken up by the Ministerial press. We do not pretend to say tint the change is due to our influence, but we can point to the change as an evidence that we rightly interpreted the significance of the fall of Sebastopol, and that we did not err in announcing that it was cal culated to smooth the way for the re-establish ment of Peace. THE KING OF SARDINIA. THAT the visit of his Majesty the King of SARDIN IA to this country should be hailed with universal satisfaction can be a matter of wonder to none. There are numerous ele ments, both in his position and his character, to attract the admiration of the most differ ently constituted minds. In him the man of business sees the energetic reformer, and the religious man the resolute opponent of priest craft. To the eye of the soldier he is present as the hero of Novara—to the poet, or anti quary, as the heir of forty generations. Statesmen remember his hereditary alliance with the Crown of England—historians, the illustrious exploits of the House of Savoy. Yet over and above tl.e emotions of love and reverence which these traditions must inspire rises clear and bright to the minds of Eng lishmen the one broad fact that, all unbidden, he has cast in his lot with theirs; that, with small hope of aggrandisement, he has plunged into a distant and expensive contest for the sake of justice ; and that, whatever be the issue of the war, whether concluded in accord ance with public interests, or protracted for the sake of private ones, they are still sure to find VICTOR EMANUEL by their side, prepared to endure to the end its dangers and its horrors. To these concurrent causes of Ins present popularity it might be thought superfluous to add. Yet we must not allow ourselves to forget that some of them are accidental, some dependant on caprice, and that others, which are more lasting, are still but limited in their influence. Piedmont may be reconciled to Rome, war may give place to peace, and the King of SARDINIA may lose many of those attributes with which the popular voice has invested him; but there are certain distinc tions which accident cannot confer nor time deitroy, and which are surer of recognition perhaps in a future age than the present one— the merit of such achievements as appeal rather to the reason than the passions, which are based on great principles, and of which the fruits must be expected with patience. Has the King of SARDINIA, then, established any such permanent title to the homage of man kind ? Has he accomplished designs which with all possible deductions may render him fearless of the verdict of posterity? We un hesitatingly reply that he has. In an age when ,representative institutions are discre• dited he has upheld them. When the world seems to tremble in the balance between tyranny and democracy, Conservatives are reassured when they gaze on Sardinia. When writers of ability and repute do not scruple to affirm that constitutional monarchy is a blun der, VICTOR EMANUEL has promoted tho cause both of order and humanity as a constitu tional Monarch. He has shown that it is SATURDAY, possible even in Italy to unite vigour of action with freedom of opinion, and has sown the germs of a powerful and sober commonwealth whose Destinies w woo l 4 - not presume to measure. But he has still another claim to our enthusiasm aud ot4 cOnfideuce. These are days in which Ro ' is straining every sinew to preserve and ~ send her spiritual a ii ic dorimio . E'er siii,ce - rench Revolution she has n Mgr , ' , cretly but steadily. Eurvoie Sovereign* , oroughly frightened out bi their liberal aspirations were only too happy to ' accept her assistance, and the last state of Southern Europe is worse than the first. In this country, long fondly deemed the bulwark of Protestantism, she has made huge but silent strides. Among our leading statesmen we do not always know, though she does, who are for her, and who against her. Our trumpet gives an uncertain sound, but Rome is united, unscrupulous, and coufi dent. Can- we be too much elated at the deadly wound she has received at the hands of this same resolute and independent ruler? Towards the Prince who has thus championed these two great principles of civil order and religious liberty is it possible we can feel too warmly ? May he long continue to reign in the hearts of his people, and go on to realise the glowing ideal of a Patriot King. HOW IS THE MILITIA WORKING? Tunas have been signs in the last few days that the Militia system is beginning to press rather heavily on various parties. As was foreseen, the billeting is causing discontent, and preliminary meetings have been held with a view to redress. In some other quarters, also, the whole plan of our Eaglish Militia is undergoing discussion. Doubts are enter tained by experienced persons whether the system is working as well as ought to be ex pected ; and it is evident that in the next session of Parliament the Militia Question will be subjected to examination. It is worth while recollecting clearly that, thanks to her insular position and her powerful navy, England—unlike continental countries—has never been forced to rely on a militia. When NAPOLEON I. prepared his flotilla at Boulogne, and when there was a genuine panic upon invasion, there was an ardent feeling raised for the Militia. But in 1801, just when NAPOLEON was First Consul, our Militia was greatly inferior in numbers to our regular troops. Our whole military force in that year was 302,000 men, of whom 193,000 were regular troops (scattered through our empire and colonies), and 109,000 Militia and fencibles. How great was the reliance of England on her navy is visible in the fact that in the same year she had 100 ships of the line, and 200 frigates, under sail, in all parts of the world, besides 20 ships of reserve, and 50 frigates ready fur sea. There were, altogether, 814 vessels of war, of all sizes, afloat, or in the course of being built, and not less than 120,000 seamen. The relative pro portion of these numbers will show how little we relied on our Militia at that time. After the rupture of the Peace of Amiens, and when NAPOLEON had collected his flotilla at Boulogne, an extraordinary military ardour seized the country. A levy, en muse, which had been resolved on, was rendered unneces sary by the number and zeal of the volunteers. The Whig Opposition fur once seconded the efforts of authority, and the ranks of the Militia were enormously increased. But the battle of Trafalgar dissipated all fear of in vasion, and the Militia thinned down into being a mere nursery for the Line, which, for the most part, has been its chief utility iu England. What occurred in those times has since taken place on a smaller scale in our own days. Four years since an "invasion " was talked about, and under the influence of ap prehension—natural, though unfounded—con siderable activity was shown through the country, when it was proposed that the Militia should be called out. Yet when the war actually began, and when it was certain that there would be a want of soldiers, there