The Press. — London, England, 1857-01-24 00:00:00

74 - the Whigs. It is evident that they feel ex tremely embarrassed by their position. Their public honour is committed to dealing with " Reform." It was with tears that Lord JOHN RUSSELL abandoned hie measures not finally, but for a season. He had pledged himself over and over again to bring a plan forward. He adjourned it during the war, and wept over his hard lot in being obliged to forego the pleasure of launching the country into another internal revolution. The war has ceased. The Noble Lord's pledge remains. But the difficulties of the Whigs begin when once they resolve on carrying another Reform Bill. " What is it to be like, and where is it "to end? Are the county constituencies to "be swamped ? Are small boroughs to be " abolished? Is political power to be given "to the great towns exclusively?" These are difficult questions to solve, even in the nar rowest sense of Whig faction. Let small boroughs he abolished, and what will become of the Whigs ? The " families " would think twice before giving up Mahon, Peterborough, Caine, Tavistock, Arundel, and their many other snug seats. Three years ago Lord HARRY VANE headed " old * Whigs," who were pre pared to do strong battle against the proposi tion that their family seats should be taken away from them. We believe that the " old 'Whigs" are not ready to surrender on this question. Even if that difficulty were got over, there are other obstacles in the path of Lord JOHN RUSSELL. It may be doubted whether the Noble Lord, with all his rashness, is ready to propose placing the towns in the hands of an unqualified democracy. Nor is there any lowering of the franchise which would content that numerous class of " Reformers" who in sist upon the " Ballot." It is positively cer tain that the Whigs will not adopt the Ballot. Some of the present Ministers used to vote for it, but, like Sir GEORGE GREY, they have seen the errors of their ways. They believe that " Ballot " would completely annihilate their family influences, and that the measure would be as ruinous to them as if the Whig party were really " opened." The mention of this last topic brings us to another difficulty of the Reformers. What good will be any reform which leaves the Liberal Cabinet in the h ands of an exclusive clique? Lorl JOHN RUSSELL was for six years Prime Minister, and he never enlarged the boundaries from which "Ministers" are chosen for the Liberal connection. It. is the boast of the Conservative party that, its " Cabinet " has always been open to the virtues of the independent gentry in its ranks, and to the talents of men who have distinguished them selves in public life. CANNING, HUSKISSON, DUNDAS, ADDINGTON, GOULBURN, and many more Ministers of the Conservative party, were not sprung from dukes and marquises. When will the Whigs count so many names of " new men" allowed to sit in the Cabinet? BURK E, in 1782 ; SHERIDAN, in 1806 ; MACKINTOSH, in 1831 ; register the policy of the Whigs, in ex eluding men of genius, without long pedigrees or broad acres, from their Cabinets. Mr. MACAULAY'S case is no exception. The Right Honoumblo Gentleman commenced public lifelunder the special patronage of the Marquis of LANSDOWNE. Thus the difficulties from the abolition or retention of their family boroughs—the danger to the Whig oligarchy from the de mocracy of the towns—the anti-Radicalism of "No Ballot"—and the question of opening up the Cabinet. are all great difficulties in the way of united action for the Whigs. But let us not be deceived by the presence of those difficulties. The Whigs will probably rely on their old policy of conquering by cla mour. Let them throw public affairs into con fusion, and England into excitement, and their servile parasites and organised " touters " will raise the cry of " The Whigs alone can save " the country." As in 18.29, 1831-2, and 1846, public opinion will be coerced by seditious clubs and confederated democrats. A clamour must be raised by the Liberals, and Lord JOHN RUSSELL will do his best, or his worst, to foment that cry, and regain bis popularity. He hopes to consolidate his friends and fol lowers by giving them a new object. His restless character pants for action. lie de- k fa 13 la 11 111611111\-' THE PRESS. sires again to be at the bead of affairs, and to be inditing epigrammatic letters to insurrec tionary reform societies about " the whisper of " a faction," and " the voice of the people." He is urged to such & course, not only by that insatiable vanity which has so often beau satirised, but by the instincts of self-preserva tion. His political fortunes are now at their lowest ebb. For some time past he has been stranded. He longs for the popular wave which is to float him again, and he would hail its appearance, even though attended by " the " signs of a storm black in the horizon,' which he deprecated as ominous in his famous " Letters to the Electors of Stroud." FAILURE OF THE WHIG FINANCIERS. QUESTION 3 of finance will become of great Par liamentary importance in the ensuing session. The intense interest felt in so many directions about the Income Tax, and the economical questions dependent on its abolition, or its modifications, will probably cause " figure members " to occupy the floor of the House in many an adjourned debate of the next few months. It is a most striking circumstance that since the days of WALPOLE the Whigs never pro duced a financier of celebrity. At pamphleteer ing, essay writing, speech making, and at political strokes of faction, many of their champions have excelled ; but finance is a sub ject on which Whigs have been ineffective and unpractical. Many of us recollect how much the Reform party, even in the full tide of its success, was injured in 11.333 and 1834 by the blundering budgets of Lord ALTHORPE. The state of the party with respect to finan ciers was hopeless when they accepted Mr. SPRING RICE, after ten or twelve years Parlia mentary experience, for a Chancellor of the Exchequer ; and the fact that Sir CHARLES WOOD is now First Lord of the Admiralty con clusively shows how little confidence even his friends possess in his financial capacity. Yet of the two we incline to think that Sir CHARLES Woon would be a better Chancellor of the Ex chequer than Sir CORNEWALL LEWIS, who will assuredly have no sinecure of the post in this current year. It is not concealed by the poli tical friends of the present Ministry that fears are entertained lest the Cabinet should pre maturely shipwreck on finance. Sir ROBERT PEEL knew the Whigs well, when be predicted during the Melbourne Ministry that the Libe rals would break down on finance. So they did in 18-11, when even the Radical manufac turers and the universal shopkeepers of Eng land were rejoiced for the sake of public credit, and the prosperity of trade, to see the Tories in office. It is, indeed, almost a Whig tradition that finance should never be well studied by the leaders of the party. Lord BROUGHAM has re corded how " Lord JOHN CAVENDISH, one of the " smallest of mankind," was made Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Rockingham Ministry. Mr. Fox acknowledged in the House of Commons that he had not read " The Wealth of Nations ;" and Lord JOHN RUSSELL, not many years since, in a moment of unguarded frankness, confessed that ho "was not very " practical in arithmetical matters." Lord PALMERSTON is not a Whig, neither is he a financier. The Liberals believe that his Lordship holds many heretical opinions on political economy, and the manner in which he debated the question of " Free Trade" showed that he did not thoroughly understand the conflicting arguments on either side. Finance is not a subject well suited for the Liberal party. Its problems cannot be solved in a quasi sense, like the half truths of consti tutional metaphysics. Claptraps will avail little when men know that their breeches pockets will be repeatedly visited by any blundering of " Mr. Chancellor of the Exche " quer." Sentiment is often a powerful agent iu politics, but emotion is useless when sta tistics form the staple matter of speeches. Flowing exordiums and spirited perorations are thrown away in a fitiancill debate; and the crowd of the Liberals feel ill at ease when they SATURDAY, see Lord Jour; RUSSELL floundering through a column of figures, or Lord PALMERSTON com posing his features, and assuming a pupil's look, as Mr. Jassa WILSON, the Member• for Westbury, proceeds to elucidate plainly his profound conviction that the aforesaid Mr. J. . WILSON is an impersonation of ADAM SMITH, PITT, and Husxissort, and that he alone is competent to be Chancellor of the Exchequer. Nobody better knows than Mr. WiLsor4 that " the Whigs never had a financier since the " days of WALPOLE." He hopes to be ac• cepted as " the coming man" in the present straits of their party ; and the pride of " the families" must not be a little humbled at the fact that no RUSSELL, GREY, CAVENDISH, or HOWARD, has ever made a financier's fame. It is worth thinking of these things, when by good management the country might he relieved of all or the greater part of the Income Tax. When people ask to have the tax les sened or I emoved, it would be well also if they asked, " Where are the Whig Financiers ?" THE FALKLAND ISLANDS AS A PENAL SETTLEMENT. IT is now some months since we called the attention of our readers to these islands as likely to afford a suitable locality for the dis posal of our convicts. We threw out the sug gestion in hopes that the question might be fairly investigated; and it is with great plea sure that we now see it assuming the impor tance and obtaining the publicity it deserves. We can, indeed, lay no claim to originality in the proposal of this scheme. Ever since the Falkland Islands have received any share whatever of public attention, their peculiar convenience for the formation of a penal establishment has been urged by a succession of writers and travellers. Captain FITZROY, who visited them in an official capacity between 1825-30, notices that they were eligible for a settlement of this character. He commented on their climate, soil, and productiveness, as being all unobjectionable. Wheat ripened sometimes ; vegetables, especially potatoes, were raised in abundance ; an excellent breed of cattle fed upon the grassy plains and by the numerous fresh-water lakes which lay among them ; the extensive woods which existed in parts of the island were tenanted by herds of wild hogs ; and the surrounding sea afforded inexhaustible supplies of fish. The objection, indeed, taken to Captain FrrzaoY's recommendation by the politicians of the day was, that the Falkland Islands were too agreeable and fertile a region to answer the purposes of a penal colony. But we have pro gressed in philanthropy since then. Lieutenant SULLIVAN, writing in 1841, states that in the Falkland Islands corn would have more sun upon it than it has in Eng land ; that the principal impediment to the growth of vast crops of it would arise from the level character of the country and absence of shelter from the violent tropical gales which sometimes sweep over it, and which no eel eal crops could possibly survive. But he adds, that on the slopes of the hills and in the val leys very considerable quantities could be raised until artificial shelter could be obtained elsewhere. Mr. HADFIELD, who published a work on this subject about three years ago, confirms the opinions of previous writers, and tells us that the Falkland Islands had been specially recommended to Government as a penal colony by the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners. The climate is cold, but so far from rigorous, that, as we have before said, it has been doubted whether it would not be too favourable. The latitude south is the same as that of the English midland counties north. The Falkland group consists of two large islands, and several hundred smaller ones, equal altogether in size to about one half of Belgium. They are two hundred and fifty miles from the nearest land, and that land is either uninhabited or peopled entirely by savages. No coasting traffic exists, or could I exist, as it did in Australia, to facilitate the escape of prisoners The islands contain abundance of stone and slate for building par-