The Press. — London, England, 1857-12-26 00:00:00

g e 1.0 rdief;s No. 243.—V0L.V. LONDON, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26,1857. STAMPED.. ..SIXPENCE. UNSTAMPED FIVEPENCE. Vress. bly is proportionably small, and they cannot in consequence, whatever their numerical force, be in reality a strong Government. But not only are they deficient in those command ing qualities which are absolutely essential in great political debates : the Ministry is now beginning to excite in the nation at large that unenviable sentiment which people ar e apt to display towards those by whom their generosity has been abused. The tale of distress with which Lord PALMERSTON imposed upon the nation ten months ago has now been thoroughly exposed, and the indignation of his dupes is commensurate. By his conduct both on China and the Reform Bill he has been convicted of political insincerity, and has forfeited the confidence of every class whicii does not believe that political virtue is a fable. almost invariably differ with each other in most material points. Next arrive the Times Bombay and Calcutta correspondents' letters, the first of which has informed us on every occasion sir.ce the beginning of this outbreak that the affair was over, and the second that no serious impression whatever had yet been made on the revolt. Then ooze out gradually a number of particulars regarding the state of the country, which modify the favourable accounts of our position to a great extent. Last of all appear a shoal of private letters, of which the result generally on the whole is to leave our army in the position of men who have gained imperishable laurels, but who are still a considerable way off the completion of their task, which can only be viewed as comple.ted when fresh outbreaks shall have entirely ceased, and when obedience to our authority shall everywhere be restored. The present news from India is both cheer ing and glorious ; but it amounts to far less than this. It is a subject of heartfelt thanks giving to know that the long•beleaguered garrison of Lucknow has at last been fully and finally relieved, as on the arrival of the pre- ceding telegram we expressed a conviction that it would be, by Sir Cotes CAMPBELL and. his force. But it does not seem that the rebels are at all inclined to submission ; on the contrary, they appear to have contested the ground in " a constant series "of severe and bloody struggles" for six consecutive days. The Times tells us that " another despatch states that Luck " now was relieved with a loss of only four " officers and forty men," which it justly says it is unable to reconcile with the account of a series of severe and bloody struggles extend ing over six days. But, on referring to the other despatch in question, we find that the words are " four officers killed and forty LONDON, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1857. A Government may be strong in its moral character even when devoid of genius, or genius may compel support for a time even in the absence of principle ; but without either the one or the other no Government can stand longer than the truth is hidden. That truth in respect of the present Ministry has been well established already; but if anything were wanted to convince the public, it will be supplied to a certainty by the forthcoming debates on India. It is a most unfortunate circumstance that at a crisis which demands an original mind, extensive knowledge, and a strong will, our Prime Minister should be a nobleman of no creative power, of little philosophic train ing, and an avowed courtier of the populace. It is most unfortunate that a crisis which demands above everything steady perseverance in the execution of a definite policy should have occurred under a Government consistent in nothing but vacillation. It is most unfortunate that a great legislative conflict, in which no Ministry could acquit itself with credit unless sustained by the consciousness of great principles and the anticipatiorf of noble results, should be about to take place under the auspices of those whose creed is built upon the sand, and who have no thought beyond the morrow. Such is the unhappy position to which even able men may reduce themselves whose doc trine is place at any price—who either simu late opinions which they do not feel, or dis semble those which they do, for the sake of popular favour. Such men may remain in power while great questions are dormant ; but as soon as the touchstone is applied they are seen in their true dolours, and deposed without a struggle. The attemp . t to trim between two great political parties is certain to incense both, for neither knows which is the dupe, and each fears it may be itself. Under no cir cumstances, therefore, can Government meet with that hearty support from the House of Com mons which is essential to the success of great measures ; and if, indeed, the Indian insurrec tion be to any extent retributive, how much is our punishment aggravated by the incompe tence of the rulers now set over us ! " wounded," which we take to mean four officers killed and forty officers wounded ; and that, allowing for the usual proportions, would indicate a loss in killed and wounded of from eight to nine hundred non commissioned and rank and file. Or even perhaps more ; for in street fighting the proportionate loss in officers is not so great usually as in the open field, they bein g less liable to be singled out as marks for he enemy's fire in the former than in the latter case. However, as the Times says, "it is of little use to speculate as to " matters which we shall learn in full detail "in the next few days." One point, though, we cannot help noticing as a matter worthy of especial consideration ; and that is, the very different way in which natives fight with us now as compared with the olden time. Cum for instance, fought the battle of Plassy with as nearly as possible the same number of troops as were engaged in the storming of Delhi the other day. Yet in the last opera tion our killed and woi lted more than fourteen hunch lost in killed and woun No one can deny that the predominant senti ment of the community is at this moment Con servative. Liberalism is more loudly talked, but Conservative principles are more deeply felt. Men will always be found to prolong particular views, as an echo prolongs the voice, long after the reality has perished. This truth may be illustrated from the history of both the great political parties of this kingdom. The same men who had carried us through the great French war, when every breath of innovation was redolent of murder and rapine, very naturally committed the mistake of con fusing Reform with Revolution. They con tinued for a dozen years after the Peace to talk the language which was equally patriotic and popular at the beginning of the century, but which then had become inapplicable to the period, and failed to secure the permanent support of the public. In like manner have the Liberals continued to occupy the posts of Government long after the nation has ceased to wish for any organic changes, and when their language on the subject of Reform has become far more unreal than that of the old Tories on Re striction. The latter had something to defend, at all events. They had a definite object to fight for, and if they had outlived their political necessity, retained their individual convic tions. This made them respected, and gave thorn, situated as they were in many respects l►ke the Liberals of to-day, a moral strength to which the latter can never pretend. Englishmen acquiesce in the existing Par liament because they cannot get rid of it, and because it is their own fault. They E lected in haste, and they repent at leisure. But, into whatever society a man may go, he cannot avoid perceiving that the present Govern ment in connection with Reform is usually a subject of derision, and in connection with India of grave and anxious distrust. The one, in fact, is the result of the other. Go vernment feels itself in a false position, as the representative of Liberalism ; and the little masculine energy it might otherwise have displayed is paralysed by this fatal con sciousness. Liberals believe Lord PALM E RS TON to be a Tory. Tories suspect him to be nothing. All his colleagues are of the same nondescript character—men belonging to a past school of statesmanship—men who had not stamina to endure the political shocks of recent years—whose convictions have been entirely unsettled—who have drifted away from their moorings, and will take " any port" in the "storm." Men who feel themselves in such a position as this lose all heart, vigour, and eloquence. They have no standard of right and wrong. Every thing for them is in a flux. What they denounce to-day they may be obliged to advo cate to morrow. They cannot, therefore, rise above acute special pleading. They can never reach those heights of oratory which witness the union of reason and imagination. Their intellectual power over a popular assem- LATEST EDITION. STATE OF THINGS IN OUDE. THE system under which we obtain our news from India is a rather eccentric one ; but there is now established a degree of uniformity in its eccentricity that brings it within certain fixed and well-known rules. First of all come the telegrams of the Times, the Foreign•office, and the India-house, which Plassy seventy men ! An , fighting seems to have more severe, and the lone into consideration the successive actions there fell the gallant General tionate increase in our losses of Ct.rves days is thus exile The telegram confirms took on the arrival of th another important respect. though the force under Sir Court CAMPSZLL Cr .lunded amounted to fired, while CL • • • nded and •• • • 7 .nd at L . • been eq• osses as u gli" A . q e. casualtieCi i t e since tlixt 7 • s NE ILL. 1 411 , /4 _. t , r: ,rt asses now_p •, sactly twert • 7 fitErgo: • the vieVi • •• he preceding m• • • pect. We said that,