The Press. — London, England, 1856-05-03 00:00:00

420 THE WEEK. THE debate on Kars, though very unequal, has produced some remark able speeches. The opening address of Mr. WHITESIDE was acknow• 1 edged to be one of the most brilliant Parliamentary efforts within memory. The orator never flagged or lost self-possession for a moment. His management of his materials was admirable. He wove them into a continuous history of the whole case, yet only seemed to use them in illustration of the principles he desired to establish. His mind was always above his matter, and his eloquence adorned the prosaic statements he had to make. Never was a Blue-book made so attractive before. His action, corresponding to the animation of his genius, is extremely graceful and impressive; and hence the sneer of Lord PALMERSTON, that his speech was wonderful to see! The taunt was ill-judged, as friends and foes alike concurred in bearing testimony to the extraordinary ability of this oration, and to Vie effect it produced. It was unfortunate that Mr. WHITESIDE was answered by a couple of mere counsellors, who with perverse ingenuity ilsisted in criticising the strategy of OMER PACHA,—one of the ablest generals Turkey has ever had,—the military details of the w'iole Asiatic campaign, and the dispositions of SELIM PACHA The discussion, which dragged on Tuesday, became ..animated when Sir E. B. I.vrron rose on Thursday; his polished sentences and conclusive reasoning elicited warm ap .plause even from his opponents. Sir JAMES GRAHAM was the next important speaker, and certainly never did a man deliver a more ~damaging speech to the cause he intended to support. With his mildest tones he clapped blisters upon every Ministerial sore, exposed -every fault of the Government. with heartless severity, and, at the conclusion, declared that he must on his conscience vote in their favour. As the close of the debate drew near Mr. DISRAELI rose. The atten tion of the House was fixed in a moment, and with good cause, for some time has elapsed since so brilliant, so happy, and so powerful a speech has been heard. Opening with a homethrust through Sir JAMES GRAHAM and the Member for Greenock, Mr. DISRAELI, in a few powerful sentences, vindicated the Opposition from the charge of a factious movement, and with cutting scarcasm suggested, that if the Opposition desired to upset the Government it would possibly seek for an " artist " behind the Ministerial benches ; then grappling with the main question, with immense power he drew a graphic picture of Russia contending single-handed against united Europe, •• aid contrasted her sustaining a position in the Crimea for eleven inths, and organising and carrying out an invasion of Armenia and besieging Kars, with the " vigorous and energetic " prose c dim of the war adopted by the English Government. Never were h tppier hits given than in the review of the " energy and foresight " displayed by the Government in their conduct of the war in Asia. Not o•ie of them missed. They were so true that the Liberal Benches t iemselves were compelled to acknowledge them. And the readiness of his power of repartee by which he turned a Ministerial " Oh !" into a outing parallel between Lord PALMERSTON'S conduct to Lord ASHBURTON a:id his conduct to Lord STRATFORD, at the same time contrasting the o urse pursued by Lord PALMERSTON on that occasion with that by Mr WHITESIDE on this, drew hearty cheers from the House. The speech sparkled with wit and humour, and resounded with oratorical power. After so brilliant a display, how vapid were Lord JOHN RUSSELL and the Premier. The attention of the House was no longer fixed, and ,tho diviaion was restlessly looked for. No one had anticipated 60 large a majority for the Ministers. The public can new „judge what tie " Administrative Reformers" and i• Independent Lihsra)s ,are worth when the whip is cracked in their ears to the til t a re of "a Palmerston or a Derby," the key note of the Ptni4'S, press - to his supporters on Monday. The Ministers and their friends must be enviously at a loss for subjects of reproach against the Opposition, when they revert so con stantly to the two measures which have met with resistance—the Foreign Enlistment Bill, and the Turkish Loan. As to the first measure, it has been completely inoperative as regards the operations of the war, not a company having joined the allied armies, though we have been involved by the act in a " nasty " dispute with America ; and as to the seetmd measure, the Turks did not receive a shilling until after Kars had fallen, and the active operations of the war had ceased. Both measures were just in time to be too late. The Oppo sition, in each case, was favorable to a policy which would have raised men more quickly, and have afforded the finances of Turkey less embarrassing relief. An amusing story is going the round of society in Dublin. A certain Dean, who is desirous of standing well with the Castle, and who has frequenuMeyviews with the pr 4 I,ieutetiant, gave his Ex• cellency a letter to read which he had Just received from a gentleman in the' (*him fohnerly his Excellency's private secretary. His Excellency read.with -much satisfaction till he came to a postscript, which it seems had escaped the Rev. Dean's notice, and then his face darkened, and he. asked the Dean whether he had read the whole letter. " Yes," replied his reverence, " very amusing, isn't it." His Excellency returned the letter, and the confounded Dean then read, " Can' it , 'be 'true that that' iss, C— is going to marry Rose ?" naming a young lady; one of the b elles of Dublin. Whether is Excellency imanger, oc the Dean in distress, disclosed the story, is not known. We can only say that the tale is generally credited, and excites unhonn4ed.nierriment in, the why circles of the Irish capital. Varcon"Mtutiow . paid a visit' to our metropolis yesterday. We cann'ot 'doubt' that he will be ivatmly welcomed by the social circles whit+ still' retain 1 / 2 4 0" plOaking a recollection of his invariable courtesy, frankness, and hospitality. We hope that he may be able to afford Ili THE PRESS. SATURDAY, some explanation on a subject which is beginning to excite much anxiety—we mean, the rumoured intention of Russia to take advantage of the opportunity afforded her by the conclusion of peace to make a grand effort for the conquest of the country which lies between her southern territory and her Transcaucasian provinces. Though it may be true that no stipulation has been made to prevent such conquest on her part, yet the !fact that hostilities are to be continued by Russia on the frontier of Asia Minor for the subjugation of races which have so nobly maintained their independence, would undoubtedly create an ill-feeling in this country, and prevent that resumption of cordial intercourse which it should be the object of both countries to cultivate. It seems that the Government have some difficulty in finding a Governor for the important colony of Victoria. The post was offered to Lord Elam, but of course declined, as his Lordship has filled so much higher a post, and is qualified by his eminent administrative ability for the highest honours in the power of the Crown to offer. Then Lord COURTENAY and Lord MoNcx were solicited, but both de clined ; and at last the post was offered to Mr. ROBERT LOWE. Now, though it would notoriously be very convenient for the Government to send this gentleman to " Australia, 0," it would not be quite so conve nient for this gentleman to proceed thither. One would think that after Mr. LOWE, the Government must by the exhaustive process be driven to the insertion of an advertisement in the papers. " Wanted a Governor, &c." Startling revelations are in progress—revelations which seem so incredible that it will take some time to rouse the public to a per ception of their truth. Lord JOHN MANNERS, with equal sagacity and caution, called the attention of the Premier, on Thursday, to the fact that in one of the Protocols there was a discussion on the ques tion 11 hether the Russian forts on the eastern coast of the Black Sea should or should not be restored. The consideration of the point, he stated truly, was adjourned at one Conference, and no reference was made to it, though surely of great importance, in any of the suc ceeding protocols. He asked : Whether that discussion was ever resumed ; if it were, with what result ; and if it was not resumed, I beg to inquire whether the Russian forts on the eastern coast of the Black Sea are to be rebuilt? Lord PALMERSTON replied :-1. There was a discussion, but it led to no definite result; 2. There was nothing in the Trcaty on the subject; 3. That all the discussions of a formal nature which took place at the Conference are recorded in the Protocols. From which answers we are to conclude that the subject, being an awkward one, was suffered to drop out of sight, and that Russia will be at full liberty to restore those forts, the express purpose of which is to subjugate the Caucasus. Coincidently with this little discussion, we read in the Times corre spondence from Berlin, under date of April 28, that Russia is making preparations to invade the Caucasus on a grand scale: — In St. Petersburg they are already beginning to talk of warlike expeditions to he undertaken in the summer; a portion of the Caucasian army, under the command of General Khruleff, is to operate towards the Tschetschnaia, while other troops that will ty that time have been set free from the Crimea are to act against the Abchasen. It appears that, carefully as all news of the facts have been kept from the knowledge of the Western press, these mountain tribes had availed themselves of the Russians being per. fectly occupied with their more imposing foes to harass them in a variety of ways, and to have encountered them in a variety of skirmishes, not always without success. Ihe first use their implacable neighbour the Muscovite intends to make of the leisure that the present peace has procured him is to subdue and subjugate these tribes, and then to rebuild the frontier fortresses for the purpose of perpetuating that subjugation. An important announcement also reaches us from Constantinople : Vienna, Wednesday evening, April 30. Advices from Corstantinople of the 24th of April have been received here. A deputation had arrived there from Circassia, to request the recognition and the guarantee of the independence of that country by the Porte, England, and France. These three statements from different quarters all point to one con clusion, that Russia proposes to immediately make a grand effort for the complete conquest of the Caucasus. Can it be that the Treaty of Peace will have this result ? Can it be that the state of the Cau casus has been designedly overlooked ? We are in a mist on the subject at present. Our Government assuredly did not want power to insist on some stipulation guaranteeing the independence of the Circassian territory—such stipulation would have been reasonable , and would have met with the united support of our people. This point is of such vital magnitude, that upon it, as we think, must turn the question whether the Peace is to be regarded as solid, and even glorious, or as hollow and ignominious. PEACE DIVERSIONS. The wisdom of our rulers note-- Who, failing in their plans afloat, Apply the powder of our fleet To squibs and crackers in the street, And, sparing the strong forts of Revel, In London play the very D—l. POSITIVELY THE LAST JOKE ON THE NAVAL REVIEW. BY SIR CHARLES WOOD. Sic(k) "Transit " Gloria " Wednesday"! Sir Charles Wood also delivered himself of another joke this week. Remarking that his colleague, Mr. Labouchere had some difficulty in getting rid of the Governorship of Victoria, Sir Charles suggested " that the appointment of an infant prince would be the most appropriate, as the population were essentially mine(o)rs." The extraordinary prolificacy which delivered Sir Charles of two such tolerable jokes in one week excited the serious apprehensions of his friends. A cons ultation with Dr. Forbes Winslow was held, and Sir Charles has, since been limited to a diet of water-gruel, and sub• jected to frequent dry cuppings. ■