The Press. — London, England, 1856-01-26 00:00:00

74 pendence of the House of Lords. By the word unconstitutional we do not, of course, intend to question the Royal Prerogative. Yet we have not now to learn that what may be in accordance with the letter of the law may be opposed to the spirit of the Constitution. And a prerogative which has been exercised unly once since the Norms Conquest, caanot now be exercised habitually, without reviving dis putes which were far better forgotten. It is astonishing how blindly awn soinalligec arg44o. Here is a measure, the whole gist of whi fh lies in the creation of new members of the House of Lords , yet precedents are adduced in its favour, almost entirely composed of women and aliens, or persons who were mem bers already. This attempt at proving the innovation a strictly constitutional proceeding is, without exception, one of the very lamest We ever met with, and almost leads us to suppose there must be people who, on the principle that two negatives make an affirma tive, conclude that bad reasoning and bad premises put together constitute logic. None but those who are positively slaves to prejudice can deny the enormous importance of preserving the integrity of the Upper House. To those poor silly creatures who think a man cannot possess genius or energy unless he wears a dirty shirt, and spouts at me chanics' institutes, we do not address our present arguments. We leave them to their self-complacency, with a charitable hope that no introduction to polite society will ever cruelly undeceive them. But to readers of a different stamp—men who know what the unflattering lessons of history really are—who understand that the permanence of its institutions can alone make a nation great, and make its greatness happiness—to these we appeal most earnestly and most confidently. An hereditary peerage, arbitrating between the Crown and the people, is the surest safeguard against civil war and revolution ; and the creation of life patents is the surest means of undermining the hereditary peerage. Louis PHILIPPE destroyed the hereditary nobility of France, and constitutional monarchy was wrecked. The hereditary nobility of England destro3ed absolutism, and constitutional mo narchy was preserved. It is not on the muddy declamations of low-bred adventurers, nor the whining harangues of flabby capi talists, that the country can rely. Pelf is the object of both. And whether a man would . sacrifice his country to Russia, or himself to a Minister, is a matter of indifference. From all the noisy claptraps of the day the true inde pendent leaders of the people naturally stand aloof. Shall we on that account destroy their independence ? Shall we object to them on the very score of their distinguishing excel lence ? It is because the House of Lords are relieved from the necessity of perpe tually courting the people that they are the people's best friends. But let them once be swamped by an influx of plebeians holding life peerages, and they will be compelled either to retire from public life, or array themselves in an attitude of unceasing hos tility to the nominees of the Crown. In the latter case their independence will bo at once sacrificed. They will be oppositionists by compulsion, and, instead of the dignified and arbitrative position which they now occupy, must of necessity degenerate into either nonentities or partisans. Such a con summation may in certain quarters be chuckled over. The ruin of the Constitution may be a fit subject for jesting there, but it is not effected yet ; and we would only warn those by whose advice this system has been adopted, without the sanction of the Legislature, to beware of provoking a storm of indignation which they may be foolish enough to consider impossible. THE DUTIES OF AN OPPOSITION. WEIZN SIEIZZIDAN spoke jestingly of " His Ma jesty's Opposition," he probably did not expect the time ever to arrive when the phrase would acquire a serious significance. Even now, nineteen pe3ple out of twenty, if asked for their idea of an Opposition, would reply at once, " A body of members, whose "duty it is to check and criticise the measures THE PRESS. "of the Ministry;" awl to speak of them as her Majesty's, when understood in this sense, is confessedly an excellent joke. In point of fact, however, there sever was a time when the above detisitioh was literally accurate, while e i t the present dity it is more completely erronehes thee ever, In olden times the Ministers were the servants of the Crown, and nnthing more, their duties being to carry out the legislative measures devised by the Sovereign in Council. After the Revolution they possessed themeelves of the Royal Prero gative, and, though their relations to Parlia• meat were of course in many respects materi ally altered, they still retained all reel power in their own hands ; and the business of their opponents was to keep up a constant resist ance to the despotism which they endeavoured to exercise. This state of things has entirely passed away. The country is governed, in the largest sense of the word, neither by a king nor by a party. but by the whole Parliament. And the consequence is, that criticism of Ministerial measures is almost the least im portant of those functions which the Opposi tiou is called on to discharge. What those functions are, will be apparent to all who reflect on the present constitution of the two Houses. The Ministry is a body of gentlemen charged with the sole adminis tration of the Executive. Their number has not been increased for many years, and the business of the country has multiplied to an enormous extent. Each is expected to possess complete, minute, and well-digested informa tion of all that goes on in his own department, and at the same time more knowledge than common men of all that concerns his col leagues. If all this be satisfactorily achieved, how much time will any middle-aged gentle man of respectable abilities discover for read ing and reflection ? If, on the contrary, we turn to the other side of the House, we shall find a large section of members who not only are free from the burden of these duties, but whose popular task—the examination of Go vernment measures—has been greatly super seded by the activity and talent of the news papers. Under these circumstances, impartial observers will at once recognise the true theory of the Opposition. They should be the thinking part of the political machine. What is playfully termed by statesmen " a large measure," whether of reform or any thing else, when prepared by men whose minds are distracted by business, and dulled by routine, usually turns out a very little one, if not an abortion ; while, on the other hand, men in power acquire a natural affection for the status quo, which unfits them for the appreciation of necessary changes. We are too well disposed towards the British Constitution to contem plate those defects without uneasiness. But if a remedy is to be found, it is to be looked for in a more correct estimation of their own duties by her Mrkjesty's Opposition. It is their business at the present day to regard the legislative office as especially their own— to consider that upon them devolves the in vestigation of general principles, and the patient and thoughtful construction of really great measures. They should remember, fur ther, that in so doing they are serving both the country and themselves ; that the one can only be benefited, in the long run, by mea sures of this description; and that they them selves can only secure the confidence of the people by taking up special political, or social problems, and working them to a solution There is India; there is the education ques tion; there is the convict question ; there is the Church-rate question ; there are dozens, in fact, of such difficulties, which can be properly treated by those only who have leisure fur thought, study, and inquiry. Statesmen who have matured measures of this nature, and shown by their treatment of them in Parlia ment that they are fitted for a particular office, will be gladly admitted to power. By this course of conduct each leading member of the party would acquire a knowledge of him self, and bring to light his special aptitudes. And so, by degrees, as each man settled into his proper place, a full-formed Ministry would exist in the Opposition ranks ready to accept the labours of office as soon as required to do so. SATURDAY, Law Reform and Colonial Reform, the Emancipation of Roman Catholics, the Aboli tion of Slavery, and the Repeal of the Corn Laws, were all thus utatured by ex -official Benius ; find it wos thus that such men as ROUaHAL MOLgSWORTH 4 and BULLER estab lishod 14ir fitness iirr t posts which they afteywartio filled. Wo can scarcely toogin. it to be urged arson argittoent Against us thaj inembers so working are ihtblo to be 50141041 of their hard-earned laurels by Ministerial adroitness. We are not obliged to call the objection unpatriotic; be cause, what is more to the purpose, it is untrue. Ministers could not do this. In the first place, there are few men, if any, who can make other people's plans their own. If they attempt to do so, they usually spoil them , and in trying to steal a march upon their rivals, lose themselves. But if, in the second place, a Minister should choose to take another man's scheme ready-made, and adopt it in its in tegrity, two results follow, both sufficiently satisfactory to the original inventor—the Minis ter has all the odium, and the inventor has all the honour. On the subject of Catholic Eman cipation many men blame Sir ROBERT PEEL, and many men admire Sir FRANCIS BURDETT ; but nobody blames Sir FRANCIS, and nobody honours Sir ROBERT. The latter gentleman was certainly as much hated as Mr. COBDEN was esteemed for the repeal . of the Corn Laws ; and in both instances he was punished by the loss of his place and the wreck of his party. We would emphatically impress upon the Conservative party the necessity of being guided by these considerations. If Parlimuneut would reassert its dignity, and maintain its usefulness, some such division of labour is wholly indispensable. Thera are in the Con servative ranks men thoroughly competent to respond to this appeal; and we sincerely trust, for the sake of England, the House of Commons, and themselves, it may not be ne glected. IMPORTANCE OF THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY ELECTION. THERE is nothing more disgraceful in war than to be entrapped by an adversary ; and what- ever party in electioneering is outwitted by its opponents, is sure to be laughed at in all directions. The Whigs down at Cambridge, urged on by certain persons at the Reform Club, have thought that they could catch th Conservatives in the trance of over-confidence. They have set up Mr. GEORGE DENMAN as a candidate ; and his address is studiously cal culated to entrap nondescript politicians. He has an ardent though limited body of Whig supporters, but his friends calculate most on the support of the wavering interest. They also reckon largely upon the too great security of the Conservative constituency. By a mixture of stratagem and " dash," they hope to curry the contest. The Conservative constituency of Cambridge University must therefore be careful not to be taken unawares. The present election is no nominal contest—it is a real struggle; and though we are sure of a majority if our friends be on the alert, we may possibly be on the losing side if they are inactive. The Whigs are working night and day ; they are putting into employment all the means at their disposal. We are bound to show them that they have counted quite idly upon the secure apathy of the Conservative party. We know well that country gentlemen , rectors, and the various members of the pro fessional classes may be much indisposed to going to Cambridge at this season of the year. For our own parts, we confess to a strong liking for a University election. There is always pleasure in visiting the scenes endeared by youthful recollections, and comparing notes i with the friends of our earlier years. It s only at a University election that we can meet collectively the old college companions who have since graduated in the Church, the Senate, and the Bar. Old days come back again. We seo the familiar faces ; wd saunter I AR