The Press. — London, England, 1856-05-24 00:00:00

THE WEEK. SOCIAL topics have engaged the greatest share of attention this week. In all societies PALIdER'S trial is keenly discussed. The newspapers are silent; but this reserve seems only to give greater animation to the discussions which arise in every place of public resort. One other subject occupies the mind of dwellers in the metropolis—Will there be an illumination of private houses on the 29th ? A hint from the Government on this matter would have saved householders from great perplexity, but no such hint is vouchsafed to them. "Do as you like," says the Prime Minister, but with such significance of manner as to suggest, " Take care of your windows if you don't show your joy and " satisfaction by the consumption of quant. gaff. of Russian tallow." The LORD MAYOR has been applied to, but the Premier of the City feels bound to uphold his dignity by imitating the reserve of the Premier of Westminster. The worst of this suspense is, that one really does not know what sort of a humour the mob is likely to be in. They may approve of the Pence, and take aim at all windows not lighted up, or they may disapprove of it, and mark for vengeance all dwellings which venture to show signs of rejoicing Or, worse still, suppose King Mob, who will reign unquestioned that night, should be divided in his sentiments—that there should be a Peace faction and a No Peace faction, and that the former should pelt darkened, and the latter illuminated windows, what a plight would the poor metropo litans be in then ! The preparations making by the Government are so enormous, that we should imagine the illumination of private dwellings might well be dispensed with. If eight thousand pounds are to cover the cost of all the works we see in preparation, Govern ment will have more to show for its money than it ever had before. We shrewdly suspect, however, that eighty thousand will be much nearer the total cost. From fireworks to the Budget of the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE QUER is only another illustration of the axiom that extremes meet. We cannot congratulate the Right Honourable Fipancier on either his " transparency "or his " crackers." His statements are opaque, and his misstatements unintentional. He managed, however, to make it tolerably evident that in his calculation last year he made a mistake on the wrong side of the national account to the amount of three millions five hundred and sixty thousand pounds ; and he also con trived to make it apparent that he estimated the deficiency this year (retaining all the war taxes) at ten millions three hundred and seventy-three thousand pounds. By borrowing , five millions, by using a million and a half in hand, by asking leave to borrow two millions more, and by throwing over for the present two millions, which he had reckoned as margin, he found he should be able to get on very well. The House assented, and Sir CORNEWALL LEWIS must have thought, from the facility with which all his demands were ;minted, that the " state of transition " he described must be the h ippiest period of a financier's existence. This quiescence cannot last. The whole subject of the income tax, now yielding 16.000,0001 per annum, requires revision, and there are some imposts so obnoxious as to render their retention extremely improbable. We may notice that the anticipations we expressed as to the decline in the consumption of malt, owing to the increased duty, have been verified bi the result. The consumption fell from forty-two million bushels in 1853, to less than thirty-four millions in 1855. This shows the im policy of greatly increasing the tax on an alraady over-burdened article. The speech in the House of Lords of the youthful Earl of CAR. , NA RVON, on Thursday night, was received with marked applause, and gives promise of future excellence. It had both merit and modesty, unlike the displays of some young men, who have nothing but " the virtue of confidence" to support their pretensions. The Duke of ARGYLL made himself most ridiculous by his assuming that the Earl of DERBY could not reply to any other Peer except himself. His Grace is certainly most self-opiniated. Before he was twenty years of age, he published a crude pamphlet on an intricate controversial question, and people applauded the silliness of the deed, and called it " clever." Ever since, the Duke of ARGYLL has suffered from that injudicious praise. He inherits a great name from the Scotch worthies of other days. but during the ten years of his public life his Grace has won no c her praise beyond that due to good intentions, and he is a Cabinet Minister by his connection, rather than by his merits. Lord DERRY'S speech on Thursday was, even for him, a splendid effort. It was fully worthy of the Noble Lord's great powers, and he completely carried away his audience by his high-toned peroration. Though in a minority (from a number of Peers not liking to interfere with the Treaty in any way) the Noble Earl was cheered to the echo when he resumed his seat. An Englishman has reason to be proud of his country in observing the fairness of the long and complicated trial of WILLIAM PALMER. The Judges, as was to be expected, have been patient, con siderate, and forbearing, and the counsel on both sides displayed rare fo'•ensic talents. The opening speech of the Attorney-General fully " ALEXANDER COCKBURN. It was an exquisitely •.garULP. IHe or sustained the fame of Sii ... ~r.. THE PRESS. SATURDAY, woven chain of concatenated facts ; it was delivered in a judicial., rather than an accusatory tone, and parts of it were highly dramatic The speech of Mr. Sergeant SHEE was a great effort in all respects :Ind will confer increased distinction on that eminent advocate. But exception may fairly be taken to his protestation of his personal relief in the prisoner's innocence. Such protestation is wholly beyond the legitimate scope of advocacy. if allowed at all, w h ere is it to stop ? If every advocate resorts to it who imagines his client guiltless, the absence of such protestation will come to be viewed as a proof of guilt, so that every counsel who does not wish to see his client hanged or transported, will feel himself compelled to pledge his personal honour in favour of every felon he is called upon to defend; and would it not be equally fair in a counsel fer the prosecution to declare his belief in the prisoner's guilt ? The practice is so inju dicious, and so unnecessary—for it is with evidence that a counsel has to deal—that it deserves a check from the Bench. The speech of the Learned Sergeant, an an intellectual effort, is the more remarkable when we recollect that for several days he had the fatigue of cross examining witnesses. Sergeant SHEE mentioned one circumstance, which he said will "redound to the lasting honour of the Attorney. " General," viz., the fact of that eminent functionary communicating beforehand to the counsel for the prisoner all the evidence which the Crown intended to adduce. The trial will probably not terminate till Tuesday or Wednesday, and till then all remarks on the case must necessarily be deferred. We recollect no criminal trial which has extended over so long a space of time. All accounts from Italy state that great political excitement pre vails among the people, that the secret societies are in full activity, and that an insurrection is ready to burst forth should any favorable opportunity present itself. The numbers of the affected will shortly, we suppose, be considerably strengthened by the disbandment of the Anglo•ltalian Legion, men trained to arms, and, from the conduct of some of their number in Malta, not unlikely to join in any desperate enterprise that offers The ambiguous language of the Ministerialists in this country is likely to have a most pernicious effect. The Daily News has correctly stated Lord PALMERSTON'S course in I848,"—" Tho English Government abandoned the constitutional " patriots of Sicily to the merciless vengeance of the tyrant they had been " encouraged to brave by prospects of English countenance and " support." Are we to suppose that Lorct PALMERSTON will be more active in support of Italian insurrection now that the Triple Alliance has been formed? It is very desirable that the policy of that alliance, and our relations to Sardinia, should be fairly brought before the country. The break-up of the Crimean army is daily taking place. Corfu, Malta, Gibraltar, India, and Canada, will receive the bulk of the forces. The Guards will return home, of course, and the Foreign Legions will be disbanded. Considering the little available use that has been made of these gentlemen, after the "urgent necessity" insisted on for their incorporation, the benefit they have been to the country can be scarcely estimated as equal to their cost—to say nothing of the trouble they have given on more than one occasion. The serious mutiny of the German Jagers at home is scarcely suppressed before a more serious riot breaks out in the quiet island of Malta, between the people and the soldiers of the Italian Legion. The soldiers first offended the religious feelings of the people, then assassinated the chief of police, and then, because they were confined to barracks, broke out in open revolt. These are the men to whom, during war-time, the safety of our most impor tant foreign garrisons was intrusted. But, to return to the camp in the Crimea, little but the " melting away " of the troops is to be recorded. Sir COLIN CAMPBELL has taken leave of his division. The evacuation is being pushed forward rapidly, and the troops are daily leaving in large numbers. The Russians were extremely desirous that the evacuation of Kertch should be also hastened, but from the Com mandant of Kaffa, Prince GAOARIN, having imposed quarantine upon all ships arriving in the Sea of Azoff, and having shut up General WINDHAM in a small room on the occasion of a late visit to his Excellency, it a probable that the Russians will not be permitted to resume posses sion of Kertch until all our stores, &c., are withdrawn. Connected with the return to old possessions in the Crimea, is their reported ill treatment of the Tatars. It is scarcely credible that the Russian authorities would permit any cruelties to be inflicted upon those poor peasants, but the Tatars themselves coming to our camp, declare that their brethren who assisted the Allies are being hanged, treated as felons, or transported away in the interior of Russia for their deeds. Really it would appear but a step from the Sarde to the Tatar, for down to a wretched Tatar it seems the specialite of the present English Government to throw over their weaker allies, as soon as they have ceased to be useful. The description of the exodus of this poor peasantry, given in a recent letter from the camp, was painful enough, but to hear that the great body are to be left behind without a single stipulation being made in their favour by the Allies they so well served, savours too strongly of huge ingratitude to be left unnoticed. The Circassians are beginning to feel the heavy hand of their Russian foes. We read already of a village burnt, of prisoners cap tured, and booty taken Lord CLARENDON seems to regard these pro ceedings with something like satisfaction, and to think it quite a sufficient justification of his policy in making no effort to check this cruel war on the very shores of the Black Sea, that some agent of the Circassians was not to be depended on. II 492