The Press. — London, England, 1855-06-30 00:00:00

P. 11,0 to do with odious class distinctions between "patricians" and " plebeians." Mr. M'CuL LAGH'S speech was, however, an improvement on his address at Norwich. Ho does not seem well adapted for a popular speaker. With some showy qualities, he wants that muscularity of power and directness of logic which command a mixed audience. More fluent than forcible, he is only a declaimer of the Debating Society school. Your gaudy phrasemaker never makes a stirring orator. We do not place much confidence in the good that is to result from " a careful examina " tion of the systems of other countries, whe ther at Paris or Vienna," announced by Mr. MonLEY on the part of the Society. England, and its society, have so many political pecu• liarities that systems which would work well elsewhere would be ineffective here, and roue versti. In some departments, chiefly connected with military life, we might borrow foreign systems with advantage. But our Civil Ser vice, grievously requiring reform, had better be amended by thinking Englishmen recog nisiug the tendencies of the age, and possess• ing a full knowledge of the merits as well as the defects of our British society. LORD CANNING'S APPOINTMENT. COALITIONISM is not yet at an end. The Peelite Lord CANNING is selected to succeed the Peelite Marquis of DALHOUSIE in the splen lid office of the Viceroyalty of India. By such an appointment the Whig families admit that, with all their pretensions, they have not ,a man amongst them capable of filling that arduous office. It was often whispered that the Earl of CLARENDON was intended for the situation; but if the Noble Earl were new sent to India, the Whigs would he in a difficulty to find a Foreign Secretary, since as Lord ABERDEEN wrote to Lord J. RUSSELL, " PALMERSTON told me that the now " found the Foreign-office too much for him." The Duke of NEWCASTLE, also, has missed his chance of that grand prize. Enough, perhaps, has been said and written upon his Grace's conduct, but we cannot help thinking that, upon calm reflection, the Duke of Naw- CASTLE must now deeply regret the active part taken by him in drawing the Coalition toge ther, and assailing the Cabinet of the Earl of DERBY. Never did an ambitious Peer pay a more woeful price for infatuated ambition. On Lord CANNING'S pretentions to states manship there are contradictory opinions. He has always been spoken of as a " very " rising young man," but until this week he has never got decidedly beyond that distinc tion. He is now, however, high enough to justify the praises of the cliques that have praised him, if he has only half of the abilities assigned to him by his panegyrists. For our own part we are not sanguine as to the career of the new Governor-General of India. Lord CANNING has never appeared to be much more than an accomplished red-tapist. He has none of the brilliancy or vivida vis of his famous father, though he has highly respect able talents, considerable general knowledge, a fair manner, and he is said to be industrious. In short, he is a pupil of the Peelite school, ready to go safely in harness, and warranted free from all dangerous originality. We regret, therefore, that a stronger Gover nor-Ceneral was not selected for the post Indian Reform must be dealt with, in spite of all the petty acts of bureaucratic influences to smother it, and in neither House of Parlia ment Lord CANNING never showed the vigour requisite for the administration of an empire. His talents have been departmental, and an inventive faculty is indispensable in one who is to succeed to the post filled by HASTINGS, WELLESLEY, and Lord W. BENTINCIE. Few would venture to assert that Lord CANNING, in his new post, was " the right man in the right place." THE PRESS. THE HANGO MASSACRE. OUR Baltic correspondent relates that Admiral Des DAS sent a flag of truce to Helsingfors with a demand for an explanation of the assault made on the boat's crew of the Cossack while protected (as they imagined) by a flag of truce. The Russian Commander-in-Chief, in his reply, admitted that the flag of truce was seen but not acknowledged, that the boat's crew landed, and, when called upon to surrender, seized their arms ; and hence the conflict. This may, or may not, be a true account of what took place, and we cannot contradict it until the evidence of the prisoners is obtained. Even assuming it to be correct, it still becomes a question how far the Russians were justified in laying a trap to kill or capture the boat's crew. In war it is admitted that every stratagem, artifice, and surprise is perfectly justifiable as long as they are consistent with the recog nised laws of war, and do not infringe the rights of humanity as established by custom among civilised nations, but the rule as regards flags of truce does not appear to have been very clearly stated. Neither VArrEL, PUFFENDORF, GROTIUS, nor any of the later jurists have, so far as we can discover, laid down clear and precise rules regulating the custom and practice of flags of truce. Obvi • ously there are three courses open to an enemy—of acknowledging the flag of truce, in which case the party or parties bearing it must be held sacred, of rejecting it, in which case the bearers must advance at their proper peril, or of taking no notice of it what ever. And the question really in dispute is, whether in this latter case the flag is a pro tection, or whether from the fact of its not being recognised it is no protection whatever to the persons bearing it. This is a point deserving of elucidation ! for if it be settled that a flag of truce is no protection unless it be acknow ledged, and that there is no obligation on the part of an enemy to warn it off when it is not meant to respect it, then we shall have no right to complain of a positive infraction of the laws of war, however severely we may cen sure the craft and cruelty of the Russian pro ceeding in firing upon a party who came to restore Russian prisoners to their own soil. But if, on the other hand, an enemy is bound to either acknowledge or warn off a flag of truce, and is not permitted to attack the party bearing it without previous notice, then the Russian assault must be held to be an infraction of the laws of war, calling not for censure merely, but for some severe example. We content ourselves with stating the difficulty, in the hope that it may be satisfactorily cleared up. The Russian General, in concluding his reply, is said to have observed, in reference to the flag of truce, " Your boats have been " too much in the habit of approaching the " shore under this pretext." This is an accusation which the commanding officers of the different ships should be callel on to reply to, for such a proceeding is quite inconsistent with carrying on the war in a proper manner. The conduct of Captain FANSHAWE appears to have been extremely reprehensible in permitting his own and other stewards to proceed ashore with the flag of truce. We are afraid that this very fact proclaims an excess of confidence, and a want of that strict attention to the rules of war which should limit the operations of a flag of truce to the sure and simple execution of its duty. Captain FANSHAWE, in his explanatory letters to the Admiral, asserts that his instructions to Lieutenant GENESTE were to land the prisoners and to return on board, not permitting any straying of the boat's crew, nor to allow the boat to remain on shore a moment longer than was requisite. But hire such instructions con sistent with his permission to his steward to go on Shore to buy stock? Without any feel ing of hostility towards Captain FANSHAWE, we must say it is necessary that his conduct in SATURDAY, this instance should be thoroughly investi gated, and the privileges of a flag of truce clearly laid down, that our officers may not again have to receive instruction in strict rules of warfare by such cruel lessons as the enemy has taught them in this case of the Cossack's boat's crew. We have reason to believe that some misunder standing exists between General Pelissier and the French Government. The General hesitates to obey the orders he receives from Paris, alleging that from commanding on the spot he must be the best judge of the operations required. Lord Raglan has been attacked by dysentery, and has been ordered to remain quiet in his hut for two or three weeks at least. General Simpson, Chief d'Etat Major, commands during his absence. WE regret to have to announce the death of th e Rev. J. H. Whitfield, officiating chaplain to the forces at Scutari. The reverend gentleman was attached to the Palace hospital, where he was unremitting in the discharge of the duties of his sacred calling. He was seized with diarrhma on the evening of the 7th instant, which continued with unabated severity till the afternoon of the 17th, when he died. The highest testimony is borne to his zeal and devotion. The resignation of Lord Raglan on account of ill health was announced in very positive terms by the Times yesterday morning, but officially contradicted in Parliament last evening by Lord I'anmure and the Prime Minister. The Globe states on this subject:— We announce with extreme satisfaction, that there is no authentic foundation for the statement that Lord Raglan has applied to be relieved of the command-in•chief of the British army in the Crimea, in consequence of severe ill• ness. Lord Raglan, it is true, has been suffering from dysentery, and has, we believe. been confined to his bed for the last few days. We are happy to state, however, that the accounts received by telegraph represent his health as very greatly improved within the last few hours, and we have every reason to hope that there is no prospect of our forces in the Crimea being deprived of the commander under whose guidance they have so nobly maintained the honour of the country. We believe that if any such change should be rendered necessary by Lord Raglan's state of health, it is arranged that the command of the army should be con fided to General Simpson. We are also glad to be enabled to state that by the last accounts Sir George Brown was better; he, too, had been suffering from dysentery on board the Royal Albert, off Balaklava. Lieutenant-General James Fergusson, for some time past in command of the troops at Malta, according to the Globe, will succeed Sir Robert Gardiner as Governor and Commander-in• Chief of Gibraltar. Mr. 11. J. R. Gaskoin, of the War-office, has been appointed private secretary to Lord Panmure, in succession to the Earl of Gifford, who has resigned that office. The Standard understands, from a private source, that two officers of high rank in the British service are ill of cholera., but does not vouch for the accuracy of the report. lams NIGHTINGALE is about to return home, her health being still imperfectly recovered from the effects of the late serious indisposition. Yesterday's Constitutionnei says that the camp at Satory is about to be re-established. The corn crops throughout France look exceed ingly well, and a bountiful harvest is confidently anticipated. By the last advices from Madrid we learn that M. Bruil, the Finance Minister, though beaten on his finance plan, is not likely to retire from the Government, as his colleagues have refused to acknowledge it as a Cabinet question. To supply the money required to cover the deficit Ministers will ask for a new loan of 200,000,000 of reals. Accounts received from the mouths of the Russian prisoners at Constantinople, state that 15,00►) wounded were lying in Sebastopol, that cholera was raging in the town, and that in the immediate neigh bourhood the soldiers were suffering dreadfully from the pangs of hunger. The steamer Bombay arrived at Trieste on Thurs day morning with the Overland Mail. The advices were from Calcutta of the 19th ; Madras, 24; Bom bay, 27; Shanghai, 4; Hong-Kong, 10 ; and Canton, Bth of May. There is nothing new from India. Trade was inactive; the Money Market tight; freights falling. Famine prevails in many parts of China. The rebels have taken some towns, and the Imperialists have gained soma battles.