The Press. — London, England, 1857-03-14 00:00:00

U Mess. For the instruction of his followers, the Ma hommedan confession of faith is to be para. phrased,—"There is no ruler but PALMERSTON, "find HATTER is his prophet." With his abandonment of his mask, the coarseness of his real character appears. His jollity veiled a nature, if not positively cruel, yet perfectly indifferent to bloodshed, and his Liberalism a tyrannical and overbearing tem per. We believe there is no example in Par liamentary history for the tone in which he addressed the House upon the China debate. It revealed that exterminating spirit which prevailed in the old heathen nations of the world, and which may still subsist among savage tribes, but which we thought, until Lord PALMERSTON convinced us to the con trary, had been banished from the Govern. ments of Christendom, and was particularly abhorrent to the genius of British states manship. dent opinion cannot be crushed ; it is too keen to be fooled by charlatanry, and too honest to be corrupted by bribes. LONDON, SITURDAY,WARCH 14, 1857. CITY OF LONDON ELECTION. Wuo are to return the members for the city of London? The whole body of the electorA or the few gentlemen who constitute the Liberal Registration Society? Lord Jowl RUSSELL has determined to fight his own battle, and has properly set the dictation of the Registration Board at defiance. Will the Con servatives of the city of London show more submission to its mandates ? At the last election Mr. MASTERMAti was returned at the head of the poll, and we believe that at the next election two Conservatives might cer tainly be returned. The electors of London have the strongest interest in upholding a political creed whose first principle is Order, and whose second is Progress. Mr . this time Lcrd PALMERSTON has discovered that he committed the capital error of his life in stigmatising the China vote as factious, and in resolving on an appeal to the country. Too late his adherents find that they have nothing to appeal upon ; when brought face to face with their constituents they are dumb. " PAr.mEitsroN for ever" has no charm for meetings which know that the cry means ex travagant establishments, increased taxation, and a costly, cruel, and unjust war with China. The Ministerialists find it convenient to be silent about Reform. They have abandoned their party, and their party is abandoning them. When the elections take place we doubt whether a single Palmorstonian will dare to present himself to a popular consti tuency. The Premier is doing for the Liberal party what Sir ROBERT FUEL did for the Conser vative party in ,1846. He is breaking it up. He is endeavouring to establish a distinction between official Liberals who will stick to the Treasury bench come - what may, and independent Liberals who will not consent to shameless abandonment of the principles they profess. The inde pendent men were to be represented as factious, and got rid of as conspirators ; the -official men, staunch Palmerstonians, were to be lauded as patriots, and to be encouraged and rewarded with all the patronage and in fluence at the disposal of a Government which in a single year augments the expen diture by a stun of eight millions of money. To carry out this colossal job, PAT.ltEastoi relied upon HAYTER, and HAYTER relied upon PALMERSTON. Not a single "conspirator" was to be spared. The " Infant Hercules " was to strangle the whole brood in his Whig cradle. Days of halcyon peace were to succeed ; faction was to be suppressed; the Conservatives were to be nowhere ; and a majority, always to be - relied on, was to be composed of placemen in ease and placemen in posse. The scheme was promising,— least it, was flattering. But - there were tilk material points overlooked in the calculation. Was it, certain that the con spirators would submit to be crushed ? was it sure that the country would throw itself at L /1"41 PALMERSTON'S feet? Since his elevation he has, like many a vain man before him, lost his head. Every one attending the Commons must have noticed his altered manner. His make-up formerly as un faux bonhomme was capital. Face, voice, and manner were all adapted to the part. But lately he has assumed all the dictatorial airs of a grand bashaw. Whoever ventures to oppose his will must be " put down." Lord JOHN RUSSELL and Commissioner YEll ; Mr. ANDREWS and the king of NAPLES; Mr. LOCKE KING and the Shah of PERSIA, are all to be served alike. Nothing is to interfere with his Dictatorship.. LATEST EDITION. Who can answer for the consequences of returning a House of Commons devoted to the will of this Minister for the next seven years? We see how power brings out the dark shades of his character, and how age hardens all the coarser qualities and senti ments of his mind. Were he freed from that representative control which he detests, there is no limit to the mischief which he might perpetrate. It was with difficulty that he was sastrained last ntleifc m committing this country to a war --;th States. With a more servile House of Commons, he would not long want a pretext for disturbing those amicable relations which he has always re garded with disfavour. When he calls on the country to elect repre sentatives at his dictation, must it not be asked what are his claims to the confidence he solicits ? What measures of enlightened pro gress and Christian legislation does he pro pose? On what principles of domestic policy is his Government to be based in future? Surely it is too absurd for the most bigoted partisanship to assert that he is the Minister to conduct the nation to higher triumphs of civilisation, and to satisfactorily settle those great questions of finance, of social improve ment, and practical reform which are discussed by every English hearth, and are felt to con cern in some degree the happiness and se curity of every home. When we are told that he brought the Rus• sian war to an honourable conclusion, we must demur to the fact in face of the testimony of his own most devoted and most confidential adherents at the time when the peace negotia tions were in progress. Then we heard only of the pressure put upon the English Cabinet by the Emperor of the FRENCH ; it was said that Lord PALMERSTON was forced to conclude peace against his will ; that he consented to the proposed conditions only because he felt cer tain that Russia would not accept them ; and his turbulent conduct for a twelvemonth after peace had been signed was alleged to be due to his mortification at the result, and to a hope, which he sedulously by his public addresses endeavoured to diffuse through the country, that the war might ou some pretext be renewed. His scheme to return a Palmerstonian mnjo rity by casting odium on the independent Liberals, and by endeavouring to sow division among Conservatives, has already failed. The country will not fall down and worship the golden idol Mr. HAYTLR has set up. Indepen- THE APPEAL TO THE COUNTRY. Tnn aspect of the political cAsis has greatly changed since our last issue. Lord PALMERS• TON'S defiance of the vote of the Commons was prompt and boll. A Minister wise re solves on as appeal to the country from the decision of adverse majority shows or feigns some confidence in the justice of his cause. There is a presumption that he has good ground for expecting that a dissolution will increase his strength ; and when he has a compact following at his back, and a powerful press at his command, ho has ample means for maintaining this presumption until public opinion—always slow in its manifestations when unexpected events occur—shall express itself in decided tones. The vote of the Commons on the China question was challenged as a factious vote. The agreement of the most eminent men on both sides of the House was said to wiring, not from conscientious motives, or from the natural and legitimate action of party obliga tions, but from a conspiracy to overthrow Lord PALMERSTON'S Government, and to sully the honour of the British name. The issue to be tried therefore was, whether the House of Commons on this occasion truly represented the sense of the country, or whether the men who had heretofore, from their general views and signal ability, been regarded as worthy exponents of the opinion of great sections of the community, had failed,—either from being above or below the national sentiment, — to apprehend and express it. The country was called on to decide between the House of Commons and the Government. For a day or two the tide seemed to run strongly in favour of the latter. Some gre It commercial bodies lv their verdic oraanisatio their in teres' cial bodies ' they desire by force of Commercial by strict ru, the part of into shocking consideration !1 1 bodies promptly met to record. et in favour of the Minister. Their n allowed of alio tepid action, and 'est pro tot! it. Purely cominci• have al Is been wa r lik e .. Eith er f to erus , _f_oroign rivals. or to open arms new channels of enterprise. il advenplr , when not restrained Iles of Tau oration and justice on the goveL :. g po e.r, is apt to run ing exce , 'fint -o sacrifice every ion of h .b... . : . tOlOwnuit of gain. . . . • 6: 7 b / r ) 1 r_ STAMPED . .. SIXPENCF. No. 202.—V0L.V. LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 1857. UNSTAMPE.D..FIVEPENCE. r« . `‘k.,