The Press. — London, England, 1857-10-10 00:00:00

988 THE WEEK. LAST Wednesday was a day that the rising generation will pro bably long remember. The last ceremony of a similar character, in March, 1835, was of too purely a formal nature to make any very deep impression. Doubtless the various congregations which then listened to the exhortations of the English Church were all more or less affected by the circumstances under which they assembled, and by the language to which they simultaneously listened. Yet, after all, the " horrible and heartrending" accounts which periodically arrived from the Crimea were felt to be so closely allied with " the fortune of war," and illumined by so much that was glorious, that we question if any very deep or very genuine national self-abasement was then taking place. Not even the grave and touching eloquence of Bishop BLOM FIELD, who delivered a masterly homily on such " overweening pride," and such " boasting of armaments," as had characterised us at the outbreak of the war, was sufficient very permanently to humble those whose minds could at once revert to Alma, Balaklava, and Inkermann. On the present occasion, however, there was no such counteracting influence. Our " overweening pride," noticed on this occasion by Mr. LIDDELL, as on that by Dr. BLOMFIELD, has received a deadly blow. The " boasting of armaments " has been met by a practical rebuke unparalleled in our history ; and there can be no doubt that the whole nation feels bitterly and sincerely the humiliation which last Wednesday was appointed to commemorate. It was, no doubt, inevitable that the various clergymen whose addresses have this week been published should avoid political details, and no less natural that they should attribute much of the calamity to causes more or less connected with religion. Seine few, indeed, as Dr. CROLY and Arch deacon SIN:7LAIR, touched more at length on the secular aspects of the question ; but the majority, whether right or wrong, set down the rebellion of the native races to our own neglect in imbuing them with the precepts of the Gospel, and to that greed which sacrifices all spiri tual considerations to the prospect of immediate gain. Here a wide question is open for consideration, and we would not disguise its diffi culty. The problem to be solved is no less than this—How far Christianity and conquest, the Sermon on the Mount and the multipli cation table, can become joint agents in the elevation of India to the level of European progress ? Under our existing dispensation it is downright folly to suppose that we can ignore material objects in any great national work ; while, on the other hand, to postpone to them all higher considerations is deliberately to throw away a privilege accorded to us by Providence, and to surrender the best justification we possess for our past conquests. To reconcile these conflicting views must be the work of the future ; that of the present is the paci fication of the country. The Imperial interview at Stuttgardt is said to have had one result—the issue of a circular by Count WALEwsxi to the French Ant bassadors at the different Courts of Europe. Without either posi tively denying or affirming the existence of so formal a State docu ment, thus much is certain—a communication of some sort or other has been made. And we have reason to believe that after announcing the fact of a complete entente cordiale as established betwen France and Russia, a resolution to maintain by all possible means the peace of Europe, and that every endeavour should be made to bring about a good understanding amongst fall the !Euro pean Powers, was resolved upon. Furthermore, it was hoped that through the exertions of the French Emperor, and loyal. explanations from all part ies, a cordial reconciliation would bo effected between Russia and England. This we have every reason to believe is the substance of the communication referred to. It is beyond all doubt that other subjects were discussed at Stuttgardt—such as the Danubian provinces the present state of Italy, the diplomatic relations with Naples. and the difference between Deamark and Holstein ; but we do not believe that any definite reso lutions were adopted, or even proposed, beyond those given above. Indeed, on political questions of such importance, it is unreasonable to suppose that the Emperor NAPOLEON would have come to any conclu sion without first consulting the British Government. The present state of India, we have little doubt, was discussed. We are aware that when first the intelligence of the rebellion reached St. Petersburg certain Rus sian diplomatists strongly urged the Emperor ALEXANDER to turn it to his profit, and to despatch a powerful body of troops immediately to his Asiatic frontier. The Emperor ALEXANDER, we have reason to be lieve, refused to take any decisive measures previous to the interview that was about to be arranged at Stuttgardt. At that interview the French Emperor, true to his alliance with England, not only objected to such a line of policy by Russia, but stated in most energetic and decisive language that, should the Russian Government make the least demonstration in support of the rebels in India, France would throw the whole of her weight in favour of England. With regard to the interview at Weimar, we are not disposed to attach to it a result of any political significance. Another mail from India is hourly expected. That it will bring good news is scarcely to be anticipated. The hazardous position of Lucknow, and the very critical situation of General HEVELOCK, sur rounded by the Oude, Futteypore, and Gwalior rebels, and without any immediate prospect of relief, are not to be regarded without well founded alarm. Lucknow may still hold out, but that hope is weak. We cannot believe that it has been relieved by General OUTRAM. It is prfauMptuous, perhaps, at this distance to pass any opinion THE PRESS, OCTOBER 10, 1857. upon the operations that gallant officer intended to undertake, but wo will venture to say that no man who is acquainted with that part of Bengal, and with the locality of the river Gogra, anticipates any immediate or successful result from the pro posed expedition. With respect to Calcutta, we shall be gratified to learn that it has passed unscathed through the Mohurrum. The intel ligence from Madras cannot be but unsatisfactory. One cavalry regi ment having refused to proceed to Bengal, the Government is placed in this dilemma :—either they must avoid ordering any more of the Madras regiments out of their Presidency, and thus virtually submit to the dictation of their troops ; or they must run the risk of encountering, first the refusal of the troops to obey orders, and then —their revolt. In the one case our prestige will be shaken, in the other our position imperilled at Madras. With regard to Bombay, we trust that the mutiny has not extended. As to Delhi, its fall is scarcely to be expected ; while to the Punjaub we confess we look with some little apprehension. In the official report brought by the last mail it was stated that the whole of the revenue was " collected." As the period when the revenue is to be paid is the one which will test the loyalty of the Punjaubees, it is right that this statement of Mr. EDMONSTONE'S should be correctly understood. The only revenue paid at the time of Mr. EMONSTONE'S despatch was that due upon account of the spring crop, which does not yield one twentieth part of the revenue of the district. It is from the autumn crop that the principal revenue is collected ; and as we observed that the spring revenue was generally paid under compulsion at the point of the bayonet, and in several instances only after a severe struggle with the villagers, we may reasonably conclude that the real difficulty will commence with the collection of the heavy autumn revenue, the first instalments of which are due at this present moment. Upon the whole, therefore. we do not anticipate much that is satisfactory or consoling by the expected mail. We hope, however, for the best. The course followed by Cardinal WISEMAN and Archbishop Cum.xx with respect to the " Indian Relief Fund" fully justifies our recent observations on the new Papal policy of the Court of Rome. We believe that there never was a time when, with a few insignificant exceptions, the laity of the Roman Catholic body more sincerely desired to live in harmony with their Protestant fellow-subjects. But their clergy will not permit them to do so, and the old style of constant " agitation " is still kept up. Archbishop CULLEN writes, let it be observed, from " Rome," and there can no longer be any doubt about the new policy being entered upon. That policy may be summarily described as one of active propagandism. Every opportunity is to be taken of advancing Roman Catholic interests ; a complete junction is to be of bebreen the English Roman Catholic nobility and the Irish Roman Catholic democracy. We see the symptoms of it even in the current week. Thus on Monday the Dublin correspondent of the Times produces the Pastoral of Archbishop CULLEN, and makes upon it the following judicious comment :—" Why does not Dr. CULLEN " honestly and aboveboard caution the flock committed to his care " against subscribing to the Indian Fund? Such a course would be " more intelligible than dealing in inuendoes, and creating doubts as "to the objects to which the money may be ultimately applied." On Wednesday these doubts and inuendoes were promptly confuted by Lord St. LEONARDS, one of the trustees of the Crimean Relief Fund, and the fame of Lord Chancellor SUDDEN stands unsullied in Ireland for his impartiality in the highest legal post in that country from 1841 to 1846. He deserves the praise given by DRYDEN to SHAFTESBURY:— In Israel's courts ne'er sat an Abethdin, With more discerning eyes, or bands more clean. On Friday, not satisfied with the statement of Lord ST. LEONARDS, the Duke of NORFOLK publishes a letter, and challenges Lord ST. LEONARDS to move for returns in the next session of Parliament. That is to say, the doubts and inuendoes are to be left to do their work till the next session of Parliament, and we could not get the returns until March or April, when some of the popular enthusiasm will have cooled down. The Roman Catholics are a numerous body, but they are not rich in proportion to their numbers, and it is a miserable policy on the part of Cardinal WisEmAN and others to adopt the plan of having a separate fund. Archbishop CULLEN asserts that " nearly one-half of " the army consists of Roman Catholics," which is a strong exaggera tion. The Roman Catholics are apt to tabulate all " Irishmen" as " Roman Catholics," forgetting that the Protestants of Ireland are powerfully represented in the army. We must on this point remind both Cardinal WISEMAN and Archbishop CULLEN that in the Peninsular war, long before " Emancipation," Irish Roman Catholics swarmed is the ranks, and fought loyally with the gallantry of their country. They did so in days when their Church had not the privi leges now enjoyed by it; and we think that clerical incendiaries will labour in vain if they try to sectarianise the feelings of the Roman Catholics in the army. Their sentiments, and those of most of the laity of their persuasion, will on the present occasion be those of the Irish poet : Shall I ask the brave soldier who fights by my side, In the cause of mankind, if our creeds agree ? Shall I give up the friend I have valued and tried, If he kneel not before the same altar with me ? We are happy to see that the Times correspondent of Friday mentions the fact as evidence of the good feelings of our Roman Catholic fellow subjects, that "all, or nearly all, of the respectable members 'of the " Roman Catholic communion heartily joined with their fellow-citizens "in paying due deference to the Queen's proclamation." Can we wonder that there should be extreme jealousy of the Roman Catholic Church, when its chief ecclesiastics thus seem bent on keeping alive sentiments of severance, of strife, and of disputation ? We say "of severance," because nothing could have been easier than for Cardinal WISEMAN to have appoiutod a religious service for the same day as that