The Press.
London, England, 1855-03-31 00:00:00

THE WEEK.

THERE was never, to all appearance, a more critical moment in the
history of Europe than the present. The question of peace or war is
still under discussion at the Congress, and the Baltic fleet is to sail
on Tuesday next. While one member of the Cabinet is negotiating at
Vienna, another at home is securing 1,000,0001. to Sardinia, nominally
for the expense of her contingent. The Budget is postponed till after
Easter, that Sir C. Lxwis may ascertain whether a grand reduction of
our expenses be not practicable, and the allied armies are preparing
for a grand attack on Sebastopol. What conclusion should be drawn
from these opposite facts?
The third and only important " point " of the four was opened at
the Vienna Congress on Monday, and after discussion of tho particular
details to effect the limitation of the power of Russia in the Euxiue,
the Russian Plenipotentiaries desired time to obtain instructions from
their Government. Meanwhile the fourth point was proceeded with.
But the assertion made in this Journal last week is now confirmed.
The allies: will not insist on the reduction of Sebastopol. Those
journals which up to this time have insisted that peace would
not be possible except on condition of the dismantling of that
fortress now change their tone. The Morning Post of Thursday says
that the Government is determined to see the third point car-
ried out, "in material guarantees, such as the limitation of
" the naval forces of Russia in the Black Sea to a squadron
"of strength merely necessary for the purposes of police." Again,
this organ of Lord PALMERSTON declares that " the interpretation and
" details of this third point must be such as Russia can accept with-
" out dishonour," and that on the dismantling of Sebastopol " the
" allies cannot insist." The Times of yesterday at last takes the same

view :
The tone of the Western Powers in these Conferences has been extremely tem-
perate, and they have been disposed to carry concessions to their furthest limits. This
motive alone can have induced them to omit the reduction of the fortress of Sebastopol
from the conditions they required, and to contemplate the possibility of an evacuation
of the Russian territory. • • • In consenting to negotiate at all upon a basis
which did not include the reduction of Sebastopol, the Western Powers have unques-
tionably given the strongest imaginable proof of their sincere desire for the restore
Lion of peace.
In these columns we have constantly held that the Congress
would be a mere farce if the allies really intended to insist on the re-
duction of Sebastopol—though such reduction has been insisted on
by the journals we have named as indispensable to preliminaries
of peace up to the last few days. How recently the sentiments of the
Emperor of the FRENCH have changed on this point may be gathered
from the fact of the postponement of his departure for the Crimea.
Notwithstanding) the pretended vigour of the Government, indi-
cations peep out that it does not contemplate hostilities of long
duration. In the War Departments some arrangements are postponed,
and others are provisionally made, and, really, we believe that a pacific
settlement is considered as assured by the Premier and his Cabinet,
though it may suit their purpose for a time to regard the result as
uncertain, and to employ " prave 'ords, look you," to impose on the
public mind.
All question of the reduction of Sebastopol being put aside, Russia
we may be sure will be glad to accept peace on the best terms she can
obtain. She will make considerable concessions, but she will escape
from an untenable position, and, as some comfort for what she yields,
she will have the reputation of having held her own against the two
greatest nations of the world. Her power is not yet impaired, though
another campaign might go far to shake it. The Allied Powers have
as yet been but preparing for the assault on Sebastopol, and from the
magnitude of those preparations—the formation of a railway from the
port to the camp, fin• the conveyance of guns and shot, shell and all
munitions of war—the immense works raised against the town—the
comfortable lodgment now effected for the troops—the continued ar•
rival of reinforcements, in which the 15,000 men of the Sardinian con-
tingent would eount for something—the transport of OMER PACHA'S
army to Eupatoria—the enormous force of the combined armies of the
three Powers, together not less probably than 150,000 men—we may
judge on how terrific a scale hostilities would be waged when the
campaign was once opened. The battles fought as yet would be but
skirmishes iu comparison with the engagements to be expected before
the fortress and in the field.
In the Baltic our fleet would assuredly not return as it did last
year, with no better trophy than the garrison of Bomarsund, no other
laurels than uninjured ships and sound crews. The defects of the last
expedition would be repaired ; there would be gun-boats and floating
batteries, and, no doubt, an adequate body of troops to operate by
land. Some great trial of arms there would certainly be, and Russia
from the shock might tremble for the safety of her Baltic provinces.
Cronstadt conquered, and that dominion in the North secured by a
century and a half of aggression would be shaken to its base.
Again, if Austria took part in the contest, Russia would no longer
be secure on the side of Poland. Assailed at once in the north, the
could she long maintain the three
pelled to wage ? Evidently peace is
I may be sure she will embrace the
not with undignified precipitancy,
The question IS decided now that
up. Lord PALMERSTON, who has
up the measure of her obligations
negotiation which Lord ABERDEEN

In Parliament, the second reading of the Newspaper Stamp Bill
has been carried by a majority of fifty-four. The brilliant speech of
Sir BULWER LTrTON must have contributed to this result. His
definition of the Conservative principle is by far the noblest yet given
of it. What, he asked, is Conservative ? "It is not a stern and lifeless
" system of restraint and terror, but a warm and generous love for the
" free laws, the liberal altars, and the glorious people of the land in
" which we live." The principle of the bill—the repeal of the penny
stamp (so far as it is compulsory) is thus repealed, but how will the
details be regulated ? Will a newspaper, with necessary registration
and sureties against rival, be defined, only when it claims the privilege
of transmission through the post. Surely it would be most unjust
and illogical to exact security from the higher class of journals, while
the lower class would be allowed to escape. There need be no
difficulty in defining a newspaper with sufficient exactness for
all practical purposes ; and as the registration would be simple and
inexpensive, what cause would there be for attempting to evade
it? Is it not as right on principle to demand registration from the pro-
prietor of a newspaper who has in his hands tremendouss power of libel
and mischief, as from a cabman? It is the registration by which a
journal can always be made answerable for any offences against the
law it may commit which has mainly contributed to the high cha-
racter of our press; and this security, which can be justified as a
prudent measure of police, which never could be felt as a grievance
except by scamps and professed libellers, will, we hope, never be given
up. A printer's name may be no security' His whole stock may not
be five pounds' worth of type, and the vilest agitators may be encou-
raged to enter on a trade of libel and sedition, through knowing that their
wretchedness and obscurity will screen them from punishment. One
whimsical incident of the debate was Mr DRUMMOND'S denunciation of
the libellous character of the press, in one of the most libellous
speeches ever delivered in Parliament. On this occasion he certainly
abused this privilege, not as a member of a privileged body only, but
as the most favoured jester that body at resent possesses.
Sir CHARLES WOOD "is coming out" in his new capacity. His in-
tellect is of the kind which rises with the greatness of the occasion.
On Thursday he concluded his speech with six words of Latin. But
more than that, last week, when defending the transport service, he
" boldly asserted that not one specific charge which has been brought
" forward was proved to be correct;" and on Thursday he laid the
blame of our disasters in the Crimea—on what does the reader sup-
pose ?—why, on the electric telegraph. Had electric telegraphs and
our own correspondents been employed during the Peninsular war,
the Duke of WELLINGTON might never have known what success was.
So there is no escaping the conclusion that electric telegraphs have
done all the mischief. In the debate upon army promotion on Tuesday,
Lord PALMERSTON gave another of his unlucky definitions. What is
merit? he asked. And he replied " The opinion which one man forms of
" another." This definition should be added to JOHNSON, in correction
of the explanation there given :—" Desert—excellence deserving of
Jor war,we may notice that thetone " honour or reward." Sir W. CLAY'S motion on Thursday for leave to
past has been eminently pacific, and introduce a bill for the total repeal of Church•rates met with the
1, about to b 3 entered into by the sanction of the Premier, and was carried by a majority of 155 to 'H.-
the present suspended. An elaborate a plain proof that if the friends of the Church do not exert themselves
maims, has been published In the to settle this tiuestien, its enemies seen will,

..~

0104:•_

uc _
south, and the centre of her empire,
separate wars she would be oompe
for her an inevitable necessity ; we
opportunity now offered to her,
indeed, but with real eagerness.
the conquest of Sebastopol is given
so often favoured Russia, will heap
to him by compelling the pacific n
originated.
As affecting the question of peac4
of the French press for some days pi
that some considerable contracts,
rench Government, lutve been for tl
snide on the Late limperor Nto

MARCH 31, 1855.

THE PRESS.

AD REMPUBLICAM.

O navis, referent in mare to novi
Fluetus ! 0 quid agis ? forager oecwpa
Po Hum.* Nonne vides, ut
Nudum remigio latus?

Et malus celeri saucius Africo,
Antenna que gemant: ac sine funibvs
Vix durare caring
Possint imperiosius

/Equor? Non tibi aunt integra lintea:
Non di, quos iterum pressa voces malo.
Quamvis Pontiea pinus,
Silvte filia nobilis,

Tactee et genus et nomen inutile,
Nil picas timidus navita puppibus
Fidit. Tu, nisi ventis

Debes ludibrium, cave.

Nuper sollicitum gum mihi tedium,
Nunc desiderium curaque non Levis,
Interfusa nitentes
Vites /Evora Cycladas !

(A TRANSLATION FROM HORACE.)

Once more afloat, 0 good Old Ship ! amid the surge of war ;
Whate'er you do, strike bravely on the casemates of the Czar !
Who cries " We're not in battle-trim " ? I'll show him, once for all,
The bills we've paid for caulking in the dockyards of Whitehall!

What ! croaking at the masthead, and croaking on the yard ;
And croaking in the cabin, now the stormy winds blow hard!
In such a plight as this, Old Ship, your chance will soon be gone;
0, for the boatswain man enough to lay a rope's-end on!

Your stout old sails are splitting all to ribbons (green and blue),
Your tough old tars invoke the stars (who've something else to do).
Who brags of British "heart of oak," when dry-rot's once got in?
Or confidence in " old old Whigs" will value at a pin?

What seaman, think ye, cares to trust in hour of storm and wreck
The painted puppy " lords " that crowd your Admiralty's deck?
Jack hates to get his orders from "a lubber as can't tell
A hatchway from a howitzer." I think Jack reasons well.

Yet still, God bless thee, brave Old Ship, my fears have always been
There'd he a piece of work abroad, when skies were all serene ;
In the Baltic and the Euxine you may meet with many a squall
That will sorely test their seamanship —those pilots of Whitehall !

Hor. Car. Lib. 1., xiv.
• Having submitted the above translation to a certain critical and classical member of the present Government, he has, rather to my consternation, informed me that, among
other faults, I have in several instances misapprehended the exact meaning of the Augustan poet. For the benefit of such of my readers whose latinity may be equally delicate
with my own, I have had the candour to mark with italics the obscure and, as I still think, doubtful passages in question.—TnassLaron.

" WHY THE DEUCE DOES HE THINK

AT ALL ? "

OUR PREMIER'S ANSWER TO "WHAT IS A PLAIN FELLOW TO THINK?"
I've read the plain fellow's lament
That he doesn't quite understand
What I in the Commons meant
And Peel on the hustings planned.
If he'll take the advice of a man
Whose experience is not small,
He'll find it the pleasanter plan
•
Not to think of such matters at all.

ANOTHER DESPATCH FROM THE GREAT
PLENIPOTENTIARY.
TO THE RIGHT HON. THE VISCOUNT PALMERSTON.

Why make such a pother and jaw
If Peel with his Chief disagrees,
And folks have to change the old saw
And call things uNlike as two P.'s
At this joke will poor Wood be perplext,
His humour you know's but small;
But I am running away from my text—
Don't think of such matters at all.

Plain fellows were puzzled, I trow,
And prated of honour and truth
A good many years ago,
When I sold the old friends of my youth.
Credo experto. Give ear
To a man who has stifled the call
Of conscience for many a year—
Such things don't bear thinking at all.

VIENNA, March 26.
MY DEAR Lonn,—l promised to write to you again as soon as I
should have anything to say.
We have now held five conferences, and I find it much easier work
than I had anticipated. On account of the superior manner in which
my friend Baron Bourqueney understands French (although I can
read and speak it very well, I do not always comprehend what is said
to me in reply), I allow him to be my mouthpiece ; and I find that any
observations I may requeat him to make for me are more easily appre-
ciated by the rest of the Congress than when I delivered them ore
proprio. This is, as your Lordship will not fail to remark, one of the
beneficent results of the " entente cordiale " between England and
France. By the way, old A—n used to say he invented that phrase .
I wish he had never invented anything else.
Hitherto we have been going on swimmingly, and I have no doubt
that in a few days I shall have to apprise your Lordship that I have
succeeded in all my objects, and that I have negotiated a glorious and
au honourable peace upon terms which will be satisfactory to the
country. Perhaps, however, it may be well for you to abstain from
announcing this to Parliament until the arrangements are quite

complete.
I may say, without vanity, and speaking frankly to a private
friend, that the selection of myself for Plenipotentiary was a most
fortunate choice. Having attended, not only to the practical duties of
a statesman, but also to the theory of the Constitution of my country,
I am enabled to speak ex cathedra to the other members of the Con-
gress, while the prestige of the House of Bedford gives me great weight
with my colleagues.
To this moral force I attribute the mode in which the Congress
has submitted to my dictation upon several points connected with the
first two articles of consideration. In the first of our protocols the
date was omitted, and I instantly refused to listen to another word
until that was inserted. It was done without a murmur, and even
with an apology for an omission stated t o be accidental. I thought it
better tact to accept this excuse. The word. " persons" was also used,
and I exacted the alteration of this word. to " individuals," as more in
accordance with the amicable spirit of our proceedings, for many
people, as your Lordship may be aware, object to he called persons.
Again, I strongly remonstrated against the use of blotting-paper for
the purpose of drying our minutes (a hint which I must own to have
gathered from perusing anecdotes of Talleyrand), and I showed, by
signing my name, and then drying it with paper, that any office-
cleaner or other official could read the words "John Russell" on the
blotting-pad. This dangerous practice has been discontinued.
I thought it well, for the sake of increasing the impression which
was produced by my known adherence to the principles of liberty, to
introduce, as if casually, a reference to the melancholy event in Lin-
colns-inn-fields, where my great ancestor, Lord William Russell, fell a
victim. But, having explained the circumstances, lam boundthe to say
that none of the other members of the Conference expressed sym-
pathy one would have expected. The Russian and Austrian members
seemed to think that Lord William was served perfectly right, ant

As I throw my eyes over the map
I'm often inclined to confess
I have caused poor fall'n Spain mishap,
Got Greece in a deuce of a mess ;
I backed up a Portugal Jew
To bully that kingdom small
For a debt that was never due—
Don't let's think of that matter at all.

Once Austria I did menace
When her star was beginning to pale
(Hungary, Lombardy, Venice,
Will tell you the bitter tale).
But Nicolas lent his aid
To perpetuate their thrall.
Bah ! don't suppose I was afraid—
Why the deuce think about it at all?
* * *
Plain fellows are mostly weak,
And gain neither Power nor Pelf ;
In neither morale nor physique
Am I a plain fellow myself.
But the " party " who has a whim
By such title himself to call,
What on Earth are my doings to him ?
Whq the dance need he think at alit