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

istrtspontentt.

BELGIUM AND THE WAR.
TO THE EDITOR OF " THE PRESS."

Sir,—Our friend the Independance Beige is in
doleful mood, and grievously afflicted. It mourns in
sackcloth and ashes over the stores of provisions and
the numerous vessels destroyed by the allied fleets
in the Sea of Azoff. " Its heart is grieved at these
fatal necessities of war, and when it thinks of the
amount of cereal produce destroyed in a few days,
and of the wants of other populations" (that of
Sebastopol, for example), "Oh ! it ardently longs
for the end of this struggle, and the vows it ex-
presses for peace are lively and sincere." I fully
believe it; but certain it is that the liveliness and
sincerity of these vows have been considerably
augmented by, and are mainly owing to, these very
successes over which the Independence whines and
moans. As the Gazette de St Petersbourg, in its
number of the 12th instant, discovered Count
Walewski's note of the 9th May to be very concilia-
tory—a fact it required a month's study to ascertain
—so does the tone of the Indipendance Beige afford
a good barometer to Russian feeling. If the glass
be high, and the journal in good spirits, then is all
going on well at the Russian camp ; but the mercury
of the Indipendance quickly falls with any success of
the allies, and mourning, lamentation, and woe then
reign predominant in the letters of its correspon-
dents.

The correspondent at Hamburg comments on a
portion of the news brought by the Vulture, but he
makes no reference to the fate of the Cossack's
crew, the intelligence of which was also brought by
that steamer, and which he had previously
tiansmitted by telegraph. Why this silence? Why
this forbearance from comment on a fact officially
confirmed? Is it that the indipendance cannot
venture to praise the inhuman conduct of the
Russian troops, and is, therefore, ordered to be silent
where it cannot commend ? Does it fear to offend
its " constant readers," the garrisons of the Baltic
ports and of Sebastopol ? Its Hamburg correspon-
dent can be unsparing in censure and apt in inuendo ;
he can readily draw on his imagination for his facts
if England be concerned, or if an accident happens to
a ship of the British fleet. For instance, this
veracious gentleman informs his readers that the
Merlin and Firefly have received such damage from
the infernal machines, and the Magicienne has been
so severely handled by the Russian forts, that they
are compelled to return to England for repairs. He
also adds that six vessels have been sent home for a
like object since the commencement of the cam-
paign. Now, the facts here statedjare " inexact "—I
believe that is the most polite expression—for the
Merlin and Firefly (have suffered but very trifling
damage, and that only to their copper; the Magi-
ienne's wounds as well as theirs can be bound up in

JUNE 30, 1855.

the Baltic, and but one ship (the Imperieuse) has
returned home since the commencement of the cam-
paign.
This correspondent, however, but follows in the
footsteps of his fellow-labourers ; for the Indipendance
finding it was necessary to cheer the sinking hearts
of its Russian readers, and being hard pressed for
materials wherewith to work, has lately been engaged
in fabricating a series of " canards " the most de-

lightful, at the expense of the English troops in the
Crimea. It has discovered that Bosquet's division
at the Alma was placed in great danger in conse-
quence of Sir George Brown and SO De Lacy Evans
not supporting it as they should have done; and it
asserts that their co-operation was only eventually
secured by exhortations addressed to those generals
by Marshal St. Arnaud in person. This story does
not afford much credit to the inventive genius of the
Indipendance, and it is only in Belgium, where irre-

solution is the normal condition of the troops, that
credence could be bestowed on a fiction so palpably
absurd. lamin a condition to assert, from personal
knowledge, that the story is false from beginning to
end; but, as the Times Paris correspondent has
dealt with it in detail, and proved conclusively that
it is not and could not be true, and as the Intie•

pendance has been unable even to attempt a defence
of its fabrication, I shall say no more on this
subject.
Again : before the despatches arrived from the
Crimea, and when the news had only reached us by
telegraph, the Independance over and over again
asserted that General Canrobert's reconnaissance on
the Tschern aya had failed iu consequence of his not
receiving support from an English division which
was ordered to act in concert with him. At length
the official despatches come to hand, and prove the
utter falsehood of this scandalous invention ; for not
only was the reconnaissance perfectly successful,
and every object attained that was expected or de-
sired, but the whole of the English cavalry and horse
artillery, and a large force of British infantry, ac•
tually formed part of the expedition. The game
must be a despairing one, and the Russian troops in
grievous want of comfort, when their journals are
;ompelled to resort to fictions such as these.
After a nine days' labour the Indipendance was
delivered of an article upon my last letter to you. It
did not even attempt to deny the accuracy of my
assertions, or to give any reply to the detailed ac•
count I sent of its correspondents and their opinions.
It sheltered itself behind a general statement that
the Belgians cannot but sympathise with the Eng-
lish, as they have so much in common with us ; that
offending the national vanity was not a likely way to
secure support or sympathy ; and that when the
nation was attacked it should be silent as regards
itself.
To this I simply repeat that, notwithstanding
gratitude for past favours should have secured the
sympathy of the Belgians with the allied cause, a
large proportion of the nation, from dread of Russian
power and misplaced fear of the imperial policy of
France, desires the success of the Czar and the
abasement of the Western powers. As to seeking
for sympathy or assistance from Belgium, the day is
yet to come when the giant shall call for aid from the
dwarf, or when England—that for a thousand years
has preserved her soil secure from every foe—shall
cry for succour from Belgium, which has successively
belonged to every power that chose to take her by
force of arms or articles of treaty, and which has so
often owed her deliverance to the might of British
arms or the exertions of British diplomacy. The
Independance was prudently and wisely silent as to
the remarks I made on itself, its correspondents and
their opinions, for it knew the correctness of every
statement and the accuracy of every fact mentioned
by me.
But comment is altogether unnecessary on the
tendencies of the Belgian people or the sympathies
of the Indipendance, in face of a fact which I know
on unquestionable authority. I informed you (as you
may remember) that the Russian Government bad
endeavoured to establish a journal at Berlin edited
by gentlemen and printed by workmen attached to
the Independance, and that the Prussian Government
at the last moment interdicted its appearance. The
project has been adjourned but not abandoned, and
the venue is changed from Berlin, where Russian in.
fluenco is predominant, to Brussels, where it equally
reigns supreme. The Journal du Nord will make
its appearance on the first of next month. It will be
printed and published in Brussels, and edited by M.
Victor Cappelmans, who has for some years been
attached to the editorial department of the Indepen-
dance Belge. Its information will be derived direct
from St. Petersburg, and it will appear as the open
and avowed organ of the Russian Government in
Western Europe. It is probable that M. Cappelmans
has not been selected without some knowledge of
his antecedents, and it is equally probable that his
appointment to the editorial chair of the Journal
du Nord is a reward for long services performed
While attached to the Indipendance. The garrison
of Sebastopol will now have a third journal to amuse

THE PRESS.

their leisure hours, to inform them of the want of
harmony and concert between the allies, of
the shortcomings and irresolution of the British
troops and commanders, and of the disasters
—real or supposed—overtaking British ships. But
time presses, and the Journal du Nord has
none to lose; for, according to General Pelissier,
the hour is at hand when the enemy will be exicken
to the heart, and the " canards " of the Journal du
Nord, like those of the Ind4endance, may arrive at
Sebastopal for the amusement of the divided and
distracted allies when masters of the place, instead of
affording comfort and consolation to the Muscovs for
whom they were composed.—l remain, sir, your obe-
dient servant,
AN ENGLISHMAN RESIDENT IN BELGIUM.
Brussels, June 20, 1855.

ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM.
TO THE EDITOR OF " THE PRESS."
Sir,—l read with great interest the article, in your
impression of Saturday last, upon "Administrative
Reform," and I quite agree, and am extremely grati-
fied to see it stated, that Mr. Disraeli has taken up
his position on it in the " most masterly manner."
As a junior civil servant of the Crown, I hope I
may be permitted to observe that the civil service of
this country can never be conducted in a satisfactory
manner until it be strictly and practically admitted
to be a "profession "—a profession in which the
highest honours and rewards it can otter shall be
within the reach of its humblest member. As the
civil service is organised at the present time nothing
can be more unsatisfactory, nor can anything be
more unjust than the way in which its higher offices
are distributed. I can see no reason why the higher
departments of an office should not be filled up trom
the ranks of those who have spent a large portion of
their lives in that office, instead of bringing in a man
who has no connection whatever with it, and putting
him over the heads of a great many deserving and
talented gentlemen, who are much better qualified to
fill the situation, merely because lie happens to be
the protege of a nooleman or gentleman having
political influence. For example, could anything be
more unfair and unjust towards the gentlemen of the
Treasury than the giving to Sir C. E. Trevelyan, a
brother-in-law of Mr. Macaulay, the historian, the
appointment of secretary of that department?—he,
in addition to being a perfect stranger to the civil
service of England, knowing nothing whatever of the
duties of the office, and being dependent, as be him•
self has stated, on the courtesy and information of
gentlemen filling subordinate situations under him.
Another instance of flagrant injustice towards the
gentlemen in the Admiralty was committed a short
time since by the appointment of Mr. Phinn to be
secretary, rendered vacant by the retirement of Ad-
miral Hamilton. Surely there must have been
many gentlemen in the Admiralty much better qua-
lified for such a situation than the Radical barrister,
late member for Bath.
I am confident that no greater stimulus could be
applied to the well-working of a department of the
State than the knowledge that its higher offices
would always be filled by gentlemen belonging to the
department, to be allotted as a reward to the most
deserving and most meritorious officer. This is
practically the system which Mr. Disraeli, when in
office, wished to introduce into the civil service; and
had not the Derby Government been ejected from
power by such an unprincipled coalition of Whig'',
Radicals, and Peelites, " Administrative Reform," in-
stead of only being, as it is at the present time, a
platform cry, would long ere this have become an
established fact.
Hoping, sir, that Mr. Disraeli will soon be in a
position to carry out his large and luminous views
for reforming the Government departments, ,I have
the honour to be, your obedient servant,
London, June 27th, 1855. JtiVENIS.

THE CASE OF BOYLE v. WISEMAN.
TO THE EDITOR OF " THE PRESS."

Sir,—We shall feel deeply obliged if you will
permit us through your powerful medium to place
before the public the facts in this proceeding. Six
years since Dr. Wiseman ejected Mr. Boyle from the
church at Islington without any canonical offence
being even alleged against him. Not content with
this injury to his professional avocation, and total
deprivation of all means of livelihood, he four years
after attacked both his moral and religious character
in a series of charges in the Univers which were
copied into many English papers. When fully in•
formed that his accusations were untrue, he refused
to retract them, and Mr. Boyle was then compelled
to vindicate all that was left to him—his moral and
religious character—by an action at law. It was tried
before the Chief Baron Sir F. Pollock, and Mr. Boyle
was non-suited, entirely through the misdirection of
that judge, who committed a double error in the
suit, as proved by the subsequent ruling of the
court. Mr. Boyle obtained a new trial, and the
second suit oame on for hearing before Mr. Baron

619

Platt, in March last, at Kingston, when the jury
found a verdict for the plaintiff, Mr. Boyle's
damages 1,0001. In this second suit, through the
mistake (the judges say) of Mr. Baron Platt, and
not on the merits of the case, the unfortunate
plaintiff has been sent to a third trial on the same
suit. No language can be well stronger than that
of Mr. Baron Platt, which is as follows, extracted
from the shorthand-writer's notes :

It certainly appears to me a very great reproach to the
law of this country that the plaintiff has been assailed by
a libel, and to this moment he has not been able to prove
to the satisfaction of the court the publication of it by the
libeller. And I must say that 1 greatly regret that any
mistake of mine—for I must take it for granted I am
mistaken, though 1 am difficult to be convinced I am mis-
taken—that any mistake of mine should have prevented
the plaintiff on his second attempt merely tc prove the
publication by the defendant of the libel for that purpose,
and not on the merits of the case, that he should again
have failed.

Now, sir, deeply as Sir F. Pollock and Mr. Baron
Platt may regret their erroneous decisions, there is
one unfortunate individual, the plaintiff, to whom,
being frustrated in two actions, and in each case not
on the merits, more than regret—total ruin—ensues.
Not only has he been deprived of all remedy by the
misdirection of two judges, but for anything we can
see to the contrary he may suffer by the entire
fifteen. And never can he recover the expenses of
the two previous trials, supposing him successful in
a third; so that the offender, if his purse will only
afford it, can set at defiance in this case also the
laws of England. We ask, if such be the case, why
is there no public prosecutor? Why do not the
judges either institute a remedy, or defray expenses
incurred by their ignorance, or mistake, out of the
private purse either of the misdirecting judge, or a
general amount subscribed among them all. For
the future, any amount of damages given to the
unfortunate plaintiff will become absorbed by the
previous expenses in the two former suits ; and it
seems that each judge will charge the jury to throw
out of their consideration the earlier proceedings.
Now, sir, having taken up entirely on public grounds
the case of Mr. Boyle, we ask, is any one to be
allowed to avail himself in this improper manner of
the errors of our judges to perpetuate wrong. As
Mr. Baron Platt has observed, Dr. Wiseman has
not the manliness to meet the evidence against him
in a straightforward manner. No person in England
or Europe doubts that he is the author of the libel.
His own counsel admit it; and can it be that a high
ecclesiastic of the Roman Church shall dare thus to
use the incidental errors and mistakes of the English
bench against his unhappy brother priest and victim ?
We appeal to the British public for aid to obtain
justice for a crushed, wronged, and ruined man.
Connected as this whole line of conduct is with the
Italian aggression, we yet do not rest simply upon
that, though a prime element, but we call on all un-
prejudiced parties to aid us in obtaining a remedy
for private injury to personal character, for ecclesias-
tical oppression and defamation, for gross wrung
done to a British subject, and for shameful con-
tumely heaped on our law and its judges by a triple,
or possibly a decuple adjudication in a single
suit.—We remain, yours faithfully,
J. W. WORTHINGTON,

H. BATEMAN.
27, John•street, Bedford.row, June 28, 1855.

FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE.
Tuesday, June 26.
BANKRUPTCY AN N ULLED.—Tmomts RICKARDS, Riches-
court, Lime-street, dealer In wood and general agent•
BANKRUPTS.—Ii SPIRY LOCIZY Huainan, Monmouth-road,
Bayswater, blander—WlLLlAM EPWORTH TULL, Merk•lane, WHIR
and spirit broker—DANIEL GOLDING, Islebam, Cambridgeshire,
butcher—FREDERICK Div Ens, Great Bell-alley, Moorgste.street,
licensed victualler— ROBERT MARTIN and DAVID WARDI.AW
Scorn, Great St. Helen's, City, merchants, ship and insurance
brokers, and Customhouse agenta—FRANCIS }Amino Tuctinn,
late of Copthall-builuings, City, and Horachurch, Esser., COM-
minion agent and bill-broker—RICHARD KIRKMAN LANG, Ar-
gyle-street, Regent-street, and Union•creseeot, Wandsworth-road,
bill-broker and gas-manufacturer—S*l'lAL Tan Avis and WIL•
LIAR HARRISON, Nottingham, upholsterers--Gtonon BUTLER
PORTING, Devizes, innkeeper—Wu-Luiz JONZI, Bump, builder
—Ttiouts ROBERTS, Llanstephan, Carmarthenshire, and New-
port, Monmouthshire, builder and contractor—Witt-um Hainan-
WATER, Cheltenham, coal merchant and brick and the maker—
JOHN WARBURTON, Sheffield, edge-tool manufacturer--Gtonom
NORMAN BULT, Tiverton, druggist—JoHN BKISTLIST Cl/11.
Bardsley, Lancashire, brewer.
SCOTCH SEQU ESTRATIONS.—JoHN froaans,OldMeldrtun,
druggist—DUNCAN WEAL, Perth, surgeon-dentist and druggist
—ROBERT J AC KSON, Glasgow, bookseller and stationer—Wu-Lux
TtPKAy, Mute, Sutherlandshire, merchant
Friday, June 20.
BANKRUPTS.— JAMIS BUR►ORD the elder, and Jamie BITE.
FORD the younger, Saint Neota, Huntingdonshire, builders—Joust
STEVENSON, Barham, Suffolk, innkeeper—JOHN H ovum', Black-
friars-road, furnishing ironmonger—Wm. DI awoonin, Gray's-
inn-road, draper—Hmaav Iliulivotani, Sheffield, file manufac-
turer—THomAs ELSTON, Newton Heath, Manchester, manufac-
turing chemist—THous I'ARTON, Ruyton, Salop, licensed
victualler—HAßßlZTT SWINDELL, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, wine
merchant—Wm-iv Stanawoon and NnWMAN MHZRWOOD,
builders and contractors—AßTHUß EDWARD TROWSE, Holborn,
coach and type smith and spring maker—lsuc BROWN Tooley.
square, licensed victualler—RoszaT DZIIT, Atherstone, War:
wickshire, builder—Clawson EDWARDS, Old Swinford, Wore's:
tershire, innkeeper—HitanniT ROOK, Birmingbarils Inslmillo
bedstead manufacturer,

ii;ittraturt.

An Account of the Life, Opinions, and Writings

of John Milton. By Thomas Keightley.
London: Chapman and Hall.
A MILITARY veteran, covered with scars, is a
eight that interests the coldest spirit. If he
be decked with glittering orders, people
admire the proofs of his prowess, and think
how dearly they were purchased. If, upon
the other hand, his mutilated limbs and his
Shattered frame are all that visibly attest the
battles and sieges which he has survived, a
sentiment of sympathy mingles with our feel-
ings as we gaze upon ill-requited valour.
Unfortunately it has happened in all armies
that there will be many cases of heroes whose
outward decorations are far beneath their
personal desserts. The neglected veteran is
a stock character in the national drama of
every country.
In this respect, at least, the campaigns of
literature present a strong analogy to those
of war. Many a soldier of the pen falls un-
noticed and unmourned ; some staff favorites
of the magnates of "the Row" obtain a
gaudy and ephemeral success, and pass for
distinguished authors, as lucky officers find
themselves gazetted as heroes, though uncon-
scious of having ever been in peril. The
veteran author, also, like the old campaigner,
Ins often good cause for grumbling If he
had been less solid and learned, and more
superficial and sparkling, he might have had
a cartload of bays tossed to him indiscrimi-
nately by the crowd of readers who know no
distinction between notoriety and fame, and
who cannot discriminate between the com-
posers in and compilers of literature.
We think that it is impossible for the most
frigid critic not to be touched with the con-
clusion of the preface to Mr. Keightley's new
work on Milton :
As in writing this volume I have been actuated solely by
a regard for truth and reverence for the fame of Milton—
lears and their attendant evils having nearly quenched my
ore of fame—and as I live in seclusion, with little society
beyond that of my bwn family, I may perhaps say without pre-
lumption that I am almost indifferent to criticism : praise
cannot elate, or censure depress me. To the public ex-
pression of either, especially the latter, my ear is little
used, and I have long been accustomed to be content with
the silent approbation of my own mind. Conscious then
of having exerted myself to the utmost of my powers to
do justice to my subject. justice is all I ask of any, while
to the friendly critic I would say—
Approve it ouly—las too late to praise.

In other cases we might object to the tone
of egotism in that passage, but it is excusable
in Mr. Keightley, who gave a rare proof of
conscientious love of what he sincerely be-
lieved to be the truth. We need not partiCu-
larly refer to the circumstances under which
Mr. Keightley (of whom we have no personal
knowledge) turned to the profession of litera
ture, but we may observe that it has appeared
to us that certain incidents in his history

always coloured his speculative opinions.
Like minds that have a strong attachment to
the law of individualism, Mr. Keightley is apt
to be crotchetty. He refers in the following
terms to his own "History of England ":
The reader of Milton should be acquainted with the state
of public affairs in his time. I will here follow a rather
unusual course, and boldly recommend my own " History
of England." Ido so both on account of its conciseness,
and because I believe it to be the only one that can lay
any just claim to impartiality.
It is many years since we read Mr. Keight
ley's "History of England," but we recollect
being struck with its ability and candour.
There were crotchets of the author, also,
liberally scattered through its pages. At
Pinkerton,
his love of dogmatism reminded us of
Pinkerton, a writer much in vogue in the early
pare of this century. We remember one of
Mr. Keightley's notes in which he asserted
that " Scotisticta never produced a great
man " ; awl there are other assertions of a
similar kind. His tendency is rather too
mueit to the opinionative. While not willing
to pin hie literary filth to the decrees of any
grand eounco Qf critics with imposing names,
by eliims the liberty of prophesying for him-
self. Ife is only too apt, perhaps, to deMon
PILAU his love of the sentire qua velia, but he
certainly exemplifies the concomitant privi-
leo of the vie sentias dicers iu a_ manner