The Press.
London, England, 1855-12-08 00:00:00

THE KING OF SARDINIA.

THAT the visit of his Majesty the King of
SARDIN IA to this country should be hailed with
universal satisfaction can be a matter of
wonder to none. There are numerous ele-
ments, both in his position and his character,
to attract the admiration of the most differ-
ently constituted minds. In him the man of
business sees the energetic reformer, and the
religious man the resolute opponent of priest-
craft. To the eye of the soldier he is present
as the hero of Novara—to the poet, or anti-
quary, as the heir of forty generations.
Statesmen remember his hereditary alliance
with the Crown of England—historians, the
illustrious exploits of the House of Savoy.
Yet over and above tl.e emotions of love and
reverence which these traditions must inspire
rises clear and bright to the minds of Eng-
lishmen the one broad fact that, all unbidden,
he has cast in his lot with theirs; that, with
small hope of aggrandisement, he has plunged
into a distant and expensive contest for the
sake of justice ; and that, whatever be the
issue of the war, whether concluded in accord-
ance with public interests, or protracted for
the sake of private ones, they are still sure to
find VICTOR EMANUEL by their side, prepared
to endure to the end its dangers and its
horrors.

To these concurrent causes of Ins present
popularity it might be thought superfluous to
add. Yet we must not allow ourselves to
forget that some of them are accidental, some
dependant on caprice, and that others, which
are more lasting, are still but limited in their
influence. Piedmont may be reconciled to
Rome, war may give place to peace, and the
King of SARDINIA may lose many of those
attributes with which the popular voice has
invested him; but there are certain distinc-
tions which accident cannot confer nor time
deitroy, and which are surer of recognition
perhaps in a future age than the present one—
the merit of such achievements as appeal
rather to the reason than the passions, which
are based on great principles, and of which
the fruits must be expected with patience.
Has the King of SARDINIA, then, established
any such permanent title to the homage of man-
kind ? Has he accomplished designs which
with all possible deductions may render him
fearless of the verdict of posterity? We un-
hesitatingly reply that he has. In an age
when ,representative institutions are discre•
dited he has upheld them. When the world
seems to tremble in the balance between
tyranny and democracy, Conservatives are
reassured when they gaze on Sardinia. When
writers of ability and repute do not scruple to
affirm that constitutional monarchy is a blun-
der, VICTOR EMANUEL has promoted tho cause
both of order and humanity as a constitu-
tional Monarch. He has shown that it is

SATURDAY,

possible even in Italy to unite vigour of action
with freedom of opinion, and has sown the
germs of a powerful and sober commonwealth
whose Destinies w woo l 4 - not presume to
measure. But he has still another claim to
our enthusiasm aud ot4 cOnfideuce. These
are days in which Ro ' is straining every
sinew to preserve and
~ send her spiritual
aiiic
dorimio . E'er siii,ce - rench Revolution
she has n Mgr,' , cretly but steadily.
Eurvoie Sovereign* , oroughly frightened
out bi their liberal aspirations were only too
happy to' accept her assistance, and the last
state of Southern Europe is worse than the
first. In this country, long fondly deemed
the bulwark of Protestantism, she has made
huge but silent strides. Among our leading
statesmen we do not always know, though
she does, who are for her, and who against
her. Our trumpet gives an uncertain sound,
but Rome is united, unscrupulous, and coufi
dent. Can- we be too much elated at the
deadly wound she has received at the hands
of this same resolute and independent ruler?
Towards the Prince who has thus championed
these two great principles of civil order and
religious liberty is it possible we can feel too
warmly ? May he long continue to reign in
the hearts of his people, and go on to realise
the glowing ideal of a Patriot King.

HOW IS THE MILITIA WORKING?
Tunas have been signs in the last few days
that the Militia system is beginning to press
rather heavily on various parties. As was
foreseen, the billeting is causing discontent,
and preliminary meetings have been held with
a view to redress. In some other quarters,
also, the whole plan of our Eaglish Militia is
undergoing discussion. Doubts are enter-
tained by experienced persons whether the
system is working as well as ought to be ex-
pected ; and it is evident that in the next
session of Parliament the Militia Question will
be subjected to examination.
It is worth while recollecting clearly that,
thanks to her insular position and her
powerful navy, England—unlike continental
countries—has never been forced to rely on a
militia. When NAPOLEON I. prepared his
flotilla at Boulogne, and when there was a
genuine panic upon invasion, there was an
ardent feeling raised for the Militia. But in
1801, just when NAPOLEON was First Consul,
our Militia was greatly inferior in numbers to
our regular troops. Our whole military force
in that year was 302,000 men, of whom 193,000
were regular troops (scattered through our
empire and colonies), and 109,000 Militia and
fencibles. How great was the reliance of
England on her navy is visible in the fact that
in the same year she had 100 ships of the
line, and 200 frigates, under sail, in all parts
of the world, besides 20 ships of reserve,
and 50 frigates ready fur sea. There were,
altogether, 814 vessels of war, of all sizes,
afloat, or in the course of being built, and not
less than 120,000 seamen. The relative pro-
portion of these numbers will show how little
we relied on our Militia at that time.

After the rupture of the Peace of Amiens,
and when NAPOLEON had collected his flotilla
at Boulogne, an extraordinary military ardour
seized the country. A levy, en muse, which
had been resolved on, was rendered unneces-
sary by the number and zeal of the volunteers.
The Whig Opposition fur once seconded the
efforts of authority, and the ranks of the
Militia were enormously increased. But the
battle of Trafalgar dissipated all fear of in-
vasion, and the Militia thinned down into
being a mere nursery for the Line, which, for
the most part, has been its chief utility iu
England.
What occurred in those times has since
taken place on a smaller scale in our own
days. Four years since an "invasion " was
talked about, and under the influence of ap-
prehension—natural, though unfounded—con-
siderable activity was shown through the
country, when it was proposed that the
Militia should be called out. Yet when the
war actually began, and when it was certain
that there would be a want of soldiers, there

DECEMBER 8, 1855.

was a reprehensible delay in not organising
the Scotch and Irish Militia. The blame of
that delay ought partly to rest on the head of
Lord PALMERSTON, who was Home Secretary

to the Coalition Cabinet.
And the recollection of that neglect reminds
us that our Prime Minister has never been
eminent at organisation. He never excelled
as a legislator, or as the manager of a party.
Because he was for years a Secretary-at-War
it was presumed that he would make a good
War Minister. We are not aware of a solitary
act in his life which showed that he had genius
for military organisation. As far back as 1812,
after I. ord PALMERSTON had been for three
years Secretary-at-War, the Duke of Witruunie-
TON complained of the way in which the
Militia was managed. His Grace particularly
referred to the erroneous system en which the
Irish Militia, at that time the chief nursery
for our army, was constructed. Writing to Col.
TORRENS, then at the head of tho recruiting
department, the Duke, with his unrivalled
sagacity, observed, " You forget that in Ire-
" land the peasantry marry young, and soon
have families. The militiaman, under your
system, with his wife and children, %ill not
" volunteer readily into the Line. You should
" adopt a different economy, and increase the
" bounty for those who enter the Line from the
"
There are many who think that the hint
thus given by the Duke has not been suffi-
ciently acted upon. They see some regiments
of Militia nearly one thousand strong, where
volunteers into the Line have been com-
paratively scanty ; while in regiments only
half that number the volunteers have been
singularly numerous. The questions then
ale raised—" Does our Militia system work
" well ? Have we been too liberal in offering
" bounties to enter the Militia, and too nig-
" gardly in giving premiums for enlistment
' in the Line ?"
These questions raise views open to debate,
and it is likely that they will be much dis-
cussed in Parliament. It is obvious that the
primary formation of a militia must require
different rules from the method applicable
when a great military force has been organised.
With a militia properly managed our army
would have always an ample supply of recruits,
but we have no high opinion of the capacity of
our present rulers of the War office. We are
sure that Lord ELLENBOROUGH would have
managed the Militia better than Lord PAN-
MORE ; and much still remains to be done
before a perfectly satisfactorily answer can be
given to the question—" How is the Militia
working ?"

COMMERCIAL SCANDALS.
" GET property, if you eanlhonestly; but if not,
get it anywise," was the sarcastic advice of a
satirical moralist in the declining days of the
Roman empire. It is plain that our commer-
cial world iu general, and the railway interest
in particular, are great readers of the most
objectionable parts of HORACE. They read
his satire with an ingenious simplicity that is
quite charming, and they accept his moral in-
structions, and carry them out literally, with-
out any fear of the "Old Bailey" before their
eyes. If SwtFr's " Advice to Servants" was
followed in the same way, and interpreted liter
ally, masters and mistresses would have a
queer time of it.
Coming after the conviction of STRAR‘N,
PAUL and Co , and of HUNTER and GORDON, the
dishonest bankrupts in the Hammersmith
distillery, these new scandals about the Eastern
Counties Railway are calculated to seriously
diminish respect for the probity of the
commercial community. " Smart" men appear
to be at a premium here as in America. The
love of gold is taintirg the country, and de
veloping vices amongst it with fearful power.
There was a time when the word of " an Eng-
lish merchant" was as his bond. but we fear
that the gambling mania which has seized on
" the City"has lowered the standard of morals
once held universally by the traders of Eng

land.
PLIt is only right to remark that the tempta
Lions to commit frauds increase in an accele-

THE PRESS.

rated ratio where "Company" is concerned.
By a strange perversity of conscience, com-
mercial delinquents appear to feel no scruple
in defrauding "Company," while they recoil
from cheating single individuals. They calcu
late on the chances of not being discovered,
and they think that there is no disgrace unless
they are found out. They know that detection
is more immediate when dealing with indi-
viduals, than when there arc numerous
partners. "In the multitude of counsellors
" there is safety." "Yes," said old Doctor
GREGORY, the eminent physician, "there is
" safety to the counsellors themselves," and
BENTHAM was not far wrong when he said,
" To destroy responsibility—establish 'Boards'
as screens."
IN The " Eastern Counties Railway Report "
is indeed an extraordinary document. S a long
since as the fifth of September last the Com-
mittee commenced their labours, and the
result is in the form of a closely-printed
volume of upwards of one hundred pages
Upon the truth of the grave impeachments in
that Report, we cannot now pronounce. While
we write, a meeting is being held on the sub
jest, and there is considerable excitement not
only in " the City," but in the public at large.
It could scarcely be otherwise after the alle-
gations that have been made in the Report.
A catalogue of these charges is too lengthy for
enumeration here, but nothing can be more
serious than such accusations as these, viz.,
that sound materials were sold as " old
stores " to certain parties, and afterwards
boughtback at an enormous price as new stores ;
that the Locomotive Superintendent of the
railway (Mr. Gooex) had hitherto been paid
by simply checking arithmetically the number
of miles run out, without entering into the
conditions of the agreement; that a dividend
of 4s. 6d. had been made, though the Auditor
(Mr REEVES) thought it too large ; and in
general terms, as detailed by the same witness,
there was no reliability in the accounts put
forward by Mr. WADDINGTON and the rest of the
Directors. Several instances were cited by the
Auditor, showing bow the accounts had been
" doctored." The manner in which certain
doubtful sums were set down as positive
assets, was quite extraordinary, according to
that Gentleman's testimony. Large sums of
money also had been advanced to various
persons, on which no interest had been paid
to the Company. In one case there was a
sum of 30,0001. in this predicament, and nearly
10,0001. was paid in the purchase of an inn,
which was charged amongst assets to the
Company, while during the last half-year the
account of revenue was debited with only
154/. on this account ! In one instance, a sum
of 50,000/. was put down in pencil, and the
Director was unable to procure the items
which went to make up that sum ! The same
Director (Mr. Baum) denounced the whole
accounts as " incomplete,"—" perfectly un-
reliable," and " with some of the principal
figures omitted "
Scandalous charges these in a country which
always piqued itself on its commercial honour.
We have heard ad nauseum of aristocratic
scandals. Let our straitlaced purists, our
Pharisees of the platform, open their eyes and
ears, and look to the frauds perpetrated among
their own classes. The Lancet report described
how our food was doctored by the ten
pounders, but the large capitalists seem no
better than the hucksters who retail drugged
porter and adulterated bread. One of the
greatest moralists of modern times, Doctor
CHALMERS, was eloquently emphatic on the
vicious morality of commercial communities
Some have thought that his charges were
made too broadly, but we are sorry to say that
recent disclosures have shown that the imputa-
tions were not over-coloured.
One thing is quite plain, that the commu-
nity would not be gainers by the affairs of the
State being placed exclusively under the con-
trol of the mercantile body. There is jobbing
and favoritism under the present official
system; but the bribery would be flagrant, and
the mercenary motives would be scandalous,
if the public offices were placed under the
managers of railways, and the speculators on
'Change. We commend these commercial
scandals to the notice of the " Adminis-
trative Reformers."

1159

THE APPROACHING INDIA-HOUSE
ELECTION.

THE approaching election of Directors for the
East India Company, in lieu of those going
out by rotation, will take place, pursuant to
Act of Parliament, on the second Wednesday
of April next. This will be an important day
in the annals of the Company, as deciding in
all probability the question of its prolonged
existence or its speedy fall. The Electors, as
is doubtless known to our readers, consist of
the holders of East India Stock to the extent
of not less than a thousand pounds. And as
this, at the present rate of selling, would indi-
cate a capital of two thousand three hundred
pounds, the constituency as far as property is
concerned is as respectable as it well could be.
A glance, however, down the list of voters will
show that there are few among them who
possess any peculiar fitness for the task of
electing the rulers of our Eastern empire. In
fact, East India Stock is now purchased chiefly
but for two reasons—the one as an investment
more profitable than consols and almost
equally secure, the other as a means of ob
taining appointments for relatives and a share
of the good things generally which the Coin•
pany has to bestow. In former times the
Proprietors took an active part in all Indian
questions, and through their quarterly courts
exercised a considerable control; bit in
1 latter days this action has almost entirely
ceased, because the cause has ceased
out of which it arose. In former times the
amount of dividend was dependent on the
success of the management; it is so no longer.
Instead of an income fluctuating with the good
or ill result of the year's proceedings, the
Proprietors have now guaranteed to them ten
and a half per cent. on their Stock, whether
there be a surplus in the revenue of India or a
great deficiency. It has of course become a
matter of total indifference to them how grossly
the government is mismanaged, or how lavishly
its revenue misapplied. No surer plan could
have been imented for inducing the Proprie-
tors to abdicate their duty of control over the
Directors, and such in reality has been the
effect.
At the passing of the last Act for the govern-
ment of India, Lord ELLENBOROUGH brought
this state of things forcibly before the notice
of the Legislature, and proposed a remedy fur
the evils which he pointed out. His object was,
by enlarging the constituency, and bringing a
greater amount of Indian weight and talent
into it, to give a really practical character to its
proceedings, in substitution for the purely
passive one which it then possessed. He was
overbnrne however by the Ministry, and his
efforts on this point were without avail The
mischievous tendency of the system was not
denied, but it was said that the good sense of
the Proprietary would be sufficient to insure
its own reform. The body was in consequence
allowed to remain unchanged, and the April
election will determine the result. That will
decide whether the Proprietors purpose still
continuing passive spectators of Indian misrule,
or whether they are determined to take that
active part in controlling their Directors which
i their position as electors so clearly marks out.
It will prove, in short, whether they are pre-
pared to exercise or to abdicate the functions
which the Constitution has for use, and not
for show, committed to their hands.
It must be clear that if the old system is to
be continued, if Directors going out by rota-
tion are to be certain of their re-election,
whether they have administered the affairs of
the Company well or ill, then the whole plan of
election for a term of years only will b•
vitiated, and the Directors will bo as free
from all check or control, whether by the
public or their constituency, as if they had
been nominated for life in the first instance.
To make the Constitution designed by the
Legislature for the Indian Government work
properly, the Proprietors must
tit to t I)
their duty ; just as in our oa n Constion
the county and borough electors have to do
theirs. At each successive election of Directors
the Proprietors must carefully review the con-
duct of their representatives during the period
that has expired, and, removing the useless or