The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-05-16 00:00:00

of Lords, determines, the =mut et the national
expenditure, and des the isii.ys and means to
meet it." But it it true that the House of
Lords it; obliged to give its assent to any bill
whatever of4hich it disapproves, and the effect
of whicit is convinced, would be injurious to
the public interests.

The apprehensions we havfe taken occasion to
express in 4hese columns, of another disturbance
of the peace of Europe, would. seem to be becom-
ing, more and more confirmed .every day.., The,
louring state of the political atmosphere on the
Continent has begun to be regarded with great
uneasiness, we learn, in the city of London : the
commercial advices received there from all quar-
ters telling of the paralysing effects of the genen I
distrust. The subject has been prominently
noticed in the City Articles of the morning
papers. In that of the Times it is remarked that
" although the belief still prevails that a new
war was not included in the plans of the Emperor
Napoleon for the present year, the doubts whether
events may not be hastened by accidents daily
increase ;" adding that " the allegation from St.
Petersburg that Russia is again beginning to
threaten the Turkish Government, and to excite
the Christian population of that country, serves
to recall the existence of a secret agreement
with France." That of the Morning Herald
observes upon the reports in circulation " respect-
ing the' views of France in connection with Italy,
the probable rupture of the alliance, and the
advent of fresh mercantile disasters ; " and
remarks, that " the state of foreign political rela-
tions, coupled with the doubt of the maintenance
of power by the Ministry, caused many large
operations, which were increased when the lower
quotations from Paris arrived, and then the
markets seemed to be in a most doubtful condi-
tion." And that of the Daily News expresses
apprehension at the prospect of the Sicilian
insurre6tion resulting in the extension of the
Italian kingdom of Victor Emmanuel ; since, " in
such a case, the French Imperial Government has
no idea of permitting this new aggrandisement of
an ambitious neighbour to become a danger to
France, and the Paris press is already instructed
to prepare the public mind for a further serious
demand for territorial compensation. A new
war may well, therefore, be apprehended. Let
us hope_ and trust that _England may not be
involved in it.

It appears from the news just received from
the United States, that the Democratic party's
great convention at Charleston has ended in
smoke. Its object was to determine upon a calk:.
didate for the Presidency—the election for which
is now -drawing near. But it broke. up without
being able to agree upon an object of its choice.
Mr. Douglas, of Illinois, it seems, could only
obtain some 150 votes ; whereas 202 votes were
necessary for the occasion. The slavery question
was evidently the stumbling block again. Not
that Mr. Douglas is an " Abolitionist ;" but he is
not a sufficiently out-and-out slavery man tO._suit
the prejudices, and, as they suppose, promote
the interests of the Southern States,—nine of
which had, in fact, seceded, and formed a con-
vention of their own. Thus there are now four
distinct parties, if not five, in the field,-each seek-
ing a separate candidate, and prepared, no doubt,
to go all lengths, when the time camel, to carry
his election. The other three parties to which
we allude are the, Republican-• party, the
Abolitionist party, and the Independent Unionist
party. Now that the Democratic party is split
in two, we suppose the Republican will have the
best chance of carrying the day ; and though not
altogether abolitionist, it is not one that will
favour slavery, or in anywise promote its
extension.

An important alteration, it would be observed,
is to be made in the Wine Licenses Bill, in the
House of Commons. As it originally stood, the
metropolitan police_ magistrates were to be
exclusively empowered to grant the licenses in
Middlesex—not the county magistrates, as else-
where ; and so strongly was this invidious
distinction condemned, that at length the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer said that as the feeling
of the House was in favour of the Middlesex
magistrates, he would undertake to alter the
clause to that effect on bringing up the report.
At last the Irish Government has been aroused,
it would seem, 'to a sense of duty, the Irish
secretary, Mr. Cardwell, having announced in his
place in Parliament, that the attention of Govern-
ment had been called to the collections of money
being made in Ireland for the use of the Pope
and to enlistments for the Papal army,—proceed-
ings which he admitted were entirely irregular,
and to stop which steps would now be taken.

There are further accounts, it will be seen, o 1
Garibaldi's invasion of Sicily ; but they are stir
to some extent unreliable as to their details.

appears that importations of arms and amuni-
tion had been effected for him, on the southern
coast, several days before his arrival. Palermo
has been the scene of another insurrectionary
demonstration.

THERE is some consistency, it must be admitted,
in the great sticklers for Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S
Reform Bill seeking to set aside the authority of
the House of Lords on the question of the repeal
of the paper duty. Their ideas of Reform are
virtually_ those of Revolution. They want to con-
fine the whole legislative power of the realm to
the House of Commons; and no Reform Bill will
ever fully satisfy them that does not give a pre-
ponderating influence, in the election of that
House, to what theyeall "the people "—that is
the populace of the large towns. They are
anxious for the passing of the measure now before
Parliament, because they see that it will bring
them a few steps nearer the end they have -in
view,—that of giving an ascendancy to the
democracy. Of course, a body like the House of
Lords, in such a system as they thus seek to
establish'would be quite out of character. Their
democratic House of Commons must be at once
an exclusive and absolute assembly. It must be
a thorough delegation from " the people ;" and in
order to execute their high behests, it must be
altogether unshackled and uncontrolled by any
other power. They care nothing about the Con-
stitution providing for its own preservation, by
each part of the Legislature being secured in the
exercise of the powers assigned to it, from the
encroachments of the other parts. " This
security," says a high authority on Political
Philosophy, "is sometimes called the balance of
the Constitution; and the political equilibrium
which this phrase denotes, consists in two
contrivances, a balance of power, and a
balance of interest. By a ;balance of power,"
it is explained, "is • meant, that there is no
power possessed by one part of the Legisla-
ture, the abuse or excess of which is not checked
by some antagonist power, residing in another
part." now, this balance' it is that they seek to
upset—this political equilibrium they wish to
destroy ; and having once accomplished this, the
democracy, of course, would reign supreme. It is
further forcibly argued by the same eminent
authority we have quoted, that one great use of
nesting an hereditary nobility with a share of
legislation, is t 9 stem the progress of popular
fury that very kind of popular fury, for
instance, which has so unfortunately, as it Is now
acknowledged, committed a majority of the present
House of Commons to a rash•Reform.Bill, and an
extravagant Budget. For, "averse to those pre-
judices which actuate the minds of the vulgar;
accustomed to condemn the clamour of the popu-
lace ; disdaining to 'receive laws axed opinions
from their inferiors - in rank ; they will oppose
resolutions which are founded in the folly and
violence of that part of the community,"—whose