The Press.
London, England, 1855-01-20 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

COUNCILS OF A MORIBUND CABINET.

[Our Reporter expressly engaged to attend Cabinet Councils has sent in his resigna-
tion, stating that the rapidity with which these meetings now succeed one another,
and the confusion and scramble which pervades them all in consequence of the ap-
proaching meeting of Parliament, render it an unprofitable task to attempt to re-
cord the proceedings. He furnishes the following as a specimen of what is taking
place, and he adds the recondite quotation, ex eno diets omnes.l
THE COUNCIL CHAMBER.
PnEnter—The Lord President, and several other of the Ministers.

PRESIDENT: Now—now—silence, pray. Is that understood? I
mean, is it distinctly understood that no one is to attempt to speak
about the war except Herbert, myself, and Grabam? Because you
know it really will not do to have everybody contradicting everybody
else.

Lord PALMERSTON (demurely): I solemnly promise not to speak
upon the subject, unless I am asked to do so.
Sir C. WOOD : I should have liked to be left to use my own discre-
tion. I believe that I could throw light upon the subject. Besides,
am bound to speak on the affairs of India, and as it is well known that
Russia is intriguing on the south-western—no, I mean the great
northern—at least on the Persian side, whichever that is, I should
naturally be led to the general question.
PRESIDENT : My dear Wood, your precise information and luoidus
ordo are invaluable, but we must act in concert. The awful mess that
was made by some of us taking independent lines of defence, and
making dates to fit such separate defences, must not be ventured upon
again.
Lord CLARENDON : I will furnish everybody, if you like, with a list
of the real dates of all that has taken place, and then the amateurs
won't blunder. But I agree with the Lord President, that the fewer
talkers the better.

PRESIDENT : Well, now about other matters. Has anybody the
least idea of what bills we last agreed to bring in ? There are Hall's
two, but he stipulates that nobody shall know anything about them.
Did we settle that we would promise the Ecclesiastical Courts Bill ?
Lord ABERDEEN : Somebody was to ask Cockburn or Bothell about
it. Who undertook to do that?
Lord CHANCELLOR ; I did.

Lord ABERDEEN : Well—and did you?
Lord CHANCELLOR; I asked Bethell.
PRESIDENT (impatiently): Well, well ?
Lord CHANCELLOR : He said it was no use explaining the matter to
me, as I had nothing to do with it, and could not understand it, and
that you must leave it implicitly to him.
PRESIDENT : His words, I know. " I read them very Richard," as
Shakspeare says. However, if he undertakes the thing, that's enough.
Now, as to savings' banks.
CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER (hastily) : Leave that to me, if you
please.
PRESIDENT : Don't be so hot, my dear fellow. Nobody thought of
interfering with you.
CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER: Well, leave the subject alone. I
will see to it.

PRESIDENT May I speak of the newspaper stamp ?
CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER (recovering his temper): Speak on
anything, my dear Russell ; you are always instructive. I was, indeed,
about to suggest to you that you might make the giving up this stamp
a feature in your programme of the session. If I were you I would
sketch the history of newspapers, beginning with the spurious Mere"•
rius in the Museum, and after gradually tracing their influence through
the Augustan age of England, down to the Family Herald, I would
take credit for arriving at the conclusion that fiscal fetters ought to be
struck from the wing of knowledge—or something of that sort.
PRESIDENT : And not hint that the resolution of last year has any-
thing to do with it ?
CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER: Certainly not. You had made up
your mind to abolish the stamp long before Milner Gibson brought
forward the question. Can anybody say you had not?
PRESIDENT (suspiciously): But this subject is in your department.
Why do you propose to give it up to me ?