The Press.
London, England, 1855-03-17 00:00:00

ON THE NEW BILL FOR TRANSFERRING THE GOVERN

_
MENT TO THE " TIMES" NEWSPAPER.
Wa presume that if we asked at any given moment in the twenty-four
hours what subject was occupying the mind of any man lying awake
in Christendom, the true reply would be the Times. Price of stocks,
state of the crops, success of speculations, state of the odds, chances
of briefs, hopes of livings, expectations of patients, anticipation of
power, desire of command on land or sea, everything that agitates the
mind of mankind, from the Premier, actual or expectant, down to the
footman out of place, is postponed to one of the great questions,
What will the Times say ? how is the Times possibly produced ? what
should become of us without the Times t what Deus noble gave the
glory and delight of having a Times? Nor are the people to whom we
are thus the object of affection and solicitude ungrateful for the
blessing granted them in us. On the contrary, they feel that Law,
Church, Government, Army, all within the boards of Blackstone,
might be lost if the Times is only left to them, to glad them with its
87,000,000 copies per morning. If Mr. Macaulay's New Zealander
ever does come to sit on the ruined arch of London-bridge, the nation
has one hope, namely, that Printing-house•square will be as busy as
over, and the Zealander's arrival announced, and his sketch criticised
with the accuracy and candour only to be found in the Times.
Now, painful as our readers see it is to us to speak of ourselves,
we think that we are entitled to a moment's audience on a subject
affecting us, and through us, of course, the universe. What we had
anticipated as inevitable has come to pass. The Government of the
British Empire, which we have so long virtually exercised, is now
openly offered us by a measure, the draft of which, as " ordered to
be printed," lies before us : it is entitled " A Bill for the More
" Effectual Prosecution of the War with Russia, and for securing the
" Liberty of the Press, and for other purposes," and is contained in four-
teen sections. We must beg leave to say at the outset, once for all,
and with that bluntness and honesty which we are accustomed to dis-
play, that this bill is utterly and thoroughly inadequate, and is, in
proportion to our importance and the amount of the services we have
rendered, quite unworthy of our acceptance. True, it proposes to
transfer to us the conduct of the War, the patronage of the Army and
Navy, the removal of all Cabinet Ministers, and substitution of
,' Times Cabinet Commissioners ;" excludes us from the law of libel ;
orders all Courts to decide according to our views ; suppresses all
obscure journals; and empowers us to appoint our valued corre-
spondent "S. G. O." Archbishop of Canterbury. But do the con-
coctors of this very late attempt at acknowledging our power and per-
severance really expect that we shall condescend to accept so paltry
an instalment? Look, for instance, at the seventh section, which
provides that we shall hare power to displace Ministers, " and to appoint
" special commissioners to govern the country in their stead, such new
" Ministers to be called The Times' Cabinet Commissioners.' "
As, however, it happens that we actually do at this moment
exercise all the powers of an Administration, what can our readers call
it but impertinence to enact this section, instead of simply declaring
that we are at this moment the sole authority? And again, " All
" Courts to give judgment according to the opinion of the Times,"
indeed Pray do those who make title paltry offer fanny that we are