The Press.
London, England, 1855-08-04 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

At the evening sitting, in reply to Mr. M. GIBSON,
who complained that the instructions given to the
commanders in the Baltic to destroy Russian vessels
too small to be wurth sending home, was giving those
commanders the power of deciding if the vessels
really belonged to the enemy,
Sir C. Wool) said that the orders given were to
"take and destroy ;" small vessels, however, were
often permitted to pass. The question of property
must be left to the judgment of the commanders.
In reply to Mr. BRIOHT,
_ . . .

Lord PALXERSTON said that the Government would
make due inquiries as to the conflict which had oc-
curred on the coast of Africa.
On the bringing up the report of ways and means,
Mr. WILSON, replying to Sir J. PAKINOTON, ex-
plained the negotiations now in progress for postal
communication with Australia.

Mr. LAING brought under the notice of the house
the objects and policy of the war, and moved for
the correspondence with the French Government
relative to the last propositions of Austna. The re
jection by the Governments of the unanimous opinion
of their plenipotentiaries was a fact unprecedented
in history, and all previous discussion had taken
place in ignorance of this great fact, and the deci-
sion in consequence was founded on a misconcep-
tion of the real state of things. He was now obliged
to say that the conduct of the Government was un-
certain, and its language ambiguous. The state of
public opinion in Europe up to a certain point had
supported this country, but it had altered now, and
it was thought that we had committed a great mis-
take in rejecting peace, in which opinion he was
obliged to concur. He then entered into the first
objects of the war, and the general policy of Europe,
contending that the war was caused by the coolness
between ourselves and Germany. Proceeding to the
four points, he replied in detail to the objections urged
against their interpretation by the Austrian pro-
posals, and argued that the interest of the sums now
spent in the war would enable us to keep up a con-
stant protective force in the Black Sea, and pointed
out the practical advantages of the system of counter-
poise over that of limitation. He deprecated placing
Russia in a position of perpetual antagonism to the
other powers of Europe, and defended Austria from
the charges brought against her; observing on the
importance of peace to a nation under pecuniary
embarassments, and engaged in internal reform of
vital importance to its prosperity.

Sir G. GREY objected to the form of the motion for
papers of which the Government were compelled to
resist the production, and said that the reasons which
had influenced the allies in the rejection of the pro-
posal were fully known to the public. The papers
were of a private and confidential nature, and their
production would materially embarrass the future
communications of the allies. In defence of the
rejection of the proposal he alleged the approval of
the house, expressed or implied, and argued at some
length in favour of the principle of limitation. He
did not mean, on the other hand, that limitation
afforded the only solution to the existing entangle-
ments. Arguing on the admission that the war was
at the outset a just one, he contended that no man
could expect its termination in the course of a single
year.
Mr. GLADSTONE contrasted the peaceful profes-
sions and ill-defined objects of the Ministers with the
gigantic sacrifices which they were demanding from
the country. He declaimed against the rejection of
a proposal recommended by authorities so high,
contending that such rejection was due in the first
place to our own Cabinet, and adverting again to the
false impressions under which the question was first
debated—placed from all these circumstances the
undivided responsibility of the continuation of the
war on the heads of the Ministry. He admitted the
merit of Lord Clarendon's despatches, but regretted
the total absence from them of any real desire for
peace. Detailing the various plans of pacification,
and repeating that the second Russian plan offered