The Press.
London, England, 1855-05-12 00:00:00

438

highest council of the land maintains vigilant
watch over our interests and honour, and will
not permit the one to be sacrificed nor the
other sullied through treacherous political
combinations or family intrigues. No insti-
tution of our time can afford to rest on tradi-
tionary glories or historical recollections. Ti
maintain its place as a real governing body in
the State, the House of Lords must show that
it is equal to its constitutional duties, add
ready to discharge them. The Address of Lord
ELLENBOROUGH will test both its capacity and
courage, and probably have no mean effect in
determining the place it will hereafter hold in
the regard of the country and the direction of
its affairs.

MR. SIDNEY HERBERT AT CONFESSION.
THE evidence given by Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT
on Wednesday, before the Sebastopol Coln
mittee, must on no account be overlooked by
those who desire to trace with accuracy the
causes of our grievous disasters. Both as
affecting the Cabinet to which he belonged,
and the department in which he served, it is
impossible to overrate the importance of the
testimony given by Mr. HERBERT, and we
must request tho special attention of our
reader 3 while commenting upon it. Before
doing so, we may record that the evidence
was given in a manner highly characteristic of
Mr. HERBERT. The candour of an accom-
plished English gentleman was occasionally
diversified by the artificial casuistry of the
peculiar school of mediaeval revivalists to
which he belongs. The goodness of his natural
disposition was evident throughout, and yet
there were not wanted traits of that dogged-
ness in hardy assertion which belongs to a
condemned ex official. At times there was a
little graceful assumption of an air of suffer-
ing martyrdom, which might provoke a good-
humoured snub, and it was impossible to
avoid admiring the piano of the witness'
manner, even while regretting his want of
forte in execution. Ho confessed his errors
as gracefully as if Father Roebuck, in a priestly
chair, were going to shrive him for all his
official peccadilloes, or as if some fair Belgmvian
artist was in a corner of the Committee-room,
making a sketch for the gallery at Wilton, of
a " Portrait of a Right Honourable Victim to
Public Opinion."
But on the importance of Mr. HERBERT'S
admissions there cannot be two opinions. He
gave additional proofs at the outset of his
evidence to the flagrant fault of " the leap in
" the dark " error. Apologists for the Coali-
tionists have attempted to give different con-
structions to the memorable despatch of the
Duke of NEWCASTLE to Lord RAGLAN (10th
April, 1854), ordering the siege of Sebastopol.
" I think the expectation was in favour of a
" coup de main," was the admission of Mr.
HERBERT on Wednesday. From that cala-
mitous and most precipitate "expectation"
resulted the disasters of the long protracted
siege, of whose probability, or possibility, the
Cabinet never seems to have conceived. We
have dwelt, previously, on the terrible results
of that huge blunder, and we shall not repeat
our observations, though we must remind our
readers of the additional importance derived
from Mr. HERBERT'S substantiation of our
charges We prefer, here, to direct notice to the
overwhelming exposure by Mr. HERBERT of one
of the greatest fallacies diffused by the ingenious
apologists for gross Ministerial mismanage-
ment in Downing-street.
Hitherto, " the system " and " the subordi-
nates" have been made to bear the blame of
the mistakes of the chiefs of the War Depart-
ment. After Mr. HERBERT'S evidence on
Wednesday, we trust to hear no more of the
plea of " the subordinates." Lord SEYmona
inquired " whether the witness had been
" satisfied with the way in which the duties
" connected with his department were dis
" charged ?" and Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT an-
swered, " I am bound in gratitude to the
" gentlemen employed in the War office to say
" that I believe it is the best constituted office
" under the Crown. My subordinates worked