The Press.
London, England, 1854-06-24 00:00:00

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578

But the question of what has become of Mr.
COBDEN'S political capital is secondary to what
has become of the Honourable Gentleman him-
self. His exact whereabouts in the parlia-
mentary world is as iprisible as the tow;
residence of some of the Irish allies of tb..
Coalition. The suggevtive topics of the Czar,
of Canada, of church rates, fail to bring him
out. His old viewss oh politics e, by expe-
rience, found td Idtten and for ex.
posure to sound English arguments. True to
his Russian sympathies, he follows the Baltic
precedent set by the Czar ; and our " great
un-Englishman ' keeps out of the ruaCh of
attack. This would not be the time' to have
flaunted before his eyes his pamphlet on "1708
and 1853," or to have his memory awakened
to the recollection of his tirades on the ab-
surdity of large armaments. His sneers at
the Duke of WELLINGTON, and his allusions to
" dotage " and " infantine alarms," are not yet
forgotten. The Manchester policy has been
scouted by the nation, and the bagman has
been compelled to surrender to the militia-
man.
The career of the member for the West
Riding as a parliamentary leader is felt to be
at an end. His mind, suitable for provincial
politics, cannot expand with imperial exigen-
cies. His attainments have been found
egregiously defective, and no public man ever
committed himself so grievously as Mr.
COBDEN in his derision of the Turkish power.
On his reading the last news from Silistria he
must have experienced similar sensations to
those of the Whig statesmen of other days
when they heard the joybells chiming for
" Talavera ' and " Vittoria," and the other
victories of the warrior whom they had covered
with Scorn. Mr. WHITBREAD had the manli-
ness to apologise to "the Duke" for the len-
giage employed by him in ignorance of
WELLESLEY'S merits, and Mr. COBDEN might
feel that even more is due from him to the
Turks than from Mr. WHITBREAD to the Duke
of WELLINGTON. Apology might be received
from the defamer of a gallant people, as peni-
tent conteiMions are accepted as atonements
from the assaulters of private reputations.
On the whole, possibly, silence is just now
the best policy for Mr. COBDEN, and the history
of the session shows that he really possesses
a most remarkable talent for it. He has found
that the current events of history do not take
place according to Poor Richard's Alston**.
Instead of " crumpling up " the Czar, Mr.
COBDEN finds that he has performed that
operation on himself. Even the Peelites h&
forgotten him, and never troubled themselred
about him in the case of reconstruction of the
Cabinet. He has lost his popularity and his
power of regaining it, for his ignorance now
appears positively marvellous. He has still,
however, the contemplation of seventy-four
thousand pounds ; and the sensations of a
Brummagem demagogue, when he is rich, are
never very miserable. This, as the actual
cash, compensates for absent cheers. He
follows the example of the Secretary for the
Admiralty, and improves his shallow style by
the study of " all the works ".--not of " Thucy-
dides "—but Tacittis. Oh the stage of West-
minsterhe is not likely to have an opportunity
of crying amidst applause " Richard's himself
again !" His provincial method of playing
great British parts #its
metropolitan public. . 1'

GQVEPTMENT DEFEATS.
So far from possessing a Government, England
has not now even an Administration. In our
parliaMentary 'practice it has always been held
the custom that every measure of importance,
with scarcely an exception, should originate
with, or at least be introduced and passed by
the sanction of, the Minister of the day. The
present House of Commons has virtually
taken this power out of the hands of the
Executive, not from factious motives, or
jealousy of administrative authority, but be-
cause the occupants of Downing-street, while
retaining their salaries, have abdicated their
‘ounced