The Press.
London, England, 1856-09-20 00:00:00

THE WEEK.

OUR readers will do us the justice to recollect that several months ago
we announced that a great change was about to take place in the
policy of the Court of St. Petersburg. On the 16th of February last,
when it was the fashion to rave about the barbarity and insincerity of
Russia, and to insist that the pacific negotiation in progress was
merely a Muscovite device to gain time, we sketched the past policy
of the Emperor NICHOLAS, and showed that, representing in his person
the military system of the empire, he was in a manner compelled to
persevere in that system to avoid the change which the advocates of a
more pacific and industrial policy desired. We are sure our readers
will excuse our quoting some sentences we then penned, to show the
accuracy of our information at that time :
Throughout his reign, he (the Emperor Nicholas) had nursed the strength of his
army as essential to the triumph of the traditional policy of Russia. Lately he perceived
that that policy must be abandoned, or that a great though desperate effort must be made
to abandon it. The present Emperor is the representative of an opposite system, and of
more enlightened ideas. He believes that the greatness of a country depends less on
the amount of its armed force than on the progress, wealth, and intelligence of its people.
With great skill and judgment, he has taken advantage of events to secure that policy of
peace and industrial development of which he was always the votary.—THE PRESS,
February 16, 1836.

These views have received remarkable confirmation this week in the
manifesto issued by the Emperor on occasion of his coronation. It is
emphatically a peace manifesto, and marks the inauguration of a policy
destined to effect a great reduction in the military forces of Russia,
and to employ on internal improvement a large portion of the revenue
which has heretofore been devoted to the maintenance of excessive
armaments. This manifesto relieves " the whole of Russia from every
`• burden of military recruiting or conscription for four consecutive
years." As it may be assumed that at least 100,000 men were taken
from the Russian population each year for military service, the reduc-
tion in the Russian forces will amount to 400,000 men, and so much
additional labour be devoted to industrial purposes. One of our journals
estimates the relief at a higher figure, and supposes that the recruiting
averaged 150,000 men yearly, and that the total reduction in
the Russian armaments will be 600,000 men. Whichever figure may
be taken, it is quite certain that the aggregate reduction will be
enormous, and that a policy of peace must have been sincerely and
finally determined on before the promulgation of this manifesto. The
document is satisfactory on other accounts. Of all the political
prisoners in the empire, some will have their condition materially
ameliorated, while others will be set at liberty altogether, and will be
permitted to reside where they please, except in the two capitals of the
empire. To the whole of the prisoners and their children will be restored
their rights of nobility. All arrears of taxes and pecuniary fines will be
remitted ; and, as an evidence of the Emperor's liberal ideas, and his
disposition to cultivate intercourse with other nations, the tax on
passports for foreign parts is entirely abolished. The manifesto is a
worthy accompaniment to the splendour of the Imperial coronation.
In this country it must be received with peculiar pleasure, as it will effec-
tually dispel whatever doubt previously existed as to the pacific intentions
of the Russian Court, will show the wisdom of that policy of modera-
tion which happily prevailed, and will allow us to resume that cordial
intercourse and alliance with Russia which it is eminently for the
advantage of both nations to cultivate.

The Commissioners for settling the form of Government to be esta-
blished for the Danubian Principalities, have assembled at Constantino-
ple, and will, it is presumed, immediately proceed to business. By the
terms of the treaty of Paris, the labours of the Commission should be
terminated eight months after the ratifications of the treaty had been
exchanged, and the term will consequently expire by the end of
December next. The Commissioners will therefore have to make good
use of their time to get through the work before them. The question
of the union of the two provinces will be embarrassing. Turkey is
known to be decidedly hostile to such union, as likely to raise the
Danubian countries into an independent and powerful State. But is
not this in itself a desirable object? Austria supports the Turkish
view Russia, on the contrary, is favorable to union and independence,
and it is believed that the opinion of France inclines to the same side.
The English Cabinet has not yet declared itself. Turkey, relieved
from the pressure of the Allies, is getting rid of its foreign servants
as quickly as possible. Even the coal mines of Heraclea are no longer
to be worked, though capable of profitable production.
_ .

. .
The paltry affair of the Isle of Serpents has, it is stated, been
settled by the withdrawal of the eight Russians from the lighthouse
they came to regulate.

The United States' Government has escaped from the " regular
fix" in which it was placed by the refusal of the House of Representa-
tives to sanction the Army Appropriation Bill without a rider prohibit-
ing the employment of the military power to sustain the pro-slavery
executive in Kansas. By diligent whipping, the Government sue-
ceeled in getting up from a distance some members of Congress ; a
majority was secured, the bill passed, and the extra session was at
once ended. No further accounts have been received from Kansas.
The contest in that State has assumed the magnitude and virulence of
civil war, and this circumstance will tend to make the approaching
Presidential struggle more animated. Colonel FREMONT is an able
man, and possessed of great moral courage and firmness of principle.

SATURDAY,

From the important question on which it will turn, and the exertions
making on both sides, the election will form an epoch in the political
history of the States.

The chronicler of Court ceremonies is much in the position of
the Astronomer Royal, and is continually making discoveries of little
planets of royalty—mere scintillas of light—never thought of before.
The King of the Sandwich Islands has just gratified his people by a
royal wedding. He chose for his bride a Miss EMMA RooxE, an English
young lady, daughter of his Prime Minister, Dr. ROOKE. The
ceremony, according to the courtly Polynesian, was performed /felon
lea reyka. The ritual of the Church of England was adopted. The
band played " God save the King ;" guns fired a royal salute; tie
soldies presented arms; and the Humulonos—never heavily clad—
threw off their garments, to cast them beneath the horses' feet of the
royal cortege. As for the bride—her dress was from Paris. her veil of
Brussels point lace, her wreath of orange flowers. her jewellery diamonds,
and her face becomingly pale. In the evening Honolulu was illumi-
nated; there was a ball at the palace. The bride danced in an exqui-
site airy fabric of lace with marabout feathers, the company drank long
life to their Majesties, and then to bed. Really, as the Sandwich
Islands are progressing at this rate, Lord PALMERSTON ought to look
after their Government. The Queen, like the Queen of GREECE, may
think she has a right to have a will of her own, or the King may think
it necessary to his royal state to keep a political prisoner or two. So
fine an opportunity fur liberal propagandism ought to be duly im-
proved.

The Portsmouth Crimean Dinner has been a great success. The
projectors, taking a lesson from the errors of the Surrey garden fête,
resolved very m isely to trust the provision contract to men whose
experience was sound as to the extent of an Englishman's appetite.
They did so, and the result was that for much the same cost as the
Guards' entertainment in London, every man had a substantial
English dinner, with beer ad libitum. The speeches on Tuesday were
marked by a fair, manly tone, deeply sensible of the reception
awarded to the army by the people of England. Our soldiers and
sailors know that they deserve well of their country, and feel that
their services are appreciated. The officers' dinner on Wednesday was
a happy thought. It was a fine idea to gather together the
young heroes of the late, and the old veterans of former, wars.
The Commander -in - Chief was unable to attend, and the
absence of his Royal Highness was sensibly felt. The speeches
of' Sir HARRY JONES, Sir RICHARD DAC RES, and General CANNON
(Behran Pacha), are remarkable for the generous praise they bestow
upon all within their authority, or from whom they received support
and assistance during the great campaign. There was one exception,
however, to this style of reply Sir WILLIAM WILLIAMS, who here had
an excellent opportunity of taring public notice of General KMETY'S
letter (published in THE PRESS, of August 16th), declined the sub-
ject altogether, and, to save himself the odium of failing to notice the
gallant Hungarian, omitted all mention of any one who had served
with him during the war. This was a flimsy device, and one un-
worthy the character of an honourable man, or of a general. If Gene-
ral KMETY failed in his duty, why does not Sir WILLIAM W ILLIAMS say
so frankly to the world, and so dispose of KMETY'S claims to a fair
share of that reputation so lavishly bestowed upon Sir WILLIAM
WILLIAMS. Either KMETY, in his position at Kars, commanding the
advanced batteries throughout the siege, and intrusted with their
defence on the 29th of September last, did his duty, orhe did not. KMETY
protests that he did—eye-witnesses speak of his bravery, his devotion,
and, above all, of his excellent arrangements on that day, as mainly
securing the repulse of the Russians; and it is even recorded that
Sir WILLIAM WILLIAMS himself publicly, and in the name of the Queen,
thanked the brave old Hungarian for his conduct on that day. Why,
then, does he refuse every opportunity to do public justice to the pact
KMETY took? The obstinate silence of our gallant General is open to
be construed into a mean professional jealousy, and at least is not
creditable to him either as a gentleman or an officer.

Several letters have appeared in the Times during the past week on
the subject of legal education, i. e., for and against the present system
of examinations. In one written yesterday, and signed " Experto
Crede," the opponents of this system are treated with some heavy
efforts at sarcasm, such as thirteen hours a day examining might be
considered likely to produce. Aud some sneers are launched against
the inexperience of University men, and so forth. Now, it is precisely
the inadequacy of examinations to test a man's real merit, of which
University men have experience. They understand perfectly that the
object with which examinations were instituted at Oxford and Cam-
bridge was that second and third:rate men might have some motive for
educating themselves, not with any idea that the number of first rate
scholars would be thereby increased. Quite as many good men left
the Universities before examinations were heard of as afterwards;
the difference is that fewer men leave them now knowing nothing at
all. But what in the world does the public care whether a young law
student reads law or not? Do we not know there will always be
quite as many lawyers as are wanted ? The supply of professional
knowledge is regulated by the demand, which is not the case with
general education. And every man who enters his name at the
Temple or Lincoln's-inn knows that no attorney or solicitor will give
him a case requiring a good lawyer unless he is a good one.
We seldom or never hear of such a thing as a clieui.s
cause damaged by the incompetency of counsel. This
just the point wherein the Bar differs from every other profess" n
in the country. A clergyman, an officer, or a doctor whin
once admitted members of their respective professions are Halle
at any moment without inquiry to be intrusted with the lives and in-
terests of their fellow.creatures. Some pains, therefore, should be

SEPr. 20, 1856.

taken to insure a certain degree of competency on admission. But the
case is quite otherwise with the Bar, and no real necessity has ever
existed for imposing on the student the dwarfing and cramping for-
malities of an examination.

The conduct of Mr. FROST since his return to England proves that
his punishment has not taught him wisdom. A convicted rebel and
murderer, by the mercy of the Crown his life was spared and his sen-
tence commuted to transportation. A second exercise of Royal mercy
has permitted him once more to return to England, only to convince the
Government how ill-judged has been this exercise of extreme leniency,
tn. he has no sooner arrived in England than he announces his intention
to devote all his energies to the overthrow of the Government, of the
luntry. If this wretched man has failed to profit by experience, it is no
reason that the mercy oldie Crown shouldbe trifled with I t was improper
to permit him to return to England. He had made a deliberate attempt
at rebellion, had shed innocent blood, and had been justly sentenced
to death. The Crown commuted this capital sentence, and by this
further commutation has offered a powerful argument against the re-
mission of capital punishment by showing how little dependence can
be placed upon the secondary punishment being fully carried out.
The daily journals have boasted that such a procession as that of
Monday could not be permitted in any other capital of Europe ; but
ought it to have been permitted in this? It is a public nuisance to
have the commerce and traffic of the City interrupted by a stream of
ruffians and wretched Cockneys with banners and brass bands braying
through the streets, and a discredit to the Rood order of the metro-
polis for the authorities to permit so disgraceful a riot as that which
occurred on Primrose-hill. It is the annoyance, not the danger, we
protest against, for the aspirations of the majority of Mr. FROSI'S
followers do not rise above a silver spoon, or a silk handkerchief ; and
for such vagabonds to invoke the shade of CROMWELL! Little do they
or their leaders comprehend how CROMWELL would have acted in the
Newport riots. The bullet, the Tower dungeons, and slave labour in
the West Indies, would have briefly put an end to the nuisances of
Chartist demonstrations!

Burglaries are still on the increase. There is no peace in London
for the married. Householders are worn out with watching, and every
husband is buying himself a revolver. What is to be done under these
circumstances? The police clearly are unable to cope with the vast
amount of crime thrown loose upon London in the shape of ticket-of-
leave men, and some remedy must he found, or manslaughter will be
common, and murder soon added to burglary. We must clearly return
to transportati•;u, for the theory that ticket-of-leave men can obtain an
honest livelihood has painfully failed. There will be no difficulty in
forming penal settlements. The South Seas contain many convertible
islands, and, although the apathy of Lord CLXRENDON has permitted
New Caledonia to fall to the French, we can without doubt find ample
room and employment for our convicts among other South Sea
Islands as well as in South Australia.

The twenty-fourth, and we hope last, report of the " Friends of
Poland" Association has been placed in our hands. It presents a
good case for the exertions of such reformers of charities as Messrs.
DILKE and DICKENS. The total income of the Association amounted
to 7391., and as only 4091. was spent in affording relief, the balance of
3301. ought to have sufficed, one would think, for the working expenses
of the Association. Not so, however; the expenses reached the sum
of 4811, being in excess of the income by 1501. The sum of 1881. was
expended in printing the annual report, and 3291. went for rent and
salaries. There must be good pickings for some one out of the Asso-
ciation, notwithstanding its impoverished condition. The relief
afforded does not appear to have been excessive. Four hundred and
eighteen cases received among them 1291., being about six shillings
each. We can hardly wonder at the amount of the printer's bill,
considering that the report is swollen with such important announce-
ments as the following :
Thp Council gratefully acknowledge the receipt of the following books presented to
the I.ihrary of the Association,
By COUNT ADAM ZAMOYSKL—Rozprawa Filozoftczna w Religii i Moralnosci, by
Emmanuel Kant, translated into Polish by Mrongowiusz.
By the Author, CH (IMES Pm, Esq.—The Dying Warror's Last Dream.
By the Author, W. H. CLARIDGE, ESQ.—The Independence of Poland. 18.55.
By the Author, WILLIAM BECK, Esq.—A Short Poems, entitled " Poland's Appeal."
The report is full of the squabbles into which the Friends of Polar
got involved, through a split in their ranks on the question whether
Lord PALMERSTON was or was not humbugging them by pretending to
favour the notion of Polish nationality. The question is now settled,
and, as regards any further deputations to the Premier, the Marquis of
BREADALBANE may, we presume, retire into private life. In one of the
last sentences of the report, however, it is stated that " the interrup-
" tioti of the existence of our country can be but temporary ;" so perhaps
the door may be kept open for more bottle-holding when a favortale
occasion presents itself.

A BLUNT SHEFFIELD BLADE.
Pelham, like Horner,
Sat in a corner
Eating the Cutlers' pie ;
When his time was come
He twiddled his thumb,
And said, " what a nice boy am I !"

FROM " OUR OWN AMBASSADOR."
What was there?—why, there was my carriage,
The best from Helsingfors to Harwich,
All gold and blue—oh! such a " char."
What else ?—ah, yes! there was the Czar.

901

A TRIBUTE TO THE FIRST LORD OF THE
ADMIRALTY.
As sung by Dr. Engledue at the Portsmouth Banquet.
One toast 'mid the paeans of triumph,
To merits not well understood.
We've drunk to the stout British navy,
Then here's to the bold Charlie Wood.
Oh ! deck him as wonder of wonders,
With all the warm tints of romance,
Recal not the " Budget of Blunders,"
And speak not of Indian finance.

How sagely he ruled o'er the Baltic
(Though not to bombard or blockade)!
How prudent his grand preparations
(Though rather too late they were made) !
In peace as in battle sagacious,
There's nothing his wisdom can't do
(Let's hope that no Bishop is present
Who went to the Naval Review).
To him and their loved Bernal Osborne
Our seamen shall turn at their need,
And " over the water to Charlie "
The thanks of the Russians shall speed.
Let the name of the sage and the hero
Then hallow our festival scenes,
And I'm sure you'll concur in his praises,
My friends of the Royal Marines.

THE LITTLE TOASTMASTER.

DR. ENGLEDUE, the Chairman of the dinner to the Crimean heroes
at Portsmouth, proposed " Sir Charles Wood and the Navy."
Powers
Eternal such names mingled.

Did the learned physician think that there was any analogy between
the lively Baronet and the wooden walls with which our sailors did not
batter down stone ones? We would recommend to Dr. Engledue the
following list of toasts, and appropriate airs to follow, for the next con-
vivial assembly over which he may be called to preside :
" Dr. Cumming and the Roman Catholic Hierarchy of Great
Britain."

Air—" The Pope be leads a happy life."
" Lord Palmerston and the Religious Members of the House of
Commons."

Air—" Ye saints and servants of the Lord."
" The Pope and Religions Liberty."
Air—" Luther's Hymn."

" Mr. Bright and the Army."
Air—" Soger Laddie."
" The Duke of Argyll and the Bench of Bishops."
Air—" The Lad with a carrotty poll."
" Lord Carlisle and the Ladies."
Air—" If I had a donkey."
" Sir G. Cornewall Lewis and our Comic Authors."
Air—" Away with melancholy."
" Mr. Cobden and Success to Agriculture."
Air—" The pretty ploughboy."
" Mr. W. J. Fox and the Established Church."

Air—" The Vicar of Bray."
"Mr. F. Peel and OfficiAl Reform."
Air—" All men love thee, so do I."
" Sir Benjamin Hall and the Memory of St. Cecilia."
Air—" Ye sons of melody arise."
" Mr. Williams, M.P.. and our Untitled Aristocracy."
Air—" The fine old Engli.h Gentleman."

MR. LOFTY TURNS SHOWMAN.
Walk up, gents and ladies, and see the great show,
The wonderful letter that's come from Moseow
From " Our Own Correspondent," crossed outside and in.
The price is just 44.—agoing to begin !
" Our Own Correspondent's " a wonderful man,
He doesn't talk Russian—but nobody can ;
What he sees with his eyes. what he hears with his ears,
He can put in plain English, as herein appears.
" Our Own Correspondent" he gets up at four,
And with " mujiks " and " tchenovijks " " fumes " at the door ;
Which are " mujiks," which " tchenovijks," nobody knows.
The price is but 4d., so buy it, and choose.
" Our Own Correspondent," unwilling to waste
His " delicate fancies," his " freshness of taste,"
Records how the whiskers defiled the white kid.
Oaths, tears—all for 4d.—does nobody bid ?
" Our Own Correspondent's " depicted herein
An Austrian noble—the gorgeous Kremlin—
(Price 4d., sir !) Moscow, as seen from the top—
And a Jew speculator in " gazeuse," that's pop
" Best friend to the Czar " in that grovelling band
Was "Our Own Correspondent" from green Paddyland,
Which birthplace accounts for his sharpness of eye,
As also, " the milk in the cocoa-nut "—buy!!