The Press.
London, England, 1857-01-10 00:00:00

THE WEEK.

Tun Eastern question at length appears to be settled, and more
completely than we had ventured to anticipate. Not only are all the
points connected with the boundary dispute settled, but it is arranged
that the forces of Austria shall evacuate the Principalities and 'the
squadron of England withdraw from the Black Sea by the 30th of
March next. The clearness of the terms of the settlement, and the
short time allowed for its execution, prove that the Conference was
earnest in its work, and resolved to let no further obstacle arise to the
fulfilment of the Treaty of Paris.
With the arrangement of this important matter, the probabilities
of a pacific solution of the Neufchatel quarrel are greatly strengthened.
It appears that the Emperor of the FRENCH is exerting all his influence
to compose the dispute. By the accounts received, it appears pro-
bable that the Swiss Confederation will agree to the release of the pri-
soners on the understanding that the independence of Neufchatel
shall be recognised. By this arrangement tho Court of Prussia would
save the point of honour for which it has contended. The release of
the prisoners is claimed, because the sovereignty of Prussia in the
canton had never been renounced ; but as experience has shown that
the maintenance of the claim is inconvenient, and attended with
chances of collision, Prussia may well resign her pretensions, more
especially as since I t4S they have been purely nominal, and plainly
could not be enforced without resort to the chances of a desperate and
doubtful war. The release of the prisoners—as they were captured
while the de jure sovereignty of Prussia existed—would be properly
preliminary to the recognition of Neufchatel independence, which
would prevent all such troubles in future.

With the settlement of great Continental questions, the public
mind will be directed more intently to the serious nature of our
quarrel in China. The official papers received this week have created
a painful sensation, as they tend to show that the circumstances of
the dispute did not call for that recourse to hostilities which in all
cases of quarrel should be the last means resorted to for obtaining
satisfaction of wrong. It does not appear that the English authorities
were right, even as regards the original point of dispute. The licence
of the lorcha had, by the express admission of Sir JOHN BowiuNo,
expired on the .27th of September, and from that date she had ceased
to have any claim to British protection. The vessel was not boarded
till the Bth of October, so that she was, beyond all doubt, amenable at
that time to Chinese jurisdiction. Sir JOHN BONRING, however,
reasons that as the Chinese authorities were not acquainted
with this circumstance, they cannot plead it in defence of their seizure.
We apprehend that on this point the law of Sir• JOHN BOWRING is as
bad as his logic. In this country the plea of ignorance is held to be no
valid defence for the Commission of wrong ; and it would be
strange indeed if punishment could be demanded for the
ignorance which committed right without knowing it. The special
pleading of Sir JOIIN is, on any fair view of the case, inadmis-
sible. A man may through pure malignancy give his
neighbour in charge for stealing his watch ; but, on search, should the
watch he had lost be discovered in his neighbour's strong box, would
it be held that the thief could recover damages for false imprison•
went' If it is conceded, as it is most distinctly, that the Chinese
authorities had the right to board the lorcha and seize the men,
we cannot understand how Canton could be justly bombarded
because they acted rightly without being certain that they
were right. The charge of hauling down the British flag is
denied by the Chinese authorities ; and in all such cases it is
usual to receive the denial, no offence being taken when it is clear by
the denial that no offence was intended. This would be the course
pursued, we are assured, were the dispute with France or the United
States ; and there is certainly no reason why we should have one code
of honour to regulate our intercourse with powerful States, and
another to regulate our intercourse with weak States. The twelve
men were returned on the 22nd October before hostilities commenced,
and Mr. PARKES represented to Admiral SEYMOUR that perhaps the resti-
tution of these men, and the explanation of Governor YEH, might be
considered sufficient The Admiral, however, had changed his ground.
He now regarded the original cause of quarrel as insignificant, and
demanded that Canton should be opened to the admission of foreign
officials, according to the Treaty of 1849, that they might have direct
intercourse with the Canton authorities. A question is thus raised
whether the Admiral was justified in going beyond the original
cause of quarrel without reference to his Government. There was
no immediate necessity for action—neither the lives nor property of
British subjects were at stake—and if it was advisible to enforce the
demand lie made, it might have been done much better with the
authority of the British Government than on the responsibility of the
Admiral and the Governor of Hong Kong. The precipitancy of Admi-
ral SEYMOUR is hardly to be accounted for, unless we suppose he had
some assurance that the course he decided on would not be unaccept-
able to his Government. Iris to be feared that the loss of life in Canton
has been very great. As the Chinese were incapable of resistance,
they were massacred by the bombardment, which, after all, did not
induce them to submit ; and before proceeding further, the Admiral
took that step which we certainly think he should have taken in the
first instance, and sent home for further instructions. The publica-
tion of the official papers has, so far as we can gather, produced an
impression unfavourable to our authorities in China. A French
squadron has sailed for the China Seas, that it may act in concert with
the British naval force iu the steps necessary to by taken w settle tills
painful affair

• *

SATURDAY,

The return of Mr. BAILLIE COCIIRANE for Lanark is highly grati-
fying. Mr. COCHRANE'S speech to the electors was enlightened and
statesmanlike. Conservative in principle, he is still in favour of pro-
gressive improvement; while his opinions on foreign policy are strongly
against, the Meddling intervention of the present system. We cor-
dially congratulate the Opposition on the accession to its ranks of this
able, consistent, and high-principled politician.

The income tax question is assuming a definite character. The
feeling against the tax is daily strengthening, and the people in all
parts of the country are calling out for the abolition of the war tax
after the sth of April next, and the total abolition of the income tax
after April, 1860. The question is becoming one of great importance.
Nothing now will satisfy the country but a financial statement that
will make plain the intentions of the Government. With the return
of complete tranquillity to Europe, the country demands that its
financial affairs be placed upon a settled basis.

The speech of Sir ROBERT PEEL at Birmingham has been happily
characterised, by a journal not prudish in its own language or favour-
able to Russia, us a compound of the vulgarity of the Coal-hole and the
indecency of the Casino. The stinging comments of the Daily News
are the more welcome as they show that Sir ROBERT'S malignant
foolery is indignantly repudiated by his own party. The speech
is as full of falsehood as of vituperation. To give ono in-
stance : Sir ROBERT asserts that the Imperial Crown fell from
the Empress's head at the coronation. Had such an accident
happened, it would have been vile taste in a member of the English
Embassy to have brayed it forth as an ill omen. But the assertion is
false. We know from one who was by the side of the Empress during
the whole ceremony that nothing of the kind occurred. When the crown
was placed on her Majesty's head it was found not to set firmly, and
her ladies•in-waiting, after adjusting it, fastened it to her hair. This
was all that occurred. Poor Lord GRANVILLE, who is really a gentleman,
is greatly to be pitied for having had this bear in his leading-strings.

The appointment of Lord NAPIER to the post of British Minister
at Washington is so far satisfactory that it will re-establish diplomatic
relations between the two Governments. The appointment was first
offered to Mr. CHARLES VILLERS—a slight to the whole Corps Diplo-
matiquc—but declined by him.

Celebrity has its pains, as well as its pleasures. Amongst the
former may be enumerated the excessive freedom occasionally taken
with the family history of a distinguished character. It often happens
that when an eminent man dies, his personal antecedents are dis-
cussed with the most reckless disregard of the respect due to a re •
cent grave, and to the private feelings of surviving kindred and sor•
rowing friends. A remarkable instance of this indecorum has recently
appeared. Scarcely were the remains of the late Father MATHEW
cold in their grave, when advantage was taken by an anonymous writer
of some trivial errors in a kindly obituary notice of Father MATHEW,
which had appeared in a leading organ, and under the plea of coffee•
tion, most invidious mis-statements were placed before the public. It
was asserted that " Mr. MATHEW'S father was the natural son of old
" Major MATHEW, and Was a bailiff on - Lord LLANDAFF'S estate."
Such was not the fact. The father of the great Temperance Advo-
cate was an independent gentleman-farmer, honourably born, who
married respectably, and reared a numerous family of sons
and daughters, many of whom are now closely connected with
several families of great worth and consideration in the south of
Ireland. It was also insinuated by the same writer that no relation-
ship with Father MATHEW could ever have been acknowledged by the
Llandaff family. That statement also was most erroneous. Many
interesting memorials, honourable to those who gave and to those who
received them, attest the contrary ; and with the sisters of Mr.
MATHEW (both of them most accomplished gentlewomen) the late
Lady Elizabeth MATHEW maintained up to the period of her death a
very close intimacy, as her correspondence proves. Other assertions
were also made that could be easily refuted ; but such matters are of
a purely personal character, and are not fit for newspaper controversy.
They should be left to the responsibility of a biographer. A memoir
of Father MATHEW is likely to be given to the world in the current
year ; and we should be glad that a competent pen would trace a
fair and interesting account of that eminent philanthropist, whose
amiable life and long services to humanity ought to shield his memory
from insulting references, which give greater pain to his numerous
admirers, because they are founded in error and misconception of the
real facts.

The lamentable number of wrecks distinguishing the first week of
the new year, and the many painful circumstances connected with the
loss of the vessels, would seem to suggest the necessity of some better
provision for such exigencies around the coast. We want more har-
bours of refuge, and a more extended scale of lifeboats. Harbours of
refuge are works of time, expense, and Parliamentary consideration ;
but there is no reason against a lifeboat being established at every
fishing village on the coast. The loss of the Violet on the Goodwin ap-
peals to have resulted less from the effects of the gale than fiom one of
those fatal errors the most experienced seamen make at times. The
master would scent to have mistaken the Gull Lights for those of the
South Foreland; and bclicvinghe had made his distance,tohavehauled
up for the coast, and run the Violet stem on to the fatal sands. The
tremendous sea raging shut out all hope from the unhappy crew.
The bodies of three stokers, two days utter, were found lashed to a
lile-buoy, but no further traces beyond the mail bags and a small
leather u•unk bearing the name of the only passenger, " Arthur
kojendie," have yet been found. A miter to the Timed suggests buoy-
ing these terrible bboals with a thousand bell•buoys, that shall ring

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