The Press.
London, England, 1857-06-06 00:00:00

THE WEEK.

THE new Parliament has enjoyed its first holidays, and has reassembled
for the first time in its history. This is not an unimportant fact, for
Parliament is now about to enter upon the labours of the session.
The Noble Premier, with all the jauntiness of air and volatile agility
which distinguish him, returns invigorated by the embrace of a
Russian Grand Duke; while Members and Ministerialists come back
to their benches ready for work, but with an indistinct conception of
what is to bo done, and a desire that whatever is done " 'twere well
" that it were done quickly," for " grouse" is a word already whis-
pered.
Few persons will now contest Mr. DISRAELI'S pithy exposure of
the pretext of dissolution, " To waste a year !" for it is clear that in all
the great departments of State, the social, legal, ecclesiastical, or polio
tical, the Government measures of Reform are only partial or post-
poned. The hopes of present progress—dreams of a fabulous
Liberal creed—are vanishing like the illuminated mists of the
mountains where the gods of Greece held their abode. The education
question, we may gather from Lord PALMERSTON'S reply last night to
Sir JOHN PAXINOTON, will be fenced off, if it be possible; finance will
remain unsettled ; India will not be touched ; and law reform be left
incomplete. The brevity of the session so astutely interrupted, and
the arrears of public business, are alternately pleaded as an excuse for
doing nothing great or effectual. Happily the chief excellence of
these instituti•,ns is that they contain within themselves the seeds of
reformation, which, in course of time, and in spite of every obstacle,
ripen into action and purge away accumulated abuses. Yet RABELAIS'
coat, we shrewdly suspect, will offer the best illustration of this the
first session of the new Parliament—" Nothing before, nothing
behind, with sleeves of the same."
We learn, too, within the last few days, that besides the War in
55, the Peace in's6, the Dissolution in '57, and the promised Reform Bill
for '5B, another reason exists for doing nothing this session. The 200
"new and comparatively unsophisticated members" exhibit a turbulent
tendency to hold opinions of their own. The " rude instinct of natural
" benevolence " fails to influence their independence, and " the light
" of plain common sense" would seem to indicate that, in spite of the
soft persuasions of Mr. HATrEa, they display by a " most factious pro-
ceeding," the most devoted allegiance "to the most mischievous
leaders." Of course, this is not the way to get on, nor even to acquire
party friends, or "to get into place." But the unsophisticated, flushed
with the ardour of newly•horn responsibility, refuse to listen to the
voice of the Siren of Wells, or the Thunderer of Printing-house Square.

Tho exhibition of Sir JAMES GRAHAM in the debate on Mr.
HORSEALL'S motion on Thursday was highly interesting in some
respects. The new Members of the House who had never heard the
revolving Baronet before had an opportunity of judging of his elabo-
rate mannerism, his careful getting•up, and his odd mixture of sour
remarks and saccharine compliments. The exhibition was entitled to
the respect which should be conceded to a veteran performer. A
certain faded air of former power, a want of freshness of views, and
a disposition to play the part of laudator temporis acti, indicated that
the rhetorical Member for Carlisle does not look to " a future " being
before him. Much of his speech was of the kind appropriate to the
" Recollections of his Life and Times " Mr. HoasFALL objected to the
present constitution of the Board of Trade, and Sir JAMES GRAHAM had
recourse to panegyric on the great things done by the past Presidents
and Vice-Presidents of the Board. The sarcastic Baronet talked of

Mr. LABOUCHERE, to "his immortal (!) credit," doing certain things.

"The immortal LABOUCHERE r It is always thus with Sir JAMES
GRAHAM'S compliments. They seem as if meant for interpretation per
antiphrasin. His eulogy in this case reminds one of the withered
immor telles that one sees at Pere La Chaise. Mr. HUSKISSON also came in
for safe panegyric. That eminent person was severely disparaged in his
latter years ; and while he was in the flesh, we do not recollect that
Sir JAMES GRAHAM made any chivalrous attempts to defend him
against a legion of adversaries. "My right honourable friend," Mr.
• ELLICE, the Member for Coventry, received an historical reference
from the recording lips of the retrospective orator. Poor Mr. ELLICE
was reminded how he had once been an ultra-Protectionist for
" native industry ;" and even a passage from one of Mr. ELLICE'S
former speeches was quoted to prove the assertion of the bitter
Baronet who represents Carlisle. Now, such conduct is hardly fair as
between one Member of the House of Commons and another. We
suspect that Sir JAMES GRAHAM gave no notice to the Member for
Coventry that he was going to disinter one of his speeches made
thirty years since. The exordium of Sir J. GRAHAM'S oration on
Thursday thus commenced :—" Not seeing, Sir, any gentleman dis-
•' posed to address the House, I shall take the liberty of making a few
" observations." Just as if the speech had not been under incubation
for a fortnight! It was by accident that the extract from the speech
of Mr. ELLICE name into his pocket. His speech, of course,
was not an impromptu fait ci loisir. It is time, in-
deed, for Sir JAMES GRAHAM, after his forty years expe-
rience, to give up this " very peculiar" kind of composition. Mr.
gLucE, however, eau easily retaliate by quoting emracte from " corn