The Press.
London, England, 1857-01-03 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

lodging-houses are inadequate to meet the exigency, and that the high
price of land in the centres of labour prevents dwelling-houses being
built for the poor in the immediate vicinity of their work. He thinks,
however, that if, when bad neighbourhoods are to be cleared out, th©
ground were then bought beforehand at its minimum value, it might
be obtained, either by Government or by private companies, at a
sufficiently low rate. This, however, seems somewhat doubtful ; for if
the ground be so valuable, as is alleged, for the erectior. of warehouses,
there would surely be persons always on the look-out to purchase it,
and to bid against those who would buy it for other purposes.
We cannot help thinking, that if the poorest class of all is ever to bo
comfortably lodged, it must he done by the erection of cottages at a
considerable distance from the centre of the metropolis. Both Mr. Ross
and S.G. 0. dwell upon the contrast afforded by the lines of new streets
which are rising up for the rich, with the overcrowded alleys behind
them which are the sole refuge of the poor. The more you improve
the dwellings of the higher classes, the more you deteriorate the
dwellings of the lower ; and as long as you continue to do this,
so long are you taking away with one hand the benefits you confer
with the other, and rendering the good effects of schools and reading-
rooms entirely nugatory. This is the burden of Mr. OSBORNE'S song,
and this was the language of our own article on Saturday last. The
truth is, that " the home" is, in this country, at all events, at the
bottom of all moral amelioration. If we cannot cherish domestic
habits, and the soft and genial influences of family life, all our efforts
at enlightenment will be utterly worthless. As was well observed by
Lord ROBERT CE(:IL a short time ago, the cxamp'e of a virtuous and
gentle mother is worth all the lessons of the best of schoolmasters.
But how can this example be hoped for where the home is some reeking
loft, in which moral and physical filth run a race against each other,
and the voice of blasphemy, ribaldry, and reviling, is never mute?

General DE LACY EvANS has not been very happy in his denial of
the charges brought against him by a Staff Officer. The gallant knight
seizes hold of a slight inaccuracy of statement, refutes it in detail, and
seems to imagine that he has completely silenced his accuser. The
Staff Officer said he had good authority for stating that General
PENN EFATHER did not speak to Sir DE LACY during the action of
Inkermann ; Sir DE LACY shows that they did have some conversation
together. So far as regards this particular incident the Staff Officer
is wrong, as he might have suspected he was, when he ventured to
doubt an assertion of Lord RAGLAN But the really important
assertion of the Staff Officer, that, after the action, Sir DE LACY EVANS
came to Lord RAGLAN, and urgently pressed his opinion that the British
army should me up the siege, abandon their guns, and retreat to the
ships, is not touched by the gallant General. What the public
desire to know is, whether this assertion be correct or not.
If it be not correct, why does General EVANS delay to clear his charac-
ter? Tf it be correct, how came it that he remained silent so long
when Lord RAGLAN was aspersed ? Why did ho not declare, that the
difficulties which surrounded the Commander-in-Chief were so great,
that he had taken the responsibility on himself of counselling the
abandonment of the siege, and that only the fortitude of Lord RAGLAN
had brought the army through the trials of that dreadful winter? With
shattered nerves and failing health, General EVANS may be excused
for having taken so desponding a view of the position of the army ;
but can there be any excuse for his silence, when he. by a few truthful
words, might have arrested the torrent of calumny which had set
in against his illustrious chief? While Lord RAGLAN was the best
abused man in England, General EVANS received silently and smilingly
the honours of heroism. The Staff Officer, in his hurried communica-
tions, set down much that had better have been left unsaid, and fell
into many inaccuracies ; but his generous defence of Lord RAGLAN
made amends for a thousand such imprudences, and he is to be
heartily thanked for having disclosed so many circumstances necessary
to a correct comprehension of the Crimean warand the character of its
magnanimous though much maligned hero.

The outbreak of hostilities with Chinn is to be regretted, but the
impracticable nature of the Chinese inferior authorities, and our
limited means of redress in the event of any dispute, rendered such a
catastrophe sooner or later a certainty. In the present case the
Chinese would appear to have as much law on their side as we have
common sense on ours. The seizure of the crew of the Arrow was un-
doubtedly perfectly justifiable, but as the statements on both sides
are diametrically opposed to each other, and that phase of the ques-
tion has been somewhat smothered by the smoke of thirty-twoipounders,
it is no use discussing it any furthar. The point raised by Admiral
SEYMOUR is the real point at issue, viz., whether or no our official
representatives, and indeed the representatives of foreign Powers
generally, shall have direct and personal access to the Viceroy of
Canton. This, at first sight, seems too simple a point to fight over,
but the disinclination of the Chinese to admit a barbarian within the
walls of Canton upon any pretext whatever has solely brought about
so unfortunate a result. Under the existing system all matters in
dispute are discussed in writing. The Consul at the factories has no
entry into Canton itself, and can never obtain the advantage of a per-
sonal intercourse with the leading authorities of the place The con-
sequence is obvious. Official disputes at Canton are veritable cases
of Jarndyee v. Jarndyee ; they last, or at least threaten to last, through
generations : there is no end to them ; and with so clever a
people as the Chinese, there is quite as little satisfaction
to be got out of them, as out of the Chancery Court.
Had our Consul resided in Canton, the unfortunate affair of the
lorcha would have been disposed of very shortly. Admiral SEYMOUR
appears to have behaved with great forbearance so long as forbearance
was politic, and then to have acted with quite as much vigour without
losing sight of the principles of humanity. Taking advantage of his

JANUARY 3, 1857.

position, he ignores the lorcha question altogether, and insists upon
the right lon-,y, promised us of personal admission for foreign officials
to the Viceroy of the province. In the present state of our relations
with China it would appear highly desirable that such a concession
be definitely scented, and with this we should be content. A resident
Ambassador at Pekin holding direct intercourse with the Imperial
Court would, of course, be very advantageous to our interests ; but
how are we to get his Excellency there ?

Two Ministers of State have this week been speaking out rather
more boldly than their wont. Lord PALMERSTON indeed has to lament
the indiscretion of the admiring LANKESTER, who could not restrain
his satisfaction on hearing his fellow-townsman called an ignorant
man, and not fit to be a Member of Parliament. It is indeed news
to the world at large, that this fault should be any disqualification for
a seat in the House of Commons, and still more remarkable that the
Premier should have been the first man to proclaim the great truth.
This however, is genuine Liberalism, though it is not often that the secret
is let out so completely as on this occasion. Dislike and jealousy of the
real Radical reformer, the man of deeds, and not words, speaks out
plainly in the lapsus linyure of the Premier. What on earth could the
veteran have been about? Is the garrulity of age stealing upon him,
or is he so fast returning to Toryism us to have forgotten the cha-
racter of the party with whom he has so long acted. Breaches of
confidence must be expected where the Prime Minister of England
talks tea-table gossip with the tradesmen of a country town. We aro
sorry for Mr. AIDREWII. It is impossible to say what breach of good
manners his irritation may lead him to commit in return for PALMERS-
TON'S " him perance." We should advise the latter not to trust himself
abroad without the protection of a footman and a stout oak stick, for
a considerable time to come. The other member of the Administration
who has hew holding forth with a most uncalled for degree of energy. is
Admiral BERKELEY. We are gratified to hear that there is no intention
of retaining the income tax. But though Admiral BERKELEY will not
believe it till he sees it, we own we have little faith in the sagacity of
any one who believes PALMERSTON would not keep it on if ho could.
How the latter must laugh in his sleeve if he has any mirth left in him
after the Lankester affair, at the undeniable simplicity of the gallant
admiral who has faith in everything and everybody.

The utter failure of the secret-system investigation to unravel the
mystery of the murder of Mr. LITTLE is exactly the result THE PRESS
predicted from the first. In all criminal investigations the greater
the publicity given to every fact obtained in evidence, the greater the
chance of a successful result, and the detection of the criminal. The
reason is clear. Instead of half-a-dozen stale official minds
turning over the facts, you ' have a thousand inquisitive brains
actively at work thinking and reflecting, dwelling upon this point and
upon that, recalling events, comparing circumstances, and devoting
all their ingenuity and tact to discover some clue towards a
definite result. Moreover, how often in the annals of crime has
the simple detail of events, trifling and unimportant in themselves,
inevitably led to the discovery and conviction of the criminal? But
the assistance of such means is only to be obtained through publicity ;
and publicity we must have in this case, as in every other, if we wish
to attain a similar satisfactory result. If the Dublin authorities per-
mit, as they seem to desire, this barbarous murder to tacitly fade into
that vast shadow of undetected crime hovering over Ireland, they will
deserve to be branded as the most incompetent cowards ever placed
in positions of responsibility. A continuance in their secret system
is also a protraction of the most cruel injustice. It submits the entire
railway staff to horrible suspicion. Every man there is the murderer.
If all the facts and inferences collected were made public, this would
cease; at least, the unsuspected would be freed, while the suspected
might possibly be convicted of guilt.