The Press.
London, England, 1857-03-14 00:00:00

THE LIBERAL CRY.

THE cry with which the Liberals arc going to
the country is purely of a negative character.
We have pointed out long ago that in the case
of threatened defeat, they invariably had re-
course to the one device of crying out, " the
" Tories are coming ;" and now that a general
election is at hand their armoury has not been
increased. Still, from half the boroughs in
the country rises up one groan of terror at the
bare possibility of a Tory Government. What
it is that inspires this consternation we pro•
fess we do not know. Some of the most ad-
vanced measures of progress have been passed
when Tories were in power,—forced from
them, wrung out of them, or anything else
which the Radical intellect is capable of
alleging, but nevertheless passed—a fact
which cannot be asserted of any Liberal Go-
vernment. And now at the present day, as
none of the Tory members to our knowledge
eat little children, practise the black art, or
have entered into correspondence with the
Pope for the revival of the Inquisition, we
cannot appreciate the class of minds which
are so painie-struck at the prospect of their
accession.

Joking apart, however, will these practical
business-like men, who help to swell the

clamour in our provincial towns, accord us
a few minutes' patience while we ask them a
very simple but a very pertinent question.
What do they expect to get from the Liberals,
which they have no hope of obtaining from
the Tories ? By Liberals of course we mean
the party of Lord PALMERSTON. By Tories we
do not mean the party of Mr. BENTINCR. Our
practical friend must look at the question in
a practical manner. He cannot pick a Go-
vernment. His choice is limited to two. Let
its then, WC say, examine his grounds of pre-
ference.

Does he, falling back upon the old Liberal
creed, tell us that he desires the abolition of
aristocratic extravagance, and a reduction of
taxation for the benefit of the people ? Does
he tell us in the same spirit that wars should
he confined to wars of selklefence, either
direct or indirect, and that to force our own
views upon foreign potentates is equally im-
politic and injurious from whatever party such
conduct may proceed—from Tories at tho
Congress of Vienna, or from Whigs at the
Congress of Paris? Does he demand the
abolition of nepotism and patronage in
the distribution of Government appoint-
ments, and a thorough reform of civil-
service administration ? Does he wish
to see candidates selected for merit, and a
system of examination introduced which shall
open up the service to every educated
youth in the kingdom ? Does he sigh for an
amelioration of our tedious and costly pro-
cesses of law ?—for the diffusion of general
education ?—for a comprehensive and whole-
some penal system which shall relieve him
from the terrors of the garotter and burglar ?
If these are his demands, we can point confi-
dently to the Liberal apd the Conservative
parties, and bid him look upon this picture
and upon that. The Tories proclaim the ne-
cessity of reducing our establishments to a
peace footing, and of seeking for efficiency in
completeness of equipment and perfection of
discipline, ratly^.r than in mere strength of
numbers. Lord PANMURE and Lord PALMERS-
TON are for an extravagant expenditure and a
large standing force. The Liberals meddle
with every petty p►incipality in Europe, and
would scatter their image through all lands at
the point of the bayonet. MAHOMET himself
was not a more decided votary of armed
proselytism than Lord PALMERSTON. Nor,
indeed, is this the only point of resemblance.
But the Tories say that as England has reached
her present fortunate constitution through
freedom from interference, we ought to allow
foreign nations the same chance ; and that
constant intervention between kings and sub-
jects, be they strong or be they weak, is in
reality as debasing towards them as it is dan.
gero is and injurious to ourselves. In two
words, the restless, dissatisfied spirit of Libe-
ralism as naturally vents itself in war as the
conservative and insular spirit of Toryism
clings to the policy of peace.
To proceed with ourenumeration. The Tories
reduce taxation and keep faith with the people.
The Liberals maintain taxation and break it.
The only civil-service reformer of the day with a
possibility of success is Lord STANLEY. The
only law reformers who are not laughed at are
Lord ST. LEONARDS and Sir FITZROY KELLY.
The only educational reformer who is not an
impracticable enthusiast, or a convicted blun-
derer, is Sir John PAmsoTos. The only mea-
sure of domestic legislation, in which the
Liberals have not actually broken down, is the
Convict Bill of Sir GEORGE GREY; and that
wits only redeemed from destruction because
it to some extent adopted the principle which
a Tory newspaper has been foremost in pro-
moting.

Now, then, will the practical man tell us
why it is that he ceys out for anything rather
than a Tory Government? If we press him
with facts, he is dumb ; and theories cannot
stand without facts. We know very well there
is a certain class in the country who have a
very fair ground of difference with the Tories.
But the loudness of the clamour against them
seems always in proportion to the unreasona-
bleness of the clamourer. The Radicals who
honestly desire changes which the Tories
would resist, are comparatively quiet. The
middle-class Liberal (!) who is opposed to

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such changes as these, but honestly desires
others which the Tories would accomplish, is
vigorous in abuse of them. He has been so
long accustomed to abuse them, that with true
British doggedness he would rather cut his
throat than relinquish the practice. He is,
without knowing it, as bigoted a Tory as
ELDON or WETHERALL.

Yes. With the Radicals the Tories have a
fair fight to sustain. They will uphold the
existing framework of society by the preser-
vation of primogeniture, and the protection of
that love of family which is deeply implanted
in Englishmen. They will maintain the in-
tegrity of the Upper House of Parliament, and
the independence of the National Church.
They are eminently Protestant, and have as
their leader a statesman who, having sacrificed
power to the preservation of Protestantism in
Ireland, is not likely to misuse power for the
injury of Protestantism in England. But
faith must be kept where pledged, at whatever
inconvenience. And the Tory party will lose
nothing by tha secession of men who advocate
a retrograde policy, and a deliberate bleach of
obligations.
Englishmen have been frightened by a bug-
bear long enough. Let them pluck up courage
and look steadily at the image which PALMERS
TON waves before their eyes. They will find
it a mere fiction—a bundle of old rags, repre-
senting nothing that ever was or ever can be.
PALMERSTON knows that his power depends on
keeping up the illusion, and, like Lord Peter,
storms horribly at those who will not agree to
disbelieve the evidence of their senses. But,
if we are not mistaken, the reign of deceit is
nearly over. PALMERSTON'S Liberalism is found
out, and will be classed hereafter with the
piety of Louis XI., or the tolerance of
JAMES 11.