The Press.
London, England, 1857-03-21 00:00:00

THE WEEK.

THE march of events is rapid. A fortnight ago we listened to the
Premier's announcement that ho intended to dissolve Parliament.
To-day, the House of Commons, which has lived four years, four
months, and seventeen days, and played a part in events which
will be remembered as long as British annals remain, will cease
to exist.

The biographer of this House would have a difficult part to per-
form. Its character is not easy to describe. • Its representative
functions have overpowered all others, so that it might rather be
described as manifesting the discordant sentiments of the whole
community with strong individual ambitions, than as a body of states-
men animated by fixed principles, and intent on following settled lines
of policy.
The writs for the new Parliament are ready. Numbers of them
will be issued after the dissolution to-day. The borough elections will
be general at the close of next week, and in a fortnight we shall be
enabled to form a shrewd guess at the constitution of the new Par-
liament.

It is not likely from present appearances to differ materially from
the expiring House. The most eminent Members will certainly be
returned. We cannot call to mind one distinguished man who will
retire, nor, on the other hand. do we hear of one new distinguished
man likely to bo introduced. The party leaders, or " representative
men," in this Parliament will be the party leaders in the next; they
will retain that influence which their genius and experience give
them, and they must mainly form the character of the new House
•The established political reputations of our day have not yet begun to
retire ; • the rising men, with few exceptions, have not yet assumed
prominence. Local influence in the new Parliament will be adequately
•represented ; more adequately, we are inclined to believe, than any
other element. The metropolitan representation will substantially be
unchanged. The vulgar influences of wealth and of hypocritical
Itt;dical " cries" will conjointly or separately almost wholly usurp the
representation of the world's metropolis. We are sorry to find that, in
the city of Londun, not one Conservative candidate has yet come for-
ward to give the citizens who share his political sentiments the
pleasure of recording their votes in his favour.

One hard contest will bej in Manchester. Two Ministerialists are
likely to contest the borough with two independent Liberals. If
LowE and POTTER stand in opposition to GIBSON and BRIGHT, the
struggle will he sharp. Generally the borough representation will be
keenly contested, much more keenly than the county representation,
in which, from the absence of any strong political excitement, the
natural and legitimate influences of local position and connection will
prevail.

The week has not materially changed electoral prospects. The
Palmerston cry is running down to zero, and the hopes of the Official
Liberals are drooping with it. Some of the most acute begin to turn
their eyes towards Lord JOHN RUSSELL. The Liberals, who
.a week
ago were ready to tear him to pieces, now treat' hint with respectful
deference. He is likely to become the star of his • party once more,
and:we should not he surprised were he returned for the City at the
head'of the poll. The great popular demonstrations of the week have
all been in the interest of the independent Liberals—on Monday, at
Freemasons'-hall, when a vast assembly was addressed by Messrs.
COBDEN and LAYARD—on Thursday, at Guildhall, an enthusiastic
• meeting of the friends of Lord JOHN RUSSELL—at. Manchester,
in the interest of Messrs. GIBSON and BRIGHT—and at 'Carlisle,
when Sir JAMES GRAHAM delivered the most energetic and scathing
address that ever fell from his lips. " It was remarkable as showing—
' first, that he has resolved to stand fast by Lord JOHN RUSSELL and the

Whig reformers ; and, secondly, as affording evidence that the dissolu-
' Con' was a scheme of the Official Liberals to overilelm independent
opinion, and to secure Governmental power to themselves for the next
generation.
,He noticed how immediately after the Premier had decided on
dissolution he announced his intention of sending a Plenipotentiary
to China. • The appointment was offered in the first place to the Duke
of NEWCASTLE, as we stated last week, and then to Lord Etois. Had
! such a step been announced before the division on Mr.•COBDEN'ti
motion, the motion, said Sir JAMES positively, would•have been with-
drawn or rejected. What, then, is the inference ? Why, that the vote
. was a mere pretext for dissolution—that the step had been decided on
previously—and- that it was, in fact, a conspiracy to secure for. Lord
ti vr.uuTox and hi,: devoted followers a packed House of Ccmmons,
which might raise their faction to absolute and permanent ascendancy.
The representation of Carlisle is not yet settled, but the Treasury
hacks must see that it is vain to attempt to crush a man like Sir
JAMES GRAHAM. Does not/be intense anxiety of the Carlisle burgess,
Mr. RAILTON, to " keep out the Tories," open the eyes of the public to
some secrets The Liberal connection have held away too lorg for
the welfare of the community, though not long . enough for the
officials who in various degrees thrive by. their propinquity to the
public purse.

When Lord GitAxviu E next quotes THE PRESS in the Hone of
. Lords, we hope he will halo the candour to quote it correctly. As the
misrepresentations of the Noble Lord :tre niot'lileely• to deceive our
'readers, and tan interest no one else, we contpt ourselves with
begging his Lordship to refer to our issue of 'March 7th, and parti-

SATURDAY,

cularly 'to that part' of our explanatory article, quoted by him
at such length, in which we said " that we had reason to believe
" that, the gross inaccuracy' of which Lord DERBY complained'
" was to a great extent rectified in our second edition." This statement
is widely different from the positive assertion Lord GRANVILLE repre-
sents us to have made. As our space is more valuable than by his
Lordship's speech one would imagine the time of the House of Peers
to be, we shall not waste it on a question completely disposed of by
Lord DERBY'S emphatic exposure of the Coalition canard.

The despatch from the French Envoy at Rome to the Govern-
ment of Paris, published in the Daily News of Thursday, assuming it
to be genuine; is a really remarkable production; remarkable alike for
the ability displayed in its composition and the unmistakeable purpose
which has dictated it. We cannot doubt that this paper must be
accepted as a manifesto of French policy in Italy. The object of the
framer is to prove that Italian discontent is not produced by remove-
able evils. It is constantly urged, he says, that the government by
priests in the Pontifical States is distasteful to the people. What is
the truth? There are not more than one hundred ecclesiastics
employed in government throughout the Roman States, though
their number has sometimes been erroneously rated at 3,000. Aud
where laymen have been substituted for priests the people
have themselves petitioned for the restoration of the latter.
The taxes are very light, not . being more than one half of
what is paid in France. Credit is good, the notes of the bank of. the
Pontifical States being now at par. There is little private misery, and
the people flock with glee to the holiday spectacles and amusements.
Government promotes beneficial public works, and a plan is even nOw on
foot for draining the Campagna. Granting the truth of these premises,
the writer very reasonably argues that the evil must be more deeply
rooted than people generally suppose, and he fixes it in the national
character of the Italians, who are unfit for constitutional government,
and are rendered unhappy by examples of freedom which they are not
capable of imitating. Previous to the great French Revolution,
revenues flowed into Rome from a variety of foreign sources which
kept the people untaxed and contented ; but, now that
stream is dried up, what is to • be done to keep the
people quiet? The Frenchman, of course, leaves us to answer the
question for ourselves. But the permanent presence of French troops
is clearly enough the answer ho intends to be given. Sardinia, we
should state, is disposed of by the assertion that her people are not
Italians. They are a mixture of French and Swiss, and no argument
can be grounded upon their obvious adaptibility to the forms of con-
stitutional government. Now, it is hardly to be believed that the bold
step would have been taken of composing such a manifesto as this,
unless the French Government had felt tolerably certain of the dispo-
sition of the other European Powers. gust not France have had some
ground for supposing that England would not interfere ? Does not this
document lend additional weight to the assertion of DISRAEI.I at the
opening of the present session ? We are not advocates for throwing
the Continent into disorder. All we wish is, that the policy of this
country should be candid and open ; and that in a matter of such vast
importance the people should be kept informed of the conduct of their
rulers.

Another signal defect of the Treaty of Paris is coming to light.
The conquest of Circassia has been resolved on by Russia. 100,000
men are now collected upon the frontier, and this spring a great com-
bined and unequalled effort will be made to bring this disastrous war
of fifty years to a victorious conclusion. When the Treaty of Paris
was concluded last April we called attention in THE PRESS of May 10,
1856, to the inevitable results of the omission of Lord CLARENDON to
secure the freedom of the eastern coast of the Black Sea, the settlement
of the boundaries of Russia in that quarter, the abandonment by Russia
of her forts on the Circassian coast, and the independence of Circassia.
We.pointed out that the complete conquest of Circassia would now be
attempted by Russia, and that the great object of the war, the limita-
tion and repression of Russian aggrandisement against Turkey, was
neglected precisely in that very quarter in which Russia could most
easily extend, and we observed that, " as the war between Turkey and
" Russia, which terminated in the Treaty of Adrianople, was caused
" by the alleged. assistance given by Turkey to the Caucasian tribes,
" a like cause may again 'produce a similar result." At this very
moment Russia is preparing for the conquest of Circassia—a vessel
loaded with stores and ammunition, and carrying a powerful body
of Polish troops, has secretly sailed from Constantinople, and
landed her • cargo upon • the, eastern coast of• the Black Sea ;
and M. de BOUTENIEFF, the Russian Minister at Constantinople, has
demanded explanations of the .Porte : so that we have here the ele-
ments of another serious dispute between Russia and • Turkey, pre-
cisely as we predicted ten months since.. No better proof.is wanting
of the weakness of Lord CLARENDON, in thus handing over to Russia
Circassia bound hand and foot. When Baron Barrow, at the COD-
ferenee, objected to Lord CLARENDON'S argument,' based' on the prin-
ciple of the neutralisation of the Black Sea, that Russia could• not re-
build her forts uppn the eastern coast, by setting up • the distinction
between simple forts and military-maritime arsenals, Lord CLARENDON
adjourned the point for future discussion, but, without ever resuming
that discussion, he signed a treaty which sacrificed Circassia, endangered
Turkey, and gave to Russia a vast field *for aggrandisement,* and a
perpetual cause of dispute against Turkey. •
The intelligence from- China confirms the telegraphic despatches
of last week. Admiral SEYMOUR has been compelled to withdraw from
Canton, first burning the •suburbs, and bombarding a portion of tho
town. The detail given in the Chinese papers of these events, cruel
and unnecessary because the pbsition was untenable, is on the whole

MARCH 21, 1857.

striking. Divine sorviee was performed on Sunday morning, the 11th
January, on board all the ships. The Admiral attended. In the
afternoon the ships' companies were employed fitting out the boats
for service on Monday morning. At daylight next morning, the
6maltarm men and marines were landed to burn the suburbs.
The long narrow streets were fired in every direction. Thousands of
wretched Chinese fled from their houses ; a few fought and attacked
our men, three or four of whom .they shot down and decapitated. Mean-
while the Dutch Folly Fort opened fire with carcases upon a portion
of the town. The place was soon in flames ; and the fire raging
there and in the suburbs, we are told, when once fairly lighted, was
kept in trim" by red.hot shot and carcases from the ships and the
fort. At present it is impossible to divine Admiral SEYMOUR'S object
for this barbarous act, because he retired down the river the next
day, relinquishing to the Chinese the English ground at Canton, and
the Dutch and French Folly Forts. The Chinese. notwithstanding the
horning of their town, ere fitting out a powerful fleet of junks, and are
resolved, it is said, to effect a descent upon Bong Kong.

The appointment of Lord ELGIN as Plenipotentiary to the Court
of Pekin, has been received most favourably by all classes. The
appointment of the Noble Earl is unexceptionable, but the real point
for consideration is what instructions will the Noble Lord bear with
him. We are said to be not at war with China. The question at
present appears to be a simple quarrel between the Governor of Hong
Kong and the Viceroy of Canton. . The Governments upon either side
have not yet met upon the question. We have yet to learn, then,
whether Lord ELGIN receives such pacific instructions as shall permit
him, supported by a powerful force, to heal all differences, and place
our relations for the future upon a solid and satisfactory basis, or
whether Lord PALMERSTON, freed from the control of Parliament, will,
as is his custom in similar cases, insist upon such exorbitant terms
that nothing but a successful war can enfc rce.
After Lord GRANVILLE'S congratulatory speech on Monday night,
when he complimented the country especially upon the close,
satisfactory, and friendly relations of her Majesty's Government with
the Cabinet of Vienna, the announcement that Count PARR is upon the
eve of being withdrawn from the Court of Turin comes with peculiar
emphasis. We are assured by the Austrian journals that the step will
result in nothing more than the cessation of diplomatic relations.
But this is ever the first step towards the commencement of hostilities.

There is a famous old regiment in our service called " The Die-
hards." In Whig warfare, Lord JOHN RUSSELL is fit to be colonel of a
party with such a name on its colours. In spite of all attempts to
write him down, the Noble Lord was received on Thursday with
rounds of applause, several times repeated. His speech was firm in
its tone, and with gallant defiance he threw down the gauntlet to his
foes. Some parts of it fully sustained his reputation for severe
hitting and adroitness in debate. The paltry indirectness of the
mode adopted for excluding him from the representation of the City
was exposed by him with manly and contemptuous scorn. Here and
there his Lordship's old fondness for epigrammatic hints was shown,
and the supposed dialogue of the unfeeling master turning away with-
out any notice his old servant " John," and informing him that " a
young man from Northampton had been engaged in his place," told
upon the audience with lively effect, and has been accepted us one of
the best mots of the present squibbing season. So, also, the thrust at
L9rd PALMERSTON, " who declared very explicitly that he was not for a
"comprehensive reform, and that he did not approve of bit-by-bit
" reforms," went through its object. Still better was the racy way in
which the false charge of 4. coalition" was exposed. " Several persons
" may combine in order to break into a house ; but, on the other hand,
"several persons may combine in a jury-room to find them guilty of
" burglary in so doing." In his exposition of his political creed, Lord
JOHN RUSSELL went over ground often trod upon. He is still resolved
to push the question of " Reform" further; and though he says that
if the choice is to be between Lord DERBY and Lord PALMERSTON, that
he will support the latter, it is evident that it would be only a desultory
assistance, not to be relied upon by the Prime Minister. As yet (with
one or two exceptions), the Liberals who gave an Opposition vote are
not in danger of being worsted, though " Mr. Hayter is to run a
" candidate in every constituency." In the "wordy war" of the week,
Lord PALMERSTON has had the worst of it.

The opening of the schools for poor children in Golden-lane on
Thursday last, under the auspices of Prince ALBERT and the Prince of
WALES, is calculated to make a most beneficial impression on the
minds of all who were present. Golden-lane, not very far from the
Charter House, is one of the most filthy, populous, and poverty-
stricken localities in that part of London, which those who know it
well will admit is saying a good deal. These schools have been
erected, capable of accommodating 900 scholars, at a cost of 5,0811.;
and a still more gratifying circumstance is, that there is a most ready
influx of scholars. The chief promoter of this noble work is the Rev.
Mr. RooEns, who now acts as treasurer to the schools, and who had
the honour of reading an address to his Royal Highness previous to
the announcement of the opening. Mr. ItooEns gave a brief and very
interesting sketch of the rise and progress of this and other neigh-
bouring schools, to which the Prince Consort replied in a speech full
of feeling and good sense, and expressing his happiness at being an
instrument of forwarding so good a work. The young Prince of
WALES, we are told, was an object of considerable interest and
curiosity to the juvenile population around, and doubtless must have
driven away from the scene with some new sensations excited in his
briast, which let us trust will bear fruit in his manhood.