The Press.
London, England, 1857-01-24 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

SATURDAY;

I do not (said the Prince) suffer the displeasure I may experience at this low-
bred indignity to affect, for one instant, the high respect and sincere regard long and
cordially entertained by me for England and the English.
Ho then characterises the expressions used by Sir RoDRIvr PEEL
in terms quite as just as forcible .
The coarse verbiage adopted by Sir Robert Peel to revile me belongs only to a sot
(ivrogne) and a blackguard ( gamin), and as such I regard it with proper contempt.
A sot and a blackguard ! These are the terms by which our late
Secretary of Legation to the Special Embassy appointed to congra-
tulate the Emperor of RUSSIA upon his coronation Ivi,ll henceforth be
known upon the Continent. Sir ROBERT PEEL—Sot and Blackguard !
Alas ! to what base uses may we not come, Horatio 7

The Prince de LINGE continues :
Without seeking that personage, should chance ever place me in unpalatable contact
with him, I shall not hesitate to say that his conduct has baen that of an underbred guppy

No one can complain of the strong terms in which the Prince vents
his very reasonable indignation ; but clearly the matter requires expla-
nation. If the terms, " sot and blackguard," now sticking to Sir ROBERT
PEEL, had been applied and submitted to in a private quarrel, the
question, though within the province of a Club Committee, would
have been, to some extent, beneath the notice of the Government.
But the present case is exceptional. Sir ROBERT PEEr„ taking advan-
tage of his situation, puts on public insults, among others, upon the
Representative of the King of the BELGIANS. The Prince Du LIONE
has flung back the insult upon Sir ROBERT PEEL, and publicly brands
him as a "sot and a blackguard." Sir ROBERT PEEL is still a Lord of
the Admiralty. His continuance iu office is, of course, in compliance
with the Premier's inviolable rule of the " right man in the right
" place." The just epithets of the Prince DE Dorm rather promi-
nently put the question, whether Sir ROBERT PEEL exactly meets the
indispensable requirements of this rule. The retention in office of a
man who possesses so feeble a sense of honour or decency, and who
has been publicly branded as " a sot and a blackguard," is an insult
to the nation. It is impossible that the Government can permit the
Prince DE LIGNE'S reply to be passed over, and retain Sir ROBERT
PEEL in office.

The gaol committee appointed by the city of London have sent in
a report relative to the present condition of Whitecross-street Prison.
The management of this establishment has long been a disgrace to a
nation in which publicity for abuses is so readily obtained. But
there has always been a difficulty iu dealing with the whole qr:rstion
of arrest for debt, owing to the not, unnatural reluctance felt by the
sufferers to give evidence on the subject. It is shameful that a man
who has committed no crime should be incarcerated among a set of
ruffians over whose conduct the prison authorities exercise no con-
trol, and who, unless the victim submits to their system of extortion,
and consents to become one of themselves, aro permitted to torment
end insult him with impunity. A heavy fee is extorted on entrance
for admission to the privilege of their society, for which the new
comer has daily to pay a still further price in the shape of living in an
atmosphere of blasphemy, filth, and low debauchery of every kind, to
say nothing of swindling or theft, provided he has anything to lose.
Anything like privacy in this den of horror is, of course, out of the
question. Day and night the unfortunate debtor is surrounded by
the same companions. Friends cannot visit him without running the
gauntlet of all the blackguards in the prison. Beds are huddled toge-
ther in close and dirty wards ; and the tricks upon sleepers are such
as would have made Messrs. Mivins and Smangle appear angels of
light. That in such a realm as this the process server should be an
object of peculiar hostility, and the butt of the most aggravated con-
tumely, is not to be wondered at. With the sufferings of this class of
wretches we have small sympathy, no more, indeed, than we have
with their employers, the low solicitors and attorneys who are the
pests of humanity, and the scorn of their own profession. But we
protest loudly against the neglect which has ignored the growth of an
abuse so contrary to our notions of justice, and so detrimental both to
the moral character and worldly prospects of the unfortunate. Who
can be the better for the existence of such a place as this except the
jackals of the law, we are at a loss to imagine. The sponging-house is
doubtless the principal gainer—for many a man will rather be stripped
of the last farthing he possesses by the harpies of these last-men•
tioned institutions, than be thrown among the herd of scamps
above described. But those who cannot afford to pay for their board
and lodging at a rate which would make the most expensive hotel
keeper in London open his eyes wide with mingled envy and incredu-
lity, have no other alternative. Why a man cannot be taken to some
decent and reasonable place of confinement as soon as he is arrested, or
what prevents his taking up his quarters in the Queen's Bench at once
without either the delays or the expensive formalities which at present
laccompany that process, we cannot comprehend. But so it is ; and
so, unless some vigorous reformer arises, it will long continue to be.

Opinions differ as to the judiciousness of the choice of the new
Bishop of Cork (Archdeacon FITZGERALD), made by the Earl of CAR-
LISLE. We are personally unacquainted with the Bishop Elect ; but Ye
have long known him by his scholarly reputation as au editor
of BUTLER'S " Analogy," and of a portion of ARISTOTLE'S "Ethics."
It is stated by the correspondent of the Times, that Archdeacon FITZ•
GERALD'S " cold and reserved temperament made him unpopular with
" the junior clergy," and such a drawback (if it exists) would inteif re
with 'his utility in the triple diocese of " Cork, Cloyne, and Ross,"
which has suffered from the delicate health of the deceased Bishop
(Dr. WILSON). We give Lord CARLISLE credit for worthy motives
making this appointment, but we could desire that many clergymen in
silo Churc4 Iroltuul, of grog oloquem and loaßin, roome4 *O4