The Press.
London, England, 1856-11-29 00:00:00

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plished diplomatists of Europe. The language
and acts of our representative would be the
language and acts of our Government, and by
his words and deeds the nation would be
bound. From such a test of its sincerity the
Administration of Lord PALMERSTON might
well shrink. It lives by protestations to the
people of this country which it would never
think of putting forward at a European
Congress. It has one vocabulary for its
diplomatic dealings, it has another for the
press and the hustings at home ; and it may
well dread a renewal of the Paris Conference,
as it must know that this eontradiction of tone
would be brought forth, and that its double-
dealing could not possibly escape detection
and exposure.
When the Conference assembles will be the
proper time for Lord PALMERSTON'S Adminis-
tration to openly make those charges of bad
faith against the Russian Government which
it has been profusely circulating for months
past, through a hundred :secret channels. If
there were just ground for supposing that the
Court of St. Petersburg did• really mean to
treacherously evade the stipulations of the
Treaty, it was to the Russian Government that
remonstrances should have been addressed.
Under any circumstances, it was a vile office
to endeavour to set the two nations against
each other, and to rouse popular passions to
keep alive a sentiment of animosity which
should have been allowed to subside when the
war was concluded. We shall see whether at
the Conference those charges of Russian in-
trigue will be made which the supporters of
Lord PALMERSTON have been so industrious in
propagating through this country, by every
means at their command. We shall see
whether the Princesses of the Imperial family
of Russia will be accused of visiting different
countries of Europe solely that they might
corrupt the public men of the nations they
visited, and throw obstacles in the way of the
honest execution of the Treaty of Paris.
We do not accuse Lord PALMERSTON of any
intention of restoring to Russia that influence
which she lost by the war. But since the
war his policy has tended to rescue her from a
wrong position, and place her in a right one.
He has given her a vantage ground which she
never could have acquired by her own un-
assisted efforts. He has exhibited such a
contrast between the course of his Adminis-
tration towards Russia and that of the French
Government, as irresistibly forces the conclu-
sion that France, in the differences which
have arisen, sides with Russia and against
England. This a moral advantage gained b y
our opponent of incalculable value. It
destroys the weight and prestige of the
Western Alliance, and leads opinion to the
belief that the preponderance of European
authority no longer sides with England upon
the Eastern question.
What we desire in the conduct of our
foreign affairs is an open, honest, and straight-
forward policy. There is no reason why the
representatives of nations should not meet
each other fairly as man meets man in the
ordinary transactions of life. There may be
rivalry and opposition of interests without
secret intrigue or covert hostility. There
must be something wrong in the constitution
of those Governments which deem it neces-
sary to hold one language to their own people
and another to foreign Courts, and which find
their account in pandering to prejudices which

LONDON, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1856.

followers. For ii

pose that the d.
between the Premier

of the Rouse of

No. 187.—VoL.IV. LONDON, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1856. WralMiii,:.sFi,xvPEFAZE.

in the face of the world they dare neither to
justify nor avow.
When the next Conference assembles at
Paris, it is to be hoped that clean work will be
made of the differences which have grown oat
of the Treaty of Paris, and that other questions
of continental import which now cause un-
easiness, will he disposed of. We strongly
doubt whether it is the true policy of England
to interfere much with the affairs of the Con-
tinent, more especially since Hanover, our
only contimental possession since the accession
of the house of Brunswick, has ceased to be
attached to the British Crown. There are
poteitt reasoiis why England, with her habits
and institutions, should never warmly sympa-
thise with any Continental Government.
Motives of policy may instruct us to draw
closer our alliance with particular States at
particular times; and, as a general rule, the
desir3 to live on terms of amity with our
neighbours, may dispose us to maintain
friendly relations with the de facto Govern-
ments of the Continent. To interfere with
their internal concerns, or to endeavour to
make our diplomatic relations the means of
propagating political principles, may involve
this country in great complexities, may force
us into enormous expenses, or may entangle
us in war, but must, from the essential oppo-
sition between our ideas and those of conti-
nental nations, end in eventual disappoint-
ment.

We may hope to assist in preserving the
peace of thelContinent, and in maintaining
those geographical boundaries which prevent
any one State from acquiring such an ascend-
ancy as would threaten to disturb that balance
of empire, tz rather that distribution of poli-
tical power, which at present prevails. We
may even make use of our influence to favour
those general principles of government which
we conceive to be most conducive to prosperity
and happiness, for we never can be indifferent
to the interests of humanity. But there our
efforts must end. Our action on the internal
affairs of the Continent has been limited by
decrees beyond our power to control, and be-
yond either the effervescence of popular im-
pulse or the vanity of restless diplomacy to
alter. Our true work lies elsewhere ; and if
we persist in overlooking this fact, we shall
act as foolishly as does the man who neglects
his own business, which would bring him
wealth and honour, that he may pursue chi-
merical schemes, which can bring him nothing
but vexation and loss.

THE PREMIER'S DILEMMA.
THE friends of the Prime Minister are much
alarmed at the attitude kept by Lord JOHN
RUSSELL. "Does Lord JOHN, in the course of
" the next session, mean to play the part of
" an open foe, or a candid friend?" is a ques-
tion often asked by them ; and an untimely
discussion of the subject has been indis-
creetly precipitated by the active supporters
of Lord PALMICRSTON. It ought not to require
any reference to " special authority " to know
that for the presen
judicious on the •

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