The Press.
London, England, 1858-03-20 00:00:00

THE WEEK.

Tux attitude assumed by the present Government towards the House
of Commons is a great improvement upon that which their predeces-
sors adopted. It is perfectly clear that the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE-
QUER is resolved to shake himself free from all that pompous mystery
which has hitherto been deemed indispensable to the dignity of office.
It is characteristic of little minds to take refuge in this sort of
demeanour, which prevents an antagonist from coming to close quarters,
and conceals poverty of resource behind a mask of pretentious
reticence. The Government is resolved, we are told, in order to
promote a clear understaudinp, both with Parliament and the public on
the Neapolitan question, to lay the opinion of the law officers
of the Crown before the House of Commons as soon
as the subject is ripe for discussion. This is as it should
be; and were such conduct generally pursued we should
have fewer Parliamentary difficulties than we have recently boon ac-
customed to. Another instance of this dispostion to deal openly with
the House was afforded by the conduct of Ministers in the matter of
the Militia. A sum of money (500,000/.), being wanted for that branch
of tho service, the Government plainly stated to the House
what they wanted—instead of adopting the system of
transferring the savings of other departments to the liquida-
tion of this liability. This is surely a much simpler way of
doing business, and one which affords far less facilities for throwing
dust in the people's eyes than the one which has hitherto been fol-
lowed. That their conduct springs from a real sense of right, and not
from any desire to curry favour with the House, is sufficiently appa-
rent from the manner in which the inquiries of Mr. BERNAL OSBORNE
and Mr. CRAUFURD were encountered. The Ministers showed plainly
enough that they were neither to be bullied nor entrapped, and that
they knew how to distinguish between an honest desire to promote
the business of the country and a malicious attempt to embarrass
political opponents.

The visit of Mr. LYONS to Naples has already been productive of
good. The Neapolitan Court, though disliking, as all Courts do,
" pressure from without," has yielded to considerations of humanity,
and poor WArr has been released. We may be allowed to hope that
this, which is the first, will not be the last concession. As to the legal
position of the case, upon that we are not yet able to speak decidedly.

The speech of Mr. HORSMAN on Monday night was, undoubtedly,
a Parliamentary success. It was spoken under the " inspiration of
" independence," and it fluttered the tame inhabitants of certain Whig
dovecotes. We are amongst those who always expected high per-
formances from Mr. HoitamAN ; but he began his political career with
an extravagant over-estimate of the merits of the Whig " families,"
and he always daferred too much to the Whig clique. Another of his
errors was that Mr. HORSMAN assumed the tone of a religious " Dis-
senter," and by doing so the Right Honourable Gentleman propor-
tionately narrowed his political influence. His Scotch associations
might possibly have led him into this latter error. But Mr. HORSMAN is
too clever and sensible to have experience wasted on him, and we trust
that a broader priaciple will in future be taken by him as his guide.
The vigour with which he criticised the mock Liberals on last Monday
showed clearly that Mr. Hossusx has a great mission to realise in
exposing the faux bonhommes of pseudo-Liberalism. Several
of its professors winced under his stringent censure. He
fastened at once upon Mr. OSBORNE, as " representing the
" late Government," and the terrified Liberals roared out
" No," "no ;" he hit hard upon proceedings of " his honourable friend
" the Member for Dover," as obstructing the public business; and he
drew a masterly contrast between the patriotic conduct of the late
Conservative Opposition and that likely to be pursued by those who
cheered that Liberal orator who has recently recovered his voice, and
who is designated by the Daily News as " the Momus of faction."
" Unless my memory deceives me," said Mr. HonsaisN, " when we (the
" Opposition) had the pleasure of occupying those benches before, we
" had more party divisions in three weeks than the gentlemen now in
" office had ventured on in three years " ! That was a strong ad-
mission, and it cannot be gainsaid. Mr. HORSMAN then alluded to the
generous feelings which many Conservatives had evimled towards
Lord Pausitastors, and the degree of support given by them which had
been so ungraciously rewarded. " The Funds," said Mr. HORSMAN,
" had continued not to fall, and the country most provokingly refused
" to rise " at the advent of Lord DERBY ; and the calmness of the public
mind shows beyond doubt that the delusion of the "Palmerston Dic-
tatorship " has passed away. We expect much from the Parliamentary
performances of Mr. Honours in the present session; and the
Liberals, undoubtedly, require a really independent spokesman.
" Self-assertion" is almost a virtue in Parliamentary politics ; and we
trust, after the provocations that ho has received from his own party,
that Mr. HORSMAN will play a part worthy of his talents and just
pretensions. His speech on Monday has attracted attention in all
quarters, and was far superior to the concocted effort of Mr. OsBoRNR.