The Press.
London, England, 1857-04-11 00:00:00

LTHE PRESS.

SATURDAY,

superintendent, or keeper of " Big Ben," the fitness of the choice
would have been universally recognised, as the bell is said to owe its
lugubrious tone to his skill in mixing the metals of which it is com-
posed. He has never distinguished himself as an orator, and has
never to our knowledge shown the slightest aptitude for Constitu
tional or Parliamentary lore. ft is singular that his name was never
thought of for the important post of Speaker until it was announced
that Loyd PALMERSTON'S choice had fallen on him. Then
his peculiar merits were discovered—a portly person being
enumerated as one great qualification. Without undervaluing
any natural endowment, wo could understand this recommendation
better if the officer to be chosen were a Mr. Bumble, whose person was
required to show to advantage a richly-laced waistcoat and plush in-
expressibles. The Premier's choice is dictated by other considerations
than either Mr. DENISON'S figure or his scientific acquirements.
This gentleman was a member of the Canning connection, and
for the last thirty years has faithfully adhered to Lord PALMERSTON.
It is well known that Mr. CANNING and the late Duke of PORTLAND
married sisters, the daughters and co-heiresses of General Scorr. Mr.
DENISON married the third daughter of the Duke of PORTLAND, and his
wife was, therefore, a neice of the late Viscountess CANNING. In the
short Ministry of Mr. CANNING, Mr. DENISON was made a Lord of the Admi-
ralty, and he retained his post after Mr. CANNING'S death, until Lord PAL-
MERSTON withdrew from his post of Secretary-at-War in August, Im2B.
Mr. DENISON resigned with the Noble Viscount, and has held no office
since, though he has been constantly in Parliament. The Times, in
enumerating the names of persons proposed to fill the Speaker's
chair, objects to Mr. BAINES on the ground of his age. He is fifty-
eight. The late Speaker retired at sixty-three ; and should the next
Speaker withdraw at the same age, the country would gain but five
years' service from the Speaker in exchange for a peerage
and pension. There is some force in this argument. But it applies
to Mr. DENISON as well as to Mr. BAINES. The former gentleman. who is
lauded as the fittest person that could be chosen, is fifty-seven. A
hint is thrown out that Mr. BA:NES does not " carry his years well."
If this is meant as an insinuation that he is not in excellent health, it is
disposed of in a letter by Mr. BAINES, who asserts that he never was
better in his life. The truth is, that Mr. BAINES is too pure a Whig to
quite suit Lord PALMERSTON'S taste. Mr. DENISON is a Liberal after
his own heart. He has always opposed the Ballot, and he absented
himself from the division on Mr. LOCK E KING'S motion. From
the manner in which the name of Mr. DENISON is put for-
ward, an impression is conveyed that the Speaker is chosen
when Lord PALMERSTON'S choice is announced. It is possible
that the Commons may think that they have a right to be consulted
on so material a point,—and that they may decide that the member is
best suited to fill the Chair who possesses the highest qualifications
for the office, and who, from being more nearly in the prime of life,
might be likely to occupy it longer than for the term of a single Parlia-
ment. If such reasons are to prevail in the selection of " Mr.
Speaker," assuredly Mr. EVELYN DENISON will not be the man.

The Austro Sardinian quarrel does not seem to mend. The
animosities of the two States increase rather than diminish, and seeds
are sowing which will probably soon be ripened into action. On the
one hand we hear that Count Bum., when he dictated his last despatch,
was inspired by high authority, that Count PAAR on his return had an
interview with his Majesty the Emperor, and made such statements
as to the feeling of the Court and Government of Turin as failed to
decrease the irritation felt against Sardinia. On the other hand,
Sardinia, in a conjuncture so critical, forms a camp of 20,000 men at
Alessandria, and Austria replies by an order to strengthen the garrisons
of Lombardy. This course of invetei ate opposition can only lead to one
result, the old grudges will ripen into new hostilities, and the peace of
Europe may once more be broken upon the plains of
.Lombardy.
Before reaching extremities there is in all such cases of official diffe-
rences—for there is little national feeling on either side—a medium
which statesmen like Counts Bum. and CAVOUR intuitively perceive and
should readily follow. The contest is less for territory than for
influence in Italy. Austria, jealous of the position Sardinia attained
by her services in the Crimea, is resolved to strip her of the influence
she was gaining over the minds of Italians. The recall of Count PALS,
and the contempt with which the explanations of Sardinia have been
treated by the Court of Vienna, sufficiently illustrate this ; while the
continued residence at Vienna of the Marquis of CANToNo goes far to
prove that Sardinia, unsupported by France or England, is unwilling
to push matters to extremity

The alleged poisoning case at Hong Kong must, we imagine, be
one of the first subjects to engage the attention of the new Parlia-
ment. There appears sufficient reason to believe that the bread which
came from ALum's bakery really contained arsenic ; but if the design
was to poison the whole community, it was most clumsily managed.
It is supposed that a pound loaf of the bread must have been eaten to
produce death ; and as sickness usually came on after eating a small
quantity, suspicion was of course excited, and no one was made
seriously ill. The charge against ALum himself completely failed.
The most suspicious circumstance against him was that he had left for
Macao on the morning when the poisoned bread was delivered ; but it
was clearly shown that he had only left with his wife and children to
place them in a position of safety; that he intended himself to return
immediately ; and that he took some of the poisoned bread with him
for the use of himself and family. It is proved that all partook of it
freely, and that all were sick; whereupon ALUM, suspecting something
was wrong at his bakery, determined to return at once, and
offered the master of the boat fifty and afterwards ono
hundred dollars to take him back immediately. He might