The Press.
London, England, 1856-10-11 00:00:00

962

thought expedient that every Right Rev. Pre
late should possess the learning of WARBURTON,
the metaphysical acumen of BERKELY, or the
deep philosophy of Btrruca,—still there is a
standard at least of classical scholat ship
below which no marnber of the Episcopate
should rank; saki.* at lomat to animas
him from erroneous hataapretations of classical
authorities, and to be a guarantee of academics,
industry. In the t= day we know that
it is no small &Nua e with the two dead
languages which will justify a ram in main-
taining that his college career is evidence
both of talent and application.

We have named two positive requirements
for the dignity of a bishop. There is also a
negative qualification which yet remains to be
noticed. We havo said what a bishop should
be. There is one thing to be named which he
should not be. He should not be an avowed
political partisan. He should not be a promi-
nent member—we had almost said leader—of a
quasi heretical school of theology, totally at
variance with the tenets and traditions of the
two great English parties, one in whom anti-
quated politics and new fangled theology are
met together, and whose sole claim to pro-
fessional advancement is, that he has done
nothing for his religion, and a great deal too
much for his party. A bishop should not be a
man obnoxious to any of the charges we have
here brought forward. And it is for those who
know Dr. TAIT more intimately than ourselves,
to say whether any of them are applicable to
him or not. But we certainly think that a
gentleman to whom common report attributes
failure in more than one of the requisites we
have mentioned, should hardly have been
selected to fill so important a diocese as that
of London, simply because he had made
himself agreeable to the political and religious
prejudices of certain leading persons in the
country.

LORD PANMURE.
THE pure patriotism of a genuine Whig is one
of the most refreshing spectacles presented to
the eyes of the philosopher in the nineteenth
century. Only let him serve his country, find
he is content. He asks for nothing more. Ho
is not so egotistical as to care who are his
colleagues, or what are their measures—good,
bad, indifferent, or none at all. He knows his
duty better. If good he can aid them, if bad
he can hinder them, if indifferent he can mend
them, if none at all so much the better, he
will be spared the imputation of conceit. He
will go anywhere, or do anything. If need be,
he will leave his county for his country's
good with the most devoted alacrity—in ccelum
jusseris ibit—which may be roughly para-
phrased, that he will never refuse office, how-
ever impossible that he should perform its
duties.
These general reflections have been forced
upon us by the now famous manifesto
of Lord PANMIIRE, delivered on Saturday
last. Our Noble Secretary for War affords
one of the most striking examples ex-
tant of the virtue of self-sacrifice. When
he was offered the seals of his present
office by Lord PALMERSTON, he was prompted
by inclination to refuse them. Lord PAN-
MURE had entered public life under the
auspices of Lord JOHN RUSSELL ; he enter-
tained a long cherished veneration for the
house of Bedford, and fully shared in the con-
viction that this country owed all her greatness
to the political philosophy of Woburn Abbey.
In the second place, Lord PANMCRE alleges
that ho believed in the capacity of the Duke
of NEWCASTLE, whom he was called upon to
supersede, and considered that he had been
driven from office by nothing but a senseless
clamour, of which we were going to say he
scorned to take advantage—only he did not.
Thirdly, the Noble Lord was looking
forward to a long period of repose. He was
--burning to come down and live and die among
his tenantry; to exercise a paternal sway
. among his grouse and red deer, and to
'prove the condition of his peasantry by build-
mg ornamental lodges. He was wishing to
be known as, " the good Lord Panmure," and

.. 1 ~

THE PRESS.

o set an example to all neighbouring land-
ords for fifty miles round the country.
Ho was, therefore, in a difficult position. His
Noble Friend Lord Jo rs RUSSELL had been
badly treated, net to Roy jockied, by his other
Noble Friend Lord PALMERSTON. This was
certainly very awkward. Was the protegee $0
step Into oo over aos prostrate body of 14
fallen patron? Was In to kiss the foot which
had sbepped into Ins benefactor's shoes?
However, as WO all know what he did do, it is
useless to ask further questions. He chose
the Whig alternative—sacrificed his private
feelings, and preferred his country to his
friend. Yet there remained another difficulty
to be surmounted. If the Duke of NEWCASTLE
was perfectly competent to the discharge of
his duties, it was not easy to see how it could
exactly be an act of patriotism to supplant
him. If he was driven from office by clamour,
would not his successor be thought, neverthe-
less, to tacitly sanction it? Here again, how-
ever, the politics of his party came oppor-
tunely to his aid. 113 remembered that the
will of the people was the source of all power.
It was no matter, therefore, whether they were
right or wrong. Having accordingly sacrificed
his feelings, the Noble Lord next proceeded to
sacrifice his convictior.s at the same shrine. It
was evidently better for a Whig to be in office,
even under false pretences, than not at all ;
and patriotism, having triumphed over
gratitude, now triumphed over truth.

These gigantic sacrifices being made in the
cause of his country, it was not to be expected
that Lord PANMURE would permit his rural
tastes to obstruct his acceptance of office.
He thre w them over as readily as he had done
the ties of party and the dictates of reason,
and, in the consciousness of having acted up
to his principles, saved his money, and pro-
vided for his • nephews, doubtless reaps
the reward which is the meed of disinterested
virtue.

What effect may be produced upon Lord
JOHN RUSSELL'S own mind by the language of
his quondam subordinate, we should bo
curious to ascertain. Does he apostrophise
fortune with Horatian placidity nno mihi
nunc alii benigna or does he rail at the in-
solence of the parvenu statesman who has
passed him in the political race ? All readers
of Thackeray must remember the indignation
of old Lady Clapperclaw when her protegee,
that odious Mrs. (le Mogyn " cut her in Hy.
park." Does the De Mogyn of the War-
office excite similar sensations in the gentle
bosom of Lord ;fox% ? Whether, however, he
does or does not lacerate the sensibility of
that amiable Nobleman, we are pretty con-
fident that he will earn the contempt of the
public. Lord JOHN RUSSELL, whatever his
shortcomings, requires no crumbs from Lord
PANMURE'S table. Ho is a man of acknow-
ledged intellect, nor does his constant
invocation of Magna Charta and Lord SOMF:RS
interfere with his generosity and benevolence
in private life. Whig patriotism is no doubt
a very fine thing, but even that will not carry
off the tone of impertinent arrogance which
the party considers itself exclusively entitled
to adopt.