The Press.
London, England, 1856-09-06 00:00:00

THE WEEK.

THE world keeps moving. In the lull of domestic politics, foreign
intelligence of great moment presses on us. The condition of affairs
in the United States has become serious ; the slavery question, after
long threatening disturbance, has at length taken a turn which has
placed the Executive and the Legislature in direct collision, arid
raises doubts as to the stability of the Union, and as to that capacity
for self-government which the people of the Old World has hitherto
given the people of the New the credit of possessing. The Kansas
question has brought the free-soil and pro-slavery parties face to face.
The parties in that State have begun to fight out the dispute in earnest;
several desperate encounters have already taken place; the killed and
wounded are numerous in the skirmishes that have taken place ;
and the factions aro mustering their forces for a more
regular and extensive style of warfare. Meanwhile the
Executive is precluded from interference. The House of
Representatives has refused to pass the Army Appropriation Bill
without a clause providing that no troops shall be amploye d to en-
force the authority of the Kansas Legislature. The Senate refused to
adopt this proviso, and the session terminated without the supplies
being voted. President PIERCE has called an extra session, and in his
message to the Senate, details the serious difficulty in which the Execu-
tive will be placed through the suspense of the military power. It does not,
however, appear that either party is likely to yield, and General CASs
views the " difficulty " as so urgent that he fears the days of the Re-
public are numbered. The question is the more serious, as it is but
an evidence of the violent animosity which the slavery question has
excited. For the time the authority of the Government is completely
paralysed. The political institutions of the States are evidently des-
tined to undergo a fierce trial, and the "Model Republic" may, after
all, be destined to have but a transient existence.

The appointment of a successor to the late Sir 'WILLIAM TEMPLE
affords our contemporaries much food for speculation. Last week
the Daily News suggested such a number of necessary qualifications
for the post that Lord PALMERSTON must have been fairly driven to
his wits end, or to Windermere. to discover so accomplished a diplo•
matist. This week Mr. Lofty has taken " King Bomba "--his own
phrase—in hand, has looked down upon the vacant diplomatic stool,
and decided that its filling is a question of the " most serious nature."
The peace of the world is threatened from this Vesuvian Naples, and
the question is so urgent that Mr. Lofty determines to catch that" right
man so long sought for, and this time to put him into the right place.
The question is, where to find this right man. Mr. Lofty does not believe
that the diplomatic list can furnish him. That list may supply a
dexterous negotiator, or a philosophic statesman, but that is not the
man required. Mr. Lofty is Liberal in his sentiments—therefore he
will have a Liberal, who has given so many pledges for his liberal
behaviour that he dare not recede from them without infamy. He
will have none of your French or Italian scholars. A Liberal by style
—not education—is the man. A mere knowledge of the rudiments of
tongues, with a Levizac and a Zotti packed in his portmanteau, and a
"Murray's Conversations" in his hand, will suffice. Then Mr. Lofty
will have him "gifted with peculiar firmness as well as moderation
" of temper," for he will have to put up with cajolery and offensive
bearing, and must neither be deluded by the one, nor intimidated
"by the other." More than this, Mr. Lofty would have him chosen
" from among those who have taken a leading part in commercial
" legislation," and, above all, Mr Lofty would have him possessed of
an English head and name, as significant of the resolution of England
to be trifled with no longer. These are alarming times for the Court
of Naples. Who is to be this Ambassador who will scatter terror
from the folds of his handkerchief ? Is the Nineveh Bull intended, or
the " little bird," who is so kind as to whisper Government secrets
into Mr Lofty's ear. Some particular person is evidently pointed at,
but then Mr. Lofty's appreciation of his character and merits may be
so different from the sense entertained of them by the rest of the
world that we may never guess right. There is no help for it. We
must wait.

The severities of military discipline are one of the last things to
give way to the advance of civilisation. The absolute necessity of a
stringent code of laws to restrain men who constantly have arms in
their hands, and can at any moment wreak their vengeance upon those
appointed to command, is sufficiently apparent. At Nenagh, the other
day, a private soldier brought his bayonet to the charge and exhorted
his comrades to " skiver " all the officers who were out. Men who
constantly stand up like a mark before a body of ignorant and excita-
ble fellows armed with muskets and bayonets, must, of course, possess
some more than ordinary guarantee. In the ease of the Tipperary
Militia there is, perhaps, as much cause for commuting the sentence
as would often occur. The officers to some extent brought the danger
upon themselves, for they neglected to impart to the men the very
piece of information which would probably have quieted them, and
alter their dissatisfaction had become apparent, omitted any endea-
vour to appease it. This is not the way to treat soldiers, and there is,
perhaps, a little too much of it in the British army. But it is very
possible that the stinginess with which the other British militia regi
ments have been treated on their disembodiment may have had some-
thing to do in exciting the suspicions of the Tipperary men. What
number would volunteer either in England or Ireland, if again called
on, is extremely doubtful The military profession is one in which
sordid exactness of dealing is wholly out of place. The soldier, anal
especially the Irish soldier, look for a certain openhandedness and
generosity in their superiors. And it would be very bad policy to give
them any cause for relinquishing the feeling.

SATURDAY,

The letter of Lieutenant-Colonel CADELL to the Times on the subject
of OMER PACER, confirms in many respects the opinions we expressed
ourselves some two months ago. We firmly believe, now, as then, that
the Turkish General is an injured man. The unfortunate part of all
these discussions usually is that the public are impatient of military
details, and, looking merely to results, take no trouble to inquire, if
these are unfavorable, whether any other were possible or not. OMER
PACHA did not relieve Kars. There is what such reasoners call " a
broad fact," and on the strength of that they immediately forget all his
former actions at the outbreak of the war,—that he made the Turkish
army, which we had come to think could never be an army again, and
triumphed over the Russians whom we considered so formidable both
in strategy and in fair fight. But if his failure to relieve Kars be suf-
ficient to cover with ignominy a general who has done so much
before, why should the failure to maintain it cover with glory
a general who has done nothing ? The one is just as " broad a fact'
as the other. So far as military science is concerned OMER PACHA has
a right to be placed on at least an equality with General WILLIAMS, and
why should not his condemnation of the attempt to hold Kars be received
with as much respect as the strictures of the latter on the attempt to
succour it ? Nobody, we should suppose, doubts the personal prowess of
either soldier. General WILLIAMS exhibited great powers of resolute
endurance, but that does not prove he was an eminent strategist. He
deserves the laurels he has won. We do not begrudge them him at
all. But he ought to make a better use of his influence among his
countrymen than to sanction, in ever so remote a degree, an imputation
upon one who strove to do his duty quite as manfully as himself. In
regard to the lateness of the expedition, Mr. OLIPHANT'S account of
this matter has never yet been overthrown or even subjected to any
attempt at overthrowal. And so far as SELIM PACHA i 8 concerned, we
can only say that our own experience of military men's opinions com-
pletely tallies with that of Colonel CADELL, and that competent judges,
and among them distinguished officers who have served on the spot,
consider it would have been madness for him to have left Erzeroum
with such a force, and at such a moment.

Lord STANLEY'S agricultural speech in North Lancashire is
like all the addresses of a similar nature which the Noble Lord
has lately delivered, practical, full of facts, and looking the
Future in the face as boldly as the Present. The feasibility
of high farming, machinery, and manure, were the three topics
to which his Lordship principally addressed himself. Of the
first he declared his opinion that it would be found the cheapest
plan in the long run. He quoted the yearly saving of the people, and
the sum which has been invested in railways during the last twenty
years, as an incontestable proof of our pecuniary resources. He
pointed out the propriety of making use of our sewage, and the
almost certain failure, whether at a long date or a short one, of our
supply of guano ; but at the same time explained clearly that it was not
fanners who would be expected to be first in the scientific process of
rendering our sewage available. On the subject of machinery and
agricultural statistics Lord STANLEY'S remarks were equally sensible.
It is this union of common sense and sympathy with agriculture, which
in his Lordship is known to be real, with the appreciation of scientific
aids, for which he is no less famous, which renders such appeals as
these of real use to the farmer A professed lecturer he considers a
charlatan, and is very often right. An ordinary country gentleman
educated when these things were less attended to, can tell him nothing.
But Lord STANLEY possesses all the qualifications requisite to insure
him a patient and profitable hearing. Sir KAYE SnurnEwoaves
speech was a useful addition to his Lordship's.

Lord BLANDFORD'S letter to the Times on Saturday last, and the
comments of that journal, call for a few brief remarks. When it is
asked what loss of dignity the Bishops would sustain by becoming
stipendiaries, the point at issue seems to be a little mistaken. Not
but what they would thereby sustain such, and one we think likely
to prove injurious to the interests of the Church; but the principal
question is a constitutional one. It is folly to speak of Bishops
in the same category with lay functionaries of the Crown.
We do not bilk of Law and State, or of Medicine and State,
or of Army and State, but of Church and State. These two together
constitute England, and other men are members of them. So far, then'
as theory is concerned, the identity sought to be established is purely
fanciful. The evil consequences which might practically result from
reducing the Church to the position of a mere profession we have
before pointed out. If anybody wants further arguments we refer
him to M. DE TOCQUEVILLE'S chapter on the French Church, as it
existed before the Revolution of 1798, and as it exists now.

The resolutions arrived at by the Select Committee on Trans-
portation contain a declaration in favour of the revival of that system,
and also in favour of the continuance of tickets of leave. In regard
to the expediency of the first point there are not probably now two
opinions. Few convicts have sufficient mind to appreciate the advan-
tages which may await them in a new country, while the parting from
wife and children, beershop and gin-palace, is a blow to the most
brutalised as well as to the better sort. In respect of tickets of leav:.
we certainly have the strong testimony of Sir JOHN PAKINGTON in their
favour, yet we cannot smother a doubt whether after all the public
feeling on the subject may not be in the right. Whether this be so or
not, we are still met by the original difficulty-, how is the released
convict to obtain employment? The Commissioners recommend
" that every convict on his release with a good conduct licence, ought
" to be reported to the police of the town or district to which he is
sent." We know what this leads to. If the convict chance to get
work he is very soon sent about his business, and takes to theft again
with a comparatively clear conscience. Ile has tried to be honest, and
failed.

SEPT. 6, 1856.

MINISTERIAL PROGRAMME.

LORD PALMERSTON, as the Ministerial journals duly stated some time
since, having requested that every member of his Administration
would furnish him with a list of the measures which such Minister
deemed it desirable to bring before Parliament in the ensuing sessior,
some partial returns were made at the moment. We have been
ftvored, however, with a further copy, and have much pleasure in
giving it publicity.

Sir GEORGE GREY —A Bill for providing for the better and more
certain carrying out of the criminal law, by enacting that instead of
the present irrational and capricious method of deciding upon the
execution of culprits, a far more satisfactory plan shall be adopted—
namely, that of the Judge, the Home Secretary, and the convict
going the odd man," when, if the last out throws head, the criminal
is to be hanged, if tail, transported.

The Duke of ARGYLL.—A Bill for giving the Postmaster-General
the right to read all the letters that pass through the Post-office, and
to give orders to the receivers as to what answers the 3 shall send.

Mr. F. PEEL.--A Bill for prohibiting any question from being
proposed to a Minister in the House or out of it, unless a copy of the
same shall have been delivered to him fourteen days previously.
Another Bill, making it illegal for any Member to offer any re-
marks upon an answer obtained from a Minister.

Lord CLARENDON.—A Bill making it unlawful for any newspaper
not in the immediate service of a Ministry to publish any information
upon f,reig,n affairs that is not in accordance with the statements and
dates furnished by the Government.

Another Bill, forbidding journalists or others from correcting or
completing Government translations of despatches.

The LORD CHANCELLOR.—A series of important Law Reforms, of
which I have as yet completed a few only, namely :
A Bill forbidding law papers to be pinned together, inasmuch as
they ought to be sewn with needle and thread, or fastened with tape.
A Bill for regulating the dress of attorney& clerks, and for making
them wear gloves when in Chancery-lane, or in the precincts thereof.
A Bill for empowering the laundress of Lincoln's•inn Hall to dust
and sweep the same twice a week, and for making provision for the
removal of the tea-leaves used upon such occasions.

A Bill making it unlawful for any barrister or solicitor to
remain at Cremorne or Evans's after two in the morning, inasmuch as
it is impossible that if he does so he can fairly discharge his next day's
duty to his client.

A Bill for preventing Judges of Assize from making jokes during
the trial of cases, and for indemnifying the ushers and other officials
for the loss of the merriment occasioned by such achievements.
A Bill for making it unlawful for ex-Chancellors to make imperti-
nent remarks to Lord Chancellors.

Mr. ROBERT LONE.—A Bill providing for the prosecution of all
persons who shall be guilty of theft, such as the possession of
property, and for the application of such property to the exigencies of
the State.

A Bill for assimilating the electoral and voting systems of England
with those of the United States.

Sir Ctuar.Es WOOD.—A Bill authorising the Admiralty to recon-
struct all the ships in H. M. service upon the model of the river
steamer that plies between Paul's-wharf and the Surrey side of
London-bridge, and which, having rudders at both ends, can be
steered either way foremost. This, I think, would be a great advantage
to the navy.

A Bill for abolishing all the old and foolish names given by
sailors to the various parts and ropes of a ship, and for assigning to
the same a nomenclature more in accordance with the advance of

civilisation

A Bill for enabling a captain in her Majesty's navy more easily to
procure oil for the wheels of his gig.

Mr. VERNON SMITH.—A Bill prohibiting the Directors of the East
India Company from going through the Indian Sceptre Exercise, the
same being an infringement upon my rights and privileges.
A Bill for preventing Sir James Weir Hogg from going into more
than eleven paroxysms of rage in the course of one and the same de-
bate, and for iceing him in the event of his doing so.
A Bill forbidding any Member of Parliament from wearing white
kid gloves more than once, or after they have been cleaned—the first
course being very slovenly, and the second producing such an un-
pleasant odour that statesmanship becomes impossible in its

Proximity.

(To be continued on occasion.)

853

THE FRAGMENT OF A " PROVINCIAL LETTER.

As my doubts were still in part unresolved, the following morning I
called upon my friend the Minister. "I am sorry," said I, "tobe so
troublesome to your Lordship, but, if I grant that the Palmerstonian
is the best possible policy, I must also rely on your Lordship's dis-
crimination for an answer to certain objections of my constituents."
As we are not in session," said ho benignantly, " I am quite at your
service ; and if you will join me in a cigar," said he, pointing pleasantly
to a box on the table, " we may solve your difficulties with the accom-
paniment of a little smoke." " I thank you," said I, " but T first re-
quire a light, for which in two senses T will trouble your Lordship.''
" Here," lie replied, " is a Lucifer, and here also am I, a shining light
without the help of sand-paper, so that you see you have in every sense
the means of illumination." Thus encouraged I lit the proffered
havannah, and proceeded to derive political light from his Lordship.
" I desire," said I, "first of all to reply to the objections of Brown,
the Liberal." "Nothing is so easy," said he, "if you will be good
enough to state them." " Brown," said I, "is concerned that his
opinions should be sacrificed to your Lordship's desire to appropriate
office. He has not forgotten his project for a new Reform Bill; he
longs to increase the preponderance of the town constituencies ; he
still approves of Household Suffrage, Triennial Parliaments, and Vote
by Ballot; he remembers tenderly a certain clause for appropriating
the revenues of the Irish Church ; he wishes to popularise the army,
to popularise th© Prayer Book, and to popularise the House of Lords,
and, above all, he makes it a personal reproach to your Lordship
that he hears so little of the propagandism of liberal
opinions on the Continent. Ho says that your Lordship
has sold him —I regret to use such a term, but that is
precisely my friend Brown's expression." " Your friend Brown,"
said he, "is a very unreasonable person, and may be answered
as easily as I shake off this cigar ash. Brown's opinions, and Brown
knows it, were simply a qualification for office. Now office is attained,
it would be mere wastefulness to satisfy claims which may help his friends
to office a second time. Besides, if I pressed his opinions at present,
it would be at the cost of the place which he occupies. And which
sacrifice do you think Brown would prefer, not to speak of Mrs. Brown
and their interesting offspring ? Rely upon it I have done the best to
gratify him. He may have been so/fl,' as he terms it, and at a very
high figure ; but he has the price in his pocket in quarterly cheques
on the Treasury, and, if lie is not satisfied, I refer him to Bernal Os-
borne and many others who have been sold in a similar way. You
don't hear that they are discontented, do you ?" " Certainly not," said
I. "Then Brown," said he, " needn't trouble us any further."
I perceived that his Lordship expected me to proceed, and I
thereupon mentioned the case of Jones. " Jones," said I, "my Lord,
is a steady Conservative, and he also is by no means satisfied with
your Lordship. He objects to your Lordship's own antecedents and
to most of the followers by whom you are surrounded." "He must, at
least," said he, "allow that I represent his principles." "He is aware
that you profess to do so," said I. " And do," said he, "to all prac-
tical intents ; and, seeing that Jones prefers his principles to office, he
should be as grateful as Brown, though for opposite reasons." "He
might," said I, "very naturally under the circumstances I have mentioned
desire office himself as a guarantee for his principles." " Impossible,"
said he, " for if he supplanted Brown and Brown's party, his principles
would be at the mercy of all the obstructives in the kingdom. I know the
pack well, and how soon they would raise a cry which would make Jones
very warm and uncomfortable. Believe me, I not only maintain
his principles, but I am most desirous not to irritate his feelings."
" I should hardly have thought ) our Lordship was solicitous on the
latter account from what I have latel) seen in your newspapers," said I.
What do you refer to ?" he inquired. "To the reproach which the
Times and other journals make against Jones and his friends that their
views are the same as those of the Government, and that to aspire to
office, they should adopt views of a different kind. If," said I, "as
you profess, you have appropriated their principles, it is somewhat
vratuitous to complain it' they resemble you. Those who caught the
Whigs bathing and stole their clothes, h-id never a thought of re-
proaching them for their nakedness, still less of suggesting that they
should go and plunder some one else. This was reserved for the
apologists of your Lordship." " I see how it is," said he, "my journals
are too officious; I must give them a hint, and then Joi--..?s will be
satisfied."

" If Jones consents to be excluded on these conditions, there is
still," said I, " the case of Robinson. Robinson neither a Liberal
nor Conservative, but an impartial citizen, who maintains that the
party whose views prevail should he made responsible for them to the
country. He objects that Conservatives ought not to govern in Oppo-
sition, nor Liberals to succumb while affecting to be a Government.
He is a plain man, he says, and prefers simple, straightforward
dealing, and a rectification of positions all round " "My answer to
Robinson," said his Lordship, jauntily—(here a messenger entered
with a trayful of despatches)— must be deferred, as you see, till a
more convenient season. lam sorry that our conference is st inoppor-
tunely interrupted."

X.