The Press.
London, England, 1854-07-29 00:00:00

•

I

■

■

I

t

702

persuasion that some members of the Cabinet were
anxious only to prosecute the war in a "gentlemanly
way." When such suspicions were rife, he contended,
the presence of Parliament was essentially necessary
—it true, to watch the Ministry ; if false, to shield
them from public prejudice. Respecting the con-
duct of the war, the noble lord gave due credit to the
departments for the energy shown in sending out
fleets and armies, but mentioned many instances of
ill-judgment or neglect, and dwelt especially upon
the want of gun-boats both in the Black Sea and the
Baltic squadrons. He concluded by declaring that
be should have moved an amendment with the view
of securing an early meeting of' Parliament, but
found that such a course was not consonant to the
forms of the house, when in committee of supply.
Mr. DISRAEI.I, having originated the suggestion of
an autumn session, contended that the proposal was
neither unrea.snnable nor inexpedient. But though
little progress had been effected towards obtaining
that object, the present debate was highly important,
having been pregnant with important revelations on the
part of the Ministers. Passing by all the faults which
he still believed bad led to the war, and abstaining
from any criticism on the conduct of commanders, or
the details of our preparations, lie proceeded to de-
clare that the Ministerial revelations now made had
filled him with alarm :
" I must say I have listened to-night with some degree
—I will not say merely of surprise—but of consternation,
to the announcement of the complete and absolute resolu-
tion at which the Cabinet has arrived as to the objects of
the war, and the only terms upon which peace is to be
made. (Hear, hec.r.) Do not let me misrepresent the
noble lord. I understood that he was going without re-
serve to allow us to be the partners of the secrets of the
Cabinet--(Hear, hear)—and that the house should under-
stand clearly what the objects were which the Government
proposed to themselves in the conduct of this war, and
without accomplishing which they would not be satisfied
—that the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, in the
*rat place, are nut to be permitted again to go under the
protectorate of Russia. ( Cheers.) That is the first thing
to be done. The second point is that the strong fortress of
Sebastopol is to be destroyed, and the Crimea to be con-
quered and occupied. Indeed, that was the necessary con-
sequence of destroying Sebastopol.
" Lord J. Russett interposed : I may as well state that
what I said was, that I thought Russia could not be al-
lowed to maintain the menacing attitude she has done by
keeping so large a fleet at Sebastopol. (Cheers.)
" Mr. DISRAELI : I have done some good by the course
I have taken, for I appeal to every gentleman—(sheers )
I appeal to every hon. member, whether he sits on this side
of the house or whatever may be his opinions—whether he
has not been for six hours in a fool's paradise'?
—(laughter)
—whether any speech that has been made has not been
guided by an idea totally different from that which the noble
tont has given to us now in his statement ? ((.'heeta.)"
Mr. Disraeli then referred to expressions used by Mr.
Cobden, Lord D. Stuart, and other previous speakers
in the course of the debate, to show that they also
laboured under the same misapprehension of Lord J.
Russell's meaning, and had argued the question from
that erroneous view .of the Ministerial policy.
Dwelling upon the point, he declared that the mys-
tification of that evening formed an appropriate
climax to those which had prevailed since the coin
mencement of the session :
" But there is no end to the mystification in which the
• house finds itself with reference to the speech which the
Lord President never made. We are now at the end of
the session. We have had a year and a half of doubt and
perplexity ; we have never in preceding years hail such a
continued period of perplexity as that in which the public
mind has been in as to the policy the Government has been
pursuing with reference to Turkey end Russia, and as to
the causes and objects of this war. We have now arrived
• at the end of the session, and I understand that it was
announced .hat we were to-night to receive full compen-
sation for this obscurity, this want of information, this
perplexing hesitation and uncertainty ; but it appears to
sae that there never was a period in which we were involved
in perplexity, in which the policy of the Government was
' more obscure, or in which our prospects were more vision-
ary and fluctuating than at present."
There was, however, one satisfactory result from the
new explanations just given, since they brought into
unity the opinions hitherto apparently irreconcilable
of Lord Aberdeen and Lord John Russell. They
were, however, unanimous only in conducting the war
for insignificant objects, and towards a contemptible
end :
" Really, after what we have heard, there seems great
unfairness in the painful distinction which is made at times
between the policy of Lord Aberdeen and the policy of
some of his colleagues (Hear, hear.) I am no admirer
or supporter of Lord Aberdeen, but I am no admirer
either of the parliamentary policy which would exonerate
individual members of a Cabinet at the expense of their
colleagues. It does not at ell appear to me, after the state-
ment which the noble lord opposite has made of what it
was he says he said, that his policy as to linssia substan-
tially differs from that which Lord Aberdeen has enun-
ciated : and this, after all, is some satisfaction to the
people of lieglund. We have not, then, a die ided Cabinet.
(Hear, hear.) The session at last closes upon Ministers
in unison on this subject , and, so far as cond' eting the
war with small proposes goes, so far as having from great
objects of policy mean and insignificant results, the Go-
vernment, the Coalition Government, appears to be una-
nimous. (Laughter. and cries of Hear. hear r)"

lILMOUB. k /-Nitytoser.