The Press.
London, England, 1857-03-14 00:00:00

THE WEEK.

THE turmoil of a general election has now fairly begun. Political
parties are mustering their forces ; but as yet some confusion prevails
both as to the feeling of constituencies and as to the political senti-
ments of new candidates. This haziness will, no doubt, clear away by
and by. Some important points are established by the proceedings
which have thus far taken place.
First, it is evident that the " conspirators," as the independent
Liberals who voted against the Canton slaughter are termed, will not
be extinguished so easily or so completely as the official, or circumlo-
cution Liberals, seemed to expect. When a dissolution was first an-
nounced, the " conspirators" were somewhat discouraged ; hut as they
came to test the feelings of their constituents, they were agreeably sur-
prised to find that the vote they gave was cordially approved. Great popu-
lar meetings have voted confidence in Mr. WILLIAMS at Lambeth ; in
Messrs. ROEBUCK and HADFIELD at Sheffield ; in Mr. LINDSAY at Tyne-
mouth ; in Sir ERSKINE PERRY at DeVOTipOrt ; in Messrs. MILNER
GIBSON and BRIGHT at Manchester. Lord JOHN RUSSELL has nailed
his colours to the mast for London, boldly appealing to the electors
against the dictation attempted to be exercised by that fussy and arro-
gant body, the Liberal Registration Society. His Lordship is in high
spirits ; and, by the evident delight with which he anticipates the
coming storm, justifies his cognomen of " Foul-Weather Jack."
A " great fact" is established by the activity of his Lordship and
the independent Liberals at this juncture. It is, that the Liberal
party is irreconcilably divided, and that the officialists and the
independents must necessarily fight against each other a life or death
battle. The officialists generally state that they have "no political
" theories to propound," and cry " PALMERSTON for ever !'"flie inde-
pendents vigorously justify their votes on the Canton business, and
stick to the old Liberal programme of Economy and Reform.
The addresses of many Conservative Members are before us.
That of Lord H. G. LENNOX to the electors of Chichester may be
taken as representative of them all. His vote on the China question
was given from a conscientious belief that the best interests of
England and of her trade in the East would be imperilled by the
lamentable events which have taken place at Canton. He is favourable
to a judicious revision of our national expenditure, having care to
maintain in a state of complete efficiency the defensive establishments
of the country ; he thinks reduction on these principles would
facilitate the early extinction of the Income Tax, and the progressive
removal of taxes which press most heavily on the comfort of the
people. He is sincerely attached to the Protestant Church of
England, and he is for the redress of social grievances, for sound legal
reform, for measures of practical improvement, and for the principle
of local self-government. Can more be safely promised, even by the
ardent reformers who advocate Extended Suffrage and the Ballot as
means to an end ? Means to what end ? To those practical measures
which Conservatives of the stamp of Lord HENRY LENNOX would
seek directly. Can wisdom be shown in going round a mile to gain a
place which may be reached in a hundred yards, more especially when
in the former instance there are so many by-paths and cross-cuts that
there is little probability of the right road being kept?
The seceders from the Conservative party have not yet, to our
knowledge, issued a manifesto. BENTINCK is silent. The cry of "No
Popery " seems extinct. When Lord PALMERSTON'S new allies, particu-
larly those of a saintly turn, do issue their addresses, it is supposed
that in addition to the Ministerial formula, " PALMERSTON for ever,
" Foreign Wars, and More Taxes," there will be a special cry,
" SPURGEON for the next Mitre."
It is a noticeable fact that the retirement of Mr. COBDEN from the
West Riding should be followed by the selection of Lord GODERICH as
a candidate, who, like Mr. COBDEN, voted with the majority, and must
therefore be considered an anti-Palmerstonian. The most accurate
election intelligence we could collect will be found in our other
columns, but the changes which take place are so rapid that we can
pretend to no more than approximation to accuracy. The addresses
of the Premier and of the Leader of Opposition in the Lower House
have yet to come. Like skilful masters of fence, are they waiting on
each other's attack ?

Mr. ALDERMAN SALOMONS must surely be the Noodle of the Liberal
party. On Tuesday he moved a resolution at the London Tavern,
expressive of complimenta►y regret at the termination of the connec•
tion between Lord Jouri RUSSELL and the city of London. Mr. Noodle
SALOMONS is no doubt a clever man in his way, but not quite clever
enough to put an extinguisher on Lord Joint RUSSELL. At that very
time his Lordship was concocting his address to the electors, having
no doubt been well informed of the insignificance of the body which
pretends to dictate to the electors the choice they shall make. The
magnitude of the split in the Liberal party is acknowledged by Mr.
TORRENS M'CuLLooli at Great Yarmouth," Situated as the Liberal party
" is now ; rent. as he was sorry to say it was, by divisions neither new
" nor few." This gentleman sat in the House of Commons for some
years, and was officially connected with the Whig staff, having been
private secreta►y to Mr. LAROUCHERE. How will the official Liberals,
headed by their veteran placeman, pretend to meet the House of
Commons as a Government, with the independent Liberals, headed by
Lord JOHN RUSSELL, " fresh and vigorous from the embraces of their
" constituents," at their back, with the Gladstone and Graham con-
nection on their flank, and with the Conservative a►ray in their front?
The supposition is ludicrous. The division in the Liberal party can-
not soon be healed, and we trust constituencies will have the good