The Press.
London, England, 1854-12-23 00:00:00

THE RESIGNATION THREAT.

" Ma. MANTILINI poisons himself for the seventh
time." There is no parallel for such a per-
formance but the old resignation threat enacted
by Lord JOHN RUSSELL; to wit, he resigns for the
seven-and-twentieth time if so-and-so, &c., so-
and-so being, in the present case, about the
most insulting measure to a great people
ever introduced by any leader of any party in
a British Parliament. For once the Cabinet
could keep a sect et—for once they contrived to
steal a march upon the public and the Parlia-
ment, but neither was quite so somnolent as
the Coalition imagined, and a more spirited
opposition, more brilliant oratory, than this
Foreign Enlistment Bill has elicited we never
remember. The various speeches of Sir E.
BULWER LYrrON, Mr. DISRAELI, Lord STANLEY,
and Mr. WHITESIDE were worthy of our best
days of `Parliamentary eloquence. But our
object at this moment is only to protest against
the perpetual threat of resignation as the whip
whereby unwilling supporters are to be driven
at the tail of their leaders. Let the public be
easy in their minds—the Coalition don't go out
so easily.
We know Lord JOHN of old—so long as we
remember anything of him he has been
always on the eve of resigning, if this and
that wasn't done, though ever sticking
fast t U his place. Nay, more, when he was
actuall beaten on his own Bill by
Lord PALMERSroN and the Conservatives in
February, 1852, he was so struck with amaze-
ment at the idea of having to resign, that for
some moments he could not arrange what to
say till Sir B. HALL, who has always had a
taste for being in at the death of all Adminis•
trations, finished the business by requesting
to know if Lord JOHN was really out or not?
This was an unkind cut, indeed, but then, to
be sure, Sir BENJAMIN had been expecting
office from the Whigs for nearly six years, and
never had got anything, though always ready
for everything. Even then Lord JOHN did not
like to commit himself, but Sir BENJAMIN would
Rot let him off, so poor Lord JOHN could only
say that,
To the virtues of his exalted station
He added this one yet of—resignation.

To whom is the threat addressed ? It is
not to be supposed it can have much influence
with a constitutional Opposition. Whatever
effect it has, must be on the minds of men
who have lived on certain shadowy hopes
raised by Mr. HATTER, which they feel it
likely enough (judging from sad past expe-
rience) he may not realise, but which his suc-
cessor will assuredly quickly disperse; and
thus that active little gentleman, who seems,
as a whipper-in, to have been, as the French
would say, " nes expres pour ca," deludes his
victims on till it suits Mr. Mantilini to poison
himself for the eighth time. This trick, by its
constant repetition, is an insult to the country
to which it is addressed. For a Government,
on the introduction of an important measure,
to state, " This is a Cabinet question, a vital
" measure, upon which we stake our existence
" as an Administration; due notice of it has

THE PRESS.

" been given long since to the country ; we
" believe it to be much required, and likely to
" be eminently beneficial in its results to that
" country ; and by it we will stand or fall, for
" it will show the confidence, or otherwise, of
" the country in us,"—this, we say, used to be
the practice of former days—it is the fair and
constitutional practice of all days, and it was the
practice employed by Sir R. PEEL in 1846, and
also the practice adopted by Lord DERBY'S Ad-
ministration in 1852, when the CHANCELLOR of
the EXCHEQUER, having propounded his able
financial schemes, announced that by them the
Government were prepared to stand or fall.
But by neither Sir R. PEEL nor Mr. DISRAELI
was this scheme to entrap votes perpetually
resorted to as we now see it. Each made use
of it ONCE, on a vital, on the vital question of
their respective Governments, and never
otherwise, and in such case the question in
regard to which the pledge was given was for
days and even weeks before the country,
which, therefore, had time to decide on the
merits of the Administration, and to count the
cost if it were displaced. But what is the
course now pursued in this respect? One time
it is, if a temporary bill is refused, " the Mi
nistry will resign ;" then if that vote is not
agreed to the same dire calamity is to befall
the nation ; next time we hear if an autumnal
session (a thing they could not think of, but
they adopt for all that in the end) is insisted
on by the Opposition, " the Ministry
will consider it their duty to resign
and now we are told for the fourth
time, or thereabouts, within this year, that if a
bill of the most insulting and obnoxious
character to the nation at large is not forth-
with passed, we shall incur the awful mis-
fortune of losing the Mosaic-work Administra-
tion which it has pleased Lord ABERDEEN to
confer on the country.
If the Ministry are determined to go, better,
far better, we say, with Mr. Kam, let them go,
than let this Bill pass. " The Ministry say
" they will resign if beaten on this bill," says
Lieutenant-General Sir WILLIAM NAPIER in
his admirable letter. "Be it so," he adds,
and so do we, and strangely mistaken are we
if beyond their own immediate clique and the
Irish Brigade one murmur of regret for their
fall would be heard in the length and breadth
of this great empire.