The Press.
London, England, 1854-01-21 00:00:00

50

port of the present Cabinet has been inspired
by their reliance upon its Peelite element?
To what portion or clique of its constituent
members will they next look for a breakwater
against the tide of aggressive democracy?
Not to Sir W. MOLZSWORTH,—though more
rationally to him than to Lord Jona RUSSELL,
or to the Whigs of his school. It were even
better to trust to Sir JAMES GRAHAM, who
solemnly declared at Carlisle that he would
scorn to belong to Lord AsEnDEEN's Cabinet,
or to enter any Cabinet, unless he knew it to
be determined to pass " a large measure of
Reform." Trust even him, in preference to
the orator of Perth—the distrusted of all
parties—the teacher, who promulgated it as
an axiomatic truth, that there was no party or
interest left in the three kingdoms which
could offer a more prosperous resistance to
democratic progress than a turnpike-gate
could oppose to the rush of an express train
on a railway. Ho and his Peelite colleagues
are the true political " factors " to whom all
principles are but articles in the market of
mutable popularity. Borough disfranchise-
ment, county degradation, ballot, five-pound
franchise—anything, to support those who
have surrendered party, and who depend on
chance,—every man for his own principles, if
ho be not obstinate in acting en them, and
office for all ;—these are the results to which
Coalition tends, and which this Staffordshire
election is about to make manifest.
In this county the Marquis of ANGLESEY,
Lord WARD, Lord WROTTESLEY, and others who
have a stake, without seeming to know it, in
the struggle preparing for England, might, if
they had pleased, have united with gentlemen
whose interests are identical with theirs, and
an easy and honourable victory was secure.
But it is preferable that one of their own order
should be lent as an offensive weapon to the
Coalition, and the consequence is that, as
Coalition candidate, he is condemned to pro-
itiate their Radical supporters by pledging
himself to the ballot, to the extension of the
county franchise to 101. householders, and,
compendiously, in fine, to the forthcoming
"large measure." We know not whether Lord
PAGET himself is elated with his position, but
he may boast that, at the meeting held at
Wednesbury last Monday week, he was thus
patronised by Mr. GEACH, M.P. for Coventry.
This gentleman, who was chairman of the
meeting, "had no objection to Lord PAGET
"because he belonged to an aristocratic family.
"(Rear,hear.) They were very glad to associate
" with the aristocracy,—very glad to avail
" themselves of their services." By this testi-
mony Lord PAGET was commended to consti-
tuents who, for the large measure promised,
and the larger expected, avail themselves
equally of the Ministry of Lord ABERDEEN.
The conclusion is obvious. Through the
medium of the Coalition a section of the
road aristocracy of England is made the
atspaw of democratic plottings. Lord PAL-
stiasi oN is not a squeamish politician, yet the
large measure was too large even for him.
His Peelite colleagues had no such scruples;
they were prepared for that ; they are pre-
pared for more than he would submit to ;
and possibly they arse prepared for more
than they have yet ventured to propose.
Can they now any longer pretend that they
have made party obsolete by calling it ob-
solete? Is the democratic party obsolete? or
is it a party the pressure of which is evident
in Staffordshire, and of which the triumph is
preparing
at the Council Board of England ?
You may throw aside your arms, your organi-
sation, and your principles, and pronounce all
principles, and all defence of them, an
anachronism ; but the Heruli have not done
this with their arms and their organisation,
and the Heruli are at the gates. Yon cannot
stifle by inflated jargon the struggles of
society, or avert the perils which threaten the
stability of empire.

THE OXFORD ELECTION.
WE are generally informed as to Ole proceed-
ings which have been, and may be, taken
with reference to the vacant representation of
Oxford University ; and we are better in-
formed as to the movement of certain sections