The Press.
London, England, 1857-07-25 00:00:00

VaWIC 11.

CABINET Corkers were held on Saturday and
Wednesday at the official residence of Lord Palmers-
ton, Downing•street. All the Ministers attended.
During Wednesday's sitting the submarine telegraph
was taken up by the Government for four hours.

DEPUTATION TO LORD PALMERSTON.
A NUMEROUS deputation of those members favourable
to the principle of the Parliamentary Oaths Bill
waited upon Lord Palmerston on Tuesday for the
purpose of ascertaining what were the views enter-
tained by her Majesty's Government in respect to
the legislative course proposed to be taken by the
friend's of civil and religious liberty in consequence
of the rejection of the Jewish Disabilities Bill by the
House Or Lords.

Between thirty and forty of the chief members at
the late meeting of Thursday week were present.
Mr. HOIMMAN, who acted as speaker. having
explained to the noble lord the object of the deputa-
tion, that they came to a.'k him "either to support
Lord John's bill, with a determination, in case of its
rejection, to lead your party in the endeavour to
seat Baron Rothschild by resolution, or that, if
Lord John's bill cannot properly be suprorted this
session, the Government will at once declare them-
selves in favour of seating by resolution," proceeded
to say :

722

We know that in such a matter we can, as a party, do
nothing without the Government, as the Government can
do nothing without their party. We are fully sensible of
the value of our leaders, of our dependence on them, and
of the consideration and allegiance always due to them.

But at the same time I ought not to conceal from your
lordship (what, indeed, one of the resolutions will convey )
that there is a deep conviction among your friends that
the Oaths Bill, when lately before the House of Lords,
did not derive from the union of the members of the
Cabinet among themselves that moral strength and sup-
port which is of infinitely more value than all their votes ;
and the einbarrsatiment which we aro now all espe-
riencing in the false relation in which we are standing to
your lordship—your followers taking counsel among them.
selves and communicating their intended course to the
Cabinet, inste. d of the Cabinet guiding the course of their
supporters—is the penalty we are on either aide paying for
',list we respectfully conceive was on the part of the Go-
vernment a mistake.

In conclusion, Mr. Horsman pointed out to Lord
Palmerston that it was not usual for Governments to
submit to such defeats :

It is not usually deemed wise in any Government to
submit tamely to such defeats, and we do not think it
becoming in so strong a Government as yours to do so.
Every such defeat must necessarily cause weakness to a
party, and weakness must tend to disorganisation. We
are well assured that there is no question on which the
Government and their followers can be more of one mind
AM! united by one interest than on that now before us.
lint were it unfortunately otherwise, the great body of
your supporters do feel that in this principle there is so
ranch involved, and in regard to it our party position is so
critical, that we could not sacrifice the character of a party
that is enduring to an over deference to the Government,
whose existence—necessarily brief as compared to that of
its party—must be rendered yet more precarious by its not
appreciating the spirit, and so casting away the hearts of
its supporters.
Lord PALMERSTON said that, as to Lord John
Russell's notice, it was impossible for a Government
to promise support to a bill which they had not seen
and of the provisions of which they were ignorant,
but they would give all their support to Lord John
in the introduction of the bill of which he had given
notice for that evening. As to the future stages of
the bill, he must remind the meeting that we were
now in the middle of July, and that Parliament was
expected to rise in the middle of August, and that
the agreeable morning they passed in the House of
Commons last Saturday was a tolerably conclusive
proof of the difficulty they would have in carrying
the bill this session ; that in reference to Lord Har-
rowhy, and his abstaining from voting on the division
in the House of Lords, it was 604 to state that
Lord Harrowby bad entered the Government with
an understanding that he should not be able to
support any bill for the admission of Jews into Par-
liament ; that he (Lord Palmerston) was anxious to
obtain his assistance and co-operation, and had not
felt it to be possible to secure perfect and complete
unanimity on all points in his Government.