The Press.
London, England, 1857-01-31 00:00:00

tht.6l

No. 190.—VoL.V.

El)
je ,Vress.

determine to maintain extravagant establish-
ments, we must find money to support them.
We have shown in previous articles, that from
18-10 to 1853 our total expenditure averaged
little more than 50,000,0001. per annum. From
1835, the cost of our military and naval ser-
vices has been gradually augmenting. In
1853 they were nearly two millions more than
they were in 1851, and about five millions
more than they were in 1835. Shall we return
to about the highest peace expenditure pre-
vious to the late war, or shall we decide on a
considerable increase ? If an increase be de-
cided on, it must be permanent, or it must be
utterly wasteful. It would be absolutely ridi-
culous, as well as extravagant, to decide on
higher estimates for the next year or two than
we are prepared to permanently maintain.
Such thoughtless, unprincipled, and spend-
thrift waste would naturally result in irqu•
dicious and forced retrenchment. .

Again : behind this question of armed estab-
lishments is the question of our Foreign Policy.
If that policy is to be blustering and aggres-
sive, the country, to be safe, must always hold
itself in readiness for actual war. The nation,
which in a manner throws out a challenge to
all corners, can never afford to rely on ordinary-
peace establishments. It must keep its army
and navy on a higher footing than would
otherwise be necessary to justify its boastful
attitude. A country situated as England is,
with outlying possessions contiguous to those
both of mighty empires and of semi-civilised
States, need never vainly seek for cause of
quarrel with its neighbours. One line of
policy will lead, with exceptional instances, to
general peace. Another line of policy will
lead, with exceptional instances, to general
war. It is for the Legislature and the country
to decide which line is to be preferred—whether,
on the whole. a policy of peace or a policy of
war shall be chosen. If the former, peace estab-
lishments and reduced taxation naturally
follow. If the latter, war establishments and
augmented taxation
In previous periods of our national life the
opportunity of choice has not been afforded
us. We have the privilege now. We may, for
the extension of our trade, our race, and our
empire, trust to peaceful influences, and to
that energy of our people which in times of
peace will find means of extension, or we may
endeavour to acquire new power and territory
by force of arms. If the latter resolve be
taken, we shall provoke that collision of
em-
pires which some thoughtful minds have ima-
gined will close the modern world in frightful
convulsion.
These three principles of Finance, of Estab-
lishments, and of Foreign Policy, all inti-
mately associated with each other, are great
questions for discussion in the coming session,
however narrowly and practically they may be
viewed. Other political principles will chal-
lenge discussion also.
Parliamentary Reform has been made a
distinct and definite part of Liberal policy.
It was adopted as a leading bond of cohesion
by the Coalition Cabinet. We do not imagine
that the question will be decided one way or
the other in the coming session ; but we do
think it likely that the question will be put in
such a shape as to call for some decided
expression of national opinion at the next
general election. An appeal to the country
may take place this year; it is unlikely to be
protracted beyond the year next ensuing.
Will the present Parliament decide to abide by

LONDON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1857. STAMPED .
II SIXPENCE.
NSTAMPiD . .FI VEPENCE.

the general principles of the settlement of
1831, or will it declare in favour of the whole
subject of Parliamentary representation being
reopened ?
One other principle must come prominently
beforejthe Legislature. It is whether corporate,
or institutional, property shall rest on the same
firm basis as other kinds of property, or
whether it shall in effect be declared to be at
the mercy of the State, to be dealt with as cir-
cumstances may render expedient. We are
not in doubt of the sentiments of the Govern-
ment upon this subject. We know that Mr.
LowE, their mouthpiece, has declared that
the very principle of corporate property is a
principle of public robbery. It is probable
that on this point the Legislature may be
required to pronounce a• decided Yes or No in
the ensuing session. M. de TOCQUEVILLE,
in his lucid exposition of the causes which led
to the downfall of the French monarchy, has
shown how largely the weakness or perfidy of
the Sovereign in consenting to the confiscation
of corporate property, contributed to the con-
vulsion which shook to pieces the whole fabric
of French society. That logic must needs he
of a suspicious kind [which [attempts to estaL-
lish a distinction between the property of one
indivithial and the property of several indi-
viduals, as regards right to the property itself.
The jurisdiction of the State is supreme over
both kinds of property within certain limits,
but that jurisdiction cannot, without extreme
confusion and insecurity, be held to extend to
the confiscation of property which the com-
mon law of the land would respect.
On these questions we can have no doubt
what the opinion of the Conservative body
both in Parliament and the country must be.
We believe it will hold that the financial set-
tlement of 1853 should be fairly carried out;
that a return to peace should bring with it a
return to pence establishments ; that our
foreign Policy should be directed rather to the
maintenance of friendly relations with other
Powers, whether they be great or small, than
to provoke quarrels with them that either we
may crush rivalry or oppress weakness. We
believe that Conservative opinion must be
adverse to reopening the question of our
Parliamentary representation with a view to
great and organic changes; and that what•
ever improvements may be required in the ma-
nagement of corporate property, the principle
of the right to such property shall be scru-
pulously respected.

THE POLICY OF LORD JOHN RUSSELL.
Ix all political circles the probable " sayings
and doings " of one eminent statesman in the
coming session form a constant subject of
speculation. The interrogatory of "What will
" Lord John do?" is asked in every variety of
tone. No one can be surprised at the inten-
tions of Lord JOHN RUSSELL being so fre-
quently canvassed. He is a remarkable man,
a formidable
and for mar
representati'
the first tim
tary Whig;
nected with
Since the
their duke)
had a repre

e politician, even if he lone,
my years he hae. b *Ng
ive of the house_if ". 410!
le in the historraf ". • !aft
;s the Russell
h the official rum 5,.. •
days when the "vl—*
!dorn, Woburn s• a
:sentative in Do l f'.4, Jai
14

98

ever the Liberals were in power. A Whig
Cabinet dissevered from Woburn Abbey is in
itself " a great fact " likely to be remembered
in our future politics, in case the RUSSELLS
should succumb to destiny, and accept what
must be to them a positive humiliation.
It is certainly extremely difficult to calculate
the future course of Lord JOHN RUSSELL. We
are justified in assuming that ho is desirous
of regaining his lost ground, and there have
been frequent intimations from malcontent
Liberals that they would like to see him rein-
state himself in his lost Parliamentary leader-
ship. It seems doubtful whether he has yet
decided on a fixed policy for the achievement
of that purpose. The activity of his career,
and the exigency of his position, forbid us to
believe that the Noble Member for London
will remain contented with the obscurity to
which the underlings of the present Ministry
have so contemptuously consigned him.
Two facts have personally damaged Lord
JOHN RUSSELL more than all his frequent alterna-
tions between official laugour and tribunitian
vehemence. 1. He lost ground in public esti-
mation by consenting to hold the leadership
of the House of Commons after the policy of
his Durham Letter had been contemp-
tuously repudiated by his own colleagues,
and after Lord ABERDEEN had superciliously
disavowed the views on Protestantism enun-
ciated by Lord :JOHN RUSSELL in his place
as " nominal" leader under the " Coalition."
There were various circumstances which
gave additional poignancy to the Noble
Lord's humiliation upon that occasion. It
was a wretched spectacle to see the once
potent debater, who had so often conducted
his followers to triumph, browbeaten by the
smallest of the subordinates of the Cabinet
in which he served. And who were those sub-
ordinates that, with the help of Lord ABER•
DEEN, inflicted such indignity on the political
chief of the Russell Whigs, and the successor
of Fox and GREY? They Were JOHN SADLEIR,
Mr. MONSELL, and Mr. KEOGH ! Those three
" underlings" of the Coalition Cabinet resigned,
and Lord ABERDEEN preferred that Lord JOHN
RUSSELL should be disparaged, rather than
that the Saileir connection should be discon-
tented ; yet Lord JOHN RUSSELL continued to
sit in the seat, but not in the station, of the
Leader of the House of Commons. He acqui-
esced himself in the hard lot of holding office
without power, and affecting to have privi-
leges which he did not possess. To do him
justice, there were times when he was ob-
viously abashed by his position. We cannot
wonder at such a man, with his personal his-
tory, and the memories of his Protestant
lineage, writhing at rebuffs which were admi-
nistered to him by his own colleagues, and
which were, of course, duly chronicled and
appropriately noted by the representatives of
the great Powers of Europe.
In spite of hostile principles, Lord JOHN
RUSSELL had been always regarded with
respect by Conservatives in Parliament. If
dreaded as rash, the Noble Lord had been
looked upon as mainly anal bold. He was sup
posed to have been a public man conforming
to those habits of self-assertion which are
almost instinctive in the Anglo Saxon nature.
But general feelings of respect soon gave way
in presence of the spectacle of the Leader of the
Whigs pushed aside from his position. In
vain Lord JOHN RUSSELL pretended to be at
his ease. He went about delivering small
lectures on great subjects, and he enjoyed a
public dinner at Bristol, while he allowed the
Duke of NEWCASTLE to take care of the war.
But that autumn of ls;')-r must have been one
of the most miserable seasons of his public
life, while he was trying to grasp at the influ-
ence which was rapidly passing away from
Lim.

The next and most serious cause which
damaged the Noble Lord was his extraordinary
conduct subsequent to his •' qxplosion " of the
Coalition. The present Cabinet being formed.
the personal pretensions of Lord JOHN RT:ssett
were " a difficulty " He consented to obviate
it by becoming Secretary for the Colonies and
Plenipotentiary to the Congress at Vienna.
For a time all seemed well ; but the country
ieovered that
to boll office
Noble Lord's

THE PRESS.

part in the negoti►►tions had been peremptorily
repudiated, and after the French Plenipo-
tentiary, M. DROUYN DE Dun's, with whom Lord
Join.; had acted, had resigned. This amaze-
ment deepened into disgust when it was fur-
ther discovered that the Noble Member for
London had concealed the part which he had
really acted. Such damaging revelations are
rarely made during the life of a statesman,
though " Historical Memoirs" sometimes com-
memorate the duplicity of defunct double-
dealers. _

These two humiliatina chaptors in Lord
JOHN RUSSELL'S later life have unquestionably
compromised the Bedford Whigs. The " Gren-
ville Papers" record how the first Marquis of
LANSDOWNE was ruined in political estimation
by conduct similar to the behaviour of Lord
JOHN RUSSELL—a Peace Negotiator behind the
scenes, and a War Declaimer in the Senate.
But the question is, whether Lord JOHN
RrssELL thinks himself that he is in any wise
injured ? He is singularly sanguine, and he
still thirsts for power. He has the wealth and
powerful connexion of the house of Bedford
at his back, and he is stimulated by glittering
exaggerations of his future historical fame. By
what means may such a man endeavour to
regain his lost influence
There are certain conjunctures still upon the
cards on which so reckless and so adventure-
some a leader might calculate. The Liberal
party is badly off for chiefs. The Premier is
the oldest Prime Minister that Parliament
ever saw, and he cannot inagurate a new policy.
Lord CLAREsnox is feeble in health, and is a
professional statesman, without great Whig
connexions. Lord GRANVILLE is certainly not
fitted for a leader. Even the Stafford-house
Whigs would not choose the Duke of ARGYLL.,
who is beginning to subside. In " rising
men," the Liberals are not fortunate just at
present. It is in these circumstances that a
man with Lord Jolts RUSSELL'S name, talents,
experience, and audacity might be again
endured as a conditional chief. He may find
himself suddenly invested with a quasi au-
thority, and still play a noisy part in political
histrionics with the clacqueurs of faction
applauding his tributes to Mr. HAMPDEN, his
thrilling allusions to Lord SomEßs, his little
annecdotcs of Mr HORNER, his condescending
compliments to the Barons of Runnymede,
and his highly courteous deference towards
his own past career !
To suppose, therefore, that " it is all up"
with Lord JOHN RUSSELL Wallld be a premature
conclusion. It was said of Lord CHATU.uI that
he often abated his energy ; " but that even
" then, like the spinning of a cannon ball, he was
" alive with fatal and unapproachable activity;"
and Lord JOHN RUSSELL, though not recently
emitting inflammatory sparks, is still like a half-
consumed fusee, and may make his power for
more " explosions" widely felt. The smothered
vanities and disappointed hopes of several
members of the Liberal party present him
weapons which so dexterous a tactician could
skilfully employ. He certainly contemplates
being again at the head of the Liberal party ;
and we think that it would be extremely rash
for Conservatives to overlook the possible
dangers which may result from some coup of
Lord JOHN RUSSELL in his anxiety to recover
popularity and power.
Even his vacillation between violence and
languor makes it hazardous to overlook such
an adversary. Under the Melbourne Ministry
he talked of " Finality ;" under Lord ABER-
DEEN he proposed a " Reform Bill," which
sought to invest Ministers with power, and
which inverted all the principles of political
arithmetic. In Iy-&o, when Sir ROBERT PEEL
resigned (previous to Corn-law Repeal),
Lord JOHN RUSSELL could not form a Cabinet.
because Earl GREY would not trust Foreign
Affairs to Lord PALMERSTON ; and yet a few
months later the Noble Member for London
did what he had previously thou,ht impracti-
cable. In 1450 Lord Jous RcssEt.t. stood by
Lord PALMERSTON as being " not the Minister
" of Austria, or France," &c., &c. ; and in two
years after he scandalised Lord PALMERSTON
for contempt of his sovereign.

Lord Jonx RUSSELL must be perfectly con-
scious that if he allows the coining session to
piss away without an attempt to recover his
influence and to redeem his pledges on the

SATURDAY,

subject of Reform his political career will be
at an end. Let us, therefore, he prepared to
encounter some new attempt of Lord JOHN
RUSSELL to invest himself with influence. He
will, possibly, again try to raise popular ex-
citement by a new " Reform Bill," and the
Liberals may be willing to put him forward
again as their chief. Whatever be the issue,
it is indispensable for the Conservatives to
keep a vigilant eye upon his movements. His
activity always betokens stormy weather in
the public atmosphere. A naval ancestor of
L,w,l BreoN was called by mariners " Foul-
%veatherJack ;" and the soubriquet is more poli-
tically applicable to the Noble Member for
London than his quondam designation of
" Finality John."

was astonished when it disc
Lord JOHN RUSSELL continued t
under Lord PALMERSTON, after the