The Press.
London, England, 1857-11-28 00:00:00

THE WEEK.

War mss business of an important character will be transacted in the
short session of Parliament before Christmas will entirely depend on
the tone taken by Government in the debates of next week. Parlia-
ment is professedly summoned to meet on account of certain difficul-
ties of a financial character, but it is more than probable that the
astute Premier will with diplomatic art endeavour to use the opportu-
nity for ulterior purposes. He is embarrassed by his Reform pledge ;
he is not sure whether the Legislature is prepared for " the total aboli-
" tion of the East India Company's Government," and he may endea-
vour to use the next few weeks for the object of ascertaining the real
views of Parliament upon India. The plastic and yielding character
of the Premier cannot be forgotten. If the " double Government of
India" were still approved, Lord PALMERSTON would be prepared to
praise it; and if it were condemned, the Premier would be ready to assail
it. " The Noble Viscount is not the man to stand up for a principle,"
was truly said by the Earl of DEBBY ; and the times which are approach
ing call for a more decided view, and a stronger ruling purpose than
can be imparted to politics by Lord PALMERSTON. People are growing
tired of the Premier's equivocal attitude, and his system of " see-saw "
has become wearisome.

Ministers will, possibly, try and entice the House of Commons
into an approbation of Lord CANNING. We hopo that both Houses of
Parliament will act with great caution, and not fall into any trap. The
Premier is entirely responsible for Lord CANNING'S appointment ; and
the " Calcutta Petition " from the " Chamber of Commerce " is far too
serious a document to be treated lightly. The main charges in it, un-
doubtedly, we have heard before, and the Blue-books authenticate them.
But the importance of this petition arises from the fact of such highly
influential classes at Calcutta endorsing the charges against Lord
CANNING ; and that the Governor-General has damped the loyalty of
the English in India is evident from this position having been adopted
by "a large majority" of the "Chamber of Commerce" at Calcutta.
Merchants, barristers, physicians, and traders in a city like Calcutta
are not prone to oppose constituted power; and the extreme step of
such a body as the " Chamber of Commerce " petitioning the Queen
for the recall of the Governor-General must have been produced by
crave causes for dissatisfaction. Parliament, we trust, will remember
its prodigious responsibility, and not prematurely endorse with its high
approbation the conduct of Lord CANNING merely because the Premier
has so praised his own nominee.
Although in both Houses there will be interesting and important
financial debates, it is not likely that the chief principles on which
the currency question rests will come into discussion, but the policy
of making further changes in the Act of 1844 will probably cause
some division of opinion. Admitting that the principle of the Bank
Charter is sound, there is still a most important question, as to whe-
ther 14,000,0001. should be taken as a limit to the circulation of the
13ank of England. Whether it be right that there should be such
great differences between the currencies of England, Scotland and
Ireland, is another question deserving consideration. The
sudden way in which the present crisis has come upon the country
will, probably, make Parliament averse to opening up the whole ques-
tion of the currency in the debates before Christmas, but next year
the subject will be likely to receive a fuller discussion. There is, in
relation to the rising questions, a consideration of some importance
with respect to the way in which the Speaker's chair is filled at the
present time. Speaker DEsisos's opinion will often be called for in
relation to certain proceedings of the Government with reference to
Money Bills, Ways and Means, &c., &c. Questions, partly of a legal
and partly of a financial kind, will possibly demand the speaker's
opinion during the session of 1857-8 ; and it is to be hoped that the
Speaker will acquit himself with more practical ability than he dis-
played in the course of last summer.

High legal authority of the first professional eminence has
declared that the Orange Society, in its present form, is in no respects
contrary to the law of the land. Whether such a society be useful or
otherwise, whether it should be fostered or not, arc questions fairly
open to free opinion. That the society is legal there can be no doubt,
and therefore the arbitrary tone taken by Lord Chancellor BRADY in
his letter to the Marquis of LONDONDERRY has given great offence. A
remonstrance is now being prepared against that letter, and a depu•
tation at a future time will wait upon Lord PALMERSTON in order to
present it, when it has received a due number of signatures. We have
read the remonstrance in the columns of our able contemporary, the
Dublin Daily Express, and its language is manly and temperate, like
the calmly firm tone of men who " know their rights, and knowing dare
maintain them." The usurping power of the Executive, the attempt
to dictate political opinions to the gentry of the country, should be
resisted, more particularly as Lord Chancellor BRADY has been making
batches of Liberal J.P.'s in a manner that causes some astonishment
in various districts. Some highly curious facts are stated in the Daily
Express of November 23rd in relation to the religious " direction" of
the Dublin police by the Jesuits of Gardiner's street Chapel. The
Dublin police, it is said, is composed nearly entirely of Roman Catho-
lics, and it appears that it is acknowledged by the Roman Catholic
organs that the " spiritual guidance of the Jesuits has been brought
"to bear upon the police." There are not a few who think that facts