The Press.
London, England, 1858-02-06 00:00:00

THE PRESS, FEBRUARY 6, 1858.

itself properly dates from 1834, when the
Duke of WELLINGTON and Sir R. PEEL were
joined by the D ike of RICHMOND, the Earl of
DERBY (then Mr. Stanley), the Earl of RIPON,
Lord GEORGE BENTINCK, and other distin-
guished persons. The great cry for Reform in
1830 and 1831 was stimulated by the unpar-
liamentary manner in which the Wellington
Ministry had carried the " Catholic question."
Let Conservatives observe that there is no
such cry now, nor any decent pretext for it.
Let them further observe that the present
Ministry (unlike the Grey Cabinet) is essen-
tially onesided. It has a reckless and non-
descript Premier at its head, with a thoroughly
Whig Cabinet and a great Radical tail behind
it. Its policy is mere audacity, and its
resources the chapter of accidents. Its pro-
ject of Reform must either ignominiously fail
as a piece of legislation, or, if successful, viould
be the certain prelude to social revolution.

East India Company protest against the
weakly lads which are now sent out to fight
our battles ? Why, the climate of India to be
sure. And yet the answer is, " Oh, you have
" no reason to complain, for we sent no bet-
" ter"—where ? To the Peninsula. We do
not at this moment remember whether logic
is among the subjects for examination intro-
duced under the auspices of this shrewd old
gentleman; but it is necessary that aspiring
candidates should learn how to disguise a fal-
lacy a little better than this, if they are to be
of any service either to themselves, their
nephews, or their party.
Thirdly, everything has been done to supply
our artillery with horses. We say everything
has not been done. No doubt Government is
now applying itself to the solution of this
difficulty. Lord PANMURE may not be stating a
falsehood when he says we are now applying
to Australia and to the Cape. But his lan-
guage is calculated to convey a very false im-
pression to the public. A Government which
had any right to boast of having done every-
thing which the crisis required would not be
applying to Australia and the Cape only now ;
they would have done it six months ago. And
why did they not? Hero we return again to
the fundamental cause They did not com-
prehend the situation, and they wouldn't sub-
mit to be enlightened.
Inquiry into their management has been
shelved for the moment by the adroit
manoeuvre of Sir DE LACY EVANS But their
temporary immunity is purchased by a heavy
addition to the general discontent of the
public. What are we to do for recruits ?
is now everywhere the cry. One measure
seems imperatively necessary—that, namely,
recommended by Lord DERBY—to cull out all
the militia and send all the regulars to India.
When that has been done it will be time to
consider the best means of keeping up the
supply. But that should obviously be the
first step.

The Emperor has never demanded more—nor
would he be satisfied with less. A high legal
authority here made the following observation upon
the subject :
If two persons in England conspire to ruin the credit
cr character of an individual, they are amenable to punish-
ment. So it ought to be as regards foreign sovereign 4-...
but with this exception, that, owing to the inconvenience
of a foreign Government becoming the prosecutors, and
being subject to being subptened at the demands of the
defendants, the English Government should prosecute la
the name of the Queen, as an offence committed against
an ally ; and that after clear and satisfactory Proofs
given, such conspirators, on conviction, shall be compelled
to quit England.
And here I feel called on to add, in the interests of
truth, that on the refugee question the great majority
of the French nation is with the Emperor.
I now come to a delicate subject—the attitude of
the French army. I firmly believe, from all that I
have seen or heard, greater importance has been
attached to the addresses of certain French colonels
than they merit. Soldiers are not public writers,
nor are they diplomatists weighing each word.
When they write, they write on the spur of the
moment. The dastardly attack of the 11th took the
army by surprise; it said that the attempt was to
destroy the Imperial dynasty, and the army was
desirous to show the miscreants that it was deter-
mined to support the Emperor and his dynasty, and
to extremity if necessary. But of this be
assured, that every soldier in the French army
is most sincerely attached to his Crimean
companions, and has not the remotest thought
of offending any portion of the English na-
tion. I find the French Government has been
blamed for publishing these addresses in the Mani-
teur, but ought not some allowance to be made for
the peculiar position in which the Emperor was
placed by the murderous demagogues now infesting
several European States? Ought the Emperor to
be blamed for proving to his subjects that the army
was determined to support him and his dynasty, and
by so doing insure the happiness and tranquillity of
France ? Surely not. And it is the opinion of
almost every Frenchman that thanks ought to be
given to the Emperor for the publicity given to these
addresses, as not only tending to distrm the mur-
derer, but to assure Europe that the assassin's hand,
even if successful, would not disturb the repose of
Europe.
That the Emperor is sincerely attached to
England cannot for a moment be doubted.
Indeed, he shows it on all occasions. No one
has taken a greater interest in the marriage of
the Princess Royal than himself and the Empress.
The presents to be given to the Royal bride formed
the subjects for much deliberation between the
Emperor and the Empress—the wish of both being
that the gifts should not only be worthy the accept.
aim of the Royal bride, but at the same time exhibit
the affection and sincere attachment of their Majes-
ties. These presents, which were sent to England
two days previous to the marriage, consisted in the
portraits of Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort,
admirably painted by the celebrated Mme. Laurent
on the very finest porcelaine de Sevres; a magnifi-
cent corbeille, also of Sevres china, filled with the
most tasteful and beautiful jewellery ; two albums
containing the designs of tapestry now being menu-
factored at the Ghobelins, and intended for two
rooms in the Princess Royal's residence at Berlin;
and, lastly, two extremely rich lace dresses—the
one in point d'Alencon, the other, en point de
Bruxelles.

The Empress has lost one of her oldest
friends, M. Gabriel Delessert, who for some time
during the reign of Louis Philippe was Prefect of
Police. The evening previous to the death of this
truly virtuous man, the Empress having been in-
formed that his end was last approaching, imme-
diately left the Tuileries and repaired to the resi-
dence of the invalid at Passy. On entering the sick
chamber she held out her hand to the dying veteran,
and tried to comfort him. The poor old man
recognised the Empress, his eyes brightened up,
and, murmuring "Adieu, mon enfant, adieu—
soyez benie, benie," died.
I believe all the assassins have made a full con-
fession, in which several persons are seriously com-
promised.
Both the Emperor and Empress are in the enjoy-
ment of good health.
A gentleman, who reached Paris this morning
from Naples, says that for the last fifteen years the
weather has never been so rigorous as it now is in
Sicily; that on the 30th of January all the fountains
were frozen, that the orange trees had greatly suf-
fered, and that great fears were entertained that the
olive trees would be destroyed.
A letter received to-day from Berlin says that
the publication of the Danubian Riverian Treaty had
produced a very bad effect in the Prussian capital,
and that it was generally considered as a direct pro-
vocation on the part of the Austrian Government
towards those powers who had signed the Treaty of
Paris.