The Press.
London, England, 1858-05-22 00:00:00

THE PRESS, MAY 22, 1858.

their policy on that subject. The amendment, which
Was to he supported by Government, he observed,
forbore to give an opinion upon the proclamation
without further information, yet the Government,
without such information, had pronounced such
opinion, and a censure upon the conduct of Lord
Canning.

Mr. BRIGHT, after declaring that there had teen
no arrangement between the Secretary to the India
Board and himself with reference to the proclama-
tion, observed that he should have been content to
leave the question to be decided upon the speeches
of Mr. Cardwell, the mover of the resolution, and the
Solicitor• General, the latter of which was, he said,
an exhaustive argument, and contained a complete
and satisfactory answer to ail the charges brought
against the Government. The resolution eluded the
real question; but, if carried, the people of Oude
would regard the vote as an approval of the procla-
mation. The proposal in the resolution was disin-
genuons ; it was an attempt to lead the house into
an unfortunate dilemma. All admitted that the
people of Oude were not mutineers, or rebels, or
enemies ; yet the proclamation would produce, not a
political, but a social revolution in that country. The
extinction of the proprietary right in the soil would
apply to more than 40,000 large landholders. He
believed that the proclamation sanctioned this whole-
sale confiscation, and that the resolution sanctioned
the proclamation ; that it would be so read in India,
and that this would be one of the most unfortunate
declarations that ever went from this country to
India. After noticing the various sums of money
which we had at different times received from the
territory, amounting in all to thirty millions and a
half sterling, besides "salaries, pensions, and emolu-
ments of every kind to the Company's servants," the
hon. member pointed out that when her Majesty's
Government first announced their disapprobation of
the proclamation they were warmly applauded by the
Liberals, and that it was not till the" fatal influence "
of party was brought to bear upon them that any
difference of opinion became visible. Of the terms
in which Lord Ellenborough's despatch was couched,
Mr. Bright said :

The noble lord the member for the City ought to be very
forbearing, for he lives in a house as brittle as any of as.
When the noble lord gets his pen in his hand it is impos-
sible to say what he will not write and send forth to the
public. I have known him, for example, write a very
extraordinary letter which he, no doubt, intended to be
very proper in its phraseology—it was to a bishop. I am
not at all anxious to deal severely with the noble lord; but
when he wrote to so holy a man as a bishop, at least one
might have expected him to avoid sarcasm and invective;
and yet he dealt out invective against six millions of his
fellow-subjects in a manner which was very mischievous to
the peace of the country. But I could tell the noble lord
of another letter, in which, it is true, there was not much
sarcasm, but there was an amazing amount of invective of
a most unpleasant nature, written Lot to a pro-consul ten
thousand miles away, but written to a noble lord filling the
most difficult and itnportant office in the Home Govern-
ment of the kingdom. The noble lord transgressed yet
further ; for in the most needless manner, and when nobody
asked him, he published that letter, which for a long time
tended in a serious degree to weaken the hands and damage
the character of the noble lord the member for Tiverton.
After expressing his regret at any necessity for
hurting Lord Canning's feelings, but declaring that
one servant of the Crown must be treated like
another—Lord Canning like Sir J. Bowring—and
that we must not have low caste men and high-caste
men in the public servants—low-caste men whom
everybody may trample upon, and high caste men
whom nobody may criticize—the hon. member con-
cluded a very eloquent speech in the following
remarkable language :
And now a few words about the party aspect of this
motion. I hope I am slandering nobody in this house
when I say that there is quite as much anxiety for place as
there is zeal for the good of India in this motion. If this
despatch had been published three months ago, when we
were all sitting on that side of the house, I think it very
probable that men who now speak against it would hive
pronounced it a noble despatch, containing noble senti-
ments expressed in noble language. But there has been
during the last two month• a sort of growing irritation,
particularly on this side of the house. There has been a
feeling that no ingenuity has been able to disguise that if
the Government remained in office to the end of the
session there might be some difficulty in removing it ; just
RS a tree, when recently planted, is easily polled up ; but
if you let it strike its roots into the earth ; if, in short, you
leave it for a year, the strongest man will not be able to
get it out again. Hon. gentlemen opposite know that I
differ very widely from them, and at no very distant day
they may find that out by some act on my part of severe
hostility. But I put it to the house whether they are aware
of the feeling out of doors? Take, for example, gentlemen
who come up from the country as deputations to the Go-
vernment, and see whether the judgment those deputations
form of the manner they are received by the late and present
Government is not, without exception, all one way ? Ido
not say that that is any great matter; but I make the
observation for the benefit of gentlemen who sit on this
side of the house, and who may have to receive deputations
again. Take again their conduct in this house. 'VDU may
say, " They are a weak Government—they are obliged to
be civil ;" but I would maintain that every Minister ought
to be civil to the bowie ; and what I am prepared to assert

.• I E

is this—and I ask every man who sits on this side of the
house whether it was not so—that civility was a quality
that was unknown to the late Government. Then take
another point, and this is one that is worth consideration.
I ask those who sit on this side of the house, and especially
those below the gangway, to look at the heritage of foreign
troubles which the present Government found on their
accession to office. Three months of what was going on
with regard to the Conspiracy Bill would have landed this
country on the very verge of a war, if not an actual war,
with France, and that the present Government have
avoided by no concession which has been injurious to the
honour of England. Take again the question that has
agitated the publio mind with regard to Naples. So
far as a Government could act, this Government
appears to have acted with judgment, as the noble
lord (Lord John Russell) has admitted himself.
They have heard of meetings and discussions, and of
language of a most unpardonable character used, in what
it is the fashion now to call the heat of debate. At all
events, there has been something going on in No. 11 that
might break up that powerful confederacy, which went to
storm the 'Treasury benches, and replace the late Govern-
ment. I believe that it was intended that there should
be a desperate attempt to make a change at all events
before Whitsuntide. That was a resolution which had
been come to long before anybody knew anything about
this despatch of Lord Ellenborough. But this appeared
to be a fine opportunity of defending an absent servant
of the Crown; and altogether to afford an excellent pretea
on which to ride back to office. Now, I don't speak to
Whigs, or to those who have been in office, or wish to be
there; but I will speak to those who call themselves In-
dependent Liberals, and who bate come here with en
honest desire to serve their country as members of the
House cf Commons. It is supposed that the old Govern-
ment will come back, or something like the old Govern-
ment. There was great dissatisfaction at that old Go-
vernment, and no pledge has been given that its conduct
in future would be better or different than it was before.
There have been no new professions made and no new
policy intimated. There have not even been any new
men placed before the public for high office if a new
Cabinet should be formed. There have, on the other
hand, been newspapers greatly in the interest of this ex-
Treasury bench, which have in the most unblushing
manner printed articles evidently from the pen of some-
body who knew exactly what was wanted to be done. for
example, while we were engaged in Committee-room No.
11, a gentleman—l don't know that I need mention him,
because the house knows perfectly well all the circum-
stances of the case—but that gentleman took an active
part in the proceedings, and nobody could be more indig-
nant at what has been done than he. Well, this gentleman
hes actually been designated for office if the present Go-
vernment goes out and a new one cornea in. Another
gentleman, who made a speech and I think moved or
seconded a resolution, is held up in precisely the same
manner. There has been hung up a glittering bait before
the Independent Liberal members: it has not been exactly
said who snail have it, but they are all expected to look
at this glittering bait. But this is not all—these are not
all the arts that have been employed. Gentlemen who
have been sitting below the gangway for many years, and
are of the most independent character, have received
those wonderfully beautiful engraved cards inviting them
to grand parties at great mansions. Not later than Friday
last these invitations were scattered much more widely
than has ever been usual, but no doubt with a discrimina-
ting hand. (Loud cheers, and a cry of " Absurd !") No
doubt it is very absurd, and that is why I am explaining it
to the house. If these words had with them a note,
stating why they were sent, it would be something like
this :—" Sir,—We have measured your head and your
soul, and we know "—or rather believe, for they don't
know—" we believe that yon will give up everything for
the sake of this miserable temptation." If I could see these
men taking the course which is said to be adopted by the
great horse-tamer I should not complain ; for he appeals
to the nobler and more intelligent instincts of the ani-
mals which he undertakes to cure ; but they appeal to in-
stincts which I am sure every hon. member would repo.
diate. If they succeed, what sort of a Government shall
we have? Of course I am as anxious for a Liberal
Government as any man can be, but I cannot believe that
in the present position of things a Liberal or a solid
Government can be formed. We have heard, and the
whole country has been struck with wonder to hear, that
two eminent statesmen have actually dined togother.
Well, I am glad to hear of those two statesmen being
engaged to dine together without any hostility. I will say
nothing about the viands of which they partook, or of the
beverage which they infused into the loving cup. One of
our great poets tells us that

Nepenthe is a drink of sovereign grace.
It was devised by the gods to subdue contentions and to
soothe the passions ; but it was given only to those aged
ant: wise men who had retired from the turmoil of life and
were preparing to take their position amongst the ancient
heroes in a higher sphere. The loving cup could not at
any rate have been filled with nepenthe, because these
ancient and wise statesmen still cling to this world, and
mix, with all the ♦igonr and fire of yonth, in the turmoil of
the parliamentary arena. I believe that such a Govern-
ment as is now proposed would be the worst of coalitions.
It would be beard upon insincerity ; it would not be an
advantage to the country; and therefore I urn not crixiona
to see it constituted. I ask the house, are you prepared to
overthrow the Government for this question, which the
right hon. gentleman has put before us in such ambiguons
terms? Are you ready to overthrow the Government
without hearing the views upon which a new one would be
formed? Are 31.11 ready to throw the counVy into the
turmoil of a general election at a moment when the people
of this country are only just slowly recovering from the
effects of the most tremendous commercial panic '"
which they have ever passed ? Are they -