The Press.
London, England, 1857-03-07 00:00:00

THE WEEK.

Ws have seldom bad to record a week more fertile in political events.
The Government is unexpectedly defeated by a decisive vote of the
House of Commons, and Lord PALMERSTON has announced to that
body that its dissolution will take place as soon as the necessary legis-
lative business can be gone through. It is supposed that Parliament
may be dissolved in three weeks or a month from the present time,
and that the new Parliament may assemble six weeks later. In less
than three months a new House of Commons will, therefore, assemble
to decide on the weighty questions of finance and foreign policy of
Government now before the country.
The three nights' debate on Mr. COBDEN'S motion was illustrated
by some of the most eloquent addresses ever delivered in Parliament.
The subject was one to demand the exercise of the highest oratorical
faculties ; it involved the question of the policy to be pursued towards
an ancient empire, with a high degree of civilisation, but totally in-
capable of competing with us in armed force.
The last night's debate was in many respects the most interesting.
The speech of Mr. GLADSTONE was, by the confession of all oho heard
it, the greatest of his oratorical efforts. Its logic, Christian feeling,
felicitous illustration, and passionate eloquence, made one of those
powerful impression s on the House which become matters of history.
The reply of Lord PALMERSTON was not wanting in energy, though
vulgar and almost brutal in tone. Ho called Commissioner YETI
"a liar," and gave the impression that nothing would please him better
than a wholesale massacre of the Chinese people. He attempted,
amid the evident indignation of the House, to fasten on Mr. GLADSTONE
a charge of endeavouring, to defeni those practices of Chinese warfare
which the Right lion. Gentleman had in reality characterised as
detestable acts. The Premier's blustering invectives against combina-
tion received pointed chastisement from MK. DISRAELI. Mr. COBDEN'S
reply was one of his very happiest efforts. His intimation that if
that tremendous calamity, which it was always represented
would bring heaven and earth together—a change of Ministry—
should occur, he was satisfied the country would gain
2,000.00001. in reduced taxation, and that he was quite willing
in the interest of the country to dispose of the Premier for that sum,
was received with shouts of laughter. His reply to Mr. CHAMBERS, who
had taken the chair at the anti-opium meeting, and now spoke with
" judicious impartiality "in favour of the burning of Canton, was a
masterpiece of good-tempered satire. The anxiety to know the result
outside the House was intense. A crowd of respectable persons had
collected in Westminster•hall eagerly waiting to question the first
members who issued from the doors of the House. The process of
counting the numbers lasted some time, but at length hurried steps
were heard, and two or three members came rushing out in a state of
the wildest excitement, exclaiming at the top of their voices,
" Government beaten by sixteen !" Immediately there rose a tre-
mendous cheer from the crowd, which was again and again repeated.
Each leading member of the majority as he came forth was welcomed
with enthusiastic plaudits. Mr. COBDEN narrowly escaped being
carried round the hall, and Mr. DISRAELI was escorted ,by a crowd of
persons cheering at the top of their voices, and waving their hats in
their hands.

The next morning a Cabinet Council was held, after which Lord
PALMERSTON went down to Windsor. The Ministerial papers of Thurs-
day morning prepared the public mind for a dissolution. But it was
not generally believed that Government would resort to this step until
Lord PALMERSTON rose in his place, and announced the course he
intended to pursue. The ensuing debate was extremely animated ;
many of the leading Liberal Members indignantly disclaiming the
imputation of faction which had been cast on them by the Premier.
With this debate the interest of the session will, we imagine, close.
Last night Mr. GLADSTONE'S resolution for the lower scale of the tea
duties was negatived in a thin house by a majority of 29.

The classification of parties published in all the division lists of
the newspapers is very erroneous. A careful analysis of the majority
shows that of the 263 members 203 were consistent Conservatives.
The members who are usually associated with Mr. GLADSTONE num-
ber 114. The Liberals and Whigs were 36; that number containing
many of the most. eminent names of flu Liberal party, as regards
talent, principle, and political influence. The Conservatives who
voted with the Government were but thirteen in number, three of
them joining the party of Mr. BENTlNCE—himself, and two followers.
We believe that the chances of this gentleman being again returned
for West Norfolk are extremely small, as many of the most influential
members of that constituency have expressed unqualified disapproval
of his conduct.

One important question which stares us in the face at the present
moment is, what we aro to do •with the Chinese difficulty
pending the assembling of a new Parliament. The Premier talks
veruely of sending out a plenipotentiary to Canton, and so far admits
the justice of that vote which he stigmatised as factions. But this
state of things can never be allowed to continue. If it were, a Ministry
might always remain in power. They would have nothing to do but to
accept each successive emendation of their policy proposed by Parlia-
ment, and to continue in office "infamous and contented." But
even Lord PALMERSTON'S Ad miuistrition his not, we hope. sunk so low

SATURDAY,

as this. The delay in sending out a plenipotentiary before the vote of
the House of Commons was passed, and the readiness with which it
has been proposed afterwards, almost seems as if the Government were
willing to accept some such degrading office, and to remain in office
as the servants-of•all-work of the House of Commons instead of their
masters.

The full details received this week of the status quo up to the
middle of January before Canton, confirm our opinion, previously
expressed, that we had by the bombardment of the city, and the
burning of the suburbs, so goaded the Chinese into intense detesta-
tion and implacable malice against; us, that no atrocity appeared
unjustifiable in their eyes to revenge the ravages and horrors we have
inflicted upon them. An entire crew of eleven persons on board a
packet-steamer brutally butchered by disguised " braves," and half
the English of Hong Kong poisoned with arsenic in their morning
rolls, is one result of this feeling ; and when we remember the power-
ful control the Tartar authorities have by means of their highly-disci-
plined secret police over the persons and property of the relatives of
those Chinese resident in Hong Kong, Macao, or Singapore, and the
vast stimulus by these means given to the commission of horrible
crimes for the extermination of the English, we may well anticipate
with some anxiety the intelligence of the ensuing mail. Hong Kong
is positively under martial law, and so great is the fear of Sir Jon
BowatNo of an attempt by the resident Chinese either to fire the city
or massacre the English, that the patrol is authorised to shoot every
Chinaman seen about the streets between sunset and sunrise. All
Chinese boats are compelled to lie off shore all night, and every possi-
ble precaution the ingenuity of Sir JOHN BOWBING and his Attorney-
General, or the skill of the naval officers on the spot can devise, is put.
into operation to maintain the security of the town and our possessions
of the island. Such are the first fruits of that policy towards the
Chinese people and the Tartar Government which her Majesty's
Ministers approve. Ono would think that nothing more would be
desired to gratify the most insatiable thirst for mischief. But the war
is no longer to be confined to the Canton province. Our entire trade is
also suspended. The Government at Pekin, it is confidently reported,
have published edicts, closing the five ports against our merchandise,
and, by authorising its troops and squadrons to attack the English,
have virtually declared war against us. Thus is that huge conception
of mischief, fostered by the Government, and put into execution by Dr.
BowalNu, expanding throughout the length and breadth of the Chinese
Seas, and compelling us to the alternative of either undertaking a
serious war with China upon a vast and expensive scale, or, as Lord.
PALMERSTON intimated, the Government had suddenly come to the
resolution on Thursday evening of dispatching a Plenipotentiary to
patch up a peace. In the history of unjustifiable wars nothing is on
record surpassing the late abominable transactions at Canton.
Hostilities with Persia may, we presume, be considered at an end.
A treaty of peace was signed on Tuesday afternoon between FERONIE
KHAN and Lord COWLEY. It is a treaty hastily patched upon the face
of an Eastern war, the most expensive and least satisfactory we have
entered into for some years past. It would be, perhaps, premature to
remark upon the terms of that treaty ; but the country may rest.
assured that we have gained nothing by force of arms that we could.
not have obtained by diplomacy—that we have established at Teheran
upon a firmer footing than hitherto the supremacy of Russian influ-
ence, while we have opened the country to American enterprise. We
trust, however, that the stipulations of this treaty will be found clear
and concise. defining the limits of Persia and Affghanistan, securing
the independence of Herat, and establishing our future relations upon
a satisfactory ba-is, while the most exact specifications of everything
necessary to render these stipulations effectual may not have been
omitted.

The first meeting at Paris of the Conferences appointed to arrange
the affairs of Neufchatel may he regarded as a promise of the speedy
and final settlement of this delicate question We regret that no part
of this hope can be grounded upon the diplomatic skill or political
ability of our resident ambassador, Lord COWLEY.
The evacuation of Greece has been finally completed. The last
detachment of the allied troops had left by the 2tith ult.
The representations of Count BroL to the Court of Turin upon
the abusive tone of the Piedmontese press, have, we are inclined to
believe, received the influence of the united action of the French and
English Cabinets. A favourable change of feeling between the two
Courts may shortly be anticipated Count CAVOCR, assured that he
can no longer count upon the support of Lord PALMERSTON'S Govern-
ment, will cease to offer a futile resistance to the pressure of the
Court of Vienna.

The Leading journal professes also to be the National journal, to
abjure party, and to be actuated only by the purest motives. It is
well known that self-laudation, steadily persisted in, will usually
succeed in convincing the world of a man's excellence. And upon this
rule the Times has acted. In the teeth of glaring contradictions and
inconsistencies, it has succeeded purely by the force of impudence
in persuading the country that it is the only independent paper. This
once effected, the remaining part of the imposture becomes easy ; and
purely fictitious accounts of the state of public feeling are foisted on
its gaping admirers, who totally forget, even if they had ever wit enough
to comprehend, its numerous and shameless tergiversations. When
Lord PALMERSTON first came into office, the Times was for five or six
months violently opposed to his Administration. Nothing he could
do was right—nothing he could say was tolerable. Suddenly a change
came over their spirit : Lord PALMERSTON was the man of the age.
Nobody like the Bottle-holder! And pray what was the reason of this
wondrous metamorphosis? Mr. --.11"BEIRT LOWE had been made Vice.
President of the Board of Trade !