The Express.
London, England, 1866-02-07 00:00:00

THE ROYAL SPEECH AND THE DEBATE.

The Times observes that in the debate on the
address in each house, the subject of the cattle plague has
been held to overpower all others—foreign politics, colo-
nial government, and constitutional reform—in import-
anee. In defending the policy of the administration Lord
Granville and Mr. T. G. Baring possibly may have had the
better of the argument ; but, if so, it must be
confessed that the success of the defence was rather
owing to the unskilful nature of the attack than to
the real merits of the action of the government. No one
can complain that stringent measures were not adopted by
the government before the report of the Cattle Plague
Commission appeared, bat what they have done since is
MOM open to censure. Making every allowance for the
perplexity of the situation, end remembering that even
her Majesty's ministers are but men, they must still be
condemned for failing then to recognise the necessity of
uniform action throughout the kingdom, or to turn to
account the machinery which was reedy at band to execute
their Orders. It is to be hoped that the lessons of the past
half-year will lead them now at alienate to adopt a course of
vigorous notion, and the country is not without hopes that
in the bill announced by the government something may
yet be done to redeem the inaction of the peat. As to re-
form Lord Grey end Lord Derby were almost the only
peers to express any hope or fear on the subject, and in the
more popular assembly no one had • word to say about
it. It is quite evident that the peers are not afraid of any re-
volution, and the commons are not anxious on the subject.
The statement that no bill willbe introduoed until certain dor
torsi statistics now in proems of arrangement are submitted
to the legisl►ture leaves it to be inferfel that the measure
which will thou be brought forward will deal only with
• reduction of the franchise, to which, and to which
alone, these ststist,cs would seem to refer. We must wait
till more is revealed to us, but is dealing with reform, as
in dealing with the rioderpest, the administration ought to
be aware that delays are dangerous.
The mitigated pomp and the reduced ceremony which
marked the proceedings within and without the House of
Lords yesterday do not appear to the Daily News to have
been snob as to impair the sense of historic dignity, or to
weaken the venerable •acciations of the place sad the
time. In the touching circumstances of her Majesty's re-
appearance and resumption of her duties of state, is her
mournful self-restraint and silent isolation, and in the
affectionate homely recognitions that sought to console the
loneliness of her coming and her going, the privileged and
select audience within the house foundsomething of • com-
pensation for the royal robes wearily exhibited and wearily
thrown aside, and even for the excusably uncertain elocu-
tion and intonation of the Lord Chancellor.

The comment• of the Daily News upon the debate will
be fornd in another column.

After noting the loyal reception which her Majesty
encountered yesterday on her way to parliament, the Poet
proceeds to criticise the Speech, remarking that, unlace
Lord Palmerston. who was always opposed to making the
Speech too long, the protest Prime Minister has taken good
osre not to leave himself open to the charge of passing
over any topic to which reference could possibly be made.
As to reform, no one ooald fairly accuse Lord Russell of
shelving it, but the ill-natured might suggrat that
he bee rather ungenerously thrown upon parlia-
ment the odium of giving it the go by. The
policy of the government in connexion with the cattle
plague furnishes bat one of several base. of attack to an
opposition who, in no unequivocal manner, indicated last
evening their intention of endeavouring, if possible, to die-
lodge the present occupants of the Treasury bench.
The Herald contrasts the earnesteese with which
speaker after speaker on the opposition side took up the
subject of the cattle plague with the comparative iodiffer.
mace of the m'nisterial benches, and legate that an
indictment 'against a ministry was never more strongly
made out. On other topics also, especially in the case of
its defence against the speech of Lord Derby, the govern-
ment cut but a very sorry figure.
The Telegraph cannot agree with the declaration to
which Lord Faversham sought to pledge the House of
Lords, that the administration deserves censure because it
did not prohibit all importation of cattle at the time when
the approach of the Underpart first became imminent.
'Mader popular institutions like ours, no government could
have adopted exceptional and abnormal measures, in-
terfering with the customary freedom of trade, unless
public feeling bad been in favour of so grave an extension
of power ; and &trier the early stages of the disease, the
country was certainly not prepared for any such
Nothing could be a greater national calamity than the in-
troduction of party considerations into the discussion of the
preventive and remedial measures we aught to adopt ; end
the Telegraph regrets that, on the fleet night of the ses-
sion, the opposition should have sought to give the debate
a factious character.

The Star sees originality and thought In the speech of
Lord Frederick Cavendish end something feed% and
earnest in his utterances as to reform. The speech of the
attoooder, Mr. Graham. the new member for Glasgow, was
a yet abler effort, and woo from the bonne unusual op.
pl►nes. In the matter of the rattle plague the defence of
the adimisittrat oa is not ountpiete, and we mud await