The Express.
London, England, 1858-04-23 00:00:00

THE

the shims of each a rule as this, Isdeavoiv to
ripply on &mond ooeasion the defeetive liar os
proof by means the most objettiesebls. Uslr es the
_ _

verdict of a Jury once solemnly given on a r riminal
charge were to be regarded as conclusively disposing,
not only of that charge, hut of all ot►ers intrinsically
and substantially involved in it, the persraal liberty
of Englishmen would be at once deprive d of one of
its meat efficient and valuable esfeguard.s.

On principle, therefore, the isogon of the Govern-
ment s perfectly right; its squally right as a
matter of prudence. Had the present Arroartsv-
01DIZZAL made any saideaveer to stretch the law,
had he attempted te tabs advantage of a mere
technical distinction in seder to evade the appli-
cability of a plain legal maxim, there cos be no
doubt that s.eh a emus of proceeding would have
resulted is a second acquittal of the accused. It ie
not for a moment to be supposed that a Middlesex
Jury would have been lees inclined to require
rigorous strictest@ of proof than the twelve " good
• meet sod owe whe pronounced that memorable
verdict in the sty of London. It is, indeed, abun-
dantly clear that the fact of the law having been
stretched is order to secure a verdict of guilty,
would have afforded to the prisoner's counsel an ad-
ditional sad as intsietible topic for urging a verdict
of aaptittaL bag a result would merely have in-
sured the deaseved unpopularity of the Government,
and added te the mortification of the Tuileries.

If this kw advisers of the present Administration
really will la stand well, not only with the more
democratic portion of the public, but with thinking
and rational men of all shades of opinion, they will
not stop here. The prosecutions now pending
against the publishers T11:111LOVE and Tcuzazowsu

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for writings alleged to contain criminal incentives to
tyrannicide, cannot be regarded, in the existing
state of public feeling, as having the slightest chance
of MOM& With reference to the publications thus
incriminated, it is not now necessary to say more,
than that they would never have been deemed de-
serving of the notice of the ATTORNET-GILNERAL
at any other crisis than the present. With-
out going so far as to affirm that theme pro-
secutions have been instituted at the express
instance of the French Government, it would
be affectation to doubt that they have been instituted
out of deferenoe to the known feelings of that
Government. Their failure, If persisted in, must be
regarded, by all those qualified to form a judgment.
as beyond a doubt. But their failure would
do more than even their abandonment, to irritate and
annoy those whom they were instituted to conciliate
and appease. Is it worth while to imperil the popu-
larity of an Administration for a result which may
endanger an alliance? Whichever way these pro-
oredinp terminate, the effect upon public feeling here
as regards our own Government will be almost
equally disastrous. If they terminate, as it is almost
certain they will, in failure, the effect upon public
feeling in France, or, at any rate, upon military feel-
ing in the barracks, and Imperialistic feeling at the
Tuileries, may be calculated by the experience of
the last few days.

Why ran this risk? Why should the pre-
sent Government, at the hazard of incurring
wide-spread odium in this country, take upon
themselves the task of demonstrating to NAPO-
LEON 111. that the heart of England is tho-
roughly alienated from the system of sombre des-
potism which he is inaugurating ; that English
Juries, chosen from and faithfully representing the
middle classes of English society, will sturdily
refuse to lend themselves as accesearies to the de-
fence of a Government whose principles they
supremely dislike, or to the punishment of those who
have expressed that dislike in the bold language of
vehement denunciation? The result of the proceed-
ings against Dr. BERNARD has made one thing
clear, and that is, that no change in the
mere letter of the English law will ever
accomplish the object of converting England into
an outwork of the Imperial dynasty now entrenched
in France. There must be a change, not only in the
letter, but in the spirit of our law—not only in our
Statute-book, but in all our rules of evidence and all
our modes of criminal administration ;—aye, mere
than this—there must be a change in English con-
sciences and English hearts, before the middle
classes of this country will consent to become the
instruments of that spirit of espionage and vindic-
tiveness with which the Empire seeks to hunt down
its foes. If a feeling of this kind produced the re-
' salts we have just witnessed in such a prosecution as
that brought against BERNARD, what can be anti-
cipated from it in inch prosecutions of the press as
those now pending against Tannovg and Tons-
govrext

LORD DERBY begins to find out how very unlucky
it is for him that he has so long been in the wrong,
and he talks very like a naughty boy that is tired of
getting the worst of it, and would rather like to
behave better in future, if he only knew how. But
bad habits are hard to get over ; and it needs genuine
moral courage in a ringleader of mischief to look his
delinquent followers in the face, and confess that all
this Use be has been doing nothing but leading
them astray.

Bach is about the meaning of the petulant but peni-
tent Prime Minister's observations last night on the
Oaths BBL At the suggestion of Lord LYNDHURST
the measure was read a second time without oppo-
sition : it being obvious that in Committee the old
battle of intolerance might as fully and more fairly
be fought as on the previous stage. Lord DIZZY
no longer commie his conviction that the struggle
has been protracted farther than can serve any good
purpose. If anybody would only persuade him that
his opinion on tbe subject has hitherto rested on
error he would be particularly obliged to nim, but
as conversion is not to be had, and desertion
would be rather dangerous, all the Con-
servative leader can say is, that ft any
noble lord shall move to omit the clause from
the Bill which would admit the Jews,
he should vote for such amendment. For the last
ten years Lord Dziter has uniformly taken the ini-
tiative himself in the course of obstruction. He
now declines that office, and carefully reminds all
waverer, and waiters upon Providence that three
members of the Cabinet be has recently formed are
decided advocates of the removal of Jewish Dis-
abilities. The net result is, that as far as the
Ministry are concerned they are quite willing to
have done with the controversy it their dull and
bigoted supporters will only take the hint. Their
chief has declared that the removal of Jewish dis-
abilities is an open question.

There appears to have been no disposition on
either side of the House to misspend a fine April
'using in a polernicopolitical debate on the Second
Reading, especially as that infliction would have to
be andused in any OM when the Bill should be in
Osnittse. Two exceptions only were Band, in the
room effort 011 T and the Earl of Wicaumw. The
ham noble kA owes ea though he ►d gene down
to the Hesse with the weal amnia: el disagreeable
*here to lay. and notwithstanding the abounee of
the anticipated oldigatien be Mod it impossible
net to say them. His spook woad have been
somewhat to the popes hod Loed Dim done
jut the memo of what he aotaally did, and pro-