The Express.
London, England, 1866-07-10 00:00:00

LORD DICIIBT'S MTATEVINT.

The Times represents Lord Derby's acceptance
of office as a submission to the penalties of victory and an
sat deserving of commiseration. Running over the various
divisions of his lordship's statement last night, our contem-
porary praises him for maintaining a wise and becoming
reserve as to his future policy. The pains which he took
to refute the silly allegation that a conservative govern-
ment must necessarily be warlike were more perhaps ,than
ouch a statement deserved ; at all events, as lone as Lord
Stanley is at the Foreign-office everyone will be satisfied
that a profession of neutrality is not a cloak for prejudice
or prepossessions. The warm language of approval in
which Lord Derby spoke of President Johnson's vigorous
measures for the repression of inroads on the Canadian
frontier corresponded so thoroughly with what Lord Rus-
sell said later in the evening as to give an assurance that
our relations with the United States will remain unaf-
fected by the change of ministry. Upon the question of
reform, Lord Derby and his colleagues have prudently de-
termined to abstain altogether from any pledges.
The Daily News believes that Lord Derby correctly in-
terprets the feeling with which his ministry is regarded—
namely, as an unlucky accident, which must be made the
best of, and which can be borne with the more equanimity
because its time will unquestionably be short. Of his
lordship's patriotic sacrifices of inclination to a sense of
public duty we have heard something too much—such
professions following with a singularly ill grace on the suc-
cessful practice of the most unscrupulous arts of faction.
After all, the explanation amounts only to this—that while
office could not be had Lord Derby was loftily indifferent
to it ; and the fact remains that as soon as there was a
chance of gaining it, no effort was spared for its attain-
ment. His sense of duty can never have gained a more
remarkable victory than when it led him to ask Lord
Clarendon and the Duke of Somerset to coalesce in .July
against the colleagues with whom they had acted in June ;
while in betaking himself to the late Marquis of Lansdowne
and Earl Grosvenor, he was penetrating to the lower
'edifies' strata in search of a broad basis. If it is true
that only minor points of difference remain between
himself and the men whose aid he courts, it is because
lie has been beaten on all the points which are great. But,
be the divergences on small subjects or on great, an irre-
concilable difference of spirit and temper separates, and
always will separate, liberals front conservatives. At
times the gulf may seem narrow, but it is always deep.
A: to Lord Derby's ministerial programme, it is too
meagre to reward or even to afford matter for discussion.
In another article the Daily Noes excuses the mernhere
of the new ministry for cultivating a judicious reticence in
their addresses to their constituents and for taking
refuge in evasive generalities, but it ridicules
the embarrassed replies of the Adullarnites who
have been requested by their liberal supporters
Sio explain the contradiction between their professions on
the hustings and their votes in the house. Analysing
s rite of these singular communications, more particularly
those of Mr. It. Duff and Mr. Wentworth Beaumont, the
Daily News concludes that these equivocations niaydo very
well for thu lobbies and back stairs of the house, but not
for the open air. On the next occasion when these hon.
gentlemen present themselves as liberal candidates, they
will be treated as seceders from the " great liberal party,"
as they were and are.

The Pod reviews Lord Derby's address in an admiring
strain, endorsing all his conclusions and statements.
The Herold is ready to admit that no fault wam to be
found with Lord Russell's speech last night on the score
of temper or of fairness, and nays that it was right in
retiring from office, most probably for ever, he should
express his sense of the merits of his colleagues. lint the
real interest of the evening attached to the speech of the
Earl of Derby, a speech which, marked by all the clearness,
the classical grace, and dignified eloquence that charac-
terise the conservative leader, gave a simple and concise
explanation of the circumstances under which his ad-
ministration huts been formed, a brief but complete vindi-
cation of his conduct, and 11 frank avowal of his future
intentions.

The Telegraph thinks no comment could be so damaging
as a simple summary of the speech, a speech teeming with
those proud blunders of manner and thought that make
the tory earl as dangerous to his followers as he is neces-
sary to them, and winding up with a political anti-
climax of such a character, that we can add no element of
ridicule to its laughable insufficiency. The moment be
deserts the safe and colourless ground of negative policy,
the moment he attempts anything bigger than bankrupts
and paupers, even Adullaniites s iil fall away from him.
The Star cannot help noticing the oar►ed contrast
between the small and intriguing details of Lord Derby's
attempt to form a ministry on an enlarged basis, and the
noble testimony borne by Earl Russell to the greatness of
his distirguished partner in defeat as a beneficent
financier and as an earnest and generous friend of the
people.