The Express.
London, England, 1866-06-02 00:00:00

THE WEEKLY PRESS.

The Saturday Review describes the position of the
ministry as becoming more and more undignified, and the
respect of the nation for the house as being silently sapped
and undermined. It is an unlucky accident that at a
critical time like the present the Premier should be in the
House of Lords, and the present leader of the Commons
has made the difficulties the greater by his policy—by in-
troducing half a reform bill, and by his violent and
'irritating management. No one has been so dan-
gerous to him as Ur. Bright, whose threats
the house has learned to despise. The supporters of the
ministry, too, are greatly to blame. The division of Mon-
day night is one of which the liberal party ought to be
thoroughly ashamed, as no one, of course, can really have
thought it possible that clauses should be introduced into
the bill to step bribery. In • lees degree the same remark
applies to Mr. Clay's proposal for an educational fran-
chise. When the discussion of these points is seized
on by the opposition avowedly as an engine of tormenting
the government, liberal members ought to forbear pressing
their views if they wish their party to carry a serious and
practical measure. Nor can anything be well more offen-
sive to a ministry than such • motion as Captain Hayter
has thought fit to draw up for the benefit and delight of
the opposition. Such objections as he had to raise
might well have been made in committee, but
then he would have lost the pleasure of being
a young liberal fighting against his party. The conserva-
tives are rendering it impossible for the ministry to remain
in office. Are they prepared to moored them! The chief
Adullamite liberals decline to serve with them, and whe-
ther they could hope to hold office honourably and profit-
• Sly with a minority in the Commons, and with the reform
question hanging over them, is exceedingly doubtful. We
should have thought they would have done much more
wisely to help the Reform Bill forward, and to use their
great influence to improve it am far as possible.
What the Saturday Renew would like most to
me would be • discussion of the main features
of the bill carried on without asperity on the
part of the opposition or hostility or the part of inde-
pendent liberals. And when the sense of the house had
I thus been gathered, that the bill should for the present
stand over, and that a complete and uniform measure
should be brought before parliament immediately on
the opening of the next session. If all parties would
be moderate, this might be easily done without any
humiliation to the government ; but we fear that
parties will not be moderate, and that the folly of
Liberals and the imprudence of conservative* will bring
about • serious political crisis.
The Examiner abjures the assumption of any right on
our part in the conference to overbear the independent
will of • helpless province which may not choose to be dis-
posed of in an arbitrary manner. This is Castlereaghism ;
and out of the evil ways of that dreary and soul-deadening
superstition it is time that we should once and for ever
show mu selves escaped. In 1853 we rejected with
lofty airs of virtue the tempting invitation of
Czar Nicholas to partition the dominions of the Sultan,
not because the allotment would have given to us

, • „e-e-
EtittniV, JUNE 2, AO.

illisdequate sere ot--- the spoil, but 1110...-
010 honour of the odintry revolted at the magnitude of
grime proposed. haeoesnos or criminality maid*
Iblowever, depend am steadied measurement. The we-
ep or head of human cattle upon a given territory is not
a question open to discussion by England or by her re-
presentatives. To go to war to prevent every act of
usurpation or violence others may meditete is certainly
not our duty : in this seise we are not our brother's
keeper. But neither are we free to help to overbear the
reluctance or remonstrance of a defenceless community
which has not been consulted as to its fate, and which the
selfishness of rival empires may conspire
treader.
The Economist instances, as a proof of the improved
state of the money market and of public feeling, that the
extraordinary failure of the Consolidated Bank did cot
produce very much excitement in the City. No pro-
oeeding could have been more calculated to affright the
public and restore the condition of panic from which we
bad barely escaped, than the arbitrary conduct of a
minority of directors—the legality of whose course is quite
open to doubt—in destroying their business without con-
sultation with their camped, because the bank had
entered into arrangements the validity of which was open
to dispute, to pay off certain creditors of the Bank
of London, and their right to give any preference to one
class of creditors rather than another was actually—es
from the first it was quite rare to have been—disputed.
As confidence returns the high rate of interest will re-
assert its force on the minds of lenders, who will again
send their money where it can be most profitably em-
ployed. That the note reserve at the Bank of England
has again decreased need excite no alarm. The failure of
the Consolidated Bank was a fresh reason for all country
bankers to keep their positions as safe as possible, and
while they retain the large reserves they do in their tills,
it is obvious enough that the notes cannot come back to
the Bank of England. Whenever the country bankers
are reassured, we shall see the note reserve in the Bank
of England returning to its usual proportions.
The Spectator says that the tones expect the support
of many of the thirty Adullamites, and of almost all the
members of the disfranchised boroughs, on the division on
Capt. Hayter's motion. Many liberals, moreover, who
dare not star away when the question is one of reducing
the franchise, can avoid a vote on the subject of grouping,
while that part of the scheme attracts no Union. It is
considered even possible that an alliance will be struck up
between the tories and the more conservative whip, that
Captain Hayter's motion will be carried, and that govern-
ment will then resign without a dissolution, which in the
present state of opinion might be disastrous to the party.
The only chance for the bill is the adhesion of that section
the Adullamitee which honestly wished for a complete
measure, and having got one will vote for it, and that is a
very slender one. In another article the Spectator ex-
presses the belief that the bill will be lost, and that the
government have determined to resign.

LATES'

FENCE.

FORWARD MOVIW. OF TEE ITALIAN

The Italian army seems to be still advancing.
Four days ago it rested on the Ogilo, but it has
crossed that river, as also the river MeDs, and is
now cm echelon on the Chios& Cialdini with the
4th army corps in Bologna, is in front of that part
of Venetia which is outside of and to the right of
the Quadrilateral. The 3rd corps, under Della
Rocca, is extended midway between Bologna and
Piacenza, which is the headqnarters of the army.
Cucchieri's corps is in its former position, and the
lit Corps, under Giovanni Durando, is extended
from Lodi to Brescia. General Cevale, with his
division, occupies the latter. Le 10, Lenarto,
Menechiaro, and Bergamo are occupied by
brigades. The divisions of the Neapolitan Gene-
ral Pianelli and the Garibaldian General Sirtori,
are distributed in the centre at Creme, Soregina,
Orzinova, and Sodeino. A division is also posted
at Pizzighettone, Casale, Pusterlenzo, Codogno,
St. Angelo, and Broghetto, so as to form a
junction between Lodi and Pizzighettone.
Thus the advanced guard of the army is
facing the Quadrilateral between Verona and Man-
tua, while the rear guard for the present rests on
the Adda and the Po. By this arrangement the
post of honour and of danger seems to be reserved
for the Ist corps under Durando, an old and tried
soldier who fought with great skill and bravery in
the two previous Italian campaigns, and defended
Vicenza against Itadetzki with great obstinacy
though with a greatly inferior force.
The following items of news appear in the Italian
journals :

The Milan journals relate that a great number of volun-
teers, coming from Novara, arrived at Milan last week.
After having traversed the city with the national flag, they
halted in the Piazza of the Scala Theatre, giving uttenince
to vivats and acclamations for the King and Garibaldi, and
singing patriotic songs. But as the shouting was pro-
longed beyond measure, a public functionary invited the

crowd to disperse, as any further demonstration was use•
Ism. The young men then gave a striking example of re-
spect for the law by at once dispersing, after having de•
posited their Rag at the Quentin, where they will resume
it when they take their departure.
Two Austrian spies, who gave themselves out as Hun-
garians, have been discovered in the 6th Regiment of
Italian Volunteers under the command of Nizotera. They
have been placed in confinement to await a decision from
the superior authorities.
The Archduke Albert, coming from Verona by way of
Padua, reviewed a few days back at Rovigo a corps d'art's&
of 36,000 men. He left the same day, taking General
Bendier and the Imperial delegate of the province to dine
with him at Verona.

THE CONGRESS.

The Neue Freie Frew of Vienna says :

According to our information the position of Austria
at the conference will be this:—A categorical re-
furl of any proposition for the cession of
Venetia; the solution of the Schleswig-Holstein
question by the Assembly of the Estates ; a
refusal to recognise in the conference any competence on
the question of federal reform. We are assured from an
authentic source that Austria will not remain isolated
in maintaining this point of view. Some days ago we
were able to say that the relations between St. Peters.
burgh and Vienna had become improved. We sr assured
(and the presence of the Queen of the Belgians in
Vienna has had something to ao with this arrange-
ment) that a positive agreement has been made
between Russia and Austria touching the negotiations
at the conference. The turn which affairs have taken on
the Lower Danube teems to have materially contributed
to the reconciliation which we have indicated.

It is reported from Paris that the Emperor will
open the conference in person, and will make a
speech in the interlude of pesos.

(ssurrs's mitosis's.)

AUSTRIA AND THE CONFERENCE.

VIENNA, Jars 2.

A semi•ofcial article says :—" Great importance
is attached to the obstacles which exist in the way
of a settlement of the questions to be discussed by
the conference. As regards Venetia, it is con-
sidered that it will be most difficult to find the
means of compensating Austria for the cession of
that province, even should Austria be willing to
entertain the idea of compensation."