The Express.
London, England, 1861-01-01 00:00:00

LONDOV, TUESDAY, JAN. 1.

W►. are all accustomed to look with contempt
Mk CIO shabbiness of .10NAH'S companioue in throw-
ing :.un overboard to appease the storm; but there
is a-mottling far more shabby in the ill-disguised
suie;estiou of a contomporam that while in port,
and ere putting to sea again, his comrades had
better get rid of Mr. flummox& If the Cabinet
rode out in safety the squall which the presence of
the prophet of Oxford was supposed to have pro-
vol,el, it would be • species of political cowardice
almost unparalleled to make such an immolation
when the waters are calm, and future danger can
be but conjectural. The cargo, concerning which
so many misgivings were entertaiued, has been
confessedly landed in good order and condition,
and its real value has been admitted by the most
unwilling appraisers to hare turned out very
much greater than that which had been
officially declared. Ingratitude, therefore, would
be added to cowardice, as signal as it
would probably prove suicidal, if in the hour of
sue. es and security the Minister were to be
bustled away, as a cheap mode of insurance
against the contingent perils that may await her
Muevrv'e ship Cabinet in the session to come.
Apart from all other difficulties in the way of such
a proceeding, however, there is one which, happily
for the credit of all concerned, is certain to prove
insuperable. Lord Piserzerox is not the man to
trip up the heels of a colleague, or to suffer others
to do it while he has the command. We should
be very slow to believe, indeed, that there are in
the Cabinet any individuals capable of playing
their most gifted and versatile comrade so selfish •
trick. But if there were, the Pacifica is just
the man to prevent it. Whatever faults may have
been imputed to him in the course of • long
career, want of loyalty to his friends and asso-
ciates has never been ascribed to him ; and many
well-known instances might be cited in illustration
of that fidelity which has always been understood
to form a personal characteristic of his policy.
e say " the policy " of Lord P•LIIIIRSTON, be-
calm: the truest considerations of prudence con-
spire with the clearest obligations of high principle
to point to firmness and consistency as the best
course which the Administration can pursue.
They have to deal, no doubt, with a Conservative
House of Commons, and Lord Paulen:moles
method of handling the Privilege Question, and
his mode ci treating the question of the electoral
franchise, show how anxious he ia to keep well with
the majority bequeathed to him by Lord Deasy
as Log as he can. But the measure of this sort
of concession Le thoroughly understands, and will
not make the mistake of neglecting. 8o long as
he can boast of men as his colleagues whose sen-
timents are in unison on most important subjects
with those of the Liberal minority of the House,
he may feel himself to be, in a Parliamentary
*ewe, master of the position. But the moment
this element of his administration were materially
weakened or lost, he would, in spite of him-
self, sink into the unenviable condition of •
supernumerary general in the camp to which
be would be said to have deserted ; or he would
find himself compelled to outbid his recalci-
trant Liberal colleagues in Liberalism. When he
and Mr. limiciaeue quitted the Duke of W ILL-
LIN.MON'S Cabinet in 1828, because they could
not induce their colleagues to move onwards
at a prudent pace, Mr. Hcaciaeos is said to
have foretold tha the DUKE and Pert would
forthwith set about carrying the great Liberal mea-
sure of the day, namely, Catholic Emancipation ;
and so literally did the prophetic words come true,
that before twelve months had pulped every vestige
of penal laws for conscience' sake were obliterated
from the statute-book. Vet this was done nu a
Parliament elected ender a Tory Cabinet not three
years before, and containing a decided preponde-
rance of men pledged ,to the maintenance of
Church and State as Church and State then
were. As for the other alternative, it is hardly
worth discussing. Twice within contemporary
recollection has the leadership of the Conservative
party been pressed upon Lord PALYZILSTON, and
twice declined. The veteran Viscount likes well
enough to play the part of special protector of the
feelings and susceptibilities of the country gentle.
ace of England ; and they have never forgotten
the tone and air with which, to console their
drooping spirits after their last defeat by the
Free-traders, he declared, referring to the terms
of a resolution which they complained of as un-
neceesarily humiliating to them, that though
out-voted " they must not be insulted." But
with fair words, and an occasional rich bone
or two of patronage, Lord peters's-1.0e%;
generosity towards the Tory party ends. Accord-
ing to his notions of the composition of an
administration he would have no scruple in ad-
mitting some of their chiefs to his Cabi-
net : but then it must be on condition of
ti air consenting to sit, as Lord iiseie.w ex did
ui til the other day, with men of decidedly liberal
si eech and action. A mere I'on•ervative Oovern-
ent, made up of stand-still Tories and retrograde