The Express.
London, England, 1868-02-21 00:00:00

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LONDON, FRIDAY, FEB. 21.

MR. DISRAELI'S PARLIAMENTARY

LEADERSHIP.

THE art of Parliamentary leadership is one of
the moat essential qualifications of a modern
statesman. To govern the assembly which governs
the nation is an office which calls for varied
and rare gifts. Possibly not one man can be 1
found in a generation who possesses them in a very I
high degree. A man may be a master in debate
and in administration, he may be a profound and
foreseeing statesman, he may adorn a pene-
trating and comprehensive philosophy with the
splendour of a gorgeous rhetoric, his character may 1
be free front stain ; and all these merits may be
half neutralised by want of tact and discretion.
On the other hand, a politician to whom even his
friends do not impute very lofty motives, or a rigid
regard to principle, who has never displayed any
peat capacity for departmental business, who
may be even a halting orator, or a slovenly debater,
exercising no intellectual ascendancy of any
sort or kind, may be an efficient Parliamentary
leader. Lord GRENVILLE, whose knowledge and
mastery of affairs were unsurpassed in his day, and
whose oratory was impressive and failed
in the leadership of the House of Lords. In ,
a touching letter to a political friend, lie confesses
his incapacity for the imuutgentent of men, and his I
regret that with the advance of ago his originally
sieuder power of influencing them was becoming
more scanty. A much greater man was spoken of
by the country gentlemen of his day, as "that im-
" personation of fully, Mr. Be ri; r." On the
other hand, Lord ALTHORT, whose only quali-
fications were unfailing good nature, transparent
simplicity of character, and unmistakeable honesty
at purpose. swayed the House of Commons with
an ascendancy which genius does not always com-
mand. No one rule can he laid down for con-
duct in a post which men ao different as WALPOLE,
the elder and the younger Perr, Sir SOCERT Pest,
Lord A LTHORT, lord PAL NI ERAToN, and Mr.
DISRAELI have filled with different degrees of
success. As regards the tires three, they
wore national rather than Parliamentary
leaders ; they impersonated the all but unani-
mous will of the English people, in its
relation w foreign enemies, or to a handful
of domestic malcontents. Their pe.ition bears more
analogy to that of CAVOUR and DDiMARCK in our
own day than to that of their successors in Eng-
land. They had a virtual dictatorship ; and the
tone of dictatorial authority aas not unnatural or
irritating in their mouths because it corresponded
with the fact. Where it failed, the royal influence,
or the secret service fund, could be brought to
bear upon mutineers. A House of Commons
which can neither be bi,ight nor intimidated needs
to be managed. The qualities needful for lianas-
big it nmy be well studied in the careers of Lord
PALM All -ToN and Mr. DISRAELT, as contrasted
with those of Lord Ressma. and Mr. GLAD-
froN E. We leave Sir HOBERT Pe:A omit of RC-
wont. It may be questioned whether he could
base led the present parliament. It must be re-
membenml that, saving his few months' occupancy
of office in MO, he was Prime Minister only for
five years ; that he entered office commanding
an overwhelming majority, that he left it, having
accomplished indeed a great reform. principally
through the aid of his opponents, but with his
majority gone, his party broken up, and amid the
execrations and vituperation of those who had been
hi. followers. Sir Rosser Pmit's cold tern-
petament and somewhat pompous oratory would
sot be very congenial, it may be conjectured,
to the present Howse of Commons. Circumstances
sande him a necessity to his party, and gave him
the opportunity of bestowing inestimable benefits
on his country. But his party first distrusted and
afterwards detested him.
Putting aside Sir Roaewr Pest then, whose case
is unique, what, we may ask, has given to Lord
PALMEISTON and Mr. DISRAELI a power of
swaying the House of Commons which has
been denied to the consistent principle and
eminent services of Lord Rrsseu. and to the
unsurpassed eloquence, knowledge, and adminis-
tr u capacity of Mr. GLADSTONE ?

Wemay illustrate a part of the sub jeetbyreferenee

to a clover apologue of Lord Lvrrox's. In one of
his earlier books he tells us how the Virtues and
Vices went each on • pleasure part•. The Vir-
tues spent a miserable day wrangling with each
other, and parted with mutual dissatisfaction.
The were a most estimable band, but they had
forgotten to take Good Temper with thins. The
Vices on the other hand spent a delightful day,
pleased and pleasing, because they had had the fore-
thought to take as one of their crew the reconciling
companion whom the Virtues had omitted. Lord
PALMERSTON was, and Mr. is, capable of
being very rude. The fornwr was often less
than civil to Mr. Gosovr, and the latter has
more than once taken pains to be offensive
to Mr. Mut,. But both have always
bseen careful to have the prevalent feeling
of the house on their side, with respect to the
subjects and the men whom they affronted. Lord
Businsm.'s scornful haute7k icY curtness
have seldom' respected these ctaill'...one of safe
lan**; aid Mr. GLeveroitz's meet ,earneet re-

bukes and expostulations have geudfall y, such to
his moral credit, been directed against revs.
lent evils cherished by tie house, whici
has, therefore, sat uneasy under the chastise-
ment. Mr. Disuazu's habit of pandering to
the perverse bias of the moment is not
for a moment to be imitated ; but the
harshness of conflict with wrong may, without un-
I worthy complianoes, be tempered by a suavity and
self-restraint which though difficult are not impels-
' Bible to strong conviction and feeling, and are
valuable aids to them. Another thing which Mr.
DISRAELI habitually remembers is that the House
of Commons is for no small number of its mem-
bers quite as much a place of amusement as
a place of business ; they come there for
entertainment, and Mr. Mamma furnishes
them with what they come for. He can answer a
fool according to his folly. He does not think it
necessary to go into long explanations for the pur-
pose of supplying Mr. WEIALLIEY or Mr. DARBY
Gairmu with all the information which they
desire, or of setting those worthy gentlemen
right when they happen to go astray. He
can distinguish between what they want to know
and what the House wants to know. He is
always, indeed, thinking as much of the House
as of his subject, and never suffers his
own interest in a particular question to carry
him beyond the limits at which the interest of
the majority of his hearers stops short. He has
the sense of proportion, and knows when
to have done. These are not the highest qualities.
Their intrinsic value is very small, but they have
the greatest instrumental worth. Their posses-
sion may mask the shortcomings of a pre-
tender to statesmanship. Their absence may
make really statesmanlike qualities unavailing.
If the House of Commons is to be more than a
disorderly and divided public meeting it must be
brought to unity of mind and purpose by skilful
leadership.

THE OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE BOAT-

RACE.

We are to have the University boat-race after all.
Oxford has not held the plea advanced by Cam-
bridge for a withdrawal of its challenge sufficient ;
and has said so plainly in a letter, some parts of
which seem not to have met the approval of the
Cambridge Club. To this appeal to their
pluck the Cambridge men have responded
promptly, and, by a majority of 29 to 6, it has
been resolved that the request made to Oxford for
the withdrawal of its challenge, be itself with-
drawn. We are glad of this, not merely because
the race has risen to the importance of an aquatic
Derby-day, but for the higher reason that we
should 'not like to see men who have come
year after year to a famous contest with increasing
lees of prestige, but without loss of courage, falter
now. There may be a point at which the stoutest
heart will knock under to adversity, and own itself
beaten beyond hope. But, apologise for it as we
may, such a state is ono of demoralisation. No true
man takes it into his calculation as a possible
close of his efforts. It is always on the cards that
he will win. He does not understand such a
thing as a struggle to be given up in despair.
We felt dissatisfied when the Cambridge
men made Mr. Goacos's death their excuse
for not rowing this year. A valid ex-
cuse it was not, for the University had no
lack of men able to take his place worthily. By
the world it would be regarded as a pretext to
corer faint-heartedness. Probably the Oxford Club
saw it in this light, and felt that for the
common honour of both Universities it should
be withdrawn. It did not reckon in vain
when it relied on the chivalry of its old
antagonist, and made this request. Never had
worsted adversary less cause for quitting the field.
Cambridge has been beaten, not dishonoured. If
she has not carried off the prize, she has won the
respect of all who love courage, and who respect it
perhaps more when it fails without reproach
than when it succeeds. Besides, nothing has
been so characteristic of the University boat•
race as the run of luck which has bestowed a
' succession of victories now on this side, now on
that. More than twenty years ago Oxford
turned the tide of fortune in a race in which
success might well seem hopeless. It may be
Cambridge's turn this year, and the mere non-
impossibility of a victory which will be so splendid
a triumph whenever it comes, should be sufficient
to outweigh the dejection of even a larger list of
defeats than she has yet sustained.

THE picket firing which precedes the great elec-
tion engagement continues to be to the disadvan-
tage of Ministers. The isolated appeals to con-
stituencies rendered necessary by accidents of life
or political change, since the passing of the
Reform Bill, have shown none of that
unbounded gratitude to the putative authors of
the measure, nor of that simple faith in their
future policy, which we were assured would be dis-
played ; but rather a dogged adherence to Reform
principles as interpreted and defended by
those with whom Reform is traditionally asso-
ciated. Mr. Las's promises at }kitten that
lie would go into the " goose trade" on Dart-
moor ; lay the telegraph from Penryn to
Helton ; present 500 volumes "of great variety "
as a nucleus for a free library ; make a railway
on the Mont Conic principle, and supply the
town with gas at a cheap rate,—failed indeed
to disturb the SOLICITOR-GENERAL in his return;
but the election of Mr. Gso. Missy for Stoke-
upon-Trent is a clear loss to the Government. To
Parliament it is a gain, for Mr. HILLY brings
with him a reputation, net only for large-minded
philanthropy, but for an enlightened and fearless
Liberalism, greatly needed in the discussions which
await us. We do not propose to claim Mr. HOPI'S
advance upon his opponent at Cambridge as a
subject for particular congratulation, but so far as
it goes it is a ministerial disappointment.

IF we except the very improbable story that the
Roumanian Chambers are going to proclaim Prince
CHARLES an independent Sovereign, on Sunday,
the 23rd inst., the anniversary of the expulsion of
Prince Couza—the only " dark spot" visible
on the foreign horizon at present is that which
appears over the residence of the ex-King
of Hanover at Hietzing. At the moment
when Prussia seemed to be satisfied with the
explanations rendered on the subject of the
passports given to the Hanoverian officers, I
King Grown took advantage of the celebra-
tion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his marriage
to inform his former subjects that he hoped to rule
over them once more as their Prince. Hence
a renewal of irritation between Prussia
and Austria. Marriages have often proved
the cause of bloody wars, but these were
times of barbarism and ignorance. It would not
be possible for a modern Helen to kindle a tan
years' war. We cannot imagine that the celebration
of the 20th anniversary of a marriages= leash° any-

ma
thing mobs thillit aau *riths ma of pdfill*
4 good sand* • 'a prate r, is Count
iaIKLICICB maxim. t hope, ilorafore, that
Ihe Prussian Minis will'hot stop the supplies,
and that the ex-Kuch may be allowed to give vent
to vain desires over his Tatty without disturbing
the peace of the world. •