The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-03-27 00:00:00

the Diet the control of the question. The German
powers, whatever may be the objections of foreign
powers, will not allow themselves to bb turned
aside from the intention to treat the affair as a
purely German matter. On the other hand, a
letter from St. Petersburg, of the 14th, says :
The Russian reply to the circular despatch of
the Danish Cabinet, relative. to the intervention
of the Germanic Confederation in the affair of
the duchies, which is to be sent to Copenhagen
in a few days, pronounces completely in favour of
Denmark, and declares that the Confederation
has no right to meddle in the question, as it is of
a purely internal character, and Denmark alone
has the right to solve it. The note besides gives
Denmark a positive assurance that Russia will not
allow Germany to intervene de facto. As Russia is
peculiarly interested in the matter, owing to her
rights of succession to the Danish throne, she will
communicate her opinion to the Courts of Berlin
and Vienna.

THE hour approaches when the country again
performs, at the request of the Sovereign, a great
national act--Ahat of sending to the high Senate
of the nation chosen men to represent the people
and to advise the Sovereign. We trust the elec-
tors of Liverpool do not need reminding by us of
the solemnity of the duty that devolves on them.
Now is the occasion for them to rise above all
petty and sectional considerations, and to consi-
der what is for the general good. The one mil-
lion of electors are acting for themselves, and for
the six millions of non-electors—or rather for the
other twenty-five millions of the population. Let
them feel and remember that they are not acting
for themselves alone, but for all; and let this con-
sideration impart loftiness to their purpose.
According to the character of the men now to be
sent to Parliament, it will be decided whether for
the next four or five years the progress of the
nation is to be backwards or forwards; whether
we are to have decreased taxation and increased
economy of public expenditure; whether the laws
are to be not only reformed, but in addition to
this, whether we are to have improvement in the
mode of administering them, or administrative
reform; whether popular education is to advance ;
whether the franchise is to be extended ; whether
many anomalies permitted, and long since recog-
nised in the Reform Act of 1832, are to be cor-
rected; whether more purity of election is to be
attempted, the voter protected, peace, industry,
and free trade extended at home and abroad ;
whether the influence of this country shall be
thrown into the scale of liberty or despotism
on the Continent ; in short, the ejection now
imminent will help to decide whether the thou-
sand-and-one reforms needed •in Church and
State shall be accelerated or retarded for an
lindefinite period to come.
All this, and much more, depends on the pre-
sent election , and the eighteen thousand electors
of Liverpool play no unimportant part in the
struggle. Let each elector act conscientiously,
as if the whole depended on himself. Thus will
it become a grand public act, even a national
solemnisation; and if each or the great majority
of the electors will act conscientiously according
to their best judgment, we have no fear of the
result.

We believe the great ',majority of the whole
people-would, if uninfluenced, vote for Reform-
ers. We are glad to believe that even Conserva-
tives must, and do, with good grace or bad grace,
profess attachment to reform. And even if they
try to make the best of a bad bargain, still let
them have what credit they deserve. So long as
there are Conservatives, they must exercise an
influence which is legitimate, if it is not fortified
by bribery and intimidation. Peradventure
neither party can claim to have quite clean
hands. But, whatever be the specific result of
the coming election—whether the majority is to
consist of Conservatives or Liberals, we believe
that natural progress is inevitable Not even a
Derby-Disraeli Ministry could stop the clock of
reform ; they might manage to put it back for a
time, but again it would go on, tick, tick; and
again we should have with Galileo to exclaim—
" yet it moves !" It must move. The nation
cannot stand still, whether PALNIERSTON or
DERBY be Premier. We are no indiscriminate
admirers of Lord PALNIERSTON, but we greatly
prefer the men that would rally round him, to
those of the opposite party. They are reformers ;
the others are only conformers, as we take it ;
the first act from principle, the second from
policy ; the first advance because they like it, the
second advance because they must; the first would
lead on the people, the second must be driven
by the people. But, in any event, we are glad
to believe that there call be no standing still.

The only question is the rate of progress.
Return a majority of Reformers, and we get more

real reforms, and we get them faster. But reform
there must be, whoever is Minister. If an ex-
treme improbability should be realised, and an
overwhelming Conservative majority should
be returned, of course a drag will be placed
on the car of reform. An extreme Tory rump
will advocate the repeal of the Catholic
Emancipation Act of 1829, and the disendow-
ment of Maynooth.
Lord DERBY, of course, will rise up in his
place, and declare that he was always in favour
of well-considered and moderate reform ; that as
a statesman he cannot commit himself to the
responsibility of disturbing an arrangement sanc-
tioned by all the leading politicians of the day ;
it would besides throw Ireland into revolution,
and perhaps divide the empire ; and after the
anti-Maynooth cry having served its purpose, it
would be quietly shelved to another session, to
be again brought forward, and again treated as
before.
The China war question is a trumpery affair
that ought not to be permitted to influence the
national action at this juncture. And " PALMER-
STON for ever" is nearly as worthless. What the
people ought to keep in view is the returning of
such a House as will support any minister in real
reforms, and force them on him, should he be
reluctant. The nation desires reform, whether
the constituencies do or do not. Let the electors
throughout the country represent the nation in
this particular, and then our wish being father to
the thought, we may hope to see a Parliament