The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-12-17 00:00:00

NORTHERN DAILY TIMES.

SECOND EDITION.

[BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.]

Northern Daily Times Office,
Eight O'clock, a.m.

THE MINISTRY.

The Times understands that the cabinet will
meet to day to consider the steps that must
be taken to supply the vacancy so suddenly
and unexpectedly occurring in the ranks of the
ministry. The office which Lord Palmerston
has resigned is one which can on no account be
suffered to remain vacant for a single day longer
than is absolutely necessary. The Times speaks of
Lord John Russell as Lord Palmerston's successor.

The Morning Post is assured that Lord Palmer-
ston will be able td vindicate the course he has •
pursued. It certainly was not a little surprising
that a contemporary should yesterday morning
suddenly announce the resignation of. the Home
Secretary, before his vacation of office could
be completed by her Majesty's acceptance of the
tender of his seals of office ; yet this, even though
a flagrant breach of etiquette was a matter coin•
paratively trifling, when compared with the
imaginary statement by which it has been accom-
panied. A false statement maliciously put as his,
appears to the Post solely for the purpose
of prejudicing the public mind against Lord
Palmerston by misrepresenting alike his mo-
tives and his actions, when the Times states
through two columns, and with every inversion of
phrase, that "Lord Palmerston is not a parliamen-
tary reformer," and that he resigns because he will
not form part of a " reforming ministry." When
the Times asserts this, it asserts what is
entirely untrue. The Post; on the contrary, is led
to believe that Lord Palmerston has been ready to
agree to a very considerable measure of reform,
though he did not chodSe to be a party to
proposing to parliament measures of change,
which, in his opinion, went beyond the necessities
of the time, and which he thought inexpedient.
The Post complains of the gross violatio of the
secrecy of the cabinet councils, and wants to know
how the public is informed through the Times of
the appointment of cabinet committees, and what
has passed or is pretended to have passed in them.
The statement in the Times to the effect that it
seems inexplicable that Lord Palmerston, having
worked with the committee appoited to prepare the
bill, should only have made known his objections
at the conclusion of their labours, is again quite
as false. The Post • affirms with confidence,
that it is untrue that Lord Palmerston's objec-
tions were not stated plainly and distinctly from
the first moment, when the measures to which they
related were proposed and discussed.
The article again strongly complains of the
false statements made to represent Lord Pal-
merston's motives, especially when it is considered
that a period of perhaps some weeks must elapse
before he can have an opportunity of publicly
justifying his conduct to the country. It is a
course of false play, which, though it might have
been expected from the hands of foreign con-
spirators, who again and again contrived such
artful intrigues against the minister of England,
is totally unworthy of any Englishman. The
article concludes as follows :—" We may be
sure that nothing ut a strong and insuperable

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1853.