Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-05-20 00:00:00

THE NORTHERN TIMES, FRIDAY, MAY 20, 1859

within their countries, territories, or. &minions.
And whereas we, being desirous of preserving to
our subjects the blessings of peace, which they now
happily enjoy, are firmly purposed and determined
to abstain altogether from taking any part, either
directly, in the war now unhappily. existing► between
the said ,Sovereigns, their subjects and territories,
and to remain at peace with, and .to maintain a
peaceful and friendly intercourse with, all and with
.eacli. of them, and their respective subjects, and
others inhaliiiing - within any of their-countries,
territories, and dominions, and to maintain a strict
and impartial neutrality in the said hostilities. and
war, unhappily e-r:- " To which

existing between them

you refer," he replies to General= 'PEEL, ," is an

inaccuracy. I acknowledge it. A misstatement
made by me has been the consequence : I am sorry
for it ; and you can give to this acknowledgment
the publicity which you desire." And, after a little
disingenuous fencing with the construction of the
facts, he says, in reply to Sir JOIIN PAKINGTON,
"if I have erred in any particular, or have in the
least misrepresented the purport of the conversation
_between you and Captain CARNEbrE, I readily
express my regret." But then Sir JAMES'S purpose
has been served. His object was to damage the
I‘linistry for the purposes of the election. That
he accomplished. The means he employed to do so
be now rejects—implying of course, by such regret,
that they were false and therefore unjustifiable
means. - But were his regret ever so real, or ever
so intense, it would not undo that which has
been done.

We must, however, do the Knight of Netherby

the justice to say, that he is always ready to acknow
ledge his faults, when he can't escape from them

might be inconvenient. Sir JAMES carried this so

casions in days gone by, when
personal honour happened to be involved, and per-
sonal safety to be endangered, as to expose
himself. to the taunt of having "shown the white
feather." Some of our readers may not, perhaps,
have forgotten a fracas he once had with a certain
-OlGonmAN MAHON, in the House of Commons, as a

far, on one .or two o

case in point

It is the remark of no less a persona

INGTON—" the father of his country," as Brother
Jonathan so proudly esteems him —that " in Govern-
ments of a monarchical cast, patriotism may look
with indulgence, if not with favour, on party spirit,
but on those of a popular character, in Governments
purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged."
Nov, we humbly think that Sir JAMES GRAHAM'
instruction from this lesson of
the great republican ; and especially
he considers that he is now committed to a case of
a "popular character "—the case of GovernMent

might de

when

" purely- .elective ; " and which not only does
not need the mendacious devices of a corrupt
"Toryism," but must not endure them. We do
not forget the observation of one of our own
notabilities, that " there never was any party,
faction, sect, or cabal whatsoever, in which the most
ignorant were not the most violent—for a bee is not
a busier animal than a blockhead." But then we re-
member, at the same time, that Sir JAMES GRAHAM,
however violent he may be, is the very reverse of
ignorant; and that though as busy as a bee—more
particularly at an election—he is anything but a
blockhead. It is true, dociles iinitamdis turpibus et

prays omnes sumus. Sir JAMES is no exception to
this universal tendency of human nature. But, for
the sake of the Liberal cause, to which for the
present he belongs, let us hope he wileresist it.

THE SHIPPING INTEREST AND THE DUTIES OF NEUTRALS.
—The Times announces that shipowners have been warned,
upon the authority of the highest legal officers of the
crown, that all charters of ships to the, French government,
as transports or storeships, are in contravention of the 59th
of George 111., cap. 69, and, if attempted to be carried out,
will involve confiscation of ship, and prosecution and im-
prisonment for miscletheanour, on information being given
of the existence of any such contract. This decision applies
equally to vessels chartered before or subsequently to the
issue of the recent proclamation. There are several cases
of charters which will have to be abandoned.