Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-04-15 00:00:00

THE NORTHERN TIMES FRIDAN, APRIL 15, 1859

somewhat importantly enlightening us at the
present conjuncture. " There is one other point,"
he said, "to which I wish particularly to advert. I
believe that the cause which has arrested the down-
ward progress of Government, in Radical change,
leading to revolution, is the firmness, the judgment,
the good sense, and the virtuous education of our
beloved Queen. I believe she has distinctly told her
Ministers, that their Radical experiments shall
not be tried. ' I have,' said her Majesty, no predi-
lections for party men ; but to principles, the
principles of the Constitution, I will adhere ; and if
you continue in office, it is on those principles you
must administer the affairs of the country.' This, I
believe, is the real state of the case ; and this
resistance on the part of her Majesty is much in
conformity with the decision, courage, and principles
of the House of Brunswick."

Such was the testimony of Sir JAMES GRAHAM at
a conjuncture of the country almost as critical as the
present. We have been led to adduce it as an
illustration of the political vicissitudes to which the
course of party is apt to expose a certain class of the
more ardent, we would fain not say the more
unscrupulous, of popular politicians. But it has,
besides, a peculiar interest and importance at this
moment ; and it may perhaps account, in some
measure, for the evident readiness with which Lord
DERBY has been empowered to decree a Dissolution
of Parliament at so anxious a crisis.

towards Portugal, in the Charles-et-Georges affair,
has at last got uppermost, and ignored all the
imputations so freely cast upon the' Government,
and upon the Foreign Secretary more especially, of
having treated our ancient ally, Portugal, with
great neglect on the occasion of the French Govern-
ment demanding that their captured vessel should
be given up, although alleged to be forfeited for a
breach of the laws of Portugal, in having been
found in her waters with slaves on board. The case
was brought forward, it will be remembered, about
a month or five weeks since, in both Houses of
Parliament,—Lord WODEHOUSE in the Lords, and
Mr. KINGLAKE, in the Commons, making motions
for the production of papers connected with the
occurrence the occasion of indulging in no slight
amount of railing accusation against the Govern-
ment. Lord WODEHOUSE declared, that "of the
three powers engaged in this affair, England
remained in the most unsatisfactory position.
Portugal had nothing to regret, because she had
maintained throughout her dignity and honour.
France, if she incurred the reproach of oppressing
the weaker state, had held the tone that she had
done what she thought right, and that she was
prepared to abide the consequences. But to England
remained the discredit of drawing Portugal into a
policy that involved her in antagonism with a
stronger power, and then affording her a mere
mockery of that support which she was
bound to give." Thus leaving it to be taken
for granted, that the English Government had
treated Portugal with neglect, even after having got
her into a difficulty with France. Mr. KINGLAKE
took a different course, casting censure upon the
Government for their neglect and their servility.
They had not stood by Portugal—they had, on the
contrary, been negligent, been perfidious towards
her, friendly ally though she was, and preferring
the strongest claim to their sympathy and support ;
and they had succumbed to France.

The tone of the Opposition press in this country,
as well as of the Opposition in Parliamen4 had even
begun to persuade certain Portuguese statesmen
that her Britannic Majesty's Ministers had not done
their duty in the case. In the Chamber of Peers at
Lisbon, on the recent occasion of the discussion on
the Address in answer to the Royal Speech, Count
THOMAR, acting upon the impressions that had been
produced on his mind, that Portugal had met with
the most complete neglect on the part of England,
in this question, which Great Britain ought to con-
sider as her own, and in which she could not refuse
a _ firm support to her faithful ally, as a true and
patriotic Portuguese, had stigmatised and censured
the inexplicable conduct of the English Government
towards Portugal—and had done so, we say, under
the conviction that such neglect had actually
taken place. But having found out his
mistake,—truth having succeeded in getting upper-
most,—the British Minister at Lisbon, Mr. HOWARD,
now reports to Lord MALMESBURY, that, in the
Chamber on the 26th ult., the Count, declared, "that
upon seeing in the papers relating to this case which
were presented to the British Parliament the proofs
that the English Government had from the very
commencement offered their good offices to the
Portugese Government, and had actually put them
in practice to the extent of eliciting their acknow-
ledgments and thanks for the same, as stated in a
document which he would read to the Chamber, and
which statement had not been denied by the Govern-
ment, he felt bound conscientiously to declare to the
House that he therefore withdrew the censure
which he had, without foundation, imputed to the
English Government, as being entirely unmerited,
according to the uncontradicted confessions of the
Marquis de LOULE, and that he reserved his judg-
ment upon the proceedings of the English
Government in his case, until such time as the actual
Cabinet, whose attention he now called to the
documents published in England, as he had done that
of their predecessors, should elucidate "the question
by stating how far the assertions of the English
Government were correct." The document referred
to, it further appears, is the despatch of Mr.
HOWARD, dated the 22nd of November, 1858, and
published in the Correspondence relating to the case
which has been presented to Parliament.
We have never taken part, on this question, with
the opponents of her Majesty's Ministers, not only
because we saw all along that they did the best they
could, under the difficult circumstances of the case,
but also because we were of opinion, upon carefully
considering all the points in dispute, that any more
decided interference on behalf of Portugal would
have been very likely to have produced a rupture
with France,—not with the Emperor merely, but
with the French people, whose national jealousy was
already excited by what our Government did, as
they thought, to the disadvantage of France. A
misunderstanding with our Gallic neighbours was
happily avoided by the caution, and prudence, and
conciliation of Lord MALMESBURY ; and now that so
jealous a Portuguese patriot as Count THOMAR is
satisfied that the censure he had cast on the English
Government was " entirely unmerited," we may
take it for granted that our first impressions were
right ; and that it affords another illustration of the
ancient apothegm, " Truth is established by inves-
tigation and delay : falsehood prospers by preci-
pitancy."

THE DISSOLUTION.—The Times says it is intended that
Parliament shall be prorogued on Tuesday, and dissolved
on Thursday next, In this case the writs would be pro-
claimed on the following Saturday, and the borough elec-
tions would take place in Easter week, and those of the
counties on the following Monday, May 2nd.

OPPOSITION AT BIRMINGHAM.—Froni a statement in the
election news of the Times, it would appear that an opposi-
tion to the sitting members at Birmingham is secretly
organised, which threatens to deprive one of them of his
seat; but the difficulty is to find a candidate.

The Morning Herald does not speak very hopefully of
the ministerial statement to be made this evening (Friday),
respecting foreign affairs. The Herald says if we do not then
learn that everything is in course of arrangement, we shall
at least obtain some knowledge as to the refractory powers.

The steam-ship Tweodside, from LondOn for Alexandria,
with 200 horses for the Pacha of Egypt, put into Plymouth
on Wednesday, having met a severe gale, in which more
than half of the animals were either killed or seriously
injured.

SUDDEN DEATH DE MADAME Bosio.—We regret to state,
upon reliable authority, that Madame Bosio, who was
engaged by Mr. Gye to appear at the Royal Italian Opera
immediately after Easter, suddenly expired at St. Petersburg,
where she was fulfilling an engagement. A letter was re-
ceived in town yesterday from Mr. Gye, dated Paris, the
13th instant, in which he states "poor Bosio is dead; she
died at St. Petersburg yesterday." The letter does not
state the immediate cause of death. The unexpected loss of
so talented an artiste, will be severely felt by Mr. Gye at the
commencement of a prosperous season„ and vel't 40 lees be
regretted by the habitues of the opera,