The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-05 00:00:00

TB.E MINISTERIAL CRISIS

The Ministerial crisis is at an end for the pre-
sent, Lord Palmerston having undertaken the
task of forming a new Administration, with every
prospect of success. The two Houses will meet
to-night simply for the purpose of adjourning.

The formation of a Government now rests in
the hands of Lord PALMERSTON. We earnestly
hope that he may be more successful than either
Lord DERBY or Lord JOHN RUSSELL in the exe-
cution of the arduous and important duty. Every
possible allowance will, wo are convinced, be made
by Parliament and the country for the statesman
who may chivalrously come forward during tho
present emergency, and to the utmost of his
ability exert himself to place matters in a satisfac-
tory position. It is not men but measures that
aro looked for. We want to teach the AUTOCRAT
and his co-conspirators that England is really and
truly in earnest, and that she cannot be either
bullied or cajoled—to remove the perilous and
highly prejudicial effects of Lord ABERDEEN'S
Administration, and the virtual recognition of the
"peace-at-any-price principle." We hope some
patriotic member will forthwith impeach Lord
ABERDEEN, if only as a warning to others.

We endured that incubus too long ; and never,
perhaps, was there a more decisive and unequivo-
cal proof of the general condemnation than that
afforded by the division on Mr. ROEBUCK'S mo-
tion. The nation confided in Lord PALMERSTON.
It would have been fully contented had he been
placed in the prominent position to which he was
so justly entitled. As Premier he would have
acted so vigorously as to have induced the CZAR
long since to have sued for peace. As War Ali-
nulter he might have neutralised
.the evil conse-
quences of the goOd and excellent ABERDEEN
being prime Minister.

But matters have gone so far that something
lae're is now requisite. Lord PALMERSTON, al-
though_
unTleetionably a tower of strength, will n,ot
be sufficient by.
liimaelf, and should he attempt to
constitute a new Ministry from the old materials,
we fear that the result will not be creditable to
himself or beneficial to the nation. Lord ABER-
DEEN is universally condemned.
Ris presence
would be fatal to any Administration. It would
alienate confidence at hoine and abroad. It would,
in fact, be the " wet blanket" that would smother
every burst of enthusiasm—every symptom of
the adoption of a sounder and more energetic
policy. " The travelled Thanes' cannot hope to
be taken from the shelf on which he has been
placed at the all but unanimous desire of the
people.
We may judge from what is already known re-
'Peetink the negotiations between
Lords DERBY
and T'XIAIEDSTON that the services of Mr. GLAD-
STONE will be sought fir iu the event 0f the Noble
Vireount endeayouring to form a Cabinet. We
hive nothing to say against the Went of
the Right Honourable Gentleman. His bril-
liant eloquence and steady determination
are well known ; but while we accord to
him the possession of many high qualities, we
cannot concur in the financial policy -which he has
hitherto adopted. With the exception of Lord
A"atrialm, he has done more to 'prejudice the
cause of England than any other member of the
Cabinet.. If he will consent to abandon his
financial crotchets —if he will be guided
.by
the expe.rience of others, or give fair play to his

own natural powers—well !He may be an ex- •
ceedingly useful and efficient Minister, or he may
be a very dangerous oue. It would be essential
that before any new combination were entered
into that some assurance should be given that
he would not abide, with such perverse obsti-
nacy, by certain fiscal crotchets, which have given
deep offence,to the great body of the nation.
Lord PALMERSTON must take
.especial care on
these points, if he &sir to form a strong and
lasting Ministry. Every indulgence will be ex-
hibited—the utmost cordiality displayed. But
he also must take care not to abuse the kindness
of the people, or consent to the undue oppression
of the present generation for the sake of posterity.
It will not only be necessary to carry on the War
vigorously and efficiently, but to abstain from
placing the whole of the burden on the present

generation.
This evening we shall probably hear respecting
the progress and chances of success of the Noble
Viscount. We trust that they may be satisfac-
tory ; but we must once more impress on all our
leading politicians the necessity of making large
personal sacrifices for the general good—of not
merely abstaining from any decided opposition,
but of lending active assistance to those who are
striving to extricate their SOTEREIGN from the
dilemma in which she is placed.

The State Papers of M. DROUYN DE L'HTJYS
have long attracted public attention. He has
invariably dealt with the subject under consider-
ation for the time being with a sound practical
common sense, combined with a keen discernment
of its salient points, that placed it in the clearest
and most satisfactory point of view. He pos-
sesses a happy facility for dispersing the mists
which obscure the true state of affairs, and bring- '
ing the light of truth to bear thereon in full
effulgence. His able exposures of the NEaSELUODE
fallacies have long been duly appreciated,
and he has now added to his claims on the confi-
dence of the EMPEROR and people of France by a
masterly refutation of the untenable claims put
forward by Prussia for readmission to the general
Conferences from which she has excluded herself
by her own vacillating and temporising conduct.
The Circular which the French Minister has
addressed to the representatives of France at the
different courts of Germany is indeed an instruc-
tive document, well worthy of perusal by every
person desirous of judging correctly respecting
the position in which Prussia, once considered one
of the Great Powers of Europe, has placed herself,
and from which she refuses to make any proper
effort for her own extrication.

It is not, in fact, the acts of the other Powers,
or of any of them, that have excluded Prussia.
She has withdrawn herself from the association ;
she has refused to advance on the only ground it
was possible to traverse ; she has declined to put
her acts and words in complete harmony with
those into whose society she now seeks to intrude
herself, without giving any assurance of a change
of policy ! The moment she does so she will be
cordially welcomed—the arms will be opened to
receive her ; but she must take the initiative
herself. She must abandon the policy that pro-
duced the isolation, before the isolation itself is
removed. She must make choice between the
belligerent parties, and boldly and manfully decide
the banner under which she will array herself
before she can be listened to. As a friend, or an
enemy, she may be dealt with ; but not as a sus-
picious neutral, on whom nobody can place any
reliance.

Regretting deeply the causes that have led
to such a demonstration by the French Go-
vernment, we fervently rejoice that it has been
made. Prussia must now resolve on entering
into an alliance with Russia or the other Powers.
It is only by declaring her policy distinctly and
unequivocally, that she can re-open thedoors which
her previous conducthad hermetically sealed against
her, and which she can now only re-enter as an
afro partisan on the aide of the Allies. It is
PruS.44 that is endangering the stability of the
Germanic Confederation. It is she alone. who can
restore its coherence, and give it the vitality which
it so urgently requires.

Lord STANLEY must share with Mr. MILNER
GIBSON the honour of the approaching abolition of
the Newspaper Stamp. Without wishing to de-
prive the latter gentleman of one fraction of the
honour due to his unflinching perseverance, and
unwearied Parliamentary efforts, we believe he
would be forward to acknowledge the decisive
value of Lord STANLEY'S services. They are so
much the greater, because the great party to which
he belongs were, previously to the Noble Lord's
first manly letter on the subject, understood to be
opposed to the change. The majority of Mr.
GIBSON'S party were, on the other hand, in favour
of it. Timid Whigs like Lord JOHN RUSSELL, or
quaking papermakers like Mr. ALEXANDER COWAN,
indeed shrunk from the diffusion of cheap political
knowledge, or from endangering the course of the
paper monopoly ; lout the great body of Liberals
were, of course, in favour of removing every
impediment in the -way of diffusing politics
knowledge. Mr. GIBSON, " therefore, had
but to speak the views of his. party, while Lord
STANLEY had the task of converting his. We
have no doubt he has to a large extent succeeded,
and the public may thank this young nobleman
both for Mr. MILNER's late invigorated efforts
and for Mr. GLADSTONE'S clarified vision on the
question. Without doubting for one moment the
sincerity of the latter gentleman's convictions, we
must think that the course taken by the son of
the Earl of DERBY convinced the Chancellor of
the Exchequer that the right time was come. He
saw that if he did not appropriate the proposal of
a popular measure the next Conservative Ministry
would be sure to do so ; or that possibly Mr.
GIBSON and Lord STANLEY, joining their forces,
would carry it without him.
We are led to these remarks by the appearance
of another letter on the subject from Lord
STANLEY, as a supplement to our weekly con-
temporary, The Press, which we think it due,
both to the Noble Lord and to the intrinsic
merits of the letter, to teprint in The San
to-day. It displays the same unmistakeable
character of thorough and most intelligent con-
viction as his former one. It was written in
reply to
logical, apamphlet entitled "the Newspaper
Postal St
amp,,, and is certainly a model of close,
and,
we must think, unanswerable rea-
soning.We must be permitted to say that it is
quite refreshing to see the heir of the house of
DERRY asserting as axioms the most liberal and
sound principles in discurnsusisnt,,b,potultithisuociefoulef:sli.suonrsubuiji.neecraet
il
manner, indeed, which
Whigs to the blush; indeed we think the tone of
Lord STANLEY'S di.l;CUsiion,
and that of Church Rates, will go far to raise
n I
Greater expectations from the " house of Dit
uuy
than that of BEDFORD. The opinion gains ground
that Whigs talk about reform bills, and give us
aristocratical ascendancy in disguise, but that the
Conservatives redress practical grievances. We
i should much more expect a man -.who follows
i out principles to their consequences, like Lord
STANLEY, to become a supporter even of
1
i the Ballot, than that " Democrats in. Opposition

and Oliza rchs in office," like Lord JOHN RUSSELL,
should. ever be so.

Lord. *STANLEY shows that the tax, even con-
sidered as a postal charge, is unjust. That is the
point -which he urges irrefutably. The largo jour-
nals pay no more for transmission than the small
ones. Less than a quarter of an ounce and
the Tilnes of four ounces are charged alike.
We do not deal so unrighteously with our
letter postage. Again, the lowest - priced
journals must now pay the same tax as
the highest. A twopenny newspaper must pay
100 per cent., and a ninepeuny one 121- per cent.
of its cost. Worse than all, those who do not want
the services of the post at all must pay for them
while they reject them ; just as Dissenters of all
kinds must pay rates to repair churches, and meet
the expense of services which they never use. In
Lord STANLEY'S opinion such things are unjust.
We suppose all impartial persons will agree with
him in opinion; if so, they should join him in
practice.

A great outcry has been made about the poli-

tical consequences of multiplying cheap local
prints. Lord STANLEY strongly maintains that
we have no right to do a fiscal evil that a politi-
cal good may come. Not that he is apprehensive
of such evil ; he sees no danger in the artisan's
enjoying a pennyworth appropriate to his taste,
while the reader of higher intelligence and educa-
tion will still continue to prefer his high-priced
newspaper, with its instructive original articles
and first•hand information. He has been in
America, and he meets the clamour about re-
ducing our journalism to the level of that of the
United States by the just observation, first, that
all A merican journals are by no means of inferior
quality ; next, what is most important, that the
Press of the day will always, to a large extent,
represent the tastes, thoughts, and wants of the
day. The plain answer, he says, is, " like
people like Press—it reflects faithfully enough
the prevailing sentiment of American citi-
zens.; it is democratic—so are they. If it
is often vulgar, violent, abusive, addicted to
braggadocio and credulous of marvels, these
are exactly the faults, a little exaggerated in the
copying, of a young and growing nation, in which
material prosperity has advanced faster than the
arts and refinements of life. If in the English
mind there be a similar state of feeling, by all
means let it be exposed rather than concealed—an
evil fully brought to light is half remedied. But,
in truth, the English character differs widely from
the American, and a popular press, though ulti-
mately it may help in forming, must follow and
be suited to the bias of the popular mind."
With Lord STANLEY we must' hold that it is
wrong, with the leading Whigs, to uphold the
stamp law as a virtual political censorship ; nor
can any one refute hia lucid demonstration, that
it is a fiscal injustice. Fall, therefore, it must.
How it will affect us, of the Metropolitan Press,
no sagacity can yet fully divine. We trust Lord
STANLEY'S hopes on this score will be realised.
We have, however, no right and no wish to avert
a barely possible calamity by perpetuating an in-
justice.