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London, England, 1865-07-05 00:00:00

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LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 1865.

Last night both Houses of Parliament were in-
formed that the Lord Chancellor had tendered his
resignation. Although this was only what was to
be expected in consequence of the adverse decision
of the night before, it still forms an appropriate
finish to the affair, and accords with the idea of
retributive justice. It would have been indeed
greatly to be regretted had the session terminated
without something decisive being done in this
matter. For once party manoeuvres have failed,
and the wiles of dexterous officials have not been
able to rscrire their purpose. It is to be trusted that
a lesson has.thus been taught which will not be soon
forgotten, and an example furnished that may long
serve our public and official men. Throughout the
whose course of these inquiries and investigations
it is a remarkable thing that there has been no real
defence made for the Chancellor, and even among
those who were the most likely to favour him, we
only met with faint denials and timid asseverations.
It is true that last week when the subject was
under discussion, Lord PALMERSTON attempted the
wretched clap-trap of saying that the Lord Chan-
cellor deserved justice as much as any one else, as
if every feasible allowance had not been made for
him, and as if every point in his favour had not
been strained to the uttermost.
Lord PALMERSTON, doubtless with the best inten-
tions, evidently committed a great mistake in refus-
ing to accept the resignation which Lord WESTBURY
had previously tendered upon more than one occasion.
He has rendered him no service whatever in so do-
ing, and has indeed been the cause of calling down
the censure of the House upon him. The inquiries
could have been made just as well after the resigna-
tion as before, and as every one acquainted with the
circumstances know that the statements were correct
upon which the charges were founded were facts
beyond dispute it was very idle to quibble at forms
and grasp at shadows in the discussion of the mat-
ter. There was quite enough said in the report of the
Lords' committee for Lord WESTBURY to have relin-
quished hispost ; and indeed the tenure of it could not
have been at all agreeable after the animadversions
that had been made, and the reports which had been
set afloat. The Ministers themselves must now re-
cognise the folly of their proceedings. There can be
no doubt that the censure passed upon the Lord
Chancellor the other night, far from being unde-
served, was only too tame in its language, and too
lenient in its tone. A natural instinct seems to pre-

vent men from using any very extravagant terms
when it comes to the point of passing judgment
upon men in high places. Therefore, it may fairly
be computed that more was implied than said in
the resolution to which the House agreed to pass
the other night. Considering the circumstances,
Mr. BOUVERIE could not have done better,
and he deserves great credit for his skill
and courage. Mr. HUNT paved the way
by his earnestness and eloquence, and
in his speech he made several most appropriate re-
marks. In the last part of his speech more espe-
cially there occurs a most striking illustration of
the harm done by the course pursued by the loord
Chancellor and his coadjutors. The House, he
said, will soon be dissolved, and at every hustings
and place of election in the country the re-
turning officer, in obedience to an Act which
has been passed, will proclaim the pains and penal-
ties that will accrue to any elector who is engaged
in " corrupt proceedings." "And I ask," con-
tinued the hon. member, " when that is read to the
electors, will they not ask themselves, is the Legis-
lature of this country sincere and earnest? Is it
only the corruption of £lO householders, freemen,
and liverymnen that they are so anxious to punish,
or will they punish corruption pervading the func-
tionaries of the highest court of the kingdom, and
not checked by the highest judge of the land?"
These are considerations well worthy of reflection,
and should sink deeply into the minds of those who
are ready and prone to find excuses for those in

high positions and influential offices. The House
of Commons lia4 nobly discharged its duty

and faithfully fulfilled the trust reposed in it by the

country.

Now that the Lord Chancellor has fallen into dis-
grace many unpleasant truths will doubtless come
out, and much be revealed which otherwise would
have been discreetly hidden. It does not
follow, however, that this opprobrium will
only be the usual lot of the fallen, It
is notorious that no man in so influential a posi-
tion was ever more unpopular than Lord WEST-
BURY, and few have equalled him in this unpleasant
degree. In the House of Lords he was most intem-
perate if interfered with, and on one notable occasion
in particular lost his temper in a manner quite un-
fitting his position, and it was the more unpardon-
able that he should do so, because the subject dis-
cussed was the injury sustained by several clerks and
other officials in consequence of charges abruptly in-
troduced and not considered in their consequences.
In the exercise of his judicial functions Lord
WESTBURY was hard and harsh, never taking time
to understand a case, but priding himself in judging
the rights of an affair at once. He also was most
remarkable for reserving the decisions of the judges
under him, and more especially those of the Master
of the Rolls. In pursuing these favourite crotchets
he was guilty of conduct totally unbecoming the
course requisite in one of his high position, and the
wrong and injustice thus occasioned to many it is
impossible to over-estimate or exaggerate. Much
may be done with impunity by one so powerful and
so learned, and therefore it becomes them the more
to be circumspect in their ways and cautious in
their dealings.
We say it with regret that Lord WESTBURY does
not retire from his lofty position and resign his high
office with his character or reputation the same as
when he entered upon his duties. Corrupt and un-
worthy motives have been imputed to him, but
from these he has been acquitted by both Houses of
Parliament and public opinion in general. There
still remain, however, lesser things in accusation,
and from these he has not been able to extricate
himself with anything like success. He has been
unfortunate enough to call down upon himself a
direct censure from the House of Commons, and
resigns, not because it is expedient or advisable,
but because it is imperatively necessary for him
to do so. No special pleading, and no
plausible excuses can avail to ward off
such an attack as this, and it remains un fait
accompli, recognised in its weight by the present
generation, hereafter to be studied in the irrevocable
pages of " Hansard." Let not this opportunity be
thrown away, and let not all those most painful
proceedings have taken place in vain. We can-
not expect to see an abler lawyer or a cleverer
man in his profession than Lord WESTBURY, but we
have a right to expect a more upright judge, a more
considerate Holder of a powerful position, and a more
scrupulous dispenser of extensive patronage than
the man who has just been declared by the Com-
mons of England as unworthy of filling the great
office of the Lord High Chancellor.

Even among the many exciting topics which just
now are engaging the attention of Englishmen, the
memorable anniversary of yesterday could not pass
altogether unnoticed. Nearly ninety years have
rolled away with their eventful catalogue, and
seldom, perhaps, have ninety years played so con-
spicuous a part in history since the promulgation
of that Declaration of Independence to which all
Americans look back as the foundation of their
national greatness. The wildest dreams, the most
sanguine ambition of the leaders of the War of
Independence have been more than realised.
Washington, indeed foresaw the weakness that
lurked in the carefully framed Constitution, but with
all his prescience he could scarcely have foretold the
rapidity with which the young nation should de-
velope itself, or the height to which the ability, the
energy, and the freedom of its people should raise
it. Americans may well feel proud of their his-
tory, when they look back to the anxious crisis of
89 years since. The gifts of Nature have, indeed,
been lavished upon them. The immense extent of
their terrritories, the fertility of their soil, their
isolation from the old world, have all been acces-
sories to their success, but the vigour and
independence which they drew from their
Saxon fathers have been even more
powerful auxiliaries. In the development of
education and intelligence, in the diffusion of the
great principles of freedom and toleration, the
American people have done good service to the
world at large. Their very faults and excesses,
springing from that extravagance of liberty which
always rebounds into dogmatism, have been in a
manner useful as counterbalancing the opposite
errors of our older and more cautious civilisation.
The roughness and frankness of their language,
the hardihood and even recklessness of their daring,
have contrasted well with the smooth but deceitful
courtesies, the timorous prudence of older statesmen
and diplomatists. If these qualities have sometimes
been carried to excess, it was but the natural ten-
dency of such uncontrolled social and political
liberty, and the well-wishers of the young republic,
while regretting some features of its history and its
constitution, might well hope that age and expe-
rience would modify all that was amiss, would
supply all that was wanting. In survey of the
achievements of the past, omitting the past few
years, the celebration of American Independence
might well be excused for their exultation and their
enthusiasm.

Unhappily, the thread of the story is broken, the
celebration is kept by the representatives of one
party alone, and the day which to one part of the
country is a day of triumph and rejoicing is to
another only a source of mortification and grief.
The bright picture of American life and prospects
had unfortunately its reverse side, and the elements
of discord were too strong for a rupture to be
avoided ; the influence of personal interest, of
faction, of prejudice, of local jealousy, of
private intrigue and rivalry have prevailed over
wiser counsels, and amid havoc, desolation, and
ruin, amid ravaged homes and trampled cornfields,
and threats of famine and national bankruptcy,
the 89th anniversary of the Declaration of Indepen-
dence is kept in the remains of its native republic.
It is, true that enthusiasts may see in the present
condition of affairs the elements of a more enduring
greatness. The insidious evil of slavery is at an
end, and the antagonistic parties have tried their
strength in the greatest civil war of modern
times, so that two prolific sources of discontent
and disunion have been apparently disposed of.
But the ends gained have been gained by means
that have defeated themselves. The abolition of
slavery, as a military measure, carried out with
cruel haste and carelessness, has proved most dan-

gerous to the negroes themselves, and their freedom
is likely to bring them little but disease and misery.
Whether accustomed to bear the burden of injus-
tice they will remain passive under their sufferings,
and melt away from the scene, or whether they
will combine in a form dangerous to the peace of

society, remains to be seen. There is one thing

very certain : the war said in some quarters to be
undertaken on behalf of the blacks has left an in-

creased bitterness of feeling between black and
white in the North. But in celebrating the restora-
tion of the Union, in conjunction wi,h the anniyer-

1 sary of National Independence, the Americans of the
Northern States make a great mistake. They have,
in fact, no more right to take part in such rejoicing
than would King GEORGE or Lord NORTH if they
were alive now. The triumphant conclusion of the
war on which they pride themselves is the death-blow
, to the principle so resolutely maintained by WAR'.
INGTON and his fellows—the right of a nation to
choose its own form of government to legislate for
its own. If a Confederation of States, any one of
which is the size of a European kingdom, if a popu-
lation numbered by millions, have not the right to
rule themselves, where is the line to be drawn ?
The South has shown itself capable of internal
Government, it has levied large armies, it has main-
tained a war of gigantic proportions totallf unsup-
ported, and yet it has not right to rule itself. It
must therefore be taxed for the benefit of the
North—the Northern people must have the
profit of its produce—their ports must be
its principal channels of commerce, and their trades-
men its active agents and managers. Its vast tracts
are to be treated as the land of a conquered foe,
while its people are to be regarded and punished as
traitors and felons. Its chief magistrate is
threatened with the death of an assassin and a
criminal, and its leaders are expiating in prison, or
in exile, the crime of endeavouring to repeat in
1861-65 the experiment of 1776.
Instead of a day of rejoicing and of confidence,
of waving banners and exulting toasts, yesterday
might well have been a time of anxious reflection
and anticipation for all true-hearted Americans.
Under the guise of national greatness they have
admitted the old despotic theories of time-worn
tyrannies. The Union has become to Americans
what the Throne is in some continental states.
They forget that the Union without Inde-
pendence is useless and weak ; it was its re-
cognition of the rights of peoples which gave it

its strength. The elements of weakness and discord
are inherent in the present condition of the Re-
public ; its size is too vast, too unwieldy, to be
kept together under a single head when the will
of the people is wanting to support it, and the
real well-wishers of American unity and indepen-
dence regard the abrupt conclusion of the war and
the complete subjugation of the Southern States
with an anxiety and apprehension which no elo-
quence can silence, no logic disprove.