The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-13 00:00:00

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[PRIOR 4D. STA:MJ'ED 5i

Spirit GI the Public Journals.

. (From the Tinics of tAis
The discussion on the right of the Crown to
create a peerage for life has noiv'reached a point
at which we may do wiser resume the whole
question, to see whenceAttardse and Whither it
tends, and to exaraine,it4fr,ant the paint of ;view of
each of the disputants who have been so fully heard
before the public.: -

What, then,. has been the cause of this contro-
versy ? Clearly, and undeniably this—thtt the ,
ap-
pellate jurisdiction of the House of Lerch has be-
come a scandal and a reproach to'that noble body
and an intolerable oppression and grievance to the
public. Of our two. appellate courts the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council has been con-
tinually rising while-the house of Lords has been
as constantly falling in the opinion of lawyers and
litigants, till its high appellate functions have be-
come a source of weakness to the very body of
which they were once considered the strength and
honour. The neglect of all judicial propriety, the
smallness of the numbers, the diversity of the opi-
nions, have struck with' astonishment and dismay
lawyers trained up in the 'more seemly and labo-
rious arena of courts, the decisions of which it is
the high privilege of the House of Lords to over-
rule.' The grievance has become intolerable, and,
irrespective of any •question of prerogative, irre-
spective of the prejudices of the Peers for heredi-
tary nobility, of the anxiety of lawyers to maintain
the dignity of their craft, of the wish of the Go-
vernment- to remedy without legislative, action this
canker, which eats into the very heart 'of' justice,
this poison, which adulterates its sweet waters at
their very fountain head, will; be arid must, be re-
medied. From this point, the discussion sets out;
to this it must return, and by this test must we
assay everything that is offered, if we would really
comprehend the difficulty and really appreciate the
possibility of a solution.
On the question of law we cannot doubt that
the Government has been well advised. The
authorities establish the legality of peerages for
life ; and, on the other hand, there is nothing
whatever to be urged, except a note of clonbtful
authorship and not very powerful reasoning, attri-
buted, perhaps unjustly, to Mr. Hargrave, who, if
ono of the most learned, was also one of the most
pedantic of men. Theargument " from desuetude"
is of the • greatest force in any case. where the
prerogatives of the Crown are brought into contact
with popular rights ; but in the matter of the
peerage, the creature and child of the prerogative,
moulded and fashioned by the, will of the Sove-
reign, which gives pre-eminence to,some,withont
taking away from the equal rights of the rest,these
doctrines seem to have neither place nor applica-
tion. It is beyond dispute that originally a peer-
age was considered susceptible of all the limitations
incidental to' a freehold estate, and, if the policy
of one ago had suggested one•form, that is no rea-
son why another should'be illegal, any more than
those forms of settlement which conveyancers have
thrown aside as ill-adapted to the wants of the pre-
sent day.
If, however, we turn to the majority of the House
of Lords we find in them a surprising neglect of the
real interests of the public, and a strange misun-
derstanding of the real bearingi of the 'question.
They cling to hereditary peerage and argue against
the law which is their safeguard, the prerogative
of which they are the creatures, and the constitu-
tion which is their palladium, because they be-
lieve the power of transmitting their dignities to
their sons confers luatre and importance on
their Order. They do not seem to observe that
hereditary • dignity is_ neither honourable to the
peerage nor the individual, unless it be attended
by hereditary wealth, and that nothing so infallibly
rains a priiileged class as that any large portion
of its members 'should fall • into poverty or
social disrepute. They are offered the support of
a class of men who would adorn the debates
and maintain the intellectual position of the hollow,
without transmitting their position to descendants
less useful and less influential than themselves,'
without cawing in any degree into competition with"
the territorial and hereditary nobility. From their
•talents the hereditary nobles would derive lustre,
and their merits would sustain the repute of a
Chamber the energies of whose hereditary occu-
pants wealth and ease are so continually under-
mining ; and, worse than -all, while intent on this
peculiarly selfish view of the subject, the peers tell
the public, who care much less for dignity than
for justice, that•they must be content with the in-
tolerable abuses of the appellate jurisdiction of the
House of Lords as they stand, and that they will
not lighten them with one of their fingers.
Still more marvelloui is the infatuation of the
lawyers. Nothing is more melancholy in general
than the history of the succession to law peerages
—a topic susceptible of ample illustration, were we
to accept Lord Lyndhurst's challenge, and enume-
rate the melancholy instances of the degenerate,
impoverished, and disreputable descendants of great
lawyers whose names encumber the hereditary
peerage. The family of a great lawyer is most fre-
quently ill brought up ; the father is immersed in
business, the mother seldom equal to the position
to which she is raised. When a great lawyer is
offered a peerage, he has to consider whether
his eldest son is worthy to succeed him, and
whether, if he be, he will starve his younger chil-
dren to provide him with an estate suitable to the
dignity. To such a man one would have supposed
a peerage for life a most welcome refuge, but
vanity carries it against prudence and modesty,

and lawyers must transmit their titlesl to
their posterity even while they are well assured
that that posterity will disgrace them. We ear-
nestly hope, then, that Government will not ro-
cede from the position it has taken lap, will not
allow the prerogative of the Crown to be cut down

and destroyed by the Chamber that is its creature
and its offspring, nor permit the Peers to apply for
the elevation and isolation of their Order those

doctrines of prescription which have hitherto only
been used as the defence of the rights and liber-
ties of the Commons. Any one who considers how

large a portion of the business of the House of
Lords is transacted by the first founders of peerages
will see the necessity of infusing more of this ele-
ment into that assembly. Life peerages may or may
not render the House of Lords an efficient court

of appeal, but they will, at any rate, give to its
debates weight and consideration which the house
can only otherwise purchase at the risk of impover-
ished descendants. As for the judicial powers of the
House of Lords, &nee that house itself has so reso-
lutely declared against any attempt to palliate their
inefficiency, and since, nevertheless, some speedy
and efficient cure must be applied, we would hum-
bly suggest that, while their lordships are wrang-
ling over their dignity and privileges, a bill should
at once be introduced, transferring the appellate
jurisdiction of the House of Lords to the Judicial

Committee of the Privy Council, thus relieving the

peerage from a duty which it cannot dischar4 and
which it will not resign, the lawyers from the dread
of emancipation from pauper peerages, and the
suitors of our courts from a jurisdiction the scandal
and disgrace of the judicial system of the country
over which it presides.

TURNPIKE TRUSTS.—The general report made by
order of the Secretary of State was published on Satur-
day. It shows that the financial condition of the turn-
pike trusts generally continues to improve under the
ur.
regulations and arrangements made by Parliamadenualdele.
ing the last few years, notwithstanding
crease of the revenue from tills.aansiTthait2ht,ehseotoogtl. a l
inr receipts
in 1853 were 1,135,2811., a
and 1,138,7541.
in 7541.18in531841ai,n whileagainst
71238
the
6771. p expenditure i tluBrse2
awasitd
1461
1,115,1241. in 1850. • The amount of bonded debt in
1853 was 5,663,2711., and the unpaid interest 942,5251.
Comparing the several items of 1853 with those of 1852
it is observable that the toll income in 1853 was further
reduced by 6,0441., but, looking at the total amount of the
toll revenue (1,068,7821.), this reduction is only equal to
lie. 3d. per cent , and cannot be deemed unsatisfactory.
.
The reduction, moreover, s partly accounted for. The
.amountof cash b iorrowed in 1853 was 16,010/
,being nearly
equal to that borrowed in 1852. The total su. me expended
in repairing the roads in 1853 was 611,1201., being an in-
s cnmspBa676d33with
wasthe
expendedprecedi n go
on
r
year-
Ofcreathsee otf3ll3income
alone
pairs, 108,3811. on salaries and law charges, and
357,0361. on payment of the debt and interest. Between
1837 and 1853 thit toll income has fallen from 1,509,9851.
to 1,068,7821, or to the amount of 441,2031., but within
the same period the annual expenditure fora repairs has
chagebeenrs,&c.,
reduced by 327,355/. the expenditure on law
17,4361., and the 'expense of the debt and
interest by 55,9511. ; 41,;053X, was expended for "im
provements " in 1853. The debt has been gradually re-
duced upwards of 1,000,0001.,.and the average rate of
interest payable on the existirig siehts has also been re-
duced,-as well as tbe,•bendtkt ,or` mortgage debt. The
total expenditure in 1853 exchtied thei income by
26,5061.—an miasmal eircuMstance, arising from the
payment of larger sums for repair's and improvements.
The result was a reduction of the balance in hand from
336,404/. to 309,898/. Steps have been taken, andwith
much success, to bring the affairs of turnpike trusts
generally into a more healthy and prosperous state.
The report is signed by Air. W. Mousey.
_

-I 4,,

47

WS PA

TEE TWO /PUSSIAIV PLENIITITEY4I4
M TIAES. e• . ~...i,,,
1if..,;
..!..1,111-..i.K.
Le Nord publishes the following biographic' '),-.774 at,....
notices of the two Pleidpotentiaries of Russia a <=-."'''
' the forthcoming Conference : Al
- " Count Orloff, Aide-de-Camp General, General
of Cavalry;'- Commander ef :t he Military Household
iof the King, and Member pf the Council of thd
Empire,-belongs to •one of the most illustrious
fainifies of his country. 1 He is about 70 years of
age, butatill, brisk, active, and healthy. lie took
parkin-almost all the wars which signalized the
commencement of our century.
• " Woundedlirst at A uaterlitz, he was also seven
differerit:tities.,Woundred upon the field of Boro4
dine, and was„afeeiwarde „made Aide-do-Camp of
the, 'Emperor Akmandera I. In 1825 he was .a
General, and. aobarttattefedlin,that capacitYltherel
giment of HonsseGuania,i,baj.l; in Decembi3i, Is26i
first hurried to suppress theigatesete'.. -Count Orloff
gave .tokens that' day of Ibundfessi courage and de-
votiou, and from that moinent :dates his intimacy
with the Emperor Nicholas, of whom he was one
of the first advisers, and whose personal friend he
was: In 1828 he commanded in TurkeY the divi,i
Sion of-HOree Chasseurs. eln • 1829 he was named
Plenipotentiary, ;And signed at Adrianople, with
Mvistial Diebitch and Count Frederick Patrien;
the treaty of Adrianople.. After the peace he re-
mained some time at Constantinople as Amb,w4_
sidor. Recalled to the . companionship of the
Emperor, he accompanied his Imperial Majesty in
his various travels.
" We next find him on a mission in Holland and
at London, where the affairs of Belgium were ar-
rang:ed. The year 1833 fotrad him also at the head
of the expedition which sassed Constantinople from
the-vieterious army of Ibrahim Pasha, and he
signed the treaty of MakiareSkelessi. Since 1845
lie has replaced Count de Benckendorff, deceased,
as chief of the third section of the Private Chan-
cellery of the Emperor, and of the gendarmerie of
the empire, the colonels of which, distributed over
all the governments, have less a mission of police,
properly so called, than a general inspection of all
tha _administration of the country, and also of
control over the ger.orrwrs as, well as the governed.
:This post, fall 9ftiust;' gave to Count Orloff free
access at eiHrours of the tday to the Emperor, and
the right to speak to him of 411 and everything.
" It has been remarked;- arid justly, that the two
persons who have filled these' important functions
near the Emperor Nicholas=Count Benckendorff
and ' Count Orloff—were precisely the men re-
nowned for their loyalty, their spirit of justice,'
.and moderation. These functions Count Orloff
still fulfils with the Emperor Alexander 11. We
'cannot give a better idea of the sentiments which
this Sovereign entertains towards him than by re-
producing the conclusion of ;the rescript addressed
to him on. the 22d of August last, on the occasion
of the anniversary of his 50 years of service :--
' At his last hour, in a final and sacred interview
with-me,- my father enjoined me to thank you as a
friend who had always been faithful and devoted.'
" This is the personage chosen by the Emperor,
Alexander to represent Russia at the' Peace Con-
ferences at Paris.
" Baron Brunow (Privy Councillor) comes from,
a noble family of Courland. He has passed nearly
'4O years in a diplomatic eareei, in which he has
acquired an European reputation.. He was with
Count Orloff at the negotiations of Adrianople.
He then' accompanied him to Constantinople as
Counsellor of the Ambassador, then to Holland and
England, and to -Constantinople in -1853.
, " These two statesmen have linen accustomed to
work together for nearly 30 years, and, if we May'.
judge of the success of the negotiations about to be
held by the success of those in which ' they have'
already taken part, we cannot but entertain most
favourable hopes of an early re-establishment of
peace. On returning from Turkey in 1830 Baron
,Brunow remained tached' to the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs as chief redacteur. He then ac-
companied Count Nesselrode to several congresses
and diplomatic conferences. After remaining one
year as Minister at Stuttgart, he was sent on an
extraordinary mission to London,' where he signed
the treaties of 1840 and 1841. He remained there
as -Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten-
tiary until the rupture of diplomatic relations be-
tween England and Russia. Since the autumn of
the past year he has been Minister to the Germanic
Confederation."

I kilt
a

SAVE ME FROM MY FRIENDS!

(From the Boston Daily Times.)

Mr: Bright, the English " peace-at-any-price "
man, recently made a very long speech before an
English mechanics' institute, in which he spoke
very highly of the United States, though we think
Americans would Le none the less pleased if he had
not spoken so depreciatingly of his own country.
It seems as if his object had been not so much to
prasa us, as to make England appear little in the
comparison. He talks as if he thought we were the
most peaceably-disposed people on earth, whereas
there is as strong a fighting element among us as
ever there was in France. Ho alludes to our navy,
and says that we have but two or three frigates.
From this it should seem that he never had beard
that the last Congress voted several millions of dol-
lars to build six or the most powerful steam-frigates
in the world, which are now on the eve of comple-
tion. It is proposed that the present Congress
shall add as many more steam-ships to the navy,
and make other additions to it. Mr. Bright may
rest assured that few Americans look upon the com-
parative smallness of their .country's navy as some-
thing to be proud of and to rejoice over. It is seen
with regret, and Government can do no more po-
pular act than to add to the navy's strength and
efficiency. Not a few of our countrymen are a
opinion that the navy ought to be so constituted as
to be able to command all the American seas, and
their is reason in their view of what should be our
policy. Grant that we should be able to defeat
any army that might be lauded here, would it not
be a wiser thing to prevent ax army from lauding ?
This could best be done by our being so strong at sea
as to make it a matter of very grave doubt whether
any force could assail us with success. The beat ne-
goiiators, after all, are heavy fleets, for a maritime
nation. The very fact that you are powerful on
the ocean may be the reason why the extent of
your power shall never be tested. Mr. Bright's ideas
on naval matters would meet with no response in
this country out of the class of the Burrittites, or
some other equally harmless class of madmen.
The Government here has never kept pace with
public opinion on the subject of the navy. Had it
(lone five times as much for it, the demands of
that opinion would hardly have been complied
with—certainly not exceeded. Mr. Bright alludes
to our small army, and does so in terms compli-
mentary to us. It is true our army is small, but
then our population ieavarlike in its character, and
four-fifths of the men of military age are more or
less familiar with the use of arms. In some of the
States thousands of young men have a very re-
spectable knowledge of the details of military life.
From these men would the better portion of our
armies, in the event of war be recruited. They
would afford splendid material ler sohiliers. Yet
even those who think highest of the valour and
military spirit of the mass of the people are of
opinion that the smallness of our army is a grave
evil, and that we could not do a better or a cheaper
thin, than to treble its numbers. Had we 5,000
or 6,000 additional regular troops in 1846 the
Mexican war would have been brought to a close
that year, or have been far advanced. All the
valour in the world can't make young and inexpe-
rienced treops as effective as old ones. They suffer
so much in health that that alone is a serious im-
pediment to military operations. The Indian
wars hi which we have been engaged have been
promoted by the smallness of our regular force.
‘Ve have never been able to keep the aborigines
down, or to fight them from the first with effect
when once they have risen. Our trained forces
have been frittered away in the early part of such
contests, and then have come militia, who have
done half the work at twice the cost of regular sol-
diers. The millions upon millions that were sunk
in the Florida war would mostly have been saved,
and the war itself have been ended in half as
many months as it lasted years, if we had had
experienced troops in numbers sufficient to have
crushed the Indians when they first showed
symptoms of a determination to rise. The Indian
wars that we are now carrying on, and in which
we are losing not a few men, would never have
occurred, or would have been quickly concluded.t
if our standing army bore any proportion either
rthto
our means, to the work required of it, or
in
e
position of the nation. The victories won the
eith
due to the
Alexican war were, in several instances,
excellence of our artillery, and that is an arm of the
service that is not to be improvised. It can be
brought to the point of great
Buenawarlike efficiency
only .by long and diligent training. Vista
would have been a lost day, and Taylor never
and of the valour lt is all well
daring then and
enc)t would have been President but for the admirable
pracit,ich t o
eoftathilei
artillery. American
there dispieyeA by the volunteers ; but they alone
would have done nothing. The greatly superior
numbers of .the Mexicans could have settled the
matter with them if there had been no regular
artillery in the field. Such an arm ought to be
increased and strengthened, yet Government has
done nothing of the kind since the conclusion of
the war—nothing, we mean, worth speaking ef-
This may win for it the praise of men like Mr.
Bright, but it will
not win the approval of the
American people,

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