The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-13 00:00:00

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THE QUAR7ERLY REVIEW.

The table of contents of the Quarterly Review bolds out
a promise of variety and excellence which is not fully
realised on perusal. The political element is far too abun.
dant. One political paper, or even more, in the Quarterly
is accepted as a matter of course. Nobody objects to be
refreshed by a little Conservatism of the good, old, and
almost extinct type, especially when it takes the form of
a fine article like " The Conservative Surrender." But in
the current number there are but two articles out of ten
—one on " Earthquakes," and the other entitled "Animals
and Plants "—which are wholly free from the political
tinge. This is satin et superque. Nor is the quantity
accompanied by any compensating excellence of quality.
The Toryism of these numerous articles is sufficiently
diluted to admit of 'highly advantageous condensation.
Some of the papers are good, but the first two are not
amonirst these. The reviewer of " Campbell's Lives of
Lyndhurst and 13rougliatn" seems to have greatly mistaken
his task. In the case of the former Chancellor, instead
of noting the chief inaccuracies of the biographer, and then
reviewing the life of Lyndhurst as it should be, the article
consists of little more than a collection of extracts from
Campbell's work, with an assurance at the end of each
that it is misrepresented or altogether erroneous—a
species of easy writing which becomes the hardest possible
reading, even when, as in this case, the strictures are
correct. In dealing with Brougham, an attempt is made
at a connected review, but the result is very unfair.
The writer acknowledges some of Brougham's merits, but
enters into detail only respecting his follies and faults.
We are informed in a few lines that Brougham was the
first to recognise the paramount importance of education ;
but whole pages are devoted to anecdotes of his
" treachery," of his " manoeuvring " to make the world
believe he was dead, his application to become a French
citizen, his extraordinary French diction, his kneeling on
the woolsack to give eff(itto aspeech. The general impres-
sion is that Brengliam vas a species of legal mountebank
who had greatness thrust upon him, and whose greatness
served to render him a more general object of amusement.
"The Realities of Irish Life" is an equally disappointing
sertiele: The title is hopeful, especially as it is
followed by the cheering assurance that we are to
hear nothing of the Irish Church. But anything
less real than these realities of Irish life could,
not well be imagined. The article is devoted to
the review of Mr. W. S. Trench's book on the Irish land-
lord and tenant, and the effect of their characters on the
land question. The purport of this impartial work is that
the Irish peasant is a hopeless scoundrel ; an idle, waste-
ful, murdering, treacherous savage, compared with whom
an ordinary native of Terra del Fuego is a creditable
specimen of the human race. The reviewer tells us that it
is impossible to read Mr. Trench's book without arriving
at far clearer notions of the land question ; but, in truth,
nothing can be more mystifying than this model produc.
tion. Amongst other mild remedies for Irish discontent,
" kind treatment " is recommended after several pages of
extracts to prove that the Irish peasant is insensible to
kind treatment. Then we are vaguely informed of the
advisability of removing every "distinct injustice," but
we are directly afterwards told that the peasant labours
under but one distinct injustice—liability to summary
eviction, and to do anything more than reform in this
direction would be dangerous. But this is not enough ;
there is a further proviso that " such cases (i,e., summary
evictions) occur but seldom." If a few summary evictions
produce a character as is here attributed to the Irishman,
the " Realities of Irish Life" need never have been
written. The case is hopeless. The remedies suggested
are admirably calculated to deal with the Irish difficulty—.
as it has been dealt with hitherto. It by no means follows
that an Irish land-agent is well qualified to pronounce
upon the land question, any more than a Dorsetshire
farmer is the proper person to consult on the grievances
and necessities of the agricultural labourer. After these
two articles we come to humano cultu digniora loca. The
paper on " Earthquakes " is decidedly in season, and is
interesting. The chronicle of the disasters which
have become so frequent of late is very 'com-
plete, and the philosophical investigation highly
interesting, though it stops short, as usual, at the
great question, the causes of earthquakes. An article on
Mr. Gladstone's " Chapter of Autobiography" again
brings us within the political domain, but with very
different results. It is a pleasure to read this short review
of Mr. Gladstone's book. It is written with great ability,
and with an extreme fairness which is rarely indeed
shewn to Mr. Gladstone by his political opponents. But
the writer fails in his most important point. He is not
disposed to dispute that hitherto the Irish Church has
failed, but he argues that it has not had fair play. It is
but five-and-thirty years since the tithe was converted into
a rent-charge, and the space is too brief to admit of results.
" The race of men who in their youth saw the tenth
haycock, the tenth sheaf, the tenth pig carted from the
field or cabin of the Catholic peasant into the farmyard
of the Protestant rector, and who sought to prevent the
irritating seizure, has not yet had time to die out."
Surely this is admitting the whole question. The difference
between rent-charge and tithe cannot be the difference
between failure and success. If the Church failed under
the latter condition, it cannot have, and it has not had,
much success under the former. For the substantial
grievance of the tithe still remains, only its direction and
form are changed. If the one be admitted as an injury, it
is puerile to claim the other as justice. Nevertheless, this
paper is thoroughly deserving of attention as a just expo.
sition of the Conservative view, and its termination is a
really fine piece of writing. A severe attack upon the
ultra-ritualists follows, the subject being treated ex-
plicitly from the Church Association point of view. The
writer has succeeded in persuading himself that the judg-
ment of the Privy Council has been generally received as
equitable and satisfactory. A fair and impartial
review of Lord Liverpool's Life and Times comes next.
Though Prime Minister during the most momentous
period in the history of England, or indeed of the world,
Lord Liverpool was but one of the minor characters of his
time. Hence he is both underrated and overrated. With
respect to the Peninsular war, the writer in the Quarterly
falls somewhat into the latter error ; but, on the whole, his
estimate of Lord Liverpool's effect upon his age is just. The
"Efficiency of the Navy" contains too much of the partisan
element. The burden of this short paper is that the Con-
servative Ministry found the British navy inferior to that
of France, and left it at least its equal. Incidental to this
great proposition is an extraordinary piece of calculation,
by which that famous proceeding—the selling of old ships
and the repurchasing the copper for a sum exceeding the
amount received for the entire vessel—is established as not
only justifiable, but as absolutelyprofi table. Th ewriter argues
that the vessel is a copper mine imbedded in decaying
timber, and that the buyer of the obsolete ship is paid for
extracting the metal. Such a theory could be sustained
only on the ground that nothing in the ship was valuable
except the copper, and it would be difficult to justify it
even then. "Politics as a Profession " has excited con-
siderable attention. The writer despondently complains
that certains classes are excluded from Parliament who
tOO
oughgt
rteoatbe represented,force—railway directors ,a anddtehe
taotra beingother
others arc
his especialpresentin
horror. Of the truth of this proposition there can be little
doubt ; and as the non-represented classes are
for the most part excluded because Parliamentary
contests are too costly, the only remedy is to cheapen the
means of access to the Legislative Chamber. The second
proposition contains less ground for apprehension. It is
to the effect that as a man may more readily wield poli-
tical influence by means of the press out of the House of
Commons, and as this indirect influence is really the most
potent, so politics are becoming less recognise,' as aprofest:
sion. The writer seems to have overlooked one vital. pooeinnoo
The great majority of the class which seeks political
influence
10
boryntoheinperuesesneaendwhotaltieevrer; indirectwherenais eansformerly
the
c e
once ruled the country, still hold much politi
theponeewr.„
though they have been obliged to share it
with
h r c.l
ea a s had little
d s
: 14 h
new body, whilst the
are a
as i
t formerly was—one excep.
comers. The case is not one oftransferehnocte,
aor
completeremova
gain. The journalists removal
from the Legislature to journalism,
Legislature remains much
to condemn the extinction of the
is a loss—not sufficient
which
particularly
tion being made. This is the losso
admit.
fimthitat cHlasesreo;frimoedmobuhere
which the small boroughs used tt.
lossaraliainent. But it by no means
that cheaper elections will not make up for the
follows
boroughs ; indeed, there is every reason to believe
small
nsmotaielleabboleroinugthhse,pbreustensttipll
that such will be the case; and to this end our efforts must
be directed.

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