The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-29 00:00:00

[PRiox 4D. STAMPED 550.

. _
Tiers, on return from Lucknow and Cawnpore, try Gen.
Sir W. F. Williams.
Lieut. E. L. Trevor, by the Marquis of Downebire.
The Hon. Henry Walpole, by the Right Hop. Spencer
Walpole.
Lieut. E. J Walker, on appointment to the Royal
Artillery, by Major Walker.
Licut. S. Waring, by the Marquis of Downshire.
Capt. F. T. Whiurtes, 'on appointment to the Royal
Horse Artillery, by Colonel Bingham.
Lieut.-Colonel Hindley Wilkinson, on promotion, by
the liT;:rfivig of DlwnShirp.
Ect•igu C. Wilson, by Lord George Lenncx.
Ensign Winkworth, by Colonel the Marquis of D 0,711.
Mr. Wm. Rayner Wood, by Viscount Palmerston.
Mr. Bertie Williams Wynn, by Field-Marshal Vis-
count Combermere. •

GOVERNMENT P.ROECUTIONS OF THE

PRESS.

A. lecture was delivered last evening at St.
Martin's-hall, by Mr. N. J. SLICK, barrister-at-
law, in aid of the fund which has been established
for the defence of Mr. Truelove, Mr. Tchorzewski,
and oth re who may be proceeded against in like
manner. The committee, originally formed for the
defence of the two gentlemen above-named; state
that they have reason,to fear that other prosecu-
tions are contemplated by the Government ; they
have, therefore, resolved themselves into a Press
Prosecution Defence Committee ; and their efforts
will be directed to the protection of such
persons (being prosecuted for offences in-
volviug the liberty of the press) whose case
shall upon . ' consideration be deemed -worthy
if support. The object of the committee ,is
not merely to protect individuals from the oppres-
sion of prosecutions conducted with the weight and
autlaeirity of the crown, having at its disposal the
purs4string of the nation to oppose to the slender
means of a private citizen ; but they deem it a pub-
lic duty to intervene, lest the secred principle of
the liberty of the press shouli suffer in the persons
thus made the subjects of state prosecutions.
Mr. P. A. TAYLOR, having been voted to the
chair, said the subject was one which excited a deep
feeling in all classes. Every true Englishman would
agree that it was the right of the people freely to,
discuss and declare their opinions respecting tlee
overthrow of tyranny and the establishment ,of
liberty in any country. (Cheers.)
Mr. SLACK said the attacks of government on the
press were new to the present generation, rand his
object was, by means of his lecture, to inc,orni the
public of what had been done in past days. He
claimed the fullest right of fair and full discussion
for every citizen ; and if the right of discussion was
conceded at all, the right to discuss a subject in all
its bearings followed. Since the bad days of the
Georgian era, under the Sidraouth and Castlereagh
regime, this right had been unquestioned ; but the
government prosecution of two booksellers hard re-
cently created alarm. He trusted the juries on those
cases would do their duty as fearlessly as the jury
had done in a late case. (Loud cheers.) He as-
serted the right to discuss questions relating to re-
bellion, revolution, and tyrannicide. Unless this
were maintained, we should sink into a silence as
deep, as dark, and as fatal as that which prevailed
on the continent. (Hear, -bear.) The ancients,'who
abhorred assassination as much as ourselves, praised,
tyrannicide. Even the Old Testament was full *el
examples of tyrannicide ; the book of Judgei cedes_
tained so many that he wondered the despo*A of
Europe had not forbidden the reading of it in
church' s. (Cheers.) It was monstrous that an 'effort
should be male to prevent •the people kr= as-
certaining how far the examples there recorded
were applicable in .our own times. Tlee lecturer
then quoted remarkable cases of tyrannicide in
Grecian and Roman history, and introduced Lord
Denman's version of the celebrated o',lo of Calisra-
tu., which was received with ghat enthusiasm.
Sbakspeare concurred in the ar',roiratioa of tyran-
nicide, as shown by his charlt'eter of Brutus ; so did
Akeusido, in his " Pleasur
.es of the Imagination."
With these great examplAts before us, were we to
be precluded from investigating any case that oc-
curred, simply because it was not agreeable to regal
ears t (Hear.) 'Good sovereigns did not fear such
discussions; it was only the bad ones who were in
danger, laid they only sometimes. The same doc-
trine was taught by the Right Hon. B. Disraeli,
her Majesty's Chancellor of the Exchequer, who
said in ono of his works
" Blessed be the hand that dares to wield
The regieAal steel that shall redeem
A nat:Lon's suffering with a tyrant's blood."
(Cheers.) The lecturer then referred to the case
of Orsini, and the conduct of the Emperor of Franco
(Lot'-Is Bonaparte, as he called him) with regard to
tbr, late Roman republic, and contended that he
had forfeited any claim to allegiance from the
Italians by robbing them of their freedom. Vette'
laid it down that the oppressed were always at war
with their oppressors. No wonder that the blood
of the Italians boiled at their injuries' and that
their oppressors were afraid. (Cheers.) If modern
tyrants were without remorse they had at least
their fears • Let England tell Louis Bonaparte to
leave our booksellers alone—(cheers)—and if be
sought safety from Italians, let him restore them
their liberties. Aristotle, while denouncing tyrants,
pointed out the means which they took to uphold
themselves—as not suffering meetings, executing
great works in order to keep the peoples well em-
ployed, multiplying taxes, and endeavouring to
engage their subjects in war. (Hear, hear.) Mon-
tesquieu, Locke, Beccaria, and Dr. Thos. Brown,
all justified violent means for getting rid of
tyranny ; but violence was the last necessity of a
righteous mese ; tyrannicide was an act of poll- ical
surgery, only to be resorted to when milder means
failed. The Church of England had tii3d in vain
for two centuries to make a martyr out of a tyrant ;
but Cromwell hid his monument iu the people's
hearts, if not in Westminster Abbey. (Che:rs.)
The alleged libels now prosecuted by the G)vere-
ment were innocent compared with some letters
that had appeared in a daily paper uuder*the signa-
ture of "An Englishnein. These letters wee
not prosecu' ed ; but Mr. Truelove and Mr. Tchor-
zewski were prosecuted because they were poor
booksellers, keeping small shops. ' (Cheers.) The
reason was that Louis Bonaparte's power was not
then secure ; now that the tyranny was consolidated,
such publications were prosecuted. But ourliberties
would never be safe until public opinion was, pre-
pared to interdict such prosecutions altogether. Our
foreign policyhad been to bully the weak and crouch
to the strong ; and the same policy was adopted in
the selection of victims for prosecution. - (Hear.)
There was in reality no greater liberty of the press
by law, in England than in Morocco, but for pub-
lic opinion the press might at any time be
crushed beneath judge-made law. How often it oc-
curred that innocent persons were ruined by the
necessary costs of their defence 1 (Hear, hear.)
The lecturer then detailed the circumstances of the
prosecution against Peltier, and contended that
the Emperor of France ought.to have been left to
institute his own prosecution against the poor re-
fegee and the bookseller in the Strand. (Cheers.)
It was profoundly melancholy to see our govern-
ment lending a helping hand to a successful tyrant
and to know that two of our countrymen had been
suffered to lie for months in a Neapolitan dungeon
because our government was in alliance with con-
tinental despots. (Cheers.)
Mr. NICOLA.Y moved a vote of thanks to the leo-
tu-er, aud elle:led to Me, Edwin Jame', who was
in the room. This was the signal for a burst of
enthusiastic cheering,and there were loud calls for
" Mr. James." The learned gentleman complied,
by advancing, and taking his seat on the platform,
when another ovation was bestowed on him.
The CHAIRMAN, in putting the vote, said there
was truth enough in the lecture fora hundred libels.
(Cheers.) The strongest passages had been cheered
by every one present ; ho could only Barbey sver°
, a pretty good party for the Old Bailey. (Cheers.)
He did notbelieve that the government would d
.t was
to press these prosecutions, but meantimefund.
necessary to provide a sufficient
The vote of ;thanks was carried
and suitably acknowledged by Mr.
iefer. Bernard was
defence
sw i
eithk
.cih caring,
A gentleman having stated that
present, he wasalsocalled forwhar
platform he warmly
and Glamourously
cheered. On appearing on
shook hands with his advotcante, Mr. Janes, and
took a seat by his side.
Mr. E JA.IIIE rose,
time.
thought thought of he cheering wasrenewed
He said he had little
,S
and kept up
receiving
g such an ovation. Next to the
consciousness of
laving discharged his duty as en
advocate courageousi ya nd conscientiously, the good
feeling
of the English people was the approbation
he ,nest prized. (Cheers.) He hadiejected a retainer
from the Crown in the late prosecution, because he
believed that an obsolete act of Parliament was
sought to be put in force to please a foreign despot.
He believed that the verdict on that occasion was
justified by every principle of law, justice, huma-
nity, and right. The judges had never dared to tell
the jury on what an obsolete law it was sought to
sacrifice Dr. Bernard's life. He hoped English
juries would-never submit to be told by judges,
" You find the facts, and what the law is we'll tell

b
yrouubll7lyanildisiacyeon.'liiciCh,iorkeeor.,
fsthp__enivtli'srhe Wished
Dr. Bernard. The jury would have distoAL a
selves for ever if,they badconsigued hislon'Onrabler
client to a zeaffold., (Cheers.) a had:atteAled
Mr.:Slack's lecture with, a:view to borrow acme}-,
thing 'fOr the, dOence b 3,lr:,Trdeb?ye. •He should,
discharge his duty fear/essly'aMt cOnicieniieuely
and he bad no doubt, the, juryiwopld do- the safne."
(Loud cheers.) •: • „ . • .
Thanks were voted to the chairman, and suitably
aclinolvledged:. - -
Dr. BEFINAILP. being (loudly. ,called fort )Driefiy-
thanked the audience for ,th e good &g in. aeti*eiiied
in his behalf. He Observed that ‘there W6re,tiro,
parties in-E-uglond, as evory-witeregl,s6 bUt he was
glad to fin' that. the lovers of freedom, Wire much
the most powerful. He publicly thanked Mr.! Ofaiiiiti
for hi 4 able advodacy oThiii-cange-.---If -*meetings like
this were held all oy,erthp country, the libertr of
Mr- "1-1P1^"-

TEE _72Ll'L".74sr'6_-r'ir.AdORCIA vS.

work of the official
(iisirowmhitchhe
dlZt•nhi7. •
an uncomfortable. dilenanita. The
Whigs-CaTobhee, tjah°reuerOribanserver, and the Post hav'e- sworn a
hundred times that a Derby -Asfroinistratien •
possible, and that Lord•,Paltnerston is the :ouly-
-111%.;.the
Lord Derby
Sfatcattsesbmeafonieanuds . tat onbelyfol‘lreitribisetr
me ;00a,nddeyernot,niitrat
beyond the Shadow of-a-doubt, that Lo
ig in office, whilst Lord Palmerston in 011.6:
sition with a personal :following every day dimi-
nishing in number.
.Aglimpse of I,his unpleasant
fact is breaking' in upon, some O. our conteMpo-:
raries,. and leading. artiCies , P-Ad correspondence
are admitted which show Vie general irritation
that pervades the ,Whig -sNirstem.- In -politics, as
in medical practice, it- is important that the:ppm-
plaint should be undcL4tood before a remedy can
Es hopefully employed greatly fear that in
the, case before
;,a the malady( is not compre-
hended, and thP
the true prescription is, as yet,
unwritten.

It is essile^.ed that the dislocation of the "great
Liberal party" is to be trsced solely, or mainly, to
a personale question between Lord Palmerston and
Lord Jeelan Russell, and to the rival ambition tf
those Tflominent members of the Whig ranks. It
is ren.-tenabered, as - iodeeel it -Caonot be forgotten,
that, in 1851, Lord John Russell ditunikieel Lord
Palemerston from office in consequence of his con-
duet in connection with the coup d'etat in Paris ;
thee,. in 1852, L rd Palmerston tripped up the Go-
ve!:nment of Lord J. Russell on the question of the
; - that, -in 1855, Lord J. Russell was
eent toe Vienna on a grave diplomatic mission,
and is believed to have been treuted by Lord
Palmerston with an unfairness akin to treachery
in relation to it ; that the famous resolu-
tion on the Conspiracy Bill, moved by 'Mr.
Milner Gibson, and which destroyed Lord
Palmerston's Administration, was supported by.
Lord J. Russell ; and that the chance of a resto%a-
ton of the Palmerston dictatorship has been much
diminished by the moderate and judicious course
taken by Lord John Russell With regard to the
proposed legislation for India. And, remembering
all this, it is not at all surprising that an estrange-
ment should exist between political leaders who,'
for seven years past at least, are supposed to have
employed themselves in the amiable task of sup-
planting each other. We admit the facts. These
chiefs of the Whig party have long. been rivals.
They have- sought to compass each other's political
annihilation ; they have probably not been very
scrupulous in their dealings with one another, and
they are now, not rivals ooly, but enemies.
If we or the public could have any doubt on this
matter, our contemp ,raries can hive none. They
know what has been the conduct of the Whig press
towards Lord John Russell, and whence, in their
treatment of him, they have drawn their inspira-
tion. In a recent article we dealt with the con-
duct and the Motives of the Times, the Advertiser,
and the P. We tracked their editora to the
dining-rooms and the glittering salons of the most
eminent members of the late Government, and
showed how their patriotism was influenced by
the blandishments which the titled and the
great have, in all times, known home to lavish
upon their depraved and convenient tools. Let
us add to this list of Yournalists the conductors of
the Globe and the Observer. They have been, for
many years, the humble servitors of Lord Pal-
merston. Whether they have been admitted to
the Paradise of Cambridge House or not, we do
not cit.° to inquire. They may have preferred
something more substantial, if less flattering ; and
solid pudding may be more to their taste than
compliments and empty praise. Do not let
us be told that it was natural for the Whig press
to support, Lord Palmerston, the leader of the
Whigs. These journals supported him when he
was not the leader of the Whigs, and depre-
ciated and assailed Lord John Russell, who
was their acknowledged chief. For many years
past, the London Whig newspapers, with the
exception, perha- s, of the Daily News and the
Examiner, have taken sides with Lord Palmerston
and against Lord John Russell. The Morning
Chronicle, under Sir John Easthope, was not a
Whig so much as a Palmerston organ, and its pro-
prietor became a baronet. And it is impossible to
review the course of the journals writing profess-
edly in the interest of the Whig party without
coming to the conclusion that they have been con-
nect?sl with Lord Palmerston by some other tie
than that of au honest approval of his career, and
by some influence which he and they have suc-
ceeded in concealing from the public. Doubtless
Lord J. Russell has observed his. The fierce attacks
of the Times, the feel3ler hatred of the Post, the
coarse hostility of the Advertiser, the flippant inso-
lence of the Globe, and the dull malice of the
Observer, have not passed unnoticed;, and the
source of all this nas not been unsuspected or un-
known. Can it then be a matter of surprise that
between Lord John Russell and Lard Palmerston
there is a chasm which every clay is,malting wider
and deeper—a chasm which no art of journalism
and no n, cessi'ties of party can bridge over ?
Admitting the existence. of this estrangement,
we aro not, However, prepared to admit tbat it is
the sole or the main cause of the dislocation of the
"great Lihetal party." There is another eause
which it does not suit the official Whigs Or their
organs of the pros to aeknowledge. The
.Reform
Bill brought a new power in the House of Com-
mons, which is now about to make itself heard
and felt. For a quarter of a century the emolu-
ments and the authority of (ace have been shared,
as of old, between the two parties into which the
ari-tocratic and territorial families have divided
themselves. The members for the great towns have
been content, or compelled, to support the Whig
Cabinets from a want of po or t assert and assume
the position to which their numbers and the interests
they represent, had entitled them to aspire to.
From the great triumph of the Whigs on the
passing of the Reform Bill up to the dissolution of
the sat® Government, we have seen almost the same
men and the same names in every Whig Ministry—
Russell, Palmerston, Grey, Wood, and Labouchere
in one House ; and Lansdowne, Clarendon, and
Granville in the other. However great their failure
up to 1841, we find them again, their days of puiri-
ficatiou ended, fresh for office in 1846. However
weak and worthless, their career up to 1852, they
are statesmen without rivals in 1853; and flotwith-
standing a war needlessly begun, disgracefully con-
ducted, and concluded without result, they con-
tinue,e in the main, our rulers up to 1808. The
whole "Liberal party," the 400 membersvedwhoof
profess to be Liberal, have not p
all this. One half of them, at leasst,,ah
on with regret or, with net, and
looked
have
hut the " tem-
wished for a change. '
f.,r ever with nothing to feed_
wne.,,
Statesan-
A cou ndotinsri cannot go on
Woods d
ship was not born vii,
tphealtreartsititot:
will ore exn,re with them.
perate wisdom of LoitrhdtLheleecloys,
and. .
an
Lab Jueice ; •
lion of Lord John soy for
will no longer be led, docile and.
and a great party
England is not alwayßsotsoseblel aorto
not for its own great national ob-
jects,eliclu
to subserve the ambition of a few
whom has come down as a prey
the heritage of y)
nbjulng'
families to w
the industr the resources, and
the renown of a great nation. The Whig fami-
lies are not of the people. They use the
people but dl alt. go w.th them. They offer
Parliamentary leaders to the "great Liberal party,"
but refuse t 3 lead toward the' objects of that party.
In this consists the read cau e of the dislocation of
the existing Parliamentary Opposition, and not in
the quarrel between Lord Palmerston and lord
John Russell. A Derby Government may be
impossible, and the Whigs may return to power,
but an Administration, composed of old 'Whigs and
old ,names, and working but for old objects, will
only follow the course and meet with the fate of its
predecessors. It will be weak because it will be
dishonest; and it will; speedily fall because it will
be despised.

Cotorno, March 29.—HerMajesty's ship Chesapeake
has succeeded in recovering the shaft of the Alma and
much of the specie that weut down in the wreck of th•
Ave. The steamer Australasian is refitting at Trinco-
malee. The Columbian arrived at Galle on the 20th
instant, bringing details of the 92d Regiment, who were
subsequently taken on to Bombay in the steamer Italian.
By this opportunity we received English news to the
16th of February, and via Bombay we have intelligence
to the 20th. The Maria Soames arrived at Galle on the
22d with recruits for the Honourable East India Coin
pany's army. The steamer aason, with 22 officers and
1,003 men, reached Galle yesterday.