The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-02-07 00:00:00

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tilicrpoot -'-ztattbarb,

TUESDAY MORNING, FEB. 7, 1854.

HER lVfinsTy's Speech, as we predicted last
week, was looked forward to with much more
anxiety than a document which is ordinarily of so
common-place a character is usually honoured
with. This was evident, not only in the excite-

meat throughout the kingdom, and the prepara,.

'ions made by the rival telegraph companies to
gratify the anxieties felt in every town, but also in
'the throngs which greeted the royal procession,
and the House of Lords crowded with eager
listeners to catch 'the first words from the royal
-lips. They were not disappointed, and, for once,
we have had a speech fuller 'of promises than the
session, however long it may be protracted, will
have time to realise ; and so far the Cabinet have
shown the full spirit of Whiggery which animates
them. The Speech, however, is entitled to consi-
deration, not only for what it says, but for what it
I has left unsaid, and for the precedent which it kas
set of altogether ignoring those friendly assurances
from foreign powers which it was the wont -of
former Ministers to dwell upon with so much com-
placency. Her MAJESTY is made to say :—" I
have continued to actin cordial co-operation with
the EtIPEROR of the FRENCH," leaving the infer-
ence to be drawn that with our neighbour alone
are we at peace, and :almost reminding us of by-
gone -days, when England was opposed to a world
in arms, with a solitary ally, which for its very
Singularity was mate the most of. But 'then
comes the pith of the story, the point of informa-
tion which all were -so desirous to know—the hopes
of a speedy settlement of the Turkish question,
,which were indulged in at the closeof last session,
'have not been realised, and a state of warfare has
ensued. There is, however, a last hope, though a
faint one, for though the unremitting endeavours
to preserve and torestore peace have been hitherto
unsuccessful, " I will not fail:to persevere in these
endeavours ;" yet, •" I think it requisite 'to make
a further augmentation of my naval and military
forces." So that, after six months' negotiation, of
which Russia has availed herself-to make prepara-
tions for the. coming struggle, the English Govern-
ment finds itself in a worse position, and the dream'
of Turkish independence as far off as ever. The
Ministers attempt toclaim credit for their forbear-
ance and their ardent desire to avert the horrors
of war ; but they have not shown, nor will the
people of England readily believe that the present
unsatisfactory positionof affairs is not mainly, or
perhaps solely, owing to the very course which the
Ministers appear to pride themselves on pursuing.
The English fleet was in fully as efficient a state
for active operations before the Russians crossed
the Pruth as it is now, and, if ,the ultimate design
were: to defend Turkey at all hazards, might then
have more effectually interposed, with the pro-
bability that Russia would have hesitated to
take the first step in the face of an indignant
remonstrance from:England, backed by an armed
fleet -to enforce it. •On the other hand, if

the English Ambassador at Constantinople pos-
,sessed that influence over the-Turkish Government
which is attributed to him, he should have insisted
on the concession of the Vienna note which lad
received the sanction of the Tour. Powers, which

the EMPEROR or Itussu. had agreed to accept, and
wlii6b, had it been accepted by the SULTAN, wou]4
have deprived the CZAR of every pretext for war,

without involving himself in hostility with every

other .state in Europe. Neither course was pur- I
sued:bat rather a system of temporising, which
eaused'both belligerents to doubt the sincerity of
England, destroyed the influence of the English
Minister at Constantinople,„ and virtually encou-
raged Russip, to persevere in her warlike operations.
The discussion on these questions has been post-
poned until Parliament shall be in possession of
the official papers which have been promised, but
the Ministers will then have to undergo an ordeal
far more searching than the almost friendly debate
which ensued upon the motion for the Address to
the Crown in both Rouses of Parliament. The
allusion to the 'Turkish question was all the refer-
ence which was made to Foreign policy in. the-
Speech from the Throne. Not a word about China ;
nor the war in Burmah ; nor the difference with
Persia; nor the alleged neutrality of Denmark and
Sweden ; nor the dubious position of Austria and
Prussia; nor the differences with the United States,
so positively referred to in the PRESIDENT'S Mes-
sage ; nor the death of the QUEEN OF PORTUGAL,
and the presence of an English fleet at Lisbon ;
nor the opening of the navigation of the River
Plate, though ti►at omission may be attributed to
the credit belonging to the EARL OF DERBY'S
Government : nor indeed to any other point of
Foreign affairs, good, bad, or indifferent, excepting
the all-absorbing question between Russia and

Turkey.
The short-comings, however, in Foreign matters
are amply compensated by an immensity of pro-
mises on domestic a lairs. There are no triumphant
praises of the bles Sings of Free Trade, but dear
breed is att:ibuted to the dispensation of Provi-
dence ; no allusion is made to the thousands of
operatives out on strike, but the people who suffer
from privations are to be treated with compliments
for their exemplary patience, and the contentment
which has been induced by the reduction of taxes
affecting the necessaries of life. It is small comfort
to a suffering man, With bread at tenpence a loaf,
to tell him that the duty on Tea is fourpence a
pound less, or that Soap is freed from the Excise,
when the war has rendered the raw material dearer
by the amount of the duty repealed. But we have
congratulations on the Import* and Exports, and the

array of figures will, no doubt, operate as a con-
solation under the high price of every article of
food, particularly as Ministerial piety takes credit
to its political wisdom for plenty, and coolly attri-
butes all its failures to the dispensation of Pro-
vidence.
It might have been thought that the exigencies
of a war, against which it is necessary immediately
to provide, and that in the most efficient manner,
if we are to hope for a successful termination,
would have been sufficient employment; not only
for the public attention but also for the energies of
Parliament ; but the Coalition 'Ministry, in antici-
pation of their fate, would appear to be gluttons
for legislation, at least as far as promises are con-
cerned. The coasting trade, which has ever formed
the nursery of our seamen, is to be sacrificed to
the demon of competition, in order to be consistent
in a false theory. The same kind of scalping knife
is to be applied to the nursery of our great men,
the time-honoured seminaries of Oxford and Cam-
bridge, in order to gratify the same greedy desire
to level all distinctions. The service of the State
in our civil institutions is to be submitted to a
similar ordeal, so that place and pay may become
the reward of successful political agitation. Fur-
ther reform in the law is but vaguely hinted at,
but the loss of legal employment, arising from
County Court extension, is to be compensated by
the validity of wills and the discussion of matrimo-
nial differences being transferred to the courts of
common law. The Poor-law is once more to be
altered, with a view of abolishing the ancient law
of settlement, on the pretence that it impedes the
freedom of labour. And as if this were not enough
to employ both Houses until long after the calendar
says that grouse-shooting commences, we are to
have another Reform Bill, with a host of supple-
mentary Bills, professing to take more effectual
precautions against the evils of bribery and corrup-
tion, but all allusion to intimidation is very conve-
niently avoided, for the reason, perhaps, that it
would interfere with certain practices in Ireland,
by a party which the Ministry have not the courage
to oppose nor the skill to benefit by.
With such a miscellaneous collection, to be
further increased by Lord JOHN ItussELL's pet
scheme of admitting Jews to Parliament, and
perhaps a fresh attempt to legalise incestuous
marriages, we can only come to the conclusion that
the Ministers anticipate their speedy defeat, and
have therefore industriously concocted this string
of promises, to serve them as political capital when
in opposition. See what we would have done, had
you supported us in office. It is more refreshing
to refer to what Earl DERBY did do in the short
time he was in office.

A SHORT time since, when the Radical press,
and, we regret to say, some few Conservative
papers, were indulging in reiterated slanders on
the PRINCE CONSORT, we demonstrated the falsity
of the charge by its inherent absurdity. Absurd,
in the first place, to suppose that, in all acts purely
her own, HER MAJESTY should not be guided by
the advice of her husband ; and, in the next
place, that the latter should have exercised his in-
fluence either to the prejudice of national interests
or in any way infringing upon ministerial respon-
sibilities. The correctness of this view has been
amply corroborated by the explanations which took
place on the first meeting of Parliament. The
PREMIER and the FOREIGN SECRETARY, the Con-
servative Lord DERBY and the Whig Lord Csm.P-
BELL, all concurred in the opinion we then ad-
vanced, that the presence of PRINCE ALBERT at
ministerial audiences of HER MAJESTY, and his
consultation with his Royal Consort on all public
affairs, was not only strictly constitutional, but at
the same time highly advantageous to the best
interests of the country, and conducive to the pros-
perity of a reign which marks a special era in
British history. In the course of the discussion
the Earl of DERBY took occasion to repudiate all
connexion with the Press of this country, denying
that he had ever 'influenced the insertion of a para-
graph, or wished to be believed to have done so.
We shall not quarrel with such an apparent con-
tempt for services of which every true Conserva-
tive must admit the value, but rather receive it as
an unintentional ,compliment to the disinterested
patriotism which has animated Conservative
writers, as favourably contrasted with the paid
advocacy of Liberalism, so profusely rewarded by
Radical patrons from, Prime Ministers downwards.
It would be well, 'however, even for the Earl of
DERBY to bear in mind that it is hardly consistent
with sound policy to allow an influence so power-
fill as the press, for good or for evil, to experience
a studied neglect in the former cause, while for
the latter it has every encouragement even from
those whose professions are directly the contrary.
It was solely owing to the gratuitious, yet untir-
ing, exertions of the newspaper press, that so large
a body.of Conservative members were returned to
the House of Commons at the last election ; yet,
during the -time Lord DERBY was premier, they
received no aid, not even in the preference of
official information. When their successors came
into office, though the leading members professed
to be Conservatives, the advertising patronage of
the Government was ostentatiously given to the
Radical newspapers, and aimed their first financial
act was an alteration of duties by which their chief
organ was benefited to the extent of many thou-
sands a year. The same journal has, since then,
been the depository of State secrets, and even
allowed to publish an official document before it
was presented to Parliament. It may suit the
independence of the Earl of DERBY 4o disavow his
connexion with a support which has given value
to his political exertions, but perhaps it would have
been better for the country had the services of the
Conservative press received more substantial sup-
port from those who profess to be the )eaders of
the Conservative party.

IT is not two months since the country was
aroused from its more than wonted political apathy,
by the announcement that one of the most import-
ant members of the Ministry—he, indeed, on whom
the majority of Government supporters had chosen
to rely for his political experience—had resigned
his office, and that his resignation had been ac-
cepted by HER MAJESTY, Such an event, so seem-
ingly fruitful of more important changes, was
declared, with a tone of authority, in a journal
which had the reputation of enjoying Ministerial
confidence, and was accompanied with the explana-
tion that it was solely owing to a difference of
opinion on the details of the proposed Reform Bill,
and some sneers on the versatility of Palmerstonian
genius, which was becoming notorious for resigna-
tion in December. No one believed the explana-
tion, which was considered a paltry evasion of the
truth. In the meantime, the vacant Sscretaryship
was offered in vain to several aspiring statesmen,
and, twelve days afterwards, the same authority
made the announcement that the Ministerial quar-
rel had been made up, while the sneers about
Palmerstonian versatility were salved over with
fulsome compliments of official experience and
political genius. Under such a state of eircum-
staves, which were of the more importance when
Lord PALMEUSTON'S long connexion with foreign
affairs gave a more than ordinary significance to
his resignation while complicated negotiations were
pending, all that the public could do was to wait
until the meeting of Parliament for this web of
official trickery to be unravelled. Parliament has
met, and all the satisfaction which the public has

received is the following statement of the PRE-
MIER, in reply to the Earl of DERBY:—
" Connected with the preparation of the measure of
Parliamentary reform, a misapprehension took place on
the part of my noble friend. Believing the provision in
question to be finally introduced into the measure, my
noble friend tendered his resignation. However, explana-
tions took place, and my noble friend resumed—in fact he
had never ceased to perform—the functions of the office
of the Home Department."

Is there a sane man, not blinded by party prejudice,
who will believe that Lord PALMERSTON, who was
a member of the committee entrusted with the
preparation of the. Reform Bill, could make any
mistake as to whether " the provision in question
was finally introduced," when, from no Cabinet
Council having been previously held, it was posi-
tively impossible ; and that such a mistake could
have been so inexplicable as to lead to his resigna-
tion at such a time ? In the next place, can .any
one believe that the office was never vacant, when
the resignation was accepted, and the vacancy
offered to others ? Could such a mistake have
existed during twelve days, while the PREMIBR
was looking in vain for a successor ? It is so ab-
surdly preposterous. that it is an insult to common
sense to expect such a statement to be believed ;
and it is to be hoped that some member of the
Lower House will, for their own character, demand
from Lord PALMERSTON an explanation which shall
at least have a colourable probability.

THE all-absorbing question of Peace or War

as arrived at a position somewhat tangible, since

the Speech from the Throne has declared the ill
success of all negotiations for peace, and the deter-
mination of the Government to augment the naval

and military forces of the country. The London
papers are now paying great attention to the
movements of the other Powers, and so strong is
the feeling of its importance, that even a declara-
tion on the part of the Prince of PRUSSIA, that his
Government should at once assume a decided tone
against Russia, produced a rise in the value of our
Funds and Shares. Such a declaration, both by
Austria and Prussia, would of course tend mate-
rially to hasten a settlement of the question, as it
would be madness for the EMPEROR of Russu to
attempt a contest with the Great Powers of Europe,
with the certainty of immediate defeat ; but we
adhere to our previous opinion, that the strength
and resources of Russia have been too much over-
rated, and that England has little to fear from the
encounter, excepting the expense and the disasters
which ever follow from sanguinary strife. It
appears evident, from the caution which has been
pursued, and the courteous manner observed in
the withdrawal of the Russian Ambassadors from
London and Paris, that the CZAR is by no means
anxious for a quarrel, however pride and obstinacy
may have induced him to persevere in his demands ;
and many are of opinion that they will receive
orders to return to their embassies before they
have reached St. Petersburgh. If we suppose,
however, the worst as far as concerns our lukewarm
allies, we have still no reason to anticipate any
Other than a triumphant result, should the CZAR
of Russia persist in his folly. Had England to
contend with all the Northern Powers, it would
not be for the first time in her military history ;
and now, when we have a fleet superior to all
besides, we are in a position to dictate terms, and
have strength to enforce them. It may be a ques-
tion for grave consideration, whether the whole
point in dispute is worth the violent disrupture of
a forty years' peace, particularly when it is consi-
dered that the independence of Turkey is a phan-
tom which will be as far off as ever ; but that
question having been decided in the affirmative, no
apprehension of the consequences need deter us
from at once bringing it to issue. If the wisdom
of England has resolved that the aggressive policy
of Russia shall now receive a check, and security
be demanded against any future infringement, we
have but to buckle on our armour, to display once
more the spirit which won Trafalgar and Waterloo,
which drove the French out of the Peninsula, and
swept the seas from pole to pole, and Russia must
succumb, whether his neighbours help him or not.
Their want of faith will prove their own destruc-
ion, and Austria will far better serve the cause of

the EMPEROR of Russtd by uniting with the
Western Powers to save him from the conse-
quences of his own folly, than, by any culpable
leaning towards Russian counsels, precipitate

the discomfiture of both empires, the crippling
of Russia, and perhaps the annihilation of
Austria, which would be rent to pieces by the
insurrections of her own subjects in Hungary and
Italy. England is but now assuming the position
which she ought to have taken at the commence-
ment of the affair, and would have taken but for
the pusillanimity of a divided cabinet, which sought
to gain by the trickery of diplomacy what should
have been demanded by the boldness of moral
courage, secure in the righteousness of her cause,
and asking no more than she meant to enforce.
The cause of dispute is the same now as it was six
months ago, and if now we are justified in em-
broiling Europe in war, in order to preserve the
integrity of territorial arrangements, we should
have been equally justified in assuming the same
determined tone before Russia had fulfilled her
threat of crossing the Pruth and taking possession
of the Danubian provinces. Let us hope, however,
that, notwithstanding the apparent imminence of
war, the EMPEROR of Russia will experience a
return'of his former good sense, though any con-
cession on his part will be accompanied with the.
bitter reflection that he cannot reinstate himself
in the same position which he occupied before he
entered upon his ill-advised crusade in defence
of the Holy Places. Turkey will not now consent
to resume the treaties which have been broken,
and Russia will discover, when too late, that her
progress has been retrograde.

Ir is a melancholy truth, that no men are more
violent in pursuing the wrong path than those who
have been perverted from the right way. • The
worst Radicals are those who have been Conserva-
tive, the most outrageous Itomanists are those who
have been beguiled from Protestantism, and the
once Conservative membersof the Coalition Ministry
seem determined to furnish a further illustration of
the same truth. The Free Traders who formed
the Manchester League were content with the
repeal of the Corn Laws ; Lord Join- RUSSELL, in
laying his sacrilegious hands on the Great Maritime
Charter, known as the Navigation Laws, spared
the coasting trade, the nursery of our seamen, and
the source of our greatness as a naval power ; but
the renegade Conservatives who are now at the
helm have doomed this to destruction, and unless
the Legislature interpose, we may look in vain for
that maritime supremacy which has become iden-
tified with our national history. In the Speech
from the Throne HER MAJESTY is made to say :
" I recommend to your consideration a bill which I have
ordered to be framed for opening the coasting trade of tha
United Kingdom to the ships of all friendly nations ; and
I look forward with satisfaction to the removal of the last
legislative restriction upon the use of foreign shipping for
the benefit of my people."

The conclusion is here very coolly assumed, though
for the foundation of it we may look in vain.
Wherein have the people suffered from the restric-
tion upon the use of foreign shipping, that its
removal should be looked forward to with satis-
faction ; or rather, wherein have they not suffered
from the partial removal which has already been
made ? We stated, on a previous occasion, some
of the losses experienced by British merchants,
owing to the injudicious employment of foreign
vessels, which are not governed by British laws,
nor do they submit to British usages. These evils

would be multiplied if the coasting trade were
thrown open to them, while the loss to the nation
would be incalculable, from the discouragement
which would thereby be given to British seamen.
In the course of the debate, some allusions were
made to the loss of the Tayleur, which was attri-
buted to the insufficiency of her crew ; but this fact
affords a striking argument against the policy of
the alteration which has already taken place. Had
the law been in force which insisted on three-fourths
of the crew being British seamen, the danger would
have been less, but it will be still further augmented
by the proposed opening of the coasting trade. The
restriction is said to enhance freights, and to mili-
tate against the interests of the ship-owner, but it
is far more for the interests of commerce that a
vessel should convey her passengers and cargo to
the desired port in safety, than, in order to effect a
small saving in the wages of her crew, be wrecked
on the first coast she comes in sight of. It is a
Mc
miserable economy, fruitful of evil, and is
will be more apparent when the stern r ents
of war shall have rendered desirable every able-
bodied seaman, in order to man the fleet for. the
national defences.

DIE RED JACKET is about to be thrown open to
public inspection.
OATMEAL—In the last nine or ten days 21,000 loads
of oatmeal have arrived in Liverpool from Ireland.
PROPOSED CEMETERY FOR PRESTON.—It has been re-
solved that a burial ground, under the loth and 16th Vie-

- ,
toria, and 16th and 17th Victoria, be provided for the

township of Preston.
THE REV. J. B. LOWE, incumbent of St. Jude's: will
deliver a lecture at the Concert-hall, on the 20th inst.,
in reply to the statements of the Rev. W. H. Anderdon,
the Romish pervert. Mr. Lowe's lecture will be in con-
nexion with the Protestant Reformation Society.
THE CANADA British and North American Royal Mail.
steam-ship, Captain Stone, sailed on Saturday, for Boston
and Halifax, with the usual mails for the United States
and British possessions in North America, a full comple-
ment of passengers, and a large cargo of valuable merchan-
dise on freight
TILE OLINDI.—On Saturday, a steamer arrived from
Holyhead, having in tow a lump laden with goods from
the Olinda, screw steamer. The hull of the vessel is stated
to have broken in two, owing to the weight of the engines
causing an immense strain amidships.
WIGAN STnricr.—There has been no change of any mo-
ment in connexion with this strike since laseweek. The
number of idlers continues to decrease gradually. The
Ince-hall Coal and Cannel Company have given notice to
their colliers of their intention to give an advance of
prices to the extent of a penny to the shilling, or 8t; and
it is believed several other coal proprietors will follow their
example.
EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY.—At the fifth annual meet-
ing of the friends and supporters of the St.. Anne's
Dispensary and Eye and Ear infirmary, Rose-hill, on
Wednesday, Mr. T. Barton presiding, the report showed
that the receipts for the past year had been £472. 13s. 10d.,
and the expenditure and relief during the same period,
£393. 13s. ; the number of persons relieved being 9,610,
or more than double the number who were relieved in 1849.
PRESTON STEIRE.—The returns for this, the nineteenth
week of the lock-out and the twenty-third of the strike,
show that the number of unemployed hands relieved from
the Trades' Union Funds was 16,174; last week, 16.330:
decrease, 161. The amount disbursed in relief this week
was £3,040 ss. &l.; last week, £3,073 10s. decrease, £24
4s. 6d. It will be observed that there is again a consi-
derable decrease in the number of hands receiving relief,
the weavers alone showing a diminution of 124 as compared
with last week. This arises from the active measures
taken to assist the hands in removing from the town.
The amount of contributions was larger this week than
last.