The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-01-27 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

even though his conclusion might be erroneous, he pro-
ceeded to defend himself against the charge that he had
been guilty of treason to the agricultural interest. He
bad seen it stated over and over again, that the power
which had elevated could also displace him, and over and
over again he had been menaced with that penalty. Now,
he valued not power for its patronage. Personal objects
he had none. He had served four Sovereigns, and to
each of them he had stated that he required no other re-
ward but the assurance that he had served them as a
faithful and a loyal subject. Power for personal objects
he wanted not—to be relieved from it with perfect honour,
so far from being a penalty, would be to him the greatest
of boons. He did not wish to be the Prime Minister of
England; but, whilst he was so, he would hold office by
no servile tenure. He would hold it by no other obliga-
tion than that of serving the public interests. He con-
cluded his speech with an eloquent defence of his own
Conservative policy both at home and abroad, contending
that be had put an end to the murmurs of disaffection,
and had done his utmost to perform no easy task, namely,
that of reconciling the action of an ancient monarchy and
a proud aristocracy with that of a reformed House of
Commons.

Lord J. RUSSELL next rose to give an explanation of
his conduct during the recent interregnum in the Minis-
try—an explanation which he would have postponed to a
future day had not Sir R. Peel informed him that it would
be for his convenience if he made it at an early period of
the session. He then stated the circumstances under
which he had been called upon by her Majesty to form an
administration on the Bth of last December. On the 10th
he saw her Majesty on that subject. He should have
declined under ordinary circumstances to accept office
himself, as his party were in a minority of 90 or 100 in the
House of Commons, and as that fact alone must have led
before long to a dissolution of Parliament. When be
mentioned to her Majesty that such was his feeling, she
placed in his band a document signed by Sir R. Peel, in
which he .promised to give every facility in his power to
his successor, whoever that person might be, for the set-
tlement of the question of the corn laws. He then told
her Majesty that the case was filtered, and that he would
consult with his former colleagues on the subject. He
did so, and they thought the new Government ought to
know what•were the in'entions of the late Ministry on the
subject; but Sir R. Peel had given him (Lord J. Russell)
to understand that he did not think it for the benefit of
the public service that he should communicate to his suc-
cessor the details of his intended measure. He (Lord J.
Russell) had then drawn up an outline of his own mea-
sure, and had.wished to communicate it to Sir R. Peel, in
order that he might, if possible, obtain his consent to it
along with that of Sir Robert's late colleagues. Sir R.
Peel, however, had thought it not reasonable that a per-
son not in the service of the Crown should be consulted on

ur a measure proposed by Ministers of the Crown.
,e noble lord then stated at great length the various
_1 he afterwards took to form a government on
the principle of the immediate repeal of the corn laws, and
his subsequent failure. In so doing he referred to a writ-
ten communication from Sir R. Peel to her Majesty, in
which he declined giving such a previous pledge to sup-
port Lord J. Russell's plan for settling the c,,rn laws as
Lord John Russell required. After stating the objections
which Earl Grey had stated to one of his colleagues, and
the impossibility of overcoming it, the noble lord pro-
ceeded to express his gratitude to her Majesty for the
confidence with which she had treated him throughout
these transactions, and for the facilities which she had
given him throughout them. In justice to Sir R. Peel he
stated, that there was nothing in his communication
which would have rendered his (Lord J. Russell's) task

tees whirl

course had to do with the wisdom and propriety of his
present measures ? He, for his own part, highly approved
of the course pursued by the right hon. baronet, who bad
the manliness to declare that he had for years been wrong,
but that he was now ready to give the country every re-
compense in his power for the error he had fallen into, by
doing that which ought to have been done before. He
would feel very happy if the result of all this should be
that the business of the country should be henceforth car-
ried on upon the principle of benefitting, not a particular
party, but the whole country. He approved of the speech
of her Majesty generally, but the best paragraph it con.
tained was that recommending an increase in the army
and navy (hear, bear) ; for, when he saw a country for-
getting all the ordinary principles which should govern
its conduct towards other states, he thought it was but
right that those states should be prepared at any sacrifice
to maintain their own honour and integrity.
Sir H. PEEL regretted that the contrast between what
had on a former occasion been said that in that house, and
the language of the chief magistrate of the United States,
should be so great as to lead to the inference that the for-
mer should have been mistaken. The English House of
Commons would feel no hesitation in saying that every
effort, consistent with the honour of the country, should
be made to settle this question of the Oregon territory
peacefully. The speech of the hon. member for Mon-
trose, the strictest advocate for economy in that house,
convinced him that any proposal which the government
might make for the maintenance of the honour and inter-
ests of the country would be readily agreed to ; but at the
same time they would not disguise the fact that they would
consider such a necessity the greatest misfortune which
could befall the country. With respect to the attacks
which had been made upon himself personally, he would
only say that be would not suffer them to ruffle his tem-
per. The subject to be discussed was far too important
to be disposed of by a system of recrimination. The right
hon. baronet then repeated many of the circumstances
which he had narrated on the previous evening, respecting
the recent changes ; and while defending the course he
had pursued, said he was in no way responsible for the
causes which prevented his successor from forming a mi-
nistry. The hon. member for Newcastle-under-Lyrae
bad said that his financial measures were carried oat with
great wisdom, prudence, and success. If so, was not that
a proof that they might carry them still farther? But
however this might be, he could understand how some hon.
members might have the right to say he had abandoned
them . but of all men, the last that ought to have done
so should have been •the hon. member who, in 1838, had
supported the annual motion of Mr. Villiers in opposition
to Lord John Russell and himself (Sir R. Peel). An in-
advertent expression which had fallen from him on the
previous night had been laid hold of and misrepresented.
He alluded to the words " proud aristocracy." He must
be permitted to say that he used the words in the heat of
debate, and the word " proud" he only meant as convey-
ing the idea of a body having attributes and qua!ities of
which they might well and justly feel proud. He could
wish that in the heat of debate there could be time to
weigh every word ; but as that was impossible, it was
scarcely fair to fasten upon an expression for the purpose
of misrepresentation. (Cheers.) He would forget the
bitterness of the hon. gentleman's speech in consideration
of the personal compliments he had paid him for his wis-
dom, and prudence, and success, and he would not allow
his temper to be disturbed by any future references to
personal inconsistencies.

Lord J. RUSSELL asked if the government proposed to
lay upon the table any papers illustrative of the reasons
for interference in the war in Rio Grande. He also
wished particularly to know the exact position of the
Oregon question.

Sir R. PEEL said he was not at the moment prepared to
answer the first question. With respect to the present

position of the Oregon question, this country had again
repeated its former offer of referring the matter to arbi-
tration, but to that offer an answer had not yet been re-

ceived

Sir R. INGus said that few persons could feel mare
strongly than be did the importance of preserving peace,
but yet be was happy that the observations of Mr. Hume
had been received with such cheering from both sides of
the house.

The O'CoNoa DON approved of the references to the
state of Ireland contained in the speech ; but he hoped
the right hon. baronet would turn his attention to intro-
ducing some measure calculated to place upon a better
footing the relations of landlord and tenant.
Mr. BANKES approved of the financial measures of the
right hon. baronet, and gave him great credit for the pros-
.

perity which had followed them ; buy. there was no reason
.why they shopld fol:ow him in the course to which
they believed there was a limit. Under the circumstances
the right hon. baronet should have appealed to the coun-
try, and 'in that case the agriculturists would have been
prepared to abide by the decision, if the appeal were made
in a legitimate manner.
Mr. S. CRAWFORD bore testimony to the extent of the
failure of the potato crop, and believed the scarcity would
be severely felt in the course of a few weeks.
The report was the❑ agreed to.

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL,

The export duty on Bohemian corn has been raised,
with o Ilers to continue so until the Ist of June.
The demolition of the British Queen steamer in the
basin at Antwerp is proceeding with much activity.
It is said the P.,cha intends reopening the ports for the
exportation of grain and pulse in four or six weeks.
There is no foundation for the rumour, brought by the
last Indian mail, of a serious misunderstanding between
Sir Henry Hardinee and Sir Hugh Gough.
Letters from Warsaw state, that the Emperor Nicholas
in his passage through that capital, had treated Prince
Paskewitz with great coolness, and had even expressed to
him his disapprobation of the late political arrests.
The Queen of Portugal opened the Cortes on the 2d
instant. The only point worthy of notice in the royal
speech is the declaration that the government are resolved
to adhere to the treaty with this country for the suppres•
sion of the slave trade.

A LGERI A.—Letters from Marseilles bring news of fresh
razzias in Algeria, and mention a rumour that a division,
consisting of 2,500 men, under the command of General
Levasseur, whilst making a razzia in the province of Con-
stantine, were overtaken by a snow storm, on the night of
the 3d instant, of so violent a character, that the greater
part of them perished.
A Protestant conference is now being holden at Berlin,
to which all the Protestant States of Germany have sent
delegates. Their mission is to restore uniformity of be-
lief and of worship. But many so-called Protestant
congregations have already publicly disclaimed being
bound to belief in any stated creed, by whomsoever pro-
mulgated, and the labours of the conference will, pro-
bably, prove abortive. .

NEw ZEALAND.—An extra number of the Straits'
Times states that intelligence has beet! received by the
Hawk of another conflict between Heki and the British
troops ; and quotes an extract from the South Australian
Journal, to the effect that the New Zealanders had again
repulsed the troops sent to attack his pah, killing and
wounding 127 men. He retired during the night from
the pah unobserved, with all his forces. Capt. Fitzroy
considers the island to be in such insecurity that he sleeps
within the barracks every evening.
AN EGYPTIAN MARRIAGE.—The marriage of the Pa-
cha of Egypt's daughter to Kiamil Pacha, has been cele-
brated in the Pacha's peculiar fashion, and while it wa s
going on, the Egyptian public, native and foreign, could
think of nothing else. The Eastern Harem was made as
far as possible into an European court, with " European
ladies lodged there for eight days," and " received at din-
ners and soirees,"—the restaurateur department under
the direction of a committee of French ladies; and music
and balls, with a Mad. Hekykian (query, native or fo•
reign ?) for lady patroness." Outside the palace, there
was the Hall of Justice, turned into an Italian theatre,
with harlequin exhibitions, and bits from operas and bal-
lets; free ingress for all ;—the Pacha in his state box, and
the other boxes filled with ladies of all denominations—
Jews, Greek, Turkish, and French. On the same princi-
ple, among the Pacha's dinner parties was an ecclesiasti-
cal one, where " the Catholic bishop, the Greek patriarch,
the Jewish Rabbi, and the Mahomedan cadi, were to be
seen seated side by side." The tastes of his Mahomedan
subjects were consulted by exhibitions of mountebanks
and necromancers ; firing of cannon ; nightly illumination
of 1,800,000 lamps; the distribution of 500 tons of beef
and mutton and £5OO worth of small coin, scattered
among the crowd ; and processions of the bride's jewels"
and slippers, worth £7,000, "in glass cases." The mar-
riage procession was as magnificent as crowds and mili-
tary poms. Arab horses, beys without number, and white
satin wedding favours and orange flowers could make it.
The first day of the festivities there was a grand banquet
at the citadel of eight hundred covers. The ladies were
admitted to a magnificent supper given by the eldest
daughter of the Paella, where, including the slaves, not
less than three thousand five hundred women, from all
nations, &c.. were present. All sorts of dances were per-
formed, Greek, Arabic, Bedouin, &c., and the last were
an European quadrille and waltz.