The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-08-25 00:00:00

POLITICAL CHARACTERS

(From the Oxford Herald.)
THE EARL OF ABERDEEN

" Want you a man
Experienced in the world and its affairs ?

Here he is for your purpose."

- -
Poor England ! The time is not far distant when thou
avast the proudest and the mightiest of nations ; but alas !
how much art thou fallen. A few short years only have
passed away since thy fame extended to the remotest corners
of the earth—since thy armies conquered on the land and thy
navies swept the seas—since thy statesmen were men of the
sincerest patriotism, the most splendid ability, the most va-
lued experience, men who lived for thy glory alone, whose
every thought was of thy welfare and thy renown, and whose
exertions made thee the mistress of the world. But now
thou art a fallen and a falling nation. True it is that thou
mightest raise an army equal to that of which Wellington
was the head, and send to sea a fleet not inferior to that
which Nelson commanded : but there can be little hope for
thee so long as thy mighty destinies are controlled by such
men as those that now occupy thy cabinet. To them it is
owing that thou bast " fallen, fallen, fallen—fallen from
thine high estate ;" and so long as thou art cursed with them
so long wilt thou be a falling nation. Day after day fresh
indignities will be heaped upon thee, day after day will the
assaults of thy enemies become bolder and bolder, and daily
and hourly wilt thou be less able to resist them, until at
length thou wilt be completely crushed, and thy name will
be blotted out from the nations of the earth, or will exist only
as an empty momento of thy former greatness. Alas ! then,
poor England : one's heart inay well ache for thee.
But whilst mourning the present melancholy state of our
beloved country, let us not fail to give vent to our indignation
against those men by whom She has been placed in the woful
condition in which she now stands. Tremendous is the
responsibility which the Melbourne cabinet has incurred ;
for to its wicked policy is to be ascribed the lamentable posi-
tion of the country at this moment, and the many fearful
dangers with which she is surrounded; from neither of which
does there seem to be any chance of escape. Overwhelm-
ingly great, however, as the responsibility of the ministers
undoubtedly is, it must be borne in mind that they are not
the only accountable parties.. No ; let it not be forgotten
that it was one branch of the legislature, and one branch
only, (the House of Commons) that appointed Lord Mel-
bourne and his colleagues to office. The House of Commons
not only persisted in driving those men into office. in spite of
their notorious incompetency, and in direct opposition to the
will of the monarch and in known hostility to the House of
Lords, but persisted in keeping them in place. notwith-
standing the oft declared opinion of the country that they
ought to be kicked out with ignominy. In so doing the
House of Commons failed to discharge its bounden duty
to the country ; and therefore any responsibility which
the present ministers may incur for their gross misma-
nagement of 'public affairs must be shared by the lower
branch of the legislature. Yes, the day of reckoning is fast
drawing near, when the Melbourne Cabinet will have to ren-
der an account of its stewardship, and alas for England !
what a fearful account that will be. The day, too, is not
distant on which the House of Commons must give a like
account—nay, that account will be ten times snore serious,
more weighty, more difficult to render. Such is the consti-
tution of our country that, in fact and in truth, though not
perhaps nominally, the House of Commons appoints the
ministers of the crown. What then can the house say in its
defence for forcing into office such men as Lord Melbourne
and his set of any and every-thingarians ? What can it say
to the country for keeping them in place, even after they had
acknowledged their inability to keep it—their unfitness to
occupy it ? The house cannot say that it was because better
men were not to be found. Look at Peel, and Stanley, and
Graham, and Lyndhurst ; look at Wellington : look at the
nobleman whose name we have placed at the head of this
article : look, for look you may, at scores of others almost as
good as ikcy. Yet none of those men have any share in the
government of this great and mighty kingdom ! Every one
of those men is possessed of the highest character, the sin-
cerest patriotism, the most distinguished ability; every one
is deeply solicitous for the honour and glory and the best
welfare of England ; and every one, each in his own depart-
ment, is peculiarly qualified to add to her well being, to pre-
serve her name unsullied and her honour untarnished. But
in accordance with the bidding of a faction united only for
wrong, a gay and a lascivious Melbourne usurps the place
that belongs of wright to a wise and cautious Peel ; a Rus-
sell sits in the seat that belongs to a Stanley ; a Normanby
pushes a Graham from his stool ; whilst an old, broken
down, worn out, battered dandy—a bedaubed, rouged, be-
decked, and brainless block, one Palmerston, or (as Lady
Buiwer appropriately christens him in her clever novel,
" Chieveley,") " Lord Protocol"—whilst this man reigns
triumphant at the Foreign Office, Lord Aberdeen, a noble-
man of the highest intellect and the purest worth, is left un-
employed in the service of his country. Oh ! will not the
vengeance of the people of this kingdom fall heavily on the
faction through whom such a state of things has been brought
about! Yes, yes, it will, it will, for we cannot believe that
the great, the noble minded British people will see " their
own, their native land" falling to ruin and decay through
the machinations of a set of ruthless adventurers. Like a
giant refreshed with wine we shall see our countrymen arise
and demand " justice for England"—the instant and ignomi-
nious dismissal of the Melbourne cabinet, and perchance the
punishment of some of its most ruthless members ; and the
dissolution of the present House of Commons. When this
shall have come to pass, the star of Britain will once more be
in the ascendant, but until then we must mourn for her as a
fallen and a falling nation.

No nobleman or gentleman can expect that his estate will
be improved, his rents increased, and his tenants made con-
tented and happy if he singles out as his agent a man ignorant
of the management of land, dishonest, and proud, and over-
bearing to those with whom he comes in contact. No trades-
man can expect his business to prosper if those to whom he
deputes the control of it are untrustworthy and ignorant, idle
and dissolute. Nor can any empire expect to prosper, to in-
crease in wealth and territory, in civilisation and learning,
if the men at the head of her government are deficient of
every statesmanlike qualification, reckless of everything ex-
cept their own personal aggrandisement, caring not whether
their country be ruined so that they keep in possession of
place and pay. Accordingly we find that when men are
choosing their servants they invariably select the best they
can find. But why, we ask, does not the House of Com-
mons, when choosing a certain set of men for Ministers of
the Crown, act on the same principle? This is a question
which must be answered sooner or later. Let the House of
Commons look to it.

Had the men best qualified to' navigate the vessel of state
been chosen, we should have seen the Earl of Aberdeen filling
a place of no mean authority. And truly he would have well
deserved it. To adapt a celebrated phrase of Burke's to our
present purpose, we may say that my Lord Aberdeen " was
nursed and dandled into statesmanship." He was placed,
we believe, at an early period of life under the care of one of
the greatest statesmen of Europe, Prince Metternich, and
was by him carefully instructed in the difficult art of govern-
ment. Nor has he failed to do honour to his distinguished
preceptor, as his official career in this country sufficiently
proves. Lord Aberdeen is a man of a very high order of
talent, carefully disciplined ' • he possesses great experience
and business-like habits. He is in short as fine a specimen
of an English statesman as any man living. He seems to
carry his object with a straightforward honesty of purpose,
without trick, without chicanery, without display. To the
the redoubtable " Lord Protocol" he is a direct contrast
in every point, great as well as small. The one is an
egregious dandy, the other is remarkably simple in his dress;
the one lounges through the routine business of his office
and votes it " a bore," the other discharges it with alacrity,
and considers it a pleasure ; the one blusters and splut-
ters where he can do so with safety, and cringes and
fawns where he dare not brag, the other acts in every case in
the upright, honest manner in which every man controlling
any department of the British government ought to act; the
one is duped and cheated by those more cunning than himself,
whilst the other is always careful and cautious, and cannot
therefore be deceived ; the one grossly and wantonly insults a
nation which ought to be one of our closest allies, and thereby
plunges his country into war, the other does as he would be
done unto, and preserves to his country the manifold blessings
of peace ; the one allows the English flag to be disgraced with
impunity, the other insists upon immediate redress for every
wrong ; the one makes the very name of England a by-word,
a scorn, and a reproach, in every country, whilst the other
makes it feared and respected in the uttermost ends of the
world. The one in short is a mere pretender to statesmanship
and a professor of patriotism, the other is a great statesman
and an unflinching patriot ; the one seeks office for the benefit
of himself, the other for the advantage of his country. Such
is Lord Palmerston ;—such is Lord Aberdeen. Need we ask
you, reader, which of these two men ought to be in Downing-
street—which of them ought to be at the head of the Foreign
Office ? We need not pause for a reply, for there can be no
doubt of the answer you will give. When, then, we see the
battered " Protocol" basking in the sweets of office, and the
Earl of Aberdeen placed in a position where comparatively
he can be of little assistance to his country, are we not justi-
fied in lamenting the probable fate of England, and of de-
scribing her as " a falling nation ?" Are we not right in de-
nouncing the House of Commons for allowing such a state of
things to exist?

But we must draw to a close. As we have already inti-
mated, Lord Aberdeen dresses with great simplicity ; he is
tall and somewhat stoutly built, and is of a staid and sober
appearance. He has, to use the quaint words of an old
writer, " a comely countenance, replenished with gravity."
As a speaker, he is always listened to with great attention ;
he delivers his sentiments with ease and fluency, and is a
good and practised debater. He is very quick in discovering
omissions, mistakes, and inconsistencies in the speeches of
his opponents. He does not stop to dress his opinions in the
gaudy tinsel of rhetoric, but puts them before his auditors in
a plain, becoming garb ; but there is nothing slovenly in his
addresses. He does not much gesticulate when speaking, but
generally stands with his hat before him in one hand and the
other hand folded over it.

And now we pray in sincerity of heart that the seals of the
Foreign department may be confided once again to the Earl
of Aberdeen, for in better hands than his they could not
possibly be placed. A. T. T. Y.

A city correspondent informs us that insurances to a con-
siderable amount were effected yesterday at Lloyd's on French
vessels now on their passage home from India. The poli-
cies included the risk of capture, and the premium of in-
surance was higher than has been given on the same voyage
for several years.-111orning Post.
We extremely regret that the Venerable Archdeacon
Thorpe had a severe fall from his horse the other day, which
greatly hurt one of his legs. The rev. gentleman, however,
is recovering from the effects of this accident. —Cambridge
Advertiser.

A Hague correspondent mentions a rumour of a marriage
being on the lapis between the Duke of Nassau and the
Princess Sophia of Holland, daughter of the Prince of
Orange. The Duke is at present on a visit at the Hague.—
—Galignani'r Messenger.
NEW MUSKET FOR THE BRITISH ARMY.—About four
weeks ago the Master General of the Ordnance, Sir Hussey
Vivian, issued instructions that two inush:ts, on an entirely
new principle, which had been submitted t -) him by a London
manufacturer, should have a fair trial. The muskets were
accordingly forwarded to Woolwich and placed in the charge
of an intelligent corporal, with orders that 1000 rounds of
ball-cartidges should be fired from each, for the purpose of
testing their capabilities and ascertaining their good or bad
qualities. The corporal selected two expe-ieuced gunners,
and the men have attended every day at the butt in the Royal
Arsenal to practise with them. Upwards of 800 rounds
have been fired from each of the muskets, and the ease, ra-
pidity, and precision with which they can be used has
afforded the greater satisfaction, and even surprise, on ac,
count of the simplicity of their construction. The barrel of
this musket is of the same length and thickness as those
used by the soldiers of the line at present, the only differ=
etice is, that the touchhole, instead of being placed at the
side, is m der the stock, immediately in front of the trigger,
which is secured from the possibility of discharging the mus-
ket by accident, even under the most careless circumstances.
Instead of flints percussion caps are used, and the force
necessary to ignite them is effected by a steel spring, about
seven inches in length, and
kr
reception,iis
muh w
ever get out of order. 0
winstico stoimtphlee teleiantstirtnectainensceafrctehlye
e ea weaked
ned
by having to cut out a portiono
screws are required to fix the various parts to each other and
locks of the present muskets, the
for strieci
•
required, and there is no cutting five screws only are
to the barrel. By the new plan, which is secured by patent,
requi-
site for adjusting it to the stock and barrel. When the 1000
will be
there every
given in to the Master General, and
d 1
without e ay. It is stater
that proba-
bilitythat they will be adopted
round.; have all been fired from the muskets,
isa report
two of the troops
for this pattern musket, to supply a portion that the East India Company have already given_al.arge order
under their control.