The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-04-04 00:00:00

ANOTHER MINISTERIAL SPLIT.

DIE Ministers are not so secure in their posses-
'ion of office, that they can afford to lose even their
weakest member without damage to their position,
and yet they have proved so reckless of conse-
quences as to drive from them the only honest man
who had consented to form one of the mongrel
coalition. One of the measures with which the
legislative business of the session commenced was
an alteration of the Poor-law, so as to effect a gra-
dual equalisation of the poor-rates, and abolish that
expensive system ,of litigation incurred in the
removal of paupers. To accomplish this object,
Mr. Bins, the President of the Poor-law Board,
prepared an elaborate scheme, which, though pos-
sessing some ,defects, was at least entitled to
consideration. It seems, however, that Lord PAL..
MERSTON, as Tome Secretary, without even the
'common decency of consulting Mr. BAINES, in
whose department the measure originated, suc-
cumbed to the badgering of his Irish allies, the
RomiSh Brigade, and promised that the operation
of the Sill, as far as concerns the non-removal of
paupers, 'should be extended to Ireland. The effect
of this alteration would be toinflict upon England
the burden of maintaining all the paupers of Ire-
landois it would be cheaper to remove them to the
English Unions than maintain them -in their own
country. This evident injustice to England natu-
rally
excited a strong feeling of opposition, and the
consequence was that on Tuesday' ad, when the
-adjsurned debate on 'the Bill was :resumed, the
Ministers were outvdted by a considerable majority,
and the Bill was vitally lost. Mr. BAINES, very
properly, was indignant at the !labour which he had
'devoted to a really :beneficial improvement being
'Eras literally thrown . away, s andat once resigned
this office. It matters little how ,pausible was the
explanation with which Lord PALMERSTON glossed
'over his share in'the unhandsome transaction : the
'public must fell that the .President of the
Poor-law Board has been very scurvily treated,
-notwithstanding he was the . only member of lhe
Ministry who had a character for honour and-con-
sistency, thoughit was lamentable to see him 'in
such bad company. The loss, however, was too
great for a tottering Ministry to bear ; and 'the
PREMIER againstepped in to, perform the same:kind
-office which' he did when d.tsrd Jong RUSSELL
.offended his 'lrish colleagues by his paroxysm of
Protestantism. Mr. BAINEslad too much.rsgard
for the intereers of his patty to persevere in his
determination, !and has 'consented to postpone his
resignation until a more convenient period, when,
perhaps, his example will be more generallyfollewed.
It was boasted that the .cumbination ineluded
'" all the talents;" but all theirsehemes have proved
wretched failures. The PREMBE'coquetted with
Russia till he was more than suspected of eompli-
',city ; Mr. GrAnsiroNt's financial scheme haslbeen
:a signal defeat; Lord 'JOHN RUSSELL'S Reform
}Bill is shelved ; the Poor-law Bill is gone; and
'..tile only measure 333, which the Ministers have, to
Trove their administrative skill is their :Bill for
' ifthrOwing open the ',coasting trade to foreign vessels,
, viltich, it appears, no one thought it worth valle
ftovpose.