The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-01-08 00:00:00

TPIE LONDON PRESS.

THE MINISTRY.

There is a tradition '`Of.-t‘Vo rOVirio- claimants ft the
flitch of bacon;
Dunmow in conSetfuencefef Certain Mid ma!tks encirtlin
the eyes of the wife, answered by obviously ungular abra-
sions on the husband's jaws, which, though of recent in-
fliction, the claimants hesitated to explen.' It i'vhFe-whil
if our ministerial contemporaries would:bear iiairnillbe.
principle involved in this adjudication of the chartered
dispenser of smoked flesh, and arbiter of conjugal felicity.
Should they do so, they would no longer exhibit the
Whimsical paradox of a bitterly acrimonious controversy
amongst the organs of the several factions of the admi-
II ist ration to prove the whole party .." as Iniing. as
weavers," nor should we have from. some of. these jour-
nals direct attacks upon the th-erfiselVeT 'ret
us take for example the following from, certainly, not
the least acute or gentlemanlike of the ministerialimers,
the Globe, which, in an'..artiCle of Ida. iiiilct",-breitlies
forth the following. " mild: accents of:• love,"-zlth4
whispered echo of the cabinet endearments':-:'
" We know not whether it'is a sign of a winhing cause, that
the arrogance which used to bo shown by the biiponentt,'W-V6t6
by ballot, in all controversies On the subject, 1;3 transferred to
- its supporters. IloiVever it may be, we see men Who ought to
Katie -better manneri, join in the practice of deifying-to who
doubt the propriety of heaven and:earth for the incline:.
diate introduction of the ballot,' not' only common sense, but
honesty. Such an imputation on men who differ on a
'speculative point implies a stupid insolence, which comnionly
arises from malignity qf disposition, and which can only be''ex.4
custl in this case by the confuSion of the anderstandiny.
• ``The manner in which the less rancorous dtthese 4/U4i:salts
hive disturbed ther intellects; and inflamed their passions on the
subject, is by mixing up' two questions 'entirely .distinct. tnd
first is, whether, in constituting an 'entirely new' Scheme of, rel
liresentationtbr a commonwealth, the plan of
~secret, or that of
'Open voting should be preferred; the other, whether Ole .plO
ut'secret"voting should tie introduced into this country, Wnerd
the electoral rights are still irregularly and unequalty distri4
bated ; and especially whether such a Change. shouid he intro=
duced immediately after other changes,—greater, perhaps, than
have been effected in any state in Modern times, without- revo=
Ilition and civil war preceding_ or followinfi them."
• The assumption that rib Viva liar is to follow the late
revolutionary change, it must be owned, appears a little
hasty within six months after-the 'change has:lsden 'even
theoretically completed,.and'actually befOre even the first
wee of its preparatory practical operation has been made.
This remark, however, is by the way,-tbough we could
not omit to offer it. We beg of our readers t&-pausO
upon the many proofs of concert and good 'Will amongst
the ministers with which this extract overflows—the di-
' reit imputation of " arrogance," the implied charges of
"ill manners," the downright suggestion of " stupcl in-
.golence," " malignant disposition," " confused under-
standing," and "disturbed intellects," so many pretty
flowers of invective, all " Wreathed in a garland" fur the
brows of Lord Althorp, Mr. Poulett Thomson, Lord John
Russell, and the other ballotists. We might easily ap-
pend to this testimony of concord from the Globe, a com-
panion piece froni the side of the ballotists; but it is un-
necessary, as our readers will see. Whoever reads this
must give credit to the existence of something corre-
sponding on the other part, or what the' Schoolnien call
"if correlative." The Globe is not the journal to impute
"arrogance,"." ill manners," "stupid insolence," &c. to
a fair controversial opponent, or without the • existence
Of some controversy ; and if any controversy, however
fairly conducted, is admitted to have place, we presume
that the claini. Of unanimity must be given up. BUt it
pay be supposed, that this is a mere dispute amongst the
ministerial newspapers ; they who suppose this know no-
thing of the discipline which all parties impose upon the
press whenever they can, and which the administration
always can and always does impose upon its journals.
The fear of a disturbance
.of the peace of Europe from
the Belgian quarrel was pretence, but the fear of the
breaking up of a ministry from the wrangling of its jour-
nals is real, present, ever-haunting terror to feeble office.-
men. The reason of this will appear sUffiCiently plain
upon a little consideration. Such creatures as Lord
Durban], for example, totally ignorant of themselvei,
think that they can address the public with more effect.
through newspapers than can be done by men, certainly
of superior natural talents—as, being born to no fortune,
or having lost it, they would, if not be shoe-blacks or
Street-sweepers, men probably better educated than them-
SelVes, and men who have had, in political writing, that 1
long practice and experience which gives skill in every
other art. In consequence, such ignorant or feeble per-
sons are eternally scribbling ; and, as they' have more
than the average share of spite and malice, the jealousy
inseparable from their nature, pampered as it is by asso-
ciation with abler or more popular men in a cabinet, will
be reflected in the journals of the administration, if the"
least latitude of controversy (except with the coml.-lion
enemy) be for a moment tolerated. When such articles
as that which we have quoted froin the Globe appear in a
ministerial journal, the 'Cabinet may in ordinary times
be regarded not merely as breaking, but as actually bro-
ken up. '
The object of our observations is to call attention to
the marks of disunion in theadthiniStration. Men Maj.,
judge variously of the present importance of these cracks
and fissures, which we have pointed out, but every One
-will see that they must be progressive. The ballot ques-
tion and the church plunder scheine,. have too many, arid'
toO noisy patrons to be'blinked by any exertion of niinis
terial skill; and with respect to these, Lord 'Brougham
and Mr. Stanley are absolutely pledged on the one
Lord Althorp and Mr. Poulett Thomson no less' abs&
lutely on the other. At all events, the beginning of the
controversy is not very ominons'Of cordial co-Operation;
it looks very like that project mocked in one of the ear-
liest placarded epigrams upon recore.--Discordia concor-
dice tempt= wdllicatit.—Standard.