The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1855-05-26
THE BRITISH ARisToCRAcY AND THE
WAR


.dont a tone in regard to the war that smaeks
.,rnn,,v of republicanism, and attribute all
ar I'll. under which England is now suffer
inc 20 the aristocracy. A popular cry Tor
"a n,;n;strative reform in all the departments
,ftbe state is ringing through the land, whilst
:, tba House of Commons the intrepid Lay
ard boards the lion Palmerston IN ms ueh'
and, in the face of hurricane OF yeiis' nis0
es, hootings and groans, hurls the 'hu"'e.'
of his indignant eloQuence upon aislooi "''o
monopoly in camp and state. Inc honuo"
T;aas brings its powerful artillery to bear IN
support of the popular movement. 1t no'iceS
NTH strong approval meeting of the most
eminent merchants of the city OF LONDON 10
record their solemn condemnation oil the
government, and the system under WHICH
England is suffering. The men who COM
posed this meeting are said, by the llneS' W
he men not only of metropolitan, but OF ma
.;onal influence. Referring to the humlllat-
ing position of the British army, the Times
says:
Uhois there that does not thoroughly understand
The causes of these thingsi we nave iaiieu III
everything because we have Joooea eVeTytnlus
In almost all our recent appointments; clVll ana
military, have promoted men w ,Sa,, D,,h-
ence 10 merit and refused to remove them VIA !.
,ut regard TO failure Our Commander IN Cnlei
missed the opportunity OF taking Seoastopol "uen
alnos, uudefended suffered himself 70 De suipIl
sed on spot the weakness OF "nicn nau he
apsio and again pointed on: to him; negiected ms
cnmnissariat. disregarded his communication;
and sat quietly at home while MS army was pea
ishtpg But he was appointed ~ the WIGS auu
poIi,icsy connected with the orleS 50 ne loti"io
PPor,norder in Chief still. Our Quartermaster
General has good interest at the Horse Guaros' ana
40 he receives and retains an sppoih'uIeht io'
which DO one believed be was qustihed' Cul cav
ary Is sacrificed 10 the dlscoto vi t"o no -
neither fitted for command, but both possessing Ia
Hnenre Our Transport Service Ia placed uhuel
an officer whom an extraordinary amount vi oon
curing testimony convicts OF being u'lot5 NJ
peteut for the duty. We make a man " al -
later because he is a Duke, ana we haAo auo
. > War Secretary because be Is that DUKE cousin
We hand over one public othce-that OF tne "oous
and Forests -e0tirely to the conne Atons Vi -. III
noble personage and we have learned 10 acqulesCo
In seeing the 90 vernment OF England parceieu Out
more ike an estate left TO be divided equally among
the relatives OF half dozen noble iamlnts 'nen
great public trust to be exercised lor Tue oohI -
the people Never was case more conplete' helo
we have cause aud there etect-here the mis-
nonaosment there the calamity-here the dlsre'
gard of public interest there the consequent sac.
ri6ce-system adhered TO Vigorously SO lar ss 1t
checks the required freedom OF action out his'
gardly boldly so far as 1t letters the unorioieu IL
cense of jobbeTy.
Lord Palmerston. like Richard H., might have
led this movement and 1t would have carried MN
to honor and to power he has preleflsu " loi
low 1t and to be its victim rather than lis leader
He should have yielded to 1t. because il Is Just |
cause 1t is intelligent, because 1t is unanimous, put
he hiss preferred to brave it and resist It. he mas
now to learn that community OF keen and lnteiN
ligept commercial men will no longer suner tnelr
affairs to be msmanaged or their patronage tnluaPT
piled or the government OF great people 10 DC
entail ed like heirloom on the families OF few OF
Its nobility.
It is one of .Le greatest consultations in
misfortunes and disasters, whether OF pub
lie or private character, to be able to lay the
blame on anybody but ones self. The aris-
tocracy are just now the scape goat for the
whole British nation. With the popular
movement against them, all republicans
would be bound to sympathise, lift could be
satisfactorily demonstrated that the classes
which seek to share their power have arrived
at a full capacity for selfgovernment, and
are clear of all responsibility for the present
war. On the contrary, we have our doubts
whether the plebeians of Great Britain would
dispense, if they could, with patrician gov
eminent. The aristocracy is most precious
to John Bull of the middle classes, who
would as soon part with his roast beet and
plum pudding as with my lord and ''your
grace" 1t must be conceded, too, that the
aristocracy of Great Britain is the finest arts
tocracy in the world-intellectually, morally
and physically and if the failure OF Great
Britain in this war is exclusively attributable
to her aristocracy, how is it that when her
aristocracy was even more powerful than
now, she conquered the French under Napo-
leon and became the mistress of Europe?
1t is simply absurd to lay all the blame of
the failure in the Eastern war upon the arts
tocracy. Doubtless, large portion OF the
failure may be justly laid at their doors, but
the great false step, the blunder OF plumbers,
the root and fountain of all the humiliation
and sorrow of Great Britain, is the war it
self; a war which was unnecessary; a war
for which she was not prepared: a war the
consequences of which she did not foresee.
This great, radical, vital error was the error
not of her government but her people They
forced the government by their senseless
outcries into aggressive hostilities against q
nation which the Duke of Wellington had
declared was invincible by all Europe, and
now that they begin to see the dec.
laration of the Duke demonstrated in the
failure of the allied forces to make the slight
est impression either upon the Baltic or the
Black Sea extremities of the Russian empire
they heap all the blame upon the class which
opposed the war, and whose counsels, if fol.
lowed, would have saved all the treasure
and blood over which the London bourgeoise
now utter such bitter lamentations.
The people and the aristocracy should di
vide the odium of the present state of things
the former for rashly originating the war.
the latter for their bungling management of
it. Nicholas of Russia had some reason for
saying that he could understand pure des
potism like that of Russia, or pure democ-
racy like that of America but constitution
al monarchy was miserable compound.
having none of the good qualities of either,