The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-04-23

Elsewhere will be found full report of the
ministerial explanations offered in Parliament of
the course decided upon by the Derby Cabinet as
q coDse quence of their late defeat. In resolving
upon a dissolution as the only means left them
of clinging to Office, it will be seen that they
have recourse to this step lees with view OF
taking the sense of the country in the measure
which has nece ssitated it than of gaining sufi-
cient time to conclude the part which they have
undertaken in the approaching conference of the
European Powers. They do Lot promise to en-
large or reconstruct their Reform bill, nor, in
fact, do they give any pledge in regard to its re-
introduction. They content themselves with
saying to the people Of England, I" The question
of peace is just now of more Importance than
measures of internal policy, and as the former
will be endangered by our quitting Office we
shall hold our places until we have effec ted or
failed in the arrangements that we have in
band" This would be an excellent rea-
con were the premises on which it is
founded true; bat as no one imagines that
it would be difficult to find a capable substitute
for Lord Mslmesbury at the Congress, or that
change of representatives would alter the course
pursued by Great Britain on the Italian ques-
tion its finishes is at once apparent The real
fact of the matter is that the Derbyites with that
desperate tenacity to Office and that contempt
for public opinion which have always Distinguish
ed them, are resolved to erect out of this peace
question barrier az ainst their competitors. If
they succeed in conducting the pepding negota-
tions to successful issue, they expect to make
sufficient political capital out of it to enable
them to maintain themselves in Office for another
year or two. II, on the contrary, their failure
should lead to war, they believe that the urgency
of that state of things will postpone indefinitely
The reform measures Of their opponents. Tue
calculation in either event is a purely selfish
one; but in the case of an administration which
lives only upon shifts and contrivances suggest.
I'd by the necessities OF the moment it may well
be excused.
Clever and INSCRIPTIONS as are the tactics
which have dictated their present course, the
Derby Ministry do not seem to have taken into
consideration all the chances Of failure and dan
ger attending it. And yet this very question of
reform is pregnant with lessons which should
have made them pause before they decided on
their present course They surely cannot have
forgotten the disastrous results of the two disso
lutioDs which the factous opposition offered by
their own party to the first Reform bill COM
PEELED the Ministry of Earl Grey to have recourse
to. Riots at Derby, Nottingham, Bristol, and
several others Of the principal English towns in
which large numbers Of people lost their lives;
proclamatioDs from the political unions in Lon
don, in which treason was openly proclaimed,
and public burning of the bishops in efIigy,
we're occurrences too significant no. to convince
the conservatives Of tina. day that any further
opposition to NE measure was useless. BY
introducing cham measure of reform Mr..
Disraeli and his colleagues thought to defeat the
pressure for larger extensions of the franchise,
which they had to meet in come stage or other.
Defeated in their jugglery, they now have re-
course to dissolution, in order to cheat the peo
pie into continuing them 10 Office ia the belief
that they alone hold the key TO the Italian diff
Guilty. What was useful To reform Ministry in
81 is, however, likely to prove dangerous to
conservative administration In $50. Once the
English people are convinced by the delay in
Issuing the new writs, that the object is merely
to gain time for this purpose, we may expect to
witrees such another physical demonstration
throughout the country as will convince these
gentlemen Of the folly of the part they are play
ing.
For the cause of reform itself nothing can be
better than this headlong course of the conserve
tives 1t is lucky for that the question has
been made The Chief bone of contention between
them and the wings; for so long as there was
compromise possible between these two great