English and Foreign.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 612, 18 September 1858, Page 3

English and Foreign.

NEWS OF THE MONTH

(Fur the Week ended June 5.)

The two Houses of Parliament have made each a considerable step in the progress of Representative reform. At first we might be inclined to think that we owe this instalment to the great power which exercises such imperial influence in state affairs,—haphasard ; but if we think so, we do an injustice to those men, some of whom we have often chastised for flagging in their work, who have nevertheless through . a long series of years, persevered in urging either the general principles or the sijecific measures. It is not that; these two measures have taken up the greatest time this week, or filled the most conspicuous place in the Parliamentary debates. On the contrary, the amusing and absurd speech delivered by Mr. Disraeli, as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Buckinghamshire, has been elevated to the position of a State paper, and has formed the subject of animadversion on three successive nights. The censure which Lord John passed on Friday when he asked explanations, has been repeated, with more vivacity though with less business-like strictness by Lord Pal raerston on Monday ; and has been made a great affair of state by Lord Clarendon on Tuesday." The precise points for animadversion have in most cases been the same. To disparage the late occupants of the Treasury bench, and to exalt the present occupants, Mr. Disraeli represented Lord Palmerston and his colleagues as having left the country on the verge of a war with France,—it was a "question of hours." He made an immense achievement out of so much as Lord JVlalmesbury has done in rescuing the Briiiih engineers ; glorified the preservation of peace in Itaiy.as if the work were finished; puffed his own finance to a degree of burlesque ; and. making a desperate onslaught on the "Cabal," hazarded a hint that in the cabal of ex-Ministers leagued to drive him from office there is some "foreign" conspirator of distinction. All these points he and his chief -were called upon to explain. Both of them attempted to make out that Mr. Disraeli's view was in the main historically correct, but in his new paraphrase Mr. Disraeli so largely corrected his post-prandial effusion as virtually to admit that he could not stand to his own text. Lord Derby tried to pass it off as an essay fit only to amuse an hour in a railway carriage—the very reverse of a State paper, while he admitted that its language was inflated,its terms not to be sustained, its personalities better left alone; its allusion to the "foreigner" only to be answered by silence. Perhaps Lord Clarendon somewhat imitated Mr. Disraeli's indiscretion in raking up old stories about the.French Alliance, old compliments to the fidelity and judgment of the Emperor Napoleon,—which his state of health prevents him from substantiating at the present day,— and old anecdotes about the bearing of M. de Persigny,-—which, half-reserves have prevented any man in either House from stating either completely or correctly. It would perhaps have | been best not to revive the subject after the first notice taken of it.by Lord John ; a man less interested than the other speakers, and far more guarded and parliamentary in his mode of handling it;

The two Reform measures to which we have referred are, the settlement of the Jew question, and the abolition of the property qualification for Members of Parliament. The Earl of Lucan has found a convenient mode by which Peers reverse their late decision against the measure, although their dignity is consulted by appearing to insist upon the amendments. They send down the Oaths Bill, castigated as Voltaire's works might be by the Holy Office at Rome by omitting the most essential parts, but the omitted passages are subtantially embodied in a separate bill by Lord Lucan, empowering each House of Parliament to let gentlemen of Jewish persuasion take the appointed oath without those words "on the true faith of a Christian," which are now statutably directed by the Oaths Bill. We insist that all Members shall take the oath, say the Lords in their corrected edition of the Oaths Bill; but, say they in Lord Lucan's Bill, you may make an exception in favour of Jews! And this is called consulting the "dignity" of the Upper House! De gustibus! if the Upper House likes to be dignified in that fashion, who shall gainsay the indulgence? Mr. Locke King's Bill to abolish property qualification for Members of Parliament, has passed through its most critical stages in the House of Commons, under the special protection of Mr. Walpole's Conservative Government, notwithstanding the opposition of the Tory party, to which they "do not belong. The next thing will be for Mr. Walpole and his colleagues to come before the country, at the next general election, with the cry of* "The Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing brit" the Bill." It is an amusing situation, and it suggests the question, what the Liberal party will do to take up ground in advance .of; those hardened neophytes so as to maintain the distinction.

Not less important is the carrying of Mr. Vivian's resolution for consolidating under one responsible Minister of the Crown the Military administration now divided between.the Horse Guards and the War department.-! The debate was well illustrated in the division, which was; so close that the tdotion was only carried by'a net majority;©f 2;; on one side were the Conservatives and the representatives of the departments; on the other the Liberals and those members who desire to- represent the country and progressive improvement—Lord John Russell among them. Ministers have announced that they do not intend to take any notice of the resolution —which is courteous to the House!

Supply has afforded its opportunities for diversifying discussions; amongst-them was one on the defensive works in the Channel Islands, which successive ministers pronounce to be essentially necessary, while independent authorities declare them to be playthings useful only as pretexts for an interminable expenditure. If the works are a necessary watch upon the great naval station at. Cherbourg, which we are not yet prepared to* deny, than, instead of keeping open the account interminably the works ought to be finished forthwith; an 3 the country ought to know something- more about the state of our relations with an important and faithful ally whom

we cannot suffer to approach us unless we can feel the revolver in our pwket. One of the votes which challenged attention was the salary of the Secretary for Ireland, challenged by more than one speaker on the ground that Mr. Horsman had resigned the post because he found not enough to do. There are, said Mr. Whiteside. with the air of a man who settles a question by dictum,—two ways of performing the work, one not to do it at all. the other to go through the labour ; and Lord Naas insisted that the labour is great, not only for a £aas, but for a Peel, a Stanley, or a Somerville. Evidently on Mr. Whiteside's own showing, there is a degree of work which may be executed by a Secretary to the Treasury, an Irish Secretary, or by any man who knows how to manage members,—but that it is not work for a statesman. However, the vote passed, because no party m the Commons has yet made up its mind to reduce the number of salaried posts ; and none is yet prepared to open the larger question of the Lord-Lieutenancy. An accidental absence of Mr. Horsman on Monday night when this vote was brought on, furnished a temptation and an opportunity to certain Irish Members to attack him for his conduct while holding the Irish Secretaryship. Mr. Horsman, it will be remembered, had told his Stroud constituents that he had given up that office, among other reasons, because he found nothing to do in it. Some Irish Members declared, in a very Irish way. that it was impossible Mr. Horsman could have had nothing to do at his office, because he %vas never to be found there. On Thursday night, ■ Mr. Horsman replied, amusingly and effectively, to these attacks. It appears "that he had been obliged to lay down certain rules of intercourse with Irish Members which abundantly explain the present attacks upon him, He now found it necessary, he said, to confine his attentions to some of them to the epistolary form. Mr. M'Mahon, in replying to *Mr. Horsman, on the Thursday evening, talked of " the person who aspires to be the leader of the Liberal party," of the " proximate premier," in a way that forcibly suggests the supposition that he'is the mouthniece of the revenge of higher persons for Mr. Horsman's late political conduct. A scandal almost rivalling the Slough exhibition has occupied the attention of the Commons in its august capacity of judge. In the ' Carlisle Patriot,' Mr. Clive, chairman of a raibvpy committee, was accused of "leaning" against one side. and also of having had some dealing in shares; and Mr. Washington Wilks is thereupon called to the bar, and consigned to the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms. This is a mode of torturing a man in his most vital organ, the purse; and, better than the rack, it can be continued until the patient cries peccavi. Poor Mr. Wilks did so, and is discharged -'after payment of the fees," with Mr. Roebuck's benediction upon him as "a cowardly calumniator." Now the facts are that the country editor is only the scapegoat for others; while one of the counsel before the Select Committee, Mr. E. B. Denison, avers that he, and others, perceived " leanings," though, of course, they did not suspect corrupt motives. The ultimate result of the whole proceeding is, that Mr. Wilks is mulcted because somebody else in his name imputed motives to a Member of Parliament; an offence of which Members themselves are never guilty! The hiatus in the ministry consequent on the retirement of Lord Ellenborough has been filled up in a manner that somewhat falsifies recent rumours, and rather completes the original design of the Government. Lord Stan lev has been made President of the India Board, where he will no doubt do his best to realize that ( vision of an absolute Secretary of State for India, about which he has said so much; though he has not yet had any opportunity of showing the statesman grasp and administrative power demanded by India.

The place vacated by Lord Stanley, as Secretary of State for the Colonies, is supplied by Sir Edward Lytton. who was originally to have'been comprised in the Government. At the time it was said that he was prevented by the precarious tenure of his seat; but we suppose the successes of ministers will now supply him with the 'halo' which is requisite to retrieve the affections of his constituents. Should that be so, and should he be allowed to retain the Colonies, we must look for some romance of the West Indies. or some philosophical fictiou upon Australia or Caiala, correcting by its detailed information and its profound disquisition the somewhat flashy views of statesmanship which Vivian Grey dashes off. In order to complete its s|aff of statesmen, the Cabinet only wants the addition of Mr. Bentler.

It appears to be intimated on something like authority that the difficulty at Montenegro is approaching a settlement ; but we know as little respecting the grounds of the.accommodation as we do of thecourse taken by the. intermediating Governments. Werb'rily know that there have been movements of armed ships, and we have the semi-official reports by the semi recognized French agent, Delarue, on the fight at Grahovo.

The Turks, he says, were not attacked and massacred during an armistice, for the armistice had not been technically concluded. Incidentally, his report corrects another mistake; Delarue was no victim to a chivalrous protest on his own part against a breach of honour. Furthermore, at ttiecloseof his report, he announces that Prince Danilo submits himself' to the will and pleasure of the Emperor Napoleon. . Events eeem likely to afford the opportunity desired by pur respected correspondent Mr. Freeman for compelling the Montenegrins to sit down in "good faith" beside the Turks, as & constituent part of the Turkish empire, with a view of pulling down the Turk himself, and substituting a federation of Christian states, —as a consummation to crown the "good faith !"

It is a subject worthy of consideration by the Paris conference, which has been sitting during the week ; but'we know as little of its proceed itigs as if it sat in ouv own Foreign Office.- If the representatives of our own constituencies wore to sit upon a turnpike bill with closed doors, there would be a sensation ; indeed the City has been protesting against a preliminary inquiry by a Select Committee in secret; but the representatives of the nation in the international Parliament are suffered to sit with closed doors, and so to commit cur policy and discuss away our future.

From the West the news is anything but agreeable politically. The Americana announce that the Utah campaigns are over—Brigham Young having abdicated, and the body of the Mormons having submitted to the law of the Republic. The report rests at present upon the doubtful authority of the telegraph, but the mode of stating it gives it an air of probability. Meanwhile the foreign relations of the Government are becoming rather complicated, and in a manner that interests us. Mr. Dallas has been instructed to make representations to our Government on the subject of certain illegal seizures and visits effected by our naval officers in the Gulf of Mexico, on the coast of Cuba, and on the West Coast of Africa. By the commencement of Mr. Cass's letter, these complaints appear to be in continuation of a series. Some questions of compensation have evidently been submitted, and Mr. Dallas is instructed to request that orders be sent out for reining the over-activity of our officers. The Republic stands by the ground which it took up in the right of visit question and will not tolerate any seizure or search of ships which establish their American nationality. Lord Brougham has been this week arousing public indignation against that plan of free emigration from Africa which had been carried out under French auspices : it is, he says, the slave-trade revived ; and there is reason to believe that the slave-traders have already begun to discount the effect which the project will have in breaking through the system of slave-trade suppression by forcible means. But Lord Brougham has not suggested any plan, of action ; and the official protests from Washington illustrate the difficulty of persevering wlt'i the forcible suppression even on its present footing.

The states of Nicaragua and Costa Eica have agreed to a convention authorizing the construction of an interoceanic canal by a French company ; at the same time making a declaration against the Government at Washington for patronisingthe fillibusteringinvasions of Walker, and appealing for protection to the powers of Europe against the attacks of pirates and buccaneers, more especially to Prance, England, and Sardinia. Iv the convention a peculiar privilege is given to Prance, whose Government is authorized to keep two ships of war in the waters of the canal or the lake of Nicaragua, as protector of the works. How will President Buchanan's Government regard this new protectorate?

(For the Week ended June 12.^)

If the business before Parliament has not been in its nature trivial and of minor importa^cs, it has been rendered so by its treatment. Ministers were last week spurred to the resumption of their Indian legislation: they professed-the greatest readiness to do their duty. The House of Commons was called to the work on Monday, and the whole evening was spent in ~a debate something worse than practically fruitless, because ill timed. Two eminent independent members are chargeable with this waste of the public time, but not exclusively so. Mr. Gladstone bad a new idea to propose for settling the

difficulty provisionally.

It was submitted in

the form of a resolution, that until the end of next session the Council should consist of the existing Court of East Indian Directors; the President of the Board of Control assuming the head of that new Council. Mr. Gladstone is rendering himself celebrated for proposing the right thing at the wrong time. If he had brought forward this idea at an earlier stage, it

might have been accepted as a mode of advan-

tagaously holding over Indian legislation until next year, while providing an amply sufficient governing body, and affording the best nexus between the old government and the new one. Or if he had deferred his proposal for a few weeks longer, until the present cabinet, the next cabinet, the Independents, and everybody else, had discovered the hopelessness of finishing the resolutions this session, then also Mr. Gladstone's idea might have been accepted as a rescue. But he proposed it just as ministers were about to resume the discussion of their own resolutions, at a point where the House of Commons supposed itself to have passed the stage for entertaining such a question; so the long debate which ended in the rejection of his plan by 265 to 116 was simply an ingenious waste of time.

Mr. Roebuck fell back iipon a still simpler and more obsolete idea — namely, that there should be no Council. The Committee of the whole House having arrived at the question, "Of how many shall the Council consist?" Mr. Roebuck proposes to insert the number 0! His idea is, that if Lord Stanley, as President of the Board of Control, or Secretary of State for India, had nobody to advise him, he would be a great deal more "responsible" than he.would be if he had some support. In this view the most responsible government in the"world is that of Eusiia. . This is advanced Liberalism with a vengeance." The rejection of Mr. Roebuck's amendment, by the whole committee to none, shows that he ha.d effected a more masterly waste of time even than Mr. Gladstone.

; Of how many shall the Council consist ?—that again became the substantive question before the House. All the leading Members, on all sides, inclined to the figure 12 ; but to clench the matter in committee would have been to move too.fast ; so, at Mr. Disraeli's suggestion, the Chairman reported *? progress." Heaven save the mark, ** progress"!.

The Tuesday night waa of course productive, but thia week it presented some rather unforeseen, positions. At the earlier sittings, the Church-rates Bill was before the House, stoutly and cleverly supported by Sir James Graham, in a speech calculated to charm Dissenters and to frighten the old friends of the Church by the thorough anti-church tone of liia doctrine. It is almost as if Sir James' Graham had graduated in Fleet Street. Mr. Gladstone reilressed the balance with a-powerful speech, wliich might be an article in an orthodox Quarterly, pleading picturesquely for " the privilege of the poor" in the rural districts, whose parish church is charged upon the land. As many as 266 voted against 203 for the third reading of the bill, which goes for the favorable consideration of the Peers ; in whom Mr. Gladstone has the utmost confidence. It is to be hoped the sentiment is mutual; ;. The other grand subject was Builot. Mr. Berkeley's new edition or' his annual speech was dressed"up with its customary allowance of

Siouveautes,—for which the demand is now so decidedly recognised.; and he succeeded, -as Lord Palmerston said with sympathising approval, in -getting a good-deal of fun out of the subject. Still the array against him was too formidable. There were not only the Bentincks, of course, "hut the Palmerstons, the Lewises, the Russells — "Ministers sitting still, while the leaders of the -Opposition did the ministerial work against the Opposition. The great fact of the debate was "Mr. Bright's speech, in which he reminded the 'leaders of the Liberal party that the multitude out of doors, upon whom they relied for support, -expect the Ballot in any new Keforni Bill. Two others on the list of detailed reforms have been more favorably treated on a subsequent evening. Mr. Locke King's Bill for -approximating, if not assimilating, the county ;-and borough 'franchise, has passed the second 'reading In the House of Commons; Ministers ■.acquiescing, and Lord Palmerston positively assisting, though he announced that he was not ready yet to come down to the level of £10 for .counties.

The same member's Bill for abolishing the Property Qualification of Members of Parliament, has passed the second reading even in the House of Lords, with something more than the acquiescence of ministers. Notwithstanding a protest from Earl Grey against the concession to " democracy," Lord Derby eloquently defended the bill, as just, and unimportant. The new Ministers have been re-elected, without any opposition. Lord Stanley's constituents indeed spontaneously suggested that lie should not take the trouble of interrupting public business by a visit to King's Lynn. Probably isome very painful circumstances, entirely relating to private affairs, assisted the more generous turn of party feeling in saving Sir Edward Xytton from opposition in Hertfordshire ; but he attended the election and made his first speech as a Minister. This week we have had the annual meeting of the National Society of

Education.

"When public men. like the Arch-

l>ishop of Canterbury, the Right Honourable "William Cowper, or Sir Edward Lytton, meet on such occasions, they can always find something to say, whether it is at the meeting of the National Society, or at are-election in Hertford-

shire. Sir Edward distinguished himself by taking a pleasant view of things, and " avoided irritating party topics," Mr. Cardwell's motion included. His boast about the Conspiracy Bill was a much more delicately shaded performance than Mr. Disraeli's; and, admitting Lord Pal-

mersjfcon had "faults," he "regarded him as one -of the most remarkable men of our age," and was •proud that he was "a Hertfordshire man"!

Such are the humanizing influences of letters! We are still without any further information respecting the state of affairs at Montenegro; and this is according to precedent. Mr. Seymour oFitzgerald stated in the House of Commons, on

Thursday, that the war with Persia was declared,

■ and carried on, and peace was concluded, without any explanations being offered to the House of Commons. Of course not. Why then, with •that precedent, should the existing Government

give any explanations about Montenegro? Meanwhile, Bussia has sent a war ship to " observe " —a fact which rather impresses the pub"lie; though this kind of observation is not ■always so mischievous in its consequences as the diplomatic style of observation. The most stirring subject of the week has made itself felt "in various quarters—it is the •^portent of hostilities between the United States

and this country ,■ but the explanation of Minis--ters have gone far to allay the excitement. We mentioned last week certain complaints of " outrages" committed on American vessels by English cruisers. Explanations were demanded ■'lay the American Government, and it would -appear, without waiting for any reply, that Go-

vernment increased its force in the Mexican

Gulf; an independent Member of the Senate has introduced a bill anticipating authority for the President to declare war and make reprisals, and the public has baen by acclamation signifying^ its readiness to support the Government. This looks like quick work ; bat there is probably something factious in the demonstration—a love of excitement for excitement's sake, with no ■small amount of trading in political or financial ■stimulants.

The subject has been brought before our ministers in the House of Lords by Lord Clarendon and others. The reply is, that the statements hitherto received from the other side are ex parte, and that they are probably exaggerated; but that if the proceedings are correctly reported, our officers have exceeded their duty, and the Government will not defend them. Indeed, Xord Malmesbury expressed a fear that " some •acts had been committed which are justified neither by treaty nor by public law." The zeal of our officers may be morally extenuated, by the circumstance that the American flag is used to cover the slave-trade of other countries. We have this week, in a Spanish ship captured at Imugo, an instance of the manner in which the ,■.■*! renc.i flag, with the plan of exporting " free A.ncans," are used as blinds to cover the actual slave-trade of a Spanish ship.' The Americans *™»etimes use the Spanish flag, and papers. jL aese circumstances, however, would not legally, justny any breach of law by "our f cruisersT-and tney scarely mitigate the' excessive 'political inconvenience to which such incidents give rise. lne explanations of mihisters/hdwever, which W3 presume ars ;siraply counterparts'of more - specific explanations made' in the regular vay, must tend-to-disarm American resentment, a* - --they have tended to allay public apprehension. 1