WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1848.

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 255, 8 November 1848, Page 2

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 184 8.

The " Maukin, '' from Sydney the 24th ult., came into poit in the course of Fiiday night, bringing with her the English mail for July, which arrived during the foienoou of her depaiture. From the period of the day at which the mail was delivered, we are without the usual Summaries of our Sydney contemporaries. We have, however — thanks tothe kindness of an old and valued friend, (Editor of one of the most extensively circulated of the London Journals) now apprised of our whereabout — been put in possession of letters and papers of recent date, from whence we have culled as largely as our limits will permit. In these (our latest date is the 2nd of July) we have searched in vain , in confirmation or in contradiction of a rumour, in circulation here, that the Whigs were out — Lord Stanley Premier — and Lord George Bentinck Secretary for the Colonies. That the Whigs were tottering has long been evident. Indeed, their own organ, the Times, deprecates their ejectment in a strain rather inferential of the evil from which they have ab • stained, than of the good they have achieved. It is eloquent rather of their negative vice than of their positive virtue — apologetic rather than eulogibtic. Not so, however, the Opposition Press which can discover nothing but meanness and tergiversation in their impotent career — which attaches no value to their faction unless when roused by the loss of the treasury benches to throw their influence into the scale of reform. Mark antagonistic opinions — Why upset the Whi^i at such a moment, (exclaims the Times ?) When they are in office what difference is there between them and the Tories ? Surely the

domestic poliry of this country has undergone no perceptible alteration since 1842. " The Whig*, being in power at tins juncture, renders them hostages and securities for the peace of ibe country. Had they been out ot office last Februaiy and since— had they then been engaged in their usual course of collecting materials, hi' and wide, for an active und progressive opposition, and then suddenly found themselves backed by a dozen revolutions abroad, and a sympathetic movement at hon^e, we can hardly answer for the extremities to which they would not have pushed the nation, The 'six points' and 'repeal,' might only 1 have been the patts of a more comprehensive policy, which would not, indeed, have been successful, but would, nevertheless, luve affected the stability of the i national mind and institutions, by the simple f ict of Us having buen once proposed by a respectable body of itatennen." "Such" writes the Daily Newi of the 27ih June, in a running commentary, " is the opinion entertained of the Whigs by their c'jief supporter in the press, such is the opinion entertained by that organ of the refoim movement. It is depicted as a measure which the Whigs would infalliably have adopted, did they happen, to be out of office. So obviously necessary and popular is the reform, bo monstrously unjust the inequalities, so flagrant the abuses it would remedy, that the Whigs would infallibly take up tie cry, as they did that of reform in 1830, were they but out ot office. We should, there* fore, welcome the retirement of the present ministry, as a great gain to the popular side. But that gain would be tenfold, irhe.n we consider the chances of Lord Stanley being offered the post of Prime Mintster. '/he result of such an administration upon the liberals of Ireland, and the reformers of England we can scarcely contemplate. but this we well know, that iur h a proof of the uncontrolled domination of the House of Lords, and its most bigoted section, shown indeed sufficiently by the mere fact of Lord Stanley bsmg at present heir-presumptive to office, would of itieli give such an impulse to reform, that not even tue accession of the Whigs to its tenets, so dieaded by the Times, could do more." We have been favoured by our London literary ally, with such an able and interesting summary of European affairs, and that summary collated from such a variety of the best informed sources, that we give it in preference to any exposition of our own — happy to acquaint our readers that we shall be enabled, from time to time, to place before them authentic details from the same masterly pen, as well as from those of others, faithful to the interests of an absent fellow Journalist and friend. " I received your tile of Journals to day (10th May). At any other period I should have perused them with avidity ; but continental aews is now the engrossing talk and thought of all, acting as it does upon ourselves in every way ; in commercial straitening on one side — in the hope of great and valuable reforms on the other. Besides, Mrs. 's brother in law, Count G — is Colonel of the civic guard at Fermo in the Roman States ; we are therefore i personally, as well as politically, interested in Italian affairs. " This newspaper has prospered with the movement. I had foretold the French Revolution when none of the other papers had expected it, and we had been excluded, as far as the post was concerned, from France, and attacked in the French Government papers. The National, under the editorship of Armand Marrast, now one of the Provisional Government, warmly defended our character and consequence -. — some peculiar circumstances therefore were mingled with my great public interest in the cause. " Ever since, we have all had to watch the tide of events anxiously and practically. Every Journalist of influence has had somewhat the responsibility of a statesman, and every effort has been to keep peace under all circumstances, lest we should plunge us once again into ruinous expense and hopeless reaction. " As for Colonial matters, even at the most auspicious moments — they are almost criminally neglected by the English public. It is beyond measure difficult to interest London readers with such topics. [We know it well, having, whilst ourselves a labourer in the field of London Journalism, found it a thankless, an almost impossible, task.] Hence you in the Colonies, require very extended powers of local Self-government since you must bring Your own Public Opinion to bear in lieu of the general one of the Empire. Strong instances which exemplify prison discipline a secondary punishment ; paragraphs of the prices of food and labour which give materials for emigration calculations, are almost all that effect the newspaper readers of England with regard to the Australasian group. 28th June. " You will see that a great attempt has been made at a re-revolution in Pa,ris ' — the very bloodiest fray of modem civil war. The Communist, Socialist, Red Republican party joined with the workmen out of employ and the frightful rabble, worse than ours of London, have been fighting against those who had something to lose, in the hope of plunder in one form or another, and, I have very little doubt, have been incited by the gold and machinations of the Legitimatists in the hope of restoring the Due de Bourdeaux. The death of Count de Narbonne (the old aide-de-camp of Charles the tenth) in the fray proves this pretty clearly. " It was a struggle that must come, and awful as the saciifice of life has been, at this moment I consider it well over. " I believe that Geneial Cavaignac is a sinceie republican and that order and liberty will be made to agree through his agency. It is almost useless to write you observations in detail. We are throughout Europe in the heait of the most tremendous crisis the world has ever presented, and my sincere hope is that all tends well now for the cause of rational liberty. Russia is the party to be dreaded, but she al-

ways looks more formidable without, than she really is -within ■.—ltaly. — Italy I trust will be free by English mediation. Geimany is the most doubtful ground, torn to pieces with a handled different interests. As for us, 1 fear foi nothing but tor Ireland, where an armament of the people is silently progressing that must tend to evil. You will sec how the populace of Paris stood against the army and the organized middle classes. The fight avoulcl be a different one in Dublin if the insurgents had any thing like the same coinage, for the people are, high and low, almost all of a mind, and the 10,000 soldiery would be the only opponents. The question is, I fear, simply one of the bravery of the liish people, of there wishes there can be no doubt at all. " Olu- Government is, as I see it, imbecile to the last degree ; nor is there any one but Sir Robert Peel, among the old statesmen, likely to show more skill. The protectionists, if in office, might bring us to a revolution ; the free traders are in a small minority in the Commons, and could do nothing with the Lords. — My real, earnest, private hope is in Reform : for, if we get through all internal danger in England itself, nothing else has, as I conceive, a chance of permanently saving Ireland, and preser\ ing us our place in the rank of nations. — But all such speculations are, of course, more or less distant. An accident docs the work of years in accelerating, or retarding for an equal time. " I will not lose sight of your desire to promote the honest interests of your colony by my advocacy here, but the state of politics will tell you that New Zealand is, for the piesent, out of the world to English readers. But, En Avant, "Be Just and Fear Not." We must act and think not meiely for the day, the week, or the year. You shall hear frequently and fully."

The Sydney D\ily Advertiser of the 21st ult, on the faith of a letter from Malta to the Mauritius, announces a counter revolution in Paris, Avith a massacte of from 15 to 18,000 persons by General Cavaignac; and the proclamation of Louis Napoleon as President of the Republic. When we state that this comes via Port Phillip, we think we have said enough. It is evidently but an exaggeration of details already public.

Since the above was in type, we have received Sydney papers to the 28th ultimo, by H. M. steam sloop Acheron, which sailed on the 30th. and arrived here yesterday afternoon. We copy the Herald's summary of the 25th. The ejectment of the Whigs is an event yet to come off.

(Fiom the Sydney Herald, Oct. 2b.) By the Trafalgar, winch arrived ycste <l,iy, were* ceived London newspapers to the 4th July, six days later than hod previously been received. The English politicit news is unimportant. The supporl e;ivcn by the Pbkl party had saved the Ministry from defeat on the \V<\st India Question ; but the ni.i. j >rity was the very narrow one ot fifteen, in a house, of upwards of five hundred members, the numbeis being for going into Committee 2(j"0, against it 245. On the following Monday, in Committee of the whole house, it was moved that a duty of 1 3s. a cwl. on Muscovado or any other sugar, not being equal in quality to white clayed, he imposed from and after the sth of July, 1818, to the sth July, 1840, meu-ive, upon which Sir John Pakington moved as an amendment that there be a differential duty in favour of colonial sugar ot 13s. per cwt., which was negatived by a majority of 231 to 169, so that there was no doubt of the Govern nent measure being canied through all its stages. The Chancellor of the Exchequer's budget was more favourable than was anticipated: as soon as it was found that the Government did not intend to borrow any money, the funds went up one per cent., and had still a tendency upwards. There was a slight improvement in trade, and it appeared to be llis general impression that the lowefct point of depression had been arnv. d at, and that a revival had been commenced. Tae report of the wool sales, however, aie very gloomy. Mr. Hume's reform motion stood postponed to July .')th. The French Revolution h-is virtually become a miliUry dictatorihip, General Cavaigktac having been appointed President of the Provisional Government, with power to choo3e his own ministry. Several of the late ministers, among them Lamaktine, were under the surveillance of the police, on suspicion of being concerned in the late insurrection. In Italy there had been no change in the "tate of affairs, and it was reported that the mediation of England between Austria and Sardinia had been applied for. The quarrel between Denmark and Germany was likely to be settled without more fighting.

In their " agitation " of redress of grievances, the Howick division of New Zealand pensioners have travelled out of their way to indulge in personal invective of the Editor of this Journal. They have promulgated a resolution denunciatory of acts which he never committed, and they have cried "shame," upon a superstructure of falsehood, of their own creation. Verily, if their other allegations are equally base and baseless their charges must be frivolous and vexatious indeed. The following is the resolution to which we refer — 10. Resolved. — That the thanks of this meeting are eminently due, and are hereby presented to the Editor of the Southern Cross newspaper, for his unflinching and strenuous advocacy at all times, of the claims of the oppressed, and the more particuluily for the insertion in his journal of the advertisement convening this meeting, which, with shame be it said» was rejected by the Editor oi the New Zealander, as well with respect to the other paper printed at his office, «b to his own publication ; and that the Editor of Ihe Southern Cross be, and hereby is requested to give insertion to the cause and proceedings or this meeting. Our reply is a simple one. The Editor of this Journal never had, directly nor indirectly,

nor cnlhisheh/, any communication whatever either fiom the llowick or an) othci division of the Pensioner corps. — consequently he could not " 1 eject" an ad\eilisement lit. never saio ! The Editor has neither an " other " papei, nor yet any " publication of his on n ;" and over that confided to his political conduct he exeicises no conlroul, in the disposal of its advertising columns ; unless, indeed an anonymous vehicle of private slander or public sedition should be brought under his consideration. The advertisement calling an Aggregate Meeting of Pensioners at Howick never was submitted to him. Its exclusion was deteimined on the instant by the good sense of the Proprietors, who would, in the Editor's opinion, have been highly culpable to have given publicity to any anonymous production of such a chaiacter, the concoction of none knew whom, and coming from no one could tell wheie. It was not to issue discontented proclamations, nor to encourage revolt amongst the Queen's pensioneis, that the New Zeaiander was originated. If the Pensioner force have reasonable and just grounds of complaint, they have also a legitimate source to apply to for. redress: — nay, their facilities are altogether unusual, since to their commanding officer has been conceded the extraordinary colonial piivilege of communicating with the home authorities direct, "Without any complaints passing through the hands of, or subject to the observations and explanations of the Goutiioi\ To the oppressed and really helpless, oin columns are ever open ; hut, without any desire to enter into the meiits of the Pensioneis complaints, we cannot look upon them altogether in that light — nor do we think that a, newspaper agitation would be the fittest, until other means of redress were denied. What would any one think of an anonymous advertisement appearing in our col inns, enlivening an aggregate meetiug of the Fifty-eighth Regiment, to consider their grievances % The semi-civilian character of the Pensioner corps does not altogether absolve them from the decent observance of military discipline — and, ere they deal out their anathema maranathaso recklessly against those who have never meddled in their affairs, or those even ■who may differ in opinion with them, they would do well to ponder the pro\erb which says — " curses are like young chickens which always come home to roost " — and which, on this occasion, will, we have no doubt, find a fitting perch.