BRITISH MINISTERS AND THE IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5277, 22 February 1878, Page 3

BRITISH MINISTERS AND THE IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

■' (Fidm the Economist.) The meeting of Parliament' three weeks before fits usual time has naturally caused a good deal of excitement both in England aud in the Continental capitals.' That 1 it should' have surprised foreign Governments bears put, what we have lately said as to the extraordi-nary-inaction of the English Cabinet. If Lord Derby had • been negotiating with the great neutral Po wers ’during the autumn, they , would -have- seen nothing startling in Wednesday’s announcement,' Where there has been no policy in the first instance, a very slight indication of -one' goes '■ a long' way.’ l 'As regards the step itself, itfis one to which no exception can properly ba taken. No' ohe can complain that the Government have been overmuch' addicted to taking'Parliaraeut iutb their counsels ou>'the Eastern. Question. ’The theory that, Lord Beocbnsfteld contemplates taking some decisive .measure before : the 17th of /January arrives, aud will-; simply ' ask <■ Parliament to ratify' a/ 'change/ of /policy! w’llidh will have been already ' accomplished, may , 'be'" dismissed - as unworthy of notice; ! Even if the Prime Minister could thus forget his ob’ligations to:the country, ha could, scarcely) ftiU; to be reminded of them .by his colleagues' and by his Sovereign'. ' Those who creditihim with,, such fan, l intention »do riot remember' ’ that to flout Parliament in this : fiashiou might; ) be clever-'strategyfin a Minister doubtful of iup T ' port, but would be! very bad strategy in a ■'Minister 1 who” commands a powerful ihqjority in both Houses; The former "might wisli tp ; pledge ;Parliament btbi action befbreb&od M because he-would-fuel no certainty-as’ to what ,fit Avbutd ; do ■ if 1 it were' 'still iuncoinmitted.; The, latter can employ tho gentler and'surer expedient of ■ leading-the, majority to -do, as of its own motion;- what-ihe' 1 has 1 previously determined it must-be made to:do. ■ llLdrd Beacqnst., field's design were to take .some - irrevocable 'step -before the > meeting; of-Parliament, why. should he have called it together earlier than. ; usual ? ’ WKen 'on’oe such a 'atejri had been , ’taken, every day’s- delay would-make ithe ‘re-’ tracing of it more impossible, and thus directly, further Lord Beaconsfleld’s supposed objeqt., Nor, again, is it'to be imagined that the, Government intend to meet PiHiament With nh-definite \iroposal whatever. -'lf.ithey have nothing to .suggest byway of; contribution to-., wards the settlement,of the Eastern Question they-would rather desire to,postpone the;opening of the';session ,than tq hasten,ft. In a crisis like this a Cabinet without, a policy is never sp inconveniently placed|as in. the .first week or two aftevParliament.has reassembled.. The curiosity of the Opposition, and even, of, its own supporters, lias been without, food during the whole recess, [except -such.crumbs as may have fallen from Lord, Mayor’s tables, or have .been doled hutfin answer to deputations. If the debate on' the address does np.fc give the. House -of Com mous. the information fit wants,. the Government are; sure to have questions asked them almost nightly,;,.and,it is only by, taking the leader of the Opposition, to- some extent, into thqif, confidence,! .that they can hope to avert a 1 formal.debate ;ou,:their: foreign policy. There-can ba no object in exposing themselves to theseinevitable: annoyances three weeksea.-lier/tbau,custom demands.- -We may take the hastening,of.the meeting of Parr Moment as proof that;.the.Government have some statement to make, or. some, course to pro-; pose, to which it is necessary, inexpedient to; obtain the assent ,of Parliament .‘with-as little delay as,possible. , ; ‘ . : \Vhept W 6 .coiH6;fco .consj/l®r what, kind of . nouncement is to be looked for from the Government, there is more room for speculation., On the whole, however, the probabilities incline to something of this s*rt. .(‘The fall of Plevna,” Ministers may say, “ has made the superiority of Russia so clear that at moment the Turks may open ) negotiations. There are several excellent reasons from . the Russian, and some even from , the Turkish point of view, why the peace to which these negotiations would -point should be make between the actual- combatants, without the intervention of the other European Powers. If ■such a proposal were made by either Russia or Turkey, it would to all appearance be supported by Germany, aud consequently by Austria. We are of opinion that the conclusion of such a peace as this might ba exceedingly injurious to-English interests, and we infiend to intimate'to tile Governments of the great Powers that it is' impossible fbr ;_us to recognise any ? interference , with subsisting tre .ties to which England is not a party. _ It is essential .to, the. success of this intimation, and by -consequence - to' the maintenance of peace,' that, if ,should,.he supported by Parliament, and be known to embody thedeliberate determination of the English people. In order to invest it with these two characteristics,’' we shall ask you to place at our disposal additional means of giving fiffect to our protest, should wo see any difpSsitioh to disregard it.” Such a request as this is .one which cannpt|be.refused; unless Parliament is, at the* same time, prepared to withdraw fits confidence from the Government which makes it. The Ministers of the Grown are responsible for fibe security and, greatness of - the Empire, and if Parliament is'not prepared to entrust them .with the force they hold to be indispensable to the due discharge of that ires- ; pohtibility,! fit is bound to replace them jby. an Executive in whom,it has greater .trust, j ; ■ " lTr On tlie other han'd, the Government have au obligation on their side not to keep Parliament in the dark as to their intentions. It may be a ’proper and 1 necessary precaution to increase i our - army,; and to put more ships in oopimission, in . order to ensure that when the/great Powers go into council upon the arrangeme.-i .e which are to take the place of those which vnll have been upset by the present war,-England, which is profoundly 1 ’ interested in the issues to be debated there, - shall , not be left out as a Power of which no account need be, taken. But when we remember the fanatical devo ion to tho cause of Turkey which is displayed by some of. the /supporters of,-the Government, iidevotion wiiich is apparently ready to invert Mr. Freeman’s unlucky rhetoric wa 'ryc Perish .English interests provided Tiukey can be saved from dismemberment, wM be th» duty of the Opposition to nold the Government strictly to the pledges they have-from time to time given. aud an unmistakable assurance that when, they begin to negotiate it will bo,With a single desire to protect the essential 'interests of Great Britain j n the best way which .presents itself, and with no sentimental enthusiasm .for the “independence and integrity” ot an'empire which has ceased to’fulfil the one function which was supposed .to/make its, existence valuable. Further" than this, wo may hope that in declaring that they can not consent to a separate peace, between Russia and Turkey, Ministers will not think it necessary to de-, nounco those intentions on. the part of the three Emperors which, it they are rightly attributed to them, have their natural origin,

in, .theiunfortunate-itiolatiou. which the English Government has hitherto maintained. If Lord Eerhy had claimed his right to/take, part in ,the negotiations which "have been going on between St. Petersburg and Berlin, there would; have djeemno need to call Parliament together merely to announce ■to Europe;, that England, after .all; ■ does not mean tp be Jeft out in the cpld. i.: Hitherto we have shut the door of the council chamber upon ourselves, and though it, is undoubtedly necessary that we should now insist on its being opened to us, it will be only docent to remember that it was by our own act that it has hitherto been closed.