ENGLISH NEWS

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 166, 24 May 1859, Page 2

ENGLISH NEWS

TO 18th MARCH.

(From the Sydney Herald, May 10.)

The P-. and 0. Company's steamer Benares arrived at Kangaroo Island yesterday morning. Her mail was landed at Adelaide about- 8 o'clock p.m. by the Coria (s.), which vessel had been lying in Napean Bay from Sunday mora-. : . ing, May 1, awaiting her arrival. _ "* Our special correspondent has furnished us with the following hurried summary of the uews, for which we are indebted to the kind attention of Mr. Cracknell, of the telegraphic department, as the whole of the message came through the Sydney office after one o'clock this morning. [By Electric Telegraph.] ' (from our adelaide correspondent.) Adelaide, Monday, 10 p.m. The Corio landed the mails from the Benares this evening. The Benares was detained at Aden one. day. The Emeu had sailed from Mauritius, but, hay- * , ing broke down on the passage, had, to-pat.-back. It was feared that by despatching "a ' substitute for her it would clash with the arrangements .of the Benares, -they not. being ' aware that the Columbian would be prepared to leave Sydney. The following is the telegraphic" intelligence taken from the Overland Mail of 18th March:— Tha war panic still prevails on the Continent. The official articles in' the Moniteur disclaim warlike designs on the part of the Emperor of the French; but France, Austria, and Sardinia continue their warlike preparations. Russia and Prussia have declared in favor of , a peace policy. Austria continues to~strengthen her defences. The Federal Council of Switzerland, apprehending war, and a consequent passage of the French army over the Alps, are converting the muskets of their national army intones. The Prussian Government has been defeated , on the Budget in the Upper Chamber.. The Paris Conference is about to meet on the 1 Moldo-Wallachian question. Austria continues to strengthen her hostile preparations on the borders of Piedmont, where defensive armaments are in progress. Masses of conscript from Lombardy are passing into Piedmont. The Russian and Prussian Governments have prohibited the exportation of horses. Lord Cowley was scut to Vienna on a mission of conciliation, and has returned to England. The result of his mission was unknown. - Prince Napoleon resigned" the government; of Algeria in consequence of differing from the Peace party in the French Cabinet. Bavaria and Hanover, are about to raise a loan to strengthen their defences.. The anniversary of the return of Napoleon the First, in 1815, is to be celebrated by a review of the army of Paris. Moussa Safeti Pacha, late Minister of Finance in Turkey, has been dismissed. Some of the Neapolitan exiles, who landed, in Code, are now ia London. A public subscription has been opened in-their behalf. The Reform Bill was introduced on the 28th of February. It retains the £10 borough franchise, embodying several new elements; adopts a, £10 country franchise-—deprives the 40s. free-' holders in towns of their county votes—disfranchises "none of the existing boroughs—takes one member each from fifteen boroughs, which return two members at present—adds four members to the county representation—creates seven new boroughs, and permits voting papers. The second reading was fixed for the 21st of March. Lord John Russell has given notice that he will move resolutions condemning the bill; and Mr. Disraeli announced his intention of modifying the bill. Meetings are still being held in the metropolis and all over England to protest against the bill, and iv some places the dismissal of the Ministry is demanded. The excitement is running high. There is no demonstration in favor of the Government measure. Mr. Sotheron succeeds Mr. Walpole—-rnd Lord Donoughmore Mr. Henley—-whose retire^ ment from the Derby Ministry was noticed in the last news from England. Lord Henry Gordon Lennox had resign d hia post at the Treasury,'and" has been succeeded by Mr. Peter Blackbourn, who has been re-elected for Stirlingshire. A bill to abolish the' Roman Catholic oath has been introduced into the Commons. The King of Naples is still seriously ill. Mr. Gladstone has returned to-England, his mission to the lonian Islands having been fruitless. Sir Henry Storks has prorogued the Assembly at Corfu for six months. Five of the Phoenix conspirators were tried a few days ago. In the first case the jury were not able to agree on their verdict, and were discharged, and the trial was postponed. Under the new mail contract for Australia the first mail from Southampton was made up in London on the 12th March, and the first via Marseilles on the 14th. The wool sales have proceeded quietly. Sales opened at former prices, and proceeded with very little change till the close. The obituary contains the names of Lady Mends; W. J". Brodeiip, F.R.Sij -late magistrate for Westminster; the Hon. W..Maule; General Sir Alexander Leith; the Hon. W. M. D. Darner (at Brussels); Rev. E. H. Froude, Archdeacon of Totness; Rear-Admirals Sir B. Grant, and-J. Laws. SUMMARY. (From the Home News, March 18.) Lord Derby's Administration, after suffering without damage the repeated assaults of its adversaries, seems destined to fall by its own hand. The most fatal symptoms of approaching dissolution are those which arise from within; and when a house, betrays eigns of being divided agaiust itself, experience teaches us to expect that it must, sooner or later, fall to pieces. Throughout the last few weeks the Cabinet has been exhibiting tokens of internal dissension, from which, without reference to external circumstances, the worst auguries may be drawn. - First, Mr. Walpole and ' Mr. Henley sent in their resignations, then' Lord Henry Lennox, a lord of the Treasury, and now Lord Hardinge, Under Secretary for War. If the Government had been able to repair these losses by filling up the vacancies with men even equal"to their predecessors,' which might have been thought easy enough, the" situation might not have been so critical; but the new appointments expose so manifestly.the weakness of tbe Administration that, unless the Cabinet shall be able speedily to" strengthen itself from other sources, its continuance much longer ia power

seems to be rendered impossible by this cause alone.

But still anore important is the false step Ministers have taken on the subject of Reform. On the last night of February, Mr. Disraeli introduced the Government Reform Bill, some of the clauses of which occasioned the above secessions from the Cabinet. It is not too much to say that the bill has not been received very favorably by, any party; while its essentially unpopular character has caused it to be denounced in the most unsparing manner by the whole Whig and Radical Press, and has pro- j duced against Ministers an overwhelming amount of hostile agitation. The bill may be described as seeking, or apparently seeking, to extend the suffrage, while it almost wholly avoids the subjects of enfranchisement and disfranchisement—subjects which we,have been accustomed to regard as constituting the essence of a Reform Bill proper. No disfranchisement whatever is to take place. The smallest pocket boroughs are to be left untouched. Even Arundel, which has been " hunted to death," as Mr. Disraeli remarked, by every Reformer without exception, has its privileges jealously secured. In Arundel every " vice " is congregated—-a small population, a small constituency, and absolute nomination; but the borough has nevertheless its legitimate place in our "ancient and famous" political society. Do not the 900,000 Roman Catholics of England, a population exceeding that of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and double that of the Tower Hamlets, find their representative in that borough ? The House of Commons does not represent mere numbers, or mere property, or both; ifc should mirror the mind of the country in its infinite variety of complexion; ifc should be composed of fit representatives of all that is great in England; it should exclude none of her countless competing and antagonistic interests. Such is the ground on which the refusal to disfranchise is defended. Nothing is said of the many warm friends on whose denoted affection Mr. Disraeli establishes a firm hold. With regard to enfranchisement the hill is hardly less cautious. It increases the county representation by eight members, and creates seven new boroughs. Four of the eight county members are to be added to the West Riding, two to South Lancashire, and two to Middlesex. The seven new boroughs are to be Hartlepool, Birkenhead, West Bromwich and Wednesburyy Burnley, Staleybridge, Croydon, and Gravesend. Taking for granted that the House is against any augmentation of its own numbers, Mr. Disraeli proposes to supply the 15 additional members by depriving of one member 15 boroughs which now, with a population of under 6000, return two members. ' This is the scheme of the Derby Cabinet, so far as enfranchisement and disfranchisement are concerned. The bill is somewhat more original in its mode of dealing with the extension of the suffrage. The £10 borough franchise is retained ; bufc some new elements are introduced into it. Persons having funded property, Bank Stock, East India Stock, or bonds yielding £10 per annum, are to be invested with the privilege of the suffrage in boroughs. This privilege is, moreover, to be conferred upon persons who have £60 deposited in a savings bank, and upon those who, having retired from public employment, are in receipt of a pension of ,£2O a year for services in her Majesty's navy or array or in the civil service. Nor is this all: tho right to vote for boroughs is further to be extended to the graduates of all the universities, to the ministers of religion, whether clergymen ofthe Established Church or ministers of denominational bodies, to the occupier of a portion of a house whose rent amounts to £20 a year ; to the members of the legal profession, whether barristers, members of the iuus of court, solicitors or proctors; to all the members of the medical body who are registered under the late Medical Act; and, lastly, to those schoolmasters who have a certificate from the Council. Bufc by far the greatest innovation contemplated by the bill is the equalisation of the county with the borough franchise. The estimate of the Government is, that the adoption of a J6lO county franchise will give an increase of 200,000 voters. On the other hand, the 40s. freeholders in towns are no longer to have a vote for the county. It remains only to be added thafc the bill makes some slight changes in the mode in which the proposed elective body are to be registered and are to record their votes. The number of polling places, for example, is to be greatly increased, though the additional expense will not fall upon the candidates-; and to enable a man to vote without going to the poll there is a, special provision for " voting papers *" to be forwarded by the elector in a registered letter to a public officer. The bill, of which the above is a sketch, is an obvious blunder. On their own shewing, it was not incumbent on Ministers to touch the question of Reform at all, for they declare that they selected the present time for the experiment because the country was perfectly indifferent about it; but, having taken ifc up, ifc was sheer infatuation to bring forward a measure pre-eminently calculated to disappoint the hopes of all those classes that are practically interested in the reconstruction of our representative system. The result is, that the asserted indifference has become suddeuly converted into the most determined and, so far as the Ministerial bill is concerned, the most united agitation that has ever arisen on this subject. Large meetings of electors and non-electors, in town-halls, and I theatres, and school-houses, in all available public buildings, and in the open air, have been held, and are continuing to be held daily throughout the kingdom, for the purpose of protesting against the bill, with an addition in some instances of a petition to the Queen praying of her to dismiss her Ministers. So univer- j sal and earnest an expression of opinion deprives j the Administration of the only ground on which they could excuse the trivial and indefinite character of their proposal for amending the representation. : The movement on the part of fche Liberals of all sections, in and out of Parliament, has been so unanimous and energetic that some doubts have been entertained as to whether Lord Derby will continue to hold office until the day fixed for the second reading, the 21st of March. Ifc is speculated upon in some quarters that, with a view to embarrass the Opposition at a moment of unusual complication, he will place his resignation in the hands of the Queen before the debate, thus throwing the whole responsibility upon the Liberal party. This supposition, however, is inconsistent wifch the fact that he lately called together his supporters in the Lower House, and declared his intention to stand or tyl hy the bill; on which occasion it is said that a dissolution of Parliament was agreed upon, iv the event of a defeat. We have long prepared our readers for this issue. Bufc new circumstances have occurred, which may,' possibly, compel Lord Derby to alter his course. It is understood that, in the present state of the,

continent, strong objections are entertained in a high quarter against a dissolution of Parliament, in which case no alternative will be left to Ministers but resignation. The bill, it will be observed, is to be resisted by a resolution, of whioh Lord John Russell has given notice. There is little doubt that the resolution will be carried. The prospect of preserving the peace of Europe seems to be a little brighter than it was, difficult as it is to put any trust in appearances: or declarations. The French Emperor has taken considerable pains to relieve himself from the suspicion of "desiring to precipitate war; he has complained in a letter to Sir Francis Head of j the great injustice with/which he has been treated on this subject; by fche English press; he has officially announced his readiness to evacuate Rome, and he has accepted, very unwillingly it is said, the resignation of his cousin, Prince Napoleon, who is known to entertain strong convictions of the necessity, under certain circumstances which have not yet arisen, of rendering aid to Sardinia. All these items are placed to the credit of the peace side ofthe ledger. On the other hand, the usual alarms still prevail in those quarters from which an explosion is to be. apprehended. Armaments are going forward with greater impatience than ever; even distant Switzerland, looking out for the passage of the French across the Alps, is converting her muskets into rifles, and Bavaria is raising.a loan to strengthen her defences. Our peace, progress may be, therefore, --.aid"toresemble the march- of that paradoxical shellfish, which, for oue step forward, makes two backward. . One of the most,curious phenomena in connection with the present crisis is the patriotic enthusiasm which ifc calls forth in most of the German States. There is a cry once move for "united Germany." France is ' feared and hated; and an attack on any point of Austria will be repelled as an attack on Germany. Both the Hanoverian Chambers have requested their government to obtain from the Federal Diet resolutions " calculated by unanimity and energetic execution, to avert the threatening danger of war, but if necessary, to repel with united Federal power attacks on Austria or Germany." And in several other States the passing of such measures as the prohibition ofthe exportation of horses serves to illustrate the popular feeling. In some quarters a fear has been expressed that so much sympathy may tempt Austria to be rather headstrong; and it has been currently rumoured that she had expressly stipulated, in consenting to a conference on the affair of the Principalities, that the Italian question was not to be even mentioned. "What has a Paris Congress to meddle with in Italy?" Count Buol was represented as asking, "Does it mean to interfere with certain provinces belonging to Austria ? No power on earth has aught to say therein save the reigning authority at Vienna. Do folks contemplate intruding on the internal government of Naples ? The King of the Two Sicilies has no account to render to any foreign Crown. Is there a design to sit in judgment on the Papal administration ? The withdrawal of Austrian troops as well as French is one thing, but the dictation of internal changes is a point on which France and- Austria can never be of oue mind, so there the matter must end." .Though this language is somewhat too strong for most Germans, Austria has, doubtless, felt that, so long as she keeps within the limits imposed upon her by treaties, she will be supported by the whole Germanic C moderation. The India Loan Bill has been the occasion of some discussion ou the subject of Indian finance. There have been manifestations of an uneasy feeling respecting the future liability of England to make good the deficiencies of the Indian revenue. Sir G. C. Lewis, the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, took occasion, on the second reading of the bill, to caution Parliament against supposing that the late alteration in the form of government implied, or entailed, any alteration in the financial management of India, or imposed any new obligations on the Imperial Exchequer. He maintained that the separation of the financial responsibilities of England and India are as complete and entire now as before the passing of the bill of last year, and that ifc ought to be kept so. Mr. ! Bright went further. He condemned the whole system, past and present, saw nothing in the financial state and prospects of India bufc a constantly increasing deficit, protested against saddling the Imperial Exchequer with this ruinous drain, insisted that the recent change in the administration of India was a change in name only, scarcely one of form, and none of principle, and declared that nothing less would meet the difficulties of the case than a total reconstruction of the whole Indian government, local and Imperial. These are extreme opinions ; but they are taking a definite shape amongst that class of politicians who look mainly to the maintenance of economy and peace, and who are ready to make large sacrifices to secure tranquility and a reduction of taxes. It is true that the India Bill was carried on the understanding that India should defray its own charges out of its own revenues, and that no part of the burthen of its establishments should be thrown upon the people of this country; but it is also true that, having dispossessed native princes and entered upon the government of their territories, having long exercised sovereign rights over the presidencies, and having within twelve months formally proclaimed the Queen's authority over the whole length and breadth of British India, we. are not in a position to retreat from any legitimate consequences which these engagements may bring upon us. To say thafc, when matters come to this extremity, the choice lies between abandoning India and paying her debt, is simply to assert that an emergency may arise when ifc will be competent to us to act with dishonor. Yet this is really the language which is held by the Radical economists. "We tell the Indian fundholders plainly," says the Star, the organ of Mr. Bright's party, " that the people of this country will not bear to be taxed, ostensibly to keep India, bufc really to support the private interests that prey upon it. We are quite prepared for the alternative of quitting the country." We notice these views, not because we attach any ultimate importance to them, but because it is impossible to foresee the extent to which they may be brought to influence public opinion, by the use that may be made of them to promote party objects. India is now a Parliamentary question, and liable, like all other Parliamentary questions, to be made the scapegoat of contending factions. It is not improbable that; at the nest general election this matter of financial responsibility, exaggerated, by the usual appeals to .the sympathies of the "already overtaxed" working classes, will be made a popular test at the hustings; but we trust that the common sense of the people will know how to discriminate between clamour and reason,

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—Feb. 28. THE GOVERNMENT REFORM BILL.

Mn. Disraeli moved for leave to bring in a bill to amend the representation ofthe people in England and Wales. He expounded in an elaborate speech the provisions ofthe bill, of which the following is a comprehensive outline :—The hill proceeds upon a plan of systomatising existing franchises, partially disfranchising the most questionable of constituencies, actually disfranchising no district and no person^ but modifying the aggregate constituency by the introduction of new franchise elements, and generally touching up and improving. Thus the staple franchise of counties, the ,£SO tenancy, is to be reduced to a level with the borough franchise of £10. The boundaries of boroughs are to be enlarged ; the 40s. freeholders acquiring a franchise, in that name, for their own district, but losing it for the county. Polling places are to be multiplied, tho right'of paying carriage is to be abolished, and voting papers are to be introduced for all who wish them—a provision whicli is expected to draw out the quiet and the home-keeping, while it will facilitate the exercise of the vote for those who' live at a distance. Fifteen of the smallest boroughs lose one member each; the seats thus set free being allotted to some ofthe largest of the new boroughs, such as Birkenhead or Gravesend, or to new divisions of the largest counties, such as Yorkshire. Although there is no reduction in the standard of •the borough franchise, nor any enfranchisement of one of the great classes of society, a number of persons belonging to various bodies are endowed with the suffrage in such manner as to bring out something like an extended representation for society at large—small freeholders in boroughs, and copyholders; holders of stock in Consols, India-house, Bank of England; pensioners in army, navy, or East- India service ; savings-bank depositors, graduates of all universities, priests and deacons ofthe Established Church, and officiating ministers of any congregations ; barristers, attorneys, solicitors, proctors, physicians, surgeons, and schoolmasters, wherever such professional persons are distinctly recognised as belonging to the public bodies of their profession. Mr. Baxter moved, as an amendment, that the laws relating to the representation of the people in England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland, should bo considered not separately but in one measure. —Sir John Ogilvie seconded the amendment; but it found no favor with the House, and was subsequently withdrawn. A number of members briefly expressed their j opinions. Mr. John Locke said that Mr. Disraeli had dealt with the question as if it affected the counties only.—Mr. W. J. Fox objected that the bill did nothing for the.working classes.—Lord J. Russell strongly objected to the disfranchisement of from 90,000' to 100,000 freeholders who have enjoyed the right of voting 400 years. "It is a perilous innovation." Lord John had resisted such a proposal in 1832, and had told Lord Grey that if the bill came from the House of Lords with such an amendment, he would risk the fate of the whole bill on its rejection. Then the bill does little or nothing; for ; the working classes. If the bill is-to give satisfaction, some hundreds of thousands of working people ought to be admitted to the franchise. Unless you are prepared to make a more effectual change, better make no change at all.— Mr. Roebuck defined the bill as a change that would lead to a worse state of things. The object of the bill is to enhance the power of the.landed gentry. It does not give one iota of power to the working classes.—-Mr. Bright said a Government representing a party who have always opposed fche extension of political power to the people, ought not to have undertaken to settle tnis question. Nobody asked them to do so. Their party would have preferred that they should not bring in any bill at all. Mr. Bright took exception to a great many points, but especially to the total exclusion of the working classes from power.—Mr. Henry Drummond made an attack on Reform Bills in general.—Lord Palmerston reserved his opinion. -*- After a set of frank objections from Mr. Crossley, and an attack upon the Reform Bill of 1832 from Mr. Bentinck, Mr. Disraeli replied. Loave was given to introduce the bill; and the second reading was fixed for March 21. Mr. Miles [March 10] said—l beg to give notice that in the committee on the Reform Bill—(a Hugh)—l propose to introduce a clause retaining' the rights of freeholders in cities and boroughs to vote, for counties, provided-that they continue'to hold those freeholds and be upon the register of 1308-»9. Lord J. Russell—T beg to give notice that on the motion for tbe second reading of the Government Reform Bill I shall move as a resolution " That this House is of opinion that it. is neither -just nor politic to interfere in the manner proposed by this bill with the freehold franchise as hitherto exercised in o.ounties in England and Wales; and that no-readjustment ofthe franchise will satisfy this House which does not provide for a greater extension of the suffrage in cities and boroughs than is contemplated in the present measure." (Cheers.) Mr. A. Mills gave notice that in committee he would in clause 1 move words saving the rights of existing county freeholders within the limits of boroughs, and negativing so much of the clause as would permit non-resident freeholders to vote for boroughs. The Chancellor ofthe Exchequer—-It is not the intention of the Government to propose the disfranchisement of any borough freeholders, whether they exercise the right of voting in hundreds within the limits of Parliamentary boroughs or not. One of the principles of the measure introduced the other night is, that no place and no person shall be disfranchised. The subject is under the consideration of the Government, and I intend to place clauses on the table by which I trust we shall reconcile the main principle ofthe measure, which is the identity of the suffrage between counties and boroughs, with the recognised rights of the freeholders within the limits of Parliamentary boroughs. (Hear, hear.) I shall propose clauses with this object when we go into committee, and I will lay those clauses on the table before the second reading of the h ill. ( Hear, hear.)