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Leader (1850-1860), 9th February 1856, Edition 2 of 2, Page 6, ^^g TfllLIADUE' [No- 30,7, Saturday

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      The Orient. India. , A Season Of Repose ...

      rtoaceaemble a President ' s ^ message , to contain , the hastitoiytafficthe presidency or province for the , year . _ it ririSnidetail the improvements in legislation , police , jBaiixklaon , public works , and -all ^ r departments , . £ &*>* * the fashion of the report whioh Lord Elgin , asnone months since , presented for Canada . These * e-Wiftte <«» . *> be immediately published in India and ilataarded to England . They will form , an the course © £ grears , a complete index to the history of Butish 'SSL Meanwnile they will show the Government ; at , hnme how we are getting on , enable them to estimate & e Indian rate of progress , and , above all , permit SmTdecide on the results of the different systems in *> ree . I am informed that Lord Dalhousie will Se India positively on the 5 th or 6 thi of March -Lord Canning is expected m Calcutta on the 26 th ot -February , and for a few days will remain a guest at G-overnment House . "

      CHINA . Intelligence from China as as meagre as from India . Ehere is absolutely no news from the interior . Im-« o * fcsat Canton have been in limited demand , but the tea market has been very active . A few items of intelligence are supplied by the Times' Hong Kong Correspondent , who says : — < c The American Commodore , Joel Abbot , of the United States' ship Macedonian , has expired , after a protracted illness . The trial of the American -Consul Keenan stands over , pending the recovery of Chief Justice Hulme , who has been seriously indisposed . Commander Vansittaj * t , of her Majesty ' s brig Bittern , has been presented iwith a testimonial and an address from the

      mercantile body in Shanghai , commending the gallant aonduct of the ameers and crew of the Bittern , and thanking them for the eminent services lately . ren dered to trade by the destruction of pirates on the coast . The Chinese bankers snd merchants at Ningpo 'have also come forward to testify their gratitude , and have , among other acts , subscribed i £ l , 000 , to be forwarded to the mother of Mi * . Turner , late master . of the Bittera > who was killed in action . ; and £ 200 to each of the three seam en who lost their limbs in the engagement . " ¦¦

      • ¦ . ' ' ¦ ¦ EGYPT . , -. i ' Lord Canning . left Egypt for India on the 13 th ult . Said Pacha , the Egyptian viceroy , has been suffering iromboils and opthalmia . His temper has been very Irritable ; and he dismisses his doctors when he finds that they do not cure him at once . He has given great offence by insisting that the sons and relations of sihe higher classes shall be enrolled as soldiers as JreeEUas the lower classes . A shiekh induced a man to gfcvecfaisson as a substitute foi * the shiekh ' s own .: on wthiob , f 3 aid ordered the shiekh-and the other man to fcerhanged ; and the . punishment was carried into execiitioja . The public roads are in a most filthy and wnytrholesomestate ; which adds to the unpopularity bfflQie' ^ dceroy . PERSIA .

      ^ ' illfjBourrde ^ the French minister * tt Teheran , is on w » ty i friendly terms with the Shah , and is endeavouring : io smooth down the differences which exist be-• fcween the English , and Persian governments .

      ^^G Tfllliadue' [No- 30,7, Saturday

      ^^ g TfllLIADUE' [ No- 30 , 7 , Saturday

      Official Correspondence. The Following C...

      OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE . The following correspondence speaks for itself . It w 511 , at least , interest the reader . We print Mr . IPotfster ' fl letter exactly as we received it . His allusion * 6 ' Jpivy may be an allusion to one of the lost books , ^ r > it' « may be a slip of the pen . •*" ¦ , ' ( Copy . ) TO liOBD T ? A . NMTJttE , MINISTER Off WAR . v My Lord , —Amid the present excitement and exigencies of the State , the mind is naturally led to inquire by what means the diminished defences of the Country might moBt effectually be recruited : and , as

      mtoiy expedients have 'been suggested to me while reflecting vtponttais subject , I wish most respectfully * o call the-attention- of your Lordship to the following . In this country , my'Lord , there is a large 'and intelligent class of men well known by the significant appellation of the Literati , whose poverty and ability havp frequently rendered them exceedingly dangerous to the State , for the poor remuneration which they usually receive for labours , together with the consciousness of their mental superiority over the great wtlk of their fellow-citizens , tends very much to teat © 'them restless and disquiet in their present ositionand to declaim

      p , also against the existing state of things . It has , therefore , ocourred to mo , my Lord , that the junior portion df tniB class of individuals might easily be induced to resign the pen and assume th ' ^ 'BVbrd , were Government to offer them subaltern « ommissions in the army , with the privilege of subetetinently riBing to the higher grades of command by totyit ; 'By'the adoption of this plan , my Lord , the mswiU * B which have lately befallen ouv gallant ttfbopa in > the Crimea would , in future , bo prevented , E «»^ ^ uld then ha ^ «* 'fltaff of able and judicious SKSKSW * ^ «* p edients , bravo in notion ; rich and lfflt- ' ™ ii ^ ' ' wll 0 S ( 1 proweaa and experience ^ uSSSl ^^! 11011111 ^ »^ the occasion of SJllSff ^^ « ver « 8 flociated with getiuino intelligence ; < heno < S < tho proverb of the

      ancient Romans , " Swx , ptte > tn tnodo , fortiter in re . " Cromwell , Washington ^ Wellington , and Napoleon , were all men of superior minds , and the success of Julius Csesar may not improperly be ascribed to the strength < of his understanding . : His character , as briefly drawn by Livy , is worthy of quotation , since it serves to illustrate to some extent the assertion which I have made : — " Fuit non Solu . ni wiagniis Imperator , " says the Roman historian , speaking of him , " Sed etioum vi / r doctus , Jjatinam linguam maxima elegatitiA et pwitate scripsit , habuit arteni faciendi se amabilem , omnibus . " He was not only an able commander , but a learned man also , and wrote the Latin

      language with great elegance and purity , and had , besides , the happy art of rendering himself agreeable to all men : indeed , my Lord , wherever a nation ' s annals present a general of any eminence , they present at the same time a partial philosopher . Fools may , and are , doubtless , bold enough , my Lord , but their ignorance and temerity frequently mislead them . It requires a deep , penetrating mind in times of war to foresee the happy moment when bravery will result in positive advantage . The man , therefore , who has long been engaged in philosophical researches , in devising plots and escapes , in inventing arguments and rendering reasons , seems to me , my Lord ,

      preeminently fitted to undertake the command of an army in the day of battle . Granting him , however , to have acquired previously a competent knowledge of the duties of a soldier , his ideal creations qualify him for perilotis realities ; his imaginary wars , depicted with so mueh pathos , eloquence , and judgment , fit him for actual engagements ; for surely , my Lord , there is nothing unreasonable or extravagant in the supposition that the mind which is able to devise the plot of a tale , and to conduct the hero and heroine to final happiness and success , after encountering innumerable hardships , difficulties , and wrongs , must be better qualified to exercise the arts and strategieslof "war than the mind which never composed

      a paragraph . Why then , my Lord , not call forth from . the garrets and back-rooms of our large towns and cities the'talents there withering in obscurity , enrployed only in execrating the impolicy of statesmen and their own wretched fate ? The necessities of the country require the exercise of genius wherever it is found , whether in the cottage of the poor or the palace of the great . The summons , iny Lord , would be immediately responded to by thousands of nature ' s nobility , ready to distinguish themselves in the cause of humanity and justice , and whose wisdom and valour might contribute in no small degree toward retrieving England frorn her j > resent difficulties and embarrassments .

      My Lord ,, far be from me the wish to speak disparagingly of the British aristocracy ; nevertheless , when I say that the late mismanagement of the Government , and the utter incapacity which our general officers , with few exceptions , have uniformly displayed during the present war , is patent to the world ; I speak but the sentiments of my countrymen in general ; and , unless some expedient be adopted similar to tLat which I have suggested to your Lordship , in order to recover the ground which we have already lost , England , once the pride and terror of the world , will very soon descend to a second or thirdrate power among the natioius of old Europe . Hitherto , nay Lord , the nobility have exclusively

      enjoyed all posts of emolument and trust in the State , qualified or not ; but the honour of old England must / in -future be committed to the custody of abler hands than ; those who have recently controlled her destiny . Merit , and merit only , my Lord , must henceforth form the stepping-stone to civic eminence and distinction . Tlie flowers which have hitherto wasted their sweetness on the putrid atmosphere of murky tenements , inust shortly emerge from their lowly habitations , io shed their fragrance in the Coun ' oil Chambers of the State , and aristocratic incapacity be driven from the offices whioh it has too long injuriously occupied ; in a word , my Lord , piivate interests must in future succumb to the weal of the

      commonwealth . Nothing less than thiH will satisfy tho country ; and you , my Lord , as Chief Minister of War , have now a favourably opportunity of talcing precedence of your peers in the work of desired reformation . SE ^ £ ? •* - ' - * & ' [ r In conclusion , my Lord , pei-mit the to say that tho homage which officers of ev « i » y grade are allowed to exact of tho common soldier will ever prevent intelligent y oung mom from entering the army merely as recruits . It roquires « nature loss dignified and susoeptibl * thon that of the liumble author to brook the insolence of commissioned fops ; place him , however , in a , position whioh uocuros against the contumely of wealth , and he "will roadily exchange the precarious ( subsistence which ho derives from tho labours of his pen for tho settled stipend of a subaltern ; but bo long as opulence alono must dominuto whore intelligence » hould vvilo , bo long , my Lord , will genius endure tho privationfi of poverty . Your Lordship'H humble iuid obedient servant , ( Signed ) John Foustkb . Foot of Poroy-Btxeot , Tynomouth , Juno lltln , 1855 .

      (Copy.) "War Department, 18th June, 1855...

      ( Copy . ) "War Department , 18 th June , 1855 . SiB s —I am directed by Lord Panmure to acknowledge the receipt of your letter , dated the 11 th instant , and , in reply , to express his Lordship ' s great regret that yowr exertions should hitherto have been attended with so little benefit to yourself ; but I am . to observe , with regard to your remarks on the want of greater ability in the army , that , in requiring a good education as an indispensable requisite for officers of the army , the Government does as much as can be done towards tho recognition of literary qualifications . I am , Sir , your obedient servant , ( Signed ) John Croomes . . Mr . John Forster * foot of Percy-street , Tynemouth .

      Continental Notes France. It Is Said (Wr...

      CONTINENTAL NOTES FRANCE . It is said ( writes the Times' Paris correspondent ) that a circular note has been addressed by the Count de Clmmbord to his principal partisans in Paris and the departments . They are earnestly recommended by tie Prince to contribute , bo far as their means allow , for the relief of the working classes during this rigorous season , when the necessaries of life are

      so dear . ^ Tliey are requested to suggest to the organs of the Legitimist party the propriety of speaking in the highest terms of the bravery of the French army , and , indeed , to omit no occasion of rendering homage to it . They are also strongly advised to forget any dissension that may still subsist between the Orleanists and themselves ; to promote a good understanding between the partisans of the two branches ; to imitate in every respect the union that has been effected between the Princes of

      the Ilouse of Bourbon , and to render the fusion between them still more conijdete . The Moriitewr announces that the mai-riage of the Princess Augusta Bonaparte , daughter of his Highness Prince Charles Bonaparte , with Ms Excellency Prince Gabrielli , her cousin , was celebrated at the Imperial Chapel of the Tuileries , their Majesties the Emperor and Empress being present . The Queen's Speech on the opening of the English Parliament has excited great discussion in Paris , and various ' opinions have been expressed . By some , it is regarded as a very dignified document , exhibiting a fitting and inajestical reserve ; others think that a warmer mention might have been made of the French alliance ; an < 3 the omission of all reference to the Queen ' s visit to Paris last August is remarked on as singular .

      The use of chloroform on the occasion of the approaching family event in the Imperial circle at Paris is being discussed . The suggestion is urged from high quarters on this side of the Channel . The Emperor ' s desire for peace is said to be owing to bis wish to develope internal improvements ; among other projects , to impart activity to the Crddit Foacier by enabling it to profit by the credit of the State , with a view to the improvement of agriculture .

      nussiA . Prince Paskiewitch , the Viceroy of Poland , has at length expired after a lingering and painful illness from cancer in the breast . By a judgment of a court-martial , ratified by the Emperor , Prince Biberdon , a Caucasian Prince , and sub-ensign in . the Finland battalion of tho lino , is condemned to be degraded to the ranks , and to bo removed to another battalion , as well as to tho loss of his nobility , for theft .

      THR DANUBIAN PUINCirAUTIKS . The Moldavian people , who had nhown such warm ami spontaneous enthusiasm at tho news of tho taking of Sevastopol , were desirous of testifying in a still more effectual manner their admiration of the Allioa and their sympathies for the cause which they support . Subscription lists woro opened throughout tho whole of Moldavia in favour of tho wounded , and a sum of 4 , 420 duqats ( 54 , 548 frauce ) had already been cojlectod . MM . Nogri and Balloti , tho Moldavian Ministers on a mission at Constantinople , have just received instructions to pay that sum into tho Iiauda of the French ambassador in that capital . —Letter from Ja 88 ti in the Monitcur .

      SI'AIN . In the Cortos , the disoufiaion of tho olootoral bases is being proceeded ' with . Tho Gazette contains au artiolo filled with praise of tho Duko and Duohoss do Montpeuflier for their charitable acts ntBovillo . The Madrid journals of tho 29 th ult . publish exciting intelligence from tho Bnsquo province * , stating that tho looal authorities at Vittoria havo discovered tho clue to a domooratio conspiracy on tho noi't of a number of sorgoants of tho army , and havo boon , in c « HBequon « e , oompollcd to tako precautionary " > " swres . Tho Government contradiotn in tho G azette tlio fact of thoro being any such oounpiraoy . Tho Gazette says that diaordorly HyrnptomH among tho working olassoB have boon porooived , arising from tho high prioesoffood and tho common nocoHsarios of life , But precautions have bcon tnken , and thoro had hvou no disturbance .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 9, 1856, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_09021856/page/6/