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    March 17, I860.] The Leader-andSatwday A...

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    PA RLIAMENT AND ITS MASTER. fpHE persona...

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    . ITALY AX I) IirNGAKY. THE inhabitants ...

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    March 17, I860.] The Leader-Andsatwday A...

    March 17 , I 860 . ] The Leader-andSatwday Analyst . 247

    Pa Rliament And Its Master. Fphe Persona...

    PA RLIAMENT AND ITS MASTER . fpHE personal ascendancy of Mr . Gladstone is the absorbing JL topic of the parliamentary day . There lias been nothing like it in the House of Commons since the death of Mr .-Caxnixg .. Like that distinguished man , the present Cilan-CEXLon of the Exchequer ones his pre-eminence solely and emphatically to his own great talents , and to his unwearied diligence in their cultivation . Likehim he owes little to fortune or family connection . Like him the opening- of his public career was heralded by tlic telat of university dis . tincti . oii , and marked by early success in debate . Like him his attachment to the Tory party was early suspected of wavering , and his consecrnent position was long doubtful and disputable . Historic memories

    and political idealisms jarred in the minds of both with the dogmatism of modern democracy , and the political quakerism of the Utilitarian party . ' . The large element of benevolence , and the high ambition of both , naturally lead them . 1 o espouse an industrial- policy widely liberal and nationally popular ; but whenever questions--of political or ecclesiastical power wcro at stake , Mr . Canning relapsed into the old traditions of Conservatism , and up to the present time Mr . Gladstonk has shown tio disposition to discard them . Asa rare implement for the disintegration and damage of a rival faction , the " Whigs in general have always been ready to praise and promote the matchless orator of . our ; day , just as they were to flatter and even to follow the . unrivalled rhe ' torician- of the times of George IV . :

    but then , as now , the . more fastidious and more exacting members of the ( congregation worshipping at . Brook ' s , sullenly refused to acknoAvledge the orthodoxy of " the borrowed minister , and were ready whenever occasion : served to dispute . his authority , and Impugn the sincerity of . his professions . . The greedy and garrulous crowd of politicians of all kinds worship success ; and Mr . Canning ' s oratorical ascendancy in the House of Commons for many years was so indisputable , that the fine , ladies of the Whigs could no more resist- the temptation of his society , than the -coarser-minded- riven , of the party coiild deny themselves the benefits they hoped to . derive from supporting his measures . A certain section of (• onservntive . s , chiefly - consisting of men of rank

    . and . refinement , adhered to him with ajedous but often embarrassed fidelity . They delighted in his popularity , and still more , delighted in tlie- delight he showed that 'he took in being " deliglitftil . ' " But they Averc never entirely free from the fear of his getting politically tipsy with the effervescence of the cup he continually filled afresh He ruled over men by the power of fascination . Others were as wise and well informed on economic subjects , and more consistently liberal on political ones ; but nobody could innke the right cause win as he . could , when he took it up earnestly . Tlie earnestness might be temporary ; but it was sure to be triumphant . The GowEits . mid Cavknivjsiies , Cakltslks and

    Lansdownes made him the idol of their adulation ; while the BuRDE'rts and Broughams boasted their readiness in parliament "to stick their knees into his back ; " but the IIahkowjvys and Buistols , the Bentinoks and the Binntngs were as frequently afraid that lie would turn downright YVhig , ( is the CJitKYS and IioimousES were fond of prophesying his return to tin ; old ways of Toryism . And so it is with Mr , Gladstone at the present hour . He poises himself with inimitable dexterity on a slnckropo swung , between the Carlton and the Kcfovni . Ho holds in his own hnml the wand of enchantment , and so long as he can dance forward imposingly and then dance backward , gracefully , all the world will clap its hands ; and as none can help him , few feel disposed 1 , o dispute , his perilous priveminoneo , Ibi' lew

    have the vanity to imagine themselves fitted to take Ins plnee . But it i « impossible to disimss- the consciousness , thai ( lie position , however daiv / . ling a ' nd exalted , is necessarily one of iiuraincnt instability . Its exigencies are , inexorable : they forbid smy long-cessation , from hazardous edbrts ; the , unequal dancer must dance or die . The . French proverb of rentier pour le uiiim . u ttaut

    Mr . Glaustonu is undisputed master of the position in parliament at the present moment , ' 1 l . o has made that position for himself by Ms own unaided gonms and indefatigable industry ; and as a man of tlio people we rejoice heartily in his suocsobo , and look not without wonder at his singular position . But lot us not mistake what that position is . It is not , that of tho lcndor of a groat pnrty , for tho only party , to whom ho over profossjcd to bolong distrust and dolinno him , whilo tho pnrty whom ho at ; present serves rather than leiula , daily refuse to follow his bidding or obey his call . Adopting their views , « nd

    anticipating their wishes in fiiiance , he has brought forward and virtually carried a marvellous Budget .. ' : this is the move forward . But the move backward is about to come , or rather it has come already . The new Reform Bill not only retains . in existence every rotten borough jn the kingdom , but Mr . Gladstone has actually persuaded Lord John liussKLL , who sentenced scores of them to execution in 1852 , to adopt his Conservative doctrines on the subject , and to try to rehabilitate the Tory ' principle of mere nominal representation . We have got a slice of financial improvement from Mr . Gladstone , and- now he is about to make us pay the political price of it . * And ' -so ; also it will be , we fear , in other - . matters .. On the Italian question he moves onwards dashingly with the . popular party ; but on Church Hate

    Abolition he is dead against us . The Manchester School sanguinely reckon , indeed , upon being able tq , count upon him hereafter as their leader in all things ; and the readiness with wliicli . Mr . JJurGif'r Jkis rejiotmced his Birmingham programme of Keform betrays their eagerness to close a bargain , from which they hope for official in exchange for demagogic power . It is hard to say , indeed , whether Mr . Gladstone lias conceded more to Mr . 15 jugjit , or Mr . Rhhuit more to Mr . Gr . AiisroNE ; biit the entente cordlah : se . euis . to be complete , hud no doubt there , is- an understanding between the high contracting parties , that the veto hitherto exercised upon the admission , of-tho member for Birmingham to the Cabinet shall . be presently withdrawn . What eilec . t the further infusion ofealicti principles into the Government will have , oil its stability . Wo shall , consider bv and by . .

    . Italy Ax I) Iirngaky. The Inhabitants ...

    . ITALY AX I ) IirNGAKY . THE inhabitants of . ( . ' cntnil Italy have ; not disappointed the ' expectations formed of their prudence and patriotism , and by deciding for annexation to tSar-dinia they have immensely advanced tlieir-national cause , ami the respect in which , they -. will be held ineverv country' where , liberty is loved and huiiian . progress desired . ' hi a few days the Sardinian Governn-ieiji \\\\\ oHicially declare its intentions , and assume the sovereignty which has been so honourably obtained ; and it > yill be seen whether the Austrian Court-will abandon its pretensions , or venture upon fresh acts of aggression , either in its own naino or through its l > uppets , the Duke of Modjjka and the . rope . , How much the JIolv Father isbeloved in his own territories may be seen , from

    the votes taken at Bologna , which was of late , the second city in the Papal States . It appears that 21 , G ! H < electors voted for annexation , and the important number of tiro on the other aide . The nii « 'hty two ought at least to be canonized during ( heir lifetime hi order to make the niost of such a splendid example' ol iidelity and folly , in which mix , ed condition alone-can Pits IX . expect to find * faithfulness in followers not actuated by scllish

    , . It is believed in Italy and Austria that a collision is impending , and the matter will probably turn . upon whether the Kmperor of ' tin ; Fkencu appears inclined to Kmivo the . Italian ' s , to bwir the first brunt of the struggle . The Tope is reported to have £ 0 , 000 men ; the Duke of Modkna ' s little niany can at aiiy inoiiKMit bn surreptitiously increased by additions froinj : he Austrian ranks , iiud ( Jount ' Ilic < : MBEiio lias prepared for a course of military duplicity

    by pretending that ; men woaring tho Austrian unitorin , aiid specially sent to the L ' opo by his Jmperial uinsU-r ' . s orders , are not Austrian soldiers at all . On the IKUU January this . worthy minister of tho J La psuviin crown declared in the ' inost formal ' way , as may bo seen by the ; papers reecully published , " We shall begin by oatnblishinjif the fact : that at tho present hour there is hot in the whole of the Italian peninsula n single Austrian soldier outsido the boundaries of the monarchy . " At Hint ' very timo an Austrian general opiumaiided

    tho rope ' s forces , and a fortnight before , our vice-consul at Annum wrote to Mr . Cokuktt at Florence ! , to say tlmt tlm immbi'V ol recruits landed at Ancona , " most of them wearing Austrian uniforms of the respective regiment a they belonged to , i . s , \\\> in this dnt « , three hundred and ei » -lity-threo , iuoliK ling eleven onii '« TH , whose mimes are annexed . " The dwy before (' omit IIkciihuiu ! set . lib name " to the statement we have quoted— " seventy-nine lm-ii . and ou

    at Aneorm on board a turiiill J ' npnl Hteuiner from I riM-e , iiniL after landing , marohod oil" to Mu . rratu as usual , On the BMili , w \ wn our vice-consul gave thin / inlbriiiation , ho described \\ w district us in tho " dcopoHl nnxittty uud eonsternatioii . " I ' cople wore luHoii from thoir beds at uighl ., and marohod oil' to unknown prisons ;¦ and he add * , " the number of persons who hnvuemigiulrd from Ancona and diatriet , siuw tin * oommenmnc-nl ol the Ituliiju war , is reckoned to be about sJUOO j" a nuiiiber whioh is m itBolf oonsiderabh-, but which n |)[) ear . s enonnoiiH wlien wi . Inul that tho whole population of the province wits only !/» ,. > i . ' .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), March 17, 1860, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_17031860/page/3/