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Leader (1850-1860), 20th January 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 12, TO CO RRESPONDENTS. ^ Communications sho...

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    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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      [ Parliament Rail It Had Been Decided By...

      THE LEADER . [ Sattopat , ^^^«^—¦^ " ^~^ —

      The 'Stranger" In Parliament. ^ ¦ _ Isr ...

      THE ' STRANGER" IN PARLIAMENT . ^ ¦ _ isr ^ S ^ JJfM SK-afAE g ^ SSSS riw tfe atb of i » -wi .

      To Co Rrespondents. ^ Communications Sho...

      TO CO RRESPONDENTS . ^ Communications should always be legtoly written , and on oneside of the paperonly , IMong . it increases the difficulty of finding space for them . . We cannot undertake to returnrejected communications . ¦ It is impossible to acknowledge the mass of letters we receive . Their insertion is often delayed , owing to a press of matter ; and when omitted it is frequently from reasons quite independent of the merits of thecommumca tion .

      Terms Of Subscription To " ®Fce Seauet."...

      TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION TO " ® fce SeaUet . " Tor a Half ^ Tear £ 0 13 0 To be remitted in advance . ^ -Money Orders should be drawn upon the Sxbaot Branch Office , and be made payable to Mr . AitfBBD E GjtfiOWA . Y , at No . 7 , Wellington Street , Strand .

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      Saturday, January 20, 1855.

      SATURDAY , JANUARY 20 , 1855 .

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      There Is Nothing So Revolutionary, Becau...

      There is nothing so revolutionary , because there is nothing so unnatural and convulsive , as the strain to keep things fixed when all the world is by the very law of its creation in eternal progress . —De-Arhoid .

      . Parliament. Parliament Reopens On Tues...

      . PARLIAMENT . Parliament reopens on Tuesday next ; but we are not so sure that the interests of the country are likely to be the raore ^ vigorously served . We have no guarantee that the session which then really commences will constitute a departure from that series of mock fights which is so tedious and so demo-.

      ralising . The Opposition is said to have abandoned its purpose of moving a vote of censure ; what then ? Will Ministers be the less censurable ; or is it only that the Opposition is too weak to censure ? M . de Betjok says , it matters not whether we have peace or war , for in either case Russia must Buccumb : so it matters not in Parliament

      whether we have vote or not—for in either case we have no confidence in Ministers , and less in the Opposition . The complaint against Ministers is , that instead of really conducting the affairs of the country , they only keep up a semblance of conducting those affairs by going through the forms of routine . They cannot overcome red tape , how then can they overcome the Czar ? But the Opposition dares not unmask the sham statesmen on the right side of the Speaker ,, for they wear masks also on his left . As doctors of

      medicine conspire to observe a respectful mystery towards each other , because each man is conscious of the ignorance in himself which he could impute to his rival , so the honourable Opposition uses reserves in denouncing the honourable Administration , because the gentlemen on the left may have to profit by the forbearance they exercise . The contests of the Legislature , therefore—always excepting the privafe bill department—are sham fights :

      and they will continue to emulate the fearful encounters of the melodramatic stage . Some adventurous leader of a boarding expedition cries , to his gallant crew , "On ! on to the boats ! " and retires to the wing to take a drain of stout . Some leader of-the Opposition rallies his band to storm the Treasury-bench , furiously implacable before the audience , and retires to take a glass of wine Dehmd the Speaker's chair with the "honorrblo priopinantr

      Like Ministry , like Parliament . We rail at our rulers because they are so aristocratic , so exclusive , so monopolising of place . ± be more shame to us if we let them be bo . We accuse them of ambition—when their fault is not to have ambition enough . What a . situar tion the present for a great man , a Cromweli ., on the Treasury bench , holding m bis hand England ' s mighty power—her potent sword , her exhaustless treasury—with a people to champion , while making himself immortal by a safe and easy justice—with allies abroad to encourage in their aspiration after our political frofirfmn . makinff them the grateful re-~~~^^^^ ""^^^^^^""^^^^ ^^^^ , Trrr _ __ I 1

      cipients of his benefactions—with an enemy to conquer , and be blessed by mankind . Ambition ! Why a man with a soul in his bosom , and a will in his head , standing at that post where vigorous men have stood before , might well feel the impulse seize him to make the English people his debtors , Europe his witness , and every capital of the Continent the pedestal of his statue . This session it might be done . But Let not Anti-Coalition rail : which of you will have a statue raised to him ? Nor the Liberal Opposition , for all its opportunity ,

      equalling almost that of Hampdeit and Cromwell ,, without the difficulty or the danger . Have you amongst you a wis . e man with a sword in his hand ? for such is the man wanted now . Alas ! you do not answer , except in " speeches . " There are the unenfranchised millions — there the enslaved peoples of the Continent—there the Hampof Italof

      dens and Somebses of Piedmont , y , Spain — there the archenemy Russia , whom even Austria , Imperial Faust , mistrusts and dislikes : is there not a man of you that can shape a course for England which shall make her mistress of the world—himself master of her power , her wealth , her honour ? A sword in hand ! why they have not a ' purposeexcept " to annoy Ministers !"

      -Such is the disgrace of Parliamentary Government when there is no head to dominate and to guide , no heart to ennoble and to inspire . Tet we . live in days when representative institutions have need of all the force of their patriotism , of all the sincerity of a national mandate . What do we see ?

      Factions-fight factions , and faction-fighting , ber comes the business of the " epoch . " Honourable members think that the idl & region over which Mr . Speaker presides is the world , they the Pompeys and Caesars contending for its dominion . The weary fighting with votes commences on Tuesday . The lead of the nation is vacant : he would be elected to

      the post who , listening to the vast inarticulate voice of the people , could say to it , " Yes , I will do your will ; " and could prove his ability by giving to that will articulate shape , purpose , and action .

      War And'the Press. Since The Press Becam...

      WAR AND'THE PRESS . Since the press became so decisively the Fourth Estate , there could be no doubt that [ it would take its share in the conduct of a war . A long peace , considerable prosperity , increased intelligence on the part of the community , and therefore increased craving for knowledge , have raised the press into a more powerful and more responsible position

      than ever . Accustomed to take a strong lead in many questions , always shaping opinion , I either wilfully by direct propagandism , or I unconsciously , by the propagandism of facts , las it had taken so large a part in the public ( affairs of peace for above a quarter of a century , so of necessity , when war broke out , the press I at once took its place , not only as the purveyor of intelligence , but as the promoter of the war , and the exponent of the intensity of the national feeling . The question of publicity or no publicity could not even be discussed ;

      it had been decided by events . The British newspaper , that most impressive symbol of the right of Englishmen to free speech and free writing , is practically as much a part of the constitution as the House of Commons ; and even if it should abuse its right , no power existing could put it down . Therefore the press took its share in the conduct of the war , as a matter of course . .. , -. i i « J _ J T . _ ^^ m-ni-a r l'ka "R-m + ricil *

      Not for one moment would we consent to restrict the right of publicity . The press has done incalculable service in rousing and sustaining the national ardour in this great cause , and by its means England has been enabled to impress Europe and Russia with her unanimity and resolution . The press has told the army what the nation feels , and whom

      has , at the same time , consoled those the heroes of the Crimea have left at home . Neither is it sensible to declaim against the national desire lor news as a vulgar curiosity , and base love of gossip ; rather is that desire the measure of the strong sympathy felt for our soldiers , and of the earnest feeling with which we carry on the war . Think of the baseness of that nation which could feel no

      anxiety for intelligence respecting men entrusted with the task of fighting its desperate battles in a foreign land ! We will undertake to say that not one man advocates the gagging of the press , unless he haye private , perhaps official , sources of information . There is another advantage in free publicity . One of the most dangerous poisons

      in a State is chronic suspicion of the Government . Where the people are intelligent and brave ^ suspicion soon begets action , in other words revolution , ^ ven though that suspicion may have little or no foundation . Were the correspondents ejected from the Crimea that state of suspicion , would arise , and not only would no Government be possible , but as suspicion is a base condition , the whole nation would suffer demoralisation .

      Tet , if publicity be inevitable , if it be a good thing , as essential as the air we breathe to the health of our political and social constitution , it does not follow that it is without its disadvantages . A correspondent . in the camp may be , nay often is , an unwilling , an unconscious spy in the interest of the foe . In-purveying what he deems -themost ordinary information for the public , it is impossible that he should not sometimes furnish intelligence to the enemy . That was the case in the last war . When Wellington was

      at Burgos , the communications between the French army and the War Minister at Paris were so uncertain , that the latter found his best information in the English papers . That is the case in the present war . Take a test . What do we know of the state of the Russian camp ; the condition of Sebastopol ; the strength and movements of the external Russian army ? Little or nothing . Whereas we publish pretty exact accounts of everything that takes place within our lines , the position of batteries , the condition of the troops , their gross numbers and effective strength ; the weak

      points of their position j the discontents ot our officers ; in snort , accounts more full and regular than any spy could furnish . The Russians have no correspondents ; no free newspapers . We do not , like the gentleman who publishes fly sheets on the mischief of Crimean gossip—a gentleman of more heat of temper than judgment—accuse the correspondents of treachery . They are honest gentlemen , pursuing an honest calling ; and the country is indebted to them for the intelligence they have suppliod at the cost of so much discomfort and hardship . Perhaps they ' exceeded their commission as collectors of

      news when they became military critics , and discussed tho weakness of positions , or tho arrangements for tho siege . They were there

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 20, 1855, page 12, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20011855/page/12/