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Leader (1850-1860), 24th April 1858, Edition 2 of 2, Page 15, No. 422, Apbil 24, 1858.] THB LEAD E R. ...

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      Sardinia's Danger, England's Disgrace. S...

      coasferued this note of inquiry into a positive statement to the Sardinian Government that our Government intended to oppose the proceedings ef Naples in the case of the Cagliari ; and W the act of our servant we thus incited Sardinia to take the advanced position which she did . Lord Malmesbury is no doubt quite in the right when he points out Mr . Erskine ' s error , and disclaims the statement ascribed to Lord Clarendon . But does this explanation exonerate this country ? If Sardinia has been induced to take a more forward position than she would have done by the representations of our public servant , arc we not bound to repair our injury as inflicted upon her ? Undoubtedly ! But even independently of that consideration there is the higher ground , that a great service can be rendered to freedom and to civilization by England , and that therefore . we are bound by every obligation which power , intelligence , self-respect , and sympathy for our kind can enforce , to stand by Sardinia in the struggle . _ Sardinia lias

      The question is becoming practical . not faltered in . her own path . Alittle more obstinacy on the part of Naples must compel Sardinia to take sonic step widen will lead to hostilities . Down to this point it is understood that the advice oi Austria to the Ministers of King Ferdinand has beer moderate and j udicious ; but a general disturbance in Italy will necessarily bring risks upon Austrian influence , if not upon Austrian possessions ; and troops are accumulating at Piacenza on the Sardinian frontier . We may impute any motive to the . Government at Vienna , but we will abstain , and regard only what are become apparent necessities . A general outburst in Italy , especially if it be stimulated by the extreme Republican , party , and left tc work itself out by the Western Powers , might be diverted from the legitimate course of this quarrel into an attack upon Austria . The successors oi Badetzky are not unlikely to anticipate any aggres sive movements b y taking the initiative in the held and they might calculate that "the most economical strategy would lie in crushing Piedmont . It is , indeed , not probable that llussia would view with satisfaction the annihilation of so great a counterpoise as Piedmont to the power of Austria in the East ; and in Germany ; even Prussia could scarcely be indifferent on that poiut ; but France has half declared herself . It is Austria which has been chiefly instrumental in diminishing the strength of the Jrench and English alliance ; and there is no eloubt that in the Tuileries that offence is one of the reasons for the strong grudge against Austria . Aftei the alfair of January the litli , France addressed demands to various countries for the reconsideration of the penal law , w . ith a view to the restraint of conspiracies . The Cavour Government has been accused of too humbly bowing to this request , but the Prime Minister has himself explained with what independent language he has answered . At the same time , however , he did avow that , whether as Emperor or as President of the Republic , Louis Napoleon has always shown himself well disposed fnwnrils Piedmont ..

      "What , then , is the position of Sardinia at the present moment ? She is engaged in a quarrel with a Government in Italy possessing larger territory and apparently greater resources . The Empire which broods over Italy is raising its forces , to interpose . England contents herself with disclaiming any pledges in lhc affuir . And it is Prance alone that shows any signs of answering to 1 he summons when she is called to sustain mi ally against injustice . Now , is this position of the English Government consistent with the opinions ol the English people ? Are we devoid of sympathy with Sardinia ? Are we blind to the practical interests which aro involved in the quarrel ? It is true that some of our popular politicians huvo counselled " non-interference , " and that official goutIcincn take up thai , cry when it suits their purpose ; but ., if wo stand back , will , tho quarrel in Italy be left to tho doctriuo of non-interference ? if it were so , if all foreign powers atood ajoof , who oan doubt ( ho result ? But it will not be . On tho contrary , already wo see a combination of great armies to conspiracy of imperial courls , and to balance tho ambitions of another imperial court , that England is called upon to cuter into the litigation . Such is tho balance of power in Europe , that the honest and straightforward declaration by England that she rcnuiinbers lior obligations and is prepared to stand by her ally and justice , would huIHco to secure the equitable treatment of tho combatants , and » happy result for tho conflict . Surely Englishmen ftro not eo degenerate from ¦ thoir

      forefathers as to shrink either from the responsibi lities of such an enterprise , or from calling their Government to its duty . Indeed , no statesman could make himself more popular than he who should stand forth at the present moment , and address to Sardinia the language of courageous friendship in the name of the English people .

      No. 422, Apbil 24, 1858.] Thb Lead E R. ...

      No . 422 , Apbil 24 , 1858 . ] THB LEAD E R . 399

      Palmerston And Russell. " Codlin's The F...

      PALMERSTON AND RUSSELL . " Codlin ' s the friend , not Short . " Palmerston is the leader , not Russell . The " pure Whig" papers keep up this cry with a pertinacity rather suspicious . Truly , when people remember Park and Watt in Naples gaols , and the " masterly inactivity" of the late Premier in re Reform , they are apt to forget the rather odd fact that Lord Palmerston was once the leader of the Liberal party .

      The Russelites , on the other hand , are making a vigorous effb rt to persuade Palmerston that he has abdicated , and that there is a short Tory interregnum , preparatory to a restoration of the natural leader of the party . Mr . Disraeli waits with pa tience until his enemies are agreed upon his death ; and he may outwit the rival chiefs . " The hunter who sold the skin of the bear was devoured

      by the bear . " In this case we have two hunters , but one protecting the bear because the sale of the skin has not yet been settled . Loud are the laments over the " disorganization " of the Liberal party . It is disorganized , ay , almost as dissolved as the Anti-Corn law League . But if the Liberal party has lost office , have Liberal principles lost power ? We find a Government in office doing the work of the Liberal party . Disorganized as the party may be , LordDerby andMr . Disraeli bow down to it and obey its wishes . The Liberal party wished Lord Palmerston to do its work , but Lord Palmerston with patrician insolence declined . And not alone did he violate the great principles of Liberalism by his miserable foreign policy , but he outraged the minor instincts of the party by the

      ' . f , nepotism of his patronage . In strong contrast to his defiance of the party we have a Tory Cabinet acting as the ministers of a Liberal policy . They stand by Watt and Park , and demand compensation ; they drop the Conspiracy Bill ; they send their leader of the House , and the son of the Premier , and their three " whips" to vote the abolition of church rates ; they frame a Radical India Bill , and withdraw it before the opinions of the press , and they are ready " to receive any sugges - tions" as to how the Government of the country is to be carried on . Old party men stand aghast at this spectacle , and talk of the Ministry as " degraded . " That is not our business . If a set of gentlemen , once called Conservatives , choose to fetch and carry for the Liberal party , we accept their services , simply because our natural Ministers

      struck work . The time may come , perhaps next year , when a Liberal party must be organized to carry out in good faith and with thorough effect some great Liberal measure , too broad and weighty for that narrow Derby gauge on which the business of the nation now runs . When that time comes , the " natural loader" will nrisc . We do not advocate any forgctfulncss of " past services ; " independently of all sentiment , past services arc a kind of promise of future good work . But the work of a nation is too momentous and too mighty to be given away to " past service" men . Unless the present " consular men " of the Liberal party show consular capacity for the present and future work of Government , we cannot afford to give them salary and p lace—retirement

      and pension are then- due . lor tho immediate proscnt , wo see no cause for any uneasiness amongst tho Liberal party . They have lost ,, it is true , patronage and place for tho time ; it Is a olmstenmg for having surrendered themselves , vote and thought , to Lord Palmerston for a season . As to the old and young Whigs who discuss with pitiful gravity which of the ox-leaders shall b ~ o the i ^ vHcinor ;^ ' H ^ party to decide ? Instead of convening ministerial gatherings at Lunsdowno llouso , why does not jjord Palmerston cnll a meeting of tho Liberal party P When Lord John went out of ollico in J 85 S 3 ho ndoptad that natural course , nnd ho was compelled to listen to some homo truths from the advanced Liberals . Is Lord Pahncrston afraid that the : piuuo home-brewed draught might bo too bitter for his lips P •'

      Thank Heaten We Haye A House Of Lords! L...

      THANK HEATEN WE HAYE A HOUSE OF LORDS ! Lives there a democrat so hard of heart as to dispute the useful as well as the ornamental functions of a House of Lor da in our great constitutional machinery ? Lord Derby , it is true , laments that the bill for the abolition of churoh rates should add one more to the list of bills that have passed the Commons only to be thrown out by the Lords ; but when we remember that on that question at least Lord Derby represents the majority of the Lords , and Lord Stanley the majority in the Commons , we are disposed to define our present paternal Government as a Tory father tempered by a Radical

      son . On "Wednesday evening , Lord Redesdale moved , " that the House will not read any bill- a second time after Tuesday , the 27 th of July , except bills of aid or supply ; " the whole House meanwhile being so severely occupied , that its sittings on an average extend from five p . m . to six p . m ., just enough to give our hereditary legislators an appetite for dinner . But the House of Lords can be in earnest a la printaniere . On the same evening , the Marquis of Westmeath rose to present a petition from four hundred of the denizens of Belgravia against street organs , and strain of

      supported the petition in a uncommon eloquence . May we not exclaim , Thank Heaven , we have a House of Lords ! Lord Malmesbury throws Sardinia into the arms of France , and Lord Westmeath threatens a pack of poor homeless Savoyards with all the terrors of an Act of Parliament . The noble marquis has seldom , we fancy , had charge of a public question so well adapted to the display of his powers . For really , to men who live by their brains a barrel-organ is a serious nuisance , and no doubt the noble Marquis sympathizes with bis fellow sufferers . Poor literary man , on the third or fourth story in a quiet street , and

      poor gouty peer , on the ground floor in a lofty and spacious square , are equall y persecuted by the remorseless Savoyard , who is incessantly breaking out in a fresh place . Certainly , we have no disposition to denv the nuisance to thinking men in working hours ' . But if an Act of Parliament is to put a stop upon these barrel-organs ( a stop , we trust , not introducing anew tune ) , may we not interpose a saving clause against their total and absolute extinction P Supposing that every organ were silent , and every Savoyard suppressed to-morrow , would this metropolis , already not extravagantly cav , be much the better or the happier for the

      change ? Remember that to large numbers ol people these organs are the only form of music accessible ; they are the Italian Opera , the Philharmonic , the Vocal Union ,, the Chamber Concert of the poor . Surely they may sometimes soothe the savage breast ; if they do not make a Pluto relent , or reclaim aEurydice from beyond the Styx , if every Savoyard is not an Amphion ; still in the quiet evening air , after the toil and turmoil , the fret and fever of tho day , some melody of Donizetti or Verdi , or some fond old English tune , may shed we know not what vague and unacknowledged sentiment of peace , and hopefulness , arid tranquillity uponmany a worn , audseared , and sullenbreast . May not tho sound of some old forgotten tune reclaim for a moment a brutal husband , and make him beat time to the memory of his childhood instead of to the wife of his manhood ? Any release , however transient , from the dull , dreary , cheerless , ugly round of thrall and care , is like the visit of a good angel , a glimpse of something happier and purer—a glimpse of an ideal world . Would it be possible for police regulations to limit tho performances- of street organs to certain hours , say from six to ten of an evening ? Perhaps not ; but " it is as well that we should feel that even tho barrel-organ question leaves something to be said on both sides . We respectfully commend our hesitations to the senatorial and hereditary wisdom of the noble Organ of Pimlico and Belgravia .

      Manchester And Borneo. Sm James Buookm H...

      MANCHESTER AND BORNEO . Sm James Buookm has proposed the definite sottlcinxmtlirSarav ^ k ^ M ^ bus oU ' ered . this country a territorial position commanding the groat maritime highway to China , the internal commerce of a vast island , and the whole of the Indian Archipelago trade , with ample supplies of coal , and every facility for the shelter and anchorage of shipping , besides being the national point of junction for tho electric telegraph' between Hong ^ - Kong and Singapore . In exchange for the'Imperial

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), April 24, 1858, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24041858/page/15/