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    m ' " gg i J^EAftBft. „_.,„.; . .; ' :it...

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    3?Gfe1ra&SEUVrdil 1ST AUSTRALIA. Tsb su^...

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    « A STRANGER," IN 3PARLIAMENT. [Our read...

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    Dark Deeds, Justice Is Said To Be Blind,...

    "We do not knW « fcet & t # tfiis presumptive story caa . ber * e < jeivfed ^& evidence tlmt kord ABBB ^ iar andiiifi -e ollesg & es are viSftins of the-feaseatBt ^ pi out-Herpdmg the bloodieSt bravo of a j ^ lo-drtunatie theatre ; buV « . t all eve % i % , the 8 tatem « at enables Ms to Eaeaaure the . < jredulity of a wteU-informed Englishman , and / his moral seasfe of what is possible .

    -Evidently " dark deeds" are cdntempl & ted in the | 3 ri ^ h feuse of . Gotnmons , though not alvrajy ® fey the persons said to perpetrate them . . ^ et Mr . Cqbden asks ns to condemn a Bar & eleinyv Cabinet on such constructive eyiience and ^ 90 persons in fioit ^ e « ssein > bled , temperately enjoying the drink which " cheers bu £ ; not inebriates ,, " ratify th 6 condemnation which the accuser asks I

    M ' " Gg I J^Eaftbft. „_.,„.; . .; ' :It...

    m ' " gg i J ^ EAftBft . „_ ., „ . ; . . ; ' : itetri & AT ,

    3?Gfe1ra&Seuvrdil 1st Australia. Tsb Su^...

    3 ? Gfe 1 ra & SEUVrdil 1 ST AUSTRALIA . Tsb su ^ S ' oined'c ' h'Jillenge ou ^ ht to arouse attfeii $ 6 n' tinA tefrdMVour in tftie Australian Colbbies ^ - , / ' .. ' ' (?<> tie Editor qfihe " Leader . " ) - " ifeth January , T 855 . «« Si ^ ^ -tn a recent immbe * * of you ? journal you expressed ikhe opinion , that if the colonists of -Australia wanted steam communication with this country they must hot look too much for assistance , but take the initiative tor thenisetves ^ and strenuously eniieavoiifc 150 settle this cftfestidn upon a principle worthy oT the ittiportanoe © f their position and the

    future which is before then * . " This view of tlfe case , I am happy to inform . you , Ss now largely concurred in by those in England , who nfcve Interested ' themselves in thequestion , for they are convinced that it can be better decided , to please the various interests 'concerned ,, by thfe local -authorities than by the magnates of I ) owning-stree * who bnlyprbceed upon oifficial reports , or the partisans of rival Steam eonipaTnies , Who only have in view the % ubiidy graiSitfea _ by the Wvettiment . And surely , gir , thiT is the most teasptaable way of treating the colonies . It is their question as -much as it w-that of this country ' s : they have the best information as

    to "their peculiar wants ; they have wealth , steamers , experienced coWmandeTs , fend the whole of the machinery ttecessary to organise & poweiffaL and "effective . serv-ice . Jtmay be that jealousies and differences of opinion may arise between the various colonies , but I have as much faith in their being amicably arranged by the advocates concerned at the antipodes , as by Capitalists on the Stock Exchange or elsewhere in England . " Be this , iiowever ., as it may , the colonists of Australia are entitled to legislate for themselves on this snbjeet .-Xt-istipwards-of-ten-years since , in , England , that steam Was first proposed for these distant settle *

    ments , and "what has been done ? We have tried the route by the Cape and failed ! We have left untried the route viA Panama , arid now , with a tightened money-market and a great European war , is not the time to look upon it ns practicable ! We have been making experiments on the Indian line , which have been abandoned because , it is said , of a positive loss of 40 j 000 i per annum . "Now , then , it is time to let the question be considered by other parties , land the colonists , I know , will not shrink from their responsibilities , for they think it consistent with their intelligence , their

    increasing importance , and their principles of selfgovernment that they should have such duties imposed upoh them . Bnt it ia only natural if they grant Subsidies to 'steamers already in the colonies , * and devive in their respective legislative councils a line of communication which ehnll connect the colonies with one or both of the great steam routes belonging to the eastern or western hemisphere , tha't some portoron of tfhe postage should be conceded by the English Government , and that their efforts should be met in a wise , liberal , and comprehensive spirit . " I am , Sir , your obedient servant , " William Pitri & V . *

    This letter is written by a man who perfectly understands the subject , and is respou * sible for his statements . As manager of the Bank of South Australia , Mr . Purdy is in a poflitionjo observe ,, and . to sta ^ e a case with absolute independence ; and there is nothing here that can do gainsaid in the colonies of Australia . Attempts have been made lately tp charge those' settlements with the overtradingwhich , by its reaction , threatens such serious inoonyemences to our commerce ; , but the charge iaiacprrect . Trade and industry were disturbed in Australia \ the wool-clippang was BuroitaawL because the shepherd

    rtreferced gbia-diggrng \ farm labout ^ ocrd still , 4 nd It Wlmt AdeMtfe ; yrtH Almost d ^ sertedj white Melbburne , a city of gambler * . exhibited the extraordinary- suburb 6 f Canvas Town * ^ ut speakiiig generaUy , there w ^ as no " overtrading" there . The extravagantlf-oVerBaleulated supplies Were sent from home : cotton goods , ironmongery , slopclothing , and other consignments , were sent in quantities ^ m if the n & toWtoU * riches t ! Australia wanted nothing but cpats , waist-« nit * s . su » a trttusem or fire ^ rdns , or cotton

    prints 3 and of course ' much was returned on hand * One item wa may set -down agMnSt Australia ; : this was the overtrading . The charge for postage was a comparativie trifle , but , ae the = servioe tvfas « loasj it ought to hate been borneat'leWsti & pATfe by the colonies . The the

    difficulty which at Onee presents itself is diversity of interest and of view which prevails in the different Australian colonies ; but these differences are not greater than those which existed between the thirteen colonies of America when they agreed upon , the declaration of independenee , and what is more , uuoti the war of independence . They

    carried the day , and succeeded m establishing a republic ; caainot ike Australian colo nies so far agree in action as to establish a postal service >?

    « A Stranger," In 3parliament. [Our Read...

    « A STRANGER , " IN 3 PARLIAMENT . [ Our readers will welcome the reappearance of . our esteemed correspondent . The independent attd almost personal "Viewwhicli he takes of personal qualities 6 n the stage of ptiblic affairs is well known , and it must be equally well understood that we are desirous of preserving to our correspondent perfect freedom for his / -pen , even when ~ it differs from our owa opinions . It is equally necessary to the independence of the critic anH of the Journal , that the personality of the ~ one and the impersonality of the other should be kept entirely distinct . We desire to state once

    for all , that the " Stranger" speaks for himself , not for the Leader ; although , starting from tlfe same point , we may often be glud to find him expressing the feeling and the policy of this Journal . J Queer consequences may come from the Ministerial orisis . -But , whateverlwe . mayL 8 ee , jeha * jwe _ do __; aiee , is this—that the political quidnuncs are looking remarkably foolish . There is no doubt that they ought to have foreseen this . There was ' something so unusually abaurd in the conduct of iiord John Russell on Tuesday night in proffering a " statement "

    about foreign affairs which was utterly unintelligible , and which was unintelligible because , among other reasons , Lord John obviously knew nothing of what was going on at Vienna , —there was something so auspicious in the circumstance , that when Xiord John was boggling over his explanations , in answer to the ironical entreaties of Mr . Bright to be good enough to make himself understood , not one of his colleagues would whispe * a hint in his ear—that one ought to have seen there was again another of those hitches in the class conspiracy which are denominated ^ Ministerial crisis . -And , on general grounds , one ought to have suspected that a man like Lord John

    Russell , distinguished by unscrupulosity in politics and feebleness of intellect intensified by a disease of vanity , would be certain to select a disjuhcture like the present to " hit upon the coincident baseness of playing the deuce and playing the fool . But—distrust the sagacity which awaits events to ratiocinate —you may rely upon it that when Parliament mot at Westminster ton Tuesday , no one—certainly not Lord John Russell—calculated on a crisis . Mr . Roebuck , for "dtte , did not think he was tloing anything extraordinary in moving for his Select Committee to inquire into the catastrophe of the British governmental system ; and Lord EUenborough ' s notice of motion was taken as a , matter of course . And , though it stood as a possibility , -and irrespective of those notices of impeachment , that there would be * ircorgamfoation of tho Coalition — -and Lord John and . Lord Derby Ate alike fooling

    themselves [ it they now count oa Anything more tnilt f 0 conslruction—d handy - dandy change of offices 'to make all comfortable '—would have takely place , without this eccent ricity ,. in as quiet a manner as the last moving on the congenial Lady-day , when the Duke of Newcastle stepped dbTVn one pair of stairs and stepped up another pair of stairs in Downing-street , and-when

    Lord John Russell , having- nothing to do , condescended to take it salary for doing it . Lord John Russell is in ecstasy in a fuss : but , after all , the probability is that they will think as little of it at Vienna'fts they did of the analogous act of that celebrated student who travelled to the source of the Danube , and , stopping the spring with his old hat , gloated over the confusion he hoped to produce in the many cities watered by the great stream .

    Yet we should be grateful to Lord John Russell . What have we * outside English public , to do with the causes and . the consequences ? He had no thought of England when he said on Wednesday to Lord Aberdeen , by way of remodelling the old joke" By-the-by , let us swear eternal enmity j" and England has little very to hope from the results . " The great families did not consent to partition the English Government for the benefit of the Englishi it is not English policy that Lord John has condemned or proposed ; and fhe reconstructions he tnay compel " will not be based

    Upon any aristocratic admission that the men of brains and business members ought now to be brought in in preference to a new relay of old lords . Is a great nation to be excited because a Duke of Newcastle is to be put down in order that a Lord Palmerston may be put Ug—because one set of Peers , Peelites , have excited the jealousies of another set of Peers , Whigs P Iss aft empire to be convulsed because a club is agitated ? Tweedledum is getting the advantage over Tweedledee by takifig advantage of the popular disgust with Tweetiledee , because Tweedledee , being : highly bred into intellectual

    stagnation , and being by misfortune placed , during a great war , ia a responsible position , has managed , punctually attending his bureau at 9 a , m ., and never going to bed before midnight , and wearing overshoes in this weather with conscientious assiduity , to sacrifice 20 , 008 gallant plebeians—and the national prestige . We cannot but conclude that Tweedledum , who is old and crafty , deserves his triumph over Tweedledee , who is young and not crafty , not dishonest . But let the outside British public have the self-respect to hold aloof from theso miserable intrigues of -heartless incapable *—and ,

    sympathising with neither , leave Tweedledum and Tweedledee to flghfc it out until such time as the brains and business members of England are prepared to relegate both Tweedledum and Tweedledee to their important duties of country gentlemen . The enthusiastic alacrity of liberal-popular-papers to name this and that man for possible vacant places is pleasant , as an unexpected simplicity in our century , but is too hopeful . Those journalists who have for some years been suggesting to the British press that our aristocracy is an imposition , not only politically but intellectually , may rejoice that their

    day is coming—when another coalition of crack lords is required to sustain a little while longer the public delusion . But the day has not como yet . Nearly every Peer and Peer's relative , of presentable appearance for public life , has been tried and has broken down : the standard is so reduced that capacity to speak the English language is no longer insisted on , for doesn ' t Lord John get on without that ? and it is only under extraordinary circumstances that common decency of moral character is insisted on , for isn't thore —— and ' ? But there

    are one or two more left ; and they will now have their chance . There's Iiord Derby— -he veas a frightful failure in Peace—but isn't thore War ? There i » Lord Grey , omitted from tho first coalftton ; he drove all our colonioa into rebellion , but the Crimea is aot a colony . There is Lord Ellenborough ; ho was the , jest of mankind for being a Brummagem Bonaparte in India : but a Brummagem Bonaparte might manage in a sham war . There ' s Lord D * lhouaie—tketio ' a Lord Elgin—they are heroes »* iUr for wo Jghcw nothing of them , and therefore havfe't fouwd them out . Wo havVt , exhausted the Peonage

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 27, 1855, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_27011855/page/14/