Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 30th June 1860, Edition 2 of 2, Page 6, RIFLES AND "RED TAPE. I T would be a cur...

Page 6
Page 6
6 of 24

On this page

  • Text (3)
  • Transcript

    • 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.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Harbours Of Refuge. Humanity Is A Very D...

      declaration which , we fancy , will take the electors of that borough by surprise—but Sir Morton was thinking of estimates made for shrewd , business-like contractors , and not for a G o vernment everybody thinks ; he is allowed to swindle . Add to the £ 5 , 000 , 000 the cost of fortifying these harbours— for their adaptability to this purpose is one of their main recommendations—and we can form some idea of the amount which the House of Commons has determined to fool away in the name of humanity for the benefit of a few impudent jobbers .

      606 The Leader And Saturday Analyst. [Ju...

      606 The Leader and Saturday Analyst . [ June 30 , 1860 ,

      A Foeeign ..Eeview. Rphere Is A Temporar...

      A FOEEIGN .. EEVIEW . rpHERE is a temporary lull in Continental politics , and yet JL there is ample matter of interest . In France , the last surviving brother of Napoleon sinks into the tomb , while the King of Naples consents to a constitution , as his predecessor did when the " nephew ' s uncle" left him no better course to pursue . We cannot imagine the Neapolitans so stupid as to be deceived for one moment by a promise of future good behaviour from a young-man whose latent acts in Sicily were those of wholesale bloodthirsty murder , and who , if capable of sincerity , would

      have restored the legal rights of his subjects before Garibaldi undertook his heroic expedition . We are still ignorant of much that is going on in Calabria and the Abruzzi , and still more ignorant of what our Cabinet is about in its dip lomatic interference with Italian affairs . Does it still perplex Sardinia by cowardly counsels , or is it becoming resigned to more extensive changes * than its purblindness has hitherto deemed necessary ? No one knows , for the House of Commons seldom troubles itself about any large question ; and even the Pbince Con sort left his absolutist memoranda at home when he attended the annual

      jollification of the Elder Brethren at Trinity House . Sir Robert Feel has rendered some service by another hearty effort to sustain the cause of _ Switzerland ; but the worthy baronet is too exclusive in his sympathies , and fails to see that England can only help Continental freedom by applying sound principles to the ' whole group of questions submitted to her consideration . The conduct of France towards Switzerland is certainly not to be admired , but if we wish to serve the Swiss , we should do all we can to ensure the French against a coalition to obstruct their useful action in European affairs . -

      The last Italian war , which , with all the dirt sticking to the end of it , was a great thing for human progress , very nearly brought about a general coalition against Louis Napoleon , — and while England refuses to agree to the principle of national rights , any future war in-which France may be engaged would be very likely to have that result ; and hence , we cannot wonder that her astute ruler should strengthen himself on every frontier as much as possible , and , as we know l ^ e 5 qreTieTrce ; -it is

      not-inaccordance with his character tp be over nice , his opinion coinciding with that of the Times in regarding success as the best proof of virtue and every kind of merit , It is evident that the action of Germany is a constant source of anxiety , and perhaps , also , of hope to the French Government . War or revolution , or both , has become almost a necessity for the German States , and for either Napoleon III . is holding himself prepared . The Sihcle , in tin able article , points out to the Germans the cause of their own weakness and of their fears of France . Their Governments are absurdities — anachronisms in the present age , and

      their internal divisions give rise to dissensions which mny ennble another rectification of frontiers to take place . " Modern France , " says this journal , " can only desire to rectify her frontiers on the north and north-east , as she has rectified those on the southeast , that is to say , by the free assent of the populations , and by that of the parties interested . No other conquest is possible now-a-days , " There is much truth in this , and after deducting the large amount of fraud and coercion that undoubtedly prevailed in the \ iniversal suffrage voting of Nice arid Savoy , we are met by the fact that a powerful French party did exist in both those places .

      The Sibcle urges Prussia to take the lead and form a United Germany , which France would welcome ; but every French politician knows that the Prussian Court is composed of beggarly elements of antediluvian sort of royalty , and has not the moral power to carry out such a plan in a manner to rally all hearts nround it ; and hence circumstances may probably arise in which France can fight for another " idea , and obtain the concurrence of at least a portion of Germany in another act of " rectification . ' " ' The *• sick man , " of the East is again very poorly , and the accounts from Constantinople represent a general disorganization , that should be considered in connexion with the fresh attempt of . Russia to obtain money in this country . No one in his senses can doubt that the loan is intended to provide , the means for fresh aggression in the East , if circumstances should prove

      favourable , arid it is satisfactory to see that considerations of prudence , if not of morality , have caused it to be unfavourably entertained . As an investment , it would be open to serious objection , as Bussia cannot afford another war just yet , and her existing securities will be all the safer for preventing her Government getting deeper into debt for the purpose of adding to her aggressive power . If the Russian Government is kept poor it Anil progress , and yield to the demand made by the great nobles for constitutional power , as a compensation for the emancipation of their serfs—a course of action which is thought likely to favour the restoration of Poland .

      The success of our Volunteer review is likely to have a good effect on our foreign relations . Sir J . Burgoyne estimates the number actually reviewed at 20 , 000 men , and 130 , 000 are spoken of as the total force at present brought together . This must diminish most materially any chance of invasion , and it also lessens any excuse our Government may have had for truckling to other Powers . We are quite able to hold our own , and do something , if necessary , for deserving friends . It is no longer want of physical force that need make us servile worshippers of 1815 , and it is time that we applied ourselves to the task of facilitating the reorganization of Europe according to the principles of international justice and the wants of the age .

      Rifles And "Red Tape. I T Would Be A Cur...

      RIFLES AND "RED TAPE . I T would be a curious problem to ascertain how many captives wilt be crucified before the Boubbons are expelled from Naples , and how many armies must be sacrificed before the spirit of red-tape expires at the Horse Guards . Our soldiers are the best in Europe—our enemies themselves being- the judges . We spend more inoney upon tnem than any other nation in the world ; we do all that in us lies to prevent their hearing the word of command from any but the most aristocratic lips ; we would think foul scorn of allowing a SiiiTii to lead a Jones , when the act might be performed by a FitZ-Boots or a MouifT-Noo . i > i , E ; and it is difficult to say what we could do ihorejfor our army , Jt is true that now and then little mistakes will occur , such as sending cannon to one place and balls to another ; forgetting that men exposed to an inclement

      climate require warm clothing ; furnishing raw ,-that is , unroasted , coffee , and no means of roasting it ,-+-salt pork , and no means of boiling it ; but then such trifling pmissibns as these are really very pardonable , and certainly ought not tp ruffle the temper of the best troops in the world ; and if our systenv be triedjjy the true British test of expense , we may lay claim to the approbation of our countrymen , for imr soldiers cost us not much less than five hundred a year per man / It will scarcely be believed that this is really the case , but if we take the whole sum expended for military purposes , we shall find it not less , when divided among the whole rank and file , than the enormous sum which we have just mentioned . One thing- is tolerably clear , that Louis Napoleon . e xpends very little more on his army than we do on ours , and that

      had our administration been as economical as his we migfct ~ have laughed at the notion of an invasion , and defied "the four quarters of the world in anus . " A spirit has , however , been raised amongst us which will probably save our country from being ravaged , and by-and-by our purses from being plundered . It appears before us in a grey or green tunic , with a black belt and a well-made rifle . It carries its head proudly , its air is confident and its tramp martial , and we say instinctively as it passes , " The day of England ' s glory is not over yet . " We have now a volunteer army , already so well trained a » to be capable of comparison with the best of our veteran troops . All these men are animated by a spirit of the most genuine

      patriotism ; all eager to distinguish themselves ; all aware that they have not taken arms in their hands merely to play at soldiering , but to defend to the last drop of their blood the country of their birth . This army , now one hundred and twenty thousand strong , is only in its infancy ; it is but the fifth part of what it will be before another year is over our heads . A threat of war would raise it to half a million in a month , and it is raised from the very best material in the country . Well born , well nurtured , and well educated , our riflemen are the pick of the middle classes . They are strong and stalwart in frame , quick to learn the use of their deadly weapon *

      able to bear hardshi p and exposure , and wise enough to submit willingly to rigid military discipline . It is hardly too much to say that the world never saw such a host as that which is now forming all over England . Whatever we may say of it ourselves , continental nations look at it with mingled admiration and terror . Despots wish vainly that they could have but a few regiments of men such as those who offer by hundreds of thousands their swords and their lives to the constitutional Queen of a free e ountry ; but they , feel that the wish is vain , and that here and here only could such a spectacle be seen .

      The ultimate result pf this movement will be eminently peaceable . No nation will . dare to attack us when the number of our riflemen is complete , and our volunteer artillery corresponding in force . Our young men will gain in health and in grace at the same time ; the slouching 1 gait , the inelegant action , once so common among * countrybred youths , will be seen no more ; the contracted chest , the stooping posture , the round shoulders will give way to the firm step , the upright carriage , and the well-doveloped form ; and the spirit of patriotism , which produced the change , will extend to the soul

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), June 30, 1860, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_30061860/page/6/