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students of the subject will not fail to bear in mind ; hat such experiments are partial . Among the personal matters of the week the most notable is the arrival of Garibaldi at Liverpool—on his way , it is said , to America—t © await another opportunity in his native land . Garibaldi is a modern type of the knight errant—* an adventurer whose exploits are devoted to high and glorious objects . Lopez , his antitype , the accomplice of the Yankee invaders of Cuba , has been arrested in the United States , and was under trial .
Continental affairs are flat . President Louis Napoleon gets a reluctant allowance from the Assembly to pay his debts : General Changarnier having advocated the measure from the Tribune with all the eloquence of the sabre by his side . That the division showed a formidable opposition , studded by men such as De Lamoriciere , Bedeau , and Cunin Gridaine , while Cavaignac and * dilon Barrot were absent from the munificent
majority . Prussia has prohibited Punch—not the common compound of lemon and rum so called , nor the puppet of Italian extraction , but our English friend , the compound of fun and satire . Frederick William not only cannot bear to be talked about or written about—he cannot bear to have anything talked about , freely and effectively , even in English . But the wonder of the day , if it be not a Yankee tale , is the Mountain of Gold at Los Angeloswhere gold and silver lie united , in boulders , like jewels in Sinbad ' s Valley of Diamonds . But more inaccessible . Whereas the Syrian mariner , in
retiring from the valley , had to mount aloft on an eagleborn leg of mutton , the Anglo-Saxon explorers of the gold mountain report that stay is forbidden , by the desolate nature of the tract and its undrinkable salt water . Yet surely , if the tract exists , its boulders will make travellers , like the Dragon of Wantley , grow bolder and bolder , and means will be found to penetrate it ; nay , to abide even long enough to pack up some precious metal . What do you say to a powerful string of camels , a good store of Gamble ' s preserved meats , including vegetables and fruit , and one of Crosse ' s machines for purifying water ?
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The chief business in the House of Commons this week has been the discussion of Mr . Roebuck ' s motion on the foreign policy of Ministers . The debate was opened on Monday evening by Mr . Roebuck in a long and elaborate defence of Lord Palmerston , whose polioy he described as having a twofold character . As regarded individual rights and wrongs his object was to extend the protection of England to her wandering sons in every part of the globe . With respect to other nations his policy was to maintain the peace of the world , not by truckling to despotism , howover , but by warning foreign
governments to make proper and opportune concessions to the increasing enlightenment of their people , and to show a friendly spirit to all individuals and nations who are anxious to obtain for themselves the right of self-government . The antagonist principle to this policy was one which would use the forms of constitutional government in aid of despotism , and which would advocate legitimacy so as under a softened expression to bring in a much harder thing , and to make tyranny safe in Europe . The question
¦ was which of these antagonist principles should rule in England . From the French revolution of 1789 till the close of the war , and for some years later we united ¦ with the governments of Europeincarryingoutthedeapotic system . Since 1830 a new line of policy had been followed , and the most active agent of that liberal policy was Lord Palmerston . The opposition to that nobleman he described as triple , and as composed of the despotic idea of which Austria and Russia are tho representatives , of almost a private necessity , " as manifested in the councils of France and of the
English Protectionists , who hate the commercial polioy of Ministers . He next went into the details of the diplomatic proceedings in London and at Athens , and commented in the severest terms upon the conduct of the present French Government , whom he termed •? conspirators , " and who , he said , had by the pettiest artifices sought to create a diversion by moans of a mock quarrel with England , which might tend to prolong the existence of their miserable and tyrannical Government . In conclusion , he called \ ipon the House to give a bold and complete decision in favour of the principles upon ¦ which Lord Palmerston had acted . He then moved 44
that the principles on which the foreign policy of her Majesty ' s Government has been regulated , have been such as were calculated to maintain the honour and dignity of this country ; and , in times of unexampled difficulty , to preserve peace between England and the various nations of the world . "
Mr . Hume made some rather incoherent remarks , which seemed to show that he would very willingly join in censuring Ministers for their foreign policy , if no serious consequences -would result from such a vote . But , as there appeared to be a danger oJF Government feeing beaten , in whicii case they might perhaps resign , he would withdraw his amendment , lest it should embarrass them in any way . Sir Frederick Thesioer would not say that there had been any " arrangement" between the Government and Mr . Roebuck , but it might be safely said that Mr . Roebuck had , by his motion , founded a
claim , to the substantial gratitude of Ministers . In order to show what a change had come over Mr . Roebuck's opinions of our foreign policy , he quoted a passage from a speech delivered by him in 1843 , in which JLord Palmerston was compared to a lucifer match . •* No sooner does he meet an obstruction than a flame bursts forth . " In the same speech he had accused Lord Palmerston of having , by his mischievous activity , " nearly involved England in all the hideous consequences of war with most other
parts of the world . Lord Palmerston had not changed his policy since then , but Mr . Roebuck had evidently changed his opinion of that policy . Sir F . Thesiger then went through , the whole case , arguing , in reference to each of the points of dispute , that our claims were unjust , or trivial , or improperly advocated . He denounced the principle of Lord Palmerston's policy , as explained by his adherents , namely , that it was our duty to assist other countries in their efforts to obtain constitutional Governments
—a principle which Sir F . Thesiger described as constantly tending to our meddling in the affairs and disturbing the peace of Europe . Our principle ought to be order , not change . Mr . Page Wood praised Lord Palmerston's foreign policy as the perfection of statesmanship . He then gave his version of the Greek quarrel and its consequences , and went on to say that Lord Palmerston's resort to force in that affair would have a great value throughout the East , where anything like conciliation was ascribed to fear . Travellers had informed him
that since Lord Palmerston had been at the head of the Foreign Office , Englishmen could journey in safety over any part of A . sia , a great contrast to the state of things previously existing . As regarded the results of this vote he had little care , for even should the Ministry be changed , he was certain that the change would produce such reforms as he desired to see ; but he should be sorry were a reference made to the country upon such a case as this .
Sir James Graham commenced a very able speech by expressing a hope that they would get out of nisi prius before the close of that night's debate . For six hours had they been listening to three gentlemen of the long robe , and , except at the close of the speech , of Mr . Wood , they had never travelled out of the narrow circle of Greece . The question they had to discuss was a much wider one than that . They were asked , " Do you , on the whole , approve of the policy pursued by her Majesty's Government with reference
to the foreign relations of the country since iheir last accession to office , " and , although the motion was not brought forward at the suggestion of Government , he understood that they wished the opinion of the House to be taken upon it . In addressing himself to the general question he took a glance at the history of the foreign affairs of England for some years past . He had himself been an assenting party to the siege of Antwerp , and the separation of Belgium from Holland , and also to the operations for Don Pedro , but he reminded the House that all these acts of
decided interference had been done with the knowledge and approbation of all our allies . But after Lord Grey ceased to be the head of the Government , and Lord Melbourne's administration succeeded , a change took place , the nature of which was accurately described in a speech made by Lord Ho wick in 1844 , wherein he denounced " the carrying on , in every court in Europe , and in every country in the world , a party struggle between what is called the English party and the French party " as the curse of civilization and of humanity . In that speech Lord Howick adverted to tho state of affairs in Spain ,
and expressed a hope that England and France would abstain from all interference there for the future , leaving the Spaniards to manage their own government in the best way they could . Sir James Gkaham then went on to contrast the advice of Lord Ho wick in 1844 -with the course pursued by Lord Palmerston on his accession to office in 184 G . One of his first acts was to interfere with tho whole scheme of government in Spain , the effect of which was to embroil us with France . In 1848 , Lord
Palmerston again interfered with the government of Spain , indeed , he even went the length of recommending Narvacz to enlarge the basis of his administration , and take some Liberals into office . The result of that interference was an order for Mr . Bulwer to leave Madrid , and a suspension for two years of our diplomatic relations with that country . And when Spain , the proudest nation in the world , actually stooped to make an amende , tho first thing Lord Palmerston met her with was an announcement , that if Sir H . Bulwer was not otherwise
employed , he would be the Minister who should be sent back to Madrid . Then , adverting to the case of Portugal , he showed that there also Lord Palmerston had sought to dictate , in the case of Costa Cabral . It was the same in Switzerland , in Piedmont , and in Naples . Everywhere Lord Palmerston had interfered , and in every case the result of his interference had been unfortunate . Throughout the Greek squabble , one of the chief difficulties arose out of the offensive tone of Lord Palmerston ' s despatches . As regarded our conduct to France in that affair , our course should have been
as soon as it was admitted that accident only had prevented the fulfilment of the convention of London , to have at once recurred to that treaty instead of allowing delay , and amusing the House and the country with attempts to fix the blame on M . Gros , whereb y the good understanding of the countries was jeopardised . Slightly alluding to the " difficult question " ofDenmark , he summed up by saying that the Ambassador of France had been recalled , and the representative of Austria had been withdrawn ; that the amity
of Prussia was entangled in the Danish question ; that Russia was writing angry notes ; that Narvaez was all powerful in Spain , and Costa Cabral in Portugal ; that a French , army was established in Rome , and the Pope was as much , as ever estranged from this country . Under these circumstances , he was asked to vote for a resolution affirming the wisdom of the foreign policy of the nobleman under whose administration all this had taken place . Such a resolution he could not support . Sir James sat down amid loud and general cheering .
On the motion of Mr . M . Mjlnes the debate was adjourned till Tuesday . The adjourned debate on the vote of confidence in the foreign policy of the Government was resumed on Tuesday evening by Mr . Bernal Osborne , who compared the previous night's speech of Sir J . Graham with , his previous conduct , declaring that the right honourable baronet had sanctioned , sometimes with his silence , and at others by more direct approval , the incidents of our foreign policy which he now came down , with many pretensions of reluctance and assertions of friendship and admiration for the existing foreign secretary , to denounce in toto . Such conduct savoured rather of
the Jesuitical evasions of Muscovite chicanery than of the honest , open , and candid conflict of English political warfare . The real source of evil , the original sin with regard to Greece , was the erecting a Greek kingdom , whose financial maxim was , " Base is the slave that pays . " Glancing at the salient points of M . Pacifieo's case , he asked whether the House had not a shrewd suspicion that the envenomed hostility evinced towards Lord Palmerston could not be traced to his being identified on the Continent with responsible government , and regarded as an advocate of liberal opinions .
" Greece , he solemnly believed , was a pretext for a wide conspiracy that had been organized to dispossess the noble lord—a conspiracy in which were engaged kings with crowns and kings without crowns , Ministers with places and Ministers without places , and , he was about to add , without character . ( A laugh . ) That conspiracy had its participators in various quarters , not only in the salons of Palis , but in the boudoirs of London . He was going to say that the times of the Duchess de Longucand that ladies in it who culti
ville were revived , were - vated fashion and politics , and were all things to all men ; who hated the noble lord as if he were another Mazarin , because he was the representative of liberal opinions . ( Hear , hear . ) Of what use was it to construct , in another place , a gallery for foreign diplomatists when we had foreign sentiments perpetually before us clothed in English exteriors—when we heard people high in office , or who had been high in office .
" Explain their country ' s dear-bought rights away , And plead for pirates in the face of day 1 " But , they should not permit the noble lord to be run down by such a clique—by the letters of « our own correspondent , ' , in common with the Russian and French agents , had been decorated and degraded with the Order of Our Saviour for his letters in the Times—( hear , hear )—who had been decorated and degraded with the Order of Our Saviour for his letters ; and he was delighted to tell the House that old General Church had declared that he would never wear such an order , and that , so far from its being in reality the Order of Our Saviour , it was rather a badge of Judas Iscariot . ' ( A laugh . )
Lord John Mannehs entertained no apprehension of Cossack domination overpowering constitutional government in Europe wherever it was established . But if Cossack domination was to be apprehended it was from the English Government pursuing the line of policy , with regard to foreign nations , which it had of lafe years followed . And it was because he was convinced that that policy did not " tend to maintain the glory of this country , or to promote the
peace of the world , " as this motion declared , that he was prepared to vote against it . He denied both the propositions contained in the motion , and disputed the assertion of Mr . Roebuck , that the leading principle of our foreign policy had been to protect the commerce and the people ot this country . If the teg is of England was extended over British subjects in every part of the world why had a British subject in one of the States of North America been seized and cast
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314 ®!> £ ILtaTltt . [ Saturday
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PARLIAMENT .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), June 29, 1850, page 314, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1844/page/2/
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