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Leader (1850-1860), 6th November 1852, Edition Town of 2, Page 1054, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      the people of England ought to know what is done in its name . On our own side of the water , an official proceeding that looks incompatible ^ with . the supposed diplomatic amity , is ^ 5 s ^ DQ ^ tment of General Sir Charles James Napier iij the Kent militia division ; Sir Charles , it wi ^ te remembered , being the strenuous advocate ojf a militia as a means of national defence aga ^ j ^ invasion , and also being the most distinguished of our living Generals . But we have always regarded the present Commander-in-Chief , Lord Hardinge ,

      as a man of truly national spirit . He avouches the natural capabilities of the young Militia men who have come forward ; and in appointing Sir Charles Napier to head the men of Kent , Lord Hardinge shows that he means to perform the duty of national defence in a workmanlike manner . Although , therefore , Lord Malmesbury may be dallying with unnatural French alliances against the popular party of Europe and the United States of America ; although the Electric Telegraph Company has been recognising the Empire , the honour of a soldier proves too strong for concurrence in such intrigues .

      Commerce is moving its great engines with chequered success . In the endeavour to make the most of narrow space and time , the Directors of the Brighton Railway Company permit the repetition of acts which may , at any day , induce desperate accidents ; and one has happened . It is so desperate , indeed , that the people injured and affrighted are likely to take steps which may draw upon the managers some species of coercion . The steam ship , Melbourne , is dismasted at sea ; and there is a new burst of complaint from

      the passengers , of hardship and danger through the meanness of the management . This unpleasing example of sharp practice in commerce , is compensated by the launch of the Bengal , the forty-first steamer of the Oriental and Peninsular Company , which is extending its network of communication from London to the most distant parts of the world . Three hundred and ten feet long , exclusively of outworks , fitted up in a style of the highest magnificence , the Bengal is a fine specimen of naval architecture ; and her addition to the steam fleet is a public event .

      Untitled Article

      OPENING OP PARLIAMENT . Parliament opened on Thursday , in a very humble , quiet , and respectable way . There was very little speeehmaking indeed , and still les « was there that is worth repeating in our columns . But there attaches to our Legislature , at this juncture of European politics , a degree of importance not easily equalled , as ours is perhaps the only uninenaced assembly in this quarter of the- globe . Somehow , no matter how trivial may be the matter discussed , one feels iu the presence of a venerable institution which seems to have a personality ofil . s own , as it were , independently of the speakers , and which , at the opening of a session at least , commands respect and wins selection . The British man loves his Parliament and he loves bis home ; and not until he loves neither will tho freedom of these inlands bo

      seriously endangered . As fur as the . lloufuc ov Loiu > s was concerned , it met , those members of it who did meet , and they were few , merely to open tho sesHion by Roynl Commission . Sitting on the woolsack , the Lord Chancellor called up tho Commons , and the writ having been read to them , they wort ) requested to return and elect a Speaker . The Lords , among whom Lord 1-Jroughain , tho Duke of Leinsler , Lord lOglinton , Lord Malmesbury , tho Duko of Northumberland , wero noticed , then adjourned .

      Tin ; interest of the opening , what there was of it , lay in ( he Commons . The members mustered in great strength . Among the earliest was Sir Robert Inglis , who took ii ]> a Ministerial Hitting at once ; then Mr . Christopher , first of the Ministers to arrive ; Mr . Disraeli , Sir John Pakington , and Mr . Walpole , came in nearly together ; and Mr . DiHnieli , having shaken hands with Mr . Hume , entered into lively chat with Mr . DunconuHi . liovd . John llunsell and Mr . Disraeli uro described as looking unwell . Mr . Gladstone and Lord John sat together . Baron llothacUiM appeared , sitting on tho Treasury lieneheB , and ramu to vote tux Speaker . Among the leuding lnemboiB whoso absence were rojmurked wore , Lord PulmerflUw . Sir Jamc % GrtUmna ,

      Sir William Molesworth , Mr . Groujburn , Mr . Roebuck , Mr . Cobden , and M )| . Brigh $ . Having , as abojjfa narrated , attended the House of Lords , the meml pra * proceeded to elect a Speaker . This Rainess was , s ^ otlly disposed of . Mr . Ro ^ bt PaI ^ er , in a speech of no pretensions , bu ^ straight ^ p the point , proposed tbat Mr . Shaw Lefeyre , who \ q » filled tlje chair of ; the Hou . se for the last t ^ cieen yeays , withj aomuch advantage to the country , ana honour tjo hua ^ e ^ take the chair of the House . Lord Robbbt ( JkosvenoR , iWn the Opposition side , seconded the nomination . They were proud of Mr . Lefevre as a Whig in former times ; but having laid aside party feeb ' ng , they were more proud of him as a member of the House . Beside this , Lord Robert delivered a homily , not uncalled for , reminding the House that more than ever , when the liberties of Europe , when the rights of free , full and open discussion—the rights of public opinion—bung upon a thread , did it become the House to act with unusual prudence , calmness , and wisdom .

      Sir Robert Ingms spoke of the increased work of the Speakers in modern times . Mr . Lefevre bad sat not less than 13 , 000 hours in the discharge of his duty , and he had done more work in thirteen years than Speakers a hundred years ago did in a whole reign . There being no opposition , the election would have passed by acclamation ; but some members calling " Question / ' the Chief Clerk put the question , which was carried in the affirmative . Mr . Lefevre bowed

      to tbe decision of the House , made a short speech of thanks , and was conducted to the chair by Mr . Palmer and Lord Robert Grosvenor . There he was respectively addressed in brief and commonplace remarks by-Mr . Diseaexi and Lord John Russeli .. The former congratulated the Speaker upon having again conferred upon him by the Commons of England the highest honour they could confer on one of themselves ; and the latter expressed his satisfaction at the election to preside over the debates of a new House of Commons of a gentleman who could enforce with judgment its rules and orders .

      Mr . Htjme offered some suggestions as to the costume in which members should appear at tbe Speaker ' s levees ; and the House adjourned until Friday , when the Speaker elect would be presented for her Majesty ' s approval in the House of Lords .

      Untitled Article

      The following circular has been addressed to the supporters of the Ministry in the House of Commons : — " Treasury , Oct . 25 . " Sir , —The re-election of the Speaker , to which I anticipate no opposition , will take place on the 4 th . of November . " The Address will be moved on the 11 th , and I earnestly request that you will take the oaths and your seat not later than Tuesday , the 9 th , or Wednesday , tho 10 th . The oaths must be taken before 4 > o ' clock . " I have the honour to be , Sir , " Your obedient servant , " W . Forbes Mackenzik . "

      Untitled Article

      MR . MACAULAY'S GREAT SPEECH AT EDINBURGH . Elected , without solicitation , to fill the distinguished post of representative of the modern Athens , and disabled , for a long time , by a painful illness , from oven visiting his constituents , Mr . Maeaulay has happily , at length , been able to fulfil a long-standing promise , and to address a most willing auditory . Few political scenes could be more affecting to both parties . Religious bigotry , five years ago , ousted the orator of the

      Whigs , and one of its brightest ornaments from the llouso of Commons ; and be , taking counsel of a manly pride , resolved never to sit again in that House , unless lit ) sat as representative of Edinburgh . Five years have passed , Edinburgh hits repented of its folly , and returned the rhetorician of the Whigs at the bead of the poll . And , after that long and bitter parting , forgiving and forgetting , they met again , face to fiteo , on Tuesday . It is not easy to imagine the scene in the Music Hall , whoso vast area was crowded in every part , whose orchestra was filled with hundreds of ladies , and

      on whoso platform , moved deeply by the ailectionate cheers of the assembly , stood tho pain-stricken and worn figure of tho great orator , surrounded by his friends . Ah soon as the burst of cheering was over , Mr . Adam Black was appointed to the chair , and disjxwed iu'oih *** him wore Mr . Titfncll , Mr . Jtargiu , Mr - Moncriofi " , Mr - HiiHtie , of Paisley , Sir W . Gibson Craig , well-known Whi tf Pnrliamontoers , Mr . Cowan , tho somi- Radical , Mr . Hormnim , the rejected of Oookunnouth , nnd a host of . llu ) best , which Whig IOdinburgh can produce on a political gala day .

      Mr . DlucV * juaieiwvu . lv short introductory » peech was greeted with delight , and when turning to Mr . Macuuluy , hu waked him " to wldrew # . UuicojwfciUwnU , " the

      whole audience , cari ^ away by their enthusiasm ™<* mstantj ^ eQUsly to ^« ir $ et , and cheered in their mS " emphai ^ fi teh ^ jT Ost For some ipoflaants , after he stood up before th peopl e Mr . Kfac ^ y oeukl not master his emotion » nd was unable to . proceed . ' Their opinion , he said , was more valuable than flT 1 v vulgar object of ambition , than any office , however lucrative or dignified ; indeed no office could have tempted him t fcave again "tfie happiest and most tranquil ofall ret ™ * for theWWpoutk *! . * The honour noV conferred UI ) n him , of which the greatest man might well be proud was such as " y a free people could bestow ; " and it would have shown ingratitude arid pusillanimity not to make on enort to tnemAnd

      serve . , He continued , attectingly , here wo meet again in kindness after a long separation . " It is now more than five years since I stood in thia very place . A large part of human life ! There are few of us on whom five years have not set their mark ; there are few circles from which five years have not taken awav what can never be replaced . Even in this multitude of friendly faces I look in vain for some which would thia day have been lighted up with joy and kindness . I miss especially one venerable man , who before I was born , in evil times , in times of oppression and corruption , adher ed with almost solitary fidelity to the cause of freedom . And I knew him in advanced age , but still in the full vigour of mind and body , enjoying the respect and gratitude of his

      fellow-citizens . I should , indeed , be most ungrateful , if I could this day forget Sir James Craig , his public spirit , his judicious counsel , bis fatherly kindness to myself . ( Cheers . ) And Lord Jeffrey , too ( renewed cries of ' hear , hear' ) with what an effusion of generous affection he would this day have welcomed me back to Edinburgh ! He , too , is gone ; but the remembrance of him is one of the many ties which bind me to the city he loved , and with which his fame is imperishably associated . ( Cheers . ) But , gentlemen , it is not only here , on entering again , at your call , upon a course of life which , I believed that I had quitted for ever , that I shall be painfully reminded of the changes which the last five years have produced . In Parliament I shall look in vain for virtues which I loved and for

      abilities which . I admired . Often in debate—and never more than when we come to discuss those great questions of colonial policy which are every day now acquiring « new interest—I shall remember with regret how reach eloquence , and wit , and acuteness , and knowledge—how many engaging qualities and" how many fair hopes lie buried in the grave of poor Charles Buller . ( Loud cries of ' hear , hear , hear . ') Other men , too—men with whom I had no party and little personal connection—men to whom I was for the greater part of my public life honestly opthat their

      posed—I cannot now think of without grieving wisdom , their experience , and the weight of their great names will never more in the hour of need bring help to the nation or to the throne . Such were two eminent men whom I left at the height , the one of civil , the other ot military fame ( cheers)—one the oracle of the House 01 Commons , the other tho oracle of the House of Lords . There were , no doubt , parts in their long public lite which they themselves , would , on a calm retrospect , allow to be censurable . But it is impossible to deny that each in ma sflveral denartment served the State—tbat the one brought wnicu

      to a triumphant close the most formidable conflict in this country had ever been engaged with its foreign enemies ; that the other , at a sacrifice—an immense sacrifice—of personal feeling and ambition , freed us from (« odious monopoly , which could not have existed manyj ^ ors longer without producing most fearful intestine MSC ™ r ( Loud cheers . ) I regret both , but I peculiarl y *« & " f ™ who is inseparably associated in my ini ~* with that ; place tn wlnM , vm . W « sent me . J «* all hard J * ™ ,

      Houslo / Commons wit . Wt Sir Robert Peel . £ ouu cheers . ) On the < i « c evening on which I took my seat m the House of Commons , in 1830 , he was then at tl 0 huj of tho Government in that house , and during all th « years of Parliamentary service which followed I scarcely re member one important discussion m which ho did no go a part with conspicuous ability . His figuro is now before me—all tho tones of his voice are now sounding in my Zth -and tho pain with which I think 1 shall never hear Z * n Sin wo uld be embittered by tho recollection of houio sharp encounters which took pace between us wuj it not that at lost an entire and cordial reconciliation too place , and that a few days only before «« < V » * * £ , nd F ' <¦„„„„;„;„ , » iVom 1 . m murks of his kinuncsM iv recollection

      SS of which I BhaU always cherish tho . ( No 7 onl y the changes which the natural law of " inor ^ produce lluvo happened . During that five you ™ * r «' lived many IWoh . * The revolutions of ages have b" ^ , pressed into a few months . IWo , Gcr ^ 2 ' , 1 ( , , ufd Hungary—what a history has beon theirs , vvuou ^ ^ thoyToHt met , low oven . among the Y ^ ro Trrnoiili" ! . ' wild passions , what wilder theoruw , ¦ were u- ^^ under " tho outward hIiow of tranquillity . . ¦< " ^ ( , . resistance 1 « roasonablo reforms gavo the sign jtuHHia to plosion , and in an instant , from tho border ^ . () r tho Atlantio Ocean everything wns » n «^* to doubt and The most honest frioiulH of rejofr * ? , ft- ^ of animosity despair of tho progress of > n »**» - AU Jupuu ^ tX ^ -nfc , ™ I stood aghast ; ^^ t ott « guino £ I am , and dumoaod to look ^ JJJ" ^ - " ' pro&tw . oft . uH . kind . Idiofdoubt lor a . om > v ^ r <| > tho progress of mankind would ™\*> °£ Z * ^ " ^^ and whSthcr wo wero not doomed toP » fft 1 " ^! o ( , ho Iw IVom the civilisation of tho »> f t * / ' ^ " ^ Smith and harism of tho ttft . li . I remembered that Ad amUW ^ Gibbon had told ub that there would « ovor "f ^ ' flood Htruction of civilization by bttrbarians—Xhat J ^ ^ would novor again rotum 1 « cover tho «•""' . ijim , oriH «> -nomed to reason iuatly , for they ^ mpi ^ th ^ ^^ < tr « ngth of thocom - bined ^ 8 with tho woaknoB" ^ Mjho remained barbarou * . , and they w * cd whonoa w

      Untitled Article

      1054 THE LEADER , [ Saturday , *——^—~~ -iniin —^**^~^—< M" *^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^—^^^^^¦^^^^^¦^^^^— —^^ Hf ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^™^ ¦¦ ' ¦¦ ' ¦ ^^^——_ t ^^^—

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 6, 1852, page 1054, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1959/page/2/