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    thought it advisable to assemble those members of tile House 6 € Commons who usually gave the Go--v ^ tnmehtilieirsapport , in order to consult with them ttpon the present state of afl&irs , and in order , if fssible , to remove some misapprehensions -which pekred to ~ have prevailed duiing the session as to e views and opinions of the Government . There r"iWS 8 * 'abt , "he believed , •* so mach real difference of ^ opinion' "between the Government and their sup-|)(» ters as there was misapprehension and misun' ^ terstariding upon certain points . It was extremely desirable * that these should be removed . With rel lg « r& ' tb ; the Befornd Bill , which he had heen compelled ^ 'W witndrawvrie could only say , as-he had said before ,

    Jt&atffae had been personally exttemely anxious that ' the measure should pass in the present session ; and he believed he might venture to say thai he had - 'hfeverddtte any act -whatever , ' in the whole of his p ^ ttcallifei * rith so much reluctance andirjegret as ¦¦ " ' tfii& ^ aP wiih 4 * awing the meafeure which had been v prbp&s&& * fot < elte ' amendirient iof the representation % Ftne ' people-; Some : misapprehension also appeared ¦* tbPe * ist witn'Kigard to the conduct of the Government on ^ th ^ question of churcfa-iate 3 . li had been thought by some , that he had expressed an opinion that the hereditary monarchy of this country was tied up witBIBa maintenance of church-rates . He ? -feadi certainly ,-nev ^ er intended to say anything of . that kind ; but he liadsAid that if American institutions k iBfeje auote ^ , ' ^ iey . ' might ~ be ( very ; useful where they « existed * " but that It did iiot ' ^ follow , because certain

    t l ; tb&Jjgfciwere > -4 Qne . m the , ynijie ? a SjEatesj the same . ' thiiigacould te done with , ; safety aiad wisdom here . : He had an opinion on the subject , o £ church-rates . rr'Itiira «; the opinion he had entertained before , namely , — ih&tit' \ fouliinot be very difflcultrfor the Government 'to pftjpcjse sorrne measure for a final settlement of the * ^^ e ^ tipri . '; 3 iajt > having this object in view , he had felt it " was'not in . 'His power to give , his assent to the bill brought in by Sir "W- Clay , ' inasmuch as it appeared to him . to leave several Questions unset"' tied ^ ;^ na it would be desirable , in dealing with '" sHt ^^ flia ^ s ^ qin , i ; 6 consider the claims of all par-V'ties ^ J / The' ^ bMe lord then referred to the appointmeiut ' of . a ILimster of . War ,: He said that hitherto the Minister at War had also had the colonies under ibis charge .., Our colonial possessions were numerous , and the ; ibusiness connected -with them required great attention , ilfattention was not ' given to their affairs , theic 6 loniie 9 i'we're neglectedf tbe people felt aggrieved

    j > onoMhuTgs ; rxiLght soon arrive at a state to endanger a-the ' Jintegiity . of the empire . It became , * therefore , a very grave question what should be dope under existing circumstances , seeing ,-th . yre had large a colonialidependencies , with avast amount of business i cenneetediwith , them , and that a Avar had broken out . ifwith' one of the great ~ military powers of Europe . i : Thfe'Btike-tif Newcastle held the seals of the Colot > -niaKoffice , and in that capacity : he had had a great deal to do -with the conduct of the war . His noble j friend ; had , with great industry and great labour , made himself thoroughly acquainted with , the whole courseof proceedings , connected with the provision

    > for caraying'on . the war . He was a . most suitable person inwtoy respect . to , bo , the , Wat ; Minister for ,., this ^ counted : and it was , from such convictions on - ;¦ . the part qf we Governui ^ nt that ; his noble friend , rhadJbeen appointed to . th , e , new department . With i "regard-to . the vote which ' ^ Qul d be asked from the ' House of Commons to-niglit , he begged honourable ' genFitletWen'iVoti to svipposo . that the only thing done iJ 16 r td'bfe ' doAtf'was the Appointment of a new War •^ MiHister ) I ipxeappointmeivt was to bo followed by " " . ' ^ eil ^ ai ^ larriangerhents arid Consolidations which had T ^^ ] jpn |^ ja # o se ^ onxmefuied by v arkrus authorities ; ^ t ^ £ , th , o ' . s , p Arrangements aqflcjonsolidattona could not t ' . bei C ^ rjpfoflflHfi in , the , cQu . rae of a few . days . They of

    n muflbbjehtuewpr ^ timo ; and although they had , i been recommended by two parliamentary committees , LojoI Grey and Lord Melbourne , who in their ' tinia gave tlip subject much consideration , found the ' toMMltUk fto considerable , ' that they abstained ( from 'T ^ tft ^^ rtfihln ^ ' it . The Government , however , had '; ' , Already ' ' ^ rep ^ red the outline of a sch eme for ¦ ii ^ . WxJPWW' V . W ^ - * W should probably explain to the Jfouse to-night ; but ho might Bay then , .. thfttv . oiw , payt ; , of i , t , wojj , 1 tha , t ; , tho . commissariat , KWhich - wnp 1 now onijlrelyv ducted ftjoro , the Treasury , should hereafter be ,, placed under the Minister of , VVar . Them thor © woa the department of fcho Ordnance . The Ordnance Department had ¦

    hnd' » great ttiany duties added to it within the last few years ; and he was aurate that great difficulties hafH , Hor » linit from fho want of contra ! power upon tj , m < n «^ y , ifiipprt ^ nt matters . Mo referred especially to .. , piu , » . j ; cc | fo ? i of barracks » ud other military buildings ; vWAth ^ a q ^ utriy and in , Ireland , but especially in the " , eolomws , It was , in nw »; y , cases , owing to the want of central authority , doubtful whether « , certain px-,, jpoo 1 d ^ t ) uj ; p fjpr a given pjirpoae should or bJ » ou 1 * 1 not Htb ^ . untle /^ Jijenj and after thq subject had been disnflftlWtt $ | u , ouo dqjRartpiont , it was handed ovbr to W > ftH ^\ Wr , ^ % > , »»; itMurm , referred , ifj to a third , ¦ much referred it back to one of tfje pWiors . becnuso there vma ronlly . jno MP ^ , authorjtv whjch could aecido tlveso thiiiga ! f ^ Itiws thoirofcrV exWemoly Ukely that great orrora of judgmont hud boon

    committed' The Government , however , hoped to -be able to . make arrangements for . next year -which would put these matters upon a more complete and satisfactory footing , and by which the action would be uniform . The noble lord then entered upon the question of the war itself . He said there was nothing known certainly as to the ultimate resolution of Prussia and Sweden , but that IiOrd Clarendon had told him that the answer which Russia was likely to make to the demands recently made upon her by

    the German powers must be one of these three ^ — either a negative , or an affirmative , or an evasive answer . ; He need not say to honourable gentlemen that , there was great- probability that the evasive form was the one which would be adopted . He might further state that it was the opinion oi his noble friend , Lord Clarendon , that if the answer from . Russia was not satisfactory , there could be no doubt 5 whatever . thai Austria would at once go with the maritime powers . " :

    Then follows one of Lord John ' s favourite profound remarks : — , " , The noble lord then said that the eyeiitg gff wtir ^ ere uncertain . " He procejsdeft : — " Tpik being' jj grejtf ; striiggle with one of the first military powers '' of Europe , it would necessarily involve ! tfus . ' cdUnjiry in a very great and very serious expenditure ; and he should be obliged to give notice to-night , on . the ^ part of the Government , that in the course ' of the' next * wefek he should apply to the House . of Common ? for a very considerable sum . TKeiGrbvern&ientj ' pt course , must trust'to the House placing : cpnflidenceia them with iespect to this necessity . , Ete , did not for a rnomeni mean to deny

    that do other poyerriment was possible but the present ... . ' He ; di 4 ~ nb | tuoyr what combinations might be formed . He did not know whether Lord Derby and his friends , QV any other persons , might be able to form a Government . But so long as himself and his colleagues constituted the Governnieht , and had upon them the responsibility of the war , of course they must appeal to the House of Commons for its generous confidence : and support , for no Government which had not , the support and corifideiice of the House of Commons could hope to carry on a great contest like the present to that successful issue -yvhicheve ' ry person in the country most anxiously desired to see . " The noble lord was loudly cheered at the close of these observations .

    There came , liowever , a dead pause ; for , as Lord John had said nothing whatever but that the fate of the Government could not be decided for a week , nobody , knew very well why he -was there , or what he had to comment on . Mr . J . Smith , however , who is in a chronic state of surprise at a man of his wealth being left out of a Government like the-present , rose and unconsciousl y developed his bizarre malignancy :- — " Mr . Vbrkon Smith * after a . few introductory observations , dwelt upon the conduct of the Government with regard to the adftiission of DiBsenters to the University of Oxford . Their proceedings on this question , he thought , were as damaging to their

    character and position as . anything could be in the eyes both of the House and of the country . He added , that those' persons who wished for the establishment of a War Ministry were quite as anxious to have a particular mim to be at the head of it . Tliey , we ; re just as anxious to have the department created as to appoint a particular individual to it . That individual-was his noble friend Lord Palmerston . He ( Mr . V . Smith ) was not disposed to find fault with the Duke of Newcastle . lie merely expressed the opinion of those who had asked for the new department to be established . But he thought tlie office of Secretary-at-W « r ought to be done away -with , and he hoped the noble lord would not allow anj ^ regret , S \ l having to discharge what might be a

    bition , should ever for one moment ; stand in the way of any re-arrangement of these offices that could . be made for the benefit of the service aud tlie advantage of the country . " ( Cheers . ) Then came Mr . Horsman , who , as a gentleman on every one ' s cards for the aext Ministry , confessed his interest in the crisis : — - " Mr . Horeman said that as honourable gentlemen had been called together , they had assembled for the purpose of plain speaking . They were not met to make speeches , but to do business . He then referred to the religious questions continually coming before the House in oue shape or other ; and said this subject was one upon which it was evident the Government were not agreed in their policy , and that they differed largely in respect to it from a very important class of their supporters . Ete also referred to the

    fact that many objections -were taken by their own supporters to Lord Aberdeen ; and , w ithout expressing his own opinion on . the subject , be must say that a-larger number of Lord John Russell's usual friends were of opinion-that , under the circumstances of war , it was unfortunate that Lord Aberdeen should be in the situation of Prime Minister . They could not , from Lord Aberdeen ' s well knpwn views , anticipate that the war would be carried on in a manner consistent with the power and dignity ... pf this country so long as the noble-earl , held . ' the , chief place in the Government . He also . said that it was the opinion of another considerable section o ^ , Lord John Russell's party , that the . noble lord , in taking a subordinate office under Lord Aberdeen , had g ^ ber let his party down—that ine so doing lie had scarcely consulted either their , position or their interests . ''

    Mr . Hup came next . His speech amounts . to this : nothing shall induce him to give up abject Ministerialism ; but he would , on the whole , prefer that the Whigs were not Tories : — . .. " Mr . Hume approved r . of the position of JLord Aberdeen in the Government , and said he was very glad to see the manner ia which the Pefeljte party had joined the old Liberal party . It said a great deal for their patriotism , -vrhile it gave them a great deal of strength with the country . Ha told Lord John Kussell , however , in plain terms , that whgn he went against threerfourths or more of his own party , as he had on some occasions , and found himself in the same lobby as those who were called his

    opponents , he might be quite certain he was wrong , and that he was taking the most effectual course possible to . break up and destroy the Liberal party . There were , further , many little mutters of concession , things proper in themselves to be done , which the Liberal party could not get either the Government or Lord John Russell to consent to do . There wps particularly one which , though trifling in itself considered as a matter of revenue , was of great importance to the country . He meant the repeal-of the newspaper stamp , which the Liberal party , had

    asked for so often , and upon which they were . unanimous , but to which they could never got the Government to assent . He thought this a fair ground of complaint . He would certainly give the Government what support he , could in the course they were taking with respect to the war , and he would consent to vote them all the supplies they might deem necessary ; bat he must vrge upon them the absolute necessity of their keeping more as one with their supporters . If they were a liberal Government they ought to act in theeo respects more in a liberal spirit . " .

    Mr . Bright , who appears to have listened to all these illogicalities with quiet deri , aion , next catches Lord John ' s eye—and hits it very hard , palpably confessing that Manchester does not countenance a Whig conspiracy , and prefers the Eeelite members of the Cabinet : — " Mr . Bhicmt said thflt as he had often opposed the Government during the session , from a sense of public duty , he did not know w nether ho was qualified to be an adviser on this occasion . But having received an invitation , to uttend , ho deemed it right to offer a few observations . Alluding , to the actual position of the Government , ho , said ho thought a great part of its evils arose from its constitution .

    painful'd ^ ty , to deter him from taking that step at t | ie e ^ rliest # racticrtble period . " . There being nothing tp reply to , Mr . Sidney Herbert rose to reply , . Mr . Herbert has been stung by the private laughter ; , afc hia absurd public position , and proffered an > explanation , which was about as ridiculouB , and quito aa . inexplicable , aa the recent analogous «« statement" of infelicitous Mr , Strutt :-r" Mr . Sxd ^ et HWnnianT said he had given a great deal of labour to . the duties of the oflice-which he had now tho pphour tq hold . Ho had now twice hold the office of Sjeoretary-at-War ; and , withont presurnp . tion , he might venture to say that ho wns pretty well ^ cjauftinted witln « ll , Hs duticB . When tho changes under discussion

    They had overthrown Lord Derby ' s Government , and established one of opposite politics , while they ottered oflice to several members of that administration . They never decided upon any policy wliicli thoy ought to pursue ; and he could not understand how tho clififbrenccs which necessarily arose in <; oneequence could bo called apprehensions . The speech of Lord Pnlmcrston upon the l > nllot and Lord John ' s flpeech on church-rates , wore not only not difficult to be understood , but it waa impossible to miBundorstand them . Tho two noble lordB might

    now wore first spoken of , he placed himself , unreaervedly in the hands of Lord Aberdeen , being perfectly-willing to submit to anything , or to do : inythin # , that might be considered best for tho interests of the country . Wo personal feelings of hie own ever should , bo stated to hia noblo friend , hinder him from acceding to any step that might appear -wieo to bo tulccn in tho interests of tho country . Tho ofllce he held was now one of rochiced dignity , nnd ho miglit , for that rcaflon , have given it tip without reproach ; but ho believed ho was best consulting the interests of tho country , under present circumstanced , by the course ho hna taKon of' Wnurinmg in ifcj l > nt hd neanrcd honouniblo gentlemen tluit no personal object , no personal

    ambo quito right , and tlicir supportora quite wrong ; but they differed entirely from m « ny of their Bupportore . The honourable member further complained of tho course of tho Qovcrnuient with respect to tho advertisement duty nnd tho ne-ivspnpcr stamp , and said that , unlcBH they consulted their uupportcrs , they could not expect their eupporters to consider their convenience . No Government could exist which disregarded llio wishes of ito supporters . Ho wpuld not go into tho question of thonoblo lord tlic member for Tivcrton bo 3 ng the new Minietor of War ,

    Untitled Article

    Ws ^ H ^ E DEADER . t . ' ^ Saoti ^ o ^ y ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 22, 1854, page 676, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2048/page/4/