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Mr . Laxakd and Mr . Gkogaji supported the motion of Lord D . Stuart . Mr . Layard being very vexed that he had been led to make a foolish speech about his " satisfaction . " Sir J . Shelley brought his testimony to the impression that Lord John Russell had declared that the destruction of Sebastopol must precede peace . Mr . Booker had heard both Lord Aberdeen ' s speech and Lord J . Russell ' s that night , and nothing could be more contradictory than the two . Mr . Horsman thought it important that the vote should he granted , and . any further discussion could be taken on the report . Lord J . Russjell assented to this course , provided the report could be taken this day .
Mr . Pkto , in withdrawing a motion to make way for tlie proposed discussion , bore different witness to the -words of Lord John Russell than that which had been given by other members . Sir H . Willoughby had received the same impression as Mr . Disraeli . Sir T . Dyke Acland strongly recommended unanimity on such an occasion . Lord D . Stuart withdrew his motion on the understanding that he received distinct assurance that further discussion should take place on the report . He should certainly make his motion for an address against prorogation until further information was before the House .
Lord J . Russell , in again assenting to the proposed course , expressed his extreme regret that he should have fallen into any ambiguity of expression . The vote was then agreed to * On Tuesday , at the evening sitting , the House attending in large numbers , Lord Dudley Sxuakt made the motion of which he had given notice—to add to the resolution , " and that an address be presented to her Majesty to return thanks for her most gracious message ,, and to assure her Majesty that her Majesty may fully rely 011 the cheerful zeal and constant affection of her faithful Commons , and tha \ they most readily do make provision according to her Majesty ' s wishes ;
and humbly to pray that her Majesty will be pleased not to prorogue Parliament until she shall have been euabled to afford to this House rnore full information with respect both to her relations with foreign Powers and to her views and prospects in the contest in which her Majesty is engaged . " In supporting this motion , he referred to the misunderstanding of the preceding night , insisting that Lord John Russell had made what amounted to a retractation with respect to the objects of the war , whence he inferred that | we were governed by men not in accordance with each other , and whose councils were vacillating . This was his explanation of Lord John's inconsistency : —
" Why , according to the subsequent reading given by the noble lord to his speech , if Russia was to lay down one or two sail of the line that would be sufficient . That , he must say , totally altered the state of things . How it came that the noble lord should bavo reduced his expressions and so diminished them as to take away all their value , was not for him to explain . Ho thought an impartial spectator would have thought either that the noble lord had received some communication from some of his colleagues , either in this place or in another place—perhaps from the noble lord at tho head of tho government—or that after speaking out his sincere , and manly , and noble opinions , and wishes , and intentions , which he ( Lord Dudley Stuart ) believed to have been the enso when ho first spoke , and that lie felt afterwards that what he had snid was not in harmony , however it might bo with liis own wishes , with the wishes and opinions of those with whom ho was acting . "
IJq insisted that there was disunion in the Cabinet , and he did not trust Lord Aberdeen , under whose influence our fleets and army were doing nothing and would do nothing : the calculation being that England would by and by be ready to give up the war in disgust . The Turks , ho said , were by this time quite tired of our protended alliance . He warned tho nation that wo would be led into error and misfortune i £ wo waited for tho Prussian and Austrian alliance . If' Parliament did net sit through the year wo should be hurried into some " ignominious nojice . "
Mr . Sidney Herbert considered tho motion legitimnto . It was ' a vote of want of confidence ; a challenge which the Government took ' up . " { Cheers . ) Tho right honourable gentleman then went into an elaborate defence of tho administration of tho war ; contending that wonders had been done ; and that by the blockades in tho Black and Baltic seas , and by that assistance of our army in tho East , which had stopped Russian supplies , wo had , in effect , destroyed Russian trade , compelled tho Cmr ' a forces to fall back , and annihilated Russian prostigo . This , ho said , was a good deal for ono campaign , and the campaign wns not yet over . Russia had boon compelled to sacrifice tho Circassian forts , and that was an immense loss to her .
"Why hovf many pounds ( sterling lmd Russia expended witliin tho lust quarter of a oontury , in orectlng forts along tuo coast of Olrcnaaift : and had not all those boon dostroyod wtli ono ainglo oxcoptlon ? " Mr . Lavaiu >— -Tho Russians abandoned thorn . Mr . S , Hjouywiw . ' —Tho . hpn , gentleman wno not satialUod evon . when tho enemy runa twyay . ( 4 latigh . ) And this
reminded him of an opinion of the Duke of "Wellingtonthat the people of England liked a good butcher ' s bill ; but that might have been their feeling in past times ; he believed now they would rejoice to find that these forts had been taken without that destruction of human life such as we read of in the accounts of the battles of old . { Cheers . )" This hit told ; and the right honourable gentleman went on to defend Lord Aberdeen . " The noble lord had told them that the non-success of our arms was owing to the pusillanimity of Lord Aberdeen , and lust night they were informed tliat the debate must be adjoxirned because , in another place , Lord Aberdeen might use language diametrically opposed to that of the noble lord
tho President of tlie Council . Honourable gentlemen opposite , however , who had had the good fortune to hear the noble lord in another place immediately got up and said there was not a single contradiction , and ho confessed he was agreeably surprised wher he read the newspapers this moming 1 o find the few plain but strong -phrases of Lord Aberdeen perfectly agreed with the opinions which had been expressed by tlie noble lord the President of the Council . ( JJheers ) . The noble lord who had spoken to-night told them that the people of England had no confidence in the sincerity of the Cabinet with regard to this war ; but he ( Mr . S . Herbert } did not think that the people of England believed the stories to that effect which had beeu so industriously circulated . "
The war , he said , could not be concluded " By simply patching up a hollow peace , but that the war nrasfc not be concluded withont obtaining guarantees and conditions which should give some prospect to Europe of a desirable peace for the future , as well as protect Turkey and the other neighbours of Eussia from being rudely trampled on by the rulers of that vast country . " ( Clieers . ) He , for one , did not desire to be a member of a Government on sufferance ; and let , therefore , this motion be carried , or let him hear no more of the Cabinet not having the confidence of the House . ( Loud cheers . ) The speech was a success .
alike responsible to this House and to the country with that noble lord . With r « gjard , again , to particular departments , with regard to the Minister of War . and the First Lord of the Admiralty , who are especially charged with the conduct of measures relating to the war , I am sure I am justified in saving that there is no measure that they have proposed in order to give greater vigour to the operations of the war , and in order to ensure success in the war , which my noble friend at the head of the Government has not zealously encouraged and readily concurred in . That my noble friend for a long while believed in tlie chance of peace and wished to avert war is a reproach which I think he cart very well bear . But , with regard to any delay which may have taken place , delay charged to have taken place at least—at the commencement of the war , those who sat with Lord Aberdeen as his
colleagues are alike chargeable with him on account of if . [ And then f ' olloweda . counter-sneer at Parliament whicli was perfectly justified . " ) Let me , however , remark— -because this has something to do with the motion—in reference to that which was for some time the real subject or attack , namely , that vvhen the Truth , had been passed we did not at once advise her Majesty either to declare war or to take such steps as would have shown that we were determined to encounter tho risk of immediate hostilities—let me remark that that event took place while Parliament was sitting , and when Parliament might , had it so pleased , Lave interfered to give advke to the Crown ; and that the step of sending the fleet first into the Bosphorus and afterwards into the Black Sea , was taken at a time when Parliament was not sitting . He wouli abide by the decision of the House . "
Lord Dudley Stuart , of course , did not press his motion : the Opposition was not anxious that lie should;—and the money was voted—a . e ., the Report was adopted . At one moment , when it "was thought a division would come off , Mr . Disraeli rushed oat of the House .
ESGLISH PATRIOTISM AND BUSSIAN SECTJEiriES . On Saturday Lord Dudley Stuaiit obtained leave to bring in his bill making it a misdemeanour for an English subject to have any dealings , during the war , in Jtussian " Securities . " On Wednesday the bill was put into committee ; and , on both occasions , thea'e was a debate , the principal feature of which was , that Mr . James "Wilson , the secretary to the treasury , ridiculed the bill , first as unnecessary , and
Bfr . IiATAUD ( to whose speech on the former evening Mr . Herbert had been replying in a great measure ) followed with a vindication , and some newsarcasms . He denied that in either sea there was effectual blockade ; and he contended that Russian trade was not suffering , that trade being carried on through Prussia . Referring to the scene of the previous night , he insisted that Lord John had said one thing at one hour and another six hours later . He then considered our present relations with Austria , and the views of that Power , as developed in the protocols , which showed , in his opinion , that the restoration of the status quo ante bellum was all she sought , and that Austria \ yould go no further with us than obtaining the evacuation of the
Danunext as bad in principle ; and that Lord Palmerstost , favouring the bill , in compliment to Lord Dudley Stuart , treated -what Mr . Wilson said as " sheernonsense- " On the question of going into committee on Wednesday there was a division : the commercial rnen sidiugwith Mr . Wilson ; the hateisof sheer nonsense and lovers of public spirit with Lord Palmerston ; and the latter of course , —ironically helped by the Opposition , who were delighted -with the scandal , —winning by a considerable majority .
bian Principalities . The moment that object was accomplished our difficulties would begin . He dwelt upon the great importance of the contest in which we vere engiigcd , and upon the absence of distinct and satisfactory information as to the objects of the war . He acknowledged he had no confidence in Lord Aberdeen ; he thought the country was distrustful of him . Although he regretted the motion of Lord D , Stuart , which placed him in . great difficulty , if pressed to a division he should vote for it . Tlie choice was between these things—whether wo would remain a first-rate power , tho defenders of European principles . and liberties—or a third-rate power , and be the brokers , commission agents , and salesmen of the world . { Cheers . ) Unless wo took one side , we aheuld be compelled to fall into the other .
Mr . T . Barinc , who opened the discussion on Wednesday , demolished the bill in a few words . It was his opinion , us a merchant , that it was unnecessary , while it Avould proclaim to the world that , but for it , a Russian loan would be taken by Englishmen , whereas there was no disposition here to lend iuoney to Jlussia . The bill , the provisions of which might be easily evaded , evinced an indecent manifestation of spite towards a particular Power ; it should apply to all States , and should have been brought in by the Government . Utr . J . Wilson used an unanswerable argument , —which certainly was not answered :
" He believed if it were once understood what the financial position of Russia wns at this moment and what its operations were , it would have more effect in preventing a Russian loan than any laws which could be passed . At the time this country was engaged in war , from lfcOO to 1815 , when banknotes wore inconvertible , our currency became depreciated ; but when the House passed a bill on tho subject in 1819 , iti redeeming the socaritios , they determined to pay all their debts honestly without depreciation , and at tho fall value , instead of paying them with tho depreciated currency . " What did Hussia do on it similar occasion ? Russia commenced a lon . g war with the issue- of a rouble noto of tho value oi ' . 'JS pence , which was mndo inconvertible for a lengthened period of years , but , owing to frequent issues , tho roublo noto was depreciated stop by stop , until , instead of being worth 08 d ., it \ v « s only worth lOAd . Now , what did Russia do ? Tho
Mr . W . A . Wilkinson was of opinion that Lord John Russell liad retracted nothing , and that what Lord John had said was satisfying . Admiral Berkeley defended the naval administration of the war , and lot out the secret that Sir Charles Napier had written liome to say that ho could do nothing ( with the fleet ) against Cronstadt . Sir John SniaixEY hud confidence in tho Government , but none in Lord Aberdeen , and ho was sure tho country had none . Sir John Walsh , as a Conservative , had no confidence in tho Government ; it was a ridiculous Government , boatcn twice a week : but Parliament had no right to interfere with tho prerogative of tho Cirown , and he would vote against the motion .
Mr . IIiLm-Aitn called attention to tho indiscretion of Admiral Berkeley in telling Napier ' s opinion about C » 'onstadt ; and Admiral Berkeley replied , conscious of a blunder ; but referring to the troops who had gono to tho assistance of tho fleet as likely to qualify N " iipicr ' a view of what could bo done . Mr . Picto thought tho war liad gouo on very well , anil that a good deal had boon done , and he had conftdonce in tho Government . Lord John Russbll vindicated himself and then Lord Aberdeen .
wlioio ol these securities wore pnid liy tho Russian Government at 10 , i ( l . Tlio vnluo ol' tbo roublo wns restored to 88 d ., hut all tho old notes which tho Ilussian Government had ittsiied wero paid «( lOJil . Russia wns now doing precisely the amno tiling again , and was declining tho rouble notes waned nt flfld . to Ijo inconvertible ; tlioso notos had nlrciuly fallen to 32 d ., and , if the present vyni : continued , it would soon bo found tliut tho oxceNsive issues would loaii to a depredation equal to that which took plneo during tho wmto which ho had rol ' umd . The creditors of Russia and the holders of Russian nocuutios would then find that their Hccurities woro reduced to ono-thinl of their original vnluo . Ho thought , if then © facts were known , that Cfipitailiatu would bo placed upon their guard ngninst ouch unoortnin invoalmonts , and that tho object of I ho noblo member for Alnrylobono would bo micured much more easily nud complcluly tlmn by : uvy legislative ) lnotimiro . "
" Somo hon . rnombors have singled out tho noblo lord nt tho hond of tho administration , and made him tho peculiar object of attack . Now , air , whatever may bo tho constitutional nature of thin motion—and I do not dony that as a motion of want cf coniidonoo , It is constitutional , —thoro is nolliing constitutional in an attompt to Hoparnto tho Cabinet , from tho noblo lord who is nt tho hond of it ,, tind to mnko that noble lord nlono responsible for that of which all his colleaigaes must iiluiro tho responsibility . ( ' Hear , hear . ' from tho Ministerial bonohos . ) With rogard to tho general moajjurcs of tho Government , thoso measures lmvo boon considered stop by atop by those advisors of her Majesty who oro usually called tlio Cabinet , nnd for tho decisions which havo bcon adopted all tho colleagues of Lord Aberdeen uro
Lord Pai . wehston followed j talking his dobonnir ignorunca of tlio subject witU pleasant nmlucity , under which Mr . Wilson coworoJ . * ' Now , what n puerile distinction that ia which in uttoui | itod to bo drnwn between furnishing such aid directly nn < l indirectly . This bill applies , not as many hon . irontlomoft endeavour to roprosent , to established Dutch ntock , which has boon matter of bargain nn < l sale nnd of bequest oi-. yenrs pnst , but it applies simply to stock to bo created lor tho very purpose of making war upon this country . Tho objoot of tlio bill ia simply this—1 o provide thut . if thu
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700 THE LEABlH . [ Saturday , " ' ¦ ... i . ¦ _ - ¦— ,. _ ,.,-. -1 ^ ¦¦ M-i ^ M W ^ B-MM ^ M ^ niiiM ^^^^^^^^^ ii ^^^^^^ Ti ^ T » Miwi »* rTiwMr ^ in r-ff—m— - ^ wt—rM fc
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 29, 1854, page 700, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2049/page/4/
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