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Leader (1850-1860), 24th May 1856, Edition 1 of 2, Page 497, Untitled Article

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      Aberdeen , Wellesley , Ripon , Palmerston , Huskisson , and Lamb , with er conspicuous statesmen in behalf of Emancipation , the poverty of the ry party in intellect and oratory ^ had shaken what was called the Protest interest in England , -while the rise of O'Connell had strengthened the botic interest in . Ireland , kord John Russell , testing the temper of the use of Commons by bis motion for the Repeal of the Test and Corporation ts , had obtained its assent to the broad princi p les of religious tolerance , lality , and freedom . Peel himself , in suggesting arguments against this 6 vation , iniplied his contempt of the mass of tneri deputed to represent great British nation in Parliament . —House of Commons' arguments , " said , " are arguments for people who know very little of the matter , care much about it , half of whom have dined , or are going to dine , and are y . forcibly struck by that which they instantly understand without able- " Add to this the rapid approximation of parties , the increase of dly feelings in the community , the abatement of relig ious jealousies , and iecomes apparent that the prerogatives of intolerance in 1828 stood on a

      t » le basis ; ' [ vhe ; debates on the Test Act acted as an experiment on the mind of the ; chful statesman . He reconciled himself to Repeal , hy the arguments ichhe used afterwards to reconcile himself to Emancipation . " The Comas Will-pass Repeal . Is it advisable for the Church , that Repeal should rejected by the Lords ? " A natural circumstance to be considered was ie prospect of being victorious or beaten . " "A high line and a good " is " the best possible , if it ; succeeds , and is supported by a large maty . But if it fails ?" I do not say there ought to be equality of civil privileges , all I say is , f I should , be sorry to rest the question of our Establishment upon that

      e . " Ve see here the change that was working in his mind . Reporting pro-33 to the Bishop of Oxford , he expressed a doubt whether the " private timente" of Lord John Russell and Lord Brougham were hot inimical to very ( principle of a State Church . Next , referring to the hesitation of the lop of Durham , he said , " Let him trust to his own judgment , and not to ; of Lord Kedesdale , Lord Winchilsea , and the Duke of Newcastle . " bllowing rapidly upon these debates was that on Sir Francis Burdett's ion for the consideration of Catholic claims , carried by a small majority ie first that had been obtained . No member who spoke attempted to

      ; eal the wreat progress made by the question in Parliament or the ise of Lords . With the" exception ^ of Peel ^ himself , not one man of disuished <; apacity opposed the resolutions , and Peel was too judicious and stical not to take into the calculation the danger of forcing into the Whig y , and thus ideatifyan ' giwith the : Whig party so tfSSdy men whose talent b "influence the future decisions of the House of Commons . " 'Connell ' s election for Clare , the validity of which the Government did venture formally to dispute , opened " a tremendous prospect . " Peel : began to balance between the obstinate Tory party and the party inclined beral concessions . Of the former he wrote : —

      ieir answer to all such appeals is the short , in their opinion the conclusive , detion , " The Protestant Constitution jn Church and State must be maintained at azards and by any means : the maintenance of it is a question of principle , and t concession or compromise is the sacrifice of principle to a low and vulgar expiey- his was easily said ; but how was Ireland to be governed ? How was Protestant Constitution in Church arid State to be maintained in that of the empire ? jain I can anticipate the reply : — " By the overwhelming sense of the people of i Britain— by the application , if necessary , of physical force for the maintenance ithority—by the employment of the organized strength of Government , the e , and the military , to enforce obedience to the law . ' * ut Qatholicism in Ireland had become an uncontrollable power . Peel : his ' part , decided to concede what it was impossible to refuse , without ingcrin" the public peace , and thus deserved the gratitude of his counaen , whTle he incurred the bitter reproaches of the Tory faction : —

      iis i » a vecy delicate matter to disenss ; but why have I deferred for twenty years vindication of my conduct ? Why have I consented to submit for that long d : to every reproach which malice , or mistake , or blindness to the real state of s , could direct against me , except in the hope that the time would come ( I cared whotherl were ui the grave or not when it should come ; when delicate matters t safely be discussed , and when , without prejudice to the public interests , or ce to private feelings , tho whole truth might be spoken ? et he resolved to retire from the Wellington Cabinet . His reasons i that , while prepared to support a plan of concession , he lmd been too ly committed on the question , had expressed too . strong opinions in set to it , had incurred too much jealousy and distrust among the olics to coma forward with grace , as the originator of the ^ measure , withdrawal from the Government was seriously opposed . For a time , must resi the

      iver , it seemed that not only he , but the entire Cabinet , gn , preserving still the inveterate prejudices of his father . " From these ments , " said the king , " I never can , and never will deviate . " lie deviate from then ) , however , after a . Cabinet consultation with his sters , whom ho dismissed with a salute on each cheek , accepting their nations , and next day surrendering t , o all their proposals , el's last objection was overcome , and he consented to remain in office introduce the Emancipation Bill . His last obstacle was the Bishop of irick , who offered to lay down his life for the rights of persecution , however , was not an unchurittible zeal . Like the lay peer who , in , offered to arm his tenantry against the Whigs , this spiritual lord was , i-U » cleas , a charitable opponent . Others accused Peel of pusillanimous , of selfish ambition , of dishonest inconsistency . His reply is , that , had imputed to him a want of early foresight and sagacity , u too perti-> us adhesion to a hopeless cause , an undue deference , to party engageii Uie lorce oi

      s , ancl tho wishes of tho English constituencies , guinst an stible necessity , he might have found it difficult to give the charge a dei refutation . But , his only fear was the fear of public calamity ; Jus ambition was that of being " a daring pilpt in extremity . " In such , a

      spirit he wrote this vindicatory memoir .. In such a light impartial history will place the record of his character : an 4 iP &icy-The events of 1828 and 1829 cannot be read , in future , without the aid of this monumental volume . When the second , on the Ministry of 1834-35 , and the third ,, on the Corn ... Laws , are pablished / fhfey will be no doubt equally interesting , and , as historical materials , equally important . "Without attributing * then , to JEar . 1 Stanhope or Mr , , GardweU , a morbid . exaggeration of reserve—for they only have read the manuscripts , and they only are in a position to judge of them—we must add that Ve learn with as much surprise as regret that the history of the Cash Payment Act , the Reborn * BSJJ , Chartism ; and Foreign Affairs , during the' last ; ithirty * five years , will receive no illustration from the Peel Papers . v / Jhis Memoir . is , eo rich in political texts , in historical allusion ^ in traee&of party , action and personal character , that ten such volumes would have , been uiore welcome than tfyree .

      Twelve days before his death , Sir RobertPeel , in a debate on rahitian affairs , uttered a generous ' eulogy on tne' public' character of M . Guizot ; And now M . Guizot , * six years after the death Of Peel , lays an elaborate tribute on his tomb . It is an interesting passage : Loathe ( personal history of our times ; the Fallen Statesman . contemplating the dead , and , in a melancholy cynicism , envying him , that , he >' , perishe 4 ,: in his prime . " - M . Guizot , in the shade of his retirement , recals studiousl y ^ and \ n broad suggestive chapters , the events of Peel ' s career , analyzing the "influences that accompanied him on bis entrance itttb parliamentary life ,-his relations with Castle ^ resigh , Canning , the I > uke of ' Wellington , the new party of the ^ Economiststhe Crown , the House of Peers , the House of Commons , the public questions of his day . All this is written , in M . Guizot ' s most ealm and reflective manner . It is sure of translation into English—the Peel literature would be incomplete without it . What regrets are here avowed : —

      " Wise and glorious councillor of a free people ! " Thus , on the morrow of his death , his country praised him . I -will sdy happy as well as ^ foffotti- ^ happy inth'e end , no less than in the variedconrse of his caxeery despite the fatal accident that brought it to a violent close . For forty years Sir Robert Peel had . been engaged in the political arena , perpetually contending , oftentimes vanquishing . On the eye of his , death , though still in the arena , he stood in tranquil' aigirity , spreading from- his place in Parliament the light of a long experience bver the politics of his country . There he enjoyed serenelythat ascendant influence , . admitted ,, and accepted . by * all . Andlie died , regretted by sovereign jjnd people , j respected and admii ^ d by the adversaries whom he had overthrown , as well as b y the friends " who had" conquered ' with him . ^ God rarely accords to orie man so many favdtirs / He had gifted Peel at his birth wltBKighl jr "mental faculties as well as fortune ..: He-bad given him a place in such an epocky that Ms great qualities . could / be . exercised with success in great affairs . After the final triumph , he recalled him suddenly ., without diminution of his power or glory—like a noble workman , who , completing h ' ts labours' at the close of the da j * , co € s at' once to receive his supreme- reward from the' Master whom he has served so

      Well .- ' ' — " ¦¦¦¦¦ 1 .,, r- r . v ^ s .., . . >; ,- ' ....,,, , . , . Peel , says M . Guizot , was not apolitical , theorist ; his policy w . 1 S not governed by general ideas , or , even byJpgical . principles .- His was , on the contrary , an essentially practioal . mind , consulting facts at every step , as the navigator consults the signs of the Weather . But , though hedid not regulate his policy by general p rinciples , he respected the principles of other statesmen , and never acted an ungenerous or unpatriotic part * >' M . Guizot has introduced some interesting personal reminiscences of PeeJ . Hia intercourse with him took place in 1840 , . when M . Guizot represented Frnnee at the Court of St . James . He rem ^ r ^ ed . ^ he says , that ; the English statesman , always animated by a love of honour and justice , seemed to have

      been impressed with a mingled feeling of sympathy and fear , by the history of the French Revolution of 1789 , but was" in no way identified with ** the maxims and passions of the old Tory partyi ! ' What especially struck him was the constant and earnest preoccupationof his mind with the interests of the working classes in England . " " Thwugl * the political reserve of the minister the emotions of the man continually penetrated . " "I perceive ^ Peel said to Guizot , " too much suffering arid too » nanjr perplexities among them . They are the danger and shame of our civilization . It Sis absolutely necessary to render the condition of tho working man more happy and less precarious . I know we cannot do all that may aeem good ; but we can , do something , a « d we ought to do what we can . " . , " That , " adds M . Guizot , was the idea which appeared to mark for Sir Robert Peel the line of his

      future policy . " . . . -These sentences are valuable to history . Indeed , it is by a rare coincidence that w e are presented , simultaneously , with Peel on himself , and Guizot on Peel .

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      IUJSKIN'S MODERN PAINTERS . Modern Painters . Vol . IV . of Mountain Beauty . By John Ruskin M . A-• '" Smith , Elder , ana Co . Tub third volume of the Modem Painters has scarcely quitted the library table for the shelves , ero the fourth volume comes to bring fresh atones ot wondrous eloquence , close and patient observation , during paradox , nnd subtle disquisition . This volume is more special than its predecessor : that is to say , concerns the painter more entirely , treating of the special subjects of his art , such as the appearances of mountains , hills , banks , stones , &c . But all Art is one , and Mr . Ruskin writes of painting with the everpreaent almost

      consciousness of Poetry , Sculpture , and Architecture , as equally , or equally , implied . This it is which gives the wide and permanent charm to his writings Interesting m they are to painter * they almost equally fascinate the general public , because in them may be read rare criticisms of Natural appliances and of Artistic representations . Let R . A ' s . m ease and tn jposse squabble over Mr . Buskin ' s dicta , and triumph over his contradictions rdal or seeming ; we , the public , read him , and are both taught « nd delighted by him In the merely argumentative parts we may think : him sophistical or incomplete ; in tho individual criticiaais , pronouncing absolute iudgwentB'Qn painters past and present , we may think him capricious , wilf tf l , « n&utterij jcsido the truth ; we may neither accent his dicta respecting Art , nor Ins verdicts on Artists , but we must aft feel subdued by his eloquence , enlightened by his novel views ^ Btimulated by his thoughts WfuctedTby his

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      j £ A . T-24 »' i 85 iff . ] THE IiOBAD ^ B ^ m 407

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      " * The ( lrot urticlo appears in tho current uumbpr of tUo favue dct JDwx Mondt * *

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), May 24, 1856, page 497, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2142/page/17/