Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 27th February 1858, Edition 1 of 2, Page unpag., Untitled Article

Page unpag.
Page 1
1 of 24

On this page

  • Departments (2)
    • ©ontents :
    • %nuvx nf fytWnk. A.
  • Text (7)
  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Untitled Article

      ^ c aicr L . POLITICAL AND ITERARY REVIEW .

      Untitled Article

      ^^ tS ^ aSKS ^ SSSSSmSHESKffia ^ MaSSfiB of our spiritual nature . "—Humboldt ' s Cosmos . ' _

      Untitled Article

      REV . EW OFTHE WEEK- ~ o . Accidents and Sudden Deaths Xg The Seizure of the Cagliari 204 ^ g ^ aRjJSgSfe :::::: SS The Sew Ministry 194 g ± tar i ' va " Mauiac 199 A Penny wor ^ of Assassination 205 Mr . Gleig ' s Essays 211 Imperial Parliament 195 oS ^ Z ^^^ ZZ :: """ ::::: ^ loo Tl £ Irish Vice-King ...... 206 The Natural Sciences | 11 SS&S ^^ T ^ p == ^ fer * L ™ po .: 200 SSX ^^^ aSSoai-i 2 £ ? TbK ^ andSepubii ^ ons-::: ill Special Letters from India 196 The Boyal British'Sank Trial 201 The Havelock Memorial 207 THEARTS-? fe HydeVaVkDe ^ nstration ::::::::: ll ? Mtsc ^ Sf ^ lol Mr - ° bden Louis the Eleventh 212 The Refugee Question 197 PoftscriDt 202 LITERATURE- Musical Notes 212 The ' Public Slfety' Bill in France ... 197 ™ ' *« 7 !**""' : "" V ° I ,, " ™ " 208 COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS-¦ ¦ SS— === § ' ^ Mfc : ::::::::::::::: S tS ££ = " :::::: = « SiS'lSfe ^^ :::::: lil

      Untitled Article

      VOL . IX . Ko . 414 . ] SATURDAY , : FEBRTTA : R , Y ~ 27 , 1858 . Pbice ffig , ™ : S £ ' -

      Untitled Article

      — . V VTATURALLY taking precedence of the rest of JM the news of the week is the overthrow of Lord Paxmerston ' s Cabinet by the adverse vote on Mr . Mixner Gibson ' s motion of Friday se ' nnight . Not only in this country , but all over the Continent , has the downfal of the ' strong' Ministry been witnessed with astonishment—astonishment , however , not altogether reasonable . Throughout the week preceding the eventful Friday night , the ground Lad been sliding from under the Premier ' s feet . He must have been as conscious as any one that he was acting in defiance of the feeling of the country in pressing forward his Conspiracy Bill , and he must Lave known better than most that the feeling was precisely one that could not be ignored , but would be certain to find a strong expression in the House . He dared this expression . But it is not upon the merits or demerits of the bill that the ministerial vessel has gone to pieces . The willingness of the House ifco entertain some such measure as the one proposed had been evidenced by the large majority that sanctioned the bringing in of the Government bill . True , that bill , it was scarcely denied , owed its existence to the demands of the French Emperor for protection against men whom his own tyranny had driven into England for refuge from his persecution ; but such is the hatred of the English mind to the idea of assassination , that there is little doubt the bill would have been carried by the House of Commons had not the demands of the French Government been accompanied by the officially promulgated threats of the French army , and by the far more deliberately offensive despatch of Count Walewski , in which the whole English people were belied and insulted . It was idle for Lord Palmerston to split haira upon the question of this or that meaning to bo put upon Count Walewski ' s words ; the people of this country had made up their minds as to the wrong that had been done thorn , and cvory day was bringing their opinion more into tho light . Before , therefore , they would consent to take any stop towards rectifying oven an acknowledged Mioraaly-4 u ,-their ~ law 8 ,- ~ wiUi ~ a ~ viow—to- ^ affard * - ing additional soourity to a life in which they take deep interest , they demanded that , at least , an answer worthy of themselves should bo given to the- slander whioh had been put upon tho national charaotor . Speaking by the mouth of Mr . Milner Gibson , they demanded of tho man to whom they bad entrusted tho national honour

      whether he had taken reasonable measures to preserve it from being wronged , or to vindicate , it in the event of its having been wronged . Lord Palmerston answered recklessly , fiercely—nay , brutally —that he had done neither ; and he hurled taunts , personalities , and insults in the teeth of all who ventured to impugn his policy or his judgment . Such a scene has very rarely been witnessed in the House of Commons as that of Friday night last , ending in a division which , by a majority of 234 to 215 , censured Lord Palmerston for having neglected , to defend the character of his country from the aspersions cast upon it by the agent of the angry and terrified Emperor of France . On the following day Lord Palmerston tendered his resignation to the Queen , and it was accepted—he with his colleagues holding office only until his successor should be found . On Monday the resignation of the Ministry was formally announced ; and the two Houses , for the convenience of lord Derby , who had in the meantime been sent for , ' were adjourned to Friday . "We say that astonishment at the result of Mr . Milner Gibson ' s motion is not reasonable ; if carried , it could not reasonably have been expected to produce any result short of that caused by a vote of censure . That the consequences may be extremely embarrassing , and in some respects harmful to the Government of the country , does not throw any discredit upon the supporters of the motion : Parliament had either silently to acquiesce in the course taken by Lord Palmerston ' s Government or to protest against it ; it did its duty , regardless of ulterior consequencos . Lord Derby—moved to the adventure by certain of his followors more than by his own inclination —has undertaken to form a Cabinet—that is , to reproduce the Ministry of 1852 , more or less modified . In another placo wo enter into an examination of the qualifications of these gentlemen for carrying on the Government of tho country , under conditions so widely different froin those under whioh they entered upon their former short career . That they collectively possess tho talonts requisite to carry on tho work of Government respectably is . not . too ^ suro 4 _ y » at 7 . tUoy _ will-ttQli-command 4 he ^ ao ^_ fidence of tho country is certain . Placed in power by an accidental combination , Lord Dkbby accepts oflico almost on tho understanding that ho will hold it only on sufferanco ; and tho publio will bo continually asking , " What next P—awd nox , t P" until ho shall bo rolicvodof his duty by tho march of events . And what next with regard to our very good , bat 11

      very much fear-incensed ally ? The hastily written -despatch forwarded by Lord Cowxey through the telegraph immediately upon learning the events of Friday night , shows the pains at which Lord Palmerston ' s Government had been to tranquillize the Emperor ' s irritation . Lord Cowlby had assured him that it was impossible for the English Government to attempt to interfere with the laws which give the right of asylum to political refugees in this country ; but no document was suffered to pass upon the subject , lest , from being recorded , it should bind the French Government to a bine of conduct taken up in alarm and anger ; time , the English Prime Minister hoped , would have a mollifying influence upon the Imperial mind , and meanwhileunder cover of a pretended anxiety to remove an anomaly of the English law—an appearance of doing the Imperial bidding would huve a decidedly soothing effect . From first to last , the feelings and temper of the people of England appear to have been utterly disregarded by Lord Palmersxon , in his anxiety to calm the troubled spirit of the frightened Napoleon . How frightened our faithful ally still is may be judged of by the number of arrests made within the last few days , of persons charged with the grievous offence of having used indiscreet language with regard to him and to his regime . One of these is a boy of about seventeen years of age , who pleaded his youth in extenuation of his offence . A source of anxiety , twenty thousand times greater , we take to be the opposition whioh has been given in the Chamber of the Corps Legislati £ to tho new Lol dos Expectants , as it will henceforth , be called . This law—so strangely putting out of countonancc the oft-repeated assertion of the popularity of the present regime—bringing baok to Franco a second reign of terror , —has been carried by a majority of somo 200 in a House that contains , with the exception of four members , none but Government nominees ; but it was opposed by a minority of 24 , under tho loadorslup of M . Emile Oi&mjan , and there woro somo dozen or fifteen abstentious . In that little band aro tho hopes of Frenoh . liberty , " oven yet further menaced . Tho M (> kitm ^^ Mw ^^ M ^ Ammjti Jtlw ^ m ^ v-.- ' Cousuitum , approved by tho Emperor , that ' . uq . Candidate for tho Corps LtfgMatif shall comcTTo ^ nro ^ d ¦ - _ without having , at least eight days bofor ^ l j CUmo '; , * . of election , formally deolarod that ' ho 8 ^^ m $ ^^">; dionco to tho Constitution and fidelity to « WKj ^ Bl *? - - ^' / . pcror . Lot M . Emile Olmvier and Ida fctt ^ e ^ id ,-twonty bravo followers look well to it . ^* 4 r „ . „—

      ©Ontents :

      ( "Contents :

      %Nuvx Nf Fytwnk. A.

      % nuvx nf fytWnk . A .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 27, 1858, page unpag., in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2232/page/1/