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Leader (1850-1860), 24th July 1858, Edition 1 of 2, Page 699

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      3 EUtimt of Wit IVmt

      Untitled Article

      TTMLE results of the Parliamentary assiduity of X . both Houses during the week , show how much work can be done in a limited time when the ¦ workers set tLeir shoulders to the wheel in light earnest instead of talking " about and about it . " As much business was transacted in the House of Lords on Thursday evening in two hours and forty minutes as would have occupied it for a fortnight in the earlier port of the session . To be " up and away / 1 indeed ., is now the grand object of Parliamentary existence—nothing can be permitted to

      stop the way which leads to the moors , via Cherbourg . The first act of * the " Massacre of the Innocents" has been performed , the victims leing the Dublin Police Bill , Freedom from Arrest Bill , Superannuation Bill , and Chinese Passenger Act , all measures of importance , and all in advanced stages of progress . As far as work is concerned , the House of Lords will be ready to rise at the end of next week , and the House of Commons is very little behind it . .

      Nothing but the Queen ' s assent to the Jews Bill is now wanting to enable the House of Commons to pass the resolution necessary for the seating of Baron Rothschild . The battle has been fought to the very end , and even beyond it ; for the beaten party has not only " fought till the gunpowder ran out of the heels of its boots - —such desperate gallantry has it displayed—but even in death it has continued the fight and hit its hardest hit : instead of dying handsomely , in such a way as to grace the

      field of victory , it has babbled out its latest breath in jabbered denunciation of the victors , turned the last scene of the tragedy into a wild farce , and shamed the triumph of its conquerors . Mortifying result , when the antagonist against whom one has grandly struggled gives up the ghost with all sorts of fool ' s antics ! Such is the result of the fight for the admissipn . of Jews into Parliament . Reason , justice , and' common sensea . re put out of countenance in the hour of their triumph by the irritating buffooneries of Spooner , Newdegate , and 'Warren .

      Colonel Thompson ' s taunt to the supporters of the bill to legalize the payment of travelling expenses to voters , providing no money passes between the ^ candidate and the elector , went very deep into the morals of the subject . If this arrangement were anything more than " bribery ill-wrapped up , " he said , why . did not some of those who urged it show their sincerity by proposing that the consolidated fund , the county rate , or anybody except the candidate ) should pay the money P If independence of election is worth striving for , this new forhi of legalized corruption should be got rid of by

      nil means without delay . The able-bodied voter who will not take the trouble to register his vote without he is treated to . a ride in a carriage at the expense of a candidate , is scarcely a fit person to be entrusted with tho privileges of an elector ; and it would , possibly , be of service to the community at large it ' such men were not seen at the polling-booth at nil . For tlic assistance of the infirm , sucli small carriage accommodation as would be required should be paid for out of the county rates , and would not " be very burdensome . There should be no I ' jivour given or received in the process of determining I ho lihie . ss or lion-fitness of candidates : and us to the

      inconveniences to which electors may lie |> w . hv having to walk a mile to tho pollin ^ - ' p ^ ico , they aiv fmoutweighed by the ndviuitugc of 1 lu < freedom from temptation under which tliry would peri ' o . m um « of the most important functions of goml <;' . i i / . t'iiwlijp . The Appropriation Bill generally psiss ^ s 1 ln \> u ,. ; h the House of Commons without l ' nueli didou ^ siu ' ii ; but this year Sir Goor ^ c Low is 1 ms delected vhiit ho considers a breach of prosy :: ! - ; iy in tho tnw . sim ; , and ^ in the endeavour to cxpo . so ' it ho h \ a drawn

      forth an explanation from the Chancellor of the Exchequer winch will undoubtedly be received with great satisfaction , especially in commercial circles . The offence was this : the Appropriation Bill , by wliich the House of Commons gives the Executive authority to devote certain sums to the public service , was found to give authority for a larger outlay than that of which Mr . Disraeli had given notice in his estimates , the expenditure turning to such an amount as to leave a deficiency instead of a surplus of the estimated revenue , wlich would be

      more than 500 , 000 / . too little , instead of 300 , 000 ^ . too much . The Chancellor of the ^ Exchequer did not deny the discrepancy ; but he said that such a discordance between the estimates and the actual result was by no means -without precedent ; and in the meanwhile the public revenue has grown so considerable that it will more than balance the enlarged expenditure . After the commercial disasters of 1 S 57 the recovery was necessarily slow , and yet the first quarter of the financial year shows an excess of income over "the estimated income of 223 , 944 / .: while the collection is

      proceeding so well during the current quarter that , in four branches of the revenue alone—those branches in which , to some extent , it accrues from day to day—the Customs , Excise , Stamp , and . Post offices , there was an increase in the first eighteen days of the quarter—to the 19 th of July—amounting to not less than 364 , 000 / . The Chancellor of tlie Exchequer , in fact , will be able to do with borrowing only a million instead of two millions to pay off Exchequer bonds . The state of the revenue , coupled with the fine harvest that we may now anticipate , at once indicates a prosperous state of the national finances .

      In the form of moving . resolutions , Mir .. Roe ^ buck has raised the question whether the rights of the Hudson ' s Bay Company ought' not to terminate with the expiry of its license of exclusive trading next year , the royal charter granted by Charles the Second being revoked . In . an excellent speech , Lord Bury , " a young nobleman . of great promise , lias explained at once tke flaw in the Company ' s charter and the fine staie of the territory which the Company claims between Canada

      and the Pacific . The reply of Sir Edward Lytton , the Colonial Secretary , was , that he was disinclined to renew the license except for those lands winch are unfitted for colonization ; that tlie rights of the Company would be very carefully scrutinized by the law-officers of the Crown ; and that he hoped next year to bring before Parliament an arrangement which would be quite satisfactory , and would contribute . to throw open the lands for colonization . .

      The news from India is reassuring . On the 19 th of June , Gwalior "was recaptured by Sir Hugh Rose after four hours' severe fighting , and tho latest intelligence announces that the enemy was being pursued with cavahy and artillery . There is a report , also , that the Kancc of Jhansi is killed . Sciudia had left Agra , and , with the Central Indian fieldforce , was on his way to Gwalior . The recapture of-this stronghold is an event of much importance ; for if the powerful body of rebels who lately seized it from their master could anywhere hope to make a firm stand against their pursuers , it was there .

      From Oudo and Ilohilcund the news is of a general kind ; the former continued in a disturbed stato , tin .: latter was tranquil . Active operations lmve lic ^ n r ( Mir \ u \ l l , y lln : combined Eugli ; , h and French I ' ui-cch in China , On the 2 <>! li of May 1 lie gunboats of the two forcer ; cap ! un-il the forts at , 1 lie mouth of ihc . River IV'iho , mounting one . luiiulivd and thill Y-cight . ' . runs . Th . 'Chinese I ' ou ^ hl sloully , ;; iui tho forts were defended hy a lar ^ i ; niunlmi of Iroup ; -. Tlic loss on our side appears , a-s umciI , to liuvi been very small ; the tclcjiTiipli , huwever , speaks ol l !;; ' IV : ; fli having HiU ' iuvd . tewivl y by tin .- ixpln tAun ui ; i mine .

      If we are to take the word of the enlightened and notoriously independent press of Paris , there is nothing in the forthcoming ceremonial at Cherbourg which the Queen of England may not countenance with satisfaction to herself and people ; there is nothing in the fact of "the present Emperor of the Trench carrying out tlie intentions of his uncle in creating a mighty naval arsenal in the closest convenient proximity to > this country , which can warrrant the least feeling of uneasiness or doubt as to the intentions of our good ahV . But

      as we are not compelled to take the word of writers who would say exactly the reverse if they were commanded to do so , we do not see any cause for particular satisfaction lu the spectacle of her Majesty taking part in the triumph of an " idea" so thoroughly Napoleonitic as the completion of Cherbourg ; we do uot think it even decent to ask our Sovereign to stand by while the inscri ption on the statue of the first Napoleon is displayed . What satisfaction should she feel in reading these words , spoken by the great conqueror m his exile at St . Helena : " T had resolved to renew

      at Cherbourg the marvels of Egypt . " To what end , had the would-be invader , baffled at Boulogne , set his heart upon carrying out the hostile scheme of Louis the Fourteenth ' s engineers ? What is the use of Cherbourg to France , if France has not intentions hostile to England ? But we have onl y to be constantly eti garde , as far as our security is concerned . Cherbourg an accomplished fact , England and Trance—hewever closely allied , —stand no longer on the same footing towards each other ; and apart from trust or distrust , the new relations are not calculated in any way to "bring us satisfaction .

      There are , however , influences at work that may in very few years , take from Cherbourg its occupation . We are anxiously looking forward to the motnent when we may hold almost instantaneous communication with America , and so bind her to us by the strongest tie that binds great states to each , other , mutual interest ; in the natural course of things it may become as absurd for France to think of-going'to ' war with . England as it would be for Birmingham to rise in arms against Coventry . To know each other , to fall in as amicable members of one great human family , is the destiny of nations ; the wrestlings and Routings of to-day are but

      childishnesses to he passed on the road to maturity : For nations to fight in case of disagreement will in due course become as unreasonable as the " making faces " of ill-conditioned urchins . At present there appears to be no instrument more likely to help the -world rapidly forward to a better understanding among its children than . the electric tclegrapli . The two failures which , have resulted to the attempts to lay down the Atlantic cable must by no means damp our spirits ,

      or for a moment make us doubtful of the ultimate success of the undertaking . Even if the third attempt should also fail , delay is the most serious consequence that can come of it . The probability is that it will fail , foi- it has become almost evident that the cahle employed is defective for the purpose for which it was designed , and that another one will have to be jnade . The expedition had the advantage of fair weather to start with , and the promise of a stormless voyage . A few days will decide the rest . But our efforts to belter Puck ' s brag of puttinga girdle round about the earth in forty minutes do not absorb the whole of the attention we can spare for science ; we desire to be in instantaneous communication with oui : relatives and friends ( not always synonymous terms ) on tho far side of the Atlantic , but . we want at home steam-ploughs and " cultivators , and threshing-machines that will take the sheaf in at one end and deliver the com dressed for market at the other . "We want , in fact , to make t lie n lost of every inch of our cullivuU : d laud , and to economise every tittlo of I he forces nl our command , so that thorc may be no waste either of material or of producin ^ -power . The . 1 loyal Agricultural Societ y ' s Exhibition at Cluster hlunvsilui advances we nave inndo during tin ; pasi-year . The problem of the steam-plough is iin ! \<; t i horon ^ 'hly worked out ; but a near Approach lo \ vnr < l > :: t ' . luiio ' nol il lias l ) ecn made , and it seems iv . i . vjii ; iV . e l <> (• .-. peel I ha I . u vury fow years will pass lirf'hv a jum'I' . tI niiU'liino . will bo produced . It is llic •• -i t ; : < wi'li a ! nio :-i / ill llio other scientific farming !! . i |) le ! ii < -nt : i ; invention liny yet to curry them on n very low sieii . N to leiiL ' h perfection .

      Untitled Article

      flO . 435 , JULY 24 , lttQg . j 1 ± 1 Jli JU Ji A U Jfi Jfr . 6 ^ 9

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 24, 1858, page 699, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2252/page/3/