Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 3rd December 1859, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1321, Untitled Article

Page 1321
Page 13
13 of 24

On this page

  • Departments (2)
    • . : - —Y- /*&#TV (t hh (> ^ MIj^ V^JH ^ i^-A o^ JV ** *>k/ ^ -U£l° £ OLA! I:, I ^ ^ r.CT&^ ¦ ^^^^ ^ "^ * ~ y° \ — -«—
    • f»t t: ' -am* ' * UOU f[ Jk-JJjair.S. __^__. _
  • Text (10)
  • 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

      THE CONGRESS . SO it seeing' at last that the . ¦ representatives of sundry Powers , great and . small , ' are to hold a Congress of Paris , in the midst of January frost and snow . Former Congresses have been amoni ? the most disgraceful incidents of human history ; and when . " at the last Parisian gathering M . Walewski assailed the free press of Belgium , and met with no rebuke from England ' s unworthy representatives , it was plain that what Canning denounced as the old Areopagitical spirit , still lingers in the dark corners of Courts , and the still darker recesses of the diplomatic mind . A leading contemporary is anxious that Lord Palmerston should be the British Plenipotentiary on the coming occasion , on account of his astuteness and dexterity—precisely the qualities which , if he does go , it is to be hoped he will leave at home . Our foreign policy was never so " rand and dignified as when John Milton wrote Cromwell ' s despatches , and at no time was the low cunning of diplomacy so manfully thrust aside . England has a message of joy and liberty for the nations , which wants no trickery for its utterance , and which the plainest ami simplest hearted man would utter the best . It is tho real ,. not the sham , dootrinc of non-intervention ; the absolute " right of each people to settle its internal affairs unmolested by any extraneous power ; The IVench intervention in Italy stands justified , on the ground of non-intervention , because it thrust back the guilty Austrian when lie meddled with what he had no authority to touch . Now , Italy ' s main difficulty arises , from > the imperfect recognition of her rights by Franco . Onvour had to retire , because top Unl ' iaii for the halting policy of the TuUericB . G-aribaldi lias had to resign , because he was hindered in his appeals to tho national and patriotic foolintga of his race . General Funti was content to innko mechanical soldiers of the young men who flocked to . hia standard . Garibaldi , not neglecting the discipline , esteemed the mind more than tho matter , tho spirit more than tho drill , and ho sought to inflame his countrymen with the noblo determination to saorilico overytliing for Italy , and rather parish , like tho follower of Artevoldt or Leonidas , than consent to hvo in Austrian oliains . " Victor Emmanuel is reported to sympathise with those views , but a French army is in tho land , and its master would not give his permission for nn independent movement . So strong has tho fueling for n great national struggle grown , that it has reached oven tho Ironch troops , and their ollicers report thut men who entered upon the campaign as ready to fight on ono side as ) the other , oould not now bo depended upon to

      coerce the people whom they have so bravely helped . What is wanting is . that England , in no spirit of hostility to France , but with the full hope of meeting with a warm response , should declare that no Power , or Congress of Powers ' , had one fraction of moral right to dictate the internal regulation of any state , nor to obstruct any nation from throwing , off a yoke that was burdensome and adopting a form of government in conformity with its wishes and views . That , if this doctrine of non-intervention should be infringed by any Power , the aggrieved nation should be entitled to claim aid from any one noble enough to defend its' cause and that whether England interfered or riot by force . of" arms , her strongest sympathies would be on theVidvi . of justice and right . The less palaver , the Jess argument , the better ; and the man who can deliver a " plain message in the plainest words , will speak most ' powerfully to . the heart of-Europe , and do the most to prevent any combination of despots daring to overstep a boundary which ' the conscience of humanity opposes to their crimes . It is not likely that such a course would plunge us into a dangvrous war . Austria would be powerless , because she 'knows the first appeal to great principles would not only cause the dreaded voice of liberty to echo from Alp to Alp , but would call Hungary to . arms . The sentiment would commend itself to the . French y if ; - 0 > f if g a s - : 1 a t 2 , l , , f ' . 3 fc * \ i > '

      nation , and the people -who boast that they fight for an idea would not fail to resent the conduct of any uovernmeut that sought . to make them combat uj ^ unst a sentiment to which every true heart would respond ,, and a principle which every clear ' ¦ inti'lk'ct would commend . Mr . Koebuclc lias arrived , by a course of snarling , at t ! io Manchester conclusion , —that we should let the Continent .. . alone . ' He would have us go to no Congress , unless prepared to fight for t' y .-. nci pl . t'S we espoused . This is . short-wilted and short-sighted—there is no inevitable connexion betu-c'cn \ i ! 'H . rming and fighting . . To uphold the truth is a constant duty—to fight for it an occasional one , to be decided , by careful calculation when events arise . 'If England had made the Russian interference with Hungary a casus belli , in all probability nn breach of the peace would have' occurred , " and if it had , a much smaller sacrifice hi 184 S would have saved the larger sacrifice and disaster of the Crimean war . As ; a mere matter of expediency , it is safer to run , the risk'of being involved in a contest on behalf of , great principles , than of being driven to one for ' sordid interests . It ' England falters at this time , j we shall soon have-fresh questions of a more dan- j gerous nature . Austria is scheming , if driven from , Ttaly , to obtain compensation on tlic Danube , and ( the ' French Emperor is known to have some 1 notions of settling that part of the world in his ; linporial way . The Ultramontane party long for , a war between England and France ; the Hour- t Ironists would be delighted to stir up any quarrel , that they thought thoy could turn to account ; and ( wo do not stand as well as we ought with the mer- . < can tile , class in Franco , because we wait for reci- .-probity instead of doing what thoy know we can t aflbrd—take oil ' the duties that interfere with trade , j The intellectual Frenchman would gladly go with , us , but we odor him no opportunity so long as we t refrain from acting a . s we did act on the question „ of slavery—determined to maintain an idea that f he can recognise as sound , and support a principle * ho . knows to" be true . { ' f - 1 ¦ ' a

      Untitled Article

      | A YARN OF THE GREAT EASTERN . At u moment when large sums are lying comparatively idle from tho 'failure , of the ioint-stock company system to provide reasonable security for the money committed to its euro , it is instructive to examine a conspicuous illustration of tho vices belonging to virtually irresponsible boards , and their prodigious power of bringing enterprises to ruui and shareholders to distrose . Our roadurs will easily perceive that we re for to tho oauo of tho Grout Eastern steamship , which , instead of ploughing tho waves of tho Atlantic , or defying tho storms of the Indian Ocean , is stuck fiwt aground on tho shoals of directors and * con tractors , and ruiiuiruii no blue lights , rockets , or rovorsud ensign * to make it tho m . wt ooumuuuows signal ot distrerts . Wo deeply regret tho ( li ^ r uoeful failure of an enterprise which coinmondud itself bo , stronirly to tho national prido ofa maritime peop le , j and we still sinoorely hxpo it will bo rescued

      ¦ . from the fate to which directorship is fast hurrying it . But even if—which we won ' t believe—the big ship is destined to be sucked up in the ^ reat whirlpool of jobbery , the lesson would be a cheap one for the public if it were fairly Isarnt . We need not recapitulate how the difficulties of the speculation began , and how if swallowed up £ 640 , 000 , and brought its original proprietors to the desperate resolution of selling it to new comers at a ruinous sacrifice . Then came a prospectus of afresh company , " liability limited , " so the law said , but the directors placed no limit whatever to their own liability to drag the shareholders through all the bogs and quagmires of disorder ' and disaster . The prospectus stated that £ 330 , 000 would be the utmost sum required to purchase the b ^ g ship ami make her swim proaporously out of the " silver Thames , " which was to be a veritable golden river to the purchasers of the guinea shares . Although the direction was not , in appearance , the happiest that might have been compounded , a very large portion of the sum demanded was soon subscribed , and had all the appearance of a national contribution to a public enterprise . Every class , down even to domestic servants was , we believe , represented in the proprietary list ; but when the means were at hand for a splendid and perfectly successful experiment , the evil genius of directorcraft provided a shipwreck before it-had properly completed a launch . The first diity of the board , which consisted erf Messrs . W . J . IJeale , the Hon . F > Berkeley , M . l \ , 11 . J . Campbell , William Dargan , Herbert Ingrain , M . P ., William Jackson , M . P ., L . S . Magnus , Dodson , Outbili , and Cargill , was to enter into careful contracts for the completion of the vessel , and in this they failed most egregiously , as results have shown . Oa the 20 th August last Mr . Magnus-told the shareholders , at a nfeeting , that a majority of his colleagues had entered into very unsatisfactory engagements with . Mr . Scott Russell ; he assured them that the ship would not be satisfactorily finished , and predicted that unless the proprietary intervened , the under- ^ taking would , within twelve months , be worse off than ever . lie proposed a committee of inquiry , which was also advocated by Mr . Alderman Hose .. The chairman , Mr . j tol / Koy Campbell , did not agree to this , and it was vehemently opposed by Mr . Jackson . Unfortunately , the shareholders , as is too customary , suffered themselves to be misled by the Board , and they did not inquire , but went blindly on . Then came extravagant ¦ feasts to thousands of persons , and a system of expensive pulling ^ that made many fear the gaudy decorations of the great saloon had swallowed up , together with the champagne and chickens , a little fortune , that had better have been spent in substantial work . Mr . Magnus ' s warnings avovlj pooh-poohed , the ship went to sea , and U » o " board" was full of loud talk about voyages to America , and goodness knows where , which was in Corrupted by the " collapse " otf" Hastings . Bang went the mismanaged " jacket "—up went one : of tho big funnels—glass and gilding were smashed to shivers , together with the board ' s reputation , and miserable stokers and pokers were scalded touVuth ; but the directors would neither burn nor drown . The pros * told the truth about this great " blow up , " in sj > ito of solicitations and exhortations to pom- the " oil of fools " and falsehood over tho stormy waye . s that » itatod the concern , titill tho public hoped a groat deal . Never bo / bro hud ship no sturdily resisted nil explosion of . suoh magnitude : she was well' under command of her able captum , ana seemed proudly independent of wind and wuvo . The explosion may , after all , bo fortunate for the . directors , as it certainly was fin' tho public , who mMit otherwise have boun tempted to boliovo in the * " board , " and put to sea , to tho number of thousunds , in an unnropuivd ship , which aomo . groat catastrophe might have overwhelmed . * »» o trial of tho engines provoked frouh doubls , . and now comes tho publication of a document , which proves > that in subslunco , if not . in detail , Mr . Magnus and Mr . Alderman Row wore quite right , und Mint u very grave ouso for inquiry presents ltooU to the shareholder * . According to u report , dated , lath October , und signed by Messrs . Unyluy awd Ridloy—for many years surveyors to Moyil s- — by ]\ Jr Patterson , of liristol , tho groat shiji-builuor , ami by Mr . . Jordan , surveyor to the Liverpool umlorwriturd ,--won » H eminent , and ol good repute—tho hull of thu ship is not comploLud , ana

      Untitled Article

      No 506 . Dec . 3 , 1859 . ] TH E LEAD E B . 1321

      Untitled Article

      SATURDAY , DECEMBER 3 , 1859 . ¦ ¦ . ¦¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ' ¦ . i

      . : - —Y- /*&#Tv (T Hh (&Gt; ^ Mij^ V^Jh ^ I^-A O^ Jv ** *&Gt;K/ ^ -U£L° £ Ola! I:, I ^ ^ R.Ct&^ ¦ ^^^^ ^ "^ * ~ Y° \ — -«—

      v -So ' . ( c ) — : —«

      Untitled Article

      OFFICE , NO . IS , CATHERINE-STREET , STUANI ) , W . C .

      Untitled Article

      NOTICES ' TO CORRESPONDENTS ; No notice can bo tn&un of anonymous correspondence . Whatever ij * intended for insertion must be authentieal . od by the name and adclrc-ss of the writer ; not nocossuiily for publication , but as n guarantee of his good faith . It is impossible to acknowledge the mass of letters we receive . Their insertion is often delayed , owing' to a press of matter ; and When oinitted . it is frequently from reasons quite independent of the merits of the communication . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications .

      Untitled Article

      SUBSCRIPTION TO " THE LEADER . " ONE GUINEA PER YEAR , UNSTAMPED , PREPAID . ( DELIVERED ^ GKATIS . )

      Untitled Article

      There is nothiny so revolutionary , because there is nothing so unnatural and convulsive , as the strain to keep thinys fixed when all the ' . world is by the very law of its creation in eternal progress . —Dn . Arnold .

      F»T T: ' -Am* ' * Uou F[ Jk-Jjjair.S. __^__. _

      fubtiq Sflfuirs .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 3, 1859, page 1321, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2323/page/13/