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Tomahawk (1867-1870), 13th March 1869, Edition 1 of 1, Page unpag, THE TOMAHAWK: A SATURDAY JOURNAL OF SATI...

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    • LETTER OF ADVICE To the Right Hon. Benja...
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      The Tomahawk: A Saturday Journal Of Sati...

      THE TOMAHAWK : A SATURDAY JOURNAL OF SATIRE . € MUii frg grtfettt fgtftttt " INVITAT CULPAM QUI PECCATUM PRJETERIT . "

      No. 97.] London, March 13, 186 9. [Price...

      No . 97 . ] LONDON , MARCH 13 , 186 9 . [ Price Twopence . _

      Letter Of Advice To The Right Hon. Benja...

      LETTER OF ADVICE To the Right Hon . Benjamin Disraeli .

      My Dear Old Friend,—It Is Some Time Sinc...

      My Dear Old Friend , —It is some time since I favoured you with any of my characteristic epistles ; but now that Parliament has met again , and you are once more in that position which you adorn , —in your own proper place ,- on the front

      Opposition bench , I feel that I ought to address you again . General Gladstone has issued his proclamation , and has taken up his position , and a very strong one it is ; he has sat down before the obsolete and time-worn fortress of the Irish Church ; he . has drawn his parallels with great skill and

      judgment ; he is at the head of an overwhelming force . The garrison mainly consists of old men and women , and when once the outworks of Prejudice are carried , there can be no doubt that General Gladstone will enter the old fort triumphantly at the head of the Liberal army , aiid will set the captive

      free by striking off her chains . Whatever you and your followers may say , there is no danger of the victorious army giving way to a thirst for plunder ; the persons and property of the conquered garrison will be respected , and all will be allowed to depart in peace , if not in plenty .

      This is the present prospect , and you are the only man that can disturb it ; you can come to the help of the doomed fortress , and by harassing the besieging army you can provoke them to fury against the garrison and all their kin , and make it impossible to check their advance . It is worth while to consider

      whether it would not more aid the cause . which you have at heart to accept the undeniable fact of your own inferiority , and to reserve your energies and forces for a fairer combat and a nobler cause , in which you will have some chance of victory and not the certainty of defeat .

      Let us drop allegory . . It is possible you may have determined on not abiding by t he result of the simple and direct opposition which you have offered to the second reading of the Bill . It is possible that , having shown the smallness of your force and the hopelessness of deferring the execution of Mr .

      Gladstone ' s purpose , as far as the House of Commons is concerned , you may look forward to a victory in the House of Lords . But before you determine on such a course , think what it means ; reflect in what a position you and your ^ J party ^^~^ ^~ v ^^ ^ B ^^^ W will V V BBB BBB ^^ B be B ^ pr ^ B ^ V p lT ^^ laced ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ ; ^ f and ^^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^¦ pV * tell ^ BT ^ BBP ^ BB ^^ - me ^^ ^^ *^ ^>^ , ^ M e ^ " x *~ ^™ c * V ept ^ B— ^^^ F VB * the W BBP * ^ B » * BB »» execrati ^^^ BB BBF ^ B ^ ^ B ^ p B | BbV ^ B 1 W W o " ^^ 0 n B | B BV

      of your countrymen , what can you gain by it ? Granted that you have a majority of the Peers sufficiently decided and sufthe ficien country tly bold ? t can o rej you ect th recall e Bill the , can answer you change which Englan the op d inion , Scot of - land , and Ireland have given to the direct appeal made to them ?

      It is no uncertain voice that we hear now ; it is deep if not loud ; it comes from determined minds , from resolute hearts ; it is backed by the unanimous cry of those , on whom the injustice falls , that they can and will bear it no longer . Those who will not listen to that voice—those who try to stifle

      that cry—will provoke a storm before which they must be scattered like chaff before the wind . Upon their conduct at this crisis depends the very existence of the Conservative party . To offer a factious , because it is an useless opposition to this measure , will be to create living , moving , mighty monsters , from

      those figments of their brain which now are but shadows , unreal and harmless . There is no disgrace in bowing the head in reluctant assent , in dropping the point of the sword in wise inaction , before the unmistakeable demand of your countrymen . There is disgrace , there is ruin in resisting where you can never

      conquer—in fanning into flame the dim embers of religious strifein provoking the fearful demon of civil war ; and this is what opposition by the House of Lords to the decision of the Commons on such a question really means . If you cannot see the justice of the measure , protest against it ; invoke on the heads

      of those who carry it the punishment of their crime , if crime it be ; but do not bring on your country misfortunes so terrible . You will say , perhaps—or those behind you will say—what security have we that if we yield now we may not have to yield next the House of Lords and the Crown 1 I answer that you

      have the security of the good sense , and the love of order , which distinguish the British people . By accepting the declaration of the country on this question you will gain the sympathy of many , the respect of all . Your party will be ten times strengthened to resist the attacks of Revolutionists when

      they come ; and the minds of those persons of extreme opinions who have joined the Liberal forces in this cause will be soothed —their passions allayed instead of being roused , as they would be by harassing opposition and petty defeats . You and your party have always professed the greatest

      anxiety to see certain social reforms carried for the benefit of the poorer classes . You have done much good work on their behalf . The longer the settlement of the Irish Church question is deferred , the longer must those measures , which are so direly needed , be delayed .

      From every motive—from the motive of prudence , of selfpreservation , of love for your country and for the Constitution yes , even from the love of principle—we may expect from you a wise and glorious submission . I know that the Conservatives have rarely listened to the voice of prudence ; but it will not be for want of warning if you lead them now into a pit-fall deep enough to swallow them up for ever . Tomahawk ,

  • Citation
    • Tomahawk (1867-1870), March 13, 1869, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/t/issues/ttw_13031869/page/1/