TOPICS OF THE DAY.
OUR SUPPLEMENTS-1.-TITE-"PUBLIC-AD-rpHE PRE4S,330ILI IN TOWN ,AND CQU • , NTRY.
IT is not improbable that some of our best rea are lookhvg,* out for our gratuitous volume this month. If w e do not gratify them, it is not because we have ceased to deligb.t in scattering Valuable, or at least what we deem valuable, instruction : but we cannot trust good seed to the winds; and at this moment., it is pretty certain, the Public—the large and portly Public, whom we are necessarily compelled to consult--is inclining a long ear, partly to the sound of coming cannon, and partly to the domestic roar of the Elections. We must rest upon our oars awhile. A Supple- ment just now, like either of our last two, Would be offering to teach a bridegroom on his wedding-day a new method of solving cubic equations: We bide our time ; and in the mean while, work on in administering to the occasion ias usual. --Something- sopererogeb'erweliave attempted this week: we know of old, that a despatch without a map is something like a locked trunk without a key : but where, in so very local a matter as the siege of a single citadel, famous though it be, is a map for the occasion to be had? We have therefore availed ourselves of the resources within our mach, and have given a something tope- 'graphical—not exactly a map or chart, but a sketch, such as ..n aide-de-camp would scribble out for his general, of the quasi Seat .cif War, as the Herald calls it, and which, being placed conspicu- ously, will enable our readers to understand the movements of the French Marshal, and the resistance of the famous old Dutch General CHASSE—he who, according to the Newspapers at least, would aim at being the VAN TROMP of his day, in a citadel only, instead of being aboard ship. It seems that the siege of Antwerp is to be the Christmas entertainment for this season—here, then, is our programme of the pantomime : we dare say, to the quidnunes of the day, it will prove as entertaining as Mother Goose, or the Dragon of Wantley—the parties engaged may possibly think otherwise.
The Elections are, however, the great Home subject, on the re- sult of which more depends than the march of many hundreds of thousands of men. This will prove no pantomime,—at least it must be a speaking one ; and in that case, the Public will expect the Spectator to play a part of no inconsiderable vigilance and activity. It is indeed our intention to look closely after the Men and Things of the Coming Election. Already have we devoted much time to the watching of the preparations ; and our present columns are abundant in matter bearing on the great topic, and rich in a variety of contributions from trustworthy correspondents. It is a proud feeling we indulge in, upon knowledge, that in many quarters the Spectator is not merely an intelligencer, but a guide. We take this opportunity of addressing our correspondents in all parts—not merely to call for their activity and vigilance, but to impress upon them the vast importance of accuracy. Let them write in any interest they think best, but always let them be true : it is the truth we want, " nothing but the truth"—the Crier in the Court of Conscience may finish the sentence. After the Elections, we have our plan for doing something that will be -useful, if it were for nothing more than showing exactly the character and importance of the Country's choice under the Reform Bill, in its first stage of trial. The Bill was "warranted sound," but still a " trial" is always granted by fair dealers.
When these matters are disposed of, it is probable that we shall resume our Teaching Extraordinary and gratuitous : but—for there is a but—we must be convinced that the Public desire to be taught, and will incline a willing ear. We know they want in- struction ; but one of the most certain signs of ignorance is an in- difference to the teacher.
However the condition of the Public on this head remains to be seen, the state of the Press is certainly manifest enough. The two Supplements already published, were got together at the ex- pense of great labour and much money : they embrace in a very compendious form a vast sum of information gathered from many quarters, and cast into a form of easy consultation. Of the rarity and inaccessibility of this species of knowledge, at least in a con- denselform, who so well aware as the London Newspapers ?—who, in fact, without mincing the matter, betray so lamentably, on nu- merous occasions, the utter want of this information? Have they acknowledged, then, and hailed the labours of a fellow-instructor ? Not a jot: not one of them (that we have seen), save the Globe on one occasion, has even intimated the existence of such things. Oh no! they cannot afford it. And yet, had our Supplements con- sisted of some small scandal, some mere nonentities about the everyday doings or silly sayings of this or that titled votary of fashion, whole strings of paragraphs would have been quoted from us—whole columns marked with perpetual and grateful acknow- ledgments of the source whence they derived their valuable in- formation.
How very differently, and how very creditably, has the Country division of the Press behaved on this occasion! They were not only aware of what we had done, but they could afford to acknow- ledge it. From more than sixty different Country, ,Journals have we received notices of the labours in question, many of them exhibiting very considerable ability, and all .hearty and generous. Imfact, self apart, what we have seen in this matter leads us to Ibelieve that the Provincial Press is making the giant stride in England that has just been taken in France by the same class, and that in all probability the London Press will be ultimately improved (and it wants improvement grievously) by the Country Press galling its heels. We shall let in more light on all this than it has yet received, when, in the course of our projected in- quiries, we come to devote a whole Number to the subject of
" NEWSPAPERS."
While we are acknowledging the most disinterested testimony borne to us from the Country, we are bound to add, that it is not the sole honourable testimony we can boast, of a public kind. We gladly quote the words of a man who, in genius, and in the best intentions and the best nature; is not unworthily held as the fairest representative of our literature, and in whose hands the Public cannot do better than place a portion of its honourable responsibi- lity - we mean Mr. BULWER, the author of Paul Clifford, and the candidate for Lincoln. We extract from the December Number of the New Monthly Magazine, which all the world knows he edites- " I see on your table two Supplements which the Spectator has published,— one on 'the Working of the House of Commons,' the other on 6 Public Expen- diture.' What admirable documents they are ! The first gives a most lumi- nous survey of the internal working of the representative assembly—of its func- tions, and machinery—of its committees, forms, hours of sitting, &c. It con- tains a table showing the entire transactions of the last Session; it displays, in the closest and most masterly manner, the obstructions and delays of the present system; and suggests remedies well worthy of attention, and containing at least the principle and germ of a sound reform. The mass of information—the in- - dustry—the intelligence—the general fairness of this document—are beyond all praise. A more valuable appendix to the Bill of Reform has not been published_ The Supplement on Public Expenditure is not a less extraordinary effort of spirit and ability. It gives a general account of the Expenditure of 1831-2--. shows what may be reduced—what not. The Civil List, Pensions, &c.—all are considered. In fact, it displays a research, a lucid order of arrangement, one tithe of which, if displayed by a Member in an opening speech, would have gained him a permanent reputation. It is by efforts like these, made at great risk—at enormous expense—with a noble direction of judgment, that consults what may instruct the People, and disdains to pander for lucre to their preju- dices and their passions—it is also by philosophical and practical principles, applied to the matter of such facts, and calling the chaos into harmony, that we are made deservedly proud of the better portion of the English Press. And the Examiner and the Spectator have really done what the periodicals in Ann's time vainly boasted—called Wisdom to the breakfast-table, acd brought home the best part of ethics (political knowledge) from the closet to men's daily understanding and ordinary business. These, not palaces and columns, are the public works which a people should covet, and of which legislators should be {-intl."— From the article "Asmodeus at Large," understood to be front the pen of 1y r. Bedwer himself.) No one takes a greater interest in the character of the Press than Mr. BULWER ; and if we have differed from him in his plans for its amelioration, the difference has not been one of object, but simply of proceeding. We think this affair of our Supplements, with a few other escapades of ignorance at some late popular meetings, a pretty good commentary on what we hold to be the state of the London Press and its principal supporters and cham- pions.
The Exposure of the Colonial Expenditure, that we intended to give in this week's Paper, is- grown to more bulk and. importance than we looked for. In fact, we have-lighted on some treasures of information that we were not aware of; and have found an unex- pected and richly-endowed coadjutor on the grand subject of the CANADAS. We wish that other persons, peculiarly connected with the other Colonies, whether in the West, South, or East, and " willing to peach," would forthwith communicate what they know. The subject is one of very great national importance, and to most men, even though pretending to financial knowledge, is either a dead letter or a mystery.
Previous page
