DISSOLUTION OF FARLIAMFaNL.
Efrain the Edw. burgh Review.] Our limits on the present occasion forbid us to undertake a review of the last session in the House. of Commoms, and indeed- the task-would he neither an agreeable nor a profitable one: But all the infirmities of purpose or of judgment which prevailed in the-country or in the former Ministry with reference to the war, were represented. with tenfold viru- lence and absurdity in Parliament. Air illustrious Prince, whose ob- serrations on political affairs are as rare and temperate as they are sensie ble, publicly remarked, that it was an experiment in our history to con- duct a great war with the unbounded.freedom of discussion this country now enjoys; and it was impossible not to feel that this circumstance exposed' our alliances to some peril and gave not seldom an advantage to our enemy. The House of Commons, however, was deaf to this advice. It appeared at one moment ready to transfer the conduct of the war to a committee-room up-stairs ; and after having pledged itself by an address to the Crown to the full support of the-war, it attempted to force on the Government a direct breach of faith with our Allies by refusing to satiation the Turkish loam-and it augmented a hundredfold all the difficulties-the nation had to surmount. Meanwhile the demeanour of the nation itself was infinitely more composed, consistent, and rational, than that of its representatives in Parliament. Out of doors there was no. vacillation, and no fear, but a common determination' and a manly confidence in the future.
If would not be difficult to trace to its origin the disorder and Twerp- nization which so discreditably affected the House of Commons during the last session. If we look back to the circumstances under WhicK it was elected in 1852, an iera seems to have rolled away since that occur- rence. Lord Derby was Minister; Mr. Disraeli led the House of Com- mons ; the agitation of the Free-trade contest still-vibrated through the country ; and that oempact band of country gentlemen, who have re- mained for nearly three years on the left hand of the Speaker, are the identical patriots who were returned in 1852 to preserve British agrieule ture and restore protective duties. British agriculture has not altogether perished in the interval, but the occupation of the Country party was gone ; and, with one or two honourable exceptions, the Tory side of the House has been reduced to the meagre amusement it may derive from Mr. Disraeli's powers of invective. The Liberal party; however, had also lost the bond of union which the cause of free trade had created be- tween statesmen, differing materially in their views on almost all the other questions of government. No leader continued to exercise the in- fluence necessary to combined action. The Government was weak, for the House of Commons was divided; and that assembly, which needs courage, firmness, and an intelligible plan of action in its chiefs, looked for these qualities in vain. . . . .
We speak without the slightest knowledge of the intentions which may prevail in the higher regions of the State, and we express no more than our own independent judgment and convictions. But we think it evict dent, that there never was a time at which it more strongly became the duty and.the interest on the Ministers of the Crown , to appeal to the nation, and to rest their future continuance- in office upon a vote of con- fidenee, not of Lord Derby's House of Commons, but of the people Come when it may—and it is impossible the trial can long be delayed; —it rests with the constituencies of the United Kingdom to 'pronounce the verdict, and to choose for their representatives men who faithfully re- fleet the prevailing convictions of the natioe., In the changes- of modern political society, the. Members of the House of Commons are taught to look less to their ostensible leader on the front benches, and.more. to the directiag spirit of the country. The divisions, the intrigues, the tricks of faction, ond the cabals of personal.ambition, lose their value and their force out of doors ; and, to the great detriment of the House of Commons —we may even add, to the great danger of the constitution—a suspicion floats over the country, that a public opinion exists amongst us, more en- lightened, more firm, more. tenacious, than that which can be traced in the discussions of that assembly. Nothing can. e more fatal to the ex- isting institutions, and even to the liberties of this country, than, such an opinion ; and it is a matter of vital interest to the nation that the House of Commons should.lose nothing of its dignity and authority in support, ing the measures required forth° defence and the government of the ems pire To these considerations may be added the argument, (though it is one of secondary importance in our eyes,) that a dissolution of Parliament, and an appeal to the nation, is the most complete practical answer to the cry for what is termed Administrative Reform. The public are supremely unjust when they challenge the Government to employ men of bighee ability, of greater energy, and in the vigour of youth in high offices.; for it is not the Government which gives servants to the State, butthe
and more especially the constituencies of 'England, which regulate and limit the choice of the Government. . . . . Is a man to be returned beo cause he isoich, or because he. is of an old family, or because he is chair, man of the railway company, or sent down to a borough by the Reform. Club or the Carlton, or som.e charlatan versed in the claptrap of the day, but utterly unfit to deal with.the great interests of the nation? Or isle, to be chosen by the.voice of his. fellow citizens because they place con- fidence in his character and talents,. knowing, him to be a fit man, to ail. the deliberations of Parliament, and capable of taking an active part in the conduct of public affairs ? The former alternative gives you, &Parlia- ment of dullards and of jobbers, who, when called. upon to take. offtce, cover. their party witleridicule, and the Government itself With contempt.. The letter alternative can alone place within reach of the public service a: Parliament of statesmen.
If theemeortance of this distinction were felt as it ought to be for- it. affects the vital interests of the nation.—if the sacred nature of this duty were-not degraded to the brutality.of a party conflict, and sometimes lost altogether in bribery and corruption—it', in short, the constituencies, at Eugland.would recollect that the maxim of " the.right man in . the right place." applies in, the first instance to their own representatives,--an elec- tion, and the elective assembly, would assume a very different character. Instead, of a.candieete, fit or ASA, seeking to win a seat, we should. see an intelligent body of eleotors seeking a. candidate, and choosing him not for his accidental position or his importunity, but for the qualities w.hich, fit ben to discharge the greatest trust that can. be confided to him by thet citizens of a free state.
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