Mr. Stansfeld was on Toes* presented by his constituents with
a piece of plate, value three hundred guineas, as an expression of their esteem and confidence. In his reply, Mr. Stansfeld made a popular and telling defence of his own conduct in not deserting his friend Mazzini, paid a high tribute to Lord Palmerston's cou- rage and generosity in supporting him, and then proceeded to defend the recent action of the Government. He said that they considered the invasion of Schleswig lawless, and proposed to the neutral Powers, France and Russia, to enforce the law of Europe as against Germany, and when those Powers refused they tried the experiment of a Conference, which he prayed would "come to something like a fair and righteous conclusion between Denmark and Germany." That is all very well, but Mr. Stansfeld does not explain why, if the three neutrals were bound, one of them was not, when left alone, still so bound. Is it that England could not have defended Schleswig? If that is to be the defence, let the Ministry state it fairly, and then explain, if they can, the mis- management which spends thirty millions a year on armament-3 and leaves us thus powerless and contemptible.
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