LORD SALISBURY AND LORD GRANVILLE.
NEITHER Lord Salisbury, who, though not nominally, really headed the opposition to the Army Regulation Bill, nor Lord Granville, who, of course, both nominally and really led the defence, will rise in reputation as statesmen by their speeches of Monday night. Lord Salisbury was too rash and violent ; Lord Granville was too suave and com- plaisant. Lord Salisbury squirted forth in a jet of vitriol ; Lord Granville descended in a gentle rain of syrup. Lord Salisbury made it apparent in the whole tone and man- ner of his speech that he despises the system of our existing Government, believes the only working power by which the wheels of the State can be turned, and its inert mass can be propelled, is the power of popular passion and infatuation ; Lord Granville made it apparent that, though disagreeing with Lord Salisbury, he is totally unprepared to bring home "the hatred of class against class, or creed against creed," to the order to which he belongs its relative position and true but that there was evidence of the very reverse, that those significance in the State. Lord Salisbury's speech was in measures which pass most successfully are measures oon- cffect a declaration that the aristocratic form of government ceived for the very purpose of sweeping away class hatreds and was and is the best, and ought to be upheld against the steady righting the grievances of persons under religious disabilities,— democratic degeneration of our institutions. Lord Gran- the Irish Land measure, for instance, having been carried by a vine's was not a reply ; it was a deprecatory expression of Parliament of landlords, for the very purpose of healing the feud alarm and regret at the audacity of Lord Salisbury, but with- between landlords and tenants,—and the Irish Church Disestab- cut any trace of that ministerial firmness and resolve with- lishment having been carried by a Parliament of Protestants, for .out hectoring and without defiance, by which such a speech the very purpose of doing justice to Catholics. Lord Granville as Lord Salisbury's might have been, and ought to have been, might then have observed further that if the House of Lords met. It seems to us that Lord Salisbury did his best to is to oppose the re-organization of the Army on a more popular convince the country that the Peers are entirely out of basis, on the mere plea that the popular ideas of the day are harmony, indeed out of the possibility of harmony, with our agencies of political licence and corruption, they would succeed chief political institutions ; and that Lord Granville thus far at only in teaching all the world that their ideas of morality and least lent his countenance to the view, that in his complaisance corruption are not those of the people, or even of the purest and excessive fear of seeming to threaten, he shrank from and most high-minded among the people, and that the indicating in a simple and straightforward manner to the Ministry of the day, at all events, could accept no lesson Lords the nature and results of the collision which Lord from the House of Lords on such a subject ; that Salisbury invited, and which have since actually so discovered having announced their condemnation of the principle themselves that the Lords are placed in a thoroughly of Purchase, it would be impossible for them to lend it foolish position. If Lord Salisbury illustrated the enormous any further sanction ; and that, therefore, if the Lords difficulty of getting the Lords to co-operate heartily with the persisted in upholding it, they could only have the choice Commons, Lord Granville illustrated the equally great diffi- between two alternatives,—to resign, or to ignore the Lords' culty of getting a Minister who sits in the Lords to con- opinion, and abolish purchase by Royal Warrant, instead of eider properly the dignity of the Administration to which he by Bill. It would be unworthy, Lord Granville might have belongs, when it comes into competition with the dignity of said, of any high-minded administration to continue to lend the order into which he was born. We expected to find Lord its practical sanction to a system it had deliberately and Salisbury insulting the principle and character of our institu- strongly condemned, and that, therefore, if the Duke of rtions, for he has often shown the same dangerous tendency Richmond's resolution should be accepted, the Lords would before; we did not quite expect to see Lord Granville so much be in the undignified position of having launched a brutton biassed and influenced by the spirit of the assembly which he fulmen at an administration they could neither replace nor leads, as to recoil from explaining simply to the House of control. If the Ministry should resign, the friends of Par- Lords the very great danger to themselves, as well as the abstract chase could not command a majority in the other House, and, political impropriety, of attempting to overrule the deliberate therefore, could not carry out their own views ; and if the decision of a Government which they have no sort of power to Ministry did not resign, but simply proceeded to carry out remove, and this in relation to a purely administrative question, their declared principles by Royal Warrant, the Lords would Just consider what Lord Salisbury had said in attempting simply have proved to the country the folly and insignificance of (too successfully) to persuade the Peers to reject the Army their violent protest. This seems to us a drift which would
Bill. He had, indeed, in the first part of his speech, pre- have been worthy of Lord Granville, and which, as mainly rest- tended to deprecate the notion that we are condemned ing on facts, and involving no threat, could not have irritated
"to live under the rule of ignorant and rapacious needlessly the pride of the House of Lords, while it would have men," and had said that were it so, it would be better given it fair warning of the absurd position into which it was
ell, the reply to all this, as it seems to us, should have been former was the less unexpected.
passed successfully are measures in which appeal is made to
with Lord Salisbury, he is totally unprepared to bring home "the hatred of class against class, or creed against creed," to the order to which he belongs its relative position and true but that there was evidence of the very reverse, that those significance in the State. Lord Salisbury's speech was in measures which pass most successfully are measures oon- cffect a declaration that the aristocratic form of government ceived for the very purpose of sweeping away class hatreds and was and is the best, and ought to be upheld against the steady righting the grievances of persons under religious disabilities,— democratic degeneration of our institutions. Lord Gran- the Irish Land measure, for instance, having been carried by a vine's was not a reply ; it was a deprecatory expression of Parliament of landlords, for the very purpose of healing the feud alarm and regret at the audacity of Lord Salisbury, but with- between landlords and tenants,—and the Irish Church Disestab- cut any trace of that ministerial firmness and resolve with- lishment having been carried by a Parliament of Protestants, for .out hectoring and without defiance, by which such a speech the very purpose of doing justice to Catholics. Lord Granville as Lord Salisbury's might have been, and ought to have been, might then have observed further that if the House of Lords met. It seems to us that Lord Salisbury did his best to is to oppose the re-organization of the Army on a more popular convince the country that the Peers are entirely out of basis, on the mere plea that the popular ideas of the day are harmony, indeed out of the possibility of harmony, with our agencies of political licence and corruption, they would succeed chief political institutions ; and that Lord Granville thus far at only in teaching all the world that their ideas of morality and least lent his countenance to the view, that in his complaisance corruption are not those of the people, or even of the purest and excessive fear of seeming to threaten, he shrank from and most high-minded among the people, and that the indicating in a simple and straightforward manner to the Ministry of the day, at all events, could accept no lesson Lords the nature and results of the collision which Lord from the House of Lords on such a subject ; that Salisbury invited, and which have since actually so discovered having announced their condemnation of the principle themselves that the Lords are placed in a thoroughly of Purchase, it would be impossible for them to lend it foolish position. If Lord Salisbury illustrated the enormous any further sanction ; and that, therefore, if the Lords difficulty of getting the Lords to co-operate heartily with the persisted in upholding it, they could only have the choice Commons, Lord Granville illustrated the equally great diffi- between two alternatives,—to resign, or to ignore the Lords' culty of getting a Minister who sits in the Lords to con- opinion, and abolish purchase by Royal Warrant, instead of eider properly the dignity of the Administration to which he by Bill. It would be unworthy, Lord Granville might have belongs, when it comes into competition with the dignity of said, of any high-minded administration to continue to lend the order into which he was born. We expected to find Lord its practical sanction to a system it had deliberately and Salisbury insulting the principle and character of our institu- strongly condemned, and that, therefore, if the Duke of rtions, for he has often shown the same dangerous tendency Richmond's resolution should be accepted, the Lords would before; we did not quite expect to see Lord Granville so much be in the undignified position of having launched a brutton biassed and influenced by the spirit of the assembly which he fulmen at an administration they could neither replace nor leads, as to recoil from explaining simply to the House of control. If the Ministry should resign, the friends of Par- Lords the very great danger to themselves, as well as the abstract chase could not command a majority in the other House, and, political impropriety, of attempting to overrule the deliberate therefore, could not carry out their own views ; and if the decision of a Government which they have no sort of power to Ministry did not resign, but simply proceeded to carry out remove, and this in relation to a purely administrative question, their declared principles by Royal Warrant, the Lords would Just consider what Lord Salisbury had said in attempting simply have proved to the country the folly and insignificance of (too successfully) to persuade the Peers to reject the Army their violent protest. This seems to us a drift which would
Bill. He had, indeed, in the first part of his speech, pre- have been worthy of Lord Granville, and which, as mainly rest- tended to deprecate the notion that we are condemned ing on facts, and involving no threat, could not have irritated
"to live under the rule of ignorant and rapacious needlessly the pride of the House of Lords, while it would have men," and had said that were it so, it would be better given it fair warning of the absurd position into which it was at once "to cease this mockery of legislation and this voluntarily plunging. But the drift of Lord Gran- pretence of statesmanship and morality ;" but the further ville's actual speech was very much weaker indeed. He 'he got in his speech, the more nearly did he seem to protested indeed against Lord Salisbury's libels on the people be aiming at that very result,—namely, that we ought to despair and the Government ; he retorted on the Tories the sanction of all sound legislation, all good statesmanship, and high they had given to a policy of Army economy ; he insisted morality under such a political system as we have recently imploringly, and even apologetically, on the influence which adopted. He declared, for instance, that the present Government the House of Lords had gained under the Duke of Wellington's had been very successful in carrying some measures and very guidance, simply because the Duke avoided as much as possible unsuccessful in carrying others, and that "if you carefully coming into collision with the other House of Parliament ; and, classify these measures, you will find that they cannot carry again, on the loss of that influence under the guidance of the much through the House of Commons, unless they are for- late Lord Derby, because Lord Derby cared more for winning .tunately able to appeal to the hatred of class against class or "sterile triumphs " than for bringing the two Houses of the creed against creed." If that be so, it looks very much as if Legislature into harmonious co-operation. And he "begged we were under the rule of "ignorant and rapacious men," their Lordships' pardon "for saying even so much as this. He and at all events, it seems pretty certain that Lord Salisbury, did not say a word of the consequences to the Government who believes this to be so, has come to the conclusion that it and to the Peers themselves. He did not point out would be well to abandon this "mockery of legislation, this that as the Administration could not be responsible for a pretence of statesmanship and morality." Further, he goes on to system it had publicly condemned, it must either .say that the Councils of the present Government are ruled by retire, or remain and ignore what the Lords had done, and "theories of the demagogues and the stump orators," that un- that either the one course or the other would involve sheer 'worthy political bargaining with supporters must be of the and useless mortification, and loss of credit to the Upper House. .essence of every popular government, and that the Army, if ruled His evident wish to conciliate the Lords by studious politeness by the existing administration under the proposed system overrode all the pride of the Minister and the indignation of the will be, after the abandonment of purchase, governed not by Liberal, and the House might almost have conceived from his ." seniority as tempered by selection," but by "stagnation as speech that he and his colleagues might, at least for a time, tempered by jobbery," If purchase were abandoned, the accept a defeat, and continue to administer a discarded and Army, he said, would be handed over to the impotence of condemned military system in deference to the wish of a ." combined senility and corruption." In a word, Lord Salis- majority of the Peers.
burypouredforth the vials of aristocratic wrath on all our We can hardly say which of the two speeches seems to us, ()mating institutions, and proved that, at least in his own con- on the whole, the least well advised,—Lord Salisbury's declar- ception, the use of the House of Lords was to act as a bul- ation of war to the knife against" the political changes of recent wark against popular principles, and to save the Army from years, or Lord Granville's silvery deference to the voice of an
the defilement of democratic dishonesty.Assembly which had loudly cheered Lord The The
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very simple. The leader of the House might have declared in some respects the greater evil, as indicating the enorm- that he agreed with Lord Salisbury in regarding all legisla- ous influence for evil which the social power of the Upper etion as a mockery which was intended to carry out the House still exerts in crippling a Ministry that ought by this .designs of "ignorant and rapacious men," but that he could time to have seen its way to a thorough reform of that un- met only see no evidence that the only measures which are manageable and unstatesmanlike Assembly.
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