'Or Vruniurr5.
Lord Stanley, at a meeting specially called for the purpose by his own desire, addressed a political lecture to his constituents at Lynn-Regis, last week, on the state of affairs in general since Lord Aberdeen entered on the duties of office ; not forgetting to enumerate the legislative failures of last year. He remarked also on the fact that the admission of Dis- senters to the Universities of Oxford had been carried by a union of Liberal and Conservative Members ; and that Government succeeded with their India bill because the House of Commons took little interest in the subject, but that he was more satisfied than ever that the subject should have been postponed. Upon his vote for the abolition of church- rates he dwelt with manifest relish, and predicted that "the principle of self-support in matters of religion " will be the principle of the next generation. On the topic of national education he remarked, that parties seem drawing nearer to one another; and he laid down three principles as grounds for a satisfactory compromise,—" first, the recognition and the inclusion of existing schools ; secondly, that religions instruction shall everywhere be offered, but everywhere be made optional ; and thirdly, by recognizing the right of self-government." Touching on " Parliamentary reform," he expressed an opinion that the extension of the suffrage is " a question of degree and time ": he said he was ready to deal with small constituencies, which favour corruption, so as to distribute the franchise more equally over the country.
At length touching on the war, Lord Stanley was at pains to make out that the Emperor of Russia has been always anxious to avoid a war with England ; that he had been led to believe Eng- land and Franco could never become cordial allies ; that he bad been led to believe, by the language of the late Government and its supporters, that war was deprecated here, and that Turkey could not be saved; and that he thought we were not in earnest, but in- tended to limit ourselves to a protest. Russia had no intention to conquer Turkey ; and if the quarrel has arisen out of mutual misunder- standing, out of cross-purposes among the Governments, Lord Stanley sees no reason why we should not secure an honourable peace, nor why, if secured now, it would be a mere truce. He is for a "vigorous prose- cution of the war, as leading to a speedy peace ; and moderate terms of peace, as tending to put a speedier end to war " ; more especially because, with our great debt, and the facilities for emigration, our resources are .,sot inexhaustible. He is for an irresistible display of power, "because we cannot afford a long war." In dealing with tho conduct of the war and its disasters, Lord Stanley exonerated our system of Parliamentary government from all blame, but our military organization only partially ; and threw the weight of his censure upon the late Ministry.
Mr. Lowe addressed his constituents, on Tuesday, in the new Music Hall at Kidderminster. He explained, that he had six weeks after en- tering Parliament, accepted office, because he had helped to win the battle, and desired to acquire some official experience ; and he believed that he had assisted Sir Charles Wood in laying the foundations of the greatest benefits for India. He had ceased to hold office, because he had held it long enough for the purpose for which he took it—to gain an in- sight into official life, and to fit himself for any higher office hereafter ; and because he was not any longer disposed to surrender his free speech as an independent Member. He took pains to explain to the meeting, in ex- tenuation of some of his votes that might not have pleased them, and did not altogether please himself, that when a man joins a Government he is expected to sacrifice his individual prejudices to general duty. He would not have joined the Aberdeen Government bad he not felt confidence in its members; but he did not expect that he should have been called upon to vote for the exclusion of Dissenters from the University of Oxford, nor against the abolition of Church-rates. On these questions he ab- stained from voting.
Mr. Lowe cordially approved of the war. Lord Aberdeen's Govern- ment had met with great success in pacific times, but the same success did not attend them in war. "The expedition to the Crimea was well- planned, and sent forth with men and appliances adequate to the execu- tion of its object." All went well as far as the battle of the Alma; but after that battle, instead of marching directly to Sebastopol—instead of entering it on the 21st or 22d September—the Generals were sluggish and neglected the opportunity. From that time there has been nothing but "blunder, mismanagement, and incapacity, of which none of us can speak with patience." " The General has not shown the activity and zeal we had a right to expect" ; and when we compare what he has done with what Sit Arthur Wellesley did when he had hardly a commissariat, no waggon-train, and was badly supplied with money, we must be struck by the humiliating contrast.
The abuse of public patronage has been the vice of the campaign. "Merit is not promoted ; the only thing considered is personal connexion and fa- vour." The Emperor of Russia can fill up offices as he pleases, recall gene- rals, and punish wrongdoers without remorse ; but in our country the states- men in whose hands the gift of these offices is look rather to their own profits or that of their friends, or their Parliamentary influence, than to the interests of the people. There is no use in talking of any kind of reform till you get this altered. Mr. Lowe objected to the remedy proposed by Parlia- ment, the inquiry, and the remedy applied by the Government—commissions to the Crimea. His remedies would be, first, the recall of Lord Raglan. "But there was a reason which he believed operated with, the Government to pre- vent the recall of Lord Raglan, and no doubt it was an important one : it was, that he had acted throughout most harmoniously with our gallant allies, and had never by any intemperate sally or unnecessary opposition interrupted the excellent terms on which they had acted with us during this campaign." His second remedy would be the reconstitution of our military system, so that merit shall be the road to promotion. But that is a question for the constituencies. "They must be content that their Members should cease to distribute Parliamentary patronage among them with both hands ; Members must cease to sell themselves to Government for the sake of this patronage ; and Ministers must give up this system also - because, until merit is the only avenue to the public offices, we are fighting with a leaden sword against a man who uses a steel one. ,,ff we had a spark of true greatness and patriotism left, we should immediately make this change ; seeing that the position, honour, and perhaps the existence of the country, depended upon it" Finally, he would support the Government. Lord Palmerston's name is a pledge of our determination to resist Russia, and his fall would be regarded as the triumph of the principles of the Peace party.
The real distress endured by the dock-labourers and other workpeople at Liverpool at this inclement season has been used as a pretence by a set of thieves and disorderly ruffians to get up " bread riots." AU Monday morn- ing, gangs of lads and violent women, headed by a few desperadoes, unfa- vourably known to the Police, rushed from street to street, demanding food from bakers and provision-dealers, and pillaging where they could. Many shops were ransacked both of food and money ; money was also stolen from public-houses; and to prove that they were not merely hungry, the mob wantonly smashed the windows of shops where they had been relieved with food or which they had previously sacked. One shopkeeper, Mr. Phillips, stood in his doorway with two loaded pistols—the mob quickly retreated from that demonstration. For a time the rioters met with no resistance from the Police, for the outbreak had been quite unexpected ; and even when the Police mustered in force, the pillagers were in so many bands, and were so widely spread about the town, that it was difficult to cope with them. However, a number of the ringleaders were captured, and eventually the disturbances were quelled. Most of the prisoners were Irish, and known bad characters : one had got possession of four loaves and 21. in money. On Tuesday, sixty of the rioters were sent to prison, the term for the worst offenders being three months. In passing sentence, the Magistrate pointed out the peculiar misbehaviour in getting up "bread riots" at Liverpool, as the affluent had been so ready to provide food for those in need of it. He mentioned that a baker who had been employed to make bread for gratuitous distribution had been compelled to ask fdr the protection of the Police against marauders.
Two young gentlemen of Eastbourne—Mr. Bethell and Mr. Cobb—went Rion. the coast on Friday eennight on a shooting excursion. In the evening, verftired, exposed to great cold and an East wind, they were unable to re- gain the town. Mr. Bethell fell on the beach ; Mr. Cobb strove to continue his course, in the hope of obtaining help for his friend ; but, after a little time, he too sank exhausted. He was found next morning by a Coast Guard-man, insensible ; but he soon revived. Mr. Bethell was less for- tunate : while he lay helpless on the shore, the sea rose and washed him away.
Robert Wharton, an occasional waiter at Abingdon, has been found frozen to death on the road at llioksey Hifi.
Two fatal accidents occurred last week, during snow-storms, on the Barton branch of the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway. In one case, a Coast Guard-man was trespassing on the line, and he was run down : no blame is attributable to the driver. But the other disaster arose from culpable misconduct of railway people. The branch is a single line. A train was over-due at New Holland ; Peacock, the foreman of locomotives, proposed to send an engine to look after it, thinking it was impeded or stopped by the snow ; Mr. Lewis, the station-clerk, protested against so dan- gerous a proceeding, and a driver refused to take the engine; but Gutzmer, second foreman of locomotives, volunteered to drive. He set off on his peril- ous journey ; when he perceived through the falling snow the train ap- proaching, there was not time to prevent a crash ' • the drivers and firemen of both engines jumped off into the snow, and escaped unhurt ; a crash en- sued, but as speed had been slackened it was not so destructive as might have been feared, the engines and tenders being most crushed. A carriage next to the tender of the train was upset and broken, and a bench struck Mr. Thomas Jubb on the neck, causing his instant death ; other passengers were hurt. Mr. Jubb was a young man, clerk at a Hull newspaper-office.
A second passenger has since died from his hurts—Mr. James Toung, a butcher of Hull. The Jury which sat on the body of Mr. Jubb gave a ver- dict of " Manslaughter " against Gutzrner. He is in custody.
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