ABUSE versus ARGUMENT; THE TIMES IN A PASSION.
Tue Times is quite at a loss how to deal with the pamphlet en- titled " Principles of Delegated. Central, and Special Authority, applied to the Poor-Laws Amendment Bill," trout which we quoted some passages in the last Spectator. On Monday, our puzzled contemporary said, that the author must be the cosmogony man in the Vicar V Wakefield; and, notwithstanding his aversion to the Poor-law Bill, declared that he " did not wish it the mischief of such an advocate." This flattering notice of the pamphlet was despatched in about half a column,—quile sufficient space, one would have thought, for such a production as it was described to be in the Times. OH Tuesday, however, we were surprised to find that nearly a column of choice abuse was bestowed on the anonymous author and his production. The latter was designated as "sense- less trash, nonsense, infantine twaddle, chew-dog's-meat-ism, a farrago of folly and misrepresentation," &c. The author was termed "a spoil paper pamphleteer, a sucking Solon of the Ben- thamite breed, Or a retired superannuated sage of the same spas n, and one of the AVestminster Rump." Then, he was charged with attachment to Republican doctrines; and a very affecting warning was given to all his Majesty's subjects against being seduced into an admiration of the novel and arbitrary powers about to he intrusted to the Central Board, seeing that the professed Repub. licans, to answer their own wicked purposes, had volunteered a defence of theta. Well, it was reasonable to imigine that the Times might have rested iii' pence after such a hihnination of wrath
against the "sucking Solon," who had insulted grown up men with his " infantine twaddle." But Ito, the restless journalist re- turned to the charge on Wednesday, and hurled another full co- lumn of vituperation against this "rubbish of the Westminster Rump."
The Members of Parliament, for whose special benefit this long diatribe was intended, feel grateful, no doubt, for the pains taken to prevent the perversion of the understandings by the spoil-paper pamphleteer's farrago of senseless trash. But as the Times devotes so much space to the dissection of a pamphlet of only sixteen pages —for such is the extent of the humble brochure—it would have been more satisfactory had some attempt been made to explain its real scope and bearing. The author's object was to expose the folly, ignorance, or dishonesty of those who have been getting up such a cry against Centralization, as if it must necessarily be some very tyrannical and monstrous thing. He points out the difference between special and central authority; and shows, briefly but clearly, that in order to effect certain necessary and salutary reforms, controlling power should not be delegated to ten or fifteen thou- sand different individuals, but to a few, whose responsibility should be clearly defined. He exposes the folly of. denying the necessary power to effect changes which are admitted to be indis- pensable; especially when it is plain, that the security for the proper use of such power must necessarily be greater when it is vested in a few prominent, than in thousands of obscure func- tionaries.
"Whatever," he obseives, " is necessary to be done in order to cure the na- tional disease of pauperism, power to do that, and to do it quickly and readily, ought to be given to the commission. Every thing else than what is necessary for the object in view should be left out of our consideration. Is this or that power required? No; then withhold it : Yes; then give it. Give it freely ; tar whatever it may be, it is but a delegation of authority for the purpose of ac- complishing the end of the giver."
This is what the Times calls infantine twaddle. But the Times has overshot the mark. Profusion of abuse does not compensate for lack of sense and argument. It is simply a betrayal of impo- tent spite. It is no depreciation of a work to call its author a superannuated sage, while at the same time elaborate and verse- wring though unsuccessful efforts are made to prevent its in- fluencing the minds of men on a question of vast importance.
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