28 JANUARY 1843, Page 1

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

Tins is the last week of a recess which differs from others in its singularly eventful character; insomuch that, instead of being a mere interval of inactivity between the sessions of Parliament, it i

has seen a great shifting n the state of affairs and some curious advancements in public opinion. It began with the wages-insur- rection in the manufacturing districts ; a revolt originating in bad trade and misery, which died the death of all "strikes," the work of suppression completed by a plentiful harvest, and even a slight and perhaps equally transitory commercial revival. By endeavouring to convert the insurrection to their own pur- poses, the Chartists shared its defeat, and got a rebuff which they might have avoided : it has imparted a more abstract and ra- tional air to their agitation. There has been further experience of the Corn-law, which had barely come in force as the Legislature closed: it had a show of success in the admission of foreign grain at higher duties than usual ; but it has proved as ineffectual as the old law to keep up prices, though it may not positively drive them up or beat them down as that did. The new Tariff has gradually been carried out: it has introduced some pork and beef from America, and some bullocks from Europe ; but the price of meat has not been very obviously affected, nor the price of any thing else. The In- come-tax has been partially levied, and we are still in the thick of the attendant " inquisition "; but no one acknowledges that the Tariff has reimbursed him for the Income-tax. The secondary effects of the Tariff were remarkable. First, the agriculturists seemed to think that there would be such an invasion of beeves and pickled pork as to swamp all their grazing property ; and there occurred that phmnomenon peculiar to highly-speculative countries a " panic" : the terror was ludicrously excessive com- pared with the modicums of importation that caused it. Fear sub- siding, the agriculturists suddenly grew bold : they were half re- conciled to the Tariff; new ideas of free trade and agricultural improvement seized them ; and, what with the usual influences of public dinners, agricultural meetings were startled with avowals of political economy, as if the intelligent country gentlemen had been converted into so many ARTHUR YOUNGS. Conservative news- paper editors were scandalized ; and suddenly the over-zealous pupils discovered, with the singular exception of Mr. DICKINSON, that the reporters had one and all written down for them opinions which they had never conceived ; and there was a general dis- claimer, which, had not the reports happened, by such a very odd coincidence, to be all incorrect precisely in the same manner, would have been called a recantation. However, the recantation was scarcely to the full extent of the matter recanted : agricultural dogma has been at least unsettled ; and the band of country gentle- men will meet in the House, like a regiment who have shown a disposition to desert, with mutual distrust.

Abroad, the events have been momentous, but upon the whole favourable. Against the hostile tariff of America may be set the incalculable advantages—the disasters prevented—of the Ash-

burton treaty, which Lord PALMERsTON abuses as a "capitula- tion." The new rule of "responsible government" for colonies

has been further carried out in Canada, with signal success ;

and to the "Tory" Administration of Sir ROBERT PEEL we owe one of the most important reforms of the day. That nail has

just been clinched by the appointment of him who seems the fittest

to complete the work—Sir CHARLES METCALFE. The Afghan war has been brought to a close; the Chinese war stopped by an im-

posing treaty, of which the terms will go far to indemnify the country for the cost. It is a fact of less note, but still one that merits attention in the coming session, that the Anglo-Dutch

rebels at the Cape of Good Hope, though conquered, are not pacified, and that some diligent work is yet needed to shield the country from the disgrace of an ill name and a thankless war with her own subjects in that quarter. The last great public event is the disclosure of the frightful defi- ciency in the revenue, which again draws the eye to the gloomy horizon at home. Never did Parliament meet, in peace-time, under such circum- stances of difficulty. There have been momentous events, a thorough stirring-up of public opinion on great principles, partial but unprecedented experiments, large triumphs, and alarming ex- posures. There is a cry that "something must be done," general enough to make many fancy that "something" will be done : the deprecations of the agriculturists show that many fear as much. Some are looking out for "remedies": the Anti-Corn-law League is full of bustle and hope ; currency-doctrines are brought out anew, and burnished up. Calculating politicians indeed ask what can be done ? and it is not the least remarkable and difficult feature of the case, that there is nothing like a satisfactory answer to the question. There are abundant materials for deliberation, but so heterogeneous that none can anticipate the product. Shallow party legislators may rub their hands and chuckle over the vast matters for "discussion," as it is called ; but who among them will tell us what they will do next session to save the Capitol ?