TOPICS OF THE DAY.
THE STATE OF PARTIES.
IN offering some remarks on this subject at the present time, we give expression to thoughts which come unbidden again aril again, forcing for themselves a place by the side of the opinien that party itself has disappeared from our politics for a while. Though it may seem anomalous to think of the state of that which scarcely exists, yet this self-contradictory frame of mind is not umccelint- able. It arises, perhaps, from that indifference to mere party con- siderations which allows the future to show itself even more im- portant than the present. There were not wanting cool oboe .vers, who deemed it possible that WELLINGTON, the acknowledged Dic- tator of 1829, might be out of office next year ; that Earl Gariy, the most potent of Ministers in 1832, would soon have to red: e ; that the Whigs under Lord MELBOURNE, from 1836 to 1841, yr re taking as much pains to ruin their party as if they had desiret1 its extinction. Great changes, even when their operation is slow, com- monly take the public by surprise. They fail to astonish those only in whom the contemplative faculties are not overlaid by the active. It is these few—hoping that Sir ROBERT PEEL may be reckoned of the number—that we now address.
The present extinction of party in the old sense cf the word be- comes more and more obvious every day. The Opposition, says the Morning Chronicle,*
.• seem to confine their labours solely to the duty of finding f with the acts of the Government. They speak very forcibly in behalf of principles, but no measures embodying their principles are suggested by ilw The only one of the great questions most dear to Liberal politicians, of .1i•elt there is any notice before the House, is one given by the 'fury Lord Ash I. on the subject of education. We know that there are some very cunning ..,ti- ticians, of the old school, who love to shake their heads and tell you that t,.:4 is the true policy of an Opposition. It might do very well in old time, r on Opposition relying on Court favour or Aristocratic strength ' • but it la not by such a course that Popular support is to be got for a Liberal Opprmitiori. The people will rally round none but those who work zealously and all leo people's behalf, and who hold out to their countrymen the prospect public objects to be secured by their accession to .power. We do not l!".4 II the Opposition to strive for a dishonest popularity by proposing mrsour, a at' which they disapprove: but there would he nothing disgraceful to them in earning p polarity. by showing themselves in earnest for measures which they conscientiously believe to be for the public good."
Here the Whig portion of " the Liberal party" (for it cannot he
denied that the League section is thoroughly-in earnest) is truly depicted as a mere party in the old sense. But this sense of the word party is now obsolete. In these times of enlarged repre- sentation, active thought, and national difficulty, the dowagers and old spinsters of Hampton Court might as well be deemed a party as the set of men who " confine their labours solely to the duty of finding fault with the acts of the Government." Lord PALMER- STON'S quarrel with the Ashburton Treaty is disregarded as the pistime of a used-up Red-tapist, when it does not provoke satis- faction at his permanent exclusion from power ; and the Whig oratory against Lord ELLENBOROUGH'S silly proclamation only ex- cites a smile at Mr. VERNON SMITH'S sudden and indignant. , ie,, On such trifling, a party cannot exist now-a-days. It is surpre i _g. Tr how brief a time the Whig party have become insignificant.
The Tories as a party seem hardly in any better plight. What
have become of the enthusiasm and energy which brought them into power? The Tory landed Aristocracy and the great Monopoly interests of commerce, by whose exertions Sir ROBERT PEEL was made Prime Minister, intended to use him for their own purposes; and now, having been used for his, they regard him with ill-concealed distrust. Not to dwell on the bigoted isolation of Sir ROBtlIT INGLIS or the vagaries of Colonel SIIITHORP, the vote of 62 Tories against their leader, on Wednesday last, reminds one of the 52 who voted against WELLINGTON and PEEL on the Civil List in 1830, and turned them out of office. But the real division among those who call themselves Conservatives is greater now than then among the Teries. Then, a number of the followers were moved by mere spite on account of a past transaction: now, in addition to similar a great mass of the partisans of the Administra- tion distrust their leaders with respect to the future; and, as was not to the same extent the case with the angry Tories of 1830, their constituents go along with 'hem. Who would coutidetitty predict a majority for Sir ROBERT PEEL if there were a g- m rid election tomorrow ? If the sole reliance of the Whigs is finding fault with the Government, that of the Tories is nothing better than the extreme weakness of their opponents. This, surely, is.a poor dependence in times like the present. We are far &eta imagining that the chapter of accidents contains any early cnance tif power for the Whigs, as such : but it is plain that the party neer in power is not held together either by mere party ties, or common principles and objects, sufficient to render its position secure against not improbable accidents.
The only united and vigorous parties in the country are the Chartists and the Leaguers. Each of them has definite objects, and a proclaimed, intelligible, and coherent policy ; each of thcnt promises to its adherents, not merely "measures embodying their princip:es,"but what the adherents deem the one thing needful, the all in all of their desires. Such is the stuff of which real parties are made. But these parties, it is said by half-frightened Whigs anti Tories, neutralize each other. By what process? Not by the usual • In one of a series of recent articles by some new and able writer, which, if they expressed the deliberate views and purposes of the Whig party. would ni• cline one to think that Lord &MN RUSSELL might be Prime Minister iu tw, or three years. one of mixing together. If the time for mixing together had come, these parties would indeed neutralize each other, but with the further effect of forming one party, strong enough in numbers and the habit of organization to accomplish the objects of both. If the truth is to be got at by metaphors, we should rather say that the Chartists and Leaguers are at present moving on parallel roads, which cannot meet of course, but which may any day be quitted by both parties in order that all may advance together on the one highway to a revolution. The last word is not used without reflection. R'e bear in mind the conservative power of property and habit in this land of wealth and respect for the law; we are not among those who believe that our country is going fast to beggary and destruction ; on the contrary, we are satisfied that the wealth of England and the wellbeing of the people as a whole have been continually advancing during our time, and might advance for years to come without any legislative interference with merely economical circumstances : but we cannot shut our eyes to new facts, which are not the less alarming because their novelty defies cal- culation. It is but now that the generation of poor children whom BELL and LANCASTER taught to read, have reached the mature age which in any class or country men must commonly attain before they can exercise much influence in public affairs. The natural counsellors of the young among the working classes now possess that little knowledge which is a dangerous thing : they are Chartists and Socialists, because they have been taught enough to under- stand what is meant by " White slaves," but no more. The writings of MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER and the Standard news- paper upon this subject have been read by or to millions. Per- haps Lord Asnrzy's sincere and active benevolence has been the most powerful of incentives to Chartism, with the exception only of the writings in the Times upon the Poor-law. It is not that the common people suffer more than formerly ; they probably suffer less—that is, they have less to suffer : but now they know all about it. The extension of publicity to the common people is the new social influence of our day, which generates a fresh stock of grievances, and provides organization for redress without example in history. The Chartists will embrace the Leaguers whenever the latter shall sincerely court their aid—whenever Mr. COBDEN, despairing of getting free trade from Parliament, shall see fit to bold up his finger to the working classes. So small is the space which divides the Chartists and Leaguer parties : each of them is continually gathering strength for itself: who can doubt which road they would take if they travelled together ?
In the mean time, the country—that is, intelligent people of every party and class in their no-party mood—is dissatisfied and uneasy. It has apparently no definite ideas upon any subject, but is in that restless condition of the nervous system which precludes steady re- flection. It feels that it wants something, but cannot tell what. Of all the many classes into which society in these islands is di- vided, there is not one, large or small in numbers, that is content with its present lot or free from apprehension as to the future; while nobody can say positively what he thinks would bring relief; or from what quarter he expects a happy suggestion. We all pursue our usual avocations; but languidly, as if from mere habit. The mind of England seems to have lost its spring. The national malaise and lassitude are reflected in the House of Commons ; where complaining abounds, but nothing is done that so much as tends to excite hope. That the House of Commons, no less than the nation, longs for practical measures, is shown by its reception of Lord ASHLEY'S motion on education for the people ; which, as it looked like doing something good for the country, met unanimous applause. Any other proposal, that had been fit to comfort Members with a notion that their House has not become quite useless, would have been as well received. But who has another of that sort to make ? Not the Whigs ; who do not profess to do more than find fault with the Ministers. Not the Leaguers in Parliament ; because theirs is at present a helpless minority for any immediate purpose. Not the Ministers; whose immediate object would almost seem to be to keep their majority together, by stopping on the Free-trade road at the stage of unsettlement and uncertainty. Lord ASHLEY may claim to be considered the single statesman of the present session. If his general capacity were supposed equal to Penes, and if it were thought that he would hit the right nail on the head as surely in economical questions as he has done it completely with regard to a class of social questions, people would begin to talk of trying him as Prime Minister.
But it must be confessed that the country does not yet despair of Sir ROBERT PEEL'S qualities as a statesman. In the midst of its despondency, it still regards him as the only man fit for his present office at the present time. His inaction during this session is still attributed to his habitual caution : he is supposed to be watching the progress of events with the view of seizing the fittest opportunity to carry his majority along with him in the proposal of measures calculated to relieve, or at any rate to satisfy, the country. If he can do this, well and good. So that " something for the good of the country" be done, the country hardly cares what or by whom. But if Sir ROBERT PEEL cannot manage this with his party as now constituted, it is expected that he will step out in advance of some of them, and, leaving those behind, move on with the support of others who may have been opposed to him. Doing nothing and stopping just where weare, is what the country will not tolerate much longer. Its trust in PEEL is perhaps greater than ever : but the hour of confidence justified, or of bitter disappoint- ment and lasting dislike, is near at hand.
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