Ministers have illustrated their own position this week by eonquering
where they were resolute and creating defeat for themselves by their. own concession. The state of parties, the influence which Ministers have acquired through having the con- &let of the war, and the opening that has been prepared for seve- ral important public improvements, have enabled them to do what they please when they take up practical measures and main- tain their purpose with determination. Few projects have been threatened with a more combined opposition than the bill for improving the County and Borough Police ; but Sir George Grey carried the second reading by a stout majority-259 to 106. It usually happens, in such cases of organized opposition, that the minority is nearly as large as it could have been under any com- bination of circumstances, while the majority, which is certified beforehand, is diminished by various accidents, including the personal conveniences of Members, who know that their attend- ance is not essential. The result of that division, therefore, shows that Ministers possess a preponderating power for carrying measures of the kind. The show of speaking was against them in point of numbers ; the arguments were with them. Sir George Grey made a second statement as a supplement to the first—partly to explain away the appearance of centralization in the measure, but mainly to establish the expediency of it. The authority which it proposes to intrust in the Secretary of State for regulating the force WitS already in part given by the Municipal Corporation Act ; and it has been exercised principally in abating the arbitrary use of the police or the formidable character of the arms given to them in counties. Sir George completely proved the case already staled, that the non-existence of the po- lice in many districts of the country is an encouragement for the lawless classes to assemble in those parts, inflicting great injury on the district, with some inconvenience even for adjacent dis- tricts that go to the expense of providing the police. Common sense was for the bill ; against it was the dislike of magistrates to be interfered with, and the democratic dislike of borough ma- gistrates to " centralization,"—a feeling which is no better than a prejudice. There is good reason to believe from the elm- raster of the division, that Ministers might have carried the se- cond reading without the concessions that were made, which cer- tainly do not improve the bill. But they appear to adopt de- sirable measures rather from a sense of - duty, incurred, or per- haps we ought to say, from courtesy to the public, than from any strong interest in the object. As the business of war is gradually laid aside, the present Government stands more con- spicuously as a Ministry without a mission : hence it is attentive to its set functions but not desperately in earnest ; and it is almost willing to give the House of Commons the option of de- feating it or not.' In the House of Lois, where all parties conduct their busi- ness somewhat more quietly, and where Ministers have recently undergone so signal a defeat, they have put forward one of these practical improvements under high patronage—no less than that of the Earl of Derby. It is a plan for collecting agri- cultural statistics throughout England and Wales, by 'compul- sion instead of by the optional means hitherto employed. Lord Stanley of Alderley, who introduced the measure, supported ' it by some statistical comparisons of actual returns from official departments with estimates in Mr. M'Culloch's books ; selecting very exceptional eases for comparison with the round numbers of Mr. M'Culloch's extended averages, and then holding up the IBS- crepancy as something wonderful. The measure is a good one, although it was thus supported. It was, however, attacked by the residuary old Protectionists ; and here Lord Derby came in, defending Ministers against the attack, and lending to them a discriminating encouragement. He did not discover the weak point in the statistics ; but he avowed a preference for a different mode of collecting the statistics—the local magistrates instead of the Poor-law officers—the "great unpaid" instead- of the little unpopular. Having an eye to possible contingencies, Lord perby is doing the moderate, the conciliatory, and the official: o, not- withstanding the errors in his data, the President of the Board of Trade was able to carry his commendable measure, with the opposite:a wily of the obsoleteDessingsamkaloceep_tri2. Ellen- . -
boronghs.
In Committee of Supply on various estimates, a story of the contract system has been dragged out. Ministers had to justify their establishments at Woolwich and Enfield; and they did it by explaining, that if a check is not kept upon the contractors, they defraud Government in the material and make of the most important articles—cannons, mortars, and anchors. The con- tractors accused have asked the public to suspend their judg- ment; but unless some wonderful mistake has been made in office, the result of the system is vicious, whatever the motives of its leading men may be. . - fir Charles Napier has again torn open his wounds in the presence of the House of Commons, and his retribution for old wrongs has inflicted upon the successors of Sir James Graham the penalty of a Parliamentary row. He read private letters, intended to expose the fact that, while the Admiralty Minister was officially urging him to dash his fleet to pieces against stone walls and rocks, his friend Sir James was privately flatter- ing him for his discretion. Sir James had his retort ; he read the omitted letters, bringing out prophecies by Sir Charles Napier of the feeble results to be expected from naval command- ers past the age of sixty—demands for all kinds of aids and appliances, terminating in the consent to accept " any service, be It ever so desperate." And Admiral Berkeley brought forth the further autographic statement, by Sir Charles Napier, that he was " a damned old fool" to come into that "infernal hole." The tangible misconduct in Sir Charles Napier was his saying that Sweaborg could not be attacked, presuming so before he had reconnoitered the place.
It is quite clear that, from whatever cause, the nerve that Sir Charles owe possessed, had gone intellectually at least, when he found himself in the Baltic. The blame that rests upon Sir James Graham is the having appointed that confessedly unfit superannuated man, because he had a popular name for quondam dash. But, again, Sir James may justly plead the excuse that no one could have possibly supposed the owe dashing Sir Charles Napier to have become so unfit. Parliament is off for the Easter holidays ; not, however, with- out having scored out some important work for its return. Lord John Russell's Education Bill stands for the 10th of April ; and Lord Granville has this week stated that the smaller Government
measure for appointing a Vice4resident of Education, and giving optional powers of rating to Town-Connefls, will stand over, to see how the House of Commons treats Lord John's comprehensive scheme. The Lord-Advocate has a Scotch Education Bill for the 31st of this month. Lord Albemarle is to bring Parliament to its duty on the still vexed question of torture in India ; Lord Dungannon is to expose "the injurious effects of the ticket-of- leave system " ; Sir Edward Lytton—not too soon—will gravely call attention to the state of our relations with the United States. And, in these days of quick motion, at the close of the recess returning to business, Parliament may find that the Paris con- ferences have resulted in peace.
Previous page
