15runiurial.
Mr. George Byng, M.P., " the rising hope of the Whigs," has made a rather remarkable speech at Ashford, near Staines. He presided at the annual dinner of the South West Middlesex Agricultural Society. He expressed approval of the tone of public opinion regarding the recent war in Italy, and then referring to the late struggle between the two great political parties said :-
A feeling had gradually. taken root both in and out of Parliament, and he must plead guilty to having been a party to it, although he should never cease to regret it, that if a minister proposed anything to which they could not agree, that such minister was actuated by bad .motives. He was sorry to find this feeling largely on the increase, for it was altogether most im- proper and ungrateful. The life of a public man was not all sunshine ; and it was discouraging for any ministry to find, after endeavouring to carry out a certain policy fairly and honestly, improper motives imputed to them. He had come to the determination of giving credit to every person of a sin- cere desire to effect as much good as possible ; and he had no hesitation in saying that if unworthy motives were continually imputed to those in- dividuals holding power, the character of public men would be lowered. Such men did not deserve to be so treated ; and he had arrived at the con- clusion that they were not the men who would be actuated by selfish or dis- honest motives in proposing any measure which they did not really believe to be fur the benefit of the nation at large. Public men were generally of fortune, position, and intelligence ; they devoted their time,
talents, energy, and often their health to carry out in Parliament what they conceived to be for the welfare of the people ; and if the country were always suspecting them they would decline the responsibilities of their various positions, and thus the character of Parliament and public men would be lowered. He held, therefore, that upon this subject public opinion, though strong, was not right ; and he trusted soon to find the feeling of perpetual deterioration giving place to something of a more satisfactory character. He knew he was open to the charge, as he had before remarked; he was pre- pared to plead guilty. He had no doubt that in election speeches, and perhaps on other occasions, he had referred to individuals in language which he ought not to have uttered ; but he was determined never to do so again. As the motives of individuals in private life were not suspected, he saw no reason why those holding high official positions should be thought to be ac- tuated by improper motives; and henceforth he should give the credit to all persons of acting according to their conscience.
At the annual dinner of the West Cambridgeshire and South Herts Agricultural Society, held on Friday last, at Kneesworth, the Earl of Hardwicke, in responding to the toast of " The Navy," alluded to the recent mishap in China. The gallant leader in that expedition—the brave commander-in-chief in that affair—had been himself severely wounded. Englishmen never deserted those who so gallantly served them, even though they might be unsuccessful in their efforts. The greatest naval man the world ever saw was once defeated—Nelson, at Teneriffe, when he was severely wounded, nay, when he lost his right arm. But if Nelson had not been supported by his country subsequently —if his country had not upheld him by their generous sympathy, they would never have seen the hero of a Trafalgar, or a Nile.
A letter having been written to Captain Longley by the secretary of the Newcastle Foreign Affairs Association, reminding him of the con- viction which ho had expressed of the "unjustifiable character" of the hostilities in which he had been engaged in China, and expressing a hope that he will use the influence he possesses in " rescuing " his "country- men from the further commission of crime, and in obtaining justice on its instigators," the gallant captain has sent a reply, in which he says, "I never said the hostilities in China were 'unjustifiable,' nor did I intend to insinuate that such was the case. My speech has been mis- reported by a Newcastle paper."
At a rifle corps dinner at Handsworth, near Birmingham, on Tuesday, Lord Hatherton said that the defences of the country would be the main question in Parliament next year. " If a sudden quarrel were to take place with our neighbours across the Channel tomorrow, we should not have a single man in the field if our gar- risons were supplied in the way they should be. We should require 15,000 men for Plymouth, 10,000 for Portsmouth, and 10,000 for the Isle of Wight ;
besides these, we should have to man our lines at Chatham' and put smaller military forces into other garrisons, so that when all this was done we should not have a single man to place on the field. It is absolutely neces- sary that the truth should be spoken. We must have a considerable in- crease of the army, or the militia must be made more effective. There is no sufficient reason why the old constitutional resource of the ballot, with a modification suiting it to the altered circumstances of the country, may not still be resorted to. I would suggest that an Act of Parliament should di- rect the Lord-Lieutenants and the Deputy-Lieutenants to assemble yearly for the purpose of determining in which parishes the ballot should take effect, and which parishes should be exempted. I would have the latter parishes assessed to their quota of men, and if they declined to raise them by such means as they found available, I would have them assessed to such amounkin money as a body of commissioners might declare."
Mr. Arthur Kinnaird, M.P., gives his opinion on the Italian question in a latter to the Lord Provost of Perth. He has lately been visiting Italy, and he says-
" Having passed through the field of Magenta on my way, I reached Milan just after the brilliant reception given to the Tuscan deputation and from what I witnessed and heard, in answer to the inquiries I made 'there and elseihere, I came to the conclusion that there is a deep-seated and wide-spread unanimity of sentiment in favour of uniting under the rule of Victor Emmanuel. Considering how recently the iron yoke of Austria, both directly and indirectly, repressed all aspirations after liberty, it is really marvellous to see the orderly bearing of the people, combined with their resolute determination not again to submit to any foreign yoke. Could they be secure from interference from without, I believe that we should see civil and religious liberty in full exercise. I had the privilege of conversing with Signor Farini and General Garibaldi at Modena, and with Baron Ri- easel'. and General Salvagrioli at Florence, and was almost equally delighted with the sentiments expressed by each, manifesting a statesmanlike com- prehension of affairs, combining moderation with energy, and practical wisdom with honest determination of purpose."
The commission appointed by the Bishop of Oxford to inquire into the allegations against the Reverend W. S. Bricknell, the vicar of Eynsham, made by Mr. Druce, gave their judgment on Friday last, to the effect that there was not sufficient prima facie ground for instituting proceed- ings against the Reverend W. S. Bricknell, so far as respects his having read the prayers in the pulpit (as alleged) instead of the reading-desk, inasmuch as he had proved his desire to resume the use of the reading- desk as soon as the adjacent walls, lately erected, should cease to emit dampness. But the commissioners expressed their unanimous opinion that there were sufficient grounds for instituting proceedings against the vicar, for reading the communion service from the pulpit, instead of from the north side of the Communion table, in contumacious disregard of the admonition and order delivered to him by the Bishop of Oxford.
The Directors of the London and North-Western Railway gave a grand dinner on Wednesday evening, at Holyhead, to the Directors of the Great Ship Company and a number of distinguished guests. The Marquis of-Chandos presided, and in a spirited speech proposed " Suc- cess to the Great Eastern." Mr. Campbell, the Chairman of the Com- pany, in returning thanks, said that the object of the Great Ship Com- pany was to do for India and Australia what Mr. Brunel had twenty years ago done for America. They had been told by the Times that ves- sels of 3500 tons could perform the passage to Australia in nearly the same time as the Great Eastern. But, inasmuch as a vessel of 3500 tons represented only one-sixth of her tonnage, and consumed 150 tons of coal per day, while the big ship with six times their tonnage would con- sume only 300 tons, the latter could accomplish the journey to Australia in thirty-six days with 24,000 tons less fuel than six of the smaller ves- sels. This, too, she would achieve with no stoppage on the way, and, moreover, she would land 10,000 tons of goods ; whereas he defied the 3500 ton vessels to land a single ton of goods and carry their coals more than half way. In replying to the toast of " The House of Commons," with which his name was coupled, Sir John Pakington incidentally al- luded to electoral corruption. He trusted that before long all parties would unite in the adoption of stringent measures for putting an end to the system. Referring to the harbour of Holyhead, the construction of which he had formerly recommended when member of a Commission ap- pointed to select sites for harbours of refuge, he hoped that the House of Commons would liberally supply money for the extension of such works by means of which so much life and property was saved. When the ca- pacity of the Great Eastern as a transport-ship had been pointed out, he had heard it said that no prudent Government would ever place so many eggs in one basket; but if he was not greatly mistaken, in the months of August and September, 1857, when the mutiny was raging in India, the Government of that day would have been only too glad to have had such a basket to put as many eggs in as they could get. Mr. Gladstone and. Lord Clarence Paget were among the speakers ; but they spoke chiefly to points immediately before the meeting.
A committee has been appointed to consider the question of the aboli- tion of Abingdon Jail. It appears that the resolution passed last Berk- shire Quarter Sessions for selling the jail is informal and of no con- sequence. The proper course is to pass a resolution that the jail is un- necessary, and then, after due notice given, to move that the jail be sold.
A " new town " is said to be about to be built at Southend, Essex, by Messrs. Pete, Brassey, and Betts, the lessees of the railway which terminates at that place. The site selected comprises about forty acres on the pretty and romantic heights, or cliffs, seventy feet above the sea, to the east of the pier, and immediately facing Sheerness. The prospect is a very fine one, commanding, as it does, Sheerness, the Nore, and the vast expanse of the German Ocean. It is proposed to erect here about 300 houses of simple de- sign, consisting of plain brick with white Suffolk brick dressings or orna- mentations.
On Sunday last a little excitement was occasioned in the Independent Chapel at Bridlington, in consequence of rather an unusual announcement from the pulpit. It appears that some few weeks ago the singers connected with that place introduced into the service a short hymn and chant. All went on well for some time, until it occurred to the minds of sonic that chanting was not quite the thing in a dissenting place of worship,—that it sprang from popery,—and, moreover, that it had not emanated from the proper quarter, &e. In consequence, it was announced by the Reverend J. Dickinson, that after the service in the evening, papers would be laid in the vestry for signature, wheron the members, seat-holders, and congregation, above fourteen years of age, might testify their approval or disapproval of chanting ; at the same time he stated that, so far as he was concerned, he did not object to it ; but rather to the manner in which it had been intro- duced. The matter was soon disposed of. There appeared for chanting; 51; against it, 23; majority, 28.—Ieekshiee Gazette.
Mutual charges of a curious kind were made against each other last week at Liverpool by the Captain of the ship Spes and his crew. The former was accused of gross cruelty and of having threatened to shoot several of the men, the latter of mutiny. The crew had at any rate taken the matter into their own hands, by putting their captain in irons, but the inquiry into facts is still pending.
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