TOPICS OF THE DAY.
THE MINISTERIAL PLAN, AND OUR OWN.
tIrroao the progress of those evelits which have ended in in- compatibility between the Commons and the Lords, the adherents of ti1iuistcrs, foreseeing what has happened, frequently declared that Lord M F.1.11017R NE must necessarily have threseen it when he last took (nee; that he was prepared for the present slate of things, tied that he was provided with a remedy fur the evil. Ile had a plan, there could be no doubt of it, tot' bringing the Lords into agreemeet with the Commons. Ile could not but have been sure that the Uurefol noel House of Lords would reject all very important measures suggested by his own Cabinet and passed ha the Reformed IIiinse of Commons : but then, lie had a nice little scheme in his pocket, which, when the time fir using it arrived, would set all to rights. The Courier in particular begged the public to rely upon Lord Matelot:le NE'S foresight and wisdom, and was almost indignant at the supposition that the Premier Might by possibility be out in his reckoning, Or might not have reckoned at all on inevitable events. There ea: a plan in store—the public might depend on that—for making the Ilouse of Lents agree with the Rehm:lied House of Commons. What necessity there was fn• keeping this plan a secret, the Courier did not explain to us ; but, because the plan was a secret, we were called upon tin• a lark measure of faith in Lord MELBOURNE'S wisdom. We wondered, and waited. At length, the secret is out Lord Msanouess's plan fur refn•tning the House of Lords has been published by the Courier: let us examine it.
On Monday, our contemporary, provoked, as it appears, by an article in last week's Spectator, on the position and prospects of Ministers, let the cat out of the bag. Adopting, as an exposition of the principles on which he thinks Ministers should act, an article of the day before by our Radical and far-going friend the Examiner, the Courier, which is an avowed Ministerial organ, preaches to the Mllowing effect. The grand object is, oreanic Reform of the House of Lords. But for this, the country, being engaged by the prosperity of trade, is not yet in the humour•. John Bull, being at case just now, wants further provocation before he will strike the enemy with vigour. The Lords arc net yet sufficiently odious to the People. Under these circumstances, a thorough organic reform of the Lords being• our object, the best means of accomplishing- that ob- ject are obvious. Let John Bull be further provoked to the utter- most; let the Lords be made more odious—as hateful as possible. Let Ministers, instead of resigning, rather cling firmly to office, which enables them to propose good measures for defeat by the Lords. We care not for the measures themselves : not the pass- ing of good measures, but the mere proposal of them for defeat by the Lords, is the grand point, with a view to rendering the Lords sufficiently odious. If the Lords should pass any good measures, we should be greatly disappointed ; but there is no fear of that. " The pear is not ripe," or rather rotten : let Minis- ters retain the most effectual means of ripening or rotting the pear, which will then fall and perish. Such is the Monday's argument of the Courier, which, only a few months ago, strongly deprecated so much as discussion even on the question of Peerage Reform. From the rapid progress which this question has made, as indicated by the present. tone of a Ministerial organ, one should think that the Lords were guili- eiently odious. And this brings us to another curious piece of self-contradiction in the views of our evening contemporary. He presumes, along with the Examiner, that Ministers, " being Whigs and not Radicals," object to organic Reform of the Lords : be proposes, therefore, having regard to what has gone before, that Ministers should be used by the Radicals as- mere tools for rotting the pear by rendering the Lords more odious ; that the Radicals should support Ministers in retaining office,with a view,
not to the passing, but to the defeat of good measures,—the ulti- mate object being that to which Ministers, being Whigs, strongly object, viz. organic Reform of the Lords. So Lord MELBOURNE is to retain office, not only in spite of an avowed incapacity for carrying every important measure proposed by his Cabinet, but in order that such incapacity may become more obvious: the im- mediate end of his retaining office is to be, not the passing of his own measures, but the defeat of them : the ultimate end cif his
retaining office, is to be a measure of which-he strongly disapproves. The ingenuity of the plan is extraordinary,- whatever other cha- racter may belong to it.
After all, however, upon further reflection, we are inclined to think that this most ingenious plan has not been kept secret from the Tories. Perhaps Lord LYNDHURST is a party to it, as well as Lord MELBOURNE ; for the one seems as probable as the other. At any rate, for months past, the Tories have continually declarod
that Lord MELBOURNE did not wish the measures of his Cabinet to pass; that he felt obliged to Lord LYNDHURST and the other Lords for defeating those measures. To be sure, the Standard, the Times, and the Post, which thus indicated the policy of Mi- nisters as now clearly defined by the Courier, did not mention the ultimate Ministerial object which the Courier now proclaims:
they said, on the contrary, that Lord MELBOURNE'S only object
was to retain office without carrying measures of reform; that Ins proposals of reform were mere sops for the Radicals whose support he wanted, and so forth. But perhaps they were not let into the whole of the secret; it may be that they were in- formed of that part of the plan only which relates to the defeat of all Ministerial measures by the Lords : they may have known of the means, but not of the end. Sono: explanation on this point from the Courier is highly desirable.
The Examiner, not being a 'Ministerial organ, concludes that Lord MELBOURNE, by continuing to propose good measures for certain defeat by the Lords, would be ail unconscious instrument of that great organic change which► our Had teal contemporary has for a long while demanded. The plan of keepinto Ministers in ollice for the mere purpose of rendering the Lords more cations, is quite consistent with the Examiner's Rallied opinions and wishes. Not' is there any thing unseemly in the proposal, coming from the Evan:hay, that the IN:heals, by supporting Lord NI EL BOUR NE iii ollice, should use him as an instrument for effecting organic Reform of the Lord,. The curious thing is such a proposal cowing from the Goa mere Vie to:, should be inconsistent if we approved of the Examiner's plan.. Agreeing with out• contemporary as to the enil, we differ with him as to the means. Our ciairse has heen, and always shall be, one of plaia deeling with Ministers. We have professed to :five them a disin- terested mid sincere supp ort. \\lett sort of snip at would that be, which should lead them ou—they beino " Whigs anil not Radicals"—to a point at which, following up the plan, they would be thrown aside es having served the only purpose ot• which they were capable' The 1•tsrguiuce presumes that they, being Whigs, will never be the persons to aceomplish Reform ie the Heusi: of Lads: lie treats them, theref :re, as mere temporary touts, lit to be used for a time no toile, but tit for nothing• else. This may be god Radical p :hey, but it is not niucf► like frionfily support of Ministers. Our contoinporat•y does not profess to give such sup- port: we do; and therefire we endeavour t I make :Ministers con- scious of their true position. Let then► study that article of the Examiner, which eoneludes with these words—" The resignation of the Ministry seems to us about as utterly in:likely as unde- sirable." They will there find the strongest possible argumentam ad homines, against their retaining office alter it shall have become plain that the Lords will not pass any of their measures. And now, a few words as to certain inisapprebeilsions of our own plan. The Examiner supposes that the alternative which we presented to the view of Ministers, was," resignation or dis- solution." The fhet, however•, is that we have never mentioned dissolution of Parliament except as a consequence of the resigna- tion of Ministers. By the substitution of " or" fer " and" we have been completely misrepresented. The alternative which we did propose to Ministers was, resignetiea or dismissal. And we now repeat the sentiment in stronger terins. which arc furnished by the plan of the Courier and Examiner ; saying—Resign, rather• than become mere unconscious instruments in the hands of the Radicals for rendering the Lords more odious; rather re- sign than become contemptible; rather quit office than hold it with no other object than to propose goad measures for defeat by the Lords; retire, keeping the respect and effectien of the People, as soon as ever things shall come to that pass (and they are very near it) when you could not retain office without incurring so much contempt as would render you liable to well-merited and ignominious dismissal.
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