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A SURVEY OF THE SESSION. FEW things are ...
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r ^ . ' ' . .. ' ¦ . ¦ ¦ .. ' Sept . 1 1860 . 7 The Saturday Analyst and Leader . 763
A Survey Of The Session. Few Things Are ...
A SURVEY OF THE SESSION . FEW things are more stupid th . an what is called a Queen ' s Speech , and that Avhich * closed . the -session of 1860 being rather more stupid than usual , her Majestv wisely left it to be read by the Lord Chancellor . The Queen is made to thank the Parliament for the " zeal and assiduity " with which its members applied themselves to their " important duties , "—a compliment singularly undeserved , for we have never had a House of Commons more obstinately and incurably bent upon wasting its time , and expending months about business which might have been transacted in as many weeks . Her Majesty " trusts there is no danger of any interruption of the general peace of Europe , " and believes if the Italians are left to themselves " the tranquillity of other states will remain undisturbed . " It is something to get the doctrine of non-intervention thus proclaimed from the throne ; but Italy deserves more than this sort of negative recognition , and the happiness of twenty-six millions of people ought to be considered upon broader , and higher principles than those wliich have only regardto the " tranquillity of other states . " In further allusion to foreign affairs Her Majesty hopes the neutrality and independence of Switzerland will be preserved in the final settlement of the Savoy question : she deplores the Syrian massacres , and regrets the necessity for the Chinese war . The House of Commons is specially thanked for the " liKeral supplies " and provision for defences ^ although it certainly ought to have been blamed for reckless prodigality and profuse waste of public funds . The last series of paragraphs , addressed to " My Lords and Gentlemen , " show how little the Cabinet could venture to take credit for . . Her MIajesty compliments the Volunteer movement , which , would have been far more efficient if the Government had not restricted it to a wealthy class ; and she states that she has grveii her " cordial assent " , to that very mischievous measure fox amalgamating her local European , forces in India with her . forces engaged , for the general service . The Queen further " , hopes that " the additional freedom given to commerce will leacUfco full development of productive industry , " and refers ¦ with satisfaction to the . Irish Landlord and Tenant Bill , the Endowed Charities Bill , and the Naval Administration Bill . The speech winds up with deep satisfaction at the prevalent spirit of order and 103 'alty , Looking at the speech as a summary of what the Government and the Legislature have done in a long and weary session , it is singularly unsatisfactory . Omitting minor matters , we find that with the exception of advancing Free Trade , the session has been mischievously employed . Its assent to the Indian army job will hereafter be seen in its true colours , and it will be felt that the House of Commons , partly in ignorance and partly from political corruption , gave its sanction to a measure which destroys one of the best parts of the Company ' s system , for the evil purpose of increasing that patronage of the Horse Guards , which is so scandalously abusod . The cumbrous ' machinery of a Parliament was not necessary for this work , whi 6 h could have been easily accomplished b y the ordinary instruments of official cori'uption . The true function of a Parliament in such a case was not so much as attempted to be performed ., A few speakers did their best to show the important principles that wore at stake , bat they could get no one to listen to them , and the majority dishonestly voted for a bill that was alarming in its appearance , and quite tinsiTSceptible of defence . In the same spirit of unintelligent partiality for corruption and unwillingness to be guided by principle , the House of Commons assonted—rather like a rnob than a legislature—to the fortification projects which the Premikr thought proper to lay befpi'e them . Scarcely any members tried to understand , this question , and the debates upon it proved that the Government had not concocted any practicable and complete scheme of national defence , and that tho Houso of Commons would vote any quantity of money rather than apply its intelligence to tho consideration of any difficult case . Tho speeches of Lord Palmicrston and Mr . Sidney Heiihekt in support of this scheme , evinced u pmctioal contempt for the Ibpdy they were addressing . The Pjuhm ikr endeavoured to ovacle inquiry by a wanton and unvcracious effort to excite alarm ,, while the Minister of \ Vau Indulged in fallacies , and coiflcmtfn-plaoes which he would not have ventured to intrude xipon a worthier assembly . Thorp are only two mattors portaining to tiro Session that can be contemplated -with oomplaceney—the progress in Free Trade made by Mr . Glai > 3 tonk , and tho foreign policy of Lord , Joiin JRussicix . Each of these subjects merits
careful consideration ; and we take Mr . Gladstone ' s measures first . No one , whose opinions would be worth canvassing , now doubts the correctness of the Free Trade principle ; but two objections had been made to the proceedings of tlie Chancellor of the Exchequer . First , it is said that '• the regulation of duties upon Free Trade principles ought not to form the subject of treaty . Constantly as this objection has been made , the ground for it is far from apparent . As a rule no treaty or engagement with another Power should be made , if the required action can he obtained without it and if the French Government had been willing to change . its commercial policy without any formal undertaking on our part , the treaty which has been effected would deserve censure on the ground of inutility . This , however , was not the case . Protection had a firmer hold in France than in England ; and there can be no doubt that our willingness to execute a treaty facilitated the proceedings of the Imperial Cabinet . . We have stipulated to do that which , notwithstanding the falsehoods of the Timc . % the majority of the people believe to be our interest ; and the French have been thereby incited to make a healthful plunge , into the Frec-ti-ade bath , by which process we are gainers . There is no doubt that in our mode of procedure we have made a small concession to France , but , in fact , the chief concession is on the other side , and the French have paid us the compliment of following a policy which we were the first to avow . On both sides the Channel there have been a minority of grumblers . The British growlers have accused the Government of sacrificing our dignity to our ally , and the French growlers have been equally po ° itivethattheEMPEHOK has surrendered French interests to the exigencies of an alliance Avith " perfidious Albion . '' Happily both countries can afford to listen to a little cackling and braying , " and the future will amply justify the wisdom of the course thev have pursued * There can be no question that the intellect of the session has been furnished by Mr . Gladstone ; and if he had not had tfec misfortune " of serving tinder a most tricky and unscrupuloiis Premier , ' his financial genius would have borne more abundant fruit . He may deserve some "blame for the purely casual treatment that he determined to apply to the Chinese war ; but his principle of selecting- a time of revenue deficit for the abolition of the paper duties marks him out as a statesman of wise and large views . Some men , who arc usually able to think soundly , have objected to this course . They contend that a reduction of taxation , as they choose to term it , should only take place when there is a surplus ; but this mode of argument is exceedingly shallow and fallacious . If industry be severely hampered , it may be . advisable to reduce taxation , even when expenditure lias to be provided for by a loan ; but in the case of tlie Paper Duties a substitute was provided , and the practical question was , whether a particular mode of shifting- the public burdens would be productive of good . Thus looked at , Mr , Gladstone must have the best of the argument , as the promotion of national intelligence hy the emancipation of Knowledge is a good immeasurably greater than the evil of a slight additional pressure upon proporty or of an infinitesimal addition to our debt . The House of Lords has partially intor- , eoptedthe boon of tho Chancellor of the Excujsquek ; but if we were going to . war to-morrow , and a large addition to our expenditure was necessary , a rational and hoiiost Government would got rid of the remaining tax upon knowledge , in the full certainty that by extending the beneficial powers of tho press it would indirectly saw much moro than tho value of the impost which was given up . Wo have said that the foreign p olicy of Lord John Ktjssjell has constituted a redeeming feature of the Session , and wo praise it for two characteristics , —first of all , it has boon more open and intelligible than that of any other Minister of recont times . In no former Session havo tho debates in Parliament upon foreign questions been so miserable . In the Upper House , 1 , ot < 1 Noumanuy has exhibited tho antics of a diplomatic buffoon ; and in tho Lowor Houso , Sir Robicri- Pjskl and Mr . Kinglaick Jiavo maclo tho silly endeavour to subordinate all great questions of human interest to a monomaixino opposition to Imperial France . Thus , Lord John Ruhsjull has naver boon compelled to explain or justify his conduct , and if ho , had boon ., like the PuiftUUK , a reactionary charlatan , he might have passed through thosossiou wltliputo contributing . ftjsingle ray of popular illumination . Fur from lhis > h « has kept tho public unusually . weH-lnformod , and liua raised iLliu beneficial influence of England to a higher point than it hurt occupied for many youra . But hi « LottDaim- h rather a wiutpr xipon Proviclonoo than a ruler of events , Wo tolerates change
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 1, 1860, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_01091860/page/3/
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