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THE REFORM BILL—OPINIONS REGARDING IT. T...
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Postponement Of Watt. Further Proceeding...
nevertheless , sufficient to absorb the entire of his intellectual energy , and to colour the whole . course of his personal career . The political egotism of his . uncle may be said to haye t been at all times inseparably associated with schemes of doinination in Italy . Bonapartist fame and influence ^ there first became known . The prestige of irresistibility was originally acquired by Napoleon in his memorable struggles with the Austrians in Lonibardy ; aiid aniorigliis latest and , most significant coinnientarles on the history of Europe are those in which , at St . Helena , he professed to describe his purpose and policy in his manner of dealing with the peninsula . The present ruler of Trance not only holds such traditions sacredj but openly avows his desire of realising that Italian nationality which his illustrious predecessor affected at least to have in > iew . Questions of detail in the sum of Italy ' s grievances may change their aspect , in the fluctuation of events " throughout the rest of Europe , and tangible pretexts for an open rupture between France and . Austria , may , for a time , be removed ; but the anomalous ; and dangerous condition of the peninsula generally will not and cannot be altered by diplomacy ; and . sooner or later , if Louis Napoleon lives , he will send the elite of the French army to encounter the troops of Austria in the same plains and river-sides where then- forefathers in the sixteenth , seventeenth , and eig hteenth ceiituries fought and bled before . But , for the present , war has been i ^ ostpOTied . H " aval arid military preparations for what is ironically termed "defence " are somewhat slackened , though not altogether laid aside . Lord Cowley has , at the direct instance of the French G-oveni-¦ riient , been sent with a flag of truce to Vienna , and fciendly assurances have been offered to . the ca"binet of lierlin . The hysterical request exacted fitim the Pope . that both French raid Austrian troops ' should , be withdrawn from his dorninions has been promptly complied withj so far at least " as the preliminaries of evacuation are concerned , and the , Monitcur has published a distinct announcenieiit that the treaty of alliance recently contracted . wifch the King of Sardinia only binds his Imperial Majesty to send military succour in cas « lus ally should be attacked . "War pamphlets have , been suppressed in Paris during a whole fortnight , and--it ' jwi ' eet rnitraille of pacific articles has been directed against : those who conjure up ^ groundless alarms . The ambitious bridegroom . of J ; he daughter of Piedmont has been compelled to retire from the administration of the colonies in consequence of the incompatibility of the viws he is known to entertain respecting foreign policy with those of MM . Morny , Walewski , and Foulcl . Finally , the correspondence of the ruler of France witli the rattle-brained Knight of Gro ydon is officially published , for the sole object , apparently , of telling the French people how solicitous their Sovereign has always been of the good opinion of England , and how deep is his chagrin at having lost it . The coquetry of moderation can no further go . , . * What has caused this sudden falling back from the position of menace assumed two niontlis ago ? Three causes . . mainly contribute , we believe , to the resiilt . The first arid , perhaps , the most unexpected check was that produced by the refusal of JRwssiti , when called upon to bind herself to any . measures of active co-operation with Sardinia and Franco . Evei \ y art of Muscovite diplomacy had been used during the autumn to stimulate the policy of aggression in the councils of Paris and T . urin '; and the seal of the alliance sot by the marriage of the Emperor ' s cousin with Princess Clotilda is beliovod to have been ascribablo , mainly , to the personal instances of the Grand Duko Constantino . No fioom-r , however , had . the sacrifice been decreed , and the gnrlanded victim led away , than the Court of St . Petersburg became icebound , and signified the impossibility of any open movement on its part which might lead to -war . The manifest aim of liussia now appears to have been to commit its Continental rivals of the West to an internecine struggle , in tho midst of which its own resources mijght , without hindrance , bo employed . in , accomplishing those projects of aggrandisement on the Danube and the Bosphorus , which it took all the Powers of tho united West to frustrate five yciwyj ago . . Next came tho discovery that tho Austrian army was in a state of much higher efficiency , both as regarded numbers and spirit , than had been supposed . The strong national feeling , which tho threats of Fre ' noh aggression rousodl
throughout Germany , acted , no doubt ^ in an important manner upon the temper of the Austrian troops " : ¦ for though it is true that a considerable portion of them consists of men of other races , it is also certain that the Teutonic element is the predominant one in the garrisons and camps of the Kaiser . Then- total " numbers have , for some reason or other , been generally arid greatly . underrated . We have heard one of the most eminent diplomatists now living — and one whose means of information on the subject from personal knowledge are perhaps unrivalleddeclare very recently his belief , that Austria ' s muster-roll was much nearer th ^ ee-quarters than half-a-million of men . The army is described as admirable in its appointments arid discipline , and as being marvellously homogeneous in its temper and disposition . This was the . second cause of hesitancy on the part of the ruler of" France . But there was another and a far more influential one . In spite of all the adulation paid him by the court and aristocracy of England of late years , the strongest disinclination was manifested by both to taking any part with him in liis Italian project . Ori the contrary , many symptoms betrayed themselves of a decided tendency in the opposite . ' direction . The national will was never _ more strongly pronounced , or with more unanimity , on any " hypothetic question ... . If the Italians should prove themselves able to drive out their foreign tormentors , England would rejoice at their success , and recognise promptly arid cordially their ¦ newborn " liberties ; . "¦ but . '• nothing should induce tis to allow a ship or a regiment to be sent . in concert ' with the forces of ¦ France to . ' make ¦¦ war in the genirisula . Louis Napoleon . ¦ hardly ccmnted , perhaps , upon Lords Derby -and Mahnesbury as ' favourer ' s : of his views ; but he certainly did reckon -r-and some say not without reason—upon the countenance and aim of their parliamentary rivals . The recent debates in Parliament on . foreign affairs have dispelled these illusions ; arid the saturnine despot of the Tiiilleries , without giving way to ill-lmmour , Or admitting that lie'has been out in his calculations , finds that he must hold his hand and bide his time .
5^8 X ^Kb.' 4^.;.]^4imjh:L%...185a '
5 ^ 8 X ^ Kb . ' 4 ^ . ; . ]^ 4 iMJH : l % ... 185 a
The Reform Bill—Opinions Regarding It. T...
THE REFORM BILL—OPINIONS REGARDING IT . Tkn days have elapsed since the country was made acquainted with the terins of Lord Derby ' s bidding for natiorial favour on the subject of Reform . Many - of the greatest interests and weightiest judgments remain yet to be pronounced ; but enough has been said and . written to enable us to tell what are the more obvious drif tiugs of opinion , and though there may be powerful under currents setting in , in a contrary direction , those on the surface are too important to be overlooked . Wherever public meetings have been held , dissatisfaction in towns more or less strong has been expressed at the non-reduction of the franchise in towns , and the transfer of the freehold votes from counties to boroughs . A comparatively small assemblage ( chiefly of non-electors ) , in Westminster , passed resolutions in favour of manhood suffrage ; , and many thousands pronounced in Lambeth the like opinion . But tho general tone of the meetings that have hitherto taken lias been equally firm and moderate ... There was sti'ong language used , indeed , at Norwich , and one or two minor places , about the mipistry , which sounds to us oxtremely liko the echo of an eager and awkward suggestion from head quarters in town . Elsewhere there has been more of businesslike tone and judgment in the language held ; and wo hope , for tho credit of the middle classes throughout tho country , that eo great and weighty a subject as tho future construction of our representative system , will not be made tho pretext for miserable party recriminations . or personal feuds . It is quite possible that the Whigs jnaiy wnlceir at last to a sense of what is really duo to tho claims of industry and intelligence , and that they may not only outbid their Toi'y competitors in thoir professions about Reform , but that they may actually give the proof , so long wanting , of sincerity as to their fulfilment . , But in common doconoy they ought to refrain from party tauntings , until ) as a party , they shall have regained something like a right to popular confidences in the matter , They had tho opportunity any day these last seven yews to secure pho people nmoh of what
they wanted , in the way of improvements in their electoral systein , but they wilfiaUy threw the opporturity ^ , year af ter year ,: away . It may be that the Tories shall be adjudged by the country to have likewise fallen , short of what it required ; but at least they have not shirked the question . They have brought in a bill which contains confessedl y many good and right things , though it omits the larger and more important features' of substantial progress . They have staked their existence , as an Administration , tippii their ability to carry some measure of the sort through both Houses , and if defeated on the second reading on any of its main jM-ovisioris , it is now tlioroughly understood that they have the power and the determination to dissolve Parliament . It would indeed be alike unconstitutional and impolitic in the'Court arbitraril y to throw any obstacle in the . way . of an appeal to the nation . There may be , and we , iea-r there are , certain false friends of the Liberal part } - who would counsel the Sovereign to trip up the heels of her present advisers , for the Sfike of installing-the old clique of retrogrades and ' ' exclusives in power ; but no sincere reformer Avill lend any sanction-to such plottings . if tlie present House of Commons be , as is said , tlie best fitted for canying the least possible measure of Reform , that is precisely the reason why the ¦ Queen should not identify herself needlessly , by u * treteh of the prerogative , with its ¦ unliorioured . existence . There is no . subVersive or revolutionary feeling in the country that the Coui ' t have any pietenee to fear . 'There " is no " danger that a dissolution , by a Conservative Ministry will -produce a runaway Parliament . But , considering how undesir . ible . it is that the question should be perpetually kept'open , it is of real moment that a decisive ,- though moderate , tone should be infused into the lioutc of Commons , and that , :- whatever Ministt : r be in . power ; lif ter Easter , lie may lie- able to carry an adequate . ¦ arid sufficient bill . The worst that has been said , or- can be saidj against the plan now before us is , that it leaves the ' . nomination-boroughs" and the . town . franchise , uritouehedi No doubt there is livueh ibive in the ¦' argument that personal enfranchisement and the ' redistribution of seats . are- distinet questions , and that we shall be better ' able to ded v .-itli the latter efficiently next , session if we get a good suffi-agc bill now . If , for . nrguinent ' s sake , we . admit to be the sound view of the case in point of Parliamentary tactics , it is all the more necessary that the present , looking sit it as ; i purely 'franchise measure ,-should'be made satisfactory and comprehensive . This it will not be , unless the sulirage in towns is lowered to 5 / . or 61 ., and unless lodgers are admitted to vote who P l ° s . s tluui Ss . a week . The clause regarding the transfer of freehold votes from counties to towns Avill , we presume , be abandoned . Mr . D'Isrnoli has already intimated that the-rights of existing freeholders will he . saved , an option being given them , wo . presume , us to whether , they will register , in town or iu country . The mischievous crotchet about ¦ voting pj'pcrs is also likely '' to bo withdrawn , and will' " *<¦ ' *& arid other amendments tho measure- may , n «'» doubt , be rendered unobjectionable , sis far ns it goes , 13 ut the battlo Avill come upon ilie attempt to establish a principle of 10 / . linalily in eiries and boroughs . It was oa this point that the people oi Birmingham and Nov ^ castlo expressed themselves the other day so vehemently ; and it i < upon tins point , we may be euro , that nil tho olhur gron ' towns of tho kingdom will moM doeided y pronounce . On this point , therefore ; Lord . Jolin ltussoll may unhesitatingly take hh stand , lie con , with perfect honour and ecmswteuuy ., rwuv to ^ tno nieasures ho himself brought in , in 1 H . W and !»«>¦* . and argue with irrefl-ngaUle ibi'ce that whnt ne then oirored is demanded by the country now-. Ho will bo supported by nineteen-twenliotlw ox tho Liberal members . of the IXouno of t-onnnons , and if there bo renegades or deserter * , hu cun-wtu aflbrd to do without them . Only this js clear , tliut for any ofibctivo purpose he must lay down Uroaun as a principle and a plodgo , that the adjudicnJiou ui Parlitunont on the question ought ^ o bo no l «» nt * ; postppnod . To do liiiu justice , ho would lm > o settled it—if it had booi » loit to him to sett u- ~« ago : but hO sufibrotl hjiuseU' to be bulhud nu «» oajojea by ill-advisors and misleading colleagues in to foregoing liis o ^ vn better j udgment . | ' »« vindicates tho wisdom of the wwu , " iukI l ^ ' ' . K has now tho plainest oouwo open to luiii wiuon < patriotic statesman o « n dosird . Alter yonw
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 12, 1859, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_12031859/page/18/
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