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Leader (1850-1860), 14th February 1852, Edition Country of 2, Page 14

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      Statesmen" And Journalists.. It Were Ung...

      oftlie community P To be faitWul to its task , it will express that thought unflinchingly . In any society so cultivated , and yet so far from perfected as our own , thought is iiot one . and uniform , but many and diverse . To getai ; the > sum of what society knows , and feels , and thinks ,-is our collective effort . The greater our freedom , the higher our responsibility : inseparable tlie duty and the right . . . We maintain , then , that it is the glory of the English press to have denounced fraud , violence , ancf usurpation , and not , " with bated breath and whispering humbleness , " to have babbled about good intentions in the face of detestable acts ; to ld out

      have not seen law trampeupon , justice - raged , religion parodied , genius ostracized , opinion silenced , a whole nation beggared and enslaved , without a burst of such / honest indignation as England feels , civilization demands , and humanity re-echoes . If our freedom make us responsible to governments for moderation , how much more does it make us responsible to nations for a fearless , outspoken sympathy . If that only true and lasting jjeace which we all desire is to be finally won , it will not be by the duplicities of statesmen , but through tlie communion of peoples ; and to this brotherhood , what can more effectually contribute than the sense that England , happy in her isolation , is not selfish in her oneness , but that she has a national

      heart , to feel for the sufferings of nations , a voice to denounce the crimes of princes , a liberty to consecrate to the liberation of the oppressed . We believe and know that this frank and hearty friendship of the English press has done more than any treaties to unite tne future destinies of France and England . It was only a few weeks since that one of the purest writers among our French brethren said of En gland ,, with a sigh of gratitude : — " There remains tlie isle of Delos . France is no more the land of light . England is henceforth the country of Humanity . "

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      The Rheumatic " Old Nobility." A Territo...

      THE RHEUMATIC " OLD NOBILITY . " A territorial aristocracy is the mainstay of a nation , says a distinguished political theorist , —it is the source of chivalrous spirit , the exemplar of high-minded patriotism , the hereditary leader of the people against the enemies of the state . " Let laws and learning , " writes another practical philosopher , of the same school , — "Let laws and learning , arts and commerce , die , But leave us still our old nobility . " And although that process of extinction would restore us to the Middle Ages , something is to be said in favour of the proposition . If an old nobility , however , has lost the influence which it 1

      lms ho awmla ormortunitv of makingand retainhos so ample opportunity of making and retaining , it must be that it has lost its virtue . A nobility should be quick in honour , bold in act , open-handed to dependents . A nobility that preaches the " in the cheapest and soil in the dearest market" doctrine ; that is the one super-excellent example in vacillation ; that truckles to victorious baseness , —that nobility is one which has ti'odden off its own spurs , broken its sword , stained its escocheon .

      Of all adventurers to challenge the resentment of an old nobility , Louis Napoleon is the most conspicuous . The post he holds is his by no right of birth ; he attained it by disloyalty ; ho holds it in defiance of right . What , then , makes the eons of our " old nobility" euccumb to him P Why docs Stanley of Derby cry " Hush ! " to English indignation , lest the adventurer take oft ' enco P It was not in that spirit that his anccstroBs , the illustrious Countess of Derby ,

      defended the little domain of her house against Eairfax and all the troops of tho Parliament ; stood out for royal right , even after despair had Beizod every other in tho land ; and was the last to yield , as she had boon foremost to lead . She did not quail bofpro the English Commonwealth . Has tho spirit of the house of Stanley sunk below tho lovol of that bravo woman—so low , that a

      son of her lino counsels his countrymen to hold thoir peace before a Ereneh usurper P It was not in that spirit that John Rusaell won his peerage and tho Earldom of Bedford : he had no objection to take Frenchmen in tho field , whatovdr tho odds j and has he transmitted tho broad lands of Woburn , a name , and a title , without tho spirit that won and sustained them r It surprises Englishman to seo & minister , who does not forget tho dignity of his kinsman William , even ia adversity , who boars tho very naino of

      John Russell ,, speaking - fair to . the disloyal Frenchman whose enthronement is a standing defiance against the laws of the Commonwealths of inheritance , and of chivalry . The xace of Grey , in the direct line , has not been so busy , m history , and yet we remember how ^ the firs t Earl , " rccejitas liis " . earldom was , " stood by his order" in the proudest spirit of old ; and not a man believes that he , if he had lived , would have

      truckled to the traitor because he was strong . " Our old nobility ?"—It should be , sans peur et sans reproche : but it has grown used to reproach in a base tenacity of place , when to hold place was mean ; and now it ; confesses that it stands in fear ! ¦ _ •• j Crecy and Poitiers , Agineourt and Waterloo , are avenged . Our " old nobility" begs off another trial of it 3 mettle . . ¦ ..

      What has happened to it P la it possible that an old nobility may be too old ? Scarcely ; indeed , our oldest families , with some few exceptions , like that of Courtenay , are new compared to some of Europe , which are lost in the Middle Ages , or even dimly penetrate beyond . , 33 ut it may have grown sickly ; and that we suspect is the fact . It has been coddled , and the virtue has gone from it . The old nobility has had its Dalilah , its Armida , its Circe ;—for all ages and climes have the false enchantress ; and do toe not call her " Civilization" ?

      The historian will couple with that remarkable manifesto the curious scene in the HoUse of Commons on Friday ,- —the " khights of the shires" and the burgesses , the lords , soldiers , and other gentlemen , who sit to represent the people of England , busy cross-examining the worthy Doctor , whose duty it is to inoderate the atmosphere for them—to make them a special atmosphere . They keep an officer , the Iambs ! on purpose to temper the wind to them ! The very breath of heaven is , literally , '¦ " doctored" for their use .

      And even jei it visits their cheeks too rudely . One gallant officer complains that he still feels a draught here and a chill there ; another knight of the shire feels inclined to faint with the heat ; and a third finds his squeamish stomach turned with the smell of dinner . Even in that Lower House there are sons of our " old nobility ; " the very namesake and descendant of John llussel

      is there ; and it is necessary that care should be taken of them . Although they are most of them old enough to go out , whether their mothers know it or not , —although the maid-servant does not go to fetch all of them home , with something warm to wrap them in , they supply the want : Honourable House is its own nurse , its own anxiouB mother ; and the neglectful Heid is called to account for the whiffs of undoctored air that

      elude his engines , and intrude as strangers into tho House . He confesses—breezes have entered , dinner smells have violated the sanctity of the place ; but , ho avers , it is all through Barry . Yes , the potent Commons have oBgagocl a . builder to build thorn a house , and a doctor to doctor tho winds within it ; but , despito tbo majesty of Parliament , treating tho House aa if it were no better than a child put out to nurse , builder and doctor having fallen to loggerheads , and while they are squabbling , a stray zephyr occasionally gambols among the affrightod Members , and dinner comes between the wind and our old

      nobility . At last tho forgetful doctor is had up , and called to account before the assembled Commons , before Europe , before history , —tho name Europe and tho same history that hoar , with amusement , tho sons of our " old nobility" hushing up tho frank English voice , lest it provoke tho Ironchman , draw upon us ugly war , and force us again to moddlo witli villanous saltpotro .

      Educational Ntanchisk. Lonn John Lowers-...

      EDUCATIONAL ntANCHISK . Lonn John lowers- tho borough franchise from 10 t / . io 5 / ., because education and intclligenco have , ho presumes , extended in a corresponding ratio ; and in tho equation of intellect you mny now measure the faculty of choosing a member by 5 / ., On thin basis very interesting sums might bo worked . If 5 / . represents tho power of estimating a Parliamentary candidate , what sum will indicate tho power of discerning right from wrong ? If 5 / . carries tho power to detect the right man for a legislator , what sum will give tho power to know your own interest , or your own wind j what will clotwmiuo the faculty of , pronouncing on a correct actor , or deciding on a picture ;

      what express the ability of , selecting a proper wife , or tne right medical man for jour ease ? J y ' ¦ Payment to ? thp assessed , taxe 9 is another . money test f intelligence , hWtoof payment of licence taxes . Why not " If occupying ahotise is a proof ^ f ability , surely maun < nnK a public hoijjseis a stiltmore'decisive pi-oof . . " ' a But'if is evident that the money test is not carried t its full applicability : if paying 5 / . rent proves cleverness how much more docs tlie . getting' offthe paymenjt prove ! If you are for an intellectual tcs ^ why snot inake passjn 2 the Insolvent Debtors Court convey a fight to " vote

      § impl ( £ i « in < led people . object ^ this moncy ^ teitj- iand want a direct test of intellect or education . We do hot see how they coul < l conceive hhich tj t £ S &* which , would not be open to abuse . You might , to be sure , -examine candidates for , the francliisc , ancTpass ~ t % claim ,, if satisfactory answers were given to qaostions suclras— " How to divide eight gallons of oil into equal parts , with ' an eight gallon cask , a five gallon , and a three gallon ? " or , " Giventhe

      length of the ship , and the height of the main-mast , to find the captain ' s name . "; But candidates might cram for these qualifications as they do for asurgeon ' s diploma or university honours ; and might fraudulentl y arrive at the captain ' s name by " coach . " Webfelieye there is no test of intellect like the money test , but ; why inakeiti ) ic paying of nioney . " A fool ajtd his money arc spoil parted . " Decidedly it should * be receiving mqneyj or getting ^ ay without payment . If 2 / . asscssed-taxes indicate the Parliamentary answer ' / how . many handkerchieyes , should enfranchise an Artful Dodger ? ,,. - * ,., ^ ^

      Historic Parallei,. Dedicated To The Sav...

      HISTORIC PARALLEI ,. Dedicated to the Saviour of Society . { By an English Sympathiser , not a Peer nor mi Di ' core ' . ) Lc glorieux mot ~ de Pavie - — Jnsqua ' u la corde etait use :. ¦ - ' Le Redcrupteur de la Patrie , ' Napoleon J l ' a retburne ; ' % t , fors I'honheiiftoiiicstsaiivc .

      Ballot Babblings Of Btgone Days. ' '. -•...

      BALLOT BABBLINGS OF BTGONE DAYS . . - - ¦ -... - :-. vi ;¦ i ¦ .. ¦•• . . -i What a time Lord John ' s ideas take to ripen ! Some years ago , a witty contemporary used to liken those ideas to a pear , and to exhort people to Wait while the said pear should get ripe ; but nobody" then fully ' appreciated the force of tlie jVrospectivc sa ' tiro : it has taken twenty years to dcvclope the force . Twenty years ago , at Torquay , on the 15 th of September , 1832 , Lord John Russell spoke as follows : — " If the landlords of this country should presume upon their power , should presume

      upon their terrible position , to compel men who have entered into no such bargain to dispose of their votes as mere servants of these landlords , I must' tell them , and fairly t e ] l them , that -wo shall resnnt it , iirtd 6 tho £ iricflsures must follow . . . Great as I apprehend tho iuconvcuienccs of the Ballot may be , convinced as I . am in my own inin < t that it ia no light matter , nnd that no slight danger would bo entered on by , adopting the voto by Ballot , yet if it come to this , that I must either adapt

      such a measure , or that I must soe the tenantry of Englnnd ranged at . elections contrary to tho toolings and wishes of themselves , I should have no hesitation ^—/ shoilld have no ilouU- ^ I should renotoi ' ee ' my previous opinions , and I should at once adopt the vote by Ballot . " And there is no ballot yet in Lord John ' s Reform Bill No , II . Ho is kcepjng it for Reform Bill , No . Jlh , which ho contemplates for the year 1872 j for it docu tako hia ideas such n time to ripen I

      Cmivan'r Afl, Molimtb, Siiakesrijaiie. —...

      CmivAN'r afl , MoLimtB , SiiAKESriJAiiE . —ThcHe won woro , all alike , iu thin—they loved tho natural history of man . Not what ho should be , but what ho is , V " « tlio ^ vvouvito subject of tlioir thpiight ., Wliouqycr ft noblo lomling 1 oponeU to tho oyo now paths ol ' Hg » fc » they ' rejoiced ; but it ' wiw novor fancy , but nlwuyfl f « i « fc > that innpired tliom . Tluiy loved a tjiorongli jwnctTution of tho lnurkicst doiifj , and lriosi tunglwl \ n \ t \ w of nnturo ; they did jiofc Hpiu from the ilosiros of thbir own Bpocial naturcH , lmt r « t « nwti « uotc < t tlio world from niiitormw which they eolldctod on every' tn & o . Thus tlioir ,. »«• fluonoo upon ino wijs not to prompt liio i ; o follow- out thought in mytiolf ho much , aa to tlutcot it everywhere ; for each <> f tho . se moniH liot onl y a nafcuro but tt liniw interpreter ' of niany iintuivs . —Mpwoirs (] f M <* ty aT < $ Fuller OssolL

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 14, 1852, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_14021852/page/14/