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sntete TH¥ liEA^PirK. pSfo, 51& 33fec. m...
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publication of the correspondence which ...
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may also^be remarked that, if %uch> laws...
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FOLrCY OP DEMOCRACY Amongst the numerous...
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* "L<v Dtfmooriiilo." Vox Mtjonno Vftoho...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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-«0- The Politics Of Popery. The Pope Co...
that imprudent courage which Bengal huntsmen delight to find in the wild boar . Lord Garlisle and I ) r . dimming may not be quite' right in their philosophy of vials and tatiinpets , but it needs no profound researches into mystic themes to become aware that we are on the eve of great changes , and to look to the decade upon which we are enterin g for the evolution of new principles and the practical recognition of old truths . The bells that from a thousand towers will ring out the old year to-night will also , in the words of Tennyson" King out the old , ring in the new . " Let us hope that they will likewise " Ring- in the valiant man and free , The larger heart , the kindlier hand ; King-out the darkness of the land , King in the Christ that is to be . "
Sntete Th¥ Liea^Pirk. Psfo, 51& 33fec. M...
sntete TH ¥ liEA ^ PirK . pSfo , 51 & 33 fec . m ' \ 185 Q .
Publication Of The Correspondence Which ...
publication of the correspondence which the Admiralty has sanctioned ,: will enable the public to judge for itself , and perhaps its verdict may differ from the censure of the Board . What Captain Bpjllie has to say for himself has not transpired , and the public must form its opinion on the exparte statement of his censurers . " From this publication we learn that there exists an Admiralty order restricting the grant of leave of absence to seamen . It has been apparently renewed , with some modification ^ , by an order issued on November 28 , which directs that " leave is to be granted to officers or men
belong-BICKERINGS OP THE INFALLIBLES . We have now the official account of the transactions in which " the so-called mutiny" of the seamen of the Princess Royal originated- The Admiralty considered the subject of such importance that it instituted an inquiry by three Coxn ^ missioners , which has ended in the Admiralty passin . a severe censure on the conduct of Captain Baillie , who displayed , says the illustrious Board , " a great want of judgment and firmness in dealing with every circumstance of the case . " Captain Baillie and the imprisoned and now pardoned seamen are , w e must therefore suppose , the only persons to blame oh the subject . But the partial
placed . " This phrase of the Admiral expresses the principle on which the Admiralty always acts . It has no confidence—it never has had any confidence- —in the seamen . Ilow could it ? Who has confidence in the men he has enslaved ? The Admiralty has unbounded confidence in its own wisdom . On this principle it has always acted , and the result is that the seafaring population is , and has long been , disgusted with the Navy . They are always reluctant to enter ; they desert in multitudes after entering ; they go in crowds to the United States ;
so the wonderful confidence which the Admiralty has in its own wisdom inflicts on the nation a mass of evils . The unpleasant occurrence on board the Princess Royal is an illustration of the effects of its infallibility . There is no tribunal to overhaul its conduct ; no court martial to try it , except the public ; and if the public desire to see the Navy willingly manned and the nation zealously defended by its seafaring youth , it must insist on the Board acknowledging that it has done wrong to the seamen .
ing to ships to be paid ofly unless a Sunday intervene , when the Port Admiral may exercise his discretion . " In the opinion of Admiral Bowles , such an order is extremely injudicious . It imprisons men as culprits in whom no confidence can be placed on returning from a lengthened foreign service . From entertaining such an op inion Admiral Bowles took oil himself the responsibility —contrary to this Admiralty order—to permit one watch of the Princess Royal to go on shore on' the application of Captain Baillie . The Admiral set the example of disobedience to an order which he was bound to enforce , because he
believed it to be injudicious and unjust . But soon after Captain Baiuie returned and reported the ¦ whole crew in a very excited state , whereupon the Admiral saw it was time to be firm and decisive , " and revoked the limited indulgence fee had granted , because the " crew were so unreasonable in their demands . " They all wanted the enjoyment which the Admiral thinks they ought to have , and which to deny them is to treat them as culprits . That is exactly what the Admiral did when he revoked the pennission . So the disappointed and injured men were stopped from going on shore ; and so they kicked up that row which
was called a mutiny , which courts martial were empowered to try , and for which they sent a large batch of seamen to prison . It is now perfectly clear that the humane but weal ?; Admiral waB first wrong in disobeying , the Admiralty order ; and next wrong in regarding the men ' s desire to go ashore as unreasonable , and revoking his permission . Captain Baillie is wrong by the judgment of the Admiralty , but only the unfortunate seamen get imprisoned .
The Admiralty , by repeating its order on November 28 , not to allow seamen leave of absence , censures Admiral Bowles , and openly censures Captain Baillie ; and the Admiralty itself will escape censure and punishment unless the public inflicts them ,. The public will probably think , vrith Admiral Bowles , that the order to withhold leave from the seamen when a ship is about to be paid , off Is most ii \ j « di < jious , If the order be injudioiouB , the Admiralty deserves to boar the WJ 9 W blame , belonging to the transaction . It otf ^ atqdentixetyixutsi foolis ' h , order to " treat ? the seamen as culprits , in whom no confidence can be
May Also^Be Remarked That, If %Uch> Laws...
may also ^ be remarked that , if % uch > laws are to be put in force at all , it is much better that the initiative should be taken-by an-association than by one of the class of persons who usually act as informers . It appears that the defendants in the Berwick case applied- to Mr . Baron Bramwell to order the plaintiff" to give security for the costs of the suit , upon which his lordship observed that " the Northern Reform Union is a purity society it consists of patriots ; and surely these gentlemen will only be top eager to give any security that may be desired , if it were merely to show their
highmmdedness and integrity . " In another passage Mr . Bramwell is reported to have exclaimed : " It is very easy to go about professing integrity to commence actions against people for penalties when the plaintiff cannot pay the costs of the suit is a cheat ) way of becoming a patriot , cheap and , I think , nasty . " After this elegant comment ' and after having suggested a compromise of the case , Mr . Bramwell directed the securities to be given . In a letter before us , Mr . Reed rejects his lordship ' s proposal for a compromise , a proposal which it was anything but creditable for
him to make , and asks : — "Is it consistent with propriety , is it consistent with judicial decorum , is it consistent with the high character popularly assigned to every English judge , to endeavour at the outset of a legal proceeding , as your lordship is reported to have done , to sneer away the character of the plaint iff" in the suit ?" There are very few who will not agree with Mr . Reed ' s remonstrance ; and , should the case come before Mr . Baron Bramwell for trial , it will require great care on his part to avoid the suspicion of acting under a prejudice , from which a
MR . BARON BRAMWELL AND BRIBERY . Mr . Baron Bramwell ' s elevation to the bench gave general satisfaction , because , though no one expectedhim to prove agreat constitutionaHawyer , his industry , clearness , and common sense , indicated him as a man capable of occupying an excellent second place . These expectations have not been in the main disappointed , but we regret to notice occasional aberrations , which it would be well for the learned Baron himself and for the cause of justice , should be kept in check . The task of presiding over a common law court is apt to grow
wearisome , and we cannot wonder that men , deficient in the lighter elements of wit , should sometimes indulge in ponderous caricatures of jocularity ; but they should take care in what direction they scatter their cumbrous jests . In a recent case , Mr . Bramwell , having , perhaps , one . eye for the then approaching season of jokes > puddings ^ and pantomimes , and another for the matter before him , decidedly overstepped those boundaries of decency which surround his office ,- % nd laid himself open to the charge of being either an undignified The occasion
trifler , or a political partisan . which gave rise to this conduct arose out of the action of the Northern Reform Union against the electoral corruption at Berwick . It will be remembered that Mr , Reed , the indefatigable secretary of the Northern Reformers , made an elaborate inquiry into the malpractices connected with the election in the well-known border town , and having obtained information which left no doubt of the rottenness of the place , he next proceeded , by direction of the ReformUnion Committee , to bring actions against certain suspected persons , in order to recover the penalties alleged to have been incurred under the Bribery Act .
The event must show whether Mr . Reed has been right or wrong in his selection of individuals , but so long as the Legislature throws upon the public the task of checking electoral bribery , and offers a reward in tho shape of a penaltyto bo recovered by any successful informer , it is the plain duty of judges to afford every reasonable facility to any one risking the heavy expenses of an action according to the provisions of the law . The principle of the Act may bo objected to , as it is discreditable to a civilised country , and to the first representative assembly in
the world , that so serious an offence as bribery for the purpose of procuring the corrupt return of a member of Parliament should go unpunished , unless some one should be tempted to try to make , £ 100 by playing the part which ought to belong to a public prosecutor or a special officer of the House of Commons . Under ordinary circumstances the plaintiff in . suoh an action is liable to have his motives considered to be simply a desire of gain , and to check frivolous actions the Act
provides that the prosecutor or plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover costs unless ho havo given security to pay them in the event of tho decision going against him . In the case before us there was no ground for supposing that the action was brought heedlessly or vexatiously , and the defendants had in faot , if not in law , the unusual security of dealing with an important public body whoso character would be destroyed if they suffered their secretary to fail in the discharge of pecuniary obligations incurred in obedionoe to thoir own orders . It
judge ought to be free . Electoral corruption is one of the most disgraceful and dangerous evils of the day , and , although . in the class of society which Mr . Baron Bramwell may frequent it may be regarded with levity , there is only one proper course open to a judicial officer , and that is , to treat it as a very grave constitutional offence . If those who endeavour to check so flagrant fin evil must be met with taunts about their " purity " and their " patriotism , " there are plenty of low characters who can dispense such insults , without leaving the function to be performed by ah occupant of the Bench . Bribery may be fashionable , and " patriotism " ungenteel ; nevertheless , the public do not pay Mr . Baron Bramwell to act usticeand
as arbiter elegantiarum , but to execute j , maintain the dignity of the law . "With a weakminded jury , nothin g is more damaging to a cause than to make it ridiculous , and how can Mr . Bramwell tell that this case may not be tried by twelve men who may fail to see that the proper person to be laughed at is himself ? Among the wealthy classes there are , unfortunately , ninny who look upon bribery as one of the pillars of the State , but we do not wish to see our judges leaning against such a support in an attitude of broad grin . We do not believe Mr . Baron Braimvoll meant any mischief , and , upon cool reflection , wo are sure ho would be as strong an opponent of electoral corruption ^ as the members of the Northern Reform Uniou ? but if he is unable to temper facetiousness with discretion , let him suspend hi 9 mirth until he has doffed his wig .
Folrcy Op Democracy Amongst The Numerous...
FOLrCY OP DEMOCRACY Amongst the numerous seizures of tho productions of the press recently made in Paris is Im D niooratio , a volume in duodecimo , of 400 pn ^ cs , by M . Etienne Vachorot . * Tho writer is a quiet and influantial man . Ho was formerly professor of the University , which ho left in 1852 , beeauso ho would not tako the onth'to the now Government . Ho has written his book in a serene spirit , as if ho had boon living in London or Geneva . lie is a scientuic politician , of the Royor Collard school—a motaphysioion who looks oa far as he can into tho principles of sooioty , and deduces consequonoos in . ft formal , logical manner . His book cannot excite enthusiasm or harm tho Fronoh Government , » n « tho Boizsuro must have boon dictated by ignorant official zeal . ,, As a inattev of faot , the certain asoondancy o » demooraoy in the future is recognised by a " modern thinkers , and it is consequently most aoflirablo that a knowledge of the prinoiplofl jff
* "L<V Dtfmooriiilo." Vox Mtjonno Vftoho...
* "L < v Dtfmooriiilo . " Vox Mtjonno Vftohorot , « n , & o ' rootour doe lfltiuloa a l'Koolo Normal Sm > orlour . l ' urln . w ^
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 31, 1859, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_31121859/page/14/
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