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746 THE LEADEB, -__[JigiiggLJg LY 31,185...
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PA35.LIAMENTABY PEMMICAH. Ok Friday, -th...
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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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Interoceanic Communication. The Junction...
the isthmus of Parien are exploded schemes . The railway across Panama is an accomplished fact , but defective in position , deficient in ports , deadly in climate , and without the necessary conditions to aa adequate and permanent transit . A canal at Nicaragua is practicable in an engineering sense , but impracticable in a financial one . A . transit there is , at nest , but a temporary expedient , endurable only roitil commerce and travel can find a suitable ac-« ommodation elsewhere . The proposed railway at Honduras has the prime requisites of good harbours and a salubrious climate , has been proved to be entirel y feasible , is under effective political guarantees , and is in , the lands of probably the most powerful
commercial organisation ever brought together for a similar purpose . The waggon-road at Tehuanteyjec is an enterprise of local interest , available only foT the city of New Orleans and its vicinity , and debarred by disadvantage of position and absence of ports from ever becoming of general utility , as it is prevented by uhhappy political com-$ > lications from ever becoming a point of invests ment for prudent capital . Looking to the simple question of position as regards these various routes , we have the following comparative results :- — From Liverpool to San Trancisco ( and the differences are the same as regards Vancouver ) , touching at Jamaica : — Via Panama .... 7980 miles . „ Nicaragua .... ..... 7720 „ „ Tehuantepec ....... . 7740 ,, „ Honduras ...... ........... 7320 „ From New York to San . Francisco : — F « iPanama ..................... 5224 miles . „ Kicaragua .................. 4700 „ „ Tennantepec ............... 4200 „ „ Honduras ... .............. 4121 „ TEhe positive saving , in distance , which the Honduras lme would afford over Panama , in the voyage from Great Britain to California and Vancouver , vrould- be , therefore , 660 miles ; over Nicaragua , 400 miles ; over Tehuantepec , 420 miles . As regards New York and the Atlantic States of the Union , the gain over Panama would be 1100 miles ; handover Nicaragua , 580 miles .
746 The Leadeb, -__[Jigiiggljg Ly 31,185...
746 THE LEADEB , - __[ JigiiggLJg LY 31 , 1858 .
Pa35.Liamentaby Pemmicah. Ok Friday, -Th...
PA 35 . LIAMENTABY PEMMICAH . Ok Friday , -the Lords threw out the bill for legalising marriage with a deceased wife ' s sister . That the measure should ever have reached the Upper Chamber is a proof of wist can be done in this country by -well organised machinery , backed by plenty of money . The Marriage Law " Amendment" Society -will , probably , < xratin . ue their efforts , until they rouse society from its ¦ apathy , and then , will come an expression of public feeling which will put a stop to the agitation for one generation , at least . The India Bill was read a third time after some interesting talk about the religious part ¦ of the question . Lord Derby explained the principle upon which the Government intended to act , which may be stated in a few words to be " a clear stage and no 1 favour" for all religions , Christian and Pagan , as long - « s none of them offend against decency and morality . His Lordship further stated that no officer of the Government would be permitted , by any act of his , to countenance any superstitious observance of the natives . Non-interference , in every respect , was to be the rule . . Lord Derby ' s announcement , strange to say , carried ¦ u nqualified gratification into the most opposite quarters . The lion and the lamb lay down together . Lords Ellonboroagh and Shaftesbury were equally delighted , and so -were high and low church , as represented by the Bishops of Oxford and London . Recollecting what has passed , it ia worth mentioning that Lord Shaftesbury ( Uttered a strong denunciation of the cruel and insolent treatment of the natives by Europeans .
On Monday , as was anticipated , Baron Rothschild took his seat in the House of Commons , amidst the chMm of the assembled members . The resolution proposed by Lord J . Russall , authorising members of the , Jewiaa persuasion to omit the objectionable words from ike oath , was not agreed to , however , without a division . This is a pity . " We hoped that the minority would have ¦ b een satisfied -with what they had already done ; but one mu & fliot decide dogmatically on acts which spring tfrom conscientious scruples on religious matters . After -all , has not the whole question turned upon a conscientious scraple on the part of Baron Rothschild ? Thank ' Heaven , the contest is over ; hut it may be doubted whether the Newdegate party view the settlement of the -question with as much regret as the Whig political ( traders on the opposite benches .
On Monday , Lord Lyndhurst , in asking for the production of the correspondence relative to the light—ot , as it now appears , wo should coll it the wrong—of visit and search , delivered one of those lucid and convincing oration * which can be heard only in the assorabi | r which he adorns . By invincible logic , backed by citations irom the highest authorities on international law , tlie
noble Lord demonstrated that no such thing as the right of visit and search existed—that a v « ssel ou the seas was part of the nation whose flag she la . wfu . lly lore , and that to visit her , against her will , was equivalent to an invasion of her country's territory . In a case of grave suspicion that a vessel of one nation wrongfully assumed the flag of another , a naval commander might visit her ; but lie must do so at his own risk , just as a policeman may arrest a person whom he suspects of being a malefactor . If the naval commander ' s suspicions should prove to be well founded , then his act would be justified ; hut if otherwise , he , or his Government , must make ample apology and compensation . Lord Lyndliurst characterised the conduct of the British Government in abandoning a claim which could not be wisely enforced , as " wise , prudent , and just . "
Thus far all was correct ; but there occurred one of those remarkable scenes in which even the gravest of our public men sometimes play a part so equivocal , and represent facts with which every one supposed himself acquainted In a manner so exactly contrary to the received notion , as almost to induce the belief that the world has been in a trance for the last quarter of a century . Up jumped my Lord Aberdeen , and expressed the utmost astonishment" that the Government can be supposed to have given up a right which never existed . The law , he said , had been accurately stated by Lord Lyndhurst ; he settled that point , exactly twenty years ago , in . certain despatches , which lie then wrote . " Of course , Lord Granville was not going to let the Derby
Government have the credit of having acted " wisely , prudently , and justly , " , therefore , he too declared that " he had never heard the state of the law as laid down by Lord Lyndhurst questioned . " We are , doubtless , expected to accept these statements ; but then what must we think of the morality of the Governments to which these two Lords belonged , in encouraging our naval officers , under instructions issued from home , to violate the law systematically . The thing is avowed . " I am afraid " says Lord Aberdeen , " the zeal of our cruisers has converted into . a rule that which was intended only to be an exception . " And pray what difference did it make to the Americans whether they were
insulted according to the exception ? Did the British Government ^ ever before the prese nt time , when the Americans have complained of the " zeal" of our cruisers in the exercise of what Lord Palmerston called the < c pretended right " of visit —( whose defence was it—not tne Americans' ?)—declare , unequivocally , that it was abandoned ? Lords Aberdeen and Granville knew that this question cannot be answered affirmatively . The evidence of the suffering party ought to determine the point . Let us hear , then , what America says , speaking through her representative at the British Court . Mr . Dallas , addressing his countrymen upon a recent occcasion , spoke thus : —
" While I am able to announce to you this gratifying fact , I think it should be accompanied also by the assurance that the termination of that for which we have struggled for nearly half a century has been brought about ¦ with a degree of honourable candour and fair dealing on the part of the British Government deserving of every acknowledgment on our part . " Can we suppose that the ' cute Americans have been struggling for half a century to obtain what was conceded to them twenty years " , ago ? Struggling , too ! There could have been no struggle . without resistance on our part ; and so Lords Aberdeen ^ and Granville must e'en tell their story to the mariaes—the sailors won ' t believe it .
The Corrupt Practices Prevention Continuance Bill was read a third time , and passed , in the Commons on Monday . The measure experienced considerable opposition during its progress , chiefly owing to a clause , introduced by Mr . Ayrton , to legalise the payment of the carriage of voters to the poll—not to the voters themselves , but to persons carrj'ing them . Hitherto , the decisions of election committees on this point have been conflicting ; some being for and some against the payment of voters' travelling expenses . Something may be said on both sides of the question . In the first place , it is urged that if you do not allow voters to be carried to the poll , many who live at a distance and cannot afford to pay for their own conveyance , would bo , virtually , disfranchised . In this respect , however , they would be only in the same position as the great body of the richer
electors in populous boroughs , who , virtually , disfranchise themselves by abstaining from voting even when the polling-booths are close to their doora . Then It is contended that the carrying of voters to the poll would operate as a bribe ; but it is not likely that a man would make his vote conditional on his being treated to a ride in a cab or an omnibus ; and if he should do so , could the bargain , fairly , come under the category of bribery ? Suppose a voter should insist on having a 6 ong from a oandidate as the condition of voting for him—would that be bribery V Yet the favour would bo much greater in the one case than in the other . It is , however , suggested that persons whose conveyances avo hired may , in promotion of their own interests , bribe electors to vote for the candidates who employ thorn . This , certainly , is possible . It was stated by some one during tho discussion that , at tho last election , a candidato for one of the metropolitan districts hired a number of cabmen who woro to
be paid a guinea a lead for every voter they brouo-hf i , « to poll for their employe We may be sCe tS ' tS utmost cabby would give to the voter would be half « f what he himself received , but the probability is that it would not exceed a fourth - part . Well , it iifav be said that this is a shocking state of affairs , and ' that it is necessary to take precautions against its recurrence But the question which immediately occurs to a person of plain common sease—but to which no one will cive utterance in the House of Commons—is , whv should men who sell votes for five or ten shillings have" votes to sell ? Bernal Osborne appeared to some advantag-e in tbe discussions on tho bill , and one of his sentences is worth recording : — " Somes-persons describe the franchise as a trust , and others as a privilege ; but , as at present exercised , it would be more correct to designate it as a perquisite *"
On Tuesday the Lords' amendments to the India Bill came under consideration , and one amendment with respect to competitive examinations was rejected . As the bill went up to the Lords , it provided that Indian appointments should be given to successful competitors by virtue of that special enactment . In the Lords it was thought that the enactment in question , trenched somewhat on the prerogative of the Crown , and an amendment was made by ' which the appointment of successful competitors for the Indian service would have been dependent , as is the case with respect to competitions for English appointments , upon an order in council instead of the statutory provision . It is this ' amendment to which the Commons have refused their assent . Lord
Derby s noble declaration on this subject has sunk deep into the hearts of the people . It delights one to see a man , even more illustrious by his intellectual gifts than by his ancient lineage , repeating , in the presence of his peers , the sentiment which the Ayrshire ploughuaau has immortalised in his lines , "The rank is but the guinea stamp ; The man ' s the gowd for a'that . " "A man ' s origin , " said Lord Derby , " is nothing ; the question to be asked is , ' What are his qualifications for a scientific appointment , and what is his moral character '? . ' If you . show me a man who is superior in both of these respects to his competitors , I . care not what may be his birth—that man is the best entitled to the appointment to which he aspire 3 . " These words will be remembered by many ^ a voter at the next election .
A memorable session will close on Monday . A Government apparently strong , from the supposed number of its supporters , has given place to a Government which has become really strong from the hold it lias obtained on sound public opinion . From the highest to the lowest , the administrative offices are filled by able men , and the country las been no less surprised than pleased at witnessing the earnest and business-like spirit in which they ba . ve set to work and executed their work . Short as has been their tenure of office , and unprepared as they were to enter upon it , the present Ministers have passed several useful measures : and two , the Scotch
Universities Bill , and tlie Sale and Transfer of Land Bill , of sufficient importance to establish the character of any Government . In short , it may be truly averred that Ministers " have won golden opinions from all sorts of people , " and Mr . Bern ill Osborne only gave expression to the prevailing sentiment when he said the other day "ho had begun by opposing the present Government , and ho ended by giving them a cordial support . He gave credit to the right honourable gentleman the leader of the House ( Mr . Disraeli ) for tho able and judicious manner in which ho luid conducted the business , and tho very important reforms he had originated . "
But the future ?—They may be defeated—as any Government might—on their Reform Bill ; but , looking to all circumstances , we think the chances arc in favour of it being accepted by Parliament . MlSTKOPOHTAN M . AIN DUAINACUS . —A CO [) V of tllO report presented to the Metropolitan Board of Works by Messrs . Hawksloy , Bidder , and Bazalgetto , last April , was published on Tuesday . The report of the Government referees , from which these gentlemen dissent has already beon noticed . Tho latter conclude , after a long review of tho circumstances of the question , that tho causes of the apparent impurity of tho river Thames havo been greatly exaggerated and much misunderstood ; that tho sewage entering tho river is soon decomposed and tlic
rendered innocuous by tho oxygen contained in water ; that tho mud deposited on tho banks putrefies , and is tho groat source of tho oflFcnsiveness attributed to tho Thames ; and that tho proper remedies would be —• " 1 . Tho interception of the greater part of tlie sewage of the metropolis above tho present outlets , mid its rc ~ moval to , and discharge at , parts of tho river below London where its presence will boharmlosa ; ami , 2 , construction of terrace embankments on both sides of t » c Thames , to confine the tidal channel , accelerate the velocity of the stream , and prevent tlio exposure of tl >« bed and banks of the river . " The scheme of the ( jovcrijment referees is denounced by tho reporters us " needlessly ' largo , excessively costly , and , as a work of construction , all but impracticable . " Thus Miniuticiual Wuitkuait Dixnkr took pluoo <" tho Ship tavern , Greenwich . Tho whole of the Ministers wero present ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 31, 1858, page 746, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/ldr_31071858/page/18/
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