On this page

• Text (3)

  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.

  • 

    Untitled Article

  • 

    Untitled Article

  • 

    Untitled Article

• Transcript

  • 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.

    Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

    Untitled Article

    the multitude may be led wrong by very superficial mistakes , and under a popular impulse great disasters may be precipitated which the multitude itself will be the first to repent . It is not , however , to be supposed that m « n ljife litBKXN W Hiwws , pKBsiGNr , or Louis NAWtEo » fc-Bnoi , BfccHj ; Bbuck—are * totally ignorawfeof the real metming of Parliamentary business Sjfcthis country a * - * o suppose that the action of owcr Governmestfctwill be suspended or reversed because the personnel of the Cabinet is changed , because the administration of the war is changed for want of energy

    ,-orbtecause our miHiary , authorities « re embarrassed m their supine slowness , by-an aagry- ^ inquiry-that : may introduce greater activity into omvpelitieo--military operations . Austrian and French statesmen , we-say , will be able to weigh and measure these considerations with -ft- cooler and more foreseeing judgment than great numbers even in this country ; and we may suppose that they will continue th « nwyraosent as-the-y have hitherto : carried it on , calmly waiting to take up the British

    Governat the next stage when , it shall have been recon ^ stituted . If the Crown should appoint a bad Government , if Ministers should enter office for the purpose of betraying the country—then , indeed , they- may perform that part m ther Alliance which Lord Johx Russeix has performed in the Cabinet . Bui the simple Ministerial crisis , we insist , is not likely to have any serious effect upon the . Alliance , while a ; really improved Government would have a beneficial effect .

    The constancy with which the larger movements on the Continent have been proceeding , is marked by some of the latest incidents . The secret despatch accompanying Count Biroi / s published despatch to the German , Governments on the 14 th of Jan , uary has been published , and iu it we find the Ai *? trian statesmen inviting the German States , should . the' Bund not affirm the Austrian proposition , to unite- their fortune with the Empire a ^ d share " th ^ rgaina of the war . " The gains of war ! Austria , then , contemplates a warfare , in which one side or other shall have " gains" to

    divide . The Confederation has refused the Austrian proposition for mobilisation of the Federal troops , and has adopted the Bavarian compromise —that of placing the troops on a war footing . ThisTwlUTiFr ^ her 7 ~ las £ published despatch , on the 21 st of January , is . still , tracing her mystic nonsense , claiming , admission to the . Conference in Vienna , while practically operating as . the ajly of Russia , although' abstaining fronj an avowal of tha . t character . . Switzerland ) it is said , has imitated Piedmont in permitting the passage of' French troops . To

    strengthen the military resources of Austria , the little Republics , it is understood , will lend- a contingent o £ 15 , ^ 000 men to that force . The war mpyem # ni $ on thp , Contiaen ^ therefpre ^ are marching . " Justice" has , been at some of its odd . w . ork . The Cpurt of Admiralty has been gravely instructing ship-owners , that ¦ if they-attempt-to break a blockade they do it at their own peril . Mr . Justice CoiEREEHGiKj . haii . bee ^ gravely . , telling . the pubP li ^ h er of th » , IHmfis , that , public . journals n > ay ca » r vass the public , conduct of men , but not their private conduct—a remark drawn forth by animadversions * 6 tt the public conduct of the Chairman and Directors of a- railway company * which the

    freat journal considered opea . to graveisuspicion , ush Mr . J . ppticiQ CawaRrDa »' 8 ruJfe lw > mo , and i t would teaching , that . we uausjt nQjfc , suapei& public men , but only judge them by acts and public , professions ! While a Very young girl is convicted of tfc concealing" the birth of- an infant whom she * was accused of kiUtng-mthe . usual ease o £ ' the-Majwwjwt of some u&ni ) yrnJFAju » T ~ -ax * liB Bea *^ tweed to two years' iinjarisonmont with Itwd labour , a man , convicted of filling his intemperate "wife by kicking her , is sentenced to one year n s lmpriaontneht with hard labour . The jury were not ydnng ^ girfe , perplexed by the delirious pro-W * m * of at tceiaftftjue maternity ; but puobably th . wer © -j ^ h ^ b w ^^ agadiknew wb / wb proy ©« ftr tm was ., ^ WttQwd ^ e , life ,, of m lafofe M

    twice as gfoat a ^ tirioMM § 4 to kick a woman to Some roBtftlts arOLremarkable in their collateral incidents ^ father than their direct issues . Bvatw neixt ., committed to custody on a cproneris wawwtf ; liWeomes , b ^ » burksque , off ttagedy ludfetouslw disgusting ^ the- object oTa ewflict between aiOoroner aaoct Bolice , both oft ^ hom ^ l Q ; - « r 1 t . lfe * riffht ofi h ' oldmK him in ciirtody .

    Th «» aroawwiter ordiars an «« counter wjwwrti *; police « w » and par ish cowrtftbles fall toomrsonal contests ; there is a race ofcabs from the hospital where the inquest was held to the station . Sir Richard Maine , consttleing hb owrr dignity , leaves his august : rival . Coroner W ^ akmet , - .-to carry butbis victory ia war with , the Peelers , ; and thus it is that "justice" conducts its procession fro a * the judicial chamber in the first instance to Newcrate !

    Untitled Article

    ROUT OF MINISTEKS . The fate of the Aberdeen Ministry was determined , on Monday night , after a long debate full of interest and animation . It will be remembered that Mr . Staffokt * moved the adjournment last week , and the duty of renewing it fell upon him this week . He- did not make a speech of the usual Parliamentary stamp , but he gave an unvarnished and affecting narration of facts that had come under his own eyes in the hospitals of Scutari antLBalaclavai . Glad to hear that Government had determined to open a large hospital at Smyrna , he described that at Scutari as situated in an unhealthy position between two seas , ; while the . atmosphere of Constantinople was unfavourable to the healing of wounds . The hospital at

    Abydos was situate in a well chosen spot , and would succeed if the stores were ready .. Passing on to the Scutari hospitals , he dwelt on the benefits which had accrued from the Times' fund » . so delicately yet boldly distributed by the gentlemen in charge of it . The hospital at Scutari had been greatly improved ; but it has radical defects which can never be cured . It had never been anything else , bat unhealthy . He had found that the corridors and wards were floored with porous unglazed tiles ; on these mattresses were placed ; and in the absence of vessels of all kinds the tiles had become saturated with feculent matter , which could not be washed away without endangering all , the patients . It was swept repeatedly , but the original stain remained * its noxious exhala

    surcharging the atmosphere with - tions ,- so that all :-who entered caught the prevailing disease . The doctors , are . hot entirely to be , blamed ; there was a want of proper instructions from home . Next he described the condition of convalescents on board a ship bound for the Crimea . There were three hundred , nearly all withpnt their knapsacks , the knapsacks being in the hold of a shh > one hundred yards , off under a pile of "" cargpT "They had madefour ' voyages ~ to ~ "and fjroin the Black Sea , since the troops first landed . He took a boat and tried to get them , , but could only obtain two I On ? visiting the hospital at Balaklaya , now greatly improved , ha found no cleanliness , no ventilation , not a single sheet ,, not a mattress , not one - medical comfort . There were nine men-lying on the boards in one room

    and fourteen in another . ; yet there were bedsteads in the p& 99 ago between the two . The men said all was done for them that could be done ; but the orderlies denounced the doctors , and the doctors denounced the orderlies ; while between the two tha pationts were ^ dying . The samp day ho found onoof . the convalescents sitting in the street , ready to drop with fatigue and hunger , and nobody to show him the way to the hospital . Mr . Stafford took him thither , and insisted oa his being put to bed . Tha next day the mag ; died in delirium ,. Another man , wfto could only eat . sago ,, was . noj , ajjowpd . , have more than his allowance of that instead of ottyer food , and he left'him sinking more from starvation than disease . Riding out one- , morning towards the camp , he passed a man lying down , by tboToaflflido . in . thftjttftt atflgoof diarrhoea . As ho passed he heard thq man say , not addressing any one in particular , "Will anybody take mo away-or killine ?" On this ho dismounted and askud the , man . how he ' came there ? " They have beon njowi £ mo ., down from . tljpcamp , "

    he said , " to put me on . board ship , but they have left mo her © > and I don't know what they-are going to do with me , but I ; wish they , would ojthftr , kill , me ori take mo , aw ^ yV There-wore four or five others closo by in oven a worse con .-dition , inasmuch' as they could not speak , while this man could ; and , on turning * towards tbe camp , he . saw coming ' towards . lui » . fl . ] c » ng , procession of out wouuclfld . aoJdiora , boinjj btought down from the camp on French mules and in French ambulances * ' Hti would do the Fr « r > oh soldiera the justice of saying , Mat mx countrymen , could h » va balmved with greater kindness to those poor fellows . { Loud cheers . " ) Thoy lifted them gently from iho panniora in which they were placed , but thoMiWero no , arrangomentB mado to roaqive thorn , andi tljbro they lay on ., tlio shore until tha two boats appointed to recoivo them carried them on board the ships . So bad wore tha-roads , that somoof'the wounded , he believed , had boon ' all night on tho . way , with , nothing tQ cover tliom but a great coat and a blankot , stainod and rotten with orduro . . So ho found them on board the Avon , lying on tho bare boards—no nmjtfcraww , iyj ehwifi t no , bendatflaUft of courae-n-with nathiug

    tofcbve ^ UMun tliere same , filthy blanket . The sick in ( he Avon ' jwjumwmiii with soup made of whole peas ! They fcadaonly wMbyi blaokets ; at his urgent request the doctor \ v « iij » d 5 ro « jteetfafid at his order the captain issued ninetysix liliiilnil [ i ?' tirli Mr . Stafford and Ins servant gave out to the siefck ; iffksSrst indication he witnessed of the arrival of the sicMf ani , wou » ded in the Bosphbrous Was preceded by dead bodii « £ mlledtin blankets , washed ashore near the quay at SbataiaB . They had been thrown overboard without a c * nnon--. balttotsink them ! He had visited the French hospitals , aBd _ $ tafcfou * d-rh « m so clean and well ventilated that ftjwafciobbcrre ^ it seemedtas if the French had been there ttaryearsy . and . th * t the English had come the day before . Qlbomy « b was ' -th * picture Sfcwas now drawing , he must coneratulite the Secretary at Wfer oathe sending out of the

    female nurses-last autumn . Success more complete never attended human effort than that which had resulted from this-excellent measure . They could sear « ely realise , without personalty ; seeing it , the ~ heartfelt-gratitude of the soldiers to thes / J noble ladies , or . the-amountof-taisery . they had relieved , or ' the- degree of comfort—he might say of joy—they had diffused ; and it was imposssible to do justice , not only to the kindness of heart , but to the clever judgment , ready intelligence , and the experience displayed by the distinguished lady to whom this difiicult mission had been intrusted . ( Cheers . ) If Scutari was not altogether aswe-would wish it to be , it was because of theinadequate powers confided to Miss Nightingale ; and if the Government did not stand by her andJier devoted band , and repel unfounded and ungenerous attacks made upon them ^ -if it did . not consult their

    wisbesand yield to their superior judgment in many respects . it would deserve the execration of the public . A'French officer ,- alluding to our commissariat and other departments , remarked to him that we seemed . to follow the system . of the middle-ages rathec than the principles of modern science ,, and that nis nation regretted our backwardness the more because they saw what noble lives it caused us to sacrifice . This observation . was-perfectly true ,-and was made in no hostile spirit . . . . With ; regard to . our own officers , he must say that , while engaged , in writing goldiars letters in our hospitals , he never heard , much less . was _ he . asked ± o write , a single word of cdmplaint against any officer . Indeed , the men ' s expressions of gratitude to their officers were highly honourable to the men themselves , and no less so to their officers . One name in particular was mentioned with

    enthusiasm , admiration , and gratitude—he meant that of his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge , who seemed to possess the happy artj even in the din of battle , of saying a kind word or doing a kind ' acr , which his men would remember to the . latest hour of their lives . Buthowishould he de-• cribe to the House the loyalty of these , braveand suffering fellovys towards their Sovereign ? When the news of the autograph , letter of her Majesty reached -theV hospital at Scutari ,. he believed there never was spent , within the . walls of such an . establishment , a happier nigh , t tban that which followed the proclamation of the cheering and-consolatory tidings of their Queen ' s sympathy and . concern for their affliction . He saw one poor fellow proposing ^ to . drink the Queen ' s health with a preparation of bark and quinine , which he was ordered to take as a medicine , and when . Mr . Stafford remarked , tbat tho draught was . a bitter one for such a toast , the mansmilingiy replied—" Yes , and but for these consoling words I could not get it down . " : ( Laughteri ) ¦ This anecdot * was told to his fellow-sufferers , and this was the way in

    which they sweetened . their bitter draughts . He had no notion of the noble - qualities possessed by these brave men until he lived and laboured among them . Fervent exclamations of humble piety and sincere penitence wo > heard escaping from their dying . lips . —Unceasing , pain ~ and-approaching-death failed to unman those' gallant spirits , and it was only when charging him . with their last message , to those near and dear to them that their voices were noticed to falter . Once , indeed , a brave fellow ^ who bore the highest character in his regiment , when on lib death-bed , uttered , to him these words : — " Had I been better treated I might have gone back to my duty in the field , and there I should have been ready to meet the soldiers of the enemy ; but England lias not cared for me . " These words caused to Mr . Stafford ' s mind , tho deepest pain , 4 > ut he felt convinced that England did care for her . soldiers ; indeed , from what he had seen of the feeling of this country' since his return , ho believed that thore was comparatively nothing else for which the people of England , now cared as much as for the welfare of them who fought their bat ties .

    Mr . Stafford defended . the . press , and , said ho could endorse , tho statements of the Time * . The question before the House was , whether tho system which had engendered such disasters should continue or be abolished ? The thanks Parliament had . voted would be a mockery if thoy did not burst the , trammels , of routine and save an army . Tho question thus clearly put by Mr . Staflbrd was taken , up by the Secretary of the Admiralty in a way . that . astonished . the , House .. After declaring thai , there had been , no charge , made against tho Admiralty , Mr . Ralph Osborno said ho would not rest his vote on that , and then launched into an assault upon tho , ' military , system . Doe& < it- tend to der .

    tolopo military , talent ? No , Xook' how tho staff of tUp army is cqmposed . Talk o £ consolidation 1 You must reconstruct your system—you must have nn army that can not only-win battles but go through , a campaign ; You . must , lay an unsparing , hand , upon that building ; adjjjoent to . theao promises—you must see whether you can find a Hercules to turn the Serpentine through tho Horse Guards and all tho ramifications of tha . War-office . [ Theso assertions wei ; o frantically cheered by the opppuition . ] Interest and connexion , not capacity and knowlogo , obtained appointments on tho staff ! Not one-third of the Btaff in- the Crimea can speak French , or . draw a , common fljaW plan . How can you , get gonexala , when ovory ston . j * p ^ bfooiLion must be

    Untitled Article

    but the 98 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,

    Untitled Article

    IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 3, 1855, page 98, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2076/page/2/