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Leader (1850-1860), 17th February 1855, Edition 1 of 2, Page unpag.

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      f ^ mY ^ S ' t ^ v ^ »

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      rpHE Paumekston Cabinet is the Russell , X Cabinet newly decorated and repaired ; but some of the outw rd changes ^ are considerable . Lord pAXMEBStoir has sent the late Premier into private life , and the Premier expectant—Lord John Russell—to Vienna . He has lost one of the most remarkable men of the present day , who was buriedJn a- subordinate department ; and if he has done something to retrieve that department and the Government by placing in the vacancy one of the most promising of our young noblemen , he has failed .

      Lord John Russell ' s mission to Vienna is the foremost topic of the week . He will be accompanied by Mr . Hammond , a permanent Undersecretary of the Foreign Office , who goes out , as it were , to nurse the * noble Lord in his diplomatic apprenticeship . —What-reasons induced the Premier to select Lord John for this great responsibility is not exactly known , but popular suspicion p oints , first to the advantage of exiling a troublesome rival in the House of Commons , whose

      cooperation might have a disagreeable patronising appearance , whose opposition , backed by 140 Whigs , would be troublesome as well as vexatious , and whose criticisms would perhaps have the sting , of slighting friendship . Again , another suspicion arises . We have , in former times , pointed to the habitual delight which Lord Palmekston takes in making moves of apparent energy , while , by an energetic countermarch , he neutralises the effect of his own vigour .

      Like the over-strong man whom , some imaginative student of art portrayed , the - muscles of his policy are in such portentous development , that by their antagonising each other he is incapable of action . This propensity of Lord Palmerston might explain the selection of Lord John Russell . The object is to make it appear that the war is to be pushed with vigour , and a peace dictated upon terms suitable to the Lord High Admiral of the Channel Fleet . At the sumo time

      it was desirable to have the appearance of great respect for Austria , which would be evinced by sending a statesman of such importance as Lord John . On the other hand , the almost offensive tone in which he has spoken of that power might lead to the expectation that ho would bo more inclined to- make a concession to Russia , than to ftct cordially with Austria . It is hot reported

      that Lord Palmeeston ' s l « fw War Minister has done anything energetic towards those reforms without which the war cannot be vigorously prosecuted , even if our troops in the Crimea be rescued ; and it would not astonish the world if Lord Palmerstox ' s Vienna Minister Plenipotentiary were to come back in a huff with Austria ,

      reporting that power to be as reactionary as he has always supposed , pleading for a generous treatment of Russia ; and thus , neither concluding the peace that this country expects , nor continuing a vigorous prosecution of the war . In the absence of obvious reasons for appointing Lord John to such a mission , these naturally occur to the mind . In Paris , the mot is Si vis pacem , para

      Palmerston . The further changes which have taken place in the Cabinet belong to what are called the subordinate ranks , but they are not unimportant . The mission of Lord John virtually connects him with the Ministry ,. although . _ he _ is ¦ not in the Cabinet ; and the net result is , the only secederi from the late Ministry are Lord Aberdeen and the Duke of Newcastle , two of the honestest men that have been in office for a long while . Thus Lord John ' s victory over the statesmen against whom

      he was acting when he sallied from the Cabinet has been completed ; by Lord Palmkrsxon . There was a report that Mr . LAYARD was to be appointed Under-Secretary of State for War , and if that had been the case we might have inferred that the Government really intended stirring action ; but Lord Panmure ' s old habits of office , somewhat deadened , perhaps , by increased years and more

      continuous gout , will bo supported only by Mr . Frederick Peei , who is reputed to be a very nice young man of the red-tape school . The change is not reassuring . The accession of Lord Godebich , an Indian reformer , as Secretary of the Board of Control , would in itself have been promising , if the post were not so characteristically remote from subjects with which he is still more familiar than with Indian business—the

      reform of the army and the improved condition of the working classes . Wisely , _ as we think , he has not accepted . The offer to him was preceded by the retirement of Mr . Robert Lowm , whose presence in the Government at one time lent a hope that it would be as vigorous as a Colonial Government ; but what can one man do against incorporated routine ? The present modifications of the Government , therefore , are not cheering . If the Government should fall short either in

      prosecuting the war or in exacting terms of peace commensurate with the just demands o this country , it will not be for want of support in any part of the empire . We have not an important colony that has not evinced the heartfelt sympathy of the people for the stake which we have thrown against Russia . From Derby and Tynembuth , and many other English towns where the English townsfolk have declared the same feeling , to Bom--bay , where the venerable Jamsetje Jeejebbhoy giv . es 7501 . towards a contribution for the war , the feeling is unanimous .

      From the seat of war we have news by telegraph through St . Petersburg , down to the 6 th February , in the phrase now stereotyped , " nothing important had occurred . The accounts by letter are more favourable in tone ; there seems to be no doubt that the military position has been improved ; at the same time the situation substantially remains unchanged . The affairs of Piedmont march with a

      consistency and vigour truly admirable .. The monitory letter of the Pope has called forth a popular feeling which will evidently support the Government against any measures of Rome ; a fact which more than confirms the wisdom of the Piedmontese Government in freely permitting the public discussion of the Pope ' s letter , although its promulgation from the state pulpits was prohibited . There is an expectation that the Pope may resort to an interdict , which would prevent some of the sacramental blessings for Piedmont ; but

      in the present temper of the people , such a measure would be more fatal to the authority of Rome than to the King or his Government The Royal House of Piedmont is sorely tried of late . Within a month Victor Emmanuel has lost his mother , his wife , and his brother , th « chivalrous and bravo Duke of Genoa , the hero of Custozza and Novarra , the beloved of the nation , the idol of the army , whose glories and whose reverses he had shared with all the

      enthusiasm of an ardent soldier , and all the devotion of a true patriot . He had only asked for life enough to lead the flower of that army to new fields of honour side by side wi th England and France . But in this , at least , his death is happy : the sanctity of sorrow surrounds the throne with a nation ' s sympathy . Let Papal . and . priestly insolence profane the tomb . Meanwhile the debates on the alliance of the Western Powers have been conducted , on all sides , with remarkable capacity . We inolude the

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      "The one Idea which . History exhibits aa evermore developing itself into greater distinctness is the Idea of Humanity—the noble endeavour to throw down all the barriers erected between men by prejudice and one-sided views . ; and by setting aside the distinctions of Religion , Country , and Colour , to treat tho whole Human race a 3 one brotnerhood , having one great object—the free development of our spiritual nature . "—Jfumboldt ' s Cosmos . ' ;

      ©Ontents*

      © ontents *

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      NEWS OF THE WEEK- ' * " « The War 346 The Baltic Fleet . 14 S Lord Raglan in the Camp 143 The New Secretary at the Waroffice 143 Sir De Lacy Evans and the War Department 143 The Earl of Cardigan at Northampton . 148 The Real Solution of the Army Dilemma . 149 Continental Notes .. 149 The Governing Classes 149 A New Story of Irish Life 150 Hope versus Aguado 150

      Election Intelligence 151 Canada ; 152 India 152 California 152 Sir Charles Hothaia ' s Policy ... 153 Louis Napoleon ' s Victims at Cayenne .: 152 Ministerial Appointments 153 Our Civilisation 153 Fall of a House and Loss of Life at Islington 163 The Militia 153 The Public Health 153 Fate of Sir John Franklin 153 Miscellaneous 154 Postscript .... » 154

      PUBLIC AFFAIRSThe Insolvency of oui * Governing Class 155 A National Party . „ ... 156 Survey of the War 157 The Root of the Evil 157 ' The House of Peers 158 Heresy and Convocation 158 Lord Goderich ' s Motion and the Public 159 The Unpardonable 159 The " Stranger" in Parliament ... 160 OPEN COUNCILA Voice from the Mountain 160

      LITER ATURESummary ' . 161 The Governing Classes 162 Lady Blessington 162 The Warden 164 THE ARTSThe Drama in Paris ' . 165 Births , Marriages , and Deaths ... 165 COMMERCIAL AFFAIRSCity Intelligence , Markets , Ad-. vertisements , &c . 166-168

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      VOI * . VI . No . 256 . ] SATURDAY , FEBRUARY 17 , 1855 . [ Price Sixpence .

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  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 17, 1855, page unpag., in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2078/page/1/