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'Ttril ^n A POLITICAL AND LITERARY REVIEW.
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CTentents :
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'Ttril ^N A Political And Literary Review.
'Ttril ^ n A POLITICAL AND LITERARY REVIEW .
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fJl HE House of Commons has despatched an im-JL mense amount of business this week , and the word despatch may be used in its murderous sense , for it has effectually cut the throat of one question which has sometimes monopolized many days of the
. In the first place , it has made provision for the Princess Royai , of England , on her marriage with Prince Fredekick William of Prussia . A message from the Crown invited the ' assistance' of the House ; and the Ministers of the Crown have invited the concurrence of Parliament , recommending the marriage on the ground that it is dictated by personal affection , that it comports with the Protestant alliances hitherto contracted with this country , and that it " holds out to this country , " Lord Palmekston said , " political prospects
deserving of attention . " This business-like suggestion instigates the question , What is the price to be paid for such advantages ? Ministers propose 40 , 000 / . down , and 8000 / . a year ! Equivalent to something more than 200 , 000 / . down . Mr . Roebttck upheld the policy of giving a sum down—a ' generous sum '—and supported it with the precedent of George : the Third ' s Princess lloyal , who had 80 , 000 / . —but then ' Poor Ireland' gave her 5000 / . a year . The amendment found no effective support , and it was withdrawn . The , question is , shall these lavish precedents still bind us ?
When Queen Victoria asks anything , both Houses of Parliament are naturally desirous ' to oblige the lady : ' that is the one general feeling ; and , on the other hand , there is a feeling of strong reluctanoo to make any objection , because , in the whole list of our Sovereigns , there is no ono who has shown so striking a deference for public opinion , and whose career has been so free from blame of any kind , so distinguished by trustworthy conduct . ' , public as well as private . And . if we live in quiet
times , it must bo remembered that the position of the Queen | ias been one of the greatest delicacy , in which indiscretion would have become a fault j so that very great credit , must bo allowed t . o her individually . Again , the Court has boon distinguished by the reverse of encroachment , either on the rights of the publio or on the powers of tho public . Therefore , in this particular instance , there can be no oppugiuuicc . It is very quest ionable whether tho position of tho Court , with reference to tho provision for its maintenance , la at , all upon a
satisfactory footing ; and that is a question for the future , which ought to be gravely and zealously discussed . There is no doubt that these applications are detrimental to the dignity of the Court , and are assisting , with some otlier influences , to undermine the allegiance of a large proportion of the English people . Mr . Roebuck , however , sinks his amendment , and the courtly House of Commons assents without a division . In otlier matters Lord Palmekston gets on as swimmingly as he did on Friday night last , with the new measure he introduced for the amendment
of the oath so as to admit Jews to Parliament . Already , it is said , the Peers arc preparing a passive acquiescence in that measure ; so that Palmeiiston will accomplish what others have attempted . The House of Commons grants him money , and indeed almost anything he asks . It adopts the reforms he patronises , sets aside the reforms he discountenances . When Mr . Fag an moves the second reading of his bill for abolishing Ministers' Money in Ireland—transferring the charge to the Irish Ecclesiastical Commissioners—Lord
Palmeiiston supports the second reading , Lord John falls in , and it is carried by 313 to 17-1 . When Mr . Dillwvn proposes the second reading of his bill to strengthen the law against tho flogging of women , it is discountenanced by Government , and it falls . The official law amendments make way , although they are not of the most satisfactory kind . The two principal—the Lord Chancellor ' s bills on testamentary jurisdiction and matrimonial law—we have discussed in a separate paper . They establish two new courts , a court of probate and a court of
marriage And without altering the present law essentially , they give an entirely new machinery for it , in which the old judge of the Prerogative Court , the old advocates and old proctors of the ccclosiastical courts , arc brought into partnership with the judges of the common-law courts , to act on vioci ooce evidence , with regulated expenses , and to administer the law in all cases of wills , matrimonial disputes , and divorce , We shall sec how tho owls
and the barn-door fowls will manage this joint hatching of egg * ' The bill can ho nothing but a transitional measure . After a sufficient trial , tho owls will bo nimble to face the light ; of day , and they will die out , leaving the process of hatching to be carried on much bettor by the congenial fowls . Tho bills are an improvement ; , not a settlement . The Probi \ to Bill passed a second reading without a difficulty ; tho Matrimonial Bill croatod a debate , in which the Bishops and the prerogative
Lords stood up to use ' the Word' against the dissolution of marriage for the middle and lower orders ; advocating that the ' privilegia , ' or separate bills for divorcing noble and wealthy persons , should be continued . Their arguments amount to thisthe middle and lower classes , they think , must atr once succumb to the authority of Scripture , the authority of which can be overridden by nothing but a private bill . Lord Wensleydale , however , was for extending equality to all classes ; and Lord Lyndhurst was for rendering Lord Cranworth ' s bill more effectual by widening its scope . The
second reading of this Ministerial measure was carried by 47 to 18 . Sir Richard Bethell has introduced two very useful bills , though one of them must occasion a great amount of discussion . Its object is to render fraudulent breaches of trust cognizable by the criminal law , and punishable . This would apply to cases like the Royal British Bank , and to private trusts in which individuals are answerable for the disposition of money on behalf of others . The class of responsibilities , however , is so various and so complicated , that laws imposing criminal liabilities may perhaps interfere to check the acceptance of bill will
trusts ; and hence Sir Richard Bjsthell ' s be examined Avith very great care . The other has a more limited object . It is a bill to amend the Winding-up Acts , in such manner as to place the disposal of arrangements in the hands of the majority of creditors and the majority of shareholders , with a view to preventing such a preposterous state of things as that of the Royal British Bank ; where u crowd of creditors are pressing upon a regiment of shareholders , with a vast number of individual actions , while private lawyers and tho two Courts of Chancery and Bankruptcy are , as Sir Henry Willoughby said ,
preying upon the carcase . Measures or money , it is all tho sumo in the House of Commons : if Palmersvon asks , Palmerston has . Sir Charles Wood asked 8 , 000 , 000 / . for the support of the Navy , although he confessed that the cxponsc in the department was continually increasing ; that wo have not got tho vessels which would be requisite in case of a now war ; and thnt wo are not training our officers and men as thoy should bo trained . Individual members who have
an interest in ships or economy mailo their cntiaji ^— ^ remarks ; but no one saw his wny to ' ¦)(! ' 'pf % ^^' " ^\ X ported in ah amendment , and I ho moiioy \| Kf i ^ fe /[ ^ > $ ^ as a matter of course . W jjfjfV ^ ' *^ / i !\ ^ Mr . Si-OONER has been tiralnl in an ^ g § ltf $ EI iffiM <* < wwS > wl ^ &gPS ^\ Q [^ 0 y ^
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VOL . VIII . No . 374 . ] ^ SATURDAY , MAY 23 , 1857 . Piucjs { ZSS ^^ S ESSSF *'
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" The one Idea which History exhibits as evermore developing itself ia-to greater distinctness is the Idea of Humanity—tne noo . e endeavour to throw down , all the barriers erected between men by prejudice and one-sided views ; and , by setting aside tne distinctions of Religion , Country , and Colour , to treat the whole Human race as one brotherhood , having one great object—the tree development of our spiritual nature . "—Humboldt's Cosmos .
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REVIEW OF THE WEEK— page Mr . Disraeli in Buckinghamshire 4 S 2 Imperial Parliament 432 Accidents and Sudden Deaths 485 The Orient 485 America 435 WTState of Trade' 4 S 6 JEContinental Notes 430 Our Civilization 487 Naval and Military 400 Obituary 490
Miscellaneous 490 Postscript 491 PUBLIC AFFAIRSThe Eight Towns Tax 492 New Society for the Suppression of Vice 492 Mr . Disraeli ' s Reform Bill 493 The Princess Royal 493 The Army Education Struggle 494 The Ballot Argument 494
. The Lynch-Law Spirit at Stamford 495 L 1 TERATURESummary 49 G Carlyle ' s Cromwell 496 New Novels 497 Ballads : Old and New 498 A Batch of Books 499 THE ARTSRoyal Academy 499
La Traviata at the Jjyceum ouu The Bouffes at St . James's Theatre 500 Theatrical Notes 500 A Morning Opera 500 The Gazette 501 COMMERCIAL AFFAIRSCity Intelligence , Markets , &c 501
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 23, 1857, page unpag., in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2194/page/1/
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