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THE BRITISH "TIR.'V
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not only business is to watch the proceedings of slave-dealers ; and the propriety of haying one at . Mozambique has been already sdmitted by the appointment of Mr . McLeod , who succeeded , whilst there , 'in obtaining from the Governor of Mozambique the enforcement of several of the laws , . " which his ' subordinates had previously systematically violated . According to Mr . McLeod's own account , he was driven away from Mozambique by the gross persecutions he was subjected to by the persons he had offended , the Governor giving him little or no protection , and his own Government caring very little about him . However that may beand Lord Wodehouse went out of his way in resisting the
, motion of Lord Stratheden for the purpose of throwing a slur upon Mt . 3 IcLeod ' s judgment , the fact remains , that the Government of this country resolved upon having a consul at Mozambique , maintained there for two years one who succeeded in putting a considerable check upon the infamous traffic , besides assisting , in his ordinary capacity as consul , a number of English subjects who at different times visited the port ; and further , was able to collect a great quantity of very valuable information about the country and its productions . It is not right that so large a line of coast should be without some consular authority . brave the and
so long as competent men can be found to dangers inconveniences of such a climate and such a service . The very energy with which Dr . Livingston's explorations are being prosecuted , renders the presence of such authorities the more necessary . It will be of no use to encourage the people of the interior to enter into a legitimate trade , and endeavour to wean them from slave-hunting , if the Poi-tuguese officials are allowed to throw every obstacle in the way of that fair trade , and are left , without let or hindrance , to encourage slave-hunts . Nor is it probable that any British subjects will attempt to carry on tlrat traffic with East Africa which alone will encourage the natives
to persevere in industrial pursuits , if they find no British consul on the spot to protect them against the vexatious interference , of the Portuguese ^ = or that absolute prohibition J 0 > f trade which they have sometimes dared to enforce ; - < - . — ¦ - '• ' The estimated cost of maintaining a 'Consul at Mozambique is about two thousand pounds per annum . If that sum were multiplied twenty times by the maintenance of similar officials upon- other points of that rtch coast , the nation would not begrudge the expenditure . The outlay would prove of a highly remunerative character . It would not be so much hard cash
expended in the mere attempt to suppress the "Slave-trade asa fearful scourge of the unhappy races who are its victims , or in purely philanthropic efforts to elevate their condition . It would develop the commerce of a country capable of producing hundreds , of articles for which European markets will always have a demand ; and above all , it would stimulate a cultivation of cotton , which , lessening our dependance upon America , would save us from the terrible etiects ^ lltohrt » ro—^
or-three-successivev-badharvests—as likely as the three successive heavy crops of the last three years—would infallibly produce . We should benefit burselves whilst benefiting the negro . Lord Palmerston , at least , has a sincere desire to suppress the Slave-trade ; he has been a member of all the Governments which specially pursued that object , and has always shown the Warmest sympathy witlx it . We trust , therefore , that Her Majesty will be advised to comply with the wish expressed by the House of Lords , and appoint a Consul at Mozambique .
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one or the other ; and we , on our part , are disposed to favonr the claims of Tom . We were the most peaceable of people m the world , until we heard that a campaign was on Toot ^ between the champion and a representative of America . Prize-fighting until thafc moment was voted low , vulgar , and brutal ; and the doings of the ring were never mentioned beyond the circle of .. sporting papers and " fancy" parlours . The interest increased as the preparations for the campaign proceeded . The movements of the two pugilist * were recorded in high class journals side by side with the march ot continental armies and the debates of Parliament . Genteel society
beo-an to talk about the merits of the respective men ; grave senators paused in imperial discussions to chat about the contest ; the ropes and the ring became familiar terms at the family teatable arid at last , when the battle of Farnborqugh was fought , the elite of the world of rank and fashion , literature and art , looked on with approving eyes . It was certainly during this period of excitement that the rifle movement received its greatest impetus . It was at this time that people began to discover that British muscle was going to and that some immediate effort ought toi be
grass , made to brace it up . In the absence of any incentive to this exertion , it seems only fair to accord to Mr . Thomas Sayers the merit of having had at least some influence in inspiring this great national movement . What great events from little causes spring I Helen was the cause of Troy ' s destruction—a goose saved Romeand a bricklayer ' s labourer has arrested the decline and fall of the British Empire ! Tom lias put two noses out of joint with one hit —Mr . Heenan ' s and that of M , Lepri ; Eollin . - . .
Had Tom been conscious of the share he had in bringing about the event of the day , with what pride he would have surveyed ,, from his gig , the review iu Hyde Park , and the meeting of the National Rifle Association on Wimbledon Common . There was-Quee ;* Victoria , repeating the heroic example of her great ancestress , Elizabeth , and giving earnest , by the firing of a rifle , of her resolution , though a woman , to lead her army in person should occasion require . That was indeed a sight to make the heart of an-Englishman beat high within Mm . That day showed that the movement was no mere playing at soldiers . Those armed hosts that had sprung at a moment ' s warning from the head of the-British Medusa were determined to show that they would not
consent to be riflemen in name only . They had shouldered the rifle lpn ^ enough , and now they were resolved to learn how to use it . Tfie QtrSEN herself set the example by firing a Whitwobth : and hitting the _ bull ' s eye at four lmndred yards , thus proving ( by means of a mechanical rest ) an "exception to the rule , that there is no royal road to learning . We can imagine it to have been ,, further , a matter of pride and gratification to Tom :, who is still surveying the scene from his gigj to witness the kind encouragement given tp the movement by the Secretary of War and the officers of the regular army ; and more particularly by His Royal Highness the Prince Consort , with whose ideas of the duty of soldiers in the time of a civil war an army of volunteers might be the
OLD times are coming back again , and the English nation is once more becoming : thoroughly manly . We are resolved not to go to the bad , like the Romans , through luxury and indulgence . We are plucking up in time , just when we have reached that pinnuele of success and prosperity from which the great nations ot the past reeled down headlong to decay and extinction . Oysters and vapour baths are said to have had something to do with the fall of ancient Rome . The luxury which has of late yours threatened the stability of Great Britain and the vigour of its people are the principles of peace . Had wo swallowed that oyster and suffered our senses to be lulled into delicious dreams of tho
confraternity of the lion and the lamb in that seductive bath , we might at the present moment be owning as our master and ruler , not the mild and benignant Queen Victoria , but the grim autocratic Czar of AH the RussiasJ It is scarcely a year ago since ajeading journal remarked that " a " soldier ' wasTo rarra sight in London tlmb a stranger might fancy our whole army was composed oi the sentinels at the British Museum and the two mounted troopers at tho Horse Guards . But now look at us—we are all soldiers I By « ,,, i hv flifi « xcention will be to see a civilian . What , has so
supposed to clash . The sacrifice of predilection and policy on part of these persons must have struck our eye-witness as l > eing > gratifying and yet remarkable . ' , The liberal presentations m the shape of prizes must also have called up a thrill of pride in thafc manly breast , and convinced him , if he had ever had any ' ^ oTro't ^~^ n ~ th ^^ Bia ^ bjectr-fchatr ^ ie-inovement ^ r ^ d ^ of , h » , dui tinguished example , was receiving the most sincere and hearty encouragement . It is just possible that , at this point , Ions mind , unaccustomed to so continuous a reflective effort , may have wandered away to a contemplation of the scene in another aspect . It may have occurred to him that it was very like a Derbyday meeting on Epsom Downs . There was something like a grand stand ; and there were the ring of spectators , and the tents , and the booths , and Aunty Sally and Baron Nicholson ; and what n- l ° [[ y thing it would be if it were repeated every year , just li . ce the Derby or Ascot races . Let ushowever , bring Tom back to a consideration ,
, of the movement of which he is the father , and direct Ins attention to certain features which lie under tho surface . We point out to him , that while prizes of from £ 20 to £ 50 are offered tor competition at various ranges , each competitor must pay one guinea before he can enter the lists . He may win the first prize ot twenty guineas ; but he must pay another guinea before he can enter to compete for the second prize of thirty , aiid one guinea extra tor each of the remaining two . Our friend Tom has had some experience ot a raffle at a public-house for a gun , a goose , and a silver watch , but he had no idea that this was to be a raffle , and he wants to' k'iow how much the winner will have to spend with the Minister ot War , at the Crown , Westminster . We also point out to Tom , that the best positions for seeing the sight are reserved for the aristocracy , and peraons of . high connections , and that even the ordinary publicare charged half-a-crown for admission to the Common . We cannot venture to repeat the language in which our manly eye-witness 1
characterizes this paltry and invidious . proceeding . Suiftae it say ,. that it is both forcible and strong , if not elegant . We deoply regret - tbatprejudice should forbid the publication of those sentiments ia the language in which they were conveyed toTSa , feeliiigr that n we could commit them to print , any "further word from us would be quite unnecessary . In deference , therefore , to prejudice , we must , have resort to soft phrases and circumlocution : and first we would ask-i-Is this a national movement , or is it notoP Are our , nflemeo to learn to keep step and present arms when a royal peraonage paseo » them , and nothing moreP Wo have it , on the authority of the Pbinob Consort , that the Volunteer force now amounts to 180 , 000 men , ana it is confidently predicted that this force will have more thaa doubled its number by this time next year . Now if each member
suddenly roused us from our dreams of peaceP What spectre has woke us up from' the feast , and beckoned us forth from the halls of ease to the field of arms P Who is the Sanquo ? -Louis Napo ^ on or Tom Sayers P Was it in dread of the one or in emulation of the other thut we have so suddenly cast off the lamb and assumed the lion P The merit of this great gun-trick certainly belongs to
Untitled Article
639 The Saturday Analyst and Leader . } July 7 , I 860 ,
The British "Tir.'V
THE BRITISH "TIB . " -
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 7, 1860, page 630, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2355/page/6/
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