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Northern Star (1837-1852), 20th November 1852, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1, Untitled Article

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    • ¦ REVIEW OF THE WEEK.
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      Untitled Article

      , —0— • • • ^ The Great event of the week , tliat , which absorbs all others , is the teal of the Iron Duke . All the week the line of procession has resounded to the sawing of pknks and the clatteriiig of hainmerg knocking up rough ranges of seats in the windows of the shops turned into peep-shows for the occasion . The shopkeepers have made it a

      thorough matter of business , every house almost bearing the announcement of " seats to let , " the prices varying with the weather the nearness to interesting points , and the number of customers . The sheets have been almost impassable from the crowds of sightseers looking at the preparations ,. and the holes in the pavement made for the erection of barricades . Private business has been put on one side , public business suspended , and everything made to give way to the ceremonial .

      At the moment we write , it is all over . The remains of the Duke have been borne on a sort of half-triumphant , half-funereal car . The streets have "been lined with carriages , officials , soldiers , and crowds . Bands have made the air resound with melancholy music , and gazers have peeped forth from pathway and window and housetop at the long and gorgeous array . No one can say that the nation has spared

      « ither time , trouble , or expense , to pay honour to the memory of ier greatest soldier ; and with the experience of the deaths in the press at Chelsea to seethe lying-in-state to guide them , have so managed that we have not heard of any serious accidents . This is the more creditable , as it wae one of the greatest crowds which London has ever witnessed . Some of the railways were running trains all

      night , and heaps of sturdy countrymen tramped up from the surrounding districts , and took up their places at the barriers long before daylight , whether out of sympathy with the memory of the Duke , or the natural love for sight-seeing which prevails in too many minds , we never knew so general an interest manifested . We have no wish to say anything which may be in the slightest degree construed into disrespect to the ashes of the mighty dead , but we must say , that we do feel very much like disappointed

      heroworshippers . We had been reading all the eulogistic articles in the daily papers , and all the odes from that , of Tennyson the poet laureate to that of Mr . Bennett , the watch maker , in Cheaps ide . The consequence was that our head was full of " universal sympathy , " " general grief , " and the tears of a " whole people . " We have looked very sharply for the manifestations which would correspond with those phrases , but we are compelled to admit that we could not find them . Wherever this melancholy was , it hid itself in congenial silence , and oave no sign broader than the black edges round the

      columns of newspapers .. The householders in the lme of processionrubbed their hands at the thriving new trade of showmen they were . drivino .. The busy carpenters reckoned their overtime with anything but sorrowful faces . The omnibus proprietors chuckled when * he demand for their vehicles enabled them to command full loads at double fares . The cabmen smiled at the premiums they were at and the gazers , exhibited much curiosity , but little grief . ; . . The only persons who seeired at all disturbed were the policemen ; but they were out of temper with increased trouble rather than in . that subdued frame of mind . which befits an occasion of solemn mourning .

      These remarks be it observed were made upon , the eveof the day , and—impressed as we were with the conviction , that hero-worship was not yet quite extinct , we thought , " Ah this is all the bustle of getting ready—to-morrow handkerchiefs will be in request . " . Tomorrow came , and our anticipations were not verified . —The comfortable folks in the seats paid as much attention to sandwiches and wine , as is usual upon a race-course . There were as many jokes in

      the street , and of much the same kind , as at a public execution , and altogether it bore the aspect of " coming put . for a holiday to see a grand sight . " We Went among the police , and considering that they are the guardians of the public morality , as well as peace , their ^ anathemas were perfect . We strolled among the soldiers stowed away injthe open spaces , and the only thing we heard approaching to an expression of sentiment , was a strongly , expressed , desire ] upon the

      part of a stalwart guardsman , for a drinkjof beer . " We saw crowds round men selling medals of Wellington and portraits of Wellington , and singing dismal songs about " our great * ero . " We observed a couple of enterprising costermongers driving a brisk ^ , trade in what were labelled as Wellington nuts , " and one—at least—sweet-stuff selie blending together " Nelson ' s ' . TMls , " « . < to 11 Wellington Props . " j&We . saw jerowds ] of decent-looking people ,

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      hungry , tired . and dirty , coming from " the sight , " , and indulging in jokes and laughter , atid we noticed ^ considerable number of drunken men and women with any quantity of sliort pipes . But we did not see—we . really did not-fand we grieve to make the announcementone solitary tear . We asked ourselves is public feeling dead ? Is there no sympathy with departed great men ? Are all these

      professions of national sorrow to be classed together as one great sham and then in a soberer frame of mind , we came to the conclusionthe truth must be told , —that while the Duke of : Wellington was no doubt regretted sincerely by his own relations , and his own personal friends—yet that , in the masses there is not enough of personal sympathy to counteract the excitenient of a " great event , " and the attractions of a " great spectacle . "

      Of course , there has been but little done in parliament , since the last week , except the threatened motionof Mr . Villiers in favour of Free Trade , which stands for Mbnday next ; Jsbme grumbling amongst a few of the more impracticable Protectionists " . All parties seem to have , by common agreement , suspended hostilities till the funeral had passed over . On that subject the Chancellor of the Exchequer maie a speech , which excited s , ome attention . It was more than usually eloquent and finished , and . eclipsed everything which had been said about the Great Duke . Lord John Russel could find nothing to add to it , and declined to attempt any improvement to the " eloquent

      words" of Mr . Disraeli . . But , alas ,, that oratorical glory should be so evanescent and uncertain . . Alas , th *! theft , as well as " murder , will out . " The next evening ' s Globe jplinted the Speech of Disraeli , and some passages from Thiers side by ajde , and so , the result was , that Disraeli was considered as an arrant plagiarist . Word for word , sentence for sentence was shamefully niched from the Frenchman We do not mean to say " that this is any great blot on the escutcheon of of a minister , but it is , in that of aditerary man , and in Mr , Disraeli , the two characters are so blended that the one is seriously deteriorated by the damaging of the other . . ,,

      There have been promises madei in the Upper House ,, by Lord Sfc . Leonards , of more Law Reforms , and by Mr . Walpoie in the Commons , of a digest of our Penal Cod& > The latter was volunteered almost unasked for—the , former / was dragged forth somewhat unwillingly . A suspicion has been raised that Mr . Disraeli is not au fait at the details of his department . When lie was asked for an

      estimate of the details of the , Duke ' s ; Funeral , 'he was not prepared to lay it before the House , owing to "&e pressure of circumstances . " The Daily News has not failed to jay hold of this little default , and to hold it up as the prestage ; of greater neglects to come ,. but , if Disraeli can make a good budget , he , may do as most Chancellors of the Exchequer have done , ; get subordinates- to look after the details and figures . ' ¦¦ •" , ¦ ; : , -,

      The protection party have held a private conclave , at which they have once for all given up protection , at-all events for the present . But this recantation made in theexdusion of the drawing-room , is , itjappears , to stand in the stead of a pubhV recantation . They may submit to confess their sins . in . the seeresy of the confessional , but they will not do penance before the world ., How to avoid that was the problem to , be solved . It was difficult to " abandon a position under attack without seeking to do so . ; The motion of Mr . Villiers " looming in the future" was ah ugly obstacle ; but a course of policy

      was , it is understood , resolved on , which may serve the exigency of the crisis . The motion is to be met by silence . It isjnot to receive either opposition or encouragement . < The members of the ministry will not be dragged oui of their holes , and the free-traders are to have it so completely to themselves that they will be embarrassed for want of-something to fight against . We cannot justify this as honest conduct , but honesty is not what we look for in the statesmen of the dominant factions , but it is a shrewd stroke of-policy well calculated to confound then * no less unscrupulous antagonists .

      Convocation is still sitting ; and our : prognostications of lastweek are likely to be fully verified ., The error once made qf allowing discussion at all , there is no stopping the flood of clerical debate . There is as full a tide of talk , and quite as energetic , ; as in the lay parliament . The archbishop wanted to prorogue the assembly , but it would not be dissolved . It denied the right'ofHhe primate'to send them adrift without the consent of the suffragan bishops which was not to be obtained . The law seems to be with the malcontents , if Sir

      Frederick Thesiger may betaken as a sufficient authority , and he also supports their claim for the church to ' gover n , itself , except in the matter of framing canons , from which , power they are excluded by the act of submission . So convocation has ,. in spite of all opposition , revived itself , and the only way . to get rid > of it is by a , royal writ of prorogation ; but—and in the but lies rthe difficulty—but Her Majesty ' s ministers are supposed to be l'atheri favourable' than otherwise

      to thePuseyite movement , and it is riiore'than doubtful whether they would advise the Queen to issue the writ . If that be the case , we shall have the church once more rampant , and making itself so dominant , so troublesome , and so obnoxious that its own friends will secede from it and help it to do the ; wor ^ of chu rc h reform . It is said that if convocation fails | o effectjthe . object the Puseyite . party aim at , they mean to secede in a bouyiromihe church of _ England ,

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      and to join the episcopal church of Scotland . We say " peace , " though peace is air especially unlikely companion for such folks—¦ " peace go with them . " In Ireland the paragraph of the Queen ' s Speech , which attributes turbulence and insubordination to the people of that country , has excited no little indignation . They turbulent!—they insnbordinate indeed !—they are a pattern of peace , quietness of order , and an example to the civilized world' —never was there a more infamous calumnv .

      None of the districts have been proclaimed under the Arms Act—no burking murderers hide in ditches for their victims—and the priests preach nothing butjcuiietness . All those who know anything of history of Ireland , past aud present , and its probable future , can appreciate the truthfulness of these asseverations . The people of Ireland , as well as the people of this country , are discontented , and have good

      reason for discontent ; but we shrink with horror from agrarion outrage , and have not the slightest sympathy for the priestly agitators who , with the cry for liberty upon their lips , hide in their hearts the desire to establish that worst of despotisms a spiritual tyranny . The way to treat the Irish priests would bejwhen they—as it is said they do denounce—men from the altar , any * outrage is offered to the individual so pointed out , to make the priest an accomplice in the

      crime . The American mail puts us in posession of the certainty that Pierce , the democratic candidate , has been elected by an overwhelming majority . The Whigs have suffered such a defeat as promises almost to annihilate the party . It also tells us of a funny way of protecting the Colonist in the Fisheries . The Captain of the steamshop' Devastation had seized about 100 sail of , not American , but

      Nova Scotian fishing boats , under the pretence that they are Yankees in disguise . The Colony is in a ferment at this novel kind of help , and it is possible that serious mischief may come of it . The Captain seized , among the rest , one American vessel , the skipper of which demurred . The Captain threatened a broadside to produce submission , but Jonathan in reply hoisted th

      w e may condense the Indian and Cape news into one paragraph . The Burmese expedition , to Prome has gone , with the Old General Godwin at its head , and it is supposed that the war will be put an end to , and Pegu annexed . These anticipations may , however , be baulked by the breaking out of sickness among the troops . This same sickness , and not the fighting , was the great difficulty in the last Burmese war , and may now give us more trouble than the enemy . At the Cape , the struggle does at last seem nearly over . That natural fortress , the Waterkloof , is in possession of our men , marauders are less frequently to be seen or heard of , and the rebel Hottentots are dying from what they have to dread more than illaimed bullets—to wit—starvation .

      France is tranquil—too tranquil for its rulers . —It is the tranquility not of content but indifference . Eight million votes are required to manifest , the call , of the people for the Empire ; and spite of the combined exertions of prefects aud priests , it is feared that the voters have not sufficient interest . Enthusiasm is out of the question—in the result , to take the trouble to vote a few thousands more or less will | not much matter . They could be made up without any fuss by the creatures of the president , who are to examine the ballotin g urns ; . but if it is notorious that more than half the voters do not

      deposit the tickets , the trick would be dangerous , from its transparency so tickets are to be delivered to the voters at their houses , and even "tsuspecfced" persons are to be allowed the opportunity of making peace , by voting the right way . As a further stimulant , the authorities who are prosecuting provincial journals for printing the addresses of the Count de Chambord , have themselves inserted that address , and the manifestoes purporting to be

      ssued by the exiled Democrats and Socialists . This is meant to serve two objects—the first , the degradation of the descendant of the Bourbons , by classing him with the prescripts—and , secondly , to awaken the fears , of . the Bourgeoisie who love any order in which trade flourishes and money can be made . We have no doubt the degradation of France will be accomplished ; but as corruption is the precursor of new combination , so when the lowest depth of humiliation is reached , we may expect to find at the bottom the elements of

      regeneration . In Italy the prevailing feature after the chronic discontent of the population , is a wide-spread system of brigandage . ' The brigands are both numerous and organised , fight and often beat the Papal troops which are sent out against them . Tuscany is forced to contract a loan which it . is said is to be applied to the purpose of repairing and improving the port of Leghorn , but more probably it is wanted to replenish a bankrupt exchequer . It is one of the most fearful

      considerations for despots that tyranny is not self-supporting . If they could only get money , they might reckon on , a long lease of power ; but the means by which they maintain themselves—the armies , are draining the resources of the stake . ; and the day must come when some sovereigns will find themselves with empty pockets in the midst of mercenary soldiery whose only bond of obedience is'their pay—that withheld they will be as ready to turn theii swords against those who employ them as they have been to slaughtei the martyrs to" the cause of Liberty . . TOWN EDITION .

      ¦ Review Of The Week.

      ¦ REVIEW OF THE WEEK .

      Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      No . 15—New Series . ] , LONDON , SATURDM ; NOVEMBER 20 , 1852 . [ Price Fourpence Halfpenny

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 20, 1852, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1705/page/1/