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    THE TOMAHAWK. A SATURDAY JOURNAL OF SATI...

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    - ^ — ' ^^—M——» No. 151.] LONDON, MARCH ...

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    A "LIBERAL" GOVERNMENT I

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    There are a great number of misnomers in...

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  • 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.

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    The Tomahawk. A Saturday Journal Of Sati...

    THE TOMAHAWK . A SATURDAY JOURNAL OF SATIRE . o € Mteti bp & ttt ) ux a'l & eckett . \ o i

    " INVITAT CULPAM QUI PECCATUM PR ^ ETERIT . " i -- . . . _ . ____ - I

    - ^ — ' ^^—M——» No. 151.] London, March ...

    - ^ — ' ^^—M ——» No . 151 . ] LONDON , MARCH 26 , 1870 . [ Price Twopence . |

    A "Liberal" Government I

    A " LIBERAL" GOVERNMENT I

    There Are A Great Number Of Misnomers In...

    There are a great number of misnomers in this world of ours , or rather this language of ours . We suppose that there must be something particularly charming about a non sequitztr —something exceedingly pleasing about a paradox . If this is not the case , how comes it that a heavy boat is called a

    " lighter , " a landsman at a cab-stand a " waterman , " an omnibus cad who rides behind his vehicle " a conductor , " and silver gilt "Abyssinian gold ? " A little time and a fair share of patience would enable us to ask such questions by the score , — nay , the hundred , but , in pity to our readers , we will put only

    one more poser , which we defy them to answer or explain away . How comes it that Ministers , noted for their parsimony , cheeseparing , and general false economy , are distinguished by the name of a " Liberal" Government ? They are not generous , save to their relations ; they are not just , save to their own

    pockets . They have but one redeeming point : they know how to save fourpence by cutting down a poor man ' s pittance , —they have learnt how to reward talent and perseverance by fine fat sinecures for the sons of Cabinet Ministers , pleasant salaries for the wealthy idlers of the Coulisses and the Court !

    Many a letter has been sent to the office of this paper asking the question , — " Is the Tomahawk Liberal or Conservative ? " and the answer we have returned has been ever the same , — " We are neither Liberal nor Conservative , but only just , only intelligent , only English . " A man may pick your pocket and tell you

    that he is the heir to a Dulcedom , and although you may entertain the greatest possible respect for the British aristocracy , that respect will not prevent you from calling to your aid the assistance of the police . A man may strike you across the face with a stick and inform you that he is a Fellow of the

    Royal Society , and although you may admire that learned body ( in spite of the Government-office clerks , and others , who are now elected to its advantages ) , you will scarcely compliment him upon his address in inflicting pain . In like manner , a Government may sacrifice the public good to the advancement

    of private ends , and tell you that it ' s " Liberal , " for all that there is no good reason why you should sing its praises to the skies , or cheer its name to the echo . As we are now well into the Session , it will not be altogether out of place to enquire into the various " good " works of which our Ministers ( scarcely " heaven

    born , " by-the-bye ) have been guilty—we use the word advisedly . Mr . Lowe , for instance , is a most charming man . He has

    regardless caused the of whole the claims community of justice to pay or their the demands taxes in of advance public , j convenience . By this means he ( a year since ) was able to produce a Budget that looked like absolute perfection—on paper . It is scarcely fair perhaps to judge a man unheard , but as we

    may gather hints of a man ' s character from his antecedents we may fairly anticipate this Session a Budget equally as startling , equally as sound as the very " Lowe " measure of the years 1869-1870 . Passing from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to one of his j

    the colleagues Admiralty , we . come This to worth Mr . Childer y " sea s - , dog the " Nautical ( if we may First call Lord the of i to rig a ht charge hon . gentleman of disrespect a " ) sea has -dog , since " without his tenure laying of ourselves office , turned open j scores of clerks from their stools at Whitehall and Somerset j 1

    means House , and has hundreds probably of reduced workmen the from Naval the Estimates Dockyards , . weakened By this j the power of Britannia on the seas , but—and we call attention to the " but "—has managed to send the First Lord of the Admiralty for a pleasant " cruise " with the Flying Squadron . In spite of this last truly generous action we can scarcely (

    remembering , as we do , the anxious faces of clerks out of employ , and the pinched cheeks of artizans clamouring for bread ) describe him as a " Liberal" statesman . Of Mr . Ayrton it is scarcely necessary to say one word . In fact it may seem an outrage to mention so honoured , so

    accomplished , so refined a gentleman in pages soiled with printer ' s ! ink and teeming with the writings of " Radicals " and " Republicans . " Still , there are many of his enemies who will pretend 1 to say that the Ayrton method of disposing of the public money is remarkable neither for judgment — nor " Liberality . " These are j

    of they Kensington who want Gardens flowers in ! Hyde Park , and gilding on the railings j Next we come to Mr . Bright , the President of the Board of Trade . Here , again , we find a want of " Liberalistn" marked degree . The worthy gentleman has been so

    economical that of late he has actually treasured up his own words , and not allowed a syllable to escape even in the House of Commons ! There will be found many who will praise him for his reticence- —among others , several of his own colleagues . Again , when a deputation of working men begged his aid to

    secure for them the advantages of cheap locomotion , he treated the very idea with ridicule and contempt . For these reasons and others we cannot compliment Friend Bright , ex-Agitator , and now Courtier and Counsellor , upon his generosity . He would feel insulted , probably , if he were told he were not a

• Citation
  • Tomahawk (1867-1870), March 26, 1870, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/t/issues/ttw_26031870/page/1/