Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub

collective Ministry had framed a policy, beyond the very obvious one of living from hand to mouth, and depending for their existence upon the sufferance and moderation of their opponents, Mr Gladstone is the very last man whom they would have selected as their mouthpiece. He is emphatically the bête noire of the Cabinet, feared and disliked by his colleagues, from his restless and exorbitant ambition, his inveterate obstinacy, and his more than arrogant pretensions; and, but for his great oratorical attainments, which in this country are perhaps rated at more than their real value, and the command which he has thereby acquired of the public ear, they would very willingly be rid of a man who, with all his brilliancy, is leading them perpetually into scrapes. But the truth is, that the Ministry are at their wits' end for a policy which can be fabricated into a watchword, and used as a rallying-cry at the coming election. The one point that they might have taken up was the lowering or degradation of the suffrage; but to that Lord Palmerston, their sagacious chief, was most decidedly opposed, and the utter absence among the people of any thing like excitement on the subject, coupled with the notorious objection of the aristocratic Whigs to such a measure, rendered such a step unadvisable. The debate in the House of Commons upon the bill introduced by Mr Baines for establishing a six-pound franchise, proved beyond a doubt that no further impetus could be given to the course of democratic movement. The speeches of Lord Elcho, Mr Lowe, Mr Black, and Mr Horsmanall of them usual supporters of the Ministry-showed how strong and general is the feeling among educated men against further tampering with the constitution; and we may fairly conclude that it is not now in the power of any demagogue to conjure with such a spell.

Mr Gladstone, however, it would

appear, thinks otherwise, or affects to think so, for reasons which are tolerably intelligible. Though blessed with the enjoyment of a vigorous old age, and with faculties still wonderfully unimpaired, Lord Palmerston cannot be expected to last for ever; and failing him, there will be a bitter contest for the leadership of the party. That has been long foreseen. Earl Russell, beyond all question, expects to regain once more his old pre-eminence; but neither Whigs nor Radicals would accede to any such arrangement; for his incompetency as a minister, always suspected, is now established beyond a doubt. Lords Clarendon and Granville may each have claims which the Whigs would willingly recognise; but the nomination of either would be the signal for a general secession of the Radicals. Beyond them there are none worth naming-with the one exception of Mr Gladstone, who regards himself as the coming man, and is so regarded, we are bound to admit, by no inconsiderable section of the community.

The singular versatility of the right honourable gentleman, which has conducted him from extreme Toryism to the verge of profound democracy, has made him an immense favourite with the Radicals, who believe that nothing will check him, and that, after having revolutionised, so far as possible, the State, he will next turn his attention to the Church, and aid in the assault which they hope to make upon that venerable fabric. Nor are such expectations altogether unwarranted; for Mr Gladstone has already used language in regard to the Established Church in Ireland, which is ominous of future operations, and which has excited most unpleasant doubts in the minds of many, who, notwithstanding his erratic behaviour in matters purely secular, had placed entire confidence in his integrity as an ecclesiastical champion and defender. Besides,

to the Radical party, the acquisition of such a man as Mr Gladstone would be of the utmost importance. They have already among themselves some men of undoubted talent, rough and ready orators, who can address a mob with great effect, and even command an attentive hearing in the House of Commons; but not one possesses the qualifications required for a party leader, or has sufficient personal influence to command a general support. We cannot imagine, under any circumstances short of

an

John

absolute revolution, Bright maintaining himself as Premier of Queen Victoria's ministry. The intelligence of the country would revolt instinctively against such a profanation. But substitute Mr Gladstone for Mr Bright, and the incongruity disappears. Such an event appears improbable, but it does not strike us as preposterous; and where even possibility exists, an ambitious man may readily be prompted to the attempt. We have no idea that Mr Gladstone will secede from the Whig connection until that is ir retrievably broken up. He is fond of power, and fonder of office; and, despite the jealousies and dislikes of his colleagues, will remain by the ship till it is on the point of foundering. In the mean time, however, with admirable forethought, he is contriving the formation of a raft.

One thing is remarkable in his Chester speech, and that is the caution with which he separates his own views from those of his colleagues. He dwells with much gusto, and not a little self-glorification, upon what has been done taking care however not to chronicle omissions, or to notice any instances of failure. He bestows a modified praise upon Lord Palmerston, whom he once vehemently denounced as the most dangerous of Ministers; and he is perfectly enthusiastic upon Earl Russell, who was once the object of his particular dislike. It is worth while reprinting the following sen

tence as a specimen of mixed panegyric and hyperbole: "And what is Lord Russell? Who will write the history of this country for this generation without giving in that history to Lord Russell one of the proudest places? It is the practice, gentlemen, and the just practice, to decorate the breasts of our soldiery with medals and with clasps for the gallant actions in which they may have fought; and if it were the practice, likewise, to decorate the breasts of statesmen with medals and clasps for the good laws they have passed, and for the benefits they have conferred upon the country, why, the breast of Lord John Russell would be nothing but one mass of clasps and medals! Pretty well this for a gentlemen. who, for the greater portion of his political life, almost invariably gave his vote against the measures proposed by this monopolist of the clasps and medals!

The fact seems to be, that Mr Gladstone thinks that Earl Russell, whose discontent with his old friends is notorious, may be of future use to him. Hence this extraordinary burst of enthusiasm in favour of the most incompetent Foreign Minister that ever bungled a despatch. But we have some doubt whether the bait, however dexterously thrown, will be seized. Earl Russell is now advanced in years has professed himself to be, like Chrononhotonthologos,

"Fatigued with the tremendous toils
of war"-

and, less personally ambitious than Mr Gladstone, may be content to look on, and see his youthful energies revived in the person of the aspiring Amberley. Mr Gladstone may have to fight his own battle without a single historical ally. He has indicated, very clearly, that he intends to take his stand upon extension of the suffrage-not opposing Mr Disraeli's scheme for widening it laterally, and thereby giving a new infusion of intelligence and

education to the constituencies but also lowering the qualification so extensively as to admit of the introduction of the masses. "There should," said he, "also be given to the country at large an extension downwards, the effect of which would be that, in the borough constituencies in general, the working classes would exist as a sensible fraction or portion of the constituency, and that their voices would be more freely and surely heard in the House of Parliament." Considering the boast of Mr Gladstone, that recent legislation has left nothing whatever to be desired in the way of real improvement (for he says, "Parliament has striven to

heal differences and controversy, to extend the franchise, to mitigate penal laws, to improve and enlarge education, to make justice acceptable and the law respected, and to remove every occasion of collision and conflict between classes"), it may appear to some that further organic changes are not only unnecessary but unwise. Cicero has observed, with no less truth than brevity, "Semper in republicâ tenendum est, ne plurimum valeant plurimi;" but Mr Gladstone doubtless esteems himself as a wiser person than Cicero ; and for our part, if such be his opinion, we have no interest to disturb it.

THE PAST AND COMING PARLIAMENTS.

It is well understood that before we again meet our readers the present Parliament will have ceased to be. It has enjoyed a longer term of active existence than any other within living memory; and though we by no means profess to be satisfied with much that it has done, we cannot see it pass into the land where all things are forgotten, without some feeling of regret. Upon the whole, it has been the most Conservative Parliament which has legislated for this country since 1842. Like the Parliament of that date, it has indeed been dragged more than once through a good deal of dirt. Against the better convictions of a majority of its members, it consented too much to the vagaries of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and, rather than force Lord Palmerston to resign, sacrificed industries which it would have willingly maintained. But if it wrought mischief to some of our material interests, in the ruin of the paper, silk, and ribbon trades, it declined to go beyond certain limits in sapping the foundations of the great institutions of the country. It refused, at the bidding of the Liberation Society, to abrogate unconditionally the law of church-rates. Admitting Dissenters to the benefits of a university education, it would not admit them to a share in the government of these bodies. It excluded them also from using as their own the

consecrated buildings and burialgrounds which belong to the Established Church. Because of these things, done in defiance of the arguments, threats, and remonstrances of Mr Gladstone-the chosen of Oxford-the most zealous Tory cannot but forgive much to the moribund Parliament, and especially to that portion of it, the House of Commons, which is assumed, as we think very unfairly, alone to represent the political opinions of the masses.* Nor is the retrospect of its manner of dealing with the question of parliamentary reform less curious upon the whole, or less satisfactory. After rejecting Mr Disraeli's bill, and compelling him and his colleagues to retire, it dealt so cavalierly with the Whig proposal that Lord Palmerston's Administration was glad to withdraw its measure; and now, at the eleventh hour, the same Parliament has pronounced, by a majority of seventy-four in a full House, that the qualification for voting for members of Parliament in boroughs shall not be lowered to the occupancy of a six-pound tenement. This is good in itself, but it is better still when we consider of what material both the minority and majority were made up. In the minority we find the names of all the Cabinet Ministers; of all, that is to say, who were present to take part in the discussion, and, with the single exception, we believe, of the Attor

Since these sentences went to press, Mr Goschen's bill for the admission of Dissenters to the degree of M. A. in the Universities has passed the second reading. We are not disposed on that account to cancel one word of what is written. Mr Goschen's momentary success is to be attributed partly to the absence of many members who would have voted against him, partly to the feeling that the power of the House to do good or to do evil is gone. The most memorable feature in the debate was, to be sure, Mr Gladstone's sudden conversion from the opinions which he held and expressed last year. But the cause for this is too transparent to escape notice. The general election is at hand; and it would not suit the book of a candidate for the honour of representing the University of Oxford to speak and vote at this time against the Established Church! Eheu quam mutatus ab illo !

ney-General, of every other member who is not in the Cabinet. The majority shows a list comprising not only the whole strength of the Conservative party, but the names of about thirty gentlemen on whom the Government were accustomed, up to the commencement of the discussion, to reckon as among the stanchest and most influential of their supporters. This fact alone, if it stood alone, would remove the late reform debate out of the category of common political incidents; but it does not stand alone. The speakers against Mr Baines's motion spoke almost exclusively from the ministerial benches. Lord Elcho, Mr Horsman, and the Right Hon. Robert Lowe, among others, denounced the scheme with a force of argument which defied confutation. Indeed, Mr Lowe's speech was worthy of the best days of parliamentary eloquence: it carried conviction to the minds of all who listened to it.

We cannot look back upon all this, observing as we do the steady advance of Conservative feeling in the Parliament year by year as it grew older, without deriving from the retrospect ground of good hope in reference to the future. Members, when they first take their seats in a new Parliament, are not unapt, under the persuasion that they are safe, to play fast and loose with pledges uttered or implied, and to treat their constituents a little de haut en bas. But as year after year steals on they become more guarded in what they do and say; and at last, with a dissolution inevitable before them, they take care, if it be their purpose to stand again, that both their votes and speeches shall be such as their constituents are likely to approve. Now it has been exactly as the Parliament grew older, and especially as it approached the term of its natural life, that the Conservatism latent all along in its composition came to light. Had Mr Baines brought forward his measure last year, he would have

commanded a larger measure of support than was given to him six weeks ago. Had he introduced his bill two years ago, the chances are that he would have carried the second reading by a small majority. This year, the House, recognising how the pulse of the constituency beats, has rejected his proposition by a majority larger in point of numbers-in the weight attaching to the names which compose it, more important by far-than has accepted or rejected any other measure since the present Parliament entered upon the discharge of its legislative functions. Now we cannot but regard this fact as vouching in no small degree for the return of the public mind out of doors to habits of more sober thought; and we are very certain that when the public mind begins to listen to the suggestions of common sense, it will soon subside into loyalty and contentment with the constitution as by law established in Church and State.

Nor are we seriously disturbed in this conviction by observing the amount of success which has attended Mr Monsell's endeavour to reopen the settlement of 1829. With that settlement we never pretended to be satisfied; and we shall certainly not begin to make a profession of satisfaction with it now. Indeed, the marvel is how statesmen of the calibre of those who proposed and effected the settlement, could pretend themselves to be satisfied with their own handiwork, or assume that, by imposing a particular oath on emancipated Roman Catholics, they had provided adequate securities for the maintenance of the Protestant institutions of the country. Oaths, frame them as you will, are binding only upon men of honour, and men of honour need no oaths to keep them to engagements into which they may have entered. And political oaths are, above all others, the most worthless. They never have prevented, and they never will prevent, revo

« ForrigeFortsæt »