NEWS OF TILE WEEK.
LORD PALMERSTON has made exactly a dozen speeches in Scotland this week; four in Glasgow, three in Greenock, three in Edinburgh, and two at Leith, all with his usual vivacity and spirit ; but the number of ideas was not quite so numerous,—indeed, one to a speech would have been ex- travagant. Of his views on science we have spoken in another place ; his remaining stock of notions comprehended the emphatic expression of his pride in representing the "existing institutions of the country," that is, the Conservative party, who, no doubt, support him at least as warmly as the Liberals; his confidence that that party, if it returned to power, would do very much what he is doing, and de- serve the confidence of England nearly as well ;- his warm faith in the free-trade policy ; — and his ad- miration of the Scotch energy which has "inverted the order of nature" by bringing the iron from the depths of the earth, and turning it into ships which float upon the surface of the water. This is but a slender stock of leading notions ; but they seem, with the aid of a few good-humoured jokes— including a bad pun on the waters of Leith and the waters of Lethe, which told exceedingly well—to have been adequate for the t welve speeches.
On Wednesday morning, before leaving Glasgow, Lord Palmerston was elected an honorary member of the "Gaiter ()lib." In returning thanks, the new member explained that Gaitermen were not allowed to speak on their legs, theugh they might speak about their legs, but that in an age of trousers he thought his speech on such a subject should not be long. Mr. Kinglake somewhere says that the vivacity of Lord Palmerston's style as a diplomatist is due to his writing on his legs, instead of in the ordinary sedentary fashion. That vivacity does not appear to have forsaken him when he made his legs what the Edinburgh school of logic would have called the " subject-object" of his consciousness, instead of the substratum of his body.
Two telegrams, one from Cracow and one from Lemberg, announce that the Central Committee at Warsaw have ordered the insurgent Poles to lay down their arms. The statement has a suspiciously Russian air, and is inconsistent with all clearly ascertained facts. In their proclamation after the defeat of Langiewicz, the Committee called the whole nation into the field, and a surrender, without freedom, without an amnesty, without a guarantee even against the conscription, which was the occasion of the revolt, would be a proof of imbecile weakness. An "identical note " has, it
is true, been presented to the Czar by gland, France, and Austria; but there has been no time for the result of the negotiation to become finally known at Warsaw, and the sympathy of the West would certainly not, by itself, dis- hearten the Poles. The story is probably an exaggeration of some isolated incident.
The general progress of the revolt is favourable. The Palatinate of Lublin has risen, and a Polish leader has crossed the Bug into Volhynia. The railway from Kovno to Dantzic has also been torn up, and "military have been despatched from Virballen "—a statement which probably means that Poles within the Prussian frontier have risen. Several petty engagements have been reported during the week, all termi- nating in favour of the insurgents, the Russians declining to face the scythemen. It is reported on all sides that the Russians are losing their discipline, the privates distrusting their own officers, and the Archduke frequently forwarding instructions direct to the non-commissioned, who are not demoralized by liberal sentiments. Langiewicz remains in Austria, but will not be surrendered or treated with any harshness.
Lord/Palmerston's proposal as to a King Tor Greece has this time been a successful one. The Danish Govern- ment has assented to the nomination of the Princess of Wales's brother, and the Greek Assembly, on the 30th of March pro- claimed him King by a unanimous vote. His title is to b.: George the First, King of the Greeks, William being an unpronounceable word. The Assatnbly is evidently delighted to close the interregnum, as the troops were becoming exceed- ingly troublesome. What the little country wants with troops, when she can have 100,000 National Guards, and a strong body of Marines, is not very obvious. The next, and mo,t difficult, task for the friends of Greece will be to marry the new King well.
The Bishop of Oxford has this week had his fling at the Bishop of Natal, whom he holds up to his clergy as "the awful warning." After forbidding him "from ministering in the Word and Sacraments" within his diocese, he naturally goes on to improve the occasion. "It is a matter of deep thankfulness to me to believe that there is no leaven of this unbelief to be found amono. us. But, My beloved brethren, let us not rest contented with this mere immunity from error. Rather let the sight of a brother so misled humble and warn us." If we remember rightly, it was the "leaven of the Pharisees," far more than the leaven of unbelief, against which our Lord warned His disciples—the leaven of such a Pharisee as he who lifted up his voice in the Temple, and said, "Lord, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are, nor even as this publican." No doubt, that amiable man Would have felt it quite in character to add, "Let the sight of a brother so misled humble and warn me." That humi- liation which we propose to derive from the careful con- templation of another man's transgressions is- a well-known sacerdotal equivalent for what laymen call exultation.
In the meantime the Bishop of Natal has had his fling at the Bishop of Manchester. The last-mentioned prelate had expressed himself in rather strong language about his colonial brother, in a Church Missionary Society that met in Man- chester on the 17th of March. "The very foundations of our faith," Dr. Lee had said, "the very basis of our hopes, the very nearest and dearest of our consolations, are taken from us when one line of that sacred volume on which we base every- thing is said to be unfaithful or untrustworthy." Dr. Colenso asks whether the assertion, for example, that the statement in Leviticus xi. 6 is untrustworthy in putting into the mouth of Jehovah an assertion that the hare "chews the cud," is to shake our Christian faith to its very basis,--quoting from Professor Owen the somewhat apposite remark, "the hare does not chew the cud ; it has not the stomach of a ruminant animal." We trust Dr. Prince Lee will help us to understand how far our faith in Christ is or is not to be bound. up with our faith in the second stomach of the hare. Lord Ebury has introduced a Bill which, so far as it goes, is very good, substituting the declaration, "I. A. B. do declare that I will conform to the Liturgy of the United Church of England and Ireland, as it is now by law established," for the declaration now furnished by the Act of Uniformity, which asserts "unfeigned assent and consent to all and every thing contained and prescribed in, and by the book intituled the Book of Common Prayer"—a form of declaration which has two disadvantages, that it is probably unmeaning, or, if signi- ficant, is, in any man's mouth, no matter what his creed, certainly untrue. Lord Ebury's Bill only provides for the declaration taken by a clergyman on admission to a benefice ; but if it could be carried, the same form, which would prob- ably remove all the conscientious scruples concerning subscrip- tion in the minds of most Christian clergymen, might be substituted for the Thirty-nine Articles on ordination. We trust it may be well supported.
The Revenue Returns show very much what the last quar- ter led our readers to anticipate—a small surplus on the Chancellor's estimate, of 413,561/. The comparison is as fol- lows :— Chancellor's Estimate. Actual Revenue.
X X
Above Estimate.
X
Below Estimate.
X Customs 23,550,000 ... 24,034,000 484,000 ...
Excise
18,340,000 ... 17,155,000
1,185,000 Stamps 8,625,000 ... 8,994,000 369,000
Taxes Property Tax
3,180,000 ... 3,150,000
10,100,000 ... 10,567,000 46;;000
30,000
...
Post Office 3,650,000 ... 3,650,000 ...
Crown Lands 300,000 ... 300,000 ... ...
Miscellaneous 2,275,000 ... 2,753,561. 478,561
Chinese Indemnity ... 170,000 ... ... ... 170:000
70,190,000 70,603,561 1,798,561 1,385,000
1,385,000
Total gain on Estimate £413,561
As last year's Budget devoted a sum of half a million to defraying the expenses of the last Chinese war, which we shall not want this year, and the saving on the Army and Navy Estimates has been rather more than 2,000,000/. sterling,— we may expect a reduction of taxation to about the amount of two millions and a half, but not more, unless Mr. Gladstone thinks he may count on a further expansion of the Revenue, in spite of the paralysis of Lancashire. The surplus which he has realized is not beyond the ordinary surplus of prudent budgets, and he will not, probably, choose to count on a less surplus for next year.
A rumour of the resignation of M. Fould on Tuesday spread consternation through Paris, only dissipated by a letter from the Emperor in Thursday's Moniteur. It appears that M. Magne, talking Minister of Finance, sent a communica • tion to the Patric criticizing M. Fould, acting Minister of Finance. The communique had been submitted to the Emperor, who approved without quite understanding it. M. Fould thereupon resigned, and funds receded one per cent. The Emperor, accordingly, asked him to stay, and, finding him immovealhe, dismissed M. Hague, nominating him at the same time Privy Councillor. Thereupon the funds went up again, it being considered in Paris that M. Fould is the only check on the extravagance of the departments. The incident is considered, on the whole, unfavourable to the hopes of Poland, as M. Fould would scarcely remain were a war at hand.
The King of Denmark has taken a decided step in the Schleswig-Holstein affair. By a proclamation dated the 2nd of April His Majesty cuts Holstein adrift. The Duchy is to have a separate army, and the Estates "shall have right of decision on the civil list, the appanages, the public debt, the navy, the department of foreign affairs, the domains, the cus- toms, and the postal arrangements." If on these points they can agree with Denmark-Schleswig, so much the better ; if not, they must manage for themselves. Holstein is, in fact, to be connected with Denmark only by the dynastic tie. This resolution, however spirited, will not content the Germans, or deprive them of their foothold. It is in violation of the asserted pledge, that Schleswig and Holstein should always follow each other's fortunes, a pledge which would enable the Diet still to interfere.
The University Boat Race of Saturday, described in another place, terminated in favour of' Oxford, for the third time con- secutively. The troubles at Staleybridge have ended in a compromise, the Committee offering to give half the allowance in tickets and half in cash. This was accepted on Saturday by the representatives of the thirteen schools, who, moreover, gave up their claim to a reduction in the hours of school attendance. Sir J. Kay Shnttleworth informed the men that it was in- tended to introduce out-door labour once more, to be paid for at the rate of two-and-sixpence a day of ten hours. The form of labour will be usually the improvement of the streets and the sewerage. It is believed that the better class of operatives regret deeply the lawless conduct of the remainder, and that the disorders are at an end. The Committee as- sert, we perceive, that their tickets could always be changed for money at the public-houses. Why, then, give tickets ? In order to compel men to drink ?
Three men are now lying under sentence of death for the murder of women ; Levi Taylor, a boy of eighteen, married a street girl of Manchester, who, of course deceived him, and after repeatedly forgiving her he cut her throat in a brothel. Henry Carter, of Birmingham, was courting Alice Hinckley, and passed the evening of the 4th December talking in a "friendly and affectionate" way, then, as they were parting, shot her dead. W. Hope, a ditcher, was drinking in aninn, when a girl entered the house for some beer; he followed, violated her, and, maddened by her resistance, murdered her. The cases illustrate curiously the differences of degree which may exist, even in a crime like murder. Levi Taylor's act was a real murder, and probably a deliberate one, but it is impossible to feel the horror for his crime which that of Carter excites. He is even worse than Hope, who seems to have been a brute, farther brutalized by drink, while the other must have been a master in treachery and deceit. All three will probably be executed, the provocation in Taylor's case, however great, not being sudden or over- whelming.
The Prussian Radicals have made up their minds at last that it is expedient to tell the truth. Herr Waldeck, instead of confining himself to the length of service and costliness of the army, has, in his motion on the military law, struck at the real grievance of Prussia. He has proposed that military men shall, for ordinary offences, be subject to the ordinary tribunals, that military courts of honour shall be discontinued, that the nobles shall cease to retain a monopoly of officers' commissions, and that men from the ranks shall be eligible for commissions. The army is, in short, to cease to be a caste. These proposals are denounced in Berlin as frightfully revolutionary, though they are in force in armies at least as successful and as well disciplined as that of Prussia. It is to carry these reforms that the Liberals insist on the costliness of the army, which they do not care about, but which interests the country voters.
The Prussian Government and the Prussian Chambers appear inclined to contest with each other supremacy in baseness. Count Eulenberg, in answer to repeated questions, has in- formed the Chamber that all Polish refugees will not be sur- rendered to Russia, but that those who are dangerous will, for Prussia must respect her engagements. In other words, all the poor wretches whom Russia may ask for will be delivered up to be massacred, because they resisted the illegal kid- napping of their sons and brothers for military service in the Caucasus. The Sultan risked the destruction of his empire rather than comply with a similar demand, and the Austrian Government, asked to give up the refugees, replied that all con- ventions on the subject were at an end. There is not a petty sovereign in Germany who would not have refused to become an assistant executioner, or a Chamber in Europe which would not have risked dissolution rather than endure such ignominy. The Prussian Government leap at the opportunity of showing their scorn for justice, hospitality, and the dignity of their State, and the Chamber does not even resolve that M. Bismark has endangered his sovereign's honour. Is the cynical assertion true that every nation is governed as well as it deserves ?
The change in the Italian Ministry, which we ventured to anticipate a fortnight ago, has taken place, though not pre- cisely as we expected. Signor Farini's ill health has compelled him to resign all official duty, and he has been succeeded in the Premiership by Signor Minghetti. Signor Pasolini has also resigned the Foreign Office, a step which is attributed to the embarrassment of his personal relations with the Pope, whose minister he was during the shortlived free constitution at Rome in 1847, and whose personal friends he and his wife have ever since remained. Of course, there has been a certain awkwardness in filling the respon- sible office of Foreign Secretary when the attitude of Italy towards the Vatican is necessarily frigid, if not hostile, and Count Pasolini has, perhaps, been too sensitive to the obvious popular criticisms, though no minister ever filled his post with higher integrity. The portfolio has been offered to his under- secretary, the Cavaliere Emilio Visconti-Venosta, a young man of brief official experience, a native of the Valtenine, who was a protgge" of Farini's, and now, it is believed, of Minghetti's. The appointment of one so little known was not at first favourably received either in Italy or England. In Italy it was regarded as a mode of virtually massing all the principal offices in Minghetti, and here it was looked upon as rather disrespectful to the veteran diplomatists with whom he will have to deal. His maiden speech in the Chamber of Deputies on the Polish question was, however, successful, and the disagreeable surprise felt at his appointment is gradually growing into hope.
Sir G. Grey has addressed a letter to the Common Council of London, requesting them not to appoint to the vacant office of Commissioner of Police, except "on the distinct understand- ing that the person so appointed shall take the office subject to any alteration of the law which Parliament may think fit to make." The letter was received with "derisive cheers," and was, after some discussion, referred to the Police Com- mittee. The Corporation intend evidently to fight for their peculiuna, and it will be interesting to watch the extent of the influence they can bring to bear on the House of Com- mons. They have generally beaten the Government, but this time they are fighting the Government, plus the Crown, plus -the Upper Ten Thousand, plus all indifferent people of com- mon sense.
A. correspondent of the Times warns Englishmen from visit- ing Nice or Mentone, as they will be plundered by the hotel- keepers. Eggs are charged 71-d. each. A young couple were recently charged 4/. a day for two small and inconvenient rooms, and the relatives of a gentleman who died in the house were charged 300f. for damage to furniture, 600f. for not eating the stipulated dinners, and 300f. for dying in the hotel. If the victims remonstrate they are expelled the house.
At the banquet given by Edinburgh to Lord Palmerston on Wednesday, the Duke of Argyle returned thanks for Her Majesty's Ministers in a most spirited speech. He laughed at Mr. Kinglake as a man who had "written one of those pleasing tales which simulate the forms of history," and "attempted to reduce the great events of history to a level with the gossip of the clubs." He defended the neutrality of the Government in the American war, but reminded his audience that their liberties had been secured by every form of civil war. "Do we count the course of our heroes in civil war to have been an evil course ?" "If it be true, and it is true, that the blood of the martyrs has been the seed of the Church, it is equally true that the blood of patriots has been the founda- tion of our liberties." A few more speeches of that kind and people will forgive the Duke of Argyle his habitual conceit.
Mr. Horace Greeley, the reputed editor of the New York Tribune, seems bent upon proving that his anti-slavery principles are as hollow and worthless as the most savage of his opponents assert. In an article of the Tribune, dated March 16th, evidently editorial, Mr. Greeley explains, in answer to a correspondent, what he means by saying that even now any rebel State, by returning to its obedience, might keep its slaves, in spite of the President's proclamation. "Suppose," he says, "that every slave now held in Georgia were actually set free, and that Georgia, having returned to loyalty, and been again recognized as a loyal member of the Union, should proceed to reduce them once more to slavery, what does Mr. Potts propose to do about it ? We have not the smallest doubt that an ex-slave, living in any Free State, who should be pursued as a fugitive, might plead the President's proclamation, and his acceptance of its conditions as It bar to his master's claim. But that the Union, or any one acting under its authority, could interpose between two native or naturalized inhabitants of Georgia, and override the constitution and laws of that State—she being peace- ably, indisputably, loyally, within the Union,—and de- feat the claim of the one to hold the other as his slave, we do not understand." In other words, Mr. Lincoln's promise to free the slave and his posterity for ever is conditional on the future concurrence of the State authority under which he lives for the time being, and, prac- tically, a swindle. But whatever be the legal quibble, there is but one practical meaning in Mr. Greeley's ostentatious hint,—a faithless, shameless, and almost incredible overture to bribe the slave° wners back into the Union at the expense of the betrayed slaves. That the President would concur in such a fraud we do not for a moment believe, but a single Republican like Mr. Greeley does more to root out all Euro- pean sympathy with his party than a hundred honest men can do to inspire it. For ourselves, much as we abhor such slaveowners as Legree, we abhor even more such liberators as Greeley.
Telegrams have been received at Richmond, and repeated this week throughout Europe, announcing the capture of Mexico by General Forey. They are generally discredited, but are still barely possible. General Forey broke up his camp at Orizaba on 28th February, and he may, by a bold dash, have turned Puebla, and seized the capital. It was known, from the reports of the Prussian Minister, that the only disposable Mexican force had been concentrated in Puebla, and that the generals, after the Mexican fashion, were quar- relling among themselves. The report is not credited in New York ; but it must be remembered that Americans do not wish the French to succeed. It is more certain that General Forey has collected large means of transport, and that his troops, though sick of their task, are in fair health and spirits.
Intelligence from America this week consists chiefly of a series of reports, all more or less untrustworthy. It is said that the fleet attacking Vicksburg has been forced to retreat, disabled by the batteries; that General Grant's army is hampered by excessive sickness ; that an expedition up the Yazoo has captured 7,000 Confederate prisoners ; that Port Hudson has been attacked with success ; that the negro force sent from Hilton Head has been taken en muse. None of these statements are trusted in New York, the policy of concealment having ended, as usual, in general incredulity. The only facts certain are that Vicksburg is not captured ; that some event unknown has happened in the south-west which the Con- federates do not like, and that much fear is felt at Richmond of another advance by General Hooker. The conscription has not commenced, but the Provost-Marshal General has been appointed, and is an officer of the regular army. There is, in truth, no military news whatever, only a great many mili- tary stories.
The House of Representatives in New Jersey has adopted by 38 to 13 resolutions protesting against the policy of the Republican party. The majority protest against war for " unconstitutional " purposes and against the reduction of any State into a tenitory ; against the domination of the military over civil authority ; arrests ; the President's procla- mation; emancipation by purchase ; and, any exercise of power not clearly expressed in the Constitution." These resolutions are held in Europe to point to peace, but in America to con- tinued war under Democratic auspices. In spite of them the "Union League," an association of men pledged to support the Government to the utmost, extends throughout the States. It is said that the League includes five hundred clubs.
The telegrams received from the far East are still unplea, sant. The latest from China (February 21) reports that the Imperialists, aided by Ward's trained sepoys, have been severely defeated with a loss of 500 men. We suspect they were sent into action without European officers, a policy which always fails. The latest from Japan announces that the "British Legation at Jeddo had been destroyed by gunpowder by the Japanese; no fatal accident, however, had resulted." That is a quaint bit of news, but we presume it means that the Legation building has been destroyed in the absence of its inmates.
Friday was a dies non on 'Change, but on Thursday Consols were 92* for money and the 8th. The New Threes and Reduced were 91 91*. India 5 per Cents., 1081 1081 ; ditto 5 per Cent. Enlaced Paper, 106k; and the Bonds 13s. to 16s. prem. Greeks were 27/ 28; ditto, Coupons, 123 133. Turkish, 1858, 68 68k; ditto, 1862, 691 70; ditto, Consolid6s, 48+ 481. Italian, 70/ 701. Moorish, 93i 93/. Peruvian, 87 873. Portuguese, 47/. Russian, 953 96; Spanish Passive 231 233 • and ditto, Certificates, 10. A new wine company has been started, called the London and Westminster Wine Company, with a new idea of allowing share- holders to have their wine at cost price.
