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Nov. 1, 1851.] ®!>* 5Lratl£t% 1041
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A double knock at the door, with a twent...
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THE WORLD'S MONEY. To live in peace it i...
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THE LOYALTY OF BELLS.. Hkm.h in England ...
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HUSSIA, PERSIA, AND PALMERSTON. Those di...
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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Transcript
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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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
His Majesty The Monster. An Eastern Tell...
i-ctv and providing him with prey in the most Sous manner . For if your Imperial Sybarites have depraved appetites , there are always ways of satisfy ing the horrid craving without scandal . Sand has been invited to pull down this insatiable and accursed creature ; but the reply of nr " practical" Englishman is , that he has spent lo much in setting up the August Monster , that he Jannot afford anything towards pulling him down . He Practical Englishman , would rather pay nearly Srtv millions sterling a year towards the regime of the dread Sovereign , than contribute the least farthing to the enterprise of dethronement .
Nov. 1, 1851.] ®!>* 5lratl£T% 1041
Nov . 1 , 1851 . ] ®!>* 5 Lratl £ t % 1041
A Double Knock At The Door, With A Twent...
A double knock at the door , with a twenty-postman imperkrusness . Respectable English Liberal . —My dear , What is that ? . , % ¦»«• ! t Virtuous Wife — ( turning pale ) . —My love—I fear—it is the—a—the Taxgatherer ! Respectable # c —My dear , I think I really must invest something in the fund towards pulling down his Gracious Majesty with the—a—you know —illegitimate children , " of a larger growth , " as the saying is . I understand there will be some chance of coining to terms with his Majesty in the coming year . I have paid long enough for 1815 ; and really I begin to think that 1852 will be the better speculation .
The World's Money. To Live In Peace It I...
THE WORLD'S MONEY . To live in peace it is of the first importance that people understand each other . Many a pair have argued for hours to find they have all along meant the same thing , and many a diplomatic proposal has been rejected from lack of knowledge . We have just now been shaking hands with all the world . The wolf has dwelt with the lamb , and the leopard has lain down with the kid . Nations that were accustomed to flush with rage at the mere
mention of their rivals , have assembled in friendly and harmonious emulation . Complete success has attended this most Christian and fraternal fusion of discordant elements . Henceforward , we are to be in friendly competition with all nations . Prejudice and distrust are to be laid aside , and cordially are we to set forward from this ' 51 , this resting place in the world ' s progress , and in a frank and generous spirit to extend our commercial hand to the whole world .
At the outset a difficulty arises . The world ' s coinage is everywhere diverse . The great difficulty in our dealings is that we do not understand each other . A question is forced upon us which has well nigh been forgotten in the bustle of the World ' s Fair . Why should we not at once endeavour to attain that most desirable object , a decimal system of money , weights , and measures ? The present mode is an obstacle to commerce , and the adoption of the decimal system would be a powerful facilitation of the intercourse of mankind . Who , but the
peculiarly initiated , knows at once the value of the various "dollars" and " eagles" of the United States ; the " ducats" of Sweden , Denmark , and Spain ; the " florins" of Prussia and Germany ; the " guilders" of Holland ; tho " crusades" and " moidores , " the " re" and " mil-re" of Portugal ; the " pistoles" of Italy and Uarbary ; the dollar " piastres" of Florence ; the halfpenny " piastres " of Aiabia ; the " roubles" of Russia ; the " rupees , " " sicca rupees , " " cash , " and " pagodas" the East ; the " francs" and " louis d ' ors" of France ? Prince Albert has already won a name which sheds a lustre even on the throne . The successful
consummation of the Great Exhibition is a victory worthy of an age when tho sceptre and the pen are to take the place of the spear and the sword . Why should we not have a congress of scientific men from America and the various European States , who , in conclave , might determine upon scientific grounds ouch a , system of coinage , weights , and Pleasures , us would unit all nations ? It would be removing one cause of misunderstanding and diflio . ulty among nations , mercantile men would hail | he change with satisfaction , and the farmer would henceforth understand the wheat quotations of the whole world . To nay nothing of the labour to the clerks of the umverae in " compound" arithmetic .
The Loyalty Of Bells.. Hkm.H In England ...
THE LOYALTY OF BELLS . . Hkm . h in England are tho symbols of loyalty . That i « why thCy XUX i l . ti , cin ln Oxford from neveii a . m . I ! V-m . Very odd , therefore , it is that our Hill-ring ing' loyalists should ho pertinaciously object l t > Catholic bolJs . We presume that Protestant
bells only are gifted with the true loyal jingle . " No other bells need apply . " The bells at Clapham were a nuisance to Protestant ears ; but the bells of any Established Church in England may ring galore upon the occasion of a Queen ' s visit , no matter whom they annoy . Supposing such an atrocious case to occur , as the neglect to " ring in " the Queen , no matter for what reason , loyalty is immediately outraged . The parish of Leigh , in Lancashire , is spiritually mini 8 tered unto by a clergyman of Tractarian views and doctrines , ycleped Irvine . He has been in hotwater with his bishop , and is constantly in boiling water with his churchwardens . The vicarage is close to the church , and of course any bell ringing not only rejoices the domestic hearths of the villagers , but stuns those who are confined in the bedrooms of the vicarage . On the occasion of the Queen ' s visit to the great cotton county , the bells of every village rang out a welcome , save and except the village of Leigh . How this disastrous result came about we proceed to explain . There is a standing quarrel between the vicar and the churchwardens on the great bell question . In 1846 , certain persons were appointed ringers , " with the conjoint approval of the vicar and the then churchwardens ; " and subsequently " turned off by a unanimous vote of the parishioners on account of their unfitness to ring . " When it was known that the Queen would pass through Leigh , the churchwardens applied for leave to have the bells rung in her honour . The vicar replied that he would be happy to " concur , " but " of course " the bells must be rung by said unfit ringers . The churchwardens , in great anger , declared that " they would be deservedly disgraced , were they to employ men who had been declared by the parishioners as unfit for ringing on ordinary occasions , to ring the bells in honour of the Queen . " And the vicar then rejoined that " Mrs . Irvine was so unwell as to render it extremely dangerous for her to be disturbed by the noise of bells in such close proximity ; " and that be thought the bells could " not be lawfully rung , " unless rung by said " unfit" ringers . Consequently , the bells were not rung . The churchwardens , the whole parish of Leigh , are dreadfully scandalized ; and the whole correspondence is published , underthe absurd title of " Tractarian Disloyalty and Obstinacy . " " What a farce ! " exclaims the indignant reader . Yes , a farce with something tragic at the back of it . Here is another instance of the deep disagreement between the Church of England and the People of England . Instead of being an example of " Tractarian disloyalty , " it is simply an example of the utter impotence of Church authorities and the abeyance of Church discipline .
Hussia, Persia, And Palmerston. Those Di...
HUSSIA , PERSIA , AND PALMERSTON . Those diligent readers of the morning papers , who sull'er no iteurof foreign intelligence to escape their careful observation , may possibly have seen a few lines , in a late overland mail , stating that the Shah of Persia has made himself master of Herat . As the politics of India are not popular at present , and as the Parliamentary recess—fortunately for Lord Palmerston—prevents inquisitive members from putting troublesome questions to the Foreign Secretary about Russian intrigues in Persia , and what business the Shah can possibly have in Afghanistan , unless as pioneer for the Czar , the morning
papers have got up no thunder on the subject ; and John Hull , with his head full of universal philanthropy , the Grand Exhibition of 1851 , and the great Peace Congress of 1852 , is allowed to remain in blissful ignorance of what mischief is brewing on tlie very border of hi" dangerous dominions in llindoHtau . Poor John Bull 1 With a larger foreign connection than any of his friends or enemies in any part of the globe , he obstinately persists in being ignorant of all that is going on around him . What need of troubling himself with such a mass of complicated business , ko long as all bis affairs are ko admirably managed by the cleverest of Foreign Secretaries ?
And yet it might be worth his while to ask Lord Palmers ton why we . should be ho much more careless about Russian influence in the East in 1 H 51 than we were in 1830-8 . After ibo Russian campaign in Hungary , one might have reasonably expected that an English Foreign Secretary would bo much more on hia guard against Ruhhiuu intrigue than at the former period . How , then , is it that we fin < l Much statements as the following in Ministerial journals , unaccompanied by a single word of comiiiont , or hint of Government having taken any Htepu in conacquonce ?—
-" Russian influence is triumphant at the Persian . Court . Mirza Hassan , an influential member of the Divan , well known for his partiality to Russian interests , has been sent on an extraordinary mission to St . Petersburg ; and 12 , 000 men , under the command of the Persian general , axQ now in possession of Herat . " Compare the conduct of England on the present occasion with what it was when Persia , instigated by the agents of the Czar , attempted to take
possession of Herat in 1836 . At that time Russian influence was dominant at the Persian Court , and every effort had been employed by the Russian Ambassador to persuade the Shah to exlend his empire in the direction of Affghanistan . The Right Honourable Henry Ellis was then in Persia , on an embassy of condolence and congratulence to the young Shah ; and the following extracts from bis letters to Lord Palmerston , in the early part of 1836 , will show how strongly he felt on the subject : —
" January 15 . — -I feel quite assured that the British Government cannot permit the extension of the Persian monarchy in the direction of Affghanistan , with a due regard to the internal tranquillity of India ; that extension will at once bring Russian influence to the very threshold of our empire ; and as Persia will nnt or dare not , place herself in a condition of close alliance with Great Britain , our policy must be to consider her no longer an outwork for the defence of India , but as the first parallel from ichence the attack may be commenced or threatened . "
" February 25 . —I am convinced that every effort will be made by the Shah to obtain possession of Herat , and to extend his dominions in the direction of Aff ghanistan , and that , for this purpose , no opportunity will be lost of forming connections with the chief of Cabul and his brothers . I cannot refrain from most earnestly calling the attention of her Majesty ' s Government , and of the East India Company , to the danger of the Shah of Peisia approaching , either by direct conquest or by the admission of his right of dominion , the frontiers of India ; for I can conceive no event wore likely to unsettle the public mind in the north-western provinces , and to disturb the general tranquillity of our Eastern empire . "
Two or three months later , in recurring to the subject , Mr . Ellis , expressing a hope that the Shah would not be able to carry out his scheme of invading Affghanistan for want of means , adds , but that would only be a temporary obstacle . " His Majesty has been encouraged , and , I have been recently informed , has been promised positive assistance in this design by the Russians ; who well know that the conquest of Herat and Kandahar by the Persians is in fact an advance for them towards
India , if not for the purpose of actual invasion , certainly for that of intrigue and disorganization . " In the following winter , Mr . M'Neill , who had succeeded Mr . Ellis , wrote home to Lord Pal inert ton , that the Russian Minister , Count Simonich , still continued to urge the Shah to undertake a winter campaign against Herat ; upon which the Foreign Minister wrote a formal note to Lord Durham , then our Ambassador at St . Petersburg , who spoke to Count Neaselrode upon the subject ; and the Count assured his Lordship , that if Count Simonich had ever
given any such advice ; to the Shah , which lie Count Nesselrode entirely disbelieved , he had done the very contrary of what he had been instructed to do . Of course , this was quite enough to satisfy Lord Palmerston , who had the highest opinVmof Russian honesty and honour , and who could i \ ot suppose that Count Nesselrode was deliberately stating a falsehood ! In the following year , however , the machinations of Russia in Persia and CubKl were carried on ao openly , that no one could
to have been the principal a ^ ent carrying on tint branch of the secret service ; and from the accounts given of him from time to time in the despatches of Cuptain Humes , the Russian Captain must have boon u thorough adept in the more occult kinds of diplomacy . While the Shah of Persia , aided by Russian gold , was besieging Herat with an army of (}() , ()()() men , Captain Vieovich wan busily engaged at Cabul , \) roininin ^ Dost Mohammed pecuniary assistance a ^ ainat the Sikhs , urging him to
renounce Inn connection wiih England , and place himself in intimaU * alliance with Russia and Persia . At the name time , Captain fiurnea , the agent of the Indian Government , used overy etUnt to permiado Dost Mohammed that hia safest course was to adhere to England , in which cane he must renounce all intercourse with lluusia and ^ ers ' m . The Ameer of Cabul tried to gain time ; he Wished to play oil ' the one agent against the other till the fate of Herat was decided . All eyca were then directed to
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 1, 1851, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_01111851/page/13/
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