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13S4 THE LEADER, fN o,, 509. . Dec. 24, ...
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. ?—-. POLITICAL FORESHAEOWINGS.
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On "Wednesday Lord Paxmerston presided a...
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of being a profit to Great Britain, were...
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JRELA.ND. The CorJt Examiner publishes t...
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NAVAL AND MILITARY. This Duke of Cambrid...
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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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13s4 The Leader, Fn O,, 509. . Dec. 24, ...
13 S 4 THE LEADER , fN o ,, 509 . . Dec . 24 , 1859 .
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. ?—-. Political Foreshaeowings.
. ?— -. POLITICAL FORESHAEOWINGS .
On "Wednesday Lord Paxmerston Presided A...
On "Wednesday Lord Paxmerston presided at the Korasey Labourers' Encouragement Association , at the ^ distribution of prizes , when he addressed the ferm servants and labourers in a kind and clever speech , encouraging them to persevere in the honest execution of their moral and social duties , and particularly to attend to the bringing tip of their children in habits of industry and morality . At the dinner which followed , the Premier , in proposing the toast of " The Army and Navy , " observed : I am proud to say that I believe there never was a moment—a moment of peace at least—in which both of those services were in a condition of greater
efficiency than they are at the present time . I am sure that the country is deeply convinced that the best method of preserving peace is to show that you are capable of defending yourselves in the event of being attached . The spirit which the country has recently shown by the immense extent of volunteer organisation has produced a great effect not only in this country , but all over the world . It has tended to inspire that respect which all nations feel for a country which , without any aggressive intentions , shows that it is determined to hold its own , and to defend itself against all comers . Again I say , that the army and navy are in a state of complete efficiency , according to the numbers to which in a time of peace they can be carried , and that there are means in the country by Avhich those armaments might be rapidly increased to whatever the exigencies made
peror towards this country , nevertheless he thought that the state of public affairs on the Continent was such as to make it desirable to foster the volunteer movement . There could be no doubt that we had fallen into a state of false security during the long peace that we had enjoyed . There was no country in the world , no great empire in the wortcP , in which it was so essential that the means of national defence and the means of carrying on war should be greater than in ours , on account of the extent of our emr pire , it being spread over the four quarters of the world , and on account of the geographical smallness of the centre of the empire , England . He called their
attention to the startling events which had taken place this year in France , and the immense naval and warlike preparations that were making in that country , and , although our alliance with France might be close , and we had fought side by side with the French both in the Griniea and China , and although he earnestly hoped that that good feeling might long continue , still there had been occasions within the last two or three years on which our friendly relations with France had been in danger , and in the present extremely' complicated state of European affairs it was impossible to say how soon again our alliance might be endangered , and therefore they were bound to be prepared for all
contingencies . Mr . Atrton , M . P . at a meeting at Dalston said we ought to be prepared for the possibility of our fleets being evaded or repulsed ; and in addition to the regulars and militia , we required a third reserve , which should embrace the great body of the people organised upon a social basis . If the movement depended upon the subscriptions they might depend upon it that those subscriptions would not continue every year . Nor was it a reserve the enrolment in which should be induced by splendid uniforms , tickets to the Crystal Palace , or the prospects of corporation festivities . To be effective the
movement must be founded wholly on a spirit of patriotism and a sense of the necessity for national union for the purpose of national protection . He much regretted to find the great body of the working classes separated in so marked a manner from this movement . Did anybody suppose that the country could be defended without the working classes ? He ridiculed the idea of such little combinations as the Scotch , the Irish , the lawyers , or any other class enrolling themselves separately . It appeared to him that by thus breaking up society into , as it were , its very elements , they were taking the most effectual steps to weaken the defensive power of the kingdom .
At another rifle corps gathering , Sir Hamilton Seymour could say that for months and months past ' his declaration to his most intimate friends and to members of his family had been this , "I see an enormous danger impending ; I see one , and one only , safeguard against that danger , and that safeguard is that we all of us , young and old , should enrol ourselves as volunteers . should exercise ourselves in arms , and shoujd be ready , if occasion offer , to come forward in defence of our country . " He was
not aware that we were going to fortify London or to erect a Malakhoff tower in Belgrave-square , but we were going to take a measure , and a very mild one , for the protection of pur whole isle . None but the most unreasonable man in thp world could find fault with that . To whom could it give offence ? He threw such an idea to the winds . In Heaven ' s name let us abstain from giving offence to every one ; but let us take every measure tb protect our shores .
Lord John MANNERS , at Melton-Mowbray , pointed out that the volunteer movement was no novelty in English history . The safety of this country had in former times been intrusted—and safely intrustedto the hundreds and thousands of gallant and hardy fejlows who enmo forward to defend it against any possible aggressions , and more especially at the time when invasion was actually threatened by the French . Throughout our history , as ho had cenaarked , wo had depended mainly upon our volunteer forces . By the Statute of Winchester , passed in the time of Edward I ., it was enacted that every man ehould h harness in his houso
ave , and bo armed ready for keeping the peace And the experience of modern days agreed with this resolution of our ancestors , for we nil know that the best way to keep the paace was to be alwaya ready to go to war . They should not bo contented with a mere temporary enthusiasm , but should aim steadily to perfect the movement they had begun ; and , secondly , that they should always bo ready to submit to the executive Government . If these points woro kept in view ; ho did not doubt that wo might safoly intrust our national security , as our forefathers did , to our hardy citizens and yoomen .
Sir Quonom Q iuax , at a dinner given to him by the admirers of his government of the Capo colony , S ) oko about the general relations between Great ritain and her colonial possessions . Ho had found not a fow persona who held that the colonies , instead
of the moment might require . " His lordship several other speeches , in one of which he said : "Agriculture has undergone a great change in the last few . years . It used to be a practice— -it is now raised to the condition of a science . A farmer ought to know now something , and perhaps not a little , of chemistry . He ought to know what are the ingredients of the soil which different crops take out for their nourishment . He ought also to a certain extent to know the fundamental principles of political economy , and to be aware that he does not prosper by grinding down those who labour on his farm—that it is no real saving to give inadequate wages to those who work for him : that he gains nothing by avoiding to employ labour in the winter months ; and that , in fact , there is no more advantageous and profitable investment in the cultivation of the land than labour . " In giving the toast of
"The Press , " Lord Palmerston said : "If any man compares now a newspaper published in the last century with one of those wonderful sheets we read everyda } ' , the contrast is the most striking that the mind of man can imagine . The quantity of information , the talent of dissertation , the amount of news of every kind which we now find in almost every newspaper we meet with , is really one of the most striking proofs of the progress which the human intellect has made in the days in which ¦ we live . It may really be put in competition with the steam engine and the electric telegraph ; but there is one part of the functions of the press , which beyond all others , has improved of late years . I
have heard that towards the end of the last century there was a man named "Woodfall who used to publish debates ; and how did he do it ? It is said that he used to go the gallery of the House of Commons , listen attentively with his face in his hands to what passed , go home , drink two pots of porter , go to fed , get up next morning , and from his dreams and Jus recollections mako out what he called a report of a debate . Now-a-days , so marvellous is the ability and so wonderful the rapidity with which reporters take down what men Bay , that if speakers are not very careful the reporters take down what they had much better not have said . I remember a very worthy M . P ., an Irish M . P ., Mr . Richard Keene , who once complained that the reporters in the gallery had not done full justice to a speech ho had made the night before . The reply he recoived
had , perhaps , more of sharpness than civility in it , for it was—' Mr . Keene , we made tho best speech vre could for you , but , if you are not satisfied with our endeavours , tho next time wo will report what you do say , and , whatever you may think of it , wo suspect your friends will hardly relish tho infliction . ' It is quite marvellous to see tho accuracy with which debates in tho House of Commons aro reported . When tho speeches aro such o . a aro calculated to attract attention they are reported word for word as they aro uttered , and how it is possible for tho human hand to follow with such rapidity and suoh exactness I am at a loss to conceive . The subject of national , defence has been the prodominant ono with tliQ various orators of tho week . AtDroitwlch , Sir John Paiunoton expressed his opinion that although we were still on friendly terms with Franco , and although he , for one , did not feel distrust in the personal intentions of the Bra-
Of Being A Profit To Great Britain, Were...
of being a profit to Great Britain , were an actual in cumbrance and disadvantage to her . He could not comprehend the grounds of such an opinion . It Waa quite true that the manufacturing people " dt Great Britain did in the first instance pay the taxes which supported our army any navy ; but that taxation was put on the price of the commodities which the colonies consumed . He believed that every individual colonist , and the barbarian nations of the in- * terior , annually contributed a large sura to the support of the armies and navies of Great Britain . The colonists would ask no protection from this country except that of the navy , which was required for our commerce . If we had no colonies , we should not require one ship the less to protect our trade . But having the colonies , our fleets , when engaged in distant operations anywhere on the globe , had harbours , and supplies , ' and a hearty welcome ready for them , while the fleets of a hostile power could enter none of those ports without having to fight for it . The newly-appointed Solicitor-Gicneral , in his address to his constituents , observes : — " The reform of the law , in various departments , is urgent , and will have to be dealt with in the approaching session ; and , should your favour-place me once more in Parliament , it will be my duty , as a law officer , to take a responsible part in devising and advocating such amendments . In so doing , I shall act in conformity witli those views and wishes on the subject which I have long felt and expressed , and which you have approved . On the important subjects of Parliamentary Reform , the Ballot , and Church-rates , my views remain unchanged , aud I shall omit no opportunity of maintaining , and , as far as may / lie in my poVvcr , enforcing them . I am strongly in favour of the present general movement towards a state of preparation , not to assail any other State , but to place our own free country in a condition of efficient defence . " The Herald says :- = — «' . " We . are . authorised to state that a complete and comprehensive Reform . Bill will appear , by request , in the Constitutional Press Magazine for January ; and that , in ' the event of the Ministerial Reform Bill being postponed , or unacceptable to the constitutional party , the Bill tha t is to be published in the Constitutional Press will be immediately brought before the Housu . " The Brighton Guardian states , upon " reliable authority , " that John Blencowe , Esq ., of Chailey , will offer himself in tho Liberal interest , to fill up the vacancy occasioned by the death of the Hon . Henry Fitzroy , one of the members for the borough of Xcwes .
Jrela.Nd. The Corjt Examiner Publishes T...
JRELA . ND . The CorJt Examiner publishes the following passages taken from a letter received 03 ' the member for Dungarvan from a gentleman of high position in Rome . It is dated the 10 th of December : —" 1 am happy to say that the Holy Father is perfectly well , anil is very grateful for the sympathy manifested for him by the Catholics all over the world . The pastorals of the Irish Bishops , and the great meetings held in Dublin , and the sentiments elicited there , have been to him a source of much consolation . Although it is for him a moment of great trial and anxiety , yet lie bonrs his troubles with the greatest resignation , patience , and equanimity , and every cno remarks how cheerful he is in tho midst of his sufferings . Rome was nevermore quiet than it is at this moment , and if you were here you would not see any difference from wlmt it was last year . Of course we are looking forward anxiously to tho Congress . England , no doubt , will bo tho great antagonist of the Holy Father ; but I entertain a . confident hope that the niujority of tho representatives . will be in his favour . " Another meeting of tho I ' ' s sympathisers lias been held at Kildare . Colonel Dunne , tlio Clmu > man , declared that no Government on the faco ot the earth is more justly administered thiui that ot Rome . It was a Government which could' mvito the strictest scrutiny and examination . Another speaker took tho liberty of saying that Kngluna , while preparing to resist invasion , had bottor keep on good terms with tho Roman Catholic siilyoute 01 tho Crown . Tho eaylo was looking out from ms nest at Cherbourg , and ono of tho best precautions would bo to bo kind to tho Pone .
Naval And Military. This Duke Of Cambrid...
NAVAL AND MILITARY . This Duke of Cambridge on Tuesday proaUlurt nt . we Christmas examination of tho Qontlomon Cuuoiim tho Royal Military Academy , and afterwards reviewed , tho whole of tho troops in garrison , including tho Armstrong gun bnttorius uiiaw orders , for China . Tho cadets formed in rovioj order on tho lawn fronting tho Royal M . ' lftry A cademy , under tho command of Colonol WUtora 1 and after a minute inspoetion . by his Roynl "' a '" " ' Gentleman Cadot Laooy , tho senior iindor-omcer , was oallod upon to put tho whole of tho company
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 24, 1859, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24121859/page/4/
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