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wv and providing him with prey in the most decorous manner . For if your Imperial Sybarites have depraved appetites , there are always ways of ttrfisfvinir the horrid craving without scandal . England has been invited to pull down this m-B _ tiahle and accursed creature ; but the reply of vour " practical" Englishman is , that he has spent lo much in setting up the August Monster , that he rannot afford anything towards pulling him down . He Practical Englishman , would rather pay nearly fortv millions sterling a year towards the regime of the dread Sovereign , than contribute the least farthing to the enterprise of dethronement .
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A double knock at the door , with a twenty-postman imperiousness . Respectable English Liberal . —My dear , What is that ? . ..
... My love — I My love—I
Virtuous Wife—( turning pale ) . — 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 coming 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 .
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THE WORLD'S MONEY . To live in peace it is df 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 d i fficulty 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" " eagles" of the United States ; the " ducats" of Sweden , Denmark , and Spain ; the " florins" of Prussia and Germany ; the " guilders" of Holland ; the " crusades" and " rnoidores , " the " re" and " mil-re" of Portugal ; the " pistoles" of Italy and Barbary ; the dollar " piastres" of Florence ; the halfpenny " piastres " of Arabia ; 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 eheds a lustre even on the throne . The successful
consummation of the Great Exhibition \ u a victory worthy of an age when the sceptre and the pen arc 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 nueh a system of coinage , weights , and measures , us would suit all nations ? It would be removing one cause of misunderstanding and difficulty among nations , mercantile men would hail the change with satisfaction , and the fanner would henceforth understand the wheat quotations of the whole world . To say nothing of the labour to the clerks of the universe in " compound" arithmetic .
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THE LOYALTY OlHELLS . IIki . i . h in England lire the symbols of loyalty . That >« why thCy T 1 U ( 1 r them in Oxford from seven a . m . to nine i \ m . Very odd , therefore , it is that our well-ringing loyalists should no pertinuciously object to Catholic bells . 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 qccur , 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 ministered unto by a clergyman of Tractai ian 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 Q ueen ' 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 " 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 fo r her to be disturbed by the noise of bells in such close proximity ; " and that he 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 , under the absurd title of " Tractarian Disloyalty and Obstinacv . "
" 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 .
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RUSSIA , PERSIA , AND PALMERSTON . Those diligent readers of the morning papers , who sutler no item of 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 Affghanistan , unless as pioneer for the Czar , the morning
papers have got up no thunder on the subject ; and John Bull , with his head full of universal philanthropy , the Grand Exhibition of 18 i > 1 , and the great Peace Congress of 1852 , is allowed to remain in blissful ignorance of what mischief is brewing on the very border of his dangerous dominions in UindoHtan . Poor John Bull ! With a larger foreign connection than any of his fricmly 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 mich a mass of complicated business , so long as all his affairs are so admirably managed by the cleverest of Foreign Secretaries ?
And yet it might be worth his while to ask Lord Palinerston why we should he ho much more careless about Russian influence in the Mast in 1 K 51 than ' we were in 1836-H . After llie Russian campaign in Hungary , one might have reasonably expected that an English Foreign Secretary would be much more on his guard against Russian intrigue than at the former period . How , then , ia it that we find such statements as the following in Miniutcriul journals , unaccompanied by a single word of comment , or hint of Govcrnineuj . liuypng taken any stepa in consequence i —
" 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 , are 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 pos-At that time Russian
session of Herat in 1836 . influence was dominant at the Persian Court , and every effort had been employed by the Russian Ambassador to persuade the Shah to extend 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 his 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 Afghanistan , ¦ with a due regard to the internal tranquillity of India ; that extension tcill at once bring Russian influence to the very threshold of our empire ; and as Persia will not , 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 fi rst parallel from xchence the attack may be commenced or threatened . '
" February 25 . —I am convinced that every effort will be made by tbe 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 Persia approaching , either by direct conquest or by the admission of his right of dominion , the frontiers of India ; for I can conceive no event more 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 tovyarda India , if not for the purpose of actual invasion , certainly for that of intrigue and disorganization . " In the following winter , Mr . MMVeill , who had succeeded Mr . Ellis , wrote home to Lord Palmerston , 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 Nesselrode upon Hie subject ; and the Count assured his Lordship , that if Count Simonich had ever given any such advice to the Shah , which he 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 Palinerston , who had the highest , opinion of Russian honesty and honour , and who could not suppose that Count Nesselrode was deliberately stating a falsehood ! In the following year , however , the machinations of Russia in Persia and Cabul were
carried on so openly , that no one could doubt the duplicity of th « Russian Government . A certain Captain Vieovioh , of the Russian service , appears to have been the principal agent ; in carrying on this branch of the secret service ; and from the accounts given of him from time to time in the despatches of Captain Humes , the Russian Captain must have been a 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 Vicovich was busily engaged
at Cabul , promising Dost , Mohammed pecuniary assistance against the Sikh . s , urging him to renounce his ' connection wii . h Kngland , and place himself in intimate alliance with Russia and Persia . At the same time , Captain Burnrs , the agent of the Indian Government , used every effort to persuade Dost Mohamim-d that bis safest , course wan to adhere to Hngliuid , in which rase he must renounce all intcrcouino with Russia and Persia . The Aineer of Cabu . 1 tried to gain time ; he wished to play oft * the- one agent against , the other till the fato of Herat was decided . All even were then directed to
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Nov . i , 1851 . ] W&t &ta * et « i ° ^ , . ^__^^^ JMM^—_^ ^ * W ^ ^ — ** m + mm ¦ ¦ ¦!¦ ¦¦ ¦ I I I I- ¦ im I . I Ml * ¦¦ ¦ ¦ II m ¦ *¦!¦¦¦ „¦» ¦!¦! ¦¦¦ Ill
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 1, 1851, page 1041, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1907/page/13/
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