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    country on jams and marmalade , but to husband them for the real benefit of the soldiers . The right honourable gentleman < Mr . Sidney Herbert ) compared what had beenl done in the present war with -what had been done w the Ptemnsala war to tie credit' the former , bat had they not male greater progress since the Peninsular war , and - was ft any credit to a Government to say that the present army -was provisioned as well as that of the Peninsula ? The fact -was they must alter the -whole system . They must cut down -with the knife unnecessary expenditure , and not entrust the command of * % ^ m * r % J » tmm mm f m . , _ _^ « — _

    their fleets and armies to men of seventy years of age . It was physically impossible for men of that age to perform . the duties of active leaders with satisfaction to their own reputation or to that of the country . ( Cheers . ) Oat of those who perished by sickness he believed they might by . proper precautions have saved one-third . Let them know what the policy of the Government -was . He appealed to the President of the Council , and entreated him by the great name he bore , and as the representative of the great Liberal party , that he would induce the Government to adopt a policy which , if it did not reconcile the conflicting opinions of a Coalition

    Ministry , might reflect the true interests and important position of this mighty empire . ( Cheers . ) Ho member having risen to address the House , The Spbakjbr read the Address , and was about to put the question , when ^ Colonel Dunne rose and expressed his surprise that no member of the Government had risen to answer the strong and pertinent questions of the honourable member for Aylesbury . Mt . Disraeli . —I participate in the surprise expressed by the . hon . member that none of Her Majesty's Ministers have thought it necessary to make arepl y to the speech of the hon . member fin- sAylesbtrry . He is not > a supporter of rthis side of the House . He does not sit upon these benchee , and he somewhat ostentatiously informed the Lord President that he-was peculiarly attached to him .

    04 laugh . ") I have no wish in any way to tamper with the allegiance which the hon . member for Aylesbury owes to the Lord President , but , as on the subject before the consideration of the House , I should give my respectful attention to every gentleman who -was master of the subject on which lie addressed the House ; and i should not forget in . tie individual instance of the hon . member for Aylesbury that a man of genius addressed the House , and remembering that he has come from the scene of that memorable action which now fills the minds and touches the hearts of the people of thi s country , and that he has-risen to make serious charges against the Ministry , the fact that he has not been answered by tile Government is not a circumstance which the hon . member may consider as -one which will depreciate him in the public estimate . So far as I can judge of the fortunes of a human being—so far as I can form an

    opinion upon the course of human life , I think the member for Aylesbury will be remembered when the great . portion of the existing Cabinet will be forgotten . ( Laughter . " ) I should not have felt particularly anxious to address-the . House , if I had not thought , from something that has passed , that silence on my part might be misunderstood . I did not expect , Sir—and I -witnessed with regret the necessity that I should again have felt it my duty to participate in debates on the present opening of Parliament—to vindicate , as I now have to vindicate , the freedom of discussion . Remembering the position of this country ; remembering what has occurred and happened since we last mot in this , I may say , agitated Chamber ; remembering that the destiny and

    future fate of this groat empire is perhaps at stake ; remembering the thrilling events that have occurred ; remembering that the people of this country expect if not to have a redress fox their grievances , yet expect that there \ vill bo some sympathy with thoir deep emotion — I was surprised to find thnt the Government should have advisod their Sovereign to assemble Parliament , and should have given instructions to their creatures thnt discussion should not only not be encouraged but resisted—( cheers frovi the Opposition ) — that they should have attempted to conduct affairs—that they should havo attempted to govern this country , witliout unnecessarily -appealing to the sense of tho House of Commons . I can easily

    comprehend their difficulties arc very great—their © mbarxaflsmonts are increasing—and they might have tit ought that time and fortune might have mitigated their position , and placed them in a position , two months Inter , froin which they might have appealed with inoro advantage , but havo felt It their duty or necessity to havo taken this stop . I was surprised thnt an hon . gont . lcm . nn -whom wo have seldom heard , but -whom wo havo to-night heard seconding tiro address , fuicl who spoko -with n . promiso that makes mo wish Ho would often a < ldr 6 ss us—but still tho brother of a Cabinet Minister — I was

    fmrprised that ho should luivo improved on tho House tho expediency of the eilcmco of tho Houao of Common * . But this ia not nil . AVo havo had tho luxury of one Cabinet Minister on this memorable opening of Purlirtni « nt , and ho has filled his speech -with n vindication of hin own office , which hits been only partially attacked i but , ho gave the discreet admonition thnt tho loyalty of tho House of CommonB would bo bewt . ' prove : I , and its { liacrotion established , by not at tho proHtmt moment oxpressing opinionH ia tho fneo of an anxioun country , ami I will eay , i * ir , in Uie face of an abtjeut army , which

    must , I think , under all its difficulties , under all its sufferings , under all its deeds of heroic achievement , have been sustained by tie conviction , that when the representatives of the people of England assembled , they would have expressed their sympathy with their sufferings , and perhaps have criticised a Ministry who , in their opinion , had not been prepared to do their duty , and relieve them . ( Oheersfrom the Opposition . ) It maybe clever in the Lord President to be silent , and the other taciturn secretaries of state who surround him , but they have not acted with decent respect towards the people of this country , and their sense of duty-ought to have prevented them from having endeavoured to restrict that frank expression of opinion which is the saul

    of the House of Commons of this country . ( Cheers from the Opposition . ) "Sir , my lion , friend the member for Droitwich , has to-night taken a course much to his credit , and which wilM > e appreciated by the country ; and had this debate terminated "with th = e answeT to his speech " I should have been silent , for I think that he has indicated the course which-it becomes tie ' Conservative Opposition to pursue . I » m totally at a loss to comprehend how right hon . gentlemen can briag themselves to such a pitch of reeling that they can rise aud protest against the critical opinion of a member of Parliament on the conduct of the . affairs « f the country . I had last year to touch on < this ; and there was not an occasion on which ttie Government brought forward a

    measure , in every one of which they were ultimately defeated , when gentlemen on these benches expressed a criticism , that they were not told to propose a vote of a want of confidence in the <* ov < erament ; and tSiey had to-night been told by -the Secretary-at-War if they had not faith ia the - Government , —Do not trouble the House 'with factious criticisms—do not eotio here wtvat , perhaps , may be the opinion of the country ( kwgikter ) , but propose a vote of isranHConfidence in the council of her Majesty . I had . occasion'last year to notice the unconstitutional course that is so freely adopted by these gentlemen . I had occasion to show that such a course struck at the root of public discussions and public freedom . I held that it was a privilege of

    members of this House freely to canvass the conduct of Government , without being forced to incur the responsibility of asking the House of Commons to sanction a change of Ministry . In 1803 we had a Ministry carrying on a war—we had an Opposition supporting the policy of the war ; and when 3 VIt . "Wyndham canvassed the policy of the Government—and he was no mean authority , and eminently qualified , from his official experience , to speak on . such a subject—Mr . Wyndhatn said , that he trusted tihat the unanimity of the nation on the subject of the policy of the war would not foT a moment be mistaken , for a unanimity of the sentiment as to the conduct of tbe war . So spoke Mr . Wyndham , and he was followed by eminent members of the House ,

    and no one impugned their privileges to address the House ; or when they criticised the conduct of the Government , told them they were bound to test the question by a vote of confidence or of ' non-confidence in the Ministry . Yet his repartee of last session has been brought forward again , and we have been told hy the Secretary-at-War , if they adopted his version of his ministerial conduct , as conveyed through the attacks made on them through the press , they were bound to ask the House whether they had , or had not , confidence in the Government . Sir , I protest against these opinions . I see their object , and know what their consequence will be . It will stop discussion , it will degrade the character of tho House , and put an end to freo discussion , which is

    tho soul of truth , and without which this House can never exist . ( Cheers . ) But an hon . baronet who beaTa an honoured name also rose enrly and unexpectedly in the debate , and made a very remarkable observation . Indulging , as I thought , in a misapprehension which I can hardly conceive that his acuto mind could havo formed , tho hon . baronet referred to a speech which I had felt it my duty to make last yeav , in which I said , in speaking of tho causes of tlio present war , that on this side tlio House we confined ourselves to discussing tho policy and propriety of tho war , but that nx > captions ' criticism respecting the conduct of the war would over , I hoped , be heard from us . I think I then said , representing ttio feelings of my friends around mo , that no future

    Wolloaloy , on tho banks of the Danube , should over complain , whatever other difficulties he might have . to encounter , of tho obstacles oflbred to him by < an English Opposition . That was of course an observation which referred to the military conduct of the wot . I meant to say , and I think my meaning was understood by tho House , that wo had neither thw presumption nor the wish to criticiso the conduct of naval and military loaders •—thnt vra would place in thorn that unlimited confidence which wo ¦ wore suro tho country was prepared to place in m « ii who had bean oolcnted by the mspontiiblo

    counsellors of nor Majesty ; and that , whatever m ight be tho fato of their operations , they should not look back with fuolingfl of bitterness to tho ftictiouft criticism of political partioH an having prevented or roti » T < lc < l that buccohh to which their genius and their labours might hnvo entitled thorn , lint Mircly tho hon . baronet tho moinbor for Tnimvorth would not . lay down for a moment thnt it in not like duty of tho Ilonnoof CommociH carofully to scan , and severely oven to eriticiHO , tlio military expoditionH concoivod , and planned , and matured In tho Cabinet of the # uvcrol ( jn . The hon . yeuLlonwn will not , I suppose

    for a moment maintain that Walcheren exp ^ ditions ^ ire not to be criticised , that conventions of Cintra or Sartatoga are to be passed by a humble House of Commons in Tsubdued silence . Why are we a House of Commons ? What chance have we of commanding the coufldence . 'df the people as being the sacred depositaries of tbe uatfeattl sentiment if , when national disasters occur , noeeho >« the feeling of the people is to be found in tkisHouefr ? If here , of all places , we axe to be met by a Minister "who says ?— "If you disapprove all that has occurred , 'notwithstanding the emergency , notwithstanding the difficulties in which the Sovereign and tbe nation are placea , we call upon you to put your opinion to the * est , whe ther you will or not , by the most difficult and uangerooa tions

    of opera , the sudden change of the Ministers 6 f ? the Crown ? " I am sore that gentlemen , on whichever « &e they ^ may sit , will see upon reflection that these « tfe principles too dangerous to public liberty to be t encouraged , and that we must not for a moment sanction the appeal of a Government , that , upon their messtepst , whether successful or unsuccessful—however they ttiay have been conceived , whatever may have been tfoeir ttbects or their consequences—it is the duty of the Houeeof Commons , from a feeling of patriotism , to be silent . * Why , suppose that the House of Commons were silent—suppose that ia-this probably brief session , we had abstained from all criticism upon what has occurred and is'occurring— suppose that we had met and adjourned

    , having passed tthose necessary and formal measures which the Lord Presildent probably has rready 'in 4 hrat red box to propose to out notice . Snwold w-e prevent discussion ? Should we ' . prevent tfce escpresaioaof .. tUflsatisfactibn sand discontent in tfce'coutitry ? TTtwwwild hare a dissatisfied people 6 wt ^ f doors , who , ffeefivg that they could not give ia c « nstitanoBfal expression to'lheir sentiments , would nave 'Tecourse to agitation— ittore inconvenient , I should iiave thought , to a Minister tb * n the discussion of public questions in this House , wh < ere observations are at least conceived m the spirit of patriotism and expressed in the language of gentlemen Having adverted to a remarkable "expression on : tne part of the Government of a principle so -unfavourable

    to public discussion as that which has been throvira -in our faces to-night , let me for a moment -reeaT the House to the position which they actually fill . I want to divest it of that cloud of official statistics which the Secrefcary-at-War has found it convenient , with brilliant humour , to throw into our faces . I find no fault witii "the Secretary-at-War for taking this his first legitimate opportunity to vindicate the conduct of hia office with respect to many accusations which have been , inane against it , not in this House , but allow me to bring to the consideration of the House that the Secretory * at War has been most successful in -answering the charges which have not been made in the House of Commons We are called upon to-night to decide whether we > will

    agree to this Address , which , as far : as I can'follow its language , is an echo of the Speech in my hand—a Speech in some circumstances most remarkable , inasmuch as I believe it is the shortest Speech that ever yet was delivered from the Throne , and it Ss confined almost to one subject . Let me remind the House , however , that this Speech commences by an admission of great 'importance—by an announcement which is certainly calcttlated to excite the attention of th « whole country . We have here , in the gracious Speech of her Majesty , * m announcement that her Majesty is involved in a graat war . Now , I want to impress the importance df this

    expression upon the notice of tho House . Tliis' time last year , when lvo were virtually , though not formally , in a condition of hostility , no Minister uoknoWte'dgdd that the war , which was soon formally to 'be < anmran « ed , was a great war . The most distinguished member of the Cabinet , tho Lord President himself , 'had his hands bo full of business last year that 'lie had hardly any time to think of the war . Far from its being a great war in the opinion of tho Lord President wiien Parliament last met , it was scarcely a war at all ; but , even if it did eventuate In such a catastrophe , the noble lord was almost prepared to < carry on a little civil waT of hia own . I xlo not mention this circumstance'to

    taunt her Majesty ' s Ministers , but these are the onl y toraits by 'which wo onn ascertain what wore then their feelings and opinions with rosipect to this immense event Bwt when it became a formal as well as a virtual war , when it became necessary that a Message from her Majesty should bo . delivered to tliia House , -when t ? io Chancellor of tho Exchequer had , in consequence , to -explain to tho country and to the House how tho war win to bo carried on , it io quite clear that the CiwnooHor of tlio Exchequer did not consider It to bo it great wirr , Tor ho brought forwaTd a very moagro entimntc , which anticipated the expense of the transport of troops to foreign countries , and also the uxjienao of tlioir return ,

    botti'included in tho estimate for tho year . ( A iemyn . ) » I holiovo I am not minrepreHonthi / s' tho hon . gentleman when I say that wo havo npon our votes of last Houston n uum of money for tho transport <> f 2 f > , 000 men to Malta'and back again , a vote proponed liy tho Minister of Finance , and pasHod by a HubmirvioiU nml nraoritical Parliament It is quite ovidoiit that , tlieso eminent gentlemen had not tho least Men thnt they woro engaged in n . great war . Tho iiofolo lord anrl tlio Chancellor of tiro l £ xchoquor inny havo thought , wo woro « nR « gwd'in ¦ H w » T , lj « t tliey cannot , liavo l > nliovc : (! l it wuh a groat war , whiftn tho noulo lonl wa » so iudifioront to these foreign ana ew-

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• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 16, 1854, page 1179, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2069/page/3/