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that have touched us all have long ago proved it to the conviction of the people of this country . If you axe tending reinforcements now , why did you not send them . here before ? Why- are you , in the months of November and December , doing that which you might have done _ a year ago ? « Oh , " says the Secretary-at- War , it is very well to tell us to send men , but where are we to get them ? " Why , Sir , if that he our position , ¦ wh y not go down on our bended knees to the Czar as soon as we can ? { Cheers from the Opposition . ') Acknowledge that you have undertaken an . enterprise to which you are not equal . Tell him at once that you have not entered into the circumstances of the case ; that for two years you have been living from hand ihAt . Tlfl . \ 7 A tjtli ( Wl Oft 11 O fill lintavn . 1 ^> „¦ ¦• .. . 1
to mouth , and have not calculated the consequences of what you have undertaken ; and now the Secretary-at-War is telling the whole country that when they wanted reinforcements not a man -was to be got . I -want to know if you were equal to the position which you occupy . If you really comprehended the circumstances you had to meet , if you knew the stake at Issue , if you knew that you had to deal -with , the solution of the most difficult political problem of modern ages , then why did you not have recourse to those measures which you now require at our hands ? ( Cheers . ) The militia is embodied and
you offer an additional bounty . "Why -was not the militia embodied twelve months ago , and why did you not offer the bounty when you declared war ? Not a word did youthen say . AH you wished to do-was to postpone the Reform Bill , without compromising your character . These things might do for a . moment , mid the common , strife of parties ; hut now that we have our all at stake—when we have not a Parliament political , but . a nation political ; when , we have the people of this country thoroughly understanding what are the matters at issue , such conduct is not to be tolerated . Of all the
courses that ever yet has been pursued by a Minister , that he should call fearliament together suddenly to us , and , I will show , suddenly also to themselves , and to say to us , you shall meet * but you shall discuss nothing , is a course the most extraordinary , and those who are capable of resorting- to such tactics are not worthy of their position or of the spirit of the country which it is of the utmost importance to sustain and encourage . ( Ckeers . ' y In what position have you placed us with respect to your management of the "war ? Why , there is not a gentleman on the Treasury bench-who must not feel shame -when he contrasts the spirit in - which the ^ Baltic fleet went forth , and the miserable results which have followed from it * Surely , when a Minister
manages the affairs of the country in such a way as to bring it into a state of war with the greatest empire in the world , you . will agree with me that such a , position should not have been arrived at , that such a decision should not have been come to but after v deep thought , and after the most ample knowledge of the nature of that position . You may possibly have expected that your negotiations would terminate in peace , and I believe you did , because I know that when a body of men counsel together of different opinions as to the assumption of a most difficult and responsible course , however varying their opinions , they have the consolatory conviction that they will never be called upon to act . I believe the Coalition Cabinet from the first flattered themselves with the
belief that the circumstances which they have now to encounter would not happen during their lives . I believe the First Minister thought so , following a course of opinion different to that of the Secretary of State opposite , who always upheld tlie notion that it would be idle to dream of war against Russia , carried on by her cherished and almost spoiled child . I Relieve the noble lord , in the abstraction of his study , indulging in dreams of what is called liberalism , may have felt there was no probability , especially in the company ho kept , of doing that which he only dreamt of in early youth . AH this 1 can conceive ; and I know it , further , from the speech of the Chancellor of the Exchequer at Manchester , and the budgets of the Chancellor of the Exchequer . Wo know
no two of them -were ever of one mind , and I do not suppose any three of them supposed the result would bo as they have found it . I still maintain that each mnn must have had an arritlre pensde . lint no one mado up hia mind , and I leave you to decide what is your position , having involved the country in war . You ought not to have taken such a cour « o unless you were prepared for all the consequences which men of such ability , knowledge , and wisdom must have anticipated , unless they clioae wilfully to shut their eyes . I said just now they called Parliament together unexpectedly . I object that the Government ha « done everything unexpectedly Everything i » done too Into—doctors , nuraca—all camo
too late . When the catastrophe which every one expected camo at last—a hurricano - your transports wero wrecked . Tho picture i « not overcharged . 1 h it aoon-Holatoryono ? Then , under such circumntancoH , Parliament ia called together to meet . sub nilenUo , nnd even that is done when , too late . You prorogued Parliament to tho 14 th , thinking it unnecessary to unset , nnd then you deny your former dedaioii , and « ro obliged to interfere witU the prerogative of the Crown by the scurvy , as I m « y call it , moana of an Act . of Parliament , and call uh together on tho 12 th . I should like to know what influenced those gentlemen when they recommended their sovereign to prorogue I ' arliamcnt till the
14 th . The same circumstances existed then as a few days after , when a different opinion was arrived at . This is no ordinary occasion , and I want to know why Ministers have changed their opinions . If it is necessary now to provide for an immediate increase of our forces , it -was necessary when they advised her Majesty to prorogue to the 14 th . In this deplorable state of things we are only sustained by the remembrance of the unsurpassed heroism of our troops . A winter campaign would have been unnecessary if Ministers had had more foresight and sagacity ; It seems , however , from a passage at _ the end of the speech , that it is not to our magnificent fleets or our heroic troops that we are to look for a termination of the war , but a - * m . - n-
specific is to be found in an alliance -which her Majesty has concluded with the Emperor of Austria , from which she anticipates important advantages for the common cause . I hope the noble lord ( J . Russell ) will condescend to address the House , and I would impress on him that the House expects that on this subject he should speak with some degree of frankness . We are asked to assist Her Majesty to prosecute the war with vigour . I say we can't decide -what means are necessary , unless we have some idea of the assistance we are to have from our allies . The alliance is an honest , sincere oneprecious , generous , cordial , and sincere . It is generous when we recollect the vituperative tone in which the Emperor of the French was spoken of a little time ago .
Nothing is more creditable to the Emperor and the French nation than that they have forgotten that , and co-operated with us in this war . I remember a Secretary of State was expelled by the noble lord the President of the Council , because he expressed confidence in the character of the Emperor Napoleon . The First Lord of the Admiralty engrafted on his manifesto against Lord Derby's Government a diatribe against the Emperor Napoleon . I remember another member of the Cabinet , not so illustrious , determined to outdo the right hon . gentleman , and not only abused the Emperor , but maligned the people of France . I recollect the present head of the Government raised an objection to the Government of which I was a member that we had shown
an indecent haste in recognising the Emperor Napoleon . But the alliance of France is biased on higher grounds ; it is an alliance of the people -which required no secret article . A year ago , -when the massacre of Sihope had laid low the spirit of the nation , darkened by the incapacity of the Government , the First Lord of the Admiralty rose and admitted the misfortune , and said we all learn from experience . The massacre of Sinope took place in order that -we might obtain the alliance of the German Powers . Have the German Powers become your allies ? I do not yet see that there is a secret article in favour of Prussia , but Austria has entered into a treaty from which we are to anticipate important advantages to the common cause . With regard to that treaty , the noble lord
may perhaps tell us that it is not yet ratified , but that when ratified it will be laid on the table . I can hardly believe , however , that a man of the great abilities and lofty spirit of the noble lord will make such a wretched excuse . It is not an unusual thing , when a Minister is demanding from the House of Commons great sacrifices for his Sovereign , that he should say what is the simultaneous assistance we are to derive from those allies . If this assistance is to be clogged with some cumbrous machinery , the intervention , perhaps , of what are called the " Four points , ' then , I say , it will be the greatest hallucination ever heard of to imagine that Austria is going to supply any of its means . The present Coalition Government was foimed on four points
( a laugh)—1 st , the preservation of peace ; 2 nd , the extension of free trade ; 3 rd , Parliamentary reform ; and 4 th , national education ; but if these Austrian points nro not easier of accomplishment than those which the noble lord promised us , and for which some gentlemen sacrificed their principles and some only their party ( laughter ') , but for which the noble lord sacrificed both , I for one shall certainly feel that we arc not in a position to receive much encouragement from these promises of the Austrian Government . If the Govornmont will not bo frank on this subject to tho House , it will , I venture to say , be wise in them to be frank to tho people of this country . Tho spirit at least of that
Austrian alliance ought , to be communicated to the House of Commons . Tho country ought to know if Austria is to net , or merely to watch tho game and profit by it in tho end ? Is It an oflensivo and defensive alliance ? Will Hho send troopw ? Is she to bo an ally that will ratify her alliance in blood , liko tho French ? If we < lo not hear that to-night , then this meeting of Parliament , and thia communication from her Majesty , will not have the effect which I earnestly desire . I Hay , for mo no AuHtrian assistance— no four points , no secret article ; but lot Franco and England together hoIvo thin great quoHtion , and cstubliah and secure the civilisation of Europe . ( Cheers . )
Lord John Kuwaitis : Tlio right honourable gentleman flnponite , tho member for l ) roitwioh , in a speech of remarkable nbillty , and at tho wuno time iih I thought of gr « i » l . fairness , nuked for an explanation from the servants of the Crown with regard to several circumstances upon -which ho had conceived doubt , with regard to Hovcrnl objection which ho entertained to tho policy that hud been pursued . And ho ended with Baying , an I underotood him , that although ho entertained thotte
objections they did not appear to him to amount to such a charge against her Majesty ' s Ministers as to induce him to take part in any effort to cause a change of Ministry ; but that if hereafter he should not find that they were carried on according to what he believed to be the true policy of the country , he would think himself justified to make some parliamentary effort for that purpose . _ That declaration itself was a satisfactory one ; and with the conduct of the right honourable baronet I have no fault to find . But the right honourable gentleman who has just spoken , has spoken in a totally different spirit . While his right honourable friend does not propose to displace Ministers , he has endeavoured by every means in his power to weaken the . confidence
which the country may feel in their efforts ; he has endeavoured to weaken the alliance between this country and France , and has raised every objection that his fertile mind can create with respect to an alliance upon which we have recently entered ; he has said everthing moreover which was calculated to damp the hopes which this country indulged of a glorious termination to thewar . Sir , I cannot say , therefore—after the speech of the right honourable baronet the member for Droitwitch , and especially the feeling manner in which he referred to two members of the House , one of whom is now nomore—that there was one germ of patriotism in thespeech of the right honourable gentleman the member for Buckinghamshire . ( Cheers . ') The right honourable
gentleman began with a most curious prologue , which seemed to nio at this late hour of the night to be pecu-r liarly unnecessary . He beganwitha protest in favour of liberty of speech hi this House , and said itwas his determir nation to resist any attempt-which Ministers might make to suppress the usual freedom of speech which you , shy ask from her Majesty at the beginning of every session . I am accused sometimes of never speaking without offering an encomium upon Magna Charta . ( A laugh . } Were I to do so now , it certainly would not be more out of place and unnecessary than , the j-iglit honourable gentleman ' s eloquent vindication of the liberty of speech . We cejv tainly have a very grave question before us , and we are engaged in a great war . The right honourable
gentleman says , that we never conceived the magnitude and power of the enemy . Now the right honourable gentleman the member for Droitwitch alluded to a speech of mine made last session , which has induced me to look back to the report that was given of it at the time , and I find these words in it . "It is in this mighty contest that Europe is engaged , and it were to mislead the House if I -were to say that , being engaged with such an enemy of immense power , of great influence and talent , we yet hoped for an early termination of the contest , ' That shows , at all events , that I did not attempt to diminish the greatness of the contest in which we were engaged . But , sir , with regard to the mode of carrying on the contest , although certainly I shall not attempt to
go over the ground which my right honourable friend the Seeretary-at-War went over with such remarkable ability , dividing and illustrating every detail with spirit an d eloquence , yet , sir , there are some points of this contest which I shall venture to touch upon before the debate closes ; and , first , I would speak with respect to the army which we sent to the East . That army SO ' sent out at the request of Omar Pasha , took up a position at Varna and its neighbourhood , by -which it was supposed that . afterwards it would bo made use of to raise the siege of Silistria . The right honourable gentleman says we have not yet declared whether that army was provided with the ineanB of transit ; but I will again say on that subject that means of transit were provided ,
and had the siege not been raised , no doubt they would have been used by Lord Raglan . Again , my honourable friend tho member for Aylesbury complains that the army was landed in the Crimea without being at once provided with the means of transport . Why , does lie suppose that Lord linglan could have sent orders for such means with the enemy close upon him when lie landed ? Still there were means provided at Vurna and its neighbourhood , but the main question was whether such an expedition should bo undertuken . In considering that question I bog the Housq to consider what must have been tho alternative to that . We had sent an army to assist Turkey ; not only an English but a French army was assembled , in that country , and tho Danube having been rccrosscd by the enemy , what was tho course open to uh ? Should wo have taken the army back to Constantinople , nnd allowed it to remain there the rest of
tho summer ? No ; it i » quite obvious bucIi a course would havo been a great disappointment to the people of this country ; it would have been a great diiappuintnicut to tho army itself , and tho national spirit would have been shaken by taking a courso which imjilied ho grout , a fear of tho forces of Kustua . Well , then , whould mo order tho army ncronfl the Danubo to not ngainwt tho UiiHsinn nrmy ? If wo had done ho , wo mIiouM havo been met by tho immciiHO force * collected in UoHmirnbin , nnd therefore no nuch movement could have been undertaken witli any effect . There remained ,, therefore , tun question of tho expedition to the Crimea , mid although there wor «> many purlton » tfninnt that expedition , there were Homo of tho ablaut mon both in the French nnny and fleet jinu the KiikIInIi « rmy anil fleet who ttpoke with confluence of mich nn erudition . I coufcuu I wan ono of those who fult confidence in it . 1 believed It wa « a great risk , but I believed there wan a groat object to be
Untitled Article
December jA _ 1854 . ] THE LEA PER , 1181 11 ¦ ¦ ¦ ' " ¦ ¦ ¦
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 16, 1854, page 1181, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2069/page/5/
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