ENGLISH NEWS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume III, Issue 126, 4 June 1853, Page 4

ENGLISH NEWS.

On the re-assembling of Parliament, the Earl of Aberdeen made the following remarks respecting the formation of his Ministry:—-

" My Lords, after the division upon the budget, and the resignation of the noble Earl and

his colleagues, I received a message from the Queen, desiring my attendance at the Isle of Wight, and informing me at the same time that her Majesty had been pleased to summon my noble friend the noble Marquis near me [the Marquis of Lansdowne] to attend at the same time and place. Upon communication with the noble Marquis, I found that, in consequence of indisposition,_ he was unable at that time to leave the house. I therefore thought it incumbent upon me to wait her Majesty's further commands. I received them upon the following day ; and, my Lords, I confess it appeared to me that the time had arrived when it was possible for men whose political differences the course of events and recent legislation had almost altogether removed, and whose personal respect and friendship had never been interrupted—l say I thought that the time had arrived when it was possible for those persons to act together in concert. I thought that probably the time had come when this country was tired of distinctions without differences, and which had no real effect upon the principles of the policy to be carried out. It appeared to me that, if my noble friend the Member for the city of London should entertain the same views and the same opinions, I might attempt to undertake the task which had been imposed upon me. Without that I should have been unable to do so; for I have neither the requisite strength, influence, nor ability for the purpose. But the day before I went to the Isle of Wight, I ascertained that his sentiments were entirely in conformity with my own ; and I therefore had no difficulty in assuring her Majesty that I would endeavour to comply with the command which she was pleased to lay upon me.

" My Lords, upon my return I lost no time in endeavouring to fulfil the injunctions of her Majesty, and I do not say that that was attended with no difficulty; but this I will say, that I found in every quarter the greatest desire to lay aside all personal feeling, and cordially to unite as far as possible in the promotion of that policy which we believe to be essential to the welfare of the country. In the course of the week I succeeded in preparing a list for her Majesty's inspection, which was fortunate enough to receive the approbation of the Queen.

" The noble Earl (Derby) referred, as I understand, to the existence of a Conservative Government, and expressed some surprise and curiosity to learn how I should be able to carry on the service of the Crown surrounded by those persons with whom I was likely to be associated. Now, my Lords, I declare to the Earl, that in my opinion no Government in this country is now possible except a Conservative Government, and to that I add another declaration, which I take to be as indubitably true, that no Government in this country is now possible, except a Liberal Government. The truth is, that those terms have no definite meaning. I never should have thought of approaching my noble friend the Member for the city of London unless I had thought he was conservative, and I am sure he never would have associated himself with me unless he had thought I was liberal. These terms it may be convenient to keep up for the party elections, but the country is sick of these distinctions, which have no real meaning, and prevent men from acting together who are able to perform good service to the crown and the country. I trust, therefore, that iv the just acceptation of the word, whatever the measures proposed by the present government maybe, they will be conservative measures as well- as liberal; for I consider both to be essentially necessary."

We extract from the papers sundry items of news. A correspondent of the Sydney Herald writes from London :—" To-morrow, the 9th February, the ' collective wisdom' ol the nation will once more assemble within the walls of Westminster Palace, to canvass the policy of a coalition ministry—a ministry respecting whose future career all is uncertain and conjectural. If the antecedents of the component parts of the administration be taken into account, we must be led to totilly opposite conclusions, as to any prospective measures which it niav intro-

duce, just as we may judge this or that section to have the ascendancy iv the Cabinet. If the Peelites are to be treated as the dominant party —a very doubtful assumption—this principle of expediency will influence most of the measures that Government may bring forward. If the aristocratic Whigs are to be considered as being the most powerful section of the Cabinet, then we may look for a tolerably consistent adhesion to the ' finality' principle in all matters affecting our representative system, accompanied, however, with the usual amount of indefinite promises, thrown out to pacify the ultra-Libe-rals. If again, Sir William Molesworth and the philosophical Radicals are to give the imprint of their views to the measures of the new Government, we may reasonably anticipate such an extreme policy as will speedily cause the downfall of the Ministry. If it is difficult to speculate with any degree of certainty upon the future policy of the administration, it is equally difficult to predict the course that will be pursued by the leading parties in the House of Commons. Should the general turn of the Ministerial measures be of a conservative character Lord Aberdeen will receive a large amount of support from the Derbyites, whilst he will alienate in the same ratio the affections of the advanced Liberals. If a more democratic line of policy is adopted, then the territorial Whigs will at once join the conservative opposition, and in either case the downfall of the ' Coalition Ministry' is equally imminent and probable.

Messrs. Cobden and Bright have taken advantage of the short recess to give publicity to their peculiar ' Peace' principles, the one by means of a pamphlet, the other in a speech. Mr. Cobden has without doubt been the hero of the week—his pamphlet has supplied the newspapers with a theme not easily exhausted, and provoked an extraordinary amount of criticism. The Times handles Mr. Cobden very severely for his crusade against the national defences ; the Morning Chronicle is earnest and sarcastic in its opposition to Mr. Cobden's views; the Morning Herald ridicules, the Standard refutes the arguments advanced in the pamphlet; the Morning Advertiser is a vigorous opponent, and the Daily News itself, commonly looked upon as the London organ of the Manchester party, declines in this instance to support the views of Mr. Cobden. Indeed, in no paper has this famous pamphlet been more cleverly dissected than in the Daily Neivs, and this review is understood to proceed from the pen of Miss Martineau. Mr. Cobden, in the height of his zeal for keeping down our armaments, declared in Manchester, that so little did he apprehend an invasion that he would consent to pay £10,000 when invasion did occur to any party who would, on his side, engage to pay one shilling a week to the Manchester Infirmary until tbat crisis did take place. Mr. Cobden was specially alluding to the editor of the Manchester Guardian. No doubt Mr. Cobden only intended this challenge as a figure of speech. But he was taken literally at his word, and by an officer of high rank, Lieutenant-General Brotherton, who accepted the terms. To do Mr. Cobden justice, he did not seek to retire from what some might have deemed no envious position, but he even rendered the conditions of his offer more favourable than the gallant General asked. Mr. Cobden could not brook that a General in her Majesty's service, and whose professional duty it might be to prevent invasion occurring, 'should be placed in the invidious position of backing the chances of his own defeat.' He therefore engaged to pay the £10,000 if invasion was attempted, so that the General might gallantly oppose the foe, and yet not forfeit his bond. The solicitor of Mr. Cobden accordingly received instructions to prepare this bond, which was to be sealed betwixt him and General Brotherton. General Brotherton, as was expected, has declined the bond, his only object being to test the sincerity of Mr. Cobden. At the same time the gallant General still insists on performing his part of the paction, and binding himself to give a yearly sum of £2 12s. to'the Manchester Infirmary, coupled with a present donation of £5.

A coining event, not much talked of, but destined probably to change the whole face of the navigable seas, is the intended trip of the caloric ship 'Ericsson' across the' Atlantic, from New York to London. This is not the first time that use has been made of the principle of the expansion of heated air. Experiments, as the American Ambassador ob-

served at Birmingham, where made in this country by Mr. Stirling between thirty and forty years ago. In her late experimental trip, the 'Ericsson' made a distance of fourteen miles in an hour; whilst her consumption of fuel showed a saving, as compared with steamships, of more than 80 per cent. A vessel might be constructed on her principle to make a voyage round the world without the necessity of taking in fresh fuel! The ' Ericsson ' once across the Atlantic, and every dockyard in the kingdom will then be in an uproar. The extraordinary saving will make the adoption of the principle a mere matter of time, and in a short period all the vessels of our great Steam Companies, a very large number of sailing vessels, and lastly (of course) our Government steamers would be re-adjusted to the hot-air system. • The Australian Direct Steam Navigation Company is receiving a large amount of public support. The commercial world especially regard with very great interest this attempt to reach Australia by the shorter route of Panama. There will now be under the new arrangements made by the Government, a monthly mail to Australia, via Singapore, by the Indian mail of the Bth of the month, alternately with the steamers leaving Plymouth on the 3rd of every second month, via the Cape.

It was stated in some of the papers that Mr. Disraeli intended to leave England for a period of two years on account of ill health, but the Times, on authority, contradicted the report, announcing that the right boh. gentleman was never in better health.

It is understood that the Treasury has determined to increase the number of employes a t the Mint, with a view of qualifying the newlyappointed parties for emplyment on a new Mint establishment, which the Government contemplate forming in Australia. The proposal is to remove certain clerks from the various Government offices to the Mint, and place them on probationary duties, in order that they may be qualified for the service of Government in the Royal Mint of Australia.

A prospectus has just appeared of the " Atlantic and Pacific Junction Company," whose object is to accomplish the great work that was first proposed more than a century and a-half ago—namely, to cut a ship caual through the Isthmus of Panama. The projector of the enterprise is Sir Charles Fox, of the firm of Fox, Henderson, and Co. He first sent out an experienced engineer, whose report is so favourable that one is induced to wonder that the work has not been undertaken before. The distance between the." tidal.influences" of the two oceans is only 30 miles, as the tide ascends a river on one side for 18 miles. The highest ground to be cut through is only 150 feet above the main level of the two seas. There is an excellent harbour at each proposed terminus. The material to be excavated consists of alluvial deposit, clay, gravel, and sandstone rock, the latter " lying most advantageously for removal." The canal is to be 150 feet wide, 30 feet deep, and without locks. The legislature of New Granada has granted 200,000 acres of land to facilitate the work. The capital required is ;£ 15,000,000,. of which two millions will be employed in paying interest to the shareholders on their advances during the five years which the work will occupy. Lord Wharncliffe is chairman of the Provisional Committee, which comprises many eminent mercantile names.

The li National Association for Protection" has been dissolved, a meeting having been held for that purpose, the Duke of Richmond, the President, in the chair. The speeches delivered on the occasion were doleful enough; but the speakers admitted that they were compelled to submit to a power superior to their own ; not that they have avowedly relinquished their old opinions, but they have at length seen that they had no alternative but to acquiesce with what grace they might in the new order of things. Protection is, therefore, thoroughly defunct, without the slightest chance of resuscitation; and Mr. George Frederick Young has been obliged to perform the office of undertaker in solemnizing the funeral obsequies.

Earl St. Germans held his first levee at Dublin on the 7th February, the attention at which was numerous and influential. Addresses were presented by the University and the corporation. In his Excellency's reply to the latter he thus alluded lo the question of the abolition of the Vice-royalty.—

" I am persuaded that the abolition of the

office of Lord Lieutenant would be productive of much practical inconvenience, and of little countervailing practical advantage. I am, moreover, persuaded that the maintenance of this office is desired by the great body of the Irish people; I therefore think that its abolition would be highly inexpedient. This opinion I expressed in the House of Commons nine years ago, and I have seen no reason since

to alter it."

Doing well at the Diggings.—At a meeting of the Marylebone Board of Guardians, Mr. Messer read a letter from Catherine Enright, one of twenty-five workhouse girls sent to Australia in 1849 by the parish, which, after praising the happy change, and thanking the guardians for it, thus concluded:—"l, need

only add that all the girls who came out with /, me are married (a laugh), and most of them got children. (Continued laughter.) I have got a little boy. (Increased laughter. We are all doing .well."

. Swindlers in Australia.—Some surprise, was felt in the cheque department of the Bank of England, by the presentation for payment of an old patched up cancelled check, which had been drawn by a customer in 1834, and purported to be an order for £617 7s. 9d. The piece of dirty paper had been pasted to another piece of paper, and presented an appearance likely to excite the suspicion of the most ignorant. It was offered at the counter by two seamen, who stated that they had been at the " diggins," accompanied by their captain, who had agreed to lay the vessel up for a few weeks, and try whether they could not recompense themselves for the delay by labouring in a gold field; that they had accordingly gone to work, and in seven weeks accumulated a considerable quantity of gold dust, and that at Melbourne the two applicants being anxious to get home to their families, sold their share of the valuable article to one of the gold dealers, named Stevenson, at the current price, amounting to £617 7s. 9d., which they were assured would be paid to them at the Bank of England the moment they showed the authority. In answer to questions put to them by one of the officers in attendance at the Bank, the seamen said they had sold five ounces on the day before to Mr. Stevenson, who paid them in dollars with a readiness which prevented them from suspecting his intention to rob them ; and that they had their register tickets, and could prove by the admission of the captain that there had been no desertion or irregularity of any kind upon their part. Upon being asked whether they intended to return to Australia, they said they had already paid for their passage back, and they declared that they would follow the advice of the officer, and look out for Mr. Stevenson, and compel him to make restitution.