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wicke in the House of Peers, and in the House of Commons by Sir Lytton Bulwer, Lord Stanley, Mr Disraeli, Mr Whiteside, and a host of others, some of whom were so far from entertaining Conservative opinions that they represent the large urban constituencies. Mr Milner Gibson, who sits for Manchester, and Mr Muntz, who represents Birmingham, will not be suspected of factious opposition to the Government in regard to a measure which was denounced by the Conservative phalanx. The arguments for the bill have been few and feeble; and it was only in consequence of an expressed threat on the part of Ministers that they would resign if beaten upon that question, that they were enabled to obtain in either House a comparatively insignificant majority. Notwithstanding the length of the parliamentary discussions, we have still a word or two to say on this subject, and we shall approach it, so far as we can, in a spirit unbiassed by any party considerations. If we really believed that such a measure as this was necessary for the relief or support of our troops, and that it would tend ultimately to insure the success of our arms, we should give it our support, even had the necessity arisen purely from the mismanagement or negligence of the Ministry: for we are not such purists as to maintain that, on occasions of emergency, things otherwise doubtful may not be resorted to. The public safety we acknowledge to be paramount, and we are not inclined to be scrupulous when that is absolutely at stake. But it is the evident duty of men who propose extraordinary measures to demonstrate their necessity, and to show that they are likely to be efficacious. If they fail in doing so, their case is a very bad one; for they are asking the nation to consent to that which would not, under ordinary circumstances, be listened to for one moment. Before adverting to the arguments which suggest themselves against the ministerial measure, let us consider if its promoters have really established a case of necessity. If they have done so, then it is made patent to all Europe that we cannot

VOL. LXXVII.-NO. CCCCLXXI.

carry on this war from our own resources-a confession so humiliating for a Ministry which declared war in March last, that we can hardly find words sufficiently strong to characterise it. We stop not here to comment upon the effect which such a confession must have upon the Czar, who, if he has begun to despair of success, must, of course, derive from it a fresh impulse and new confidence, and congratulate himself that he rules with absolute authority over some 68,000,000 of serfs, instead of being the head of 28,000,000 shopkeepers, with more extensive colonial possessions than any other state in Europe. We need not consider what effect this astounding admission may have on Austria, left free, as Lord John Russell states her to be, to ally herself with Britain or the reverse. We need not anticipate the inferences which Prussia and other German states will naturally draw, when they hear that, before the first campaign is over, we are obliged to tempt foreigners into our service. The Ministry has undertaken to show that this step is absolutely necessary; and they have proved the sincerity of their conviction by the strongest of all stepsto wit, a declaration that they would resign if the measure was not carried. That does look very like necessity; at least, it shows that, according to their programme for conducting the war, and the arrangements they are determined to persevere in, they have in reality no other resource.

Still it remains to be seen if their programme and their arrangements are suited to the emergency, before we can admit that such a case of necessity, as justifies a departure from the ordinary rules, has arisen. We entirely demur to that view. They tell us that recruits are coming in faster than they can be drilled and formed into regiments; and if, as we have suggested, they would raise the position and pay, not the bounty money, of the soldier, the labours of the recruiting sergeants would be light. Then why not appeal to the colonies, wherein a considerable force of trained soldiers is now stationed? If it is answered that such operations as these would require some time, we waiving the obvious

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remark that our present incapables, when they had time, did not avail themselves of it reply, that it must also take much time before they can recruit, train, and despatch their foreign legion to the Crimea. From what part of Europe is that legion to come? No one knows; even the Ministry do not affect to know. They may be Portuguese, or they may be undiscovered ores in the wretched little principalities or duchies of Germany, whose rulers are too insignificant to take part in European politics-but they cannot be subjects of the greater powers. Nay, they cannot be subjects of the second-rate powers. We are perfectly certain that neither Sweden nor Denmark, nor Holland, nor Bavaria, would sanction an enlistment like this, or allow recruiting within their territories; and, when you go lower, what sort of soldiers would you get? We know Germany indifferently well; and we do not hesitate to state that we would rather rely upon the courage, pluck, and endurance of any given number of men taken at random from the streets of London, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow, or Dublin, provided they had barely a month's training, than upon that of the same number of what are called disciplined soldiers from the minor states of Germany. That a Polish legion might be embodied with great effect we do not doubt; but it must be remembered that the Polish war of liberation, and the subsequent emigration, or rather exile, took place more than twenty years ago; and with every reliance on the gallantry of the men who might join it, it is hardly possible to trust to their physique. Besides, as Sir Lytton Bulwer very properly stated the case, the enrolment of a Polish legion, on an occasion like this, would be an implied pledge that, in the event of Russian defeat, Polish nationality should be restored. That may possibly, in the course of events, become another "necessity" for Europe; and if so, we shall rejoice at it; for, no doubt, the partition of Poland has been a cancer in the European body. But are Ministers prepared to take this step? We do not think so. It is a measure too bold for their adoption. They would ra

ther have the fancy troops, levied from the Jenkins Gruffanuffs of Hesse-this or Saxe-the-other, than take the men whose hatred to Russia is undying. If so, they are doubly wrong. The Poles would fight to the death against their hereditary enemy; while the trained soldiers of the petty principalities, having no actual call to the contest beyond their stipend of a shilling English, or, as they would reckon it, six-and-thirty kreutzers per day, would take to their heels at the first discharge. We do not question the courage of the German people, or their aptitude to become good soldiers; but we say that you cannot get trained men from the minor German States to fight your battles in the East. We take it for granted that even the second-rate powers of Europe will oppose enlistment within their territories, for such permission would in fact be tantamount to a declaration of war with Russia. So long as the Germanic diet preserves neutrality, you cannot raise men in Germany with the consent of the sovereigns. You may indeed get men from Germany that is to say, emigrants, outcasts, refugees, deserters, and what not; but is it really proposed to send regiments composed of such material to the Crimea? We do hope, for the safety of our army, that Ministers do not entertain any such intention. What dependence can be placed upon a legion of men, fighting not for their own nationality, their own country, their own sovereign, or their own faith, but simply for a miserable hire? If we are told that in former times mercenaries made good soldiers, and that the Dalgetties, though they might change their service so soon as their engage ment expired, did nevertheless remain true to their covenant, we shall reply that the class of men who composed the mercenaries of the Thirty-years' War no longer exists in Europe; and that, if they did exist, war as now conducted would no longer admit of their employment. Is there no danger of hired troops flinching in the hour of danger-is there no risk of their desertion? A few days ago we observed in a London paper the following extract from the Constitutionnel, which we recommend to the attention of all who can see no harm in this design of

Ministers to amalgamate a base material with our British soldiery :

"A Russian officer declared in dying, that we were betrayed by a deserter from the foreign legion. This man, it is said, informed the Russians that our batteries on the right were guarded with a certain degree of negligence; and it was in consequence of this that an attack on that point was decided on. It is known that the foreign legion, which is so remarkable for its bravery, counts a great many deserters in its ranks. The man to whom I refer is said to be a German ; and persons ask if it would not have been prudent to have left in Africa all those who had deserted, especially those who have a certain affinity of race with the Russians ?"

There is another point of great importance to be considered; and that is the effect which this announcement may have upon the army, and the recruiting at home. Is it likely to cheer the one, and to hasten forward the other? We greatly doubt it. We believe that it will prove as obnoxious to the soldiery as it is unpalatable to the nation at large; and already more than one officer of rank and reputation has raised his voice against it. We think it is of the utmost importance that Ministers, in a matter like this, should consult the feeling of the service; and as an evidence of that feeling, we insert an extract from a letter which Sir William Napier has addressed to the Times :

"I will not say that the German Legion in the last war were not good and trusty soldiers-their cavalry were excellent; but, despite of the Duke of Richmond's generous eulogium, I will, with Lord Ellenborough, say, that neither they, nor any foreign troops, were able to equal the fighting of the British soldier. That legion was well composed; it was, indeed, a national force, with high moral motives, and with the gentlemen of their own country as officers; they were thus presented in the best possible form that foreigners could assume in another nation's service; and gallant things they could and did do; but emulate the terrible fighting of the British soldier they could not. And shall a mere mercenary band, picked up for gold, without national feeling-poor miserable hirelings, selling their limbs and lives-ay! their very souls for lucre-ready, without a cause, if paid, to murder, to slay, or be slain, and, of course, ready to change sides for higher pay if good occasion offer-shall such varlets stand in line beside our noble

soldiers who fight shouting England! England!' and dying murmur, 'We have done our duty?'

"When did German or Switzer, Prussian or Austrian, stand before the gallant French in equal battle? And those brilliant, fierce, impetuous French, could even they sustain the might and terror of British battle, though, glorious soldiers that they are and ever have been, they returned to the combat as unceasingly as waves beating against rocks? Such as they are indeed fit and worthy to stand abreast with the unconquerable red line that never yields, and, together, they will trample in the dust any troops in the world that presume to oppose them. But let them not be shamed by

finding a hired third-rate selection from their British comrades. Let them not be told to depend on the dressed-up foreigners-poor frauds, like the camels of Semiramis, accoutred as elephants, and sure to leave dark silent gaps where loudest shouts and fiercest fires should stream forth in the hour of need. Shall the stern infantry of Inkermann, striding in blood; shall the proud cavalry of Balaklava-those noble horsemen who

inferior sources between themselves and

accepted, not an order, but a doubtful sign only, to go bounding on, as it were, to the open jaws of death; shall they have as comrades the refuse hirelings of Germany and Switzerland? God forbid !"

Besides this, we entirely coincide with the opinion expressed by Mr Milner Gibson, that the principle of the bill is opposed to the law of nations, and that, under the circumstances in which this country is placed, it may be very dangerous. It is an advertisement that we are willing to hire foreigners without compromising the neutrality of the States to which they belong. If such States do not sanction the enlistment, then, depend upon it, this measure will be wholly inoperative. If they do sanction the enlistment, certainly Russia will not regard them as neutral, and we may be involved in endless complications. What if Russia were to retaliate by hiring the privateers of the United States? In the words of Mr Gibson, "should we not be told that a country might let out' its forces without forfeiting its neutrality, and that we had ourselves laid down that principle by a deliberate act of the British Parliament?" This point, well and ably urged, and of vast importance, not

only now, but hereafter, was not met in the course of the debate, either by Ministers or their supporters. In fact, they could not meet it; for the more this scheme is analysed and examined, the more objectionable does it appear. There is no use disguising the fact. The bill was carried against the convictions of the great majority of the House, for this reason, that many members would not undertake the responsibility of refusing any means which Ministers thought fit to suggest for reinforcing our army in the Crimea at the present emergency. For, be it observed that the Ministry have distinctly and emphatically declared that, in their judgment, this measure is necessary for immediate support, and that Parliament was summoned to enable them to pass it without delay. Well then, we shall see. They have carried their measure, but we do not believe that in consequence of it any effective reinforcements can be sent to the Crimea in time for the purpose contemplated. We believe this to be a great political blunder, certainly not the least among those which the Aberdeen Cabinet has committed; and we are apprehensive that it may prove a waste to the resources of the country instead of an augmentation of its strength. The last accounts from the Crimea are of the most painful and appalling kind. Through the incapacity and neglect of these infatuated men, our army is in such a position that reinforcements would rather add to their distress than alleviate it. Of all the boasted and paraded supplies, none, according to the last accounts, are available. But were it otherwise, when would this legion be ready for service? For, mark this, there are certain preliminaries. We have to enlist the men-to bring them here to drill and form them in Britain-and then to despatch them to the Crimea. Will they arrive in time for the storming of Sebastopol? or is this a measure, brought in by themselves, under false pretences, to mask some ulterior object? If so, let them beware, for they are playing a perilous game. The nation is thoroughly in earnest -roused from its apathy-and they may find that resignation of office will not be accepted as an entire immunity for what they have done, or

what they have failed to do. Hitherto they have been leniently dealt with, but they must now expect to be watched, and watched closely, and to be judged according to the vast measure of the responsibility which they have undertaken. If the guidance of the affairs of Britain-if the occupancy of the highest posts in the realm-are legitimate objects of ambition, they do also involve an awful load of responsibility, and woe be to those who neglect the public interest in the present crisis and temper of the nation!

Parliament will not meet again before the 23d of January. We shall see what effect the measures which have now been passed at the solicitation of the Ministry shall have produced by that time. Some things, now mysterious, may before then be explained; and God grant that ere then the supplies of which we have heard so much may have become available for those brave men in the Crimea, for whose sufferings the national heart is aching! We are at all events glad that this short meeting of Parliament has been held. Ministers have had the opportunity of explaining their conduct hitherto; and the explanations, such as they are, are now before the country. Let them be weighed and considered. Let their opportunities, their means, and the support that they have received from the nation, be contrasted with their actions, their omissions, and their explanations. They can ask no more; and let the general voice of the country pronounce the verdict. We doubt not what that verdict will be.

Most assuredly, among the means which, in our opinion, would be most conducive to the conduct of the war, in a manner befitting the greatness of this country, the ignominious dismissal of a large section of her Majesty's present Ministry would not be the least effective. That it will come, and before any long period elapses, we do not doubt; but it may, like their own measures, come "too late;" and we entreat our representatives seriously to consider, whether the resignation of these incapable men would be as calamitous as a snow-storm of eight-and-forty hours' duration in the Crimea, in the present unprotected state of our soldiers.

CIVILISATION.-THE CENSUS.

EDUCATION.

HAVE you duly considered, my dear Eusebius, the impertinence of being alive at your time of life?-an impertinence to those who are to succeed you, and are waiting for you to make room for them (I mean not your successors in blood and affection -they would wish you never to depart -but those who, crowding in upon vitality, as the Census says, rather want your room than your company) -an impertinence, too, flying in the face of Gulliver Census, who has already noted you down as a probable defunct, and will have the vexation of altering his half-cooked next return.

A great man once declared his love of life in these strange words, "I don't care if I am hanged, provided it be a hundred years hence." A friend present, whose love of life was as great, and his hatred of any limitation greater, asked him if he was quite serious, adding, "For my part, then, I wish I may be present, and assist in singing the penitential psalm." Eusebius, consider what daily, hourly provocations to die both these gentlemen must have experienced, in the taunts and insinuations of expectants and census-makers-all plainly saying, you have no business to be alive on the face of the earth. The very children in the villages will be taught census-reading and life-calculations, in village schools, under Government inspectors; and, as holiday sport, hoot after such superannuates as you, and try to pelt you into the churchyard-alas! not before your time.

Keep up, Eusebius, your pleasant humour to the last! Remember how near the 30th of March is to "All Fool's Day;" and serve the officers and official annual inquisitor, when he next comes, sure of booking you as defunct, as Madam B. did her heir-a sprightly old lass in her hundredth year. She rang her bell violently at one in the morning, and when the nephew came down to receive her last breath and his inheritance, she lifted her jocund face from the bed

The

clothes, and reminded him it was the 1st of April. But you must be prepared for another examination besides that of your age. I see clearly, by the encroachments already made, what is further threatened. people's ignorance will be strictly inquired into; and do not flatter yourself that you will escape the scrutiny. You will be surprised, as you are presented by a Government inspector with schedule A, B, or C, at the amount of your own ignorance. Old as you are, you must expect to be registered into an adult school; for it is the impertinent maxim of Quinbus Flestrin that no man is too old to learn. You will be booked in his "Dunciad," wise as you thought yourself, and other folks believed you to be. Then you will have to reflect what a bad man you must be; for nowadays all crimes are in the educational alembic resolved into ignorance. Even so, Eusebius, however you may raise your venerable eyebrows at the new philosophy,-whatever ill is done in the world, is all through ignorance. It is a great discovery. It is not the heart, but the head, that is in fault. Hitherto it has had the cunning to escape by vicarious punishment far off from itself; but the old whipt parts are emancipated; all the known vices are driven to the head, in order that they may be thence at once scientifically expelled by invisible evaporation under a high educational pressure. Thus the fox, when troubled with fleas, goes tail foremost into the water, forces his troublesome backbiters upwards upon his head and his tongue, then ducks down, drowns his enemies, and comes out on dry land, ready for any inspectors, with a clean bill of health. will the people, however bad, be cured (and certificates given) by this high-headpressure process. But the process will require skill, and therefore none less than Government inspectors, together with Quinbus Flestrin, will be allowed to operate; for some experiments have unfortunately

And so

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