trated. The noble lord has likewise asked | House, that the gentlemen of England have us to express our thanks to a third arm during the war garrisoned our arsenals in of the service-the marines-equal in this country, and defended our strong places every quality to the other two, whose abroad; and that many of those gentlemen daring deeds will, I am sure, always receive, are members of the House. The noble lord as they have deserved, the admiration of this has treated with justice the subject of our House. That is an arm which on various cordial relations with our allies throughout occasions in the wars of this country has the struggle. Admirable as was the fortune rendered great services, for which it deserves of Marlborough and Eugène, I think if we the utmost praise which this House can look back to the co-operation which took bestow. I was very glad, also, that the place between England and her allies, that noble lord dwelt with so much feeling, and we shall see that it has not been inferior in so much justice, upon the services of the concord, sympathy, and generosity, to that embodied militia. The manner in which which prevailed in that illustrious age. the people of this country, when the militia But while I would join with the noble lord was embodied, rallied round their national in the fullest expression of thanks, even to leaders is one of the most significant and our allies—if formally we might offer them gratifying proofs that the heart of England is true. The noble lord has stated that ten regiments of militia have served in our foreign garrisons during the late war; but the House should always recollect that it is not merely those ten distinguished regiments that have defended our Mediterranean garrisons who have been employed in active service during the war, but that those thirtyseven regiments, who in a manner so much to their credit offered their services to the sovereign, may be said, in a certain sense, to have partaken in the battles that have been fought. From their ranks those 30,000 good and well-tried soldiers were collected —from their ranks many of the youth of England entered into the service of the queen; and we may recollect with pride, common I am sure to both sides of the "When parliament gave the government the power of accepting the offers of these regiments to go on foreign service, besides the militia regiments which went to the Mediterranean, thirty-seven other regiments offered their services, which the government had not at the time any occasion to accept. But there were several regiments that did go abroad. They garrisoned Gibraltar, Malta, and the Ionian Islands. At Gibraltar there were the 3rd Lancashire, the Northampton, and the 2nd West York; at Malta the East Kent; in the Ionian Islands the Berkshire, the 1st militia regiments that went, and thirty-seven that offered let us remember that there are some who were not our allies, who were not the soldiers of our sovereign, to whom it would be not only generous but wise to do justice. The father of poetry it is, I think, who tells us that the strength of a conqueror cannot be more surely estimated than by the character of him whom he has conquered. Sir, the men whom the forces of the queen and her allies had to meet in the great struggle which is now concluded, were no common men. The legions that triumphed under Suwarroff, and fought at the Borodino, although defeated at Sebastopol, have proved themselves foemen worthy of the united chivalry of England and of France. In doing this justice to our late opponents, we are, in fact, only placing the achievements of our fellow-countrymen and our allies in their true aspect and proper position. I have great pleasure in seconding the motion of the noble lord; and if it were not presumption I would express my opinion, that when the verdict-I will not say of posterity-but that when the calm and unimpassioned verdict of the time in which we live is given upon these events, it will be acknowledged that in the late struggle our country has shown all those qualities which maintain a nation's greatness, and which prevent the decline and fall of empires." SHORTLY after the conclusion of the Paris | difficult game of trying to please both conference the state of Italy became a parties: he was the friend of Austria, and subject of some discussion in the diplomatic at the same time the supporter of Italian and political world. One of the chief independence. reasons why Count Cavour had been desirous of supporting the allies during the Crimean war, by despatching a Sardinian contingent against Russia, had been that it would offer to Piedmont an opportunity of setting forth her grievances against the power of Austria. The iron hand with which Austria ruled her Italian provinces had only intensified the hate with which the northern population of the peninsula regarded the German invader. That Italy should no longer be a geographical expression, but a kingdom under one head-free, united, and independent of all control of the foreigner-was the aim of her politicians and the cry of her agitators. The brutal arrogance of the Austrians, and the conduct of the Neapolitan government towards their political prisoners, had caused a strong feeling of sympathy in England with this movement, especially when it was remembered how splendidly the Sardinians had behaved themselves in that terrible hour when their courage was put to the test on the heights before Sebastopol. It was said that, at whatever risk, we were bound to support Sardinia and do all in our power to advocate her efforts in favour of Italian independence. The government were urged to make a positive declaration that the Italian States should not be occupied by foreign troops beyond a certain date. It was known that the prime minister was no friend to Austrian rule in the Italian peninsula; and without committing the cabinet to any decided course, Lord Palmerston did not look coldly upon the prayers of the Piedmont patriots. He played the With this double-minded policy Mr. Disraeli had little sympathy, and he candidly expressed his views when the Sardinian loan came up for discussion on the occasion of the introduction of the budget (May 19, 1856). He wished to know, he said, now that the House was asked to advance a considerable sum of money to Piedmont, what were the relations which subsisted between England and Sardinia? Studying the protocols of the conferences at Paris, he found expressions of sympathy with suffering Italy which greatly exceeded the usual caution of diplomatic language. He found that the sovereign of Sardinia was encouraged in every way to persist in his efforts for the liberation of Italy. He gave no opinion of his own upon the subject; but in those papers he read that the rule of Austria in Italy was insufferable, that the occupation of the Italian provinces by Austria was the principal source of the degradation and misery of Italy, that it was the mission and the policy of Sardinia to terminate those evils, and that she looked for the co-operation and support of England in her efforts to that end. How did these hopes agree with the tripartite treaty recently entered into between England, France, and Austria? How could the government at the same time be the friend of Austria and yet encourage Sardinia to expel Austria from the Italian peninsula? Had English ministers not profited by their bitter experience in 1848, when by words they encouraged Italy to resist, yet failed to support such advice by actions-a deser THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD AND HIS TIMES. tion still remembered on the continent with anguish and indignation? "If," he cried, "for the sake of exciting the unreflecting applause of a mob, and in order to obtain for the existing government the reputation of being devoted to those vague entities called 'Liberal opinions,' we are again to be in the position of stimulating Italian liberalism, while at the same time we rivet the fetters of Austrian despotism, I foresee for this nation consequences most fatal to her just and legitimate influence, and to that high character which, notwithstanding the mistakes we sometimes commit, and despite our party conflicts, it is our happiness to think that our country has hitherto maintained." He hoped the House would refuse to be made the cat's-paw of any government for the sanctioning of pseudo-liberalism. Such a policy simply tended the more to crush the oppressed and aggravate the weight of the despotic power. To uphold Austrian authority and Italian regeneration at one and the same time was a feat which only brought diplomacy into contempt, stimulated dangerous yet futile revolutionary efforts, and gave an impetus to the teaching of those secret societies which had for their object the overthrow of every constitution in Europe. "I feel," concluded Mr. Disraeli, “a deep interest in the future of Italy, and sure I am that there is no honest man in this empire who does not look forward with delight to the day when that immortal land, to which we all owe so much, shall take her proper place among the nations, and be again one of the leading communities of the world. But I for one base my hope of that consummation on my faith in the genius of the people and the resources of the country. Time, the great reformer, will save Italy; but if there can be anything that will throw her back in her career-anything that will baffle her advancing destinies-it will be the intrigues of politicians who are not Italians, and who, for the sake of getting a support which otherwise they might not command, trifle with the fate of a great 365 people, pander to the lusts of secret societies, pretend to sympathy they do not feel, and, for the love of popular applause and a momentary success, compromise the destiny of a gifted nation.” In the dangerous power exercised by the "secret societies," Mr. Disraeli was even then a firm believer. At the present day, with sovereigns assassinated, public buildings blown up, agrarian outrages and revolt against authority systematically conducted, no politician can afford to ignore the concealed machinery by which fenians, socialists, nihilists, and land leaguers work their infamous plots. But thirty years ago these secret associations inspired more contempt than fear in the public mind, and little attention was paid to their movements by practical statesmen. It was the province of the police to imprison such fanatics and crush their revolutionary attempts, but it was beneath the notice of ministers and cabinets to spy upon their actions. Mr. Disraeli thought differently, and he fully recognized how mischievous an element these associations might become in a state. On the occasion of Lord John Russell (July 14, 1856) bringing the question of Italian regeneration before the House, and advocating the establishment of constitutional government in the peninsula, Mr. Disraeli, in opposing any interference in the affairs of Italy, unless it was to develop into a real and practical interference, thus alludes to these traitorous organizations:-"The noble lord who introduced this question seems to think that the revolutionary spirit in Italy is obsolete and worn out; that there is no contest going on in Italy but between worn-out dynasties and some intelligent and welleducated persons of the superior classes, who desire his great specific for all evilsconstitutional government. I do not think that is a true judgment of the Italian people or of Italy. There is in Italy a power which we seldom mention in this House, but without considering and understanding which we shall never rightly comprehend as we all know, to other influences than those of English interference to regenerate Italy, and place her in the family of European nations. the position of Italy-I mean the secret | The subject then dropped, and it was left, societies. The secret societies do not care for constitutional government. They do not want existing society ameliorated, they want it changed; and they seek objects from such changes such as can never be obtained or secured by those enlightened institutions to which the noble lord refers. We know something more of these societies than we did. Since the outbreak of 1848 we have had means-not sufficient, but still we have had means of obtaining a knowledge of their numbers, organization, principles, and objects; and without some consideration of these it would be absolutely impossible for us to form a conception of what would be the consequence of our interference in the affairs of Italy. It is useless to deny, because it is impossible to conceal, that a great part of Europe-the whole of Italy and France and a great portion of Germany, to say nothing of other countries are covered with a network of these secret societies, just as the superficies of the earth is now being covered with railroads. And what are their objects? They do not attempt to conceal them. They do not want constitutional government; they do not want ameliorated institutions; they do not want provincial councils nor the recording of votes; they want to change the tenure of land, to drive out the present owners of the soil, and to put an end to ecclesiastical establishments." In conclusion Mr. Disraeli advised the government to adopt a plain, straightforward policy. If they were resolved to advocate Italian regeneration, they must go to war with Austria and obtain the sanction of parliament for the course they proposed to follow. He did not believe the country would support such interference. Still, the nation would at least know what ministers intended, and to what England had pledged herself. But diplomatic communications without a declaration of hostilities would only set a great portion of Italy in flames, and result in consequences which all would deplore. The cabinet had ushered in the session of 1856 with the most tempting promises. In spite of the war and its consequent diplomatic negotiations then on his hands, Lord Palmerston had introduced to the notice of parliament measures of great importance-in fact, a greater number of measures of importance than had ever before been submitted to the House of Commons by any minister. The list was indeed imposing. A court of appeal-the highest court of appeal in the last resortwas to be created; a new law of partnership, founded upon principles which would facilitate the application of capital to commerce, was to be written in the statutebook; the law of divorce and important changes in the law of marriage were to be fully considered and dealt with; the discipline of the Church was to be amended; the question of national education was to be placed upon a satisfactory basis; the most important produce of the empire was to be ascertained by a system of agricultural statistics. Then in addition to these measures, the House was to take into its consideration matters touching the testamentary jurisdiction of the country, the condition of the police, the superannuation of the civil service, municipal reform, the criminal appropriation of trust property, and the retirement of bishops from their sees. These were schemes which, if carried out, would satisfy the most gluttonous of legislative reformers. As a matter of fact, however, the session was drawing rapidly to its close, and yet of all these tempting promises held out to the country, scarcely one had been fulfilled. They were either abandoned shortly after having been introduced, or else completely ignored. Mr. Disraeli resolved to repeat his experiment of 1848, and pass in full and of Her Majesty's servants." The bill for the reform of the corporation of the city of London had been introduced in February, and had been abandoned in June. Not, however, to weary the House, continued the critic, the same fate had attended upon the bills brought forward by the president of the board of works and by the president of the board of health. Two Irish bills had, it was true, become law, but they had been based on the measures of a Conservative member of the House, which had accounted for their favourable reception. nothing." The County Police Bill had critical review the labours of the session. a staunch supporter of this public serAccordingly (July 25, 1856), he moved vice, "were terminated all the hopes of for a return of "the number of public that most meritorious and ill-used body bills and their titles, the orders for which in any of their stages have been discharged during the present session, and the date of the discharge of each of such orders." The speech which he delivered in support of this motion was of great length, and is not only important as a complete history of the session, but as a constitutional essay on the power of party, and the nature of true Conservatism. He began by stating that he called attention to the course of public business, not for the purpose of preferring an indictment against ministers, but because he hoped that, during the recess, some remedy might be devised for passed; also the bill respecting the rethe grievances he should bring under the tirement of bishops, but "that was a notice of the House. He then enumerated measure which did not deal with the the list of measures proposed by the gov-question, and which, therefore, has settled ernment, and caustically commented upon the fashion it had been carried out. The Was this, asked Mr. Disraeli, a satisfactory bill to improve the law of partnership had state of things? Was the House aware of been introduced in February only to be the extent and the importance of the abandoned in March. A second bill on legislative failures of the session? Could the same subject was introduced in April, ministers be surprised at the prevailing and in July met the same fate as its pre- discontent? They had held out to the decessor. Bills for the reform of the poor country great expectations, and therefore law, and for the regulation of lunatic they could not be astonished at the country asylums in Ireland, had been ushered in feeling greatly disappointed. But to what by ministers in April and deserted in had this unfortunate state of things been May. A bill for the relief of the mer- due? It was not occasioned by the forms cantile marine had been announced early of the House, for since 1848 such forms in February, and had been shelved at the had been considerably curtailed; and, end of the month. The bill to found an indeed, members rather imagined that appellate jurisdiction had been brought there had been of late years too great a down from the Lords in June and aban- diminution of the checks which those doned in July. The same fate had at- forms afforded against precipitate legislatended the bill relating to the amendment tion, than believed that the conduct of of the law of divorce. The Church Dis- public business could be facilitated by any cipline Bill, it was true, had not been further reduction in the forms of the House. abandoned, but on being sent up to the Nor was it occasioned by long speeches or Lords it had been rejected on a division. protracted debates, for the session had been The bills relating to Irish legislation had singularly exempt from eloquence and probeen introduced, and all had been aban- longed discussion. "To what cause," asked doned. The Civil Service Superannuation Mr. Disraeli, "is it then to be ascribed? Bill had met with the same fate; and I will state what I believe to have been then, said Mr. Disraeli, who was always the cause of it, and I beg the noble lord |