THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD AND HIS TIMES.

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

nothing."

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 of Her Majesty's servants." The bill for in any of their stages have been discharged the reform of the corporation of the city during the present session, and the date of London had been introduced in Februof the discharge of each of such orders." ary, and had been abandoned in June. The speech which he delivered in support Not, however, to weary the House, conof this motion was of great length, and tinued the critic, the same fate had is not only important as a complete his- attended upon the bills brought forward tory of the session, but as a constitutional by the president of the board of works essay on the power of party, and the nature and by the president of the board of health. of true Conservatism. He began by stating Two Irish bills had, it was true, become law, that he called attention to the course of but they had been based on the measures public business, not for the purpose of of a Conservative member of the House, preferring an indictment against ministers, which had accounted for their favourable but because he hoped that, during the reception. The County Police Bill had 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 bill to improve the law of partnership had been introduced in February only to be abandoned in March. A second bill on the same subject was introduced in April, and in July met the same fate as its predecessor. Bills for the reform of the poor law, and for the regulation of lunatic asylums in Ireland, had been ushered in by ministers in April and deserted in May. A bill for the relief of the mercantile marine had been announced early in February, and had been shelved at the end of the month. The bill to found an appellate jurisdiction had been brought down from the Lords in June and abandoned in July. The same fate had attended the bill relating to the amendment of the law of divorce. The Church Discipline Bill, it was true, had not been abandoned, but on being sent up to the Lords it had been rejected on a division. The bills relating to Irish legislation had been introduced, and all had been abandoned. The Civil Service Superannuation Bill had met with the same fate; and then, said Mr. Disraeli, who was always the cause of it, and I beg the noble lord

Was this, asked Mr. Disraeli, a satisfactory state of things? Was the House aware of the extent and the importance of the legislative failures of the session? Could ministers be surprised at the prevailing discontent? They had held out to the country great expectations, and therefore they could not be astonished at the country feeling greatly disappointed. But to what had this unfortunate state of things been due? It was not occasioned by the forms of the House, for since 1848 such forms had been considerably curtailed; and, indeed, members rather imagined that there had been of late years too great a diminution of the checks which those forms afforded against precipitate legislation, than believed that the conduct of public business could be facilitated by any further reduction in the forms of the House. Nor was it occasioned by long speeches or protracted debates, for the session had been singularly exempt from eloquence and prolonged discussion. "To what cause," asked Mr. Disraeli, "is it then to be ascribed? I will state what I believe to have been

the measures which they propose will not succeed, those measures cease to be prepared with that scrupulous exactitude, that fineness, that finish, and that completeness of detail which characterize the measures of a government that feel, on introducing a bill to parliament, all the responsibility of successful legislation; and thus it happens that a ministry is tempted to obtain popularity for a moment, and to make for themselves some transient reputation-if you can call it reputation-by dealing with a variety of subjects so that the country may say, 'Here is a government of men of business; these are the men we want. They are going to construct a high court of appeal; questions that have remained unsolved for 300 years are now about to receive a solution from these practical men; the law of divorce is to be reformed; the law of matrimony is to be improved; the law of partnership is to be adapted to the requirements of an enlightened age and a commercial country; and other great subjects, on which the thought of the nation has long been collected, are at last to be settled by men who, regardless of party considerations, are determined to show what can be done by people who are animated only by a desire to pass wise and useful measures.' When parliament met it was announced, on high although anonymous authority, that a new era had arrived in the history of the English parliament; that the mere struggle for power and place was to cease, and that instead of it we were to have a body of ministers who were essentially practical men of business-who were to deal with all the difficult questions that had baffled all the preceding governments. We were told that the maxim, 'measures not men,' was for the future to form the principle of our political life. Yet, after six months of idle phantoms and of empty noise, it is no longer 'measures not men,' but it is men without measures."

and his colleagues not to suppose that in | moment they find the chances are that stating it I mean anything in any way personal to themselves. Quite the reverse. I believe the cause of this failure in legislation is mainly, if not entirely, to be attributed to the fact that the noble lord and the hon. gentlemen who now form the ministry cannot command a parliamentary majority. In the general conduct of affairs the greatest respect is paid to gentlemen who occupy their position-a position which they obtained, in my opinion, with all honour, and in a manner which, as far as the noble lord is concerned, does I think the utmost credit to his spirit and promptitude. I say that the greatest respect is paid to gentlemen who occupy that position; and I believe there is great willingness on the part of the House to fulfil its functions as to supply. All the money which is required for the public service is cheerfully granted to the noble lord when we are at war. If troops are wanted they are at once given to him; and when he is engaged in negotiations and requires forbearance, that forbearance is yielded with equal readiness. Whether he prosecutes a war or makes a treaty, he can count on the support of the House. But when Her Majesty's ministers, turning to the functions of a minister in a legislative assembly, submit measures to the consideration of parliament they do not meet with that confiding support which can only exist in this House when it is founded on traditionary connection or identity of principle. The noble lord and his colleagues are therefore never sure that their measures will succeed; and there are two consequences that result from this circumstance, of the most injurious character. The first is and it is a great evil-that the queen's ministers should deem legislation necessary on subjects of paramount importance, and yet should not be able to succeed in legislating thereon. But there is another evil inevitably consequent upon this, and to which I attribute a considerable share of the present disaster. The moment a government is habituated to defeat, the

They had then, continued Mr. Disraeli, a government unable to command a parlia