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Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

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PARLIAMENTARY JOTTINGS. "a

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PARLIAMENTARY JOTTINGS. "a WE are all looking forward to the new Ministry and their policy. During the past week there has been more sensation out of doors than in Parlia- ment. Gladstone is in the mouth of the crowd, and the feeling seems to grow amongst them that he -is an ill-used man; on the other hand, the thinking public appear to be willing for those of opposite politics to have a chance. How know we," say they, but Liberal measures may be in- troduced by them which will permanently settle the question of Reform." Public open air meet- ings in London have been discountenanced, feacaiise it is said that we should not do any- thing to intimidate members of Parliament. Petitions and expressions of feeling are consti- tutional, but it is deemed unconstitutional to greet with yells and howls those who differ from Mr. Gladstone in his policy. The way some members of Parliament have been assailed is not in the spirit of the age, but rather takes us back to the time when mobocracy attempted to exert an autho- rity over therights and property of the nation. For myself, having always a regard to the true interests of the people, I would rather see them calmly laying their claims before Parliament than giving expres- sions to revengeful feelings against this party or the other. The conduct of persons at the meeting in Trafalgar-square, the other day, has been greatly exaggerated, however; for the most part they were orderly, but a few, carried on by a spirit of enthu- siasm, yelled before Lord Blcho's residence, and, determined to make their opinions known to Mr. Gladstone, sought an interview at the right hoa. gentleman's private house. Here they were told that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was from home, but presently Mrs. and Miss Gladstone made their appearance on the balcony, and after receiving a considerable ovation they retired, and the crowd separated. Some of the morning papers,; next day, considered it was injudicious to give encouragement to such a demonstration, which produced the following characteristic reply from Mr. Gladstone, addressed to the editor of the Observer-;— SIR, It having been stated in the Times newspaper of this day that the ladies of Mr. Gladstone's family accepted the homour of an ovation" on Wednesday evening from an assemblage which the same journal describes as persons of the lowest class," I be with- out entering into any question as to the delicacy and pro priety of this style of criticism upon those who ought certainly to be exempt from it, to say that on the evening in question, during my absence from home, otfcers of police came to my house and stated that a Very large number of persons who were gathered in front of it, along Carlton-house-terraee and towards Pall-mall, would disperse speedily, as well as quietly, if Mrs. Gladstone would appear in the balcony, and they requested that she would be good enough to do so Accordingly. This desire of the polioe was conveyed to my wife, and she did what was asked, as she thought, for the public convenience, and in deference 10 the representatives of public authority. I must add that Mrs. Gladstone and other witnesses Were struck with the respectable appearance and good order of those who composed the large assemblage.—I have the honour to be, sir, your obedient servant, W. E. Gladstone. 11, Carlton-house-terrace, June 29. Having no very important matter to commu- nicate, let me refer you to a funny incident which occurred in the House of Commons the other day. The iaalues of the members to form P, committee on the Helston election were called, and all an- swered to the call bub Mr. Hibbert, the chairman. Upon which Mr. Walpole, as general chairman of committees, rose and said, I have reason to believe that Mr. Hibbert, nominated, to serve upon this committee, is unable to attend in consequence of ill-hsalth, and I have therefore ordered his medical adviser, Dr. M'Cann, to be ia. attendance, to give tvidence to this honourable House." Mr. Speaker said, Let the witness be called to the bar." Accordingly the Serjeant-at-Arms came to the tabb, shouldered the heavy mace, and, ad- vancing into the lobby, brought forward the doctor, ILot, however, till he had drawn out a brass bar which slides, in telescopic form, from the Serjeant-at-Arma" bcitothenrst eross-bench. Here, like acritain al, stocd t,heportlyforffiof Dr. M'Cann. He had tixht-fitting laven der glovesen, andthe clerk at the table, fully wigged and gowned, proceeded to admin:ster the oath; but the witness must be bare-handed, and in the nervous excitement of the 1noment :his was a difficult task to get over. It Was done at last, and the döctorkissed the book. The Speaker then rose and said, You are Dr. X'Cann ? "I am." You are the medical adviser of Mr. Hibbert? 11 1 am." When did you see hin last? "On the 22nd of June." This "Was fi" lays prior to the question being put, I whereupor there'was a laugh, and sundry members shouted oit, "Five days ago 1" The doctor Would not alter his statement, however, and the -Ilext question was —" Is Mr., Hibbert suffering "from ill health ? Mr. Hibbert," said the doctor, "was returning from his friend the Duke of Devon- shire's horse the other day, where he had been. dining, and felt himself unwell." Whether it was that members thought that Mr. Hibbert was only suffering fiom a good dinner, or that the doctor was going into a roundabout statement, I don't know, but a continuous roar of laughter set in, which pastel for two or three minutes,.to the utter tur* of Dr. M'Cann, who seized hold of -mw on this side and that, wonder- "Bo vwnt" s'^ last the Speaker said, to the duH^n* IIibberti to° unwell to attend to the duties of this House?" "I do." "Dr. M'Cann, you may retire," Baid the Speaker; and the farce etded, laughter following the doctor's receding footsteps, just aB schoolboys would have done when a youth has undergOQe £ disagreeable examination oelore one of the masters Referring, however, to Mr. Gladstone, the fol- lowing tribute of respect to a statesman xio longer in power has been placed in my hands frGm the pen of T. F. Maguire, Esq., M.P. for Cork city, who is editor, correspondent, and proprietor of the Corlc Examiner. There is so much personal observation and political integrity on the part of an independent member of Parliament, that I venture to give it in, extenso Now that the last battle has been fought out, and that victory has not been given to the most gallant, perhaps it may not be out of place for one who has only a public interest in the events which have re- sulted in the defeat of the Liberals and the triumph of their opponents, to express an opinion as to the manner in which the great popular chief has borne himself during a long and arduous campaign. In no more trying position than the leadership of: the House of Commons could any man bo placed. It requires a combination of qualities rarely to be found in the same individual. AsL-uming that he possesses commanding intellectual powers and adequate Parlia- mentary experience, he must be gifted with readiness of resource, good temper alike for foes and friends, and the tact wbioh enables him to turn a victory to the greatest advantage, and a defeat to the least injury to his part Mr. Gladstone, on the death of Lord Palmerston, was placed in the perilous promi* nenee of successor to one who was personally loved for his kindly nature, and his loyal devotion to his friends, and who possessed a tact which seldom failed him in a pinch. But let the truth be told—the great age of Lord Palmerston told in his favour, and obtained for him that tolerance which the House would not have afforded to a younger man. You know it can't last much longer; it is not worth while being hard with the fine old fellow. A session more will see the end of it." Thus it was that Lord Palmerston continued up to the last hour of his being ia Parliament to rule the Commons and save his Administration. And when the House met for the first time after his death, each party vied with the other in magnifying his virtues, and exaggerating his alleged loss to Parliament and the country. And in this perilous position did Mr. Glad- stone find himself at the opening of this memorable Session, with a PMliame ,o&Uing .Hf&lf Lord piUaeut-; I stos's, loosely pledged to principles, and randisgtiisedly apprehensive of fehQ new leader's sympathy with the unenfranchised masses. Apparently, no one could have entered upon his inheritance with brighter pro- spects or under happier auspices. Not only was he gifted with matchless powers of debate; not alone was he crowned with the most splendid financial successes, but the late elections had given his Government "a majority of more than sixty in the Commons. But how shadowy was that apparent majority events have abundantly proved. The foe he was to meet was not only in front, but at each side, behind his back- everywhere; and the more dangerous and deadly of his opponents were those who, in the conven- tional language of the House, styled him their right hon. friend, even while they accompanied the mock- ing phrase with the bitterest taunt er the most" malevolent sneer. In honour he was bound to bring in a Reform Bill. The merits of that or any other measure are a fair subject for criticism; but had it been framed in Heaven's Chancery by the Recording Angel it wauld not, could not, have pleased or propitiated the House of Commons. No doubt, in 1859, Mr. Disraeli-who then had his bill to defend, or possibly to carry-strongly deprecated a motion of Reform being made the subject of party conflict; yet no one believed then, no one believes now, that Reform is not the most convenient question of all others on which a Ministry may be surprised, worried, or de. feated. Had the Government laid on the table a whole and complete measure, comprehensive and yet impartial, it could not please those who were deter- mined not to be pleased with perfection itself. There were whig aristocrats who dreaded the people; there were ex-placemen whom nothing short of restoration to office could satisfy; and there were certain popular representatives with whom the very name of Reform was painfully associated with bribery or brickbats, costly election committees, and inconsistent exposures of human frailty on the part of the advocates of elec- toral purity. Of course, the bill without the distribu- tion of seats was declared to be "an incomplete measure," and the "friends of Raform" were duly horrified at its shameful forthcomings. Give them the whole scheme—that would satisfy their virtuous longing. Let the Government afford them the wished- for opportunity of giving a cordial and disinterested support to her Majesty's Ministers. This was all they asked for, hoped for, hungered and thirsted for; why should not their honest wish be oomolied with ? The Government yielded to this hypocritical desire; but no sooner did they do so than new crops of hostility and opposition grew up in their path. The friends of Reform were thus furnished with a whole armoury of weapons from which to select the keenest and the deadliest barb er blade. Then the fight was reaewed under every imaginable pretence. Now it was a bold charge, now a covert attack, now a surprise, now an ambush, now a pitched battle, but charge, attack, surprise, ambush, or pitched battle, in no one instance was the veal object declared—the "friends of Reform" could not inscribe on their banners Hatred to Re. form," or "Down with the People!" and so they defeated Reform and baffled the hopes of the people while pretending the greatest attachment to the one and the profoundest respect for the other. And how did the people's champion bear himself in this pro- tracted struggle ? I watched him with singular inte- rest in all the varying fortunes of the campaign-for that it was; and I must conscientiously admit that I do not believe that any statesman, having a due re- gard to his own honour, coald have borne himself with more loyalty to his cause, or with a juster deference to the legitimate wishes of the House. From his very orgunisation he must be specially susceptible to taunt, sneer, insinuation, however delicate or covert it may be.; and Heaven knows these were rained on his head for four long months; yet I do not remember a single instance in which he lost hia temper, compromised his dignity, or transgressed the limits of that decorum which is looked for ia a Minister of the Crown, human as he must be. He was necessarily compelled at times to employ the same weapons that were directed against him; but he has on many occa- sions held back his hand rather than strike, though the enemy's armour was all agape with rents and crevices, or though h,is opponent was r-aked to his thrust. I shall say nothing of hia marvellous endurance, as night after night he was faithfully at his post, ever on the alert, ready at any moment to meet his opponents whatever their mode or manner of attack; or how, when the emergency called for a fuller display of his powers, and a bolder enunciation of the living and essential principles of his measures, his oratory bor- rowed majesty from the imminence of the peril, and his words swelled like the deep notes of an organ, or startled like the blast of a trumpet. Let me only say that he fell with honour. Fell- but to rise stronger than ever-in the public conviction of his honesty ana truth. I know there are many many, too, of his stanch supporters, who did not hesitate to charge him with want of tact—not in the general manage- ment of the bill, but because of his risking his colleagues and his party on so small an issue as a mere question of rating. But no one who heard his explanation of last evening, made with such admirable dignity, temper, and moderation, that must not be convinced that what appeared a matter of detail would, by its necessary operation, defeat the ostensible liberality of even a X5 nominal franchise. Tact ia an invaluable gift, but it cannot be availed of on all occasions. Dodging and evasion are sometimes, and not unjustly, associated in men's minds with the display of this tact. When a great principle is at stake, and the honour of a Minister or a Cabinet is distinctly and unequivocally involved, taet is altogether out of place—pluck and determination are then qualities best suited to the emergency; and by the manifestation of these quali- ties the popular leader has not merely vindicated I-iis truth and maintained his honour, but he has materially served the oause of Reform. A cowardly policy would have distracted the Ministers and betrayed the people. By his resignation of a proud position on a question of principle, Mr. Gladstone has more than ever entitled himself to the respect of his opponents, the devotion or his freends, and the gratitude of his country.

GARIBALDI AND HIS VOLUNTEERS.

THE MINISTERIAL CRISIS.

!DISASTROUS FIRE IN LEEDS.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. FATAL…

OUR lb" CITY" ARTICLE. --

---iumto nnh fotmlrg gUrkfs*¡I…

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