1 Durham from the

"the Standard and

our both reviewing

y the same light.

3 to thank Lord

ts of the Reform

11 as by far the

is colleagues to

rthe working of

nts in govern-

Y, which all ho-

; had in view

d and long to

‘. been taken

at domestic

griefs and

noticed Lord

in the go-

i the noble

iered for

'uly sym-

mistake

tied to,

"C, 0!‘

'soual

proba-

:c was

.‘eforc,

ly have

mg the

-d Dur-

ltcd up-

\dniiuis-

.onld not

. is impos-

.ith the go-

ce the open-

ii an evident the portion of

rewd men ofof-

io,ont heir parts

.on to meet their

now of rather an-

.» kept up, to be sure

ilindiug the public to

.ies, wlnch is really in

Now Lord Durham must

man, il'he can Counten-

hand proceedings, or act

those who carry them on.

organs may asseVerate the

as they like, or as their em-

. but itwill be hard to persuade

. common observation that there are

ple reasons why Lord Durham should

n his resignation, independently of ill.

a, which, after all, would hardly prevent attention to the duties of the privy seal.

5 secesswn may at all events, be taken as a warning, how we place too much confidence in the Ministry. It is to be feared that some ofthose who remain have considerably less ho. nesty, or at any rate, less ﬁrmness, than their colleague who has quitted it. He. was not on- ly straight-forward and manly, but able and well-informed; he understood the position of England, in this year of grace 18:33, better

than any man in the Cabinet.

Newcastle Journal.—Wc announced in a great part of our last impression, the retire- ment of Lord Durham from the Cabinet. Lord Grey laid his amiable son in la w’s abdication of oﬂice before the King on the 18th ; on the 15th he is gazetted Viscount Lambton and Earl of Durham. Now this is the most impudent ofall the Premier’s family movements. Heaven

THE BRITISH AMERICAN

knows that it was enough to have on the Grey List upwards of two dozen family Statesmcna preying upon unfortunate Bull to the “"1901 some hundred thousand a-ycar ; but to "115}: Lord Du ham two steps in the Peerage. 0" “'5 retireine'it from an otlice which he could {"31 have kept without public injury, is an exhibi- tion ofpolitical profligacy reserved for a Libe- ral Prime Minister—a patriot who sets not with a pledge to rule without patronage! What are the circumstances under which Lord Dur- ham quits otlice? The MinisterialJournals in London and their slavish echoes nearer home, tell us that the noble Lord retires on account ofdomcstic atiiiction and ill health. We hesi- tate not to pronounce this assertion to be a wilful falsehood, if not on the part ofthe news- “ riters, certainly on the part of those who have given them their cue. 1f the Noble Lord were really so stricken; if he suffered on a bed ol'sickness, and sought that privacy which is best for a man who wishes to make up his account with the world, we should be among the last to drag his atl’airs into public discus- sion. But we know, on adequate authority, that the fact is otherwise; we know that the noble Lord's refusal to act any longer with the Ministry, is the result ot'anger, at being pre- vented from doing mischief. He would fain plunge the Ministry over head and ears in the depths of revolutionary innovation. Prevent-~ ed from doing that. he first tries the elfect ot sowing the seeds ofdissention; and, failing therein, he retreats in a rage, and Lord Grey attempts to soothe him by the gilded ginger. bread of a couple of additional titles—two steps at onceiu the Peerage, while hundreds ot'meritorious men, who have spent the greater parts oftheir lives in the service oftheir coun. try, and have shed their blood, and lost their limbs in fighting her battles, find it ditlicult in obtaining a paltry return of a few scores of pounds a year in the shape ofa naval or milita- ry pension. But, for the sake ofargument, let us adopt the assertions ofthe Ministerial pa- pers, and set it down that Lord Durham quits otiice because illness and domestic afﬂiction render him incapable of discharging, as the Times intimates, the “ important" duties of Lord Privy Seal. We answer, firstly, that there are no duties, or next to none, to perform, the oﬂice being as near a sinecurc as may he. 11 there were duties, how were they performed during the pleasurable jaunt to St. l’etersburg last summer? SeCondly, if there are duties, and the noble ir-rd is unable to perform them on the score ofltl health, why did he reluctant. ly take upon himscif arduous labors which did not belong to him? Why did he interfere. in the great departments of the Executive? Why did he make such strenuous efforts to take the Seals of the Foreign Ofiice from the hands of Lord Palmerston? We admit that noble Lord’s incapacity, but we deny that Lord Durham is incapable of improving our foreign policy, wretched as it is. And if the noble Lord had no duties to perform, or, having duties, did not perform them on account of impediments ori- g inating in circumstances connected with him- self, what are we to say to the reward which has been obtained from the Crown on the No- hlc Lord’s rclinquisliment of Utlice. But this is not the true position ofthe question. The ctlice, as we have said. involves scarcely any duties, and therefore required from his Lord- ship neither time our labor. He took it as af- fording him an entrance into the (tabinet; and in thc (‘abinet Lord Durham was constantly in operation in person or by proxy. lfhe did not condescend to take his seat at the Council- board with those: whom, it appears, he has

been in the habit of designating ‘ the rabble of

it ﬁt! 44;

the Ministry,’ he found no difﬁculty in reach. ing the Premier, who, as Mr. Larkin tells us is now grown old, weak,and foolish ; and thro: the Premier he spoke with an effect which has been a subject of complaint about Whitehall for two years past.

London Erramz'ncr.—-Lord Durham’s resigna- tion is attributed to ill.liealth. This may be trnc_—proh:ibly is true; but were the cause of another sort. the truth would not be confessed andthc convenient plea would be put forth: Most men areJnst now sick—of the Ministry. Between the severity of the season and the measure, the dust in the streets whirled into our eyes by a March wind, and the dust in Parliament, the present state of things is es. pccinlly dis:igree;xhl<_~. The fable of the wind, the sun, the traveller and the cloak, seems to be enacted both by the weather and the gov- ernment; and we are in the first stage of the experiment—the Boreas part.

NAVY ESTIMA TES.

Sir .7. Graham said he was deeply sensi- ble ofthe great importance of the vote he was about to propose, for it was the first of large amount that came under the conside~ 'ation of this reformed Parliament. He trusted, however, that the House would support the necessary establi~hments, and come to no conclusion inconsistent with the honor, the best interests, and the secu- rity ofthe country. In the year 1828, the whole question of expenditure was very carefully brought under the review of the House by the right hon. member for Har- wich, (Mr. Herries), who, having a pecu- liar facility for placing the mast complica- ted accmnits in the most lucid order, did upon that occasion make a very able and perspicuous statement. (Hear, hear.) In 1827 the expenditure was L55,744,000; of these charges, the Finance Committee decided that L35,95€Z,000 could not be reduced. These charges were, interest and charges on the debt, 138,940,000; ci- vil and military pensions, 111,556,000; half- pay and superannuatious, 115,456,000; ma- king as he said, 135,952,000 leaving L20, 000,000 whereon to operate in the way of reduction. Between 1827 and 1832, are- duetioa of nearly L5,000,000 had been ef- fected. Now, therefore, there were only L1&,OO0,000 to be operated on the way ofreduetion. The military and naval ex- penditure, in the year 1897, amounted to 1.1ti,‘.’05,000. In the year 183‘), it W35 but Llfi,:205,000. So that, since the year 1827, 143,000,000 out ofthe total reduc- tion of L:3,000,000 belonged to that 1103 of expenditure. This year, the l'etluct'im would be—seamen’s Wages, 11443000; “in her, L:3-l,000; new works, L4:‘:,000; hiret packets, l.4,740; civil establishents, L28 310-. other heads, mason—(some head were not heard, but the whole amou"tet to 1320,000.) The reductions made b the present government were—twelve com inissioners. by whose reduction a saw! of Li 4,200 had been made; sixty one 5 perior ofﬁcers of dock- yards, whose sa

n~—~H‘-—