THE MILITIA BILL.—DEFEAT AND RESIGNATION OF THE CABINET.
On the 16th of February, Lord John, in a committee of the whole house, explained his intentions in reference to the local militia acts. This question excited considerable interest, as the Duke of Wellington and Sir John Burgoyne had pointed out the possibility of an invasion, and the defenceless state of the coasts and of the country generally. The coup d’état in France had also created considerable public uneasiness. The secrecy, sternness of purpose, swiftness of action, boldness, and indifference to bloodshed shown by the president of the French republic, caused most men to reflect upon the possibility of some terrible coup de main being attempted against England; the president, in his writings as Prince Charles Louis Napoleon Buonaparte, having so often asserted that he represented a defeat, the defeat of Waterloo, which France must avenge. Lord John proposed to allow the plan of “the old regular militia” to fall out of use, and to establish a new scheme for a local militia. Ireland was to be exempt from the measure. In twelve months, the number of men to be raised was 70,000, in two years 100,000, in three years 130,000, after which period Great Britain alone should furnish, if necessary, 180,000 men.
Lord Palmerston’s expulsion from the cabinet was then about to tell on the ministry, and the future history of party. His lordship opposed the ministerial measure; and, released from ministerial privacy, declared that he had urged upon Lord John in vain since the year 1846 the organization of a militia. His lordship opposed the plan of a local militia, preferring the old force, and, as an Irish peer, expressed some warmth that Ireland was excluded from the arrangement.
When the bill came forth from the committee, Lord Palmerston proposed amendments in harmony with the principles upon which he had criticised the measure on going into committee. The two noble lords were now fairly pitted against one another as rivals for parliamentary influence, and the result was the defeat and resignation of Lord John Russell. The Irish members supported Lord Palmerston in great force, and threw out the ministry. His lordship also received considerable support from the Derby-Disraeli party. From that moment it was obvious that Lord John ceased—at all events for many years, should Lord Palmerston survive—to be the leader of the House of Commons.