London, May 4th.—For nearly a month I have let this journal fall into arrear, during which period the most interesting occurrences have been the return of Clarendon, the publication of the conditions of peace with the accompanying protocols, and the debate upon Kars. With regard to the peace, Clarendon comes very well out of his mission, and no fault is found with the peace. The Kars debate was a great error on the part of the Opposition, and ended with a great triumph for the Government. Just before it, Palmerston called a meeting of his supporters, where he harangued them with great success, and managed to rally them round him with more of zeal and cordiality than they have hitherto shown. His position is certainly improved, and according to present appearances he will get through the session without much difficulty. All agree that he has been doing well in the House of Commons; his assiduity, his punctual attendance, and his popular manners make him agreeable to the House, and he has exhibited greater facility and resource in dealing with all sorts of miscellaneous subjects than anybody gave him credit for. There is not the smallest danger of the peace proving dangerous to him, and it is evident that the House of Commons, however independent and undisciplined it may be, will not allow him to be placed in any danger, and is determined not to have any change of Government at present. The Peelites and John Russell supported him and had nothing else to do, for they are neither of them in a condition to attempt to play a game of their own.
May 14th.—Every day my disinclination to continue this work (which is neither a journal nor anything else) increases, but I have at the same time a reluctance to discontinue entirely an occupation which has engaged me for forty years, and in which I may still find from time to time something to record which may hereafter be deemed worth reading, and so at long intervals, and for short periods, I resume my reluctant pen.
We are now in the Whitsuntide holidays, in a profound political and parliamentary calm, the Government perfectly secure, Palmerston very popular, the Opposition disheartened and disunited, and having managed their matters as awkwardly and stupidly as possible, attacking the Government on questions and points on which the assailants were sure to be beaten, and strengthening instead of weakening it by their abortive attempts. There was great difference of opinion amongst them about fighting battles, on Kars, and on the peace; Lyndhurst and Derby were against, Disraeli was for. Roebuck, whom I fell in with on Sunday in a railway train, told me that if they had laid hold of the one point of the protocol in the Belgian press, and worked this well, they might have put the Government in a minority, but they missed this obvious opportunity.[1] I called on Lyndhurst yesterday, who said they had unaccountably overlooked this plausible topic. He is going to make a speech on Italy when Parliament meets, and we agreed entirely that either too much or too little was done at Paris on this question, and that either it ought not to have been entertained and discussed at all, or some more decided measures ought to have been adopted with regard to it. To stir up such delicate questions, and leave them in their present unhappy condition, is an egregious error.
[1] [An attempt had been made at the Congress of Paris by Count Walewski to bring forward some measure or resolution reflecting on the independence of the press in Belgium. It led to nothing, but Lord Clarendon was accused of not having protested against it with sufficient energy.]
A SABBATARIAN QUESTION.
The questions of war and of peace having now ceased to interest and excite the public mind, a religious question has sprung up to take their place for the moment, which though not at present of much importance, will in all probability lead to more serious consequences hereafter. Sir Benjamin Hall having bethought himself of providing innocent amusement for the Londoners on Sunday, established a Sunday playing of military bands in Kensington Gardens and in the other parks and gardens about the metropolis, which has been carried on, with the sanction of the Government, with great success for several Sundays. Some murmurs were heard from the puritanical and Sabbatarian party, but Palmerston having declared himself favourable to the practice in the House of Commons, the opposition appeared to cease. The puritans, however, continued to agitate against it in meetings and in the press, though the best part of the latter was favourable to the bands, and at last, when a motion in Parliament was threatened to insist on the discontinuance of the music, the Cabinet thought it necessary to reconsider the subject. They were informed that if the Government resisted the motion they would be beaten, and moreover that no man could support them in opposition to it without great danger of losing his seat at the next election. It is stated that the Sabbatarians are so united and numerous, and their organisation so complete, that all over the country they would be able to influence and probably carry any election, and that this influence would be brought to bear against every man who maintained by his vote this 'desecration of the Sabbath.' Accordingly it was resolved by the Cabinet to give way, and the only question was how to do so with anything like consistency and dignity. The Archbishop of Canterbury was made the 'Deus ex machin�' to effect this object. He was made to write a letter to the Premier representing the feelings of the people and begging the bands might be silenced. To this Palmerston wrote a reply in which he repeated his own opinion in favour of the music, but that in deference to the public sentiment he would put an end to their playing. All this has excited a good deal of interest and discussion. For the present, the only question is whether the angry public will not vent its indignation and resentment to-morrow in acts of uproar and violence; but though these acts will not be serious or lasting if they do take place, it may be expected that the Sabbatarians will not rest satisfied with their triumph, but will endeavour to make fresh encroachments on our free will and our habits and pursuits, and that fresh and more serious contests will arise out of this beginning.
May 28th (day of the Derby).—Yesterday on Epsom racecourse arrived the news of Palmer's being found guilty of the murder of Cook. This case and the trial have excited an interest almost unprecedented, unlike anything since the case of Thurtell about twenty years ago or more. People who never heard of either of the men took the deepest interest in it, the women particularly, though there was nothing peculiar in it or of a nature to excite them particularly. The trial lasted a fortnight, all the details of it were read with the greatest avidity, half the town went one day or other to hear it, and the anxiety that the man should be convicted was passionate. Cockburn gained great applause by the manner in which he conducted the prosecution.
DEFEAT OF THE OPPOSITION.
This trial has proved more attractive and interesting than anything in the political world, though there has been a pitched battle in the Lords on the question of Maritime Law and Right of Search given up in the recent Treaty. Derby made a violent onslaught on the Government, and was at first very confident of a majority. He soon found these hopes were fallacious, when he got angry and was more violent than he has ever been before this session. The Government got a majority of above fifty, which puts an end to any further contest there. The Government have now nothing to fear, the Opposition are routed and dispirited, and one can see nothing to alter the present state of affairs. The minor questions which have occupied attention are settling quietly. The Chelsea Commission is over, and the result will be harmless, on the whole rather good than bad, because it will prove that the violent attacks on the military authorities during the war have been exaggerated and in many cases unfounded. A sort of compromise has been made about the Wensleydale peerage, not a very happy one, and it remains to be seen whether the House of Commons is sufficiently acquiescent as to sanction it by agreeing to the 12,000l. a year to be paid to two new judges and peers for life. The Government have virtually abandoned the principle they contended for, and have yielded to the adverse vote and Committee. When they appeal to Parliament and limit the number of life peerages, they abandon the prerogative of the Crown.