Punch (42.1862)

March 2<J, 1862]

PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

121

TOO BAD, THOUGH.'’

Cad to Omnibus running from the “ Mother Shipton ” to the Bank. “ ‘ Mother Shipton,’ Mum > Yes, all
right, Mum. Don't you ’urry, Mum. (Aside to Driver.) The wery Old Lady ’erself, 1 do b'lieve, Jem / ”

THE MEETING OP THE
MONTH.

The boisterous month of
March is one in which no anni-
versary can be more appropri-
ately celebrated than that of the
Life Boat Institution, whose
annual meeting was held on
Wednesday last week at the
London Tavern; the Lord
Mayor in the chair. In march,
old iEolus gives his boys, the
Winds, a holiday; and they,
being thus let loose, play wild
games with the shipping, and
strew the coasts with wrecks.
What is fun to them is death to
sailors, and would be the des-
truction of many more, if it
were not for the exertions of
the brave crews which man the
Life Boats; exertions which
are stimulated, whilst the means
of making them are afforded, by
the Life Boat Institution.

In providing Life Boats where
they are wanted, and in reward-
ing the valour which renders
them available, the Life Boat
Institution spends a consider-
able amount of money. It
therefore itself necessarily seeks
to raise the wind; and doubt-
less the very seasonable appeal
which it has made for this pur-
pose in the stormy month of
March will prove to have had
the desired effect.

PUNCH’S ESSENCE OF PARLIAMENT.

March 17. Monday. Lord Normanby expressed his belief that the
late Governments of Italy still reigned in the hearts of the people, and
he abused the Government of Victor-Emmanuel. It is needless to
say that, still less how, Lord Russell disposed of the Normanby
twaddle, but it had also the effect of calling up Lord Malmesbury,
who declared that when in office he did everything to promote peace in
the south of Europe, and that if his advice had been taken, at least one
hundred thousand men, killed in the Italian war, would have been alive.
He had been charged with Austrian partialities, but both Austria and
Italy had lound fault with him. Upon which we may remark, with all
deference to the amiable Malmesbury, that though doubtless a judg-
ment from the bench ought to displease both sides, it is not an irre-
fragable proof of a man’s having done his duty by two parties that both
agree that he has done it to neither.

An explanation by Mr. Layard shows that the Americans have had
a little Mason and Slidell affair at Tangier. He had, on a former
night, mentioned that two persons from the Sumter had been seized at
Tangier on the demand of the U. S. Consul, but that they had after-
wards been set at liberty. The only error in the statement lay in the
last little sentence. Instead of being set at liberty they were set on
board a Eederal war-vessel, the Ino, and by her transferred to a mer-
chant ship, to be sent off to the United States. The act was a gross
violation of the right of asylum, and Mr. Layard hoped that the
American Government would act rightly. After the M. and S. affair
it would be premature to say that they will not—only the fleet of
Mogh’nb-el-acsa (quite right, Cox, that is the native name of Morocco,
or, as you accurately say, Marocco) is not a very large one, and we are
not aware that there is a Muley Ben Russell to intimate clearly that
the “fellows ” must be given up.

Mr. Moffat, the tea-dealer, demanded when the Budget would be
brought in. Mr. Gladstone replied, that he hoped to let his cat out
of the bag on the third of April.

Then was resumed the Horsfall debate on International Maritime
Law. But Mr. Cobden, who was to have begun, was hoarse, so Mr.
Lindsay, for the shipowners, contended that all private property ought
to be respected in time of war, but he only asked that the present state
oi the law might be declared unsatisfactory. The Lord Advocate, in
a very able speech, exposed the absurdity of the first proposition, and

declared the second to be vague and useless. After several speeches,
in which the same things were repeated with more or less dilution, Mr.
Bright signified his adhesion to the Horsfall proposition, and charged
Lord Palmerston with having, when “ starring in the provinces,”
uttered glowing admiration of the Declaration of Paris, and expressed
a hope that its principle would be carried further. Sir Roundell
Palmer made an able onslaught upon the innovators, and Lord
Palmerston frankly admitted that he had entirely altered his opinion
since his speech at Liverpool. Needless to say that Mr. Disraeli
made the most of this admission, and informed the Premier that in
future his most solemn warnings could have little weight in the H9use.
But no battle was given, and Mr. Horsfall withdrew his resolution.

Tuesday. After a strong and valuable testimony by Lord Overston e
in favour of the Revised Code, there was a slight conversation on the
Second Reading of a Bill for making it unnecessary to send (as in the
case of Anderson, the escaped slave) writs of habeas corpus to any
colony in which the Havehiscarcass is in use. Lord Chelmsford—
notice this-—made a gentle suggestion for improving the language of that
Bill, and Lord Westbury—notice this—as gently assented. But this
amiability was only—

“ The torrent’s smoothness ere it dash below."

A few minutes later, and Lord Chelmsford, in the presence of a
large House and a good many ladies, who had mustered on the under-
standing that something objectionable was to take place, was well into
a savage attack upon the Lord Chancellor, nominally on behalf of
those officials of the late Insolvent Court who have been done out of
their incomes through an omission in the new Bankruptcy Act. Lord
Chelmsford must have imagined himself back into Mr. Thesiger,
for he quite forgot his coronet manners, and imputed to Lord West-
bury, whom he must have regarded as only Mr. Bethell, negligence,
ignorance, insincerity, untruthfulness; incivility, tyranny, slander, ana
a great many other bad things, of which a nobleman must be entirely
incapable. But Lord Westbury is not entirely incapable of self-
defence, and when Lord Chelmsford had done, and his backers had
finished applauding, the Chancellor, rose,—

“ With, eye, though calm, determined not to spare.”

And it cannot be said that he exactly spared either Mr. Thesiger,
or the rod. His Lordship accused Ids assailant of hating the Lord