DOI Heft:
July 9, 1864
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16874#0020
1
12
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
[July 9, 1864.
Lord Derby wished the Lords to abstain from any immediate
expression of opinion. It would shortly be for Parliament to decide
whether Ministers had preserved the honour of England, and whether
the Continental difficulty was not the result of their weak and vacil-
lating policy.
Mr. Disraeli had, at the beginning of the Session, condemned the
course of Government. Had the Papers been dnly produced, the
House might have given earlier advice and judgment. He should
speedily take the opinion of the Commons on the conduct of Ministers.
He described Lord Palmerston’s last words as another of his spirit-
less and senseless menaces, and thought the policy of Messrs. Cobden
and Bright better and more intelligible than that of the Ministry.
On the next day,
Tuesday, Mr. Disraeli, amid loud Conservative cheers, gave notice
that on the following Monday he should move a Yote of Censure.
Mr. Kinglake {Fothen) subsequently gave notice of an Amend-
ment to the effect that the House approves the conduct of Government
in abstaining from war.
And now Posterity knows all about it, and is prepared to study the
next instalment of the history of the battle. It will be found adequately
described in Mr. Punch's next number, and the historian has taken off
his coat, and is preparing himself by a perusal of Napier, Thiers,
Carlyle, and the Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World.
A little fight took place on this Tuesday, when the Ministers were
beaten, by 79 to 40, on Mr. Doulton’s motion, that Government ought
to provide for the keeping open spaces in and around London. The
mouths of Mr. Peel and Mr. Cowper presented very open spaces at
a proposition so counter to red-tape ideas, but there is a good deal to
be said for it. A Select Committee is to consider the subject.
Lord Brougham thinks that as Brazil has dropped the Slave Trade,
we mav repeal the very severe Aberdeen Act which has made her do so.
Lord Bussell thinks, with Mr. Punch, that we had better wait a little,
especially as Brazil and England are not just now on speaking terms.
To-night the Prince and Princess op Wales and Mr. Punch went
to the Adelphi to see the Dead Heart, and all three agreed that Mr.
Webster’s subtle, elaborated, and vigorous acting was an artistic treat,
doubly acceptable now that good acting is growing scarcer and scarcer.
If any reader does not see what this fact has to do with Parliament, his
intellect must be so feeble that it is not worth while to explain the
connection.
Wednesday. Mr. IIennessy had an agreeable opportunity of ascer-
taining the value which the House of Commons sets upon his wisdom
as a legislator. He moved the Second Reading of some Bill for
tampering with the Irish Poor Law, and the House threw it out by
201 to 24.
The Bill, on which there has been so much debate, for abolishing the
Tests that keep certain Dissenters out of Oxford University, went into
Committee, and great contention was expected. But Mr. Selwyn and
the Conservatives would not touch the measure, and simply announced
that they meant to throw it out on the Third Reading as they did.
Then we went into Committee on Mr. Bass’s Bill for relieving from
the nuisance of Street Organs those who deem them a nuisance. The
sensible men had all the argument and all the majorities, but a good
deal of flippant folly was emitted in the public-house, servant-maid, and
street idler’s interest. Allusion being made to the street Punch, whose
form the Great Punch playfully borrowed, and has idealised into a thing
of beauty and a joy for ever, Sir John Pakington paid us a handsome
but perfectly just compliment, describing Us both as Institutions of
the Country. We were still more pleased to find that this experienced
and practical nobleman, who, as Chairman of Quarter Sessions, knows
the nature of vagabonds and their patrons, supported Mr. Bass. So
did Sir George Grey, who said that the Bill was merely an alteration
of the existing law which enabled a householder to object to street
music if it interfered with his calling. Perhaps the Home Secretary’s
statement will outweigh all the ridiculous misrepresentations of such
people as Sir John Shelley and Mr. Ayrton, who also made some
miserable jokes, better suited to their Westminster and Tower Hamlet
mobs than to the House of Commons. By a majority of 201 to 87
the Committee approved the principal feature of the Bill, and its
friends triumphed on other divisions, refusing by 175 to 54 to postpone
the discussion, which was ^continued until the time for rising on
Wednesdays.
Thursday. Posterity, may we trouble you again for a moment ? You
will hardly believe that up to this day civilised London had borne to
have its carriages and horsemen arrested and robbed by highwaymen,
called turnpike keepers; but it was only to-day that Lord Ravens-
worth, rising in the Lords, reminded the Peers, with jubilation, that
Metropolitan Tolls ended that night. Even now, the south bank of the
Thames is exposed to the same nuisance, but will hardly bear it long,
as Mr. Brad field, the exterminator of the North Bank pikemen, is
again at work.
Lord Carlisle, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, was accused by Lord
Donoughmore of having been too ready to pardon certain criminals.
Lord Carlisle is a good-natured man, but in the cases mentioned.
Lord Chelmsford, his political opponent, testified that the pardons
were justifiable. Lord Leitrim called Lord Carlisle a traitor and
other hard names, aud got a witheringly contemptuous answer from
Lord Granville.
It is pleasing to see that amid these disputes the Commons are
gentlemen who remember what is due to the ladies. Sir George
Bowyer wished the grating between them and the House done away
with, _ but Mr. Cowper feared that if this were done they would
exercise an undesirable influence over the House. What he meant
Punch cannot tell. If their presence would encourage Members to
speak their best, and to behave gracefully, we should like to see them
around the Speaker’s table, on which flowers might be placed. Mr.
Heygate, member for Leicester, did still more valuable service to the
ladies, by demanding improvement in the ventilation of their gallery,
for which polite attention they will owe him theirs when he next speaks,
and as he speaks well, the duty will be a pleasure.
Education ol Naval Architects, and Education generally helped on
the evening. Then on the vote of—pooh, a trifle, £97,182 for the
department of Science and Art, we had some fun. Mr. Gregory
abused the Kensington Museum, Sir G. Bowyer said it contained a
sedan stolen from the Duke of Tuscany, and Mr. Ayrton said some-
thing which we prefer to give in his own words as reported;—
“ Literary productions Lad lately been patronised at Kensington, and the last of
them he had seen. It was called Mumbo Jumbo ; or the Mountains of the Moon on
the Gaboon, which seemed to be the most remarkable compound of nonsense that he
had ever seen. Indeed, it was the sheerest nonsense that could be conceived, without
wit or humour or any other redeeming quality. He had met with a very respectable
gentleman, who held an office in the department, and he was asked whether he
would take part in its representation. He was told that he must make his face as
black as a coal, for it seemed that the affair was under the patronage of the Coles.
(Laughter.) The gentleman's feeling was that as he had a wife and family he had
no choice, and therefore must make a fool of himself. ”
Later, in a debate on the Greek Loan, Mr. Lygon made a speech.
Now.this gentleman has more than once been smart on Mr. Gladstone,
who is a dangerous person to be smart upon. To-night, in reply, the
Chancellor told Mr. Lygon that his mind seemed to have got into
that state of confusion in which it generally was at that time of night.
Let this. mean what it might, it could scarcely be described.as civfiity
in excelsis.
Friday. Lord Grey objects to the way we are going on in Japan..
So does the Bishop of Oxford, whom Bis h op Punch was happy to-
see in the House again. Lord Russell said that all was correct,
errors excepted.
In the Commons there was a great scene. The Conservatives thought
that the Oxford Tests Bill could not come on for Thud Reading until
late, as there was Supply, and an Irish Bill promising great strife, so
they ordered their men to be down at 12. But business slipped through
as if it had been greased, and when the Oxford Bill came on, the Liberals
were terribly strong, and the others not. But the Conservatives talked
against time, the Liberals not putting up a speaker, and even howling
down Mr. Neate, their own man, and at last on division, the numbers
were equal, 170 each way. An awful row. The Speaker gave a casting
vote for the Bill, and then came the death-question, “ That this Bill do
pass ?” But three more men had arrived, and two were Conservatives,
so the Tests were retained by 173 to 171. The House was perfectly
frantic, and the shouts of the victors might have been heard at Oxford
itself.
The week was brought to a more creditable ending. The Anti Organ
Fiend Bill passed through Committee, with an Amendment to the
effect that when we give a fiend in charge we can go with him to the
station-house. Nothing could give us more pleasure.
NATIONAL DEFENSIVE ECONOMY.
The taxpayers of England owe much to Captain Palliser, of the
18th Hussars, for his invention of chilled shot, iron shot more than
equal to steel, made by being cast in a mould of cold iron. Captain
Palliser’s chilled shot cost only 2s. a-piece, whereas steel shot come
to at least £1 10s. The chilled shot invented by Captain Palliser,
after having penetrated the side of an iron-clad, fly into pieces, which
answer all the purpose of a bursting shell. Now, 30s. is a great price
to pay for a shot, over and above the powder, and when that sum is
fired at the enemies of England there ought to be plenty of them to
show for it. It is as much as a whole host of them is worth; and the
I man who has given us a shot that will kill as many or more for 2s.,
deserves well of his country.
British. Influence Abroad.
The King of Dahomey continues to celebrate his Grand Customs,
which consist in the sacrifice of human victims, and yet England declines
to engage in war for the sake of putting a stop to those atrocities. All
the Continental journals agree in the declaration that we are fast losing
our influence in Africa.
12
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
[July 9, 1864.
Lord Derby wished the Lords to abstain from any immediate
expression of opinion. It would shortly be for Parliament to decide
whether Ministers had preserved the honour of England, and whether
the Continental difficulty was not the result of their weak and vacil-
lating policy.
Mr. Disraeli had, at the beginning of the Session, condemned the
course of Government. Had the Papers been dnly produced, the
House might have given earlier advice and judgment. He should
speedily take the opinion of the Commons on the conduct of Ministers.
He described Lord Palmerston’s last words as another of his spirit-
less and senseless menaces, and thought the policy of Messrs. Cobden
and Bright better and more intelligible than that of the Ministry.
On the next day,
Tuesday, Mr. Disraeli, amid loud Conservative cheers, gave notice
that on the following Monday he should move a Yote of Censure.
Mr. Kinglake {Fothen) subsequently gave notice of an Amend-
ment to the effect that the House approves the conduct of Government
in abstaining from war.
And now Posterity knows all about it, and is prepared to study the
next instalment of the history of the battle. It will be found adequately
described in Mr. Punch's next number, and the historian has taken off
his coat, and is preparing himself by a perusal of Napier, Thiers,
Carlyle, and the Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World.
A little fight took place on this Tuesday, when the Ministers were
beaten, by 79 to 40, on Mr. Doulton’s motion, that Government ought
to provide for the keeping open spaces in and around London. The
mouths of Mr. Peel and Mr. Cowper presented very open spaces at
a proposition so counter to red-tape ideas, but there is a good deal to
be said for it. A Select Committee is to consider the subject.
Lord Brougham thinks that as Brazil has dropped the Slave Trade,
we mav repeal the very severe Aberdeen Act which has made her do so.
Lord Bussell thinks, with Mr. Punch, that we had better wait a little,
especially as Brazil and England are not just now on speaking terms.
To-night the Prince and Princess op Wales and Mr. Punch went
to the Adelphi to see the Dead Heart, and all three agreed that Mr.
Webster’s subtle, elaborated, and vigorous acting was an artistic treat,
doubly acceptable now that good acting is growing scarcer and scarcer.
If any reader does not see what this fact has to do with Parliament, his
intellect must be so feeble that it is not worth while to explain the
connection.
Wednesday. Mr. IIennessy had an agreeable opportunity of ascer-
taining the value which the House of Commons sets upon his wisdom
as a legislator. He moved the Second Reading of some Bill for
tampering with the Irish Poor Law, and the House threw it out by
201 to 24.
The Bill, on which there has been so much debate, for abolishing the
Tests that keep certain Dissenters out of Oxford University, went into
Committee, and great contention was expected. But Mr. Selwyn and
the Conservatives would not touch the measure, and simply announced
that they meant to throw it out on the Third Reading as they did.
Then we went into Committee on Mr. Bass’s Bill for relieving from
the nuisance of Street Organs those who deem them a nuisance. The
sensible men had all the argument and all the majorities, but a good
deal of flippant folly was emitted in the public-house, servant-maid, and
street idler’s interest. Allusion being made to the street Punch, whose
form the Great Punch playfully borrowed, and has idealised into a thing
of beauty and a joy for ever, Sir John Pakington paid us a handsome
but perfectly just compliment, describing Us both as Institutions of
the Country. We were still more pleased to find that this experienced
and practical nobleman, who, as Chairman of Quarter Sessions, knows
the nature of vagabonds and their patrons, supported Mr. Bass. So
did Sir George Grey, who said that the Bill was merely an alteration
of the existing law which enabled a householder to object to street
music if it interfered with his calling. Perhaps the Home Secretary’s
statement will outweigh all the ridiculous misrepresentations of such
people as Sir John Shelley and Mr. Ayrton, who also made some
miserable jokes, better suited to their Westminster and Tower Hamlet
mobs than to the House of Commons. By a majority of 201 to 87
the Committee approved the principal feature of the Bill, and its
friends triumphed on other divisions, refusing by 175 to 54 to postpone
the discussion, which was ^continued until the time for rising on
Wednesdays.
Thursday. Posterity, may we trouble you again for a moment ? You
will hardly believe that up to this day civilised London had borne to
have its carriages and horsemen arrested and robbed by highwaymen,
called turnpike keepers; but it was only to-day that Lord Ravens-
worth, rising in the Lords, reminded the Peers, with jubilation, that
Metropolitan Tolls ended that night. Even now, the south bank of the
Thames is exposed to the same nuisance, but will hardly bear it long,
as Mr. Brad field, the exterminator of the North Bank pikemen, is
again at work.
Lord Carlisle, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, was accused by Lord
Donoughmore of having been too ready to pardon certain criminals.
Lord Carlisle is a good-natured man, but in the cases mentioned.
Lord Chelmsford, his political opponent, testified that the pardons
were justifiable. Lord Leitrim called Lord Carlisle a traitor and
other hard names, aud got a witheringly contemptuous answer from
Lord Granville.
It is pleasing to see that amid these disputes the Commons are
gentlemen who remember what is due to the ladies. Sir George
Bowyer wished the grating between them and the House done away
with, _ but Mr. Cowper feared that if this were done they would
exercise an undesirable influence over the House. What he meant
Punch cannot tell. If their presence would encourage Members to
speak their best, and to behave gracefully, we should like to see them
around the Speaker’s table, on which flowers might be placed. Mr.
Heygate, member for Leicester, did still more valuable service to the
ladies, by demanding improvement in the ventilation of their gallery,
for which polite attention they will owe him theirs when he next speaks,
and as he speaks well, the duty will be a pleasure.
Education ol Naval Architects, and Education generally helped on
the evening. Then on the vote of—pooh, a trifle, £97,182 for the
department of Science and Art, we had some fun. Mr. Gregory
abused the Kensington Museum, Sir G. Bowyer said it contained a
sedan stolen from the Duke of Tuscany, and Mr. Ayrton said some-
thing which we prefer to give in his own words as reported;—
“ Literary productions Lad lately been patronised at Kensington, and the last of
them he had seen. It was called Mumbo Jumbo ; or the Mountains of the Moon on
the Gaboon, which seemed to be the most remarkable compound of nonsense that he
had ever seen. Indeed, it was the sheerest nonsense that could be conceived, without
wit or humour or any other redeeming quality. He had met with a very respectable
gentleman, who held an office in the department, and he was asked whether he
would take part in its representation. He was told that he must make his face as
black as a coal, for it seemed that the affair was under the patronage of the Coles.
(Laughter.) The gentleman's feeling was that as he had a wife and family he had
no choice, and therefore must make a fool of himself. ”
Later, in a debate on the Greek Loan, Mr. Lygon made a speech.
Now.this gentleman has more than once been smart on Mr. Gladstone,
who is a dangerous person to be smart upon. To-night, in reply, the
Chancellor told Mr. Lygon that his mind seemed to have got into
that state of confusion in which it generally was at that time of night.
Let this. mean what it might, it could scarcely be described.as civfiity
in excelsis.
Friday. Lord Grey objects to the way we are going on in Japan..
So does the Bishop of Oxford, whom Bis h op Punch was happy to-
see in the House again. Lord Russell said that all was correct,
errors excepted.
In the Commons there was a great scene. The Conservatives thought
that the Oxford Tests Bill could not come on for Thud Reading until
late, as there was Supply, and an Irish Bill promising great strife, so
they ordered their men to be down at 12. But business slipped through
as if it had been greased, and when the Oxford Bill came on, the Liberals
were terribly strong, and the others not. But the Conservatives talked
against time, the Liberals not putting up a speaker, and even howling
down Mr. Neate, their own man, and at last on division, the numbers
were equal, 170 each way. An awful row. The Speaker gave a casting
vote for the Bill, and then came the death-question, “ That this Bill do
pass ?” But three more men had arrived, and two were Conservatives,
so the Tests were retained by 173 to 171. The House was perfectly
frantic, and the shouts of the victors might have been heard at Oxford
itself.
The week was brought to a more creditable ending. The Anti Organ
Fiend Bill passed through Committee, with an Amendment to the
effect that when we give a fiend in charge we can go with him to the
station-house. Nothing could give us more pleasure.
NATIONAL DEFENSIVE ECONOMY.
The taxpayers of England owe much to Captain Palliser, of the
18th Hussars, for his invention of chilled shot, iron shot more than
equal to steel, made by being cast in a mould of cold iron. Captain
Palliser’s chilled shot cost only 2s. a-piece, whereas steel shot come
to at least £1 10s. The chilled shot invented by Captain Palliser,
after having penetrated the side of an iron-clad, fly into pieces, which
answer all the purpose of a bursting shell. Now, 30s. is a great price
to pay for a shot, over and above the powder, and when that sum is
fired at the enemies of England there ought to be plenty of them to
show for it. It is as much as a whole host of them is worth; and the
I man who has given us a shot that will kill as many or more for 2s.,
deserves well of his country.
British. Influence Abroad.
The King of Dahomey continues to celebrate his Grand Customs,
which consist in the sacrifice of human victims, and yet England declines
to engage in war for the sake of putting a stop to those atrocities. All
the Continental journals agree in the declaration that we are fast losing
our influence in Africa.