facts, and in the midst of a sea which every day grows more and more calm, call for tempests in which they would be the first to be swallowed up. These occult proceedings of the different parties serve no purpose but to show their weakness; and the Government, instead of being disturbed at them, only thinks of governing France and tranquillizing Europe. For this double object, it has the firm determination to diminish expenses and armament, and to devote to useful purposes all the resources of the country; to keep up with good faith international relations, in order to prove to the most incredulous that when France expresses her formal intention to remain at peace, it may be believed, for she is strong enough not to deceive any one.

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You will see, gentlemen, by the budget which will be presented to you, that our financial position has never been better for the last twenty years, and that the public revenue has increased beyond all anticipation. Nevertheless, the effective force of the army, already reduced by 30,000 men in the course of the last year, is about to be immediately reduced by 20,000 more.

"The majority of the laws which will be presented to you will not go beyond necessary exigencies; and that is the most favourable indication of our situation. The people are happy when governments do not find it necessary to resort to extraordinary measures.

"Let us, therefore, thank Providence for the visible protection which it has accorded to our efforts; let us persevere in this course of firmness and moderation, which reassures without irritating, which leads to good without violence,

Let

and so prevents all reaction. us always reckon on God and on ourselves, as on the mutual support which we owe to ourselves; and let us be proud to see in so short a time this great country pacified, prosperous at home, and honoured abroad."

The 15th of August, the féte day of Saint Napoleon, was celebrated at Paris with great magnificence. There was an official reception at the Tuileries, and when the Foreign Ambassadors presented their addresses, the Emperor said, "I thank the diplomatic body for its congratulations. What is most agreeable to me this day is to behold the peace of Europe consolidated-at least I consider it so-without that result having cost anything to the dignity and amour propre of any nation."

In the evening there was a grand display of fire-works; the chief feature of which was the apotheosis of the first Napoleon. A figure of the Great Emperor, sixty feet high, resting upon a globe, towered up amidst the fiery columns of a pyrotechnic temple of Immortality.

The question of a fusion between the two branches of the Bourbon family had frequently been agitated, since the time when a common misfortune had seemed to bar both alike from the prospect of the throne of France. This, of course, could only take place by an acknowledgment on the part of the Orleanist princes of the superior title of the Duc de Bordeaux, and it was not unnatural that they, and the Duchess of Orleans especially, should long hesitate before they admitted a claim which was fatal to the pretensions of the young Comte de Paris, and branded the reign of Louis Philippe as a species of usurpation. But it was

unseemly and idle to keep up a quarrel for an object which had eluded the grasp of both-and the Orleanists felt that, whatever chance there might be of seeing hereafter a Bourbon upon the throne of France, that chance was weakened by the maintenance of family discord, and the assertion of conflicting claims, MoreMoreover, as the Duc de Bordeaux has had no offspring from his marriage, the recognition of his title seems to postpone that of the Comte de Paris for only a single life, and the Orleanist branch would then unite in themselves every claim which a Bourbon prince can possibly have to the crown of France. These considerations prevailed with the male members of the family of Louis Philippe, and, after some preliminary negotiations, the Duc de Nemours, on the 17th of November this year, met the Duc de Bordeaux at Frohsdorf, where he has resided since his marriage, under the assumed name of the Comte de Chambord, and a formal reconciliation took place. The Duc de Nemours said to his royal cousin, "I declare to you, in my own name and in the name of my brothers, that we recognise only one royalty in France, and that that royalty is yours; but one throne, and that the one on which we hope soon to see seated the eldest of our house (l'ainé de notre maison.)" It will be observed, that the Duc de Nemours here professed to speak for himself and his brothers, but made no mention of the Duchess of Orleans, the mother of the young Comte de Paris, who is Louis Philippe's heir. In fact, she was no party to the proceeding; and up to the close of the present year had not given her consent to an arrangement the im

mediate effect of which, however slightly events might be influenced by it, was ostensibly to disinherit her son.

On the 7th of December, the anniversary of the day on which Marshal Ney was executed in 1815, his statue was erected in the garden of the Luxembourg, on the spot where he fell. Three of his sons were present-the Prince of Moskowa, the Duke of Elchingen, and Count Edgar Ney. The Archbishop of Paris pronounced a benediction upon the statue, and several orations were delivered in honour of the illustrious Marshal. Amongst others who spoke was M. Dupin, who had been one of his counsel at his trial. The Emperor was not present.

The part taken by France this year in the quarrel that arose between Russia and the Ottoman Porte, and the identity of views which prevailed between her and Great Britain on all the important questions to which that quarrel gave rise, will be more conveniently related in the account of the Russo-Turkish war, which will be found in our subsequent pages. The Eastern question had in the reign of Louis Philippe, when the Thiers Ministry was in power, led to an estrangement of France from England which threatened very unpleasant consequences; but now the Eastern question, under a different aspect, caused the closest alliance to be formed between the two countries; and England and France were never better friends than when they coalesced for the purpose of checking the ambition of Russia and maintaining the independence of Turkey.

SPAIN. There is nothing of interest to relate respecting the

affairs of Spain this year, beyond the rise and fall of ephemeral Ministries. On the 1st of March the Cortes assembled, when S. Martinez de la Rosa, supported by the Government, was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies, by an overwhelming majority of 150 votes out of 170. It was, however, soon found that the Opposition was active and unsparing in its attacks against the Roncali Ministry, who were accused, amongst other things, of having made corrupt concessions to railways. It will be remembered, that a similar charge of corruption in the grant of a public contract was made in the last year of the reign of Louis Philippe against M. Teste, who in 1842 was a member of the French Government and Minister of Public Works, and few things tended more to alienate the people from the Government than the belief that the virtue of great officers of State was not unassailable, as was proved in the case of M. Teste, who was convicted of having in 1842, while a member of the Cabinet, made a grant of public salt-works to a particular company, under a promise of pecuniary advantage to himself.

In Spain, the accusations, though made, were not positively established, but it is a proof of the low tone of morality existing amongst public men there, that the opposition were able, with effect, to make use of such a weapon of attack, in order to damage the character of their political opponents. On the 7th of March, a violent onslaught was made upon the Ministry, in which General Prim distinguished himself by the bitterness of his invective. He accused them of trampling upon the constitution, and conspiring to

govern without the concurrence of the Cortes. This was only one of the attacks to which the Ministry had been exposed; and so much acrimony and personality had been displayed during the debates that had taken place since the commencement of the session, that the Ministry resolved to advise the Queen to suspend the sittings-an act similar in effect to a prorogation of Parliament in this country. Accordingly, on the 8th of April, the President of the Council read in the Chamber of Deputies a Royal decree, which declared the sittings of the Cortes to be suspended for the present session; and a similar communication was at the same time made in the Senate.

The Cabinet, however, was disunited in itself, and some warm discussions took place, in which such serious differences of opinion prevailed, that on the 11th of April most of the Ministers tendered their resignations, which the Queen accepted.

The task of forming a new Cabinet was confided to General Lersundi, who, after some difficulty, succeeded. It was composed as follows:-General Lersundi, President of the Council; S. Ayllon, Foreign Affairs; S. Collantes, Justice; S. Egand, Interior; L. Bermudez de Castro, Finance; S. Antonio Doral, Marine.

On the 16th of April the new Ministry published the following programme of their views and intended policy, in the form of an address to the Queen :

"Madam-In order to respond as completely as the undersigned desire to the confidence of your Majesty, and to the duties they have contracted towards the country in accepting the exalted title

of responsible councillors of the Crown, they deem it expedient to begin by frankly expressing their ideas on the situation in which they have been called upon to direct public affairs. If Minis terial modifications have advantages for the State, in exchange for the unavoidable inconveniences inherent to them, it is necessary that the men who assume the government should enter on the discharge of their difficult functions by presenting to the country a clear exposé of principles promising advantageous results to the public weal. We feel in our breasts sufficient patriotism to aspire to that glory. To contribute to the prudent development of the different powers, on the legitimate exercise of which depend the future destinies of the country; to strengthen in practice, with a firm and constant support, the great principles constituting the cement of our social and political edificesuch is, in a few words, the high mission we propose to ourselves to accomplish-such is our ambition and only programme. Out of the sphere of party, the state of the public mind and the general attitude of the country especially promote, in an essential manner, the action of the Government in attaining so useful an end. On all sides one discovers, by numerous and eloquent demonstrations, the affection entertained by the people for their religion, their Queen, and the political system inaugurated by the fortunate accession of your Majesty to the throne. Everywhere the same desire for peace, the same respect for the Government, the same resolution to co-operate with accord and energy for the moral and material progress of Spain, are evinced.

Two obligations of the highest importance are more particularly imposed on the executive power to favour that general tendencynamely, to develop as much as possible the national credit and resources, and to remove the obstacles which oppose the impatient ardour of the country by opening new and fruitful roads to individual exertion. At the same time that the Ministers of your Majesty will labour to contribute to the accomplishment of the first, by seasonable measures of economy, and the confidence they hope to inspire in their administration, they consider it their duty to adopt an important measure for the accomplishment of the second, by effecting the reform of the administrative laws, so as to afford more latitude to the activity of localities, without weakening the authority of the supreme power, but rendering it perhaps more respectable and decisive in its applications. The results which might be hoped for from such a situation are unfortunately impeded by great embarrassments, by the ardent differences which, in political questions, have agitated the public mind, and which, splitting parties into fractions, so as to render them impotent for that impassive and tranquil discussion on which Governments are founded, have arrested the beneficent action of the authorities, and disturbed that of the country itself, when, scarcely recovered from long and painful convulsions, it was advancing towards the conquest of a prosperous future by undertaking all sorts of useful enterprises. Against so great an evil, of which, in the opinion of the Government, it is neither possible nor equitable to ascribe the responsibility to any

Ani

man, although its deplorable effects are known to all, public opinion, always so wise and clear-sighted, has already arrayed itself with incontestable force to defend the real interests of the country. Whatever may have been the infinite differences of the doctrine and conduct of the contending fractions, there is one fact, avowed by all, eloquent to all-namely, that the accord of public opinion, or, at least, the discipline of political parties, constitutes at present the first of public necessities. mated by that unanimous conviction and guided by it, your responsible advisers hope to respond to the desires of your Majesty and to those of the nation, and will incessantly labour to attain that end. It is their duty to declare that they will always act according to the supreme authority placed in their hands, remaining within the limits of their functions, but at the same time inflexibly enforcing respect for their rights. A prudent policy, which, by devoting itself to the service of great social interests, will be calculated to inspire their acts with the spirit of justice, and to consecrate them by the seal of toleration, may render all opinions compatible with the interest of the government, assist in the extinction of hatreds and unjust prejudices, re-establish legitimate parties in their normal position, and concentrate them in their sphere, without depriving them of their vitality or removing them from the orbit of independence in which they ought to move. Madam, your Ministers have not the presumption to believe that their acts and doctrines will obtain universal approbation; but they flatter themselves that they will secure general respect for the

power they exercise, if they are fortunate enough to render positive services to the nation; affording the proof that, by means of the ideas they profess, it is possible to reconcile and satisfy all legitimate interests. To associate in their progress the principles of publicity and of fair discussion with that of authority so ancient in Spain, so intimately connected with the conditions of our existence-to grant, with that viow, to the organs of public opinion, all the liberty that can be conceded to them, in conformity with the existing laws, until the presentation to the Cortes, convoked in due time, of a project of law to regulate the exercise of so important a right; to increase, as much as may be deemed expedient, the guarantees of security and integrity which ought to accompany all the operations of the Government; and to consult always with scrupulous attention the sentiments, the traditional customs, the permanent wants of the Spanish people, so often violated and disregarded by innovators amidst the effervescence of political struggles. Such are our intentions, such are the means we consider the most efficacious to remedy the inconveniences of the present situation, by placing at the same time the country, the Government, and parties in possession of all their vital elements. Should that hope be unfortunately disappointed should the prudent liberty granted to all open the door to abuse on the part of a few, and threaten to curtail the principle of authority, the Government will then hasten to save those capital interests of society, without being deterred by any consideration from striking those who should have thus acted;