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country and finally, the foreign relations of the country were left in a most satisfactory state. He especially rejoiced in being able to give the official assurance that every cause of quarrel with that great country on the other side of the Atlantic, was terminated before his retirement from office. In closing, with a proper allusion to himself, he said:

"I shall leave office, I fear, with a name severely censured by many honorable gentlemen, who, on public principle, deeply regret the severance of party ties-who deeply regret that severance, not from any interested or personal motives, but because they believe fidelity to party engagements-the existence and maintenance of a great party-to constitute a powerful instrumeut of government. I shall surrender power severely censured, I fear again, by many honorable gentlemen, who, from no interested motive, have adhered to the principle of protection as important to the welfare and interests of the country: I shall leave a name execrated by every monopolist who, from less honorable motives, maintains protection for his own individual benefit; but it may be that I shall leave a name sometimes remembered with

expressions of good-will in those places which are the abode of men whose lot it is to labor, and to earn their daily bread by the sweat of their brow-a name remembered with expressions of good-will, when they shall recreate their exhausted strength with abundant and untaxed food, the sweeter be cause it is no longer leavened by a sense of injustice."

It is curious to notice the change produced in the tone of the English press, by the intelligence of the victories of the Rio Grande. Previous to its receipt, the papers, without exception, were very severe upon Gen. Taylor for having allowed himself to be surrounded by the Mexican army; they denounced him as entirely destitute of military skill and capacity, and predicted the entire destruction of the small force under his command. His troops, it was said, were little better than an undisciplined mob, and the prospect of their destruction was regarded as immediate and gratifying. When news was received of the gallant manner in which he had cut his way out of the difficulties which surrounded him, the immense superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race formed at once the topic of remark. "If the Mexicans" says the Spectator, "could not resist the charge of bayonets, they have only yielded to what is almost uniformly irresistible in the Anglo-Saxon race." The bravery and efficiency of the American force are, however, almost universally conceded, though the Sun and a few other journals of small calibre and smaller character, put on airs of affected contempt and ridicule.

Sir Charles Napier, in support of his Naval Reform Bil, made some remarkable statements concerning the actual condition

of the British naval service. The experiments which have been made in shipbuilding, at so great an expense, he declared had not been successful; and in the general construction of steam vessels of war, he said that no attention had been paid to placing the engines and boilers in a proper manner. All the steam boxes were five or six feet above the water and if in action a single twelve or twentybelow must be destroyed-must be boiled four pounder struck that box, every man to death or fried to a cinder. If such a thing happened in action, he said they could not expect a single head-man or engineer to occupy his place. He proposed that the Board of Admiralty should be reduced to three, and that three Comptrollers should also be appointed, each with specified duties. The bill was rejected in the House by a large majority; but the statements concerning the character and efficiency of the steam vessels in service, coming from so high an authority, are (worthy of attention.

The national testimonial, raised by subscription for Mr. Rowland Hill in acknowledgment of his eminent public service in the postage reform, was formally presented at a meeting held on the 17th. It amounted to £13,360. Mr. Hill, in his remarks on that occasion, made some statements concerning the actual operation of the new system worthy of notice in this country, The number of chargeable letters delivered throughout the United Kingdom in 1838, he said, was about 75,000,000 in 1845 it was 271,000,000; and in January of the present year, the date of the latest returns, it was at the rate of 303,000,000 per annum. It had been established the gross amount of revenue would be made up when the increase was four-and-a-half fold.

Ibrahim Pacha is visiting England. He has been at Manchester, where he made a very careful inspection of the various manufacturing establishments. He is said to evince a very earnest desire to carry home with him a clear knowledge of the condition of the country, and of the means by which its immense prosperity has been secured, with a view to the improvement of his own dominions. His visit excites a good deal of notice.

The election of a new Pope, in place of the late Gregory XVI., was accomplished without any of the difficulty which had been apprehended. The Conclave of the Sacred College lasted only two days, the decision of the Cardinals having been hastened, it is said, by fears of popular agitation and of difficulty, from the intrigues of the agents of foreign powers. The choice fell upon the Cardinal Jean Marie Mastai, of the family of the Counts Mastai-Ferretti, who has assumed the title of Pius IX. He was born at Sinigaglia, in the States of the Church, May 13, 1792, was named Car

dinal in petto, Dec. 23, 1839, and proclaimed Dec. 14, 1840. He is one of the youngest Popes ever elected, and has a very high reputation for talent, learning, vigor and piety. The territory of the States of the Church remains very nearly as it was defined by the Congress of Vienna. It extends over a surface of 2,250 square leagues with a population of 2,908,115 inhabitants. The revenue is about $10,000,000. The territory is divided into twenty provinces, which are administered each by a legate, The Sacred College decides on all matters belonging to the Church. There are various boards, each with its appropriate functions, and the Pope has a Council of Ministers. The army is under the management of a council, consisting of a prelate and five councillors. The States are divided into three military districts. The army consists of 14,600 men, besides a reserve of 6,000, and 3,000 national guards for Rome and Bologna. The Paris Journal des Debats publishes a letter from Naples which gives the following interesting personal particulars of the character of the newly elected Pope :

"In 1836, being at Naples, I had the honor of becoming personally acquainted with the present Pope, who was residing in that town as nuncio to the Neapolitan Court. His stay in that city will ever be remembered by the inhabitants, and particularly by the poorer classes. At the time when the cholera was raging, he disposed of his plate, furniture and equipages, and distributed the proceeds to the unfortunate victims of that disease. During the whole period of the epidemic, the sick continually received from him the consolations of religion, as well as assistance from his purse. In these visits he always went on foot, and when observations were made to him on the subject, he would reply by these remarkable words, When the poor of Jesus Christ die in the streets, his ministers ought not to ride in carriages.' He unites with this evangelical charity a modesty and simplicity which increase the value of it. Easy of access, he is kind and affable in his manners, and all those who have known him can testify to the extreme benevolence of his disposition. On the throne these qualities of private life become virtues. With sincere piety, he also joins an energetic and resolute character."

It is hoped, and confidently predicted, that he will administer the Papacy with moderation and diseretion, and that he will introduce into the Papal states some of the reforms which have been so long and so greatly needed. The want of encouragement hitherto to every species of industry and enterprise, the absence of trade, the neglect of agriculture and the poverty of the people, have been cited as having given birth to a class of men who are always ready to rush into rebellion for the opportunities it holds forth of robbery and plunder. Caution and sound discretion, as well

as boldness and vigor, will be required to introduce a new order of things.

The death of Mr. B. R. Haydon, an English artist of a good deal of merit, by his own hand, in a moment of depression caused by professional failure and consequent poverty, caused a deep sensation in London. He had conceived the design of executing a series of six pictures, to illustrate the new Houses of Parliament; and upon the first of these, a colossal representation of Alfred the Great and the first British Jury, he was engaged at the time of his death. He had become involved in debt by the necessary expenditures of his family, and made arrangements in March for an exhibition, upon the returns of which he hung an almost despairing hope. In his diary he made entries from day to day, of his success. Under date of April 13, he says: "Receipts, £1 3s. 6d. An advertisement of a finer description could not have been written to catch the public, but not a shilling more was added to the receipts. They run by thousands to see Tom Thumb. They see my bills and caravans, but do not read them; their eyes are on them, but their sense is gone. It is an insanity, a rabies furor, a dream, of which I would not have believed Englishmen could be guilty. My situation is now one of extreme peril," &c. On the 21st of April, he noted

week had been 133, while Tom Thumb's levee during the same period had been attended by 12,000 persons. Overwhelmed by the threatening prospect before him, he wrote to several persons in high place for relief. Only one found time or inclination to reply. Mr. Haydon's application was made June 15th. On that evening Mr. d'Israeli, in the House of Commons, made the venomous and elaborate attack upon Sir Robert Peel, already alluded to, and forced the Premier, in the midst of his already overwhelming labors, while preparing for his retirement and for the able exposition of public affairs which he afterwards made, to enter into a minute explanation of newspapers printed and letters written more than twenty years before. Yet, in the midst of these anxieties, these corroding cares and this incessant storm of malignant persecution, Sir Robert Peel found time to respond to the call of distress which came up from the painter's study. The following entries in the diary record a brief and heart-touching history:

that the number of his visitors for the

"June 16-Sat from 2 to 5 o'clock staring at my picture like an idiot; my brain pressed down by anxiety and the anxious looks of my family, whom I have been compelled to money on all our silver to keep us from want inform of my condition. We have raised in case of accident. I have written to Sir Robert Peel, to, and to, stating that I have a heavy sum to pay. I have

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"June 18.-This morning, fearing I should be involved, I returned to a young bookseller some books for which I had not paid him. No reply from or! And this Peel s the man who has no heart!

"June 21.-Slept horribly, prayed in sorrow, and got up in agitation.

"June 22.-God forgive me. Amen.

"Finis. "B. R. HAYDON. "Stretch me no longer on this rough world.' "The end of the 26th volume." [Lear.

His daughter went into his studio, soon after this last entry was made, and there lay the body of her father, stretched upon the floor just in front of his great picture,the lifeless corpse of the aged man, his white hair saturated with blood, his head resting upon his right arm, near which lay two razors, one in a case and the other smeared with blood, half-open by his side. A small pistol, newly discharged, was also near him. He was dressed with great neatness in his ordinary attire, and had placed the portrait of his wife on a small easel just in front of his large picture. On an adjoining table lay his diary, in which he had just made the entry last quoted. Packets of letters, addressed to various persons, were about the room, and his prayer-book was fixed open on a portion of the service. The Times speaks of this as one of those "events which impel even sober-minded men towards the conviction that this condition of society should no longer exist, whatever be the cost of the change."

Captain Sturt has returned to England from his protracted and laborious exploration in Australia. He reached latitude 25° 45' and longitude 139° 13′. His expedition, however, has proved quite as fruitless as those of his predecessors.

The Council of King's College have put forth proposals for the endowment of a Chinese Professorship in that institution, the first of the kind in England, and, unless we are mistaken, in Europe. Dr. Pfitzmayer, of Vienna, is named as qualified to

be the professor. In summing up the reasons for such a professorship, the Council state that a knowledge of that ancient language will empower men of science to "cultivate that only remaining great field of inquiry on the globe which enterprising travelers have not already in a great mea sure exhausted."

The issue of the recent scientific expedition of Dr. Lepsius has been indicated to the Paris Academy of Sciences in a letter from Humboldt, from which it appears that the journey has yielded rich historical and archæological results. Thirteen hundred magnificent drawings, thousands of sketches, and all the manuscripts have arrived in Berlin, and two vessels, laden with the monuments collected, were on the way. They include immense numbers of most valuable relics. Dr. Lepsius brings also full materials for the study of a great number of African languages.

A great number of letters and other autographs of Queen Christina, have been discovered at Florence: the Swedish Queen constituted the Cardinal Azzelini her legatee, which accounts for the place of this discovery. Dr. Pinner of Berlin, it is said, has discovered in Odessa a manuscript, on parchment, of the Prophet Habbakukmore than a thousand years old-which has importance in regard to the Hebrew vowel points.

The necrology of the month contains few names very widely known, though among them are those of persons of some degree of distinction. M. de Ochoa, whom M. Villemain recently sent upon a scientific and literary mission to Central Asia, and whose knowledge of Oriental literature was very profound, died at Paris soon after his return, and before his report was ready for the press. D. Marheinecke, the cele brated theological professor at Berlin, died recently at the age of 68. M. Eyries, a distinguished geographer, died at Paris, aged 80; and at Munich the Canon Balthazar Sheath, one of the most learned archæologists of Germany, has died at the age of 72. At Dusseldorff, Benzenberg, the eminent professor of astronomy and natural philosophy, who first made observations, at Gottingen in 1798, on the distance and the orbit of the falling stars, is dead, aged 67.

In a paper read before the London Geological Society recently, Dr. Lyell expressed the opinion, that the ornithoidichnites and the supposed mammalian foot-prints, found in the coal-field of Pennsylvania, are not real impressions, but artificial sculptures made by the Indians.

LETTER FROM PARIS.

PARIS, July, 1846. Ir security and stability were wanting to the Cabinet of St. James, these advantages have been enjoyed in a preeminent degree by the ministerial council-board of the Tuilleries. As the Conqueror of Waterloo has lent in England the weight of his name to the Cabinet, leaving the active leadership to Sir Robert Peel, so the Victor of Toulouse has given his countenance, and that only, to the Guizot ministry. The government of the middle classes represented by this cabinet has been ever since the Revolution of 1830 gradually consolidating itself, as might have been anticipated. The national convulsions which attended its origin were succeeded by several rapid changes. Public feeling did not all at once settle down into a state of repose; nor did public opinion at once comprehend the scope and destiny to which the events of the Barricades inevitably led. Time has, however, seemed to enlighten parties; and in proportion, as a constitutional and representative monarchy is more clearly apprehended and fully understood, government has become more stable, and cabinets less transitory. The present cabinet has maintained itself undisturbed for a longer period than any which has been formed under the present dynasty.

On all the most essential points of his policy, foreign and domestic, M. Guizot and his colleagues are supported by a large majority of the Chambers. This policy has been moderately conservative. The precipitation of change which always follows a revolution has been checked, but the progress of real improvement has not been arrested. A studied effort to bring the working of the Monarchical Institutions of France into conformity with the model afforded by England, has been the aim equally of the two great parliamentary leaders of the ministerial party and the opposition. In their opinions of the way to accomplish this they differ, but as to the object they agree. The personal share of the sovereign, in the direction of the state, at this moment forms their most prominent subject of disagreement. M. Guizot maintains, that the personal influence of the crown ought to be admitted, but should be exercised under ministerial responsibility. M. Thiers holds, that the crown should have an inert personality, exercising no influence, and offering no interference with the measures of those who are called its

responsible advisers. M. Guizot holds, that the ministers are to aid the crown, and to take the responsibility of its acts when they approve them, or to retire from the royal councils when they disapprove them. M. Thiers holds, that the ministers are to supersede the crown, which is to sanction their acts so long as the Chambers sanction them. M. Guizot holds, that the sovereign is a real, an entire and intelligent branch of the Legislature as well as being the chief of the Executive. M. Thiers holds, that the sovereign is little more than a stuffed figure, gilt and adorned, and placed in a chair, called the throne, in whose name the acts of the state are done.

Perhaps we may have here a little overcharged the picture, but its general outline is correct. The origin of these differences is to be traced partly to the genius of the French nation, partly to the traditions of the monarchy and the empire, but most, perhaps, to the personal character of Louis Philippe. In England the sovereign is never present at the deliberations of the Cabinet, nor are these deliberations made known to the crown until they have attained some decisive form to give effect to which the royal functions must be exercised. It is true that when a statesman is charged by the sovereign to form a cabinet the general policy which he will pursue is supposed to be made known, but this is needless since the circumstances which precede such a measure necessarily expose that knowledge to the whole nation. It has been, however, the practice of the present King of France to adhere to the custom of former monarchs, and to preside at the meetings of the Cabinet. Against this practice it has been objected by M. Thiers, that the presence of the sovereign must injuriously restrict the freedom of discussion; that the influence of so exalted a personage must check the expression of opinion where that opinion deviates from the declared personal sentiments of the sovereign; that questions must frequently arise, especially on matters of finance, dotation of the royal family, and other subjects in which the sovereign must be supposed to have an immediate interest, and that such questions cannot be fairly and independently discussed in his presence. It is, therefore, contended that the council of ministers ought to be free from the royal presence, as is properly the custom in England.

On the other hand, M. Guizot, sensible doubtless of the great advantage derivable from the sagacity of the present sovereign of France, and feeling that from none of his colleagues in the Cabinet does he derive the same wise and prudent aid as from Louis Philippe himself, maintains that the voice and influence of the sovereign ought to be heard at the Council Board, where it will be received for what it is worth, and where, if it counsel dangerous measures, the exclusive responsibility of the ministers, who alone can carry them into effect, is the best guaranty for the safety of the State.

This difference arising out of the personal nature of the government of Louis Phil ippe, supplied the most striking part of the debate with which the present session of the Chamber of Deputies closed. The speeches of the leaders of the opposition were avowedly made as manifestoes to the constituents, preparatory to the approaching general election, and not with a view to any practical effect on the measures before the Chamber. In England the expedient of addressing the country through the Chamber, before an election, is not necessary, because the mode in which elections are conducted in that country, not only allows the candidates to address their constituents in meetings convened expressly for the purpose, previous to the election, but also leaves an opportunity for speaking from the hustings on the occasion of the election itself. These meetings are not in accordance with the French law or custom, and would, it is said, be dangerous to the public order. Parliament and pamphlet, especially the latter, which are numerously and widely circulated and read, supply their place.

Notwithstanding the talent and tact of M. Thiers, and the coalition which has taken place among different sections of the opposition, the Guizot party still retains a large majority. What may be the result of the coming election, it is impossible to say, but those best acquainted with the country are of opinion that a majority will be returned in favor of the present government, sufficiently large to give it perfect stability. Much is said of the extent to which official corruption is carried, by the use or abuse of the vast patronage of the crown. But it may be answered, that in a purely representative governments,no administration could go on independently of the influence of patronage; that this is the fly-wheel which regulates the machine, helping it on when the moving power gets enfeebled, and moderating its energy when it becomes too active. At all events, it is certain that the present opposition would avail itself of the same engine of power to quite as great an extent if it succeeded to office.

Although the recent atrocious attempt

on the life of the king had no political meaning, and was totally unconnected with any political party, directly or indirectly, it has, nevertheless, tended to increase the king's popularity, and to strengthen the ministry. Great indignation has been expressed by the opposition, because the prosecuting officer instituted rigid inquiries, and persevered in them to the last, with the view of connecting the affair with some political party.

At present the commercial policy of France is, as it always has been, exclusive and prohibitive in its spirit. The measures now in progress in England are regarded with the most profound interest, and a division of opinion has already manifested itself on this subject. The existing administration, without committing itself irrevocably to any policy, has expressed itself with that moderation which indicates a disposition to wait events; to watch the effects of the measure in England, and allowing fairly for the different circumstances of the two countries, to adapt to France such modifications of the English system as may seem best suited to it. In short, it requires no very extraordinary powers of foresight to see that the liberty of commerce once established in England, it will be impossible to prevent it from spreading into France and elsewhere.

In general, France is slow in the adoption of great social changes. This arises in part from the character of the people, but chiefly from the prohibition of all public meetings. Still, though late, the improvements do make their way at last. At the commencement of the peace, there were no footways in Paris. They are now in every part of the town. Walter Scott, conversing one day in the Rue St. Honoré, with a Parisian acquiantance, observed on the inconvenience arising from the want of the accommodation of side-flagging for the pedestrian, when his Parisian friend replied, "Mais, mon dieu, monsieur, moi, j'aime mieux la totalité de la rue!" The Parisians have, however, at length, learned to prefer the safety and cleanliness of a good footway, or trottoir, as they call it, to the totalité de la rue. They have, moreover, constructed sewers so as to produce an excellent system of drainage; they have carried water-pipes in all directions; they have lighted the city with gas, and have, at last, brought themselves to adopt the railway system.

If the Parisians have been behind the English in the progress of the Industrial arts, and have been slow to adopt immediately the vast improvements in the Social system, such as the cheap postage system, which, next to the great measure of freedom of trade, will signalize the present epoch of English history, there are two stupendous moral reforms to which the

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