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    14 THE LEADER. [Saturday,

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    THE "LEADER" IN THE DUBLIN MECHANICS' IN...

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    AUD THOU AW AM BASH A DO It , OR HUT A W...

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    " Brother" No. " Iii." I Great Has Been ...

    Louis Napoleon , " by the grace of God , and tl will of the Nation . " One might have expecte some objection now-a-days even to the grace _e God , inasmuch as the autocrat ought to be all-sufl cient . He ought to be , for example , Emperor c Austria by the grace of Francis Joseph ! It woul be quite sufficient ; but , luckily for potentate : the grace of God can always be assumed by th aid of the church established according to _lavi There is no difficulty on that score : Franci Joseph is Emperor " by the grace of God , " wit ness his . clergy . Louis Napoleon is Empero " by the grace of God , " all the clergy of Franc attesting ; and so on all round . But it is no always so easy to prove that you are Empero by the will of the nation . Our Sovereign ma ; adduce the fact historically ; Louis Napoleon ha vamped up a kind of accommodation bill , whic ] may serve as his guarantee ; but where can thi Emperor of Austria find the equivalent , o Iiussia ? They must address their people rathe in such terms as these— " Francis Joseph , Em peror , & c , by the grace of God , and in spite o your teeth . " There is therefore a serious prac tical inconvenience in recognising an _Emperoi who professes to sit by the will of the nation Louis Napoleon might have pleaded that the wil of the nation had little to do with the matter ; bin then he has been indiscreet enough to talk abom it . There are many things that we may do , bm must not talk about , and amongst those ineffabh things we may seduce a nation , if we can ; bui in royal circles it is not decent to talk about those " bonnes fortunes . " h

    Still , that might have been got over , althoug the will of the nation is an awkward thing tc swallow for an autocrat ; but there were more serious things behind . If the potentates were fully to recognise this new Emperor , each must call him " Brother , " aud at that they scruple . They can give him power over the French people ; they can support him against any number of millions ; they can use him as an instrument in suppressing the thought and will of mankind ; but inasmuch as he has not been engaged in these tasks for some generations , if not centuries , they scruple to call him " my Brother . " If he asks , in the language of the negro , " Am I not a man and a brother ? " they will answer , "No ! You are a man , and an Emperen *; but you must continue at the work of grand gaoler for some centuries before wc can recognise you as a brother . We must be 'both in the wrong , ' from father to son , for generations to come , before the fraternity can be cemented . " serious difficul

    There was , indeed , a more ty yet . Louis Napoh'on professes to be of that name number " I IT ., " and to this the Emperors cannot consent . He has conquered France ; he is an Fmporor de facto , and he can command an army of 400 , 000 , perhaps extended 1 o three or four millions . IU ; is Napoleon , Emperor e ) f the French , but not number " I I 1 . " That becomes serious . The ; difficulty is not lessened by the fact that England has recognised him , both as " my Brother" anel as number " 1 . 11 . " Lord Malmesbury , it seems from the Cerinaii accounts , has advised Queen Victoria to call the usurper of December 2 nd "my Brother ; " anel Lorel I ) erby , Conservative Minister , bas recognised him as "III . " This last fact is taken as a . serious p ledge ! that Kngland arrays herself on tbe siele ; of Franco against the North . The ; North feels bound le _> make' a , stand . If is felt that by the ; recognition of flu ; third cardinal number the very constitution of society is at stake ; anel curiously enough , as Louis Napoleon saved _seicioty by deluging Paris with blood at midnight , ho the Northern _potentate's save ; _soedety by re-fusing to _recognise him ns number 111 . To society itself , indeed , both these ; processes arc equally mystical ; ind such is the vulgar idea , that while ; we suppose thero may he some virtue in a midnight ¦ dilution in blood , we have ; much _elillie-ulty in understanding the saving clause ; , in the refusal of number " 111 . " The ; rulers of ( he _worlel , howover , lay great stress upon the fact ; and as they do rule ; the ; we > rld , as Ihey determine what is wise ; anel what is not wise ; , as they arrange for the ; largest portion of Europe what Europe shall think , as they are ; en in privileg ' to et auctoritatc the judges of truth nnd ' falsehood , we must presume that Hocie _. t . y , although it does not know if , has really bee ; n waved by that hoIciiiii anel mighty denial of number 111 . _()„ _,- . < , '( , vcnimenf , if is said , more constitutionall y disposed than Lord Derby , will not adopt the " 111 . " Though w ar

    should succeed , Napoleon is Emperor of the French only ; no longer " brother , " and by no means number " III . " Society is saved .

    14 The Leader. [Saturday,

    14 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,

    The "Leader" In The Dublin Mechanics' In...

    THE " LEADER" IN THE DUBLIN MECHANICS' INSTITUTE * A few days since , the Dublin Mechanics' List ' , tute was the scene of a disgraceful but most chs ractcristic outburst of bigotry ; _disgraceful , lc us hasten to add , not in the act itself , but in th shameless want of truthfulness which accom panied it . It appears that the library of thi flourishing Institute contains , amid 7000 volume of reputed safety , an exceedingly minute propor tion of " dangerous" literature : among its scien tific works there stands The Festiges ( which , b ] the way , is on the same shelf with Miller ' s Foot prints ofthe Creator , and his Old Bed Sandstone not to mention that every Magazine and Ucvievi in the Library contains hostile criticisms of tha " dangerous" work ); among its theological works all orthodox , there is one black sheep , Francis Newman ' s History of the _Hebreio Monarchy . among its poets thero are the odious names o : Shelley and _Ityron ; among its [ Reviews anc Newspapers of the "highest respectability , ' there are the Westminster , the Weekly Dispatch and the Leader . When we add the names of Yoltaire , Dumas , Sue , & c , it will be seen at once that for short-sighted bigotry there was ample ground upon which to raise a protest . We have nothing to say to that . The intolerance which will not permit the exblmentd

    pression of contrary opinions may e a e , but it may also be respected as at least a sincere error . The Leader has shown , frequently enough , that it can be tolerant even of intolerance . In fact , we have more than once defended the Catholics on this point , and shown how their intolerance was justifiable . But there is one thing which we never will tolerate—there is one base , cowardly vice that has the privilege of disturbing our calmness , and the vice is one , we regret to say , displayed more shamelessly in theological polemics than in any other arena- —the vice of deliberate and calumnious lying . Mr . Hennessy , the orator on this occasion , might have gratified his active malignity and desire for notoriety ( a desire-, if he could but know it , the fruition of which is the becoming a definite object of contempt , instead ofthe indefinite one he was before ) , by taking his stand upon the broad principles of Catholicism , not to " hear the other side , " but as he' thought fit to make up for his want of talent and sincerity by a cheap and artful stratagem , calling to aid the easy talent of lying , we will indulge his desire , and fix him in the pillory . We ; confine ourselves to our own case . Shelley , Byron , Voltaire , Dumas , the author of the Vestiges , Francis Newman , Henry M . uyhew , and Mr . Iteynolds , we leave untouched . Let us bo distinctly understood . We are not arguing the questiem whether the Leader , or any either publication , has a right to a place ; in the Dublin Mechanics' Institute . It is for the ; Institute to settle its own affairs ; what we have ; hero to expose is , the ; miserable mendacity of tho spokesman of the opposing faction , as regards ourselves .

    " The ; Leader , " according to Mr .- Hennessy , " says flu ; Holy Bible ; is a book filled with errors , anel tells the ; mechanic that he must choose between if and science , as both aro incompatible . " True , the Leader does say so much ; anel surely a sincere Catholic might have ; found therein sufficient ground of opposition , without following it up with misrepresentation and lying ? lie ; says we ; advocate " fhe worst _specieH of Communism ;" and that " between the ; se'xe _« s promiscuous intercourse is openly proclaimed . " Now of two things one ; : cither Mr . Hennessy knows little ; of tin ; Leader , anel in that case ; we ; would ask him ( elieJ we ; believe in bis integrity af all ) how he ; _reconcile if fo his conscience to attack a journal which he ; eloes not knovvP or secondly , lie docs know fhe Leader , and in that case ; he ; must know that the . Leader never tliil at any period advocate any species of Communism ( consequently not fhe " worst * On iviielhifr , in ( lie ! _Nalion , the _ivpeirf of ( lie * _preieve'eliiiKH in the ) Dnhliii _Me'ihanieH' I nutifute , wei iinniceliute'ly _nelelre'HHe'el a _neilei to thet Karl e » f _Ciu-heelc , re'epie _? _stiiifr to Ininformed whether his _leirelalii j ) inetanL fe > inclueli' the leader iu the _e'ulejreii'y uf works thai , incileal Inn ce > nnure ) . Wc havo _reute'ivtrel _iVoin bo re I (' arliiih . a reply in the ) _negative , with I lie _e-xplnnnt ion that hia _eihacrval loii . a were _femnilcil em the- _^ _'i'ne era I purport of ( he _tiUAeuieiil rc \\\ ioe \\ i \[* " book . _'i anel _e-ngraviii _^ H , " as he ) hail ie _; ce ; iveel j | , from Mr . _Ilonnmay . — _Jiwder .

    species" ); it advocated the general principles 61 Association and Co-operation , declaring the time not ripe for special realization ; declaring every " species of Communism" hitherto elaborated to be both premature and imperfect . More * over , respecting " promiscuous intercourse of the sexes , " that is a form of social degradation w hich the Leaderh & s energetically and incessantly protested against ; so far as we haVe touched that delicate point , it has been to lament the indif , ference -of public opinion on so serious and vital a matter , and to call attention to the desecration of our finest impulses , which the prevalent , laxity causes . Every one who knows us will answer for us on this head .

    In the foregoing passages we have dealt only with misrepresentation , and knowing how frequent misrepresentation is , oftentimes quite unconscious , wo should scarcely have noticed it , had not the deliberate falsehood which follows proved the misrepresentation to be systematic . Mr * . Hennessy has the audacity to assert before the whole Institute— " In the number laid on your table , last week , you will find one of the writers openly asserting that man is as the beasts that perish ; that there is no God to stay the storm , or hereafter to receive us when once this life is passed . " All our readers will share the astonishment with which we read this . It was not Mr . Hennessy ' s construction of a passage ; it was not what he might think our assertions " led to ; " it was the " open assertion" of one of our writers ! What will the reader say when we inform him that this " open assertion , " so far from being ours , is derived from a passage in the letter of a correspondent , calling our views of immortality in question : a letter , be it observed , which was inserted with three others , attacking us on the orthodox side ( in the . Butler controversy ) , and to which we appended a reply , as emphatic as we could , make it , explaining our belief in immortality , and adducing one novel argument ! Thus , from the very letter we combat , an assertion is selected to pass for our opinion ! In the same square inch of paper where this " assertion" appears , ( in thc shapo of a query , by the way , ) there appears our emphatic protest , and " honest , honest Iago" selects the opinion wo frotcst against , and tells the world it is our own . t is a re-enacting of the old farce , of saying thc Bible proclaims " There is no Goo _^ " ( omitting the context of " The fool hath said in his heart . " ) No excuse is possible ; tho lie is deliberate ! Mrf Hennessy could not have seen the assertion , without seeing also the reply ; but to damage an antagonist at the expense of a little easy lying , was more than this honest creature could forego . To those who know us , the lie , of course , was harmless ; but to those who know us not , the efi ' cct may be imagined . liow is it that those who hold in their hands the Book of Truth , should so constantly deem it unnecessary to be truthful in its defence P That is the " moral" of this scene in the Dublin Mcchanics' Institute .

    Aud Thou Aw Am Bash A Do It , Or Hut A W...

    AUD THOU AW AM BASH A DO It , OR HUT A _WAftDlSttlNfl-VOI OK ? " Tun oxci ( . e ; mont" at Uie ; inipriHoniiieml of 1 . 1 io Morning Chronicle c > on- (> H |)(> ii ( ioiit in Vie'ima , says ilio writer hiia-He'lf , " lniH been increased hy the _arcuiiiHtaiiccs of the « u _' " rage ; _having ho . en (;( miitii ( . le ; el in ( tie ; capital where ) a British niiib . _iHsador _resides . " The ; _elcHe-riplion w technically _corre ; _e't , alt _Iiemgh , le ) the ) une _; ehie-ale ; el _e-yet , if appe'iin * _incemflistent with the fact . It , may he ; said that tho British iiiiil . _iis . Hiuleu" resides in Vienna , in spile ) ( if his _ceniHtant _ahaicne'o : _eivor the ; _reaat e . f Kuropo Iio travels .

    liOVK and Amhi'ijon . —All , liow _elillere'iit was tin ; writing uf flmt , hitter , to fhe ; writing of the iho oncetreasureel pages ( if my _reunaiice ; , whieji 1 huel now _nlianeloni'd , iih il . _se'i'nieei , for ever ! _Heiw slowly 1 worked ; how cautiousl y and _elidiele'iifly I built up n < _- »" fence _» H . _i ; r Ke ; i ) l , enei ; , anel _eloubtingly net . a stop here ' , and _laborioiiHly rounded oil" n paragraph there ' , _whe-n I foileel in I lie ; Hcrviea ; of innhilion ! Now , when ' ' ul ( l _fjfiven niysc | f up to the _servie-e _; of hive-, how rap idly tl «> _jien ran over tho pnpe'r ; how nnie ; h more ; _free'l . y » iul smoothly the ; _elosiros of the heart _tlowe-el into w <>' ,, Ih ' than flu ; thou _^ ht _. H of | he _> mind ! Composition wan i . » instinct _, now , mi art ne > _longer . 1 could write o ] o ~ ( _pieiitly , anel yet write' without p ausing for an _explosion or blotting a word It was the ; slow _protfrc . H * »]> flu ; hill , in flu- service of iiinhition ; if was the ; swift ( too swift ) cm-err elown it , in tho service ; of love I—* _CoJLLIAH _' tf Basil

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 1, 1853, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_01011853/page/14/