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T BE IE A D E while another ber of admin...
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CONFLICTING NOTIONS ABOUT REFORM. At eve...
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PRESAGES OF PROGRESS IX TUSCANY. We have...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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^R The Star-Spangled Pan Neb, And The Sl...
the island of Ruatan , and , in order to maintain that position , would have had no scruple in giving such instructions to British officers as would have ended perhaps in the sinking of an-American . ship or two , of course with the result of putting the wnole Union in a blaze ; and bringing about war between the two countries . The American Government is more popular than © ur own , and is in the habit of making a more direct and prompt reference to public opinion , and this affords a great check to official mismanagement on that side . There was a serious chance of war on that occasion ; it was prevented pvnlnsivelv bv the-earnest appeal which some active
individuals succeeded in making to the justice , the common sense , and the material interests of our own countrymen ; and as soon as the , true merits of the case Were understood in England , the notion of war about such an absurd claim was seen to be as criminal as it was ridiculous , and our Government gave way perforce . m But , popular as it may be , the American Government is not exempt from human error ; and great as the progress has been , especially within the last year , of settling difficulties by an appeal to fact and international law , we are not to assume that all grounds of misunderstanding have entirel y passed noticed the
away . On the contrary , we have already readiness of Enerlish politicians , who have had their representatives Tn her Majesty ' s Cabinet , to assume the worst constructions of American proceedings . The Americans themselves are hasty and at least as liable as the English to rush into false conclusions . It is quite possible that the very disputes which have been settled may be repeated ; if we assume the probability that such will be the case , we are not putting false constructions upon the motives or actions of the Americans , we are simply calculating upon a probability which exists in the facts . The right of search question has been settled between the two Governments ; the official
convention determines the basis upon which the commanders on the two sides shall act ; and as soon as the diplomatic agreement is formally ratified it becomes law ; but although the law be promulgated in Westminster and Washington , it is not instantly and by magic made known to ship captains floating on the high seas , sometimes in obscure places where Rowland Hill carries no cheap postage . We may therefore hear of cases in which English commanders have broken the law , —have insulted the American flag in the face of recent stipulations , even after the agreements have been signed and sealed in the White House or in Downinff-s'trcet .
We can understand the ferocious indignation in Charleston or New York , the brawling clamour for satisfaction from the English Government , in oblivion of the fact that satisfaction has already been rendered , and that any of these cases which will unquestionably accrue fall within the arrangement already made . While , however , we anticipate these evidences of American temper , precisely
corresponding to the errors of British ieelmg , we have some ground for presuming that the present Governments of the two countries will , with equal firmness and equal calmness , refuse to be earned away by the vulgar impatience in putting bad constructions . In this case , therefore , there is not the same danger as usual ; nevertheless , it is proper that the public on both sides should watch the conduct of its representatives , for it is the public which has the greatest interest at stake .
T Be Ie A D E While Another Ber Of Admin...
T BE IE A D E It is different with and h No . 445 . OCTOBEB 2 , 1858 . 1 . , . It . 1029 ' ^—^— ¦^^ m— ^ " ——^*^ w ^ " ^^^*^^^^^ ^^^^^^ T I * _ _ T ? 11 * .. _ J .. — . _ Til . ^ l ^ * n _ ns * 1 ^ T' « 1 * - » f \ T" \/» l » r * O T \ O
Conflicting Notions About Reform. At Eve...
CONFLICTING NOTIONS ABOUT REFORM . At every public meeting that takes place throughout tho country anticipations of some sort are expressed regarding the forthcoming measure of Reform . Mr . Dalglish tells his constituents at Glasgow that ho expects nothing worth having from the Derby Cabinet in tho way of electoral change , becnuso if anything really good were proposed , the rank and 1 II 0 ot ministerial supporters would bo certain to rebel , and leave thoir leaders in tho lurch . Mr . Puller , on tho contrary , tells the farmers of Hertfordshire that ho is confident the
bill in cogitation by Messrs . Disraeli and Co . will nrovo satisfactory to all parties . Mr . Miller informed his Yarmouth friends tho other day that ho would hardly bo inclined to vote for any bill that did not include the ballot ; whUo Mr . Alderman Salomons scoffs at tho notion of supposing tho ballot would niako tiny material diftorcuco one way or other , bufr says it were a pity to make a fuss about a concession so unimportant . Finally , wo are told by one Cabinet Minister that all parties are now in favour of an amended Reform Bill , and that one may be framed that will content all sidea ;
while another member of administration takes particular pains to correct the impression that his colleague meant to convey any opinion of the kind . JFor ourselves we nowise marvel at this iiiconfrui ty 'of sentiment among dodging politicians . Ir . Henley , who wanted to- do away the belief in his being one of the Lumber Troop of the present Government , evidently thought it would be nrudent to try and get the name of a contingent « ' . i , 1 _ _ _ _ . _' ... li . ¦ —I * »» , 1 . *» I « % r . 4- ma J » y-v « % 4- <\ 1 'nn
reformer , and thus to break his fall into Liberalism , in case of need , next Easter . Lord Salisbury , on the contrary , having to keep in hand the downright incurables and unpersuadables of the House of Lords , thought he would do the knowing thing by questioning the correctness of Mr . Henley ' s reported words , or at least taking exception to their purport and drift . Mr . Salomons , having to fio-ht a Whig in Conservative clothing at Greenwich , deems it adroit to play , fast and loose with the ballot , in order that he may be in a condition to canvass Tory electors with a little grace ; and Mr . Miller , who is not ashamed of his having voted for the atrocious Conspiracy Bill , and who is obviously Palmcrstomans
preparing to back his patrons , the , in any factious move they may make against Reform , begins already to special-plead about the ballot being a sine qua non , because he well knows that neither Lord Derby nor any other Lord who is likely to be Prime-Minister next year , will ever make that an ingredient of the coming measure . Well , andwhat then ? Theinference we draw from all these shiftings and sliirkings is this , that a profound apprehension of difficulty and danger is coming over the minds of our professed politicians of every degree ; and that if the people only choose to avail themselves of the opportunity , ' there is no saying how much in the shape of progress they may wring from their selfish fears . But of this let them be assured , namely , that from the free and uncoerced will of the present House of Commons they will obtain nothing . -
Presages Of Progress Ix Tuscany. We Have...
PRESAGES OF PROGRESS IX TUSCANY . We have never shared the hopes professedly entertained by certain diplomatic politicians amongst us with regard ' to ¦ gradual reform in those parts of Italy which are subject , to Austrian or ecclesiastical rule . We frankly own we do not believe that any amelioration in the administrative system prescribed by the Cabinet of Vienna can assuage the hatred of Lombards for a German yoke , and we are equally candid in avowing our deliberate conviction that no Government can , at this time ojhday , conciliate the affection or the pride of an intelligent , community
where the irresponsible sovereignty and the principal executive functions are lodged in the hands of priests . Our despair of amendment is neither founded in the one case in prejudices of race , nor in the other on those of creed . Venice and Genoa were , and Belgium and Piedmont are , free , notwithstanding their attachment to Catholicity ; and if the Germans as a people have never yet enjoyed the full benefits of popular institutions , we should be sorry to imagine that they will not do so ere long . Our convictions are founded on the simple and demonstrable practical truths , that the absolutism of
Austria rests solely upon military force , and that the absolutism of Rome rests upon no better foundation . Both are systems which disfranchise tho intelligence , the industry , and the self-respect of the country ; and both arc necessarily so . If they ceased to bo exclusive , they must cease to exist . Nothing but tho maintenance of an inexorable monopoly of power could keep the mechanism of tyranny together for six . months . The States of the Church and tho Lombardo-Venotian Pro vinccs arc huge political gi \ ol-yards filled with multitudes justly suspected of hostility to those who hold tho prison keys . To nsk the gaolers to
withdraw a bolt or two , to open a wicket hero and a postern there , or to set some of tho captives as sentries on the rest , is sheer folly . This was tho dream of Pio Nona when llrst he ascended tho pontiiicial throne j and this has more recently been tho dream of the Arehduko Maximilian as viceroy of Northern Italy . But tho dream of tho humane old monk , and that of the generous young prinoo , Irnvo proved equally vain . Tho sincerity ot the would-be reforming Pope and tho would-be reforming Vicoroy is not aqubtcd ; their good intentions arc appreciated , and their want ofdiscernment forgiven . But tho systems in , which they are temporary and inappropriate figure-heads are felt by their victims to bo irremediable , and are implucably detested bcoauso thoy aro so .
a case Tuscany , peraps with other Italian states . The actual sovereignty is indeed despotic ; but it is lay instead of clerical , and it is native not foreign . It may not have been advantageous to a Florentine advocate or merchant to profess liberal opinions ; but he was not politically humiliated by the recollection of his being an Italian ; and he was not incapacitated for the discharge of public duties by the fact of his not being a priest . Herein he was always better off than a citizen of Bologna or Milan . There has long been , however , much more than this . In proportion as a
Government abstains from affronting the dignity or wounding the pride of its people , it can afford to lay aside suspicions , and to refrain from vexatious restraints , in other words , to become less hateful and oppressive . Something else follows from the practice of this comparative lenity . The temper of the governed becomes more moderate and trustfuL Kind words and small concessions are not scanned with the same misgiving , or repelled with the same disdain as in other places . The heart of power is not hardened by the withering sense of being incurably abhorred . Its sense of policy is not blinded
by the cruel necessity of defending its own questionable prerogatives . It is from time to time open to better councils and wiser views . Its face may still be set upon continuance in the old path , but it has occasional aberrations in the direction of freedom * and its feet will sometimes wander in . quest of popular confidence and love . What has lately occurred in Tuscany strikingly illustrates this . In the general panic among princes-in 184-8 , the Grand-Duke lost all faith in the constitution he had sworn to maintain , and submitted to the menaces of Austria , whose troops he invited to take military
occupation of his capital . But once reinstated m the possession of absolute sway , he speedily turned in disgust from the reactionary severity in which other Italian Governments indulged . Prosecutions there were , and penalties inflicted for revolutionary offences . But the ¦ penalties were , comparatively speaking , mild , and the convictions few . Year by year there has evidently been less and less inclination to preserve the " inflexibility of despotism . When the Jesuit party tn d to extort an abrogation of certain valuable relics 01 the famous Leopoldian
laws regarding marriage an . I education , they encountered a resolute resistance ; and all their efforts to establish a spiritual espionage , like that of Rome or Austria , were completely bafli ^ d . Every day ' s additional experience of the strength and stability of constitutionalism in Piedmont gave additional courage to those who counselled the Tuscan sovereign to detach himself from the costly and perilous policy of the Court of Vienna ; and every day has served to dishearten more and more the evil advisers who would have Tuscany governed like Lombardy , or the temporal dominions of the Holy See .
An incident took place the other day which shows how different is the state of things in Florence from that which prevails in the neighbouring capitals . On entering the theatre unexpectedly , the poet Nicolini was recognised immediately , and enthusiastically welcomed by the whole house . He had long lain in retirement and depression , caused , as was believed , by his aflliction at the failure of the national hopes in JL 84 S . His tragedies , however , Arnold 0 / Brescia , John of Procidcr , and others , continued to be played and read ; and his name continued thus to -be associated with all that is
most inspiriting in national dramatic verse . His reappearance * seems to have struck the audience instinctively as an omen , if not a signal of political resurrection ; and the patriot recluse was greeted spontaneously with loud and oft-repeated cheers of all who were present . Had such a manifestation occurred elsewhere , it would have provoked the heaviest frowns of authority , and the most stringent orders to prevent its recurrence from the police . Madame Ristori was sharply rebuked b y the Austrian commissary some time ago at Venice for yielding to the " importunities of tho audience and repeating some lines in tho play of Judith which they had
npplicd to Italy instead of Israel j and Giacommcttra tragedy was thenceforth interdicted . Far from anything of a similar sort happening at Florence , a new and intensely national play by 1 > oolini was performed without any objection a few nig . ' -La after tho ovation in the theatre adverted to nbovd . xho sensation it produced is described as having been immense ; and tho ]> lay has boon sovoral tunes repeated . , , ., , It may and probably will porhnps be said by innttor . of . fnot unbelievers ux good that those things aro after all but ail ' airs of sentiment , and that they
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 2, 1858, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_02101858/page/13/
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