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    not in instances b ¦ ' ** " ^7. -March 5...

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    • ' ' ¦ » ¦ —— ¦. ' . . ' FRANCE. • ' . ...

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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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    The Politics Of Numbers. One .Of .The /M...

    amon" tlie working classes know how diffir S ft is to get even a moderate portion of Si to unitef and yet when there is any talk of their enfranchisement we find them spoken of as tf they were perfectly agreed in objects of . desire , and in the choice of particular representatives to carry them out . They themselves are conscious of the same diversity and conflict upon disputable matters that other classes feel , and hence they make similar provisions , and usually exclude political and religious discussions from their only nn-. portant organisations — then- trade societies , feobert Owen ' s career offers another illustration of this diversity ; for while Chartist orators represented ru * i ; tiVn . l p . l . anffe as the one thins needtul , he ana

    his followers repudiated an agitation for thesmirage , and were supported by a large body of working men in seeking to reform society exclusively by education and co-operation . Another portion of the fallacy which assumes working men . to . be all alike , is , that they would unite in electing democratic candidate ? . Such reasoners forget what took place during the excitements which preceded the Reform Bill , when the most popular chiefs were Sir Francis Burdett , Henry Brougham , of Brougham , Lord Cochrane , Sir Samuel ilomilly , and Major _ Cartwright , of the Cartwrishts of Northamptonshire ; . _

    It is " not Parliamentary reform that will make England democratic ; the people themselves are aristocratic , and there is more aristocratic feeling amongst the costcrmongers than in the House of Lords . . It is not wealth , it is not numbers , but enlightened-opinion- ' that should rule and if the . educated classes will exert themselves to promote the formation of opinion , they will find this task facilitated by a liberal political treatment of the working men .

    Not In Instances B ¦ ' ** " ^7. -March 5...

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    • ' ' ¦ » ¦ —— ¦. ' . . ' France. • ' . ...

    • ' ' ¦ » ¦ —— ¦ . ' . . ' FRANCE . ' . Paris , Thursday , 6 £ p . m . PROSPECT OF PEACE .. This morning the Moniteur was anxiously scanned for confirmation , of the rumour , which has received almost official circulation , that the French occupation of Rome -was to cease immediately . The Official Journal of the Empire is mute ; but ere manydays be passed it will doubtless speak in tones and accents which will send joy to many homes in France , and revive confidence in the wisdom and peaceful policy of the Emperor . The name of Prince Napoleon lias , from some cause or other , been put prominently forward as the advocate of war and as the enthusiastic partisan , at all risks , of Italian national independence . The reason for this conduct

    is very difficult to discover . His Imperial Highness has long passed the age of illusions ; his portly mien ill consorts with romantic enthusiasm : and his physical frame and constitution are by rfo means fitted to endure the fatigues , and hardships of actual ¦ wa r . The experience acquired in the Crimea would scarcely encourage people to hope much glory , or profit from his Iriiperial Highncss ' s campaigns in Xombardy ; nor is it at all probable that his Cousin would venture to entrust suproni © command into his hands , involving 1 , as ib would , the honour of France , and what is of infinitely more importance , the duratioti of , jfiho Imperial dynasty . That Prince Napoleon iu seriously preoccupied with some particular

    idea , foreign to his general occupations and official duties , is positive .. Ever since the autumn , capitalists have been anxiously waiting for the Prince ' s decision relative to the concession of the Algerian railways—works pregnant with the greatest advantage to Franco and her colony . But still no progress ia made towards a solution , nor doea there appear chance of tlioro being any for some time to come ; for when , the othor day , an application was made by a person , in his intimacy , who figures in-ono of the demands for the concession , to have the matter decided , his Imnorlal Hiirhness ropliod , veauesting not

    into his seat . Afterwards this gentleman became governor of Raincy , got mixed up in certain proceedings not necessary to name , was tried , by the High Court of Versailles I think , and condemned to imprisonment , When the Empire was voted , he wrote to the Enrperor expressing his obedience to the decision of the people , and was consequently set free . Since then , this gentleman has graced your capital with his presence and has been a constant appli- ^ cant to tlie Palais Royal for the concession of the Algerian railways . For a long time it was unsuccessful until he proposed to use his influence as a red republican , to induce political exiles from France-r-men whom he euphoniously termed de- , places—to settle down as colonists in Algeria . have been well received

    The proposition seems to , for towards the close of the year the individual referred to was sent on a confidential mission to Algeria , and has nq , w returned to Paris to bask in the graces of the Palais Royal . It is , therefore , not surprising that people—remembering who this gentleman was , how lie was the destroyer of regularly constituted authority—should take umbrage and alarm at seeing him received into the confidence of the Government . A very general conviction is growing up that the warlike penchants of the Prince are encouraged and flattered by certain parties who seek to use him for the creation of a wide-spread commotion , in order that , in the confusion , they may regain their lost power with its sweets and enjoyments . . ¦ ¦

    There is another curious circumstance , which has contributed materially to cast ridicule and odium upon a war got up for the reconstitution of the nationalities . It has been asserted in influential quarters , although the necessary permis > sion for publication has been refused , that in a case of this . ' sort France herself does not come into court with clean handsthat she has appropriated in her geographical development certain provinces inhabited by nationalities distinct to her own ; . It has , therefore , been proposed , no doubt in perfect good faith , that , in order for France , to be justified in her demand to A ustria , for the restoration of iLombardo- Venetia to Italy , she ought to begin by restoring onlbroht under

    Corsica to Italy , which was y ug French domination within the memory of many men still living , and for which the Italian national party propose their willingness to exchange Savoy , insisting upon the justice and wisdom of the restoration . How the Emperor would like to sacrifice possession of the cradle of his race to the doc-, trine of nationalities is not stated I Again , it is proposed that France should withdraw her army of occupation from Africa , and restore the province to the nations of Ishmael , — that she should return back the Rhine - Provinces to Germany , whence Louis XIV , wrested them , and whose inhabitants are still German in language , habits of thought , and hopes—some of them not a century since carrying their hatred of in

    for war . The most sig-nificant intimation the Government have yet received of public opposition to the war ,, was given yesterday week by the senate—a veryobedient body , composed of gentlemen who were nominated by the Emperor , and are paid some 1 , 200 / . a year ( each ) for their services . The order of the , day was to discuss first a Bill for increasing the annual allowance the Imperial Princes and Princessess to 88 , 000 / ,, secondly a Bill to vote Prince i ^ apoleon £ 320 , 000 for his marriage expenses , and to lastlin of his death

    not unaccompanied in . some instances by contemptuous expressions for the office under the actual system . The Deputy for the Drome said he had not time to attend to public affairs , thus placing a share in the government of the nation , — -as M . de Moray told the Deputies , was reserved to them under the Constitution—at a very low estimate indeed When it is remembered that the Deputies receive a very handsome remuneration for attending to the business of the nation ;—or at least pretending to do sothat these places are sinecures—that they are

    flattered in every way , and have many means of making perquisites opened to their cupidity- —the voluntary resignation of these material advantages is very significant . It shows a wide spread apprehension of future danger which no present benefits will induce people to encounter , and a firm determination not to be associated , even in iso "remote a degree as a Deputy , in the eventual responsibility for the present Avar policy . When the adherents of power begin to " rat , " their motives must be very powerful . Men rarely desert a prosperous cause which gives them wealth anil rank .

    The course taken by tlie public has astonished and perplexed the Government . People object to have their imaginations fired by visions of glory , and lausj ' h at tlie chauvinistic appeals of the Presse and dynastic journals . They seem to think it extremely ridiculous , the figure they are made to appear by the bombastic and inflated verbiage of Imperial pamphleteers and speechmakers . They can see the hollowness andsham . of the whole proceeding and much regret that those who assume to be reprer sentatives of France should assume the bullying tone and swagger of " ¦ mine ancient Pistol . " The partizans of war are annoyed beyond all measure fall

    to find their appeals ' to bellicose propensities flat on the public ear , and produce no eficct . The most servile law court in France would scarcely have the courage to doom men to Cayenne or Lambessa , because they do not throw up their caps and clamour for war , —being content to leave the . questidii to the ineffable goodness and Providential wisdom of his Majesty . Nearly every day there is a meeting of the'Cabinet Ministers , in the presence of the Emperor , the Prince Jerome , and the Prince Napoleon , and the ingenuity and resources of the Minister for the Interior are sadly tasked to devise means to dispel public apathy and to kindle a noble ardour

    set up housekeeping , and , y , case to provide . £ 8 , 000 a yearto his widow with a suitable dwelling . The speakers were the General Marquia de Castelbajac , Count de Casabianca , Count de sogur-cl'Aguesseau , Cardinal Donnet , Count Lemercier , the President of the Council of State , and the Marquis de Boissy who married Byron ' s Countess . Guiceiola . Yet in a body of what may be called , pensioners of the Emperor—his mere nomineestwo voted against the bills , while one of the Senators , said , he should have much pleasure in voting the allowance to Prince Napoleon ' s widow .

    French dominion to such an extent as to request their ' wills to be buried with their faces downwards . In the north-eastern corner of France is the Flemish race , whose nationality is constituted in Belgium , In the south-western corner are the Basque races that belong to Spain . Avignon , the Comte de Vcnaissin , and the principality of Orange , have been brought under French dominion since the first revolution •; and , with the jealousy pretended for the property of St . Peter ' s—which Central Italy is said to be—it is not surprising that some should propose to restore a city , in which the Popes so long dwelt , to their successor . Such is the inevitable conclusion , of the doctrine of nationalities honestly curried out , and its ridiculous , impracticable character is made apparent to the commonest understanding .

    EJECTIONS IN FltANCE . A curious illustration has recently been afforded how the Government here wield universal suffrage and vote by ballot to their own purpose . When tha election took place of a deputy for the first electoral circumscription of the Department of the Indre , there were two candidates ; one , M . Charlemagne , nominated by the Government , and the other M . D « Lancostne-Bi ^ vpa . The first was , of courso , elected by the " active and oppressive interference of tha Government . " From a statement made by M . Ernest Picard , quoting from the letter of an elector , it appears that , " tlie voters were compelled to voto with open tiukots , in the presence of a reinforcement of Gendarmerie ; tiias nublic servants and workmen , in the employment ok

    THE ATTITUDE OF TUB WATIO > . In whatever way the present crisis may terminate , I think the attitude and conduct of the nation , under extraordinary temptatiou and coercion , will command the respect , sympathy , and admiration of the world . They have evinced a clear and . honorable perception of the value of public tronties and a hearty deference to the public law of Europe . An organ of the manufacturers says , in as strong terms as could be expected wdu , U be published— " For the sake of withdrawing certain Italian statos from the too severe domination exercised by Austria , it will bo necessary to violate the treaties of 1815 , and those treaties

    supporters of t | io Government candidate , were threatened with instant dismissal if they UIU noc voto for M . Charlemagne j and those throats were openly uttqrod while the voting was going ou , J . ho writer of the letter had boon placed undor the police measure of General Safety , in consequence of his previously announced opposition to tho Government candidate , nnd It was stated on the P » W » o « tew , t > 7 officials , that all who did not vote for M . Charlemagne would bo subjected to the sarno persecution , Tha opponent to the Government candidate was not allowed to distribute his voting tickets \ his ' addresses were torn' down or pasted' over by the orders of , the authorities . In one < fommungt \\ Q Mayor stood by th © ballot-box to note , from inspection of tho open tioJcofcs , for whom the voters gave their euflragos . This opon

    have found in nearly nil tho Cabinets of Europo the strongest possible support . " Now this is tantamount to telling the piUion that . if France-violate thqso treaties she will Incur tho opposition of all Europo . Tho invincible hostility of tho manufacturing and intelligent classes to war for tlie gratification of Imperial idculot / uos is made day by day more apparent , and is manifested under a variety of forme . Public opinion , after nearly ton years suppression , \ 9 again making its influence- ' felt , < and would , appear to have acquired additional force and authority from tho long inaction to which it has boon condemned . An unusual number of resignations have taken place among tlie Deputies to tho Legislative Body ,

    to be spoken toon tho subject , for ho had other things to think of . Naturally enough , pooplo want to know what the Princo-ministor of Algeria can have to think of that is of more importance than tho wolfaro and progross of the polony committed to his oharge . There is another circumstance in tho conduct of tho 3 Mn . ce which has oreatcd great disquietude among the moneyed and . modorato classes of society , and that is his constant coquetting with the advanced members of tho revolutionary party—¦ the reddest of tho rouges . There is a certain ox-ropresontatlvo of the people under the Republio who became notorious for having toppled the President of tho Assembly out of hia fauteil , and leapt

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), March 5, 1859, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_05031859/page/19/