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100 THE LEADER. {Saturday,. . . . — . _ ...
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CONTINENTAL NOTES. The French Senate and...
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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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Letters Prom Paris. [From Our Own Corres...
shopkeeping adherents . Nothinghut a strong personal impulse explains it in their eyes . The chief of a great nation like France who aspires to be the founder of a new dynasty , ought to have more serious thoughts and more elevated views than those of a caprice to satisfy , and of a homage to bestow upon the beauty of a young girl , more or less elegant . With regard to the working classes , perhaps their feelings on the matter is well liit off by this onot which one of them addressed to me not two hours since ; " Bonaparte's crown is getting very like a , night-cap . " { La couronne de Bonaparte tourne diabletnent au bonnet de coton . ) Indeed the situation could not be more happily expressed . An Empress of
Royal Blood would have brought with her to the Tuileries that majesty and sovereign dignity which are wanting in our Parvenu , as he now calls - himself . But , as it is , by his marriage with a simple lady , Bonaparte does not marry an Empress , he simply takes a woman to wife . There will be the Emperor ' s wife , as we speak of the wife of a marshal , the wife of a general , the wife of a prefect . We shall hear of the Empress as we hear of the Marechale , the Generates , the Prefete , and even the Mayoress . But , let me repeat , there will , strictly speaking , be no Empress , no Empress of her own ri ght and condition , Empress by her own blood , imposing by her right of birth on all , oh the Emperor himself , first of all !
Such were the first impressions in Paris at the bare announcement of the marriage of Bonaparte with Mdlle . de Montijo . But on Saturday evening , when the speech appeared , the disapprobation grew darker , and the worst apprehensions seemed confirmed . The danger of the situation became patent to all ; it was felt by all that this marriage was an open rupture with the crowned heads , and the speech read like the preamble to a declaration of war . This speech , in which Bonaparte declares himself , in a tone so parched with bitterness , a parvenu—this speech , I say , was posted in the Chamber of the Stockholders at a quarter
before 2 p . m ., and at 2 p . m . the Funds , which had just begun slowly to recover , were in full decline again . The diplomatic body were not simply displeased , they were almost hostile . Seeing the disastrous impression produced by the speech , the knowing ones of the court have been immensel y busy working their ground ever since Saturday . To amuse the weak-minded and the credulous , they have industriously circulated reports that the marriage of Bonaparte was to be the signal of a general and complete amnesty , and the beginning of a return to a regime of liberty . Many have believed
this report , and are enticed into silence . As fin-Europe , to quiet all apprehensions about the hard words of the speech , all the trumpets of rumour have been set blowing a fresh reduction of the army to the extent of 60 , 000 men . These declarations are skilful ; no doubt their immediate effect is to suspend all unfavourable comments . But this can only last a . short time , and if the people wait in vain for the amnesty , and Europe for tin : reduction of the forces , the manoeuvre will only render the isolation of our Parvenu more and more complete .
It was on Tuesday last that the marriage contract between Bonaparte and Mdlle . do Montijo was signed . This took place at the Elysce . Immediately after the ceremony , the bride elect entered into fornml enjoyment of the palace which has been assigned to her as her private domain — probably in remembrance of the first meetiny !
Since that moment , at the domestic dinner-table , the lady sits in the place of honour opposite the lOmperor . The household of the impress in already completely formed . fVrsigny , like a skilful and wary courtier , presented his wife to be one of the ladies-inwaiting . By J / his means , the husband and the wife will hold the threads of the Kmpire between them . The marriage was originally announced for Saturday , the 2 lHh inst ., but as the interval of eleven days required by theCodeOivil I o elapse between the declaration and the act would not thus be satisfied , the Moiiitmr announced on ( he day after , that the marriage would take place on the IJOth . But the IJOth is a Sunday , and the Catholic Church does not celebrate the
sucninient of marriage on Sundays . Bonaparte , whose religious fervour is of quite recent origin , had not hail time to learn this circumstance . The Archbishop of Paris was obliged to communicate to him in person the impossibility of holding the marriage on the Sunday named , ( ircnt was the embarrassment of the Emperor . To return to Saturday would be a violation of the Civil Code , but to postpone the ceremony to the Monday—¦ ah ! the impatience of our gallant viuleticr Castellan revolted at the thought . A lias done la Code . Civil , ! and the poor Monileur bus just announced to expectant France that f his time at least the marriage would come oil " , in . spite of all law and custom , on Saturday , tho 2 'Jt . li i ,, st ,, at Noire Dfuno . Mn route , then , all England , if you desire to iissist at
the unparalleled splendours of this august marriage . The preparations are immense . It is to be an exact repetition of the ceremony of the coronation of the Emperor in 1804 . The unfortunate Princess Mathilde is condemned to bear the train of the Empress , as the sisters of the first Bonaparte had to submit to the humiliation of bearing the train of their sister Josephine . You know the scenes of passionate vexation which at that epoch afflicted the Tuileries . Those scenes are revived since last Saturday . The Princess Mathilde is capable of perishing of spite , if only to exempt herself from bearing that horrible train . Poor Mrs . Howard has been sent shamefully about her business with her two children . Sarah exacts
the dismissal of Hagar . All the other sultanas , more or less en Hire , have been similarly repudiated * " You will adore me , and me only , " says the lady Our unhappy Ariadnes are counted by scores , and in certain quarters of this city the voice of lamentation is heard . In other respects , nothing is changed in the regime . Do I say changed ? Quite the reverse . M . Ponsard ' s tragedy of Lucrece , which has kept the stage these ten
years , is forbidden by the censorship . It is not difficult to imagine why . Alexandra Dumas has not succeeded in getting his new colossal work , Isaac Laquedem ( a popular name given to the Wandering Jew ) , published en feuilleton . The Archbishop of Paris warned the Constitidionnel that if it published that feuilleton , he would , in a special pastoral to the faithful , denounce the journal as infected with impiety . The Constitutionnel recoiled before this formidable threat of
excommunication . The priests are all in all just now in France . Bonaparte flatters and cajoles them assiduously . You must have remarked that abject piece of sycophancy in his recent speech , where he said that he would not marry any but a Catholic . Finally , in this blessed year of grace , 1853 , after three revolutions , two centuries after Louis XIV " ., we have advanced sd far in freedom that Tartufe is banished from the stage ! As I write these words the pen falls from my hand . S .
P . S . —I take it up again for a single moment to announce the rumour of a republican insurrection at Cayenne . Report says that the town is in the hands of the insurgents—that the Ministry of the Marine is all on the alert—that armaments are being pressed at Rochefort , and that troops are embarked for the seat of the rebellion . *
Letters Prom Paris. [From Our Own Corres...
* This rumour is not , conlinned . What is true is tho escape of certain prisoners , which wo httvo related in . uuothor purl of our proaont hnproa « ion .
100 The Leader. {Saturday,. . . . — . _ ...
100 THE LEADER . { Saturday , . . . . — . _ _ . —r— "'" ~—~— ————————^^^_^^^ . ^ ^^^—————^^^^—^^^^^ ^^
Continental Notes. The French Senate And...
CONTINENTAL NOTES . The French Senate and Legislative Corps are convoked for the 14 th of February . By imperial decree the following- household is appointed for the Empress . The names are worth giving if only to show the poverty of selection and the nullity of the names : —The Princess d'Essling , Chief Lady ; the Duchess de Bassano , Lady of Honour . Ladies of the Palace .- the Countess Gustavo de Montebello , Madame Feray , tho Viscountess Lezay-Marnezia , tho Baroness do Pierres , tho Baroness do Malaret , and tho Marchioness de las Marismas . Tho senator , Count Tasohor de la Pagerie , is appointed Lord Steward ; his relative , Count Charles , First Chamberlain ; Viscount Lezay-Marnezia , Grand Chamberlain ; and tho Baron de Pierres , . Equerry to her MajfMiy-M . Berger , tho Prefect of tho Soinc , displays his devotedness to tho Kmperor in the most practical form . On Tuesday he called an extraordinary meeting of the municipal council of Paris , and proposed that as tho city of Pans had made a marriage present to Napoleon L on the occasion of Jus marriage with Maria Louisa , tho example should he followed on tho present occasion . lie accordingly moved ( hat < M )() , O < X > f . should bo vo ! oil from tho funds of the city of Paris for tho purchase of a diamond necklace for the future Kmpress , and ,- )<)() , <)<) 0 f . to give tochers to a certain number of young Parisian girls . Tho vote was at once carried . Simple people , not to say common councillors of tho city of London , a corporation usually reported to be wealthy ; may reasonably inquire , where does the money come from ' for all these lotos and gifts ? Imagine the city of London giving away . 'l <> , ( M > 0 / . at a vole , for a necklace to a princess , and " tochers to a certain number of young London girls . " They manage these things more easily in Paris . Napoleon Jorome , tho son , is created General of Division in tho French army , by imperial decree , in consideration of bis nearness to the Throne . " Our well-beloved cousin " lias seen no military service except as Colonel of tho Second Legion of National Guards of the Banlioue those ! Just two years . With regard to the state carriages to bo used in tho wedding procession , the MorniiKf Chronicle has the following story : " Tho ditliculty about the State carriages lias boon got over . The old Royal carriages of the last dynasty aro to be used , with a change of decorations , Hy the' liyo , u curious thing has occurred respecting them . Whtm tho workmen removed the arms of Louis Philippe , to make place for those of Louis Napoleon , tlioy found that tho arms of Charles X . wero below , and on going a little
All foreign officers in the Belgian army are now placed on half-pay . From Lisbon we learn that a vigorous opposition to the dictatorial , dishonest , and unconstitutional policy of the Ministers is expected in the Cortes . The Due de Saldanha remains dangerously ill , having suffered a relapse . In Spain matters are reported to be returning to the critical state they were in before Bravo Murillo gave place to the present Cabinet . The incessant press-prosecutions do not look like a leaning to more liberal measures . Considerable agitation exists in the electoral districts and
further , the arms of Napoleon le Grand appeared . Whom will they serve next ?" A proposition is under consideration to take measures for getting into cultivation the landes of Brittany . If all these barren tracts in France were put in cultivation , seven million of acres would be reclaimed . M . Auber has been appointed musical director and chapel master to the Emperor , thus uniting in himself the functions which were divided between Lesueur and Pae ' Tke Belgian journals contain accounts of disastrous inundations from the overflows of the rivers . At Hal and Vivorde , and in the valley of the Senne , considerable loss has been sustained .
anticipations of a violent demonstration and of a bloody resistance are still felt . Everything indicates the desire to make a coup d'Stat . It is reported at Madrid that the English government had notified that in the event of any attempt to deprive Spain of her constitution , England would consider herself absolved from the quadruple treaties which assure the crown to the Queen Isabella II . The fall of the funds at Madrid continues . It is ascribed to the violent measures of the Government , and particularly to the strong dissatisfaction of the army at the treatment of Narvaez .
A telegraphic despatch from Madrid , of the 22 nd , announces that an arrangement had "been concluded with . some foreign capitalists for a loan of 57 , 000 , 000 , guaranteed on national property . The consequences of our one-sided policy of non-intervention , which means allowing all othei powers to intervene while we look on and are insulted , are becoming commercially significant . We say commercially , as that is , in fact , the only sense in which Englishmen care for foreign politics . Thus writes the correspondent of the Morning Chronicle from Italy on the subject of the recent Austrian League : —
" Before leaving Tuscany , I made some inquiries with respect to the present consequences of the annexation of Modena and Parma to the Austrian Customs League , and found that its effects already have proved baneful to British commercial interests . Some British merchants at Leghorn having made considerable sales to parties at Modena some time before the new customs tariff was introduced , the Modenese Government has now thought fit to search the warehouses of its subjects , and requires them to pay the new duty ( the difference varying from fifteen to sixty per cent . ) on articles of commerce which were introduced prior to tho amalgamation of Modena with the great
empire of protection . The consequence of this step has been the failure of some houses at Modena . Some English houses at Leghorn are creditors to a considerable amount , and thus are victimised , together with the unfortunate inhabitants of the Duchy of Modena . The interference of her Britannic Majesty's minister at Florence has been invoked , and it is hoped that something may be done to guard the interests of British subjects . I am , however , not aware in how far the acts of Francis V . towards his own subjects can be interfered with by a foreign power , even though hurtful in their consequences to foreigners . Of course , now , tho two Duchies of Modena and Parma aro quite lost to British commerce . " Tho following is an extract from a letter dated Florence , Jan . 18 : — " One of those domiciliary visits by the police , technically called ' perquisizionc , ' which have of lato years become no uncommon occurrence , though contrary to all existing treaties , was perpetrated the other day on tho houses of two persons living under British protection . The persons who have been the objects of this outrage aro Mr . Lawley and M . Bertolacci , a Corsica !! by birth , but who served in tho British army during tho last war , and is still in receipt of a pension from our Government . They both live in country houses , in the neighbourhood of tho Pontudcru station of the Leghorn ltailway . Mr . Lawley has a largo farm , and M . Bertolacci devotes himself , it
would appear , moro to horticulture than agriculture , for ( be most , suspicious article found on tho premises of either , aft or a most rigorous search , was a letter in tho pocket of M . Bertolacci from a M . Bastiano , a friend of his at Leghorn , thanking him for his present of a magnificent red cabbage , which , as tho writer declared , luul created quite a ' fitroro' at Leghorn , and was eagerly partaken of ' oven by tho Auslriuns . ' This mysterious allunion naturally excited suspicion in the minds of tho astute police , who can delect the seeds of revolution even in a head of eabbngo , and JV 1 . Bertolaeci narrowly escaped incarceration as a euro for his love of vegetables . Sir Henry Hulwer left this on . Saturday for Leghorn , and is expected to embark to-night for Marseilles .
A letter from Home of Jan . 14 th , flays : —Tho Sacred College has recently been convoked for un extraordinary eongrogRtion , and important * matters Inive been brought under discussion , which it has been attempted to conceal from tho public Tho current report is , that a discussion took placo on Mio subject of tho voyago of bin Holiness to Franco , and that tiio majority of ' tho cardinals decided in the negative . It in also said that certain governmental reforms have been mooted , and moro especially ono witli respect to tho territorial divisions establiHhod by the motu j » -oprio of Pius 1 X ., published in lHfiO , and which has not yet been put in execution . There is also a report Unit tho Pope has submitted a plan for the cession of tho principalities of Honovonto and Pontecorvo , both of which aro within the Neapolitan territory , to tho King of Naples for 40 , 000 , 000 f . it ia BoiU that tno majority of tho corduiola
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 29, 1853, page 100, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_29011853/page/4/
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