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    we should never abuse the favours of fortune ; on the other , that a dynasty has only then a chance of stability when it remains faithful to its origin , and wlien it occupies itself solely with the popular interests for which it waa created . This child , whose birth is consecrated by the peace under preparation , by the blessing of the Holy Father , brought by electricity in an hour after he saw the light oi day , and finally by the acclamations of the French people , whom the Emperor so much loved—this child , I say , will , I hope , be worthy of the destinies that await him . " I thank you , gentlemen , for the well-wishes you have expressed for him and for the Empress . "

    of an assassin in the lifetime of Charles X . and Iris son , the Duke do Bordeaux , is an exile from the land which his ancestors regarded as their own eBtate The eldest son of Louis Philippe perished by an untimely accident , and his grandson and heir does not sit ujon the throne of his grandfether . Thus then , it . appears that , for upwards of two hundred years , in no one of the dynasties to which France has been subjected has the eon succeeded to the throne of the father . Amid the shipwreck of so many dynasties , amid the overthrow of so many hopes , amid the Wasting of so many fair prospects of success , it were presumptuous to anticipate for this last child of a reigning family that . eood fortune -which has been

    denied to so many of his predecessors . Who doea not remember the prophetic poem in whic h Berange r represents the son of the great Napoleon as warning the youthful Duke de Bordeaux of the snares and difficulties that surround the path of the future heir of the French diadem ? ¦ Fortune , ' writes the heir of the Empire to the heir of the restoration , ' stretches to you a hand , and smiles upon your birth . My first day also was fair . Kings adored me in my cradle ; and yet I am at Vienna . I slept upon laurels , and you are wrapt in purple : sceptres jivere my playthings ' , my head -vras bound with a crown , the Marshals swore fidelity to me- —an oath , which they have doubtless kept—and yet I am at Vienna . "

    A pamphlet , entitled " Les Conferences de 1856 et les Sfationalites" from the pen of a Pole M . Joseph Eeitzenheim , and recently published at Paris , contrasts the apathy of the French people with regard tothe war—in some instances , theiropposition to itwith the eagerness of the English . In France , observes the writer , the Government all along has had . to urge the people into action ; in England , the people have had to uu-ge the Government , and to change an administration wHich they regarded as not in earnest . M . Reitzenheirri . contends that the material condition

    of France has prospered by the war , the merchant navy of the Mediterranean cities having greatly increased , owing to the reduction of the Russian Blac k Sea fleet ; and he explains the opposition of portions of the people to the English alliance to a fear of accepting that alliance without a certain reserve . The French are satisfied with the glory they have attained ; the English desire solid advantages . The ; writer repudiates the idea that the English ( whose courage lie eulogises ) desire to continue the war for the mere sake of retrieving certain alleged slurs on their military reputation .

    A remarkable case has recently been tried at the Correctional Police Tribunal of Privas ( Ardecbe ) . In . the neighbouring commune of Saint- Symphorien , there has long existed amongst the population a body of Socialists . A farmer named Chabanel openly pronounced the opinions of the Socialists to be those of thieves ^ and refused to join them , in the insurrectionary rising of the people in 1851 . A short time since , one of the Socialist party discovered that a fine branch had been cut off a walnut-tree belonging to him , and , upon investigation , it was ascertained that Chabanel was the culprit . This was considered "by his enemies to be a favourable oppoi"tunity of doing lim an injury j they therefore , caused him to he tried by the

    municipal council of Saint Symphorien , instead of the judicial authorities , When Chabanel was brought before the former body , it was decided by the majority of its members , although some of them were in favour of hanging , that he should be fined the sum of 400 francs , one half of which was to be paid to the owner of the walnut-tree , and the other to go to the poor . If the culprit did not pay , he was to undergo the sentence of a long imprisonment and a heavy fine . This so troubled Chabanel that he fled to the village of Privas , where he conferred with the authorities , who yromptly took measures for proving to the municipal council of Saint Symphorien that it had no power whatever to condemn the man . As , however , the theft of the walnut-tree brauch waa still unpunished , Chabanel was tried before the Privas Tribunal of

    Correctional Police , which decided that , under all the circumstances , a fine of sixteen francs would meet the ustico of the case , and passed a severe censure on the municipality of Saint Symphorien , for what it had done .

    AUSTMA . According to lottors from Glalata ; , received by Messrs . Charles Joyoo and Co ., it appears that towards the end of February more than one hundred vessels , chiefly German , had come up the Danube , and tliat freights had deolined considerably . A . t tho date of the latest advices from Sultan , tho depth of water on the bar was about ton Venetian feet , The Austrian Government in about to deepen tho ohtmnel , and to placo buoyfi , inooring-elnpe , ana a light ship at the entrance of tho Sulina mouth .

    Tho treaty for tho ealo and concession of the Austrian railwttyH in Italy to tho section of capitalists headed by Messrs . Rothschild has been definitively arranged . They are to purchase two hundred and Hovonty-threo English rnuea , which are already opmplotod , and to undertake two hundred and twentythree miles whioh remain to bo constructed , in addition , to tho Control Italian lino . Tho total network

    those wishes iu one word , bestow on him , a heart worthy of his destiny and of his name . " It is said that the delivery was not effected without an operation , which left a sear on the infant's brow . His Highness Prince Louis Lueien Bonaparte has fractured his toe , and in consequence of this accident was unable to be present at the Tuileries . The Pope being the godfather of the Prince , and the Queen of Sweden the godmother , the Prince has received in addition to the names of Napoleon , Eugenie , and Louis , those of Jean Joseph . The Emperor has decided that he will be godfather and the . Empress godmother of all the legitimate children born in France on the day of the 16 th of March .

    The Plenipotentiaries of the Congress presented an address ( Count Walewski being the speaker ) , and received an . acknowledgment couched in these terms : — " I thank the Congress for the well-wishes and congratulations addressed to me through you . I am happy that Providence has granted me a son at a moment when a new era of general reconciliation dawns upan Europe . I will bring him up imbued with the idea that nations must not be egotistical , and that the peace of Europe depends upon the prosperity of each nation . " *

    The Seriate and Legislative corps waited , on the Emperor on Tuesday , to congratulate him on the birth of an heir . M . de Moray , the president , read the following address : — « Sire , —Providence has gifts in store for those princes who devote themselves to the greatness and prosperity of their people . It has just proved this to your Majesty by a most striking favour . But thi 3 great joy which it gives you by the birth of a son is also a happiness for the great family which . gath . ers round you . Already France breathes more freely by the birth of this child ; she associates her future with her destinies .

    " When he shall reign over this Empire , which Grotius styled the finest under the "kingdom of heaven , the 19 th century , having reached its extreme period , will gather the fruits , the productive seed of which have been sown by pur generation in the present . Africa ^ fostered by your powerful hand , will have become one of the brightest gems of his Crown . The East and the West , which have been seeking each other since the Crusades , and are only coming in sight of each other ho w , will have . connected their seas and coasts to let forth the improving tide of the ideas and . riches of civilisation . Let the future Sovereign of our children follow in the steps of his angust father ; let him call to mind a reign where the genius of government is guided by moderation of jxistice ; and in this march of humanity France will still be , as she is now , a regulator for Europe , a lever of progress , a torch of intellect .

    ' Let us hail , then , this son of the Em . Dire , tTia plerl s ' of so many great destinies ; let us greet likewise , and thank his graceful mother . A' wife already so en-< leared to > you , will be dearer still to your heart by this consideration of maternity . " Allow the Senate , Sire , to place its homage for her at the foot of this throne , which she embellishes by her amiable qualities , and which she has cemented by this happy birth . " The Einperor replied : — " Monsieur le President da Senat , —The Senate shared my joy when it learnt that Heaven Tiad granted me a son , and . you have hailed as a happy event the tirth of an Enfant de France . I purposely make use

    of this expression . In fact , the Emperor Napoleon , my uncle , who had applied to the new system created "by the Revolution all that was great and noble in the thercgiind , resumed that old denomination of' Enfants de France' And , iu truth , gentlemen , when an heir is born destiuod to perpetuate a national system , that child is not only the offspring of a family , but he is truly also tho son of tho whole country , and the name indicates his duties . If this were true under the old monarchy , which more exclusively represented the privileged classes , with how muoh more reason ought it not to be so today , when the sovereign is the oleot of the nation , the first citizen of the country , and the representative of the interests of all ? " I thank you for the good wishes you have expressed for this child of Franco and for tlie Empress . " To tho address of the Legislative Corps , the

    Emperor replied : — " Monsieur lo President du CorpB Legisla'tix , —The expression of your sentiments on the birth of the eon which it has pleased Providence to grant me has touohed me nearly . You hare wcloomed in him the hope , whioh it m flattering to entertain , of perpetuating a system whioh is hold to be tho surest guarantee of tho general interests of the country ; but tho unanimous aoolauiationu which surround his oradlo < lo not provout mo from reflootiug upon the fato of those born in tho same place- and undor similar circumstances . If I hope that his fato maybe a happier one , it is that , first of al l , confiding in Providonco , I cannot do ubt of its protection wh en I boo it restoro again by an extraordinary combination of oiroumetancos what it waa pleaaod to overthro w forty ycara since , as if it wiehod to muturo by martyrdom and misfortune a now dynasty iasuing front * the ranka of tho people History has , moreover , lesisons which I » hall not forgot . It tolla mo , on tho ono hand , that

    The Council of State were addressed , in reply to their congratulations , as follows : — " M . le President du Conseil d'Etat , —The * Council of State , that intimate Council of the Sovereign and of his Government , which is initiated to ail his thoughts , and which associates itself with all his acts , would , I was sure of it , take a lively participation in the rejoicing of the present and in the hope of the future . None labour more than yourselves , gentlemen , towards the

    consolidation of that future . Strong in the grand traditions of the Council of State of the first Empire , you elaborate the laws which , while they consecrate the grand principles of the Revolution , pacify the country , consolidate the ruling power-, curb factions , and prepare the peaceful reign of a wise liberty . I count , therefore , upon the talent 3 and patriotism of which you have already given me so many proofs to render easy to the child who has just been , born the accom ^ plishment of his future destinies . "

    A Te Dewm will be performed to-morrow ( Sunday ) in all the churches iu Franc-e . Paris has been brilliantly illuminated , and some of our English pi'ovirieial towns have followed the example . A congratulatory address has been despatched from Edinburgh . The Paris market women—les dames de la , Halle— -went'to tho Tuileries , on Tuesday , to congratulate the Emperor , who received them with great courtesy , and led them himself tb the apartments of the Prince , and presented the infant to

    them . The corporations of workmen have also manifested a desire to wait on the Emperor ; but he has postponed their visit till the period of baptism . The Imperial Courts of the various principal cities have sent in , or are now sending in , their addresses . Numerous pardons to military prisoners have been granted ; several pecuniary fines and imprisonments have been remitted ; and 803 pardons have been accoi'ded to those culprits confined in the Bagnes who have exhibited signs of sincere repentance .

    The Emperor has repeated an offer , already made at the inauguration of the Empire ., to permit the return to Prance of all political exiles who will make a deola . ra . tiou to submit loyally to the existing form of Government . According to the statistics of the Moniteur , the number of persons exiled by the existing Grovernment after the insurrection of June , 1848 , was 11 , 000 , which was reduced by Louis Napoleon , during his Presidency , to 306 . After the coup d ' etat , 11 , 201 persons were deported , but the number was afterwards brought down by pardonB to 1 , 058 . The health of the . Empiess continues satisfactory : the milk fever has set in . a regular and favourable manner , and is now subsiding . Prince Jerome is progressing towards recovery .

    By Imperial decree , dated March . 16 , M . Po-ul Dubois , Burgeon-accouchdur to the Empress , has been promoted to the grade of Commander of the Legion of Honour . The King of Sardinia , on hearing of the birth , sent M . Poleuzo ,, his Minister of Foreign Affairs , to the French representative , to offer him his congratulations . It is a coincidence which cannot fail to challenge remark that the number of the Moniteur announcing the birth of an heir to tho throno of tho Bonapartes , contains a decree ordaining that all the money which still bears the effigy of Liberty shall cease to bo currout coin .

    Some reflections on tiiis event , of a vei * y grave and omiuous nature , are offered by the Times ; for our contemporoiy , though willing and desirous to see the porpetuation of the JNapoleonio dynasty , cannot shut his eyes to tho loasQns which Frenoh history plainly teaches . The " leading journal ' observes : —" Not a little remarkable is it to observe that , from the accession of Louts XIV . to the present tirao , not a single King or Governor of Franoo , though uono of them , with tho exception of Louis XVIII ., hove been childless , has been succeeded at his demieo by his eon .

    Louis XIV . survived bis boh , his graudaon , and several of bis groat grandchild row , and was succeeded nfc last by one of tho younger children of his grandson tho Duko of Burgundy . Louis XV . survived his oon , and was succeeded by his grandson , Louis XVI . Louia XVI . loft a bojx behind him , but that son perished in the filthy dungoou to whioh the cruolty of the torrorittts had confined him . Tho King of Rome , to whom Napoleon fondly hoped to boquouth tho boundless empire ho had won , died a colonel iu tho Austrian service . Louis XVIII . was , a » wo have said , childless . The Duko do Bond foil by tho hand

    Untitled Article

    March 22 , 1856 . ] THE LEADER . 2 f > ^^ tg ^^ g ^ g ^^ - ^^ ^^ ma ^^^ i ^^ i ^ matmm ^ amim ^^ KKmtH ^^ t ^^^^^^^^^ i ^^ t ^ Ki ^^ KK ^^ ma ^ aamtiMmKtmim ^ Km ^^ K ^^ m ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ m ^ m ^^ H ^^ m ^^^^ —— ,.

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), March 22, 1856, page 269, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2133/page/5/