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At tlfe present moment . Prince George of Mecklen-Iburg Strelit ? , a Lieutenant-General in the service of the Czar , is married to Catherine Michailowna , the daughter of the late Russian Grand-Duke Michael . A remarkable feature in the most unpopular government of Eriedrich Franz is , that he has contributed of late , by his despotic fashions , to pave the way for the formation , in secret , of a resolute democratic party in Mecklenburg ; a party that had scarcely any existence there even during the revolutionary epoch . A few years ago , Germany was startled at hearing that at Rostock , arid in several other towns , a conspiracy had been detected , having for its object the overthrow of the Grand-Ducal rule , and the establishment of a United GermauRepublic . Arms and ammunition were discovered , and the
plot was traced , in its ramifications , to many persons of the enlightened , well-to-do classes . Arrests took p lace am o ng l awyer s , profess o rs * and substantial merchantsj &c . In fact , all the imprisoned were men who occupied a status of consideration in the social scale . The trials for high treason thereupon instituted by the tribunals of Friedrich Franz , ended in the condemnation of the incriminated parties to various penalties of imprisonment . This , it may be said , w as an even t of great significance , not only for Mecklenburg , but for Northern Germany in general . It indicates a turning-point from the Monarchico-Xiiberal to more advanced ideas , which may * in turn , hereafter prove of no me a n influence in t he devel op m e n t of political affairs in the North of Germany .
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INTEROCEANIQ COMMUNICATIONS . THE POKTS OE COLON AND PANAMA . { From a Correspondent , } The Leadfr of July 21 st contained an article on interoceanic communications , in which a comparison was made between the various actual or proposed routes across the Central American . isth m us , in the important respect of ports . It was stated that the existing railway at Panama , however much it might be admired as a bold and useful enterprise , was ,
nevertheless , destitute of adequate ports ; that its Atlantic terminus , C olon , or " Aspinwall , " is so bad , " that in one instance , at least , every vessel in it was wreckedj and the steamers lying there only escaped destruction by getting up steam and standing out to sea . " Also , " that the bay of Panama is not a harbour in any sense of the term ; only an exposed anchorage , where vessels have to lie from four to six miles from the shore , at which the communication can only be had at half-tide , and in bad weather not at all . "
so-called " port" on the 11 th of November last , and continued for ten days , during which five ships were wrecked , a great part of the railway wharf destroyed , a number of lives lost , and a considerable destruction of property occasioned in the town . The United States war-vesselg " , Saratoga and Roanoke were in great danger , and the latter was carried to a place of safety , Sunder the serious apprehensions of her officers that her propeller would not be able to move her against the winds and waves ! When we read of vessels breaking from their moorings , " driving into the railway wharf , and carrying away twenty feet at every pitch ; " of man-of-rwar ' s boats swept away and swamped , arid of mail-steamers obli ged to lie off on the high sea , we may well doubt if the port in which such destruction can go
on is " perfectly safe at all seasons , " or altogether " as safe as the Liverpool Docks ! " We may doubt , indeed , if it be a proper point for the Atlantic terminus of a great line of interoceanic communication . Such ¦ « ' ports" be used for a time , and from necessity , until a route better favoured in this respect is discovered , but they will n o t be used any longer . The man who discovers something better , and the journal which makes it known deserve the public gratitude , however they may expose themselves to the charge of sinister objects on the part of partisan organs .
As " regards Panama , it will perhaps be enough to print in justification of the remarks of the Leader the subjoined extract from "A Card to the Public , " published in the Ainerican journals by order of the passengers on . the steamers J . L . Stephens and Illinois , describing their experiences of the " weather" of the Bay of Panama , which the Journal of Commerce assures us " has never been known to interfere with transportation : " — " On the arrival of the John L . Step hens at her anchorage at Panama , the passengers were placed on board a small steamer , and a lighter filled with
baggage to be conveyed to the shore , distant about five miles . The number of passengers was about 750 , about 500 of whom were crowded on the st e amer , and the residue on the lighter . Both vessels were filled beyond their capacity , and , in the event of an ordinary accident , the results must have been fearful . Shortly after embarking , the rain poured down in torrents , which continued up to the time of lariding—near / y two hours . The passengers in the lighter , mostly women and children , being wholly unprotected , were drenched to the skin , while those in the steamer fared but little better . "
The Journal of Commerce , a New York commercial , journal of some influence , but evidently in the interest of the Panama Railway , in an article more partisan than considerate , takea violent exception to these statements / arid affirms " that such assertions may do for the longitude of Greenwich , but will only excite a smile on the faces of those who are at all acquainted with the isthmus . " It explains that "the vessels which were wrecked , in the only gale which over visited Colon since it became known to Americans ( in 1854 ) , consisted of only tSvq old brigs , " and that " the steamers stood , out to sea as a measure of precaution . " Then follows the sweeping statement , that " this harbour is perfectly safe at all seasons , lie moored at its
and that the largest vessels may wharfs , and discharge either passengers or cargo as safely , and with as much facility , as at any of the Liverpool dockB . " As regards Panama , we are told that «• it affords secure anchorage for any number of vessels , " and that" the weather there has never been known to interfere with transportation . " The Leader , in conclusion , is accused of " misrepresentation" for sinister objects . This charge hardly deserves notice , for it must be obvious that there can be no motive here for discussing the advantages or disadvantages of the competing Isthmus routes , except to fix public attention on those Which possess those prime requisites , good ports , salubrious climate , and diminished length . The public have a real interest in knowing which is the shortest ,
speediest , and safest route to the Pacific , and the centres of trade . beyond it , or on its American shores . And if it should appear , on investigation , that tho Honduras route possesses these requisites in a degree superior to the route by way of Panama , the expression of that opinion should not expose " an able and influential British journal" ( as our Transatlantic fcontempprary styles us ) to the charge of venality . ¦ Unfortunately for the Journal of Commerce , its enthusiastic vindication of the excellence of the " port " of Colon or " Aapinwflll"h « d hardly reached Europe before the accuracy of our statements concerning it were verified in a most striking and startling manner , us will bo seen from the extracts from American papers , elsewhere given , under the heading ; " Terrible G « lo aft Aspinwall : J&oss of Shipping and of Ufel" It seems that a gale commenced in the
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THE MORALITY OF TRADE . Mr . Black , M . P ., delivered an interesting address on Monday at Glasgow , on trading morality . He said , the morality which governed all other relations should equally prevail in mercantile life , and neither opportunity nor policy , nor the most tempting prospects of gain , should allow the merchant to deviate from the strict line of honesty ; and the same honourable dealing should guide him whether in the sale of a yard- of calico or of an East Indiaman , The only difference between the commercial gambler and the horse jockey gambler is this—the one cheats rogues like himself , the other cheats honest men ; and it is this unmanly impatience that will not wait for the reward of honest industry , this reckless hazarding of borrowed money , which strews all the paths of commercial life with the
bleaching bones of bankruptcy , and robs the unsuspecting poor man of his small but well-earned substance . Well directed energy and enterprise are tho life of commercial progress ; but if there is one lesson taught more plainly than another by the great failures of late , it is t h at safety lies in sticking to a legitimate business . It is no excuse for any house in their time of failure that , if they have wronged individuals , it has been in serving the public . Sound personal religion is the surest basis on which mercantile character can be founded . Nothing , however , can be more disgusting than to hear a tradesman making loud professions of religion in order to secure an advantage in the way of business , or under tho cloak of superior sanctity to shirk his duty and to overreach his neighbours . It is humiliating to hear tho mercantile conduct of such men contrasted -with tho
He also referred to those traders whom he might call the highwaymen of commerce , who followed a reckless , unprincipled determination to become rich by fair means , if convenient , or by foul , if necessary .
honourable dealings of men who make no profession of religion , but are only remarkable for their profanity and rough out-and-out honesty . If you wish to test the qualities of a man ' s religion do not follow him to church , where ho must put on the garment of pious- observance , but visit him at his shop or counting-house , and mark tho spirit by which ho is influenced in his dealings with his fellow-man . Mr . Blaok proceeded to advert to the desirableness of shortening tho terms of credit both in wholesale and rotnil trade , inasmuch as lengthened
credits increased risks , and had a tendency to show a greater apparent gain than was actually realised . Potty expenses and bad debts were too often loft out of view , and an extravagant opinion of the profits of trade was often entertained , not only by the public but by many traders themselves . It was of the utmost Importance , therefore , to keep accurate books , and annually to bnlanco thorn , Men have sometimes gone on for years with a vague Idea that they wore making monoy , when in fact they were on tho high-road to bankruptcy .
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AN UNREHEARSED INTERLUDE . At this Christmas time the Lord of Misrule is absolute . It is a season of metamorphoses , contradictions , inversions , tricks , and revels in a world turned upside down . But in whimsicality and downright Hibernian absurdity we despair of seeing , surpassed the account which Sergeant Cleary , H 8 , gave last Friday to Mr . Hammill , at Worship-street police-court , of what ho saw at an unlicensed theatre in Bethnal-green . . It is six o ' clock in the evening ; the bill Of entertainments promises new singers , new dancers , and a new piece . Sergeant Cleary goes with the crowd ; but why does not that ornament of the H division wear the blue of the Service ? "What mean those highlbws and that dustman ' s long-flapped
hat ? and why is his right eye blackened , as if fresh from fierce encounter ? To come to the point— - " Cleary , what ' s your game ? " Cleary ' s game is not hisj but his master ' s . The Superintendent has sent him . to pay his penny , mingle with the unsuspecting throng , and seem to share its pleasures , meanwhile taking secret note of the extra-legal entertainment presented on the stage . He tells us lie had been ordered to attend there several times , and had seen ' ^ The Profligate Nephew ; or , the Disinherited "—the career of the scapegrace of quality being always a taking subject in BethnalTgreen . There was a song , " Paddy on the Railway , " and then a sailor ' s hornpipe by a " lady in tights . " " The
Profligate Nephew" is , it seems , a piece of a singular kind—a ballet with a dialogue ; The act drop , Cleary tells us , was an" Italian sketch "—the margin of fair '' Zurich ' s waters ; " not so bad a guesa , considering that Zurich might have been in Italy but for the Alps . Then , to make it all quite regular as a theatrical performance , " there were shrubs and other scenes . " The Uncle , or " ' uh , " was provided with wrinkles , and " Ralph the Reckless" wore big boots and pistols . The Uncle is going to Doctors' Commons , or Apothecaries' Hall , the Sergeant forgets which , to disinherit his nephew , the profligate Count , but a little bit of violence by the gentleman in boots prevents this , and the piece is about to terminate , when an unrehearsed effect , what we may call the beginning of the transformarevealed
tions , ensues . ' Suddenly , all the policeman is in our dustman , who tells us , "I stepped on to the stage , and collared the Count , while , upon a given signal , my Inspector , with twelve men , forced an entrance and secured the resfe ^ ' The audience fled in dismay , and the actors , singers , dancers , and money-taker , were made prisoners . Mr . Haminill having listened attentively to this narrative , read a grave lecture to the culprits , and , taking their promise not to offend again , dismissed them to look after their Christmas dinners , and thus this . droll interlude ended . The season is a large excuse for much that is odd and irregular , but the studied and artistic disguise of agents of the law , especially for petty ends , has something about it which will always bo repugnant to English feeling .- —Daily News .
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THE PITH OF THE PRESIDENT ' S MESSAGE Towards almost all foreign nations Our outlooks ain ' t noways fust-rate ; There ' s most of our foreign relations In an unsatisfactory state . ' With tho Britishers , through our high-mettled Diplomacy , guess wo have got Tho right of search . question well settlod , Tho Central American , not . With Spain we ' re in a condition , Of which wo hanto nothin * to brag ; Her folks in official position
Has insulted our national flag , Done our citizens one wrong and t ' other In their persons and property too ; And sho won ' t pay our Cuban claims , nuthor , Which is now fourteen year overdue . Peculiar I reckon tho natur ' . Of tho sort of relations wo bear To Mexico- —not wuth a tatur , Can ' t pay if they would—them coons thoro . I can only lay ono p lan af o ro ye , By our own from thorn crittera to coino ; To drop down upon their territory , And seize , for a pledge , on a some . Then there ' s that air Panama ' s Isthmus ,
We must thoro eloar tho transit , in course , And , if not exactl y this C hri s t ma s , S till , sooner or later , by force . Now Granada , Nicaragua , Costa Rica , have all got to pay For damages done , inoro or fower , And I ' spools wo muafc whip Paraguay . Pacific as is all our labours , I ' m consumed for to mention how ill Is tho tarms wo are on with our neighbours , Protty nigh tho wholo world but Brazil . As a pattern of poaco cotton-splnnora
In tho old country quote us ; but now I expect we ' e a c a utio n to sin ne rs , With a ' most all the alrth in a row , — Fww
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o THE LEADER . > [ Ko . ^ 58 , January 1 , 1859 .
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 1, 1859, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2275/page/20/
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