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of restraints on the actions of others , is to go hack to the remotest suggestions of barbarism , and wholly to ignore most of the facts of modern society . According to Mr . Mill , nian can only "be happy by making war on man ; an assumption equally opposed to the general beneficence which pervades creation , and to the particular facts of our social life . To find such an assumption at the basis of Mr . Mill ' s present superstructure is tlie more astonishing , because his great reputation is chiefly derived from his ¦ writings on political economy . He knows , therefore , that this science has demonstrated by facts—that " self-love and social are the
same , " that the desires and impulses of individuals which prompt them to seek welfare are the parents of all social good ; that restrictions and restraints , such as he says are necessary to make life valuable , have been in every case , where they could be brought to the test of material facts , . proved to be sources of evil . If it were otherwise , as Mr . Mill assumes , society could not exist . Art , skill , politics , could not redress so faulty a contrivance ; arid society , instead of being a homogeneous whole , as combined production by division of labour demonstrates it to be * would be a mere aggregation of conflicting atoms , destroying themselves by their . own friction .
Mr . Mill cannot be ignorant of M . Bastiat's theory , which justly resolves the entire production of wealth , including subsistence and every comfort and luxury , into the tnutual services of individuals ; and unanswerably proves that perfect freedom is the means of having these services performed in the best manner . Instead of men being unable to live together without the enforcement of restraints on one another , other than those taught by facts and imposed ; by collective opinion , even to live they must help one another ; and the superiority of free over slave labour , in providing for the well-being of all , teaches that the efficiency of
the help is proportionate to the absence of restraints . On Mr . Mill ' s theory , the creation of society is an error to be redressed by the sword of the executioner and the faggot of the Inquisitor ; for Mr . Mill has the merit of showing very distinctl y that all the persecutors and exterminators of individuals in olden times sincerely believed that they were only enforcing , for their own and the public advantage , wholesome restraints on the actions of others . Quite logically from this assumption , Mr . Mill is led to say—justifying every hot-brained enthusiast , from Mahomet to Sir Culling Eardley , and justifying ' , even the slave trade and slavery—" Despotism
is a legitimate mode of government in dealing with barbarians , provided the end be their improvement , and the means justified by actually effecting that end . '' All conquerors ^—the English in India , at this time , and the French in Algeria—consider the people they are there dealing with to be barbarians , and affirm that the end of their improvement is effected by enforced submission . The proselyte makers are in the same categbry ; they believe that by an enforced conversion;—and they demand that political power should be exerted to attain this end—the barbarians will be improved and served . In defence , too , of the slave trade , it
was alleged that the benighted Africans carried oft ' to the continent or islands of America were converted and improved , ^ civilised and saved . For people who have not reached our condition of " free and equal discussion , " tliere is nothing , Mr . Mill says , but implicit obedience to an Akbar or a Charlemagne . It is only necessary , therefore , to continue in France and Italy the suppression of discussion to justify the usurpations of the Emperor and the Kaiser . There is no mode of conquest or of government which Mr . Mill ' s anti-social principle of the necessity of restraint , to make life worth having , will not justify . This necessity always is as a matter of fact , and must be in principle as a matter of met , and must be in principle
always ascertained by those who impose the restraint , and they never are taught that the end they seek is not obtained till they and their restraints are set aside by violence . We do not comphun of Mr . Mill that ho goes too far , but that he goes astray , and wanders into crooked paths . Thus , in spite of the principle we have quoted , and the consequences plainl y deduced fi'om it , lie says , more than once , " compulsion is not admissible as the means to promote the good of individuals . " It is not nilmiseible , therefore , to make barbarians civilised ; it is not admissible to make an ill-doing man do well ; and Mr . Mill , by starting from an error ,
necessarily falls into > inconsistency . His book . has excited so much attention , and the subject is intrinsically so important , that it is - < unfortunate he has not been more successful . The spirit of inquiry , however * which he has ' excited , not satisfied by Bis conclusions , will stimulate the investigations of others ,, and his work will , in this respect , be eminently useful . .
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' . ' ¦ ; •? - , ¦ ' . " FRANCE . Paris , Thursday , CJ p . m . THE WAR PANIC . Ir is quite possible—nay probable , if I may credit the rumours that circulate—that before this letter reaches the hands of your readers the dread thundercloud of war , that has so long lowered over Europe , will have burst , and rained fire and blood upon the fairest portion of the Continent—to cease no man can tell when . The Monitcur of this morning announces , with an ostentation that is held to conceal- a hidden and fixed determination , that the French Government , together with those of Russia and Prussia , have , accepted the propositions of her Britannic Majesty ' s Ministers to effect , prior to the meeting of Congress , a general and simultaneous disarmament ;—to regulate this disarmament by a military commission , composed of gentlemen to be nominated , one by each of the five great Powers , and the sixth by Sardinia ; to open Congress and proceed to the discussion of political questions so soon as the commission has been formed and has commenced its work ; and to invite the representatives of Italian States to assist at the Congress , precisely as was the case at the Congress at Lay bach in 1821 . Iii face of this announcement ; which , if it be made without arriere pensre , ought to fortify public confidence in the maintenance of peace , there are abroad stronger feelings than ever of apprehensions and dismay . At the Bourse to-day there was a universal panic ;—the sellers being the great bankers and capitalists of Paris . A fall of 1 franc 50 cents in the Rentes , which is upwards of 2 per cent ., greeted the official announcement of a general disarmament , and men , amazed , asked , ' * What can it mean ?"
The answer is very simple , though not avowed ; or if tlie avowal be made , it is with bated breath , and only to sure friends . The French people have lost all confidence in the sincerity of their Government . They do not believe the Emperor means anything but war ; for , albeit-he completed his fifty-first year vesterdayj and is beginning to feel the weight of years as heavily as the burden of empire , he is still possessed of the delusion that he can emulate the military glories of his uncle . Rumours are , of course , prevalent to excuse this astonishing change in the value of public
securities . Late last night it was said the British Cabinet had resigned . Now , it is an insurrection in Turin , an arrogant ultimatum addressed by Austria to Sardi :. ia which lenyes no issue consonant with honour save an appeal to arms . The true motive of the panic will , I believe , be found in the sudden decision of the Emperor to take a niore threatening position on the German and Sardinian frontiers ; and this resolve proceeds from annoyance and vexation at the speech of Lord Malmosbury , in particular , and the British Parliament in general .
The English Minister for Foreign Affairs has had the honour of enjoying the personal friendship and intimacy , so far as any man can do so , of the French Emperor . . Lord Mulmesbury , besides his kindly feelings and admiration for his Imperial friend , had implicit confidence in . his perfect loyalty and good faith , and I am assured the most unfair advantage has been taken of this confidence . It enn be no reproach to Lord Malmcsbury that he has been deceived and cajoled . The shame is iiot his , although the deception of which he has been the victim may not redound lo his credit for perspicacity . When the history of these negotiations is written , there will be found on one side a frankness by no means diplomatic , and a reliance upon solemn assurances
which , will testify how nice is Iho sense of honour among Engliah gentlemen , which forbids them to doubt that of another . On the other aido thoro will bo found duplicity , effrontery , and falsehood , tho meanest subterfuges and the most ignoble misrepresentations . That tho Earl of Mulmcsbury is now conscious of tho intrlguo by which he has been duped , and that lie has the conviction of having buen tho victim of misplaced confidence , is generally believed , and honeo tho very commendable warmth of his flpeeuh in tho Houeo of Lords . Tho address of the Foreign Secretary was published in , extenao in this morning ' s Monitaur , and other papers , and has been road with inoro than ordinary interest . It is regarded us nn honourable
protest against the duplicity and sanguinary ambition of the Emperor , of the existence of which it is believed to be the most convincing proofi . The little heed which English statesmen showed to conceal , or gloze over the despicable intrigues of Russia to counteract the efforts of England for peace , has filled tho French servants of the Czar here with rage . The writer of the first Paris letter in today s Nbrd , who , if it be not M . Mocquard ( Chef du Cabinet de TEtripereur ) is his amanuensis , goes to the length of contradicting the Earl of Derby , and asserts that Lord Cowley had not succeeded in his mission to Vienna , and that he had no chance of doing so . From this insolent contradiction may be judged how great is the annoyance both of the false friend and insiduous foe at finding the masks torn from their faces .
The future policy of England—an armed neutrality—as shadowed forth by Lord Derby , has seriously damaged the plans and projects of the war party . It may , perhaps , be in the recollection of your readers that , weeks ago , I ventured to suggest this measure , knowing what a desperate blow it would be to the ambitious perturbators of the public : for , by taking up this position , England obeys the instincts of her people , who have no love for any of the despotic forces of the Continent . She will reserve her forces , biding her time , to strike the blow which shall shiver the hideous tyrannies , temporal and spiritual , of Europe , and bring down just retrithe
bution upon that power which has provoked war . She will become the head of the great country of smaller States—their right arm and brain . One by one , will they gather round her for aid and mutual support in upholding the principles of international law , until a great and mighty federation be formed — an aggregate of small Powers — more powerful than even France and Russia combined , and which will be able to impose order and honesty upon the great Powers . Firom the -league of armed neutrals will ultimately come the peace of Europe ,, and that retribution to the disturbers w hich will be all the more terrible the longer it is delayed .
PREPARATIONS FO'K WAR . Perhaps the most significant sign of the intention of the French Government is to be found in ari advertisement in the . Moniteur . The- supply of Newcastle coal to Toulon , which was originally fixed at 4 , 000 tons , is to be doubled—raised to 8 , 000 ton& before next autumn . To-night two divisions of the army of Paris leave for Lyons on their way to the Sardinian frontier . The Imperial Guard is to be raised to 60 , 000 men ; and among the additions are to be two regiments of grenadiers , two regiments of light infantry , and a regiment of native Algerians , or Arabs , to form the Mamalukes of the Guard , as under the first Napoleon . The number of the
Chasseurs de Viniiennes ( rifles ) is to be increased bv ten battalions—making thirty in all , which will make an addition to the effective force of 12 , 000 men . Two new regiments of African rifles are to be raised in Constnntine . General Bourbake , who commanded the 7 th military division stationed at Hcsaneon , was to be in Lyons yesterday to take the command of a division , composed of two brigades under the command of Generals Trochu and Ducros . The first brigade was to consist of the 18 th Rifles , the 11 th and 14 th of the . line ; the second of the 46 th and 59 th line , besides another not decided on . The 7 th division of the army of Lyons—that is to say , the one which is under orders ( secret ) for Italy , is to be at
composed of the 34 th mid 37 th line in garrison Toulon ; the 23 rd nnd 78 th light infantry in garrison at Marseilles , which have received orders to form a 4 th battalion , and enter on active service , bc ' sldes a regiment of Zouaves , on the road from Algiers . Tho 7 th Hussars have left Terascon for Lyons , and several cavalry regiments arc on the way from Africa . Several companies of the military train have already arrived , bosltles tho 13 th regiment oi Artillery and the Gfith line infantry . General Renault ' s division , aftor being a fovv dnys in camp , at Sathoiuiy , left on tho 19 th for Culoz , whoro provisions are made for tho reception of a strong force * This division is to bo repluood in tho camp ot Sathouay by ( he . Oth division on tho roud troni Africa . Five regiments of infantry , and one ot
Zouaves , have been concentrated in tho Vur , nnu supplies are ordered right and loft— -among others , 60 , 000 pairs of shoos from Marseilles alone , llw 81 st Regiment of tho lino was brought up by express tl-ain from Rouen last night , and sent oft" immediately by tho Lyons lino to Marseilles for slilpmunt to Algiers . The Otli lino lufuntry and Oth horso Chasseurs , nro also under orders for Africa ; but it is probable all will stop on the road at Lyons $ so that for Africa wo must road Italy . Tho 1 st Koginiont of the foreign legion is to garrison Ajacolo \ oud tho 08 th lino Is to loavo lasted for France . The two regiments of Carabineers , which havobuon in garrison at Vorf allies for tlio last eleven years , has loft for Strasbourg and JVIulhauscn . l ° . ' . ° this dismal category , I may mention that a Uaumou Council was Held yesterday and another to-day .
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532 THE LEADER . [ No * 474 , April 23 , 185 &
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 23, 1859, page 532, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2291/page/20/
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