The Press. — London, England, 1856-04-05 00:00:00

It was inferred by Russia that the " entente cor diale" between England and France was more nominal than real ; that the Imperial arrangements were not sufficiently established to permit the ab sence of so large a portion of the army as that which would be required by a war in the East ; and that Lord Aberdeen, certain of a majority in the House of Commons, would successfully obstruct the path of national honour. It is necessary to avoid circumlo cution and to use proper terms. That these Russian calculations were withoui. foundation is a matter of notoriety. England and France assumed their re.. spective positions on the battle-field, and Alma, Inkermann, and Sebastopol have beco:ne historical events. After the fall of Sebastopol dit ect negotia tions, under the guidance of the Emperor, took place between the belligerents, and a peace has been con cluded by which the objects of the war have been ac complished, and general advantages secured to Europe. But this is not all in regard to the French empire. The distant cousin of emperors and kings has become their dear brother, valued, courted, feared, and, therefore, honoured and respected. One appurtenance was wanting to perfect the course of Napoleonic success ; and the birth of the Prince Im perial, guarded in his cradle by the legions of France, has consolidated a dynasty now become in all its branches Imperial by the voluntary approval of Europe. France emerges from the war triumphant i t every sense. The energy. the ability, and the very hand of the great man of her choice has reversed the attainder passed against the Imperialism of his family by former antagonists, who are now applaud ing parties to the act of annulment. The war now belongs to the past. With an army in the most efficient state, with a navy unsurpassed in power, and with pecuniary resources of untold magnitude, England lays down her arms and seizes in all honour the proffered hand of her former anta gonist. Those who are jealous of Russian influence, and others who would cherish and encourage an ill will towards England, assert that a rancour exists on the part of Russia difficult, if not impossible, of erasure ; and that the evident desire to form the closest relation with France presages future ill, and will be destructive of the Anglo-Frank alliance. To that statement it may be curtly replied that the con nections, be they what they may, which shall strengthen the France of the Empire, will be imme diately advantageous to English interest; that the bonds of union between the two great peoples are too necessary for both to be impaired by flimsy vani ties ; and that the attempt to effect an Anglo-Frank disunion will be fraught with more peril for the plotters of the mischief than for those who are the objects of the intended injury. Besides, in common fairness, and in truth, it must be admitted that there exists a cause for displeasure of a nature well calcu lated to disturb and to exacerbate the most forgiving disposition. It is maintained by the Russians that a deception was practised upon the Emperor Nicholas, subsequent to his visit to England in 1844, and that his confidence, "as a gentleman," did not meet with a treatment usual amongst persons of honour. This lapse was verified and pub lished in THE PRESS, March 25th, 1851. With this discreditable act of deception the Conservatives have no connection ; yet it may account, and not unreasonably, for a lingering displeasure in minds indignant at having been insincerely treated, not to say duped. But let Le Nord, the organ of the Rus sian war party, this very child born of the war, be heard on the completion of the peace : line ere nouvelle s'ouvre ; it y faut entrer l'esprit de. gage de tonte preoccupation ancienne, it faut sourire Pavenir souriant, et quand is main laisse tomber son epee, iI faut que le eceur laisse tomber sa eolere; it fart que la reconciliation ecrite dans le traits de Paris devienne le sentiment commun, le sentiment vrai de tousles adver. saires d'hier, devenus amis. Dieu veuille que cette voix terrible des batailles n'eclate plus, de longtempi du moins, que pour ceiebrer les paci tiques victoires de l'humanite et les splendeurs de la civilisation triumpliante ! Dieu veuille, que desormais cette humanite et cette civiheation ne suient invoquees pie pour IN plus grand bien de tour, et que leurs bienfaits se repandent par les seuls moyens dignes de la prupagande sincere et efficace dune si noble cause, par la persuasion, par la raison, par l'union intime des gouvernements et des peuples dans un meine but de bien•etre gent:•ral.• These expressions, breathing a high-principled spirit, are hound to be accepted in the sense in which they are offered. They are a stinging answer, albeit • A new era commences; we must enter upon it in a spirit entirely free from ancient prejudice, we must smile upon the propitious future, and when the hand lets nil its sword the heart must forget its anger. The reconciliation which is written in the treaty of Paris must be the common sentiment ' • the true sentiment of all the adversaries of yesterday, the friends of to- lay. Go I grant that the terrible voice of battles may not burst forth again, at least for a long time, except to celebrate the peace fa victories of humanity, anti the splendours of triumphant c ti i sation. grant that henceforth this humanity and this civilisation may be invoked only fur the greatest good of all, and that their benefits may be diffused by the only means worthy of the sincere and effectual propagation of so noble a cease; by persuasion, by reason, by an intimate union between governments and peoples in the same object of the general good. THE PRESS. righteous, to those who would work darkly, and to those who have betrayed. Russia is preparing to march onward in the path of civilisation—to develop her internal resources, agricultural and general, to obliterate by the processes of art the obstructions to commerce, and by a facilitated intercourse with other nations to create those channels of inductive wealth unknown to a country debarred from international communication, and pent up in an isolation that pauperises by a contraction of resource. Russia rejoices and is made glad by the peace. The vast expenditure of men and money in the war will demand time to remedy, but an increased vigour in the production of wealth will engage the employment of foreign capital which will not be wanting, and after a probationary period the vast military establishment in which consisted the pride of her greatness will yield to the importance of an industrial prosperity not less mighty in its results and more in consonance with the enlightenment and the desires of the age. The civilisation of a country is proportionate to the area of its extended commerce ; and pro ductive wealth and the advantages of civilisa tion, in their full measure, are dependent upon the temper of the sovereign and the exertions of the Government. Under the rule of the present Czar—amiable, sensible, and accomplished—a new era may dawn for Russia. In the meantime, as heretofore, the country takes rank as a primary power amongst the nations of Europe, and this right is only accorded to three amongst them. J. E. L. Sortign anb gobanial 3nttiligente. FR INCE. The Conclusion of Peace on Sunday, the magnifi cent illuminations for three nights, and the grand re view of 40,000 men in the Champs de Mars, have fur nished the Parisians with abundant excitement for the week. Peace was proclaimed on Sunday at two p.m. by the guns of the Invalides. An official announcement in the Moniteur confirmed the fact, and the evening's Patrie declared it to be " a glorious peace—one that will he fruitful to everybody " The four points are fully carried out (largement appli• quies), and the fifth paragraph has been realised in such a manner as to give to Europe all the security it could ask for, without at the same time humiliating Russia. On Monday the Moniteur repeated its official an nouncement in similar terms to those used in the London Gazette, adding the paragraph : The exchange of the ratifications will take place at Paris in four weeks, or sooner, if possible. Until then the stipulations of the treaty cannot be made public. At four p.m. the same afternoon M. Fould waited upon the Senate and Legislative Corps with a com munication from the Emperor. On being introduced into the hall of the Senate, M. Fould read the fol lowing message : Messieurs lea Senateurs—l come, by order of the Em peror, to announce to you that yesterday at one o'clock the plenipotentiaries of France, of Austria, of Great Britain, of Prussia, of Russia, of Sardinia, and of Turkey affixed their signatures to the treaty which puts an end to the present war, and which, in settling the Eastern question, places the peace of Europe upon a solid and durable basis. The exchange of ratifications will take place at Paris in four weeks' time, or earlier, if possible. In bringing this news to your knowledge, the Emperor charges me to thank you for the patriotic support you have given him throughout, and which, with the admirable devo tion of the allied armies and fleets, has so powerfully con tributed to the happy issue of the war. The declaration was received with immense ap plause, and the 'Minister retired to make a similar communication to the Legislative Assembly. Of thu nature of the peace thus signed little, of course, is known, but much surmised. The Consti• tutionnel, Patrie, and Pays ar3 delighted with the fact. The first sees in it the "reconciliation of aristocratic Europe with democratic France." The Patrie believes that the " ideas of the day are against violent struggles," and praises the moderation of the allies, while the Pays declares that the Eastern question which for eighty years has been a standing and formidable menace to Europe is at length "con clusively solved." The Debate is satisfied : The peace (it observes) guarantees the future of the East against Russia, but it only guarantees a future worthy of being guaranteed The writer (M. St. Marc Girarilin) speaks of the Anglo French alliance as more than ever necessary to secure the safety of Turkey and the interests of Europe. The first practical result of the Conference is an order by the Emperor for the immediate liberation of the soldiers of the class of 1848, and the extension of the armistice both by land and sea for a month longer. The review held on Tuesday is described as the most magnificent beheld in Paris since the days of the first Empire. The day was brilliant, the crowds of spectators unusually excited, the appearance . of the troops solid and imposing, whits the imperial SATURDAY, cortege was the most splendid ever seen. At a quarter to one a squadron of the Cent Gerdes issued from the gate of the Tuileries, which opens on the Place do la Concorde. The Emperor followed at some distance. His Majesty, who wore his usual uniform of general of division, had Count Orloff on his right hand, and Prince Napoleon on his left; and was followed by his numerous and brilliant staff. The cortege proceeded along the Quai de Billy to the Pont do Jena, by which it entered the Champ de Mars. The Emperor's appearance was the signal for all the bands to strike up, and he was hailed by the acclamations of the multitude. Sixty battalions of infantry, with fifty squadrons of cavalry, and a heavy body of artillery, commanded in chief by Marshal Magnan, were on the ground. A' soon as the Emperor had taken his station the defile com menced, the usual evolutions were gone through, and the review terminated in about three hours. The health of the Empress and the Imperial Prince continues to be in every way highly satis• factory. An extract from the Meseager de Bayonne, placed in a prominent position in the Moniteur, had excited much speculation in Paris. The subject referred to was the marked absence of Lord Howden from the "Te Deum " sung at Madrid in honour of the Im perial Prince's birth, and also from the ball given on the occasion by the French Ambassador. Seven thousand troops are to be immediately sent to Algiers, and an expedition to Madagascar is stated to be in contemplation. The Bank of France lowered its rate of discount on Monday from six to five per cent. AUSTRIA. The State balance-sheet for the year 1855 has ap peared, showing an absolute deficit in the revenue of 138,899,297f1. The military expenses amounted to 101,721,117f1., being 10,420,45311. more than the year 1854. A stiff deficit was anticipated for the current year, despite the reduction of the army. The intelligence of the conclusion of peace was received with marked satisfaction at Vienna. Letters from Austrian Italy speak of continued arrests. A semi-official article in the Zeitung of the 27th denies that there is any disagreement between the Government and the Papacy. A further reduction in the army of 30,000 men is announced. PRUSSIA. The news of the conclusion of peace was received on Sunday afternoon by the King while at dinner. His Majesty, accompanied by the Court, attended a " Te Denim " in the chapel royal in the evening, and returned thanks for the happy termination of the war. On Monday M. von Derheydt, acting President of the Craincil during the absence of M. de Manteuffel, communicated the important fact to the two Cham bers, amidst loud acclamations. The Zeit does not anticipate that the treaty will be regarded favourably by all parties, but praises the moderation of the allied powers. " Prussia," con cludes the Zeit," will, above all, see in this happy event the rich recompense, which she well merited, of her persevering efforts in favour of peace." RUSSIA. By a despatch from Berlin we learn that an Im perial manifesto was issued at St. Petersburg on the Ist inst., relative to the conclusion of peace. It says : That, though the war was not sought by Russia, it had been waged with great energy by the Russian people. The rights of the Christians in the East were assured; thus the object of the war had been attained. Special arrangements had been made to prevent col lisions between Turkish and Russian vessels in the Black Sea, and a new line of frontier had been agreed upon in Bessarabia. . The reformation of the whole Russian commercial system was anticipated at St. Petersburg, and a Government commission expected to assemble shortly, in order to examine the question. The abolition of serfdom was also mentioned; a high functionary having presented a plan to the Emperor for that purpose. Before leaving for Finland the Emperor had issued a ukase for facilitating the ap peals of serfs claiming verdicts of emancipation from the tribunals. The Polish levy of 30,000 men, of the ages of from nineteen to thirty-five years, was effected in Poland on the nights of the 20th and 27th ult. The Imperial Guard has received orders to return from Poland to St. Petersburg. Intelligence from Odessa states the typhus fever to be raging there with terrible effect. SPAIN. The committee of 116 deputies of the pure Pro gressista party has published its programme. It recognises Marshal Espartero as chief, and expresses its sentiments in favour of the Queen and the present dynasty. The arming of the National Guard through out the country is advocated. Marshal O'Donnel has recovered his health. Some disturbances at 13adajoz have been suppressed.