The Press. — London, England, 1857-11-07 00:00:00

'l' FI E PRE S S, NOVEMBER 7, 1857. 1076 tinuance of some local defects to running any risk of deranging the whole body by premature attempts at their removal. Now, non Conservatives are they who refuse to be fettered by such considerations—who, wherever they see a blot, would dash it out— wherever they see any one wheel working more slowly than they think it ought, at once summon the blacksmith instead of the engineer—and then call themselves progres sive ! A poker is mended more quickly than a watch. But we know not why, because we refuse to place our timepiece on a village anvil, we are therefore to be called sta tionary. Which is the more truly and healthily pro gressive of these parties would seem tolerably apparent. But however that may be, we only ask our opponents to give us the benefit of facts. The article to which we allude in l'raser's Magazine has wilfully suppressed them. Such conduct will not, perhaps, have many imitators, but still it requires exposure. titude ? We may call ourselves magnanimous. But what, we should like to know, do the two poor fellows at Naples call us What do the Greytown sufferers call us? What does Mr. CRAMPTON think about our magnanimity? And yet, too, the English certainly aro mag nanimous, and certainly intensely national; the very last people to see their countrymen insulted, robbed, or oppressed, without inter fering .in their behalf. In fact, as we have already said, Lord PAtmasszoN's popularity was origitally based on the belief that he was the very man to give effect to this national spirit. Clearly, then, the altered state of affairs which now exists must in some shape be the work of the Government. For the work of the nation it is not. And we in great measure attribute it to that very policy which was once so popular. Lord PALMERSTON was by degrees found out to be wholly insincere. His threats meant as little as his promises. His anger was as valueless as his friendship When the King of NAPLES found that he had secretly furnished his rebel subjects with cannon— when delegates from the insurrection were thrust into the same room in Carlton-terrace with the Neapolitan Ambassador—FEßDlNAND began to understand what an alarming sacri fice would be the loss of Lord PALMERSTON'S friendship. When the Republicans were crushed, and a still more rigorous regime in stituted without a remonstrance from Eng land, his Majesty, no doubt, began to estimate his enmity at a similar figure. Both sides began to understand more clearly the signifi cance of those rantipole harangues in which Lord PALMERSTON indulged at home. Foreigners may be excused if they were taken in by them when Englishmen were so egregiously gulled. But if the one have awakened from their dream, is it not time that the other should do so too ? The course we are now pursuing must end at last in our sinking like Holland into a second-rate Power. It is inexpedient, we are told, to offend powerful States, or the allies of power ful States. But if England would hold her own, she must never shrink one inch before the stoutest opponent. The instant she does this, the moment she waives the position won for her by CHATHAM, NELSON, and WELLINGTON, that instant she begins a downward course from which she could never recover herself. can understand, but the conduct of the English Cabinet is so inconsistent that it has excited great astonishment throughout Europe. What ! England, the land of liberty, striving every nerve to prevent five millions of beings from throwing off the yoke of slavery, and taking rank amongst civilised nations as freemen ! It is not to be believed. And I feel certain, at least to judge from the Liberal professions of his life, that were Lord Palmersto►► left to his own inspirations he would at once declare himself in favour of the Rouman population. It is certainly rather anomalous, after all that has been said by the leading Government organs in England, that Louis Napoleon should advocate liberal, and Lord Palmerston despotic, principles. But so it is. Certain articles in a leading London journal have excited much surprise in our diplomatic circles, and conclusion arrived at is, that they are intended to the intimidate, and to make the French believe that should the Emperor persist in carrying out the wishes of the Rouman Divans, the entente cordiale between England and France would be greatly en dangered. If such was the intention of that journal, the object has not been effected. Frenchmen of all opinions are well aware that all the leading great political parties in England are in favour of a union, and would support the Emperor in carrying out the wishes of the Divans, all due precautions taken to maintain the sovereignty of ,the Porte and to insure the peace of Europe. It is somewhat astonishing to see Lord Pal merston oppose the union of the provinces on the grounds of weakening the Porte. Surely his lord ship must have forgotten all the arguments he made use of to certain powers to induce them to consent to the wresting of Belgium from Holland, and raising the first to the rank of a neutral kingdom— the chief of these arguments being the siege of Ant werp and the capture of the Dutch fleet in the Downs. Is his lordship prepared to make use of similar arguments to carry out his opposition to the union ? I feel certain that he will not ; but that, whatever may be the decision of the Congress of Paris, ho will, perhaps reluctantly, accept it without openly murmuring. Wbat that decision will be it would be presumptuous to anticipate ; but this much you may rely on, that the Emperor will not waver in his endeavours to see justice done to the Rouman population. Much has been said, and many conclu sions drawn, from neither the Austrian nor Turkish Ambassador having been invited to Cora peigne. I am assured, in quarters well informed, that these omissions were not in any way from poli tical, but from private motives. This is so true that even Count Kisselef, the Russian Ambassador, did not receive an invitation. There is no doubt but that the Emperor is de sirous to effect an exchange with the British Govern ment for a part of its possessions in India. His wish is to give up Cbandernagor for an equivalent position of territory near to Pondicherry. Should this project be carried out, Pondicherry will be made a most important colony, greatly productive, in a commercial point of view, to France. You will have seen from the report of the Minister of Finance on the Budget, that I was correct in informing you that the receipts would surpass the expenditure. Notwithstanding the positive assurances of several journals that General Leflo bad not returned to France, and had taken up his residence in Jersey, I am enabled to state that the general, with the whole of his family, is now in France, and that he recently passed several days in Paris. The Parizian correspondent of one of the Government evening papers, in strong terms, lately accused the French subordinate Go vernment officers with intriguing to ruin the reputation of M. Voisen, a receveur•general, by spreading the report of a deficiency in his accounts, in order to replace him by M. Collett Meygret, who he said had resigned for that purpose the honour able post of Prefet of the Nord. The correspondent further added that the Government had not only neglected to insert a contradiction of the calumny in the 21Ioniteur, but bad refused the refutation of it to be posted at the Exchange. So far from this being true, the Government has actually ordered several journals to be cited before the tribunals for copying and promulgating this false report. As to the resig tion of M. Collett Meygret, that is true ; but it is supposed that his ambition is to be made a Coun sellor of Slate. ......_.. ....___. There can be no doubt that Spain has consented to leave its quarrel with Mexico to the arbitration of France. It is expected that the acceptation to this arrangement will be received from Mexico by the next mail. The inundations in several parts of Italy have caused serious damage, particularly in the districts of Corte, Olona, Zesbo, Caselle, Badia, Montecillo, and Chignolo. More than 300 houses were carried away by the water. Upwards of 300 families were eft without homes. The river Po has risen higher ban it did in 1839 1 and laid a vast tract of land utter water. ROMAN CITIZENS. "PROVIDENT Campania," says the Latin satirist, gave a fever to POMPEY, who might then have died with the reputation of unbroken success and untarnished greatness. If we may liken great things to small, the part of that benig nant province was in 1852 enacted by Lord JOHN RUSSELL when Ile dismissed Lord PAL MERSTON from his Administration. Had the Noble Viscount's public career terminated with that event, he would certainly have missed the precarious eminence and the equivocal fame which he now enjoys But he would have carried to his retirement the honest esteem of many well-intentioned patriots and the sigcere admiration of many even of his political oppo nents. He might then have descended to posterity with the character of an honourable and courageous, though mistaken politician. His conduct in 1848.9 might perhaps never have been found out. He might not have been compelled to swallow his former professions. And Englishmen, at all events, would still have clung to the belief that under PALMERS- ToN's protection they were indeed, as he had termed it, " Roman citizens." A few years have turned round to us the other side of the picture. We find this Terror of kings and Refuge of the oppressed unable even to obtain redress for the destruction of valuable English property by the guns of a friendly Power ; compelled to witness the imprisonment of his own Consul for obedience to his own orders ; and power less to rescue two innocent British subjects from the vindictive maltreatment of a fourth rate European sovereign. Greytown, Berlin, and Naples are witnesses of the truth of our statements. In addition to which we have had one representative ignominiously dismissed, and another little less ignominiously with drawn during the regime of this puny plagiarist of the Caisars. Some prisoners, we are informed, concerned in the recent Neapolitan insurrection have been tried, and some have been liberated, but it is not known whether the two Englishmen are among them. Once Lord PALMERSTON, for less than this, would have swaggered lustily about a British fleet in the Bay. Even he, however, has not proved callous to the ridicule these threats encountered. In a city which it was supposed the mere mention of British cannon would have frightened into submis sion, placards appeared of a bitterly derisive character, offering a reward for a British fleet, supposed to have been lost or stolen in the Bay of Naples. This unexpected rebuff was not lost upon the Premier, and the British • fleet has not been in requisition since. But really this is a very serious subject. We still believe that England is that same powerful nation which we have so long been proud to think her. Her national character has at least lost none of its prestige since the late war We still widely influence the monetary transactions of the world. Why is it, then, that we alone are subjected to treatment which every other country would resent with promp. jortign Comspon4turt. PARIS, November, 5. IT is surprising with what pertinacity certain conti nental journals, and more particulary Le Journal de Frankfort, insist on knowing, not only all that passes n the private cabinets of the Sovereigns of Europe, ibut the most secret thoughts of almost every diplo matist. One day we are told that the Emperor of the French is Jetermined to carry out the union of the Danubian provinces —another day, that he wavers—and the latest confidential communication gives as positive that France, abandoned by Russia and Prussia, has resolved to leave the Roumanian Divans to the tender mercies of the Porte. Without pretending to possess official or even officious in formation, I firmly believe that no one out of the French Cabinet knows the real intentions of the Emperor. Yet I think you may rely on the fact that the best and most perfect understanding on the Danubian question exists between France, Russia, l'russia, and Sardinia, and, further, that not one of these powers has either wavered, modified, or abandoned their original intentions. France and Sardinia have ever advocated the principle that the wishes of the people should be consulted as to its form of government. Russia and Prussia, although in favour of the union, reserve giving a decided opinion until the meeting of the Paris Congress. But if you refer to the Protocols of the Peace Con ference of the Bth March, you will there find that Count Orloff most distinctly says that the union of the provinces would contribute to their prosperity. In my opinion, then, little or no confidence should be placed on the speculations of certain continental journals. Time will show that from first to last the Emperor of the French has acted on the soundest political views, and that in him the Danubian pro vinces will find a true friend. And who are the opponents to the union ? Turkey, Austria, and England. The opposition of the two first powers I