The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-04-28 00:00:00

• ir
was thafeicept a 'desolation ? Or what _ wonder
was it that aid. Work. of re-peopling it with new
.
institutions, and principles, and laws, was too
much :for the blood-MO-14 power which , had
rushed, blinded and .breathless,. to the, work
The old world then hadhein-driven:oftthe-ecene,
where it had clolie,much that was good and much
that was eiV; '-:but _bittli.4ll
power of administrOorr and even its sense Of
responsibility; e.nd the new was not fitted to take
its placeT The-consequences, therefore, were con-
fusion, 'doubt, failure, recklessness, terror, despair.
It see Med certain that the new state of things
had yet a hard-trial to go through ; that, as in a
strong body affected with an acute diSease, the
only cure lay in a violent ancl,spalmodic process.
It wa* at this moment thatN-Arot.biv aspire 3 to
the command of the coming crisis, and those who
least 'aefmfret the ffimppledllesigns with-which
he administered his rule, have not failed tti read
in history the nature of the mission he was called
,upon to fulfil. Thit he - a rallying
point-for all these ivandoring.fordes , and in: some
sort ,effeet a
.re-OrganisatiOn of society, oe,
course mg to. lie' denied: 'they were only
violenlinaiiires which could ofeet-04G-in-id TliTse-
only in iron,handa,like equally fla4r. It-
wai because NATO ,Ed sullied the great object
of hiFielitijr with -the greed of a -selfish-ambition;
that the safety of Europe coniisted*ith nothing
but tho.'abgolute destruction of his system -aria
himself. A pious commentator on..thistory at th

time of his doiinfallr might porlittpt have said,
that NAPOLEON was suffered long enough .to
fulfil the mission secretly, given him, and was
crushed when hig own plans were beginning to
-
interfere with the counsels of Providence.

7. •
IkroViwe have indulged ourselves in this histo:
rical_reininiscence,..heeauseithas.becorne the order
of the day in France to fell us that the fate of
the modern world is involved in some way: with.
the connection that exists between that era 'and'
thespresent--;If it was our view 446 pfist, that-
the first NAroLEnx had. compleied his mission,
and that just at .that point, ..‘:vherelfor his owit.
private enus he was departing from: `and distort-
ins the secret plans of Providence, he- wasjiiddenl7
cut short in his career Then it is a startling and.
novel view of the present, which pretends to take uto.
the_Napoleonic system whereit was left off; 0_
revive the schein.es Of ambition and aggrandise-
ment sre.-
merlf. 'Which tothe downfall of then-
author.;
to tell S'
short,•,that NAPOLEON'
mission in
the-world was really. what it had pretended to
n now
to fall -tc ! the ground ;• and
be, and failed to be ; that it 7i never-
t
that
hasintended w
achieved its • resuscitation in the person of his'
.;sN;er-
descendant and representative. We naturally
ask how this ":mission" is to work itself out in
an entirely new condition of things; how it is to
fit in with the altered state of urope,,. how it is
-
to keep Tue. with the growth of civilisation
and modern sentiment ? France is no scene

much the commercial coniniunity of this country
may 13avgi-..-611,'.‘yay to AU seductive teniptations
of specdati;-e enterprise; it has never been said
of our hiiVofkegrs of; de
State 10, any partnient cif
.ii .•. •
the pub lie serl;i(:Uh at ftheYhaq been guilty or lven
suspected of fi4 Austria, unfortunately, iicw
comes .before the woild as the victim of fraitE;
conducted. on the largest scale by her +IT
.igptit Oftletkis.--1.--Cio can have read the kir-
......!....7. A..
eumstantial accounts of the suicide of B4ron
Bruck without experiencing the most melancholy
sensations? By his abilities he rose from !the
counting house to the highest financial position in
»the. Aiistiiiiii-einpire,- and was even the ad7crEntlp of
a liberal state polieY.---lite; aA Unbrall led
-career -of fraud he finds his only escapefrai" m-
poral fetrlpution briin act, of mo4lletermi ed
---
iuicidel4-,hAvinAllth swallow. poison nd
cut his throat... plat.,,the Finance Minister of a
, I
great empire, the trusted adviser of an ancient
Throne; the friend Of, the chefrltatitimen in
Europe, the honoured guest of Princes in every
capital,, the liberal suppOrter of enterprise in&
commerce, the representative of euligytenment
amid the bigetry4 nobles, soldiers, and prie'sts,
should betray his high trust, plunder his country,_
. deny his own . professions, and blatt4or ever ,
.his own happiness, is an event, as has been We]
remarked, which cannot fail to produce the inns
profound sensation on all living, a
~. !
besides, a lasting and. Melancholy iniptession on
the pages of history, ' While We ma the dread-
ful shot:teiniiings of others; i,et us receive a solemn
eaution; 'and learn an'inipOiltant lesson of . watch-
fulness over' ot -
nelves; ;for as a community we
.... "
have not, been fre4s4l-Orn- Crimes of the 'gravest
. ,
character, and •thnbeginning of Olil 'IS' like the
letting out ui, watir.,

iTHE recent debate. in. the Prussian Chambers'
Carries with it a, special: interest to Englishmen,
as showing in ,what light our foreign policy' is
viewed by a nation whose political interests are in
many points .thought to be identified with our
own. Most people are agreed inidliscerpilg ,in
the „politicali firmament threatening signs that
Europe is again drifting into the abnormal state
in :which !the.ilTginning of the: centugyafouttd her.
'AI 'would '.l3e a significant commentary on the
,course of poli7; adoplpil by
with regard to the most important branch of our
foreign relations,
,should, atishur time find
that iyithout odwill;tif France, We
had Alienated the s.finpathies of free Germany
in the work of thwarting the common enemy,
It is. not too pluckto say, that the reyi,ial of
Ihtiliapoieonic 'system, in the midst of what We,
had thought sp,altered a state of things, has in
somelineasure -taken Zuropelik-surprise.
ha' elkarcely any of us recalled our wits after
'the first shock, When the truth was beginning to
:daWit4- while there are still a few who have ail
SortS,Ofintei;pretations except the obvious one, to
reconcile thp,appearance OrthingiWith their ovvi
indifference. The occurrences which harbingered
the:approabliottlieltwoLloLk,ONS' -have been
a,widely different character. Twenty years ago,
it could lia.ve.-eiiterect'aritai the mind of no one t 6
predict that, the,grawth_of ,modern ideas would!
have been rudely. pushed on one side to make
;way for the meditated onset of a system which
we: thoUght disposed of for ever ; which
Europe triuMphant had solemnly proscribed; and
which. isi Alien from those modern principles of
civilis4ti*igh have stem ped'
all literatures, moulded, more or less, the policy
of all governments,,ana.-permeated the-mind- of
every people. But how different was the cases
how diff,crent the aspect of nations, on the eve of
the French Rev-olution P There can be no beitei
way to describe that period than by saying thaf
then an old r world •v‘raS readyCC to die, and
-• 7 q;
new world 'fast di:Phil/1g t6take -its plaet
That the great meeting-point was preparing
itself, and that " everything gave sign of
,
a vital conflict before the Stand would
be yielded, Ana. the'treat:, social Cliiinie. accom-
plished. na-;
plished. The old world even then. 'retained 'a
respectable' imeimt 8f oikinveHrei-; i.arier lfie forces!
WlikViiiid.;:fOr kept 'it' its emir*
were not entirely enervated'cir Wa,sfed. On the:
other hand, there Was littlelikelihood of modera-
tionduthe use .oLthat overwhelming-power- of
'which the great innovator. had suddenly found
itself
~possessed. .The old.. -old, fell,ihy too
entire a destruction. Old principles, olcla'Siocia-
tions, old traditions--the old bonds of allegiance,
of unity, of society, of citizenship, -.most .-reem.will
admit, were Wept away 100 cleanly, and abroga-
ted with lob little discrimination or compen-
sation. The
_substitute foUnd was too....weak,
and too hastily iniprOvised, to enirp!T the
place;: or take up ,to, mankind for the
loss. The invading fors.. having achieved
an:unqualified conquest, were. left in undisputed
possession of the field thei-tad won., -put..what