The Express.
London, England, 1851-09-16 00:00:00

Wit erpretiti.

TO CORRIISPOSPINTe.
• Mead &Mee of " The Ynpreon. eentastee Se one inenhore
• Golese." le sobikobei every Tomboy sod 'tide, ow. be shwa
fir pd.
Oarettneateeststoolni fen "The topreen" Lesion Coestas men
sun be et the oh" hoeverbretreet. !, The tido& es the
thy of pabnentten.

RION WATER AT LONDON BRIDOE.
Ting be.........Ahenins. 51.2 as
Tegssairw—almiss. 616 In.

LONDON, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16.

THERE is ono line of conduct and profession, •
which, had they pursued, would have places! the i
Oatwis princes Ina position to command the respect
of all truly liberal and really moderate men. This I
was to disavow the principle of legitimacy, to deny
that they ever aspired to be masters of France by the I
sole right of ancient descent or of divine right, but i
to make their claim by virtue of the election and ,
compact of lbeitO, which established a constitutional ;
and popularly elected monarch and dynasty. With ;
sore or loss of truth might they plead, that I
whilst IWO was the result of the full and fair j
judgment of the whole population of France,
against which there could bo no appeal, the 1
revolution of ISIS was a surmise, not in reality ap- •
proved of by the majority of the French. From the
nation, then drunk, the Oats:ass princes might have
&visa ed to the nation sober, and in this attitude
awaited the voluntary restoration of the constitu-
tional and citizen monarchy by the French people.
We do not say that this would be attended with
teueeess, but it mould be an intelligible and dignified
candidature, grateful to their friends, pious to their
father's memory, and honourable to themselves. In-
stead of this, we find the ORLEANS princes coquetting
with every party, and permitting themselves to be
identified with every principle, flattering the legiti-
mists by allowing it to he believed that they assent
to their dogma, and look one day to reign by it,
when the Duke of BORDEAUX shall have been no
more, and shall have lett no issue, flattering at the
same time the republicans be the pretence that M.
DE JOIN VI LLI: might act the faithful President of
the Republic as it stands, and, of course, leaving it
to be uoderstood by the old friends of the OttLEANS
family, that these byways sought to power would
not prevent the princes from being true in the end
to the memarelay of the middle classes.
It cannot be said that Louts NAPOLEON assumes
an attitude much more frank. His public policy,
that of his gel-eminent, has been to all intents and
purposes an OteLs.tss policy, equally jealous of the
people, of the legitimists, of constitutional and
liberal countries and causes abroad ; to narrow
the franchise, mistrust the people, restrict and
smother all expression of opinion whether by the
press, or in associations of men, who happen not to
be privileged politicians. No monarch or monarch's
minister could be more narrow or restrictive than
those of Loris Nvimetos's republic. All political
demonstratiou having been thus driven from the
surface, breaks out inwardly. With the press silenced
and associations prohibited, we see the inevitable
result, in secret meetings of men to consult upon
flair condition and prospects. These are espied,
discovered, and magnified into plots. Against any
date men who meet to talk of the way
its which their country has been rubbed of its
freedom, the police can of course get up quite as
good a else as the Tames gets up against roman.
or exile follow; su that France, under LOUIS
N A POLEoN, has retrograded not merely to its cor-
rupt condition under Lot Is PHILIPPE, but to the
alnweit Austrian I,,yinte established by the elder
D4ol their priests, their gaolers, and their
lawyers.
let if the desire be to escape from this, at least
under the guidance of known men and parties,
whither is the Frenchman to fly? Time moderate
republicans, the Dreariens and the CAVAIGNACS,
have abetted and defended the expedition to Rome
and the policy pursued by the French generals and
government in Italy. Yet, step beyond these repub-
kale, modenielme, mud you fall amongst men who have
made political capital out of socialism, and who arc
bound, upon attaining power, to try some mode of
turning capital, without consulting its rightful owner,
to the advantage of the working classes.
In fact, to whatever !mint of the political or social
horizon the rational Frenchman turns, lie finds no-
thing that is not calculated to fill him with disgust
oral disipair. And it is for this reason, we believe,
that the majority of the French, if consulted, would
vote fur bearing all their present ills in their
present state, than fly to others, of which they un-
tortunutely have had some experience. The repub-
lic as it is, and bouts 11aPoLEom as he is, we
believe to be the predominant Isiah, in thought, for
it amounts not ton wish, of those large and indifferent
masses which constitute the pith and the industry
and the true intelligence of France.
The official journals of Paris carefully inform us
that of NZ, ream dr des tcpartenonts /9 have expressed
a desire to have the present constitution changed.
How many have done this merely to enable LOUIS
NAPOLEON to be elected we du not learn. The
Tows, however, assures us that these 715 declarations
are all against the republic and republicanism, and
the conclusion which it draws is, that the French
arc living uuder institutions that 16-17ths of them
condemn'.

We could give no better example of how English
journalists reason about France. The Cunard's oi:oft%
rater in France, like the rural grand juries in Eng-
land, or the provincial councils in Prussia, arc
exclusively composed of notables ; and in France,
where there are half a million of officials,
of officials, the old officials of the monarchy.
That these old gentlemen should exreas a wish for
the revision of the constitution or its obliteration,
can be cause of little surprise. But that the Times
should swell them into 16-17ths of the French peo-
ple, is certainly a wonderful piece of political arith-
metic. if it said l-lith or 1-30th, it would have
been nearer the truth.

There existed little doubt as to what the
upper and old official classes in France or
in Prussia desire. They want the restoration
of the old order of things—the traditional
monarchy, as the cant of conservatism now bath it.
But why not have consulted the municipal councils?
A great many of them volunteered to give their
opinions, but the minister repressed the idea, telling
them it was unconstitutional. Something, however,
might have been augured from the unanimous ex-
pression of municipal councils throughout France,
whilst nothing whatever is to be learned or con-
cluded from the recorded opinion of an exclusively
upp.T and official class.
We are by no means advocates of the present
French republican constitution, still less of the way in
which it is worked. But before people talk of revising
• constitution, they should try honestly how it works,
instead of first fahifying and then condemning it.
We stand up neither for the existing constitution
nor its Par.sitirm All we can say is, that we see
nothing better either in men or things, proposed to
the French people, nor do we perceive that the French
people prefer any of those worse things to the bad
things they enjoy. As to the great mass of the
French. we believe them perfectly indifferent to
either monarchy or republic, and so wearied by the
bad conduct of those who have undertaken to admi-
nister either, yet to unable to stand up, use ex-
ertion, and govern themselves, that they are ready
to accept the most peaceable and most acceptable
!? nihr—whiala. we believe, is precisely LOUIS
NAPOLEON.

Ora ininiedies relative to the recent discovery of
gold in MOW' is necessarily imperfect; and
although in woe the amounte may be over-
being the hturhible con-
condtaat f of mineral memare—there
=milisient widows for believing the fact.
mem we meet not only the discovery I
to be it that he imeemery, but a more
seism and aged& et the amount, vane,
and leportnese the . Ike tie more dr-
emestasse et fading some wisest in lamps
on the swim of the ensik or in dad imitedded la
the sand of rivers, se not tedisient prod of melt
abundant, ere nay reward the enteeprise of Wives-
tame. eventeally
the
enrich the mitay and antime meet intending ed.
Ilidimary is remildases
the leelvhem itiml et et thesauna distaisi tame the
ofd hee tsmil. to the
thosethe et the eml trlikederiss. of
It le

which appears first to have suggested the idea of gold
mines in that part of Australia; and thus it is
pleasing to find science become the grading star to
results which may eventually ffeve of pot bowie-
quence to Great Britain.
The produce of California has tarried
sion, but a " great fact," and if indiViduall
have not acquired Alit madden wealth' _ Aisle
golden dreams anticipated, still wo outset wridipele
the fact that millions of treasure ham been poured
into the United States, affording thereby the sinews
to new enterprise in the different yells of
and improvement. But in the reesvi46ll.6sl
the vast amount of gold which California has
yielded and still yields, there is obviously a de-
grac of barbarous unskilfulness in the process,
which we fully expect will not be the case in Aus-
tralia. Instead of the labour of individuals singly or
in gangs being directed solely to the recovery of the
treasure, if such there be, and with tools and ap-
pliances the reverse of scientific, and with all that
misery and privation, recklessness and immorality,
incidental to an isolated community, governed by
one idea—that of gain—we anticipate in Australia
a wisely directed use of capital and skill which shall
concentrate individual energy, and introduce some
kind of systematic procedure. In this manner may
in some degree be obviated those evils conspicuous
in California, disgraceful to mankind, if not oppro-
brious to the country which produces them, and
which, if regarded by us with indifference there,
cannot if repeated in one of our own colonies be
viewed, by a people sober and decent, without some
scruples of remorse and indignation. We have no
doubt of the law being held in respect by English-
men, even when employed in so questionable a
pursuit as gold-finding—in its very nature
demoralising; but we expect the government of
England will do more than the United States have
done in a similar case—look after the welfare of the
people, and introduce such local authority as may
prevent such scenes of vice, depravity, and irreligion
as may. reflect on us as a soar and religious people.
There is very little gained by warning our colonists,
or those here who may be disposed to emigrate in
quest of treasure. 'they would not listen, even it
one rose from the dead to point out the disappoint-
ment they shall suffer, the privations they shall en-
dure. Much less can any reasoning or argument,
founded on example or experience, be supposed to
deter them. The idea of acquiring wmlth with-
out labour or industry is one which has and will
always delude the human mind. The expectation
of finding gold by. so simple a process as washing
the sand of a river, or by only. looking for and
picking it up, as a child picks up pebbles
on the seashore, is too alluring to be overcome by the
cold dictates of caution and experience. The imagi-
nation, running riot in a field so pleasing as this
colours and distorts cyan', feature, making the wish
father to the thought, and carefully conceals from
view the painful accosmies which have so often
damped the most ardent aspirations of the Californian
digger—the cost of living in an artificial community,
the bodily labour necessary to obtain even one day's
subsistence, the misery of "life in the diggings," the
precariousness of the pursuit, the dread of murder or
robbery, and the exposure to perilous changes of
burning heat and pinching cold without the power
to escape from the one or find refuge front the
other. _ _

Abandoning, therefore, as a hopeless and thankless
task the vocation of adviser to men in pursuit of gold,
we call upon the government not to stem the tide, but
to regulate it by a wise and prudent hand, so that
what should prove a blessing. may not become a
curse. And if the expectations of great treasure
be actually realised, a thing highly probable, we can
perceive no better mode of turning the discovery to
our advantage, without shame or reproach, than by
encouraging the direction of English capital to the
scene. fhe results, by. skilful means, may not only
prove far more lucrative, but in the existence of re-
spectable mining companies, properly organised, we
have a guarantee of a peaceable and industrious po-
pulstion; and we see no reason why, in the neigh-
bourhood of Bathurst, the mining population may
not live as harmoniously as in Wales. In the first
instance, when men arc crazed by wild notions of
sudden wealth, there may be, we grant, a difficulty
in binding them by the sober laws of industrial pur-
suit; but when a few months' experience shall teach
them, as it has done in California, that ordinarily all
that can be expected from individual adventure is a
precarious living, they will be glad to unite them-
selves with bodies of men, associated with whom they
will secure protection and the sure reward of well-
regulated industry.

In the meanwhile the certain result of this sudden
discovery of gold will be to excite the community in
Australia, and seduce them from their quiet ordinary
pursuits. And in all probability the galvanic in-
fluence will extend to Great IlAtuin, and induce
many to seek their fortunes in our own colony who
have hesitated to trust their lives to the lawless com-
munity in California. At this moralists may shako
their heads, wise men look grave, divines sigh with
reproachful sorrow, while political economists, and
the money power, reason, speculate, and anticipate a
deviation from that pleasing equilibrium which keeps
stocks steady and exchanges regular, still such disco-
veries, with all due reverence, have somewhat the
aspect of providential agency. insensibly but surely
acting on the destiny of the human race. The love
of country is one of the strongest influences which
awn; s mankind, and were there not some more
powerful motive to counteract it, emigration
would be an event unknown. Poverty and misery
are evils which drive mankind from their country,
because self-preservation is a more powerful instinct
than patriotism ; and if grinding poverty induce
Irishmen to leave their fatherland, endeared to the=
with all its social misery, so shall wo find the love d
gain induce our own population to seek their fortune
in Australia. Avarice is a stronger passion than love
of country. And it may be added that all the great
discoveries of modern times, bearing on locomotion, do
not only tend to civilise the human race, to enlighten
and instruct them, to enlarge their sphere of enjok
meat, but to disperse mankind over the face of the
globe, and second the effects of mineral discoveries to
the same end now and in ages past. It was the El
Dorado which by its magical sound opened up the
unknown regions of the American continent ;
and the fruit thereof is the grand, active,
civilised republic of the United States. The peopling
of California evidently depends on the same cause
and who can foresee what prodigious effects the dis-
covery of the auriferous strata about Bathurst may
have eventually on the. prosperity of Australia, in
tempting undecided emigrants thither to bend their
steps ! The evils attending so alluring a discovery
are unquestionably great, but they are only transi-
tory. There are few evils without some compensating
good; and wo augur eventually great prosperity to
Australia ; greater prosperity because peopled by
Englishmen and governed by English laws—above
all, peopled by those who know, as a fundamental
principle, that the government of their country de-
pends on themselves, in respect to the laws, and to
those who administer them.
The evils attending so alluring a discovery cannot
be permanent ; because, in the nature of things,
tIS sus name be " diggers." Those who work with
the spit and cradle, or ply the pickaxe, must
eat sad be clothed • anddire necessity must
discover a way of supplying their wants. Mankind
must still sow and rearolllllll and spin. Moreover
these who thirst bevorid maw* for the bitter waters
of gain, shall be the first, pubria, to discover that
the El Dorado of Bathurst is Ifterortaas, capricious
and deceitful, and that while ame Mau more than
a living, ninety-nine obtain lem, and Mat in hope
and fear, not in certaintrziranollesa Such is
the history of Californian hard-work-
ing and industrious are ewe •.a and admistence;
but then, it appears, hard wash anti ledmtry are
necessary. In the Taller of the ibianeento *there-
fore, if wo go with ontannded ELI feel
the trammels of them lowa aammila the acquire-
ment of wealth WI can MP UM mope their
tyranny than Me ow swaps the kw of gra-
! eitation,_ or INV Obi natant law which
I binds the most *di with
away: So we EMI Mums auk mumtagtrt:
ease in Australia. The hum Of gold are excepting
to the rule. Nature is mai se lavish of her
as to strew the ground with gold as with stones. By
presenting such nch specimens, like angels' visits,
she only allures ns to industry--to work, to dig,
wash, or rock the cradle. The rule itself is the dust,
the scattered particles concealed from view, deep in
the sand of the river, or embedded in quarts hard as
iron, in the bowels of rocks impervious to aught rave
the pick or blasting. That dust can only be got by

Ilabour. Some tons must be turned over and washed
before the sweating digger can realise his ounce par
day. He obtains his reward, such as it is, but it is
truly the kew•rd of labdur and indlistry as a nse-
&snide wage. But then this is not the easy kind
of lifts the great body of gold-seekers look for. Like
mendicants, they expect a living, nay a fortune, by
4 simply exploring the ground, or being idle. They
are willing to take daily exercise, like an Iriah
damper; but to dig, sweat, and work day after day,
and for long hours, is a reality they never once
reckoned on.
' We may be sure, therefore, if the tido of popula-
tion for a time set in strong to Bathurst, when the
conditions of the adventure be known by dire expe-
rience (which dissipates many a pleasing day dream),
the tide shall soon turn back again, or leave, what is
more to be desired, a population to settle perma-
nently, and turn their skill and industry to more
laudable pursuits. In the meantime, we must bo
prepared to hear of a great deal of misery and pri-
vation. A sudden appreciation of all consumable
articles, the want of such conveniences of life as
must ensue to those rushing into an unpeoplcd dis-
trict, must spread for a time a great deal of
wretchedness. But these evils will, in due course
of time, cure themselves. As to crime and Lynch-
law, let them not, in the words of ,St. Paul, " be so
much as heard amongst you "—amongst you, the
immediate offspring of a race of men who fear God
and honour the law.
Whatever be thought of the discovery, in a moral
or economical point of view, it is somewhat singular
that so important a discovery as the real treasures of
California should be so speedily followed by one far
more directly interesting to us. It is well known
that many dissatisfied with the peaceful, unexciting
labours of commerce and agriculture, have fled from
Australia to take their chance in California; and
great must be their surprise when they learn that in
transporting themselves they had turned their backs
on a second California lying at their feet tempting
to exploration. If no other benefit arise from the
discovery, at least emigration to California will in all
probability cease : for what can be more pernicious
and exhairiting to a rising colony than the loss of its
population in such a cause ?