The Express.
London, England, 1851-04-23 00:00:00

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IN, WEDNBSDAY, APRIL 23.

_
Tux return of Prince METPERNICII to his Castle
of Johanaisberg, and his palace on the Itennweg of
Vienna, is an event which signifies to some that the
revolution has run its course; and, as the word indi-
cates, has returned to the point from which it
started. In this, however, there is a great mistake,
for Austria, and all the states of Germany subject
to its influence, far from being in the position
they were before the revolution of
have fallen in a state of servitude and tyranny,
that the Emperor FRANCIS never attempted,
and that even MistEiciteit shrunk from. Hence
some of the lihends, especially of the aristocratic
class, hail the return of METTERNICII as something
favourable, as his counsel must dissuade the EM-
PEROR from following out those centralising and
Its
wer-absorbing schemes, by which SCIIWARZENBERG
13 in truth assimilating the Austrian empire to the
Turkish. The peculiarity of SettwArizEststAttis rule
is, that it is as odious to the aristocracy and upper
classes, as to the citizens, and to the lower orders. And
if the Emil:wit was to listen to the noblesse, he would
infallibly pursue a milder policy. But Scilw.vazEN-
Um; has the full support of the Archduchess SOPIIIA,
and is certainly entitled to the gratitude of the
EsteEtion fur making a SotAmvs: of him, and for
enabling the descendant of NlAlitv Timms.% to put
his foot on the neck of the successor of the Great
Fut:Deluca.
We have, therefore, few hopes of seeing Austria ,
brought hacksven to such toleration of local liberty and
aristocratic influence as prevailed under Prince :tit:S-
TEW:II 11. Still less do we see the possibility of such a
giveniment ceding and establishing anything even in
form or semblance that might content the people, and
wean them from their present deadly and fanatical ideas
of vengeance and execration. The utmost to be hoped,
until such time as civilisation shall have eaten deeper
into the links of that despotic chain which alone
keep+ Austria together, is that the bigot tyrunnv 01
such a ryinte may be confined as much as possible,
awl
drover it may he gradually driven from it+ present
bol ov Italy. as well as from its insolent attempts
to enslave North Germuis.
'll. he Times still deeply regrets that Austria should
be baulked in any of its despotic aims. That journal
bvslavers the tyranny of ScitwvitzEstie.to: with a
laureate's praise, mid with the instinct of a
ge tttt l'useyite it glories in the ascendancy which
catholic Austria bas obtained over the protestant re-
ions of North Germany. Hut yesterday it was as
lloud as ever in its reproaches and severe in its
blows against Prussia. a+ if it were not ungenerous
so to belabour and tread down an already prostrate

power.
Its anger is occasioned by the failure of the Dres-
den Conference to produce a result. And this failure
is charged upon Prussia, as having asked too much (!)
and as still pursuing its schemes of self-aggrandise-
maalt. Such a rtpeteielt could only is offend by the
Aastrian wolf to the Prussian lamb. Fur Heaven
knows, and unfortunately Germany knows too, that
on every sueetseive proposal made at Dresden for
extinguishing the power and independence of the
smaller princes, of the constitutional and protestant
Maw,. Prussia has always (some forward humbly to
say Dab, to Austria, like poor Mr. CRUGER making
his spill+. utter KKK.
The different whemes of Dresden we need not re-
capitulate. They were all for concentrating power
in the hands of the six kings. and giving the re-
maining princes, taken together, but a 'mirth or a
filth of the voting power. The sovereign authority,
including exectilite and legislative, was to be eon-
eentmteil in this council of despots, which was to
have full power over movements, constitutions,
dill...rents-Om:two:it princes at id subjects, foreign policy,
foreign wars. It was, in truth, extending Settwva-
zexiiimi's Turkish system of rule over the whole
of lienuanc. Yet to this Baron MANTEUFFEL on
the part of Prussia assentill. Every statesman in
Prussia. to br sun', protested. Even MANTEVEFEIN
own envoy, AtskNst.knEst, protested. And the KING
at Berlin read iu the looks of every courtier the
universal sense of humiliation. But MANTEMEL
went upon the principle that he had yielded too
much, not to yield everything. And even the allies
that had followed Prussia in the great struggle fur
the union were given up by the Prussian minister to
destnietion and mediatisation.
It was then that, in the face of the cowardice and
treachery of Prussia, the men of the smaller states
took courage. Weimar and Frankfurt first stood
forth; then the two Mecklenbergs, even although
they had just made an aristocratic revolution in
the Dueliv. Batten was, of course, obliged to
exert itself for very existence. Even the Hessen
—the one closely allied to Russia, the other
existing by Austrian filyonets—eould not but show
their opposition. And the project for enslaving
Germany, and putting all its western and indepen-
dent states at the mercy of Eastern despotism, was
defeated, not by Prussia. but by the minor princes.
Not but that the Clievalereaque Court of Berlin,
which, when chosen by the independent primes as
their leader and head, had in cowardly tremour be-
trayed them, now plucked up courage on
seeing these princes stand up for themselves.
And Prussia no doubt demands now the restoration
of the old Diet, as a leaser tyranny than the scheme
which Austria proposed. M. M.tcTEtYFEL, however,
never ventured to utter such a sentiment in the face
of Prince Seim taivtntatu until the smaller states
had raised it. and had insisted on not being put in a
worse position than the congress of Vienna had
placed them.
The Viennese, hailing the return of Prince Mrr-
TEICSn'II as a possible or probable. relief front the
tyranny of Senwsiveknr.no, and the minor princes
of Genitally demanding the restoration of the old
Frankfurt biet. as more hbcral than the new charter
of Austria, express so clearly and so fully the state
of things beyond the Rhine. that it is idk to enlarge
upon it in any comment. Prince SCHWARZENISER6
went to Dresden, confident that he could carry every
point, being secure that NiANTEI:PFEL and his
master would give up everything, even to
the shirts *upon their backs, rather than
display one attitude of manhood. Secure of the four
Neettictix-made kings, the Austrian took no account
of the minor princes, who were in his view so many
pawns. From them, however, and from their claims,
resistance Caine. And thanks to the insolence and
extravagance of SCOW tIVENHERG'S demands, which
went to overthrow the great basis of the treaty of
Vienna, foreign powers were enabled to come to
Hie support of the minor princes of Ger-
many. And both France and England were
compelled to protest against the scheme of
BenwattirNuttni. This statesman has nothing to
thank but his own must insolent demands and most
extravagant assumptions, for having failed at Dres-
den. Some show of moderation might have enabled
hint to augment his power. Instead of this. he
sought to play Ntetn.kos; at Dresden. And the
result has been, that, like NAPOLEON. his extrava-
gance ended be endowing cowardice with courw,
and compelling even the most timid to rise up as hLs
enemies.
What new tone he may adopt at Frankfort, what
new police. remains to be seen. For the present the
curtain falls on the failure of the great scheme of
European tyranny at Dresden, a failure chiefly owing
to SeitWARZESBEROS own arrogance, and to the cou-
rage of three or four of the minor courts. As to
Prussia, whether in the field or in council, its only
part seems to be to assume the meanest attitude,
and to swallow the greatest possible amount of hu-
miliation and disgrace.

THE Caledonian Railway Company. the affairs
of which an• again attracting attention. i+ to Scotland
what the Eastern Counties is to England; with,

landed interest.
But the original directors of the Caledonian,
though powerless to resist effectually landlord rapa-
city
and greediness, fell into the common error of
supposing that the best way to secure the traffic of
all feeding lines was to guarantee them large
rates of dividend; accordingly they bought up in
that way every line they could lay their hands
on. And now it turns out that it is quite hopeless to
expect the Caledonian can ever, under any circum-
stances, pay its preferential and guaranteed liabili-
ties. A compromise is, therefore, very reasonably
proposed; but, us parliament cannot and will not
coerce the prekrentiul and guaranteed interests into
an abandonment or even a mitigation of the right
that it sanctioned, a compromise mast be a voluntary
arrangement ; and, therefore, man being a selfish
animal, difficulties almost insuperable arrest its con-
clusion. The terms of such a compromise are nut,
however, a tit subject fur newspaper discussion. So.
we must content ourselves with the remark that the
difficulties and embarrassments arc so great, that a
reference to some well-known public man—such as
Sir JAmcs (in.m.vo —Seeing to be the most reason-
able means of reaching so desirable an end.
Though, of all Scotch railways, the Caledonian is
in the greatest difficulties, nine-tenths of the lines in
that country arc in a worse plight than the leading
English companies. Here, south of the Tweed, we
have dividends of it, of 4.1, of 4, of 34 per cent. paid
to shareholders. But, beyond the boundary of that
river, there is only one company, the Edinburgh and
Glasgow, which Call reach a 3 per cent. dividend; and
out of raffi miles of railway there are not 300
which produce any profit on the ordinary share capital
of the corporations that have constructed and that
work them. There is no such dividendon the Aberdeen
line, 72 miles in length; none on the North British,
146 miles lung; none on the Edinburgh and Perth,
71 miles; none on the Scottish Midland,3o miles; none
on the Dundee and Arbroath, 16 ; none on the Dun-
dee and Aberdeen. 31 miles. In fact, there are only
three lines in Scotland which yield any dividend on
their original capital—the Edinburgh and Glasgow,
which pays 3 per cent.; the western rival of the I
Caledonian, the Glasgow and South-Western, which
screws up 21 per cent.; and the Scottish Central,
about to pay .is. a share on its 231. shares.
This is a most deplorable picture; suggestive
of misery, privation, suffering, and ruin to au extent
quite painful to reflect on. It is, too, another proof,
if one were needed, that it is not always a show of
external sagacity and prudence which wears best in
the practical concerns of this life; that in English
good sense we have perhaps something more valuable
than Scotch carefulness, at least in railway under-
takings.