The Express.
London, England, 1848-10-14 00:00:00

credence, more upon the late trial at Clonmel that
somebody else proposed at a meeting of the clubbiets
that these threi clergymen should be elected members
of the war oitectory—that nobody else approved of
that sagacious propoeition—that not one of the thee_
wae present at that or any
_other club meeting—and
that suacg opinions revatied in thaw societies against
pamitting clergymen to have any control over or
knowledge of their secret prom/dings. Yet upon this
state of facts, the atrocious and cowardly cry is raised
against the entire priesthood and hierarchy, and
directed against these three individuals in particular !

LORD BROUGHAM is the Linos of the political
stage. No matter how grave his purpose, how seri-
ous his intention, how composed his features, the
moment of his stepping forth before the public is wel-
comed by a shout of uncontrollable laughter. Even
his friends cannot keep their countenance. The very
party to which he has ratted, and whose prejudices
ho is about to flatter, cannot concede to him in return
even the semblance of grave respect. They are
ashamed to regard him, or agree with him, without
protesting against the fraternity, and without openly
manifesting, that the connexion bstweea the great
Lit, which
and Lord BROUGHAM, is merely akin to
Lthat, which was wont to exist between the lords of a
court and its jester.
Sincerely do we feel compassion fo- a man once so
eminent, impelled by vanity and garrulity to intrude
now upon this audience, now upon that, merely to
unsay and contradict in driv.lliag accents those prin
cip'es and truths which, during a lung and encreetic
life, ho has been establishing and impressing. Fain
would we pay him the unwonted compliment of
serious attention, and substitute at least a reasoning
reproof ter that jeer, which his random attitude and
reckless arguments provoke.
With such good and kind intentions we perused
Lord BROUGIIAM'S letter to the Marquis of LANS-
DOWNE; and we must own that the difficulty of re-
garding or treating it in a strious light is great. Let
us take, fur example, his lordship's defence of
the late King of the FRENCH. Is this de-
fence, and the accompany ing panegyric, meant
for irony ? We aro here told that what prostrated
public opinion in Frat.ce, and with it the dynasty of
Orleans, was the unfriendly tone of the English
journals. And this is Riven as the opinion of the
royal exile himself. We have heard before of literary
genius " allowing itself to be snuffed out by an arti,le.''
But what must have been the profound sagacity of a
monarch and a minister, wielding uncontrolled power
for years, and unable to found a government and a
throne, that could resist the attacks of a foreign
press, much less its own?
There is no more noble or more useful subject,
than fathoming the causes of revolution. It is one
that tempts many to ph.losophise. But of all those
who have seized the divining-rod, to discover and
point out the latent causes of disaffection and revolt,
the most shallow is Lord BROUGHAM in his pre-
sent pamphlet He has witnessed a great confiagra•
tion, and having picked as a few straws in the vici-
nity, he presents them as the grave cause of the fearful
catastrophe. Straw the first, is some article in the
English newspapers, reprobatingthe Spanish marriages.
Straw the second, is the French peerage not having
been made hereditary. Straw the third, is the national
guards being allowed to chimes their own officern.
Straw the fourth, is the appointment of M.
GUIZOT'S friend HEBERT to be chancellor. And
so on. Lord BhOUGHAM pretends that, had
his advice been followed, he would have remedied
those portentous mistakes, and the revolution
would have b:cn prevented. This is really Listonian :
it is worthy of Bonibostes or Paul Pry. And it
actually requires a great effort to continue serious dis-
cussion with such pueritities.
Could Lord Baonousu havelooked at the progress
of things in France with other than a courtier's eye,
ha might have seen that it was no small mistake,
no straw, that overthrew an established monarchy.
The truth is, that Loots Pattie Pe and M. Goizor,
who have such renown as politicians, might, in reality,
be said to have no policy at all. Domestic policy they
had literally none, except a few empty doctrines
and old saws, such as M. GUIZOT'S famous dirtani,
that " unpopularity was a proof of greatness." Louts
PHILIPPE'S anxieties were exclusively directed to-
wards establishing his sons and daughters; and in the
last year of his reign he turned topsy tarry the whole
relations and interests of Europe, for the sake of mak.
big over the Spanish throne to the Duke of MONT-
MISSIES. As to M. OVIZOT, he was fully occupied in
keeping his power end position by humouring the
King in his selfish folly. Thus, even the foreign po-
licy of France, which absorbed these two heads, was
miserably, and blunderingly, and selfishly managed
by them.
Bat in the meantime there was a much more im-
portant task before them, if they either knew how or
cared to undertake it. There was a middle class,
growing in wealth and influcnce,and all-powerful over
public opinion ; a lower class, especially in towns, in
a more than usually dangerous state of transition, un-
certainty, and semi-employ. Commercial derangement
had aggravated physical ill and privation. And
amidst this mass of misery, into which neither the
moral teacher nor the religious missionary penetrated,
there circulated doctrines—the most specious, the most
subversive doctrines—which talent was lending its
powerful aid to swell and to enforce. Of the danger-
ous state of classes everyone seemed to be fully
aware except the monarch and his minister.
They were penning despatches and directing how bet
English diplomacy could be tricked and tripped up at
this court or at that, instead of turning to consider
the condition of France question, and at least removing
its temporary danger. Without even looking into the
economy of that great question, which required=
tical studies and knowledge different from
which had ever occupied either the King or his
minister, there was at least one simple mass of
prudence and security.
This was to conciliate at least one class of society,
and not to allow middle and lower orders to spapathise
and unite in one common feeling of contempt
and hatred towards government and dynasty.
Nothing could have been more easy than
to have conciliated the middle class of the
French. But no—M. Outzerfe creed was resist-
ance ; and as to the monarch, he never stirred
from the Tuileries, or listened to other than his own
agents. Louls PHILIPPE knew every stir that took
place in any court of Europe; but he knew nothieg
of what was the general and growing opinion an
over France, or even in the narrow streets within
bowshot of his cabinet windows.
Lord BaououAw attributes the serious aggravation
of the revolutionary tumult to the national guard not
acting. He censures the national guard for this, and
attributentheirstay-at-homeinaction to:theirfear of hav-
ing their shops pillaged. This is utter ignorance. The
national guard of Paris scarcely existed in February.
The King had neglected it, showed his dislike of it,
allowed at to drop into desuetude and disorganisation.
He mistrusted the citizen class of which it was com-
posed, and trusted for his defence solely to the troops
of the line. Loots Plittarra owed his crown to the

national guard of Paris. He rewarded them with
every neglect and contumely. The national guard
reciprocated those sentiments, and in the days of
February refused to act, not for fear of their shops
being pillaged, but because they would not stir in
defence of a dynasty and a government that they
contemned and execrated.
It is very easy to depict the horror of anarchya
the inconvenience of no government, the often a
consequences of universal suffrage, especially In a
country which was never indulged with sußrafa of
any kind—it is very humiliating to see p
statesmen turned out of their places, and bawl them
occupied by men of far different and perhaps humbler
professions. But whose fault is all this ? The state
coachman overturns the coach, and breaks his crown
in falling from the box. Is he who slope the frighted
horses, takes the reins, and drives It home, to he
punished for the accident and its emeeqemees P
With a long hold of power, abler sheet bin,
a court, a representative chamber, a leilhfai mew,
and a full treasury, Lome PHILIPPI IEII4 alai
to content and govern France. And those wham
accident, or the toss-up of the popular cap, bee
put in his place, are to be doomed to the infernal gas
for not doing enceessfully and prosperously, without
any aid, means, or appliances, that very task in white
so experienced a monarch and a talented Welder
failed. Lord Baouogam's philosophy is all ciewidod.
He finds nothing but fatality in the failure of the
monarch, nothing but wilfulness in the errors of the
people. Would not the reverse of this be much
more true, and would not any, save a courtier,
admit it?
We have, however, sufficiently redeemed our pro-
mise and fulfilled our vow of tearing Lord Bzooosam