The Express.
London, England, 1867-09-10 00:00:00

MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS.

We are not going to Abyssinia, remarks the Daily News,
to assert any chimerical pretensions, but to fulfil a clear
duty to men who have gone thither in the public service.
If there were any means of effecting the release of these
gentlemen and their companions short of war, the govern-
ment would be bound to pursue it, for of all "leaps in the
dark," an Abyssinian war is perhaps the moat speculative.
While the risks aro enormous, the utmost success we
can hope to realise is to perform our duty to our
captive countrymen at a sacrifice of thousands of lives.
The Daily Nws deprecates anything like unnecessary and
reckless expenditure, and adds that it is complained, and
it believes with reason, by those who know Bombay well,
that the manager of this expedition are neglecting
enormons resources in coal and shipping, which are there
ready at hand, and sending both from Liverpool, at
enormous prices, with the certainty that they cannot get
get there before the middle of December.
In another article, referring to • speech made by M.
Guizot over the tooth of his friend, M. de Barents, at
Lisieux, the Daily lien observes:that M. Guizot aimed to
establish a bourgeois oligarchy to which there was never
anything corresponding in England, and which would have
been as little endurable here as it proved elsewhere. It
was at Lisieux, where M. Guizot has lately deplored his
personal solitude and his political isolation, that nearly
twenty years ago he delivered another celebrated speech,
in which, being then a minister, he replied to the popular
demand for the franchise by the words, " Enrichissez-vous
done !" The speech to which this phrase has given its
name was fatal to the monarchy of July, and practically
closed the political career of its author. The revolution
followed it. M. Guizot tried to imitate the policy of
English toryiam, but even English toryism has been wiser,
in spite of much misleading eloquence on both aides of the
Channel, than to imitate M. Guizot.

The Spanish insurrection is crushed, the Queen's army
is triumphant, but the people are hungry, nays the Term,
and even cannon and bayonets have in more than ono in-
stance proved unavailing arguments against empty
stomachs. The harvest of 1856 fell one-third below the
yearly average ; but that of this present season is declared
to be a more decisive failure. Wheat is 50 per cent. above
the ordinary price, and meat is sold at Madrid at Is. to
Is. &l. a pound. The Times traces the condition of Spain
in a great degree to a despotic and rapacious government,
but its stolid ignorance is the most fatal evil—
' ignorance and love of ignorance. Out of a population
of 15,673,090, according to the last census, no less
than 12,000,000 could neither read nor write. The
country has been entitled to the proud adjectives of " very
Spanish and very catholic" ever since the days of Ferdi-
nand and Isabella, and it is owing to this alone that such •
government as that of Names and Gonzales Bravo, of the
Father Confessor and the Bleeding Nun, have become
possible. That such a government is to be the doom of
Spain for ever it would seem cruel to predict, and the
Tines thinks that • military government may fail before
a hungry people.

If not lion;ensical, it is impertinent, according to the
Past, to affirm dogmatically that, in order to reassure
Europe, France has only to withdraw her hand from her
sword. France cannot, however, lay down her arms, and
it is worse than idle to make a demanl to that effect the
text of homilies which are both irritating and irrelevant.
The difficulty is an exceedingly common one. It is what
probably occurs every day in commercial dealings. What-
ever you may think, it would be insulting a man to ask
him if he intended to meet his engagements ; and just so,
until the Treaties of Paris and Prague are broken, it
must be assumed that they bind all the parties to them,
although everybody is morally certain they will be violated
whenever an opportunity offers.

Garibaldi, if his words ero correctly reported from
Geneva, appears resolved upon the overthrow of the tem-
poral power by insurrectionary means. But the Tglegraph
thinks that any violent outrago upon the independence of
the Holy See, or upon the person of the Pontiff, would
revive the feeling of catholic Europe against Italy, and
would in all likelihood lead to the early return of the
French army of occupation. Time alone is needed to
secure the final consolidation of Italy ; and it would be a
great pity if inconsiderate rashness should jeopardise the
welfare of the kingdom so recently called into existence.

On Saturday Earl Vane returned to his Welsh seat,
Piss Edwards. nem Maebynlleth. His lordship, accompanied
by Countess Vane and Lord Solberg), arrived by a special
train on the Cambrian Railway (of wbichcompauy Ms lord-
ship is chairman), and at Oswcstry, and other
stations, salutes were fired in honour of the event. On the
arrival of the train at Machyolleth, his lordship was met by
the principal inhabitants of the neighbourhood. The station
was decorated with evergreens, flags, Ice., and loud cheers
of welcome greeted the Vane family on their return
to their Welsh estates. An address was afterwards
presented by the rector to his lordship, who made a reply
in which he spoke with gratification of his reception in
Russia.