The Express.
London, England, 1867-03-28 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 28, 1867.

FOREIGN AFFAIR-9.

The Times sees no contradiction to the treaty of
Prague in the alliance contracted by Wurtemburg, Baden,
and Bavaria. with Prussia. Austria had consented to her
exclusion from the whole of Germany, and the three
southern states, with a portion of the gr►nd duchy of
Hesse, were at liberty to form such combinations be-
tween themselves and with foreign states as they might
think fit. Germany, like Italy, longed for political unity,
and Count Bismarck, in making himself the interpreter,
ham only destroyed as much of the old building as would
constitute a basis for the new one. Whatever may be
thought of the work now in progress in the North German
Diet, the final result of the national movement must be
the total ►bsorption of all the minor States by Prussi►.
Towards the Germans themselves the Times thinks Count
, Bismarck has not shown himself harder than circumstances
required, and his harsh unprincipled dealing with the
Poles and MUMS it attributes to his determin►tion to play
any part, even to flatter his countrymen in their most
ungenerous animosities, to bring the Germans together,
and, by consolidating and extending Prussia, to render
any conflict with it a gigantic and almost hopeless under-
, taking. Those who might have flattered themselves to
overcome 29,000,000 Germans must now think twice before
they take the field against 40,000,000.
If the rumours are true which state that in contempla-
tion of a ministerial defeat in the recent elections in
Italy, something like a coup d'ltat had been projected, the
Daily Newt thinks there is little doubt that the advice
proceeded from an imperial ally whose own sovereignty is
founded on the overthrow of parliamentary government,
The idea could never for a moment have dazzled the senses
of any responsible foreign minister, but other advisers
may have insisted on the prudence of dispensing with
the parliament as long as the terms of the constitu-
tion would permit. Admitting th►t the present
cabinet of Baron Ricasoli is too weak to encounter
• compact and reckless parliamentary opposition,
the Daily News proceeds to refer to various names which
have been mentioned of late, and which it thinks
would give material strength to the Cabinet. The pressing
peril of Italy lies in that political pusillanimity of many
loyal and well-meaning but shortsighted men of business
who, while they angrily condemn the Piedmontese and
the Republican factions, are ready to acclaim with the
alacrity of French Imperialists just as much of a coup
d'etat as might be safely performed in these days, when
coups d'etat are going out of fashion, and parliamentary
government is coming in again.
The Doily News points out various misconceptions which
are entertained in this country respecting the reconstruc-
tion which is now being carried out in the Southern
States of America. Its disqualifying clauses apply only
to that small class of Southern statesmen and officers who
having, previous to 1861, served in some public capacity,
and sworn to uphold the Federal constitution, afterwards
participated in the rebellion by which that constitution
was sought to be destroyed. The mass of the people are
untouched by it, and probably ninety-nine out of every
hundred white persons in the South will find that they
are at liberty to vote, and will come forward and take
their share in framing the new constitution of their states.
They may feel that they are practically disfranchised by
the enfranchisement of the freedmen, but that at least is
no greater grievanoe than that against which the vanished
safeguard of the duel vote was contrived by conservatism
here. That the South will be organised under this act
there can be little doubt.

1.7111 AItTIRANPI. AND

t' nwri.Lniam mu.

The Timex thinks Mr. Torrens's measure ought to be very
much curtailed before it passes into law, and is even of
opinion that the object would be better attained by a
simple extension of the Public Health Act of last session.
By all mean, let us inertia* the powers of local authorities
to enforce sanitary regulations, but let the duty of observ-
ing such regulations remain where it now lies—with the
owners and occupiers of property. Provisions for the in-
epection and regulation of lodging-houses can hardly be
too stringent, and the MN(' would gladly support any
measure which would strengthen the hands of public
authorities in compelling landlords to render the houses
on their property habitable. But it is something quite
different to take the responsibility out of their hands and
to do it for them. If, as our Sanitary Acta acknowledge,
it is the duty of a landlord to keep his houses in a whole.
some condition, he should be compelled to do Sc.
And for what just reason should the inhabitants of the
metropolis be saddled with a threepenny rate in order to
relieve him from his obligation
The Herald heartily approves of the bill, as also does
the Telegraph, which calls it an admirable and nobly
revolutionary measure. The scheme, says the Telegraph, is
the proper companion of a reform bill, and may be hardly
inferior to that measure in effect, if the right men carry it
out in the right way. It will enable the artisan and the
labourer to get what they can hardly ever get without
such help--a fair, salubrious, and pleasant dwelling, at •
rental that will certainly not be larger than that which
they pay now in weekly doles for sickly and shameful
holes, called " homes " only in bitter irony.