The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-12-20 00:00:00

FRANCE

PARIS, THURSDAY EVENING.
The article in the Moniteur of yesterday is
variously commented on in the Paris papers. The
Assemblee Nationale is full of admiration for the
conduct of the Emperor. In these praises there
are things which his Majesty can hardly accept as
complimentary to him. The Assembles insinuates
that he has set at nought his ancient ties with
Switzerland, and is free from the amiable weak-
ness of gratitude for the danger to which the
Confederation exposed itself from Louis Phil-
lippe in order to protect him. The Assemblee
would rouse him to the task of ,putting down
revolution everywhere, and of going forth
crushing the heads of the hydra—the Emperor like
Hercules, and, I presume, the King of Prussia like
bolas Whether the former protege of the Swiss
Confederation intends to respond to the expectation
of the fusionist organ I cannot say ; I can only
affirm that the note he has permitted to appear in
the prominent page of the Moniteur has pro-
duced on the public generally a bad effect—an
effect which may yet be more keenly felt at the
forthcoming elections for the Legislative Corps.
The Moniteur is not only offensive to the Swiss
Confederation, but to the Imperial Government
itself. Who could have suggested the allusion to
the Treaties of 1815 ? Everyone knows how the
French people feel whenever these Treaties are
mentioned ; they have ever regarded them as a
stigma on their country, as a standing record of its
defeat and of the triumph of its enemies. The
feeling may be exaggerated ; the people may be too
sensitive ; but so it is. Such an appeal to the
Treaties of Vienna would be a great mistake in any
government ; but greater still on the part of a
Bonaparte; and it is a mistake which will hardly
be compensated even by a visit from the King of
Prussia Beyond those who receive their inspira-
tion from official sources, I have conversed with
few who do not feel ashamed of the allusion to the
Treaties

The Siecle speaks of it in these terms :
"It is with grief that we have perused the note contained
in the Moniteur of this morning. For several days past
the existence of this note had been spoken of, but we had
r,fused to believe it. That the government of France
should be listened to when it speaks is our desire. Never-
theless, its susceptibility towards faithful allies, as proved
by the Moniteur, appears to us to be great. Far from
feeling offended at the resistance of a people which, so to
say, lives under the immediate protection of France, we
should have admired that proud independence of Switzer
land which has never allowed her best friends to interfere
in an internal question. The French government now
menaces Switzerland with a with :rawal of its goodwill
because she has refused to accede to a desire which it had
expressedand which was only a trifling concession offered,not
to Prussia, but to France. In the first instance we are not
of the opinion of the Moniteur on the importance of the
concession. We believe that to interrupt the course of
justice is a grave circumstance. We do not admit that the
concession would lave solely been made to France, after the
fiknaly expressed demands of Prussia, and when France had
repeated the same propositions. We comprehend that in
exchange for this concession, France should promise her-
support to Switzerland; but this very promise solves the
question of the rights of Prussia, in favour of our opinion ;
for had this right been undeniable, the French .Cabinet
would not have supported Switzerland, and the King of
Prussia would not have been satisfied with the concession he
demanded. We sincerely regret to be of a contrary opinion •
to the government of our conotry on a foreign question, and
we will hope that if the government has felt hurt at the
refusal of Switzerland, it will confine itself to having officially
published its discontent, and will nevertheless not abandon
her. Beyond the dissatisfaction which may have been experi-
enced by our diplomacy in consequence of the resistance of
the Diet, there exists a question of high protection which
France cannot abdicate. In order to be i quitable we must
state that we do not comprehend the delay that has taken
place in the trial of the valquished of the 31 of September.
Had the power of the law once been vindicated we should
have been 'the Est to hate advocated a complete amnesty;
Switzerland, in offering a good example to the other Powers,
would have avoided many complications, and would have
placed Givernments, already bound by political acts, in a
more favourable position to defend ber interests."
It is not merely the spirit which pervades the
obnoxious article, but the inaccuracies it contains,
which calls for notice. It is not true, as the Moniteur

insinuates, that the revolt was put down by the
Federal troops ; it was put down by the people of
Neufchatel themselves, and the Federal troops only
came up to prevent any outburst of popular indig-
nation.

It is not true that the Confederation refuse to
liberate the prisoners. They are willing and ready
to liberate* them now, provided the King of Prussia
will recognise the independence of the Principality.
They are not animated by a sanguine desire of ven-
geance ; but they do not think that Prussia has
been so invariably distinguished for good faith as
not to require some guarantee. It is childish in
the Moniteur to say that it is to the Emperor of the
French, and not to the King of Prussia, that the
independence of the Confederation would. be sur-
rendered. The Emperor of the French is, on this
occasion, but the mouthpiece of the King ; " Qui
foci per aliunt', faeit p tr, se," and the Swiss consider
that a spirit of courtesy and willingness 'to •oblige
should not be carried to such a pitch. They are,
in fact, expected to do all, and the King of
Prussia nothing. .• They are called upon to trust
to his honour and forbearance, while they receive
nothing in return but vague indications of future
negotiations which may lead to nothing. The King
demands the release of the prisoners as a right, and
not as an act of vourtesy. His communication to
the Diet at Frankfort was based on that right, and
the release of the prisoners would be taken by him
as recognition of it. It would be more intelligible
to ignore the ReYolutlon of 1848 -altogether than
any particular consequence of it. Prussia has for
her an historical and dynastic right, Switzerland
has but one right, the same as that of the Emperor
of France himself—the 'right of a people to choose

its own Government. If it is disavowed in the one
case it can hardly be held sacred in the other. •
The Suisse of Berne says : . _ _

The Chambre d'Accusation, in its sitting of the 12th,
ordered the release on bail of M. Pourtales-Sandos and M.
Wolfrath. The bail required far the former is 80,000 f.,
with other reserves, and for the latter.2,ooof. It is said that
the same favour will be conferred oa four or five others of
the prisoners. The Confederation will indemnify the State
of Neufchatel for the expense caused by the support of the
prisoners, as well as that incurred for fi.ting up the place
for the trial. . _

The following are the remarks of the Gazette de
France on the article of the Moniteur :
" It is not necessary to dwell on the importance of this
note, or on the serious consequences which may result, to
the prejudice of the tranquillity of Europe, in the event of
Switzerland persisting in her obstinacy.' We rejoice at
the publication of this note in the official journal, since it
permits us to appreciate the real state of a question which
assumes daily an importance that was far from having been
anticipated. Now that we know the opinion of the French
Cabinet relative to the Neufchatel question, we may state
that this opinion is not in harmony with that of England ;
for, although the latter Power has pronounced itself
openly on the question, the most authentic accounts permit
us to to say that, whereas France has formally declared
herself for Prussia, England, in spite of the Conferences
held at London in 1882, appears resolved on supporting the
pretensions of Switzerland. Oa what question, in fact, does
our ally agree with France ?
A letter received from the Indian Seas dated the
15th September, gives some details relative to the
treaty concluded between M. de Montigny, the
2.

representative of France,, and the King of Siam-
The treaty was signed on the 15th of August at
Bangkok, the capital of the country. It is com-
posed of 24 articles, and is to be executed both
in the kingdom of Siam properly so called, and like-
wise in the Siamese Laos, the Siamese Cambodia,
and the Siamese Malacca, important countries
which are subject to the same Government. It
confers very important commercial advantages on
French subjects. It admits religious liberty under
certain conditions, and defines the limits. It like.
wise secures special protection for any scientific
traveller who may visit those countries. It appears
that M. de Montigny was received at Siam with
the greatest respect. The king reminded him that
'the country which he governs had always been the
faithful ally of France, and that he regarded it as
a great honour .to be the ally of Napoleon: The
present sovereign has thrown off the Chinese
domination. The national religion is Buddhism,
aggravated by the most eccentric practices. The

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