Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-11-22 00:00:00

The French Emperor would seem to have
become somewhat reconciled to the Central
Italian Regency of M. de Boncompagni. One of the
French Government organs of the press,—or if
not such, yet one that would not dare to give an
opinion on ihis subject contrary to the wishes of
the Government,—now declares, "it is under--
stood that the exercise of the Regency is only
for the maintenance' of order in Central Italy ;"
significantly adding, that " Italian interests are
in harmony with ,European interests in order to
reserve for the Congress the definitive regula-
tions of the situation of the Italian Peninsula."
It is evident from ' this, we think, that the

Emperor of the French regards the matter
with very different feelings from those he lately
entertained. The same semi-official declaration

remarks, that the Regency is now in a position
"to make those arrangements possible which
have generally been considered as very difficult
of execution." And if this be Louis Napoleon's
opinion, of course all is right.
The advices by the China mails show how
worthless, after all, has been the ratification of
the American Treaty by the Chinese ; since, not-
withstanding the express stipulation of that
treaty, the Chinese Government has positively
refused to open the ports of-Swatow and Taywan.
The state of hostilities in the Chinese -_waters re-.
mains in suspense. It would, scarcely seem that
the Chinese expect what is preparing for them on
so formidable a scale, both here and in France.
We suppose that about the spring of next year
they will get a surprise.

The French war in Morocco is already at an
end ; an(the expeditionary army has returned to
Algiers. The Spanish expedition to Morocco,
notwithstanding the long preparations for it, is
not yet, it seems, ready to quit the Spanish ports
We learn from St. Petersburg, by telegram, that
the navigation of the Baltic has been closed
for the season. In Russia winter has set in with
considerable severity already.
A ship has arrived at Hull with a cargo of
bones from Sebastopol ; and the Times his very
properly taken up the subject indignantly
asking if these are the bones of our gallant
soldiers who fell at the me ,:usable storming of
that all but impregnable fortress ; and insisting
that some explanation is necessary. " The fact,"
it observes, " is gravely announced, and we would
ask seriously—ls it true ? Are these the bones
of the Russian or of the allied soldiers ? Are
these the bones of horses and of other animals
which perished in the seige ? Are they the
bones of men and of animals commingled, and now
exported by Russia and imported by English
speculators to manure our fields ?" Very pro-
perly adding, that " the subject is one which
must be
so painful to many persons whose
relatives and friends
were engaged in the late

as it might have appeared to common ob-
servers, every one connected with LiVerpool,
who felt so. disposed—and who -did not ?
had already joined one or other of the numer-
ous-.bodies who, unflPr the name of volunteer
rifle and artillery brigades have come forward to
offer a cheap but invulnerable defence to our- port
and town : it still remained for the leading
Spirits of one district, howeVer, to follow up, and
as it were complete the magic circle of bristling
bayonets which form a living rampart of defence
around us. Last night a meeting of the leading
inhabitants of Wavertree was held
..at the Lamb.
Inn, for the purpose of forming a Volunteer Rifle
Corps. The chair was. occupied by Mr: S. R. Glaves,
who in addition to the numerous other services,
which the business of the public abstracts from his
private avocations, is yet patriotic enough to devote
some of his time and energies in furtherance of
this- great national moveinent. He was also, it
will be seen, aided by the counter ice of the
leading Men of the district—Mr. C. F. Carne,
Mr. -H. T. Wilson, Mr. J. Anderton, and other

gentlemen joining heartily in support of the cause.
The meeting was most enthusiastic ; and, judging
from present appearances, there is no doubt that
the Wavertree contingent will be at once full and
efficient.

A PRETTY sure way of bringing on some events
is to be continually throwing out anticipations of
them, and doing one's utmost beforehand to
realise them as present. The hypochondriac who
turns out to have predicted the day of his death,
is not thereby proved to be a prophet, but only
the victim of the morbid tension of an imagina-
tion which has taken captive the other faculties
of the mind, and compelled even nature to do her
behests. Something in this way, it might be
feared that the feverish apprehensions of war at
present floating about us, are likely more than
anything else to hurry on the war they teach
us to expect. Fortune may feel constrained to
do our bidding, and justify the obstinate course
of our speculations.

Certainly, we should be inclined to say that
1 either a French war is very imminent, or that
the " leading journal " wishes it to be so. The
idea of it may by familiarity become less revolting
even to ourselves ; so that, to adopt the suggestion
of a witty, but incautious contemporary, we may
soon get more disposed to go across to the
Frenchman, than wait his anticipated descent.
The Times, indeed, .in reply to the animad-
versions of his neighbours, affects that the
mistrusting tone of his recent articles is the
cause of the admonition supposed to have
been administered during the last few days
by the French Government to incendiary
journalists. But, perhaps, the Times will also
tell his readers what is the value of re-assurances
or protestations from a ruler whom the English
people arc taught never to believe ; but, on the
contrary-, whom previous experience has proved
to most observers of current events to be] in

that we may again be content to repose on • that
sentimental feeling of safety, 'which unabcoin-
panied by material sources of strength, he, at the
-same time, condemns as the precursor of disaster
and possibly of ruin. But again, it is quite
feasible to assume the evil and unfriendly designs
of the French Emperor, and yet to assign to him,
as the best card in his pack, the pretence of
amity and alliance, which may gain quiet for
their gradual unfoldment and development. To
Louis NAPOLEON, the cost is small indeed, of
that re-assuranee, which may lull' us into unarmed
security, if a promise be all the price that is paid.
The morals of statesmen are too often like- the
morals of those who traffic in horse-flesh ; and if
the 'latter's rule of trade be that "all is fairin
horse dealing," we are sure that the .guiding
-maxim of at least one European Government is,
that all is fair in the management of an, empire.
What then is to be effected by _extorted
professions of peace and friendship from
the Government of France ? The reduction of
our armaments ? But every one worthy the name
of Englishman despises the suggestion as folly and
as crime. To relieve the trading community and
the dealers in Consols of a teasing apprehension
and a vague fear ? In the first place, as- we have
said, this is not possible. It may make the sub-
ject of them appear, perhaps, more remote ; and
after long dwelling in the same direction, divert
them temporarily- into another. But this would
be brought about naturally, and in the course of
things. Unless a state of apprehension, which dis-
turbs the public operations of capital, is to be the
normal condition of the commercial community, up
to the moment when warcan be predicted as the pro-
bable occurrence of the next week, such interme-
diate panics of alarm should, of themselves, be
discouraged ; and can be dissipated in no other
satisfactory way than the demonstration- of their
own inherent folly and childishness. Any time
during the past eight years, it might have been,
and has been, predicted of NAPOLEON BoNA-
PARTE'S nephew, or of the vanquished at
Waterloo, that he or they had determined
on a trial of strength with this countrY: But we
have had many vicissitudes of commercial depres-
sion and_ commercial prosperity, totally indepen-
dent of this impression or this probability.
Indefinite fears which may or may not be realised,
or which may be realised next Year or ten' years
hence with equal likelihood ; and which are con-
cerned with an event that does not depend upon
any particular policy, but is to be brought about
by the conscious and wilful preparation of one
inscrutable mind, ought not to be made the
subject of panic, or allowed to affect its pub4c
course by .a great and powerful nation ;--except
in one particular. And that is, in the provision
of those_rneans of defence by -which---her only
dignified and only _sufficient confidence can be
placed in her own right arm, under the protec-,
tion of
,_Providence.

IT is to America that we are to look for the prac-
tical merits of the Ballot,—that great panacea,
as the " Advanced Liberals "would persuade us it
is, for most of the political evils of the times. It

is in the American republic that the Ballot is
having a fair trial ; and having it under circum-
stances_more favourable to its successful operation

than could possibly be expected in this country,
under monarchical institutions, and in a state of
society, political and general, in which there
would always be influences predominant to
interrupt even the Ballot itself as a secret expe-
dient. Well,—and the annual elections of the
United States, which have just concluded, have
furnished further practical evidence of the work-
ing of the Ballot, as a means of insuring purity
and independence, and all those political excel-
lencies, of which the Radicals insist that we are
utterly deprived in this country, simply because
we will not adopt that secret mode of voting.
" If any one wants to know," says the New York
Herald of the Bth inst., " the real value of the
glorious privilege of the ballot box, and how
inestimable that institution is at the present day
in executing the freeman's
As lightning does the will of God.'

he has only to cast his eye over the list of can-
didates for the Legislature, published in our
columns this morning, and see what are their
positions in the community," significantly
adding, that, "if this does nQt disenchant them
with the reality of their glorious privileges,'
we are afraid they must be set down
as incorrigibly wedded to old ideas," A„a