The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-01 00:00:00

MA

►A Y.

IFew Words -on France,"
Blackwood.—An admirable article, entitled "A
adorns the June number
of Blackwood. In it the writer comments with
some freedom upon the consequences of the Feb-
ruary revolution—not always, by any means, with
. fairness, but evidently throughout from the depth
of his own conscientious convictions. Unhappily
it must be admitted that there is a vast deal of
truth in many of his most severe strictures
upon the excesses into which the mob in
France allowed themselves to be carried by de-
signing demagogues and political incendiaries.
The Press showed this clearly enough by the
ferocity and madness of many of its exaggerated
lucubrations—upwards of twelve hundred different
newspapers having started into existence, in Paris
alone, between the February of 1848 and the De-
cember of 1851, several of them advocating theories
subversive of the whole system 'of morality, and of
the whole machinery of civilisation. The clubs
again illustrated the political fanaticism of the time
in a manner yet more flagrantly obnoxious—
goading on the more depraved classes to all
kinds of atrocities, and perpetually threaten-
ing the Government of the Hour with rebellion
and even assassination. The Secret Societies, again,
constituted another of the hideous social impos-
thuines of the day—draining the strength, and
hopes, and energies of the country, until the power
of France trembled at last upon the verge of irre-
trievable destruction. For strangling the abomin-
able licence of journalism, General Cavaignac was
lauded to the skies by his sincere brother-Repub-
licans. For doing precisely the same the present
Emperor of the French has been disingenuously
reviled and execrated by many of the so-called
liberals of our generation. For defying the clubs,
and for shooting down the emissaries of the Secret
Societies on the barricades of June, by hundreds
and by thousands, General Cavaignac was eulo-
gised—and deservedly—as the saviour of France,
and the defender of Europe, as the champion of
social order and the guardian of civilisation. For
doing all this more effectually than any of his
' predecessors, Napoleon 111, has been ab-
horred as a' criminal of the darkest dye, as
an adventurer stained with the blood of his
countrymen, and reeking with the guilt of patri-
cide. Blackwood does justice to the merits of the
extraordinary man now ruling France ,with a skill
and a resolution 'which have come at length to be
universally recognised. What, in fact, is the
conclusion, the inevitable conclusion to which this
writer in Maga is driven, after reviewing the past
history of our neighbours during the last quarter of
a century ? Why this—He says : "Eighteen months
have now elapsed since the decisive blow was struck,
and the first period of no preceding government
has passed in greater tranquillity." It is the truth.
However distressing it may be to the personal
enemies of Napoleon,—however distasteful it may
be to the disappointed group of the Orleanists,—
however unwelcome it may be to the despotic courts
of the North, it is, we repeat, the simple and un-
deniable truth,—" the first period of no preceding
Government has passed in greater tranquillity."
And, recollect, it is no merely stunned quietude :
it is a thriving and prosperous tranquillity.
A careful perusal of the paper here re-
ferred to will repay the readers of Ebony
tenfold. A sixth instalment is given of the present
serial in Blackwood—now becoming familiarly
known as " Lady Lee's Widowhood." There is a
curious contribution, rather remarkable, and cer-
tainly entertaining in its character, called " The
Paradise in the Pacific"—the introductory section
of which contribution is significantly headed,
" Where is it ?" There are two metrical fragments
in the present number of Maga—neither of them
of any particular merit—one, "The Shadow on the
Way," and the other an effusion by Bayard Taylor,
somewhat difficult to be decided whether it is in-
tended for prose or poetry, which the name, as Mrs.
Gamp would say, is " Kilimandjaro." Among the
other articles this month in Blackwood are contri-
butions referring to " Syria," to " Finlay's Byzan-
tine Empire," to " Six Months with the Malays,"
to " Minor Morals," and to " Free Trade and
High Prices"—variety being well provided (as will
be seen from this) for the delectation and amuse-
ment of the subscribers to the chief of our monthly
periodicals.

The Emigrant's Guide to Australia. Second Edi-
tion. By John Capper. Philip and Son,
Liverpool.
A second edition affords us proof of the popu-
larity already secured to this admirable littl
volume—perhaps (among all similar publications
the most compact, and yet, at the same time,t h
most complete guide-book to Australia. Its re-
appearance in its present enlarged form constitutes
moreover, a significant testimony of its excel-
lence. Upon examination it will be found to com-
prise, a surprising store of. useful and interest-
ing information. It is extraordinary how so
much should have been condensed within 254
pages, however compactly printed, or sententiously
expressed, or ingeniouSly arranged. The circum-
stance becomes, no doubt, less remarkable in ap-
pearance when it is remembered that the author,
as editor of the Emigrant's Journal, had previously
acquired considerable experience in the method of
conducting the labours of similar compilations.
However, that may be, Mr. Capper has in his
" Emigrant's Guide to Australia," compressed
together a mass of valuable particulars relating to the
recently discovered gold fields, to the Government
regulations for gold seeking, and to other matters
directly affecting the personal interests of indivi-
duals proceeding in quest of better fortune to our
antipodes. Besides possessing the attraction of
three new maps of the gold fields, the volume
comprises an alluring account of now diggings in
South Australia.

ELECTION COMMITTEES.-(THIS DAY•)

LIVERPOOL.
At the sitting of the committee this morning,
Witnesses wore called to prove agency and the hiring
of bands, but the evidence was uninteresting.