The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-17 00:00:00

,iltrielting ~int

LONDON, MONDAY, JULY 17, 1848.

If we were asked to designate the French character
in a single word, we should call them a nation of
Iconoclasts—people raising up idols for themselves,
bowing down before them, grovelling into the dust
in.the excess of their adoration, and the next moment
bounding to their feet and shivering these self-
created idols into fragments with the bludgeon of
insurrection. Sach is France—such are the French-
men of to-day. Just before the outbreak of the
Third Revolution, ODILLON BARROT was the leader
of the multitude; but hardly were the arrangements
made for the attendance of the great Reform banquet
in the Champs Elysees, when ODILLON BARROT was
tumbled down from his momentary elevation, and
splintered like a worthless image of crockery. On the
morning of the 23d of February, ADOLPHE TRIERS
was recognised and cheered at the corner of a barri-
cade, while wending his way on foot towards the
Tuileries for the purpose of replacing the momentary
counsels of MOLE ; but scarcely was the afternoon of
that memorable day passed by when ADOLPHE
TRIERS was flung back again into obscurity and
powerlessness. Then came the ovation of an hour in
the last sitting of the Chamber of Deputies, and the
object of that ephemeral ovation was the arrogant
and democratic LEDRU ROLLIN. Last of all, inaugu-
rative of the young Republic, and declaratory of the
policy of moderation, came the great statesman,
who seemed in the majestic calmness of
his career—a career of nearly four months of legis-
lative supremacy—to put a term to this passion for
hero-worship among the Parisians. From the 24th
of February down to the 24th of June, ALPHONSE
DE LADIARTINE appeared to be the last in the series of
statesmen who had besn blown up to the dizzy alti-
tude of Government by the breath of popularity—
he seemed to be the consummation of their visions of
political enthusiasm. It is true that Socialism ap-
peared to cause his august authority to quiver in the
balance for an instant on the 17th of March ; that
\ Terrorism repeated the same blow on the 16th
of April; and that Communism aimed the
barbed and poisoned arrow of slander at the very
heart of the hero-poet on the 15th of May ;it is true
that during the paroxysm of a few turbulent hours
' the. idols of the dominant party in Paris were
suc-
cessively Citizen BLANQUI, Citizen BARBES, Citizen
. r 1 HunzeT,Citizen PROUDHON, Citizen ALBERT, and Citi-
zen Louis BLAric it is true that the progress of ad- ,

m inistration under the Provisional Government and
ui Ider the Executive Commission. was chequered by
in tervals of hesitation and suspicion, directed at one
m patent against ARAGO, at another against MARIE,
at another against GARNIER PAGES, at another
against LEDRU RomaN, but most frequently against
. LAMARTINE himself—yet we do not exaggerate events
in saying that for nearly four months, four of the most
momentous months in the history, of France, the
power of government was mainly concentrated in the
hands of LAMARTINE. We shall not now trouble our-
selves to indicate the manner in which M. DE LAMAR-
TINE employed that vast and almost irresponsible
power. History will record the acts of his adminis-
tration in golden characters. She will aver, and aver
truly, that liberty was never more secure to the
French population than then—and she will proclaim,
moreover, that LAMARTINE was never tempted into
proceedings of severity by any of those low personal
passions which had influenced his predecessors, but
which his noble heart felt at once to
be incompatible with the austere virtues
of statesmanship. Calumniated as he was, day after
day, in the journals of the French capital, Llittla-
TINE never once put a sacrilegious finger on that
liberty of the Press which he knew to be one of the
palladiums of the Republic. It was only after the
dissolution of the Executive Commission, and on the
concentration of authority in the hands of a military
dictator, that the old lettres de cachets were revived
against the gerants and the redacteurs of the news-
papers—it was only then that M. EMILE DE Gmat-
DIN was placed in the custody of M. HELVIN,
and incarcerated for four or five days in
a subterranean dungeon. Of itself this circumstance
is sufficient to convince any rational Frenchman that
the recent exhibition of fickleness on the part of the
Parisians has proved, to say the least of it, impolitic.
We pray GOD they may be warned in time from
the continuance of their mad saturnalia of indiscri-
minate hero-raising, hero-worshipping, and hero-
breaking. They have distinguished themselve quite
long enough as political Iconoclasts—let them change
the forms of that political religion betimes, or the
consequences may prove disastrous. More precau-
tion should be evinced by them both in the selection
and in the destruction of their statesmen. There is
danger in abandoning the direction of the national
fortunes at one moment to BARROT, at the next
to TRIERS, at the next to ROLLIN, and so on—
but, above all, there is not only danger, but
disgrace and infamy in overthrowing a patriot like
LAMARTINE, in a sudden explosion of ingratitude.
In the hope of seeing an end put to this calamitous
system of building up merely for the sake, apparently,
of pulling down, the attention is naturally directed
to the nine hundred representatives of the
...National
Assembly. And that great legislative body we find
to be separated into three important divisions—the
Club of the Rue de Poictiers, the Club of the Palais
Royal, and the Club of the Rue des Pyramides.
The first club (that in the Rue Poictiers), in-
cluding every one of those ex-Deputies of
the gauche and the centre-gauche who have
been returned under the Republican regime,
is influenced by such men as TRIERS, °DILLON
BARROT, BERRYER, and DUVERGIER D'HAURANNE.
The second club (that of the Palais Royal), com-
prising most of the ex-members of the Provisional
Government and their friends, is influenced by men
like MARRAST, ARAGO, DUPONT (de l'Eure), GAR-
NIER PAGES, PAGNERRE, CO RMENIN, and BUCTIEZ.
While the third club (that of the Rue des Pyramides),
consisting of the ultra- Republicans, Fourierists
Communists, and the like, is influenced by the
voices of PROUDRON, LOUIS BLANC, LEGRANGE,
PIERRE LEROUX, and CAusIDIERRE.

Some idea may be formed of the relative
strength of these three remarkable divisions
of the National Assembly from the most prevalent
calculation, that somewhere about 500 representatives
attend the reunions in the Rue de Poictiers, about
200 those in the Palais Royal, and about 100 those
in the Rue des Pyramides. Such are the materials
out of which the Republican Constitution is being
fabricated—and that solemn act of fabrication is pro-
ceeding in the heart of the capital of a nation of
Iconoclasts.
Does not everything show that now, more than
ever, there is a necessity for the acceptance of a
' Master-Mind--and for the strengthening of the au-
thority of that Master-Mind by the implicit con-
fidence of the People? Unless a statesman of un-
impeachable honesty, of confirmed courage, a true
Republican, and an unmistakable Moderate, be dis-
covered, and accepted, and obeyed—there will he
little chance of stability to the French Government.
It requires the exercise of a peculiar genius to weld
together into one compact and solid mass the incon-
gruous parties of the National Assembly. Where
shall France look for this genius, for this honesty, for
this courage, for this true Republicanism, for this con-
spicuous Moderation ? We are guided to the answer
by the brilliant oration, or, as it has been termed by
one writing from the thick of events in Paris, " the
grandly-worded discourse" delivered towards the end
of last week in the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
That discourse revealed the veritable statesman re-,
quired by France in the present crisis of her affairs
and the selection is enforced by a necessity which is
every day becoming more powerful—the necessity of
expiating a monster ingratitude to the patriotic
LA MARTINE.

The Public Works (Ireland, No. 2) Bill was on
Friday evening read a second time, the amendment
which had been moved by the Hon. Member for Nor-
thamptonshire, that it be read a second time that day
six months, having been negatived without a division.
The objects of the Bill are threefold—first, to enable
the Government to re-advance, for the purpose of
completing those works which at the end of last year
remained unfinished, such sums of money as had
been paid by different localities ; secondly, to post-
pone for six months the payment of the first instal-
ment; and, thirdly, to enable the Government, look-
ing to the different circumstances in different parts
of Ireland, to increase or diminish the number of in-
stalments by which the loans were to be repaid, and
which were spread over a period of ten years.

,J The circumstances under which these works were
originally instituted, and the enormous advances made
from the national Exchequer on account thereof,
were of a very peculiar and most distressing character.
The ordinary financial rules applicable to the ad-
vances of public money for the construction of
works of public utility] could not, in almost any in-
stance, be rigidly adhered to. The greater portion of
the working population of the entire nation had, with
their families, and all those dependent upon them for
support and maintenance, been reduced to the last
extremity of misery and destitution, in consequence
of the mysterious visitation by which the esculent,
which constituted their chief, if not their only article
of food, had become a tainted and putrefying mass,
unfit even for the consumption of swine. The wail
of agony resounded throughout the length and
breadth of the land, and was only raised
by the more frightful silence of hopeless despair.
Famine, with her twin-sister pestilence, reigned
supreme, and more than decimated the population.
Husbands and fathers beheld the partners of their
cares and miseries, the wives of their bosoms, and the
helpless pledges of their mutual affection perishing
for lack of the commonest necessaries of life, and in vain
appealing to their equally destitute parents for the
food and nourishment which they were unable to
supply. It became too painfully apparent, that un-
less gigantic exertions were made by this more fa-
voured nation, and assistance afforded with the most
liberal, aye the most lavish hand, that the work of
destruction would be completed, and that Ireland
would cease to be either a burden upon, or a contd.
butor to the Imperial resources.
In such a state of affairs the rules of economical
science were necessarily infringed upon. The great
problem was in what manner and through what
agencies could food be supplied to the starving mul-
titudes. Much time was not afforded for consideration.
The delay of even a single day could only be obtained
at the cost of thousands of human lives, and of the
protracted sufferings of millions. The means resorted
to could not therefore be regardei with too curious a
scrutiny, or criticised with too much rigour. The
English nation acted in a manner worthy of its
well-established reputation. It obeyed the di-
vine precepts of .Neligion, by feeding the
bth'irY and clothing' the naked. It -assumed
the enormous responsibility of providing -food for '
three millions of persons, and that at a period when

there had been a general failure of bread-stuffs
throughout three-quarters of the globe—through the
whole of the Eastern hemisphere. The granaries of
the world were ransacked, and corn was obtained for
the supply of Irish destitution at an expenditure of
English gold which afterwards occasioned deep dis-
tress to the generous donors themselves. The won-
derful sacrifices thus made, the tremendous exertions
thus rendered necessary, were not duly appreciated.
In place of the deepest devotion and unceasing grati-
tude, reproaches and vituperations were returned.
Extraordinary efforts were made to induce the Irish
nation to sever the ties by which they were con-
nected with their munificent benefactors; Eng-
land and the English were sneered at and
calumniated. The name of " Saxon," in place of be-
ing greeted with blessings, was used as a term of re-
proach and contumely, and money supplied from the
English Exchequer was too often expended in the pur-
chase of arms, to be pointed at the bosoms of English-
men. But, nevertheless, we are not without our re-
ward, nor do we repent of the manner in which we
then acted. The brightest page in our national history,
eclipsing the most brilliant achievements of our navies
or our armies—the most sanguinary triumphs by flood
and field—will be that on which is recorded the aid
and assistance afforded with such bounteous profusion
to our helpless brethren in the dark hour of their
misery and distress. It will more than counterbalance
the former records of misgovernment and oppression
which we would, if possible, rejoice to see blotted out
from the volume.

It might, perhaps, have been a wiser and more politic
course, as the Premier on Friday most justly remarked,
to have provided food by the cheapest mode, and
without exacting any return whatsoever therefor,
rather than to look to the mixed purpose of affording
food and at the same time of executing works of
public utility. The recent experience we have had,
perhaps, establishes the proposition, that it is more
economical to feed those who are in a state of starva-
tion, and, if public works are required, to have
them constructed by the most skilful labourers,
receiving an adequate remuneration for the work
they are called upon to perform. But such was not
the opinion generally entertained in 1846; and no
person can be found with sufficient hardihood to
assert that the Government were not fully justified
in the attempt which they made to combine the exe-
cution of such works with the object of affording
food to the people. Such was the purpose of the
Labour Rate Act," and no censure or reproach can
justly be cast upon the Ministry therefor. It was
not merely because such works were the
most beneficial that could be selected, or be-
cause they would yield an ample return for
the estimated outlay, that they were to be
undertaken, but because employment should be
provided at the very thresholds of those to whom re.
lief was to be administered. The ratepayers in the
several districts were constituted the judges of the
wants and exigencies of the people in their respective
localities, and no work could be commenced until it
had been previously sanctioned by a presentment
passed at special sessions, duly convened in accordance
with the provisions of the statute. A veto only was
permitted to the Board of Works, who were autho-
rised to select, from the projects thus sanctioned, the
undertakings which appeared best calculated to attain
the idesired object of affording full employment to
every destitute person, by which he might be enabled
to support himself and family, and also (but as a
matter of very secondary importance) which should
appear to be most likely to be of permanent advantage
to the country. The manner in which they dis-
charged the arduous duties thus imposed has been the
themetof universal admiration ; and, although abuses
sprung up which were inseparable from an un-
dertaking of such magnitude, these abuses
could not fairly be imputed either to the Go-
vernment or to the subordinate officers, under whose
inspection their intentions were carried into execu-
tion. All that was practicable was achieved. The
people were fed, and the difficulties in which the
nation was involved were surmounted, without any
greater suffering to individuals than was inevitable
under the circumstances.

Many of the works so commenced were unavoidably
abandoned before they were fully completed. Although
they might not now be undertaken if no portion had
been executed, it might nevertheless be a very unwise
economy to permit them to remain in their present
condition. Their completion might be productive of
advantages more than equivalent to the expenditure
that would still be required. The state of the na-
tional Exchequer, the deficiency of income to provide
for the national exigencies, however, forbad new
grants. But there was a fund from which it might
be provided without impropriety, and without any
new burden being imposed upon the people—
namely, the sums that might be obtained from
the more solvent districts in repayment of the
advances that had been made. These sums the
Government have decided on thus applying, and it ap-
pears to us to be a most fair and reasonable appropria-
tion. According to the present project, the parties
who have exhibited evidence of their probity by re-
paying the amounts with which they were chargeable
will most properly be considered entitled to a priority
of claim respecting the application of these funds,
although it is not rendered imperative that such
should be the case—and where it appears that there
are new works, such as drainage, which would be more
beneficial to the district, and which could be made
better available for the employment of the people
than the completion of the former works, the money
may be expended in such a manner. Such is the
first and principal object of the present Bill, and
believing it to be a prudent and judicious measure,
deserving of unqualified approbation, we yield it a
cordial support.
The remaining objects of the Bill are of less im-
portance. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in
his very able speech, adduced abundant and most
satisfactory reasons for their adoption. We, there-
fore trust that the measure may receive the Legisla-
tive sanction, and that it will pass through both
Houses of Parliament without any material alteration
by which its efficiency may be impeded or its utility
diminished.