The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-29 00:00:00

and Paris, and Waterloo, and, in fact, doing every- t
thing to incite a brave people to retaliatory measures
in order to retrieve themselves from past injuries and
disasters ? Would it not have been a more glorious
object to contemplate had he poured the oil into those
wounds which now are almost healed, rather than
have thus applied a cautery, re-opening those
IJ
wounds, and leaving to another generation the task
of repairing the mischief which he accomplished ?---
(Loud cheers.) I leave the subject of the Duke's
letter. When I read it I came to the conclusion,
where he says "I am in my 77th year," I said,
" that explains it all, and excuses it all."—(Cheers.)
We have not to deal with the Duke of Wellington,
we have to deal with those younger men who want
to make use of his authority to carry out their own
special purposes. What I want to stipulate
question
hstyjoonu
and the people of England is this :
before us is not a military or a naval question, but it
is a question for civilians to decide.—(Cheers.) When
we are at war, then the men with red coats and the
sword may step in to do their work ; and, as a gen-
tleman recently described it, "a damnable trade it
is '_(Cheers.) But we are now at peace, and we
wish to reap the fruits of peace, and in order to do
that we must calculate for ourselves the contingencies
of a possible war. It is a civilian's question—it is a
question for the tax-payers who have to provide the
sinews of war—it is a question for merchants, for
manufacturers, for shopkeepers, for operatives, for the
females of this country, aye, and pardon me, my
Lord Ellesmere, it is a question for calico printers.
—(Cheers.) Well, what is this prospect of a war ?
where does it come from ? You, I say, are compe-
. tent to judge better than military men—you are more
impartial—you are disinterested—at all events your
interests do not lie on the side of war. Any man

who can read a book giving an account of France—
any man who can read a translation from a French
newspaper—any man who investigates the statistics
of the progress of manufactures, commerce, and
wealth, is as competent as any soldier to judge of
the probabilities of war. I have had better oppor-
tunities than any soldier of studying those things,
and I say there never was a time in the history of
France and England when there was a greater ten-
dency to a pacific policy in France, and especially
towards this kingdom, than there is at this moment.
—(Cheers.) hy, the French people have gone
through a process which almost disqualifies them from
going to war. They have gone through that social
revolution which so much equalizes property, that the
tax-payers being equally spread over the country, and
paying a large portion of the taxes in direct taxation,
the whole community has a most sensitive feeling
with regard to the expense of going to war. There
are more people of property in France than there are
in England. There are five or six million proprietors
of real estates in France. There is not one-tenth
that number in England—they are thrifty, pains-
taking men—they put away their savings, and have
all their little hoards of five-franc pieces, and they are
anxious to do something for their children ; for there
is not a more affectionate or domesticated race in the
world than the French.—(Hear, hear.) I have seen
with horror, shame; and indignation, that some of the
newspapers have spoken of Frenchmen as the most
degraded and ignorant of people. There's one paper
in this city which I always wish to treat with respect
if it will allow me, which I see last week bravely
adopted this line of argument, that it is necessary we
should have police in Manchester, and that it is
constantly necessary to increase the police to
protect us—against what ?—against thieves, murder-
ers, pickpockets, and robbers ; therefore we must
have a naval and military force to protect us against
France. Are the French thieves, then ? Are the
majority of the French thieves, pickpockets, and
murderers ? If they were, could they exist as an
organized community—a community as well orga-
nized as our own ? (Hear, hear, and cheers.) I
see that another paper in London, a weekly
paper, that used to write with some degree of gravity,
but which is so terrified that it seems to have lost its
wits, says that the next war with France will be made
without a declaration of war, and that we shall lite-
rally have to protect our Queen at Osborne House
against these French ruffians, or they'll come and
carry her off.—(A laugh.) What a lesson has our
courageous Queen read to such people I Why, she
went over to France unattended and unprotected, and
threw herself on the shore there at the Chateau d'Eu

literally in a bathing machine. Now, there's great
courage on one side, or great cowardice on the other.
—(Cheers and a laugh.) But this is a sort of
periodical visitation that we have. I sometimes com-
pare it with the cholera, because I believe the last indi-
cation of this kind that we had came about the time of
the cholera. That was invasion from Russia ; and I
am rather identified with that, for it was that that
literally made me an author. That it was that made
me a public man, and I believe if it hadn't been for
the insanity of some of the papers, who told us that
the Russians were coming some foggy day to land
near Yarmouth, I should never have turned author or
have written pamphlets, or have become a public man,
and might have been a thrifty pains-taking calico
printer to this day.—(Cheers and laughter.) Now,
I want you to understand a little better about these
foreigners. You may remember that about three
weeks or a month ago I had oecasion to make a few
remarks at Newton, on the occasion of the election
of our friend Mr. -Henry. I then let fall some re-
marks upon this subject, little dreaming that within
a few hours pf the time of my speaking a large meet-
ing was held at Rouen, the Manchester of France,
at which 800 electors assembled to promote
the progress of Parliamentary reform, and there a
gentleman was making a speech so like my own, that
he sent me the newspaper containing his speech, and
a letter expressing his astonishment that our two
speeches, so much alike, should have been delivered
at the same time, without any collusion on our part.
Here is an extract from M. Vicenet's speech :
"How long will it take to turn from theory into
practice the very simple idea, that apart from the
precepts of religion, which we do so often quote, but
so seldom practice, and upon the merest calculations
of an enlightened self-interest, nations have a far
different mission upon earth than to excite in each
other mutual fear ? How long will it be
before they discover the selfish objects of
those who have an interest in persuading
them that the name of a foreigner is synonimous
with that of enemy ? When will they learn that,
as children of the same father, their real and only
enemies—those which they ought to struggle to de-
stroy—are; ignorance, oppression, misery, and su•
perstition ? (Cheers) —that in proclaiming their
mutual friendships they will tend to the consolidation
of peaceful relations with each other ? When will
they discover that the maintenance of formidable ar-
maments in' countries whose nationality is not se-
riously menaced inflicts an evil upon all, and confers
benefits on; none ?—(Shouts of " That's true, that's
true.") But, better to define my idea, do you not
think that if, confident in the maintenance of an
honourable peace, we were to deduct from the five
hundred millions of francs which our army and
navy costs us, twenty millions to be applied to the
education of the people, and a like sum for the pur-
pose of converting twenty thousand soldiers into
road-makers--if we give back to agriculture and
manufactures fifty thousand more soldiers, leaving
in. our pockets the sum which they icost to pay and
support them—think you that this would be a good
result of the entente cordiale 7 I will not say between
the Governments—we know what that is worth—
(Laughter)—but the nations, which have no dynastic
interesteto serve, and do not'play at diplomacy.—
(Cheers.) Do you not think that this example
of common sense, and feeling of security given
by us, would have its influence upon the
other countries of Europe, would lead to other die-
armaments, would facilitate everywhere those fiscal
reforms which are postponed from day to day on the
plea of the necessities of the Treasury, and which
would give to productive industry that capital and,
labour which are now diverted into unproductive
channels ?—(Expressions of assent.)" At the same
meeting another gentleman, an eminentiMember of the
Chamber of Deputies, spoke also. He said, "Heaven
grant that the day may come when the world shall
be one nation I -God gave us the earth not, to bathe it
with blood, but that we might make it smile with
fertility.—(Cheers.) Oh I gentlemen, which nation
hasifound the grandest success in warj? What country
can exhibit such glorious triumphs as France, whose
soldiers rushed to the field of battle in search of death,
or rather immortality?—(Applause.) But after glory
come reverses; we have found that if war has its
immense triumphs, it has also its immense disasters.
Besides,
what
iohanmanyg ages,
e s are going
war, during was the rule, and
peace the
the rule, exception,and war
in our day peace ought to be
See, in fact, what is
exception.—(Loud cheers.)
Europe. People are fraternizing
'passing throughout civilised
and by those novel means of
te rnizing by their industry,
communlineatfioounr which
days
are almost annihilating distance_
you are at the extremity of Germany ;
in five days
you may visit Berlin and Vienna; in seven days you
are upon the banks of the Vistula. In a short time
we shall be as near to the empire of Russia ; already
travellers are carrying ideas of liberty into that
country, frightening tyranny, which will one day fall
from its seat. Enough of conquering' Who would
wish again to arm people against each other ? Why
should they think of the aggrandizement of territory
when there are no longer any barriers between
nations ?—(Prolonged cheering) Let me not be told
that this is a dream—an utopia ; already we begin to
realise it. By their intercourse, nations are beginning
to know and understand each other; they are ridding
themselves one and all of those ancient prejudices
and hatreds which have hitherto separated them.
Why should they not fraternize together ? Why
should they be enemies ? Are they not the children
[
of one God ?
spirit, Zecahrthilieave they not all the same immortal_
to protect
And upon a d
have
emanation from heaven "e
develop.—(prolonged
(nportoitohnegedsamseensinattejornes_ts
n