The Sun.
London, England, 1848-04-01 00:00:00

. _
etidio,ll"

LONDON, SATURDAY. APRIL 1, 1848

APRIL-Foots Day is rather an unfortunate day
for anything in the shape of a public demonstration;,
and. April-Fool's Day has been chosendeliberat and prepense chosen—for the presentation
ofeaYn
address to the members of the Provisional Govern.
molt by a deputation of tl-o red-hot Repealers of
Ireland. All-Fool's Day was the delight of
CuAisne! LAMB, an anniversary on which he held a
fictitious levee of drolly, the ghosts of Malvolio, and
Slender, and Tony Lumpkin, and even Alexander
the Great. " Poor Moppet," says he to the latter, in
his Essays of Elia," ' poor moppet ! did it put its
finger in its eye, and cry because it hadn't
another world to conquer ?" All-Fool's Day
in like manner, to be a favourite
anniversary of the Republican Ministers
of the Hotel de Ville, for on this very day they have
determined to hold a levee of the Irish demagogues.
Messrs. WILLIAM SMITH O'BRIEN and 11111AGIIRIL are
to deliver themselves on that occasion of some
genuine Celtic compliments addressed to the demo-
cracy of Paris, Ind will of course avail themselves of
the opportunity to court the military assistance of
France for the furtherance of Irish nationality.
M. DE LAMARTINE a %sag as well as a poet, an his-
tvrian, an orator, and a statesman ? We almost sus-

pect as much, for with him, as Provisional Minister
for Foreign Affairs, must have originated the selection
of April the first as the most appropriate day for the
reception of the Repeal Deputation.
Ridiculous as the personal biographies of the
Young Irelanders would be, supposing they were
collected into a sort of "revolutionary Plutarch—dis-
posed as we may ourselves be to laugh at the move-
ments of these eccentric gentlemen there is
an undercurrent of insubordination among the
unfortunate people of Ireland, which may in the end
burst through the barriers of the law, and deluge the
island with a torrent of blood and tears. Alas ! for
that unfortunate race which has long been tor-
mented by the agonies of misgovernment,
and which is now being seduced into sedition,
by the lying fustian of a handful of insensate fire•
brands ! Upon the conscience of such men as Mr-
MITCHELL will rest henceforth a profound and awful
responsibility. For the advancement of thtir
own unprincipled ambition, for the acquisition of an
ephemeral and ignominious notoriety, they trifle with
the hearts, the virtues, the peace, and the very life-
blood of their fellow countrymen. Seated in their
fauteuils in their snuggeries they can nib a goosequill
and write to a whole nation calling upon it to be
pitiless in its slaughter and in its vengeance. At
their parlour-windows in Dublin they can conceal
or attempt to conceal the face of the rebel behind the
mask of the patriot. Their declamation is as san-
guinary as their endeavours are objectless and anar-
chical. Pikes and vitriol are the weapons they com-
mend to the populace as the only ones through which
they can hope to secure their independence. Accord..
ing to their elegant vccabulary, Lord CLARENDON is
a butcher, and the agents of the Commissariat Depart-
ment the emissaries of a Government of assas-
sins. No language is too gross, too insolent,
or too calumnious for these very Christian agita•
tors of rebellion. MASSANIELLO is a pacificator when
contrasted with them ; CATALINN a moderada ; JACK
CADE a rather quiet man than otherwise ; and SPAR.
TACUS a loyal Roman.

We would, if possible, persuade ourselves into the
belief that the members of the Irish Confederation
are only blustering, with the intention of frightening
the Government into some extraordinary concession
If this were really the case, they would find thaiw
selves unutterably mistaken ; they would find the
Cabinet not exactly the one to be alarmed by the
ravings of a few monomaniacs, and England itself
not precisely the country to be affrighted by a
species of political braggadocios, nut one jot more
alarming than the explosion of half-a-dozen popguns.
The supposition, however, would be frivolous. The
brawlers of the Rotunda are evidently in right-down
earnest. They thirst with all the avidity of their
souls for a hand to hand encounter between the Irish
mob and the soldiery. Their words mean, in all
truth, hard knocks. This is evident in a thousand
circumstances. It would be madness to close our
eyes to the fact that everything has been long ripen•
ing for an outbreak across St. George's Channel.
Meanwhile what is the position assumed
by the Executive in Dublin ? It is a position
in every way consonant with the strong and
generous reputation of the Government. Conciliation
tempers the dignity and munificence accompanies
the necessary demonstrations of power which have
been characteristic of the vice-regal policy of Lord
CLARENDON since he first entered the gateway of the
Castle subsequent to his nomination as Lord-Lieu-
tenant. In all respects the Government is prepared
for any emergency. Whatever may be the upshot of
recent occurrences, the Cabinet will not have been in
any way surprised. It is unnecessary to observe
that, with all this aggravation to the employment of
stringent measures throughout Ireland, the course
adopted by the Ministry has continued to be of the
same noble-spirited and cordial kind for which it
has been all along remarkable. A fraternal
and patriotic spirit actuates the entire Administration
in the very midst of a multitude of inducements to
acts of official despotism. Hitherto the Government
has preserved the prestige of its dignity by its passive-
ness, and it will remain passive, notwithstanding all
the taunts of the United Irishman, until such time as
the demagogues themselves become the aggressors.

When NAPOLEON departed to his exile at St.
Helena be attempted to comfort his sorrowing friends
by the assurance that he would forget the present in
the past—that amid the horrors of his captivity he
would find consolation in the retrospection of the
former glories of his career. That he did so we are
in formed by the companions of his exile, to whom he
was in the habit of dictating reminiscences of the
many remarkable events of his history. But his
thoughts were not wholly engrossed by the past, the
future occupied a very considerable portion of his
attention. He felt an intense interest—he who had
for so long a poriod been almost the arbiter of her
destinies—he felt an intense interest in the future
fate of Europe. He sought with an eager anxiety
—he whose son's existence was (he imagined)
to be inextricably interwoven with coming events
—he sought with eager anxiety to unravel
the mysteries of futurity. He divined these mysteries
with a marvellous prescience, the fruit of his natural
genius and his dearly-purchased experience. Mis-
taken upon one point, fondly imagining that his son
might thereafter enact a prominent part in the go-
vernment of the world, to him he addressed his pre-
dictions of the changes likely to transpire in Europe,
and his opinions as to the consequent course it would
be necessary for governments to pursue. His fare-
well letter to his son contains some of the most
sublime counsels that have been addressed to Princes
since the days of FENELON. This letter is of peculiar
interest now, as an evidence of how, years back, a far-
seeing and reflective man had recognised the existence
and foretold the development of those sentiments
which now agitate the heart of Christendom. Look-
ing at nations and not at governments, he foresaw, in
spite of the immobility of the Bourbon rule, the rapid
triumph of the spirit of progression. But more espe-
cially his prescience is remarkable in his recognition
of the pacific sentiments which would attest the rapid
development of civilization. He, the impersonation
of the genius of war, acknowledged and saluted the
coming empire of PEACE. For example, as a demon-
stration of these opinions, he, in one place, ob-
serves, in hie address to his son, "I was obliged
to daunt Europe by my arms; in the present day the
way is to convince her." And in another place—
" Europe is progressing towards an inevitable trans-
formation; to endeavour to retard this progress
would be but to lose strength by a useless struggle—
to favour it is to strengthen the hopes and wishes of
all. There are desires of nationality which must
be satisfied, sooner or later, and it is towards this end
that continued progress should be made." So
spoke NAPOLEON at St. Helena, in 1811, as
is chronicled in the reminiscences of Count
MONTHOLON, and now, in 1848, those words are
being fulfilled to the very letter. It is now manifest
that Europe is to be ruled not by arms, but by con-
viction. It is now manifest, as France, and Italy,
and Germany can testify, that Europe has " pro-
gressed to an inevitable transformation." It is now
manifest, as Austria, and soon Russia also, must,
however reluctantly, acknowledge, that to " endea-
vour to retard this progress is but to lose strength
by a useless struggle ;" while it is equally
manifest, as Rome, and Prussia, and Sardinia
can bear witness, that "to favour it ie to strengthen
the hopes and wishes of all." And finally, that
" there are desires of nationality which must be satis-
fied" is indubitably attested by the recent move.
ments in Hungary' and Poland, and innumerable minor
states. In these respects the remarks of NAPOLEON
have proved as accurate as those in which he foretold
the destinies of the Bourbons—" The Bourbons will
not. maintain their position after my death," and
again, " my
on (my heir) has one party to fear—
that of the Dolce of ORLEANS ; it has been germi-
nating fur a lung time."
In this letter, however, present events are not only
predicted, but a code of p,plicy
is r
in accordance with the spirit of oclaimed perfectly
the age. By simply
sulmituting " the French Government" for "
my
son,"
peculiarly
advice contained in this letter is
apposite to the present day,
m
ore especially the
son's fol-
lowing selections :—" The aim of all
my efforts
should be to reign by peace. In
order toliv in a
good understanding with England, it is necessary,
at
any cost, to favour her commercial interests •
this
necessity leads to one of these two consequences--
ar with England, or a sharing of the com-
merce of the world with her. This second

condition is the only one possible in the
present day. The French nation, when it is not
taken the wrong way, is more easily governed
than any other; its easy comprehension is un-
equalled ; it immediately discerns who labours for
and who against it ; but then it is necessary always
to speak to its senses (the secret of LAMARTINE'S
success), otherwise its uneasy spirit gnaws, it fer-
ments and explodes. France is the country where
the chiefs of parties have the least influence ; to rest
for support on them is to build on sand. Great
things can only be done in France by having the
support of the mass of the people; and, besides, a
Government should always seek support where it is
really to be found. There are moral laws as
inflexible and imperious as the physical ones. To
divide the interests of a nation is to injure them all,
and engender civil war : a thing indivisible by nature
cannot be divided, it can only be mutilated. Nothing
£hould be definitively settled as regards the constitu-
tion without the formal consent of the nation ; but
its fundamental principle should be the universality
of votes. My dictatorship was indispensable; and
the proof of this is, that I was always offered more
power than I desired. It will not be the same
with my son : his power will be disputed ; he
must anticipate every desire for liberty. . . .
The influence of the Government in France
is immense, and if it understands the way, it has no
need of employing corruption in order to find support
on all sides. The aim of a Sovereign is not only to
reign, but to diffuse instruction, morality, and well-
being; anything false is but a bad aid. France
possesses very clever practical men, the only thing
necessary is to find them and to give them the
means of reaching the proper station ; such a one is
at the plough who ought to be in the council, and
such another is Minister who ought to be at the plough.
The French people are influenced by two powerful
passions, which seem opposed, but which, neverthe-
less, are derived from one and the same feeling—love
of liberty, and love of distinction. A Government
can only satisfy these two wants by the most exact
justice. The law and action of the Government must
be equal towards all; honours and rewards must be
bestowed on the men who seem, in tke eyes of all, to
be the most worthy of them. Merit may be par-
doned, but not intrigue. ilfy son will be obliged to
allow the liberty of the press ; this is a necessity in the
present day. Let the Kings listen to reason ; Europe
will no longer afford matter for maintaining interna-
tional hatreds. Prejudices are dissipated and intermin-
gled; routes of commerce are becoming multiplied ; it is
no longer possible for one nation to monopolise it.
My son's position will not be exempt from difficul-
ties ; let him do by general consent what I was com-
pelled by circumstances to effect by force of arms.
My son ought to be a man of new ideas and of the
cause which I have made triumphant everywhere.
He ought to establish institutions which may efface
all traces of the feudal law, secure the dignity of man,
and develope those germs of prosperity which have
been budding for centuries." Such were the medita •
tions of " the desolator, desolate—the victor over-
thrown." Such are the liberal and philanthropic
sentiments of the tyrant BONAPARTE. Nevertheless,
" tyrant " though he was, the Liberal Government
of France might do worse than follow his counsels.
They are doubtless now in a hazardous though
glorious position ; their own tenure of office, the wel-
fare of France and the peace of Europe is in their
hands. However, they have one safeguard, they
have founded their power upon immutable princi-
ples, and in adhering to those principles they will
find their own preservation ; in adhering to such
principles as are conspicuous in the celebrated ad-
dress to which we have just referred, and which
alone must have afforded solace to its author in the
desolation of his captivity.
.1111.
Madrid papers of the 26th have arrived.

Accounts had been received from Mellila of a con-
flict between the Moors and Spaniards, in which the
former lost 50 killed and 400 wounded, and the latter
but one man.
There was no Bolsa on the 26th.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

PROCEEDINGS AT PARIS.

We have received the Paris papers of yesterday.

The Central Electoral Committee has published the
following official communication :—" The Central
Committee for the General Elections of Mem-
bers of the National Assembly proceeded yester-
day to scrutinise the list for the thirty-four
candidates to be proposed to the citizens of
the department of the Seine for national represen-
tatives. The ballot produced the following
results, viz. :—DUPONT DE L'EURE ; LAMAR•
TINE; ARAGO ; MARIE ; ARMAND MARRAST ; GAR..
VIER PAGES ; ALDERT ; LEDILU ROLLIN.; FERDINAND
FiLbto.N-; LOUIS BLANC ; CREMIEUY—(these eleven
are the members of the Provisional Government).
RECURT, a deputy mayor of Paris; A. CORDON,
working sculptor, editors of the Atelier ; GUINARD,
chief of the National Guard; DANGUY, a com-
positor, and an editor of the Atelier; BERANGER ;
CARNOT, Minister of Public Instruction ; BETH-
MONT, Minister of Commerce and Agriculture; LA-
MENNAIS ; LEROY, working jeweller, founder of an
association of workmen ; Buzz, a Deputy Mayor
of Paris ; E. CATAIGNAC, Minister of War ; I.
BASTIDE, Secretary-General of Foreign Affairs;
DAVID D'ANOERS, statuary, SATARY, working
shoemaker, editor of the Fraternite; CoURTAIS,
Commander-in-Chief of the National Guards of the
Seine; C. THOMAS, Director of the National; PAG-
NERRE, Secretary-General to the Provisional Govern-
ment; DEGOUSSEE, civil engineer; TRELAT, physician;
LAUNATE, working cabinet maker • A NDRY DE PUY•
RIVEN ; rniurrx Lz Bus, of the Institute ; D'ALTON
SHEE.

By decree dated the 28th, the Provisional Govern-
ment decides that all the ordinances, conferring
appointments, &c., which appeared in the Moniteur of
the 22d, 23d, and 24th February, " during the course
of the glorious insurrection which delivered France
from a corrupting government, and founded the
Republic," are annulled.
The Provisional Government has issued the follow-
ing decree, dated the 28th, for the naturalisation of
foreigners who are desirous of becoming French
citizens :

" The Provisional Government of the Republic,—
Considering that many foreigners took an active
part in the glorious events of February ; considering
tEat these foreigners, although residing in France
for several years, have not accomplished or been
able to accomplish the conditions required by the laws
to be allowed to enjoy the rights of French citizens ;
considering that if it be important, whilst respecting
the principles of existing legislation, to facilitate the
naturalisation of foreigners who have certain titles to

the public esteem, care must, at the same time, be
taken to avoid extending this measure to those whose
position is not sufficiently established—
" Decrees—Art. 1. The Minister of Justice is pro-
visionally authorised to accord naturalisation to all
foreigners who may demand it, and who shall prove,
by official or authentic documents, that they have re-
sided in France for five years at least, and who, besides,
shall produce, in support of their demand, an attestation
by the Mayor of Paris, or the Prefect of Police, for the
department of the Seine, and by the commissaries of
the Government for the other departments, that they are
worthy, in every respect, of being admitted to enjoy
the rights of French citizen. Art. 2. he payment
of the duties established on behalf of the national
Treasury by the ordinance of Bth October, 1814, and
by the law of 28th April, 1816, shall continue to be
effected. The disposition of the ordinance of Bch
October, 1814, authorising the said duties to be re-
mitted wholly or in part to persons whose state of
fortune may re quire it shall also be maintained."
The following proclamation on the subject of the
processions has been published by the Provisional
Government :

" Citizens,—We have accomplish:'d the greatest and
purest of revolutions. We have estrailivlied the prin-
ciple of the sovereignty of the people, and for the past
month have given to the world a ►triking example of
its application. For the last month France has go-
verned itself without the employment of any military
force, and by the sole moral authority of the people.
Park with her million of inhabitants, has never
offered more personal security.
" In a few days the Provisional Government, sprung
from the acclamations of the people, will restore to the
hands of the people's representatives the unalloyed trust
of the sovereignty of the people.
"Citizens,—These latter clays must be like the first,
and the Provisional Government is authorised to say it