The Sun.
London, England, 1850-12-04 00:00:00

q' ixtiliiut gAb7lt

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1850.

Manifestoes appear just now to be fashionable. M.
GIIIZOT has recently added one more to the long ca-
talogue accumulating on the) table of the journalist.
This time, however, the manifesto comes to us indi-
rectly in the unostentatious garb of a preface to a re-
pu'olication. Perhaps we should he more correct in
st.,iying that the document is twofold, being introduc-
tory to the reprint of two admirable essays of an his-
torical character, some years since written by the
Minister of the French Monarehy. One of these re-
markable effusions is a consideration of thecharacter of
MoNK, and the other a consideration of the character
of WASHINGTON ; the one proving, of course, an
eulogium upon the monarchical, and the other a
panegyric ou the republican form of government. In
the eclectic sympathies or M. GIIIZOT, a regard fin
ALIIEMAHLE can find a place as well as an admira-
tion,for the modern .CINCINATUS. lie reviews With
lie sands revTrig-.&light the loyalty o± the one and the
treason of the other to the democracy,
whose cause be had espoused and with whose

dearest interests he had been entrusted. Nor can we
discover anything irreconcileable in all this ; our
own sentiments diverging in somewhat similar di-
rections. Hence it is that we examine not merely
with curiosity, but with a genuine and earnest delight,
those luminous pages in which the genius of M.
GUIZOT has traced the features of those Saxon cha-
racters. It is by the body of the two volumes alluded
to, however, that our sympathies are alone warmed-
For in the original text of those volumes M. GUIZOT
speaks to us in his character as an historian ; whereas
in his prefatory remarks he talks only in the part of
his other and lesser self, that of a party politician
and a ruined statesman. To every syllable that falls
from the lips of GUIZOT the annalist we listen with
an attention and a confidence due to their profound
and weighty intonation. To whatever may be said
by Cromer the mere politician we hearken with
doubt and hesitation. Our suspicions in the latter
event are more than justified by reference to the two-
fold manifesto issued from the hand of that veteran ad-
venturer within the last few weeks. That manifesto
breathes in every accent an air of sophism and dupl!-
oRy. Its arguments are coloured to suit the purpose
of tt,'-e occasion, and to aid the deductions of the dis-
putant. These go, as a matter of course, to the dis-
crediting of that magnanimous Republic which has
permitted hiCl to penetrate again within its frontiers.
Rather, we ebe-uld say, that the reasoning of the
manifesto goes to l; rove that the Republic is imprac-
ticable, that purely _Democratic institutions are im-
possible, that the resto'ration of monarchical govern-
ment is a necessity—to }Trance
Referring to GEORGE Mo.liq the writer insists that
the confusion of events consequ.ent upon the attempted
organization of a commonweao3, obliged him to
sacrifice the debris of republicanism' to the insatiate
maw of the returning dynasty. Alludik2s to GEORGE
WASHINGTON, he maintains that republicolBm was
merely practicable in America, and, even there, only
under the peculiar circumstances in which
United States found themselves when they
were becoming populated. He reminds his
fellow-countrymen that the American revo-
lutionists were a young society, living in a
new country, separated from royalty by the width
of an ocean, and at the same time men of a peculiar
sedate and religious temperament. From, all which
he would inferentially impress on the minds of his
readers the facts that France is hemmed in as regards
her territories, that she is surrounded on every hand
by princedoms and royalties, ;that she has to battle
against an army of innate vices, and that a consider-
able proportion of her inhabitants are anything but
of religious temperaments. One sentence, a sentence
most subtle in its sophistry, we must transcribe : it is
that in which he observes—" To-day France is un-
dergoing the unexpected experiment, with a constitu-
tion which would cause disorder in the best regulated
society, of that form of government which America
selected from her free choice, according to her natural
inclinations, adapted to the unexampled situation ac-
corded to her from on high." From which remark
M. GUIZOT would insinuate that France was forced
into the acceptance of a republican form of constitution.
He speaks of America having "selected from herfree
choice" that species of authority, from which he would
obviously have us to believe that France did not se-
lect hers with the same freedom from restraint. We
should marvellously like to hear from M. GUIZOT where
was this repressive power which was exercised by the
Provisional Government over the opinions of the
French people, compelling them to accept against
their own free will a purely democratic constitution.
Who was the tyrant ? Was it LA/MARTINE ? for he
was the head, and so to speak, the very incarnation of
the Provisional Government. Was it LAMARTINE ?
But no—that were impossible ; for this is the very
man you Legitimatists and sneerers at the French Re-
public are continually deriding as a poet and a
dreamer. Yet it was this poet and this dreamer
would first uttered that word Republic, which was at
once re- echoed by millions of votes from the popula-
tion, coming through the urns of ballot according to
a system of universal suffrage. Pshaw 1 is this
your intimidation, forsooth ? Why the accusatio
dies away on its very utterance. America no more
chose her republican form of government with greater
freedom than France, or greater willingness on the
part of her inhabitants, than the advice of M. GUIZOT
is likely to be received by the intelligent masses of
his countrymen. That advice, administered under
the most sinister guise, is, that General CHANGARNIER
should allow himself to be accepted in France as the
double of the Duke of ALBEMARLE! The close of
'one section of the two manifestoes alluded to, is as
follows :

" The Republic has been given a fair trial. Notwith-
standing its origin, men of every shade of opinion en-
trenched themselves behind it as behind a rampart for
their common defence, and for the defence of society in
general against its mortal enemies. The Republic exists
in the name and in the interests of that order which i t
has destroyed. It had no right to expect such good luck.
Will it turn it to account? Will it know how, with
perseverance, to practise a firm policy of conservation
and reconstruction? France invokes it! It suffices not
for the foundation of a Government that it daily saves
society from destruction; it must deliver society from the
daily fear of perishing, and open to it the prospect of a
Wog and peaceful existence."

Every line of which peroration implies that Repub-
licanism is altogether insufficient for France in the
nineteenth century, and that Monarchy is the only
means of her redemption. Otherwise M. GulzoT
holds over her in terrorem the certainties of her poli-
tical and social destruction. Fortunately, now•a-days
grown-up children are not so very easily frightened
by the bogies called forth by an old woman in state-
craft. The turnip and the sheet may be very well to
startle the youngsters of a village, but are wholly in-
sufficient as affording a means for alarming a great
and enlightened community. M. GUIZOT has made
a mistake in his audience. Let him whistle jigs to
a milestone, or carry his gallantee• show of history
from the senate into the nursery ; but never let him
dream of converting Republicans into Monarchists
by any such miserably transparent arguments.

In another part of this day's impression will be
found a full report of the meeting of the Market
Bosworth Farmers' Association, which must prove
deeply interesting to every monetary reformer
throughout the length and breadth of the land. It
was indeed a pleasing spectacle to behold the sturdy,
independent, and honest yeomen of England assem-
bling together to discuss a question of the most vital
importance to the welfare and prosperity of their na-
tive land, considering the causes that have produced
the depression under which all were suffering, and
evincing a knowledge of their subject, a degree of
sound information, that might have reflected credit on
any body of men, even the most exalted in the British
dominions. There was a manliness of tone, a straight-
forward independence delightful to witness.
Although fully alive to the difficulties of
position, and perfectly conscious of the impossibility
of long maintaining the arduous struggle in which
they have been- involved, there was no cringing or
whining, none of that tone so unbecoming in English-
men that has but too frequently been indulged in.
They met to deliberate on the existing state of
affairs, to ascertain the true causes of their misfor-
tunes, and to decide on adequate remedies. As
practical men, they directed their attention to what
was really practicable, to what they could reasonably
hope to obtain by combined and vigorous exertion ;
they sought no exclusive privileges, they did not
endeavour to persuade the rest of the community to
pay tribute to the agriculturists by the reenactment
of protective imposts, or to cajole them into import
duties for the sake of revenue. The melancholy
experience of thirty years had but too
painfully convinced them that what was
so palpably unjust to the bread consumers was also
inefficient for the purpose for which it had been
framed ; and that prices could not be maintained at
the war level, in a restricted currency, although an
absolute monopoly were grants (1, so as to enable them
to meet the heavy fixed payments fur rents, tithes, and
taxes, all of which were fixed according to the scale
of unrestricted and inconvertible paper currency. But
they desired to obtain justice fur all—fur the manufac-
turer as well as for the agriculturist; to afford true
protection to every species of British industry. This
is as it should be, this is the mode in which English-
men should act, and which must secure the sympathy
and respect of all classes, and eventually ensure the
attainment of the great desideratum for which'
they are so energetically and so efficiently Cori, i
tending. .
There was one disappointment that threatened to
The Rev. Joun
cast a gloom over the assembly.

TWELLS, a familiar and valued friend to all our sub-
scribers, bad been requested to attend, but the press-
ing nature of his engagements prevented the cham-
pion of currency reform from accepting the invitation,
and delighting a.nd instructing the assembly, and the
community in general ; for his words uttered at the
Dixie Arms would have been wafted on the wings of
the press throughout the length and breadth of the
land. We can, however, scarcely regret the circum-
stance, for his necessary absence had the effect of
drawing forth many clear-headed and intelligent men,
of proving that he had worthy pupils, who had fully
availed themselves of the advantages derived from his
teaching, and who were perfectly competent to
discuss the subject in all its varied details,
and to force conviction on the minds of the auditors.
Messrs. HARRISON, CHAPMAN, and GiatsoN parti-
cularly displayed a vigorous eloquence, and, what
was more important, a sterling common sense, which
might pat many of the practised debaters of the
House of Commons to the blush.

_
The subject of discussion was "The Currency, as it
affects the Interests of the British Agriculturist."
Mr. HARRISON, who moved the first resolutioa,
carried back the audience to the Bank Restriction
Act of 1797, and showed the almost magical results
of an inconvertible paper currency—of the " worthless
rags" against which the bullionists now sneer, and on
which they endeavour to cast such unsparing ridi-
cule. "We were, then," to use the words of the elo-
quent speaker, "beset with enemies on every side,
seeming to be at war with the world. In these wars
not only human life and happiness, but wealth and
treasure also, to an unlimited extent, were
expended and destroyed. To find money for
such expenditure,
.the Minister of the day borrowed
largely upon the credit of the country (thus entailing
a heavy debt upon posterity) ; but to find the means
for people lending, and for paying the increased
taxation rendered necessary ,by the payment of in-
terest upon the debt contracted, he,was obliged also to
4 amplify the circulating medium of the kingdom:,
1:11is was the real state of affairs. The honour of the
ceuet,:v would have been sacrificed. We must have
yielded tt: our enemies and relinquished the contest
in which we I:esd engaged if we had endeavoured " to
preserve the I
•nk sTrity of the standard." The Bank
of England would .have stopped payment, and all
classes, from the highes' to the lowest, would have
been involved in one con.lmon ruin. There was a
general bankruptcy impendinb-r, that could only be
averted by a bold and decisive mek2sure ; the Minis-
ter was, however, adequate to the einc'rgencY• The
Act was passed which declared Bank of Ei.,
land notes
a legal tender in all transactions, and thus, es Mr,
HARRISON declared, enabled them "to perform the
office of representatives of labour, of indvstry, of ca.
pital, of wealth." The object was " to enable each class,
by the intervention of a cheap and expansive
repre-
sentative of value, as a medium of exchange, to c:wge
upon the cost price of his individual labour or produsl-
tion the quota or share, which might be charged
upon himself, to the increasing burdens of national
taxation." And this object was fully attained. The
extraordinary resources of the nation were fully de-
veloped ; every branch of industry flourished, for
labour found ample employment at fair and remune-
rative wages. No man able and willing to work re-1
mained in compulsory idleness. None were driven
to the tender mercies of the union workhouse
to unprofitably consume their rations, and
thus beco urdens on their fellow-subjects.
Every abl
II
ed man was the creator and
producer o tional wealth, and possessed real
capital in his t ws and sinews—capital that was not
permitted to r ain idle and unproductive—to rust
neglected. A ough so many were fighting the
battles of their country on the tented field, and shed-
ding their blood in foreign climes, the soil was fully
cultivated and brought to the utmost degree of fer-
tility ; nay, lands previously lying waste and value-
less were brat into use. During the first twenty
years of the ent century there were no less than
1,6 • losure Bills passed, while in the succeeding
t -four years there were only 355, or little more
tb ne-fifth of the number. But what was the con-
dition of the farmers during that period ? Let those
who are sinking into the sere and yellow leaf
who have attained the threescore years and ten al -
lotted to man, answer. Are they not still spoken
of as " the good old times," the times when farmers
could meet rents, tithes, taxes, and every demand
without difficulty—aye, and put by something to meet
a rainy day ? And what enabled them to do so ? The
elasticity and cheapness of an inconvertible paper cur-
rency, expanding or contracting according to the
wants of the community. _ _

But peace was proclaimed—the one drawback to
the national happiness was removed. Our fellow-
citizens were no longer called on to sacrifice their
lives in defence of their native land. With restored
tranquillity, the war burdens should have been alle-
viated, the war debt materially reduced, if not alto-
gether paid off. But, alas ! our legislator 6 lacked
wisdom. In the dawn of their prosperity they
prepared to cast aside the useful friend that enabled
them to struggle against the mightiest power the
world e'er saw. Everything was sacrificed to mam-
mon, the happiness of the people was disregarded, that
the " integrity of the standard might be restored."
Wbat necessity is there to recall the melancholy his-
tory of the intervening period ? Is it not stamped in
the memory of every man who has arrived at mature
age ? We have had violent fluctuations in the value
of money, entailing misery and distress on our indus-
trious population. But what signifies that to our
rulers, so long as they can assure us that the " cur-
rency was never in a sounder condition," that the
"convertibility of the bank-note is perfectly secure."
Each year must render matters worse, for the popu-
lation is increasing, but the circulating medium is
kept stationary ; it cannot expand so as to meet the
wants of the commuity. We have, then, nothing for
it but to demand a national taxation-money, such as
that indicated by the association, which will speedily
restore prosperity, not to the farmers only, but to all
classes in the country. That is worth contending for,
and the farmers of Market Bosworth and its vicinity
will have the satisfaction of thinking that they are
nobly discharging their duty to their country, and
that if their brother-agriculturists exhibit similar
zeal and energy, the great desideratum will be cer-
tainly and speedily attained.

The Earl of Durham has, it is stated, given direc
tions that all necessary relief shall be given to the families
who have lost members in the late explosion at Newbottle
Colliery, and that he will bear the charge himself, instead
of this being done by public subscription, as usual on such
occasions.

Loss Or THE GAZELLE.---DEAL, DEC. 2.—A1l
doubt as to the loss of the Gazelle and those on board of her
has been removed by the discover• of the wreck on the edge
of the Goodwin Sands When the wreck was discovered the
figurehead was gone, tut the figure of a gazelle was ob.
served painted on the bows, and part of her stern frame, with
" Gazelle, of Liverpool," painted on it, was seen floating
near. No bodies have yet been met with. On Friday the
Gazelle's mail box was picked up and delivered to the post-
office authorities at Margate.
- -

THE AUTHOR Or " MARGARET MAITLAND:9-
The public will hear with pleasure that a new novel is on the
point of appearance from the pen of the author of ' Passages
in the Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland, of Sunny Side'—a
work that has been justly pronounced by all distinguished
critics, including the late Lord Jeffrey, to be one of the best
stories of Scottish life that has appeared since the days of Sir
Walter Scott. The readers of this charming production will
anticipate the forthcoming work with no slight satisfaction
when they learn that, like its predecessor, it is also a true
Scotch novel, but of a more ambitious and elaborate kind as
regards its delineation of character. It is entitled " Merk-
land."
THE PRINTERS' PENSION SOCIETY..--YeSterdqr
evening a general meeting of the committee and members of
the above laudable institution, founded in 1827, for the pur-
pose of affording permanent relief to aged and infirm printers
and their widows, was held at the London Tavern, for gene-
ral business. The report stated that the prospects of the
society's affairs was satisfactory. Since its institution 163
pensioners have, during their lifetime (independent of the
large number of recipients at present on the funds), parti-
cipated in the benefits. The last year's expenditure for pen-
sioners 'amounted to 5541/. 16s.

--
THE NEW AMERIC ARCEIBISHOP.—The newly-
appoisted Roman Catholic Archbi3hop of New York is at
the present time in London. The Rev. Gentleman preached
on Sunday morning at the Roman Catholic chapel in Spa-
nish-place, which was crowded to suffocation on the occa-
sion. The Archbishop also attended the celebration of the
high mass, accompanied by two attendant clergy, and his
appearance excited considerable interest.
THE STRIKE AT THE BRYMBO COLLIERIES.—The
strike and turn-out of the colliers at the Brymbo Coal IV, rks,
near Wrexham, has terminated, the men finding that the
company remained firm, and would not give in to their de-
mands, having been obliged to succumb, and return to their
labours at the old prices. The strike was for an advance of
wages to the extent of 6d. a day, and at one. time it bid fair
to become general, no f6Wer than 'l,OOO Men ,having struck-.
for increased wages. §everat Collisions occurred between the
tun}-outs and, the men Who stilt worked at the old prices, but,
fUrther annoyances were tireitented by the company suipeod:
ing the works entirely.
THE POPE'S BOLL.—lmagining that England had
beets conyerted to Itomau Catholicim.—Punch.