Star.
London, England, 1831-01-05 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE JOURNALS.

Cnaonrct.s.—At the time of the discussion in the House of Com-
mons on the subject of the legality of the procession of the Trades to
present an Address to the King, we observed that, whether legal or
not, all precessions in this crowded metropolis were attended with
put inconveniense. We are a very different people from our fore-
fathers, to whom pageants and processions, while they Obeid a sa.
Intary excitement, could be productive of little injury. Wsa al toall
the Inhabitants of the metropolis, whether the ptepasedess mods foe the
Royal visit to the City did not, fora week or two, subject every
person who bad business to attend to much trouble and annoyance, to
say nothing of the loss of time ? We are induced to anode to this
subject at present by the announcement of a determination et the friends I
of Mr. Hunt to assemble to the number of 100,000, for the purpose of
a triumphal entry into the metropolis. We are sure that we only speak
the sentiments of most of our readers when we express a wish that all
assemblages of this sort should be discouraged u much as possible._'
We have no wish to interfere with any man's popularity, or to prevent
any description of the people from manifesting their feelings ; what we
wish is, that some mode of manifestation should be resostod to, at.
tended with less public inconvenience.

Timm—The news from Poland in the French journals may, in same
degree, be considered a* counterbalance to the Intelligence brought by
the Frankfort mail from-St. Petenburgh. General Chlopicki, who bad
so honourably kept his word, and resigned the Dictatorship, has been
reinstated by the Diet of Warsaw in his important &miens. The Poles
are evidently in earnest, and if we may judge by such fragments of in-
formation as reach us, seem to be fully aware of the awful ennuis
which they will have to undergo. The St. Petersburgh letter, on the
oche: hand, intimates that the Emperor will allow no alterna-
tive but unconditional submission, or a war of vengeance. It
is pretended that the Russian people are enthusiastic in their
cries of "Down with the Poles !^ Slaves as the great body of
die nation are, we can scarcely believe in this ardour on *sir parts
for the destruction of their brother slaves t if the fact be true
I. will indeed be another lamentable proof of the frightful degraded's,
which despotism produces on the human character. Rat we are in.
credulous, nor can we attach any credit to the statement of a writer who
has the effrontery to talk of the " mageutimous treatment which Po.
land has experienced from Russia." If a man who has been knocked
down and robbed may renitinably be expected to be grateful to the
robber who flings him back half-a-crown out of the spoil, then may Po.
land applaud the magnanimity of a nation which has torn away its
fairest provinces, oppressed Its most distinguished subjects, and trampled
on iu ancient and cherished institutions. No: terrible as the conflict
must be between powers so unequally matched, we confess we derive
sane hope, not merely from seeing all the eminent names of the exist-
ing generation of Poles at the head of the inalureesion, but also from
the certainty of those DUI:MOW grievances which have stung the whole
popuLiiion into a determined and energetic resistance to a powerful
despot.

Htanz.n.—The German papers, it will be seen, strengthen the im-
minion caused by the intelligence received through the French jour.
nal& of the Emperor Nicholas's fixed resolution to gospels the Palish
rthellion in blood. A sort of unholy vow seems to have been mad* by
this inexorable prince to devote the authors, and abettors in that re-
volt to the most savage retribution, as if he would make their punish-
inent a beacon to warn all the other nations under his sway from attempts
which could not hope to evade his power, and would be tare to draw
down his vengeance. He is to command the crusade against Polish
liberty himself, the authority of General Diebiesch being only provisi-
°nal, and already he is marching at the heed of one hundred and
slzty thousand troops, endre/y devoted to his will, to give his an.
'her to the insolent demands of the ancient Polish Nadia,
or the unintelligible boon which they seek of free inedtutiosas, he*.
dam of opinion, and national independence. All compromise Is
haughtily rejected—the deputation from Warsaw will not be rek
reired—they will be given to understand that they are forninase if
I",Y are not treated as rebels, and a proclamation is to be honed,
calling upon the nation uncondidonaily to surrender. SO enamors.]
outing is the Imperial wrath, that the forbearance of Constantine in
the Warsaw affair is condemned as unseasonable weakness, and be is
said to have fallen under his brother's displeasure for having for a me.
vent thought of treating with rebels. So far as Russia is concerned the .

Emperor Nicholas is cheered, strangely enough, in all his denunciations
of Polish liberty. but in other parts of his dominions, and in Russian
Finland particularly discontent has n to manifest itself in an alarm.
ing manner. An important dlstewtfi of this sort might be of the
greatest benefit to the 'Poles, but, as it is to be expected that they have
otherwise calculated the chances of their revolt, we may expect from
them a vigorous resistance. dome hopes of accommodation skim to be
still entertained, but they appear to be quite futile.

Porr.---The Examiner calls the last year YEAR ONE of the Peo-
ples Cause. Disgusting ant ! Had a Methodist celled it Year Otte of
the &Seim' liiillenium our contemporary 'would have betn the first
to sneer; but the Political Millenium the beau lee of the Door'.
noires, the we piss ultra of our Bentiamites, the Paradise of our Dr.
mocratic Optimists, the imaiefirtune of those young Gentlemen ycleped
Liberals, whether Goodin, &Ora, or l'auxiies—that Allilenium is in.
deed great, and beyond expression glorious. To use the sublime meta.
phor of the Paper in question, " Justice has wielded the sword of Victory
and fortune lent her wheel to Truth. We have closed a year which has
carried the mind of Europe forward an interval of ages beyond its anti.
qusted trammels and thraldoms, which has dated the decrepitude of
despotism and the Herculean infancy of the democratic wet." 0
Annus Mirabilla 1 We cannot find space for the remainder of this
Frenchified,thade. Saxon-English it certainly is not, either in style or
sentiment; and now that Year One of the People's Case is over, we
shall expect next week to hear that Year One of young England, as of
young Prance, is dawning on us. For our own parts, we are not so
young as to be t that, in periods of excitement like the present,
Ignorant
scores of suchknaves have been uttered by scores of or fa-
natics, and the w nevertheless, remains in Mau quo, unredeemed,
unregenerated, unenlightened, end un.Benthametlaed. The end
of the world has not been foretold oftener and more positively than
the end of aristocratic institutions; and yet here we are, in the middle
of the 19th century, after all that has been said, written, preached,
acted, and taught for, since the days of Adam downwards, only in Year
One of the People's Cause. The poor, unfortunate, misguided wretches
who died before the month of July last were all hereditary bondsmen;
but now the blow is struck, and we shall all be free—ourselves sad our
children's children. The Press is indeed a faithful mirror of popular
inconstaucy, and, as a body, we fear it is as unprincipled as it is in.
constant. When managed by Mr. Canning, it was not long ago
against Reform. By the mismanagement of his successors
it now holds forth not only Reform, but the Ballot, as if
in mockery of all Government. That part which the Stemmer
would call popular par eavollotoott—we mean the Radial Press—in.
veighs as violently whist the national debt as against our national
church eand if popular outcry be a aiseries of popular nonesty, we
certainljbid fair to become ere long as contemptible, both morally and
polity, in the eyes of Europe, as the veriest Jacobin in }ranee
could desire. Popular outcry says, ruin the colonies to liberate the
slave; spoliate the church to raise labourers' wages;:bleak faith with the
fundholder to reduce taxation ; and, in order that all these events may
come tobase, simpletons are induced by knaves to join in the new out.
cry for reform.

INTENDED TRIUMPHAL ENTRY OF THE NEW MEM-