Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1853-01-14


man power and felicity than few incidents &C
CURED to remind him that he is mortal, and tina
in all human greatness some alloy of our origina
iufrmities will work its way. The Senate hith
erto so obsequious, manfests a strange distinct
nation to vote away the last vestige of parliamen
tary control over the expenditure and the com
merca legislation of the country. The northern
powers unaccountably show none of that eager
ness to hail the advent of a new Cesar which hat
been attributed to them. The Pope greatly
hssitates to repair to Paris for the ceremony o
| the coronation. The matrimonial project, which
| had gone so far thCt portrait of the Princess
| Vasa was shown to the confidential circle of ST.
| Cloud aud the ladies other household are already
designated, is suddenly demolished by the an
nouncenent that this accomplished Princess has
resolved to bestow her hand on Prince Albert oil
Saxony, and is not tempted by the lure of an i'm
perial crown to add mother victim to that list
which already bears the names of Marie An
toiuette, ephine, Marie Louise, Marie Anne
| lie, and the Duchess ofOrleans. But while we
| respect the good sense which has induced the
Princess Vasa to forego these treacherous honors,
her refusal has, OF course, touched the vanity of
n ruler who occupies conspicuous a position
| in she present state of Europe. 1t is always un-
pleasant to be rejected suitor, but it is doubly
painful to be rejected in the face of the world,
and in spite of adventitious circumstances which
|
| Nor is the internal state of the Palace, in its
councils and domestic relations, on more agree
able footing. The Emperor is said to have pro.
posed to the Princess Matilda, his cousin, an al
lowance of ae12, 900 year out of the vote recent
ly granted to the imperial family by the Senate
but this income was to be secured to her on con-
dition of her renouncing the allowance she OBJ
tains from Russia by the express will of the En-
peror Nicholas, who compels her husband, Prince
| IN nay To bap ba do
cnes thinking that. after all, her Russian settle
ments are better species of property than
/ French annuity, even when it is secured upon the
| Imperial Crown.
The personal ealousies and divisions of the
ministers most nearly attached to the person of
| Louis Napoleon have assumed acharacter fun
usual violence. VI. Persigny and M. Fould are
said to have exchanged direct and insulting pro-
vacations in the very presence of the sovereign.
! The fnancier accused of running the ON
| pre, the confident of disgraciug it; and this al
tercaton was carried beyond the limits only
| OF policy and respect but of decency and good
| taste. Perhaps it wasa consciousness of the ex-
IRENE incapacity OF several of his present minis
ters, and OF their entire want of consideration in
the country, which induced Louis Napoleon to
resort few days ago to the singular and almost
incredible expedient of opening negotiations will!
some of the most rigid members of the republican
party.
The interview which took place was not, as
was reported at the time, with M. Carnot, the
renowned author of the circulars in favor of cleo
toral ignorance, which he issued from the de-
partnent of public instruction in 1913, but with
NJ Bethmont, who also held seat ia NJ. de La
MARTINEZ provisional government. To the aston
| ishment OF this gentleman he was summoned to the
Tuilleries and honored with an audience. Louis
Napoleon did not disguise his want of able agents
or the hostility of all the statesmen who had be-
longed to the monarchical government anterior to
lS4o. He expressed his readiness to treat on
almost any ter,as with the men who had served
the republic, observing that they must now be
aware that government but his own was pos
sble. M. Bethmont was authorized to commu-
nicate what had passed to his friends, including
even, we believe, Gen. Cayaig nac. 1t Is unne-
| cessary to add that the result was collective and
indignant refusal for there is still not man of
independent political opinions ia France who
would not esteem it dishonor to assume the liy-
cry OF the imperial court.
The resistance of the Senate to the proposal
for modifying the constitution is a still more sig
nihcant symptom, for although the members of
that body have been chosen for their supposed
attachment to the present order of things, they
are independent by position, they i'm nova
ble and they comprise a certain number of mon
who have figured in the assemblies of the con-
sttutiona monarchy All the efforts of Mr.
Troplong, who has just been rewarded by the
highest judicial office in the empire, were for
many days unavaing to surmount the repug-
nance ofthe Senators to the scheme for giving the
Emperor abolute power over the protective system
of France, and to that for Withdrawing the details
of the budget from the control of the lower
chamber At one moment it seemed rs if the
idea of coup d'etat against the Senate crossed
the mind of the irritated ruler. At leugtll, how
ever. compromise was effected, leaving all sub
stantial power in his hands, but warning him at
the time that the Senate will not always
prove as mute and as flexible as he intended to
make it.
It would be hard ii despotic power were never
used for any good purpose, and there are, doubt,
objects to which it can be applied with more Of
feet than the machinery of free government
Thus it has always proved in France a task of in
surmountable difficulty to confront and overpower
those class interests which have perpetuated COM
mereial monopolies and restrictive duties to an ex-
tent now unknown in any other part of the world.
The power which Louis Napoleon is likely to ac-
quire the commercial tariffs of France will
enable him to deal more freely with her prohib-
tive system than any constitutional minister could
have done and as his most valid claim to the
support of the nation is his resolution to pre-
fer the popular interest to every other con-
sideration, it would be perfectly consistent
with his policy and his interest to give
the French people cheap iron, cheap coal, and
cheaper manufactured goods ofcertain descriptions
if he has the courage face the clamor which the
interested parties will attempt to raise against the
slightest interference with their immoderatly pro-
tected Interests. If Louis Napoleon can introduce
any such measures, we have no doubt that he will
benefit the mass of the community far more than
by any of the rash spelaaatons he has set on foot,
for he will extend trade on its own Legitimate ba-
sis; and, among the acts of oppression and of
wrong justly to be charged against his govern
ment it will be we'll if he leaves nobler and
more lasting monument of his power by having
broken down the barriers of that prohibitve sys-