Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-09-03

Landgraye Philip In 1869 she was in alliance with Spain
against England; three years afterwards with England
against Spain In the time Of Richeeu while in coali
ton with England che propositions Spain and the
Pope to combine in an attack against her nsular ally and
ended by forming secret treaty with Sweden against
both Spain and Austria Under these circumstances the
French have been able form stable character either
in religion government and the strangest contradic
tons through their whole history politics.
absoutsm displaying the caprces of democracy and de-
mocracy yielding in turn despotc predictions Lite
nature waivers between heathenish insdey and pie
tistic bigotry. Poets praise republican virtues with
servile lip. The Parlaments yibrate between courtly
fawning and popular tumu The Sorbonne breaches the
divine right of kings to-day and the glorfcation of the
people tomorrow
Under Louis XIV France first began to aspire to uni
versal empire but the plan was frustrated by William,
Prince OF Orange his accession to the English throne
In the Of the Spanish succession he united with Aus
tria to preserve the balance ofpower in Europe lie made
this task to watch for the repose of all Europe by us
trating the projects Of territorial ACKNOWLEDGEMENT zeal
ously prosecuted by "the grand monarch" Louis the
Magnificent
We must cast eyes across the Atlantic. The
Colonies planted in America by Spain, England, and
France forward to claim their place in the
worlds history The colonial policy of Spain tended to
the formation of vast transatlantic empire with its head
at Madrid The English settlers, the contrary, erect
ed themselves into separate and variegated provinces
France pursued line of policy which parook neither of
Spanish unity nor English independence Her colonies
dwndled and pned while those of England Hourshed and
expanded because left to their free and natural develop
ment until finally they revoted altogether from the lead
ngtrngs of the mother country and this too, with the
aid of France, who, failing to weaken England by the oft
attempted conquest Of her American colonies resolved at
least humble her power by aiding absove these very
colonies from all allegiance to the British King, and thus
to convert them into a rival if not hostile empire
These colonial dependencies of Europe, meanwhile had
wrought entire change in the and objects Of
international controversy Before this, religious diffe
composed the questions of and peace Com
mercia interests began to govern the policy of Euro
pean States, dictated their laws originated and
vouons and prescribed the of treaties and allan
ces spirit of change and innovation had also gradual
ly infused itself in the literature Of the times bold
criticism busted itself with all objects Church State
New political principles began to be promulgated Gov
declared to exist for the people, not the
people for governments Montesquieu and Rosseau, in
their respective reatises TRe Spirit Laws and The
Social Contract summed up the results of this political
fermentation of ideas The latter preached the largest
possible liberty and gave experience to the winds in all
where it in conflict with the deductions of his
reason The synchronis, of these teachings, with
ca accelerated and augmented the reflex action Of the
United States the old world The Declaration of Ame
rican Independence proclaimed universal freedom FAC
cordng to Gervinus not historical and local fact
but great rational idea By eliminating from human
rights all that national conventional, special it
prepared political confession of faith to be adopted las
it was finally belieyed by all people every where Former
revolutions had been national and local the revolution Of
France, which now ensued universal in its motives
objects, and principles it opened its to embrace all
peoples Democracy in making conquest of the French,
the greatest Of the Catholic and Romantic nations found
world Of action open to its invasion The Protes
tant and Germanic principle Of Separation longer
condition Of civil liberty But that characteristic in
stability of the French people which has been already de-
-i=--.I - -ri-;-a, s--s-~ssa .a-i.
found rational freedom. Democratic anarchy only
superseded by democratic desposm, which lapsed
| into the imperial absolutism of Napoleon.
Napoleon, however, in the prosecution Of his ambitious
projects, became ally of unpopular despo
at home he revolutionist abroad. Dethroning
onarchs his WILL he dissipaed the nimbus in which
royalty had long clothed itself; he showed that even
princes were mortal men like the rest of mankind While
seeking to build for himself fabric Of universal empire
he unconsciousy undermining the pillars which
all arbitrary power rested And in resisting the encroach
Of the French the other princes and rulers Of Eu
rope constrained to ngratate themselves in the af
ectons of their people by making large concessions in
the hope of thus saving their They arrayed their
"beloved folk against the French invader. The arms
of despotic kings became, for the nonce, democratic.
Bayonets, for the FIRST time, began to think.
But the rulers who had in this way saved their heads
and thrones did not fulfil the just expectations of their
people after the victory and the danger over
Old abuses restored and the concessions re-
called. monarchical reaction set in Every spark Of
liberty seemed trodden out but the embers still shoulder
ed in the ashes until at last the FIRE bazed aresh in
Spain, where the people had fought the most zeaousy
for their dethroned monarch, and where, his
on the disaecon, in consequence of their disappointed
hopes the highest The Spanish colonies in Amer
CO revolted and instruction grew rife at home The
extended through the whole of Southern Europe
except France who rested in exhaustion from her ruess
struggles until finally in 1880 she awoke from her ethar
| gic slumber
The French revolution Of July gave impulse to
the progress Of political innovation 1t carried reform
in England it repubicanized Switzerland it reuvenated
SPAIN it sundered Belgium from Holland it instigated
| Poland to revolt The leading principle which runs
through al these events is the tendency they disclose
wards freedom from within and independence from abroad
Each nation nay each component part Of nation eynces
a strong desire to govern itself The people longer
struggle for schemes Of universal consolidation but for
the subdivision Of political power The liberty for which
the world aspire far from being cosmopolitan or pro-
pagandst to restrict its foundations within the
limits of common language and country.