The Washington union., 1858-02-28
ENGLAND AND FRANCE,

ana IN throwing the responsibility OF the disasters
which may follow upon the right shoulders.
ENGLAND AND FRANCE
little storm cloud seems recently to have risen
up in the clear, bright political atmosphere which
has so long enveloped the relations between these
powerful European States. We do not place much
consequence upon it as token of serious discord
1t was natural enough to expect that the English and
French systems would into collision at some
point Their alliance purely Politician a
ance having its origin not in sympathies but in in
terests. They proposed, in other words, to over
shadow the balance Of Europe, and we believe also
at first blush there might have been curl of the lin
indicating feeling that the two States had
right to grant authoritative ndulgences TO the rest
of mankind" Their design was to make an exhb
tion of power far more than to its practical
enforcement BY the alliance Louis Napoleon would
surely be able to re-establish the empire procure
recognition of his dynastc titles and thus repeal tbe
statutes of Vienna and reverse the system of Euro
pean dictaton which il was the purpose of the Con
gress of Vienna to establish. This is the key that rr
locks the secrets OF French policy in reference to the
alliance. The motives which brought our great cousins
into the measure to be found in her own State
policy. The English far more than ourselves are
nation of money changers and shop-keepers Com
merce, manufactures, and money are vital political
elements. They control the arstocracy and the aris
tocracy conduct the government When Poland was
partitioned in 1882, the money and trade interests
Manchester and Liverpool, got frightened, because
they that European war lay on one side of the
line and the submission of England to the naughty
and really wicked designs of Russia, on the other
England never yields when war will not endapger
her commerce, money, and stocks England never
fights in opposition 10 these powerful influences
Now in the attitude of France with Napoleon upou
the throne, there danger, and hence we find
Manchester, London and Liverpool, money and stocks
all on the side of the Anglo French alliance France
detached from Russia and attached to England, and
the United States quiet, all the rest of the world
might go to and make England partner, and
consols would not fall five per cent or single mer-
chant ship of the British commercial marine be
thrown into disrepute at Lloyds and at Glasgow.
But we have another question of no great mo-
ment we are sure but it is nevertheless suggestive
of the conflicting and essentially irreconcilable polt
ical systems on the other side of the water England
is what Mr.. Roebuck calls an oasis in the great Eu
ropean political desert it free country in theory
and practice far opinions and their expression
conccrned-just free as ours Wcll. right
narrow strip of water is established a govern
ment whose executive, legislature laws magistrates
army and navy, concentrated in the person Of
illusrious aud very able who called Napoleon
RI afa1y CO.. ilo ~,
ance and more unfortunately still for the credit and
honor of humanity, the various revolutions of Eu
rope have given birth to great number of crazy
assassins and political mad-caps who believe it
to be their special mission to murder those who
oppose their absurd schemes of reform and DO
litical regeneration. These men have their lead
ers, and although it is far from our belief
that the latter, who have found an asylum chiefly
in England, have had anything to do with eff
forts to assassinate Napoleon, yet it is undeniabe
that there are very many who are too poor to leave
their country who think of little else than to concoct
schemes of murder of the kind Nothing is more
natural than that the French Emperor who is made
species of target for desperate madmen to shoot at
should feel anxious that his iIIustrious allv on be
other side Of the channel should look abcut for do.
tect and punish the fellows residing there who thus
make sport of his life. Napoleon does not find it
easy to draw distinction between political and per-
sona assassnations. He happens in this case to bo
very closely interested; but confess TO consder
able sympathy with his views in this particular. An
assassin is nothing less than assassin whatever
may be the motive that leads to the act and that 10
a orosalv miataken hosptality which 10 vto,l.I a,
a criminal cloaked under any conceivable disguise.
But difficulty arises in the way of cxtraditon
upon the question of testimony. Shall the British
authorities receive the records of European govern
ments touching the guilt ofrefugees and deliver them
over or VIII 1t punish them at home where proof is