Daily national Democrat., 1858-10-08
Military Authority.

Military rule, says the Philade lphia North
American. is everywhere prompt and ener.
getic. The chief of a nation, with an army
attached TO his fortunes, occupies a position
of imr ense power. lie may be cut off bv
assassination; and affairs be thus thrown in.
to great confusion; but so long as he lives
and the army continues faithful, he is master
of the country. If wise man, and he com.
bines the talents of the soldier and the ability
of the statesman, he may come to be regarded
with general admiration and esteem. He
may command respect abroad and secure
prosperity at home But every absolute SOW.
erelgn Is not Caesar. 1t does not often ham
pen that man in the uncontrolled possession
of power is distinguished for that moderation
of character and cemency of disposition
which win the confidence and affections of
his people. He is apt to rely upon force, and
base his authority upon measures of repres-
sion. This is "A fatal mistake A power thus
founded may indeed, last long; but it stands
upon volcano, which may at any moment,
burst out with wild overthrow. Let the
army be withdrawn on foreign expedition
let it meet with reverses, and then the
genuine sentiments of the people will mani
fest themselves. No longer held in check by
fear, they will utter stern and indi gnant
protest against the despotism that has Oh.
pressed them, and assert their liberties with
the strong hand,
This truth, which all history tea ches. was
very lmpertectly cOmprehended by the elder
Napoleon, and seems to be equally disregard
ed by the present one Whoever has read
the confidential correspondence of Napoleon
with his brother Joseph, has become familiar
with the maxims that governed the civil ad
ministration of that great captain. He re
lied on material agencies, on fear and inter
estf IN the government of mankind He did
not comprehend, as NJ. Guizot Justly SAYS, the
moral necessities of men. When Naples was
conquered and Joseph placed upon the throne
OF that kingdom, he endeavored, as is well
known, to gain the confidence and esteem of
his subjects. His lenent measures, hewever.
did not suit the maxims and principles of his
imperious and imperial brother "Your pro.
elomations," thus wrote Napoleon, "have not
enough the style of master; You will gain
nothing by spelling the Neapohtans The
people of Italy, and, in fact of every other
country, if they do not feel they are master.
ed, are disposed to rebel and murmur.''-
Again he writes; "If necessary, do as | did
in Cairo; prepare three or four batteries whose
shells can reach every part of Naples. You
mry not use them, but their mere existence
will strike terror" Nobody, to / e sure, can
object to a conquerors making use of all nee
essary measures and precautions to prevent
his power being overthrown by force; bat
the vice of Napoleon's system was that he
relied too much on artillery and interest, and
too little on moral power, to preserve order
and maintain his authority. at is not bv
being civil to people," he said to Joseph,
that you obtain a hold on them. Ifyou do
not begin 10y making yourself feared, YOU
will suffer for it,"
These seem to be the maxims on which the
present Emperor of France has constructed
his regime. He relies on the power of the
army, and not on the confidence and 90 ou
will of the French people He may adopt
many wise measures he may be an able ad-
ministrator; he may develop the material re.
sources of the country, strengthen its fortif
cations, and enlarge its power; but so long
as the enlightened classes feel that they are
in the hands of master; that force is the
substructure of their institutions; that physi.
cal and military power reigns to the exclu
sion of moral and ci iii; so long does Louis
Napoleon stand upon ground that is treach
erous and insecure. To show how complete
ly military is the present government of
France. the following extract from an Eug
lishmans recent description of Paris, is equal
ly striking and conclusive:
paris is the mcrocosm of France; nav
essentially it is france. The city is altogeth-
er in the grasp of the army; an army is
quartered there; every 'c,igne of vantage
is occupied by barrack; every street, gate,
building, is dimly guarded by armed men
there are underground passages whereby
troops can pass from point to point in silence
and darkness, terrible as doom. Fancy them,
bearded and accoutered, stern and merciless.
hercely emerging on some uproarious fau-
bourg Paris is eoncentred on the Louvre
The telegraphs that rule Paris, and spread all
over France converge there to the Emperor's
bureau. He raises his finger, and the blow
is struck. An army devoted to him obeys
him blindly, and France, from Marseilles to
Boulogne, from Strasbourg to the Atlantic
knows that he and his armed solders are for
the present nvincible-lords of the land
SO be it, it cannot last forever. A rule of
fear and force is but rObber or bandit gov
ernment When the supreme bandit ceases
o command the adherence of his rascals, the
system collapses and his head rolls off. At
any rate, such rule cannot be hereditary, ex-
eept in such a realm as that of Russia where
the brutalized serfs stolidly acquiesce, and
know or dream of nothing better or higher
than their bondage"