The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-08-12
MIR RrsKIN ON THE ITALIAN nIrrsr1nN


glishmen: One ofmy best friends in Venice in the
winter of lS49-50 was the artillery officer who had
directed the fire on the side of Mestre, in ls4s.
have never known nobler person. Brave, kind
| and gay-gentle lamb-playful as n kitten
knightly in courtesy and in all tones of thought
ready at any instant 10 lay down his life for his
country or his Emperor. He was by no means
rare instance either of gentleness or of virtue
among the men whom the liberal portion of our En-
glish press represents only tyrants and barbar-
! ians Radetsky himself one of the kindest of
men-his habitua expression was one of overflow
ing bonhomie or of atherly regard for the welfare
of all around him. All who knew him loved him.
| In little things his kindness almost ludicrous.
L saw him at Verona run out of his own supper
room and return with plate of soup in his hand,
the walters his youngest aides de-camp, not serv-
ing his lady guests fast enough to please him; vet
they were nimble enough, as knew in a race with
two of them among the fre-fies by the Mincio
only the evening before. For long time l regad d.
ed the Austrians the only protection of Italy
from utter dissolution (such as that which see to-
day it is reported that the Tuscan army has fallen
into left for five weeks to tsef,) and should have
looked upon them as such still if the Sandman gov
eminent had not shown itself fit to take their place.
And the moment that any Italian government was
able to take their place. the Austrians necessarily
became an obstacle to Italian progress, for all their
virtues are incomprehensible to the Italians, and
useless to them. Unselfsh individually, the Aus
trians nationally selfish and in this consists, so
far as is truly alleged against them, their barbar-
ism. These men of whom have been speaking
|
hestatingy at their Emperor's bidding, but their
| magnanmity was precisely that of the Highlander
or the Indian, incognizant of any principle of action
but that of devotion to his chief nation. All alb
stract grounds of conscience, all universal and hui
man hopes, were inconceivabe by them. Such
men at present capable of no feeling towards
| Italy but scorn; their power like bituminous
cereclotb wrapping her corpse-it saved her from
the rottenness of revolution; but it must be
wound if the time has come for her resurrection. |
| do not know if that time has come, or come
1talys true oppression is all her Spain is OPP
pressed by the Spaniard, not by the Austrian -
Greece needs but to be saved from the Greeks. No
French emperor, however mighty his arm or sound
his faith, can give Italy freedom.
gift of that which is not to be given
By all the associate powers of earth and heaven
But the time has come at least to bid her be free,
| if she has the power of freedom. In is not Eng
land, certainly, who should forbid her. | believe
that is what it will come to, however-not so much
because we are afraid of Napoleon as because we
are jealous of him. But of him and US have
something more to say than there is time for to-
night. These good, stupid, affectionate, faithful,
imagined so magnificent soldiery as II, 900 of
them, which / made shift to see, through sand
clouds, march past the Prince Frederick William on
Saturday morning last. But hear them fretting
and foaming at the French getting into Milan !
they having absolutely other idea on all this
complicated business than that French are fighting
Germans! Wrong or right, why or wherefore,
matters not jot to them. French are fighting
|
beer and Naterland are in peril and the English
in fault, as we assuredy but not on that side,
for believe it to be quitetrue, which French friend
| high in position, says in letter tkis morning.
| ''lt the English had not sympathised with the
| Austrians there would have been no war" Byway
of keeping up the character of indifference to which
! have vowed myself, may tell you that before
! that French letter came, received another from
very sagacious Scotch friend belonging, as sup
pose most Scotch people do to the class of persons
who call themselves, "religious,) containing this
marvellous enunciation of moral principle to be
I acted upon N difficult circumstances: "Mnd
your own business" L is serviceable principle
enough for men of the world, but surprising and
IN the mouth Of person who processes to be 9 BIZ
BILE o5eyer. For, as far as | remember the tone Of
that obsolete book sour own" is the last business
which it tells us to mind 1t tells us often to
mind Gods business, often to mind other peoples
business; our own, in any eager earnest way,
not at all. what thy hand findeth to do" Yes
but in Gods fields, not ours. One can imagine the
wiser fishermen of tho Gaiean lakes Directing to
Peter and Andrew that they were not minding
their business, much more the commercial friends
OF Levi speaking with gentle pity of him about the
receipt of custom. "a bad man of business ALWAYS
see what has come ofit-ouite mad at last" And
my astonishing friend went on to say that this was
to be our principle OF action ''where the path was
not quite clear"-as If any path ever clear till
you got to the end Oft, or saw it long way off;
as if all human possibility of path was not among
clouds and brambes-often cold, always thornyS
misty with roses occasionally, dim with dew of
ularly in England just now, with shadow OF that
commercially and otherwise valuable smoke before
spoken Of However, if the path is not to be seen,
1t may be felt, or at least tumbed off, without any
particular difficulty. This latter course OF proceed
ing is our probablest, of course. But can't write
any more tonight. JOHN RUSKIN
LETTER FROM SENATOR DOUGLAS.
To the Editors Of the Enquirer:
Gentemen:-Please give publicity in your next
issue to the enclosed letter of the Hon s. A.
DOnCrlas Ipr1- +f,n,-
john L. PEYToN.
staunton, Va, Aug. 7, 1859.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 1859
Col. John L. Peyton Stanton, Va:
Ny Dear Sir: You do NE no more than iustice
in your kind letter, for which accept my thanks
in assuming that DO not with the Admins
traton in their views respecting the rights of natur
allied citizens, defined in the "Le Cerc letter"
which, it is proper to observe have been since ma
terially modified.
Under our Constitution there can be no lust dis
tinction between the right of native-born and
naturalized citizens to claim the protection of our
government at home and abroad. Unless naturali- |
cation releases the person naturalized from all |
obligations which he owed to his native country |
by virtue OF his allegiance, it leaves him in the sad
predcament of owing allegiance to two countries,
without receiving protection from either-a di- |
lemma IN which no American citizen should ever |
be placed
Neither have you Inexperienced nv opinions in |
respect to the African slave trade That question
seriously disturbed the harmony of the Convention
which framed the Federal Constitution Upon it
the delegates divided into two parties, under cir
cumstarces which, for time rende, ed harmonious
action hopeless. The one demanded the instant and
unconditional prohibition of the African slave
trade on moral and religious grounds, while the
other insisted that it was legitimate commerce,
involving no other consideration than a sound pub
lie policy, which each State ought to be permi ted
to determine for ITSELF long it was sanctioned
by its own laws. Each party stood firmly and reso-
lutely by its own position until both became con-
WINGED that this vexed question would break up the
Convention, destroy the Federal Union, blot out
the glores of the Revolution, and throw away all
Its blessings, unless some fair and Just compromise
could be formed on the common ground of such
mutual concessions were indispensable to the
preservation of their liberties, Union and Indepen-
dence.
Such compromise effected and Incorporated
into the Constitution by which it was understood
that the African slave trade might continue as a
legitimate commerce in those States whose laws
sanctioned it until the year 1903, from and after
which time Congress might and would prohibit it
forever throughout the dominion and limits of the
United States, and pass all laws which might be-
come necessary to make such prohibition etectual.
The harmony of the Convention was restored. and
the Union saved by this compromise without which
the Constitution could never have been made
stand firmly by this compromise, and BY all the
other compromises of the Constitution and shall
use my best efforts to carry each and all of them
into faithful execution in the sense and with tbn
understanding in which they were originally adopt
ed. In accordance with this compromise am ir-
reconcilably opposed to the revival of the African
slave trade, in any form and under any crcum-
stances.
am, with great respect, yours, truly
s. A. DOUGLAS
The Journal Of Commerce does not believe in the
prevalent opinion that people are generally Hwork.
ing themselves to DEATH" and that the only remedy
is to be found in annual visit to some waterip9
place. where they enjoy the refreshing and res
toring influences of late hours, night suppers and
general dissipation. 1t says:
''The cutlery which has been made in this coun
try OF late years, against OUerUork, we believe has
no foundation in reality. There may be undue ex-
element connected with both mental and bodily
emp!oyments, brought about by disposition to
rash adventures, specuatons, and too much haste
to be rich. But of downright honest work, in Ell
ber department, we have little fears and often wish
that there were more of it, instead of less Care is
wearing, but labor is healhfu and idleness is
worse for both body and mind than both care and
abor together. A very active, industrious man,
who accomplishes large amount of both mental
and physical labor still in the enjoyment of vigor
BUS health, was told by idle neighbor that be s
would work himself to DEATH He replied, Il !
never knew but one man who literally worked !
himself to death, and he died at the age of one
hundred and two! If some of those who now find q
ong intervals of recreation so necessary were to I
follow the same example, they might have a better
chance OF the same untimely end!' q
III those people who run off every summer would | [
put their desertion on the true ground that thew
want to have good time, it would not be unite az
provoking to those ofus who work twice as hard, G