Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1861-12-28

disorder Of her Finances, the inevitable bnt
most unweeome result Of her persistent ex-
travagance in her military and Naval SER
vice. as also in her Civil List and the inor-
dlnate demolition and reconstruction Of her
Capital, A monarch who insists on making
himself arbiter of Europe, must make his
peoplespay roundIy for the indulgence Of
that sumptuous taste his name may be
Louis XIV, or Napoleon, or Louis Napol.
leon, without affecting the net result. A
magnificent Court luxurious and expand
ed Capitol, ,nvincible armameuts, a dictatoral
diplomacy, all these are fearfully expensive,
aud the monarch who summons his actors
10 ''play to pit-full Of king" must expect
bis people to pay heavily for the gratlira.
tion Of his vanity aud theirs. Italy, as yet
imperfectly constituted, with her heart in
the keeping of foreign bayonets and hostile
priests, aud her existence as a nation seri
ously menaced from both without and with
in, hasHO strength to waste in foreign broils,
while Austria, with the Hungarian cancer
eating at her vitals her subordinate king
doms and provinces disaffected, her treasu-
ry bankrupt, her implacabe enemies wait
lug for an opportunity to strike her down
aud her allies alienated if not positively
hostile, can obviously oppose no eGectuaI
barrier 20 the surging waters. Prussia, uu.
der her new monarch, stands more securely,
but the medieval notions Of Divine Right
proclaimed by her King, and the retrograde
policy Of her Court and Bureaucracy, are
httlo calculated to secure the hearty assent
OF people the best instructed and, in the
average, most enlightened OF any in Europe
The Germun mind is profundly penetrated
by tue idea OF uni ed Germany-a great
and powerful feueralion-uot shadowy, but
substantial-of all the states whose people
speak the German tongue, under repub.
lcan, or at least constitutional rule aud
though this idea may as yet be che rished on
ly by the cultivated few, it is slowly leaVen-
ing the opinions and the purposes OF the
many. As the three ancient Kingdoms Of
Sweden, Denmark, Norway, are seen 10
be slowly crystalIizng into the future Scan
diuavia, the desire for German unity must
grow stronger, until it shall have become ir
resistible meantime, only imminent peril
Of foreign invasion and disruption if not
subjugation can render Germany compact
anu formidable. While patiently awaiting
the dllatory progress of her own revolution
she can oppose little resistance to the revo.
iutions that may from time to time couvulse-
her neighborS.
But Russia now presents the most in
teresing spectacle of any European state.
Ruled with rod of iron by Nicholas for
more than quarter of century, she seem.
ed devoid of political and almost of intel
lectual life. The bulwark of that biud and
brutal despotism which miscals itself Order,
she storde over smaller nations like a Co
lussus among pigmies. and stamped out
every aspiration for Freedom as though it
were an objectionable crime. From the
formation of the Holy Alliance in 1915
down to the death of Nicholas in l855-40
gloomy years-RuSSia was the uncompro-
missing aud justly dreaded foe of every at
tempt IN Europe TO assert the rights of
Man. The refusal of Nicholas to recognize
the Constitutional monarchy of Spain and
the revolutionary Republic and rapidly
succeeding Empire in France, were but con-
SiStent features of q system which looked
TO the universal establishment of deSpotism
as the only form Of government by God or
bene6cent to Man, with Russia as its
But at length Nicholas ded--the dis
appointed, baGied, discounted victim of
his own naughty emper--and his Oldest SON
youth of gentle disposition and benevo
lent impulses-reigned in his stead. A
peace which humbed the pride bnt staunch-
ed the blood of bis overmatched empire
was in due time negotiated with the for
midable alliance of France Great Britain
Turkey, and Sardinia and the young En-
peror was now at liberty to crafty his gen
erous impulses by devising and pcrfecting
measures having for their benign purpose
the compile emancipation of Russia's T@en-
ty Millions of hereditary serfs.
1t is a great thing TO be an Autocrat--
TO possess absolute power-when vast
and difficult work is 10 be effected but in
fact no power but God is absolute. A
| British Premier of unsurpassed influence
and force of character once remarked that
he had been 20 years Minister, yet had on
" thrice been able IT, give an office to the
man of his choice aud the Russian form
locgoyernment has been pitifully characterlZ-
ed as deSpotiSm tempered 10y assassination.
| Peter the Great nearly lost his crown by
compelling bis people to shave, "a change
which, in their fierce climate, was no re-
form aud Louis Napoleon, though a
bold man, would hardly venture 10 deny
his subjects Tobacco, however desirons OF
suppresSing its use and assured that such
suppression would promote their well being
Many a well-posed and firmly knit German
state would be toppled over 10y the i'm
position of "a tax of peuny per glass OF
Beer. Thousands who surrender their llb
critics without thought would be goadeI
to seditou by the privatiou of perucon
indulgence.
Even be blindest, most besotted Amerl
can devolees of African Slavery applaud
the pr, ject OF Russian emancipation here
(they said) was no fanaIiclSm--no weak
misguided philanthrophy sacrlnce o.
the interests aud dignity of the noble eau
ca sian race-but a wise aud timely melIora
,ion AS such il was certOiu to add streng' |
! and olory TO Russia, and render the relgI
of her young Emperor one long, bright joy
Gus holiday.
of human lonla tiang