The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-03-16

system OF the Government of 1852 1t
evident object was to divert attention
from political liberties. Il pretende,
to provide for the welfare of the coun
try without the cooperation of tn
country, and to do better for : thNI
1t could do forsitself. II. Theirs thel
shows that this high task assumed b,
the Government had not been very vel
performed. He glanced rapidly at the
war in Italy, which had left unsettled
the greatest question of modern times
that OF Rome; at the unfruitful pro
misses to help Poland; the costly and
barren distant expeditions TO Syria,
China, Cochin China and Mexico
and the various internal ques
tions, &c. gr., the rate of inter
est the rural code, the abolition
OF imprisonment for debt, banking re
form, extension of credit, and decen
tralization, which had been the subject
of magnificent promises leading TO no
results. Referring to the subject oi
the PaPacy, NJ Theirs said that If
France had been consulted before the
Emperor embarked in the Italian war,
it might perhaps never have taken
/ place. "lf Italian unity should not ul-
timately be founded, our policy will
have received a great check and if it
is founded. we shsll have crested at our
/ doors nation of tWenty-six millions of
! men ready TO extend their hands to
| ten millions of Germans. Is 1t con
ceivable that France should have lent
herself to such work Noise and
interruption And now what is the
position Of France between Italy, which
wants to get Rome, and the Papacy,
which desires TO keep it2 You talk
of reconciling Italy and the Papacy.
But how can you hope for that, when
Italy declares every day by the mouth
of her ministers, that she understands
the convention of September Is in
sense different from that in which you
understand itr Italy has Just declared
this TO Spain in terms utterly unmis-
taxable Will France now abandon
Italy, which is her offspring 4? Or will
she, in spite of all her promises to the
Catholics, abandon the Papacy, which
is the work of a thousand years Had
the Government in the beginning met
with some control in the Chamber, it
would not be in this perplexing di-
lemma.
NJ. Thiers concluded in the following
terms
To satisfy the ambition Of country
is not liberty. Look at Prussia, that
intelligent nation, which has the weak
ness of ambition. The Government,
hattering the ruling passion of the
nation, dazzled it with the perspective
of the creation of a port at Kiel, and
the possession of the Eyder Canal.
which would render it mistress of the
Baltic, and has enriched Prussia with
the spoils of unfortunate Denmark.
The noble PrussiaD nation, however
was not long diverted from higher
things by those material acquisitions,
ana vino said TO its sovereign, "We
accept our aggrandizement, but, above
all things we desire liberty" There
is no liberty but that which leaves a
nation in possession of its destinies.
Which are the free nations and which
are those which are not free 1t
would be useless to enumerate them.
Let US take two peoples only which
beyond doubt are free-England and
America. And yet how much do we
find In these two countries that seems
incompatible with liberty In Ameri-
ca citizens are often reduced to- pro
tect their own person, for want of
proper protection in the law. And yet,
America is free for this reason, that
what the nation wills Is done. Again,
in England, how many things do we
find which seem contrary to liberty
There is the law of entail, the national
church, and general intolerance, and
yet for all that England is free Why2
Because, whether in q republic or
monarchy, nation is free when it has
the institutions | have mentioned as
necessary. Nations may be mistaken,
but they ar less liable to mistakes than
a single man. A man makes mistakes,
because, not being compelled to de-
iberate and weigh pros and cons, he is
apt to be guided by passions If he
holds in his hands the dessinies of a
nation, he may precipitste it into great
calamities. A free nation, a collective
and multiple entity, deliterates, dis
ousses the pro and con, and has this
guaranty against error-reason. The
true definition, therefore, of free ma
tion is this--a free nation is one which
is obliged 10 reflect before it acts Ap-
plause oa several benches