The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-12-01
Fall Mall Gsset tie.

Fall Mall Gazette
| Historical instances are numerous in
which State documents of great i'm portance
| have found their way into the hands of
people who had no business with them (;
and sometimes the course of the worlds
J such accidents. But for hazard which
placed under Cromwell's eyes q letter in
which Charles 1. stated that he had no
Intention to fulfil the promises which he
had made to secure peace, the negotiations
between the King and Parliament might
| that Charles unlucky letter cost him his
head. Similarly the breach between Louis
XVI. and the French people was rendered
irreparable when blacksmith revealed
the existence of the famous iron chest at
the Tuileries, which, having been broken
open, was found to contain the damaging
evidence OF the Kings negotiations with
| the Austrian Court in view of an in vasion
of France.
In 1794 Tallien, having read his name
on piece of paper which Robespierre let
fall trom his pocket in pulling out his
handkerchief concluded be was marked
down for execution, and at the instiga
tiou of his high spirited wife immed-
ately took measures which resulted in
Robeepierre's downfall on the 9th Thermi-
dor.
To come to more recent times, Louis
Napoleon's coup d'etat was within an ace of
falling, owing To the officiousness of lady
in communicating the plans to Prince
Napoleon (the future Emperor's cousin),
who forthwith tried to put come of the
Republican leaders on their guard. Victor
Hugo gives an account of this affair in his
"History of crime" and he furnishes
sUrde details as to the minute precautions
which were taken to insure secrecy at the
National Printing Office, where Louis
Napoleon's prociamations were printed.
The place was guarded by soldiers and
detectives, and not workman was allow
ed to leave the building until all the
copies were struck off and in the hands of
added that the original manuscripts of
these preclamations were all in the hand
writing of the Count de Morny, and that
no one save that able conspirator and his
master was permitted to see them before
they were consigned to the printer. st.
Armand, Maupas, Mocquard and Persigny
had been favored with sight of proclama-
tiops worded quite differently, and they
grumbled by and by at not having been
trusted. But De Morny trusted nobody.
In 1870, on the outbreak of the Franco
German war, the world was startled by
the publication in the Times of draft
treaty drawn up by NJ. Benedetti, and
proposing the annexation of Belgium to
France. M. Benedict pretended that he
had been entrapped into writing this draft
under Count Bismarck's dictstion; but,
anyhow, it's disclosure had a marked effect
in drawing away British sympathies from
the French side. and it compelled the
G'adetone administration to eign q treaty
binding England to protect Belgian inde-
perdence.
Three years later the fortunes of the
Monarchist factions in France were terri
bly, damaged by confidential circular of
Nj. Bsufe, the Home Minister, which some-
how fell into the possession of M. Gambet-
ta. In this document M. Beule suggested
a plan for the Wholesale corruption of the
provincial press out of the public moneys;
and when NJ. Gambetta had read this
strangely cynical paper in the tribune,
such a storm of indignation arose, both in
the Parliament and in the country, that |
the Broglie Cabinet became hopelessly
discredited. Soon afts vG ard NJ. Beule was
obliged to resigu, aud within twelve
month from his resignation he committed
suicide.