Birmingham age-herald., 1895-06-14
THE FALL. OF VENICE.
HUMILIATION OF THE PROUD OIL
 GARCHY BY BONhPARTE. --E1.aa.

netians Unfit For Liberty.
 Since the days of Carthage no govern mcnt like that of the Venetian oligarchy had existed on tho earth As it's best it was dark and rcmorselcss With the dis appearance of its vigcr is dcspot!sm had become somewhat miidcr, but even yet TO common n.an might draw the veil from its mysterious, irrcsp sponsb!e councils and 1.-Two. A few hundred families administers cd the country Gs they did tlicir private es 7 tatcs. All intelligence, all liberty all pes sonal independence, were reprcsscd by such a system The more enlightened from he mainland many even in the city, had felt tho influences of the time and Lad long been rneasy under heir government, however smoothly il seemed to be running.
 NoH that ihe earth WAS qraking under the march af BoIl;;partes troops that gov erEmont WAS net only Eelj less, but it ac tuasly grew contemptihle in its panic There was indeed the niost urgent neccssi- ty fer a change. The senate had q power ful fleet, 3,00O native troops and II ,0G0 mcrccnarios but they. struck only sin glo futile blow on their own account, ger hitting rash captain to orcn fire from tho gunbodts against the French vanguard when it appeared But immediately as if in fear of their own tcmerity, they dis patched Gn embassy to learn the will of tho approaching general That his deal ings might be mc.ciful they tried the plan Of Modena ard offered Bonararte Il bribe of 3,oc0 coo francs; but, as in tho easo of Modcna he refused. Next day, tEc grand council having been summon cd, it was determined by n nearly unani nous vote of thc ra,ricians (69o to 2D that they would roilodel their institutions ts. ,t, t.,f fed aoge thought such surrender to be tlio last hope of safety.
 Not fer moment did Lalleinont and Villotard, Inc two Frerch agents, irterruit their revolutionary agitation in tho town. Disorders grew moro frequent, an uncer- taiuty both paralyzoi and disintcgratcd tkc patriciaa rarty. A yycol; latcr the gov ernEent virtually abtlicatod. Two utter strangers appeared in a theatrical way at its doors and suggested in writing to the great council that to appeasc the spirit of tho times they should plant the liberty tree on tho place of St. Mark and speedily accode to all tho propositions for liberitliz- ing Venice which tho popular temper seemed to demand. Such wclo tho terror and disorganZation of the aristocracy that instead of punishing the intrusion by death, according to tho traditions of their
 
 carry out the suggestion. Tho fleet was dismantlcd and the army disbandcd
 By tho end of the month the revolution was virtually accomplished, for n rising of their supporters having been mistaken by the great council in its pusillanimous ter TOT for rebellion of their antagonists they decreed the abolition of all existing insti- tutions, and after hastily organizing a provisional government disbanded Four thousand French soldiers occupied tho town, and an ostcnsible treaty was made between the new republic of Venice and that of Franco.
 This treaty was really nothing but n pronunciamento of Bonaparte. He dccrecd general amnesty to all offenders except the commanders of Fort Luco, who had recently fired on tho French vessel. Ho also guaranteed the public debt and prom ised to occupy tho city only as long es the public order required 1t. By series of secret articles Venice was to accept the stipulations of Lcobcn in regard to terri tory, pay m indemnity of C, 000 900 francs and furnish three ships of the line and two frigates, while, in pursuance of the general policy of tho French republic, experts were to select 20 pictures from her galler- ies and 500 manuscripts from her libraries
 Whatever was the understanding of those who signed these crushing condi- tions tho city was never again treated by any European power as an independent state. Soon aftcrward French expedi- tion was dispatched to occupy her island possessions in the Levant. The arrange- ments had been carefully prepared during the very time when the provisional gov ernment believed itself to be paying the price of its new liberties. And earlier still -on May 27, three days before the abdica- tion of the istocracy-Bonaparte had d. ready offered to Austria the entire repub lie in its proposed form as an exchange for the German lands on tho left bank of the Rhine.
 Writing to tho directory on that day. ho declared that Venice, which had been in decline ever since "the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope and the rise of Tricst and Ancona, can with difficulty survive tho blows we have just given her. This miserable, cowartlly people, unfit for lib- erty and without land or water-it seems natural to me that WIG should hand them over to these who have received their mainland from us. We shall take all their ships; we shall dcsroil their arsenal; we shall remove all their cannon; we shall wreck thoir bank; we shall keep Corfu and Ancona for ourselves.
 On the 2Gth letIcr 10 his friends" of the Venetian provisional government had assured them that he would do all in his power to confirm their liberties, and that he earnestly desired that Italy, "now GOV cred with glory and free from every for eign influence should again appear on the worlds stage and assert among the great powers that station to which by nature, position and destiny it was entitled" Or dinary minds cannot grasp the gllilc and daring which seem to hayo prcarrangcd and foreseen all the conditions necessary to plans which for double dealing tran seendcd the conceptions of men even in that age of duplicity and selfshness. lessor W. NJ. Sloane in Century.
 Artificial Pearl.
 It is possible to produce film having much of the appearance of mother of pearl