Year: 1872

Are. tho Older Nations Doings-0er-


many and France and rheir Troubles.


We print this morning letter from our
European correspondence in reference to the
general aspect of Continental politics The
correspondent performs kind of Asmodeous
duty, and looks into many roofs and tells what
the people are doing Prussians, Germans
opposed to Prussians, Bonapartists, friends of


Henry v. and Divine Right, Jesuits and Com
munists, and. in fact, boxes the political COM


pass Of the Continent, and gives us his obser-


vations from every quortcr. The letter de-


rives additional interest at this time from The
events now transpiring in Franco, the occur


renee of which are foreshadov-d by our far


seeing correspondent.


From the tragical TO the burlesque in politics


is short step, and our first feeling on read


ing this curious narrative and listening to these


many views, is as TO the absarlity Of the sit


uation. The poor Continent seems distracted


by tho multitude of counsels, the promptings


Of ambition, the struggles for precedence,
authority and power Every politician has
his own panacea. The Jesuit sits in rapt ex-
pectation Of miracle, and sees great hope in
the various appearances of the Holy Virgin.
He feels that God Himself is at last taking an
active part in the affairs of the nations, and that
regenerated and ohastcned people will take
the pious kings like the Count de Chambord
and Don Carlos in their arms and gently
seat them on their thrones. From this
nnpfa Of Ia fJ,a
muniss, who inform us that they are not all
dead, but live, enfn, at Geneva. So far
from being dead, they mean to return in
two years to Paris and France, and begin
that new dispensation which is to make the
world happy. Labor is to have its just
reward; capital is to be chained, even as the
Scriptures tell us Deelzebub will be chained
in the good time, and the rights of man are to
supersede all priestcraft and divine rights.
We are not informed as to how many bishops
it will be necessary to kill and how many
palaces to burn before this happy consumma-
tion; but in some way or another the good
time is coming, and the poor, starving sans
culoaes Of the Commune patiently bide their
time in their retirement under the Alps. Nor
are we surprised TO find that the friends of the
fallen Emperor have something to say; and we
confess the averments of the Bonapartst who
gave his views to our correspondent are not
without force. If there is no Bonapartist
party, why is il that one half of the Parisian
journals are either openly or secretly aiding
the cxiled family? This is indeed a pertinent
question, and we can well see how il may be
answered when we read the catalogue Of
triumphs and bencfcent achievements attri-
buted to the Bonaparte rule. If Napoleonism
we are also informed that Napoleonism could
have retrieved Sedan, and that no party and
no crown and no theories Of divine rights or
human rights can efface the impression made
upon the heart of France by the great man
who founded the house of Bonaparte. Then
again, if Napoleonism is destitute of power
why has President Thiors taken such pains to
exclude Plon Plon from the Republic and
send him to the Swiss frontier with an official
escort? And why do we have to-day con-
firmation in the news from Paris Of our cor
respondent predictions that crisis might be
expected at any moment in the affairs Of q
republic which is accepted by many only as
an interlude, and which depends for its con-
tnuance, in great measure, upon the acci-
dent Of M. Theirs?


From the whirl of politics in France we
pass to the situation in Germany. Our cor
gives us both sides of story
which many of us have all along supposed to
have had only one side. If any country 10
united it is certainly Germany. When the
German Parliament voted to annex Alsace and
Lorraine but one vote was in opposition; and
yet few things have been done by Germany
more open to criticism than this annexation.
The world has been disposed to look upon the
prodigious military power Of Prussia as rep
resenting Germany, and to feel that its only
voice was in the pen Of Prince Bismarck and
the sword Of Count Won Moltke But we see
from intelligent German authority that behind
Bismarck and Moltke-this transcendent
pen and incompatible sword-there is q
Germany which trusts and loves them
not. This forms o curious study and the
developments made by our correspondent
will have a deep interest to those who have
felt that Prussia had succeeded in making the
will Of one people the voice and will Of one
man. We have an intelligent reason for the
expulsion of the Jesuits. Those who saw in
this extraordinary act of Prince Bismarck
more whim of policy, or fear that some harm
might come to the new Empire, or belief
that the Jesuits were in the pay Of France,
mistake the logical character of his statesman
ship. The Kings of Prussia have long enter
tanned the idea Of making the house of Hohen-


zollsrn the head Of q Church as well as the
head of State. If we go back TO the time of
Luther we shall find that the Reformation was
welcomed by the North German Electors be-
cause it was demonstration against the re-