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3STo. 441, September .4, 1S58.] _ T H E ...
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FRANCE. (From our oxen Correspondent?) P...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Gkkmany. (Front Our Own Correspondent.) ...
his father ' s promises , ami eo follows in the wake of the other rulers . Notwithstanding the ill-feeling against them the princes have still , I think , the means in their hands of saving themselves and their posterity . Let them but do away -with passports and aufentkaltskaHen legitimation papers , & c , sweep away the guilds , and the many other foolish restrictions , upon the rightful- liberty of men , which are of no benefit to the governments , but which render the German a foreigner in his own country -in some instances indeed worse than a foreigner ,, for Americans can trade in some towns of Germany , where Germans , who have not purchased the privilege , cannot . I allude to the Hanse Towns , where , by a treaty of reciprocity entered into in 1827 or 1828 , the Americans business b ale
obtained the right to carry on y wholes or retail , just as the citizens of the Hanse Towns are permitted to do in the United States . The natives of other countries , German or foreign , have to pay from fifty to sixty pounds sterling for the same privilege . Such a distinction cannot be otherwise than galling to Germans —it is not quite agreeable to an Englishman to see another nation enjoy advantages from which he is excluded , but he can console himself with the reflection , that perhaps the English Foreign-office does not know of any such treaty . Further , if the governments would give up that system of dictation and interference in the most natural right of man , that of deciding for himself when to choose a wife and establish a home , they would save themselves from a great disgrace , for the vice arising from their interference with this human right is entirely
of their creating . The condition of some under the present system has been exposed by Dr . Wichern , at the convocation cf the clergy at Lubeck , latety . He stated , as a fact , that in two hundred towns or villages of Mecklenburg one-third of the children born in the course of one year were illegitimate ; in one hundred . towns or villages the half were illegitimate ; : and in seventy-nine towns or villages ali- the children were illegitimate . In the neighbouring countries the disproportion was still greater , for whereas , according to the Mecklenburg SchicerinStaatsKaletider for 1857 , there Was one child illegitimate to -i 1-llih legitimate in Mecklenburg Schwerin , in Hanover , since the year 1816 , this proportion has been constant as 1 to 11 . In the year 1795 1820
there was one illegitimate birth to 18 legitimate "; , 10 4-5 ths ; 1845 , there were 6 ; 1852 , there were 5 ; 185 G , there were 4 1-llth ; consequently , inlSotf , there were four times . as many illegitimate children as 62 years earlier . This state of things is the fault , not of the people , but the rulers , who throw all manner of difficulties in the way of a man ' s settling in life . They fear pauperism , and they-encourage vice . By listening to the voice of reason before it be too late , and hastening to unite in some plan of reform for their country they may save themselves , and make Germany the shield of civilisation on the Continent . These are reforms the people hope to obtain by a union of all - the states under one head . And this is the only question that reallv interests the
people . The staple subjects of correspondence , such as the Schleswig-Holstein quarrel ; the Prussian Regency question ; the encroachments of the priesthood in Austria , are simply standing jokes for intelligent Germans , who know that Schleswig-Holstein and they themselves were betrayed in 1849-50 ; they know that they spent their money ( voluntarily contributed ) to tit out war-steamers and gun-boats , which were suffered to lie idle while their rivers were being blockaded , and which were afterwards sold at any price they would fetch , in a manner that called up a blush on every German ' s cheek ; they remember , too , that German blood wns shed to make a game for their rulers fo play ; they recollect it all , nnd , therefore , they have done with Schleswig-Holstein , if the princes have not .
As to the Prussian Regency , it is to them a matter of indifference whether the government be nominally carried on by the King or the Prince ; it is true , the latter has a good reputation for energy and liberality ; but the people know from experience that it is the cue of thp Sovereign in Prussia to play the despot , and thut of , t | ic . Crown Prince , to play the liberal . Thus , they call to mind , that when the present aflHeted king wna Crown Prince , ho was the philosophical liberal , an onomy to despotism and the censorship of tho press ; the patron of art , science , nnd progressive measures , while the reigning monarch was just what he himself been mo after his accession , nnd just what the present ; energetically liberal nnd hopeful Crown Prinoo will , no doubt , become . In Prussia , tho heir tp the throne is always the
man for tho people , and tho King tho man for the throne . The trick is getting stale ; but it appears to have been adopted by tho present dynasty of Prance . Louia Napoleon is truly unhappy at being forced to bo bo very strict , but tho pooplo may console tfoin . aO . lVfi 8 hlS r -C ^ l ft lir-JNrnp ^ Wm-ia-..,-. t . » innnii g l ,.., npi , l ,, licnn . If tho pooplo of Franco oro deceived by thin jugglery , which ie rather now to them , tlie people of Germany are not . If tho Governments think they oio , their cunning can only bo compared with that ascribed tjo tho poor ostrich that bruisos Its head in tho sand , fancying Uint , boonuso aho cannot see , nobody clso can . Political nows thoro is none . Tho Prussian press is growing anxious to know when tho elections for tho House of Representatives will commence ; and tho
Wochenblatt recommends that in future there should be a constitutional fixed period for the elections , independent of cases of dissolution . The Holstein affair is » , of course , at a stand-still .
MUSICAL . Liszt , according to the Theater Chronik , is at present diligently engaged upon a new mnsical creation , to be entitled Holy ( or Saint ) Elizabeth . The text is by Otto Roqiiette , andis said to be excellent . A lover of music has amused himself by collating the ages of the most celebrated composers . According to this collation , Schubert died at 31 years of age , Bellini 32 , Pergolese 33 , Herold 36 , Mozart 36 , Feska 37 , O . Nicdlai 38 , Mendelssohn 38 , Weber 40 , Donizetti 49 , Adam 52 , Beethoven 57 , Lindpaintner 64 , Kreutzer 64 , Bach 65 , Spontini 67 , Piceini 70 , Grdtry 72 , Gluck and Handel 75 , Haydn 76 , Hasse 78 , Weigl 80 , Zingarelli 85 , Burne >' 88 , Caressiini 91 , and Gemiani 96 .
The authorities at Vienna have intimated to the managers of the minor theatres that a stricter censorship must be exercised in future with regard to the plays brought upon the stages of their respective theatres . The reason of this is , that the pieces performed for the delectation of the people represent the lower classes as possessing and exercising all the Christian virtue , a la Eugene Sue , while the higher classes are shown up as monsters of depravity . .
3sto. 441, September .4, 1s58.] _ T H E ...
3 STo . 441 , September . 4 , 1 S 58 . ] _ T H E X E A ' P E R . 897
France. (From Our Oxen Correspondent?) P...
FRANCE . ( From our oxen Correspondent ?) Paris , Thursday , 6 J p . m . It is a curious commentarj' upon the assertions of the Anglophobists of the . French pi ess who declare , like M . Marie-Martin , that English society is being undermined by the Chartist doctrines of Mr . Ernest Jones ; who , like the author of Cherbourg et I ' . ltigleterre , assert that English workmen are praying for the advent of a French of
fleet , which is to liberate them fr , o m the . tyranny an odious and corrupted aristocracy , and at the same time endow them with French freedom and French unity ; it is a strange coincidence , I repeat , that , at the very moment such absurdities are put forth by the organs of the Government , I should receive information from Corsica which would tend to prove that the inhabitants of that island have no very exalted idea of French liberty , and that they are anything , but united in supporting the present French system of government .
Some time ago , as was duly mentioned in the daily press , a revolt , as it is called , broke out in the College at Bastia . The college lads were very obstreperous and not at all respectful in their expressions towards the Government of the day . The gendarmes and troops were called out . In their exuberant loyalty and military ardour they could with difficulty be restrained from tiring on the boys . Fortunately , some cooler heads were present , and , instead of a rolling fire or bayonet charge , the boys were threatened with liquid volleys from a fire-engine . It would appear the collegians stood upon their dignit } -, and treated the commanding-officer to the benefit of their opinion as to hi , s being guilty of breaking the Sixth Commandment ,
and as to his ignorance of military laws , in coining to treat ( pour jiarler ) with his head covered . At the time little attention wns paid to the matter , winch ended , I believe , without bloodshed , or , at least , loss of life , and was regarded as a mere college disturbance , having no more to do with opposition to Government than a barring out nt Rugby would have to do with a change of ministry in England . But from what has just reached me it would appear tho collegians had but anticipated tho sentiments of the older inhabitants of tho island , or , as M . Barocho took credit for doing in 1848 , when lie called out in the Chambers , " J ' ai decancJ la Justice dit peupfc . " Towards the end of last month , the steamer which left Marseilles for B .-istin carried out the General of Division
Sebastiani , with hia otaiY and a new sous . prtfct , in place of the former one , M . Finch , who , after holding the post for ten j'oars , was suddenly diamisscd , or as it is more euphoniously termed , mis UJat'ctraito . Tho reason of M , Finch ' * dismissal must bo a mystery to the general public , for , according * to a resolution of the Conseil d ' arrondit > semc 7 it do Corte , " age has not weakened his physical forces nor hiu high intellectual faculties , and , if he hnH lost nothing of his talents and brilliant qualities of mind and heart , he has conquered that experience of men and things which is bo precious in the mission which tho representatives of Government are called upon to fulfil " It would havo been thought that a gentleman
possessing nil these talents and virtues , to any nothing of his oxporicnc (? , would have boon highly prized by a Government which does not appear to havo a plentiful supply of either talented , or virtuouo , or oxporionced representatives . But . tho-tPUth-itJ-thnURI—J ^ Juoh . was-dieiniosod-beoause-he-hnd not been successful in preventing oppressions of discontent against the Government from being made known . Tho day boforo General Sebaatiani and tho now sawpri [/ it , arrived , oloveu persona had buvn arrested for alleged politicaloffences . Among thorn wore two doctors , two lawyers , and on employ *} da la Mairia It was currently roporlod hi Bastin that pioy woro handcuffed w turn brought up for examination bofuro the juyu Winstruction .
Marshal Castellane landed at Bastia the day after General Sebastiani and the new sous-prefet . The arrival of the military dictator of Lyons was preceded by numerous fresh arrests . Triumphal arches of the sorriest description were stuck , up here and there in Bastia to fete the arrival of the marshal , but it was confidently asserted , that if the people had been able to have their own way , they would have provided a very different reception , for discontent is universal , excepting , of course , among the paid agents of Government . Numerous' meetings for * the organization of opposition have been already held in various parts of the island ,, and my informant witnessed one at which , were present some sixty or eighty stalwart fellows who
if they had no arms evidently knew where to procure them . The causes of this widespread ill-feeling against the Government are numerous . The first is the tyrannical conduct of the governmental majority in the Conseil-General , and the peculiar means employed to obtain this majority . The second , the stringent laws respecting the possession of fire-arms and ammunition , the offensive manner in which they are enforced in most instances , and the gross partiality with which they are violated in others . Thus , one of the chief grounds of complaint under this head was , that while , according to the " immortal principles of the Revolution" and the articles of the " Code Napoleon , " all Frenchmen are equal before the law , the Prince Pierre Bonaparte—he who challenged General Henschmann—was permitted , when in Corsica , to carry arms publicly , he and his servants , and to make up hunting-parties into the . interior ,
of upwards of twelve persons sometimes . But the great source of discontent are the strong republican sentiments of the inhabitants . Your readers will remember that in all cases of uncontrolled voting the suffrages of Corsica have been republican . Strange as it may seem , it is nevertheless true that the birthplace of the founder of . the Imperial dynasty is the most hostile of any department in France to the Empire . But what is stranger still is , that in the seaport towns and among the mercantile classes it is regretted that Corsica had not remained an independent state under the protectorate of England . Even to this day , " English party" is not an obsolete term . The independent Corsicans profess no sympathy with Frenchmen , of whom they speak with feelings bordering on contempt , as ' Continentals , " nor do they hold themselves to be the sa-ne nation . Like manv other races that dwell on the
borders of the Mediterranean , they have strong commercial instincts , and as strong perceptions of which way their interests lie as their former masters have—the Genoese . They argue , consequently , that had Corsica remained under the protectorate of England , Corsicans would havo shared in the freedom , progress , and material prosperity of Englishmen . 1 mention- these facts more for their curiosity than anything else , as I have every reason to believe them to be correct , for the separation of Corsica from France is out of all question , and because they tend to throw light upon the condition and public feeling in a portion of Franco which is less known to Englishmen than any other . It is no secret , I believe , that there is one
imperial wish which it has been found impossible to gratify —one achievement which imperial ambition appears doomed to fail to accomplish , in spite of the obsequiousness of courtiers and the more than Byzantine deference to power of public functionaries—and that is , to obtain a literary illustration of the Second Empire . If the honours and rewards showered down on M , Ponsard for his laboured compositions—which at the time of their appearance were , by great stretch of courtesy , called dramatic poetry , but which have long since been forgotten—are " earnest of the value set on literary distinction , wo can form a tolerable estimate of how great i * tho wish for its appearance , and how much greater tho disappointment at its continued
absence . It would be absurd to pretend to speculate on tho future , or to deny tho possibility of some great poet or writer appearing who , in the history of letter may give a stamp and character to tho Imperial epoch , but the , chanegs , uf . any such , . ndvejul ; arc ? . cQ , nfessed . ly very small- indeed , and beyond tho range of probabilities . Arguing from the past it is assorted that the imperial regime is unfavourable to literature—as August sun to violets . Tho tlerco glory of tho First Empire scorched up whatever slight sentiment of poetry may have been iransmitted by Andrd Chonicr , or may have survived tho deadly influences of tho Terror . Tho conqueror at Morongo and Austorlitz— -to whoso earthly powor there
seemed no bounds , and whose armed hosts were numberloss ; who compelled a daughter of tlie Caesars to his bod , and bent tho hoart of Catholic Christendom to Ins will ; whoso military successes wero for a time unparalleled , and whoso faintest wish wns law to Conti-* nontalJ £ u » op © . » ONttiU » iMV , fta 4 mpp . toft ^ opposition , or inertness of literature . Ho could command a pltful of kings to do honour to hia presence nt a theatre , but ho could not obtain tho production of an original play possessing tho slightest lltornry merit . Ills constant but never satisfied deoiro was that hu reign should bo illustrated , by somo groat literapy tfork . Ilia roitei-nlod urdurn to his familiars wore , " JiWnz Uc mo dourer unpoi'tc . '" Ho " could call spirits from tho vasty doc |> , " as could Harry lM » juir , nrnl with Uku » ucc « se .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 4, 1858, page 9, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_04091858/page/9/
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