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Sept. 20, 1851.] ®»* *««**«. 887
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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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Continental Notes. The Decline Of Bonapa...
¦ anction the treacheries of the Government , a perfect anarchy exists in the provincial and municipal administrations . The Franco-German Plot has died a natural death ; nearly all the arrested prisoners have been released ; but the purpose has been served , and the Despotisms are satisfied . The political trials at A «* en , a sort of branch of the trials of Lyons , have resulted in the acquittal of the principals . M . lessens had never been at Lyons , and had not corresponded with that cityfor three years Not a
__ vestige of the " plot of May and June , 1850 , ' was discovered ; but the accused had suffered a preventive imprisonment of nine months , separated from their families and their professions on a mere suspicion , or rather because the Government chose to suspect , in order to ruin them . But observe the fatal blindness of the Government : these trials excite a wide sensation ; the brilliant speeches of the Republican advocates are reported with comments ; their reception during the trials is an ovation to the proscribed
cause . The sentence of young Francois Hugo for his article in the Eve ' nement on the avowal of the Constitutionnel that the Ministry of the Republic had done an act of " international loyalty " in arresting the poor German workmen , and driving them from the refuge of French hospitality , has made a deep and painful impression on all parties . The Moderate press deems the sentence excessively severe ,, the Reactionist journals are silent—nine months' imprisonment , and 3000 franca' fine , and the suspension of the journal for one month ! The following remarks of the correspondent of a morning journal tell the story well : —
" The two sons of Victor Hugo are now in prison . Their property is destroyed , for the suspension of a newspaper for a month is destruction— -not , indeed , in the coarse way of breaking presses , as in the old times of rude , honest -violence , but according to the refined hypocrisy of advanced civilization . That is to say , by a gentle word , which the daintiest lips might utter , covering an act of which barbarism would probably be ashamed . While the Court was pronouncing this sentence , the President of the Republic
was decorating with the Grand Cross of a Commander of the Legion of Honour the ex-editor of the Courrier Francais , of the Siicle , and many other journals in their time which did the work of undermining the monarchy . The decoration has certainly been fairly earned by atoning acts ; but the Minister , with his blushing honours thick upon him , might suggest the exercise of a little mercy towards two young men , of respectively twentyone and twenty-two years of age , sons of a man who .-e literary works have conferred as much honour at least on France as those of any member of the Government . "
The Presse says : — " M . Victor Hugo has only two sons ; justice will take both of them from him ; the elder has preceded his brother by a month in the prison of the Conciergef ie ; they had the same crad e , and will share the same dungeon . M .. Paul Meurice will join M . Paradis . The Evenement will then have four of its editors in prison ! Where will the Government stop in this path . ? It will not stop—it cannot . The Reforme has been condemned ; the Peuple has been condemned ; the Vote Universel has been condemned ; the Presse has been condemned ; the Siecle has been condemned ; the Iiepublique has been condemned ; the Charivari has been condemned ; the
Opinion Publique has been condemned ; the Assemblee Rationale only escaped condemnation by submission . And then came the turn of the National , of the Ordrc , of the Gazette He France , of the Journal dea De'bats , and of the Union . Although glorified at present by the public prosecutor , the Conatitutionnel would strangely deceive itself if it were to natter itself that it will escape the attacks of compression . Compression is a ball which rolls down an inclined plunc . It is not journals which are prosecuted , but the liberty of the press . The journals
which now applaud or are silent will find this , but it will then be too late . Two years ago 1 warned them that what characterizes limited liberty is unlimited arbitrary power . Fortunately I alone have not the gift of prophecy ; it belongs in a . not leas degree toM . L . N . Bonaparte . He wrote in 1834 : — ' Selfishness and fear are the passions of the epoch . J 3 ut there will be a morrow , oi which the aurora will be as brilliant as the night was dark and cloudy . ' In a short time we snail be obliged to employ as extracts from inviolable writers what we darn not write ouroelvea . Such ih the Rtuto in wliir-h flip
liberty of the press stands in . trance on the 15 th of September , 1851 . " The Presae contains a remarkable document from the pen of the Marquis de Jouflro }' , a legitimist , formerly secretary at the congress of Vcronu , and now editor of the Europe Monurchique , a Brussels paper , which exposes completely the luilure of the negotiations undertaken since the revolution of February , for the fusion of the two branches . The close alliance of French reaction with German despotism , ia made evident by the name oppresnions at Paris , Berlin , and Vienna . Here we have a peep into Vienna and to tho liberty of the press in that happy capital : —
ouphir , the well-known Vienneae humourist , wan rrcHivd Home days ago for writing a funny article on the recent ordinances abolishing the Constitution . He has already bc « n tried and sentenced to three months ' imprisonment and t »» ree months' suspension of law journal , tho Humorist . rw « whole prt > nn of Austria is , in fuct , ruled with a rod of Iron . Mo journal vcnture » to remark upon the iuUrual Government and its meuaureu .
The papers contain merely extracts from Austrian blue hooks ' feuilletons , and an occasional article on foreign matters . Correspondents of foreign newspapers are watched most closely , and should any one known to the police write the slighest word offensive to the Government , he is immediate pounced upon , and , if a stranger , expelled , or if not , locked up for such a period as the police pleases . The form of trial for such cases is a humbug . Not very long ago a gentleman in the Government employment was dismissed from his post on the mere suspicion of his heing the correspondent of the ot similar
Colopne Gazette . There are hosts of cases a nature-enough to fill your broadsheet . The censorship abolished in 1848 has been revived , and is practised with greater severity than before . In fact , liberty of opinion is crushed entirely ; so far as its expression in the press is concerned ; while the Government would most assuredly punish all who venture to think freely , could a police be invented for discovering men ' s thoughts , bo terrible is the absolute power of the Austrian Government , and the means it employs to maintain it , that mutual confidence on political subjects is avoided by all but the most intimate friends . Men fear one another , speak in whispers when with a friend , and even then a bystander can detect the furtive glances of the eye , watching whether thev are observed or likely to be
overheard . The cafe 3 and restaurants abound with police spies , and no one is safe . A more terrible state of society can hardly be imagined , especially in a city like Vienna , where domestic life is a thing hardly known , every one dining and supping in places of public resort . " The commercial treaty of Hanover and Prussia , which consists in the free absorption of the Steuerverein in the Zollverein , is the most important fact in Prussian affairs . It is considered to be a triumph to the free-frade party in Germany , since the restrictive tariff of the Zollvereih must be reduced very much to coincide with the liberal tariff of the Steuerverein . The Chronicle has the following most apposite " reservations" on the subject of this move on the part of Prussia , which is the only redeeming fact in her more recent developments : —
* ' We are not , indeed , of the number of those who believe that commercial legislation will supply a panacea for the evils of Germany . Valuable as is a sound industrial policy , it is no substitute for the maintenance of constitutional rights , and for the development of the political energies of a people . Free-trade itself would be a poor compensation for the loss of the Bill of Eights . Nor do we conceive that the people of Germany will be satisfied with a Government whose highest achievement , in a time of political difficulty , is an adjustment of material interests . We know not whether the North Germans are more or less avaricious than the rest of the world ; but it is difficult to imagine a whole people so penetrated with the esprit boutiquier as to find , consolation lor
in the mere extension of trade , a abject political slavery . It is certainly wiser and better to secure by legitimate means the extension of internal commerce than to disturb the peace of the Confederation by schemes of Prussian aggrandisement ; but , after all , the first want of Germany is Constitutional Government in its several States . Until Prussia , which has both the means and the opportunity of establishing a representative Government , sets an example of political freedom to the Confederation , we must moderate our eulogies on her commercial reforms ; and whilst we recognize the usefulness of the extension of the Zollverein—involving , perhaps , some sacrifice on her paitwe must not forget the grievous sina of omission of which her rulers are guilty . "
In an official letter to his ' dear Prince Sehwarzenberg , " the young Autocrat of Austria , " in order to relieve the finances of the state " ( in other words , to right a ship on her beamends and waterlogged ) , has "judged it advisable to charge expressly his Government to introduce as much , economy as possible into every branch of the public service , and to send to him whatever propositions may seem necessary for that purpose . " Such , is the form of endorsement by your juvenile Imperial spendthrift to his Promissory Notes ! Will the financiers accept it ? Thus Franz Joseph baits his hook for subscribers to his loan ! But will they not do well to inquire into the resources of this
expensive young man , —his way ot" life , the company he keeps , and the probable chances of his ever being uble or willing to pay his annually increasing debts ! He has exasperated every province of a divided empire . His capital is in a mate of siege . He has a colossal army in the field which in the only instrument of a paternal Government , he not only cannot reduce , but must inevitably increase . Bankruptcy , it in well-known , has ever been , from the duys of Louis XIV . until now , one of the chief articles of the catechism of Kings . The word of a King is as good us his bond : the question is whether tho bond is not uh good iiNtt King ' s word , and no better ! Subsciibe ! Subscribe )!
General Narvaez is expected to return to . Spain in next October . Ureat preparations are making at Madrid for the deeply interesting advent of a young prince . This is truly " counting chickeiiH , " & c . : lor it in whispered that the last expectation of thin kind was not prevented by u mishap as oiliciully announced , but was a ialtic ahum altogether ! In Portugal , tho Duke of Terceira i » aping the tactics ot the great Party of Order . " In his electioneering programme ho nays— " As it i « highly waeiUiul to tho general welfare to promote by all
legal means (* . e ., by intrigue and corruption ) the principles which are the fundamental bases of the throne , the charter , and order , the representatives of the ideas which are herein symbolized , have unanimously resolved , in imitation of the Conservative party all over the civilized world , " Sec . & c . These fundamental bases of the throne" are , we remember , the key-note of the High Cabinet letters of Austria . The rest is a pale copy of the jargon of the French Reaction . It is clear that Marshal Saldanha must make way for the advanced guard of his party . Here , as elsewhere , constitutional fictions are used up—Democracy or Despotism . The King of Prussia is about to take another step downwards . He finds a citizen army too patriotic
too fond of merging the throne in the country : wherea 9 Monarchy is a principle , not a country . Accordingly the present constitution of the army is to be fundamentally changed . The Landweher is to be abolished ; the troops are to be blind and unthinking mercenaries , quartered on the citizens , not to defend the frontiers , but to make a royal road for Nicholas . The fundamental rights of the German People have , it seems , been finally voted away by a section of that galvanized corpse of a Frankfort Diet . So much the better . Between the Thrones and the Peoples let there be-a clear stage and no favour . arrival
The Milan Gazette announces officially the of the Emperor for the 14 th at Verona . The municipality of ' Milan has charged a deputation to go and invite the Emperor to visit that city . But it seems decided that his Majesty will take up his residence at Verona and Monza , passing through the Lombard capital to repair to the manoeuvres of Somma . Grand fetes are to be given upon this occasion . The King of Naples is to be lodged et the palace of the Viceroy ; the Grand Duke of Tuscany , at the palace Archiato ; the Duke of Modena , at the palace Belgioioso ; the Duke of Parma , at the palace Litta Modiguani . The Pope is to be represented by the Prince Altici ; and the Kings of Wurtemberg and Bavaria are expected . The Emperor is to return to Vienna on the 5 th of October .
The Milan Official Gazette of the 8 th instant announces , under date Naples the 27 th ultimo , that the King had instituted a commission for the reform of prisons within his dominions , and that , in his anxiety that the truth should be known , his Majesty had requested the members of the corps diplomatique to join in the labours of the commission , and visit with them the different prisons of the kingdom . As a ' pendant" to this last piece of news , which may seem a fit of mercy in King Bomba , the Croce di Savoia of the 10 th instant states that forty-six political prisoners had been tried in Naples and condemned to death . Among them were ten ex-deputies , two ex-Ministers , one ambassador , and two clergymen . It was hoped , however , that the King would commute their penalty .
Taking a sweep northwards , we read that the twenty-fifth anniversary of the coronation of the Emperor of All the Russias was celebrated on the 6 th instant throughout the whole empire . Notabilities from all the provinces assembled at Moscow , where the Emperor and Empress had previously arrived , and where considerable military forces had been concentrated under the orders of Prince Paskiewitsch . And from Poland we learn how the anniversary was celebrated at Warsaw .
At the beginning of the last month about forty political prisoners , many ot whom hud been for several years groaning in the dungeons of the citadel of Warsaw , were at last sentenced by court-martial . The expected arrival of Nicholas in Warsaw filled the hearts of the unfortunate prisoners with the hope that , at least on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Emperor ' s reign , the fate of the poor victims would be mitigated . Vain hope ! For on the ' 20 th of July last the inhabitants of Warsaw were horrorstricken at the horrible torture of three of the
sentenced men . lhey were driven between two rows of soldiers armed with sticks , one of whom received one thousand , the other fifteen hundred , and third two thousand blows . The latter , after one thousand blows , fell senseless to the ground , whereupon ho was thrown on a low cart , und received the remaining one thousand blows . There were , besides , more than thirty prisoners , amongst whom neveral refugees , who , having trusted to the so-called Imperial amnesty , have been sent , soini : to the mines of Nerchinsk , others to people Siberia . A great number of prisoners are still awaiting their sentence . No mercy in nhown to those Poh'H , especially , who took an active i > art in the last war of Hungary . What " pity that the British Consul in Warsaw in not another Gladstone !
In the Gazette of Northern Germany wo road the following : — " In all parts of Kunttian Poland the levy of recruits is enormous . It is believed that tho ( Jovernnient is making preparations lor the probable eventualities of 1862 . Thoy Hay that the mtoroBted powers have ulready concocted a plan lor the concentration of tho coal « Hced ariniea , and lor tho dltttributron of the forma of operation , "
Sept. 20, 1851.] ®»* *««**«. 887
Sept . 20 , 1851 . ] ®»* *««**« . 887
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 20, 1851, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20091851/page/3/
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