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ilMaBMBB^KOBBBi^Mi "*^^**!*"* 1 *"* * 18...
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_ W CIVIL SERVICE.—CLAIMS OF PUBLIC SERV...
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SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIST. We have received a ...
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EPILOGUE TO THE BIOGRAPHIES OF GERMAN PR...
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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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Russian Trade—Struggles, And Bubbles. It...
will receive a handsome dividend upon theirf ^ -stcall before a farther advance will be required . The tro-• vernment has recently interfered to stop new -qndertakin ^ s , but prudent observers consider the intervention too late to prevent a monetary crisis comin" on . Like all subjects of tyranmcal Qovernmentsfthe mass of the llussians are hoarders . The ^ noble spends more than he can afford , but the serf tides what he is fortunate enough to eaten and can protect from the thieving and extortion that his superiors carry oil . If these hoards could be made available , sufficient capit al might be found , but otherwise a host of schemes will find themselves m a fax . < Jn the whole , however , the joint-stock company fever doubt produce a beneficial result , and whatever losses it may entail it will open up means of communication , and stir up the minds of the people to believe in . progress and create a desire to cany it out . „ . , The cheap knowledge company furnishes a strikih" - instance of the barbarousi condition of the capitafof " All the Russias . " Books in Russian are exceedingly scarce , and sell for ten times as much as bur own current publications . To remedy this state of tilings Mr . KokorefF and others started the new company and found themselves' obliged to commence operations in Berlin and Leipsig , because St . Petersburg possessed no type adequate for the purpose 5 and if type had been imported there were scarcely any workmen who knew how to use it . It is not an uncommon ' thing for the editor of a periodical to announce that his publication cannot come out , or is diminished in size , because the type is required for a more urgent purpose . Overlying this ignorance , and savagery—which may one day prove volcanic—is a hot-bed of ' luxury , that may tumble in , or find itself summarily blown up . Wines sparkle , jewels flash , and silks rustle in gilt saloons , but here and there , enough dirt is visible to indicate the distinction between civilisation and display . In such a state of society the virtues of a middle class are scarcely known ; and were Alexander , like King Arthur , to put up a wealthy princess as the prize for a . tournamentone of gambling would suit best—rit is doubtful whether his court would prove asmoral as that of the British monarch , m which three knights abstained from the contest ; for there were" Two who loved their neighbours ' wives , And one who loved Me own . " We say these tilings in nohostility to Russia . We hail with satisfaction- every symptom of improvement ; and if she rigidly abstains from military meddling with the affairs of Euroi > e , there is a splendid future before her ; and with sufficient time she cannot fail to become a valuable addition to the family of civilised nations . That , however , must be by developing her own character , and not by importing luxuries and vices from foreign capitals .
Ilmabmbb^Kobbbi^Mi "*^^**!*"* 1 *"* * 18...
ilMaBMBB ^ KOBBBi ^ Mi " *^^**!* " * 1 * " * * 1818 *** *^ ?^™^™<^^ ¦ ^ 4 66 . Ebbwaby 26 , 1859 . T THE L-EAPEB . 275
_ W Civil Service.—Claims Of Public Serv...
_ W CIVIL SERVICE . —CLAIMS OF PUBLIC SERVANTS . The bill for the Superannuation of the CivU , Service has been read a second time in the House of Coinmons , It seems to have provoked but slight discussion , considering the importance of the question to a class of men who stand deservedly well in public estimation . The G overnment service ; has always been a favorite one- ^ -lcss lucrative it is true thaw the mercantile service , but always a trifle more certain . Am imaginary superiority , too , in ita name and the care with which the country was supposed to look after its worn-iout and decayed servants , have contributed mainly to its popularity . It however seems to be the fact that appointments , made since the year 1829 , have sl ^ own
ocand juster course may be urged upon the country ^ namely , to look at these payments as a species of life insurance , and : make some extra allowance to ihe pensioner . The charge would soon cease alto r ffether to be a burden on the public purses It appears that since 1829 the deductions referred to have amounted , up to the passing of Lord Naas ' s Act in 1857 , toNearly a million sterling ; and yet in the bill now before the House there is no provision made in favour of those who created , by their
contributions , this large sum . It is contended , we are aware—but unfairly contended—that these public servants accepted their appointments with the knowledge that certain specified abatements would be made . If this is true of a portion of the service , it cannot be said of those appointed between the Treasury minute of 1829 and the Act of 1834 : they could have had no idea of the existence of such a minute at , the time of their appointment .
We cannot help feeling some surprise , therefore , that the claims of those from whoin abatements have been made have not in some way or other been recognised in Mr . Disraeli ' s bill . We cannot refrain from thinking that the country ought to admit these claims ; should it be otherwise , then Lord Naas ' s Act , which has reduced Sir ( x . C . Lewis ' s more liberal bill of 1856 to the dimensions of Mr . Disraeli ' of 1858 , is no good whatever to the public servants of 1829 , but rather an aggravation of their grievances . It would matter very little to them to pay the tax a year or two longer , if in the end their claims were recognised by an increased superannuation allowance .
__ _ . 11 i -i i iwi , » l r _ ... l . _ caaionally slight disaffection , and have more or less produced grumblers , since the Superannuation Act of 1834 . jj y tlint Act the civil servants ( those ap-i pointed after 1829 ) wore subjected to thy payment of 5 percent , on their snluries when above 1001 . and of 2 J percent , when below tljutsum ; while those appointed boforo 1829 escaped with perfect immunity from the tax . Il ' oro thu first genus of dtaooulont appear to have shown themselves 5 and the present Chancellor ' s bill , if' it become law , ia iu no way calculated to remove it , at least fVoni the greater portion of the exiting publio servants . It roay , it is ti-uo , bo said those public servants have served their country ' s turn ibr well nigh thirty yeai 0 , more or losa—they aro getting old , and fewer in number , and the growling will die out with them in ft very short time . On the othov hand , a nobler
Schleswig-Holsteist. We Have Received A ...
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIST . We have received a letter from Bradford ^ which we insert , although we think it hardly worth while to pursue the subject further : — " The correspondent of the Leader'is astonished at seeing the Germans , who signed the address to the Holstein Diet , taking him to task for his misrepresentations . It is ; liowrever , difficult to understand who else could possibly have taken . him to task , than the persons who were the object , of the misrepresentation — the mueh-spoken-of ' Yorkshirenien '
being quite imaginary . Nor would the signers of the address think it worth while to allude any further to this affair did not the correspondent seem to think that the petition was written in such a way as to leave a doubt whether it was expressive of the wishes of German residents at Bradford , or of the wishes of a part'of the English people . ' Now , the fact is , tlie petition begins with these words ;— ' We ,. the undersigned , natives of Germany , ' & c . Again , in a subsequent paragraph , the words occur , it has grieved us , citizens of Germany , who reside abroad , ' & c . Is this not clear enough ?
B country . The Schleswig Deputies have addressed to the . Danish King a memorandum , a few weeksago , in which they pronounce , against his despotic . attempts at annexation . . . "As to the assertion that this is ' not so much a question of liberty as of race , ' the proofs of the contrary are very easy . At this moment , the'people of Holstein are deprived of the right of the free press , of free meeting , and so forth . . They , are , besides , made to support the Banish exchequer with most unproportional contributions . Not even the right of collective petitioning has been left to them . Within the last few weeks , thousands of individual petitions have been addressed to Itzehoe , all of them insisting on the national rights . The police of Denmark are now busy , inquiring about the promoters of the movement , with a view of prosecuting them . An ordinance has also appeared , prohibiting further petitions of this kind ! And this is not a question of freedom against despotism ! Then what is ?" Surely the mistake of our correspondent has beeit quite enough alluded to ; ' and , we trust he will not think it not necessary to continue the controversy , as we are quite convinced of his good faith and opportunity of furnishing us with information . The great question of the States will receive our earnest attention .
u Moreover , all the journals , both German and English , that have come under our eyes , describe the petition correctly , as a ' petitition of German merchants , professors , and so forth , residing a t Bradford . ' I could quote a dozen German journals ; be it sufficient to name the Berlin National-Zeitung which gives ample details on the matter . The London German journal , Hermann , does the same . As to English journals , the correspondent may learn the real state of things from the Daily News , the Morning Advertiser , tho Daily Telegraph , and several others . Altogether , the source from which the correspondent has taken his ' impressions ' seems to be a very extraordinary one . He speaks of loud laughter , ' whilst telegraphic despatches and letters speak
of a great and good effect produced by the address . One despatch , dated Hamburgh , says , * At Kiel , Schleswig , and other towns , the manifestation of German merchants at Bradford and Liverpool has given great satisfaction . Tlie Danish police are active in trying to clieck the movement . ' A letter in one of the great English journals says : — . * Addresses have also been presented from German merchants , professors , & o ,, residing at Bradford ( Yorkshire ) and Livorpopl . It seems that this token of sympathy on the part of German natives living abroad has produced « very good result . A great number of journals allude to it as to a fact of some importance ; and tho same impression I obtain from private letters received from friends at Kiul and Itzehoe . '" We also have received on this subject tho following romarks : ¦—" If tho correspondent thinks that the Duohios are only oggod on b / tho Germans beyond tho Sohloawig-Mqlsteln frontier , ho is mistaken . The majority of 'tho population havo repeatedly shown tho ' r true Rympathies In tho moat unmfstakeabto manner , Tho llolstoin Diet , not very long ago , brought a charge amounting to high treason against tho Danish Mlnistor , for having eurtallod tho national rights and provincial liberties of the
Epilogue To The Biographies Of German Pr...
EPILOGUE TO THE BIOGRAPHIES OF GERMAN PRINCES , " Go , " exclaimed a famous statesman of other days , to his son , who was setting out on his travels , " go and see with how little wisdom the world is governed ! ' " . This biting aphorism is fully illustrated in the present state of Germany , as exhibited in the lives of her princes . It will have been a wonder ., no doubt , to many of our readers , how a race of sueh high mental culture as the Germans are acknowledged to be—a people who have revolutionised the intellectual world by the introduction , of the printing press , and the political world by the
discovery of gunpowder—how they , a people ever in the van pf human progress , can . be found submitting in silence to governments with whom " wisdom " has nothing to do . " Is , then , " our readers may have asked , " the law of liberty not commensurate in the German people with its scientific , philosophical , artistic , and industrial development ? Are they nothing better than the willing slaves of these decrepid and half-demented dynasties who have become a disgrace to hunianity at large , both politically and . morally ? How ; are . we to account for so sad a spectacle as is here presented to us , in one of the most gifted branches of the human family having its natural aspirations for freedom so utterly trodden down ?"
A glance at history will easily show that it is not hi the German character , but in the adverse tide of circumstances , we mustseek . for an explanation of the present deplorable state of tilings . Germany has not always been the prey of despotism . It has had its brilliant epochs of civicliberty and powerful democratic associations . There was an epoch' —not so far back in the dim g ast—when her soil gave birth to a thousand Freer ities , organised on a republican basis , enjoying the most unlimited self-government , and overflowing with prosperity in trade and commerce . . At that period the civic commonwealths of Southern Germany formed , as it were , sundry oases of liberty in the terrible feudal desert the world had
become ; and not unfrequcntly did these freedomloving fraternities bid defiance to the plundering monarchs around them , and appear on the point of vanquishing the crowned brigands entirely . At that time , too , tho great Hanse League—that proud confederation of the commci'eial republics ot the north—dictated laws to kings , and held in their gift the crowns of the Scandinavian monarchies . Xo a , German living in those epochs , the future of his fatherland might well have seemed n bright one . lie might have fondly imuginqd that his nation was advancing to a greator unity , to inoro extended freedom , to a perfect ; religious independence ; in short , to deliverance fi-oin all petty princes , robber barons , and haughty Papist legates . Indeed , to establish such a stato of national liberty was tho aim of that great movement known under tho unmo of the " Kofbrmatlon . " It w a common error to Suppose that the Gernnan Kolorination hail only a religious tendency . Nothing could bo more unfounded than this opinion , tio far from such being tho case , on the contrary , tho
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 26, 1859, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26021859/page/19/
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