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November 27, 1852.] THE LEADER. ' 1137
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REINFORCEMENT OF THE FRENCH ARMY. It is ...
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T1IK MISSING BATON, kc. Tiik Clerk to th...
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TAXATION ILKDU'tt!) TO li'MTY AN!) SI.MI...
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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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31oyal .And Ministerial Certificate For ...
that they will stoop to lift up the woman or the child sunk in a squalor of wretchedness far below the reach of the helping ' hand of gentility . It was a great spectacle of self-control , exhibited not only in the tranquillity , but in the free , the cheerful , the willing spirit with which every person in that multitude helped the police and the soldier to keep order ; but we cannot ascribe this altogether to " popular self-government . " We agree , indeed , with Lord JDerby , that the conduct of the people showed " how
safely and to what extent that people might be relied upon as the strongest hold of Government . " We sympathize in his pride , and we accep t his testimony to the capacity of this people for popular self-government . Yes ! in their attitude that day he saw their capacity , and , as Prime Minister of England , in his place amongst the Peers , he declares his testimony . He is a most valuable witness . But we ask him to reflect , that amongst that immense number , by far the larger proportion have too share in popular self-government .
Yet he was not able in the behaviour of the people to distinguish any difference of conduct , lie could not point out to different sections in the crowd , and say , —pointing to one part , — " These people appear to be orderly , intelligent , capable of self-control , able to understand the moral meaning of the ceremony of this day ; but "—pointing to another section—" those others show in their aspect that they are stupid , that they do not understand what is going forward , that they are incapable of self-control , and , accordingly , you see that they are disorderly and turbulent , only to be kept under by barriers , police , and soldiers . " Did he observe any distinction of that sort ? Did he not rather see that
in the whole mass the spirit of order and selfcontrol was uniform , —that the only distinction which exists . is an artificial distinction , decreed by men in his own station ? And does he not feel , by testimony which has been honourablywrung from him by his own experience , that there exists no reason for maintaining that distinction , or for continuing to exclude from the franchise any section- of that multitude which showed itself on Thursday ?
November 27, 1852.] The Leader. ' 1137
November 27 , 1852 . ] THE LEADER . ' 1137
Reinforcement Of The French Army. It Is ...
REINFORCEMENT OF THE FRENCH ARMY . It is no disparagement of any among the able correspondents who furnish information to English papers from Paris , to say that it is almost impossible to penetrate to the truth , or to view it as a whole from any point of view within that capital . The attempts to preserve secrecy are so elaborate and so diligently kept up , and the moans of circulating information , even in the most private circles , are ao carefully intercepted , that a full conception of any one subject is almost interdicted to . the . resident . . Tho most iron
tyranny , indeed , cannot altogether prevent the gas-liko transfusion of knowledge , and tho moans of acquiring better insight into French affairs transpire sufficiently to form an approximate o . sthnato on the . foreground of . London . Truth , however , does not always carry its own proof with it * and for that reason we are very glad to ha , vo the testimony of the Times' in eorroboration ° 1 what we had previously wild with respect to the reinforcement of the French army . In its impression of Monday , the Times places before Jts renders a , . sufficient portion of the truth to possess the lOnglish public with n , generally correct view . Wo have already intimated that the professed " reduction" of * : !<) , 0 l )() men would
prove to be , practically , a reinforcement . The Name . Mn nil car which announces the reduction , publishes y , (> order for calling out the ; whole ( 1 on , scri |) tion of »() , <)()() men for the year IWA ; H (> that the diminution of ;{() , ()()() men can make '"' t little difference in tho net result . We have yt't to Koe how that small reduction . shall bo carnod out ; and there iH every reason to nuppo . se 'hat it will 1 )(> curried m ) an not to diminish Hie < -ff ' o < : tive Htrength in the slightest possible decree .
"' ' « not unlikely that the least Hervioeable or wearie d Boldiers will he selected for ditimisHal ; ! l "d all who have had the conduct of military ' " ' airs know that if a good occasion can be fouiul •<> r relie ving a force of its least willing and hci--vu' <\ ablo soldiers , without suggesting" the crime of inalingeri ,, ^ a . virtual ^ ain will be ef fected in tho Htren ^ th of that force Tho ' pmes , however , " ( Ids another piece , of information , which wo had not previousl y received : —
" We have reason to believe that Louis Napoleon has long entertained plans for the formation of other corps under the name of Gendarmerie , which would constitute a more permanent , and probably a better force , than an equal number of the line , because they would remain longer in the service . The Gendarmerie already amounts ; to about 25 , 000 men , who are all picked troops , more highly paid than the line , and permanently enrolled . The desire of the Government seems
to be to form select bodies of troops , to revive the Imperial Guard and the Regiment of Guides , and to obtain by these changes the nucleus of an army not liable to be influenced by all the changes of the conscription . "Very probably this may be sound policy in a military point of view ; but it by no means follows that a reduction of ii certain number of troops on paper is a bondjide diminution of the aggressive power of the country . "
Independently of the actual increase to the working efficiency of the army , there is an equal diligence in furnishing the munitions of war , and in practising the men for every species of exercise . The London papers have already informed the people of Paris that the President has accumulated guns to the number of more than a thousand , promptly available ; and the exercises which were begun long before the second of December—such as the practice of the infantry in keeping up for some hours in a
run with cavalry—have been increasingly continued . Other exercises having been added as occasion offered—such , for example , as the rapid embarkation and debarkation of large bodies of troops , 5000 strong , in the great steamships . If not intended for a definite purpose , this immense machinery must be constructed and practised for an emergency not altogether unforeseen . The destination of its activity may be still under consideration , but it will become either side to be prepared . To adopt the language of our Tory
contemporary" We cannot help it that tho mechanism of French society should be such as to enable the Government to assume at any moment an attitude of hostility backed by prompt levies of men trained to arms . The fact is so , and it imposes on us the necessity of adapting our own defensive mechanism to a no less capability 'of being put in action against sudden contingencies . We live in quick times . Not only our near neighbours the
French , but every nation which has sea-board , arc bent on having their war steamers , and that not , as we are free to admit , with immediate designs of aggression , but partly because they have vague ideas of some coining necessities , and partly because we believe that the active temper of the age impels Governments to be doing something calculated to . meet their eyes with palpable forms of strength . A . sense of power is a great temptation to its being exercised . "
We have said this often : avo now / hid it echoed by the Times and the Morning Herald ; but we must still persevere in urging our own readers to watch and aid the growth of correct opinion in this matter , in order that the exertions be sufficient , both in point of extent and of promptitude .
T1ik Missing Baton, Kc. Tiik Clerk To Th...
T 1 IK MISSING BATON , kc . Tiik Clerk to the House of Commons annually goes into " the cellars" lo search for (< uy 1 / awkes ; but he might bestow his acumen on other objects . We want a Diogenes Commission for . some few thingK that are missing . We arc not all inclined to presume that the present ( Government ia worthless . That it has made mistaken we know ; we have helped to proclaim them . That its original position is utterly absurd , wo believe ; and that ils present position i < ludicrously illogical ,
every one can see without our showing . . 11 entered oilioe , as many supposed , to restore . Protection , alter even the vast bulk of the . Protectionist party had practically learned to value freo trade in the shape of cheap food ; hut having entered office under that Hag , the party disavowed its standard , and used the bunting which had " braved a thousand years , " Ac ., as a duster to polish tho furniture of free trade anew for the
une of gcnteeler hands . When it Waived its protectionist function , however , it still remained in want of a mission , (' anting about , it observed that Lord John wan tho Wat Tyler of the day ; and ho the great mission that remained open wan the great resistance to ( he " democracy . " Accordingly , ' Protectionists once Protectionists , Protectionists no longer , professed to he in office as holdei-H of I ho outpostn against " tho inroadH of democracy . " Hut Lord Derby disposed of that mission in Jhiw speech ou . Friday evening , Jio
had seen the democracy , face to face , and was not afraid of it . He saw that if the upper classes of the country meet the democracy in good fellowship , they are welcomed with cordial cooperation . In no country is it easier to rule , in no country is a public ruler more "facile jprinceps . " Probably we shall hear no more of Lord Derby ' s mission to resist the democracy . Y / hat , then , is the mission of the present Government P This is amongst the things that tho Diogenes Commission should inquire into . We do not at all presume that , when found , the mission would prove to be worthless : quite the reverse . We have a shrewd suspicion that there
is lurking in the Ministerial mind some project which would be extremely popular , if it were but known . " Adversity makes us acquainted with strange bed-follows , " and disappointment sharpens invention . The Ministry that cannot restore Protection , that cannot find it in its heart to resist democracy , will hardly like to leave office , like a candle going out in the" socket , without any achievement worthy of its party . Some great idea may be struck out . The Protectionist party that cannot adopt free trade , may be its own teacher , and the party that came into office to resist democracy , may continue in office to lead the democracy . The Diogenes Commission would find out this truth for us : and if the event should
prove as we suspect , we might see a very pretty race . Lord John has already got the start at Perth , and at present he is the favourite for the democratic plate ; but if Mr . Disraeli were to enter , the odds , we suspect , would be in his favour . If it were so , or indeed if it were quite the reverse , and in any case , we do not understand how the present Ministry , or any other Ministry , should get on with Lord Malmesbury at the present time , or indeed at any other time . The man who has almost pledged us against our natural ally , America ; who is pledging us with our useless and incorrigible ally , Spain ; who is
p laying the game of France in Constantinople , m Turin , and Brussels , is not exactly the person to select as our Foreign Minister . It was said that Lord Stratford , of UedclifTe , had been brought back from Constantinople on purpose to take the post which Lord Malmesbury held ad interim . It was that belief which somewhat reconciled politicians to Lord Stratford ' s removal from his post in Turkey : now Lord Stratford is still absent from . Turkey ; but he is not present in Downing-street . The second thing which the Diogenes Commission could usefully discover for the English public is , what has become of Lord Stratford P
There is a third thing for the Commission to seek out , of less magnitude in itself , but not without its symbolic meaning . The Union , Paris paper , notes that there Avero but seven batons in the funeral procession on Thursday , France not being one ; and remarks , that the fact for ever sets at rest the calumnious assertion ( hat Wellington had been made a Marshal of . France . It is somewhat remarkable that amongst the titles proclaimed by the ( barter King at Arms , as pertaining to tho Duke of Wellington , is that of
"Marshal of F ranee . " . Now , which was rightthe Union or Sir William Voting ? It is not for us to determine ; but we are perhaps nationally inclined to suppose ! that our own principal herald nniHt have been in the right . Hut yet again , if ho , what had become of the eighth baton ? " Where was the baton of I ' ranee that ought to have been in the procession ? Was it kept , back , " lest it should offend ( ho foreigner ? " This is the third thing for which l \ io Diogenes Commission would look ; and they nnglit begin by looking into Lord iVlalmesbury ' H pocket .
Taxation Ilkdu'tt!) To Li'mty An!) Si.Mi...
TAXATION ILKDU'tt !) TO li'MTY AN !) SI . MI . MilCl . TY . Vl . ll . IMiK . NCIL TAXATION . * Tun work of M . Kinilo < lt ! ( iirardin , which supplies tho . subject , of this nrticU ' , ' consists of t hree paits : tho tirst treats of ( he taxation of 1 'Yiuicci as it , was before l 7 Si ); tho . second exhibits that , taxation as it , now exists ; tho third . states and discusses the plans of French fiimnciiil reform proposed l > y ( he author . Kadi of theso parts of tho book surest . s matters for rcllcctiou to which our limited space will permit but imperfect justice . Tho history of taxation , and of its connexion with * 1 / Iniixif . I ' m" I ' -milo d (! ( jlirurdiii . Nixic-ino Kdition . I ' . irin : A III . Lilu / uLrjo JNouvcllc , . Iioulovnrd deu itulioiiB , 10 , 1 H . " . 15 .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 27, 1852, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_27111852/page/13/
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