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Leader (1850-1860), 20th November 1852, Edition Country of 2, Page 2

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      Rphe Event Which Has Filled The Public E...

      dominant in treachery and blood , prove only too well on what a mine of sleeping vengeance France lies prostrate and benumbed . By whom have these seeds of terrorism been sown ? by Ihe Republic thaty in ' 48 , in its hour of triumph , ttMih A * face of tfaft starving " , " ( to whose spontaneous protection glozing " capital" owed the Safety of its precious coffers , as they mounted £ uard at the gates of wealth , those * famished nefoes of * glorious dream , in rags /) — struck down the guillotine , and swept the hand of the executioner from the code , as a monstrous anachronism ? Or

      by the conquerors of June , the apologists of Haynau , the parasites of the Red Monarchies and the dictators of December massacres ? Let the public conscience answer . As English writers , we earnestly repudiate and disavow all terrorism , in whatever shape or from whatever quarter it may come . We are with the combatant—not with the headsman . " We will not fling insults at the great Shades of ft fierce and fatal epoch 5 " born in bitterness and nurtured in convulsion , " they

      fought half blindly in their agony , like dreadful ministers of Fate ; but Humanity , we do yet believe , is not , Ixion-like , bound to a revolving wheel—it marches onward into light , not backward into darkness . We profess a higher faith in eternal justice , and in the future of the oppressed nations , and our banner is " Excelsior . ' * But having sympathy for all who suffer , we have

      admiration for all who struggle , and the hand of succour for all who fight , —in honour . The instruments we disclaim are those by which Louis Bonaparte has triumphed—the instruments of the burglar and the footpad . Who can wonder at the men of ' 48 saying to the people " your enemies generously spared would soon become your persecutors and executioners V

      The Manifesto of Henry V ., that impossible monarch in partibus , is a document to be read before an archaeological society . It smells of old furniture , and might have been slumbering in Wardour-street for years . It might be set to music as a Minuet de la Cour , or a Cotillon . For our own days , it has absolutely no sense at all ; and the return" it supposes is a pretty story to excite our charitable smiles . Whatever terrors France may fear , she needs fear no such revenants as this poor Comte de Chambord .

      Well , these protests , Republican and Legitimist , had deluged France , unseen by that vigilant police which has so keen an eye for a passport . The poison had struck into the veins of the whole population : feverish symptoms betrayed the evil : what was to be done ? Inoculation was the only cure . Accordingly , in the most official column of the Moniteur , the hostile appeals are conspicuously printed , with brief and fatuous

      comment by the present owner of " right divine . " The Party of Order , the parasites of power m church and on Change , in bank and shop , awake to iind every dead wall covered with " incendiary " placards , recalling " the worst days . " Down go the funds—where they always go—into the pockets of the great •* Bears" of the Bourse , MM . Louis Bonaparte , Fould , and Co . Confidence is shaken , and the shops are fain to keep the shutters closed , for the Revolution is in the

      streets again . It is difficult to weigh the prudence of this bold stroke of policy . Louis Bonaparte probably thinks he is proving , in the sight of nil men , that the Republic has " gone to the wall ; " but the more timid and vacillating of his own supporters may well have scruples about the rr . sj > ectnfoility of so strange a piece of coquetry , nrul may begin to doubt these ; antics of a " monarchy

      of chance , destitute alike of principle and consistency . " The people will not forget the burning words of Victor Hugo , branding tlu : usurper of all rights , while it sneers at the " commonts" of the Elyse ' e , and the drivel of l'Vohsdorf . Emile de Girardin ' s approval of the " bold and clever" act may well ft ive pause : he accepts it as a complimentary adhesion to hia owti theory of " Unbmitfcd Liberty , "

      iftrae ' e , aocotnpahi *^ no doubt , with significant hints . Not * fi « tefanding ftfll this p ¥ essure , a ftiflf general abstention from the ballot is apprehended : and in spite of the very general abstention , the Empire is expected to have more votes than even the coup d'e ' tat . Everybody says , Why not ? a question to which we find it hard to reply .

      and on such a t # ft will no doubt preach again some day or otbtf with revivea * iteration . Our corresfHffident speaks of the universal * pathy < rf tfi * ^ leifttors for the & rt » ing vote . § 8 g ^ ifeat is tti § diffidtf & y of gettftl ' g etfen supporters fctf atir a step in firfour of the Empire , that tickets 8 tf " Yes '' tire seiti round t 6 each iouse by the

      The test of the French news is of the usual staple : enormous jobbing on the part of the hungry reigning family" and their adherents , who are busy making a purse out of the pockets of deserving speculators ; and decimation of the disaffected by transportation to Lambessa and Cayenne . France is now nothing but a gambling f nell , "—where it is not a prison . It is pleasant to hear of the congregation of Hereditary Dukes and exiled Pretenders at Venice , reminding us of the Five Kings of Voltaire .

      The Sultan is still trying to raise money , to avert Imperial bankruptcy ; but he is doing so in England , and by a different plan from that which flattered France and irritated Russia . Amongst non-political visitations at home , the largest are , the unchecked prosperity , and the wide floods . The lowlands of England are lakes , and in some places the flood has fatally crossed the path of the traveller .

      What is Lord Derby about , that he does not fulfil his mission of keeping off the deluge ? For what else does he wield the official broom ?

      1102 The Leader. _ R8attrrmv ¦ -* ^^~ - ...

      1102 THE LEADER . _ r 8 ATtrRmv ¦ - * ^^~ - -- < f ' ** 'g- ^ JBS > _ «¦ i , _

      Parliament Of The Week. As The Great And...

      PARLIAMENT Of THE WEEK . As the great and absorbing event of the week is the state ftineral , so it engrosses nearly all conversation in public and private . In both Houses , on Monday , the subject came up . Resolutions concurring in the course adopted by the Queen , and appointing a Select Committee to determine what part the lords should take in the proceedings , Were agreed to without any expenditure of oratory in the House of Lords , on the motion of Lord Derby . la the Commons , however , another course was adopted . Her Majesty ' s message relative to the funeral having been read , The Chanceixob of the Exohequeb rose , and , while the House lent him its deepest attention , spoke as follows : —

      The House of Commons is called upon to-night to fulfil a sorrowful , but a noble duty . It has to recognise , in fcno face of the country and the civilized world , the loss of the most illustrious of our citizens , and to offer to the asnes of the great departed the solemn anguish of a bereaved nation . The princely personage who has left us was born in an ago more fertile of groat events than any period of recorded time . Of those vast incidonts the most conspicuous were his own deeds , and these were performed with the smallest means , and in defiance of the greatest obstacles . He was therefore not only a groat man , but the greatest man of a great age . ( Cheers . ) Amid tho chaos and conflagration which attonded tho end of tho last contury there

      toko one of thoao beings who soem born to master mankind . It is not too much to eay that ^ Napoleori combined tho imperial ardour of Alexander with the strategy of Hannibal . The kings of tho earth foil before bis fiery and Bubtlo genius , and at tho head of all tho power of JEuropo ho donounced destruction to the only innd which dared to bo froo . ( Hoar , hoar . ) The Providential superintendence ot this world seoina seldom more manifost than in tho dispensation which ordained that the French Emperor and W e-llosley should be botn in the eamo yoar ; that in tho Haroo year they should havo embraced tho samo profession ; and that , natives of distant islands , thoy should both havo

      sought their military education in that illustrious land which each in hia turn was destined to Btibjugato . ( Cheors . ) . During tho long strugglo for our freedom , our g lory , T may say our existonco , Wollosloy fought and won lfi pitched battle , all of the highest class , concluding with ono of thono crowning victories which givo a colour and aspect to history . ( Cheers . ) During this period that can bo said of him which can bo said of no other captain—that he oapturod 8 , 000 cannon from the enomy , and never lost a single gun . ( Continued ohoering . ) Ti » o greatness of hit exploits was only equalled by tho difficulties ho ovorcamo . 1 la had to encountof at tho ririmo time a fceblo

      Govornmont , a factious opposition , and a distrustful pooplo , scandalous allies , and tho most powerful onoiny in tho world . Ho gained victories with starving troops , and oarriod on sieges without tools ( choern ); anaj ft" if ' <> eomplote tho fatality which in this senso always awaitod him , when ho had succeeded in . creating on tunruy worthy of Roman loffionH and of himself , this jrivinoiblo nost was broken up an tho eve of fcho greatest conjuncture of hitf lifer , and he

      entered th * fidd JS # Waterloo with raw levi * . 7 ? " paled . m his t & n called fortunatefiT ¥ f **<* divinity that jfrt fTf 6 ttrB thoseVho are Ih ^ " ¦ and Intrepid , ihvMfcvfe and > tient . ( Hear W ?*&*»>* his chB * aeU * ti * le * edt * ihis career . ( cSs ? i- waa achieved hk exits' guariedWmE ^ * It was Mtf «* Ui & ge tf-control that w ^ tS hElW * CLoud cheers . ) & has been the fiwfiSm of latev fate - disparage the taffl & ry character . Forty vear ? I *** have hw <& qualified & to be awate WcSP , P eace how cdferpfex ar * the qualities which & v 7 neceaf ^ J * formation of a great general . It is not eEEfi **?** he must be an e & gineer , a geographer lesrfpH \ L ^ hat nature , adroit in managing mankindI- tS h ™ human able to perform the hig & st duties of a Minister o ^ aid sink to the humblest offices of a comS » 2 . ' clerk ; but he has to display all this . fflK "S * ii ii l r * uowieacre and

      4- j- _ j .-- . •' .-. - v . « must do ail these things at the same time 3 ^ ** traordinary circumstances . ( Hear , hear } At 7 £ aere * moment he must think of the eve and the morrow ~ J ? £ flanks and of his reserve ; he must carry with him aC ? tion , provisions , hospitals ; he must calculate at tuT ' time the state of the weather and the moral I' * man ; and all these elements , which £ , gS & j * changing , he must combine amid overwhelming ¦ coK \ J overpowering heat : sometimes amid famine often m » vi the thunder of artillery . ( Seat , hear . ) BehindU \\ T too , is the ever-present image of his country , and Z dreadful alternative whether that country is to recoi him with cypress or with laurel . ( Hear , hear ) But 111 these conflicting ideas must be driven from the mind oftht

      military leader , for he must think—and not only think —he must think with the rapidit y of lightning for ona moment more-or less depends the fate of the finest com bination , and on a moment more or less depends glory or Shame . ( Cheers . ) Doubtless all this may be done in an ordinary manner by an ordinary man ; as we see every day of our lives ordinary men making successful Ministers of State , successful speakers , successful authors . But to do all this with genius is sublime . Doubtless , to think deeply and clearly in the recess of a cabinet is a fine intellectual demonstration , but to think with equal depth and equal clearness amid bullets is the most complete exercise of the human faculties . Although the military career of the Duke

      ot W eiungton nils so large a space m history , it was only a comparatively small section of his prolonged and illustrious life . Only eight years elapsed from A ' liniera to Waterloo , and from the date of his first commission to the last cannon-shot on the field of battle scarcely 20 years can be counted . ( Hear . ) After all his triumphs he was destined for another career , and , if not in the prime , certainly in the perfection of manhood , he commenced a civil career scarcely less eminent than those military achievements which will live for ever in history . ( Hear , hear . ) Thrice was he the ambassador of his Sovereign to those great historic Congresses that settled the affairs of Europe : twice

      was he Secretary of State ; twice was lie Commander-in-Chief ; and once he was Prime Minister of England . Hia labours for his country lasted to the end . ( Hear , hear . ) A few months ago he favoured the present advisers of the Crown with his thoughts on the Burmese war , expressed in a State paper characterized by all his sagacity and experience ; and he died the active chieftain of that famous army to which he has left the tradition of his glory . ( Cheers . ) . There was ono passage in the life of the Duke of Wellington which should harfily be passed unnoticed on such an occasion , and in such a ucene , as this . It is our pride that ho was one of ourselves ; it is our pride that Sir Arthur Wellerfey sat upon these bencheB . Tested by tho ambition and the success of ordinary mon , his career here , though brief , was distinguished . He entered Eoyal

      councils and held a high Ministerial post . But his Houso of Commons success must not bo measured by his seatat the Privy Council and his Irish Secretaryship . Ho achieved a success hero which tho greatest Ministers and tho most brilliant orators can never hope to rival . That Was a parliamentary succoss unequalled when ho rose in his seat to receive the thanks of Mr . Speaker for a glorious victory ; or , later still , when he appeared at tho bar ot this houeo and received , Sir , from ono of your predecessors , m momorable language , the thanks of a grateful country tor accumulated triumphs . ( Hoar , hear . ) There is one consolation which all Englishmen must feel under this bereavement . It is , that they wero so well and « o completely acquainted With this groat man . Never did a pertno

      son of such mark live so long , and so much in jmuj ' eyo . I would bo bound to say that there is not a K "" ' man in this Houso who has not seen him ; many ' hfiroa ™ who havo conversed with him ; some there are who iifl touched his hand . His countonanco , his form , his manner , his voice , are impressed on every memory , and sou nj i most in every oar . In tho golden saloon , and m the ouhj market-place , ho might bo alike observed . r U > o J " "h gonftration will ofton recall his words of kindnoHB , ami " people followed him in the streoln with a lingering gftzo roveront admiration . ( Hear , hoar . ) Who , m < lm « i , Jj » over forcet that classic and venorablo head , wl » t « W 1 time , and radiant , as it wore , with glory

      ?" StilidioniH apox , ot cognitu fulsit OanitioH . " To complete all , that wo might havo a P " rfocf : i ( lca , ] l ' ll sovereign master of duty in all his manifold ohiooh , l " . ' nolf tfavo us a collection of administrative and 1 "" " / literature which no nge and no country can rival , fortunate in all things , Wellosley found m lufl Jilfl "" ' ^ historian whoso immortal pmr « ) already ranks *"" j classic of that land which WolloHloy wived . I 1 '" 1 ' ^ The Duko of Wellington left to his countrymen ftj , ^ Intrnnv—a-ivmtrtr Av / ir > Ihnn his L ' loTV . JiO lei ' . ,., „»

      contemplation of hi » charootor . I will not « ay h <« «> revived tho mmm of duty In England . I won ) " ' < £ that of our country . But that his oonduofc mnpiw-a t ^ lifo with a puror and moro mauoulino tone I cau , ., j ^ o-His career robiikes rootless vanity , and reprunaxMi * gulAr obuflilionff of it taotUd egotism . X doubt not u »

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 20, 1852, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20111852/page/2/