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Leader (1850-1860), 7th June 1851, Edition Town of 1, Page 530

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      In 1831 , after he was made a Queen ' s counsel , Mr . fcheil entered Parliament as member for . Lord Anelesea ' s family borough of Milbourne Park . His success within the House was as great as his success without . The Ministry of the day were beaten on two divisions . The Parliament was dissolved ; and at the ensuing general election Mr . Sheil was elected for the county of Louth , in Ireland . In 1830 he had married a second time to the widow of Mr . Edward Power ; of Gurteen , in Tipperary ; and this alliance made Mr . Sheil anxious to sit for that county . On the dissolution in 1832 , he was elected , and continued to represent Tipperary until 1841 .

      The celebrated Lichfield House compact , to which Mr . Sheil was of course a conspicuous party , was the next prominent event in his life . Previously , however , to that " amnesty , '' and " compact alliance , " Mr . Sheil had distinguished himself by his severity in the denunciation of tithes , which he objected to in any shape , and by his very outspoken hostility to the Union . " If , " said Mr . Sheil in 1832 , " if the Union be not repealed within three years , I am determined that I will pay neither rent , tithes , nor taxes . They

      may distrain my goods , but who'll buy ? " After the epoch of Lichfield House , however , this tone was given up for good and all ; and after some coquetting with the Melbourne Ministry , during which the Irish Solicitor-generalship was offered to him , Mr . Sheil was ultimately preferred to the Commissionership of Greenwich Hospital , and shortly afterwards made "Vice-President of the Board of Trade , with a seat in the Privy Council . Mr . Sheil was the first Catholic commoner upon whom this dignity was bestowed .

      From the general election in 1841 , to the time of his departure for Florence , in 1850 , he represented Dungarvon , a borough in which the Duke of Devonshire ' s influence is great . On the return of the Whigs to office , in 1846 , after the repeal of the corn-laws , Mr . Sheil succeeded to the Mastership of the Mint , which place being abolished last session , he proceeded to Florence as British Minister at the Tuscan Court . i Mr . Sheil was personally a little , square-built ,

      active man . His style of speaking was very peculiar ; his gesticulation rapid , fierce , and incessant ; his enunciation remarkably quick and impetuous—sometimes , indeed , particularly after he began to lose his teeth , degenerating into an absolute gabble , working up at the close of his sentences to a sort of loud voluble scream , rendered the more remarkable by the general high and squeaky pitch of his voice . Mr . Sheil's matter was uniformly well arranged and lucidly logical .

      He died at Florence on the 23 rd of May of an attack of gout in the stomach . His constitution was very much broken up before he left England ; and it is understood that family grievances hastened his end .

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      CONTINENTAL NOTES . Two things stand out in French politics . The progress of the revision movement , and the progress of the President . M . de Broglie laid the propositions , for a modification of the constitution , agreed to by the club of the Rue des Pyramides , before the Assembly , on Saturday . At the same sitting the proposition of M . Moulin , modi tied by the committee , relative to the alteration of the time when a rejected proposition might again be presented , was adopted . It now declares that , after an interval of three months , resolutions may be again brought before the Assembly .

      Meanwhile petitions flow in from all aides praying for revision ; but they are nil too much of one stamp ; too suggestive of one coinagejnot to make it apparent that they are exotic 3 from Paris , mid got up in obedience to the dictatCH of the clubs . M . Grainer de Uassagnac has written an article in the ConstitiUionel , which finds a solution of the revision question in a coup d ' etat . He points to all the violent periods of French history , from the directory down to the administration of Cavaignae , as instances of successful experiments in dictatorial courses . The argument is brielly : France- desires to be saved ( u cant phrase , meaning the conservatives desire to be in

      power ) ; France desires the revision of the constitution , and the prolongation of the powers of the President ; the Government art ; intrusted with the task of giving effect to the desires of France ; but the forms of the constitution stand in the way of their duty ; there is but one course left , revise the constitution , and prolong the powers of the President in Hpiteofthe constitution . Thin is at least , explicit . Now , the journals of the majority are making great com-]> lajntH of the declining state of trade owing to the ubsence of confidence in the stability of things . Is confidence to be expected amid these violent party conflicts ? Not exactly .

      Kul these agitatioim of the Assembly have been thrown into tins shade by the event of the week—an unexpected , plain , and energetic speech from " Prince Louis Napoleon , President of the Republic ; . " The Lyons railway , between Dijon and Tonnerre , b 'ing finished , required only two things to make it { jorfect — the presence of the President , and the > Je . s . sin { £ of the Bishop of Dijon . Jloth these price-Jchh treasures were to be hud for the asking—perhaps

      less—and accordingly Louis Napoleon left Paris on Saturday night and passed through Sens to Tonnerre , from which he departed on the 1 st of June . On the way he got out at all the stations to review the National Guards , receive the shouts of the excited crowds , and dispense charity . He arrived by this process at Dijon at three p . m ., and was received , says a reporter present ( of the state of whose veracity the quality of the assertion leaves no doubt ) , " by the

      population of the city and country for leagues round , assembled at the terminus . Here also were " two tents filled exclusively with ladies , " and here stood an altar " on which the bishop and the entire clergy of Dijon" took their stand . This bishop then addressed the " Prince " in an " appropriate speech , " sprinkled a bedizened engine with holy water , and at the conclusion of the said speech arose an acclamation in favour of the " President . "

      Mounted on horseback , the " nephew of his uncle rode , amid dropping flowers , to the Prefecture , received all the officials and official boards except one , which declined to come , said maliciously to be " entirely composed of Reds "—shabby fellows !—and employed his time thus until seven o ' clock , when the Mayor of Dijon invited him to take dinner . When this necessary meal was over , this mayor , evidently a man of acute mind and no flatterer ! delivered himself of a speech beginning Mr . President , " and ending with this toast : — " The health of Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte , President of the Republic" !

      Considering that this gentleman is a creature of the Government , the wording of that toast is not bad very good for a partisan of the party of order who want to restore confidence . But the reply of the Prince-President—or President-Prince—threw the speech and toast of the Mayor into the shade . We give it entire : — " How I wish that those who entertain doubts of the future had accompanied me amidst the population of the Yonne and the Cote d'Or ! They would be reassured on witnessing the real disposition of the public mind . They would have seen that neither the intrigues , nor the

      attacks , nor the impassioned discussions of parties , are in harmony with the sentiments and the condition of the country . France does not desire the return to the old regime under whatever form it be disguised , nor the experiment of fatal and impracticable Utopias . It is because I am the most natural adversary of both the one and the other that France has placed her confidence in me . If such were not the case , how could"this affecting sympathy of the people towards me , which resists the most destructive polemics , and which absolves me from a share in its sufferings , be explained ? If , in fact , my Government has not been able to realize all the

      amelioration it intended , the fault is to be assigned to the manoeuvres of factions which paralyse the goodwill of Assemblies as of Governments the most devoted to the public interests . It is because you have thus understood it that I have found in patriotic Burgundy a reception which for me is approbation and encouragement . I avail myself of this banquet as of a tribune , in order to open my heart to my fellow-citizens . A new phase of our political life commences . From one extremity of France to the other petitions are in course of signature ,

      demanding the revision of the constitution . I await with confidence the manifestation of the country , and the decisions of the Assembly , which will not be inspired except by the sole thought of the public good . Ever since I have been in power 1 have proved , where the great interests of the country were in question , how little I regarded all that concerned myself . The most undeserved and the most violent attacks have never made me forget my calmness . Whatever be the duties the country imposes on me it shall find me decided on following its will ; and , believe me . gentlemen . France shall not perish in iay hands . "

      Imagine the consternation of MM . the Ministers present;—the shrugs of Dupin , the frown of Leon Faucher , the curled lip of Custellane ! Imagine the burst of shouting which echoed through the palace of the Dukes of Hurgundy ! Imagine the excitement prepared for Parisian break fast-tables next morning ! There was but one cry— " The President has declared war against the majority " ! The speech we have given above is the" softened " and official edition of the real speech , which does not exist in print . Louis Napoleon is said to huvc uttered the following words : — " That he had mot with very decided support for the represuion of disorder ; but , that whenever he had desired to propose ameliorations of u popular character , he had only found apathy " .

      The Sircli : account attributes somewhat more delicate bundling to M . Leon Faucher than the excision of a whole passage , by the suppression of the epithet " parliamentary " , as applied to " parties '' , and by calling away from " intrigues" the adjunct " of salons " . Instead of " parliamentary parties" and " intrigues of salons " , such as greeted Burgundian ears , the Parisians are treated to the vague and le . sH sonorous Hounds of " parties" and " intrigues " ,, which , foein ^ ^ eneralined , so as to lose all special application , become harmless .

      I lie Natumal ( republican ) , the- AssvmbU . c Nationak ( Gui / . otine funionist ) , and the Opinion 1 ' v . bliquc ( Legitimist ) , denounce with more or less indignation this Dijon oration . The Ih' . bats condemns it ; and nearly nil the journals except the ( UmBtUutionnel and the out and out I'JIyscuiu * . The President returned on

      Tuesday night , and during the day Ministers had been asked in the Assembly whether the reports respecting the speech of the President were correct . Leon Faucher , who had rushed to Paris to prevent anything offensive appearing in the Moniteur replied , that the speech published in that journal was the only one recognized by the Government . Nevertheless , we do not forget the oratorical incident ofv last week ; the short speech which M . Leon Faucher delivered in reply to an observation made by General de Grammont , on the discussion of the National Guards Bill , that it was doubtful whether the approaching crisis would terminate peacefully : — " Who then is master here ? " exclaimed the Minister • . IT " it ¦» ^ r • i 1 1 ^_ — _ j _

      of the Interior . " Is France not the mistress of her own destinies ? Have we not had the experience of several revolutions ; and have we not arrived at that age of manhood in which nations are able to give a legal and pacific solution to the questions which arise ? For my part , I reply , in the name of all the consciences which will be the echo of mine , that the ambitions of party at the solemn moment of the final decision will not dare to approach this tribune . ( Cries of * Very good ! from several members , and among them from M . Jules Favre ) I say that the will of the country will show itself , and that it will prevail . ( General approbation . ) I say that this Assembly will impose silence on personal sentiments respecting ancient and recent opinions , and that it will inspire itself with nothing but the necessities of th « country ; that it will endeavour to save the country , and that it will save it . ( Universal acclamations ., )"

      The chief German events are the meeting of the Frankfort Diet , on the 30 th , and inauguration of Rauch ' s bronze and granite monument to Frederick the Great , at Berlin , on the 31 st of May . The Berlin celebration stands most prominent . Frederick William did not go to Olmiitz , it is asserted , because he wished to inaugurate the monument of his great ancestor . And amidst a great display of soldiers , amidst a people silent , sombre , and suspected , the statue of " Old Fritz " was unveiled ; the hurrahs of the spectators burst forth ; the King shook the hand of M . Rauch ; and the ceremony ended by the defiling of the troops and processions of trades in front of the King . ..

      . _ , _ The monument consists of a granite pedestal 25 feet in height , presenting on each face bronze groups of the great military commanders of the Seven Years War , on foot and horseback , all the size of life , and all portraits , in high relief , surmounted by an equestrian statue of " Old Fritz , " 17 feet 3 inches high . The Diet did nothing more than receive the report of the last resolutions of the Dresden Conferences . The Cologne Gazette contains the following letter from Kiel , dated May 28 : —

      " Intelligence has just reached u s from Copenhagen that the royal edict which arrived here by special express e few days since , requiring the civil population to greet the Danish military with a salute , has been cancelled , and that the King is very wroth with the adviser who betrayed him into signing so foolish a document . And yet that edict was a very natural offshoot of the system of absolute government , by military and police , whi <> n . has been pertinaciously followed in this duchy . lh pruning of this twig will do little good so long as the roo of the evil is suffered to remain . Only the other day the election of a preacher was pending atBurkarl : a respectable farmer of the place was asked by one of the onicers to

      for which of the ( Danish ) Candidas he was Inclined vote , answered , ' For neither of tiiem , since no one pleases me ' He was arrested in church and hurried off to londern a prisoner . The next day he was heard before the magistrate , and declaring that he had only expressed conscientious convictions to which he mustadhere , he was remanded to hie cell , and remains there now . The essence of the Danish oppression is , the coercion of the conscience . We can forgive them when they destroy our earthly prosperity and seize our goods , but to compel us to do violence-to our convictions—this fills us with anguish and indignation . Such it grievance is the draughting of the soldiers of the Schleswig-Ilolstein army for the Danish

      service , —the more shameful as it is contrary to express assurances given to the Staathalterschaft . Oar men are taken like slaves , and dragged into the Danish battalionn , where they may have to fight against the cause they love . Many a soldier have we hoard , before these enormities were practised , expressing hi 8 confidence that Germany would never permit tlii . s enslavement of her brethren . Vain confidence , while at this moment the representatives of ( iermany have consented that the Ilolatcin contingent of the federal army Khali be oHieered by Danes . And their pretence is , that in such minor matte ™ much must be conceded , thut the main eaime may be saved . But will they save this cause ?

      The state of Rome continues as unsatisfactory ar over . A young man named Kreoli has been sentenced to tho gallics for twenty years , for having , an it is alleged , prevented a companion from smoking There in good reason to believe that Mrcoli only gave hisOpinion upon tho smoke question ,-that he wns overheard , taken before a tribunal of five ; prelates , and sentenced to the galleys . It is added that he was so beaten by the Hbirri that lie will die in prison . At Viterbo , a party of French dragoons stole some fowls roasting for a body of I toman dragoons , whereupon there was a fight .

      Mr . Wilhelm Kyhn , a Danish pensioner und land-Heape painter , wan assaulted by the Hbirri on the Corso , on the 2 ; 5 ru , in broad noon-day , and impriuoned amongst thieves nnd murderers . Mr . Pfthu ,

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      530 &t > e ILtaiftt . [ Saturday , _ . . ¦ ¦ i ¦ - - ^ Jj ^»^^^ w ^^» i ^^*»*^^* M * ^^^^ " ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^™ " ^ ' ' ' " ' *^—^—

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), June 7, 1851, page 530, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1886/page/6/