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Leader (1850-1860), 2nd April 1853, Edition 1 of 1, Page 318, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      ship of these two great nations results may ensue favourable so tho peace of tho world , and the happiness of mankind . " Sir James then read the following address : — " We , the undersigned merchants , bankers , traders , and others of London , feel ourselves , called upon at this time publicly" to express the concern with which we learn through various channels of information , that an impression exists in the minds of the people of France that feelings of an unfriendly character are entertained towards them by the people of England .

      " We think it right emphatically to declare that we believe no such feelings exist on the part of the English people towards the people of France . We believe the welfare of both nations to be closely interwoven , as well in a mutually advantageous and commercial intercourse as in a common participation in all the improvements of art and

      . " Rejoicing in the reflection that nearly forty years have passed since the final cessation of hostilities between France and England , we record our conviction that European wars should he remembered only to be deplored , for the sacrifice of life and treasure with which they were attended the hindrances they interposed to all useful enterprise and social advancement—the angry and unchristian feelings which they provoked in their progress—and the heavy financial burdens which they left behind them at their c ] ose—considerations which supply the most powerful motives to every individual in the European community , to avoid , and to oppose , by every means in his power , whatever may tend to cause ' the recurrence of such evils .

      "We desire to remark , that if in that expression of opinion on public questions which the press of this country is accustomed to exercise , it is found occasionally to apeak with apparent harshness of the Government or the institutions of other states , the same is not to be understood in a spirit of national hostility , or as desiring to give offence . We feel that with the internal policy or mode of government which the French nation may think good to adopt for itself , it is not for British subjects to interfere , further than heartily to desire that it may result in peace and happiness to all interested therein .

      "We conclude this declaration , by proclaiming our earnest desire for the long continuance of cordiality and goodwill between Frenchmen and Englishmen—our determination to do all in our power to uphold the same—and our fervent hope that the inhabitants of both nations may in future only vie with each other in cultivating the arts of peace , and in extending the sources of social improvement , for their common benefit . " His Majesty thus replied in the English language : — " Gentlemen , —I am extremely touched by this

      manifestation . It confirms me in the confidence with which the good sense of the English nation has always inspired me . During the long stay I made in England , I admired the liberty she enjoys—thanks to the perfection of her institutions . Nevertheless , at one period last year , I feared that public opinion was misled with regard to the true state of France , and her sentiments towards Great Britain . But the good faith of a great people cannot be long deceived , and the step which you now take is a striking proof of this .

      " Ever since I have held power , my efforts have constantly tended to develop tho prosperity of France . I know her interests . They are not different from those of all other civilized nations . Like you , I desire peace ; and to make jt sure , I wish , like you , to draw closer tho bonds which unite our two countries . " The deputation then retired . Its members speak highly of the courtesy nnd good-will with which they have ' been received in Paris . The next day they dined with the Emperor in the private apartments of the Empress at the Tnileries .

      Tho Emperor gave un audience sit the Tuilenes on Tuesday to u deputation of the English company for the junction of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans- The deputation consisted of tho following gentlemen , of whom the three first have obtained a concession of the enterprise : Sir C . Fox , Hurt ., head of the firm Fox , Henderson , and Co . ; Mr . T . Urassey , contractor for the works ; Dr . Cullcn , who discovered the route adopted ; Mr . Ciisborne , chief engineer of the company ; Mr . Fordo , assistant-engineer ; Mr . Brownell , merchant

      of Liverpool ; Mr . W . Hsiniilton , ox-M . P ., and member of the Hoyal Geographical Society ; Captain Mackinnon , K . N . ; M . dc Kivero , ( "hsirgc d'Allitiies of Vent in France ; M . Kojas , Charge d'Atfaires of Now Grenada in Franco ; Mr . . 1 . K . Crainpton , engineer of tlie subinnrine lelegniph ; Mr . C . S . Stokes , director of the Western Railway in France ; Mr . Melville Wilson , merchant of London ; and Dr . Ulnck , secretary of the company . Sir C . Fox , president of the deputation , addressed the Emperor sis follows : —

      Sire , —in approaching your august throne , my lirnl , < hil . y Jh to tender 16 your Imperial Majesty the cordial expres-Hion of the respectful grutil , u < lo of the directors of tho Atlantic mid Pacific Junction Company , for tho prompt kindness with which your Majesty has condescended to grant an iiudicnen to tiieir deputation . Tho rapid increase of commercial navigation round Capo Horn Ii » h now lor uomo yearo attracted Mio practical attention of men ot business to that which had previously been considered a merely speculative object of scientific inquiry , 1 mean tho necessity lor a direct passage for nhips between the Atlantic mid I ' adlic Oceans across tho Isthmus which unites North and South Amcricii . In the year 1 HB 1 my attention wan directed by Dr . (' idlen , who had himRo . it ' traversed tho Isthmus , to thorouto across Darien , between Port Khcohoh and San Miguol , which his experience had led him to consider tho best , On examining tho Admiralty

      charts , which , as your Imperial . Majesty is well aware , are very detailed and accurate , I was able to ascertain that tho line proposed to me was the only one which could enjoy the advantage of a sufficient natural harbour at each * end—that the length of the passage would not exceed sixty kilometres , and that the only question to be decided was whether the . engineering difficulties of the ground were such as to prevent , within tho limits of a reasonable expenditure , the construction o ~ f a -channel of sufficient width and depth to satisfy the requirements of all nations . In conjunction , therefore , with Mr . Brassey and several friends , I commissioned Mr . Grisborne and Mr . Forde , civil engineers , to examine the Isthmus , and I have had the satisfaction to ascertain from their report that it

      is perfectly possible to cut a channel , 160 feet wide and 30 feet deep , without locks , between the two harbours which I have mentioned , at an expense by no means out of proportion to the object to be attained and to the revenue which may reasonably be expected . We have accordingly formed a company to carry out this object . At the outset of our investigations , and as soon as we had obtained the necessarj ' concession from the local authority of New Granada , we deemed it right , as a matter of courtesy , to offer to the United States a share in the undertaking . We have throughout received the cordial approbation of her Britannic Majesty ' s Government . Our next step is , with the full consent of that Government , to solicit the

      patronage and support of your Imperial Majesty . France , as one of the great maritime powers , has an evident interest in this great question of a junction between the two oceans . France , who owes so much to your Imperial Majesty will , we believe , be grateful to you , Sire , for granting your Imperial countenance and support to our undertaking . And in the name of this deputation and of the company whom , we have the honour to represent , I venture to hope for this support with perfect confidence , because we know that your Imperial Majesty , not only as the chief of this great nation , but also by your personal knowledge of the subject , is pre-eminently qualified to appreciate the object which we have in view , and the means which we have adopted . The Emperor replied in English as follows : —

      Gentlemen—I received with the liveliest interest the intelligence of the formation of a great company for the junction of the two oceans . I have no doubt that you will succeed in an undertaking which must render so important a service to the commerce of the whole world , since such eminent men are placed at the head of your company . I have long appreciated all the advantages of a junction between the two seas ; and , when I was in England , I endeavoured to draw the attention of scientific men to this subject . You may , therefore , rest assured , gentlemen , that you will meet with all the support from me which such noble efforts deserve .

      The company ' s reports , plans , and maps , were then laid before the Emperor , who examined them with particular attention . Sir Charles Fox presented the members of the deputation , and his Majesty addressed to each of them the most gracious expressions . When the deputation withdrew , the Emperor said : — I am happy to have seen your honourable deputation the very day after having received the one which , on the part of the merchants of London , expressed to mo the most friendly sentiments in favour of peace—sentiments with which my own feelings have always been in complete accord . On Tuosdsiy , the City Deputation dined with the Minister of Foreign Affairs , M . Drouyn de l'Huys .

      On Wednesday evening , tho City Deputation dined with the Emperor ; and on the following evening , the Deputation of the Isthmus of Panama Company were " admitted to the table" of his Majesty . The Government journals are making abundant capital out of these deputations , by long articles declinatory of the pacific views and tendencies of the Emperor . Tho following paragraph may bo taken as a commentary upon tho recent appearance oi an eminent London banker at tho head of the " deputation" to tho Emperor : —It is Htato . il as positive that tho Emperor signed on Wednesday a decree granting a new railroad lino of importance—from Bordeaux to Lyons . The names of MM . do Morny and Masterman are mentioned as among those to whom tho concession has boon made .

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      The increasing vigour of Uio four principal independent journals in France begins to cause umbrage to tho Government . It in believed that they liavo received a private caution to bo moro circumspect . Tho Conservative . lonrnal tics Df-bats of Thursday last , contained tho following remarkable advice to the blind zealots who are endeavouring to Mippliint the roligioiw liberties guaranteed by tho revolution of 1789 . Those words have a broad application : — "Wo fear re-actions too . They aro terrible in our

      country . Only look where the saturnalia of 1848 have led liberty , . licligion and Mio clergy would pay dear , wo have reason to apprehend , tor Uio abuse they might niako of the favour that , at tho present moment surrounds them . Tho spirit of our country is not vhaw / od . IVti are weary , wo arc w > t ' converted . Tim principles ol' l 7 Hi ) still live in our hearts ,---tho yoke which our fathom refused to hear , we should ' endure lens easily than they , and Franco bus not . effected a radical revolution in her institutions at the price of ho much blood and no many ioaro , to rolap ^ o , after novontv yearn , under tho dominion of idoaa sho Iuih

      rojoo <* d . " M . doGimrdin , in Iai J ' rasse , has boon combating with nil his old vigour of imperious and pressing logic , in favour of that great , idea which we may call the fundamental doctrine of tho Lomloi—absolute liberty . In roply to tho Royalist AaavmlMo National o , which bad talked glibly of tho nemssity of " getting out , of democracy , " Emilo dp Girardin exclaims : —

      " To get out of democracy would be to re-establiab . the law of primogeniture—the three estates : the noblesse , the clergy , the tiers-itat , inequality in taxation , inequality before the law , la taille , la c ' orvSe , seigneurial courts , serfdom , the unity of religious faith under penalty of excommunication of persons and confiscation of properties , — in a word , all that existed in France . under the Royalty before 1789 . In effect , such would be the inexorably logical conclusion ; you must choose between privilege and equality , between authority and liberty . Authority cannot , exist where it is divided ; liberty is impossible ,

      if it be not indivisible . Authority and liberty beirtg less than absolute , are neither liberty nor authority ; they are confusion . " These extracts will give the reader some notion of the re turning animation and vigour of the leaders of the French ' press . What Emile de Girardin says of authority and liberty " is ( conceding to him some peculiarities of statement ) eminently true . Judge our religious liberty in England , our right of free thought , our salaried and endowed Protestantism , by this text and standard , and wonder , if you can , how it is that our " established" Protestantism is as ' impotent as it is insincere , and halts at its own principles , and conclusions .

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      A new Crockford ' s , to be called Club des JStrangers , at which the play will be excessively high , is in course of formation at Paris . The Petite Bourse , established at the Casino Paganini since 1851 , has been suppressed by the police .

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      M . de Lacour sailed from Marseilles for Constantinople on the 27 th ult . on board the Caton , which was ordered , after depositing the ambassador , to join the French fleet in the Levant . Political circles in Paris are alive with rumours the most contradictory , and often the most absurd , on the Eastern or Turkish question . By some the " attitude" of Prince Menschikoff is described as most conciliatory ; by others as menacing : the interview with the Sultan is by one report said to have been friendly , by another the Sultan is described as cold and even disdainful towards

      the Russian Envoy . The ultimatum is variously represented to have been presented at once and entire , not yet at all , and only bit by bit . The corps dlarmee on the Black Sea has ( according to one report ) been reinforced , according to another , has commenced its march , according 1 ; to a third , has never moved from its position nor been < augmented by a single man . Prince Menschikoff moreover is said to have but one object—the repeal of the firman respecting the sanctuaries obtained by the bullying of M . de Lavalette in defiance of former treaties , and the restoration of the Russian Protectorate over the Greek * Christians : while other accounts represent his ultimatums as containing several articles each more exorbitant tham tbft otbfirs .

      According to the Triest Zeitung , the excellent Prince ^ Ghika , Hospodar of Moldavia , has abdicated . Tho tuutht would bo that he has been forced to ( Tibo '> c , ate , and aftno / r ;—driven mad by foroJgx * J « iri ^» co . 'Jtue late Hospadax is living on Ms illgotten wealth , tho fruit of exactions and peculations , at Paris . It has been rumoured at Vienna that Persia liasBrtJcon all relations with England and appealed to the support of Russia . Half these rumours indicate nothing but the wishes of their inventors . It is difficult to say -why Persia should break with England at this particular juncture , unless it be part of tho vast scheme of Russian intrigue .

      A Russian Vice-admiral has arrived at Athena in a steam-frigate , to " visit the antiquities . " lit * has paid his respects to the king . Russian agents aro busy in the Archipelago , where they are studying the maritime resources of the island population , and . they abound in , Montenegro . On the 24 th ult ., tho British squadron was still inMaltct harbour . The steamer from the Levant has arrived from Constanvtinople , with news of tho 21 st . Tho conferences had been recommenced between tlu » Divan and Prince Menschikoff . " The attitude of the Russian Ambassador wa « mucfli more moderate . " There is something ludicrous about this latest announcement in its pompous mysl ificat . ion < . Jfr reminds us of the scene in ISJCtourneau , where the torsiblo husband is opening his batch of hitters .

      Despatches from Poland mention that theno i » great activity at present in tho Russian army . All soldiers on furlough have received orders to join their respective regiinonts . Tho Russian Fleet in the Black Sea , composed of forty-four vessels , has been placed iumW tho command of the Grand DuLo Constantino . Important ; commercial failures had takon place at Smyrna . Thoy afl ' cct the commerce of tho Zollverein .

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      318 THE LEADE R . [ Saturday ,

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      From Spain wo learn , that the discussion in Uio Senateon tho report of tho majority of tho Committee favourable to tho pretensions of Marshal . N ' arvae / . was resumed and I brought to a close- on . tho 22 nd ult . Tho report . wa « * rejected by KM > to <> 'J | .. In tho Chamber of Deputies , M . Lujan and other I ' ro » - grosista members brought forward a proposition to tluv effect of obtaining some mitigation of ( lie law on the press .. After a Hbprt , discussion , in which M . Lujan , tho Minister .-of Finance , M . 1 'idal , and M . Gonznles fcravo took purl ; , tho proposition was rejected by lf > . ' 5 to 47 . Thfl Spanish Government Iuih been deliberating How to puniuli tho refractory functionaries who bud votoifl for . Narvncz . The superior irremovable law oHuvr / i woulrJl probably lio suspended , an the . Minister of . JuMliu : olm < l j . tbsisted on an exception in I heir favour ; the other civil mud military functionaries would bo incontinently diwnisued . Such is tho progress of constitutional liberty in Spain .. M . iS / tlatnitturn , tho wily and debonair financier ,, had returned from London , alter effecting a now loan through tho houHo of ] faring , on favourable terms . Tho Pruusian Government has made a rnzfia at Jtorliu among porHona suspected of revolutionary corroupondenco .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), April 2, 1853, page 318, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1980/page/6/