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Leader (1850-1860), 25th September 1858, Edition 1 of 2, Page 995

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      stances the protectionists fell back upon ^ their o-d system of agitation and misrepresentation . In the Council of State a rancorous and unreasoning opposition was orcanised against the Prince , which did not declare itself bnenly , but was manifested in a hundred mean and nettv ways . In the manufacturing districts the opposition was of course more violent , and the Emperor was pelted with petitions . His Majesty may be well excused if he prefer peace to strife , even in a just cause . He has arrived at mature years * and has domestic cares gathering round him . At fifty few care to embark upon a crusade , especially when they wear the purple , and command all the material enjoyment 3 of life . Accordingly , at the beginning of the week , out came the h at the bead of the official

      attract wealth and emigrants . Let commercial freedom shine forth in Algeria . To-day we have free bread , the first taste whereof appears excellent . When will the butchers' trade be free ? AH commercial liberties hold together like bread and meat , and we hunger for them . " If it may be permitted to speculate on the future , one can easily imagine that when Algeria becomes more populated , it will grow more and more independent of the parent State . Already the tutelage—to use the Prince-Minister ' s own words—of a pure French bureaucracy and soldatesque administration is felt to be oppressive . The foreign element among the colonists quite equals , if it does not exceed , the French one , and few among either of them will care to be kept in trade' . _ _ .. r . . . Y ¦ •* _ '

      518 ; hawking and distribution of printed matter without authority , 176 ; unlicensed opening of wine and coffee shops , 392 : manufacture and possession of arms and powder , 392 ; violation of game-laws , 20 , 843 ; penal offences and marauding , 951 ; smuggling , 2389 ; using postage-stamps that have already served , 3970 ; other postal offences , 152 ;' offences against forest laws , 42 , 688 ; offfences against carrying laws , 1836 ; other offences unspecified , 8112 . The observations in a previous number as to the ignorance of English by the police authorities who undertake the office of censor of English papers have borne good fruits . The Leader was not stopped in the post last week ; p * -i * N . »__ _ 1 * ' JJ * i _ A _^* t . « LaI __ . a ^ w . m £ v * 4-s % « 7 * M *» + # " ^^ VKT . I ^ Tl

      bondage in order that the manufacturers of Kouen , Lille , and Mulhausen may swell their profits . Had the protectionists succeeded in their intrigues at the War-office , the colonists would have had to pay a tribute of nearly a million sterling annually , which would have amounted to a tax of five pounds a head , for the sole benefit of French manufacturers . Should this exaction be continued , the common sense as well as the interests of the colonists will rise up against the system , and Algeria may have her Declaration of Independence as well as the United States . It must not , however , be supposed that all the colonists are as liberal and enlightened as those previously mention ^ . Among the railways projected in Algeria is one to Oran . The line , it appears , would in

      traverse the Santa Cruz Mountain , and place ^ Oran easy communication with Mers-el-Kebir , which is a safe , excellent seaport , whereas the present port of Oran , Lamoune , is open to every wind and to every sea . The Chamber of Commerce of Oran consists of twelve gentlemen , who are proprietors of . land and houses bordering the port of Lamoune . The property , in consequence of an absurd speculation , stood at high prices some time , but these have now fallen very low , in consequence of the prospect of a communication being opened with Mers-el-Kebir . This fall has sorely vexed the Chamber of Commerce , whose wise men have prepared a petition against the railway , which they are endeavouring to get numerously signed , for presentation to the Prince . The twelve Granites , jealous of the fame of the three tailors of Topley-street , styled themselves

      " the whole population , " and as that phrase appeared too small for their importance , they gradually expanded into " Europe and Algeria altogether . " Falstaff ' s men in buckram are beaten hollow by the twelve Qranites , who in their organ called the railway a " poison and a hangT man s cord . " As it would be a pity that the leaders of the twelve should be unknown beyond Oran , or that the world should be ignorant of the names of the three wise men that have risen up to preach against railways , I forward them , wreathed in immortal verse by an Oran poet , presuming that the opponents to the railway were originally only five : — " De neuf qiii nous e"leve h . douze ? Ramoger , Bonfort , et Toulouze . Qui nous defend dans le danger ? Bonfort , Toulouze , et Ramoger . Appiaudissez tout au plus fort , Ramoger , Toulouze , et Bonfort . "

      The report of the Minister of Justice upon the state of crime in France for 1856 has just been presented , from which I extract a few melancholy facts that may not , however , be without instruction to the reader . During the aforesaid twelve months , there were 4189 suicides , of which 1 G 28 were women ; 8605 accidental deaths , and 1325 sudden deaths , but from natural causes . The crimes proved were—assassination , 202 ; murder , 95 ( 1 confess not to know the difference between the two ) 5 poisoning , 30 ; parricide , 13 ; infanticide , 190 ; wounds , followed by death , without intent , 76 ; other serious blows and wounds , 62 ; blows and wounds envers tin ascendant , 54 5 rebellion , or serious violence towards

      functionaries , 23 ; rape , or assaults with intent on adults , 181 ; rape , or assault with intent on children , 650 ; false witness and subornation , 45 ? fulso money , 38 ; various forgeries , 499 } robberies , 1886 ; incendiaries , 206 ; fraudulent bankruptcies , 117 ; and . other crimes , 148 ; total , 4535 . The punishments awarded in 1856 were , death , 46 , of whom 17 were executed ; hard labour for life , 248 ; hard lubour for stated periods , 1051 ; solitary confinement , 971 ; banishment , 1 ; imprisonment , 2221 ; fined , 6 ; children sent to penitentiaries , 24 ; total ) 4568 . There is a discrepancy between those two totals , which may probably arise from rest being loft from the preceding year . I now pass to the second order of crimes , or misdemeanours- —ddlita . The total number accused in

      1850 was . 225 , 501 , of whom 21 , 737 wore acquitted , or , being children , wore sent to their parents 5 80 , 543 imprisoned , and 114 , 281 woro fined . Tho category jjLfLcj ; Ult <^ a » fls ^ ttll 6 w ^ ^ lisoapod convicts , or from suvvoillauco , 889 G ; vagabondage , ( U 83 ; mendicity , 4 . 721 ; rebellion , 2481 ; outrages and violcnco towards public functiouurloS j 660 , 5 ; ofl'oncca to religion ami outrages towards ita ministers , 122 ; voluntary blows anil wounds , 10 , 6155 5 offences against doooncy , 2858 ; defamation , insults , and clamorous donounoinga , 0297 ; ttimplo theft , 86 , 848 5 simple bankruptcy , 00-1 ; cheating , 2519 j abuse of confidence , 2009 ; deception us ty quality of goods sold , fulso weights niul moaauros , 10 , 781 ); destruction of eropa , troos . enclosures , and animals , 1140 : political on" en cos ,

      Moniteur with a paragrap nonpart of that official journal , stating that ^ - " Several journals have announced , for some days past , that the Government of the Emperor thought of introducing serious modifications into the commercial regime of Algeria . These pretended projects , and the polemic to which they have given rise , have excited in the manufacturing districts a certain disquietude . To put an end to it , it is sufficient to state that it has in no wise entered into the thought of Government to change the customs law which rules Algeria , and determines its relation with France . " At first , this paragraph was regarded as a defeat for the free-traders . The protectionists haveshouted To paeans through their organs , but now , when the surprise has worn off , a shrewd suspicion is gainingground that both

      parties have been deceived—the free-traders in fancying what was a mere postponements of victory to be a defeat , and the protectionist in claiming as a victory a decision , which entirely defeats their pretension—nearly successful with Mare'chal Vaillant—to secure the monopoly of Algeria- to themselves , by assimilating its customs dues to those of France , which wouldj of . course , exclude many foreign goods . The contest is removed from Algeria , and it is certainly more consonant with the dignity of the advocates of commercial freedom that the great battle of free trade should be fought in France rather than in an outlying province . That the cause of protection has gained nothing by the publication of the ministerial decision I verily believe , for it has induced the Prince Napoleon to declare his liberal sentiments all the more unreservedly .

      Towards the conclusion of the session the General Council of the department , of the Herault—the stronghold of free trade—expressed a hope that on the occasion of his journey to Algeria the Prince would visit the harbour of Cettfe . To this reqwest the Prince replied that the little time he could employ for hi 3 journey would , probably , prevent his staying at Cette ; and he added , " The question of commercial liberty raised by the General Council of y our department is one of those which the most excites my sympathy . The progress of our industry causes it to advance every day , and soon the revision of the customs tariff will

      alarm no interest . " Had it not been for the publication in the Moniteur of the Ministerial decision , the Prince ' s letter would not have seen light . The Patrie , which is inspired by M . le Vicomte de la GueYonniere , who is , perhaps , the most liberal among the supporters of the Empire , and almost a personal friend of the Prince , applied for and obtained permission to publish this letter to vindicate itself from the charge of having misrepresented the opinions of Algeria and the colonies . None of the protectionist papers have yet published the letter , that I am aware of . nor has the Siccle , which has just given its adhesion to moderate protection .

      The events of the week , therefore , are not calculated to give peace of mind to the partisans of monopoly . They are not to bo further protected than at present in Algeria , and the Prince Napoleon has declared for free trade . The last is the greatest blow of all , for in case of the Emperor ' a death he would be chief of the Regency Council and would necessarily exercise considerable influence . Should death overtake the young Prince Imperial , he would succeed to tho empire , and as ther e are remote contingencies , but not impossibilities , your readors can well understand how' great ie tub fear and doubting of the protectionists . One of tho organs of tho Algerian and colonial ministry remarks , with equal forco and justice , that shortly tho free-trade party will bo reconstituted , when it will be tho hotter able , on tho question being brought forward again , to defend tho wants of Algeria against tho exclusive interest of

      the manufacturing districts . What tho colonists think , and what they require , eooms to be entirely forgotten , and yet tho majority of them Are ardently attached to commercial freedom for the vary best of all reasonsbecause it la to their interest , and without it they languish and perish . The Municipal Counoil of B 6 ne recently deolarod tho trade of baker freer—wo have not got ao fur w--W , thafc ^ eMn ~ ParIs' »^ lreirTr 1 " writes :- ~ " Freo trade in bread ia advantageous to the ooramon weal and in conformity with tho healthy dootrinos of political economy . Wo dosiro to ape extended more and more the bronchos of commercial liberty in our colony . Thoro in one of tho important points of transformation of jtUo colony , The moro Algeria mluo ' oB her prohibitive ay stem , which cripples the importation of foreign goode , as well alao as tho exportation of hor products , flnd diminishes tho privileges of her Internal trade , which are injurloua to public intoroata , tho moro will aho

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      GERMANY . ( From our own Correspondent . ' ) September 23 . Last week I reported warnings , stoppages , and confisca ^ tions of journals , this week I have to report two more confiscations , viz . that of the Prussian journals , Votes Zeitung and NationalZeitung ; the first for lese- Majesty- ^ - wegen verletzung der Ehrfurcht gegen den Konig ( literally for a breach of the reverence due to the King ) , the second without any reason given by the police , but it is presumed in consequence of an article headed "No Co-Regency . " The editor mournfully informs his subscribers , who , besides being deprived of the news of the daylose their money , that no grounds were stated

      , for the confiscation , nor did the authorities condescend to serve him with a written notification , which is evidence that a new system of repression has been introduced , because formerly a written statement of the reasons for the confiscation used to be given , as likewise extracts from the law which had been infringed . The question which the National ventured to discuss is that which forms the chief top ic of conversation , not only ; in Prussia , but in all Germany , namely , whether the Prince , of Prussia should govern as ; sole Regent , or , in conjunction with the Court party , who , at present ,, under the pretence that the King is only temporarily diseased , are ruling the country in his name with all the tyranny of irresponsible despotic power . The King has *

      hitherto borne all the blame , but it is evident that what is now being done does not proceed from him . The Liberals naturally long to see the Prince sole regent , trusting that a change of men will produce a change o £ measures ; their hopes , however , have been lately considerably damped by a speech addressed by the Prince to the Mayor of Breslau , in the course of which he : said that the ideas current in 1848 , and the dangers attendant upon them , had not been eradicated , but were merely held in check , and that it behoved them ( the authorities ) to be always on their guard . In this the Prince is perfectly right , and all Germany , France , and Italy know it , but if he imagines that any further measures of reprc « jion will tend to soften men ' s minds towards

      his class , he will discover his error when too late to repent . The Liberal journals appear dismayed at these sentiments of the Prince of Prussia ; but they ought to 'remember that their hopes were founded , upon his silence , not upon his words . " Qgnuno vedo quel che tu pari , pochi sentono quel che tu sei , " a ay 3 Machiavelli to Lorenzo de Medici , and who knows but that princes now-a-days follow his precepts ? and so their , subjects discover that " porere , e non eaaere , 4 come fijaro e non tessere . " A letter in the Cologne Gazette , written by an eminent lawyer , has createdsome little sensation , After laying down the established laws which are acknowledged to regulate the succession in monarchical States , the writer quotes the 56 th Article of the Prussian Constitution , which , runs to this effect : — "If tho king be an infant , or

      otherwise incapable of governing , then the next adult hoir to the throne becomes regent . He has to , cpnyqk , e , the Chambers ' , who ; in general assembly , will confirm thq regency . " Tho writer then proceeds to maintain tlra 1 \ according to this article tho present position of tho Prince is altogether unconstitutional , for as it ia noto-. rious that the King has been suffering from un affection of the brain , which his physicians have declared unfits him to attend to State affairs , it f ollows that by the article of the Constitution quoted above , tho government devolves upon tho Prince as a matter of course , thoroforo tho Commission which invests him wLh power from one period to another is of Itself null and void . Tho Prince ia acting upon unconstitutional powora , and the people aro not bound to obov him ; and in conclusion ho aovs?— "If I l

      < TVTBrerniTolf ^ b"dr 'lJlJrb ' ouri » t 6 ' v ( higirsViefiff ) , ns I was at one time , I would not oxeouto a aontenco of death signed by tho Priiiuo , because as liegent ho lias not aoquii'GCl that prerogative , and as Plenipotentiary ho coujd not possess a powor appertaining solely to tho Crown , m imp ia then to bodqno ? " ho Unally nsks . Wiot onglit to have boon dono at first : tho proclamation of the Ke ~ gonoy . If any high ahoriff slioiiW « t pruwmt exist in Prussia aa boia as this gontlomftn In in word , hw roftwnj to execute a sentence sltf . iod by either ot the present incompetent powora would ylvo rise to singular complications .

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      Kb . 444 , September 25 , 1858 . J THE LEAPEB . 995 ¦ ¦ ' ¦¦ ' ¦ ¦ ¦ ^—^ ^ M ^^^^ M ^ W ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ' /•

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 25, 1858, page 995, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2261/page/11/