Polynesian. [volume], August 26, 1848, Page 58, Image 2

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58
fitograpljkal Skctcljcs.
M. GUIZOT.
I rancis Peter William Guizot was born at
Nismes, a town in the department of Garcl, and
province of Languedoc, on the 4th of October
1787. Ilia family had long been settlad in the
south of France as respectable citizens of the
middle rank, and in communion with the reform-
ed church, of which Guizot -himself is, and has
always been a member. His father was an ad'
vocate ef Nisaies, a man of talent and eminence
in his profession, and, as the anecdote we are
about to quote will show, of humane and heroic
.temper. Like bis brother Protestants, he bad
welcomed with joy the revolution of 1789, which
relieved the French dissenters from all restrict
ions on the public exercise of their religion.
'After the execution of the king, however, bis
zeal, with that of so many others, began to cool
"When the Reign of Terror was nearly at its
height, he saw himself one of the 'suspected,'
and was forced to conceal himself, to avoid im
prisonment and death. .'He was found,' says a
trustworthy biographer of his son, 'in his hiding
place by a gendarme; but this person regretting
to have discovered him, and unwilling to have any
share in bis destruction, offered to let him escape.
M. Guizot perceived that, to save bis own life,
be must compromise that of his merciful captor,
and did not hesitate for an instant before relin
quishing bis only chance of preservation.' He
was guillotined at Nismes on the 8th of April
1794, a few days after the execution at Paris of
Danton and Camille Desmoulins. The young
Guizot was then seven years of age. The sad
spectacle of his father's death, as may be well
supposed, produced a deep impression on bis
mind. We learn that it has never forsaken him;
and perhaps it may in part accouut for that
hatred of anything like revolutionary anarchy
which be has manifested through life.
Immediately after this fatal event, Madame
Guizot removed with her two sons to Geneva,
where her own relatives resided. She has been
described as an excellent woman of the old
school; religious, true-hearted, and energetic;
bound up in the welfare and right education of
ber children. She was one day, we have some
where read, found by a visitor with Guizot on
her knee, to whom she was repeating stories
from the lives of the great reformers. 'I am
trJ'DP' 808 said, 'to make my Frank a resolute
and diligent boy.' At the age of twelve, Guizot
was sent to the public school of Geneva; and
here be proved that his mother's efforts had not
been thrown away. ' Indeed so absorbing was
the vigor with which be applied himself to what
ever he bad in hand, that be became the butt of
his more mercurial companions, who delighted
in teasing with all sorts of practical jokes the
abstracted little student. Aided by perseverance,
bis talents produced, in four years only, results
that seem almost incredible; at sixteen, we are
told Guizot could read and enjoy in the originals,
'Thucydides and Demosthenes, Cicero and
Tacitus, Dante and Alfieri, Schiller and Goethe,
Gibbon aud Shakespeare.' The two succeed
ing years were devoted to metaphysical studies,
from which bis mind, so eminently reflective,
drew nourishment even more appropriate than
that which it bad found in the masterpieces of
poetry and history. Finally, when be had gain
ed the highest academical honors, it was thought
by his mother and her friends that he could not
but succeed in bis father's profession. For a
young man, too, of his gifts and accomplishments,
they decided Paris was the ouly fitting sphere.
Accordingly, towards the end of 1804, Madame
Guizot returned one more to Nismes, whence,
after a brief stay, Guizot himself proceeded, full
ef hope and ambition, to study law and push his
fortunes in the French metropolis.
It was in 1S05, the year after Napoleon's ele
vation to the imperial throne, that Guizot ar
rived in Paris. 'Poor and proud, auBtere and
ambitious, he saw himself in the midst of a bril
liant, frivolous, and intriguing society, unfurnish
ed, by his strict Genevese education, with the
means of shining in such a world, and disinclined
by nature to make the attempt. . The Revolu
tion, moreover, had destroyed, with so much
else, the Paris law school, and Guizot was left,
without a teacher, or any aid but that of books,
to sound as he best might the mysterious depths
of jurisprudence. The first twelvemonth of his
stay in Paris was spent in solitary study; happi
ly, during the next, he made the acquaintance of
a M. Stopfer, the former representative of the
Swiss republics, and with the connexion which
sprang out of it, Guizot seems to have abandon
ed all thoughts of law as a profession. This
gentleman was a person of worth and learning,
deeply versed in German metaphysics, a subject
on which he had more than once appeared be
fore the world as an author. Beneath bis roof,
as perceptor to his children, Guizot resided du
ring the years 1807-8. In Stopfer be found not
only an employer, but a paternal friend; under
his guidance he was enabled to master the phil
osophy of Kant, and he had leisure enough still
remaining to recommence the study, and perfect
his knowledge of the classical authors. Besides
this, he procured him admission to the society be
most coveted that of literary men. Among
those of this Class to whom be introduced him,
eue was M Suard; at bis bouse Guizot became
a constant and grateful visitor; here on a footing
of perfect equality, he met the most distinguish
ed members both of the old school and the new
one, already beginning to displace it. In Suard's
saloon might be seen in friendly converse Cha
teaubriand and the Abbe Moullet, Madame de
Pontane and the Chevalier de Boufflers.
Guizot, though at this time a silent and re
served young man, made such use of these op
portunities, that when, in 1819, he ceased to
reside with M. Stopfer, be could with safety
so far at least as regarded the certainty of em
ployment enter on the perilous career of the
stbor by profession, who trusts to bit pen alone
far his support. He became a contributor to a
number of the graver periodicals of the day.
His first book appeared in 1S09 itself; it was a
Dictionary of French Synonymes,' and in part
a compilation; but be prefixed it to an original
treatise on the philosophical character of the
French language, 'that 'that displayed already,'
aays a critic, 'that genius for precision and meth
od which to-day distinguishes M. Guizot.' This
was followed in J311 by a translation of Reb
els' work on Spain,' and by an essay on the state
THE
of the fine arts in France, and the Paris art-exhibition
of 1810. The same year he was appointed
conductor of the 'Annals of Education,' a valua
ble periodical, which continued till 1815 to ap
pear under bis editorship. Guizot was begin
ning to rise in public estimation. .Literature, in
deed, could not then be said, even with less just
ice than at present, to be a source of wealth to
its cultivators; but it brought him enough for his
simple wants. Powerful friends were promising
him their aid for the future';' so" prudence itself,
he thought, no longer forbade him to complete
his union with the gifted lady (first seen by him
in the literary circle assembled at Suard V) to
whom for several years he bad been attached and
engaged The way in which their intimacy
originated is probably known to but few of our
readers; it is one of those romances of real life
more surprising than any fiction. In this case
the romance is not the less interesting to us from
its being one of realliterary life.
Pauline de Meulan was born in Paris in the
year 1773, fourteen years earlier than her future
husband. Her father, after having enjoyed for
the greater part of his life the possession of a
considerable fortune, saw it swept away by the
Revolution, and dying in 1790, the year after its
loss, left a widow and large family almost wholly
unprovided for. Some time after Mademoiselle
de Meulan bad reached womanhood, it flitted one
day across her mind that she too might perhaps
possess some literary talent, and in this way con
tribute to the support of those she loved. The
thought was immediately put into action; she
began a novel, and, chaining herself to ber desk
for several weeks, at last saw it duly completed.
Some old friends of ber father found her a pub
lisher. The book was successful; and, thus en
listed in the corps of authors, she became one of
its must industrious members. A year or two
afterwards, M. Suard established a journal cal
led the Publicist. Mademoiselle de Meulan,
now a practised writer, was appointed contributor-in-chief,
and her light graceful female pen
soon made the work exceedingly popular. At
last, in the first months of 1807, she was seized
with a dangerous illness, brought on or hastened
by over-exertion. 1 ne malady was ot sum a
kind that she could not continue ber labors; yet
for years the produce of her essays in the Publi
cist had been the sole resource of ber mother and
herself. In this painful situation she received
one day by post an article written in happy imi
tation of her style and manner; it was accompa
nied by an anonymous letter, in which she was
requested to set her mind at rest, as, until ber
health should be restored, a similar article would
be forwarded to ber for each future number of
the Publicist. The offer was tacitly accepted,
and the articles came with the utmost regularity.
On her recovery, she mentioned the circum
stance in M. Suard's saloon, little thinking that
the pale taciturn young philosopher, who was
listening calmly to her f tory, held the key of the
mystery. Unable to discover ber benefactor,
he at last, in the Publicist itself, requested him
to disclose.his name. Guizot now acknowledged
himself to be the unknown friend, and five years
afterwards Mademoiselle de Meulan became his
wife. They were married in the April of 1812;
and though the lady was, as we have seen, four
teen years older than her husband, their union
was the happiest possible. Madame Guizot is
said, from the purity and severity of her moral
nature, to have exerted a powerful influence on
ber husband's spiritual culture. In a humbler
way than this too she was of great assistance to
bim. inus the translation ot Uiobon, which
during the first year of their marriage, appeared
under his auspices, and with his valuable notes,
was revised and corrected by her; and she re-
ieved him likewise in great part from the labor
of editing the 'Annals of Education.'
The year 1812 was altogether a remarkable
one in Guizot's hitherto tranquil career. In the
course of it, bis friends Baron Pasquier and M.
de Fontanes attempted to introduce him to po-
itical life by soliciting for bim the post of audi
tor to the imperial council of state. Muret,
Duke of Bassans, to whom the application was
made, directed bim to draw up a state-paper as
a specimen of his ability. The subject was to
be an exchange, then talked of by Napoleon, be
tween Great Britain and France of their respect
ive prisoners of war. But the emperor, it was
well known, was insincere in making the propo
sal, ns be deemed the support of the French
prisoners a burden to Great Britain, while he
himself was, at the time, in no want of soldiers.
A suspicion of this insincerity was too prominent
in Guizot's performance; he did not seem a fit
man for ministerial purposes, and the application
remained without effect. M. de Fontanes pro
cured him, however, the professorship of modern
history in the Paris Faculty of Letters, after
wards the scene of some of his noblest triumphs.
This situation brought him into contact with bis
colleague Royer-Collard, the well-known pro
fessor of philosophy, to whom Guizot in every
way owes much. They formed a friendship
which promised to be lasting, and. indeed it did
ast for a long eriod. Unhappily, after the
revolution of July, it was dissolved by political
differences.
In 1813 he was occupied with the duties of
his chair; he published also his 'Lives of the
French Poets during the age of Louis XIV.,' a
first volume only, which has had no successor.
n 1814, after so protracted a separation, he paid
a visit to his mother at Nismes, and while there,
the first restoration of the Bourbons occurred,
an event with which Guizot's entry into public
ife begins. On -returning to Paris, he was re
commended by bis friend Royer-Collard to the
minister of the interior, the Able de Montes
quiou, who appointed him bis chief secretary, a
subordinate, but, in Guizot's" hands, and influ
ential post. Along with Royer-Collard, he
framed the severe law against tie press, which
was presented by M. de Montesquiou to the
Chamber of 1814, and he was made one of the
royal censors. When Napoleon came back from
c.lba, uuizot did not resign his situation; but he
was, However, dismissed by Carnot, the new
minister of the interior. This was in May 1815.
A few davs afterwards, when it was perceived
that the great European powers would not treat
with Napoleon, whose fall, sooner or later, was
therefore inevitable, Guizot was despatched by
the constitutional royalists to Ghent, where
Louis XVIII., then resided, - to plead with that
monarch the cause of the charter, and point out
the necessity of removine from his council M.
de Blacas, the leader of the stiff-necked unyield
ing royalist or the old regime. His expedition
was a successful one. On his return to France,
after the battle of VJerloo, Louis XVIII., dis
missed M. ue Blacas, and promised, in the pro-
POLYNESIAN, SATURDAY, AUGUST 26,
clamation of Cambrai, a more faithful adherence
to the charter. This is the origin of the epithet,
Mnn of Ghenr amlied fo Guizot Iv his politi
cal opponents, and with which every render of
newspapers is familiar. .
During the first five years of the second resto
ration, Guizot filled, with little intermission, va
rious semi-official posts of respectability indeed,
hiit of slender importance.
In the February of 1&-20, the assnssinatien of
the Duke de Bern produced an anti-lioerai re
action. The Decazes ministry was forced to re-siirn-
and with its fall Guizot lost the situation
which had been created for bim intbe proceed
ing Vear, of 'Director of the Municipal Adminis
trations of France. He now resumed the duties
of his chair, which had meanwhile,-we suppose,
been .performed by deputy, and . endeavored to
make up for the loss of his official income by re-
. a rt. I
newed and strenuous literary laoor. ; 'Aiier me
fall of M. Decazes,' says a writer in the Revue
kes Deux Mondes, -the interior of M. Guizot's
bouse long presented a curious spectacle. His
brother-in'-law, M. Devaines, prefect of the Nie
vre, had been, like himself, deprived of his situ
ation, and be returned to Paris with his wife and
two nieces, one of whom M. Guizot afterwards
married. On one side you saw Madame Gui
zot and ber nieces sitting up, re-making and an
notating Le Tourneur's translation of Shak
speare; on the other M. Guizot was busied with
his researches into the history of France; further
on, a few young men, docile pupils of the mas
ter, were ferreting, with the aid of a lexicon, in
the barbarous Latin of Ordericus Vi talis; others
were translating the Memoirs of Clarendon or
the Eikon-Basilike of Charles I., laboriously
erecting, stone by stone, the great edifice, the
Collection of Memors relating to the English
Revolution, which bears on its front the signa
ture of M. Guizot.'
The fruits of this industry were speedily given
to the world. In 1821 appeared a new edition
of Rollin and Le Tourneur's now amended and
annotated translation of Shakspeare; in both of
wnicn enterprises, mougu uuiznr pore away the
honor, his wife had the. principal share. The
researches ment'Oned in the passage just quoted,
were tor ais lectures on the history ot represent
atlve government in France, delivered duiinj
the winter of 1821-2. In 1822, an event took
place which made him more dependent than
ever on his literary exertions. He had found
time, in the course of 1821, for the composition
of a long political pamphlet, in which his favor
ite doctrine of liberty, in alliance with order,
was powerfully ami elaborately developed. The
new ministry disliked his love of freedom, al
though it was united with a respect for establish
ed institutions. They feared, above all, his in
fluence as a teacher on the rising veneration, and
accordingly suspended hi in from the functions of
his professorship.
For several years after this occurrence Gui
zot remained a stranger to politics. Hisscnsi
ble and far-seeing turn of mind kept him from
lending bis aid to any of the thousand-and-one
(sometimes very extensive) conspiracies which,
while the Villele ministry remained in nower.
every day brought forth, though only to be crush
ed. He calmly waited till the time should come
when he might with safety, ana some prospect
of success, take a part in public affairs. Mean
while, historical studies, and the preparation of
historical works, kept him constantly employed. I
In 1823 appeared bis Essays on the History of
r ranee, and the first volumes ot two grand col
lections of memoirs, one relating to the great
English revolution, the other to the early history
of Y ranee; these, as they were published serially,
demanded his almost undivided attention tor a
considerable period. Yet his industry did not
altogether hinder him from enjoying social lite;
and though he was poor, bis visitors were not
solely strange as it may seem to an Englishman,
from the ranks of the indigent and obscure. It
is of the Guizot of that period that a writer in
Fraser's Magazine thus speaks: 'Small were
his apartments fur, far too small to admit the
crowds of literati who sought to claim the honor
of his acquaintance, or who, having made, were
not willing to lose it. On his reception-nights,
the small street at the back of the Madeleine in
which he resided was crowded with carriages,
as well as all the contiguous street; and his
visitors moved more quickly from one little room
to another than they otherwise would have done,
because they felt that tbey owed this act of court
esy to those who came pressing after them. If
it had been the drawing-room of a young and
beautiful queen, or the levee of a popular and
distinguished cabinet minister, no anxiety to he
admitted, to speak, to exchange looks, could
have been more closely and strongly marked
than on these occasions. Madame Guizot, and
one or two female friends often the late Duch
ess de Broglie, the Lady Peel of France presi
ded at a tea-table, where the simplest fare was
distributed by pretty taper fingers, which even
vied with bright eyes and enchanting smiles.
Yet were those entertainments sumptuous with
wit, with poetry, with philosophy, and with the
best life of good society and of the elite of Paris.
But death here also has intruded too frequently
to permit me to think iion those once happy re
unions; and the dear little house in the Rue de
I'Evesque has witnessed tears and sobs, and ago
nies of grief, which none can portray, and which
even few can feel. This allusion is to Guizot's
loss of the beloved companion both of bis toils
and his enjoyments, not long before that of their
only child. Madame Guizot had been unwell
during a considerable portion of 1826. With
the new year, it was evident that she was slowly
sinking. On the 20th July 1827, she perceived
that ber end was at band; she summoned her
son and her friends to her side, and bade them
farewell the former was soon to follow her to
the tomb. On the morning of the next day she
asked ber husband to read to ber; he took down
a volume of Bnssuet, and began the funeral ora
tion of Henrietta Maria of England; when be
had finished, he looked towards ber, and saw
that she was no more. We must now hurry on.
The year which was marked by this domestic
calamity was also that of Guizot's return to poli
ties. Perhaps his chief motive for this is to be
found in the fact, that he was now forty years of
age, and therefore qualified to enter the Cham
ber of Deputies. In 1823 be established the
Revue Francaise, as an organ for the expression
of his opinions, and he became an active mem
ber of the Aide-toi Society, then just formed, the
objects and procedure of which were quite in ac
cordance with his views. It was founded to pro
tect the electoral system from the assaults of the
Villele ministry. Nothing could be less revolu
tionary than the mode in which it sought its end,
by appealing, namely, but with the cumulative
force which is the great result of association,
whenever the law was infringed, to the authori
sed legal tribunals. In January of 1828, the lib
eral ministry of M. de Martignac displaced that
of Villele, and one of its first acts was to restore
Guizot his chair. . It was now, amid the enthu
siastic plaudits of a brilliant audience, that he
began his well-known lectures on the History of
Modern Civilization in Europe. With the Au
gust of 1829, the Polignac ministry came into
office; its subsequent history is familiar to our
readers. Guizot threw himself energetically into
opposition, attacking with bis vigorous pen, in
the columns of the Temps, and the Journal des
Debate, the policy of that too Famous adminis
tration. Chosen deputy by the electoral college
of Lisieux in the January of 1830, be was among
the protesting 221. He returned from XSismes
to Paris on the 20th of July, to learn the publi
cation of those ordinances which cost Charles X.
a throne. On the 27th, at the meeting of depu
ties held at Casimir Perier's house, the protest
drawn up by Guizot was ibe one agreed on to
be siffned. lie 1 was the author also of the ad
dress in which, on the 28tb, ibe Duke of Orleans
was invited to undertake the office of lieutenant
general of the kingdom. On the last of the
Three Days, it was Guizot that jiroposed the
appointment of a commission to secure the main
tenance of order. On the SOtb, he was named
by it provisional minister of public instruction;
and at the accession of Louis-Philippe, he ac
cepted the most important and difficult post of!
all, that ot minister ot the interior. '
m-TT-n Trv t ir T T P T I T
inrj rujj i in jcjOi ah.
HONOLULU. SATURDAY. AUGUST 26.
Commerce or thc Woeld. Commerce is
a branch of enterprise which may be termed the
main-spring of national prosperity; the founda
tion of national wealth. It has been truly said
that 'the spirit of commerce is the spirit of
peace, its interests the interests of peace, and
peace is the element of all moral progress, as
war is the element of all barbarism and desola
tion.. .Eyery ship that sails the ocean is a pledge
of peace to the extent of its value every sail a
more appropriate symbol of peace than the olive
branch itself.' The policy of the civilized world
has become a commercial policy. Nations bave
ceased to base their importance upon the extent
and power of their naval forces; but on the con
trary, national importance is now measured by
their mercantile exchanges and the tables of
their imports and exports.
Commerce exercises a powerful influence in
the diffusion of knowledge and civilization
throughout the world. It is the band which
binds together the various nations and gives
them the appearance of one great family of
brotherhood. Nothing tends more to give a na
tion a prominent position in the eyes of the
world than the extension of her commerce. It
brings with it a market for the various products
of a country, offers rich rewards for enterprise
and industry, establishes credit, confidence and
mutuality of interest
First among the commercial nations stands
Great Britain. She possesses a commerce
which encircles the whole globe. Her market
is filled with the productions of every clime, and
she gives in return the manufactured goods of
her owu kingdom. In 1843 the number of mer
chantmen under the English flag was estimated
at 23,898, besides 900 steam vessels. In 18l6
she had 24,016 vessels, employing 175,600 men.
Next on the list stands the United States; and
ere many years shall elapse, she will assume the
first position in regard to her commercial trans
actions. Her relative increase greatly exceeds
that of any other nation, and no other nation
on the earth possesses the vast internal com
mercial resources which she does. In 1346 she
had distributed throughout various parts of the
world, 19,720 merchant vessels, not including
whalers, in which branch of business she had
725 vessels employed. In the whale fishery the
United States stands unrivalled, and we believe
she has more capital employed in the whaling
interest than all the other nations combined.
The amount of capital invested by the United
States in this important branch of commerce is
estimated at 20,000,000. The outfits of these
vessels, consisting of stores, sails, rigging, Stc,
are principally the products of the American
Republic. Thus they purchase the return cargo
by their agricultural and mechanical labor, and
draw treasures from the deep to supply their own
wants and to contribute to the wealth of the na
tion. A market has always been found in Eu
rope for the surplus of oil, bone, Sec.
The commerce of France employs 13,732 ves
sels; Sweden, 5,450; Holland, 1,195; Russia em
ploys about 239,000 tons in the foreign and
coasting trade; the Two Sicilies have 9,174 ves
sels; and Austria, 6,199 vessels of various de
scriptions. Turkey has 2,220 vessels in the for
eign and coasting trade. The kingdom of Sar
dinia, including Genoa and the island of Sardi
nia, possesses 3,232 vessels, which are employed
in the foreign and coasting trade. Denmark has
3,036 vessels engaged in the foreign and coasting
trade. Portugal has, 793 vessels; and lastly,
Spain possesses 2,700 vessels of every descrip
tion, which are employed in the foreign and
coasting trade. -
The following table will show the amount of
tonnage employed by each of these nations,
comprising as they do, the principal maritime
powers of the world :
NlTIOJS.
Great Britain,
United States,
France,
Sweden and Norway,
Holland,
Russia,
Two Sicilies,
Austria,
Turkey,
Sardinia,
Denmark,
ToXHACt.
3,007,531
2,416,999
839,603
471,772
241,676
230,000
213,193
203,551
183,000
167,360
153,00
80,525
80,000
Portugal,
Spain,
Hitherto a great proportion of the commercial
business has been confined to the Atlantic. Dur
ing the last ten years, however, the commerce
of the Pacific has increased with great rapidity.
There is a large field for business operations on
its waters, and we believe that in the course of
a few years, the Pacific is destined to lie a great
theatre of commercial enterprise. Wherever
there is a prospect of gain there will the adven
turous feet of commerce thread their way.
CO" In the leading article of the Sandwich Is
land News of this week we find among other
things the following charges prefered against
various chiefs and officers of government:
'We understand from undoubted authority.
that the Lands in Manoa Valley, sold to the na
tives in tee simple some year or more since, have
all been taken back by the chiefs; that is, one of
the chiets high and forward in the ranks of civi
lization, and who fills a seat on the bench of the
Superior Court of this Kingdom, was commis
sioned by the others to go and "bounce" the na
tive land-holders out of their written deeds,
which be fully succeeded in doing, notwithstand
ing the signatures of the King and the Premier
were thereunto severally affixed. This we learn
is absolutely true; and what is more, a person
in the employ of the government, after he learn
ed that we bad got wind of the transaction, made
us an offer of two hundred dollars if we would
pass it over and say nothing about it; but poor
I
as we are we snail not sen the right to speak
our opinion upon any subject.
Having made particular inquiries in regard to
the foregoing assertions, we have only to say,
that we will pay to the editor or editors of the
Sandwich Island News, or to any person or per
sons who will prove said charges to be true, the
sum of two hundred dollars.
Foa California. During this week no less
than three vessels have been dispatched for San
Francisco; taking a 'few more of the same sort.
One man started in a whale boat, tbinkinr. m-ob-
- o a
ably, that the 'gold region' was a magnet of suf
ficient attractiye power to direct bis course to
the place, .
1848.
Lie. Lie in morals denote a criminal bseaeh
of veracity. Archdeacon Paley, in treating oi
this subject, observes, that there are falsehood
which are not lies, that is, which are not crimi
nal; ami that there are lies which are not literal
ly ami directly false.
Cases of the first class are those where oce n
deceived; as for instance, in parable; fables,
novels, jests, tale to create mirth, or ludicrous
emliellishment of a story, in which the declar
ed design of the speaker is not to inform, but to
divert; a prisoner pleading not guilty; an advo
rate asserting the justice, or bu belief ef the
justice of his client's cause, la surb instances
no confidence is destroyed, because none was re
pose I; no promise to speak the truth is violated,
because none was given or understood to lie giv
en. Second, where the person yon speak to has
no right to know the troth, or more properly,
where little or no inconvenience results from the
want of confidence in such eases; as where you
tell a falsehood to a madman fur hi own ad
vantage, to defeat or divert bim from bis pur
pose. It is upon this principle that by the laws
of war, it is allowable to deceive an enemy by
feints, false colors, spies, fuUe intelligence, and
the like; but by no means in treaties, truces, sig
nals of capitulation, or surrender. The differ
ence is that the former suppose hostilities to con
tinue, whilst the latter are calculated to termi
nate or suspend them.
As there may be falsehoods without lies, so
there may be lies without literal or direct false
hood. An opening is always left for this species
of prevarication, where the literal and grammat
ical signification of a sentence is different from
tho customary meaning. It is the wilful de
ceit that makes the lie.; and we wilfully deceive
when our expressions are not true in the sense in
which we believe the bearer apprehends tbem.
Besides, it is absurd to contend for any sense of
words in opposition to usage; for all senses of
words are founded on usage and nothing else.
A man may also act a lie; as by pointing his fin
ger in a wrong direction when a traveler inquires
of him his road; or where a tradesman shuts up
his windows, to induce bis creditors to believe
that he is abroad; for to all moral purposes, and
therefore as to veracity, speech and action are
the same, speech being only a mode of action.
Scripture tells us that Ananias and his wife
were struok dead for telling a lie in their own in
terest; and the Lord abhors a lie; or bim that
makes a lie; it ascribes the paternity of lies to
the Devil himself; and it warns all liars that none
of them can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
No discreet man, no man accustomed to good
society will ever indulge in the degrading vice of
lying; ami no man who values his own salvation
in the world to come, will ever invent or circu
late malicious lies,' with the wicked intention of
injuring bis neighbor, or of promoting thereby,
bis own worldly interests or ambition.
The Repcbli? or France. Will the Repub
lic of France be maintained, is a question upon
the decision of which hangs the fate of many of
the European monarchies. It is impossible to
speak with any degree of certainty in regard to
its future destiny. There is in the minds of
many doubts, existing as to the stability of char-.
acter and the sufficient advancement, of the mass
of the people, in knowledge and civilization to
settle down permanently under a republican
form ot government. J be elements that are
mingled with the lower class of Paris, when stir
red up and called out, by some aspiring leader,
is enough in itself to break down any form of
government, however liberal or democratic it
may be. The first revolution in France is still
vividly impressed upon the minds of many. The
scenes of horror enacted during that struggle
were stamped upon the age in characters of blood,
Napolean having made his appearance, numer
ous changes took place, until the great Corsican
was overthrown, became a prisoner and an ex
ile, and a monarchy was re-established in France.
The second revolution resulted in the dethrone
ment of Charles X., and the elevation of Louis
Philippe to the throne. The people were no
better satisfied under his reign than they had
been before; and gradually the dissatisfaction
increased, the feeling'of discontent had become
general, and when the government attempted to
put down political meetings and suppress the
right of discussions, the pent up passions of the
mass burst forth, the King was dethroned, and
on the ruins of the kingdom a Republic has been
established. These three revolutions have oc
curred within the space of sixty years, and tends
to show that the mass of the French people are
fickle minded, and wanting in stability of char
acter. It remains to be seen whether Lamartine
will be able to retain his present influence, or
whether be be crushed by the intrigues and en
mity of political demagogues. Should Lamar
tine fall, and France lie deprived of the counsels
of his mighty intellect, we believe in his fall the
French Republic would also sink.
Magnanimity. Magnanimity denotes great
ness of mind, particularly in circumstances of
trial and adversity. It has been justly observed
that it is pride in the good sense, and the noblest
way of acquiring applause. It renders the soul
superior to the trouble, disorder and emotion
which the appearance of rreat chunrcx .niht
mm - 0
excite; and it is by ibis quality that heroes main
tain their tranquility, and preserve the free use
of their reason amidst the most dreadful acci
dents. It admires the same quality even in an
enemy; and fame, glory, conquests, desire of
opportunities to pardon and oblige their oppo
nents, are the emotions which gleam in the minds
of the base. No man can ever gain fame, or
glory, by a want of magnanimity.
To flee or not to FLEE. Whether it be
better for the foreigners to flee the eountry, or
call for protection from some foreign power, on
account of the charges in the Sandwich Island
News, is the question. If the editor of the News
bad accepted the 9200 which he My was offer
ed for his integrity, he might have adopted the
former course, but as it is we advise him to get
under the protective wing of someone, 'where
rumours of oppression may never reach bim
more, and while there see if be cannot get up
another original tune to whistle.
1 i i.
00" H. B. M.'s surveying barque Plover, 42
days from Callao, arrived on the 23d, and sailed
again on the 25th, The Plover goes direct to
Kotzebue's Sound, N, W, Coast. She is one of
the vessels sent out by the British Admiralty, in
search of the expedition, to the Arctic regions, of
Sir John Franklin.
m
By the arrival of the 'Julian,' Si day ft
China, we have received dales from T.m
up to April 34th, which is not so lateasik
received by the Independence. Through &
politeueM of II. Skinner, Eq., we ar
session of ibe IxMtdon Time of April 3b .
, the Singapore Times, F.xtra, f June 7th,
which papers we gather few items f
not heretofore given.
The nxMt important news is the war bet
the Danes and Germans. There had l
hard fighting, ami I he Danes had called
England to assist them in their conflict iit
Germani.
A collision bad taketa place bet era
Danes and Germans at FleaslHirf , in which tfc
Danes were victorious.
We gather the following particulars from the
London Times:
" Later account of the affair between ,
Danes and the HoUtein troops on ibe 10tb
how it to have been important. The HitLm
era, 10,000 strong, retired oa Baa, from Fir,
burg, dislodged by the preparation frw
iMnlinent from the harbor, which wafuQ
Danish gun-boat. But the Danes rante M
superior numbers and drove all before them a.
: : . !
spur a i u iHjorn rrsi(anrv. a wo ternuia rrn.
menu were almost annihilated; and the killed .
in hd sides were more man two tnousand. ji
their victory the Danes puobed south an,aaj
entered Scblewig at two in the morning f t4t
1 lib. The Danish troop in Seles wig r?m
j oa rrgmin remain on ioe tlowtm
frontier, increasing their numbers.
It apar that the students were comply!,
sacrificed in consequence of the ill-jmlged ant
tary position assigned to tbem. Upwards U Tra
were taken prisoners by the Danes; and Hi a
mem oav amveu at iopcuuagen, WDrreuVv
await their trial. The number ef killed a4
wounded is considerable, but no exact acem
has yet been procured. The Danish ravilrr
spared as many as they could. The Read,
burghers say that they were berraved by ibe
peasantry, woo niaue signal to ine Liases is ad
vance of them."
Much anxiety is felt on all tides for the der la
ration of the English Government respectinc the
IIoNtein-Schleswig question.
Fear was entertained in Hamburg that the
Danes will Uockadi tbe Elbe against all ex
cept English ships. Tbe government of Ham
burg has endeavored, as far aa possible, to n
maiu neutral; but belonging to the Confedera
tion, tbe senate cannot avoid contributing a rot
tingent of troops to the amount of 1,299 met.
The inhabitants bave already violated the pn
tended neutrality by organizing a free corps of
150 men for the relief of tbe HoUteiners.
Latest letters from Hamburg; state that tbe
Danish and Prussian armies were then standing
in hostile position, and it was expected that a
battle would be fought on tbe 33d April.
It had been agreed by tbe German states that
a national assembly or parliament for all Germa
ny should meet in Frankfort on May 1st. It i
stated that tbe German-Russian provinces an
sympathizing with the movement in rentnd Ger
many. Prussia is still resolved to rescue Hoi
st ein from the Danes. A dreadful revoh broke
out at Cassel and other places.
The German flag, black, red and gold, baj
been adopted by tbe German diet, ami was sen
waving everywhere throughout Germany
The Danish ministry has ordered the deten
tion of all Prussian vessels now in Danish pong,
and tbe navy has orders to seize all Prussias
bis.
In Sweden the public feeling is strongly in fa
vor of Denmark; and a body of Swedish (in
dents bave petitioned the government for per
mission to join the Danish army.
From Italy we hare dates to Aril 24th. Tie
Provisional Government of Milan had deme
the suppression of the Jesuits fead the con fixa
tion of their property. Lombardy is no loojw
a part of Austria. At Naples tbe elections bad
gone off well; the parliament was to mset May
1st. Be joo. J the walls of Palermo all is de
scribed as anarchy and rapine.
The Zeitungs Halle, of the 6th of Apricoa-
tains letters stating that Count Mocteculi h
left Vienna to propose peace to Lombardy; yield
ing its independence on an engagement to bear a
proportion of the Austrian debt. But war was ;
to be continued strenuously with Charles Albert, ?
and to be declared against tbe Pope, and Grand
Duke of Tuscany, whoee representatives had
received their passjKMU and left Vienna.
The Milan Official bulletin of April $&,
says:
" That Peschiera bas surrendered to the Pied-
monfese troops, and that thc eom-nunicatit
between Mantua and Verona was cut off. Tbe
governor of Mantua bas ordered all the inhabi
tants to yield up their arms, ami pay a contribu
tion of four millions of livres. The Austrian
forces will find great difficulty in pooetratimr
that part of Italy, as Friuli is well gusrtfed. Tbe
province oi urescia Das been entirely evacsatm
by the Ausrrians. A battle took place between
those troops ami the Piedinontese rearguard
near C biese. Tbe Austrian, lost 50 hfed aa
600 prisoners.
Tbe Emperor and Empress of Aestris, with
the Archdukes, returned to Vienna from ris- . i 1
burg on tbe 11th of April. The Emperor jias J
written an autograph letter to Count Radecij, V
a letter full of approval of his course.
The Archduke Francis Joseph, who is 'sot
quite eighteen years of age, the eldest son of tbs
heir presumptive to the throne, has been ap
pointed statthatter of Bohemia.
Sardinia has solicited tbe aid of 10,000 S
to serve against Austria in Italy. Tbe Pri- !
ional Government of Milan is well supported; I
the taxes being payable in advance, and manj
subsidies being volunteered. The Piedmonte
crossed the Mincio near Mantua, to f.irce Ge f
eral Durando against Radctzky. 30.0C0 stf I
of arms had been received from France. t i
From Berlin we bave news to April 20ik,t
which date order was restored. The electics- ij
petition-demonstration which was to hare iar ii
place at Jr.a. on that day, did not come ef- :
the committee, M to save the effuson of bW. U
postponed it. i
On March 22d, General Narraez, ia the fu j:
of the Queen, closed the cortes, suspended I
constitution, and declared Madrid to he ia a l
of siege. In every street there was fighcinf
Narvaez declared himself dictator. f
It is stated in . papers from the Hague; uVJ , '
the governor-general of tho Dutch East lm& E;
has been authorized to decler Menado at Celf f
bes, free port. J.
It may be stated for the information ef
reigners, that no traveller, whether by steasKt' j:
railroad, or diligence, will now be admitted i
Holland without a passport, hitherto not rM" k
ed. " f