THE Cromwell Argus. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1870.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 47, 5 October 1870, Page 4

THE Cromwell Argus. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1870.

For years past we have been listening to the rumours of wars, till we had come ut last to expect them, and to look for nothing beyond rumours. Yet there were those who informed us at different intervals by the home mails that the jealousies between the two rivals for supremacy in the councils of Europe were too deep to be rooted out by diplomacy : nothing but an appeal to arms could eradicate the rankling; mischief. To expect a final settlement in ,u * any other way would, we were told, be like “ hoping against hope.” The last mail put an end to all suspense: the war had commenced. The rumours had given place tp the fatal reality, France and Prussia had taken the held. Two great peoples were fighting down one another iu the presence of the advanced civilisation of Europe, and leaving in the line of their march the wreck of all that is beautiful in art and nature. Their successes are marked by broken bridges, railways, smoking ruins, and the dead bodies of men. And now the latest telegram brings the stunning news that Napoleon is in captivity, and that Paris is in a state of siege. The war has at the outset composed all the differences of the German peoples— North and South. The union, nominal ciiduglfibefore, is now a fact for all Europe and the world to study: it is full of interest for all mankind. One mastering idea has banded together a divided people, a result perhaps not forecasted by Napi* leon. Prussia, comprising various Germanic states, with sympathies and interests in fierce antagonism, and who have been held together for years by all sorts of outward pressure, is now, for the first time, massed into one kingdom. The coherence appears to be cordial and complete. The wolf of war has united the scattered sheep of the Prussian flock, who are putting themselves under the matchless statenmnship of Bismarck, and crossing the Rhine to check the insolence of the dictator of Europe, to bound the ambition that would ape the splendour of the first Empire and trample on the liberties of mankind. And the war which, has made the estranged states of Germany one great kingdom threatens to break up united France into fierce party strifes, and to rend asunder a great and united empire. When the Prussians shall have avenged upon the third Emperor the outrages inflicted upon them by the first—when they shall have placed Napoleon 111, on some St. Helena, as the British did his uncle, the spell of the great name may be broken for ever ; the altar of French magnificence will be broken down. The chaos of 90 years ago may be acted over again ; but with this difference : that then they started upon a career of conquest after 150 years of exemption from civil war or invasion ; but that now they must set out with a disheartening defeat. Retribution is a law to nations as well as individuals : it differs only in its application. Each person of whom a nation is composed is accountable in an after life for the deeds done in this ; but nations, as such, have no after life. A nation’s wrongdoing in one period of its history is visited in another. A nation’s treachery, bloodshed, and oppression, without due repentance, are as certain to be dealt with in some national way, as the same crimes, in an individual, are to be punished : the former’s in this life, the hitter’s in a life after this. Admitting that the above reasoning accords with fact and the fitness of things, and is the guiding principle of arbitration at work in the adjustment of national awards for national iniquities, who will be bold enough to say that 1870 may not be the beginning of retribution for wrongs done by Franco, which had their beginning in 1789 1 Our readers all know that May sth of that year witnessed the opening of the States General in France. On the 14th of the July following, the first open blow was struck by an attack upon the Bastile. When the King heard of it, he said to one of his trusted friends, “ This is a revolt!” The reply was, “Sire, this is a revolution !” Here was the boginning of that mine that afterwards exploded in national excesses, some of wp ih are unutterable. The destruction of taw and order soon followed. Religion and royalty ceased to bo respected. Christianity was decreed out of date, and dealt with as a hampering impediment. Saintly goodness, and greed and baseness, were confounded. The creed of the Revolution was the famous “ Rights of Man and the liberty, equality, and sovereignty of the people were, held as the basis of social government The scaffold was soon erected ; a -A h’jVnr.n

King and Queen, who clesettfed a better fate, mingled their blood to consecrate it. Their offspring were reserved for a worse destiny even than this. The brave Swiss Guards were overpowered and slaughtered with unpitying ferocity. All power passed into the hands of tyrants. A state of things was installed which is known to history as “ the Reign of Terror.” The whole scene darkened as it advanced, till the curtain, red with the blood and wet with the tears of millions, fell on the field of Waterloo, and the Corsican tyrant found his home andt his grave on St. Helena. And the crimes and wrongs alluded to were notHe doings of a great man, or of a nulnner of great men. They were the de(|cls of a nation. The French people willed them. Napoleon executed the decrees of France. His arm wielded a nation’s vengeance. And if there be an eternal justice in the affairs of nations, arbitrating their destiny, is it too much to say that the rout that is now going on in the French army is a rebound from a blow struck long ago 1 Are not the murmurs of the French people something like an echo from tee shriek of millions, in all the languages of civilised man, appealing to heaven for justice 1 The remembrance of four hundred thousandof the best men of France stiffened into stone on the frozen deserts of Russia with loot taken nt Moscow in their hands, is doing more to block the way of French success than all the needle guns of the Prussian army. To premise rashly upon the mysteries and the retributions of Providence would at any time he the height of irreverence, and especially so now. But the past compared with the present suggests many solemn lessons, and he must be hopelessly blind who cannot see them with the naked eye. France has never recovered the 26 years of war that ended in 1815. The drain that was going on during those years upon the vital part of the nation, the loss of stamina at the very heart, has never been repaired. The conscriptions began with the young Frenchmen at the age of perfect manhood, and if they were ever discharged from the service, they were either maimed, or their pith and vigour were exhausted. Such a race of ancestors could never have the honour of transmitting a type of manhood that could be trusted where daring and endurance are the conditions of success. An inspired idiot, as Johnson called him, treated the philosophy of this question in lines of deep wisdom, which may be studied bv France, or any other nation, with profit:— “ 111 fares the land, tn hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates, and men decay. Princes and lords mav flourish or may fade— A breath mav make them, as a breath has made; Put a hold peasantrv, their nation’s pride, When once destroyed, can never be supplied."

We are "la.cl to learn that the service held in the new building at Kawarau Gorge last Sunday was successful in every way. The day, though it commenced dull, foggy, and wet, cleared up at noon, and became calm, bright, and enjoyable. The building was well filled. The sermon was plain, pointed, and brief, and was listened to with profound attention throughout. The collection told up, at the conclusion, to £2O 8s 6d. The mode of lifting it was a novelty; no plates, no collectors, no demand at the door. All stepped forward to the preaching-stand, and gave as the Spirit moved them. The singing was perhaps the most admired feature of the occasion, it being rendered with pleasing effect. Mr Smitham lent his coach to convey the singing strength of the Cromwell congregation to the Gorge ; and other vehicles, filled with a goodly number of those who took a friendly interest in the proceedings of the day, also found their way thither. The treasurer and secretary of the Building Committee, and all the dwellers at the Gorge, desire us to tender a tribute of thanks to the ladies and gentlemen composing the choir, and to all others who, by their influence, company, and contributions, helped to make the service pleasant and profitable. Mr Neal lent his valuable aid in giving a finishing touch to the building with his paint-brush, and for this work he made no charge. There now remains a uebt of only about £4O on the building. At the usual fortnightly meeting of the Town Council, held on Monday evening last, 2here were present; The Mayor and Crs. Dagg, Brown, and Dawkins. The minutes of last meeting were read and confirmed, and inward and outward correspondence was read. An application )' Sm Mr VV. L. Bailey for permission to erect au'Jfiice ou a reserve, was granted, subject to the approval of the Public Works Committee. Att account of 30s, from Mr James Taylor, was paired' ent. It was resolved that the lease of certain municipal, sections should be sold by p|pKaSctfon on Wednesday, the 10th inst., and the Town Clerk was instructed to put an advertisement in the Arous to that effect, and also to post notices round town. This concluded the business of the evening, and the Council adjoorae^..fty.»iTj

We are requested by Mr tVeshaw, the Cromwell,representative of the District. Hospital Committee, to acknowledge receipt of the following donetions in aid of the funds Mr Rues, 20s; Mr Bruce, 5s ; Mr Wallace, 10a ; Mr Hancock, ss; Mr M'Kay, 10s; Mr Bell, 5s ; Mr Munro, 10s ; Mr J. Richards, L.2 2s ; Bannockburn Concert proceeds, L.22 17s 6d.—Total, £27 14s Gd. Mr Warden Pyke has notified his intention to hold a sitting of the Warden’s Court at Bendigo every fourth Thursday, comencing on the 13th inst. At the "Resident Magistrate’s Court, Clyde, yesterday, Cheong Ah Fat, a noted thief, was charged by Sergeant Cassels with having no visible lawful means of support. He was arrested at Reilly’s Beach ou Monday. Two previous convictions were recorded against him, and he was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, with hard labour, in Dunedin Gaol. The sale of Mr Towan’s herd of cattle takes place at the Cromwell Cattle Yards tomorrow. Those who are in want of superior stock should not neglect to attend, for we are authorised to state that no reasonable offer will be refused. The Cromwell Jockey Club has issued an excellent programme for the ensuing annual races. £450 is to be given in stakes during the two days’ racing. Samuel Goth Cook was brought before the Bench at Queenstown on Saturday last, charged, on the information of a young woman named Bridget Connell, with having criminally assaulted her, on the track leading from Queenstown to Skipper’s Point, on the forenoon of the same day. Miss Connell gave her evidence in a manner which left no doubt that the accused had accomplished his purpose. She was crossexamined at some length by Cook, who stated that he did not wish to deny the charge, but would endeavour to prove that the girl’s reputation was not sp itless. He succeeded in proving that his own character was certainly none of the best, if one might judge from the shameless manner in which he questioned the prosecutrix while she was in the. witness-box. The prisoner was remanded till to-day, to enable the police to make some further inquiries. The prisoner was admitted to bail (!) in his own recognizance of L. 100, and two sureties of L.50 each. The Cromwell Quadrille Club will, it is stated, resumo practice on Friday evening, at the usual time and place.