THE PRESENT STATE OF FRANCE.

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 169, 12 January 1848, Page 3

THE PRESENT STATE OF FRANCE.

Were Louis Phillippe a younger man we should not despair of seeing him once more a resident at Twickenham, as a private individual ; but, as it is, h« will probably die King of the French : his system will last his time, and he may defer a convulsion till the reign of his successor ; it vrai a former King of France, we believe, who said apris dous le deluge. But much longer it will Dot be ere the face of affairs mutt change in France. The uneasy symptoms that precede a storm are becoming daily more visible. Tlv total neglect of commercial and financial policy which the Government exhibits, while devoting all its energies to some wretched diplomatic intrigue, is beginning to produce its consequences. The embarrassment of the public Revenue is but a reflex of the difficulties of the people. The accounts of the •tate of Paris are positively alarming ; shops standing empty, establishments idle, setting at liberty a destitute population, irritated and ready for any outbreak ; the Government overpowered with drbt, and the most glaring proofi given that some of its membeis are destitute of common honesty ; all this adds flucl to the flames of ducontent that are burning slowly but fiercely beneath t be surface. AIL the forts of Paris and ike oxpedienti

that place the people and the ruler in the position of open enemies will not save the dynasty if it do not act with more wisdom. The insatiable grasping of the King at all he can get for his family seems perfectly fatuous ; thrones, dowers, alliances, engross his faculties, and, in the meantime, the resources of the kingdom are sink ing, and the springs of prosperity drying up. There is not a State in Europe that cannot show a better balance sheet than France. Prussia, Rusiia, Austria, all have their revenues tolerably well administered, and are progressing. In the great developement of railroads, that first element of the prosperity of modern states, they are all going a-head of France, who will soon be isolated and fettered from action by her material deficiencies. And all this is the result of seventeen years of peace and Government of order and liberty ! If order leads to insolvency and exhaustion, the sooner the policy is changed the better. The celebration of the Fetes of July this year was watched with all the precautions of a state of war : amusements were provided for the populace with one hand and cannon pointed at them with the other : musketry and Mat's de Cocagne were equally ready : a whole army was gathered into Paris and another round it : the police visited every gunsmith's shop and unscrewed the locks from all fowling-pieces and pistols — a piece of wisdom ttught by the days of the Baricades and now used to prevent the chance of their recurrence. But what a wretched prospect is this scene of hatred and mistrust between the governing power and the governed : the rulers treat the people as a beast of prey to be hunted for the gain of flesh and fur ; and the people are always ready to hunt the rulers if they get a chance. This is not civilization, but barbarism using its forms: it is mere despotism in disguise, and despotism deprived of B»gacity. There is not one Government of Prance during the present century to which the administration of Louis Phillippe does not furnish an unfavourable contrast. The sway of Napoleon and the Empire was not more costly, and it had triumphs and victories, in the midst of which the wonderful energy of the Emperor could still give some attention to the material interests of the country. The Government of the Restoration was leis costly, and not a whit more oppressive. The system of the Monarchy of July has resulted in the supremacy of military force, a girdle of fortresses, enormous revenues spent without effect, or absorbed or wasted; and, as to movemeut or progreis a total negation and apathy, a mere vulgar struggle to take all we can and keep all we get, without doing a single act in return. It is a sordid policy and will end in ruin.— lllustrated London News. Some very serious charges have been brought against the French Ministers. They are accused of selling the right to open a theatre for £4,000, and applying the money to the founding of a newspaper (L'Epoque), which advocates their views, and with carrying it on with money obtained by the most corrupt practices, among which was the sale of a peerage : of demanding from the postmasters £48,000, as the price of a Bill of Indemnity, to be introduced into the Chambers, to compensate the postmasters for the losses they had sustained by the establishment of railways ; of allowing the Globe (M. Guizott's semi-official organ) £200 a month as the price of its support ; of circulating a forged letter to the constituents of one of their body (M. Emile de Girardin), whom they wished to sacrifice to the popular fury, and many other tricks equally disgraceful to them, both as ministers and men. By late improvements in railway travelling, the journey from London to Edinburgh, a distance of 400 miles, now only occupies 14 hours, by special train. The Mail trains, however, which travel at a more cau» tions pace> and have many halting!, still occupy 20 hours.

Loss op a Government Emigrant Ship.— One Hundred and Seventy Passengers Drowned.— -By arrivals from Quebec, we hear that a most distressing shipwreck has occurred in the River St. Lawrence to an English Government chartered Emigrant ship, with a lost of 170 of iti ill-fated passengers* The veisel is called the Carrick, a brig between 200 and 300 tons burthen, Captain Thompson, master, belonging to Sunderland. She was chartered, we understand, for Irish emigration early in April last, and left Sligo, for Quebec, in the Utter part of that month, with a living freight of nearly 230 emigrants. Previously she wai surveyed by the Government emigration agent, in accordance with the Passengers Act, and proved to be perfectly seaworthy for the expedition. The voyage, up to the time of the ship's arrival in the River St. Lawrence, appeared to have been as desirable as could be wished at that period of the season, excepting the sad condition of the emigrants, most of them suffering greatly from fever. On the night of the 19 th of May she encountered a heavy gale of wind, which, at about 2 o'clock on the following morning, drove her ashore on a dangerous shoal, situated about sixty miles eastward of Cape Rosares, when, in the course of two hours, she went to pieces. The scene is described to have been one truly appalling. Out of the 200 poor creatures (emigrants) on board, not more than 22 were saved — the remainder perished. All the crew, excepting one boy, succeeded in saving themselves by clinging to the spars and boats. They were on the road to Quebec when the information was sent to England. Tho vessel is stated to be fully insured. Two other emigrant ships, chartered by Government, were lost abouc the same time as the Carrick. One it the Imogen, George Foreman, master, from Liveipoof, and the other the Zenolia. The Imogen, which was 348 tons burthen, was wrecked five miles south-went of the island of Scattarie, on May 20th, by running ashore during a thick fog. She had 175 emigrants on board, who fortunately, with the crew, effected a safe landing. The Zenobia was lost off Nanadian. She had 300 emigrants on board, who were also saved.— Atlas. Diogenes being asked who were the noblest men in the world, replied, those who despised riches, glory, pleasure, and lastly, life ; who overcome the contrary of all those things, viz., poverty, infamy, pain, and death, bearing them with an undaunted mind. And Socrates being asked what true nobility was, answered temperencc of mind and body. The death of Lord Cowley ii laid to have had considerable effect upon the feelings of the Duke of Wei* lington, his "brother, who is senior of four years.

Remember, thb Sabbath Day.— The Grand Duke Constantine, during his tour in that region viiited the islands of Staffs and lona in the Shearwater. It chanced that he arrived at the latter on a Sunday. The>itern old keeper of the cathedral keys, refused to unlock the gace and admit the party to see tombitone*, for that would, in his opinion, have been to desecrate the Sabbath. In vain did Captain Robimon ask imploringly whether he was aware wh» the illustriom stranger was whom ho he refuted to gratify. Donald " didna exactly ken." He supposed, " from what folk laid, it was only the Emperor of Rusiia. But he wadua gie up the kej to hit am Queen on the Lord's Day. There was a power aboon, superior to onie earthly power, and lie couldna gie up the key,"— Bell't Mcticngcr.