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FOREIGN MISCELLANY.

THE British ministry has brought forward a measure for the repeal of the Navigation Laws. The effect of the proposal would be to throw open to all countries the carrying trade with Great Britain and the colonies, excepting the coasting trade and the fisheries; the Queen in council having power to impose countervailing duties on any foreign nation, which should treat English shipping with injustice, or not meet the concession on equal terms. It is proposed that each colony shall have the power of throwing open its coasting trade, if it shall think fit. The measure met with considerable resistance on its introduction to the House of Commons. The bill for the removal of the Jewish disabilities has been rejected by the House of Lords. By printed returns, it appears that in the year ending 5th Jan. last 1,955,023 lbs. of silicated soap were made in Great Britain; 160,065,641 lbs. of other hard soap, and 14,279,425 lbs. of soft soap. In the same period there was imported into Great Britain, from Ireland, 170,249 lbs. of hard, and 2,560 lbs. of soft soap. The amount of duty was £1,128 9s. 2d. There were licenses granted to soapmakers-147 in England, 19 in Scotland, and 150 in Ireland. Alexander Baring, Lord Ashburton, died on the 12th of May, in his 74th year. He was born 27th Oct., 1774, and on the 23d August, 1798, married Anne Louisa, eldest daughter of William Bingham, Esq., of Philadelphia, a Senator of the United States. He entered political life as member for Taunton, in 1806. In 1834, he was President of the Board of Trade, under Sir Robert Peel, and in the following year was raised to the peerage, when he assumed the title formerly borne by his first cousin, the celebrated lawyer, John Dunning. The last occasion in which he was engaged in the service of the crown, was the embassy to the United States in 1842, which resulted in a settlement of the long vexed question of the north-eastern boundary. He was the eldest son of Sir Francis Baring, Bart., and long at the head of the mercantile house of Baring, Brothers & Co.

On the 30th of April, a soirée was given at Limerick to Messrs. Smith O'Brien, Meagher, and Mitchell. In consequence of the disrespectful allusions towards Daniel O'Connell, which these gentlemen had indulged in, a large mob, collected round the building, burnt Mr. Mitchell in effigy, and made an attack on the party; and this assemblage, met for the purpose of advocating physical force, was indebted for its safety to the police and military. Some fighting occurred, in which Smith O'Brien got

erely treated; and at the breaking up of soirée, Mr. Mitchell had to be secreted in

a butcher's shop. Several arrests and convictions, under the Arms and Drilling Act, have taken place. O'Brien and Meagher were brought to trial on the information against them for sedition, but escaped conviction, one juryman in each case being for an acquittal. It is said they will again be brought to trial. Mitchell has been arrested, tried and convicted for felony, under the late act. His trial took place on the 30th May, and on the following day he was sentenced to fourteen years' transportation at Bermuda, and in the afternoon was conveyed from the prison to a government vessel bound for Cork, to be placed on board the ship which is to convey him to his destination. Several of the Dublin clubs had announced their determination to rescue him, in case of his conviction, but no attempt was made, although a considerable crowd collected to witness his embarkation. Under the sequestration of his property, consequent on his conviction,, the effects of "The United Irishman” newspaper have been seized, and its publication is at an end. But Messrs. Reilly & Martin have issued a prospectus of a succession to be called "The Irish Felon."

The returns of the Paris election for members of the French National Assembly, show Lamartine at the head of the list: Dupont, (de l'Eure,) Arago, Garnier, Pagès, Marrast, Marie, and Cremieux, members of the Provisional Government, follow. Albert (ouvrier) stands No. 21, Ledru Rollin, 24; Ferdinand Flocon, 26; and Louis Blanc, 27; the total number being 34. The Assembly met on on the 4th of May. M. Buchez was elected President. The members of the late government gave in ther statements. Garnier Pagès, the Minister of Finance, stated the receipts for 1848 at 1,546000,000, and the expenses 1,500,000,000 francs. Arago, Minister of War, stated the Depart ment had issued in two months 446,000 mas kets to arm the National Guards of France; 150,000 of which were distributed in Pars alone. In the event of war, France would be able to bring into the field 500,000 infantry, and 85,000 horses. On the 9th of May, after a stormy discussion, the Assembly decided that for the present the Executive Department should be intrusted to a committee of five, and the following are the numbers of votes by which they were elected :

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owing to the strenuous efforts he made to in- | the ruffians and their leaders, then left the sure the appointment of Rollin, and the conse- chamber and proceeded to the Hotel de Ville, quent suspicion of the moderate party. His where several members of the clubs named as popularity has, from this conduct, considerably a Provisional Government, Louis Blanc, Barbès, declined, as he is believed to fear the influence Albert, Blanqui, Raspail, Huber, Sobrier, of that turbulent demagogue, or to have too Proudhon, Pierre Leroux, and Cabet. About much sympathy with his principles. five o'clock, Gen. Courtais, Barbès, Blanqui and others were arrested, and the riot suppressed, but the guard remained under arms all night. Several of the clubs have since been entirely suppressed, and upwards of 200 arrests have been made. Leave has been asked of the chamber to permit the prosecution of Louis Blanc. No further disturbances have occurred, but the Assembly has since been protected during its sittings by an immense military force; 40,000 troops of the line have been recalled to Paris, and the command of the National Guard transferred to Col. Clement Thomas. Considerable quantities of warlike stores have been seized, and the Prefect of Police, M. Causidière, was so much implicated that he found it necessary to resign.

The affairs of Poland were made by the ultra democrats of Paris, a pretence for an attack on the Assembly, which for some time threatened the destruction of the Government. While the Assembly was engaged in discussing the affairs of Italy, an immense body of men in blouses, headed by Barbès, Blanqui, and others, approached the hall to demand in the name of the people, immediate interference in behalf of Poland. This demonstration was not unexpected by the Government, but from treachery in that body, as is suspected, the orders given to meet the exigency were not put in force. Bodies of the National Guard and Guard Mobile, placed to stop the procession, allowed it to pass unopposed, and hardly any opposition was offered outside the hall, which was speedily taken possession of by the mob, and the members of the Assembly compelled to retire. The scene was worthy of the old Jacobins. The hall was literally stormed; flags were waving, and cries of Vive la Pologne! Vive Louis Blanc! A bas les Aristocrats! were shouted and distinctly heard above the uproar. Barbès, and a crowd of others, rushed to the Tribune and attempted to make themselves heard. Up to this time all the members had retained their seats except Barbès, Louis Blanc, and a few others, who mixed freely with the crowd. Ledru Rollin attempted to speak, but without success. At length Barbès obtained a hearing, and moved the Assembly should declare that the people of Paris had deserved well of their country. Blanqui followed. After this scene had lasted about two hours, Barbès again spoke and demanded that a tax of one milliard, about two hundred millions of dollars, should be levied on the rich, and that whoever should order the rappel to be beaten for the National Guard, should be declared a traitor, which was carried by acclamation. He concluded his proposals for extricating the nation from embarrassment by exclaiming, "We must re-establish the guillotine!" Louis Blanc, placed on a table, was paraded round the room. Shortly afterwards, from the end of a pole, a paper was exhibited, with the words, "The Chamber is dissolved," which was echoed from all sides. A delegate of one of the clubs mounted the tribune, and declared the National Assembly dissolved, whereupon the President was driven from his chair, over which a red flag surmounted by a cap of liberty was raised, and the deputies were driven from their seats, which were speedily filled by the mob.

Fearing an attack from the National Guard,

The grand national fête went off without disturbance. The 45 per cent. added by the Provisional Government to the direct taxes, produced 34,558,974 francs to the 10th May. A million of francs was voted on the 22d May for the national workshops, from which 115,000 (in Paris) are receiving pay, and performing little, if any, labor: the Assembly have declared their intention of breaking up these establishments. Should the present national expenditure continue for twelve months, it will leave a deficit of about 185 millions of dollars. The receipts for the first four months of 1848, as compared with the same period of 1847, show a diminution of 33,333,000 fr., of which 16,310,000 is for the first three months, and 17,023,000 for April alone. The import duties for the like period in 1848 produced 26,786,968 francs, against 43,720,267 in 1847. In April, 1847, they amounted to 10,750,672, and in the same month in 1848, only 3,764,590 fr. The Committee on the Constitution have adopted two resolutions, viz., that there shall be a single President and a single Chamber, elected by universal suffrage. The report of the Committee is not expected till the end of June. A serious difficulty between the Assembly and the Executive Committee arose, which caused Lamartine and Ledru Rollin to threaten to retire. The Committee claimed to have entire control of the measures for the protection of the Assembly, and to an exemption from attendance at its sittings. The difficulty, which appeared serious, was compromised by the exemption being allowed except at the call of 40 members for explanations or statements, and by leaving the protectionary arrangements with the Committee, with a controlling power in the President of the Assembly.

CRITICAL NOTICES.

The Diplomatic and Official Papers of Daniel | terminated."- -But-" Our past history, how

Webster, while Secretary of State. York: Harper & Brothers, 1848.

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This volume contains the papers comprising the history of the North-eastern Boundary Treaty of 1842; correspondence with Lord Ashburton, relative to Maritime Rights, Impressment, Inviolability of National Territory, case of the Caroline, etc.; the case of McLeod; letters with Mr. Everett and Lord Aberdeen relative to the Right of Search; correspondence with Mr. Cass previous and subsequent to his retirement from France; the Boundary Treaty and Mr. Webster's great speech in defence thereof; papers concerning our relations with Mexico, Spain, etc. etc.-the whole being prefaced by an Introduction giving a full account of the settlement of the Treaty.

At the conclusion of the introduction, it is very justly remarked, that "although the papers contained in the present volume probably form but a small portion of the official correspondence of the Department of State for the period during which it was filled by Mr. Webster, they constitute, nevertheless, the most important part of the documentary record of a period of official service, brief, indeed, but as beneficial to the country as any of which the memory is preserved in her annals." Respecting the settlement of the boundary Treaty, to which the most important papers in the volume chiefly refer, the writer also adds: "Much is due to the wise and amniable negotiator who was dispatched on the holy errand of peace; much to the patriotism of the Senate of the United States, who confirmed the treaty by a larger majority than ever before sustained a measure of this kind which divided public opinion; but the first meed of praise is unquestionably due to the negotiator. Let the just measure of that praise be estimated by reflecting what would be our condition at the present day, if instead of or in addition to the war with Mexico, we were involved in a war with Great Britain."

One of the most interesting documents in the collection is the elaborate and severe, yet well merited rebuke of Mr. Cass, for writing from Paris a letter expressing dissatisfaction with the Treaty, after it had been concluded, and after he had demanded his recall. Mr. Cass took the liberty of informing the Department of State that no one rejoiced "more sincerely than he at the termination of our difficulties with Great Britain, so far as they were

ever, will be unprofitable if it do not teach us that unjust pretensions, affecting our rights and honor, are best met by being promptly repelled when first urged, and by being received in a spirit of resistance worthy the character of our people and of the great trust confided to us as the depositories of the freest system of government which the world has yet witnessed." He then goes into his view of the question of the Right of Search, and concludes by stating in substance his reason for having demanded his recall:-"I now find a treaty has been concluded between Great Britain and the United States, which provides for the co-operation of the latter in efforts to abolish the slave trade, but which contains no renunciation by the former of the extraordinary pretension, resulting, as she said, from the exigencies of these very ef forts; and which pretension I felt it my duty to denounce to the French Government." From this it is very clear that had Mr Cass officiated at that time as negotiator, the "pretensions" of Great Britain would have been met by spirit of resistance worthy, etc. ;" and that we should before this time have been, very possi bly, involved in a war considerably more expensive and perhaps less glorious than our recent struggle to protect the national honor from. the insults of the haughty Mexicans!

But Mr. Cass was not aware that the who's question of the right of visit and of search bel been gone over in a letter from Mr. Webster to Mr. Everett, and discussed in so masterly manner that nothing of what Mr. C. is pleased to style "pretension" has been heard of frez that time to this or ever will be again, it is probable, so long as the world shall endure The silence of Lord Aberdeen, in reference t that dispatch, is an admission of the legality of Mr. Webster's views, which are, that unless by express treaty, no such thing as a right c visit, or search, exists between nations in time of peace; that such visit is therefore trespass: but yet that no flag can shield pirates-the firmly declaring the ocean to be in law what is often styled by a figure-the great highwa of nations-where all have free right of pa sage without let or molestation except those of whom it must be presumed that the party inter fering with them has perfect knowledge the they are felons or outlaws. That these mut be regarded as now settled principles of int national intercourse, the agreement of the twe governments after so many years in which t subject has been pending, the fact that fo

years have elapsed since they were laid before the British Ministry from our Department of State, and that during this time they have been suffered to remain, although presented in the course of a correspondence having special reference to the subject, without confutation, must be deemed conclusive evidence. Surely the spirit in which Mr. Webster so well laid down the law has proved more happy in its results than that which Mr. Cass would have had our government manifest on the occasion. Discussion and concession-a desire, to use a homely phrase," to do what is right," are much better calculated to promote those amicable relations on which depend the welfare of nations, than that "spirit of resistance" which Mr. Cass deems "worthy the character of our people." The contrast between Mr. Cass's policy and the course of Mr. Webster is placed in strong lights in the course of the correspondence here published. Mr. Cass writes from an impetuous and choleric temper, that does not permit him to see how often he commits himself. Under Mr. Webster's clear examination, all he advances resolves itself into mere presumptuous wrongheadedness. Thus, for example, in the reply to the letter from which we have above quoted, Mr. Webster says :

This

"Your letter appears to be intended as a sort of protest, a remonstrance, in the form of an official dispatch, against a transaction of the government to which you were not a party, in which you had no agency whatever, and for the results of which you were no way answerable. would seem an unusual and extraordinary proceeding. In common with every other citizen of the republic, you have an unquestionable right to form opinions upon public transactions, and the conduct of public men; but it will hardly be thought to be among either the duties or the privileges of a minister abroad to make formal remonstrances and protests against proceedings of the various branches of the government at home, upon subjects in relation to which he himself has not been charged with any duty or partaken any responsibility." P. 195.

Mr. Cass, in reply, says that his letter is not "a protest or remonstrance," and defends himself as follows:

"Is it the duty of a diplomatic agent to receive all the communications of his government, and to carry into effect their instructions sub silentio, whatever may be his own sentiments in relation to them? Or, is he not bound, as a faithful representative, to communicate freely, but respectfully, his own views, that these may be considered and receive their due weight in that particular case, or in other circumstances involving similar considerations? It seems to me that the bare enunciation of the principle is all that is necessary for my justification." P. 106. * * And I may express the conviction that there is no government certainly none this side of Constanti

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nople-which would not encourage, rather than rebuke, the free expression of the views of their representatives in foreign countries." P. 207.

To which Mr. Wesbter strikingly and conclusively answers :-

"What other construction (than as a protest or

remonstrance) your letter will bear, I cannot perceive. The transaction was finished. No letter or remarks of yourself, or any one else, could un do it, if desirable. Your opinions were unsolicited. If given as a citizen, then it was altogether unusual to address them to this Department in an official dispatch; if as a public functionary, the whole subject-matter was quite aside from the duties of your particular station. In your letter you did not propose anything to be done, but objected to what had been done." P. 214.

* * Like all citizens of the republic, you are quite at liberty to exercise your own judgment upon that as upon other transactions. But neither your observations nor this concession cover the case. They do not show that, as a public minister abroad, it is a part of your official functions, in a public dispatch, to remonstrate against the conduct of the government at home in relation to a transaction in which you bore no part, and for which you were in no way answerable. The President and Senate must be permitted to judge for themselves in a matter solely within their control. Nor do I know that, in complaining of your protest against their proceedings in a case of this kind, anything has been done to warrant, on your part, an invidious and unjust reference to Constantinople." P. 216.

struck with the extreme propriety and elegance In reading this passage, one cannot but be of Mr. Webster's diplomatic style. His mind seems to select from a hundred points of view the precise one which best illustrates a subject, and he gives it in language which, though careful, grave, and dignified, is yet natural. For this quality we admire these letters more than his early orations.

Angela. A Novel. By the Author of “Emilia Wyndham," "Two Old Men's Tales," etc. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1848.

In moral bearing, and so far as we have been able to examine it, in the conduct of the story, this tale is unexceptionable. But the characters are elaborated with a minuteness that

is not sustained by depth of thought, and in a style not poetic and elevating, but too intense, and too close an imitation of the language of real life. The tale is probably intended, and readers. But we dislike to believe, either that will be generally recommended for young lady it will be very popular with them, or that we have grown so old and wise as to be no longer able to judge of what interests them.

In the first chapter we have a description of a young man reposing under "that wild,

straggling hawthorn, where the huge twisted branches, hoary with age, have assumed almost the character of those of a forest tree." This is interrupted by an apostrophe to the "teens," from which we extract the following:

"The teens! Oh what a gush of promise is there in that first burst of fervent life into flower! But the wind of the desert has passed over the blossoms, and where are they? "What is the summer to this spring? "Alas! alas!

"Most deeply, deeply pathetic sight! "He was like the rest of them, dear, earnest, delightful young creatures "

How much of such writing must a critic read in order to form a respectable opinion upon it? If twenty pages, there is one that must resign the profession.

On turning over the leaves we find that the whole book is paragraphed as in the extract

above.

Whence has arisen this fashion of making each separate sentence stand by itself?

From imitating Tupper, cockney philosopher?
We do not know.

Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are printed in this fashion also.

Was it invented by printers to save labor in the correcting of proof? They have lately taken in hand our orthography. A boy who, at school, should persist in spelling theatre "theater," as the Messrs. Harpers do now in their books, should be reprimanded, and if that did not suffice, chastised, until he amended.

Possibly this overmuch paragraphing was invented by the printers; but very plainly, however it came into use, it is only a new device of the enemy of souls, who wills not that men should love what is beautiful, but delights to have them running into all manner of foolishness.

Behold how easy it is to follow his suggestions!

But let all earnest, delightful young gentlemen and ladies be watchful not to fall into vulgar and degrading affectation. It is the peculiar literary vice of our time. Often, when we consider how it infects and spoils our whole literature, we fancy that we have fallen upon dry days-days when the truly poetic is no longer sought for or felt when found.

One more paragraph has caught our eye, which is so nice it must be given :

"He was a tall, fine young man-not very tall, neither, for he was beautifully proportioned-a very model the very ideal of the English youth. His eye so sweet, so ingenuous, so almost child-like in its truth and innocence, yet so deep, so thoughtful, so full of indistinct meaning and hidden melancholy (bad grammar); his mouth was rather full, and the soft, silken moustache just gave character to the upper lip."

What a love of an animal! How delightful! But not half so poetic as Amanda Fitzalan in the Children of the Abbey.

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He lay-lounged, I should say-under this old, twisted hawthorn tree, upon a bank covered with that green branching moss which is so soft and so beautiful; and the harebell and the lichens, and the little white starwort were grow ing, with a few lingering primroses and violets in the shaw (how intensely Saxon!) which stretched behind and beside him. This hawthorn tree stood out by itself a little in front of the shaw (Opshaw!) which stretched along the field upon that side in front of a very high and thick hedge of hawthorn and maple, traveller's joy (new plant) and brambles, honeysuckles and eglantine, such as our youth loved in his heart."

The London Critic ranks this authoress "at the head of female novelists;" the London Spectator thinks her "Norman's Bridge surpasses everything" this writer or perhaps ang chef d'œuvre; the John Bull thinks her humor other writer has done, if we except Godwin's approaches that of Molière and Addison.

The American Review begs to be excused from perusing this, her last work, and is reluctantly compelled to admit that the above specimens of puffing, bad as they are, cannot make it think more lightly of the opinion of the London press than it did already. The novel is well enough, perhaps, as a softly book-God forbid we should be thought angry with itbut it is not to be compared with any of Mrs. Austen's or a hundred others.

The Seat of Government of the United States By JOSEPH B. VARNUM, Jr. New York: Press of Hunt's Merchant's Magazine. 1848.

This is a full history of the City of Washcontains a review of the discussions in Conington, and view of its present condition. I gress and elsewhere on its site, and plans and including a particular notice of the Smithsonian minute descriptions of its public works, &c. Institution, with a map. It is published in a pamphlet form, and must necessarily, from the interest of the subject and the industry and good sense which is manifest in the work command a very extensive sale.

ERRATA.

In the article on the "Adventures and Ce quests of the Normans in Italy, during the Midita Ages," in the June number, the following error occurred, in consequence of inability to send a proof to the author:

On p. 619, for Mons Fovis read Mons Jovis.
On p. 622, et seq., for Malfi read Melfi.
On p. 627, for Palermo read Paterno.
On pp. 629, 630, for Barajgoi read Bapázyn

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