free constitution, as expressed by the most eminent jurists and philosophers of Germany, demanded nothing more than what has long existed in this country-representative assemblies invested with true legislative power, the judicial institution of jury trial, and the freedom of the press. In the act of the German confederacy, concluded at the Congress of Vienna, it was enacted that, "in all states of the confederacy, a representative constitution is to take place." But the moment of danger past, the rulers forgot their promises, or at least took care never to fulfil them. In the natural horror of democratic excesses, Austria, especially, has hitherto always avoided allowing the slightest admixture of popular rights with a purely aristocratic and imperial form of government.

With such a diversity of forms of government, as Prince Metternich was called upon to mould to the desired form; the task was one of a most formidable character. Still he proceeded in his legislative labours with such steady and vigorous energy that he not only overcame all obstacles, but for a long time he obtained for the system of the Austrian cabinet an indisputable supremacy over the councils of Europe.

1

The struggle for the independence of Greece, and the intervention of the Christian powers in favour of that oppressed nation, for the first time placed the policy of Prince Metternich at variance with that of the western states of Europe. It was probably owing to this circumstance that Austria did not exhibit more national or imperial energy when Russia was allowed, at the conclusion of the war with Turkey, to establish its ascendency in Moldavia and Wallachia, and to obtain possession of the chief navigable mouth of the Danube-a result of the treaty of Adrianople, of which Austria never ceases every day to feel the deep grievance and annoyance.

The French Revolution of 1830 restored the three courts of eastern Europe to their original common intimacy and interests. But Louis Philippe soon made known to the Austrian minister that, while constitutional rights should be respected in Frauce, all necessary measures would be adopted to keep down democratic tendencies; and Prince Metternich felt once more at ease. He was enabled in conjunction with Prussia to crush every symptom of popular excitement in Germany; he occupied. Northern Italy with troops, Austrian Poland was oppressed more than ever, and he expended vast sums in enabling Don Carlos to carry on a contest in Spain in the name of legitimacy.

But in the meantime, the progress of a material civilisation had been doing more, probably, than any thing else, to undermine the old order of things. The opening of the Danube to the Anglo-Hungarian steamboats, the connexion of Trieste with Vienna, and of the capital with Prague and Northern Germany, by railroads, have had a great influence on the social conditions of the empire. The vast natural resources and the industry of the people, have marched on in advance of an inert government. The strength and unity which Prince Metternich had given to the motley and heterogeneous states, has been gradually undermined. But, above all, the movement taken by Prussia, to give a more liberal character to German institutions, and the accession of Pius IX. to the papal throne, have largely contributed to hasten the downfall of the Metternich policy. The example of the Revolution of France, completed the overthrow of the illustrious statesman-the last almost of his class

and order-sprung from a family which preserved the strict traditions of the German aristocracy, trained in the ideas which have always been most effective against the encroachments of democracy, and fortified by forty years' power and experience.

The progress of liberal opinions in Austria, will, it has been stated, insure peace, by anticipating any opposition that might have arisen under the old system to the progress of democracy elsewhere, but there is no depending for a moment on peace acquired by such concessions, In the meantime, the King of Prussia, as the champion of the liberal monarchical party, and the candidate for imperial rule, has pledged himself to obtain from the confederate sovereigns all the great conditions of national unity. Germany, it is said, is to become a federal and not a leagued state. Her affairs are to be governed by the deliberations of a senate, chosen in part from the constitutional bodies which will exist in all the separate states of Germany. A supreme court of judicature is to be attached to this national power. All restrictions are to be removed from the communications of intelligence, of trade, and of locomotion, amongst the whole German people. The press throughout Germany is to be free. One universal Zollverein is to extend its laws from the shores of the Baltic to those of the Adriatic; an uniform system of money, weights, post-office, &c., is to be established, and a common flag is to be adopted for the nation, by sea and by land.

But while Prussia thus marches in front of the popular movement, the Emperor Ferdinand has been no less received in the densely-crowded streets of Vienna with deafening shouts and acclamations. The people took the horses from the carriage of the Archduke Stephen, on his return from Hungary, and drew it themselves into the palace. Prague the timely concessions of the emperor are said to have produced the happiest effect.

Even at

It will remain to be seen, then, which of the rival claims, of the house of Hapsburg, and that of Brandenburg, will be most readily entertained at the general congress of sovereigns to be held at Dresden. The right of seniority and of precedence undoubtedly lies with Ferdinand; the liberal tendencies of Frederick William IV., have, however, as well as his popular concessions at a moment of great emergency, placed him at the head of a purely national movement; and, perhaps, when we consider the superior education and civilisation united to, or rather resulting from, the Protestant tendencies of Northern Germany, we must be prepared to yield to the course of events which will re-establish the ancient Germanic sovereignty under the representative of the electors of Brandenburg, and the successor of the Teutonic knights, to the long-time stationary sway of the descendants of the great Rudolph.

r

THE FRENCH MODEL REPUBLIC.

Si je crois rien de ce qu'on y rapporte,

Je veux, mes enfants, que le diable m'emporte.

BERANGER.

PURSUING in another form the subject which, by its extraordinary im portance, has induced us to depart from our general rule of not touching upon political matters, we purpose, in these pages, to address ourselves to the task of examining the progress which the French Republic has already made, and what the measures are which have been taken by those at the head of affairs to insure its stability.

One fear alone assails us in making this attempt, and that is, lest the Utopian dream which was proclaimed at the Hôtel de Ville on the 24th of February, shall have utterly dissolved before these pages issue from the press-a consummation by no means improbable.

The first step taken by the Provisional Government, after having installed itself, was to make the declaration of "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity," which was henceforth to be the principle of the new régime. No words can be found more attractive to the multitude than these three, but, unfortunately, they run the risk of being misinterpreted: "Liberty," as it is construed by the mob, meaning a release from all lawful control; 66 Equality," a reduction of all to the same level; and "Fraternity," an unscrupulous appropriation of the property of others. The more moderate members of the Provisional Government, adopting the pure idealism of Lamartine, did not hold with this acceptation of the terms; they believed, we are persuaded, in the possibility of practically enforcing their amiable theory; but we are by no means so sure that the section influenced by Ledru Rollin entertained corresponding notions; communism was the motive which stirred them to action; that word embraced the other three in the view of those who had all to gain, and nothing to lose, by the establishment of a new order of things. The latter did not directly say with Jack Cade, that "all the realm should be in common;" but if the dial spoke not, it still made shrewd signs, and pointed full in the direction to which events appear to be rapidly tending.

However, the declaration was made, so flattering to the feelings of a nation whose ruling principle is vanity, simple and compound; and the tricoloured motto was blazoned far and wide; it headed every decree, was plastered against every wall, was dinned into every man's ears, and the people, in parrot-tones, re-echoed the cry. The next step was to offer an explanation of the intentions of the Provisional Government in their laudable resolve to restore the golden age; a determination, by-the-by, that seems in a fair way of accomplishment without the aid of the precious metal which has given its name to that fabulous epoch. It was, therefore, proclaimed that every man should, at once, enter into the enjoyment of his full political rights, a condition to which we, as Englishmen, should be the last to object, were it not that our friends over the water put rather too large a construction on their newly-created privilege. It was made, like the magician's tent in the "Arabian Nights," of the most expansive materials; it could be adapted to cover one man, or contain a whole nation. Thirty millions of people were each promised every thing that a Frenchman's heart can desire. The exercise of their "political rights," gave them leave to meet wherever they pleased, say whatever they pleased, and, as a necessary corollary, do whatever they pleased; like Shylock,

they would readily "better the instruction." Jacques Bon-homme was not only to be an elector, but be capable himself of being elected ; "his mouth was to be the parliament" of France, and, better still, he was to be paid for his legislative services. That no higher qualification than that of belonging to the soil was necessary to enter into the national convention, was afterwards declared by M. Carnot, the Minister of Public Instruction, who in a circular almost as celebrated as that of M. Ledru Rollin's, to which we shall by-and-by advert, made this announcement:— "The great error against which the inhabitants of our agricultural districts must be guarded is this-that, in order to be a representative, it is necessary either to enjoy the advantages of education or the gifts of fortune. As far as education is concerned, it is clear that an honest peasant, possessed of good sense and experience, will represent the interests of his class in the assembly of the nation infinitely better than a rich and educated citizen, having no experience of rural life, or blinded by interests at variance with those of the bulk of the peasantry. As to fortune, the remuneration (indemnité) which will be assigned to all the members of the Assembly, will suffice for the maintenance of the very poorest." He was, moreover, to have as much work assigned to him as he chose to do-(no matter how it was to be found)-when not, of course, occupied by the cares of legislation. He was to share his master's,-no, his brother's profits, without contributing to his capital-send as many brats to the Foundling as Rousseau did, go to school or stay away if he liked it, attend church or synagogue as the humour took him, make war with all the world whenever he felt pugnacious, become peaceable when he was sick of fighting, and take the whole human race under his protection.

This is only a mild exposition of the views of the regenerated French republican. It never struck him that they were impossible. He by no means shared the opinions of a clever and profound writer who has recently said:

"Communisme, socialisme, partage des terres et des richesses, organisation du travail! autant de rèves inapplicables, réglemens impossibles tant qu'on ne pourra régler les naissances et les passions de la société humaine! Mais il y a des esprits qui se laissent séduire par la seule forme d'une pensée, quelqu'absurde qu'elle soit, et qui croient que certains enchaînemens de phrases présagent un enchaînement semblable dans les faits. Ce sont eux qui disent: Le monde a enregistré l'égalité devant Dieu au commencement de l'ère chrétienne, l'égalité devant la loi à la fin du xviii, siècle ; il ne lui manque plus que de réaliser l'égalité sociale." Nor were the authorities slow to decree these impossibilities. followed decree like flashes of summer lightning; well, if they prove as

innocuous !

Decree

First came the announcement that all objects pledged at the Mont de Piété, to the value of ten francs, should be restored to those who had pawned them; then, that the proceeds of the late Civil List, amounting to a million francs, were to be distributed amongst the workmen of France. One of their number appears, like the Apostle, to have asked himself "What is this among so many?" or, to have been endowed with a feeling of compassion for exiled royalty, somewhat rare in these stirring times. The story is thus told :

"A knot of journeymen joiners were conversing on the subject of the above donation, when the news reached them that Louis Philippe and his family had reached England in a state of complete destitution. On hearing it, one of the men present said,

"Sacristi! that is very hard upon them. I tell you what should be done. A million distributed amongst us would be but a few francs a-piece, let it be sent to the ex-king. The alms of the poor do honour to misfortune.'

Se non è vero è ben trovato!"

The conversion of the royal palace of the Tuileries into an asylum for invalided workmen, followed next, but a little difficulty lay in the way here. There were already "men in possession," and they ably illustrated the truth of the adage which ascribes so much virtue to possession. What kind of people they were who asserted tenant-right, on this occasion, has been variously described-some have affirmed that they were escaped convicts, others, that they were unemployed workmen waiting for the promised wages, and others again (and this is by no means improbable), that the majority were medical students. But whatever name was given to them, that which they gave themselves was the most appropriate. They declared themselves inamovibles, and sturdily refused to evacuate.

"They were," they said, "the real captors of the palace, and had a right to remain." And to this newly-discovered "right" they held fast, refusing for a long time all terms of accommodation, or demanding large sums of money as the price of their submission. But even the founders

of the new Utopia closed their ears to these demands, and, bon gré, mal gré, this free and easy band of brothers was at length dislodged, marching off, however, with all the honours of war; that is to say, with as many changes of raiment on their persons as they could contrive to cram themselves into. By a subsequent decree we find that the head-quarters of the National Guards have been transferred to the palace, occupying the Pavillon Marsan, where the former heir to the throne, the Comte de Paris, resided.

Money having been granted and lodging-to a certain extent― permitted, an allowance of food was ordered. The bakers of Paris were desired to place at the disposal of the chiefs of posts of the National Guard one-fifth of their make of bread, to be paid for, however, by checks drawn on the Hôtel de Ville. How long this lasted we are unable to say, but, to judge by what took place during the third week of the Republic, we should imagine not long, when the Bank of France, having suspended cash payments, a check drawn on the Town-hall would probably be about as valuable as that commercial document familiarly known as a draft upon Aldgate pump! But while the body was thus taken care of, mental gratification was not forgotten, and a decree appeared, announcing that the annual exhibition of works of art at the Louvre would take place as usual on the 15th of March. As usual, did we say? We made a mistake. There was a departure from the system of preceding years, made in a spirit truly republican. It was impossible that the principle of "equality" could be carried much farther, for it was added that no pictures would be rejected. A jury was named by "election" to receive the pictures, but as nothing could be refused, their critical powers were not subjected to any extraordinary test. The result of such an exhibition answered the probable intention of the projectors, for it could not fail to excite the mirth of "the unemployed," who flocked to the galleries of the Louvre, and when people are merry disaffection can hardly be rife. While on the subject of the Fine Arts, we may as well observe that the cultivation of other branches besides painting were not idle. Deputations in the inte