58 
THE GARDENERS’ CHRONICLE. 
[JAN. 28, 
involved in the question atissue, and the Government was 
determined not to depart from the complete and loyal 
execution of the treaties. These arguments have pre- 
vailed over the clamour of the journals, and the danger 
which last week threatened the peace of Europe has for 
the present subsided. The discussion on the Address in 
the Chamber of Deputies is still in progress; and although 
it is impossible to foresee the ultimate decision of an 
assembly so uncertain in its impulses as the Representative 
body, it is still believed that the Ministerial party are 
strong enough to prevent the adoption of any hostile 
amendment.—From Spain we learn that the Captain- 
General of Barcelona has adopted the extreme measures 
of severity with which he has long threatened the inha- 
bitants who refused to pay the war ibution. Soldiers 
hope that your Majesty will see the necessity of taking 
into consideration the opinion that has manifested itself 
relative to the right of mutual search stipulated in the 
treaties of 1831 and 1833.” M. de Brigode moved the 
following :—‘‘ We late the G a your 
Majesty for not ratifying # convention which would have 
proved, for the independence of the French flag, an aggrav- 
ation of the treaties of 1831 and 1833.” The arguments 
of the different speakers would have little interest for our 
readers. We shall therefore confine ourselves to the 
speeches of M. Guizot in the Chamber of Peers, which 
are highly important, as developing the views of Govern- 
ment on the questions at issue. In the speech of Satur- 
day he confined himself to the charges of the Opposi- 
tion in regard to the decline of French influence. In 
Egypt, he said, the position of France was far more 
ble tha 
are now quartered on the houses of all persons in arrear, 
whoare to defray the expenses of the Military upon a scale 
which doubles the amount daily until the contribution be 
paid up. In Madrid there is nothing new, except the 
meetings of electors and candidates, and the increasing 
rumours of Ministerial changes.—From Portugal we learn 
that the Address, in answer to the Speech from the 
Throne, has been carried, almost without discussion, 
by a large majority, and that the forthcoming Budget 
is of the most satisfactory character. It embodies 
a great number of financial reforms, and shews that 
under the administration of the present Government 
the long-standing deficiency in the revenue has already 
substantially disappeared.—The affairs of the Levant are 
rather more promising than usual ; the appointment of a 
Christian Prince to the Government of the Christian por- 
tion of the Lebanon has given rise to much rejoicing, 
and has produced a tranquillising effect on all classes of 
the people. The Austrian Cabinet continues to concen- 
trate troops on the Eastern frontier‘of the Empire, but 
the affairs of Servia, to which this measure has immediate 
reference, will no doubt be settled by diplomacy, without 
the necessity of an appeal to arms.—From the United 
States we learn that the question of the Oregon territory 
has become the prominent topic of discussion in Con- 
gress, and that the President has sent a message to the 
House of Rep ‘ives, ding jati 
with the Chinese Government for the purpose of obtain- 
ing for the commerce of the United States the same pri- 
vileges as those ceded to Great Britain by the recent 
treaty. 
At home, few subjects for some time past haveso much 
excited the feelings of the public as the death of Mr. 
Drummond. The Papers of all shades of politics concur 
in the expression of cordial sympathy for his untimely 
fate, and of respect for his personal character. Our 
readers will find under our Metropolitan News a concise 
summary of the facts which have transpired since our 
last, and will see that the assassin has been committed to 
take his trial on the capital charge. 
Wome News. 
Courr.—Her Majesty, Prince Albert, the Prince of 
Wales, and the Princess Royal, remain at Windsor Castle, 
and continue quite well. The Prince has shot over the pre- 
serves in the Great Park during the week, and the Queen 
has occasionally taken walking exercise in the Home 
Park. It is announced that the Queen will not open 
Parliament in person, but will remain at Windsor until 
the beginning of March. Her Majesty will then come to 
town, and remain at Buckingham Palace until her ac- 
couchement is over—an event which is expected to take 
place at the end of March or the beginning of April. 
Court Mourning.—The Gazette of last night contains 
orders for the Court to go into mourning until the 12th 
Feb. for her late Royal Highness the Duchess Dowager of 
Schleswick Holstein Sonderbourg Augustenbourg, mother 
of her Majesty the Queen of Denmark, and great grand- 
daughter of King George II. 
Parliamentary Movements.—It is said that the Duke 
of Cleveland will move the address in the House of Lords 
in answer to the Queen’s speech on the opening of the 
session, and that Lord Courtenay, eldest son of the Earl 
of Devon, will move the address in the Commons. 
Gazette Announcements.—The Queen has been pleased 
to appoint the Right Hon. Sir Charles T. Metcalfe, Bart., 
to be Governor-General of Canada, New Brunswick, and 
Nova Scotia. 
Foreign. 
France.— Chamber of Peers.—The Paris ‘papers, a8 
might have been anticipated, have been filled during the 
week with comments on the debates in the two Chambers, 
The proposed address of the Chamber of Peers, in answer 
to the King’s speech, has given rise to a long and inte- 
resting debate, involving questions of the highest import- 
ance to Great Britain. The draft of the address, prepared 
by the Due de Broglie, contained no allusion to the Right 
of Search; the Opposition, therefore, proposed various 
amendments, for the purpose of making the address con- 
vey an expression of the popular feeling on the subject. 
The Marquis de Turgot moved the following :—‘* Those 
good relations (with Great Britain) would be better in- 
sured, if, on a new examination of the treaties of 1831 and 
1833, the inconveniences which their execution have re- 
vealed were removed by fresh negotiations.” The Prince 
fi n before 1840. In Syria not only has 
France taken up its habits of protection, but it has 
also extended them, |All the religious establishments 
of Syria have received new succours. In the college at 
Autourah, free scholarships have been endowed, and a 
consulate has been formed at Jerusalem. The appearance 
of a Protestant bishop at Jerusalem had given rise to some 
fears. I asked the opinions of the Catholic bishops and 
chiefs of the Christians in Syria, and in the empire of the 
East ; they replied that, far from being a cause of fear, 
the presence of our Protestant bishop would tend to bind 
not only the Catholics among themselves, but also 
to France. That is an opinion which we did not suggest 
to them, but which they themselves conceived from their 
knowledge of their situation and wants. We wish there 
to strengthen and maintain the Ottoman empire, and at 
the same time protect the Christians within it. We have 
done both. For example: the Greek Christians obtained 
permission to rebuild the cupola of the church of the Holy 
Sepulchre, and then have it as a property. They obtained 
a firman for this. We obtained the recal of the firman, 
though it was obtained under Russian influence ; and all 
Catholics have the right to contribute to the pious task. I 
shall now pass to Spain, Somebody spoke of projects of 
usurpation entertained in that country. I see, and I be- 
lieve, nothing of the kind. Even if our relations with 
the present Spanish G want intimacy—even if 
we have to complain of its conduct, and of its mistakes 
with regard to most important points in our relations— 
still we must do it justice. I see no sign of usurpation; 
no power keeps so attentive an eye on Spain as France 
does. We know very well that our national interests and 
our honour are bound up in Spain with the throne of 
Isabella, and the maintenance ‘of the House of Bourbon 
on that glorious throne. We have not forgotten, and never 
will forget this. In regard to the other Powers, we stand 
in the most true, regular, and useful position—that is, 
without especial intimacy with any one in particular, but 
in good intelligence with all. France has lived a long time 
in Europe as a fiery meteor, seeking its place in the gene- 
ral system of European states. She was forced to it. 
She had to raise to general recognition her new social 
state. She had no place made for her; her place was 
contested to her—often unjustly. Now, however, she has 
conquered ; Europe has accepted her social and political 
reforms. This is the key of French policy henceforth. 
Her state, however revolutionary, however at variance with 
that of the restof Europe, has been accepted and recog- 
nised—it little matters with reluctance and ill-humour, 
ornot. This being achieved, France should cease to be 
the burning and shifting meteor, in order to become a 
fixed and settled planet, moving in the proper orbit as- 
signed to it in the European system. The present Cabinet 
has made the same choice that was made by the statesmen 
of 1830 and 1831. There were then, as now, a violent 
and a pacific, a turbulent and a tranquil policy to choose 
between. We have chosen the pacific and the tranquil, 
and you will approve and fortify our choice.””-—On Mon- 
day, M. Guizot replied to the amendment of the Marquis 
de Turgot and M. de Brigode on the right of search. 
He began by saying that he would not trouble himself 
with those nice questions of theory which complained of 
cession of sovereignty and such things. He would at once 
examine the reality of the facts. ‘The treaties existed, and 
bound France not only towards England, but also towards 
other Powers, which she had solicited to concur in them. 
Thus, France had advised and obtained the adhesion of 
Denmark in 1834, of Sweden and Sardinia in 1836, of the 
Hanse Towns and Tuscany in 1837, and of Naples in 1838. 
Negotiations to the same effect had been likewise opened 
by her with the Cabinets of Madrid, Lisbon, and Rio 
Janeiro. In making these overtures, France invariably 
assured those Powers that the concessions required of them 
were conformable to the real principles of the maritime 
laws, which France had always defended. These treaties 
had existed during ten years without any serious objection 
being raised against them. In that interval only twelve 
complaints were made. Several were {found groundless, 
two had obtained satisfaction, and three remained un- 
adjusted. If the treaty necessarily produced so many 
abuses, how was it possible that it could have been 
executed during ten years in silence? Had it not been 
for the treaty of 1841, the conventions of 1831 and 1833 
would never have been thought of, He was not of opinion 
that the public feeling excited by that treaty imposed 
upon the Government an obligation to prosecute its 
abrogation. The object for which they were concluded 
still existed : it was notorious that French, Spanish, and 
Portuguese vessels were still engaged in the slave-trade. 
They could not suspend the treaties. They must be 
executed loyally as long as they existed. But we are asked 
to open iati Such iati for the revision 
of these treaties would, in the state of irritation into which 
of Moskowa proposed the following amendment :—‘‘ We 
the right of search has cast the two countries, lead to no 
good result. It would be highly inopportune. On a 
formér occasion there had been, as at present, hostile 
demonstrations on the part of the French Chambers and 
press, and when the English Government was pressed by 
the French Government to consent to modifications, the 
reply of Lord Aberdeen was, that after such menaces and 
hostile manifestations, the British Government could not 
yield without compromising its dignity. At certain times 
difficulties of this kind were insurmountable. In the 
present state of people’s minds on both sides of the 
Channel, negotiations could lead only to an act of weak- 
ness or an act of madness. ‘* And, for my part,” said M. 
Guizot, ‘‘ I can lend myself neither to one nor the other.” 
He told Lord Palmerston in 1840,—‘‘My Lord, you sacrifice 
la grande politique a la petite,—the existence of good 
relations between France and England are worth more 
than Syria ;” he would now say to the Chamber, “ You 
sacrifice the grande politique a la petite,—the existence 
of good relations between France and England, politically 
and morally speaking, are far preferable to the abrogation 
of the conventions of 1831 and 1833.’’ ‘ We have,” said 
M. Guizot, in conclusion, * rights to respect ; to pro- 
pose new negotiations would be an act of levity and blame- 
able imprudence and temerity. The Government of the 
King ,is convinced that the status quo is not in the least 
derogatory to the national independence, and it is conse- 
quently determined not to depart from the complete and 
loyal execution of those treaties ; and I repeat, it would 
neither be wise nor opportune to propose any modification 
thereof at this moment to the English Cabinet.”” The Duc 
de Broglie followed in a powerful. speech in favour of the 
Address, and on Tuesday evening the Chamber divided, 
when the amendments of M. de Brigode and the Marquis 
de Turgot were supported by 67 yotes, and the original 
Address by 118, giving therefore a majority of 51 to Minis- 
ters. The other amendment of the Prince of Moskowa was 
then abandoned. ‘This result produced a rise in the funds, 
and every account describes the effect of M.Guizot’s speech 
as perfectly surprising. Inthe House, it is said that his 
calm and dignified reasoning appealed at once to the un- 
derstandifig—that many were convinced by his arguments ; 
and the Assembly, which had before been agitated and 
disturbed, became suddenly grave, and listened with ear- 
nest attention, Even the Republican National, one of 
the bitterest opponents of M. Guizot, pays him the highest 
compliment :—* His speech,” it says, ‘* was expected 
with impatience; and in listening to his exordium, so 
brilliant and so happy, we feared for the moment lest the 
miraculous gift of eloquence might not give a triumph 
to the worst of causes.’’ 
Chamber of Deputies.—The influence of the journals 
which have taken the lead in the attacks on the Right of 
Search is obviously stronger in the Chamber of Deputies 
than in the Chamber of Peers. The draft of the Address 
proposed to the Representative body contains the follow- 
ing express allusion to the right of search :—‘‘ United by 
a sentiment of humanity, the Powers apply themselves to 
the suppression of the infamous slave-trade. We have 
seen with satisfaction that, by persevering in lending the 
assistance of France to this just enterprise, the Govern. 
ment of your Majesty has not given its assent to the ex- 
tension of the existing i For the h bl 
execution of those treaties, as long as they shall not be 
abrogated, we rely upon the vigilance and firmness of your 
Government ; but, struck with the inconvenience which 
experience has pointed out, and in the interest of the good 
intelligence which is so necessary for the accomplishment 
of the common object, we anticipate with all our wishes 
the time when our commerce shall be placed under the 
exclusive guardianship of our flag.”” The public discus. 
sion on this Address commenced on Thursday, and is not 
expected to be concluded for some days. 
PAIN.—We have accounts from Madrid to the 15th. 
They are still full of rumours of Ministerial changes, but 
of a conflicting nature, and evidently unsupported by 
official authority. Associations of electors continued to 
be formed; those of the pure progresistas, in particular, 
were very numerous. One of their meetings took place 
on the 13th, under the presidency of Senator Juan 
Lasana. Their object was to devise means of insuring 
the return of the candidates of that party at the next 
election. They adopted the following programme :— 
‘‘ The Constitution of 1837, neither more nor less than 
the throne of Queen Isabel II., and the regency of the 
illustrious Duke of Victory.” ‘The trial of the Editor of 
the Heraldo for a libel on Government had terminated in 
his acquittal by a large majority; in short, after this 
case, and that of the Sol a few days previously, it was 
considered very doubtful if a jury could be found to con- 
vict the conductor. of a public journal. The Barcelona 
journals of the 16th inst. announce that General Seoane 
had commenced the measures of severity with which he 
threatened those who should refuse to pay,the war contri- 
bution. He had consequently placed a corporal and five 
privates upon the house of each person in arrear, who is 
to pay the corporal seven francs, and the soldiers five 
francs per day. This tax is to be doubled the second day, 
tripled the third, and so. on, until the contribution be 
paid up. The Phare des Pyrenees states, that on the 
14th inst. the Bishop of Barcelona, attired in his ponti- 
fical robes, paid an official visit to the French Consul in 
that city, to thank him in the name of humanity for the 
services which he rendered during, and subsequent to, the 
insurrection, to the population of Barcelona, and to con- 
gratulate him upon the recompense which had been be+ 
stowed upon him. 
Porrugan,—We have news from Lisbon to the 16th, 
and from Oporto to the 17th inst, Previously to the 
departure of the packet from Oporto on the 17th inst., a 
telegraphic despatch was received from Lisbon by the 
eo 
