Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol III, No 13, 1851

The papers are filled with notices of the great increase of emigration, especially to America. The emigrants are uniformly of a better class than those who have hitherto decided to leave their country. From Ireland especially, emigration is almost an epidemic, in the case of those who have any thing to lose.

A singular instance of legal nicety occurred in a recent trial of a man charged with threatening to burn the house and ricks of a neighbor. He wrote, "Perhaps you may have read of Samson and the Philistines. If no foxes are to be bought there may be something instead." In defence it was urged that in the passage from the Book of Judges referred to, it is said that Samson "burnt up the shocks and also the standing corn;" but no allusion was made to houses or stacks. The prisoner could only have intended to do what Samson did. Now it was no offense under the statute to set fire to standing corn; and so an acquittal was demanded. The judge decided that the plea was valid, and directed the jury to bring in a verdict of acquittal. They being less perspicacious than the judge, hesitated for a while, but finally complied.

FRANCE

Affairs continue to present a critical aspect. It is difficult to see how Bonaparte can be removed from the Presidency; and still more difficult to see how he can be continued. The Constitution forbids his re-election until after an interval of four years from the expiration of his term. A revisal of the Constitution can be legally effected only by a Constituant Assembly called by three-fourths of the present Legislative Assembly; and a bill summoning a Constituant Assembly can only pass after three readings, with three months intervening between the readings; and then does not go into effect until two months after the last reading. Eleven months is therefore the shortest period in which the alteration can be effected, supposing not a day were lost in deliberation. In eleven months the election must take place. Meanwhile a new Ministry has been formed to take the place of the avowedly provisional one which has carried on the government for some months. It is composed as follows: Foreign Affairs, M. Baroche; Justice, M. Rouher; Finances, M. Fould; Interior, M. Léon Faucher; Commerce and Agriculture, M. Buffet; Marine, M. Chasseloup-Laubat; Public Instruction, M. de Crousseillies; War, General Randon; Public Works, M. Magne. The last two were members of the Transition Ministry just displaced. MM. Baroche, Rouher, Fould, and Buffet, belonged to the Ministry which was broken up by the Assembly during the Changarnier difficulties. M. Léon Faucher was Minister of the Interior for a short time, in 1849, but resigned in consequence of a vote of censure from the Assembly. The other two are new men. What measures this Ministry proposes nobody is able to say. M. Léon Faucher, who has the reputation of firmness and ability and who seems to be the master spirit of the Ministry, presented the official programme to the Assembly. It only stated that the new cabinet would defend order, would endeavor to unite the fractions of the majority, and hoped to be able to calm the public mind, restore confidence, and promote commerce and manufactures. M. de Saint Beauve, proposed a vote of want of confidence in the Ministry, which was lost by 327 to 275, showing a ministerial majority of 52. A reconciliation between the President and General Changarnier is thought to be probable.

Leading political men are endeavoring to secure the control of a newspaper to advocate their views. M. Guizot assumes the direction of the Assemblée Nationale, in which he advocates the cause of Bourbon and Orleans; the fusion of whose interests is by no means abandoned. Lamartine has added to his multifarious avocations the editorship in chief of La Pays, in which he urges a strict adherence to the Constitution. Cavaignac has attached himself to La Siècle, to uphold Republicanism. The Constitutionnel, the acknowledged organ of the Bonapartists, suggests that lists should be opened in the several departments for consulting the wishes of the citizens as to an immediate revision of the Constitution; each citizen to attach to his signature a simple yes or no; and the lists to be verified by the municipal authorities.

The five departments of which Lyons is the centre, are the most unquiet of any in the country. The malcontents are organized into secret societies, and take occasion of the funerals of any of their confederates to parade in great numbers. On some occasions from 10,000 to 20,000 have been present. The military commandant has forbidden the assemblage of more than 300 persons at any funeral. This has called forth a general expression of indignation from the Republican press.

The students of the University of Paris have made some demonstrations of sympathy in favor of M. Michelet. One of their meetings was dispersed by the police, and a number of the students were arrested and thrown into prison. The printer and publisher of the report of a banquet of the French refugees in London have been sentenced to a fine of 1000 francs each, and imprisonment for three and six months. The editor of the Courrier de la Somme has been tried for publishing an article, expressing a wish that France, by a signal act of her sovereign will, "should efface from her brow the lowest stigma, the name of Republic;" and predicting that the time would come when the inhabitants would offer up thanks to God upon the grave of the Republic. He was acquitted. – A Society has been formed in Paris, under the patronage of the Archbishop, for the purpose of supplying the poor with bread below the cost price. – A public dinner has been given by the Polish refugees to Dembinski and Chryzanowski, who have recently arrived, the former from Turkey, the latter from Italy. Toasts were drank to the Sclavic fraternity and to the memory of Bem. Warm gratitude was expressed to the Sultan Abdul Medjid, to whose firmness it was owing that Dembinski was not then immured in a dungeon. – At the celebration of Holy Week various sacred relics were exposed to view in the Cathedral of Nôtre Dame; among them, if tradition is to be believed, are several fragments of the true cross, portions of the crown of thorns, and portions of the nails used at the crucifixion. – An engagement took place on the 10th of April at Oued-Sahel, in Algeria, between the French troops and a body of natives; a number of the latter were killed, and the remainder put to flight. The victors set fire to and destroyed the village of Selloum. The French had eleven men killed, and thirty-seven wounded. – The Marquis of Londonderry, who once made a similar attempt in favor of Louis Napoleon when a prisoner at Ham, has addressed a letter to the President to induce him to use his influence for the liberation of Abd-el-Kader, or at least to grant him a personal audience. The ex-prisoner of Ham replies that the captivity of the Arab chief weighs upon his heart, and that he is studying the means to effect his liberation. He would be most happy to see the Emir, but could only do so to announce good news; and can not therefore accede to the request for an interview until that period arrives.

GERMANY

It seems to be settled, if we may speak with confidence of any thing in the present state of German politics, that the old Frankfort Diet is to be resuscitated. All that has been attempted during the last three years, is to be set aside. The Frankfort Parliaments, Erfurt Congresses, and Dresden Conferences have shown that people and princes are alike incapable of accomplishing anything; and so they fall back upon the system formed five-and-thirty years ago by the Holy Alliance. Prussia, who not six months ago brought half a million soldiers into the field rather than concede to the recognition of the Diet, is now the first to demand its restoration. Austria, who was in arms to enforce the decrees of the Diet, at first coyly hesitated; but by the latest intelligence, does not seem inclined to oppose it. It still remains doubtful whether she will persist in the claim for the incorporation of her Sclavic and Italian possessions into the German Confederation, in spite of the remonstrances of England and France, who maintain that as the German Confederation was established, and its limits defined by the Powers of Europe, for the express purpose of settling the balance of power, the extending of the limits of the Confederation is properly a European question. Austria, that seemed two years ago on the point of dissolution, has gained new vigor, and presents a front apparently stronger than ever. The Democratic journals of Europe, however, maintain that all the appearance of prosperity is unreal; that discontent is growing deeper and deeper throughout her vast and heterogeneous population; that her immense armies are maintained at a cost far beyond the means of the Empire to defray; and that national and individual bankruptcy is impending over her. The minor German States have no choice but to follow the lead of the two great powers, and from them we have accounts of petty quarrels between princes and people, but they are hardly worth the trouble of chronicling. The German refugees, in imitation of Mazzini and the Italians, have issued notes by way of raising a loan; the name of Kinkel heads the committee.

SOUTHERN EUROPE

In Portugal an insurrection has broken out, the result of which is still undecided. The Marquis of Saldanha took up arms for the overthrow of the ministry of the Count of Thomar. His attempt met at first with so little success, that the marquis was on the point of abandoning it, and taking refuge in England. Subsequently, however, the garrison of Oporto declared in his favor, and he was recalled. The inhabitants of Oporto likewise declared for the insurgents.

From Spain we hear of Ministerial crises and changes, dissolution of Cortes, and political movements of various kinds, all growing out of the impossibility of making the revenues of the Kingdom meet the expenditures. A royal decree has been issued appointing commissioners to examine and report on the railroads of France, Germany, Belgium, and England, with a view to the introduction of similar works in the Peninsula.

In Italy the States of the Church have been relieved from one great annoyance by the death of Il Passatore, the leader of a band half brigands half revolutionists, who was surprised and shot by the soldiery. The list of prohibited books has received a few recent additions, among which are D'Harmonville's Dictionary of Dates, Whately's Logic, and Seymour's Pilgrimage to Rome. On the 29th of March, the young Emperor of Austria reached Venice, on a tour through his dominions, when he immediately gave orders, at the instance of Radetsky, it is said, for the restoration of the freedom of the port of that city. The 23d of March, the anniversary of the battle of Novara, so fatal to the dreams of Italian Unity, has been solemnized in various parts of Italy under the very eyes of the Austrians, by chanting the De Profundis and other funeral ceremonies. Some students have suffered punishment for taking part in the solemnities.

THE EAST

In Turkey a series of insurrectionary movements has taken place in the wild districts along the Russian and Austrian frontiers. The latest intelligence indicates the subjection of the insurgents. Austria is suspected of complicity in the outbreak, which has no tendency to render the Porte more contented with the task of acting as jailer to the remainder of the Hungarian exiles. Austria and Russia seem determined to push their imperial justice to the utmost, and insist that the refugees shall be detained two years longer; within which time it is supposed that death must intervene, to spare any further discussion. The Sultan is inclined to refuse their demand, and throw himself upon the protection of France and England. Severe shocks of an earthquake occurred in various parts of the empire, from April 28, to March 7. At Macri, in Anatolia, the upper part of the castle was thrown down, overwhelming the offices of the Austrian Lloyd Steam Navigation Company. The fortifications and houses likewise suffered great damage. Fissures were opened in the streets from which poured forth bituminous gases; springs were stopped up, and new ones opened. A number of towns are mentioned as having been destroyed. Livessy, containing some 1500 houses, was utterly overthrown, not a dwelling being left standing, and 600 of the inhabitants were buried under the ruins.

From Egypt we learn that a railroad across the Isthmus of Suez is to be commenced forthwith, apparently to be constructed mainly by English capital and engineers. A revolt had broken out in the district of Senaar. Troops were to be dispatched from Cairo to the scene of insurrection; but the efforts of the Pacha were seriously shackled by the exhausted condition of the country, and the apprehended difficulties with the Porte.

In India, the frontiers of the Company's possessions are infested with the incursions of the hill robbers, who commit their depredations almost within gun-shot of the British camps. It is difficult to devise effectual means of dealing with these plunderers. Regular military operations are altogether useless, for the robbers will not risk a contest, except in rare cases. It has been proposed to make the head man of each village responsible for all outrages committed within its limits. A number of railroads are in course of construction in different parts of the country. A plot has been frustrated in Nepaul for the destruction of Jung Bahadoor, the Nepaulese Embassador, who excited so much attention in England a few months ago; he acted with most un-Asiatic decision and promptitude in the suppression of the conspiracy. The Embassador has refused admittance into Nepaul of a scientific expedition, having discovered that the entrance of English travelers and explorers is often followed in India by the appearance of troops.

Disturbances have recommenced in China. The insurgents were assembled at late dates at a distance of about sixty miles from Canton, with the avowed object of overthrowing the present dynasty. The Friend of China says, "His Imperial Majesty's continued possession of the throne, is quite a matter of uncertainty."

LITERATURE, SCIENCE, ART, PERSONAL MOVEMENTS, ETC

The President of the United States accompanied by Secretaries Webster, and Graham, Attorney-General Crittenden, and Postmaster-General Hall, are at the time when we are obliged to close our Record for the month, upon a tour to the North. The main reason of this journey is to take part in the ceremonies which celebrated the successful completion of the New York and Erie Railroad – the second of those great links which bind the interior with the seaboard, the great Lakes and the West with the Atlantic and the East. They left Washington on the morning of May 12; the affairs of Government being temporarily committed to the charge of the Secretaries of the Interior, of the Treasury, and of War. At various places on the route they were welcomed with appropriate ceremonies, and reached Philadelphia in the afternoon of the same day. Here Mr. Fillmore briefly addressed the crowd from the piazza of his hotel; and Mr. Webster, yielding to repeated calls, made a speech in which he spoke of the influences that surrounded him in the State where the Declaration of Independence was pronounced, and the Constitution framed. The Union which was then formed, he said, would last until it had spread from the Pole to the Equator; and notwithstanding the dangers through which it had passed, it was now safe. On the morning of the 13th, the President and Cabinet set out for New York. At Amboy, they were received by the President and Directors of the Erie Railroad Company, in whose name Charles M. Leupp, Esq., delivered an appropriate address welcoming the Chief Magistrate of the nation, to an examination of the great work which would so largely develop the resources of the country, and continue to bind still more closely distant portions of the Union. Mr. Fillmore, in reply, spoke of the work on the completion of which he hoped soon to congratulate his native State, as one of the most important enterprises in the world. Passing up the magnificent harbor, the President and suite were received at Castle Garden as the guests of the City, by the authorities of New York; the Mayor in his address alluding to the fact that this was the first moment that the President had trod the soil of his native State as the Chief Magistrate of the nation. From Castle Garden a procession was formed, passing up Broadway and down the Bowery to the City Hall, amid the warmest demonstrations of welcome. The nature of the occasion deprived the celebration of all partisan character; the General Committees of the two great political parties occupied prominent parts of the procession. At one time there were not less than a hundred thousand spectators between the Battery and the Park. On the 14th, in company with 480 invited guests, among whom were Senator Fish, Ex-Governor Marcy, and a large number of the members of the Legislature, the President and suite left the City by a special train. All along the route, the utmost enthusiasm was displayed. At Elmira, where the train arrived at 7 p. m., the night was spent; and the following day they proceeded to Dunkirk, the terminus of the road, where extraordinary preparations had been made to celebrate the event which must result in building a large and flourishing town upon that spot.

At the annual meeting of the St. George's Society, the British Embassador, Mr. Bulwer was the principal speaker. In the course of one of his speeches he alluded to a forgery published in the American Celt, a paper published at Boston, purporting to be a copy of an intercepted dispatch from him to his Government. He used certain expressions which a portion of the residents of this City, of Celtic origin, construed into an insult to themselves and their race; whereupon they held a public meeting, and prepared a request to be transmitted to the President, asking him to procure the recall of the offending minister.

Wm. L. Mackenzie, who took a very prominent part in the Canadian rebellion of 1837, and subsequently resided for some years as an exile in this city, has been elected a member of the Canadian Parliament, beating the candidate supported by Government.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science held during the past month a very interesting meeting at Cincinnati. Among the papers read was one upon the "Azoic System of Lake Superior," by Messrs. Foster and Whitney, United States Geologists. This system derives its name from the entire absence in its structure of organic remains, and comprises the most ancient of the strata constituting the crust of the globe. Professor Agassiz characterized these investigations as conclusive evidence that we had reached the commencement of animal life, and had a starting-point from which to proceed. The only event of higher interest would be the discovery of the skeleton of the first man. Col. Whittlesey presented two skulls found in a bed of marl in Ohio. They are characterized by great deficiency in the development of the intellectual organs. The age of the skulls is calculated, from indications surrounding them, at two thousand years; thus establishing the fact of the peopling of America at a period much earlier than that usually assigned. Professor Pierce read a paper on "the Constitution of Saturn's Rings," in which he argued that these were not solid but liquid; and that no irregularities, or combination of irregularities, consistent with an actual ring, would permit a solid ring to be permanently maintained by the primary planet; and that a fluid ring could not be retained by the direct action of its primary. Saturn's rings are maintained by the constant disturbing force of its satellites; and no planet can have a ring unless, like Saturn, it have a sufficient number of properly arranged satellites. One of the most interesting papers read was the report of the committee upon Professor Mitchel's system of observing Declinations and Right Ascensions. The statements of the distinguished Western Astronomer, made last year at New Haven, were received with considerable doubt by the members of the Association. Among the foremost of the doubters was Professor Pierce, who, at the solicitation of Mr. Mitchel, was appointed Chairman of the Investigating Committee. This Committee, composed of the leading names in astronomical science, after examining his methods and apparatus, made a partial report, in which the highest and most unqualified approbation is bestowed upon the entire system adopted by Professor Mitchel. This triumph was honorable alike to the Professor and his late opponents; and the victor bore his honors with the modesty appropriate to a lover of science for its own sake. Professor Agassiz read a paper upon the coral reefs of Florida, embodying the results of recent investigations made by him, under the auspices of the United States Coast Survey.

Professor Morse has received from the Prussian Government the "Prussian Gold Medal of Scientific Merit," as a testimonial for his improvements in the Magnetic Telegraph. According to the report of the Prussian commissioner charged with the construction of telegraphic lines, Morse's telegraph has been found most efficient for great distances.

Jenny Lind has returned to New York after a Southern and Western tour of unexampled success. So meekly has she borne her honors, that even Envy would not wish them less. Castle Garden, the scene of her earliest Transatlantic triumphs, is thronged at each successive concert by appreciative audiences.

The Gallery of the Art-Union is now open. Subscribers for the ensuing year will receive a large engraving from Woodville's picture of Mexican News, and the second part of the Gallery of American Art, comprising engravings after Cropsey's Harvesting, Kensett's Mount Washington, Woodville's Old Seventy-six and Young Forty-eight, Ranney's Marion Crossing the Pedee, and Mount's Bargaining for a Horse. The Bulletin of the Union, to which members are also entitled, in addition to much valuable information on matters relating to art, will contain original etchings and wood-cuts. The number for April is embellished with a cut from Cropsey's Temple of the Sibyl, drawn on wood by C.E. Döpler, to whom we are indebted for the drawings illustrative of the Novelty Works in our last Number. It also contains one of Darley's spirited outlines, illustrative of a scene from Cooper's Prairie.

Leutze has nearly completed his second picture of Washington Crossing the Delaware, the original of which was destroyed by fire last January. It has been purchased by Goupil and Vibert, of Paris, for about $6000. It will be exhibited in Europe and the United States, and will also be engraved by François, who has so admirably rendered some of the works of Delaroche. The picture in its unfinished state has been warmly praised by German critics.

We transfer from the Art-Union Bulletin a notice of the Game of Chess, a picture of great merit, recently painted by Woodville in Paris. It has been purchased by the Union, and is now in its Gallery. "This is an exquisitely finished cabinet-piece, which in technical qualities is probably superior to any thing he has done excepting the Old Captain. It represents the interior of the sitting-room of a noble mansion in the days of the Tudors. On the right rises the immense fire-place, with its frontispiece of variegated marbles, supported by statues and richly carved in the style of the Rennaissance. On the right of this, in the immediate fore-ground, is a lecturn, upon which rests a book and a lady's 'kerchief. Standing with his back to the fire, before the chimney, is a portly gentleman – probably the father of the family about going forth for a ride, as he has his cap on his head, wears high boots of buff leather, with spurs, and an outer-coat of velvet trimmed with fur. He stands with his hands behind him in an easy attitude, overlooking a game of chess which a visitor is playing with the daughter of the house. The visitor is on the left of the picture, and sits with his back to the spectator; and in front is a table which supports the chess-board. On the other side is the young lady, whose eyes are fixed upon the game, while the cavalier is lifting a piece with his hand and looking toward the father as if for approbation of his move. The mother, and a page, complete the group. This is a tranquil, pleasant picture, in which the characters of the personages are very nicely indicated. It places the spectator in the very midst of the domestic life of the times it portrays. It is, however, in the distribution of light and shadow, and the wonderful fidelity of its imitations, that the work is most remarkable. The effect of the light upon the carved marble is done with wonderful skill, and the representation of violet, fur, satin, and metals, worthy of a Micris or a Metzu."