iertigu gull Calnulat.

FRANCE.—The President of the Republic has seized the opportunity afforded by a provincial inauguration to make an attack on the Assembly, which has suddenly diverted attention from all other topics : it is re- garded as a manifesto intended to have a direct influence on the question of the prolongation of his powers.

The occasion was the opening of the Railway from Dijon to Tonnerre. His progress to Dijon was a very inspiriting one : the correspondent of the Journal des De'bats, by no means a well-inclined witness, says- " What struck us most of all was the eagerness of the rural population flocking in from every part to see the nephew of the Emperor " ; and he declares that the acclamations were "sympathetic," though not "enthu- siastic." The President and his Ministers, with the Archbishop of Sens, arrived at Dijon about three in the afternoon. " The population of the city and country for leagues around," says the correspondent of the Times, " had assembled at the terminus and lined its immense semicircle. In the centre were erected two large tents, filled ex- clusively with ladies ; and in front of them stood an altar, raised on an ele- vated platform, on which the Bishop, with the entire clergy of Dijon, had

taken their station. The President on alighting was conducted to another tent, on the right of the altar, and the religious ceremony then commenced. The Bishop stepped forward, and addressed to the Prince an appropriate speech, in which he congratulated him on his wise and able administration, his respect for religion, and trusted that Divine Providence would render his power durable."

The President of the Republic mounted a horse, and rode to the Pre- fecture, "saluted during the whole way by one universal and continued cry of 'Vice Napoleon !' " "From all I can learn," says the reporter of the Times, "there was not a single cry of Five la Republique !' " The various public bodies were received in succession, except only the Tribu- nal of Commerce, which was too exclusively Red to present itself; and then came deputations from the neighbouring towns. In the evening, Louis Napoleon dined at the Hiitel de Ville, with the authorities of the city. The Mayor proposed his health in a speech which contained these `pt Lasyear you came to inform yourself of the wants of our population ; and a year has scarcely elapsed when, thanks to the able direction of an

eminent engineer, you are enabled to preside today over one of those im- posing festivities which mark, in the existence of cities, the peaceable con- quest of real prosperity.. . . . You are not only, Prince, the heir of the name which raised highest the glory of France, butyou have also, with a firm-

ness and self-denial which belong only to a great heart and a great courage, checked in their fury passions ready to rend the bosom of the country.

Honour to you, Prince, for so great a blessing, and let us hope that the na- tion, in the exercise of its sovereignty, will know how to testify to you its gratitude."

President Napoleon replied as follows- " I wish that those persons who doubt of the future had accompanied me through the populations of the Yonne and the Cote d'Or. They would soon have bad their minds set at rest, by being able to judge by themselves of the

real state of the public feeling. They would have seen that neither intrigues nor attacks, nor passionate discussions of parties, are in harmony with the

sentiments and state of the country. France does not wish either the return of the ancient regime—no matter under what form it may be disguised—nor the trial of evil and impracticable Utopias. It is because I am the most na- tural adversary of the one and the other that she has placed her confidence in me. If it was not so, how else can be explained this touching sympathy of the people towards me, which, while it repels the most ruinous controversies,

absolves me from being the cause of their suffering,s. In fact, if my Govern-

ment has not realized all the ameliorations it has had in view, the blame lies in the manoeuvres of factions, which paralyze the good dispositions of as- semblies as well as those of governments the most devoted to the public good. It is because you have shared those convictions that I have found in patriotic Burgundy such a reception as is at once for me both approbation and en- couragement. Since I have been in power I have felt much the pressure of the great interests of society. I have made abstractions of what touches my- self personally. The most unjust and most violent attacks have not been able to induce me to give up my attitude of calm. Whatever duties the country may impose on me, it will find me resolute to execute its will. And believe me, gentlemen, France will not perish in my hands. I profit by this ban-

quet as if it were a public tribune, to open to my. fellow-citizens the bottom

of my heart. A new phase of our political life is commencing. From one end of France to the other, petitions are being signed in favour of the revision of the Constitution: I await with confidence the manifestation of the country and the decision of the Assembly, which can only be actuated by the sole thought of the public good."

A reporter says—" It is impossible to describe the sensation caused by this speech." The bancineters generally received it with manifestations of extraordinary delight ; but the Ministers who attended listened to it with consternation. M. Dupin, President of the National Assembly, is said to have been almost frantic - even the Vice-President of the Repub-

lic, Louis Napoleon's personal adherent and friend, hinted his misgivings :

but the President replied, " I have long had it on my heart." M. Leon Faucher, with official promptitude, is said to have instantly interposed between the President and the Assembly by threatening to resign if a true version of what was said were given : so he is said to have struck out a word or two, and lessened the stinging effect. General Castellane had such a strong opinion of the probable effect of the speech, that instead of returning with the President to Paris, he hurried off to his command at Lyons, and prepared himself to use military suppression. The accounts of the next day describe the attitude of the populace as even more en- thusiastic than before in Napoleon's behalf. In the Assembly, on Tuesday, the discussion on a motion by General Gourgaud to reward certain soldiers for their brave defence of the Château d'Eau on the 24th of February 1848, was turned out of its course by Colonel Charras, and made to bear on the " situation " revealed by the incidents at Dijon. The doctrine that " bayonets should be intelli- gent," quoted from General Foy, had been stigmatized as detestable by M. Mather de Montjau. Colonel Charras maintained the soundness of the doctrine under exceptional circumstances ; and being interrupted by M. Dupin the President of the Assembly, engaged skilfully with him in an argumentative contest. Colonel Charras making significant reference to the attitude of the people at Dijon, asked what course ought the soldier

to take if he were led against the Assembly? M. Dupin was staggered by this direct challenge to the principle of passive obedience which he had supported ; so General Changarnier came to his aid, with an answer to the "grave question" of Colonel Charms-

" The army, profoundly penetrated with the sentiment of its duty, with the feeling of what is due to its own dignity, desires no more than you to

inflict on France the wretchedness and shame of the government of the Caesars, when Emperors were successively raised to power or deposed by drunken Prretorian Guards. (Great agitation.) Discipline is deeply rooted in the French army. The soldiers will always hear the voice of their chiefs ; but no one will ever induce the soldiers to march against the law—against the Assembly. Not a single battalion could be induced to follow for such a purpose, whoever might be the officers whom they are accustomed to obey. Consequently, representatives of France, deliberate in peace."

Just before this speech, M. Leon iaucher had been observed shaking hands with General Changander ; but these insinuations against the Go- vernment brought him out with a sharp reply, that no part of the Go- vernment could accept the lesson which the General had been pleased to offer it. He could not comprehend these references to conspiracy : Go- werintient only conspired in devotedness to the country. Why was it thus attempted to raise dissensions between the Government and the army ?

M. Placatory asked the Minister of the Interior, whether or not the Phrase said to have been delivered in a speech insulting to the Assembly was really delivered or hot ?

M. Faudher continuing silent, M. Placatory said—" For want of an an

swer, I trust address myself to several of my honourable colleagues." M. Faucher then said, with great emphasis—" The Government recognizes no other text of the speech delivered by the President of the Republic than that inserted in the Manama." [Quoted above.] M. Desmoueseaux de Gine—. "It is then understood that the phrase which I have before me, as follows- ' The Assembly has given me its cooperation in every measure of repression, but has failed me in all the measures which I have conceived for the interest of the people '—was delivered by no one. (Laughter.) As the Government does not acknowledge that phrase, or as it retracts it, I shall not address the interpellations which I had purposed."

The Assembly then passed to the order of the day.

Gems/one—The feature of the German news this week has been the inauguration of Rauch's statue of .Frederick the Great, at Berlin. On the 31st of May 1740, Frederick the Second ascended the throne of Prussia ; and the same day in the present year was chosen to unveil a statue in memory of his heroic qualities, by the greatest of German sculptors. The day was observed as a festival; but it is not permitted to the distant reader to be certain whether it was a hearty popular festival or only an official one : for while the correspondents of the Tines and other journals say that all classes were present, the reporter of the Daily News insists very emphatically that " the King and all officials" alone attended, and that " every unsalaried Prussian " staid away, because the Government turned the event into a step in its retrograde course to- wards despotism. It certainly seems, even from the Conservative ao- counts, that all Gernumism was studiously banished ; and high Prussian- ism so abundantly asserted in the profusion of black and white banners and black and white draperies, that the decorations looked " somewhat funereal," and were " too suggestive of half-mourning." The Linden and the galleries erected near the statue were filled early, and the Guards marched up close to the statue itself. Among the colours displayed by the Guards, were many old standards whieh had waved over Frederick's battles : they had been sent up from the provinces for the occasion. Oppo- site the Guards, were about eighty aged soldiers who had served under the great King ; and one old Hussar' of Ziethen's regiment, was pointed out as having actually fought in the Seven-years War ; the junior of the party could not be less than fourscore : they were all accommodated with seats specially provided for them ; they wore the uniforms of the period, of the old regulation-cut, but newly made for the day ; so that the veterans looked quite brilliant. Some of them, perhaps, had not worn a uniform for half a century.

The officials assembled at the Palaoe, and issued in precession with the

sculptor, and the artists engaged in the work, at their head. All being ready, the King rode forth from the Schloss on horseback. M. Manteu- ffel, the Prime Minister, delivered an address briefly stating the historical circumstances under which the statue was commenced by the late King, Frederick William the Third, and has been perseveringly carried on through periods of national discord and divisions, till it is now completed. M. Manteuffel threw in a compliment to the army ; whose fidelity and obedience, at a time of almost universal confusion, had never wavered for a moment. He concluded with asking formal leave of the King that the statue should be unveiled. The King assented, and drawing his sword, himself gave the order to the troops to present arms : he then made the signal, the screen fell, and the statue stood displayed in all its grandeur. A battery of artillery behind the Arsenal fired a salute of 101 guns, amid the cheers of the crowd. The effect for the moment was magnificent.

"Old Fritz," says the account of the Times, "has waited longer than need have been for the honour fairly due to him ; but he is lucky in having escaped the artists of the last century, the devotees of classicality and pe- rukes, and being transmitted fair to succeeding ages in the noble work that Christian Rauch has produced. After the 'unveiling,' the King beckoned M. Rauch to him, and shook him heartily by the hand in congratulation. For the artist it has indeed been a proud day. One of the officials near shortly afterwards handed him a sealed paper, probably the diploma of some order. The King having ridden round the statue and closely examined it, the parade began gradually the troops and guilds quitted the ground, and the spectators dispersed. But all the afternoon the statue was surrounded by a crowd of admirers. The golden colour of the beautiful castings, sharp and fresh from the mould, gleam in the summer's sun as they never will again, for every day will invest them with something of that hue we associate with the idea of a monument. As yet neither time nor rust has begun its work : more than the colour time will not affect; for the work is solid enough to re- sist that old Warr rerum' for centuries."

" It consists of a granite pedestal twenty-five feet in height, presenting on each face bronze groups of the great military commanders of the Seven- years War, on foot and horseback, all the size of life, and all portraits, in high relief. The most prominent figures are those of his four best Generals, —the Duke of Brunswick, afterwards the commander of the Allies against Dumouriez and the forces of the French Convention, Prince Heinrich of Prussia, General Seydlitz, and General Ziethen. The standing figures are not selected wholly according to their rank, but have been taken on account of the honourable record of their deeds or services in the letters, despatches, and works of the King himself. They include all the military celebrities of the period. One of the faces of the pedestal contains between the statues of Seydlitz and Ziethen the figures of three statesmen,—Count Finck von Piuck- enstein, Frederick's Minister of Foreign Affairs ; von Schlabrendorff, the chief of the Ministerial departments, who did so much to keep the finances in order during the worst periods of the war ; and Count von Carmer, the State Chancellor, who completed the code known as the Allgemeine Landrecht,' and reorganized the whole legal system. Three other names connected with the arts and sciences are also found in this di- vision,—Graun, Frederick's favourite musical composer, Lessieg, and Kaiit.

The whole number of portrait figures, the size of life, on the four faces of the pedestal, is thirty-one. In order to reproduce them correctly, the best authorities have been consulted ; and authentic drawings, busts, and medals of the period, have been strictly followed. This has involved an immense amount of labour ; but the value of the monument as an historical work is thereby increased tenfold. The costumes and arms of the time are given with equal accuracy from the collections that were once preserved in perfect order in the Arsenal, but which were injured or lost in the attack on the building in 1848. Beneath the figures are two tablets, inscribed with the names of distinguished soldiers of the age of Frederick, forty on each whose portraits could not be given. The third side bears the names of sixteen statesmen, artiste, and men of science of the epoch. The fourth or front tablet has the following simple inscription- ' Friedrich dem Chasm,

'Friedrich Wilhelm III, 1840. ' Vollendet duroh Friedrich Wilhelm IV, 18M. ( To Frederick the Great, Frederick William III, 1840; completed by Frederick 'William IV, 1851.')

"Above the figures there is at each earner a female figure representing four Virtues--Justice, Strength, Wisdom, and Moderation. Between them are bas reliefs, emblematic of different periods of the Monarch's life : by a mixture of the ideal and reality, his birth, his education civil and mili- tary, and his career before and after he became King, are represented with simplicity. and distinctness. In the second relief a muse is teaching the young Prince history, pointing out to him the names of the commanders he most admired—Alexander, Caesar, and Guetavus Adolphus. In the third Minerva is giving him the sword. In another an historical event is embo- died; it presents the King after his defeat at the battle of Collie, sitting on a water-pipe, looking earnestly on the ground, on which he is drawing the lines of a plan with his cane. The subject has been so often engraved that it is familiar to every German. In the background of the tablet are allego- rical figures of Triumph and Victory, intimating that the defeat was re- trieved. The other reliefs exhibit him encouraging the arts of peace : he is in the but of a Silesian linen-weaver, examining his web; or playing the flute, on which instrument he was a proficient; or walking in the gardens of Sans Souci, surrounded by his favourite greyhounds. The last tablet contains his apotheosis.

" The equestrian statue itself is 17 feet 3 inches high ; it represent* the Monarch in his habit as he lived ; and, difficult as it must have been to deal with the costume of the period, and impart to it the dignity necessary in a monument, the task has been perfectly accomplished. Even the queue, to our ideas not only unsightly but unnatural, has been grappled with boldly. It could not be rejected, for it has become almost the emblem of the period ; but the artist has ennobled even that appendage. Of what it is in a statue with which the elevating power of art has had nothing to do, our George the Third at Charing Cross is an unfortunate example. A military mantle hangs loosely from the Monarch's shoulders, and redeems the uniform from stiff- ness. In every other detail the figure is true to life. The stick carried by a band from the right wrist, the three-cornered hat, the pistol-holsters, and all the accoutrements of the horse, are minutely copied from the relics pre- served of the great King."

'UNITED STATES.—The President and Mr. Webster are making a tour through several of the States ; and it is observed that generally Mr. Webster is received with the greater enthusiasm. The Washington Re- public, of the 23d May, publishes the seventh census of the 'United States complete, though not in all details officially vouched. The fol- lowing are the results. In the Free States, 13,533,328 freemen, 119 slaves; in the Slave States, 6,393,757 freemen, 3,175,783 slaves ; in the Districts and Territories, 160,824 freemen, 3,687 slaves ; total popula- tion, 23,267,498. The whole number of Representatives in Congress is 233, and of these the Free States have now gained an increasecfappor- tionment CANADA.—Parliament met at Toronto on the 20th May. The Gover- nor-General stated in his speech that the revenue from customs and ca- nals is increasing; that the alteration of the Post-office rates has been followed by a great increase of letters; and that the change in the Im- perial Navigation-laws has increased the resort of foreign shipping to Canadian ports ; but that the Emigration Act provokes complaint, as un- favourable to the import trade of the colony. The arbitrators appointed to settle the boundary dispute with New Brunswick have reported. A measure will be introduced for reducing the civil list, and an increase in Parliamentary representation is recommended ; also amendments in the school and municipal laws of Lower Canada.

On the 23d, the Government suffered a defeat : it resisted a motion to introduce a bill for preventing the expenditure of public money not au- thorized by the Parliament ; and was outvoted by 26 to 25.