PEACE: NAT IONA L INDEPENDENCE.
I•lioat anxiety is kit in irlot of the neendinturing-district a at this ntoment, that peace or war seems to hong trenffiling in the balance. Throe is i.enrcely a man in tho,:r.. di5:tricts but perceives the intense misery which rum tat be brought up ,,n their crowded populations by Nvar. There is scarcely a man ii tong them but feels convinced that the difficulties in whieh our Govt7rament has got untangled, have been brought Upon it by Lucddling if) affairs which it has no proper business with. Awl yet, with the esception of Bolton, Man- chester, and Leeds, tht: nrola:cturing-dktricts have kept silent in this crisis of their fate.
We think we call ill part aecount for this anomaly. The pros- pect of war has horst upon thsta unexpectedly, and they know not what to make of it, 'lime two great parties of the state avowedly
support the meddling policy of Lord PALMERSTON, and are ready to support it at all risks. They were cautious of impeding the career of that policy by calling public attention to it. The in- dustrious portion of the community, reposing implicit confidence in their political leaders, would not see the signs in the angry firmament—they would not believe in the approach of the storm until it hung black and threatening over their heads. Having shut their eyes to the danger until it is close at hand, they have put it out of their power to take measures for learning its exact character and amount, and for obviating it. Aware of their ignorance, they feel that the spot where they think they see a safe retreat, may be in reality the focus of danger.
It is this self-distrust, we believe, that has prevented them from following more generally the example of Bolton, Manchester, and Leeds. They are told that by expressing a desire for peace, they will encourage France in the desire for war ; and they do not know enough about the theta of the case to enable them to detect the fallacy.
One would have thought that the abstract position—" that the most likely way to avoid a quarrel, is, without showing any signs of fear, to profess a desire for amity, and avoid irritating language "- needed neither reasoning nor examples to strengthen it. But, since the bulk of our manufacturers seem to wait until the axiom is supported by argument, it is fortunate that the proceedings of the French Legislature have already furnished us with one or two illustrations.
GUI-LOT said, in his speech in the Chamber of Peers-
" The true policy, and the great interests•of Europe, and of all the Powers of Europe, consist in the maintenance of peace—peace everywhere and always; the maintenance of tranquillity in men's minds, and security in their external relations. This concerns not only material wellbeing, but political and moral
and good—the political moral advancement of every ery people n Europe."
lie afterwards added-
" The means of influence for the France of our day are, the preservation of peace—the affording the spectacle of a good government in the bosom of a great liberty conquered by a revolution : the means of influence for France are, to reign in the minds of men—to conquer everywhere, not by territories, but by soul and intellect. It is in this manner that France is called to extend its power and credit over Europe—to reap one day, in the moment of danger, in the moment of trial for a good cause, for a great and just cause, the benefit of these slow and mute conquests, which are not the least real—conquests which, though they brinrt us no accession of provinces or tributes, do not the less tend to increase our stnrength and power.'
In the same spirit of wishing for France that influence alone which should spring from affording the example of happiness ema- nating from a good government, Baron Deism adverted in the same assembly to the Peace-meeting at Manchester-
" 1 advert to these facts [the intelligence and industry of Manchester] with the more pleasure, that the people of Manchester, capitalists' proprietors, ma- nufacturers, merchants, and operatives, have not waited till this time to mani- fest their sympathy and esteem for the French people : all of them expressed their enthusiastic admiration of the glory, and above all of the moderation, of July 1830. This high opinion which the people of Manchester have conceived of our nation, they now again express more solemnly than be fore. In the name of our past victories and military virtues, they coniure us not to break the peace which exists between the two people at the head of European civiliza- tion. 1 have seen Manchester with my own eyes; and am happy in my turn to bear testimony, that this town of 250,000 inhabitants is not only the most industrious of Great Britain, but the one in which useful knowledge, practical wisdom, and civic virtue, display themselves most brightly. Oh how glad 1 should be to see our great manufacturing cities, Lyons, Rouen, St. Etienne, amid our maritime towns, Bordeaux, Nantes, and Marseilles, declare with the same independence and moderation their love of the peace of the world."
When time principal member of the Government and one of the most ambitious orators of France hold language like this, they most be confident that there is a public in their country capable of understanding and appreciating it. It is the duty of the men who entertain similar sentiments in our own country, by an explicit declaration of their opinions to encourage those who sympathize with them in France. No effort should be spared to establish a generous rivalry between time Friends of Peace in France and Eng- land, which shall exert the greater amount of legitimate influence moon their own Government. After the response of M. Derns, and we may add of the whole French press, no reasonable appre- hensicm can remain of Peace-meetings in England being misappre- hended by the French people.
And be it remembered, that the only efficient preservative of
peace is the recognition of and respect for national independence in the most 111111111it ell Sense of the word. Three great portions of the European community are already fully alive to the importance of this principle—the English, French, and German publics. Each of these portions or the European public is jealously sensitive in re- gard to its own nationality, however it may at times forget the respect due to the nationality of its neighbours. Of these three nations, the French mid English have already a sufficiently per- fected natitattil organization to enable them to make their opinions on this head the rule of their transactions with other nations. It is possible to make the inviolability of national independence the international law of Europe.
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