FRANCE.
England and France were ostensible allies during the period of which we now write; but there existed a mutual jealousy, certainly provoked by France, which seemed to regard rivalry with England as the grand object of her political mission. The emperor made great efforts to bring up the revenues of France to a standard that would enable him to undertake all the schemes of his ambition. The actual results in that part of his labours were as follows, taking the statement of the government official organ, the Moniteur:—“The general revenue for the year 1858-9 amounted to 1,094,614,000 fr., being an increase of 2,916,000 fr. on 1857-8. The items which show an improvement are: import duty on foreign sugar, 12,020,000 fr.; duty on potable liquors, 8,439,000 fr.; postage, 3,462,000 fr.; sundry duties and receipts, 2,864,000 fr.; import duty on sundry merchandize, 2,697,000 fr.; salt duties, 1,496,000 fr.; sale of tobacco, 1,471,000 fr.; import duty on corn, 577,000 fr.; navigation dues, 557,000 fr.; stamp duties, 521,000 fr.; customs’ export duties, 425,000 fr.; money orders, 185,000 fr.; transit charge on foreign letters, 26,000 fr. Those which have fallen off are registration duties, 15,036,000 fr.; duty on beetroot sugar, 6,286,000 fr.; sundry customs’ receipts, 1,489,000 fr.; sale of gunpowder, 597,000 fr. The increase of revenue in 1859, as compared with 1857, was 41,931,000 fr.”
These returns were no doubt coloured, as French official reports generally are; but, if correct, showed that the financial resources of France were far inferior to those of England.
A variety of irritating topics were got up in France, and continued to be so discussed in the press, with the connivance of the French government, that the minds of the people of both countries became inflamed with anger, and a disposition to adjust differences of opinion and policy by the sword, eagerly advocated by the French, was reluctantly adopted by the English. The French emperor, finding that the English alliance had again become indispensable to him, silenced the aspersers of his ally, or directed the same journals to uphold the alliance they had so bitterly and pertinaciously decried. The creation of a ship-canal across the isthmus of Suez was one of the most popular themes of French vituperation. A French company desired to carry out this object, or at all events to gain grants of territory in Egypt for that ostensible purpose. The demands made for territorial concession upon the pasha would have given the French government in Egypt a hold upon that country subversive of its independence, and of the rights of the Porte, most menacing to British rule in India, and dangerous to Europe. Even if the scheme for the ship-canal were never executed, no one doubted that France would make use of the territory granted for that purpose to consolidate power in Egypt, England successfully opposed the concession to a French company of any portion of the Egyptian territory. Russia, Austria, and Prussia, from jealousy of England, and especially of her Eastern dominions and marvellous commercial prosperity, aided France in her efforts to induce the sultan to comply with her requests. The policy of England on this subject was still in the ascendant at Constantinople when the session of the British parliament rose in 1859.
Electric communication between England and France formed another subject of difference. The French government was anxious, for its own political purposes, to give exclusive advantages to a particular company; the English government communicated its wish to throw open to competition such undertakings. France pretended acquiescence at one time and indifference at another, but at length, in harmony with the emperor’s usual mode of acting, he suddenly granted a thirty years’ monopoly to the company which, for the reasons referred to, he all along secretly or openly favoured. During the latter part of 1859, the British government made efforts to induce that of France to slacken the restrictive commercial system which it had favoured. At a later period, a treaty was made with such object, through the intervention of Lord Cowley and Mr. Cobden on the part of England.
A war broke out between Morocco and Spain, which England used great exertions to prevent, but which France not only encouraged but instigated. The British government protested against Spain conquering territory, and occupying strongholds on the African coasts opposite to Gibraltar. So far as France was concerned in this war she betrayed a desire that Spain should do what England was interested in preventing; the French knowing that they could, from their own conquests in Africa, drive out the Spaniards when they pleased, while the two nations united in holding positions of strength in Africa, might countervail the power in the Mediterranean which England derived from Gibraltar.
On the 12th of January an attempt was made to assassinate the Emperor of the French, while in his carriage proceeding to the opera. The plot was concocted by an Italian refugee, named Orsini, who was aided by others, especially three Italians, named Rudio, Pierri, and Gomez. The instruments of murder were shells, so made as to be thrown by the hand, and detonate when coming in contact with any hard substance. These shells had been manufactured in Birmingham, where Orsini, and some of his companions, had temporarily resided. This circumstance inflamed the mind of the French emperor and the French army against England. The latter presented addresses to his majesty, from various corps, denouncing England as the asylum of conspirators, and a den of assassins; and denominating the English people as the confederates and encouragers of conspirators and assassins. Offers were made by some of the corps of the French army to invade England, and drag from “the assassins’ den” the conspirators. These inflammatory addresses were well received at the Tuileries, and answers given which were not respectful to England. These proceedings in France were followed up by addresses from the senate, in which foreign governments were called upon, in a dictatorial and insolent tone, to make their laws against refugees more stringent. These addresses, and the way in which the French emperor received them, produced a great ferment in all the free countries of the world, and the people of England were stung to the quick. The English government, however, bore tamely these insults. An affrontful despatch, through the French ambassador, made a climax to the haughty proceedings of France, and the mode in which the government received it was so timeserving and timid in the eyes of the English people, that the popularity of the Palmerston administration was destroyed. That administration had been restored to power with increased popularity, as well as a large majority, upon the dissolution caused by the defeat of the previous year on the Chinese question, but the timidity shown in dealing with the insolence of the French ambassador, army, emperor, press, and people, deprived it of all weight in the country. The defeat and resignation of the English ministry resulted from this feeling. The general tone of the French government, however, became modified by the strength of will shown on the part of the English people, united with their unmistakable abhorrence of the crime which led to the bad feeling—at all events the immediate bad feeling—between the two countries. The emperor made such acknowledgments to the British government as amounted to an apology, and the mind of the people became quieted on the subject, especially as the ministry was, for its pusillanimity, hurled from power. Still, during the whole of 1858, although the ostensible alliance was never broken, there existed no good will towards England on the part of France, and no confidence in the peaceful disposition of France and its emperor either to England or any other power pervaded the public opinion of Britain. The suspicions of the English people were verified in 1859. On the first day of that year, at a reception in Paris, the emperor lectured the Austrian ambassador in a manner insulting to the sovereign he represented, and which portended war. The Austrian dominion in Italy was harsh, bigoted, and unjust. The Germans, always so invidious in pride of race, were so in Italy to a degree which goaded the Italians to desperation. The Austrians at last violated the Sardinian territory, and France declared war. The French and Italians, allies in a short campaign, drove the Austrians, with terrible slaughter out of Lombardy, and all their Italian provinces except Venice. The French emperor made peace as suddenly as he had made war. A convention at Villafranca, followed by a conference and treaty at Zurich, settled the affairs of Italy, as far as the two emperors were concerned. The Italian people were not, however, parties to the treaty, and would not be bound by it. They determined upon annexation to Piedmont, whereas the emperor resolved to restore the Italian duchies to the sovereigns. Events may here be anticipated, so far as to say that the diplomatic interposition of England was used in favour of the Italian people, and influenced France in favour of a policy less concessive to Austria. Throughout the period 1858-9, the firmness and good sense of the people of England, acting decisively upon their government, ensured peace with France, which the intemperance, intrigue, and arrogance of our ally made it difficult to preserve.