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hats, applied at the same workshops for | laborers, but the men refused to quit their comfortable stations except at wages which no employer could afford to pay, and the manufacturer had to send the order to England to be filled. The working classes who have been suffering from the aggravated evils, with which the laborers in European manufacturing districts are afflicted, have been led to expect by the revolution a financial millennium; the "equality" preached to them has been that of property, in which the employer, held up as a merciless tyrant, and the rich man as the possessor of plunder, were to disgorge their ill-gotten gains, and share their possessions with their less fortunate fellowmortals.

We do not mean to state that all the members of the Provisional Government entertained these views, or that they are held by the National Assembly: but the former are responsible for the effects which may arise from their having placed Louis Blanc, whose doctrines were well known to them, in the important station assigned to him; and they are the more worthy of blame, if they dissented from his theories. By their own acts, however, the inviolability of private property has been sacrificed; the seizing funds of private individuals deposited in banks throughout France, and even money in private hands, and the compulsory and immediate emancipation of slaves in the French colonies, leaving to the owners only the chance of obtaining a future and uncertain remuneration, are acts of direct and inexcusable spoliation. They were also arranging a more extensive and not less culpable act of injustice, namely, the arbitrary seizure of all the French railroads, giving the proprietors in exchange for actual and valuable property, national stock or bonds, at a time when the income of the state was so much below its expenses, that even payment of interest would have heen doubtful, and the principal of which would have been equally insecure, as they had neither the right nor the power to bind their successors in the government. These two latter acts, besides a prospective alteration of duties on salt, to take effect on the 1st of January next, and the repudiation of the treaties of 1815, have the additional vice of being matters entirely without the control

of any but a permanently established ernment; and are, in any view of the case, direct and unauthorized usurpations.

But, it will be said, it is not by the past acts of the Provisional Government that the destinies of the Republic are to be decided; the National Assembly has already met, and by its patriotism and wisdom the safety of the state will be guarantied. From their acts with which we are at present acquainted, we entertain for the majority of that body the greatest confidence in both of those respects. The practical rebuke administered to M. Lamartine for the sympathy he showed with the views of Ledru Rollin, or the fear he evinced for his turbulence and influence, as well as the wise decision not to intrust their means of safety to any but themselves, show their intention to pursue an independent course of action. But unfortunately unanimity does not prevail in France, and a French minority have no idea of putting up with defeat. With leaders, factious and unprincipled, skilled in the practice of émeutes and revolutions, the ultra-democracy of France will yield to nothing but sheer force. The late demonstration against the National Assembly shows their power and organization in Paris, and the station of persons implicated in the conspiracy proves they are not without leaders of influence and intelligence. Albert, one of the late government, Barbès, a member of the Assembly, and Gen. Courtais, Commander of the National Guard, are in prison, while Louis Blanc, a member of the Provisional Government, and M. Causidière, Prefect of Police, are more than suspected to have shared in the plot. The extent of this party is such that it is said to have over two hundred representatives in the National Assembly.

The doctrines of Communism, Fourierism, and Socialism, which set at nought alike the ordinances of God and the experience of mankind, received an impulse from the revolution of 1830, which has caused them to spread wide and take deep root in France. With them "Religion still remains to be founded." They proclaim the "necessity of a social religion," and "demand the organization of industry and the association of interests," and "universal association based upon love."Leaving altogether out of view the religious! part of the subject, there is at present a

large party in France, who are bent upon trying the " organization" and "association" principles upon a grand scale. Competition is to be put down by law. The state, according to their views, is to be the universal owner of all property, and director-general of all industry; and these are to be under the control of a government elected by universal suffrage. Now, a more gigantic scheme of despotism it never entered into the mind of man to conceive. It matters not how a government may be elected or appointed, on whose decision in Paris the inhabitants of the utmost corners of France would be dependent for their daily bread; notwithstanding all the twaddle about "organization of labor" and "association based upon love," men, women, and children, under such a system, would be serfs and slaves. We grant this to be an extreme view of the case, and that it is scarcely conceivable men could be so mad as to attempt it to this extent; but the principle is capable of being carried thus far, and while the principle is acted on, a relaxation of its stringency only amounts to a diminution of the evil.

This is one of the favorite doctrines of the ultra-democracy of France, with whom competition is the great social vice, organization the "universal panacea" and "magical pain extractor." It is much to be regretted that these views are also shared by many amiable and enthusiastic philanthropists, who, deploring existing evils for which they perceive no remedy in detail, have thence drawn the conclusion that they are easily cured en masse. Relying on such teachings, the suffering population, especially in large and manufacturing towns where poverty is always most rife, have been led to expect from the establishment of a republic an instant cessation of all their woes, provided the republic is of a socialist character, but not otherwise. These parties have long been banded together under the control of republican leaders, and on them the success of that cause depended, in a great measure, for physical support. They have been the nerve and sinew of the numerous insurrections which have taken place since 1830, in which they have not shrunk from opposing their unarmed or but badly equipped masses against regular bodies of

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disciplined military; and in several of such conflicts they have been victorious. Since the breaking out of the revolution, a vast number of these men have been armed by the Provisional Government, and drilled in military manoeuvres. Can they, in this improved situation for manifesting their power, be induced voluntarily to forego the pleasing but delusive visions of ease and plenty which have been held out to them as the result of the late change? We fear that is beyond belief; and it is impossible that these visionary hopes can be realized. By the mode in which the Provisional Government have given prominence to this subject, by the reiteration that the revolution was for "the people," they have made the success of the republic to hinge chiefly on this question, and hence the difficulties of the National Assembly are made infinitely greater than necessary. They have received a republic in a state of chaos, and clogged with a condition which appears insurmountable. To adopt the principle is to court national ruin, and to attempt to evade it seems to be giving the signal for civil war.

To the reckless politicians of the Louis Blanc school, these difficulties would have been welcome. He declares war to the knife against "bankers, shopkeepers, manufacturers, stockholders, and proprietorsmen of peace, who behold only in war an interruption of commercial relations, loss of markets, failures, and bankruptcies ;"trifles to philosophers of his calibre, but matters of life and death to millions. Besides, should civil war be threatened, the whole continent of Europe affords him "an outlet abroad for that exuberance of life which the revolution has just created in French society." To bar against so many unoccupied passions, the useful and glorious career opened by destiny, would be "to force them to expend their energies in plots and agitations.' These insane views, although denounced and repudiated by the French nation, are still entertained by a party sufficiently numerous, daring, and reckless, to make them dangerous. The remembrance of the victories of the republic and the empire excite a military enthusiasm in the breasts of Frenchmen, which is easily aroused and difficult to allay; consequently the temptation to rulers beset with domestic troubles, to engage in foreign

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war, is manifestly great. Undoubtedly, whatever disasters such a course would ultimately entail upon France, its first ef fect would be to consolidate the powers of the government at home; and should its destinies unhappily be committed to men wicked enough to adopt such a course from policy, or weak and short-sighted enough not to penetrate beyond present difficulties, the result would be inevitable. If we are to credit M. Lamartine as a true expositor of the foreign policy of the Republic, the dangers of foreign war are very considerable. It is true that his breaking up the bodies of Germans who gathered upon the frontier, and his cold reply to the Irish deputation, evidence a desire to avoid implicating France in the difficulties of those nations. But why, with an exhausted treasury, has the large military force of the monarchy been augmented, till it reaches the enormous number of 500,000 men, when not a finger has been raised in Europe to threaten the peace of France, and the state of the entire continent renders her secure against foreign aggression? Perhaps his own declarations may afford some elucidation. In the debate of the National Assembly on the subject of Poland, he stated that "the French Republic had not to deplore a single day of egotism since its commencement. No sooner had the government been installed at the Hotel de Ville, than it decreed the formation of a Polish legion. In a few days it made known its principles towards foreign powers, and he was certain they were conformable to the real spirit of the French nation.

of the policy of France and Europe, and that until it was solved, France could never be at peace, nor maintain friendly relations with the Northern Powers. And the National Assembly approved of this policy by a unanimous declaration, inviting "the committee of the Executive Power to continue to follow, as the rule of its conduct, the unanimous wishes of the National Assembly, summed up in these words: A fraternal compact with Germany; the re-constitution of an independent and free Poland; and the emancipation of Italy.''

Now, from this statement, it must be evident to every one that the danger of foreign war is imminent. Already does Republican France seem to point distinctly to that object. With a government not yet established; with internal resources in a state of the utmost exhaustion and confusion, and a country divided by factions; her rulers, dazzled by glory in perspective, are preparing for a course of aggression, the limits of which no human mind can perceive. A country which has not yet framed a constitution for itself, is to teach the art of government to the world! While such are the views deliberately put forth, and with her past history before our eyes, we cannot help fearing for the French Republic. Much as we desire to witness a Republican government established in France, our wishes are confined to such a system as would secure the happiness and security of her own people, and by the influence of example operate upon the surrounding nations. The same form of government is not adapted for the entire It declared the treaties of 1815 had ceased world; it should be borne in mind that to exist. * * * Should Italy be too even within our own borders there are weak to assert her freedom, France had limitations on human freedom. We do not an army of 60,000 men," ready to pass think that, at the present moment, there is the Alps. To justify the non-intervention a country in Europe, except France, in of the Provisional Government in the lat- which it would be prudent to plant the ter country, he read letters from Milan, Republican standard. The principles of Venice, &c., to prove that not only had the liberty are too sacred to be lightly put in interference of France not been demanded danger, and the experience of history has by the insurgent governments, but that it incontestibly proved, that political regenewould have been resisted by them; and ration, to be permanent, must be gradually he declared that in no case should Italy fall adapted to the expanding sense of its inesagain under the yoke she had so glorious-timable value and dignity. We need only ly shaken off. He said he considered the look at Mexico and the South American Polish question to be the greatest difficulty | Republics to be convinced of this truth.

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HON. JOSEPH REED INGERSOLL.

HON. JOSEPH REED INGERSOLL is a son of Jared Ingersoll, who was a member of the convention which framed the Constitution, and who, for many years, was a distinguished lawyer of the Philadelphia bar, District Attorney; and for a considerable time, Attorney General of Pennsylvania. The son graduated at Princeton, where he took the first honors at the head of a numerous class, of which several of our eminent public men were members.

After graduating, Mr. Ingersoll pursued his studies, and was admitted to the bar in his native city, where he entered upon an active practice. He did not, however, as is too commonly the case with successful lawyers, devote himself wholly to his practice, but frequently engaged in literary exercises on subjects connected with his profession. An early effort of his was a translation from the Latin of the treatise of Roccus on ships and freight, etc., of which the distinguished scholar and jurist, M. Duponceau, thus speaks in his learned translation of Bynckershoeck's Treatise on the Law of War:

"An excellent English translation of this well-known work," (de Navibus et Nanto, item de Assecurationibus,) "the original of which is very scarce, has been lately published with valuable notes, by Joseph R. Ingersoll, Esq. This translation is executed with great judgment and accuracy, and may, in our opinion, well supply the place of the original."

In the midst of an extensive connection at the bar, Mr. Ingersoll continued to mingle literary with professional labors, by delivering discourses at the invitation of universities in every part of the country. The last of these occasions was last summer, Aug. 5th, 1847, when he addressed the literary societies of the University of Georgia, at Athens in that State. These discourses have been published by the various institutions for whom they were prepared. Mr. Ingersoll has also delivered, at various times, many addresses of a political character, which have likewise been

published. Many of the public institutions and munificent charities of his native city have gone into operation with an opening address from him. Among these are the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, the House of Refuge, the Wills' Hospital, Athenian Institute, and Mercantile Library. The degree of LL.D. has been twice conferred upon him: by La Fayette College, Pennsylvania, and afterwards by Bowdoin College, in Maine.

Among his many public employments, aside from his professional and political life, he has been for a considerable time a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, a delegate to the Diocesan Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania, and recently a delegate to the General Convention at New York. He is also a a director of several of the charitable associations of Philadelphia, president of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Pennsylvania Colonization Society.

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The history of Mr. Ingersoll's political life is no less brief than honorable. ing been for a short time a member of Congress in 1836-7, and then having declined a re-election, he was again urged, and finally induced to accept a nomination in the autumn of 1841-2. The election resulted in his choice, by a large majority, for the residue of the Twenty-seventh Congress, and he has since been continually re-elected by increasing majorities.

He was an active supporter of the tariff of 1842, and made, in July of that year, an elaborate speech in its favor. He was also among the few at first, who sustained uniformly the tariff policy, and the propriety and necessity of giving it immediate effect by protective legislation, even without necessarily connecting it with a continued distribution of the proceeds of the public lands. In this, they encountered the veto and opposition of Mr. Tyler.

Mr. Ingersoll was the author of the majority report of the Committee of Ways and Means, of the same Congress, against

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In the 28th Congress, he was the author of an elaborate report from the minority of the Committee of Ways and Means, against a repeal of the tariff of 1842, and the proposed substitute (which was not carried till a subsequent Congress) of a system of reduced ad valorem duties.

He was also the author of a report from a portion of a select committee on the Massachusetts resolutions proposing an amendment of the Constitution, abolishing the three-fifths clause of representation.

Against the annexation of Texas he spoke at length, and was probably the first to take the ground that such annexation, while Texas was at war as an independent nation with Mexico, was ipso facto war with Mexico.

The Sub-Treasury law, finally carried by a strict party vote in the succeeding, 29th, Congress, was earnestly opposed by him in a published speech. On the Oregon question, his speech against the 54 40 doctrine, and in favor of an amicable adjustment of the threatening controversy, is doubtless yet fresh in the memory of many readers of this sketch. He also spoke at large against the proposed tariff of '46. Most of these speeches have been published in a pamphlet form.

While steadfastly opposed to the origin of the Mexican War, Mr. Ingersoll has been as steadfastly disposed to sustain the honor of the country and our armies in the field. He has therefore cordially supported the applications of the government for necessary supplies. He voted with nearly the whole Whig party for the bill of the 11th of May, 1846, notwithstanding its absurd preamble. Intelligence had been received of the extremely critical position of Gen. Taylor's small force. The bill proposed to give the President power to call for a large body of volunteers, and appropriated ten millions of dollars. These were indispensable. A preamble, by well settled parliamentary law, is no part of a bill. It may be interposed for the mere purpose of preventing support, except from a particular quarter. It is at the best a mere suggestion of the motives of the draughtsman of the bill. On the par

| ticular occasion, the peril of a gallant little army aroused the patriotic feelings of every true American, and the great body of the Whig members were fortunately not to be driven from their purpose by mere party strategy.

In the present 30th Congress, Mr. Ingersoll is understood to be devoting assiduous attention to the duties of the Committee on the Judiciary, of which he is the chairman. Numerous important bills have been prepared by him, some of which have been passed, and many are awaiting the tardy movements of the House. One of these contemplates a permanent system for the judicial tribunals of the United States, which would enable them to discharge their important duties without liability to an accumulation of business, which amounts to a denial of justice. Another bill and report has in view the revision and classification of the laws of the United States. Others provide for the abolition of custom house oaths; against public executions of criminals; for a reform in the arrangement of admiralty proceedings; for taking the next census, etc.

Mr. Ingersoll refused to concur in the amendment to a vote of thanks to Gen. Taylor, which was to the effect that his military services had been rendered in a war brought about unconstitutionally by the President. Besides the operation of such an amendment in tying up and defeating the vote of thanks to which it was inappropriately appended, he deemed the assertion it contained inconsistent with his uniform position that the war was a necessary consequence of the legislative act of the annexation of Texas.

We cannot more appropriately conclude this brief sketch of one whose voice has been so uniformly heard advocating, in the national councils, the great measures of the Whig party, than by giving a few extracts from his public speeches.

In the debate upon the tariff of 1842, much was said of the so-called "Compromise Act," which it was supposed to disregard, and of the implied contract on the part of the North to abide by that act permanently. Mr. Ingersoll insisted that it was in no respect binding beyond the period of its own express limitation, and that being introduced for the benefit and relief of the South, it was calculated to injure

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