The Greville Memoirs, Part 2 (of 3), Volume 3 (of 3): A Journal of the Reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1852Greville, Charles
History
The Greville Memoirs, Part 2 (of 3), Volume 3 (of 3): A Journal of the Reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1852
Greville, Charles
Great Britain -- History -- Victoria, 1837-1901
artifices employed to convey arms and cartouches. The Garde Mobile,
composed of the _gamins de Paris_, signalised themselves with peculiar
heroism, and it is fortunate that they were on the side of the
Government instead of on that of the people. There was one boy, not
above fifteen or sixteen, a frightful little urchin, who scaled three
barricades one after another and carried off the colours from each;
Cavaignac embraced him and gave him the Legion of Honour from his own
person, and he was carried in triumph and crowned with laurels to a
great banquet of his comrades. But it would be endless to write down the
particulars of a contest which fills the columns of every newspaper now,
and will be recorded in innumerable books hereafter.
_July 5th._--Since the division on Pakington's motion the Government
stock has considerably risen, and they are now generally considered safe
for the present and for some indefinite time to come; they will probably
get their Sugar Bill through. The loud complaints that have been made of
this waste of time in Parliament have not been without effect, and
there is an appearance of getting on with business. Then the Chancellor
of the Exchequer's announcement that the deficit of 2,000,00_l._ will be
reduced to 500,000_l._, and that no new taxes will be wanted, has put
people in better humour. The funds are rapidly rising, the harvest
promises to be good, and on the whole our prospects are considerably
improved within the last week. The state of the Continent, though still
bad enough, is somewhat more promising; there appears to be something of
a lull from exhaustion and perplexity, there is a chance of the Danish
quarrel being arranged. The great victory in Paris, the establishment of
a strong military Government, and the evident determination of the
Assembly to promote the cause of law and order, and to put down all the
wild theories which have been in the ascendant for the last three
months, have largely tended to brighten the political sky; and this
example may encourage others to act with the same vigour and in the same
spirit. The whole world is influenced by all that is done at Paris. But
in the midst of this improved prospect we have enough to disturb our
tranquillity; it will be impossible for a long time for the Continent to
be restored to a healthy state, and its disturbed and impoverished
condition fearfully reacts upon us, and paralyses that foreign trade on
which not merely the prosperity but the subsistence of vast masses of
our population depends. We cannot therefore look forward to anything but
great distress and suffering in our manufacturing population; and this,
together with Ireland, are enough to keep us in hot water.
[Sidenote: FRENCH GENERALS.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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