savage or civilised life, we cannot but look A letter of Professor M'Michael's has appeared in the " Dunfermline Journal," apologising for his necessary absence from a meeting held in that ancient ecclesiastical and regal town, in connection with the Caffre war. It is such an exact representation of our own views upon the whole question, that we cannot do better than insert it here. After stating the reasons of his absence, the Professor adds,-" I regret this "I would also have remonstrated against the impolicy of placing military men at the head of our colonies. I have never spoken harshly of any class of men, and I will not now begin; but most assuredly, the qualities which are essential to the proper discipline of an army--prompt and unreasoning obedience-are not favourable to the cultivation of those habits of forbearance, and of respect for the opinions of others, without which no one is qualified to govern a community of freemen. A person may be a good soldier, and yet be a bad statesman; and a military education is the worst possible training for a statesman. "And most especially would I have remonstrated against the impolicy of entrusting such a man as Sir Harry Smith, with the difficult, and delicate, and responsible duties of a governor of the Cape Colony and of Caffraria. A person more unfitted for this important position it would be difficult to find. A brave and dashing soldier he may be, though even as a military man there is a great deal of nonsense and flummery about him; but patience, prudence, discrimination, common sense, he has not. has been successful in nothing, except in He alienating all classes, savage and civilised, from the British Government, and in leading every man to regard him as the evil genius of South Africa. What shall we think of the prudence of a man who told the troops that their first duty was to their officers, and the second to their God-a military maxim too much acted upon, but which has seldom been promulgated in a form so naked and offensive? What shall we think of the honesty of a man, who, when the Caffres came before him, complaining of their lands being wrested from them, took the written treaties, which they presented as the proofs of their claims being just, and who, instead of reading them, tore them in pieces before the eyes of the poor savages, and scattered them to the winds, exclaiming, as he did so, 'What care I about your treaties!' And again, what shall we think of the judgment of the man who, when Makomo, one of the chiefs, prostrated himself before him in token of supremacy, rudely placed his foot upon his neck? Makomo is one of the ablest men in South Africa-perhaps the ablest man in it and unquestionably an abler man than the military Governor. What did Makomo say when he arose? He looked Sir Harry Smith steadily in the face, and then said, in a calm and dignified manner, Sir, I always thought you was a great man, but I now see that I was mistaken! Who was the greater man at that moment, I leave any one to judge. I will not call Sir Harry Smith a fool, though the temptation is strong within me; but one thing I will say, he is not a wise man; and the sooner he is shipped off to this country to enjoy the comforts of a private life, the better for himself, and the better for all parties who have had anything to do with him as governor. "I have written a far longer letter than I intended when I took up the pen, but I have such strong feelings on this subject, that it is not easy for me to be short. I am satisfied that these and other topics of the Caffre war, and the whole state of the question, as respects the native tribes, will receive a full and impartial discussion from our respected friends. But I cannot allow this meeting to be held without lifting up a testimony, however humble, on the policy which has made this district of Africa a scene of horror and carnage. Religion and civilisation, the interest of the natives and of this country, human life and hardearned money, all prompt us to demand from our government, that our colonies shall be governed upon humane and rational principles. And I hope the meeting will not separate, without coming to a resolution to this effect." ANOTHER FRENCH REVOLUTION. FRANCE has added another to her list of revolutions. On the evening of Monday, the 1st of December, the inhabitants of Paris retired to rest as usual; but when morning dawned, the city was in a state of siege. All Paris was placarded with the decrees of Louis Napoleon, and occupied with his troops. The constitution was suspended. The national assembly was dissolved. Universal suffrage was established. Several of the more prominent members of the opposition in the National Assemby were arrested. About 300 of the national representatives formed an extemporaneous assembly, after being driven from their own doors, and passed a decree to the effect, that Louis Napoleon was no longer President of the Republic. The deed was signed by 230 members; and the subscribers were forthwith dragged as criminals through the streets, first to a barracks, and then to a prison. The High Court of Justice met, and instituted proceedings against Louis Napoleon, charging him with treason. The judges were dismissed with brutal violence. The people were at first stunned with the stroke; and, moreover, the restoration of universal suffrage was considered as a sort of compensation for the illegal conduct of the President. Tuesday was passed in a state of gloom. The gloom was deepened upon Wednesday. There was that sullen silence connected with abstinence from open outrage, of which tyrants are more afraid than any popular outbreak. An opportunity was wanted for letting loose the soldiery upon the people, and for committing such deeds of horror as would make them crouch and tremble beneath the military usurper. Some barricades were constructed upon Wednesday afternoon, and from the circumstance that no soldier or policeman appeared upon the spot to interfere with the erection (a fact of uncommon significance in Paris), the suspicion seems not ill-founded, that these barricades were commenced by the adherents of Napoleon, to furnish him with a pretext for the massacre of next day. On Thursday, 50,000 troops were drawn up, nearly along the whole line of the Boulevards, and when there, they commenced, and in numerous cases without the slightest provocation, to fire upon the men and women who had gathered in the streets, and who had been attracted to the windows and balconies of the houses to witness the movements of such an immense military force. Without a moment's warning, the infantry poured in their volleys upon the persons who were standing quietly looking on, never imagining for a moment that it was for their individual destruction, these enormous masses of soldiers were drawn up in hostile array. Artillery was even employed against some houses, inhabited by the most respectable and peaceably disposed part of the community; and the soldiers forced open the doors, and paying no heed to age or sex, murdered all who came in their way. The massacre was pitiless; and if one may judge from the dresses of the persons who were shot, and from the quarters in the Boulevards where the carnage was the greatest, the object seems to have been to establish a reign of terror among the middle and wealthy classes. The policy so far has been successful. The iron glove of the warrior has struck down every opposition. France is paralysed, and has accepted the dictatorship of a swindler and a tyrant, with 400,000 soldiers at his back. The soldiers have already recorded their votes in favour of Louis Napoleon. The citizens will, in every probability, follow in their wake; and it seems almost certain, that before this sheet be thrown off, he will be elected President by a large majority of the French nation. And he will be chosen by ballot and universal suffrage. This is not the last revolution which France is doomed to suffer. How long the present usurper may keep his position, it is difficult to determine. But one thing is indisputable. The cycle of French revolution is still imperfect. The end is not yet come. Blood has yet to flow freely in that unhappy country, until it be taught the lesson, that a nation which has no God can find no rest. There is probably no nation in the world, whether Pagan or Mohammedan, that has emerged from the rudest barbarism, in which there is so little moral principle as in France. It appears to us, that the leading men in Pekin or Constantinople are immeasurably superior with regard to conscientiousness, fixed principles of action, healthy moral feeling, to the great bulk of the leading men of France at the present day. The vast majority of the French people are infidels; and, as such, they have no faith in man, in devil, or in God. The supernatural has lost all power over them, and they know no motive higher than that which is drawn from the things of sense and of sight. Moral principle has sunk so low in France, that it is scarcely worth one's while to be a hypocrite. Nobody will give his neighbour credit for acting from a higher motive than himself. The only opponents of infidelity are a small minority of blind, bigoted Papists, who present a religion which is not worth the acceptance of a man of education and intelligence. Small, however, as they are, much influence is theirs, for they are looked upon as the sole breakwater against the advancing surges of infidelity and anarchy. The priests are patronised by all the conservative party, though they may be infidels themselves; and their support is always coveted by the ruling authorities. Popery, with that thirst for blood, that love for alienating all classes, savage and civilised, from the British Government, and in leading every man to regard him as the evil genius of South Africa. What shall we think of the prudence of a man who told the troops that their first duty was to their officers, and the second to their God-a military maxim too much acted upon, but which has seldom been promulgated in a form so naked and offensive? What shall we think of the honesty of a man, who, when the Caffres came before him, complaining of their lands being wrested from them, took the written treaties, which they presented as the proofs of their claims being just, and who, instead of reading them, tore them in pieces before the eyes of the poor savages, and scattered them to the winds, exclaiming, as he did So, 'What care I about your treaties!' And again, what shall we think of the judgment of the man who, when Makomo, one of the chiefs, prostrated himself before him in token of supremacy, rudely placed his foot upon his neck? Makomo is one of the ablest men in South Africa-perhaps the ablest man in it and unquestionably an abler man than the military Governor. What did Makomo say when he arose? He looked Sir Harry Smith steadily in the face, and then said, in a calm and dignified manner, Sir, I always thought you was a great man, but I now see that I was mistaken!' Who was the greater man at that moment, I leave any one to judge. I will not call Sir Harry Smith a fool, though the temptation is strong within me; but one thing I will say, he is not a wise man; and the sooner he is shipped off to this country to enjoy the comforts of a private life, the better for himself, and the better for all parties who have had anything to do with him as governor. I "I have written a far longer letter than I intended when I took up the pen, but I have such strong feelings on this subject, that it is not easy for me to be short. am satisfied that these and other topics of the Caffre war, and the whole state of the question, as respects the native tribes, will receive a full and impartial discussion from our respected friends. But I cannot allow this meeting to be held without lifting up a testimony, however humble, on the policy which has made this district of Africa a scene of horror and carnage. Religion and civilisation, the interest of the natives and of this country, human life and hardearned money, all prompt us to demand from our government, that our colonies shall be governed upon humane and rational principles. And I hope the meeting will not separate, without coming to a resolution to this effect." ANOTHER FRENCH REVOLUTION. About FRANCE has added another to her list of revolutions. On the evening of Monday, the 1st of December, the inhabitants of Paris retired to rest as usual; but when morning dawned, the city was in a state of siege. All Paris was placarded with the decrees of Louis Napoleon, and occupied with his troops. The constitution was suspended. The national assembly was dissolved. Universal suffrage was established. Several of the more prominent members of the opposition in the National Assemby were arrested. 300 of the national representatives formed an extemporaneous assembly, after being driven from their own doors, and passed a decree to the effect, that Louis Napoleon was no longer President of the Republic. The deed was signed by 230 members; and the subscribers were forthwith dragged as criminals through the streets, first to a barracks, and then to a prison. The High Court of Justice met, and instituted proceedings against Louis Napoleon, charging him with treason. The judges were dismissed with brutal violence. The people were at first stunned with the stroke; and, moreover, the restoration of universal suffrage was considered as a sort of compensation for the illegal conduct of the President. Tuesday was passed in a state of gloom. The gloom was deepened upon Wednesday. There was that sullen silence connected with abstinence from open outrage, of which tyrants are more afraid than any popular outbreak. An opportunity was wanted for letting loose the soldiery upon the people, and for committing such deeds of horror as would make them crouch and tremble beneath the military usurper. Some barricades were constructed upon Wednesday afternoon, and from the circumstance that no soldier or policeman appeared upon the spot to interfere with the erection (a fact of uncommon significance in Paris), the suspicion seems not ill-founded, that these barricades were commenced by the adherents of Napoleon, to furnish him with a pretext for the massacre of next day. On Thursday, 50,000 troops were drawn up, nearly along the whole line of the Boulevards, and when there, they commenced, and in numerous cases without the slightest provocation, to fire upon the men and women who had gathered in the streets, and who had been attracted to the windows and balconies of the houses to witness the movements of such an immense military force. Without a moment's warning, the infantry poured in their volleys upon the persons who were standing quietly looking on, never imagining for a moment that it was for their individual destruction, these enormous masses of soldiers were drawn up in hostile array. Artillery was even employed against some houses, inhabited by the most respectable and peaceably disposed part of the community; and the soldiers forced open the doors, and paying no heed to age or sex, murdered all who came in their way. The massacre was pitiless; and if one may judge from the dresses of the persons who were shot, and from the quarters in the Boulevards where the carnage was the greatest, the object seems to have been to establish a reign of terror among the middle and wealthy classes. The policy so far has been successful. The iron glove of the warrior has struck down every opposition. France is paralysed, and has accepted the dictatorship of a swindler and a tyrant, with 400,000 soldiers at his back. The soldiers have already recorded their votes in favour of Louis Napoleon. The citizens will, in every probability, follow in their wake; and it seems almost certain, that before this sheet be thrown off, he will be elected President by a large majority of the French nation. And he will be chosen by ballot and universal suffrage. This is not the last revolution which France is doomed to suffer. How long the present usurper may keep his position, it is difficult to determine. But one thing is indisputable. The cycle of French revolution is still imperfect. The end is not yet come. Blood has yet to flow freely in that unhappy country, until it be taught the lesson, that a nation which has no God can find no rest. There is probably no nation in the world, whether Pagan or Mohammedan, that has emerged from the rudest barbarism, in which there is so little moral principle as in France. It appears to us, that the leading men in Pekin or Constantinople are immeasurably superior with regard to conscientiousness, fixed principles of action, healthy moral feeling, to the great bulk of the leading men of France at the present day. The vast majority of the French people are infidels; and, as such, they have no faith in man, in devil, or in God. The supernatural has lost all power over them, and they know no motive higher than that which is drawn from the things of sense and of sight. Moral principle has sunk so low in France, that it is scarcely worth one's while to be a hypocrite. Nobody will give his neighbour credit for acting from a higher motive than himself. The only opponents of infidelity are a small minority of blind, bigoted Papists, who present a religion which is not worth the acceptance of a man of education and intelligence. Small, however, as they are, much influence is theirs, for they are looked upon as the sole breakwater against the advancing surges of infidelity and anarchy. The priests are patronised by all the conservative party, though they may be infidels themselves; and their support is always coveted by the ruling authorities. Popery, with that thirst for blood, that love for |