ROYAL GATHERING AT PARIS.

Otago Witness, Issue 825, 20 September 1867, Page 5

ROYAL GATHERING AT PARIS.

. , „(Ftt)tn"'tlie?SafttT)rfay Review.) -'■" In' some respepfe^ Napoleon 111. has eWry reason' to w congratulate himself on blie, success of, his endeavor, to draw all, Europe, to his capital. , In itself, the Ereijch^, .Exhibition ia not a remarkable specimen of the class. '"'But- a motley cojhp&riy of Sovereigns has 'Undoubtedly collected round it., Voltaire ought to be alive again to describe the -circle. The dromedaries and camels,,, with all their xnaaay-cofored attendants, which fill the immediate vicinity of the building, are; \>eing fast thrown into the shade by the! illustrious guests rfrom every quarter <of \ fthe world who "have arrived, or who are about to arrive. The Czar and the JKing of Prussia already are on the spot. The Sultan, €ke Viceroy of Egypt, and «yen Abby Mulas are on the eve of arriving, with Oriental trams, and regawiless of expense. And a group of Prinoes andPrime Ministers will form a creditable body-guard of the still more distinguished visitors. ■ Everybody is, or is fc© be, at Paris, of -whom diplomatists have been talking for years. In fact, Napoleon ILL ■will have collected at the Tuilenies and in the Imperial palaces at Ms 'disposal a happy family •<$ no mean Urind. In their wild state of nature, "and under the guidance Of their sinTpls instincts, all Ihese potentates would "be engaged in preying on one another. Providence, it has been laought, has created the Czar to feed upon the Sultsn. ; the Sultan, if he only could, woulcl uiake a lveai?ty aneal on the Viceroy of Egypt ; while $he King of the Belgians and the King of are'"ihe natural, 'diet for an Emperor of the French. S the Queesi of had net at the lastiEioment declined io be present, she would have had "ihe [pleasure of meeting kertfainily enemy., the Tsrother of the Emperoj-of Morocco. So ."rare an assembly of .political saakes wnd iiabbits is 'not often seen, and tllieir .after-dinner converssdaons migkt furnish •>ample material for the'pen e-ther -of Volitaire or of iibout. Of all the important 'personage of the European cw&s of . autocrats, "the Emperor of Austria alone is wahtusg. Family bereavemente and •domestic .politics are a sufficient -.season for his a-en-at^-endancol The personal industry of the Freaach EmpeivM: -at all ' events has been rewarded by a biflliant, if not a "very gay, congress -of B.oyal J .guests, .it is fonawiate that tJie Elng of j Prussia teas not as yet been treated to j any display of temper on the part of Pari- \ sian cro^vxls. Neither of the iHisstrious | visitors,' -whatever iheir poliiioal jaaerits, ; deserve vSlscourtesj at the la&aads of the - French jxcpulation, Sliort-ly before set- ' ting foot in Paris, the Rsasaaan Enipe- ■ ror, with, a tasrt and , gKaciousness ■which doe 3 credit tto himself or ihis advisers, had issued a general anmesty to : those eokcerned in the -last Polish, rebellion. A moredelicate apt of ewrtesy or 1 good-feeling 'towards ibe .Writable nation w3aom the <3fc&r was abeot ts visit - scarcely <can be conceived. And the Prussian ~SLing has at all events r*ho'wn himself superior to petty atmaosities and ■ antipathies by resecting to the cap&al of .a potentate who a mouth ago was -threatening Prussia with $rar, but not >vdth disruption. Tet Masimiliaits cap•ttivity or death will not fall ligihtly.oß the •.spirits of airy member. of the impromptu jParis Cciigress." The Frei&eh people 'themselves vSJ, be affected by it. The •iEmperor NApoleon imsght have committed anany graver«errors'tfean any -of ■which he 'has been giilty 'in respect of Mkxiaailian, and he .more easily forgiven, fcoth' by his i«>wn 'S^jects and by ;the IKings and Esa|)erors *of the Old Weald. If -.the telegrams whict may be expected during the next few '(days' confirm ihe dkastsous rumors <of Ibhe last fortnight, n® Voltairian sleeted of -tha banquets 1 at the Tuileries would he CQBaplete without the introduction of a ghdat of Banquo at the scene. The Emperor Maximilian, like the srest, has been in 1 Ms day a olivet of the Fdrench palace. He sja,'s eaten the Im- 1 peria] nalt, and has rece£v6d all possible pledges of Imperial friendship, but fcoth salt and pledges have melted away in the presence of -political 'necessities. The catastrophe that has befallen him is a striving instance ' of the ' truth that all Royal CG>urtesies are" eplieaieral and perishing. • - Durino ihe year ended 25th December,' 1860, the gross amount of duty collected by fire insurance companies in England was 1867,901 10s 2d, r of which L 887,058 11s Id was for duty, at Is 6d per cent., and the balance- L902 19s Id .for duty at 3s per cent. In. Scotland, the amount collected' was L 80,304: 15s 7d, of "which L 80,281 2s 4d was for duty at Is 6d, and L 23 13s 3d at 3s per cent. In Ireland, the total was L 50,856 18s 3d, of -which L50, 678. 14s lid was for duty at Is 6d, and L2o3'3s 4d at 3s. The total amount collected iv the Ucited Kingdom was L999 ? 153 4s.