The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-01 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDox

THIS DAT —Mornin; 27 inin.after 1 Evenieg 43 min. aft. 1
To-Moscow---Morning 57 min.after 1 j Eveningl4 min. aft. 2

THE WEATHER.—Sum Orrin, April. 29.
THZEMOMITZB, IN THZ SHADE.
56—highest since noon yesterday.
42 —lowest this morning and during the night.
48—this day, at noon.
BAROMFTSB, 30'11—falling.
WIND, E.N.E. to E.—Moderate, with dull, cloudy
weather, indicating rain. We had some rain early in the
morning.
QUARTER TO THREE.—Wind veering round to S.E., S.,
and S.W., with heavy clouds and strong indications of
rain.

•
g

LONDON, TUESDAY, MAY 1, 1855.

The House of Commons has nobly discharged
its duty. Thanks to the independence and energy
of many of its leading members, England will
still retain a Free Press. Even Sir GEORGE
CORNEWALL LEWIS, in bringing forward his ill-
considered and dangerous prcposition for a
"copyright in news," was obliged to make admis-
sions which completely destroyed his case ; in-
deed the manner in which he introduced it showed
that he had not the faintest hope of success, and
that he threw it out merely as a sop to some one
or two of those who had previously supported
views that met with very general condemnation
throughout the country. It would have been
well for his own character had ,he avoided the
subject, or yielded gracefully before his pre-
sumptuous ignorance, recklessness, and instability
had been so unsparingly exposed by many honour-
able gentlemen.
His lame and impotent attempt at apology
materially aggravated the censures to which he
has so iwpiovidently exposed himself, and
exhibits his original folly in a stronger and clearer
light. Because, forsooth, it had been asserted
that the measure which he had brought forward
would afford unfair facilities to the class of cheap
publications that might spring into existence
under its provisions, because they might possibly
abuse the privileges which he was about to confer,
then every newspaper proprietor in the United
Kingdom was to be deprived of the rights of a
British subject, and placed at the mercy of the
stipendiary and unpaid magistracy. In other
words, because he bad fallen into an error in one
respect, he was to repair it by an act of the deepest
injustice towards a large and influential body, who
had invested considerable capital in public jour-
nals. This was the reasoning of a Cabinet
Minister--a man who aspires to the reputation of
a statesman—who has been appointed to preside
over one of the most important departments of the
Government ! We have frequently heard of the
"little wisdom " with which nations are governed,
but never more forcibly illustrated than in the
deplorable exhibition of Sir GEORGE CORNEWALL
Lzwis last night.

The Right. Hon. Baronet freely admitted that
"if the clause should be rigidly or vexatiously
enforced by the leading metropolitan newspapers,
the rights which have by consent hitherto been
exercised by the London evening and weekly
newspapers, and by the country newspapers,
would be materially abridged." He then added—
" The practice has grown up, and has been acqui-
esced in by the principal newspapers for a long
series of years ; and it certainly would be a consi-
derable detriment to the public at large if any
attempt should now be made to abridge the rights
thus conceded by practice." After this acknow-
ledgment, Cadit qucestio. The rights conceded for
a long series of years, and which it would be a
considerable detriment to the public at large to
abridge, were to be not merely impaired,
but absolutely destroyed, because the Chancel-
lor of the Exchequer was desirous of trying
his hand at experimental legislation, and was
willing, when all the resources of the nation were
taxed to the uttermost, to give up 200,0001., or
more probably 250,0001., per annum—the interest
on some eight millions of money—for the chance.
But he justifies it, in the belief that the powers
thus conferred would not be exercised in any
"'harsh or oppressive manner "—that "the clause
would be merely brought into use in cases where
aintention of pirating the news of the principal
IlineteuvraPigaePneTsce: and of transferring to its columns
othe
r c°r'lltnulleationsf
articles of original composition, and
ani:o furandi—with the
deliberate intention
newspaper depend nu making the profits of the
his
belief,
f why not limit the
ill-gotten gains." If
that were indeed
remedy to such eases ?
h confer extensive
powers which were not to bebroinnYliniands of. par-
to operation?
Why place a fearful weapon
ties who were expected not at all to use it ?
The
articles which have appeared in some fe •
w Journals
clearly proved that they had not the sliqttest no-
tion of abstaining from exercising any authority
that might be conceded. Never before W 43 such
an argument used in a deliberative assembly.
Never was a penal clause supported on the ex-
press ground that it would be suffered to remain
a dead letter, a mere brutum fulmen, without
ein!acy or vitality.
It was inlposeible to resist the conclusive and
unanswerable argureents of Mr. WHITESIDE on 1

the point. The Honourable and Learned Gentle-
man clearly and distinctly pointed out not merely
the probable, but the almost inevitable, results of the
contemplated measure. Indeed if any disinterested
and unprejudiced person could have had any doubt
on the subject it must be completely set at rest
by that brilliant speech. He showed that under
the baleful operation of the enactment the Pro-
vincial Press could easily be suppressed. And it
would be so ; aye, and a majority of the metropo-
litan journals. In fact, in a very short time, a
virtual monopoly would be created in favour of
one leading journal, which, however ably it might
be conducted, could not supply the wants of the
country, and which, when every attempt at com-
petition was suppressed, might not make such ex-
traordinary efforts to obtain early intelligence as.
at present.
The Honourable and Learned Gentleman was
ably seconded by members of all shades and
varieties of political opinion, who unsparingly ex-
posed the absurdity of the attempt. Lord
STANLEY particularly, in a few words,
placed the matter in a nutshell, and showed
that the Financial Minister had attempted
that which was utterly and completely
impracticable. We regret to find that the Hon.
and Learned Gentleman the Member for Bath, in
his anxiety to support Ministers through thick
and thin, should have indulged in such ridiculous
fallacies, which out-heroded the absurdities of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer. We may, however,
now congratulate the community in general, and
newspaper proprietors in particular, at having so
effectually, and, we believe, permanently, got rid
of the most injurious and reckless proposition
which has been submitted to the consideration of
Parliament for a long series of years. The Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer has obtained the opinion
of the House of Commons, and it is scarcely pro-
bable that he will venture to repeat the experi-
ment by which his character as a public man has
been so seriously, so irreparably, damaged.

The wanderer has returned to his disconsolate
friends ! The missing Minister has returned to
the department from which he was so long
absent ! The Secretary of State for the Colonies
is once more in London—has appeared in his
place in the House of Commons—and would,
doubtless, have told the story of his adventures,
but that, like the " needy knifegrinder," he
might have exclaimed—
" Story, GOD bless you, I have none to tell."
The htatement of the ex-Plenipotentiary
certainly adds but little to what was pre-
viously known. It unquestionably proves
that there was greater apathy and careless-
ness displayed by the representatives of the
Western Powers than could previously have been
deemed possible. The protocols of the Confer-
ences are, it appears, shortly to be produced, and
they may convey information of the substance of
the negotiations. But we fear that all the infor-
mation, voluntarily given by the Government,
will be barren and worthles3. It is, however,
composed of " squeezable " materials, and some-
thing as to the disposition of Austria may possibly
be extracted if Honourable Gentlemen prove
themselves to be 'in earnest in the inquiry.
At present we are told that the first
meeting was held on the 15th of March, and
that the negotiations on'the first two points lasted
until the 26th of the same month. Then came
a viatits valde defiendus. From the 26th of March
to the 17th of April nothing of any kind was
done. Twenty-two days were wasted waiting for
instructions from St. Petersburg to the Russian
Plenipotentaries, as to the nature of the proposal
which might be brought forward on the part of
the AUTOCRAT. On the 17th it was answered
that Russia declined to take the initiative, and the
Representatives of the Allied Powers had to de-
mand an adjournment of 48 hours, to consider
the form in which they should make their
proposal ! The whole of the previous Circe
weeks was passed over without that important
point being disposed of, or its being ilecided how
they were to act in the very probable event of
Russia refusing to make any proposition.
On the 19th the Plenipotentiaries of the
Western Powers submitted their propositions,
which were supported by the representative of
Austria. The Russians, however, in turn re-
quested 48 hours for consideration, and on the
21st peremptorily rejected the propositions ten-
dered for their acceptance ! They, however, then
brought forward suggestions, which were considered
so totally unacceptable that tliey were not even consi-
dered in detail. Thus ended the transparent hum-
bug, for although the Austrian Plenipotentiary sug-
gested a hope that all the means of reconciling the
belligerent parties by peace had been exhausted,
the French and English Plenipotentiaries refused
to be bamboozled any longer. Lord JOHN Res-
SELL departed on his homeward journey, and was
speedily followed by M. DROUYN DE L'HUYS, who
waited for final instructions from his Imperial
master.