The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-10 00:00:00

DEATH OF THE NESTOR OF THE
FRENCH PRESS.

A person has lately died in Paris whose history is
indeed a curious one. This person is M. Breton,
who was one of the principal reporters of the illoni-
teur and Journal des Dibats for more than 35 years.
His occupation as a reporter began, however, long
before 1816. M. Breton reported the Legislative de-
bates of all the Assemblies of the first revolution, and
was attached to the corps of stenographs so early as
the 26th August, 1790. During the Convention he
had for colleagues with him in the reporter's gallery
two young women, who, it is believed, afterwards
perished by the guillotine. He was present when
General Bonaparte dissolved the Legislative bodies
during his coup cf itat of the Bth Brumaire, and, in the
confusion of the moment the General trod on
his foot as he was leaving the hall of debate. He
continued at his task during the whole period of
the Restoration, saw Manuel expelled from the
Chamber of Deputies, and witnessed all that imme-
diately preceded, accompanied, and followed the fall
of the dynasty of the elder Bourbons. He was still,
as ever, at his pest when the Chamber was invaded
by the mob on the 24th February, 1848, and was
present at the last debate of the Assembly dissolved
by tee decrees of the 'ld December. In 1825 he
founded, with MM. Darmaing, Ledru, and Isambert,
the Gazette des Tribunaux, of which he was the prin-
cipal proprietor. M. Breton was a distinguished phi-
lologist : knew nearly all the languages of Europe.
He was attached as sworn translator to the Tribunal
of the Seine, and was frequently entrusted as such
with important and confidential missions. Few men
of the present age have witnessed so many interesting
events as M. Breton. His being an eye and ear-wit-
ness of all the terrible proceedings of the Assemblies
of the first revolution would alone give value to the
memoirs which it is stated he has left, and which, it
is added, will soon appear in feuilleto; s of one of the
Paris morning papers.

THE SPANISH -----/sTAvy
The Spanish Royal navy now a ' :"'
°mists (according
to a table just published) of
one
in-battle ship,
laid up at Cadiz, and two in construction'aetf at Cadiz
Cuba, and Ferrol ; five frigates—two at 7:tte at Cadiz,
and one in construction at Ferrol ;six ,z)1
brigs of first class, three of second ditto, twos' belfigh_t
soh •oners, five schooners, and 21 steamers of all sizes
of which five are at Cuba, five others employed a;
plc kets bktween the Peninsula and the Antilles, and
four at the Philippine Islands, or on the way ih-re.
Tnere are also eight transport ships. This list- is
exclusive of the coast-guad service, which is stated
to comprise six steamers, two brig-schooners, five
schourvas three misticos, 14 feluccas of first claw!,
,
20 of second ditto, and 65 smaller vessels.

NEAPOLITAN STATE MEALS FOR TUE
EVENTS OF MAY 15, 1848.
NAPLES, DEC. 30.—1 n my last communication I
recorded the introductory proceedings of the pending
state trials; I will now proceed to give the details of
each day's sitting, as briefly as possible. Amongst
those who have attended these trials, I observed the
Hon. Sir W. Temple, M. Barrot, the French Minister,
and other gentlemen of the foreign legations. The
President of the court is the celebrated Navarra, and
the other judges are distinguished for the violation of
justice in other political trials (one of these men is
the author of the reply to Mr. Gladstone's letters). A
cordon of gendarmes is so placed as to keep the public
at such a distance from the prisoners as to prevent
their being beard. No one is allowed to take notes.
First Day-0
ne of the accused, Archdeacon Cag-
nazzi, was reported as unable to attend from ill
health. The Court suggested that he should be re-
presented. The venerable old man (upwards of
eighty) desired to be present, and his lawyer asked
for more time. A report was to be made (by order
of the Conn) of the state of his health.—Adjourned.
Second Day—The ex-Minister, Soisloja, was unable
to attend. He was in the infirmary suffering from
fever : a report of the medical men was read to
that effect. The President commanded him to be
brought into court, and after a time the unfortunate
man was. dragged from his bed, and carried before
the judges. On being placed amongst the other pri-
soners Scialoja said, "I hope the court will pardon
me for the delay I have caused—l am suffering very
much." The judges, dead to justice and humanity,
made no reply. Archdeacon Cagnazzi being posi-
tively unable to attend, the judges decided that the
trials should proceed the next day, and that Cagnazzi
should be brought into court.
gnazzi was brought into court in a
Third Day--Ca
sedan chair, in a dying state. The prisoners kissed
his hand. There was an expressien of horror on the
faces of those who stood near and witnessed
this brutal scene. A venerable old man, on the
verge of the grave, dragged before a bench of
licensed murderers, powerless and voiceless. Such
acts of cruelty, I trust, can occur in Naples only,
where humanity is banished from the land by royal
authority. Leah
za asked permission to call as wit-
ness amen now
iss prison, who could throw impor-
tant light on the events of May 15. The court re-
Barbarisi protested against fused. The ex-Deputy

the whole proceedings of the court, as article 48 of
the Constitution, which had never yet been denied as
the existing law, expressly provided that Members of
Parliament could only be tried by the Peers. The
court would hear no protest. At this point the poor
old man Cagnazzi was supposed to be expiring. A
medical man was called. The paid butcher declared
Cagnazzi was well enough to remain. De Robertes,
the advocate, protested. The prisoners complained of
being mixed up with murderers and common pick-
pockets, whilst the decree of 1849 provided that po-
litical ffenders should be separately imprisoned.
Fourth Day—A report was read that Cagnazzi was
dying, and had received the sacrament. A commis-
sion was named to verify the fact.
Fifth Day—Declared that the court would proceed
with the trials in the absence of the accused, Arch-
deacon Cagnazzi.
Sixth Day—The accusations against Dardano and
De Stefano were read. No reply.
Seventh Day—Read, the accusation of the ex-
deputy Silvio Spaventa. The ex-deputy Bar-
barisi replied to his accusations : " The constitution
given to the people by the King in February, 1848,
is described in my act of accusation as having been
forced from his Majesty by a faction. Now, I beg
to observe, as one of this so-called faction,' that
the King
declares, in his Royal decree of Fe-
bruary, 1848, that in granting the said con-
stitution, he is seconding the universal will of
the people,' and the royal decree after the
of May 15 confirms these words. We
sat in Parliament after this decree.
ealvlents
Was it a faction which sent the Deputies
to Parliament ? Ilow, then, can I be classed
as one of a faction ?" Barbarisi continued :
" In their proper place I shall produce printed docu-
ments to prove that as a magistrate and Member of
Parliament I did everything in my power to prevent
the disasters of May 15, which perhaps had a very
different origin from that which this court thinks
proper to entertain."

From the way in which the trials are conducted it
is clear the prisoners will be all sent to the galleys at
least. The events of France will hasten their fate. A
batch of 54 political offenders are now being tried at
Salerno.—Daily 2Vew3.

LORD PALMERSTON.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sin,-1 enclose you a letter which I wrote to Lord
Palmerston as soon as it was rumoured that ha had
favoured the coup d&at of Louis Napoleon, when
almost all the Liberal papers, excepting The Sun and
one or two others, were doubting a fact apparently so
inconsistent with Lord Palmerston's former policy.
The ideas contained in the letter are so entirely in
accordance with your own, that I am emboldened to
think that perhaps you will consider it worth inserting.
I am, Sir, &c.,
Kilburn. C. W. S.

My Lord,—Chateaubriand in his Memoires says,
" that aristocracy has three successive ages, the age of
superiorities, the age of privileges, and the age of
vanities ; separated from the first it descends to the
second, and is extinguished in the last." When I
regard certain members of the Cabinet I am disposed
to consider the aristocracy of England is in its dotage,
bat when I think of you I consider it in its infancy.
Pardon me, my Lord, for daring to address you; is it
forbidden for one who compared with yours is in an humble
sphere, to express his admiration for a man so great as
you? I will not permit that delicacy which humility
suggests to restrain me; although incapable of conceiv-
ing ideas so grand as yours, I am still above many, for I
am capable of understanding them.
A secure Government iu France is fatal to its alliance
with Russia; despotism exults when it sees an impotent
President trembling before the rival factions of a
National Assembly. With the penetration of a great
mind you saw the impotence of the Dike de Bordeaux's
cause and the rottenness of the Orleans', and gave your
powerful aid to the only man likely to give unity to
France. You knew that although the President might
consider it expedient for a time to bend the knee to
Russia, from whom he can ultimately gain nothing, that
the interests of France would cause him, as soon as he
was firmly established, to throw himself into the arms
of England. Thus France, supported by England and
America, would spread happiness and freedom all over
the world.

France must know that her interests are bound up
with those of England; she could not gain an inch of
territory without a frown from Russia; whilst, supposing
the worst, England might really view, without very
serious alarm, the extension of our useful neighbour
from Paris to Vienna, who would purchase our com-
placency by leaving us in quiet possession of India.
Thus there would bo but three nations in the world—
England, France, and America; three nations, but di-
vided only by their geographical limits, for the same
spirit would animate all—the millennium will have
arrived, and the world will be free.
When since the world was created was there a destiny
more glorious or so glorious as yours? Persevere in it,
stifle all hesitation, advance boldly, consider yourself
rather as an agent of Providence to work out the ends
of humanity. Let not any dread of being considered
by your country as merely ambitious prevent you from
taking advantage of the respect that even your enemies,
the most evenomed, are compelled to express for your
extraordinary talents. It is to be regretted that by your
resignation the depths of your policy should be exposed
to Russia. That power will soon regard Louis Napoleon
with the scowl of distrust; but still I hope it is too late,
and that he is now sufficiently established to defy the
Czar. All that remains to be done is, that you should
throw aside all concealment, and boldly justify your
ways to England, France, and America: by instructing
those nations and exposing the soundness of your policy
you will prove how necessary you are to them, and in
addition to their admiration and respect you will gain
their support, and as Prime Minister you may be able to
carry out those grand conceptions which have been the
object of your life.

In conclusion, my Lord, believe me to be your Lord-
ship's most humble, most devoted servant,

C. W. S.

STATE OF PARTIES.
(From the Times.)
There is one contingency which factions are apt to
overlook, and that is the contingency of success. A
game may be very good so long as it is confined to
agitation, but may break down the instant there is a
necessity for acting as well as talking. For an ex-
ample we need not go further than the alliance of
Republicans, Communists, and Legitimists that
drove Louis Philippe from his throne, and by one
act concluded his reign and their own. All the
authors -of the unspeakable calamity which has
fallen on France were great men in their way, till
they achieved a triumph almost beyond expectation
in February, 1848 ; but since that they have dwindled
to insignificnce , and some are not even to be found.
It is very clear that they were not prepared fur the
power to which they ostensibly aspired. Something
of the same kind happened in this country, when the
Protectionists last session fauna themselves sud-
denly invited to form an Administration. In
that case happily then was a man of some
weight and some experience, who saw the abyss at
his feet, and renounced the dangerous prize of power.
The only damage incurred by the party was the
naive confession of its recognised chief, that it con-
tainede:, men who were competent to lead Parlia-
menther Majesty. There the evil stopped
orth ea
npdr
ese
n adviset.
But what if the same contingency
should occur next session, and power be once more
tendered with redoubled urgency ? Should a weak Go-
vernment with a budget of weak measures encounter
a weak support and a strong opposition—in a word,
should the Ministry have to undergo once more the
ordeal of last session, awl have to run the gauntlet of
perpetual defeats, it is quite possible that the Protec-
tionists may find greatness thrust upon them in spite
of their natural modesty. Should that be the sase,
they will, of course, be driven to a dissolution, and
we have never denied that a general election would
probably give them
a few votes. They would then
have to meet Parliament, and would forthwith have
to announce the policy
expect the country to on which for the future they
be
triumph would only be governed. Toat hour of
the beginning of their diffi-
culties.,
viz.,
pecuniary Two courses would then be
one, that suggested by the strong open
to them ; the
devised y the moreh
appe-
tite of the landed interest
protection ; the other, that good measure of
subtle genius of the leaderProtecticnistpeculiar bin
dt e
wouldabsence.
Commons—viz., a relief from the
alleged to have been the counterpoise of Protec-
tion, ens
and to have become intolerable in its
is not for us to say which policy
in the agitated counsels of that fearful crisis, but, If
we are to believe the great body of Protectionists
themselves, they would make straight for a good
sliding scale, or an ad valorem duty on all import.,
or something, at all events, that would forthwith pet
a round sum into their pockets. But, even if we
suppose a more temporising policy, indicating, in the
shape of relief, that the country is to be governed
for the peculiar benefit of the agriculturist, the
effect would be much the same on the mind of the
country at large. In one form or another the Pro-
tectionist Minister would have to announce the policy
of befriending one class at the expense of all the rest.
So, at least, it would be understood; and, if it were
not so understood, it would not answer its purpose of
uniting the Protectionist phalanx. Such a policy
would be suicidal, in exact
means that might possibly be found for averting its
immediate rejection. proportion to the ways and

In the firsi place, it would reduce all the growing
intellect and expanding affections of the landed inte-
rest to the fell necessity of one morn final Protec-
tionist self-immolation. Dukes and squires would
have to declare themselves once more in black and
white, merging all private misgivings and minor
differences. If a country gentleman had almost
forgotten his politics in useful pursuits, or if he
had learned to recognize free trade as a fact, he
would find himself pressed once more into the last
defence of a desperate cause. There has been only one
parallel that we know of for
the net of destruction in
which the party would find itself involved, and that it
may read in the fate of the men whom a certain Jew..