The Sun.
London, England, 1852-02-25 00:00:00

FRANCE

The fall of Lord John Russell is, as might have
been expected, the leading topic in the Paris papers.
The Debats considers Lord Palmerston as having
got up a war cry, and the House of Commons with
'naying, by their cheers, approved of him. The As-
emblee Nationale foresees in the proposed organiza-
tion of the militia the elements of future revolution in
England, as it looks upon it as identical with the
National Guard of France. The Assemblee says :
" The institution of the militia, whether called local
or not, would have had for England the consequences
which the institution of the National Guard had in
France, and that of the National Militia in Spain. The
English militia would have been sooner or later an in-
strument of revolution. The respect of the English for
the civil authority, which is one of the causes of the
duration of their f:^e institutions, would soon disappear
if all citizens were familiarised with arms. Besides,
that militia could not, in case of invasion, defend the
territory in the open field, for to risk a battle against
regular troops with citizen soldiers is equivalent to
losing it. This point is superabundantly established by
the testimony of history, and the unanimous opinion of
military men. The English ought, therefore, to be de-
lighted at seeing the Militia Bill abandoned, and if they
really conceive that the security of their country is
compromised they must devise some other expedients to
defend it. _

The Illustrated London News was stopped on,Sun-
day at the French Post-office.
The Siècle publishes the following list of opposition
candidates for the department of the Seine :-Ist
Electoral Division, Dupont de l'Eure ; 2d, General
Latnoriciere ; 3d, General Eugene Cavaignac ; 4th,
Carnot ; sth, Goudchaux ; 6th, Bixio; 7th, Eugene
Sue ; Bth4 Ferdinand de Lasteyrie.
The Corsaire has the following on the approaching
elections :
" Scarcely seven days separate as from the solemn
hour of the elections, as M. Berger, by a recent procla-
mation, reminds us. France is in full peace, as oue of
the last ' communicated notes' of the Moniteur clearly
proves. Things are in their normal state at Paris. Money
is circulating; people labour in the workshops, laugh in
the theatres, and promenade in grand toilette on the
Boulevards. The press has only soft phrases like the
sighs of the JEolian harp. At the Bourse, the Five per
Cents, have reached 103 f. 50c. Everything announces a
prosperous situation; we have the return of the golden
age. And yet—how strange!—notwithstanding these
indications of prosperity, Paris does not appear to
think more of the elections than of the discovery of the
squaring of the circle. We see neither placards of elec-
toral committees, nor candidates' circulars, nor voting
papers. In the oldest times of the monarchy, the elec-
tors called on competititora to explain themselves before
them. Who now thinks of these old usages? No one.
The most that people know is that there are two or three
journalists (MM. AmCiee do Cesena and Louis Wren,
for example), who think of the honour of sitting- in the
Palais Bourbon. Whence comes this inexplicable in-
difference? Philosophers and moralists—seek! A good
deal has been said about the indifference of the Neapo-
litan people; has it passed the Alps?"

ITALY.
The Risorgimento publishes the report of the trial
of M. Dessaix, editor of the journal the Cat, for
killing M. Monod in a duel, on the 7th May, 1849.
The Court of Chambery, by which the case was
tried, sentenced M. Dessaix to banishment during
three years, to damages and costs, and declared him
unworthy of holding any public situation in the
country.
According to the Opinione of Turin, of the 20th,
the French were constructing at Rome an extensive
cavalry barrack, in the gardens of the convent of St.
Calixti, in the Transtevere. The city was to contri-
bute 100,000 scudi towards its construction. They
had also made an ample provision of gabions. It
was evident that they awaited reinforcements of
cavalry and artillery, and foresaw the possibility of
military events. This statement is directly at vari-
ance with th•. intelligence received from Rome by the
Custituzionale of Florence, which states that a report
prevailed at Rome that litters had been sent by the
President of the French Republic to the Papal Govern-
ment, informing the latter that the French troops
would shortly be recalled.

POST-OFFICE NOTICE.
INLAND BOOK POST.

On and after the Ist of March ri-xt the following
additional facilities will be afforded to the transmission
of books, &c., within the United Kingdom.
A book-packet may thenceforth contain any number
of separate books, maps, or prints, and any quantity of
paper, vellum, or parchment (to the exclusion of letters
whether sealed or open); and the books, maps, paper,
&c., may be either printed, written, or plain, or any
mixture of the three.

Farther, all legitimate binding, mounting, or cover-
ing of the same or of a portion thereof, will be allowed,
whether such binding, &c., be loose or attached; as also
rollers, in the case of prints: markers (whether of paper
or otherwise), in the case of books—and, in short, what-
ever is necessary for the safe transmission of literary or
artistic matter or usually appertains thereto.
The following are the remaining regulations respecting
the Inland Book Post—all previous notices regarding it
being cancelled:—

RATES OF ROOK POSTAGE.
For each packet not exceeding 11b. in weight O. 6d.
Exceeding 11b. and not exceeding 21bs. ls. Ocl.
Exceeding 21bs. and not exceeding 3lbs. is. 6d.
and so on, 6d. being charged for every complete pound
and for any additional fraction of a pound.
The postage must be prepaid in full, by affixing the
proper stamps outside.
Every packet must be sent either without a cover or
in a cover open at the ends or sides.
It must not contain any letter, open or sealed, nor any
sealed enclosure whatever.

No packet must exceed two. feet in length.
The book post to which the foregoing rules relate is
confined to the United Kingdom, and does not affect the
privileges allowed to votes and proceedings in Parlia-
ment, or to newspapers.
The Postmaster who receives a book-packet, whether
directly •r from a Sub-Postmaster or Town Receiver,
must open and examine it, to see that the conditions on
which book-packets are allowed are all complied with.
If he find any letter, whether sealed or open,
or sealed enclosure of any kind, such letter
or enclosure must be taken out and dealt with
as an unpaid letter—the address on the packet
being written thereon if there be no other address. And
if in any other respect either of the above conditions be
violated, or if, for any reason, the postmaster does not
think that the packet comes within the privilege of the
hook post, ho must put it into the bag for London, if in
England—for Edinburgh, if in Scotland—and for Dub-
lin, if in Ireland—in order that the case may be dealt
with at a Metropolitan office.
To prevent obstacles to the regular transmission of
letters, any officer of the Post•office may, when neces-
sary, delay forwarding a book-packet for a period not
exceeding 24 hours beyond the time at which it would
otherwise be forwarded.

THE BURSTING OF TWO RESERVOIRS
NEAR EDEAFIELD.

In the excitement caused by the dreadful catastrophe
near Holmfirth, and the apprehension entertained for a
short time respecting the reservoirs of the Manchester
Waterworks, it is net, to be wondered at that the bursting
Of two small res.,: about a mile and ahalf west-south-
west of Edenfield, .;could have passed without much obser-
vation. These reziezvoire have been made by millowners,
each being about one acre and a half to two acres in
area, on a atieana called the Newgato Brook, in Anchor.,
Clough, near the south foot of the hill called Whittle
Pike. The embankments were from 20 feet to 25 feet
in height, and had just been completed, when the heavy
rains of the week before Teat filled the reservoirs,
and a part. of the erahankinent of the upper reser-
veir gave way, the water rushing down through a
huge gap to the lower reservoir with such force
as to sweep away part of its embankment also. The
valley th,,e has a very rapid fall, from the lower re-
servoir to the Bury and Hashngdon turnpike-road,
about half a toile south of the village of Edenfield,
being not less than from 700 to SOO feet of fall, in
distance of about a mile and a quarter.
The flood first swept away a flagstone rub-
bing-mill at New Gate, taking with it many
grave-
stones, with inscriptions engraves thereon ; it then
crossed the Rochdale and Edenfield-road, doing some
damage; and then burst over the Bury and Ilaslingden_
road at the point 'named,, where it did considerable
mischief. There was a high embankment there, the
culvert under which was choked nP by the flood,
and the, water rising to the level of the top over-
flowed . the road. It would have caused still greater
mischief; but some men were instantly set to work to
cut a temporary by wash above the road, from the valley
in which the flood raged to the next valley, which was
only a few hundred yards distant, so as to allow the
wver to escape by tee: e tural channel. We have
slid that the embanknee:e, .svere only just completed, and
if what we have heard be correct, we must add that they
were very inefficiently made, being not only constructed
of peat, lint being also upon the peat. Further, the
work,' are described t,-) us as being of the rudest
&ascription, with no prorr waste weir, and no pro-
per discharge pipes. No atteetion has been paid to the
foutithition, nor had the embankinept b• en in any re- i
,'Peet substantially or eitreitilly constructed. Under these
circumstances, no surprise-can he entertained that a peat
bank on a peat foundation should give way; and it la
w‘,ll that tne reservoirs were only of small capscity,
nat.-mist) tho damage must have been vary considerable,
Fortunately no lit; bras loAt—Mancitester Guardian.

ASPECULATIVE STEWARD.
The ikiarquis or Normandy, on the occipsion of his
late visit to Paris, was astonished at receiving a number
of tradesmen's We, for which the money h A been re-
gutac paid as the supplies cattle in, anti the astonish-
ment of his Lordship was the greater when on examina-
tion was found that many of these bills were for arti-
cleS which had been sent into the embassy a very long
time ago. The tradesmen who brought forward their
claims were soon convinced from an inspection of the
book', which had been kept under the superintendence
of too Marchioness of N,)rnaanby, that the money had
born drawn from her by the house-steward, an Italian,
'awned Salvator, who has been in the service of the Mar-
quis and Marchioness for 18 years, and be was imtne-
diait ly summoned to wait upon his master and explain
hie conduct. thaivator, who, when ordered to the pre-
sence of the Marquis, was quietly at breakfast on some
choice oysters, the digestion of which he was facilitating
with a bottle of the best Rhenish wine from the cellars of
the Noble Lord, was compelled to admit that he had re-
ceived the money to pay ti .;rat 11 accounts, but

THE SUN,

that hating been unsuccessful in some speculations at the
Bourse, he had used it for his own purposes, and had
quieted:the tradesmen by giving them hislown promissory
notes, many of which he had renewed from time to time
in such a way that, if they had not been excited by the
announcement of the retirement of the Marquis from
the embassy, the fraud might have continued for a long
time without detection. The amount of the money mis-
appropriated by Salvator is said to exceed 50,000 f. Tho
Noble Marquis felt disposed to pardon the offender on
account of his long service, bat some of the tradesmen
had already informed the police of what had taken place,
and Salvator was therefore arrested, and sent to the
prison of the Conciergerie.—Galignanis Messenger.