The Sun.
London, England, 1852-06-01 00:00:00

JUNE 1,

the very time when, in a remote quarter of the globe,
he was doing good service to his country and his
SOVEREIGN. Besides which, it is just possible—we
hint this for the satisfaction of the peace of mind of
the late Colonial Secretary—it is just possible that
the matter may be brought under the no-
tice of the House of Commons before the
approaching dissolution of Parliament. We can pro-
mise the Noble Lord, moreover, that whatever may
be the issue of these proceedings, it is by no
means probable that he will secure for himself any
very considerable amount of commiseration. There
is one passage in those incomparable verses of an in-
comparable poet, the " Universal Prayer" of PoPE,
which—without profanity we would say it—natu-
rally rises at this moment to recollection, suggested
by the course pursued towards Sir HARRY SMITH
by the Colonial Secretary under the late Adminis-
tration—

" Teach me to sooth another's woe,
To bide the fault I see;
That mercy I to others strew,
That mercy skew to me 1"
From the gallant veteran to whom the dispatch of
the 14th of January was addressed, it is not by any
means probable that the blow of retaliation will
descend—or might we not rather call it ?—the blow
of expiation. The character of Sir HARRY SMITH
precludes us from the idea that he will avenge him-
self, instead of allowing himself to be avenged by
others. Besides, he is altogether so obviously in the
right that he can afford to regard the course of
events in the matter with a serenity having
the appearance almost of indifference. As af-
fording an incontestable proof that this serenity
is unaffected, it is only necessary to turn to
the remarks uttered yesterday by Sir HARRY SMITH
when addressing the inhabitants of Ilortsmoutb. His
observations were as devoid of any evidence that his
feelings had been for a single instant wounded, as the
language had been which was used by him in responding
to the notorious dispatch of the ex-Colonial Secretary.
Referring to his peculiar and perilous position at
first in Southern Africa, he very aptly and strikingly
remarked, that he was " a Governor without a
legislature, and a Commander-in-Chief without
an army." Neverthekas, such bad been his
conduct during the period of his administration of
the affairs of the Cape, that he was enabled
to assert that his policy had hitherto been attended
with successes, and that at the period of his leaving
the colony it gave promise of proving very speedily
triumphant. Sir HARRY acknowledged that his object
had been, from the outset, in the desire of saving the
"money and blood" of his country, to vanquish his an-
tagonists without applying for assistance either to the
mother country or to the adjacent colonies. "I was
endeavouring," he said, " to hold my ground as others
had recommended, feeling that if the Minister of the
day wished to retain Kafraria he would furnish me
with the men to do so, whilst, if he did not want to
keep Kafraria, a good retreat might be made, with
less disgrace with a small army than with a large
one." At that moment, he remarked, reinforcements
arrived at the Cape, and both as Com-
mander-in-Chief and Governor he was com-
pelled thereupon to extend the scene of his
operations, and the difficulties of his situation
were of course at once very considerably multiplied.
Speaking of those difficulties, he said, "I had not
only 30,000 or 40,000 warlike savages to contend
with, but I had a large body of Hottentots, who were
supposed to be our friends—if savages ever can be
friends—but who now turned against us. I then
stood alone in a storm in which, I maintain, no other
man ever did before in our own time. But the
Minister sending out forces, time should
have been given me ; but," continued Sir
HARRY referring to his subsequent ill-treatment
in a lone of the noblest magnanimity, "he, like
myself, of an ardent temperament, believing I was
acting slowly, though I was not asleep—(Cheers)—
was dissatisfied. Still I was doing as much as could
be done, and I speak now the opinions of a general
who Has been is every description of warfare."
Than these surely no words could be more temperate,
and to appreciate their generosity it should be
remembered that they were spoken after the
bitterest provocation. The concluding portion of the
speech delivered by Sir HARRY SanTa upon this in-
teresting occasion is altogether too remarkable, as
throwing light upon his policy, and upon the conse-
quent position of affairs at the Cape at this moment,
not to command for itself the most serious considera-
tion. " The measures I had commenced," he said, " I
left to the gallant officer,my successor, who relievedme
with the greatest courtesy and kindness, and I left
him in command of an intrepid army in as
good a position as could be desired, for the
enemy had been driven over the Kei ; and I
still think that my measures will ultimately be
those which will bring peace, tranquillity, and
prosperity to the colony." Such were the
befitting terms in which the ex-Governor of the
Cape acknowledged the congratulations of his fellow-
countrymen at Portsmouth, on again Betting foot
upon the shores of England. Simple though his
language was, we regard it as yielding conclusive
evidence, if only from the very fact of its amenity,
of his complete and honourable vindication.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris papers of yesterday.
Sunday, being Whit-Sunday, was kept as a close
holiday at the office of all the newspapers except that
of the Pays. In that journal there are two leading
articles, one on the notice in the illoniteur (given in
yesterday's Sun) on the rumours that have been cur-
rent respecting the foreign relations of France, the
other on the reports of accounts of 1848. On the
first subject the Pays says
Thu declaration published in the official journal, in
reply to the reports accredited by the foreign journals
on the attitude of Europe towards France, has na9t with
unanimous approbation. There are three things which
result from ibis important declaration :--1, That Europe
has not threatened
.nor does it think cf threatening
Ft.,,co in the independence of her political severe; -nty •
2. That Frinco Louis Napoleon has not changed in his
intentions and in his senriments, so nobly expressed in
his epee ch of the 29th of March, when he declared that
the Empire could never come except as the result of a
necessity for the safety of the country in the crisis
of parties; and 3. That France, deciding on respect-
ing the rights of other nations, is not less so in nuking
her own respected in the acts which shall manifest
her will to preserve or to modify her institutions.
What the Government has just said en the Moniteur, we
have said every day for the last two months in the pays.
But the Government, in giving it the authority of its
word, will have produced a result which we alone could
not obtain; it will have restored calm and confidence in
the public mind. There is nothing now unknown in our
future situation. What is shown and what is known to
all is the force of right both at home and abroad. At
home nothing will be done by surprise or from adven-
ture; the nation will decide on its fate; it will accept
that which may appear to it just and necessary. Abroad
France will threaten no one, and will make herself
respected by every one. This policy is really wise and
noble. It secures the order and stability of France and
guarantees the peace of Europe. The Government of
Louis Napoleon has employed the best means of discon-
certing its enemies both at home and abroad; it has co-
vered itself with the only buckler which is invulnerable
—the force of its right. When a government has right
on its side it is just enough not to threaten, and strong
enough not to draw back."
The same journal says—" We have already stated
that the Bill on instruction had not been withdrawn,
as some journals have erroneously stated, but only
postponed. A religious journal now states that seve-
ral members of the episcopacy have presented obser-
vations to the Government on the subject of this
Bill. We know not whether this be correct or not,
but we know that objections have been raised against
it by some of the most devoted partisans of the MA-
versity. Thus this Bill, which some bishops opposed
as being too universitaty, was objected to at the same
time by some universitarian as being too Catholic.
Does not this show that the new law has given an
I share to the civil and religious powers, d has
found an us
found the means of reconciling their respective rights
without exaggerating or weakening either ?"
The advocates of the Council of State M P
FADES and M. MATHIEU BODET, charged •to defend
the appeal of the Princes of the
• family
against Orleans
the decrees relative to th
*r et property,
have published a memoir, from
Pears that they intend to which
it
al)"
rely on four points—
viz., 1, that the Princes
virtue of the deed of
the
7th August,
the property in
August, 1830, and that
that property notcould
return to the state before the
2,
9th August; that they are heirs of the KING, their
father, for that partan
of NI
o euilly which was purchased
subsequent to 1830,f Madame ADELAIDE for
part of the domain ofAclonceaux ; 3 that they have
enjoyed the property for more thanyearson twenty _
what theyconsidered •
a good title and with good
faith ; 4, that the property has been made the subject
of marriage settlements, which have created irrevo-
cable rights fur the married pries and their chil-
dren ; and, finally, that the ordinary judicial tribu-
nals have jurisdiction in the case.
It is stated in a Faris letter, in the .Emancipation

1852.

of Brussels, that M. DIIPIN, senior, has taken the
oath as member of the Council General of his de-
partment.

- M. VICTOR. HUGO has, says the Brussels journals,
just terminated a work on the coup ci etat which is to
bear the title of "L-i DA ix De..ealbre." It is not
stated when it is to be published.
This was settling day at the l3uurse, and there was
not much badness transacted, except in closing accounts.
The Four-and-a-Half per Cents. opvned at 991. 90c. and
clAted at the same price for the end of the month; the
Three per Cents. closed at 71f. 35c.; Orleans Railway
Shares, 1,190 f ; Rouen, 785 f ; Havre, 2871. 50c.; Great
Northern, 590 f.; Avignon, 3521. 50c.; VIP; yin, 595 f.;
Basle, 243 f, 75c.; Bordeaux, 621 f 25c ; Paris and Stras-
burg, 561 t. 25e.; Tours and Nantes, 3721. 50c.; Paris and
twus, 613 f. 75 ..
BUSINESS DUNE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE. MAY 31.
Charleroi and Erquelines, 14;2—Dutch Rhenish, 43/t --
East Indian, 22 '/ —Grand Junction of France, 4—Luxem-
bourg, 49/B—Namur and Liege, 6%—Northern of France, 21%
—Orleans and Bordeaux. 153% ex d.—Paris and Lyons, 10%
—Paris and Rouen, 30—Paris and Strasbourg, 22 ,i—Sambro
and Meuse, 43%—West Flanders, 3%.