The Sun.
London, England, 1852-09-03 00:00:00

TIIE SUN,

the "harmless tears and happy laughter,"
the peace and goodwill flowing from the incom-
parable effusions of the same master-novelist. If
only for this testimony of cordial brotherhood in
authorship, we repeat, there must have been an
indescribable sense of gratification among all those
who were in attendance at these recent and singularly
attractive assemblages at Manchester. It must have
been pleasant to hear the declaration made yesterday
that "the mechanics of our days have got their
CARLYLES to read, their DICRENS on the shelf, and
their BULWERS by the side of them"—pleasant as
coming from the mouth of any one, but pleasantest
of all as falling from the lips of THACKERAY. But
the interest of neither occasion was by any means
restricted to these charming sympathies, or (as ISAAC
DISRAELI might have considered them)
additional
tokens, of the more graceful amenities of literature.
Loftier purposes were subserved by the congrega-
tion of so many men of genius in Manchester, than
the interchange of these agreeable proofs of mutual
appreciation. The banquet, upon which we have
ourselves previously commented, was in celebration of
the happy progress already made in the humane pro-
ject of the Guild of Art and Literature. The meet-
ing presided over yesterday by Sir JOHN POTTER was,
on the other hand, inaugurative of the Free Public
Library recently opened in the city of Manchester.
Although different in purpose, the feeling in which
each demonstration originated must be regarded as
having been to a very considerable extent kindred, if
not identical. That feeling was, upon both occa-
sions—mainly—the foundation of a bond of sympathy
between the intellectual labourers in all departments
throughout the various classes of the population. As
Sir BULWER LYTTON very finely observed in the
course of his picturesque and philosophical oration
delivered at the banquet in the Athenaeum at Man-
chester—" Iflabour is the origin of all capital,
bodily labour is only the raw material and mind is the
great manufacturer." Author and artisan are alike,
then, according to that refined idea, as the orator
himself termed them, "the children of skilled labour."
Farther on, in the same thoughtful and masterly
speech, Sir BULWER LYTTON endeavoured to impress
upon the minds and hearts of his audience the neces-
sity of establishing this projected fellowship among
the various disciples of Intellectual Industry. His
argument embodied itself, in fact, in the words of his
persuasive and eloquent peroration. " Gentlemen,"
said he, " you all remember that story of ALADDIN,
which we have read in our childhood, in which a
poor youth descended into a cavern and brought
back from its recesses an old lamp. Accidentally he
discovered that by the mere friction of the lamp a
mighty genius appeared at his command. Awed by
the terrors of the spirit he had summoned, he at first
only ventured to apply its powers to satisfy his com-
mon and his humblest wants—to satisfy mere hunger
and thirst. But gradually accustomed to the pre-
sence of the gigantic agent he employed it to con
struct palaces, to amass treasures, to baffle armies
and triumph over foes, until, at the close of the
story, the owner of the wonderful lamp is the
sovereign of a peaceful empire, assured to
his remote posterity. Gentlemen," exclaimed
the speaker, lighting up every nook and
crevice in the old Persian romance with a flash
of thought eminently Bulwerian,—" Gentlemen, that
story is the type of Labour at the command of
Knowledge." Whereupon Sir BULWER LYTTON
—who is proving himself no less an orator
than he has already proved himself a dramatist,
a novelist, a poet, an essayist, and an his-
torian—continued to illustrate the force of his
reasoning in words such as we cannot but regard as
very grand in their impassioned and rhetorical sug-
gestiveness. " When we first find the lamp," said
he, " we are content to apply its genius solely to our
common physical wants ; but as we are accustomed
to the pressure of that spirit we have summoned
into existence we find that we have obtained a secret
which places the powers of earth, of air, and of ocean
at the command of man. That genius left to
itself would be a terrible and a threatening
minister, because that genius here is only
rude Physical Force, but to him who possesses
the lamp, the genius is a docile and benignant minis-
ter, because in her—Physical Force is the slave of
Intellectual Will." A noble conception, worthy of
Sir BuLwEa. LYTTON, and worthy of the age, the
mystery, and the import, and the responsibilities
of which he has therein aptly and superbly
indicated. His own consciousness of this
was evidenced by the very words in which he directed
the metaphor to its precise application, remarking,
" Now, gentlemen, in that same physical force—
which in the phrase of the day is sometimes called
(considering
adding very vearwyfu solemnly,
and the power of the masses'—lies a grave problem for
all thoughtful men to
solve : "
and sententiously, and
signifi-
cance of the declaration; we think also sublimely,
" Knowledge has brought us face to face with it; and
knowledge must either instruct that Force or it will de -
stroy the Invoker." As affording another and remark-
able means of imparting this instruction to the Masses
the Free Library yesterday inaugurated at Manches-
ter commands the cordial co-operation of every sym-
pathiser with the necessities of the age, and with
every well-wisher of the lowliest as well as
the most exalted among his fellow-countrymen.
No marvel, then, that the opening of this
admirable institution, not less than the en-
couragement of the Guild of Art and Litera-
ture, secured to itself the support of so many of the
most illustrious writers of the age of VICTORIA—
so many of those great men who have been admirably
designated by one of the foremost amongst them
all—we mean, of course, Sir BULWER LYTTON—
" the artisans of thought and the craftsmen of
civilization !"

Where is FRAIL ? Not in Shrewsbury, we are
told. Not in London, we believe. The last seen of
him was in the vicinity of the London and South-
Eastern Railway Station at London-bridge, the ter-
mini of which are Dover and Folkestone, both
within easy reach of Calais and Boulogne. A shadow
appeared then to have fallen upon the " Clerk of the
Course," honoured by Carlton Club epistles from
" W. B." A very homely phrase (and really we
cannot help applying it to such a very homely subject)
will best express how the Shrewsbury barber appeared
on the Monday after his arrival in London on the
Saturday by express train—he looked as if " down
on his luck," and his jaunty air had disappeared ; his
remarkable head of hair, which erst used to bush out
like a withered gorse, had lost its puff and its frizzle ;
his unmistakable neckerchief, the highest and stiffest
ndeed,
("
of the genus, was limp and wrinkled—it was FRAIL,
i but—
quantum‘o) electionsti ta
tti'
ab
of ill)
who did the‘ Salop ian
1841, who (Sir
.TAMI (leanest says) was lo.tely expected at Car-
iisle, who sent the “good and safe man" to Derby.
,t Our private Correspondent" of the Inverness
Courier, alluding to a batch of n 8.,5„
epistles,
said to have been discovered, and now in
safe
I. FRAIL," they say, " has proved in all
hands," adde,
respects true to his name, and will sacrifice anything
or anybody to save his own bacon." We doubt
this ; with all his faults, FRAILd
account his
will be found true
in being to
his employers—provided he fin
so. He is not the man to throw them over,
unless be finds that they have done so, or mean
to do so by him. FRAIL knows very well, that
'
with a little management, this " W. B.
•
correspon-
dence will be meat, drink, and clothing to him and
his for the remainder of their natural lives. He has
been " electioneering" for the last ten or fifteen years,
and has been trusted with cash and secrets during
that time to a great extent, in the counties of Salop,
Montgomery, and Merioneth—wherever, in short,
the CLIVE interest had to be served. Was there ever
an election in Ludlow without FRAIL interference ?
How used the pugilists of Bridgnurth congregate,
under the command of " Big Bitowzi," walking
through the borough just to show themselves, and
putting up at Ludfor(l, on the other side of the river,
as a corps cle reserve:' Who arranged all this ?
Who had his PEELE at head-quarters, calm and shy,
pulling the strings and affecting extreme official
impartiality ? Who was " the bead and front" of
the contest, at Shrewsbury, in 1841, when Mr.
GEORGE TONILINE supplied the needful, and Mr.
DISRAELI the eloquence ? Who was in it, at the
contests in 1847 and 1852 ? Who, from all these
agencies, knows all the electioneering secrets of the
Tories in Shropshire and the two adjacent counties
in Wales ? of what value, as a source of income, is

that knowledge to our sharp, shrewd, and saucy
tonsor ?—FRAIL is on the Tory party, for ever, as a
life-annuitant. _ _ _

At this moment, in all probability, JOHN FR AIL is
on the other side of the British Channel, and likely
to remain there as long as his absence will serve
4, W. B." and other friends. No doubt, they will
take care (he will make that sure) that
be and his family don't sustain pecuniary
loss by any temporary expatriation which he
may have to submit to, for the sake of his party. We
suspect that, under all the circumstances, FRAIL, who
has been " a close shaver" all bis life, may possibly
find that his keenest stroke has been the detection of
his Carlton Club correspondence. To this hour the
gentleman whose initials are " W. B." has not denied
that he wrote the letter found in MORGAN'S pocket
when apprehended at Derby.
Where is Monnan ? When " wanted" before an
Election Committee, will he be forthcoming ? We
fear not. We suspect that he also is out of the way.
When he was taken up, and terribly frightened,
this MORGAN volunteered a promise of telling the
truth. What is the worth of that promise now ? Not
much, we fear. The brace of beer-vendors at
Shrewsbury who became bondsmen for his appear-
ance will have to pay the amount of their bail, we
fancy. What matter, the Carlton Club has a liberal
hand and a large purse, and they can employ both
rather than see their emissaries come to loss.

It may be said that the Press makes such per-
sons as FRAIL and MORGAN of too much im-
portance by thus noticing them. Be it remem-
bered that we are not dealing with the barber
and the bricklayer, as such, but with the correspon-
dent and confidential agent of "W. B." and the
" good and safe man" sent from Shrewsbury to
Derby, on application from "W. B." to assist at the
Derby election under a feigned name. It is highly
important that, when required, this brace of under-
lings should be forthcoming. So, at the St. Alban's
election inquiry, an accomplice was out of the
country when his presence was wanted. Parliament
will fully inquire into the proceedings of the Derby
election, no doubt—but what degree of truth can be
arrived at, if FRAIL and MORGAN (" arcades ambo")
be absent? Provision should be made, by a new
Standing Order, or even by an Act of Parliament,
that in such cases, whenever the missing men turn
up they shall be detained, for the purpose of giving
the required evidence, which their repeated complicity
in the alleged transactions can enable them to suPPIY•
It is monstrous that, by flight out of the country for
a short time, any person can foil an inquiry
into malpractices at elections, on the exP°'
sure and punishment of which the character of
the House of Commons may depend. The law will
be a dead letter if the FRAMS and the MORGANS,
et id genus omne, can evade it by absence. It Will
be " a cheat, a mockery, and a delusion" if this be
allowed. Therefore, we again ask—where is FRAIL ?
—where is MORGAN ? To these questions
might be
added a third—where is Major BERESFORD ? On
the capture of MORGAN at Derby, the discovery of
the " W. B." correspondence, the rapid retreat of
FRAIL, the barber, from Shrewsbury, and his subse-
quent disappearance from London, Major BERESFORD
declared, in an after-dinner speech, to some of his
constituents, that he was as innocent as the
babe unborn, and that he bad been attacked
in newspapers (he particularly named the Morning
Chronicle) by a man who used to sit on the same sots
with him in his club. Mr. SMYTHE, the gentleman
alluded to, strongly and instantly published an in-
dignant denial of this charge, and Major BERESFORD
has found it prudent, no doubt, to take no notice of
the denial. But, from first to last, Major BERESFORD
has not contradicted the great accusation, that
he, her MAJESTY'S Secretary-at-War, did correspond
by latter from the Carlton Club, under the club seal
and his own initials, " W. 8,," with a fellow named
FRAIL, the keeper of a little barber's shop in Shrews-
bury; that a bricklayer, named MORGAN, when dis-
covered bribing electors at Derby, confessed to hav-
ing been sent thither by FRAIL, and that the " W. B."
letter, asking FRAIL to send " a good and safe man"
to Derby, and pointing out the precautions to be
taken against his discovery, was found in MORGAN'S
pocket, given to him, be said, by FRAIL. These
compound charges remain against the Secretary-at-
War to this hour undenied—we fear undeniable.

In a country journal, the other day, we found a
letter from Major BERESPORD, to some illustrious un-
named, who had sent him some articles on this FRAIL
matter. It is as follows :

" Sir,—l am obliged to you for your enclosure of two
articles respecting the unfair charge against me at
Derby, of attempting to bribe the electors. The enemy
have done their best to present a case of corruption,
which is moat unfounded, against me. I trust that I
shall be able to prove that any participation in the bri
bury was not mine, but theirs. They are, however,
determined to run a muck at me,' despite of truth and
fairness; and they will not stick at any means to carry
out their end. I am, however, glad to say that their
object or motive is apparent enough, and that it enlists
i
friends like you nmy defence.
" Aug. 16,"

" Believe me, yours truly,
" Wm. BERESF.)RD.

Now, the charge against the Major is not yet that
of " attempting to bribe the electors at Derby."
It is that he corresponds with the Shrewsbury
barber, who sent MORGAN to Derby, where bribery
was by him committed, the Major's letter directly
urging FRAIL to send " a safe and good man" to that
borough during that election. The inference to be
drawn must be that the Major had a knowledge of
what MoRGAN did, as FRAIL'S emissary, but the two
facts against Major BERESFORD are—his confidential
correspondence with FRAIL, the barber, and his
having directed FRAIL to send a man to Derby elec-
tion. What business had the Secretary-at-War to
meddle in that election ? Will he stand up, in
Parliament, and deny his own handwriting ? Did
he write to FRAIL ?—if he did, why

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris journals of yesterday.
By decree of the PRINCE PRESIDENT of the Re-
public, the Municipal and Departmental Commission,
exercising the functions of the Council General of the
department of the Seine, is convoked for its ordinary
session for the 3d November next, to close on the
17th. The councils of arrondissement for the same
department are to assemble on the 231 November
for the second part of their session, which is to lust
five days.

Thew Patrie, Government journal, contains the fol-
lowing communication :
" Some foreign journals, continuing their system of
falsehood and calumny as regards the acts of the French
Government, have recently endeavoured to obtain credit
for a rumour that measures of political vengeance had
been concealed under the application of Article 2 of the
decree of the Bth December, 1851, which extends to per-
sons affiliated to secret societies the measure of transpor-
tation in the interest
of public, ...aunty, pronounced by
Article 1 against liberated convicts in rupture of tau.
The value of these declarations may be judged of by the
eilicial information which we still oppose to them. The
convicts improperly designated as cljportes politiques who
have been sent to Guyana, according to the decisions of
the mixed commissions of the departments, are 162 in
number. Those 162 persons, including chiefs of secret
societies, chiets of bands, affiliated membsrs and
insurgents, all designated as very dangerous, are thus
3, outrage against
in housesnostf
classed:—Liberated convicts, 12; individuals condemned
for poaching, 2; and insurgents of 1848 who had fu-en
pardoned and repeated that offence, 3; for attempt to
rapture
murder, 5; offences against public morals, 4; torg ry, 1;
bankruptcy, 1; coiners, 1; desertion and other offences,
„I;inthreuftp,
ttl. religion,fm e 21:
bullies -
of ban, 40; thieves, swindling,
S
offences,
2,; persons already condemned for political
vtarious, 30. Amongst these 162 persons
13 have been
Erigone, and srabnsported on board the Forte, 144 by the
their criminality yatahe puguesclin. Thus, in addition to
and as actors i
en lets and organisers of sestet so-
cieties,spread mourning throu the frightful disturbances which
csmber, 1851, the mu
jugh.oat several departments in De-
r n of these •‘s
16. persons trans-
ported to Guyana had beenY already
characters by the ordinary p-, l
ice- classitficdas deAperate
undergone repeated condemnations. Thirty m 44
of them had
Thirty only out
of the number are exempt from previous 3
brit there is not one of them but hastak"ndemmtli"'
atrocities of December or played a
131,1-nn
.part in the
the insurrection of that period. The cipal part in
Government will
proof of moderation by
give a . abstaining fromentering
liao more ample details, which are unnecessary after
what we have just said, and would only uselessly revive
sad souvenirs. France does not require to be reminded
from what frightful perils society was raved in December
by the power which every day receives the homage of
public gratitude. ,
The Presse publishes a second warning given to it
Police. It is as follows :
"by the Minister of
The Minister or General Yollce, in virtiie cf Article
31 of the organic decree on the press, dated the 17th of
February, 1852; and considering the article published
by the journal the Presse, on Tuesday, the 34, of
August, commencicg with these words,
' Your iaites I
comparaitre ce matin, and ending with the words,. Vous
les calomniez et vous mentez,' the said article being signed
Emile de Girardin; and considering that this article 1