The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-16 00:00:00

Ta i& S S',

lin the Bay of Fundy, but only to debar
them from doing so within three miles from the shore.
The Americans think that the concession of 1844 has
been withdrawn in 1852, and,w erethisso,othf noeyhtiacvee.
'erne cause for complaining of shortness
They do complain of r large squadron being collected
to enforce the stipulations of the treaty of 1818, but
it appears that most of this squadron consists of vessels
belonging to the regular West Indian and North
American fleets, which have gone to the shores of
Nova Scotia, because Halifax is their usual summer
head-quarters. There were a few smaller vessels sent
for the purpose of protecting our fisheries, but their
advent, and its cause, was duly notified to the Ame-
rican Government nearly three monthe ago.
It may be asked—why all this pother about the
right of fishing within a certain limit ? The Bay of
Fundy abuts upon the American state of Maine, and
occupies, as clearly belonging to, the south of
the British line of coast. In the Conven-
tion of 18] 8 this bay was not particularised
rby name, it being then admitted to be our
exclusive property. It was only by the concession of
1844 that the Americans got our leave to fish therein,
observing the three-mile limit. For years before that
concession American fishing vessels, from time to
time, were seized for fishing in the bay and con-
demned adcordingly. Since 1844, by
iour permission,
but not as their own right, the Americans hare fished
within the bay. By degrees, encroaching more and
more every year, they have come nearer and nearer
to the shore, and got into the best of the British
fishing ground, until, at last, our colonial fishermen
have become more and more urgent on our Govern-
ment to give them protection and relief.
Be it known that, in our North-American fisheries
the United States and our Colonies meet on very un-
equal terms. Our fishermen cannot sell their produce
in the United States without paying a duty of 20
per cent., while the American fishermen are benefited,
by a bounty derived from that 20 per cent. paid by
by us. This is a vicious system, which,
as Free-traders, we cannot too much con-
demn. Indeed, the wisest statesmen in America
are aware of this, and the United States' Committee
of Customs have set about reforming it. The present
misunderstanding may somewhat retard the desired
adjustment, but it has been proposed, and will pro-
bably ultimately be acceded to, that there shall
be an interchange, duty free, of all articles, the pro
dace of the sea, the field or -the forest, between the
British American colonies and the United States,
provided the British Government concedes to the
latter the free navigation of the St. Lawrence and the
St. John, and gives all parties a common right of
taking and curing fish along the coasts of the Nora.;
American continent.
No difficulty need be anticipated in the settlement
of the present dispute. The Americans are clearly
in the wrong. The Convention of 1818 has clearly
defined the boundaries within which, on our line of
coast, American vessels were prohibited from entry.
" except for supplies of wood and water, and for no
other purposes whatever." The Americans gradua'ly
intruded; until in 1841 Lord PALMERSTON took the
opinion of the Crown lawyers on the treaty, and was
informed that its legal construction was an actual
prohibition save within the named limits. Lord
ABERDEEN, in 1844, included the Bay of Fundy as
a place within which the Americans might fish—that
is, by a Note to the American Ambassador, and with-
out the consent or even the knowledge of Parliament,
he actually abandoned important treaty rights t Thi-
concession appears to have been nearly unknown in
this country until now, when it is brought forward by
the American Secretary of State! But, whatever
the concession, it does not allow the Americans to
fish in the Bay of Fundy within three miles of the
shore, and the seized schooner was captured within a
musket-shot thereof.
The matter is capable of being easily and speedily
adjusted. There is the chance—it is but a chance,
we hope—that the British and the Americans may
have some casual encounter, out of which a real
quarrel may spring. One cannon-ball discharged
with a hostile intent may plunge two great nations
in the horrors of war. A very small amount of
diplomatic tact, some forbearance of temper, and a
moderate exercise of common sense, are the elements,
wielded by any two rational men, from both countries,
which can settle this dispute better than gunpowder
and bayonets.

It is earnestly to ba hoped that the misunderstand-
ing about the North British American Fisheries may
now be regarded as on the eve of an amicable settle-
ment. A plenipotentiary of no less importance than
Mr. Thomes BARlNG—Member of Parliament for

Eluntingdon, and partner in the eminent house of
BARING BrOther3—appears to have been promptly
instructed by the Cabinet to proceed forthwith to al,
United States. His departure for New York
took place on Saturday in a steam-vessel
from Liverpool. Had Sir HENRY BULWER
still continued at Washington as her Britan-
nic MAJESTY'S Ambassador, Ministers would have
found no necessity for resorting to any such
unusual means of negotiation. The ill-will excited
between the English and American Governments by
recent events in the Bay of Fundy would, under
those circumstances, have been very speedily brought
to a happy conclusion. As it is, Sir HENRY Wa,
Lately enabled by his removal to Florence
to close with very admirable rapidity the
protracted and distressing correspondence in re-
4ard to the MATHER question between our own
IA the Tuscan Government. Let us hope that,
with scarcely less facility, the same good effect may
be produced by Mr. THOMAS BARING in the course
of his new and somewhat difficult enterprise. Now
the subject is going to be brought into serious dis-
cussion among the statesmen of the United
Kingdom and the United States, we must
cherish a hope, moreover, that the whole of
the complicated and absurd system hitherto
existing in reference to the British North American
Fisheries will be at length definitively re-organized.
Against the powerful competition of United States'
fishermen a new scheme of bounties might be judi-
ciously adopted by the DERBY Administration. Be-
yond this much benefit might be secured by the
'ecognition of the merits of—Reciprocity.
Vir

hat will be the effect of the gold discoveries in
California and Australia ? There is no interroga-
tory On which the putlic mind is more intent than the
Gtsh.-_,ve, which has been frequently discussed in our
columns. It is., indeed,
a momentous question, on
the true conatructice whereof the welfare and pros-
perity, not only of 'the British nation, but of the civi-
lised world, must greatly depend. It is certain that
the precious metrds have recently been obtained in
almest incredible quantities, and with facilities previ-
ously unheard of. Nor is there
1 falling snort. From the Host prospectaceurate o
infor-
m the
supply reached
.tion that ha's . this country, it-may safely be
auriferous
which •
it is impossible to assign boundaries,
asserted that there is an immense extent of •
soil to
snore than probable that the produCtion of
bullion will and it is
l increase in a rapidly augmenting ratio,
when the skilled i
labour and improved machinery
sent out by the e
different gold mining companies shall be
brought into operation. The annual yield of gold has
be the value of the produce
venture to say what
already been more thanm quadrupled, and no one can
ay
a few years hence—save
it is at present. Now, as the entire amount
of bullion already in circulation less thanl x'on in the world is
c
that it certainly will not be
generally estimated at about 400,000,0001.
for the present
3 terling, and that the increase
year is calculated at about 40,000,0001., or
30,0,00,000/. more than the average amount obtained
in the beginning of the century, and which
aso out supplied the consumption occasioned by
iv 3 . use for other purposes than currency, and
tne wear and tear of the coirrige, it may eerily be
conceived how vast must be the augmentation, and
now soon a sensible difference must be perceptible
\ in the purchasing power of the sovereign.
Before we can fairly judge of the permanency of
'these supplies, it is impertant that we should be made
fully
acquainted with the sources from whence they
are obtained, and the nature and character of the au-
riferout districts. In thin, however, we arp greatly
improved edition of a
assisted by a new and very
work,* to which, on its first appearance, we had the
pleasure of directing the public attention. Alr. WYLD
has indeed rendered important" service, not merely to
those who contemplate the assumption of " the pick-
axe" and " cradle," or who may have friends
or relatives thus occupied, but to the commu-

LONDON,

nity in general. He tells us (and the ;
accuracy of the information is unquestionable)
of the general distribution of gold throughout the
world, the localities in which it may be found, and
the causes of the large deposits, so that reasonable

data are 'given as to whether the cost of working in
-any particular spot will he fairly remunerated.
The pamphlet contains a very interesting intro•
duction on the gold question, which will give a fair
idea of the subject to those who have hitherto been
deterred from entering on the consideration by its
difficulties. It cannot, of course, be supposed that he
has entered at any length into the subject of " cur-
rency ;" a larger volume would be necessary. On
that disputed topic Mr. WYLD briefly narrates the
necessity for a representative and measure of value,
and the reasons which led to the substitution of the
precious metals for the flicks previously used for that
purpose. The scarcity and irregularity of the
supplies, in the earlier periods, are ex-
plained, until the Phoenicians " set them-
selves orderly to work to carry out
the mining of the precious metals on a great scale,"
and thus gave a powerful stimulus to advancing civi-
lization. The discovery of the western world consti-
tuted a new era in monetary history, materially in-
fluencing the destinies of mankind, and opening new
fields for enterprise. On these points, Mr. WYLD
touches lightly but efficiently-, arriving at the hopeful
conclusion that the chief immediate results will be a
greatly increased commercial activity, and a vastly
increased demand for English manufactures by the
opening of new markets. His arguments are ex-
ceedingly ingenious, but although these results will
unquestionably follow, there will, we are firmly con-
vinced, also be a marked alteration in the value of
money—the purchasing power of the pound Sterling
will be gradually but steadily reduced, just as it has
been augmented since the termination of the war by
the unfair and impolitic contraction of the circu-
lating medium, under the operation of our monetary
code.
and
The geology of gold is also briefly explained,
,he causes of the rich sands and earth, from whence
it has been hitherto obtained in the largest quantities.
Mr. WYLD thinks that it is to " the heaps
of old
detritus resulting from the breaking down of moun-
tain sides by former great convulsions, as well as to
the banks of the rivers, which flow through such
accumulations, that we have to look for the most pro-
fitable supplies of gold." He says—" A drift result-
ing from the former abrasion of the surface of gold-
bearing rocks is a natural mining operation, which
was carried out upon a large scale thousands of years
Igo; and so far as the superficial supplies of gold
are concerned, it is likely to be
Inctive than any immediate working more pro-
"
a. gold drift is, indeed, the result of a gigantic gold-
washing, and credulity might well dream it to be
the labour of elfin workmen. The distinction be-
tween " the dry diggings" and " wet diggings," or,
in the rocks.
in other words, between the more ancient and the
comparatively modern deposits,
is pointed out, "the
dry diggings being in the old drift on the higher
banks, while the wet diggings are in the beds of the
rivers." The mode of working is also pointed out,
clearly indicating the.value of mutual co-operation
and combined exertions, and the comparative unpro-
luctiveness of isolated exertions, however strenuous
,r indefatigable.
The chief subject, however, is the topography of
the gold regions ; and this is patiently and carefully
developed by the practised hand of the accomplished
geographer. Not only is this clearly explained
in the text, but it is illustrated by five ex-
cellent maps, showing the gold districts of the
world, and more in detail those of Aus-
tralia—particularly those from Bathurst to
Sydney and those of Victoria—also the gold dis-
tricts of California. Mr. WYLD has indeed supplied
a want seriously felt, and we are convinced that his
labours will be duly appreciated and handsomely re-
warded by all those interested in the topic—including
the statesman, the merchant, the skilled mechanic,
the under-fed husbandman, and (even) the starving
beggar."
" Notes on the Distribution of Gold throughout
the World, including Australia, California, and Russia
with five Maps-1, the World, showing the Gold Dis-
tricts; 2, the Gold Districts of Australia; 3, the Gold
Districts from Bathurst to Sidney; 4, the Gold District
of Victoria; 5, the Gold Districts of California." Second
Edition. London: James Wyld, Geographer to the
Queen and Prince Albert, Model of the Earth, Leicester-
quare, Charing-cross, East, and 2, Royal Exchange.

:HE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We hive received the Paris journals of Saturday
and yesterday.
By submarine electric telegraph we learn the fol-
lowing few particulars of the fete of yesterday.
PARIS, AUG. 15, 10 A.m.
The PRINCE has just arrived at the Madeleine,
amidst .the acclamations of an enormous mass of
people.
The spectacle was splendid ; the regiment of Guides,
a regiment of Lancers, the Municipal Guard, mounted
4nd dismounted regiments of the line, and the Na-
tional Guard on horseback and on foot, formed the
cort4e. Not the least remarkable were about a
nuudred old soldiers of the empire, in the various
uniforms of that day. The Panscelooked very well.
The weather is gloomy, with small rain at times,
and a tendency to wind, but it does not yet look like
a settled wet day.

HALF-PAST Two, P.M.
The PRINCE PRESIDENT has reviewed the National
Guard, and distributed to them the eagles.
He W 45 received with warmth, and has just re-
Lurned to the Elyse?.
The weather is finer.

SEVEN O'CLOCK.

The review passed off admirably.

The PRINCE PRESIDENT was received with accla,
mations of enthusiasm, and cries of " Vive Napo
leon!" " Vive rEmpereur !"
The naval combat is just finished, without ac
cident. _

The Moniteur announces that free pardon or com-
mutation of punishment will be granted to 1,200 po-
litical and ordinary convicts, as well as to mitor
offenders. _ _ _

A fire broke out on Friday night in the Palace of
the Elysee, in consequence of the overheating of a
stove, which had been lighted in order to dry the
newly-finished paintwork, in readiness for the recep-
tion of the PRINCE, who had decided on sleeping in
town to-night, preparatory to the proceedings of to-
morrow. The PRINCE'S private apartments are
completely burnt, as well; as those of M. MOCQUARD,
his private secretary and chef du cabinet, and a
number of papers, it is said, have been de-
stroyed. Fortunately, no life was lost, nor personal
injury sustained.
General D'Oava.rio, Grand Cross of the Legion of
Honour, has succeeded the late Marechal EXELMANS
as Grand Chancellor of the Order. The decree of
the PRINCE, conferring the appointment upon the
General, appears in this day's Moniteur.
In its sitting of the day before yesterday, the Council
of Arrondissement of Douai adopted the following, re-
solution : _ _ _

Vv"
The Council, deeply impressed with gratitude fur
the immense service rendered to the cause of society at
large by the act of the 2d of December, unanimously
beg M. le Sous-Pre'et to make known, in the proper
quarter, the assurance of its loyal concurrence mith the
Government, and the expression of ita devotion to the
person of Prince Louis Napoleon."
The Moniteur contains a " communicated" note in
these words :—" Several journals have announced
that M. DE PERSIGNY, Minister of the Interior, bad
bought the estate of St. Vincent, near Roanne, for
T.e.sura of 500,000 f. This statement has not the
slightest foundation in truth."
Price ~i nee JEROME quitted Brest on the 11th, pro-
ceeding to Nantes by land, on account of the stormy
weather at sea. The Prince reached Lorient on the
12th, at five in
ikai
TheofPeothe afternoon, where he experienced
the most oord
•
.na yesterday morning.
reception. He was expected to ar-
rive
at St. NazitalheNcrerilPenadEsSlDENT has sent 300 f to the So-
ciety
to the Society
competition
medaltion of of
thes 0
00fr.p,
of ,Emulation
the Arts of the Aube ; 5001.
lotion for Literature and Art
of the Allier; and a
for v.! approaching
the Yonne.haeso na i sptrsi zoe
af
It appears from the Almanach Officiel for 1852,
just published,
that Generals UAVAIGNAC BEDEAU
DC LAMOECIERE), and COANGARNIER, have been deft.
nitively struck off the Lat, of the general staff of the

raphio dispatch from Toulon, received
by aid of her engines alone,
armApteleg
yesterday by the Minister of Marine, announces
and is capable of
(says tha illoniteur) that the steam tine-of-battle
Na:dP')l62'knnoh;c3a,n hour. The apparatus con-
sists of tour fixed cylinders; the movementis comma.
developingni cated to the
—he Napo-
leon (says the Moniteur) is the most powerful ves-
sel at present afloat on the seascarries 90 guns,
fearscooreowf
1,200-horse
two months' provisions, and one month's water, for
its crew of 900 men, and its stock of fuel exceeds
1,000 tons. It will be able to go, it is said, about
1,000 leagues in ten days and a half. " With such