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

revival of the rotten boroughs, the absolute reversa;

of the policy which prevailed in 1832, had excited the
deepest disgust in the country, and Lord JOHN Rus-
sELL had not the hardihood to brave the storm he
had excited. He had ignored " the ballot," repu-
diated any diminution in the duration of Parliament,
and rejected with disdain and contumely every sug-
gestion for a more equitable distribution of electoral
power. Indeed, he not only refused his con-
sent to every proposition that had been made,
but boldly entered upon a retrograde course.
His avowed desire was to keep the balance of parties
unchanged, rather than to concede a just and equit-
able measure. He would not interfere with the
balance of power, and therefore Dorsetshire should
still send as many representatives to Parliament
as Middlesex, although the total male population
of the former was barely one-tenth of
that of the latter, they being respectively
89,204 and 882,823. One man of Dorset was, there-
fore, equivalent to ten of Middlesex. There surely must,
however, be some assignable reason for the apparent
anomaly. It could not be on account of the numbers
of inhabited houses, which were as 36,138 to 239,362,
nor on the wealth. of the inhabitants ; for we find the
annual value of property in the one assessed at
799,3421., while in the other it amounts to 7,584,668/.

Again we find Bucks and Surrey set down as equiva-
lents on the opposite sides of the political equation,
each returning 11 Members—the male population
being 81,158 and 325,037, the inhabited houses
33,232 and 108,822, and the annual ralue of pro-

perty 706,265/. and 2,291,1231. respectively. But why
multiply examples, when we find twenty-two
boroughs, the aggregate population whereof barely
exceeds 100,000 individuals, sending forty. two
Members to Parliament, and the twenty most
important cities and boroughs in the United
Kingdom, with an aggregate population of
3,780,000, returning only the same number, 42 repre-
sentatives. The men of Harwich or Evesham, of
Lyme Regis or Thetford, have more than thirty-eight
times the political weight and influence belonging to
the citizens of :London, Liverpool, Leeds, Man-
chester, Glasgow, Dublin, or Edinburgh. No
wonder, then, that the Bill was distasteful

to the injured parties, who saw that their grievances
would be perpetuated thereby if it became the law of
the land.

The Whigs have now fallen—they may learn a
lesson of liberality when in opposition ; but if they do
not profit by the castigation they have received, they
may bid a long farewell to all their greatness—they
will never again b e tolerated by the country.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris journals of yesterday.
The result of the elections is now entirely known,
with the exception of that of Corsica, which, accord-
ing to the latest accounts, presents no doubt. Four
candidates belong to the Opposition. Five elections
have to be recomtmenced.
Much satisfaction has been occasioned by the decree
which convokes the Senate and the Corps Legislatif
for the 29th. Whether the PRINCE PRESIDENT of the
Republic will, ha the meantime, continue to issue
decrees having the force of law may be a question ;
but, at all events, from the period of the meeting of
the Chambers tha latter will naturally share the re-
sponsibility of alt acts of the Government. The

.ores Ligislatff, however restricted may be its
powers of action with regard to projects of law sub-
mitted to its sanction, yet its sanction will be requi-
site, while the Ses ate is required to refuse to promul-
gate such laws as amount to a violation of the funda-
mental principles f.)f the Constitution. At all events,
the country enters under the action of regular law.
The Pays mensices the partisans of what is called
the fusio❑ of the tvvo branches, that if they go too far
their conduct muy be treated as something more
heinous than that of au intrigue. Such a project
might have been allowable when all parties, seeing
the Republic downed to break up, felt justified in
laying claim to the inheritance ; hut now that the
nation has settled. the power by which it is hence-
forward to be governed, such hopes are not to be
entertained.

Marshal Prince, JEROME BONAPARTE, President of
the Senate, has ju.,st published a series of regulations
relative to that body. The principal clauses of this
document have been borrowed from the regulations
of the old legislative assemblies. It fixes the different
duties of the grand :referendary, the secretary, and other
officers. No one cm have an employ in the Senate who
is not a born or naturalised Frenchman ; if he is not
of age, or if he i.s more than seventy. The state
messengers are to be chosen in preference from supe-
rior officers on the retired list who have been deco-
rated, and for all 'the other posts officers of different
ranks will have th,e preference. It is said that most
of the functionari e.s and inferior employes of the old
Chamber of Peers.; have received appointments in the
Senate.
The Courrier la Gironde has been condemned
for libel, but as reports :of the trial had been for-
bidden, the details remain unknown.
transacted
The Presse states that several Swiss staff officers,
who are in Paris, have received orders from their Go-
vernment to return immediately to Switzerland.
The
maintained,ssßoursensaete i
n R
Bourse was Leavy, and the prices were with
'Therecuky
awi was ay
share Shares.
considerableT h
The
Flve amount
per
opened at 10,.`if.
buniu
cents. 80c.,0f
e
and closed at 103 f. 50c. cx-
dividena fur the •
Cents. Closed at 3E).'lfd of
the month.
90c. ; Orleans Railway
.Shares,
1,157 f. 50c.; at
•
240 f. ; Vierzon, 547F6901.; The Three For
Havre, 2721. 50c.; Avignon,
4801.; Paris and
Nantes, 3211. 25c ;
Arasb.urg, 511 f, 25c. ; Tours and
s°c.; Basle, 2271. 50c.; Bordeaux,
5.51...Fiens to Boulogne, 317 f. 50c.;
Paris and Lyons,

BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS' AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE M
1:,,oulog no and aktill-LI -ARCII 6.
12%—Central of Franc Orleans
5A
--Orleans and Bor-
rt2hleh; -Dutch
ut
France, Rhenish, 2 o 334—Namur
s and
Let" 3/ Paris an d Lyons 9%—PariStrasbourg,
deaux, 9 /4
d —Rouen sac Havre, WA—Tours and Nantes,
2N ex • and
and; V6i e%r z_o_nis)
0,

sequence of the flagrant acts of nepotism which were
of every day occurrence. The evil, too, rather
increased than diminished. Day by day the
party became more exclusive, until they con-
summated their own ruin, by getting rid
of incomparably their ablest colleague—the most
doughty champion of their party, but who was re-
garded with jealousy as being an interloper not in
any degree connected with either of the tria juncta in
will—the GREYS ! the RUSSELLS ! ! or the ELLIors ! !!
Lord PALMERSTON was, however, dismissed on the
most frivolous and insufficient pretences ; and from
that moment the fate of the Ministry was sealed. It
only remained in office by sufferance.
There were many points on which they must neces-
sarily have been defeated. It were difficult to say
whether the colonies or the national finances hung most
heavily on the Ministerial conscience, or whether
the gross and palpable job brought forward under the
euphonious designation of a " New Reform Bill"
would prove the instrument of their destruction. Their
only choice was as to the manner of their death.
Mr. ADDERLEY, like an avenging Nemesis, was pur-
suing " the GREY iniquity," while men of all classes
and parties concurred in censuring the imbecility,
perversity, and unparalleled fiscal injustice of the
CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER. The Reform Bill (!)
was, however, possibly, the most formidable of any,
and not the less so, because they had lived during the
preceding session solely on the expectations
excited by the Ministerial hints of something good in
store for the people. It was to confirm the party in
power. Lord Jortx might continue Premier for
many years on the force of the character to be thereby
acquired. It would cover a multitude of sins, and
even shelter Sir CHARLES WOOD himself from the
innumerable darts and arrows by which he would in-
evitably be assailed.
These pleasing but illusory anticipations were,
however, scattered to the winds when the dismayed
Minister heard the reverberation of the shouts
of combined derision and indignation with which
the melancholy abortion was hailed by men of
all classes, creeds, and parties, throughout the length
and breadth of the land. His heart for the first time
failed ; he at length discovered the certainty of his
downfall, and sought for the easiest and softest spot
on which to fall. The opportunity was not long
wanting ; his injured colleague objected to a single
word in a motion which had been brought forward,
and with affected petulance, but really well-considered
purpose, Lord JOHN RUSSELL resigned the reins o
power.

But why ? Surely the defeat was not of
such vital importance as to occasion the disso-
lution of the Cabinet. They had frequently
sustained more ignominious discomfitures, and treated
them with the utmost nonchalance. Why, then,
should they magnify the gentle and mild castigation
so properly administered by the ex-Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs into a death-wound ?
Simply because the true character of the quasi-Re-
form Bill had been discovered. The contemplated