The Sun.
London, England, 1837-09-05 00:00:00

The

LONDON.
TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 5, 1337.

The Scotch Tories are beginning to peep out of
their holes, after the disgraceful scenes in which they
have been engaged during the late struggle. They
.have no great successes to plume themselves upon—
thank Heaven and the steadiness of the Scottish cha-
ra":!ter—but upon second thoughts they have come to
the conclusion that it is better to assume the virtue
which they have not, to raise their crests and crow as
loudly as if they had gained a victory instead of sus-
tainiug a defeat, and by way of proving that their impu-
dence is in full proportion to their other qualities, to
rail against bribery', intimidation, subornation of per-
jury, and other peccadillos of which they themselves
have been guilty to so fearful an extent. Thus the
pickpocket is ever the first to call out " Stop Thief,"
and by that artifice sometimes escapes the punishment
due to his crimes.

The Haddingtonshire gentry, and the life-renters of
Sir GEORGE SINCLAIR, have been jollifying simul-
taneously in their respective districts. In one respect
-.there is a strong resemblance—and that, no doubt, has
produced a lively sympathy—between the North and
it he South. Bribery, coercion, clerical denunciation, and
all the other et ceteras of Tory tactics, have been the
mcan3 by which Lord RA NISAY and Sir GEORGE
SINCLAIR have wormed themselves into their present
seats. Lord R A MSAY and the Northern Baronet
are, however, not to be confounded in other respects.
The Noble Lord is a Tory, and it is very evident from
his speech at the late meeting, a most virulent one ; but
we believe him to be an honest one. At all events,
he has never been anything else. He has never
hoisted false colours—never given himself out for what
he was not—never, in short, become a renegade from
the opinions which he pretended to espouse with ar-
dour and even vehemence, and then hypocritically
pleaded that this apostasy was in reality a conversion,
accomplished by a supernatural interposition—the
immediate effect of an outpouring of the spirit of
Agnewism I He has never done any of these vile
things ; and therefore, we say, he is not to be degraded
to the level of Sir GEORGE SINCLAIR.

This latter personage, who inherits all the vanity
and none of the honesty of his father, was invited to
meet some of his thick-and-thin supporters at a village
near Thurso, where, among other persons equally en-
titled to respect, we find there was the noted champion
of the Church, PHIN, the clerical Magog of the
North, the knight-errant of Presbyterianism, who gives
practical lessons of Gospel morality by compelling his
elders to break their solemn pledges and violate their
consciences for the glory of GOD. This personage
played first fiddle, Sir GEORGE being only an accom-
panying instrument, whose " ventages he governed,"
and whose " stops" he knew right well. PHIN, we
are told, said grace " in his usual impressive manner,"
that is, in the manner of a raving fanatic ; after which
the Chairman gave a toast or two before he came
to the " Cock of the North," as Sir GEORGE
SINCLAIR'S wise friends have dubbed him—no other
person being thought worthy of that title since the
death of the late Duke of GORDON.

The person on whom it devolved to discharge the
solemnities of the evening was Sir Somebody Alkt
ST RUTHER, of Balcaskin (why has the Baronet
dropt a letter out of this odd-sounding name ?) the
person to whom his brother Baronet has engaged to
transfer the representation of the county when the
fitting occasion arrives. The selection was, therefore,
highly judicious. It was to be expected also that a
Chairman standing in so interesting a relation to Sir
GEORGE, would not be very mealy-mouthed in sound-
ing the praises of the pro tempore Member. The will
does not, indeed, seem to have been wanting ; and
that, we suppose, would be taken in this case, as in
others, for the deed ; for the Chairman's mouth was
certainly not fashioned to be the external organ of elo-
quence, whatever else might issue from it. We think,
if he would try his hand at poetry, he might succeed
somewhat better. He has fancy, but little judgment
withal. For example. It is well-known that Sir GEORGE
SINCL AIR has entirely neglected the business of
the county of Caithness in Parliament for the
last two years, mixing himself up with party manoeuvres,
and aiming at being a" Statesman"—bless the mark—
when he ought to have been looking to the interests of
his constituents. The Chairman confessed this—how
could he do otherwise ? but made an attempt—

a clumsy enough one, certainly, to gloss

Sir GEORG E'S time, it would appear,
was so taken up with his religious duties, that

over.

he had none to spare for secular affairs. " You know,"
quoth ANSTRUTHER, " the devoted attention he pays
to the duties of religion, whether in the public wor-
ship of the sanctuary, or in the retirement of his own
domestic circle." The worthy gentleman then, by
a very natural transition, passes on to the mention
of " cant and humbug," with as complete an uncon-
sciousness of the application as if he had been
wrapt in the " skin" of his own estate.
The next item of excuse for the Honourable Ba-
ronet's delinquency is the immense magnitude of the
open spaces in the network of his mind ! " The
meshes (what an elegant and happy figure !), the
meshes of his mind are too large to retain such small
fry as parish meetings," &c. We are irresistibly led
by this beautiful illustration to the herring-boat
with all the interesting processes of gutting, salt-
ing, &c. But our space, we find, will not allow
us to dwell at such length as we could wish upon-this
speech. There is only one other passage to which we
can refer, at present at least, and that is the following :
—" I may compare him (SINCLAIR) to the great
painters of old—or to our own immortal Lawrence
who employed their own genius solely on the head of
their portraits, while they left the outline to be filled
up by inferior artists." Now we would put it candidly
to the Chairman, whether it may not be a doubt with
some people whether the person intended to be compli-
mented in the words we have quoted may not rather
sit for the picture than be the painter himself ? Has
e ever met with the following lines ?
" Eve's tempter thus the Rabbins have exprest ;
A heavenly face, a reptile all the rest ;
Beauty that shocks you—parts that none will trust—
Wit that can creep, and pride that licks the dust."

At the Sunderland Reform Dinner, to which we
have before alluded, Mr. PONSONBY, who was pre-
sent, made several pertinent and sensible allusions to
the character of the returns during the last elections.
" I feel the truth," said he, " which I will not attempt
to disguise, that the number of Liberal Members has
fallen short of that returned to the last Parliament.
But, at the same time, if the number has been dimi-
nished, what we have lost in quantity, I think we
have gained in quality. In looking at the returns, we
shall see that scarcely one doubtful man has been
elected, and in the new House of Commons we shall
see arranged on each side men whose opinions
and objects cannot be mistaken." This is a fair
statement of the case. Ministers will be in pos-
session of a steady working majority, quite suffi-
cient to enable them to transact the business of the
now fast-approaching Session, and carry all those
measures of Reform which they may deem necessary
for the welfare of the country. They need no longer
be apprehensive of failings-off in their numbers ; they
have a firm, pledged majority, which will not—and
dare not—desert them. Besides, they have the coun-
try on their side ; for it is ridiculous to suppose that
the " re-action" of which the Tories have been boast-
ing so loudly, of late, is anything more than the result
of bribery and intimidation, carried to a degree beyond
precedent throughout the recent elections. Sir
ROBERT PEEL well knows that such is the case ;
hence the cautious way in which he spoke the other

av at the Tamworth dinner about the prospects o.

his party. Sir ROBERT is a discreet man, who
has no notion of committing himself, or shouting
before he is out of the wood ; but had he'really thought
that the Tory prospects were as bright as their jour-
nals represented them to be, when he made his speech,
he would have denounced Ministers as energetically as
he did towards the close of the last Session, when he
fancied that they were in extremis, and that he himself
was about to receive orders to turn his horses' heads
towards Windsor. Government then, we repeat, is quite
strong enough to give the requisite impetus to Reform,
for it is not the mere size of the majority that ensures

the success of an important measure, but the convic-
tion that it is backed by the voice of the people. " We
have," observed Mr. PONSONBY, " a course of liberal
and enlightened policy to force through the House of
Lords, and the House dare not refuse that policy,
if the majority in the Commons, be it small or
be it great, is sanctioned by the voice of the majo-
rity of the people." We may add besides, that the
Court being now avowedly on the side of Reform,
instead of against it, as during the late reign, Ministers
have thereby gained an increase of strength far greater
than any they could have derived, had the returns of
the past election furnished them with a majority of two
hundred and upwards. The House of Lords may
resist a small majority in the Commons : and even
venture for a time to act in direct opposition to the
people's best interests ; but it will be slow—very slow
to resist the Court and the People united. The po-
pular agitation during the Reform Bill has read it a
lesson which it dare not, even if it would, forget.

The inadequacy of the Reform Act, in its present
state, to secure any thing like a fair representation of
the political sentiments of those on whom it conferred
the very equivocal boon of the elective franchise, has
been clearly enough demonstrated by the events of the
late election, had any such demonstration been re-
quired. To say nothing of the exclusion from the
exercise of a political right that seems inherent in the
members of a free community, to which it dooms the
great mass of the people, by the arbitrary and irrational
assumption of a property qualification as the test of a
man's understanding, one of its greatest defects is the
want of any protection for that class of voters who are
dependent upon the owners of the soil, and who have,
in practice, not only been degraded into slaves them-
selves, but have also been made the instruments of
enslaving their fellow-citizens. So deplorable a result
as this of a measure from which so much national be-
nefit was anticipated, and, if it had had fair play,
would have followed, notwithstanding its unjust limi-
tation, has led the friends of Reform to consider how
this great evil may be remedied. The Newspaper
Press has, as a matter of course, not been inattentive
to so important a subject; and none of our Contempo-
raries has paid more attention to it than the Aberdeen
Herald—a paper not more distinguished for its ardent
support of liberal principles than for the ability with
which its various departments are conducted. Mr.
ADAM, the Editor of that Journal, has published a
little pamphlet, the object of which is to offer some
suggestions for a progressive amelioration of our elec-
toral system.

The pamphlet is entitled " The Knowledge
Quali-
fication," which title will convey an idea of the main
instrument by which the author proposes to effect the
purpose in view ; but we shall let Mr. ADAM speak
for himself :

I propose to make the spread of education and the con-
cession of civil rights not merely concomitant and com-
mensurate but mutually assistant ; the love of knowledge
aiding the extension of the suffrage, and the desire of po-
litical power conducing to the enlightenment of the people.
This I would acccomplish by substituting for the 101.
qualification the possession► of a certain degree of intelli-
gence, to be ascertained in the manner afterwards described.
The right, of course, would also require to be restricted by
juvenility, non-residence, mental incapacity, and such other
disqualifications as might be deemed just and expedient.
Females should, I think be allowed to vote ; but the discus-
sion of this point may be waived at present.
Instead of the present machinery for registering voters,
there should be established in each town and county a
board, or where that is insufficient a number of boards,
consisting of three or five Members, chosen in such a man-
ner as to guarantee, as near as may be, absolute impar-
tiality in the exercise of their functions. It would be the
duty of these boards, during a certain period of each year,
to receive the application of every person wishing to be
placed on the roll—to take evidence of his age, residence,
and legal capacity—and to examine whether he possessed

the requisite omount of knowledge to entitle him, to the

elective franchise.
For the purposes of this examination, a fixed and invari-
able standard of intellectual attainment would obviously be
required, as it would lead to great irregularity, and give
room for gross partiality, were the boards allowed to deter-
mine arbitrarily, in every given case, the amount of informa-
tion necessary to constitute a valid claim. I admit freely
that the choice of a standard is attended with some dif-
ficulty ; but I do not by any means think either that it is
impracticable, or that the obstacles are such as may not
be easily overcome. The following has occurred to me,
and I give it not as the best that could be devised, but as
one to which there could be no very serious objections

urged :-
1. The claimant should be made to writ• out, in pre-
sence of the Board, a legible and intelligible application for

his right of suffrage.
2. He should be made to read, ad aperturant, any por-
tion or portions of certain books in the English language,
commonly used in the examinations of the board, and to
show, by stating afterwards, in his own words, the substance
of what he has read, either at once, or in reply to ques-
tions, that he understands the meaning the author. *
The books used by the Boards might be those that
were read in the highest English classes of such national
schools as it might be found expedient to establish or re-
model. One of them, at least, ought to consist of a plain
but comprehensive treatise on the form of the British Govern-
ment ; an abstract, in common phraseology, of some of the
more important laws affecting the subject ; a brief history of
recent public events ; an elucidation of the leading principles
of political economy ; a summary of the duties of Electors ;
and a clear view of the position which the Voter holds in
relation to the Government, to other Electors, and to his
Unenfranchised fellow-countrymen whom he virtually re-
presents. A second volume should be devoted to his du-
ties as a private citizen, and to other topics that fall within
the province of the divine, the moralist, and the philosopher.
After stating the beneficial effects of - this plan
in improving the electoral character, in extending
the suffrage in the right direction, and in giving a
powerful stimulus to the cause of general education,
Mr. ADAM proceeds to defend it from the charge of
impracticability, which he anticipates may be brought

against it.
It may be proper, before going further, to adduce an
example or two to show that the proposal of a Knowledge
Qualification is neither so visionary nor impracticable as
some may be disposed to think. The granting of Literary
and Scientific Degrees at the Universities, the admission of
Members to Medical and Legal Faculties, and the licens-
ing of Preachers of the Gospel, are all instances of the ap-
plication of an intellectual test ; but I can produce an illus-
tration of the practicability of my scheme, much more ap-
propriate and forcible than any of these. In Scotland (I
know not how the case stands in England) the members
of all religious bodies, Established and Dissenting, have to
undergo an examination before they are admitted to church
privileges ; and, in six cases out of eight, this examination
must be preceded by attendance on a class conducted by
the clergyman, where, of course, ample opportunity is
afforded of ascertaining their knowledge of the truths of
religion. Here, then, is a case exactly in point. Three-
fourths of the population of Scotland, male and female,
once, at least, in their lives, are, by means of at most two
men in each parish, subjected to an examination which
ought to be as strict as that which I propose for the clai-
mants to the suffrage, and which, I believe, is generally
much more so. All this, be it recollected, too, is accom-
plished with so little noise and trouble, that, in general, no
one knows that it is going on except the parties interested.
It would, no doubt, lead to a great deal of confusion, were
the law enacting such a plan as I propose made retrospec-
tive, and were the whole constituencies, both old voters and
new, to be examined at one time. But this is not neces-
sary. In conformity with established practice, the present
Electors would continue on the roll, and only the new ap-
plicants would be required to prove themselves qualified.
At the first registration term, additional examinators might
be appointed ; afterwards the business would go on smoothly
and with as much ease as the clerical examinations of in
tending communicants.
The Board of examination might be composed of
members partly appointed by the Crown and partly by
popular choice. It is presumed that they would be
too respectable in character to be capable of acting
unfairly in the discharge of their duties ; or that any
tendency to partizanship would be effectually cor-
rected by the publicity of the proceedings. In the
following observations, in which the author states his
belief that the spread of knowledge would produce
among other happy effects a deeper interest among the
people in political matters, we perfectly agree.
To those who are aware of the gross ignorance and ri-
diculous prejudices of many even of the 101. burgh elec-
tors, but more especially of the county constituencies in
the south of England and in the Highlands of Scotland, it
must be ho mean recommendation of this plan that it se-
cures at least a certain degree of intelligence in the voter.
Few men who can read and write, and who have seen
obliged to acquire as much political information as I con-
template, will fail ever afterwards to take an interest in na-
tional affairs, or to make themselves acquainted with the
progress of public events. The reading necessary for this,
besides adding value to their votes, will beget in them an
appetite for knowledge, which, thanks to Lord Brougham
and cheap publications like the Penny Magazine and
Chambers's Journal, they are now enabled to gratify most
usefully to themselves, their families, and their neighbours,
at a mere trifle of expense. Instead of having a set of
stupid boors urged on to the pen at the bidding of an
agent, ignorant of everything except that, by voting for the
Hon. Baronet, they send a gentleman to Parliament and
" please the Laird," we would have reading and thinking
men, fully qualified to judge of the merits of the respec-
tive candidates, deeply alive to the importance of the duty
they were called on to perform, and giving their suffrage in
the full knowledge of the influence it was likely to exert on
the aspect of public affairs.
But it is not merely as a means of extending the suffrage
and improving the intellectual character of our constituen-
cies, that the Knowledge Qualification is advanced. Its in-
fluence is promoting the spread of Education among all
ranks of the people is its most powerful recommendation.
At present, there is no degradation in being excluded from
the right of suffrage. Poverty is not morally regarded as
a crime, although it is often punished as such ; and as it is
impossible that the masses can occupy houses rated at
101., or farms at 501. per annum, the non-elector re-
presses his desire of political power, and consoles him-
self with the thought that he is but one of many, and
that some fortunate turn in the public or in his own
private affairs may happen, placing him, either as an in-
dividual, or along with his whole class, on the list of the
Enfranchised. But it would not be so if Education and
Intelligence were the qualification ; for, besides the ordinary
spur of ambition, every man would be urged on to educate
himself and his children to avoid singularity. It would become
a just reproach to be disqualified by ignorance for exercising
civil rights ; and a non-elector arrived at years of manhood,
and not otherwise incapacitated, would feel ashamed of
his position. Who, under such circuwstancs, if he could
pay for a teacher, reach a charity school, or educate him-
self, would remain ignorant ? The loud and general call
for instruction would compel the Government to establish
an efficient system of National Education ; and the wealthy
classes instead of busying themselves in making fictitious
paper votes, would find sufficient occupation for their in-
genuity, in devising the best means of affording their te-
nantry such a species of instruction as would render them
quiet and useful members of society.
Mr. ADAM does not, however, confine the Know-
ledge Qualification to the Parliamentary elector, but
contemplates its application, in due time, to Jury-
men, Magistrates, and other persons who are entrusted
with public offices of responsibility.
Nor do I contemplate merely the general diffusion of a
certain amount of knowledge among the lower classes. I
would have the principle of the intellectual test adopted,
with additional examinations of a stricter kind, in the no-
mination to all situations •f honour, duty, or trust ; and
thus not only carry on, in a large portion of the community
the good work of instruction begun as a necessary preli-
minary to Enfranchisement, but increase the efficiency and
improve the character of all who have any share in the
making or administration of our laws. If the elective
body be strongly tainted with ignorance and prejudice, our
Deputy Lieutenants, Justices of the Peace, Magistrates,
Jurymen, and Members of Civic Boards, are not in ge-
neral distinguished for knowledge, wisdom, or judgment. In
all these classes there are many good and able men ; but
how often do we see or hear of disgraceful exhibitions of
incompetency on the Justice Bench, muddle-headed stupi-
dity in the Jury-room, and factious folly at Civic Boards.
Without giving any opinion as to the practicability
of the plan which Mr. ADAM has sketched—for he
pretends not to have done anything more—we think
he has done good service to the cause of improvement,
by directing the public mind to several points of very
great importance, the discussion of which cannot fail
to be beneficial.

By the arrival of the Transit steamer, at Falmouth,
from the Tagus, whence she sailed on the 28th ult.,
we have been favoured with advices from Lisbon to
the moment of her departure. The relative positions
of the constitutional and rebel forces were—to all tni-

litary'intents and purposes,--the same as they were at
the date of the last arrivals from Portugal. Of war-
like preparations and demonstrations there were enough
to fill Europe with apprehensions on the score of the
general safety ; but happily the heroism of the belli-
gerents was tempered by a careful abstinence from
everything like fair fighting. The rebel force is stated
to be about 4,000 strong, including nearly 1,000 ca-
valry and 2,000 regular infantry. Notwithstanding
the activity of the Ministers, who continue to hold the
seals of their respective offices ad interim, the Baron
BOMFIM'S force is not half so numerous as SAL-
DANHA'S division. Why this is so we are not in-
formed. Nevertheless SALDANHA, on the 26th—to
the no small surprise of the inhabitants of Lisbon—
retreated from Loires to Villa Franca, thus relieving
the capital from the fears inspired by his dangerous
proximity to it. Brigadier-General Baron DR AL-
MOROIM has returned to Oporto, having failed in an
attempt to drive Baron DE LEIRIA. and the re-
bels out of the fortress of Valenqa. Various mo-
tires are assigned for the inactivity of the re-
bels. Some suppose that SALDANHA only waits
the arrival of the Viscount Da SA DA BAN-
DRIRA at the head-quarters of BOMEIM'S division,
which was to take place in a few days. This is
highly improbable. BOMFIM'S military talents are
not greater than BANDEIRA'S, and SALDANHA is
not the man to delay an attack of the utmost confi-
dence for the chance of disgracing a personal enemy.
In our opinion the rebels will confine themselves to
acting on the defensive until after her MAJESTY'S
accouchement has taken place. They know the
QUEEN is for them ; and they are therefore deterred
from adopting any measures that might cause her
alarm at a period so critical. They are not idle, how-
ever. SALDANHA having declared her MAJESTY
and her Royal Consort prisoners in Lisbon, has al-
ready named a Regency, composed of the Duke of
TERCEIRA, Colonel LAUREIRO, and himself, to
conduct the executive functions of the Government.

The incompetence of the Cortes, as a Representative
National Assembly, has been long apparent. Save
the emendation of a Constitution which they have not
the courage and the energy to defend against the parti-
sans of a corrupt Court, they have virtually done no-
thing to entitle them to the respect and confidence of
the nation. Had the Cortes manifested a proper de-
gree of dignity and self-confidence, the QUEEN would
not have dared to make her palace the focus of trea-
sonable and rebellious conspiracies the PRINCE
ROYAL would not have presumed to sneer at the deli-
berations of the Chamber—and a diplomatic perso-
nage, who has covertly directed the plans of the rebels,
would have shrunk from the responsibility of councilling
acts of which the character of the Cortes would gua-
rantee the result. But instead of entering upon their
high and ennobling functions in the spirit of guar-
dians of the national liberty and honour, the Portuguese
Corti s employed themselves in thwarting the projects of
a Minister, and flattering the vanity of a woman, of
the moral qualities of whose head or heart the world
has yet to form everything like a high opinion. That
the Portuguese nation did not place the utmost reliance
upon the sanctity of a Royal pledge to extend its
liberties is manifest from its subsequent demand of
the Constitution of 1822, and hence the Cortes can-
not plead the impossibility of all that has since taken
place. But, in truth, the Cortes have no excuse to
offer, save their incompetence for the arduous and
honourable duty of saving their country
General BACON has been arrested by the Govern-
ment on a charge of corresponding with the Duke of
TERCEIRA. This will increase the prejudice, already
so strong and so unfounded, against England.

The Paris Papers of Sunday confirm the accounts
received yesterday of the defeat of General BUERENS.
The loss of the Christinos amounted to 1,500 men in
killed and wounded. BUERENS himself was sl►ghtly
wounded in the chest. The Carlists, though victorious,
suffered severely, for the QUEEN'S troops fought well.
QUILEZ, the Carlist Chief, was borne insensible
from the field, and there is a rumour afloat that he has
since died of his wounds. On entering Carinena, after
the battle, BUERENS found a dispatch from General
ORAA, recommending to him the defence of that
town, and stating that he intended himself on the
morrow to attack the Carlists in the vicinity of Daroca.
Accordingly on the 25th ORAA attempted to dislodge
the rebels, but after a stout resistance on their part he
was compelled to retreat with loss.
Penacerrada yielded to the Carlists on the first
summons, though fortified to stand a siege for which
every provision had been made. The rebels made 360
prisoners, took four pieces of mountain artillery, some
money, and a considerable quantity of provisions.
On the 22d ult. General ESPARTERO was at Tor-
relaguna, preparing as usual to annihilate the Car-
lists, and by no means satisfied with the result of hilt
march upon Madrid. The sun of ESPAILTEROPS
ambition has set in clouds, charged with a cowing
hurricane. He is now playing his last stake, and he
must himself be sensible that the chances are as an
hundred to one againet him. ESPARTERO is not a
chicken to be caught with chaff ; and we are therefore
surprised that he left the capital after so strange a
fashion, knowing the responsibility he incurred by as-
senting with a vow to the first closeted speech of
the REGENT :—" You are a hero—behold an il-
lustrious prisoner !" What hypocrisy !
The Phare de Bayonne of the 21st has the follow-
ing account of the doings at Pampeluna
" Colonel La Pena is now chief commander, and the
tiradores have laid a contribution of 20,000 piastres upon
the inhabitants of the town suspected of Carlist principles.
" Brigadier Iriarte, who had performed the funct►ons
of viceroy, and who was reported to have been mur-
dered by his troops, on his return from Puente la
Reyna, entered the place with a few troops, in order to
make the rebels submit. He entered into a parley with
Colonel La Pena, who at first took a lofty tone, saying
that Navarre had declared herself independent, and that
it no longer recognised the Queen's Government. Having
seen, however, the hesitation of those around him, Colonel
La Pena gradually lowered his tone, and there are now
hopes of order being restored in Pampeluna. The souvenir,
however, of the atrocities committed by the revolted troops
will long remain most painfully impressed upon the inha-
bitants."

The disturbances at Irun and Fontarabia have been
(Luella' without difficulty.
The following extracts include the only additional
news to be found in the French Papers of Sunday :
We are positively informed that the English Charge d'af-
faires has demanded of M. Mole a categorical explanation
respecting the accusation which appeared in the Journal
des Debals against Mr. Southern, the first of the English
embassy at Madrid, and which seemed to hint at participa-
tion even in the Minister himself. M. Mole declined all
responsibility upon the sulkiest, although it was reported as
a certain fact at ths embassy, that the article
published by the Debats was an extract from the correspon-
dence of the French Foreign-office.—Siecle.
The Temps, which Journal agrees with the Ministry,
,ays :—" The last letters from Madrid give reason to hope
that the new Spanish Ministry is in a fair way of consoli-
dating itself. May it find sufficient strength in its union
with the Legislature to remedy the troubles by which the
finest provinces of Spain are agitated.
" It is positively affirmed that the Ministry has decided
on the expedition to Constantine, in order to make success
in arms coincide with the ordinances for the dissolution.
But the question is not to take Constantine, but to know
what we shall do with it ? We took Tlemecen, and the
Cabinet has given it to Ikhd-el-Kader. The merits of the
victory will belong entirely to the army. It is only the use
made of the victory that the electors can place to the
account of the Ministry.. Did not brilliant successes pre-
cede the treaty of La Tafna ?"
A letter front Rome of one of our own Correspondents,
dated the 211 August, has the following news :—" The
ravages of the cholera are very great, already there are
about 600 deaths, of which 300 are in the suburbs of