The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-20 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON. TITES')AY EVENING, JANUARY 20,. 1863

LAW INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

COURT OF PROBATE,
(Before the Judge-Ordinary. )
IN THE GOODS OF JOHN BAXTER.

Dr. Spinks made an application to his lordship to grant
administration of the will of John Baxter to his brother
Charles. The testator died without chi!dren, and his wife
could not he found. The facts were rather peculiar. ILe
wife of the testator was, at the time of the death of her hus-
band, living in service, in the capacity of lady's maid, and
as it was the wish of Mrs. Baxter that the fact that she was
a married woman should not become known to the family
with whom she was living, a communication was kept up
between the husband and wife through the instrumentality
of a person named Clever. After the death of Baxter a
letter was sent to the wife, informing her of the death of
her husband, and a reply was received from her, dated
Oct. 20, 1833, expressing great sorrow at the melancholy
intelligence, and at the same time informing Mr. Clever
that she was going to France for six or seven months with
a lady, and also that she was in failing health. FL ora that
time down to the present no intelligence could be heard of
Mrs. Baxter, although the greatest exertion had been made
to find her out; and, under these circumstances, he had to
ask that administration might be given to Charles Baxter.
The Judge Ordinary said he did not think it could be
presumed that the wife was dead without some more in-
quiry.

Dr. Spinks thought the length of time since she had been
heard of favoured the supposition.
The Judge Ordinary said it was most probable that she
might not trouble herself at all about her husband's family,
especially as she had not been informed that she was in-
terested in some property. He thought that something
might be found out respecting Mr. Clever.
Dr. Spinks informed his lordship that the greatest care
had been taken to discover that person without effect. As
the property was small ho hoped arbitration might be
granted to the next of kin upon his giving security to pay
over the property in the event of Mrs. Baxter appearing.
The Judge Ordinary told the learned gentleman that that
could not be done without giving notice. He did not think
the court could dispense with the citation. The person in
question might, it dead, have left a will, or she might have
married again, and therefore he could not grant the appli-
cation at present.

TOTNES ELECTION—This Day.

STATE OF THE POLL-9.30 A Nr
Seymour (Liberal)

Dent (Conservative)

TWELVE O'CLOCK.

Seymour 142
Dent
The number of electors is 342, of whom 10 (at least) are
not likely to go the poll.

The Conservative View of Lord Russell's
Late Proceedings in Regard to Rome.

The Prince de la Tour d'Auvergne throws some little
light upon the functions of Mr. Odo Russell. This gentle-
man, who is, we believe, an attache to the Italian embassy,
and who certainly has no official position in Rome, is kept
there, it seems, to pester the Pope with solicitations to com-
mit suicide. He is in the habit of " pleading in decorous
terms" the cause of Italian unity, and of urging the Pope
to abandon his temporal power and subside into a simple
bishop. We confess that we cannot see what useful pur-
pcse is served by the presence of this gentleman in the holy
city. The Pope cannot be in the slightest doubt as to the
views of the English Government. Its members take every
opportunity of expressing their abhorrence of his rule and
their anxiety that he should be deprived of it. Mr Russell
can tell him nothing upon that point which he does not
know already. It would be absurd to suppose that Mr.
Russell's exhortations, however eloquent, will have the
effect of changing the determination of the Pope and his
counsellors to defend what they believe to be the rights of
the Church; and it certainly appears to us sheer imper-
tinence on the part of the English Government to order a
mere attache to thrust upon the Pope, whenever he can get
the chance, counsel which cannot fail to be offensive.
Upon one of these occasions the Pope, who is a very good-
humoured old man, after bearing meekly Mr. Russell's
lecture, said to: him as he was leaving, " Adieu, dear Mr.
Russell ; who knows if one day I shall not be forced to go to
you to ask itn. hospitality ? Mr. Russell we are told, caught
at these words, returned to the cabinet of the Pope, and
asked him if he feared being obliged to quit Rome, and if
in that case he would be disposed to go to Eng-
land ? The Pope answered that he was ignorant of the
trials Providence reserved for him, but did not at all dream
of removing from Rome. No doubt an attempt will be
made to give a different colour to this conversation. It
will be asserted that, instead of making this general re-
mark, which is pretty nearly equivalent to "who knows
what will happen"— about the only civil reply that could
be given to a long exhortation to throw himself into the
hands of the Philistines—the Pope actually asked whether
Eagland would afford him an asylum. If he did so it will
not excuse at all the proposal of Earl Russell. That Mr.
Odo Russell should really believe, as we are bound to sup-
pose he did, that the Pope feared being abandoned by
France, and was desirous of protection from heretic Eng-
land, only proves how ignorant a man with the best
sources of information may really be. There never was a
period in which the Pontiff could have entertained such an
apprehension, and Mr. Russell and Earl Russell deceived
themselves most egregiously in supposing that even if the
Pope were afraid to stay in Rome he would flee to England
or to an English possession,
However, Mr. Russell reported the conversation, and
Earl Russell caught at the chance of immortality. He had
already settled the Schleswig-Holstein question to his own
entire satisfaction ; and if he could only add the settlement
of the Roman question after a fashion which would give
Italy her capital and completely checkmate France, he
would at once take rank as the greatest statesman of Europe.
So when Mr. Odo Russell went back to Rome in Novem-
ber he carried a note to Cardinal Antonelli, in which the
Foreign Secretary advised the Pope to quit Rome, and
offered to convey him to France, Spain—as if he could not
get there without a British fleet—or Malta, where a palace
should be placed at his disposal until his fate could be de-
termined by the Ministries of England and Italy. Cardinal
Antonelli seems to have thought both Earl Russell and Mr
Russell mad, and to have determined, in mercy to them, to
say nothing about their grand scheme. However, Mr. Rus-
sell, who seems to have no other qualification than his
name for his place, could not keep so big a secret, and
buzzed it among his acquaintances. Earl Russell, with
characteristic imprudence, would not accept the retreat
offered him, and instructed his kinsman to call upon the
cardinal, express his regret at the non-acceptance of his
propositions, and adds that he had reason to believe that
his Holiness would in a very short time find himself under
the necessity of accepting them. If some excuse may be
offered for the original proposition on the ground that the
Pope himself instigated it, no defence can be made for its
repetition enforced by a menace. No doubt the English
Government has a perfect right to make its opinions known
to the Papal Government which can make no other
complaint of them than that their manner is offensive. I
But, looking at the question from at. English pont of
view, we repeat the renewal of the proposition is without
excuse. Earl Russell must have known that it could not
be accepted. The Pt pe had just received the solemn assu-
rances of France that under no circumstances should he be
abandoned. It had just been distinctly told that France
could permit no solution of the quarrel with the Papacy
which did not start from the basis of the maintenance of the
temporal power. Is it conceivable that at this moment of
his triumph, when his power seemed to rest upon a firmer
basis than at any time during the last 13 years, the Pope
would leave Rome, and, accepting the asylum offered him
by a Protestant power, await with calmness " that
spoliation of the Church" which, having before energe-
tically denounced, he would now unmistakeably in-
vite ? And assume that the Pope himself might have
lent a favourable ear to the voice of the tempter, it is con-
ceivable that the men who surround him would allow him
to betray, as they would term it, the Church of which he
should be the guardian ? Or is it conceivable that the
French would let him go, even if the College of Cardinals
applauded the design and prepared to accompany him P
The question is really not worth discussing. There is not
a human being who will venture to assert that at the time
this proposition was made there was the slightest chance of
its being accepted ; there is scarcely one who will not agree
with us that if it had been accepted and carried out
England would have been involved in the greatest embar-
rassment.

But Earl Russell has committed almost a graver indis-
cretion in the menace by which he enforced the offer than in
the offer itself. What does he mean by " has reasons to
believe that in a very short time the Pope would be under
the necessity of profiting by it P" He was at the time he
wrote in receipt of a despatch from Lord Cowley, contain-
ing the substance of a conversation with M. Drouyn de
Lhuys with reference to a communication of his own urging
upon the French Government the evacuation of Rome.
We will only say of that communication, that good as its
intentions may have been it displayed the same extraordi-
nary ignorance of the position of the French Government,
of the interests and difficulties which it has to consider, as
the offer made by Mr. Odo Russell had shown of the Papal
situation. It is enough that in reply to it M. Drouyn de
Lhuys gave Lord Cowley distinctly to understand that
France was not disposed to leave Rome, and that further dis-
cussion of the question was useless. Yet in presence of
this assurance Earl Russell declares that the Pope will
soon have to leave Rome. What does he mean ? Does he
intend to imply that the Emperor of the French is tricking
the Pope and means to abandon him very shortly, or is he
informed of any European combination, the object of which
is the expulsion of the French from Rome and the presen-
tation of the city to King 'Victor Emmanuel ? That is the
question which he will have to answer. For our own part
we believe that his warnings had no reason and were only
the expression of his mortified vanity. His advice was
coolly declined, and, as is usual with busybodies in that
predicament, he cries out "You'll repent it.
Herald.

MARKETS—This Day.

HAY ➢iARKETS.

SMITHFIELD.-11Ieadow hay, £2 Os to £4 5s Od ; clover,
do., £3 lOs to £5 lOs; and straw, £ll2s to £1 168 per load.
A slow demand.

CITTIBERLAND.--Meadow hay, £2 Os to £4 ss; clover,
£3 lOs to £5 lOs Od ; and straw, £1 12s to £1 16s per load.
Both hay and straw were in slow request at our quotations.
HITECHAPEL.—Meadow hay, £2 Os to £4 6s; clover
do., £3 10s to 4:5 10s ; and straw, t 1 12s to £1 16s per load.
Trade firm for dry produce.