The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-11 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TERTRSDAY, APRIL 11, 1839

of Assembly declares to be a direct infrac-
tion of its Legislative privileges ; and in
consequence has twice refused to enact any laws
but those which have an immediate reference to the
public credit of the Island. When men submit to
an Act of another Legislature setting their slaves
free, it seems to us idle to object to the Supreme
State providing the means of governing the emanci-
pated slaves. This Prison Act, too, which was sub-
sequently made so much of, was not opposed at the
time it passed through Parliament ; and, with the
exception of a protest by the Agent for Jathaica, who
took no other measures to oppose it, it received a
unanimous assent. Before the Prison Bill was
heard of, the House of Assembly had acceded to
the complete emancipation, but adopted a protest,
which, according to Mr. LONG, exhibited
.the
animas of the House. It admitted dependence on
the English Crown, but rejected with indignation,
after submitting to the Emancipation Act, the
clause to make laws to govern Jamaica. Mr. LONG
concludes, " that so far from the Prison Bill being
the real cause of this felo de se of the Legislature,
the act of abdication was determined upon, was
signed, scaled, and delivered, long before that Bill was
heard of." It certainly is a fact that the Legislature
of Jamaica, as Sir It. PEEL remarked, " foolishly
resolved to suspend-its own functions," and, such
being the case, it became the duty of the Imperial
Legislature to provide for the government of the
Island.

Mr. LABOUCHERE'S Bill proposes to accom-
plish that. Whether ;t go further than it ought, or
whether it be the best possible means of remedying
the evil, weavill not undertake to decide. The ob-
jections made by the Tories the night before last
were not against its provisions, but to the want of
courtesy on the part of the Government to the
planters. In fact, the Tories make common cause
with cruelty, oppression, and wrong, wherever they
are found, and in the planters they pardon
the most violent opposition to the Government,
and excuse the most outrageous language.
While they will not allow the bulk of the
Irish nation to have a voice in the Legislature,
and decry the Precursors almost as rebels,. while
they are anxious to have the meetings of the Char-
tists in England put down, they blame the Govern-
ment for not submitting to be buffeted and kicked
by the Estate Managers of Jamaica.
We were somewhat pleased, and, at the same
time, surprised, at one part of Mr. LA BO UCII ERE'S
speech. lie spoke as if he were anxious that the
emancipated negroes should have the elective fran-
chise. For him, and for the rest of the Ministers,
that is rather dangerous doctrine. People at home,
who are denied the elective franchise, will be apt to
ask again, as they have before asked, whether they
are not as deserving of that franchise as emanci-
pated slaves ? If Ministers suppose that they
can be instrumental in giving political rights
to the negroes, while they withhold them
from the bulk of the labouring population of Eng-
land—if the Parliament fancies for one moment
that its language as to the blacks will not reverbe-
rate amongst the whites, and produce an irresistible
demand for equal rights—the Ministers and the Par-
liament are grievously mistaken ; and if they had
wished to keep up the system of exclusion from
political rights at home, they should never have
suffered or advocated admission to them abroad.

In another place we publish the report of a
meeting held at Manchester on Monday, to pro-
mote the Manchester and Birmingham Extension
Railway. We learn from it, not without surprise,
that the best line has not been adopted, and that
the Extension Line would shorten the distance be-
tween London and Manchester, equivalent to forty
miles.

We are sorry to learn that the Belgian question
is not yet definitely arranged. Yesterday the
London Conference met in order to afford M.VAN
DE WEYER, the Belgian Ambassador, an oppor-
tunity of signing the definite Treaty, but we under-
stand that his Excellency objected, on the plea
that he had not yet received the adequate powers
from his Government. To supersede the publica-

tion of lengthened documents upon this question,

with which we have been obligingly favoured, we
quote the following remarks, ‘in purport precisely
the same, from the Independent, a Brussels paper,
of the 7th inst. :

" The Press of all countries is much engaged in
discussions respecting the signature of the treaty
by Belgium. They would know why, now that
that the Chambers have sanctioned the acceptance
of it, the King does not hasten to sanction the law,
and the Government to send powers to our Ambas-
sador at London to sign the treaty.
" It will be readily supposed that the Govern-
ment has not advised the Chambers to accede to the

proposals of the 231 of February, in order, after
having obtained what it asked, to reject the treaty,
or arbitrarily to delay the execution of it. But the
debate in the Chambers has shown the neces-
sity which the Government foresaw, of ap-
plying to the Conference for explanations respecting
Fome of the clauses of the treaty, and of regulwing
in the first place certain secondary conditions. The
Belgian Government will, therefore, have objec-
tions to make, and to have decided upon, and ex-
planations to require, before its signature. For this
rat ehnaeds opt ni
that
t is e
those
si%ieeosiuni
Irdaptbaleet,irceailrad even
represented
oenn tesdv
hiniolestcei
ess
)s.camropyn,aftethhr
yeant
Conference,
c.le,
may chiefly rely, may support our pretensions.
Now this is not the case at present. Since
the 19th of January, the day on which
the address was voted. France is without a
Ministry ; and if we were to ask the French Pleni-
potentiary at London to urge the Powers to agree
to such and such demands on our part, he could
not do it. In fact, of whom should he ask for real

Istructions, not liable to be subsequently dis

avowed ?

" An affair so serious as the Belgian question
cannot be determined at London before the consti-
tution of a definitive Ministry in France. The
Cabinet of Brussels, if it acted otherwise, would
perhaps expose itself to be asked by the Ministry
to be formed at Paris, why were you in such a
hurry ?'

"-These, doubtless, are the true reasons of the
delay, which, therefore, cannot give ground for any
uneasiness."

The plea here alleged for the non-ratification of
the Treaty is positively ridiculous. What is it to
Belgium whether France have or have not a
Ministry, if it indeed be true that Belgium is
something more than a mere dependency—a pro-
vince of France ? The enemies of Belgium have
laughed at the arrogance of her claims to be
called an independent stat,_:, and truly this delay
in the ratification of the treaty, merely because
some French demagogue may happen to disapprove
of it,
nKoltNGt_heappßroevlgeidanof
theappears as if Belgium was, after all,
no more than a dependency of France. Have
?
Chambers hamTbreerast— has not the
Treaty What, then,
is it to Belgium what M. TIIIERS and his col-
leagues, should lie become Minister, may think or
say upon the subject ? We can, however, let the
Belgians into a secret which may be useful to
them. By delaying to ratify the treaty, they
are preventing the formation of a Liberal
Cabinet in France. THIERS has not '
the slightest notion of opposing the resolution
of the London Conference. On the contrary, he
entirely approves of it, and were it ratified he would
be the first to proclaim to the world the necessity
of observing the faith of treaties.

By the packet ship Westchester, Capt. FERRIS,
which arrived at Liverpool yesterday, we have re-
ceived a file of New York Papers to the 15th ult.
inclusive. They bring various rumours of prepara-
tions for war on the frontier, but it was no longer
doubted that the authorities on both sides, and in
fact all persons of education and property,