The Sun.
London, England, 1830-02-16 00:00:00

LONDON,
TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 16, 1880

\Vc have received the following from our
Paris Correspondent :

a PARIS, FEB. 14
" You are aware that in the French colonies, however
inferior in importance to those of Great Britain, there has
for some time existed the same sort of misunderstanding
between the occupants of the bench, and the represeuta-
fives of the Executive Government, which has lately
given such a peculiar interest to the letter of Lord Ellen-
borough, on the subject of the jttieial appointments in
India. The French colonial Judges, however, took even
a more decided step than Sir John Grant ; for as soon es
the Ordonnance was promulgated, which subjected the
colonies to the same codes which now govern the mother
country—that was all their grievance—they cot merely
shut up their courts, but combined together to re-
sign their appointments. In this situation the Gover-
nor' of Martinique, ad interim, General Barre, and
the Procureur-General du Roi, M. d'lmhert de Bourdilion,
resolved to form a provisional tribunal from among the
members of the inferior judicatories and the practising
Members of the Bar of the colony. The old Court con-
sisted entirely of Creoles ; the new one was composed of
Europeans, and soon distinguished itself by the wisdom
and the moderation of its judgmen's. Under Creole au-
thority the coloured population have always been oppressed,
but any infusion of European spirit has regularly brought
them relief; a circumstance which, I believe, has been
equally observed in our own West India colonies.
" The new Court, however, did not find favour in the
eyes of the new Governor, M. de Freycinet. One of the
first acts of his Administration was, to replace the Creole
Judges on the Bench. The latter condescended to return
on condition that they should first be made acquainted
with the terms of the new Ordonnaneee. This was agreed
to by the Governor, who thus consented to stoop to the
organs of the colonial aristocracy.
" The official Journal of Martinique, of the 15th of
December, has brought back an Ordonnance countersigned
by the Baron d'llaussez, the Minister of Marine, on the
10th of October last, which materially modifies the most
important arrangements of the judicial establishment of
the French colonies. It fixes the salaries of the Creole
Judges at a higher rate than heretofore, equalizing them with
those of Europeans, who brave the dangers of expatriation.
It abolishes the principle hitherto recognised in the co-
lonies, that the President of the Court at least should be a
native of the mother country, in order to neutralize by hie
influence the leanings of colonial prejudice. And it ab-
rogates the prohibition which formerly existed against the
' marriage of European Judges in the country, a prohi-
bition which bad been found necessary in order more effec-
tually to separate the interests of this class of Judges from
those of the great planters, who form the majority of the
colonial Courts. Formerly also, there existed a regulation
which limited the possession of the Presidency to a term
of three years, and did not permit the re-election of the
sane individual till after the lapse of a similar period.
That regulation has now been rescinded by M. d'Haussez,
the effect of which will probably be to perpetuate the
evils or the advantages, which ever they may prove, of the
new system.
" In Paris the opinion which has been formed on the
subject of the new Ordonnances appears to be, that
although they certainly affect the independence of
the magistracy, and would only he admissible in a
country where the distinctions of caste establish a na-
tural partiality, and create a corresponding jealousy of
the class from among whom the Judges are exclusively
selected, yet that, under existing circumstances, no better
arrangement would have been practically effectual. It
cannot be doubted, however, that the degraded caste must
sensibly feel their degradation; and, after what has lately
taken place at Guadeloupe and Martinique, we may expect
to hear of something very like an insurrectionary move-
ment in one or perhaps in both of the principal colonies.
" It is stated, in letters from Lisbon of the 31st Jan.,
that a discovery had just been made of a conspiracy on the
part of the Marquis de Chaves and hie numerous satellites,
to overthrow the power of Don Miguel. The Marquis
and several of his accomplices had set out from Lisbon to
meet their partizans at Tras-os-Montes ; but the Cor-
regidor of Coimbra had succeeded in executing the orders
he had received to arrest the principal conspirator and
most of his associates on their passage. It is added, that
the Papal Nuncio had suddenly become invisible, and it
was supposed that he had left the Portuguese capital.
" In letters from the Morea, a new revolt is spoken of
as having broken out among the Routneliotes, who it
seems complain of the extravagance of the brother of the
President, while they themselves are in want of every
thing.eident&unt Capo d'lstria, however, has succeeded in
calming them for the moment, by promises that tl't
arrears due to them would speedily be paid. A plan had
been. prepared by Colocotroni for the fermation of a re-
paid* military Oicel tv pQ plicol whs. 91
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