The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-12 00:00:00

THERMOMETER.

This morning
This day at Two o'clock 7S

Barometer-30.30.
Wind—N.-W. ; light, and fine.

Zjiairv•

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1863

Throughout these last fourteen years and eight
months, during which France has had her present
ruler at the head of the Government—for exactly
one "lustre" as PRESIDENT, for nearly eleven years
as EMPEROR—that ruler has often been welcomed
with enthusiasm by the peasantry and by the provin-
cial middle-classes, but never with more earnest or
more heartfelt acclamations than those which have
just greeted him in his short and rapid journey
through a portion of Normandy. Of itself this re-
ception is a reward to NAPOLEON HI. But it was
intended to be far more than that, we feel perfectly
well satisfied. It was designed, of course, or we
are much mistaken, to be accepted by the
EMPEROR as a recognition of good services
done by him to France in certain material respects,
if not as yet assuredly in the rapid development of
liberal institutions under the imperial regime, if not
in the concession of greater freedom in writing and
in speaking, among the journalists and among the
occupants of the legislative tribune, at any rate in
the encouragement afforded to the arts and sciences,
in the development of commerce, in the extension of
the railway system, and of the parallel system of
instantaneous telegraphy. Waerever in France the
Emperor NAPOLEON 111. receives anything in the
way of a more than ordinarily cordial reception, we
may rest assured of this, that it is due to the popu-
lar sense of the material advantages secured to the
French nation under his rule, through the vigorous
maintenance of order under his powerful and vigi-
lant Government. None the less vivid is the appre-
ciation by the French multitude of the material
advantages thus secured to
_them by the reigning
Emperor, because the internal prosperity of France
during the last decade of his reign has been accom-
panied by a revival of her influence far and wide
among the nations of Christendom. The recovery
of her influence, that is among the councils of
Europe, by means of a foreign policy—designed
and carried out from first to last by the
EMPEROR himself—combining with it (this astute
policy), alternately or simultaneously, an extraor-
dinary amount cf prudence, boldness, tact, energy,
ductility or plasticity, according to the exigencies of
the moment, and yet evidencing throughout none
the less remarkably a marvellous tenacity or fixity
of purpose. Even when, to use the very mildest
phrase, the least scrupulous in his mode of advanc-
ing the material interests of France through the
medium of his diplomacy, the EMPEROR, while
alienating the feelings of other countries in regard
to himself and his policy, has so far directly
thereby appealed to the amour propre of the nation
he governs (ever handling the reins of his autho-
rity the while with a grasp of iron in a glove
of silk), that he has actually at those very times
contrived to enhance his reputation at home
at the very moment of his marring it abroad.
Perhaps the most flagrant illustration of this, yet
recorded in his history, is that furnished by the
little episode closing the Italian war—the incident
which, while mulcting Italy of Savoy and Nice, so
far compensated France for the blood and gold
squandered by her in the deliverance of Lombardy
from the Austrians (so far, at least, as any nation
could be " compensated" in that way for such
services), by the absorption of those very
territories within the line of the French frontiers.

An overwhelming majority of the French popula.

tion, if not actually the whole of the French mu

titude together, forgave the scandal of the "sharp
practice," for the fact of,that territorial aggrand.sf-
meat. Materially, in effect, France has prospered, is
prospering under the rule of the French EMPEROR. In
her commerce, that is ; in her agriculture ; in her
manufactures ; in the restoration of her high autho-

rity among the nations of the earth at the council
board of Christendom ; and—as indicated in the
questionable little incident just referred to—by the

actual increase of the French dominions.

A war or two France has had, it is true,
ati
'al? these last ten years of her present
ruler',
reign as EMPEROR. This—in spite of his
peaceablc.
in programme at Bordeaux, epitomised,
' sentence, in a phrase—" L'Empire c'est
la Paix ii.
war
With A
...usA war with Russia—in the Crimea. A
again,
as
in the
in Lombardy. A war in China,
Crimea, side by bide with England—
in armed alliance,
in
an
entirely
;war in Morocco. A war—
last of all,
Tbreatenin
gs,
but hithertoY new direction—in Mexico.
only threatenings, of
war, large or small, have
been at other times
excited by NAPOLEON'S poll,
Yb, elsewhere than in
the various parts of the
glo
dicated. Bold that policy e'
briefly in-
these shown itself to
be whenever any one of
has come
at length to be fairly adventuredrs
But bolder still than his foreign Upon.
nPenolicy has
been the EMPEROR'S home policy_
Answer us whether it has been so or nolt°llall37.
COBDEN ! You who as a dispassionate witness
attest that this despotic rnier of France was the :11
to recognise the wisdom of the Free Trade Prin.

and, on recognising that truth, to adapt
to the future agulatiun,
thobe prircipli:s boldly, to

the veritable transformation, at a stroke of the pen

as it were, to the whole complex system of French

commerce.

Whenever NAPOLEON 111. is received with
more than usual cordiality by the French
multitude, that reception is attributable no
longer to the mere glamour of the glorious
name the EMPEROR bears. These acclanaa-
tions are awarded to him not alone as a NAPOLEON,
as the EMPEROR, as the living chic i of the impel
ial
dynasty founded by the most wonderful man of
modern times—they apply to a very consider-
able extent to himself individually. They n re
recognitions of all he has done for France,
since he ascended the thrcne and grasped the

sceptre—order maintained, commarc3 increased,
agriculture advanced, territories (we need not again
say how) extended, glory and influence regained
and enhanced, both at the council board and upon
the battle-field. All tkese recognitions of the past
are expressed, inarticulately, but quite comprehen-
sibly, in the shouts of welcome greeting NAPO-
LEON 111. as he traverses France, as he did the other
day, when he rapidly passed through the enthusi-
astic population of Normandy. But there is more
than this recognition of his past in these acclama-
tions ! There are audible, to our thinking, none
the less clearly in them—hopes, aspirations,
encouragement to him in regard to the future.
And the duration of his pDpu'arity, the perpetua-
tion of his dynastic power, are dependent upon his
justification of those hopes, upon his fulfilment of
these generous aspirations, upon his boldness and
resolution in acting—at length—in answer to
that appreciable encouragement. He has spoken
himself, plainly and more than once, about
"crowning of the edifice." The crowning of the
edifice as promised by him, and as understood by
others, has barely yet commenced. The EMPEROR
has probably—we do earnestly hope that he has
—many years yet before him. But—he
is now already in his fifty-sixth year. Austria
herself gives good augury, nowadays, of going
before him in the development of a despotic into a
Constitutional Government. Festina lente may
be a very good rule to begin with. But the time
arrives, at last, when it becomes tedious.

Theae is an interesting letter in the Times of
yesterday on the subject of Transportation. It is
written by Mr. GRELLET, and he ably demonstrates
some of the errors that exist on this subject. He
states that " the people of the sister colonies assume
the right of dictating to the Western Australians
what they shall and what they shall not do. The
colony is not to continue a penal settlement, simply
because they do not please it shall ; then the mother
country is openly threatened if the Government do
not accede to their wishes," It is observed that the
Western Australians have asked the Government
for convict labour, to supply the want of that labour
which the other colonies had taken from them.
There is much force in the argument that transpor-
tation has not injured the other colonies, and it is
added that the inhabitants of Portsmouth, Port-
land, Chatham, Pentonville, &c., have more reason
to complain of the system than these objecting
colonies. When it is taken into consideration that
the nearest of these colonies is by land one
thousand and five hundred miles distant, across an
impassable country, it seems really absurd to inter-
pose such obstacles. When the scheme is one that
is sure to be the means of conferring immense
benefits on numbers who now are driven into
the commission of crime, it is really wrong to use
such a frivolous pretext, and to create so
many difficulties in the way of improve-
ment. It is quite impossible for the convicts
to make their way by land to the other
colonies, and by sea the stringent regulations
laid down render that also out of the question. No
man can land from any part of Western Austra-
lia without producing a passport to prove that he
has never been a criminal ; the master of any vessel
who takes such passengers is fined for each in the
sum of a hundred pounds. Therefore, with such
precautions, it must be evident that the only evil to
be complained of or dreaded cannot possibly occur
to these complaining colonies. Since transporta-
tion to Western Australia took place more than
thirteen years ego, only between forty and fifty met
have been lost, and of these it could not be proved
by contending parties, before the " Trantportatien
Commission," that six even had arrived on their
confines. Also there is very little communication
between Western Australia and the other colonies.
With Sydney they were years without having any
communication at all, and with Adelaide only four
or five times a year is there any traffic. Mr
GRELLET emphatically contradicts the statement
that was made by Mr. EBDEN to the effect that
" sixteen ticket-of-leave men were shipped off to
Wanguini, by the authorities of West Austra-
lia." He says that such an occurrence
never took place. Ho canoot recall an in-
stance of a vessel clearing for New Zs eland.
There is no trade with the country. In referring
to a remark made by another disputant, that "he
did not object to West Australia having these ras-
cals, if she only kept them," Mr. GRELLET states
that that is all they desire, and that they have no
doubt of keeping 'them, but also hope to reform
them. " The other colonies are frightened at a
shadow, and make all sorts of loose statements, but
do not substantiate one." Mr. GRELLET next at-
temps to show that there are great inducements for
these men to remain where they are, and that it is
their interest and intention to do so. In the first
place they are a/1 well aware of the penalties that
are entailed upon them if they seek to land in other
colonies, and also the obstacles in their way. When
a man has gained his ticket-of-leave he may take
service, or enter into business on his own account ;
and numbers of these men are comfortably settled,
and are landowners in the colony. Of course, with
all these advantages, they have no wish to move ;
and why should they
do so, since the utmost they
could expect in distant colonies would not be any
greater prosperity than they have where they are.
Men whose wits are sharpened by their mode of
life, and who have gained experience in a hard school,
will not be slow to find out that, should they escape
detection, the chances are all against their succeed-

ing so well in other places. Tr,e want of employ.
ment which has 'been talked of Mr. GRELLET

declares to be the argument of those who are in
total ignorance of the place and its sources. "Our

minerals," he says,

" are of as great extent, and as

rich as any of the other colonies ; they have no
timber to compete with our enormous forests." The
pasture land, he adds, is daily being increased, and

as the boundaries of West Australia include some-

thing more than 640,000,000 acres of land, but a
tithe of which is as yet explored, he truly says that
" it is rather presumptuous to declare they cannot
employ the few that are at present proposed to be

sent to them." The roads, also, they hope to have
made by convicts, and then they can employ more

men than the home country can send them. Mr.

GRELLET concludes his admirable letter by asking

whether for a crotchet of the other colonies the men

are to be cast back " into a state of crime whence

there is no escape but transportation, t bus keeping
up the number of criminals, and begetting a class
of juvenile offenders which in time take their place.''
the Western Australians will also be deprived
of the only labour tbey can retain. The case
seems clearly made out on the side of retain-
ing the convicts in Western Australia, and it
is greatly to be hoped that instead of diminishing
their liumbers they may be largely increased. All
the evidence taken on this subject from persons
best qualified to judge proves that at home they
are exposed to temptations of all kinds that vanish
in the distant land beyond the seas to
which they
are sent. Employment is certain, and privation is
nest to impossible in consequence ; thus two great
evils abounding in this country are unknown. It

seems almost incredible that persons will persist
from prejudice in throwing obstacles in the way of

Improving the condition of these MED. They are