The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-04 00:00:00

THERMOMETER.

This mornitiz
This day at Two o'clock
79

Barometer-30.

Wind—N.W. ; light bref ze, and fine weather.

HIGH WATER. AT LONDON BRIDGE.
THIS DAY.—Morning, 3b. 30m.—Afternoon, 3h. 55m.
To-monnow.-Morning, 4h. 18m.—Afternoon, 4h. 14m.

t f':=,
,2)
un-
,

LONDON, THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1863.

M. DE PERSIGNY's withdrawal from his present
position, we should imagine, might almost any day
now be looked for. His retention of the Minis-

terial portfolio much longer is hardly practicable.
And this, for the very simple reason that the French
Imperial Minister of the Interior has virtually, nay,

practically, shown himself to be not only power.
less, but more than that, an object of ridicule. The

latter being a point that, when once reached by an
Administrator on the opposite side of the Channel,
(fatal to him, and fatal summarily. That point

has never once been attained by the reigning Sove.
reign of France. He has been during these four.

teen 3 ears and a half of his power over France

the object certainly of the most violent passions

He has been regarded all this while, by friend

and by fce, alternately, often simultane

ously, with terror and admiration, with

fear and respect, with suspicion and confidence,
but never with ridicule. Mr. KlNGLARE—degrad-

ing his character, in so doing, at once as member o:

Parliament, as man of letters, and as gentleman--
has talked of the Emperor IVAPoLEoN 111., as looking

stupefied, as stammering like a craven, as turnng

green zn the face in moments of great danger,

The French have never once
whispered any such miserable and contemptible
mensonges as these. They know their ruler better
than does this spiteful burlesquer of history. They

and so forth.

have had him in the midst of them under their close

scrutiny now for very nearly five consecutive lustres.
—and they know for an absolute certainty that,

whatever else he may be charged with, he
cannot certainly be charged with that. Un-
like his predecessor upon the throne of
France, the Citizen King, with his gingham um-
brella and his pear-shaped head, the Emperor NA-
POLEON 111. has never once, during these fourteen
years snd a half of his power—nearly four years as
President, upwards of ten years as Emperor—his
MAJESTY has never once during all this interval
been an object of ridicule to France, even to Paris,
has never once rendered himself by his words or by
his acts ridiculous, in the estimation of those quick-
witted, laughing satirists the Parisians.
Not so is it now with the Emperor's Minister of
the Interior. M. DE PERSIGNY is now flagrantly,
in the sight of all Europe, the laughing-stock
of every one of the Paris arrondissements.
Because of his absurd policy, in every one of
those arrondissements the Opposition candidate has
triumphed over the Government candidate. Be- '
cause of his nothing less than impertinent dicta-
tion to the electors, -what they should do, how
theY should act, whom they should select, in
every instance, in every separate constituency, the
majoritydoinz,etintlbt:e.ee electors have decided upon
T tutu
to been
precisely the reverse ! M.
by the .sliniat! e:_en the chief personage reprobated
aistinguio„m4l %the Interior, among all the more
sition,
TuiZta tttlieae candidates of the Oppo-
of the second arroadi:::,,neelachosen by the electors
say, as a matter of course"%is' almost
as
one
rai
ht
did ate, that is to suy,Nyho.Noi a °VVonent, the cga
fore that constituency by tbsßel'Zte against him be.-
rior as the recognised candidattelOter °fthe 'bate,.
Government, though a man of
the
highest merit in his way, a kind 'Atrinaicoafity of the
man amongst the middle class of the pa 13-ateril-
the electors of that second arrondissement, 4:7
r
supported very feebly indeed, or set aside resolutely
altcgethcr. M. DETINCK being this Government
candidate for the second arrendissemcnt, and being
previously well known to all Paris es the great
chocolate manufacture—having chocolate asso-
ciated as intimately with hr 3 name among
our neighbours, as amongst ourselves, here
in London, tea is aeseetated with the name
of Mr. DARIN, of Number One St. Paul's
Churchyard ! What said the
,
Bitty Parisians
in answer to M. DE PERSIGNY'S blundering Cir-
cular ? The mot deserves to be remembered—be-
yond the time of this contest betweeen those two
most conspicuous among the candidates of the Op-
position and of the Government. The bon mot be-
this—(so good in its way as le be almost a-bon-
ton otofwitticimo—,,ll.THlEßS'narae is stamped upon
li~nLlTNicts S onlynpon chocolate" With
a laugh' 40711 went the chateau en Espagne, built up

in his lively imagination by M. DE PERSIGNY,
while dreaming over his circular—down went tht-
Ministerial policy with a laugh, not only in that
second arrondissement, but in all the other arron
diasements into the bargain. M. DE PERSIGNY'S
position is no longer tenable, because he hinaselt
has come to be ridiculous. The EMPEROR, how-
ever reluctantly, must awaken now to the fact. His
:Minister of the Interior is an object of ridicule, and
as such he must be removed.

The affairs of Prussia proceed from bad to worse.
The official paper published a royal decree, based
upon Article 63 of the Constitution, and counter-
signed by the Ministry. The decree is decisive as
regards any amelioration of affairs. "It empowers
the administrative authorities to prohibit tempora-
rily or altogether, after two warnings, the publica-
tion of newspapers the attitude of which is upon
the whole dangerous to the public welfare." Or
course this means virtually any journal that dares
to criticise the new regime, or to animadvert upon
its proceedings with any force. This rule is not
sufficiently stringent, however, but we are also
informed that " the Ministry is authorised

to forbid the introduction of foreign news-
papers into Prussia upon similar grounds
when thought advisable," By this arrangement it

is hoped that the people will be cut off from all
opportunity of gaining intelligence that is adverse
to the existing authorities both at home and
abroad. Really it seems difficult to account for
such strange proceedings on the part of the LING
and his Ministers. It would have been bad enough
for them to have dissolved the Chamber; but to

refuse to sanction the election of another is a gross
violation of the principles of constitutional Govern-
ment. This last act of the CROWN and Ministers
condemns the former one in the strongest manner,
for it is evident that it is fear of the result
that has greatly conduced to bring about
this startling procedure. They know that
the country will not ratify the abrupt
and arbitrary policy that has of late obtained
in high quarters. It is insulting common sense to
talk about this scheme being based upon an article
of the Constitution, because the fact is quite other
wise. The terms of the article especially referred

to prove that this expedient resorted to is to be a❑
exceptional case. It is, provided extreme necessity
calls it forth, "in the case where the maintenance
of public safety or circumstances of unusual. urgency
pressingly demand it, there can be decreed, when
the Chambers are not assembled, and under the
responsibility of the whole of the Ministers, ordi
nances, not in opposition to the Constitution, which
shall have the force of law." Ministers whe can advise
their Sovereign to conduct affairs after this fashion,
and who do not protest against such perversion of all
justice, are unfit to hold their high position and dis-
grace the office they fill. Nor can they stand forward
in the light of day and declare to the world that
anything has called forth their late stringent course.
Where are the circumstances of unusual urgency
that pressingly demand this enactment ? Besides
it is a contradiction in terms, since the confusion did
not arise during the time the Chambers were not
assembled, and hence all analogy must cease be-

tween the difficulty of M. BIsMARK and the danger
contemplated in the foregoing paragraph. To as-
sume that they are acting fairly, and to alter the
rules of the constitution to suit their purpose was
bad enough already in the Prussian Government,
but to declare that they are only, acting
in strict conformity with the Constitution
is dishonourable to them es men as much
as it is disgraceful to them as Ministers. It is
impossible to conceive a more disastrous or a more

deplorable state of things than has occurred in

Prussia, and the worst of it is, that there is now no
chance of improvement or hope of amelioration. It
is useless to expect that any retrograde movement
will be made by men who are determined to go
their own way, and the whole of their conduct in

this affAir tends to show that it was premeditated.
It is no sudden idea, no new plan, but a matured
scheme and a developed plot that hes subverted the
rights of a great country, and thrown back the
progress of its people in a manner equally cruel and
shortsighted. It is of course impossible to foresee
the future, but it is certain that the late arrange-
ments will entail great annoyance on all concerned.
But whatever vexation and irritation may be felt
by the injured deputies and insulted people, in the
long run those who will have to pay the heaviest
penalty for all this untimely fracas and wanton
interference with popular privileges and constitu-

tional rights, will be those who occasioned the evil,
and with whom originated the whole angry litiga-
tion. King WILLIAM seems resolved to try if there
is any real regard for justice and respect for liberty
throughout his dominions, but the result of the
attempt may hereafter prove dangerous, if not de-
structive, to the experimentalist.

The treatment of our convicts, and the manage,
ment of our convict prisons has of late been one of
the prominent subjects of public discussion. It is
probable that, owing to the alarm created by the
garotters, and the general impression that ruffians
of that class have hitherto been too easily dealt
with, the regulations will be henceforth enforced
with more stringency, even if no alteration is
made in the general system. It has been often,
and justly, said that to remove the terrors of
punishment is to transform the judge's sentence
on the culprit into a guarantee for board, lodging,
and clothing for a certain time, thus adding to
the many temptations which beset the impoverish( d
honest man. There is another point, however, which
is not so much thought of, but which is likely to
excite angry feelings in the minds of the poor who
are struggling for an honest living, while it un-
questionably inflicts upon them considerable
damage. We allude to the 133 stem of allowing
large firms to employ the prisoners in working
for them, thereby taking so much work from the
honest labourer or workman, when the labour mar-
ket is already overstocked. The reason of the authori-
ties in countenancing such proceedings is of course a
Praiseworthy desire to keep down the expenses of
the prison establishment, but we should think a
little reflection would show them that the evils far
outweigh this very trifling good. A few hundreds
a Year more or less in the sum required for a prison
is ~,..
L so great anhhaobintess
of :I:au:laoarwe:: object as the encouragement of
poor,rr:onrneri
etty.hlAE:h_eaus doubt,obtima and
anduditeol;l2:ettseweat
turned
livingetttohhieerref
aaten ichosotnassgast tvthhaienre
tegv[ienmbraye_
the
uncertain
bustittiointe:rutathheueg c amount which one
e
should be the object :f
closes o„f.ten co„iderabri bud honesty to
deter a 3 easy
ixa
i'tgailas of " the I
dangerous ,
this
than army tos
uy
m, :dila: anet° ufrge irregularrt-ob-ele!:1011
punishment, to
ore:ur
aaidl legidlatiou, EL:df:tal.
peace,
colizt,..
farloremadjioinsinorge
fort, or safety. It is the
magistrates and gaol authorities t:ercial 4irla
of
but surely gentlemen in such positions "in'e
I
know enough of political economy to see
important objections to their favourite schemey.
The first is, that a very large among; of work if,
taken out of the hands of the poor needlewomen,
matmakers, aLd others, by the employment of con-
victs by the large firms, who oust Ltherwiee find

honest labourers. The second is, that the work
being done at a very much lower rate inside the
prison walls than out, the rate of payment is natu-
roily cut down, and the unconvicted working man
or woman has to enter into a hopeless competi
tion with the labour of the prisoner. The able
authoress of "Female Life in Prison" speaks very
strongly on this subject, which, of course, chiefly
concerns the female prisoners. After enumerating
the immense quantity of shirt and trouser-making
accomplished in one year, and going through the
list of the large firms who supply the employ-
ment, she says that the sam given for the work
is so small that no woman who had to pay her rent
could possibly get a living out of it! What is this
but driving the lower classes of needle women into
atr scarcely
a labourt
thatthose ways of vice and crime that cost the country so
sufficientthe
of
very dear_ When HOOD wrote his memorable " Song
never
thesee
vra
reb flagged," e Shirt"p t t athanene e a
n which
dwas
which a
universalrewarded he outcry
y c
wasea oe
to obtain

A crusttot
hi
sof p be rrenaidc,
os nuds
sr aygs Fit .e"
Yet, according m
" A bed of straw,
low prices
are encouraged by official authority, while large
quantities of work are taken from the hands of the
needy and put into the hands of those who need it
not. The sewing machine is already a terrible rival
to these poor women, but convict labour is a more
dangerous competition. It is not only women
who have to complain. An advertisement
has recently appeared stating that the Gaol
Committee of Aldermen will meet at Guild-
hall on the 20th of June "to receive tenders
in writing, for the hire of the labour of the prisoners
at the City Prison, Holloway, in making mats,
oakum picking, &c., for the term of three years."
It is of course necessary to find employment for the
prisoners, and so long as they can be employed
upon public work the money saved may be a consi-
deration, as well as the work. But the plan of
allowing private firms to engage the prison labour
at an amount which tends to reduce the rate of
wages, besides depriving the honest poor of that
employment, which is often so hard to get, is most
mischievous and undesirable. There are few greater
hardships than the search for work which cannot
be found. This is especially hard to bear in the
case of the father or mothee of a family who have
to support their children from their earnings. Yet
this cry for labour, for the means of gaining an
honest livelihood, is painfully common among us.
Enforced idleness and pauperism is, as the friends
of Lancashire have often told u., most pernicious
in its effects, and to send a man or woman to obtain
assistance from the parish, because the work that
might have given them a living is engrossed by
underpaid convict labour, is to begin a dangerous
course of training. We hope the wise and en-
lightened among our social reformers will speedily
suggest some better means of occupying the idle
hours of the prison, and thereby put a stop to a
system which is contrary to the principles of justice
and humanity.

The Price of Frith's " Railway Station."

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—An editorial remark in your number of the
29th of May expresses a doubt about the correctness
of the passage in my pamphlet "On Piracy of
Artistic Copyrights," where I state that £5,500 paid
to Mr. H. Hunt for the "Saviour in the Temple" is
" the largest sum ever paid for a modern picture !"
And you inquire whether I have read a statement
which appeared in the public papers of Mr. Flatou
having paid Mr. Frith 8,760 guineas for the "Rail-
way Station" picture, and further paragraphs pub-
lished about two months ago, stating that the same
picture has been resold by Mr. Flatou for £20,000.

In corroboration of the correctness of my pam-
phlet, I can only say that the statement of 6,760
guineas, purporting to have been paid by Mr.
Fiatou to Mr. Frith for " The Railway Station" is
a romance, and the story of the £20,000 since paid
for the same picture a fiction.—l remain, yours
truly,

ERNEST GAMBART.

SOCIETY OF ARTS.

At the weekly meeting of this society last night,
his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge in the
chair, the paper read was by Mr. William Hawes,
" On the Results of the International Exhibition."
The author, after alluding to two former papers
which he had read upon this Exhibition—the first
in 1851, when the lamented president of the society,
the Prince Consort, presided, and a second in 1862,
when Earl Granville, chairman of the commission,
presided—said that his present object was to endea-
vour to point out the results it has produced, and
which it will probably produce, as well on future
xhibitions as upon the future progress of industry
and art. H . mentioned that there had been an
increase of more than 150 per cent. in the nunalier of
foreign exhibitors in 1862 over those in 1851—a
remarkable proof of the effect of the former Extibi•
tins in promoting intercourse between nations. He
quoted from M. Michel Chevalier and others to show
how much more cordial was the feeling of foreign
exhibitors and visitors now than it had been in 1851.
One important effectof the three great International
Exhibitions had been to promote the abolition of
restrictive commercial laws, which seemed now to
have almost received their death-blow in Europe.
The author referred at considerable length to the
Fine Art Department of the Exhibition, pointing
out its deficiencies, as well as indicating its merits.
He then briefly reviewed the jury reports, pointing
out in what classes most remarkable progress had
been made, and drawing attention to the countries
from which it seemed reasonable to expect much in
future. He especially alluded to the wonderful pro-
gress which the interval between our two great Ex-
hibitions had produced in our colonies, many of
which were almost unrepresented in 1851, while in
1862 they displayed most valuable collections. He
then briefly discussed the constitution of the Com-
mission of 1862,its expenditure and receipts, the ques-
tions as to the appointment ofjuries and the system of
awards of prizes, and the ciroumstances which must
guide us in determining when another exhibition
shall be held. In reference to the award of prizes, he
gave a brief resume of the nature of the replies
given by exhibitors, jurors, and others to the queries
issued by the Society of Arts on the subject,
the majority being decidedly in favour of prizes
being awarded in future exhibitions. He pointed
out the importance of not attempting to hold Inter-
national Exhibitions at too short intervals, for that
it we expect fore:gners to contribute, as they have
hitherto done, to the magnificence and usefulness of
our exhibitions, we must be prepared, as we did in
1851, to take a proportionate interest in theirs, and
this not only on the ground of the reniprocal inter-
change of civilities between nations, but on national
and interested grounds. In conclusion, the author
said he hoped that the views t e had laid before the
society would convince them that the International
Exhibition of 1862 has most thoroughly fulfilled
the duty assigned to it. By the mark set in 1851
it had become possible to note accurately our indus-
trial progress in England, in our colonies, and in
Europe of a magnitude before unknown in a similar
period.A
s of
is
bdiscussionL Ee r:bsaufe,yd:
mineswsrhsih.cNeltshoen Acloalrqe, uci
Sal Murchison, and others took part.

CITY SEWERS COMMISSION.—At the weekly meet
st,:iuilhall, Mr, Deputy de Jersey presiding, Dr. . .
on of
1) '"atisa, his
the sanitlry condition iuR Of the Commissioners of Sewers held
th„, city. quarterly report on
in-
quarter bas been ratthetrt and the deaths
803; vh,-;:ar,,elistered in the City was 800, .
last 10
b„. ot timln_the quarter which has just expired the nu
years the ~,,,,trti'" the corresponding quarter of the
mortality, th„lteteo:?-I,:kolsehrs,hracit.7p,:bpe:enwiart9:ool::ndr:
y, s
Lt eerthd
eabyy,
been in the poor localuis':eut"e'
death role h.ie risen f --a
,v, the chiet ineren.aBgws4e:tihh.earevTlitanhusireet
rota 4 tmer (4
1,000 to 34.2,
"erage of 30 in the

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

THE AMERICAN NOTE ON THE
POLISH QUESTION.
ST. PETERSBURG, JUNE 4.
Mr, Seward's reply to the French note inviting
the American Cabinet to join diplomatic action
with the Great Powers in favour of Poland has
been published here to-day.
The Washington Cabinet refuses its co operation
on the ground that America can never deviate from
her traditional policy of non-intervention except in
cases of evident necessity.