The Sun.
London, England, 1839-12-19 00:00:00

people srn opt ;n cronifl iry he to so!irit nitnq.
beinQ ashamed to appear in the day ; while in

Lyons, and in all the large towns in the south of
France, the misery of the humbler classes of arti-
zans is fast driving them to desperation. To con-
struct and maintain an overwhelming naval arma-
ment ; to keep up immense military establishments ;
to support in useless splendour a mushroom aristo-
cracy, with no estates but their umbrellas, the
working classes of France are robbed of the fruit of
their industry, and thus subjected to the horrors of
periodical famine, and the shame of beggary. We are
not surprised at the frequency of plots and conspiracies
among them, when we reflect upon the wretchedness
to which they are reduced to maintain armies of
idle, profligate, spies and informers---vampires whose
abodes are the graves of freedom and public virtue.
The Scriptures tell us that if men work not, nei-
ther should they eat, but one of the great objects
been to secure the mono-
opfolayllofGeoavteinrigimetnots has
the
idle. Having robbed the
poor of their equal right of inheritance to the
soil, they have apportioned them toil without
reward as the penalty of a conscious existence I
The Court of Peers sat on Tuesday, when it
was resolved to proceed forthwith to the trial of
M. BLANQUI and thirty-three other alleged con-
spirators.

There is nothing new about the Bonapartist
conspiracy in the French journals of Tuesday. The
affair is considered, however, of the utmost im-
portance. It does not appear that the papers seized
at the office of the Reparateur de Lyons have any-
thing to do with it, except a print representing the
triumphal entry of the Duke of BORDEAUX into
Paris, and a copy of ARMAND LAIT'Z'S pamphlet.
The co-operation of the Bourbonists and Bona-
partists in this plot is certainly the strongest thing
about it.

Letters from Naples state that the Infante Don
SEBASTIAN and his wife have been treated with
great distinction by the Neapolitan Government.
No further intelligence had been received from
Africa, except that the ex-Bey ACHMICT had cer-
tainly taken the field, and was in the vicinity of
Constantine. The colonists were greatly dissatisfied
with the conduct of the French troops.

Preparations of every kind are proceeding with the
utmost activity to reinforce the Army in Africa. Be-
sides the surgeons of the corps of troops that have
already sailed, and are on the point of doing so, applica-
tions have been made to the hospitals for young men who
will set out immediately. A sufficient number has not
been found in the faculty of Strasburg, and at the Val
de Grace.

Yesterday, at half-past one o'clock, there w.s a great
Council of Ministers at the Palace.

At noon, Count Appony and Lord Granville went to
the Cabinet of Marshal Soult, in the offices of the Fo-
reign Department.
The Monileur of to-day, the 17th, contains various
judicial appointments. It has no news whatever, either
from Africa or the East.—Le Commerce.

SPAIN.—The Eco d'Aragon of the 12th instant pub-
lishes an intercepted document, purporting to have
emanated from Cabrera, which enjoined the families re-
siding in the district of Segura, whose sons or relatives
were serving in the Queen's ranks, to repair, in twenty-
four hours to that fort, in order to take out passports
for Madrid, the place fired by Cabrera for their resi-
dence. Those who should decline obeying that order
were to be shot without respite. This decree, dated
Olieta, the 29th ult., was signed by the " Commander-
General Liangostera." The Eco then states, that,
during the last two or three days, many families, driven
from their homes by the Carlists, arrived in Saragossa.
They were all provided with passports delivered to them
for Madrid, by the Governor of Segura. The third di-
vision of the Queen's army, stationed at Alcoriza, had
been directed to proceed to Ejulve, Palomar, and Cabra,
for the purpose of intercepting the mountain road
through which the garrison of Segura was supplied with
provisions.

_
INUNDATIONS IN ITALY.—The Milan Gazelle of the
9th inst., states that part of the province of Mantua
still remaining under water, it was impossible to form an
exact opinion of the extent of the damages occasioned
by the late inundations of the Po and Oglio. It had
been, however, ascertained that within its territory
5,547 dwellings had been inundated, 3,607 abandoned,
1,021 so much injured as to require to be propped up,
and 709 demolished. 6,519 individuals were left with-
out shelter, and 5,024 without any means of existence.
BO URS E.—PARts, TUESDA2, Dan. 17.

First Highest Lowest Lust
Price Price. Price Price.
French 5 per Cents lll !15 ... 112 ... 111 80 ... 1 2 25
4 per Cents lOl 90 ... 102 ... 102 ... 102
3 per Ctrs, au Mr! 4U tit/ 40 5,1 ,10
Bank of trance 293a

Belgian 5 per Cents lol3i ... 101 N ... 10 ii ... 10;14
3 per Cents 7l 80 ... 71 se ... 71 80... 71 80
Bank BlO ... 835 ... SlO ... 81 1
Spanish Ac ive ..
Passive 6 ... 6iii ... 6 ... 6
Portuguese 3 per Cents 23i ... 23% ... 23% ... 2.3 q
Nicacolit.iii
Roman IOIY4 ... 101% ... 10i% ...101%

Madrid journals of the 10th inst. have come to
hand, but their contents are not of the slightest
moment. It was asserted that the Carlist army com-
manded by CABRERA, ►were suffering from want of
provisions, and consequently, that there was no
truth in the accounts of the inexhaustible stores laid
up at Cantavieja and Morella. ESPARTERO
maintained his positions, by which the Carlists were
closely blockaded. The Five per Cent. Actives
were, on the 10th, in slight demand on the Bourse
for 27 1-16 cash.

The following parag,raph relative to the settle-
ment of the Eastern Question is from the Augs-
burg Gazette of the 14th instant, received this
morning :

" TURKISH FRONTIER, DEC. I.—England, Austria,
and France have lately resolved to declare to Mehemet
AU, Ist. That if he wished to treat directly with the Porte
nobody would hinder him ; but that the sanction of the
great powers would not be given to any peace, unless
tounded on an equitable basis. 2d. That no coercive
measure would be adopted against him, unless the
powers should be obliged to prevent a new attack on the
Porte—the advance of the army of Ibrahim into Asia
Minor."

RAILWAY CALENDAR FOR 1840.—This is a
very comprehensive and useful Railway Compen-
dium, and has been prepared with much care, and
evidently by one acquainted with the subject. It
contains a map, showing the comparative lengths
of the principal railways in Great Britain, distin-
guishing by different colours those not yet opened,
those opened in part, and those opened through
the whole line ; and below it gives the actual length
of each, with the number of shares, the amount
paid on each, and the total amount of capital in
railways, amounting nearly to the enormous sum of
sixty millions sterling. It will be seen from the
map, that the longest line laid down is that from
London to Yarmouth, being 1261 miles, and
the longest railway yet completed is the London
and Birmingham, the actual expense of which, up
to December, 1838, is put clown at 4,983,8491.
The price is moderate, and we can safely recom-
mend the work to public notice.

THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE VERSUS EGYPT.
—A pamphlet has been published under this title,
the object of which is to deprecate the efforts now
making to establish a speedy communication with
India via Egypt, and to remind the English public
that much of England's maritime greatness is due
to the commerce she has maintained with
India by the Cape of Good Hope. The author is
alarmed less those efforts should send back ttie
commerce with India to the old route of Alexan-
dria and the Red Sea. But as far as these efforts
have yet gone, they are confined to the convey-
ance of passengers, letters, and the very lightest
species of merchandize. The number of steam-
vessels proposed to be employed on the Compre-
hensive Scheme is only four, and admitting the pos-
sibilitytie
ofl tchoettfoena,rssougfFarr,edreicriec, pepper, spices, &c.,k Scheer, Esq., being
ultimately realised, the day must be very distant
when
which are brought from India, can be conveyed
cheaper by the route of the Red Sea, with two,
ando
or
a perhapscons
additionalconsiderable
ea
laud
carriage,
a rloadingsriae and unloadings,
,
by
than wholly
sea round the Cape of Good Hope.° The doubtful
state of Egypt which Mr. Scheer uses as an argu-
ment against the proposed speedy communication by
the Red Sea is an effectual bar against sending rich
and heavy cargoes by that route. Honouring his
patriotic zeal in the cause of the maritime and com-
mercial supremacy of Great Britain, his fears that
they will be injured by the proposed comprehensive
plan of communicating with India by steam, and
crossing the Isthmus of Suez, appear to us wholly
unfounded. We must express our gratification at
seeing that the Comprehensive Scheme is warmly
advocated by the inhabitants of Calcutta ; but we