The Sun.
London, England, 1839-10-22 00:00:00

LEVRAND.

A letter from Toulon, of the 15Lh instant, states
that the Ocean, Neptune, Suffren, Souverain, Al-
ger, Marengo, Seipion, and Nestor ships of the
line, now fitting out in the French ports, and which
will all be soon ready to put to sea, with several
corvettes, would form a squadron of reserve, carry-
ing from ten to twelve thousand men. It was ex-
pected, however, not to sail before the spring, ow-
ing to the inclemency of the winter season in the
Mediterranean. The Minister of Marine had like-
wise glum orders that the marines on the coast of
Spain should be landed, in order that they might
be transferred to ships of the line.
The sugar refiners and beet-root growers have
held a meeting at Lille, at which the Royal Ordi-
nance, reducing the import duty on colonial sugars,
was denounced as ruinous to their interests. A
Committee was appointed, with powers to protest
against the Ordinance as illegal, and the payment
of a tax on home grown sugars, which the law does
not authorize. The people of Lille were not, how-
ever, by any means so distressed as the inhabitants
of Strasburg, in consequence of the decline of the
cotton trade in that city. No fewer than six manu-
facturing establishments had been compelled, in the
course of a few weeks, to suspend their works.
The Journal de Debats of Sunday, has a long
article in which the question of granting pasports to
Don CARLOS is examined, and the immediate libe-
ration of the Pretender urged as quite a harmless
measure. If the Debats speak the language of the
Government, it is easy to see how very little the
pacification of Spain troubles the repose of the
French Cabinet. France connived at the escape of
CARLOS before, and inflicted on the Peninsula six
years of civil war, with all its train of attendant
horrors`; and now his release is advocated with
every prospect of perpetuating these calamities !

Parliament is to be further prorogued on Thurs-
day next, to Thursday the 12th December. A
Council for this purpose was held at Windsor
yesterday, at which her Majesty was present. Most
of the Ministers were present, but Lord John Rus-
sell was absent on account of the death of the Duke
of Bedford.

DEATH OF THE DUKE OF BED-

FORD.

His Grace expired at the Doune, in Perthshire,
at ten o'clock on Sunday. He had been residing
with his family for some weeks in that favourite
retreat of the Duchess, and on Friday last was at-
tacked by paralysis, which deprived him suddenly
of the power of speech, which he never recovered.
His Grace succeeded to the title and estates
on the death of his brother Francis, the great
patron of agricultural improvements, on the
2d of March, 1802. He was born July 6,
1766, consequently he died in the seventy-fourth
year of his age. He married first Georgiana
Elizabeth, daughter of Viscount Torrington, by
whom he had issue, the present Duke of Bed-
ford, Lord George William Russell, and Lord
John Russell. George
married second Georgians,
youngest daughter of Alexander, Duke of
Gordon, by whom he had a numerous family.
He has left vast property, said to be worth
at least 250,0001. a year ; a considerable portion
of which will be divided among his children.
His Grace was a liberal, distinguished, and con-
sistent Whig, never deserting his party, or even
the leader of his party, from whim, caprice, or even
for reasons which some other Whigs considered
sufficient grounds for desertion, as his fidelity to
Fox proved. He was a long and steady patron
of education on the most liberal principles, a hearty
coadjutor in that great cause of Lord Brougham,
(who, we rejoice, still lives) and one of the most li-
beral contributors to the fund in aid of the British
and Foreign School Society. pr es Duke
is ukrye
is in the 51st year of his age, and the honorary
title of Marpis of Tavistock devolves on his son,
n
Lord Rusell, the present Member for Tavistock .
_ .