The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-10 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVE NG, FEBRUARY 10, 1862,

UILDHALL, 27th January, 1862.—The Cora-
mitteee for Letting' the City Lands will MEET at
GUILDHALL, on WEDNESDAY, the 12th February next,
at One o'clock precisely, to receive ntorosALS for a
BUILDING LEASE, for 0 years, of a I'IECE of GROUND
on the north side of Queenhithe Dock, in the City of Lon
n;
also to receive Proposals of Leases of a HOUSE.
No. 178
(late No. 91), Goswell-street ; and a HOUSE, No. 57, Banner-
square, Finsbury.
Plans of the property may be seen, and further particulars
and forms of tender obtained, upon application at the Archi-
tect's Office, Guildhall.
FERDINAND BRAND, Comptroller.

ARMY CONTRACTS.
Commissariat, South Camp, Aldershott,
February 8, 1862.
TENDERS will be received at this Office until
noon, on the 25th instant, from Parties who may be
willing: to enter into CONTRACTS for the supply of Fuel
and Light, consisting of
COALS, COKE, WOOD, COMPOSITE AND DIP CANDLES,
in such quantities as may be required for the use of her Ma-
jesty's Land Forces and Military Departments at Aldershott
Camp, for one year, from Ist April, 1862.
Forms of Tender and Conditions of Contract may be ob-
tained on applicati m at this Office ; and no tender will be
noticed unless made on such prescribed form, and delivered
at this Office by the hour appointed.
ALFRED SALWEY,
Deputy Commissary-General.

THE FRENCH BALL. The TWENTY-
FIRST ANNUAL GRAND BALL, given in aid of
the FUNDS of the FRENCH BENEVOLENT SOCIETY,
will take place at the Hanover-square Rooms. on MONDAY,
the 10th of February. Gentlemen's tickets, 14s. ; ladies' do.,
7s. (including refreshments% To be had of all music sellers,
and at the Society's Offices, 32, Sackville-street, Piccadilly.
N.B.—The usual lottery, containing 1,500 prizes, will be
drawn during the evening.

MR. AND MRS. CHARLES MATHEWS
"A"l' HOME,',
At Her Maj2sty's Concert Room, Haymarket.
Every Evening (except Saturday), at Eight. Wednesday and
Saturday Mornings at Three.
Private boxes, stalls, and places may be secured at the Box-
office, which is open daily from Ten till Five, and at Mr.
Mitchell's Royal Library, 33, Old Bond-street. No extra
charge for booking.
Carriages to be ordered at Ten.
Stalls, ss. ; First Circle, 9s. ; Upper Boxes, 3s. ; Unreserved
Seats, 2s. and is.

QOMETHENG WONDERFUL AT EVANS'
K., EVERY EVENING, at Half -past Ten o'clock.
Suppers after the Theatres. Old English Glees, Madrigals,
Four-part Songs, as ever.

A RGYLL ROOMS.-GREAT SUCCESS !
The Band and Musical arrangements under the direc-
tion of M. BOULCORT, Conductor and principal Cornet. In
addition to the Laurent Valse, Strauss Zuadrille, and novel-
ties of last week, A NEW POLKA, by M. Boulcourt, the
Solos performed by him and M. Greebe. Admission Is.—
Manager, M. P. Grenet.

DRAUGHTS round DOORS and WINDOWS
EFFECTUALLY PREVENTED BY
CHURCH'S INDIA-RUBBER MATERIAL AND
ANTI-DRY-ROT CEMENT.

Windows and doors, however imperfect, thus improved, will
never make a rattling noise, or admit of Draught, Fogs, Dit,t,
Wet, &c., will last for Ten Years, and will open and shut
with the greatest ease. Windows, 2s. each, and doors, 3s. 6d.,
material and workmanship included. Cheffoniers, book-
cases, wardrobes, &c., thus regulated, will not admit of the
intrusion of dust, smoke, blacks, &c. Letters addressed to
Messrs. CHURCH and SON, No. 13, Circus-street, Bryan
stone-square, London.

(IRNAMENTS for the Drawing-room, Library,
v ind Dining-room, consisting of a new and elegant assort-
ment of VASES, Figures, Groups, Candlesticks, Obelisks, Ink-
stands, beautiful inlaid Tables, Paper weights, &0., in Italian,
Alabas er, Parian, Marble, Bronze, Derbyshire Spar, &c.
Imported and manufactured by JAMES TENNANT, Mine-
ralogist to her Majesty, 149, Stand, W.C., Lonaon.
Mr. Tennant arranges elementary collections of SHELLS,
MINERALS, ROCKS, and FOSSILS, which will greatly
facilitate he interesting study of MINERALOGY, CON-
CHOLOGY, and GEOLOGY, at 2,5, 10, 20, 50, to 100 guineas
each.

PRA 11TICAL INSTRUCTION in GEOLOGY and MINE-
RALOGY is given by Mr. TENNANT. at 149, Strand, W.C.

MEDICAL REVELATIONS.
QELF-TREATMENT SIMPLIFIED, through
L-7 the aid of the TEST-TUBE, URINOME TER, and
MICROSCOPE, when employed for special diagnosis in all
disorders of the nervous, sexual, and generative system, in-
cluding spermatorrlicea or seminology, loss of power, noctur-
nal and diurnal wastings, and withering of the nervous
tissues, &c. By Dr. WATSON, Member of the Ecole de
Medicine, Rouen, National Academy of Sciences, Paris, and
Fellow of the Imperial Institute of France, &c. Presented to
"Nervous Invalids," with a view of superseding medicines
and expensive consultations. Sent post free on the receipt
of two stamps, by Dr. Watson, 27, Alfred-place, Bedford-
square, London. Consultations daily from eleven till two,
and six till eight, on all those ailments and infirmities peen-
liar to youth, manhood, and old age, and which tend to em-
bitter and shorten life.
For distinguished qualifications vide diplomas.

MR. E• JAMES AND THE BENCHERS
OF THE 11VNER TEMPLE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY NEWS.

Sir,—ln the course of your able and useful com-
ments on Mr. Edwin James's case, you remark that
if the benchers of the Inner Temple had done their
duty on the occasion of Mr. Craufurd's motion, the
career of Mr. James might have been less discredit-
able. The present Attorney-General, who repre-
sented the bench in the House of Commons on that
occasion, confined himself to a statement that the
bare fact of exclusion, on which Mr. Craufurd re-

lied, proved nothing, the mode of action being by
ballot, as at a club. The fault lay, and lies still,
with the main body of these benchers, who, in their
capacity of trustees for the public, persist in a
mode of election which deprives their conclusions
of all moral force, and even precludes inquiry, for
inquiry would be an additional wrong, unless
means were taken for securing an open and res-
ponsible decision.
It is a matter of notoriety that a Queen's counsel
of social and literary reputation is excluded by a
single black ball, yet though the bar petitioned
against and the judges formally condemned the
practice of which he complained, and the press,
with a rare unanimity, took up his cause, the mode
of election is still by ballot ; and if only half the
existing benchers were present (not a rare occur-
rence), a single blackball might exclude still. At
the other three inns of court the election to the
bench is open, and by:the majority. At either of
these, therefore, exclusion from Ihe bench would
have the moral force it ought to have. At the
Inner Temple it ought in common justice to carry
no more weight than an exclusion from Brooks's or
the Travellers.' The late Sir W. Rawe was ex-
cluded without the pretence of a cause, and was soon
afterwards appointed chief justice of Ceylon with-
out objeclion.—l am, &c.,

A BARRISTER OF TUE INNER TEMPLE.
Temple, Feb. 8.

PROGRESS OF RAILWAY COMMUNICATION IN
SWITZERLAND.—In 1851 there were onlyfive leagues of rail-
way in Switzerland, whereas there are now, after only eight
years, 250 leagues, which must have cost as many million
of francs. That small country, which did not begin the
construction of railways till 20 years after its neighbours,
has now a greater length of such communication, in pro-
portion to its population, than any one of them. In fact, in
1860, Prussia had only 58 miles of railway for each 1,0(0
inhabitants, Saxony 47, and France 43, while Switzerland
had 521 miles.
ANOTHER SHOCKING EXPLOSION OF FIRE DAMP
IN SOUTH WALES ----On Saturday morning one of these
alarming accidents which have of late become too rife in
the mines of South Wales—viz., explosions of fire damp,
occurred at the Gwellywion Colliery, Pont-y-Pridd, Gla-
morganshire. It would appear that the proprietors of the
Works, Messrs. Fowler Brothers, use all the precautions
which skill and science have suggested for the prevention
of accidents of the kind, but, unfortunately, the miners
themselves, instead of seconding their efforts, display a
recklessness, which, seeing how many explosions are con-
stantly taking place, is really surprising. One of the rules
of the colliery peremptorily prohibits the use of naked
candles in the workings, but on Saturday two men, named
John Maybury and Howell Jenkins, went into one of the
old workings, currying with them a light the flame of
which was wholly unprotected. Of course, the candle had
no sooner come in contact with the explosive vapour than
an explosion took place. The consequence was that the
men were knocked down, and burnt terribly. An alarm
was given, assistance procured, and they were removed to
their homes, and medical attendance at once procured for
them. Only a short time before the occurrence, the fore-
man went through the pit, and found all the regular work-
ings quite safe.
BENSON'S WATCHES AND CLOCKS: —" Perfection- of
mechanism."—Morning Post. Gold watches, sto ICO guineas;
silver watches, 2 to 50 guineas. Benson's new Illustrated
Pamphlet, free for two stamps, descriptive of every construc-
tion of watch, enables persons in any part of the world to
select with the greatest certainty the watch best adapted to
their use. Watches sent free and safe by post on receipt of
a remittance. —J. W. Benson, 33 and 34, Ludgate-hill, 46 and
47, W.lllllll, London, E.C.—EstaWitted 1719.

TILE CONVERSION OF THE FRENCH

TOUR AED-A-HALF PER CENTS,

The debate in the Legislative Chamber on Friday,
on the conversion of the Four-and-a-Half per Cent.
Rente, was opened by
M. DAnnioN, who opposed the measure. He per-
fectly agreed with the Minister of Finance as to
the necessity of reducing as soon as possible the
amount of the deficit, and admitted that the unifica-
tion of the public debt was of itself very desirable ;
nevertheless he could not comprehend how any one
could support the measure now proposed. His rea-
sons for opposing it were, first, that it was immoral
—(exclamations) ; next, that it reposed on factitious
bases; thirdly, that it offered no serious advantage
to the fundholders; and lastly, because it was disas-
trous to the Treasury. His reason for calling the
measure immoral was that it would lead to a colos-
sal operation at the Bourse, the profits of which the
Government proposed to share with the public. An
agent de change, when desirous of inducing a client
to enter on a perilous operation, would use exactly
the same line of argument as that which appeared in
the preamble of the Bill. The Government also held
out to the fundholder a hope that the addition
which ho would have to pay would be
made up to him by the future advance
in the New Three per Cents., and which he
thought the Government could not calculate on
with certainty. These were the reasons why he
designated the measure immoral. A conversion, in
his opinion, could not be a serious operation, except
when the rise in the public funds corresponded with
a reduction in the rate o' interest and of discount,
and when the Government could say to the fund-
holder that it could borrow money at a lower rate
elsewhere than from them. The quarterly payment
of the interest was certainly a boon to the fund-
holders, but that, he thought, might have been done
without having ',a conversion. The addition also
was a very serious thing for the fundholders, and
many of them would be compelled to sell a part of
their stock to raise the money. He was a great
advocate for the unification of the public debt, but
he could not separate that measure from the reduc-
tion of it, and the present measure, in his opinion
destroyed all hope of that desirable result.
M. BARTIIOLONY expressed his approbation of
the measure. One of the first acts of the Emperor
in 1852 was the obligatory conversion of the Five
per Cents, into Four-and-a-Half per Cents., and he
now proposed a further reduction. As the legality
of the right of reimbursement could not be doubted,
the only question now to be solved was the best
means to be employed for that purpose. The bill
under consideration was well calculated to effect the
object, as it was a compromise between the State
Half per Cents.
tahnedirbyrevenue would have
small fundholders,
aanndd
Fitsoucrrepdeirtocrse.nTtsh.ewFeoruer-hannldd-ah. y
a number of
ctohawrihtoambleaedstiambilnisuhtmioennotfs
been a very serious affair. The bill now before the
House protected all those interests, dispensed with
the necessity of a loan, and prepared the unification
of the debt. As such it was entitled to the unani-
support of the Legislative Body.

who had entered on his
M • KUNIGSWARTER was
nanxiousn teoi
nrge der f
er
prull
rhoogmaat
igvee
at on
dt ht
toe
i‘Emperor , i
financial duties at a time of great difficulty; yet not-
withstanding his (the speaker's) attachment to the
Government, he was compelled to oppose the Bill.
He did not consider the measure favourable to the
interests of the State, particularly under the con-
ditions in which it was presented ; the moment did
not appear to him opportune for effecting the con-
version, as it would place interests entitled to the
highest consideration in a situation of great diffi-
culty ; and, lastly, he thought the realisation of the
conversion highly problematical. If he were Minis-
ter of Finance—(laughter)—he would, like the Hon.
M. Fould, have used all his efforts to reduce the
deficit; he would have effected a loan on favourable
conditions to the amount of 300 millions, and the in-
terest on which he would have raised by effecting
savings in the war budget. As regarded the objec-
tion of inopportuneness, he thought the moment to
effect a conversion was when money could be readily
obtained, and that certainly was not the case at the
present time. Things were far different in 1852,
when the metallic reserve in the Bank of France
was 591 millions, and the discount at 3 per cent.
The operation proposed would affect eight millards
of French stock, for a result which was avowed by
tha report itself to be trifling, and the success of
which was doubtful. The answer made by the great
majority of small fundholders would, in his opinion,
be that they held their stock, and never intended to
sell it, although a rise in price might take place.
Should the conversion fail after the adoption of the
bill in consequence of the abstention of the holders
of the stock the most serious inconvenience would
arise. The rejection of the Bill would not lead to any;
it would merely show a simple difference of opinion
between the Chamber and the Government. The
change made in the nature of the stock was not in
itself a matter of indifference, and in a political
point of view it was desirable to have the small
fundholders retain their stock, as they would
then be interested in maintaining order.
With regard to the Trentenary Bonds, they had
been spoken of as such an admirable security, and
yet they were so soon to have their deathblow
given to them. Those bonds were brought forward
as a resource to meet the expense of constructing
new railways, for IN hick a new loan would now be-
come necessary. The report of M. Fould to the
Emperor said not a word about those bonds, and
yet they were included in the bill under discussion.
He hoped that some explanations would be given
on that point. The Government, doubtless, hoped
that the measure would succeed. Me entertained a
contrary opinion, and time alone would show which
was right.
M. VIIITRY, Government Commissioner, com-
bated the arguments of the hon. deputies who had
spoken against the bill. The hon. M. Darimon had
alluded to what he called the immorality of the
transaction, and said that the Government wished
to lead a colossal operation at the Bourse, the pro-
fits of which would be shared- between the State
and the public, but nothing could be further from
the truth. The conversion depended much less on
the absolute rates of the funds than on the diffe-
rence which existed between the Four and a Half
per Cents. and the Three per Cents. Within the
fortnight which preceded the report of M. Fould
that difference bad varied between 27f. and 28f. M.
Kcenigswarter had spoken of a derangement which
would take place in the nature of the stocks, but
that was inevitable, as the same had taken place in
1852, and to a very considerable extent. With re-
gard to the difference in the present state of things,
and that of 1852, when the former conversion was
effected, he would say that the objections were
unfounded. The amount of reserve in the Bank
of France at the latter period was nothing more
than the result of a complete stagnation in com-
Tehesituation now was much better than
present compromise made between
StatemitnheerlcBes.il h
2.
and the fundholder was just and politic.
The operation of the conversion was purely op-
tionalfundholders, and no com-
pulsion was exercised
towards
u them. When
n
was effected the fund-
the
conversiont h the part a r
et of
1852 the f
fund-
ho ders were offered reimbursement at 100 f., or a
diminution of a half per cent. in their revenue.
Their silence was to be construed into acquiescence,
and a
clauseßut nowto theretat e wasife nothing of the kind done.
was introduced into the
pay-
ment of an addition, and
situa-
tion was not at all changed. All the arrangements
inholderhthepreswenats offeredmeasu to convert his stock on
re if he abstained his
were formed with every
regard to the interests of the fundholders, and, in
his
opinion,
conversion would be accepted by them in that
sense. The Proposed would not lead to
more than a simple reduction of their revenue of one
quarter per cent., and they would have the advan-

Cage of receiving their dividends quarterly instead
of half-yearly. As to the Trentenary Bonds, the
premature death of which the Hon. M. Kcenigswar-
ter so much deplored, they were merely to have a
different existence given to them. The hon. deputy
had complained that no mention was made of them
in the report ; but to that he would reply that
neither were the Four per Cents. spoken of. The
bill, he must repeat, was an equitable ccmpromise
between the State and the fundholder, and would
lead to the unification of the public debt. That in
fact was the true object of the measure, and he called
on the Chamber to solve in the affirmative a ques-
tion which affected the political and financial inte-
rests of the country. (Loud marks of approbation,
and cries of "Divide.")

M. PICARD said that the measure now proposed
was a very complicated one, and not an ordinary
conversion. It was an operation in which the State
told the fundholders that they should give them a
part of the profit which would result from the rise
in the Three per Cents., and receive in return a
non-reimbursable stock. Such an operation would
deprive the State of the power of ever making any
further reduction in the rate of interest. If the
operation were to succeed, it would put 190 mil-
lions into the coffers of the State, but that would
be a very trifling gain in comparison with the dis-
advantages which would result from the measure.
The unification of the debt was, in his opinion, a
mere chimera. The Government, in bringing
forward such a bill, departed from its cha-
racter of impartiality and persecuted the fund.
holder. (Laughter and interruption.) The measure
was a mere expedient, which, by devouring the re-
sources of the future, made a fresh attack on the
finances of the State. Some speculators might per-
haps suffer from the rejection of the bill, but the
country would hail it with pleasure.
The discussion was then adjourned.
The debate was resumed on Saturday by M.
AUGUSTE CHEVALIER, who supported the bill. He
said that yesterday that three members of the
Chamber spoke against the bill, and but one de-
fended it. He observed that the objections made to
the bill were that it was injurious to the State
and to the fundholder—that it favoured jobbing
and was immoral. He was commencing to refute
these objections at the hour of post.

The whole bill for the conversion of the Rentes
was passed on Saturday evening in the Chamber•of
Deputies by 226 against 19 votes,