The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-27 00:00:00

announcing that to be NAPOLEON'S determination,
was transmitted, not as usual through th© office of
the Minister of the Interior, but directly from the

Camp at Chalons, from the hands the EMPEROR
himself ! Marshal M'MAHON and Marshal RAND ON

being detained there at the Camp longer than had
been originally intended,in order that they,mighteon-

suit with his MAJESTY as to the military measures
most advisable under the circumstances. Nay, more,
than that, two directeurs from the Ministry of War

being summoned hastily from Paris to assist with
the EMPEROR and his two Marshals in the labours
of this little improvised Council of War in the
Camp at Chalons. The Mediterranean Fleet of
France, awaiting just now at Toulon any sudden
orders that may be transmitted thither by the Im-
perial Government ! And active preparations being
made the while for the conveyance of any number
of additional troops that may be required in Central
Italy across to Civita Vecchia.
During the time all which is occurring within
the French frontiers—Austria is said to be meditat-
ing the calling out of 40,000 additional soldiers !
Her army, at present garrisoning the Quadrilateral
and Venetia, numbering even new from 100,000 to
200,000 men !
As to the anti-Garibaldian proceedings of the
Italian Government—those have already been in-
timated to have become at last both resolute and

comprehensive.
The KING'S two Commigsioners Extraordinary
for the "Two Sicilies"—ClALDlNl for Sicily itself,
and DELLA MARIMBA for the Neapolitan terri-
tory have met at Naples, and have there concerted
their plans. The island of Sicily itself, besides
being in a state of siege, is formally announced to
,be Blockaded ! The London 'gazette of last even-
ing (as our own columns yesterday intimated in our
Third Edition) formally announcing the receipt
by Earl RUSSELL on the 23d instant of the
official notification of the Blockade. A cir-
cumstance of itself sufficient to account for the
noble lord's hasty return to Richmond from his
holiday excursion in Ireland. And now Naples
itself, and the whole of the Neapolitan Provinces,
are proclaimed to be in a State of Siege, as well as
the whole of Sicily. How the Civil War will go,
exclusively as a Civil War—that is, before the
French soldiers can have anything whatever to do
with it—even that it is bewildering to conjecture.
An anti-Garibaldian course, it is true, is now being
pursued by the Italian Government with appa-
rently the utmost determination. But—the Gari-
baldian movement is, apparently, at the same
time gaining strength and confidence also ! Later
news than we gave yesterday from Aderno, in
Sicily, shows that, besides' the seventeen officers
who had then given in their resignations, others
had rapidly followed their example : so that,
altogether, in that one isolated locality as many as
forty •six of the KING'S officers had thrown up their
commissions, rather than fight against their beloved
and idolized Hero—the Patriot-Chief GARIBALDI !
How far the rest of the Royal army can be relied
upon by the Government remains, of course, to be
seen. One Hope yet remains, even at this most
critical juncture, one last hope that the
threatened struggle of Italian against Italian
may be prevented. And that One Hope is
in GARIBALDI'S patriotic magnanimity. His
patriotism every one knows to be honest. His
magnanimity has become long rinse a proverb even
amongst his foes. Let him recognise, even at this
eleventh hour, that Italy may in any way benefit
by an act of Self-Sacrifice on his part, and—how-
ever extreme that act may need to be—GAItI-
BALDI the Dauntless has greatness of soul enough
at once to make that Sacrifice, and to make it with-
out an instant's hesitation and without a sigh.

The subject of compensation for railway injuries
is one which interests a large number of persons as
shareholders, a great number as actual sufferers,
and the whole public as possible sufferers. It has
naturally figured in the reports of various com-
panies during the last week or two, and, as might
be expected, with hostile comments on the part of
directors, on both the law as it stands, and on its
administration, by juries especially. The audiences
have always been those whose dividends suffer by
the compensations awarded, and must therefore be
expected to sympathise with the language of their
boards. The law has been voted harsh in principle
and juries vindictive in their verdicts.
_ _

But as judges wholly impartial between
our shareholding and our simply travel-
ling readers, let us state our view of the
case. We have at times been disposed to
think the law rather hard on the companies, but
further reflection has compelled us to question
whether in the long run they are losers by it. On
one point all are agreed—that if a company, like
any private individual, causes loss or damage to
another by culpable carelessness, not to say wilful
neglect, it ought to be responsible for that loss or
damage. All Englishmen will also agree that they
should like that damage to be assessed by a jury of
their countrymen. They know that juries may err,
and may give even preposterous damages in cases of
all kinds, but they also know that if they go far
astray, a new trial can always be obtained, and
neither the companies nor the public would listen
for a moment to any other final appeal on a ques-
tion of damages than the verdict of a jury. We
may pass by, therefore, the law of compensation to
the surviving sufferers and the vindictiveness of
juries as irrelevant. No one objects to the principle
of the law—no one justifies vindictiveness.
But, it is contended, damage to life and person
ought to be compensated on some fixed scale. One
man's life is as valuable as another. Why should
the company pay more for a killed bishop than for
a killed pauper ?—at least, why should not the
compensation be in proportion to the fares paid ?
If a hundred pounds is enough for the life of a man
who pays a penny a mile for travelling, why should
not two hundred pounds be enough for the man
who has paid twopence a mile ? Why should a
company be allowed to get off for, we will suppose,
gross negligence, by which a score of artisans are
killed, with a total which would fall far short of
what they must pay for one man who earned a
thousand a year ? and we will suppose, too, in the
latter case, that the culpability or the negligence
was barely proved. Is this English and equal
justice ? Does it not bear hard on the company
in the latter case, and does it not look like invidi-
ous distinctions between classes ?

At first sight it may seem unfair. Bat let us
see—are we prepared to controvert the principle
of the injurer indemnifying the injured in pro-
portion to tha injury sustained? If not, and we
presume,that Englishmen would agree on this point,
for the denial of this principle would strike at the
root of all compensation public and private—what
test of injury, capable of being measured by a pecu-
niary standard, can be found, but that of the proved
pecuniary loss. The artizan's surviving family are
injured to the extent of his earnings for the
term of
years he might be expected to live ; the
Bishop's
family to the extent of his episcopal

revenue, and so of the professional man, and of
all persons -whose incomes come under the fear-
ful sbedule D. We cannot imagine any
other
test which a court can make use off. As
we have said, the test may be perversely
applied, So it may in innumerable other eases, but