The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-09 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES.

IMPROVEMENT OF LANDS THROUGHOUT GREAT BRI-
TAIL —Yesterday a committee of the House of Lords,
consisting of the Lord Privy Seal, the Earl of Doncaster,
Lord Harrowby, Earl of Ardrossan, and Lord de
Manley, met to consider the provisions of a bill for in-
corporating the Lands Improvement Company, the
object of its being to improve, convert, and reclaim
lands in England, Scotland, and Wales, by draining,
irrigation, embanking, inclosing, making roads, erecting
farm buildings, trenching, clearing and planting, for the
purposes of shelter, for the general benefit of agricul-
ture, and the public advantage. The drainage of lands
is to be carried out by any such means as the Inclo-
sure Commissioners shall approve. The capital is to
be 100,0001., with power to issue additional shares up
to 300,0001. Power is also given to afford facilities for
the improvement of land by enabling the company to
issue transferable mortgage debentures. Landlords
may contract with the company for the improvement of
lands, and Inclosure Commissioners may inspect lands
and works. The Measure, the preamble of which was
declared proved, is not to extend to Ireland.
RAILWAY COMMITTEES.—HOUSE OF LORDS.—Yester-
day the following bills passed through committee in the
House of Lords :—Bideford Extension ; NVaveney Val-
ley ; Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire ; Llandi-
loes and Newtown; London and North Western (Oldham
and St. Alban's branches); Great Southern and Western;
Furness ; Eastern Counties (North Woolwich) ' • Edin-
burgh and Glasgow; Carlisle and Port Carlisle; Copper
Miners' Company.

LONDON FEMALE DORMITORY AND INDUSTRIAL IN-
STITUTION.—Yesterday, a special meeting of the friends
and supporters of this institution was held in the vestry-
room of St. Pancras ; the Rev. Canon Dale, M.A.,
vicar of the parish, in the chair. The report stated the
objects of the institution to be, the prevention of crime,
and the restoration of such as had fallen. In carrying
out the first object, the members of the institution had
on several occasions successfully rescued unwary females
from the numerous agents at work to entrap them.
Those thus rescued, as well as others reclaimed from
a life of infamy and shame, had been provided with good
situations. An institution so useful was deserving of all
support, for there could be no greater mistake than to
suppose that the majority of those who had fallen con-
tinued in sin from choice. The following facts prove
this :—" From May, 1850, to December, 1851, the in-
stitution, through want of funds, had to refuse 432 ap-
plicants, and from January, 1852, to December of the
same year, it had to refuse no fewer than 884 of those
disposed to reform themselves. Upon the Ist of January
there had been in the institution 31 inmates, and from
that (late to the 30th of June last there had been 86
others admitted. Of these, 1 had got married, 4 had
been restored to their friends, 1 had died in penitence,
24 had been sent to service, 13 had left of their own ac-
cord, so that 74 remained in the institution. The Rev.
Messrs. Power, Garbett, and Cohen, Lieut. Blackmore,
R.N., Mr. J. Payne, and other gentlemen, addressed
the meeting in advocacy of the charity, when the pro-
ceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the chair-
man.

CUMBERLAND IRON ORE COMPANY.-It will be seen
by our advertising columns, that the estimates of this
company have been made upon a very moderate calcula-
tion, for the ore, which the company value at lls., is
now gelling in Whitehaven for 1.35,

LATEST FOREIGN NEWS.

FRAN CE.

The Moniteur publishes a decree, approving of the
treaty between the Minister of Public Works and MM.
Arnoux and Co., for a railroad from Bourg-la-Reine to
Orsay, and the prolongation of the concession of the line
from Paris to Sceaux.

A report having been received from the Prefect of the
Loire-Inferieure, and from a special commission, stating
that the efforts made to drain the marshes of Donges
have hitherto failed from the want of sufficient pecuniary
means, the Emperor has ordered that a sum of 131,000
francs shall be taken from his privy purse, and placed at
the disposal of the Prefect of the department.
It is said that some arrests were made last night,
whether connected with those effected at the Opera
Comique is not clear. A son of Victor Hugo, and a
tradesman or manufacturer in the Faubourg St. Antoine,
are said to be of the number. It is stated that the par-
ties taken into custody on Tuesday night, and who had
arms found on them, had only arrived in Paris the same
day from England via Brussels. The Royalist parties
accuse each other of being at the bottom of the plot, or,
to speak more correctly, the Legitimists accuse the Or-
leanists. This would, at all events, show that the
"fusion " has not made much progress. It is rumoured
that the 15 or 16 persons first arrested will, on identi-
fication, be sent off to Cayenne. Indeed, it is said they
are on the way to Brest to be embarked for that place.
The Queen Mother of Spain, her husband the Duke
of Rianzares, and their family, are expected in Paris on
the 15th. They proceed to Dieppe or Havre for sea-
bathing. Marshal Narvaez will visit the Queen Mother
on her arrival. Her Majesty is still as decidedly op-
posed as ever to the "reform''' of the Spanish Constitu-
tion in the Bravo Murillo fashion, and to which her
daughter seems as much inclined as ever ; and, unfor-
tunately, the influence of the former, which would now
be usefully exercised, has much diminished. It is feared
that Spain is not vet out of her troubles.
The ministerial journals of Paris still declare that there
is ground for hope that means will be found to prevent
war, but they no longer attempt to conceal from the
public that there are facts, which, unless they should
be modified materially, will render war inevitable. An
article in the Constitutionnel, which appears to have
'been written with a full knowledge of the views
entertained by the Government, will be read
with considerable interest. The A ssernblee Na-
tionale expresses more confidence as to the pre-
servation of peace, but we know not on what authority
it speaks, and the suddenness of its conversion from its
devotedness to Russian interests to an apparent support
of the policy of the French and British Cabinets, makes
it impossible to receive its assurances without suspicion.
The Univers alludes to a rumour which has been current
for some days of a proposition having been made to the
Porte, with the approbation of the Emperor of Russia,
for a convention in favour of the Christian subjects of
the Sultan, of every sect, with the powers of Europe
generally. The Univers does not appear to attach much
credit to this statement. If it had carefully examined
the question, it would have found that such a combination
would be impossible without a total departure from prin-
ciple on the part of the French Cabinet. In the reply of
M. Drouin de Lhuys to Count Nesselrode, he states
distinctly that no power has a right to impose con-
ditions upon a monarch which would deprive him of
his sovereignty over any portion of his subjects of what-
ever religion, and that France has never attempted
anything of this kind in favour of the Catholic subjects
of the Sultan. The combination alluded to by the
Univers would sanction the principle laid down by the
Emperor Nicholas ; the only difference would be that
instead of making the Sultan the vassal of Russia alone,
it would make him the vassal of the Christian powers
generally. It is impossible, therefore, to suppose that
France and England have for a moment entertained the
idea of submitting such a proposition to the Sultan. The
Union, whilst expressing its regret at the language of the
manifesto of the Emperor of Russia, founds upon the re-
ligious enthusiasm that it displays a hope that peace will
be preserved. This journal thinks it impossible that a
man, who professes so much zeal for Christianity,
should plunge into a conflict opposed to the mild
and benevolent doctrines of the Christian religion.
If this be the only ground for the hope that the Union
entertains, we fear that it will be found a slender one.,
There is a vast difference between the pure religious
conviction founded upon reason and the fanaticism to
which the name of religion is given. Some of the most
cruel, unjust, and sanguinary wars which have afflicted
Europe had their origin only in religious fanaticism,
which blinded men to their real duties, and induced
them to commit crimes under the persuasion that they
were fulfilling a sacred duty.
At the Bourse yesterday the market for Government
securities opened heavily, although a gradual improve-
ment took place as the day progressed, and prices were
generally firm at the termination of business. The
Three per Cents. eventually improved 5c., and the Four-
and-a-Half per Cents. 20c., both for the end of the
month, whilst for money the Four-and-a-Half per Cents.
rose 10c.' and the Three per Cents, declined to a similar
extent. Bank of France shares fell sf. The closing
prices were—For cash : Three per Cents., 76.50 f. ;
Four-and-a-Half per Cents., 102 f. For the account :
Three per Cents., 76.65 f. ; Four-and-a-Half per Cents.,
102 f. Bank Stock, 2,645 f.

. ,
Northerns, 855 f. ; Paris and Orleans, 1,072 f. ; Paris
and Strasbourg, 885 f, ' • Paris and Lyons, 890 f. ; Paris
and Rouen, 1,035 f.; Lyons to the Mediterranean, 725 f.;
Western, 725.