The Sun.
London, England, 1853-04-11 00:00:00

THE FRENCH EMPIRE.

At the present moment the question of education
Occupies a great space in public attention, not only
in England, but on this side of the Channel. The
"1Y difference is, that while the English Govern-
Inent and Parliament are exerting themselves to
extend the blessings of education to all classes of
the people, the Government of this country is em-
ployingall
its ingenuity to restrict the system al-
ready in
use, and to discourage the pursuit of
knowledge among the middle and lower classes of
B°6°4". Our readers are aware that some of the
regulations introduced last year are so framed that
the knowledge of the classics will henceforth not be
absolutely necessary. There is now a proposition
bY which the expenses of education in the colleges
and other establishments will be increased, so as to
,be a great additional burden on the fathers of
ara,llies• The Sieele accuses the Government of
'having;, brought forward this plan in the hope that
would diminish the number of students in the
`X.cees and other institutions connected with the
lversity, and increase the dumber of students in
of the clergy,
vue petits seminaires, which are under the control
measure. and which are not affected by the
The Debuts, however, looks on the pro-
-I;9Bition in a less unfavourable light, for, while- it
its approves of the proposed measure, it thinks that
ellect will be very limited.
A decree in the Moniteur states that from the
Will 't of November of the present year all stamps used
bear the new marks decided on in consequence
of the change effected in the form of government.
ne old stamps may, however, be used until July
din a 1854. The holders of papers stamped extraor-
rily are Cowed a delay of three months from
4,,LPril 1, 1854, to get them marked with the new
Then, without any charge.
Tancrede steamer froic'. Constantinople,
Which place she left on March 25, arrived at Mar-
_Bel -les on Thursday night. The passage was a bad
'lle, rough weather prevailing the whole time. She
by.:cM.% detained at Syra the whole of the 29th of March
the tempest which prevailed, and at Malta
.!,11ring the 3d and 4th of April. On March 30 she
'ad communicated with the French fleet near Cal-
aanata.
among the Prefects, among which are two diamis-
ri ' namely, that of M. de Romand, Prefect of the
,reuse, and Al.
d autre3
are appelle • ,
d'EDPrc Prefect of Cautal, who
guage, dismissed.
ct The Count de Hompeseh,
fonetions, or, in plain lan-
rand-Master of the order of Malta, died two days
nephew of the last
ago in the debtors' prison of Paris.
pThe Northern and Strasbourg Railroad Com-
anies are to have conceded to them what is called
~,e, Ardennes line, which passes Mezieres, and
Zit% with the Northern line at Givet and Valen-
4onets• The estimated cost of this enterprise is
Th ,000 f.
aod aßourse of Saturday was active for Rentes
-uank Stock, and prices were not only steadily
4,44,tained, but an improvement effected of 35c.
4,0"50. in the Three per Cents. for Cash, and the
041111 t, and of 30c. on the Four-and-a-Half per
to 2;, for the end of the month. Bank Stock rose
`*sf., but eventually closed at 2,740 f. Con-
40,1'Ing prices :—Three per Cents., cash, 89f. 30c. ;
earnt, 80f, 50c. ; Four-and-a-Half per Cents.,
isha, 103 f. 45c. ; Account, 103 f. 75c. In the
able °f the Principal railways there was consider-
bubusiness transacted, and, in nearly all cases,
sclghtly Unproved prices. At the conclusion of
"044 le
a, 8.%s
the
quotati6ns were:—Northern, 907 f. 50c.;
847 E. 1156 1,052 f. 50c. • Paris and Strasbourg,
and Ron: '.
; Paris and Lyons, 951 f. 25c. • Paris
mean, 815 f
1,052 f. 50c. ; Lyons to the dediter-
--' ; Western of France, 750 f.

SPAIN.
The following are the prices of stocks :—Three '
nts, 43g • ditto Deferred, 24 9-16 ; Redeem-
tte Debi, first class, 11; ditto second class, 51.
°upon Certificates have fallen again, and are
quoted at 41, sellers. Exchange on London, 5110.

GERMANY.
ahe president of police has published a notice ex-
L--,Liuoing and fully justifying his grounds for the
Jution of the so-called " Sick Provident.
t004115n. It appears from this document, which is
itdive.n,g to admit of translation, that several
.ef the
eorEmi'llals recently arrested and most seriously
I:l4e("lnised, such as Falkenthal, M.D. ; Levy, a
nice w
otradesman ; Goldhanamer, a cutler ; and
th_
enairraoers, whose names are given, were either
naiou; tia, stewards, treasurers, or officers of the
Vier braiia,stitlhe society was the "mother" of sundry
fence, its -Thlellibs; that, under the mask of benevo-
einneratie7,,lll ;abject was the dissemination of
"elusively IP, nlican principles, and its objects
s'sy, soeiatio4 inttieal that the president of the
atierions is is,_"ue
,ex-common councilman Runge,
three of „s "socialist-communist activity ;"
nal, Ries 'Ale principal medical men, Falken-
Vega ; that and Abarban.ell, are similarly noto-
'en re - several other trading members hare am 4; -Pealed'
I.urther th compromised. in political offences ;
availed theta ait Medical practitioners and stewards
c.,,c)rtaPt auci ,ss'ves of the mantle of benevolence to
vroved th
.verve.b-j- the members. It is further
which illusait there is a large deficit in the caat'ssi en,
malvers
committee
either have arisen from
tia • olbitnat
e purposes, or from
far
re
atipoiabie"2llCed the entrance-name/. the books, the
amount. According to cb°emnulow the
30az,,,5" illscribed amounted to some 12,000, from
rerent •
guilds. Among these were 1,046 shoe-
elna_ers 1 614 tailors, 240 printers, and 4,180
olYne 'ancf,-„,,,1,,hine makers. The police had not
my dissolved the society, but sequestrated the
tbum,.
a pro tempore. At the same time care has
een taken that the sick shall receive proper at-
lose The numerous creditors will, it is said,
Ilse. their money, as, from the association not
stewlg,,,_liad corporate rights, its president and
remain cannot be prosecuted as a body. Nothing
Ins
and for therefore but to prosecute individually,
ber/ amount that may be due to each mem-
,,,,_ an endless and fruitless undertaking.
ar_-Lu_e police and watchmen continue to pick up
which and ammunition in considerable quantities,
toir are thrown into the streets at night by per-
who fear that the domiciliary visits may lead
to detection. These arras and ammunition bear
throughevrdent proofs. of having been obtained by or
the disgraceful
1848, plunder of the arsenal in
The Ministerial Zeit says that it regrets to
state that teachers and lecturers at the university
are more or less implicated in the demagogic
recently discovered. It quotes, among let, plotone
M. Gherke, who was formerly prosecuted and sus-
pended from his functions, but pardoned and re-
admitted upon his entering into an express engage-
ment to abstain from politics. M. Gherke has been
again suspended by order of the so-called provincial
university
committee. Another lecturer of the same
charges
was arrested three or four y
arage latesferbfeing
These connected with the conspiracy.
whose gut
acts
he the prove that many of the persons
Y it is to abstain from politics, and who
t, 8 bread of the State under condition that
lawu hall inculcate
, avail the morality morality and respect for the
the most tuernselves of their position to instil
their pupille'ernicious doctrines into the minds of
orThe re_Berlin,magistrat
warQs for maw es have established prizes
arelruce an
exrrants, upon principles calculated
ertehnetlasmtoral effect. These prizes
conduct,vide(' into
the 29thilZ
on aces for different grades of good
award which took place
Iniemsfor extr " the
female servants received pre-
and 44
ales aordi
nary good conduct, and 22 males
the serviceof ) Who had lived the longest period
eind
certificate the same masters with unblemished
e s, received the rewards for that class.
the -Thit!axina, lun service of these 66 persons was 28,
The
13 years.
e Zeit has the following
Numerous complaints have been made of the treat-
Tent (beliandlung) to which goods transitory through
AUstria were subject. We have great satisfaction in
rsrt,'ating that through the representations of the Prussian
"/evernment, that of Austria has readily adopted man
cures for removing part of the evil, and every prospect
exists of the remainder being soon set aside."
Doctors Abarbanell and Ries (mentioned in the
Police notice above cited as having been well-known
agitators for the subversive party) have published
a refutation of this charge, and declare that they
shall take the necessary legal measures to prote3t
their honour and rights.
Englishmen, or those of the United States, pro-
Posing to travel in Germany, will do well not to
"ring with them, as commonly the case, especially
with the latter, the so-called ealabrese, or any other
nlissliapen hats whatever. If they do, they must
submit to the consequences, which will either be
Police interference or other inconvenience.
The remaining naval stores, arms, ammunition,
sold
so forth, of thee x-German fleet, are to be
'old by auction at Geestemunde, below Bremen,
on the 18th inst.

BELGIUM.
The installation of the Duke de Brabant, eldest
Ron of the King of the Belgians,
as member of the
Senate, took place at Brussels. on April 9, with
agreat ceremony. All the Ministers, high function-
, and and members of the diplomatic .body were
PreE'ent on the occasion, in grand costume, and the
Palace of the Senate was guarded by a considerable
Illleaher of troops, to do honour to the presump-
tive heir of the Crown, who has just attained his
'flaiori Cy. The young prince, before taking his
Rehe at, swore fidelity to tlie Constitution, and was
proclaimed a- member of the Senate by the
4-rillee de Ligne.

THE NATIONAL DEBT-RESOLUTIONS OP TNE

CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER.

( From the Times City Article.)

• The resolutions of the Chancellor of the Exchequer
, regarding the national debt have, upon the whole, been
received in the city with satisfaction, since iu their
amended form they are in a great measure free from the
features which had at first excited alarm. Consols there-
fore have been steady throughout the day at quotations
slightly below those which prevailed when it was thought
there was danger of an improvident bargain for the
country in favour of the fundholder, but sufficiently high
to denote that there is now an expectation of ultimate
advantage for all parties.
From the explanations, the immediate course contem-
plated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer can now be
concisely stated. In the first place, the holders of the
various petty 3 per cent. stocks to the extent of 9,500,000/.
are to be paid off at their own option, either in money
or by the substitution of 821. 10s. Three-and-a-Half per
Cents., yielding 21. 17s. 9d. ; 1101. Two-and-a Half
per Cents., yielding 21. 155., or an Exchequer bond of
1001. for 40 years, yielding 21. 15s. for a certain portion
of that term, and 21. 10s. for the remainder ; such option
to be determined on or before the 3d of June next. Be-
yond this, as ragards the 500,000,00 CE. Three per Cents.,
known as Consols and Reduced, the holders are to have
the privilege of changing them for 34 per cent. stock at
the rate of 821. 10s. for every 1001. of the Three per
Cents. to any extent they may think proper. They will
also have the privilege, to the extent of 30,000,0001., of
changing them either for 1101. Two-and-a-Half per
Cents., or for 1001. Exchequer bonds, subject, apparently,
to any diminution of that amount which may arise from
the holders of the 9,500,0001. that are to be paid off
having previously accepted these securities, the total
issue of each of which is not to exceed 30,000,0001. The
time allowed for the latter operation—that is to say, for
the conversion of Colisols and Reduced—is to the 10th
of October next. While the general scope of the
plan is' thus specified, there are several points of
detail on which, for the benefit of the public, the Chan-
cellor asks a discretionary power, in order that he may
ultimately make the best practicable bargain. For in-
stance, the period during which the Exchequer Bonds
are to bear 24 per cent, is not to exceed 10 years, but in
the proposals for their issue that term may be shortened,
if it should been found expedient, and the Government
may also arrange to reserve to themselves the power of
paying off these bonds at the end of 40 years, or of con-
tinuing them at 24 per cent. With regard to the mode
in which the persons desirous of changing Consols or
Reduced for such portion of the Two-and-a-Half per
Cents, or of the Exchequer Bonds as shall remain after
the holders of the 9,500,0001. of the petty 3 per Cents.
shall have made their selection is to be effected, the
Chancellor proposes that the power shall be left to be
exercised by the first comers, and that the books shall
be closed as soon as the limit of 30,000,0001. shall have
been reached. This, however, may be found highly
objectionable, since, if the number of applicants should
be such as to desire 40,009,000/. or 50,000,000/. instead
of 30,000,0001., the result would be a mere scramble.
As it stands, however, in its present modified state, all
violent objection to the general scheme has evidently
subsided, and, while its main features are regarded with
satisfaction, there is also a confident feeling arising from
the disposition manifested by the Chancellor to avail
himself of such rational views as public discussion may
bring forth, that it will assume a final shape, such as
will meet the approval of most persons. .tit the same
time the idea of sanctioning the creation of any form
of stock that will ultimate increase the nominal amount
of the debt, even although on a limited scale, is
regarded with unconquerable aversion. From the
first the faCt was recognised that the contemplated
reduction of interest would, if the saving were
applied to a sinking fund, return far more at the end of
40 years than the 101. additional principal proposed to
be created, and likewise that, the security being an an-
nuity, and not a debt which can be claimed, the chief
point both for present and future generations to consider,
supposing that there is no hope or intention of wiping
it off, is to look, not at the amount of the principal, but
at the annual payment which it involves. The public,
however, with great propriety, are indisposed to sanc-
tion anything that shall look like a declaration that the
capital is never intended to be paid, and, however
distant and difficult the prospect may be, they would
be pained to witness any step that should cause it
to appear more impracticable than ever. They are
aware, moreover, that there are methods by which
so long as the creation of stocks at a low rate
of interest is avoided, the extinction of the national
debt, although it may take centuries, can still be
rendered certain, and that in one part even of the
Chancellor's present plan an illustration of this fact is
furnished. He proposes to create a Three-and-a-Half
per Cent. Stock, which will effect a reduction of 171. 10s.

in the principal of the debt, and become liable to be paid
off at par at the end of 40 years. When that period
arrives the Minister of the day may offer the holders a
still smaller amount of stock, upon condition that they
shall be again exempted from the dread of reduction for
a further term ; and this process might go on at inter-
vals of 20, 30, or 40 years, un3ll_ our liabilities had
dwindled to a
.point at which their payment, even in
money, would not be difficult. With the creation of
a Two-and-a Half per Cent. Stock all reasonable
hope of any such consummation is removed. Some
persons appear to think that the rate of money
is to go on declining, and that it will at a
future day be as easy to reduce Two-and-a-Half
per Cents. to Two pa. Cents. as it would now be
to convert Three-and-a-Quarter per Cents. to Threes ;
but this is merely a result of the fallacy that the gold dis-
coveries are to have some wonderful effect on the rate of
interest. Inasmuch, however, as the only alteration
they can produce in that respect will be by opening up
new countries, so as to increase the profits of commerce,
and render the use of capital more valuable, whatever
influence they exert must be exactly in an opposite di-
rection. Under these circumstances the public will still
regret that the creation of the Two-and-a-Half per Cents.
has not been altogether expunged from the scheme,
leaving the proposed Three-and-a-Half per Cents. and
the Exchequer bonds to be fairly tested. With the pre-
sent option the state of feeling as regards the Three-and-
a-Half per Cents. will not be tried in any way. A
belief prevails that in the absence of a more attractive
alternative they would have been taken to a con-
siderable extent, and so strongly is the tide of
opinion in favour of this mode of conversion, that it
would have been desirable to improve the terms rather
than to substitute any other system. As regards the be-
lief that the Chancellor has been premature in propos-
ing any alteration, and that by waiting a little while he
might have done much better, it is to be remarked, that
there is little to warrant such a conclusion, since the in-
creasing multitude of new companies brought out every
week, together with the threat of one flagrant foreign
loan, if not of several others, shows that the public, after
exhibiting for years a childish timidity from which no-
thing could arouse them, have embarked on a tide that
will prevent all prospect of a renewed glut of money,
and must some day end in severe pressure. If they
would be content with the things they have already un-
dertaken, there would be no danger but, although these
should be considered sufficient for the next two or three
years, they will go on every day addinr, to them in an
increasing ratio until they have contrived' to bring dis-
credit upon the whole.
The quotations of Exchequer-bills to-day were again
merely nominal, and doubts increase as to the possibility
of their maintaining their ~osition. At the same time,
however, there is much Tr ',Apprehension as to the degree
in which the contemplated Exchequer bonds are calcu-
lated to compete with them. Many persons speak as if
there were scarcely any difference between them, ex-
cept the difference of in ',erect, but the fact that one
is always redeemable within twelve months, and
that the other is to be for 40 years, is a distinction
sufficient to show that while Exchequer-bills consti-
tute an excellent banking security, the bonds, ex-
cept in very small amounts, can never approach to
that position. Apart from the higher rate of in-
terest, however, there are so many facilities con-
templated in the new bonds, such as the half-yearly
coupons, the absence of any necessity for sending
them in to be renewed, and probably the arrangement
for the interest being payable at the branches of the
Banks of England and Ireland, as well as at the head
establishments, that unless some new inducements are
given to the holders of Exchequer bills, the temptation
to prefer the bonds will, perhaps, under almost all cir-
cumstances, prove too strong. In a great measure the
difficulty might be met by restoring to Exchequer bills
the especial value they possessed as a banking security,
when they were at all times receivable for the payment
of duties. Some years back this feature was altered,
and the value of the bill weakened for no useful
purpose whatever, since, by giving notice of an in-
crease of interest, any inconvenient tender of them
could be at once stopped ; and, if the step were now re-
traced, it would be an advantage both to the Govern-
ment and to the mercantile community.

AUSTRALIAN MAIL CONTRACT. =The Royal Austra-
lian
_Mail Steam Company have received notice from
the
HOSPITAL
of the withdrawal of their contract.
FOR CONSUMPTION, BROMPTON.—Yesterday
morning
.a, sermonmnr_ aid of the above charity was de-
gentleman
lcivaerirteodnat
aSnte.,
m.Ak.s Church,D. Kennington, by the Rev.
the good effectedsibnylthe
of
aof theg
the reverend
theev e afflicted
district
institution, ta au
veryt
varietyio n en eloquent
tcloumfe nestrtealtyi discourse,s
taimes o nog
e_6.30-. ',don of the metropolis, but of
was established for a class
Kingdom. The hospital
claims upon the benevcolaesnst.of patients having peculiar
The
which had marked the career
of theca ec ai
nr es alu
tmi
oann asince
eintot
commencement, and the facilitiesimd rendered the hospitalafforded for the treat-
ment of a most trying malady,
one of the most important in the tryv.ineAselribv;.l
Ic collection lfeucrttihoenr
awfda so made
the
ee
saatinteh e conclusion
benevolente auounfn_ed, i
the Mar qui s
of Westminster has undertaken to preside over the an-
niversary in June next.
LAUNCH Or THE ELFIN WOOLWICH STEAM-PACRI.*
—The directors of the Woolwich Steam-Packet CoEm
pany, in order to keep pace with the improvements in
steam-packet construction, have had another fast boat,
built by Mr. Thompson, at Rotherhithe, added to their
little fleet of fast river steamers. At 20 minutes before
two o'clock on Saturday last, the directors, with their
friends, proceeded from Woolwich to the Commercial-
dock, and shortly after three o'clock the ceremony of
christening the new vessel was performed by Miss Col-
lins, a granddaughter of one of the directors, and the
Elfin glided into the water amidst the cheers of the nu-
merous spectators of the scene. Mr. 0. W. Lang, as-
sistant to the master shipwright at Chatham dockyard
from whose design, similar to those of the Dryad fast
steamer, the Elfin was built; was present, and the launch
took place to the entire satisfaction of all present. The
Elfin is to be fitted with the engines formerly used in the
Ariel, and it is expected she will prove one of the fastest
boats belonging to the company.