The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-08 00:00:00

41, 4: :jolt ttton

OXFORD► UNIVERSITY
ELECTION.

OXFORD, SATURDAY, 3 P.N

GALDSTONE
PERCEVAL..

THE FRENCH EMPIRE.

We have received the Paris journals of yesterday.
The Union and the Pays are at variance as to
the probable effect of the recent changes in the
constitution. The former regards those changes
as hostile to the principle of rational liberty, but
it does not condescend to give us any definition of
the term " rational liberty," while the latter,
in
for a
lengthy and forcible article, defends them,
,and
pronounces emphatically that they all the
advantage of the country.
The article contends
that the modification respecting
the legislative
control over the budget does not drp
depu-
ties of the power of protecting thet ay , lay
interests
e of their
th dis
constituents ; it only prevents,
of captious and prejudicial opposition.ss regards
the re aprds
the power given to the Emperor tomwte.te rcommer-
cialtaetee treaties and modify tariffs, the
that this power is absolutely necessary, and is a
great point gained for the public prosperity.
In the Constitutionn,el there is another article in
opposition to free trade, but as it contains nothing
new upon the subject, we may. content ourselves
with extracting from the same journal the follow-
ing observations on the peace of Europe :
We yesterday said that the peace of Europe was
secure. Thanks not only to the policy of the French Go-
vernment, but also to the sympathies of the foreign
powers for a government which has had the glory of
vanquishing anarchy, and which supports itself on the
enlightened will of the whole of France. The event has
just fulfilled our previsions. Russia has newly accredited
M. de Bisseleff, her Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary to Napoleon 111. The United States
have sent the necessary powers to its minister, and the
Tuscan, Wurtemberg, Bavarian, Hanoverian, Baden,
and Saxon ministers will immediately have audiences to
present their new letters of credence. The empire is
accepted and recognised by all the civilised nations of
the world. How could it be otherwise ? Is not the
sovereign whom France has placed over her the resolute
prince, who, from the commencement of his career of
government, when his authority was menaced by a hos-
tile assembly, frankly adopted a policy of order, sent a
French army to raise up the Papal throne at Rome,
overcame the spirit of insurrection in the streets of Paris
on the 13th June, 1849; before reducing it to weakness
by the success of a coup d'etat ? Can Europe, which
was ravaged and deluged with blood by civil war after
1848, be wanting in justice and gratitude towards him
who, in saving society in France, prevented fresh and
more terrible commotions abroad ?"
M. Michel Chavelier, in a letter to the Siecle,
pretends to give us some account of the manner in
which Free Trade was brought about in England.
He attributes the success of that measure to our
large political freedom, and demands of his reader
if "Free trade has triumphed in England, do you
think it would have done so in Russia ? If Cobden,
instead of having been born on the banks of the
Thames, had been born on those of the Neva, he
would assuredly have been now meditating on the
advantages of his system amidst the snows of Si-
beria. In order to achieve liberty by persuasion,
it is necessary in the first place to have the liberty
to persuade. A man has one day, in England, the
iniative of an idea. That idea is unknown to the
country and misunderstood by the Government ;
but that is of no consequence. That man said to
himself one morning : Idea in a free country is
the power of powers. Freedom of commerce
is now denied around me. With the sacred wea-
pon of speech, I will come out of my obscurity,
as a simple manufacturer, and will teach my con-
viction to the country, and impose it on the Govern-
ment. The Prime Minister of England opposes
my principle ; I will place it in his hand by force,
and he shall apply it himself ; and in applying it,
he will acquire tho greatest glory that has ever
crowned the head of a statesman. And what Cob-
den said, he openly performed. What did he re-
quire to accomplish this miracle ? One thing only.
—liberty. Liberty of the press, liberty of associa-
tion, and liberty of meeting. Take from him one
of these, and his reform would have gone with him
into his tomb. We shall not now discuss the
merits of that reform. Is the system of free trade
as applied in England equally applicable in all
other countries ? This, entrenous, is a re-
served question." In the conclusion of the
letter it would lead one to believe that the recogni-
tion of -freedom of commerce in the despotic nations
of Europe would be the precursor to the adoption
of every other species of liberty.
An imperial decree, dated the 3d, promulgates
and brings into effect the convention concluded be-
tween France and Belgium on the 9th ult. This
convention, it will be remembered, adjourns the
exchange of the ratifications of the literary and
commercial treaty of 22d August last until a new
commercial treaty shall be negotiated ; and it en-
acts that until then the commercial treaty of 13th
December, 1845, shall be in force, subject to mo-
dification in favour of French salt imported into
—Another decree enacts that from the
Belgium..
15th the duty on coal imported by land by a line
drawn from the sea up to Halluin, on the Belgian
frontier exclusively, shall be 50c. the 100 kilo-
es ; by the river Meuse, and the depart-
on un.wrought
depart-
ment of the Moselle 10c., and by all other points of
the frontier 15c. and that the duty
cast iron pigs weighing 15 Or Upwards, im-
ported from the adjacent countries by the frontier
from Blancmisseron inclusively to Mont Geneve
exclusively, shall be 4fr. the 100 kilos., and by all
other points 7fr. By another decree the regula-
tions relative to the retiring pensions of function-
aries and employes of the Ministry of State are de-
: flio ua sne -d
ecmlaprelodvaeepspliocaf
tbhlee tominithe:tryftmocftitohneamnriesp,
eargoern,
hold. And by another decree it is enacted that the
fines to be paid by newspapers condemned for any
offence, within three days after the definitive judg-
ment, shall henceforth be paid into the Caisse des
Consignations at Paris, or one of its branches in the
country, and shall remain there for three months
at the disposal of the Treasury; after which, in the
event of there being no appeal in Ca,ssation and no
pardon, they are to be paid over by the Caisse des
Consignations to the Receveur de rEuregistrement.
Minister
oefrthoef
The Moniteur says—" Count de Hatzfeldt,
nister
of Prussia ; M. de HubnerilinisMitne
Austria ;and M. Rumpff, Resident
free and Hans() towns, have received their
admitted to
letters of credence, and will shortly be
present them to the Eniperor.
M. Tourangin, Councillor of State, has been at-
tached to the Section de Contentieux, in the room
of M. Conte, who takes his place in the section of
Legislation. M. Flandin, Councillor of State has
been appointed member of the Mixed Co • ion
of Public Works, in the room of M. de Vuillefroy.
The poor Irish emigrants, and the crew of the
St. George, which was burnt at sea, are still at
Havre, but they are to leave on Monday. Every
attention has been paid to them. Being almost
entirely without clothing, clothes have been given
to them, and a subscription, exceeding 4,000 f., has
been raised.
The prices of public securities declined again at
the Bourse to-day, as compared with the prices of
yesterday, in consequence of av
ery heavy de-
faulter having been declared. The Four-and-a-
Half per Cents. opened at 105 f., and closed at
104 f. 90c. for the end of the month ; the Three
per Cents. closed at 80f. 10c, ; Orleans Railway
Shares, 1,020 f. ; Rouen, 980 f. ; Havre, 510 f. ;
Great Northern, 857 f. 50c. ; Paris and Strasburg,
785 f. ; Paris and Lyons, 892 f. 50c. ; Lyons and
Marseilles, 735 f. ; Caen to Cherbourg, 622 f. 50c. ;
Bordeaux to Cette, 590 f. ;' Shares of the Bank of
Credit Mobilier (issued at 500 f.), 825 f.

SPAIN.
We have received the Madrid journals of the 2d.
'cue Gazette publishes a Royal decree fixing the 4th
of February for the elections for the Cortes. The
Do gives an account of the state of railway en-
theterpri•e in sam.
following It appears from it that, in 1852,
individuals—Barcelona
lines were conceded to companies or
Cordova and
to Tarragona ; Seville to
Ciudad Ita, Andujuar ; Alcazar de San Juan to
Mataro to Aveyns ; Tarragona to
Rein ; AC.:
AlinealTaza too Jativa • Seville to Cadiz • Mur-
cia to
; mo'neaodrdova to Malaga ; Barcelona to
Martorell
; _artorell to Sabadell ; Sarragossa to
Barcelona m
lines open were tarce, to Reus. Before 1852 the
__Jena to Mataro, and Madrid
to Aranjuez ; and in
5p18,52 the lines opened were
Gras to Valenciagres to Gijon. ,
By "Ila
~and Benefago ; and Lan-
metrical decimal system':
which was to have come
into operation in Spain in j
1853, is post-
poned to January, 1854.--TiruarY,
letter addressed by Mr.
owe Weller,
Espana publishes a
eller, in the name of
the English committee the holders of Spanish
bonds, recapitulating the claims
the Spanish Government. of these parties on
M. Castillo Ayensa, the new Spanish ambassador
to the Holy See, arrived at Rome o, the 22d ult.
The Diario gives an account of the e
state of rail-
way enterprise in Spain. It aear
from it that,
in 1852, the following lines were conceded to com-
panies or individuals :—Barcelona to Tarragona ;
;AAlvo de San
Alcazar Seville to Cordova and Andular
Juan to Ciudad Real ; Mataro to
ato Rein ; Ahnausa to ja- eYIIB ; Tarra-
jiva ; Seville to