The Sun.
London, England, 1838-04-18 00:00:00

thie justice of giving to the inhabitants of the metro-
polis the advantages cnj dyed by other towns ; nor can
there be any doubt that a penny post here would be as
profitable as penny posts in the country. The writer
of two letters in the Times, who has ably stated the
question, adds the following striking remarks on the
justice of making the rate of postage uniform all over
the kingdom :
" What are the elements of the cost of postage ? I. Ge-
neral superintendence. 2. Depot for receiving and issuing
letters. 3. Delivery of letters by the postman. 4. Sorting,
arranging, and despatching. 5. The carriage. 6. The tax.
All letters, whether going a mile or 500 miles distant, are
subject to these six operations. The fifty element, the car-
riage, is dear or cheap, not according to the distance, but the
number of letters conveyed. The cost of the carriage of the
post by the mail to Brighton (55 miles) is about 12s. one
journey. Suppose 12 letters are sent one journey, say
on the 20th of April, the cost of carriage is then Is. each
letter. Suppose 1,000 letters are sent another journey,
say on the 21st of April, the cost is then about half a
farthing. The cost of the post to Edinburgh (400 miles)
is 5/. Suppose on the 20th of April the number of
letters was 1,500, the cost of carriage would be about
id. each letter ? Suppose on the 21st tho Number was
only 200, the cost would then be 6d. each letter. The
carriage of a letter to Edinburgh (400 miles) on both occa-
sions, would be cheaper than to Brighton (55 miles). I beg
you to bear in mind, that I have here placed all the expenses
of the mail on the chargeable letters, though the mail carries
newspapers, franks, Parliamentary papers, and stamps, which
on an average weigh at least ten times the amount of the
chargeable letters. The fact is, that in postage, as in other
matters, the carriage is the most insignificant part of the cost.
The Penny Magazine is delivered for its penny at Dublin, at
Penzance, at Margate, at Thurso, and in London. How
much of the penny is absorbed by carriage? No much, surely,
seeing that the publisher will not sell the Magazine for less
than id., and the other farthing must pay for the carriage, as
well as the profit of the retailer.
" In 1765 a letter carried by the post 15 miles cost Id. ;
above 15 and under 30, 2d. ; above 30 and under 80, 3d. ;
above 80 to any distance, 4d. Is not an approach to unifor-
mity, therefore, sanctioned by antiquity ? In 1765 the carriage
of a letter 70 miles distant perhaps cost more than 15. But
the means of locomotion having improved, in 1838 the diffe-
rence becomes almost incalculable, and is dependent on other
circumstances."

We understand that Lord BROUGHAM has left
Paris, and gone for a few days to his house at Cannes,
on the Italian frontier. His Lordship is expected in
London about the Ist or 2d of May.

It will be seen by our Dublin letter that, on Mon-
day last, Mr. O'CONNELL addressed a crowded meet-
ing at the Corn Exchange, upon the subject of the
Registration. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman
concluded his speech (to which we beg to refer our
readers) by moving for the appointment of a Committee
to take into consideration a proposal to establish a
Central Board of Registration, in order to superintend
the registries throughout Ireland. He also stated that he

intended to move, during this week, fora quo warranto
in the Queen's Bench against the Corporation of
Dublin, for manufacturing fictitious freemen. If his
plan succeeded the register would go on well. A
subscription, to which he himself and his three sons
would contribute, should be entered into with promp.
titude and liberality, in order to prosecute his plan
with vigour and effect. The Honourable and
Learned Gentleman also intimated that, at an ad-
journed meeting of his constituents, he should pro-
pose that simultaneous meetings be held, on a given
day, in every county, city, and town in Ireland, to peti-
tion for Corporate Reform. Mr. O'CoNNELL, it will
be seen, reiterated his complaint, that between Eng-
land and Ireland there was still no real Union, and that
to a mere parchment Union he never had been, and
never would be, a consenting party.

Since the suppression of the insurrection in Canada,
it has become every day more evident that the great
difficulty which this country will have to encounter in
that quarter springs, not from the discontent of the
Canadians, but from the encroaching and lawless con-
duct of the citizens of the United States. We have
heard that the British subjects engaged in trade along
the frontier entertain serious apprehensions as to the
results of the constant collisions between the British
forces and the banditti that infest the boundary from
Lake Huron to New Brunswick, and that they are
placing their commercial relations on a footing so as
to be prepared for the worst. Should such unfortu-
nately be the result, England will have justice on her
side. The aggression commenced with the Ameri-
cans—at first under the pretence of assisting the
French Canadians, and is now carried on without any
pretence at all, but with the almost avowed intention
of plunder and conquest. We do not impute this
state of affairs to the Central Government, any more
than the invasion of the Texas. The Central Govern-
ment disavows the one as well as the other ; but what
signifies such disavowal, while the one district is
actually occupied by armed citizens of the United
States, and the peaceful inhabitants of the other are
constantly exposed to their attacks, and must either
submit to be plundered or be constantly under arms,
and in a condition more harassing than even actual
warfare ? It is evident this unequal and unjust state
of affairs cannot last. If the central Government can-
not prevent those who ought to be under their controul
from attacking, without any cause or even pretence,
their neighbours, what absurdity, to complain of these
neighbours for violating the Sovereignty of the United
States? If the laws of the country are insufficient to
punish robbers and murderers, are such characters to
escape with impunity, and are the sufferers or their
relatives to be prevented from taking vengeance, on
whatever side of the frontier they mayicome up with
them ? The British authorities may, for a time, sup-
press retaliation ; but unless they can also obtain satis-
faction, they will be borne down by the enraged and
unanimous feelings of the Canadians against these
unjust aggressions. Such feelings are already
loudly expressed at' Montreal and Quebec. Many
of the letters received by the last packet depict, in the
strongest language, the excitement which prevails
among the British Canadians, and hold out no pros-
pect of a continuation of peace, unless an immediate
and material change take place on the part of the
Executive of the United States. Such a state of
affairs is greatly to deplored, but it can be regarded
only as a calamity which we could not prevent. We wish
we were well rid of the Canadas ; but we are sure
no true Englishman, Scotchman, or Irishman would
wish to get rid of them, except on conditions that are
honourable, and alike beneficial to the Colonies and the
Mother-country. That we should lose them, as the
Texas has been lost to Mexico, from an invasion
commenced by a lawless banditti on our countrymen,
and from want of support on the part of England, no
man who has a spark of generosity or patriotism can
anticipate.

We have this morning received papers from Bombay
to the 27th February ; and from Calcutta to the 17th,
via Marseilles,—coming to Suez by the Atalanta
steamer. We regret to state that a second war with the
Burmese now appears to be inevitable. The Bombay
Courier of the 27th, upon this unfortunate subject
says—

Letters have been received in Madras, from Moulmein of
the 28th ultimo. The insulting conduct of the Burmese on
the frontiers strengthens the probability of a speedy
open rupture. A short time past some men came
down to the village of Darrah, situated within our
limits, and murdered the head man. The intelligence now
received states that Dr. Richardson was sent to Beling, a
large fortified town about forty miles from Moulmein, by the
the Commissioner, to demand the surrender of the people who
had committed the murder. The head man of Beling re-
ceived Dr. Richardson in an insolent manner, telling
him he knew nothing about it ; that he, Dr. Richard-
son, might point out the man ; he refused to allow him
to go into the country ; and finally Dr. R. was forced to return
without getting the least satisfaction, or being assisted in
the slightest degree to discover the assassins."
It was the shooting of a Mug boatman in the
Teck Narff River, in 1824, wbich led to that most
disastrous and ruinous war; and which cost the East
India Company twelve millions and half sterling.
We take from a Calcutta paper, the Hurkaru, of