The Sun.
London, England, 1853-02-04 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

(From the Times.)

Let orators beware. There is a race of men who
are never so happy as when they can take a brag-
gart, as they thinkhim at his word. What is poetry
to one man is prose to another, to be interpreted
by the rules of etymology and grammar. Mr. Cob-
den has been guilty of a figure of speech, and finds
himself saddled with a promissory note of enormous
dimensions. Rather unnecessarily, we think, he
doubts the sincerity of those who talk of =invasion ;
so, the other day, at the meeting of the Peace Con-
ference, at Manchester, he proposed to apply a pe-
cuniary test to the sincerity of a gentleman who pro-
fessed to think invasion probable. He was ready,
he said to enter into a bond to pay him 10,0001. in
the event of an invasion, on the other gentleman
undertaking to pay a shilling a week to the Man-
chester Infirmary till the same date. This was a
mistake. It was not in Mr. Cobden's proper vein.
There was too much of a sporting character about it.
But, wise or unwise, Mr. Cobden offered these odds,
and, though the first gentleman named seems to
have fought shy, Lieutenant-General Brotherton
has jumped at the offer, and nailed the rash man of
peace. Cobden acquiesces with a very good grace,
and takes credit to himself for doing so gratuit-
ously, and out of the letter of the contract. He
only makes a not very important modification, on
an alleged ground !of delicacy to thefeelings and
honour of the Loldier. Should an invasion be
merely attempted, then, by the original terms of
the offer, which speak of am actual and so far suc-
cessful invasion, the gallant General would be dis-
tracted between his duty to keep out the foe and
a natural desire to touch the 10,0001. So this sum
is now to be paid in the event of an invasion being
so much as attempted, and of course before the
General can have been pla,ced in this painful em-
barrassment between his personal interest and b;s
public duty.

The presumed necessity of this modification
shows that the bet is tk n improper one ; strictly
speaking, more improp' o t the part of the General
than that of Mr. Col L. The former, a man
with her Maj -sty's comu fission, and specially
bound to do all for the peace and happiness of his
country, make 3 a public bet that France will at-
tempt to invade England. It is now the General's
interest to provoke Franco to the attempt, if he
could be accessible to such motive, or France
so easily moved to such an act. This antagonism
of interests should never be created wantonly.
George Selwyn and a friend were looking out of
the windows of White's and saw a man fall down
in a fit. The former betted 101. that the man
would not recover, and his :r•iend accepted the bet.
While the man's life and the 101. trembled in the
balance, a doctor came up and proposed to bleed
the sufferer. Selwyn exclaimed that this was un-
fair, as it altered the odds. Cobden, of course, is
under mo temptation to Balch. inhumanity ; but he
places himself under another temptation-I:z.,
that of enduring every iru3ult, and conceding evely
demand, in order to postpone the forfeiture of his
bond. His friends -w ill smile at the idea of his
being capable of this basemet-s. Then,. why impoi
the love of money into the question at all ? -0/ ny
not leave it as it stood—a simple appeal to pa-
triotism ?

13ut is this really a true statement of the odds ?
Fifty-two shillings a-year for life, or any indefinite
period, 'may be called fifty pounds, which makes
the supposed 200 to 1 against the attempt of
invasion. Now, we really do not think that this
ratio represents the several probabilities of Na-
poleon 111. abstaining or not abstaining from so
foolish a design. It is confessedly a personal ques-
tion. What will the Emperor do, or not do ? Ho
may have no wish for -war. He may see clearly
that his interest is peak-3. He may dread being
superseded by a real Bop %parte. He may prefer
other ways of spending the resources of France..
But, the less staule his power, the more is he liable
to be reduced to the last card of war, declared,
prraaps, by the act of invasion. We all see how
the French allow themselves to be tempted on
from one excitement to another, and how neces-
sary continual novelty is to their existence. We
see how entirely all other considerations are merged
in the stimulus of an agreeable or disagreeable
surprise. We-e a war proclaimed, and an in-
vasion attempted, the Yrench, if ever so dissa-
tisfied before with their King Log, would, at all
events, wait for the result, and give him a longer
lease of power. Thare are Legitimists who
aver that Charles X. might have died King of
France had he found, an occasion for war with this
country. There are Orleanists who aver the same
of Louis Philippe. There are Bonapartists who
hold that war is the normal relation of the two
countries, and Napoleon's only real tenure of power.
So absurd an idea may have little influence in
peace and in safety ; but when Napoleon 111. feels
his throne begin to totter he may then remember
the spell which so many fmse prophets have as-
sured him is the secret of the Empire. Now,
we ask, is it 200 to 1 that he will never, under
any circumstances, feel this necessity, and bow
to it ? We will not zive our own estimate of

the odds, nor is it ii-=;:2ssary. If the chances
are only 10 to 1, or 20 to 1, that a suspicious
neighbour will not attempt a burglarious invasion
of one's premises the first time that the con-
dition of his own affairs, the darkness of the
night, and the state of the domestic defences con-
spire in favour of the scheme, that comparative
security will be held as little better than insecurity,
and we shall look to our bolts and bars and our
firearms as much as if we had cer Lain information
of an attack this very night. Yet 10 to 1 is, at
least, much nearer the tr. ath th•nu 200 to 1. Of
course, we must respect Mr. Coben's confidence
and sincerity. We are, however, most of us rurning
very much the same risk. In case of an invasion
all holders of funds and other stocks would suffer a
great depreciation of their property.. Yet we sit
still, only "praying and keeping our powder dry."
The truth is, we do not so much calculate the chances
as shut our eyes to the possible calamity ; and that,
probably, is the true account of the feeling•under
which Mr. Cobden has offered these wild odds
against the attempt of invasion.

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT A BOOKSELLER'S.—Wednesday
morning, about two, the families of Messrs. Barthes
and Lowell, foreign booksellers, No. 14, Great Marl-
borough-street, were alarmed by an outbreak of fire. It
was discovered raging in the counting-house on the
ground floor by one of the firm, who was unable to sleep
i'zom a strong smell of burning wood. Constables and
neighbours instantly repaired to King-street brigade
station, when speedily Mr. Staples, the C foreman, with
two engines and several firemen, attended. By this
time the contents. of the counting-house were destroyed,
and frightful ravage had been made among piles of valu-
able foreign books. Water was abundantly supplied
from the mains, and with other assistance and great
exertion the flames were arrested in their progress, but
not until several hundred valuable books had been de-
stroyed and damaged, and the building had sustained
sz,rious injury, The firm is insured in the Sun and other
offices. • The cause of the fire could not be ascertained.

A MODERN CLUCK MAKER.—SOIIIO time ago, a man
took up his residence in an hotel of the quarter of the
Rue Montorgueil, and from the liberality with which he
spent his money, as well as from always paying in gold,
he was consideredimmensely rich. He talked little, but
caused it to be understood that his wealth arose from
his having discovered the great secret of perpetual move-
ment, and applied it to clocks and watched, whereby an
immense saving in the making of those articles was ef-
fected. A few days ago he disappeared, and it then
turned out that he had been in the habit of making very
large purchases of watches and clocks of different makers,
for which he offered to pay in cash, but as he always
took care beforehand to make known that he was enor-
mously rich, and had still larger purchases to make, the
confiding tradesmen insisted on sending the goods with-
out payment. The moment the man got them, he sold
them for what they would fetch. No sooner had he dis-
appeared than numerous complaints were laid against
him. The police have ascertained that this discoverer
of the perpetual movement is a noted and most danger-
ous thief, who has been in the hands of justice, but they
have not yet been able to find out his retreat.
ART-EDUCATION AT HOME AND ABROAD. By G. W.
Yapp.—Mr. Yapp has here brought together into one
N:ew the state of Art-education both at home and abroad
—aud the state of 'public opinion and of the Press in
reference to this import ,it subject. The pamphlet is
very properly dedicated to .he Council of the Society of
Arts ; which has ,o essentially contributed to awaken arid
enlighten the pul.iie as to die necessity, in the present
state of the world, of uniting Science and Art with our
old manufacturing skill,—and as to the advantages that
would result from such union. All the topics with which
Mr. Yapp deals are familiar to the readers of the
thenceura,—and indeed Mr. Yapp has drawn on its
columns as one source of his materials. But there will
be a convenience to the public in having the entire sub-
ject here as it were brought together and indexed. Mr.
Yapp has one suggestion of detail which may be quoted
btaAesacahningit,ent in the general scheme not elsewhere, we
deitliinenveinenthfonrcleadrgienr cpoinnnveixsiionnnswmitlaiktilniigs sfuobrjtehcte.
pnlpnualadr-
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expensive)eo
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"If the education of the people in
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arranged
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taste, And described fully and legibly, so that all who
choose may learn something about them, set up in such
places
inasmVic,ton"a-park and Kennington-common ; the
their ehyies sowife,
four
unbarrenadthui
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almost acquire a taste°
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and mightinsensibly
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flowering plants, few
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glass,
wouldxc taosntss,
pillars, and three
AatehGenovteue
least expensive andwould be one of the
mostrn effective means of creating
and inexpensive
public' taste that
mment could possibly provide for
the people: