The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-12 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON,

principle of " no perpetual confinement with-
out previous investigation" shall have received
the sanction of the Legislature. The Com-
mittee also propose a valuable alteration in the
law by recommending that " within such period
after the lunacy has been properly established,
as the judicial officer who shall have determined as to
the fact of lunacy shall deem reasonable, the property
of the lunatic of all kinds shall vest in an official
committee to be administered for his benefit by the
Masters in Lunacy, or by some local jurisdiction in
the provinces." Were this proposition adopted, it
would at once diminish considerably the number of
alleged lunatics, inasmuch as it would remove from
relations all temptations to get up an alleged case of
lunacy against a rich kinsman, for the purpose of
procuring the administration of his property. We
regret to find that the Committee have
not thought it right to consider on the
present occasion the case of persons found lunatics
under a commission from the Court of Chancery.
The case of Mrs. CUMMING, to which we have so
often referred, shows the necessity of some alteration
in the law respecting Chancery lunacy commissions,
the defective state of which is still further proved by
the case of Mr. DYCE SOMBRE, who, according to the
united testimony of Dr. PARIS, President of the Col-
lege of Physicians, Dr. MAYO, Vice-President of
the College, Sir ALEXANDER MORRISON, Physician of
Bethlehem Hospital, Dr. JAMES COPELAND, author
of the " Cyclopedia of Medicine," Dr. ROBERT
FERGUSSON, Physician to the Queen, and
Dr. W. COSTELLO, editor of the " Cyclopedia
of Practical Surgery," and who has studied the treat-
ment of mental diseases in the most celebrated asy-
lums of the continent, is at this present moment of
perfectly sane mind, albeit, he is only entrusted by
the Court of Chancery with the expenditure of a por-
tion of his property, and is not permitted to remain
in England in perfect liberty, while he may wander
all over the continent at his own will and pleasure
thus giving the authority of the Court of Chancery
to the libel that there is a tendency in this our climate
of England to engender lunacy, for on no other prin-
ciple is it possible to account for the decision of the
Court in the case of Mr. DYCE SOMBRE.

The Hon. EDMUND Pours may be regarded as
the champion of indirect taxation. He has stood
forward boldly in defence of the existing system,
and endeavoured to shelter under his buckler the
venerable abuses that have sprung up during succes-
sive con turies.

The budgets put forward by Messrs. CO➢DEN,
MACGREGOR, and RIGBY Wason have been successively
attacked, and it is manifest that the Hon. Gentleman
has, at least, satisfied himself that he has succeeded
in completely overthrowing their several projects,
We confess that we had expected better things of the
Author of " The Monetary Crisis"," of the gentle-
man who, during the existence of the panic of 1847,
put forward some valuable suggestions for the modi-
fication of the Bank Charter, by the adoption of
which he contended that " present relief and increased
safety for the future," might be obtained. He cer-
tainly did not, in the month of October, 1847, con-
sider it a high crime and misdemeanour to come
forward as the author of an " Amateur Budget."
or suppose that, by so doing, he had exposed himself
to ridicule as a "would-be Chancellor of the Exche-
quer." We must, however, be contented to regard
Mr. PHIPPS as an energetic opponent, in place of find-
ing him, as we had expected, a zealous and efficient
" Collahorateur."
Mr. Purrs has addressed himself in turn to '
the "Three Amateur Budgets," and given a few
words—we may add, a eery few words to each*, The
weakness of his cause may be collected from
the points which he has alone ventured to attack.
If a party comes forward to reply to a general state-
ment, and in place of fairly controverting the general
principles on which the entire structure is based,
seizes on some minor point, and directs his whole
attention thereto, the natural inference must be, that
he is unable to impeach the validity of those princi-
ples ; that he is unable to point out any error therein,
As Mr. Wagon truly remarked, " the silence is more
eloquent than words."
" The Budget for the Million " first excites
the wrath of Mr. Pknprs. The blunders
in the arithmetic, as they are termed, are
seised hold of and commented on in the most hu-
morous vein. He says " What, my readers, a
Chancellor of the Exchequer-to-be, and not correct
in his figures. Impossible. A cabdriver who does
not know his way about town, a sea•captain who
cannot box the compass, a soldier who has not even
practised the goose-step, were less absurd. But so it
is." These are the points to which we ourselves
had previously directed the public attention, the
mistake of the 5 per cent , which did not in the
slightest degree affect the principle, and of the error
of words, in calling the figures which he had
correctly set down as " four billions," in place of
" four thousand millions," a mistake which could
certainly have had no bearing whatsoever on the real
question.
Mr. PHIPPS, in his recent letter to which we gave
insertion on Friday last, says—" Had I seen the
notice in your paper of the error in Mr. Wasores
calculations, or his own acknowledgment of it before
my remarks were printed, I certainly should not
have again adverted to it, though I think his amended
calculations open to the objections I have pointed
out." We are bound to give full credence to this
statement, and we do so without the slightest
hesitation. It was, however, exceedingly unfortunate
that the oversight occurred, and that Mr. Pniprs
should thereby be led to waste his powers on points
of such trivial importance, so far apart from the
real merits. "The Budget for the Million" first ap-
peared in The Sun of the 25th January last, and
in our leading article of the same day we explained
the mistake. We then said..

"In his second proposition Mr. WAsoN, in the
hurry of calculation, has fallen into an error. He
justly assumes the value of the realised property
of the country to be 4,400,000,0001, and he says
that 5 per cent. on this capital sum would produce
more than sufficient to pay off the National
Debt. Now the National Debt, in round terms, amounts
to 800,000,0004, whereas 5 per cent. on 4,400,000,0001.
would amount to but 220,000,0001. only. It would,
therefore, take about 18 per cent, to obtain the required
amount. The error in calculation dues not, however, in
any degree affect the principle, and Mr. Wason has shown
how the great desideratum may be attained, and the
nation freed from an enormous debt, which it is posi-
tively disgraceful and dishonest to make no efurt to
liquidate, when the country is in a state of profound peace
and tranquillity."

On the 27th a letter front Mr. WASON appeared in
our columns, thanking us for having " so early pointed
out the error in the five per cent. calculation," and
then he entered into the second, or ten per cent.
calculation, to which Mr. PHIPPS alludes in the
postscript of his pamphlet; in a note to which he
erroneously states that Mr. WAsoN " only refers to
the error pointed out to him by the Spectator," when,
in point of fact, the error had been explained and
actually acknowledged in this journal before the
publication of our respected Contemporary. Under
these circumstances, we think it unfortunate that
Mr. PHIPPS had not taken the trouble to inform
himself fully of the state of the question upon which
he was about to enlighten the public mind—that he
did not know the real points at issue respecting the
Budget for the million before he attempted to dispose
of them in so very summary and expeditious a
manner.

The recent letter to which we have already alluded
alone ventured to attack the principle put forward by
Mr. Was°lc: that then contains the arguments
on which Mr. Pnirrs means to rely, and
we confidently refer to Mr. WasoN's re-
joinder which appeared on Saturday, and to our
own observations on the same day, as affording the
most complete and satisfactory refutation of these
arguments.

Mr. WesoN's Budget then remains uunscathed,
notwithstanding the vigorous onslaught of Si.
CHARLES WOOD'S new and puissant ally.

* " The Monetary Crisis, with a Proposal for Presett
Relief, and Increased Safety in Future." By the Hai.
Edmund Phipps, Barrister•at-law. London : Janes
Ridgway.

" A Few Words on the Three Amateur Budgets of
Cobden, Macgregor, and Wason." By the. Hon. Id-
mund Phipps. London: James Ridgway.

On Saturday, the 10th instant, a general assembly
of the academicians was held at the Royal Academy of
Arts, in Trafalgar-square, when Richard Westmacett,
Esq., was elected an academician, in the room of Ratway
Richard Reinagle, Esq., resigned.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

`We have received the Paris papers of Saturday and
Sunday.
On Friday the National Assembly was engaged
in discussing the project of law on commercial bill
stamps, and on Saturday in considering the Bill for
the organization of the judicial tribunals. The third
reading of the proposition of M. LINJUINAIS for the
dissolution of the National Assembly is fixed for
Tuesday. Notice was given on Saturday of the
following amendments to be proposed on that oc-
casion :

M. DUPLAN proposes to add to the proposition the
following clause :—" The Committee on the Budget
shall present its reprt within one month from the
promulgation of the present law. Two days after its
presentation the Assembly shall commence its dis-
cussion. The electoral law shall not be promulgated,
at the earliest, until the day of the commencement of
this discussion."

M. EMILY PRAM proposes to add the following :
"After the completion of the electoral law, and before
its promulgation, the discussion and vote of the
Budget shall be proceeded with."
These amendments have been rendered necessary
by the attempts of the Ministry to avoid the discus-
sion of the Budget, and thus to nullify, by A quibble,
the decision of the Assembly.
We read in the Moniteur :

" The Minister ofthe Interior has received the fol-
lowing news, dated the Bth, by telegraph, from the pre-
fect of the Herault :—' Very grave disturbances have
taken place at Cette, on the occasion of the suppression
of a bonnet rouge on the top of a tree of liberty. The
Mairie has been pillaged ; the cerele du commerce burned
down, and three houses devastated. The Prefect, the
Procureur- General, and the General commanding
the department immediately went to the spot with fifty
of the engineer corps. Tranquillity has been re-
established. Numerous arrests have been effected with-
out resistance. The Mayor has been suspended by the
Prefect, and a provisional municipality has been orga-
nized. A judicial investigation is going on, and ener-
getic measures have been taken.' "
The iteforrie says :—" The house of BARING of
London, which had offered, when General Csysioisac
was President of the Council, a loan of 300 millions
to the French Government, now increases, we are
assured, the offer to 500 millions and on more favour-
able conditions. But the French Government dares
not accept the proposition of the house of BARING.
There appears to exist between the Government and
the house of ROTHSCHILD certain arrangements
which they cannot well transgress."
The Minister of Agriculture and Commerce has
addressed a circular to the Chamber of Commerce,
asking if they would be willing to admit foreign
articles to the approaching exhibition of manufactures,
and if so what articles they think most likely, from
their novelty or superiority, to exercise a favourable
influence on the manufactures of France.
The President of the High Court of Justice has
named M. BOINTILIERS to act as counsel for BARBEL
and ALBERT ; M. DECOUX-LAPETRIERE for RASPAIL,
PAUL DEGRE, and THOMAS ; M. ADELON for FLOTTE ;
M. BUCHERE for BLANQUI; those prisoners having
refused to choose counsel themselves. It was, how-
ever, stated yesterday that ALBERT, BLANQUI, and
FLOTTE, had announced their intention of selecting
counsel. The prisoner QUENTIN has confided his de-
fence to M. JOUHLUD, and the prisoners COURTAIS,
SORRIER, and LARGET,
_ have severally chosen M.
BETHMONT, M. ALEM _ROUSSEAU, and M. MADRIER
DE MONTJAU. RASPAIL and QUENTIN yesterday
daused to be presented to the Court of Appeal a
eclaration of appeal against being sent to trial. This
appeal will, it is believed, be heard one day next week.
The National of Saturday, says—" The Ministerial
journals of last evening, announcing that the Presi-
dent of the Republic passed a regiment of infantry
in review, make use of these words in speaking
of the head of the State. The note which
they publish on this subject is evidently a Ministerial
communication. It is therefore to the Ministry that
we address ourselves in observing, that the President
of the Republic is the head of the Executive power,
and not the head of the State. That qualification is
too unconstitutional for us to suppose that the Ministry
will employ it after our observation,"
The Constitutionnel says :—" The news of the en-
trance of CARRERA into France is confirmed. A
letter from Perpignan of Feb. 4 says—' It was on
the 2ll'th of January, at the affair of Pasteral, that
General CABRERA was dangerously wounded, and
then pursued most rapidly by the division of the
QuEcis's troops, under Colonel Resort MARIA SO-
LANG, who followed him to the French frontier.
CABRERA entered France on January 31, at four in
the afternoon, by the village of La Farga, between
Campredon and Prats-de-Mollo, accompanied only
by his medical attendant, and lies hid in that neigh-
bourhood."'

The Preece says that the Minister for Foreign
Affairs has received a telegraphic dispatch announcing
the death of CABRERA. The statement needs confir
mation.

There was a review yesterday in the Champ de
Mars.

The diplomatists who are to take part in the con-
ferences on the affairs of Italy have all left Paris for

Brussels.

The Committee on the demand for an inquiry into
the conduct of the Government on the 2/Pth of January
have resolved, by a majority of I to 6 to reject the
demand.

The Committee of the National Assembly on the
Law for Suppressing the Clubs have resolved to re-
commend the rejection of the Bill introduced by the
Government.

The Three per Cents. closed on the Paris Bourse, on
Saturday, at 47f. 60c.; the Five per Cents. at 78f. 75c.;
the New Loan at 78f. 65c.; Orleans Railroad Shares at
745 f.; Rouen, 460 E; Havre, 252f.50c.; Great Northern
4061. 25c.; Vierson, 277 f. 50c,; Avignon, 1771. 50c.;
Basle 88f. 75c.; Bordeaux, 400 f. ; Paris and Strasburg,
*Bg. 75c.; Tours and Nantes, 317 f. 50c.

BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK-EXCHANGE. FEB. 10.
_ .

Boulogne and Amiens, 9—Central of France (Orleans and
Vierzon), 9—Dutch Rhenish, 1%—Luxembourg (10/.),
2M—Namur and Liege, 84I—Northern of France, 8
Orleans and Bordeaux, 3—Paris and Orleans, 31—Paris and
Rouen, 19—Rouen and Havre, 1014 —Sambre and Meuse,
414—Tours and Nantes, 2.