The Sun.
London, England, 1849-06-08 00:00:00

•Itn iltln

LONDON, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 1843.

Among the many extraordinary discoveries which
have been recently made, not one is more remarkable,
more worthy of attention, or more calculated to ex-
ercise a beneficial influence over the community than
that of the sympathy existing among all classes, a
sympathy linking together the lowliest citizen in the
land and the highest personage in the Government.
nany may think this no discovery whatever. But—
practically speaking—it is so, nevertheless. Often as
the truth has been acknowledged of that glorious line
of the poet—
" One touch of feeling makes the whole world kin,"
until very recently the illustration of that truth has
never been systematically attempted by those
who are born to pomp or elevated to greatness.
The "divinity that cloth hedge a King" has
seemed until very recently to arrogate to
itself a larger and larger amount of isolation.
Even in " the golden prime " of that fabulous phi.
lanthropist good HABROUN ALRASCRID, the Caliph
could only venture upon a course of beneficence under
the shelter of a masquerade. Of late, however, the
times have changed, and with the times the prejudices
of antiquity, have, one by one, gradually disappeared.
Before the world has grown much older, FlLsma will
have lost his identity, and have floated away into the
dreamy perspective of oblivion. The absurdities of
past superstitions about royalty have nut fallen into
greater contempt with the habitants of the cottage
than with the occupants of the palace. A
clearer light has spread throughout so-
ciety, and Prince and People confront each
other, and mutually recognise their common
humanity. Were it not that some novel ideas have
arisen as to the existence of a sympathetic connexion
between the highest and the lowest, the richest and
the poorest, the wisest and the most unlettered mem-
bers of the population...we should never have had to
record the meeting, the particulars of which were
very recently reported in these columns, a meeting
where the advantages conferred by the Provident and
Benevolent Society for the assistance of Domestic
bervants, were earnestly and feelingly unfolded by
the chairman of the meeting, his Royal Highness the
PRINCE CONSORT.

On that occasion (the 16th ultimo) it cannot so
soon have been forgotten that his Royal Highness
expayteissgritiantilitliever possibly beard before
from--theclps-7 „o . in his august position,
anc~u,tau-ic awakened an emotion
of '6l6l4llll§‘glh oca en tary pleasure in the
tionsehol4s ingdom. At the time we
said nothing;, not the less appreciate the
noble spirit_ot sub , the unaffected gentleness of
nature whlQh 141atital throughout the speech of the

Royal Chairman. Now that two or three weeks
have passed over, and that our remarks cannot be
attributed to any sudden and evanescent freak of
admiration, we would call to the recollection of our
readers the words articulated by Prince ALBERT,
satisfied from the very simplicity which denoted their
earnestness that they are words deserving of remem-
brance. " Where," said the Prince, "is the heart
that does not feel the deepest interest in the welfare
of domestic servants, or who does not sympathise
with those who minister to us in all the wants of
private life, who tend us in sickness, who receive us
on our first appearance in this world, and extend
their care even to our mortal remains ? ' If sentiments
like these were but more prevalent, if the thoughts
of the husband of the SOVEREIGN were only shared
in more generally by the community at large, we
should assuredly hear somewhat less of the miseries
endured, and the temptations surrounding, and the
hardships inflicted upon, the White Slaves of Eng-
land. In advocating the claims of domestic servants
to the aid of the more opulent, his Royal Highness
did not, however, urge those claims as though they
constituted a demand upon the alms of
the benevolent. On the contrary he avowed
distinctly that he sy m pa. hised with the
Servants' Provident and Benevolent Society, not
so much because it was a charitable association, but
because it was a charitable association based upon a
right principle. " I feel convinced," said he, " that
this society is based upon a right principle, as it
follows the dictates of a correct appreciation of human
nature, which requires every one by his own exer-
tions to work out his own happiness." "It is based
upon a right principle," he continu ed, " because it
endeavours to trace out a plan according to which by
previous self-denial, providence, and perseverance,
not only is the servant raised in his physical and moral
condition, but the master is taught how to direct his
efforts so as to aid his servants in acquiring resources
which shall be sufficient to sustain them in sickness,
in old age, awl want of employment." In co-operating
with such an institution, it is consequently percep-
tible that the public, far from holding out premiums
for idleness, are affording the best, because the
healthiest, stimulant to honesty and probity. Induce-
ments are given alike to the employer and the em-
ployed ; and those inducements are enforced at the
same moments by the benefits conferred upon the
domestic servants, and by the large-hearted and pure-
minded panegyric passed upon the association by the
husband of the Queen of ENGLAND.
While his Royal Highness commended the princi-
ples upon which the Servants' Provident and Benevo-
lent Society is based, he took the opportunity to stig-
matise in fitting terms of condemnation those more at-
tractive but pernicious institutions which, by holding
out the chance of extravagant advantage, induced the
members to place the little funds, the earnings of
their hard labour, at a much greater risk. Such
associations as these he pronounced to be most pre-
judicial to the unfortunate servants, both morally and
physically, " tending at once to transform their
providence into a species of gambling." Not only
doing this obvious injury, but " by convivial meetings,
leading them to ulterior expenses ; or by a system
of balloting for a few prizes, drawing them into the
waste of time and excitement of an electioneering
contest."

Speaking immediately as to the miserable effects of
these evil establishments, the PRINCE exclaimed v►ith
much feeling, " What can be more heartrending than
to see the breaking of banks and the failure of such
institutions, which not only mar a man's prospects for
life, and plunge him of a sudden into the depths of
destitution, but which tend also to destroy in others
all confidence in the honesty or the wisdom of those
who have induced them to risk in such associations
the advantages of their providence ?" Common sense
assures us of the force of these reflections, of their
bitter truth, and of the urgent necessity which
existed for the contrivance of some effectual correc •
tion such as this Servants' Provident and Benevolent
Society. That society may now be regarded as
fully and permanently established, regulated, as it
is, by the Deferred Annuities Act ; supported as it
is by the encouragement of the Prime Minister and
other influential personages ; and eulogised as it has
been by the simple and touching eloquence of his
Royal Highness the PnaiscE CoNsoaz. This speech
will not soon be lost to the recollection of the people
of England, confirming, as it does, the respect and
affection with which they have long regarded the
Consort of her MAZESTY.

Mr. Morn= is indeed a man of considerable
energy and perseverance. Undeterred by former
failures, he has again brought forward his Insolvent
Members Bill, which was advanced a stage on Wed-
nesday, owing to the absence of Hon. Gentlemen
who regard with the utmost apathy and carelessness 4
measure directly aiming at the privileges, not only of
the Members of the House of Commons, but of the
several constituencies by whom they hare been elected
es representatives. Although the avowed object of
the Bill is merely to facilitate the recovery of debts
from bankrupt and insolvent Members, and to afford
remedies to creditors, which they do not at
present possess, it is difficult to conceive
a measure fraught with more dangerous
consequences, or better calculated to interfere with
the independence of the popular branch of the Legis-
lature. If it should, by any possibility, pass into a
law the position of a Member of Parliament will be
one of a most unenviable character, if not possessed
of considerable fortune, not merely of real estate or
fixed investments not immediately available, but of
ready money at his bankers. It may be
regarded as a part of the system that has
recently been acted on, the purpose of which
is to increase the powers of the moneyocracy
and to place the industrious classes, and, indeed, the
community in general, under their control and go-
vernance. The Monetary Code introduced in 1819,
and rendered infinitely more stringent in 1844, has
materially added to the resources of the capitalists,
has enhanced the value of money, while every de-
scription of produce, foreign or domestic, has
been deteriorated in an inverse ratio. They
alone have been prosperous, while the na-
tion has suffered the deepest distress and
mislry, and if permitted to get the representation
of the people into their own hands, and to banish
from the House all those who might incur their dis-
pleasure or have the temerity to oppose their views,
it would be vain to hope for any beneficial change,
or the adoption of the fiscal or monetary reforms so
essential to the welfare and happiness of the nation.

It cannot be said that the evil to be remedied is of
such magnitude as to render necessary so great a
departure from the constitution, so formidable an in-
vasion on the privileges of the tax-payers. Some
five or six Members at the outside may be unable to
satisfy at the moment the pecuniary demands for
which they are responsible. Owing to their Par-
liamentary privileges their persons are rendered
sacred—they cannot be arrested and thrown into
gaol—but their properties of every description may
be seized, and made available for the payment of their
just debts, as readily as if the exemption so loudly
complained of were altogether abolished. In fact
is little more than that accorded
their privilege
to the officers of the different courts of law,
and to barristers and attorneys when engaged
in the discharge of their professional duties. These
gentlemen are protected from arrest enndo, niarando,
d redetrado, while going to, remaining at, and re-
turning from the courts or law offices to their dwell-
ing houses; and the privilege is acknowledged to
have been conceded, not for their own advantage,
but for the benefit of the clients by whom they are
retained, and whose interests they are to advocate
and guard before the various tribunals. If they
could be arrested en route to court, a wealthy
and unscrupulous litigant might be enabled to
deprive his adversary of the professional
assistance to which he was entitled, and to snatch
a verdict or important decision on grounds different
from the actual merits. The Judges, therefore,
wisely interposed, feeling the dangerous consequences
of permitting the existence of such strong incitements
to vexaticus and oppressive conduct. The privilege
was therefore established that has existed through
many successive ages, and the policy or propriety of
the proceeding has never been questioned. True it
is that a barrister or attorney has occasionally
been discharged from custody who had been
improperly arrested, but the instances were
exceedingly rare, and the trifling inconvenience
occasioned to the creditor was never for a moment
consilered an equivalent for the great advantages

bestowed upon parties engaged in litigation through-
out the entire country.
In like manner, the privilege of freedom from
arrest bestowed upon Members of Parliament was
not granted for the benefit of the " elected," but of
the " electors." It was the privilege of the consti-
tuencies, and not of the representatives. Every citizen
owed a duty to his country. If required to serve on a
jury, he was bound to attend, however irksome or in-
convenient to himself might be that attendance. If
elected by a competent body as their chosen repre-
sentative, be could not refuse the trust or decline the
proffered honour. His resignation would not be
accepted, and he could only have his seat declared
void by his acceptance of an office of emolu-
ment under the Crown, and even in such
a case he might be again elected by the
people, whose perfect freedom of choice could
not be limited or infringed upon. Now, however, it
is proposed that in the event of any Member being
unable immediately to satisfy every pecuniary de-
mand within a limited period, the constituency whom
he represents may be deprived of his services, per-
haps at a time when those services might be of the
utmost consequence. They may be practically
disfranchised for six months, while he is rendered
incapable of sitting or voting. This, however,
must have occurred before his seat was de-
clared vacant, and ultimately their right of choice
might be restricted. The man whom of all others
they would desire to select might be disqualified,
and their suffrages would consequently be totally
lost. The admirable arguments of Sir WILLIAM
CLAY, Mr. BERNAL, and Mr. J. STUART, in opposi-
tion to the measure will not be thrown away, but
will we trust ere it be too late induce their brother
legislators to reject a Bill pregnant with such in-
jurious results.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

THE PRESIDENT'S'
MESSAGE•
We have received the Paris papers of yesterday.
They contain the Message of the PRESIDENT, which
was laid on the bureau of the Legislative Assembly
towards the close of the sitting on Wednesday. The
following is a translation of this most important
document:—
" Gentlemen Representatives, The Constitution
obliges the President of the Republic to lay before you
every year a statement of the general affairs of the
country.
" I conform with this obligation, which allows me,
while submitting to you the truth in all its simplicity,
and facts so far as they are instructive, to speak to you
both of my past conduct and of my future intentions.
" My election to the first magistracy of the Republic
was the cause of hopes, all of which could not as yet be
realised.
" To the very day when you are assembled within
these walls the Executive Power has not enjoyed its con-
stitutional prerogatives to their full extent. In such a
position it was difficult to take a very decided course.
" Nevertheless, I remain faithful to my manifesto.
" Indeed, to what have I pledged myself in accepting
the suffrages of the nation ?
" To defend society, so audaciously assailed.
" To secure a wise, great, and honourable Republic.
" To protect family, religion, and property.
" To promote all possible improvement and economy.
"To protect the press against caprice and licentious-
ness.
" To lessen the abuses of centralization.
" To efface the marks of our civil discords.
"And finally, with respect to foreign relations, to
adopt a policy alike without arrogance and without
weakness.
" Times and circumstances have not as yet allowed
me to fulfil all these engagements, but important steps
have nevertheless been taken in this direction.
" The first duty of the Government was to direct all
its efforts to the re establishment of that confidence
which could not be complete without a definitive power.
The want of security in the present, and of faith in the
future, destroys credit, stops labour, diminishes revenue
both public and private, renders loans impossible, and
dries up the sources, of wealth.
"Before confidence was restored it would have been
as vain to have recourse to all the systems of credit as to
the most revolutionary expedients. Abundance could
not be created when fear and distrust of the morrow had
produced sterility.
" Even our foreign policy could not rise to the level
of our former power, excepting when we had restored at
home that which constitutes the strength of nations—
viz., the union of the citizens and financial prosperity.
" To attain this end the Government could only fol
low a firm and resolute course, showing to all that,
without departing from the prescriptions of law, it
would adopt the most energetic measures for the secu-
rity of society.
" It generally endeavoured, therefore, to re-establish
the weight of authority by employing all its care in call-
ing to public office those men whom it judged most
honourable and competent, without regard to their poli-
tical antecedents.
" Lest the public mind should he disturbed, the
Government has deferred the project of liberating the
victims of our civil discords. At the very word am-
nesty' pudic opinion is moved in different directions,
and it has feared the return of fresh troubles. Never-
theless, I have used clemency where it has not been
misplaced.
"The prisons are already open for 1,570 convicts of
June, and the others will soon be set at liberty without
any cause of apprehension to society. As for those who
are condemned to the galleys by councils of war, some
of them, who can be put on the same footing as political
criminals, shall be placed in penitentiaries.
" The course we have adopted soon restored confi-
dence; business gained a new impulse ; the savings-
banks were filled. Since the end of January the pro-
duce of the indirect contributions and the customs has
incessantly increased; and in April was nearly equal to
that of the most prosperous times. The Treasury has
regained the credit of which it stood in need, and the
city of Paris has been able to contract a loan almost at
par—a negotiation which reminds us of the time when
confidence was most securely establi,hed. The petitions
for sanctioning joint-stock companies (societes anonymes)
have been multiplied; the number of patents has in-
creased from day to day; the price of offices, the sale of
all those values which have suffered a heavy depreciation
..have gradually improved; and, finally, in all the manu-
facturing towns work has recommenced, and foreigners
have again visited Paris. This felicitous movement, in-
terrupted for a moment by the agitation of the elections,
will resume its course through the aid which you will
afford to the Government.
"FINANCE&
"Although our commercial and industrial affairs have
been greatly restored, the state of our finances is far from
satisfactory.
"The weight of hazardous engagements contracted by
the late Government has caused, in the course of the
year 1848, an expenditure which has increased the public
debt by 56,501,800 f. additional reales.
" Moreover, the extraordinary expenses caused by the
February revolution have produced an increase of
charges, which, after every compensation, amounts to
265,498,428 f. for the year 1848. In spite of the addi-
tional resources owing to the tax of 45c., and to the loans
which have been negotiated, there will be a deficit of
72,160,000 f.
" According to the budget the year 1849 was to leave
only a deficit of 25,000,000 f., but facts have not agreed
with calculations, and considerable changes have arisen
from unforeseen circumstances. New taxes, the produce
of which has been valued at more than 00,000,000 E, have
not been voted; while, on the other hand, not only has
the tax on salt been reduced two-thirds, but the revenue
from the tax on letters has fallen far below the amount
expected, and the estimated deficit will be equal to
180,000,000 f.
" Another unexpected circumstance has :made our
situation worse. The tax on liquors, the produce of
which exceeds 100,000,000 E, required to be moderated
and simplified by a new form, which should harmonize
it with the spirit of our institutions. An amendment
added to the budget of 1849 has abolished it from the
lisntg,nlTotefh hiwasJ ssoa:nuary, 1850, and has prohibited its re-
imposition.
tunarbetceeveteswor
otfehfe
oenrlueervses fin,
receiptsnu ae been a necessarynd
expenses,
andrestore
this
endthe
equilibrium
can only be atttoahainaet uzhht e
etdofobrytreducing the expenses and open-
: nenurge is what finances deserves a serious con-
sideration.elem nevertheless,ents o to
strengthennsole andan and
which
s ar
has
almost everywhere
riches contained
" The National Guard,
shown itself animated by a sense of its duties, comprises
at present nearly 4,000,003 men, 1,200,000 of whom are
armed with muskets or light arms.
"It possesses 500 guns.
"The organization of 300 battalions of disposable
National Guards is in conformity with the decree of the
22d of last July.
The reorganization of the Garde Mobile, which was
engaged for a single year in 1849, has caused
a reduc-
tion from 12,000 to 6,000 men, and consequently a saving
of 7,000,000'.
" ARMY.
has"cTohnetinaurmedy
re-
strain the evil passions in the interior, and to give abroad
,by alwaysi
ts ti frami tha Inud l tisn
unflinching
gu
attitude
tett?,
tdu
di tes t duty,e
a just idea of our power.
and
9W377sh4avheonrsoews. altogether under arms 451,000 men,
" We have 16,495 guns of every kind, of which 13,770
are"
It ibiroteneesen.
s been apparent
she enjoys. A certain agitation has tthoesp,le3e9e.e
which
r aOrmuryfitehldatpAielcgeesriaamoowuenst
con-
certed among
at
nh
de
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eaenudt e
d the n
pKe
ra
ab
tyi
01 ens
s, but
have s o
pmr eo
mwp_e
tln
re-
stored order and security, and our influence has
creased.
" The works of the port of Algiers, and those which
are designed to improve our methods of communication,
are carried on with the activity which the appropriations ,
of the Budge tadmit of.