The Sun.
London, England, 1836-01-29 00:00:00

'ITtI-7(,4

LONDON,
FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 29, 1836.

The proceedings which took place. at Birmingham
on the occasion of Mr. O'CONNELL'S visit to that
mid-land Metropolis—for a full report of which wc
are indebted to the exertions of our enterprising Con-
temporary, the Morning Advertiser—coupled with
the enthusiastic manner i❑ which he was received at
Liverpool, must convince the Tories that they have
not even the most distant chance of ousting a Ministry
which is so firmly established in the good opinion of
the people as the MELBOURNE Cabinet. For Mr.
O'CONNELL, be it observed, claimed attention, both
at Birmingham and at Liverpool, chiefly on the score
of his being a warm, though perfectly independent,
supporter of Ministers. At both places he emphati -
cally stated that for their sakes, and in a full
and entire confidence on their sense of justice, he
was willing to give up the question of Repeal,
and had even gone the length of persuading his
fellow-countrymen to give it up also. And how
was this declaration of an unhesitating adhesion to
Lord MELBOURNE'S Administration received at Bir-
mingham and Liverpool ? By the most unanimous
and enthusiastic acclamations ! Men of all classes—
Reformers of all grades--were present, yet not one
solitary individual even so much as whispered disappro-
bation. And were Mr. O'CONNELL'S demands on
Government such as they cannot, without titter disre-
gard to propriety, concede ?—By no means. He simply
stipulated for that which no true Whig, who stands firm
to his creed, can disallow. He exacts from him nothing
more than that his practise shall be in accordance with
his theory. Government have already promised the
extinction of the Irish tithe system and the Reform of the
Irish Corporation—and Mr. O'CONNELL simply re-
quires of them that they fulfil these pledges to the
letter. We look on his reception at Liverpool and
Birmingham as one of the most emphatic signs of the
times that have yet developed themselves.

The whole of the Paris papers of Wednesday have
been received. The ever-to-be-talked of Five per
Cents, are still the subject of discussion in the political
circles of Paris. The Journal des Debats has rather
a curious acticle on the subject. The writer alleges
that M. HumANN's plan is but an indifferent nostrum
for the evil which he prgposes to remedy ; inasmuch
as he cannot reduce the interest of the debt without
increasing the principal. This is a new doctrine—and
one of which the professors of political economy will
not boast the discovery. If M. HUMANN had told
the Chamber that he had no money wherewith to pay
off any part of the principal of the debt, and that the
principal should be nominally increased in the hands
of the holders of stock, on condition that the interest
on the whole should be reduced One per Cent., then
would there be something intelligible in the argument
of the Debats; though still the scheme of M. Hu-
MANN might be advantageous to the country. But
the late Finance Minister made no proposal for in-
creasing the nominal amount of Stock to represent
the Five per Cents. ; and the reduction was to take
place on the plain and intelligible plea of the interest
being exorbitant.

The latest accounts from Bayonne are to the
24th, and from Barcelona to the 20th instant.
They bring no authentic information on the subject of
the engagements between the Christinos and the
Carlists on the 16th and 17th. The QUEEN'S troops
have returned to Vittoria. According to the Carlist
agents, the Christinos had upwards of 1,000 men
killed in the battle which took place on the 17th. No
reliance can be placed on the truth of these rumours.
The Carlists are making every exertion to excite the
inhabitants of Barcelona to insurrection, although

hitherto without success. General MINA is equally
on the alert to prevent every demonstration of public
feeling on the part of the lowest orders of the people,
who, as a matter of course, are the creatures of the
fugitive monks. Perhaps we are not sufficiently ac-
quainted with the Spanish character to judge of what
degree of severity ought to be resorted to, for the pur-
pose of preserving public order in the disturbed dis-
tricts ; but we are of opinion that MINA'S measures
are too astringent—too sanguinary—to produce the
best results possible under the circumstances. If we
may judge from the conduct of the Catalonians in the
general rising and massages of May 1808, too much
severity has as ill an effect upon the populace, as a too
relaxed exercise of constitutional authority.

PARIS, JAN. 27.—The Journals of Bourdeaux and Bayonne,
seeing it is impossible to discover the truth respecting the re-
sults of the actions which took place on the 16th and 17th, at
the Venta d'Arlaban, between Salinas and Vittoria, give the
accounts both of the Carlists and Christinos, who respectively
claim the victory. It seems that after two days' fighting, in
which there was a certain number of killed and wounded on
both sides, both parties returned to their former positions. On
the side of the Christinos Colonel Narvaes was wounded, and
two Colonels on the side of the Carlists. General Cordova
highly commends Colonel Bernelle, who commands the Alge-
rine Legion.
It is affirmed, that in consequence of some disagreement at
the head-quarters of Don Carlos, the General-in-Chief,
Egina, has been suspended from his functions.
A letter from the frontier, of the 22d January says :
Don Carlos has just ordered two battalions, one of which
is the 9th, of Navarre, to proceed to the valley of Amescoa
(which is onq, of those that have refused to furnish returns for
the Carlist army), to punish the inhabitants, and to seize the
arms which have been given them by Don L. Iriarte. But
the two Carlist battalions which were ordered to reduce the
vallies of Roncal and Amescoa, have not been able to execute
their commission, having received information that General
Oraa's division of about eight thousand men, was coming by
forced marches to the succour of the inhabitants. If the Chris-
tinos persist in the same system of affording protection to the
districts that declare in favour of the Queen, there is no
doubt that these examples would be followed by many others."
—Sentinelle des Pyrenees.
According to the Journal des Debats, it results from the
whole of the news received from the frontiers, that the opera-
tion of General Cordova, which was designed to call the atten-
tion of the enemy to two points, in order to gain the road to
St. Sebastian by a third, failed from want of a proper under-
standing between the three corps of the army, and principally
in consequence of the premature attack, which the General
ascribes to the ardour of his troops.
The Algesiras of the line, and the Artemise frigate, sailed
from Toulon, on the 24th, for the Antilles. We have before
stated that they arc to form part_of the squadron under Rear-
Admiral Mackau.

A letter from Brest, of the 23d, says—" The contrary winds
still detain the Jupiter and the Terpsichore, destined for the
Antilles. The Jena will go into the road in a few days. The
Venus and Juno frigates might soon be ready for sea, if orders
came for that purpose, as there are plenty of seamen belonging
to the division not yet disposed of."—Messager, Jan. 27.

FRENCH FUNDS.—Paats, JANUARY' 27.
Five per Cents., 10141 25c. 30c.
Four per Cents., 1016 vse.
Three per Cents., WV. 70c. 65c. 60c. 50c.
Bank Actions, 2,140 f.
Rente de Naples, 99f. 10c. 15c. 20c. 3Cc.
Roman Five per Cents., 103%U.
Spanish Actives, 49% 5
Spanish Differes, 253 .
Spanish Passives, 16U%.
Cortes Loan, 3814.
Three per Cent. Rentes, 23.
Belgian Loan, Five per Cents, 10.3%.
Portuguese Loan, Five per Cents., 85.
Haytian Loan. 415 t.
EXCHANOR ON LONDON.
One month, paper, 25c. 47 i4c ; money 25r 45,
Three months, paper, 251. 35c. ; money, 25f. 32!:-.c
n •rs Authersligue.

BOURSE, TIMER O'CLOCK.-The market opened at the same
prices as yesterday, but they have, since the beginning, been
lowering to Of. 55c., sellers. The settling-dry, which is at
hand, seems to be the cause.

Spanish stock is rather lower, it being generally believed
that the Christinos have been beaten. The great speculators
were eager to sell.
QUARTER TO FOUR.—Five per Cents., 109 f. 40c. ; Three
per Cents., SOf. 60c. ; Five per Cents. Spanish, —; Three
per Cents. Spanish, —; Cortes, —; Coupons, —; Gueb-
hards, —; Differes, 19; New Loan, —; Actives, 493 ;
Passives, 161-; Ducats, 99 20 ; Romans, 103 e ; Pedros, 85 ;
Belgians, 1034- ; Dutch, —f. —c. ; Haytians, 4151. —C. ;
—; Brabant Bank, —; Belgian Bank, 13 ; Con-
tinuation, —c. ; N,2.vr Differcs, ; Five per Cent. NI pe-
tuelles,

We learn from the German Papers that, on the
17th inst., an alarming fire broke out in a large sugar
refinery in Berlin. The whole of the sugar-works
were destroyed, but the firemen, by pulling down the
adjoining houses, prevented the flames from spreading.
The destruction of property was very great, but hap-
pily no lives were lost.
The Czar NICHOLAS has succeeded, through the
instrumentality of Austria, in clatchiny, one victim
to his rage for the exposure of his proceedings at
Warsaw. M. GERLE, the Editor of the Prague
Gazette, was thrown into prison, and deprived of the
Editorship of that Journal, at the instigation of the
Russian Ambassador at the Court of Vienna, M.
TATISCHEFF, for having published a translation of
the CZAR'S speech at Warsaw, accompanied by a
commentary which an Austrian censor had not judged
too severe. If NICHOLAS act on the principle of his
brother, the Grand Duke CONSTANTINE, with re-
spect to the Press, M. GERLE had better beware of a
secret order for his conveyance to Siberia. The kid-
napping of a few troublesome German Professors, if
done privately, and with despatch, would be rather an
acceptable service to Prince METTERNICH.

We have perused with much pleasure, an unpre-
tending but valuable little pamphlet on Corporal Pun-
ishments in the British Army, by Major-General
ARMSTRONG, an officer whose rank, intelligence, and
long experience, give him a strong claim to public at-
tention. When a civilian advocates the abolition of
the brutal practice of flogging the British soldier, and
the substitution of punishments more consistent with
humanity, as well as better adapted to promote military
discipline, he is immediately met with the silly objec-
tion that none but military men are qualified to judge
of such matters, as if a soldier were a being of a dif-
ferent nature from all other men. And certainly had
we no other standard by which to measure him than
the treatment be is subjected to, we should come to
the conclusion that, if human, he is at the bottom of
the scale ; for the punishment which is considered too
barbarous and degrading for the slave is inflicted upon
him without mercy or compunction. But the mouths
of these objectors are stopped when men of high stand-
ing in their profession, like Major-General ARM-
STRONG, stand forward, and denounce the horrid sys-
tem. The motives of such men are above suspicion—
their knowledge cannot be questioned—they speak
with an authority which commands universal respect.
Major General ARMSTRONG imputes the commis-
sion of those offences for which flogging is awarded as
a punishment, to intemperance in the use of ardent
spirits. Here, therefore, he very judiciously com-
mences his system of reform. It would appear indeed
as if, instead of restraining the propensity which leads
soldiers, in common with all men of their class in
society, who have idle time and spare money on their
hands, to indulge in drinking, every possible temptation
was held out to entrap them into this fundamental vice.

A gin-shop is at present as necessary an appen-
dage to a barrack as a mess-room. To this source of
corruption, under the title of barrack canteen, the
soldier is enticed by allurements which it is impossi-
ble that he should withstand—habits of intoxication
are acquired, which naturally lead to breaches of dis-
cipline, for which the prescribed and legitimate remedy
is the cat o' nine tails ! These nurseries of vice and
misery should be instantly abolished.
The author is of opinion that tea might be without
difficulty substituted for spirituous liquors in barracks
and quarters, were officers to exert themselves as they
might do for that purpose ; and recommends that
gymnastic exercises should be introduced into the
army, and a taste for reading and mental cultivation
encouraged by establishing libraries, by public examina-
tions, and the distribution of rewards among those who
should distinguish themselves. " Thus," hevery j4uupsetlry.
remarks, "good habits, sobriety, emulation, the desire
of knowledge and personal distinction, might