The Sun.
London, England, 1831-03-07 00:00:00

Ara

LONDON,
MONDAY EVENING, MARCH 7, 1831.

We this day give the opinion of our Provin-
cial cotemporaries upon the plan of Reform
introduced by Ministers. At the same time it
gives us pleasure to state, that our own exer-
tions in distributing Lord J. RussELL's speech
have been universally successful. Such is the
cordiality with which the measure has been re-
ceived, that the public meetings to support Go-
vernment are rapidly getting up throughout the
kingdom. Can any thing be more expressive of
the state of public opinion ?

The French Papers contain much desultory
intelligence respecting the state of the war in
Poland. No grand decisive battle has yet been
fought, but in almost every skirmish (and there
have, it seems, been many,) the Poles have been
victorious. The next post will most probably
bring something definite and decisive. If the
Poles be eventually beaten, it will be by numbers
not skill. The greatest confidence and enthu-
siasm continue to prevail at Warsaw.

Hamburg Papers state that it was reported at
Warsaw, on the 21st, in the afternoon, that the
Russians had commenced their retreat, after
losing 8,000 men and three cannon :
HANOVER, FEB. 23.—The appointment of the Duke of Cam.
bridge to the post of Viceroy of Hanover has caused great joy
here. We learn that his Royal Highness has received very ex-
tensive powers, so that he will be able to decide in most of the
cases which were formerly referred to London. The German
Chancery in London will consequently be abolished. Count
Munster will retire from public life. General Count Von Alten
is expected to be appointed Field Marshal and Commander-in-
Chief of our army, in the room of his Royal Highness Duke
William of Brunswick is expected here to-day on a visit.
GOTIINGEN, JAN. 21.—The Academic Senate has given
notice that the 11th of April is fixed for resuming the lectures
which have been interrupted since the Bth of January, but that
the summer lectures are to commence in the last week of April.
About 300 students are still here.
BERLIN, FEB. 25.—Accounts from Warsaw of the 22d say,
that on that day there had not been any action in the army be-
yond Praga, and that it was the corps of General Pahien which
hid fought on the preceding days at Groucho, which, however,
had fallen back on the main army.
BERLIN, FEB. 2i.—We have in vain expected farther news
from Warsaw by to-day's post. It seems that the people in War-
saw were still in the dark respecting the real state of affairs, but
they were in some measure easier, as the danger was supposed to
be averted for the present. The accounts from the Russian head-
quarters, which used to succeed each other rapidly, have not been
received for some time. We learn from Warsaw that General
Unimski had succeeded in going from Glogan to Warsaw, whence
he proceeded on the 2.oth to the head-quarters.
The Polish Diet has declared itself permanent, has fixed the
minimum of members necessary to constitute the Assembly, de-
clared the installing of new authorities in the provinces occupied
by the enemy to be null and void, and has resolved, in case of
unexpected events, to remove to a foreign country.
WARSAW, FEB. 24.—0 n the2lst and no hostilities took
place on the right bank of the Vistula. On the first day some of
the outposts came to blows, but a white flag was sent by the Rus-
sians, which led to a parley between the Russian and l'olish Ge_
nerals, in the course of which an armistice was agreed upon for
the purpose of burying the dead. The armistice still continues, and
our fore posts and those of the enemy pass quietly in front of each
other. People here suspect the Russians of intending by this
arrangement to gain time to strengthen their position and to obtain
fresh supplies of provisions and ammunition. On the other hand
it is generally thought that if the Russians plunge into our forests
they will be likely to be lost in the marshes, which may every
day be expected to become less secure, as the spring weather
snakes itself more and more felt. In the battle of the 20th our
artillery behaved extremely well, and inflicted severe loss upon
the enemy, many of whose cannon were completely dismounted.
From the Palatinate of Augustowo we learn that Raliwski has
organised a guerilla warfare against the Russians.
BERLIN, FEB. 27.—The latest number of the Silesian ..14yur_
nal, of February 25, received her; says, " It is confirmed that
the left wing of the Russian army, under General Kreutz, has
crossed the Vistula, and occupied Radow.
HAMBURG, FEB. 26.—1 t was reported in Warsaw, on the
21st, in the afternoon, that the Russians had commenced their
retreat, after losing 8,000 men and 30 cannon. But on the other
hand it was reported that Field-Marshal Diebitsch, with the
main army, had taken no part in the action, A great number of
wounded men were brought into the city during the 48 hours'
combat, which was seen from the roofs and steeples of the city.
HANOVER, FEB. 28.—Another deputation from the City
and University of Gottingen has arrived here, and had-an au-
dience of the Viceroy to-day. Duke William of Brunswick is
gone back to his capital,
THE HAGU 4 FEB. 27.—Nothing has transpired respecting
the intended visit of the King and Prince Frederick to the for-
tresses and the army.
His Majesty, considering the political changes which have
taken place in the kingdom made it desirable that the codes of
laws already adopted should be revised, and made suitable to the
interests of the ancient provinces, has given the necessary orders
to the Members of the Commission of National Legislation.
MARCH a—General Van Hoof, Aid-de-camp to his Royal
Highness the Prince of Orange, has returned to this place, from
Lon don.

His Majesty's corvettes Proserpine, Dolphin, and Medusa,
and the brig .Keniphaan, have arrived in the Scheldt, the three
last from the Mediterranean.

The head-quarters of the Commander-in-Chief of thc'Army are
to be transferred from Vucht to Filburgh.
•NISTERDAM, )I.lllCli 4.
Actual Debt, 2% per cent.. . . . 3814 to 39
Amort Syndic 434 per cent. . . . CA.% to 66
Ditto, ditto, 3%; per cent. • • . 50% to 52
ST. PETERSBURGI-1, FF.I3. 19.—Our Journal now gives c--
tracts from the official reports of the Generals of the several
corps of the army. Of course they relate only to the commence-
ment of the operations of our troops in Poland, and affirm that
they were every where received with open arms. Great quanti-
ties of provisicis were found.
On the Bth of February there were eight patients remaining
at Moscow.

(From the Literary Intelligeneer.)
RIO DE JANEIRO, DEc.:l3.—His Majesty has ordered the
Minister of Finance to nominate a Commission, composed of
three members, to investigate and liquidate in that city the
ic-
counts of the Legation at London, the operations of which Le-
gation cease from this day.
Ilis Majesty's ship Druid arrived here on the 19th, with the
Portuguese schooner Dcstimida, which she captured, with forty-
eight slaves on board, and which she has brought here for ad-
judication.

We learn by Monte Video Papers to the 2d of December, that
that city and province was perfectly tranquil.
The province of Entrerios was in the power of the Unitarian
party, and the Ex-Governor, Sola, had fled to Santa Fe.
Due:. :30.—M. Japi Assn, late Chief Magistrate of the province
of St. Paul's, has been brought here, and lodged in the gaol of
this city, for trod, on the warrant issued by the Judge of the
inquest on the murder of Dr. John Baptist° Badaio.
JAN. 6.—Their Imperial Majesties left this city on the 29th
ult., on a tour to the mines district, and they will probably be
absent for some weeks. Every thing appears tranquil, both here
and in the interior.

A dreadful fire broke out on the 3d, in an apothecary's shop,
in the Rua da Quintada, which destroyed that and tour or five
other houses. Great assistance was rendered by the sailors and
mariners 4cr7 the gnglish and French men-of-war, especially

those of his Majesty's ship the braid. Three Englishmen fell
with the roof; and escaped with trifling contusions. A French-
man was much hurt. Nq lives were rost,
BUENOS AYRES, 4.,;The late events in Entrerios
have formed the chief .tOpic of conversation during the week.
It had been supposed that the change.of Government that was
had in view by the revolutionists would cause a material altera-
tion in the policy of that province, but .the papers of this City,
as well as those of Santa Fe,. affirm that the forces of Ricardo
Lopez Jordan entered the towns with strong exclamalons in
favour of federation-. •
Some disturbances have taken pi:tee in the interior.
The Federal of Santa Fe contains various reports, viz., that
Salta has withdrawn its troops from Cordova ; that Tucuman
was about to follow its example, and that Mendoza had refused to
send its contingent.
DEL 11.—The affairs of Entrerios occupy, at the present mo-
ment, a great portion of the public attention.
The flotilla, under the command of Colonel Coe, in the Uru-
guay has, it is said, captured a launch, which, itis said, had sailed
from the port of Fray Vento, b3und to Gualeguavchu, having
on board arms, officers, uniforms, and a mintier of letters, which
are of considerable importance: Colonel Coe Was ts--aitit-Ig a safe
opportunity to forward them tn the Govertimeht; and would not
ri.,k sending theni by a single boat. The brew of the captured
launch. had es :aped on shore.
BUENOS AYRES, DEC. 16.—The Government has received
the letters seized on board the lzunch in the Uruguay, which
prove the culpability of several officers, who, failing both in res
pect to their own Government, and ingratitude for the hospita.
lity shown them, spare no means to injure us.
BORSEN-HALLS, MARCH 1, FOUR O'CLOCK, e.st.—Business
to a very great extent was done on Sunday in every species of
stock, for money as well as for the end of March. Expresses had
been received in the morning, bringing lower prices fr m Paris
and Frankfort, which depressed prices materially here. Anglo
Danish were done at 5 q ; Anglo Russian at 84,74 ; Austrian
Bank Shares at 950; and Polish Bonds at 8S j. Yesterday
liquidation passed quietly off; to-day prices rose, and the general
feeling appeared to be in favour of a further advance.
End of March.
Anglo-Danish Loan 3 per Cent.
Anglo-Russian Loan 13.1%
Hamburg-Russian Loan 8414
Polish Bonds B3V,
Austrian Bank Shares 1,55

It is the grossest delusion of the Anti-Re-
formers to suppose that they can, by any means
within their power, frustrate the measure they
so much dread, and their opposition to it, if
successful on the present occasion, would tend
to inflame to a fearful degree, the wrath of the
people against the oligarchy that stands in the
way of the good' which the Sovereign and the
nation alike desire. Reform is now virtually
granted.
The extension of the elective franchise to,
at least, half a million of persons, is indeed a
political change of the highest moment. It
will altogether alter the state of society by ad-
mitting a large and intelligent constituency, in
the place of the creatures and servants of mere
wealth.. There are some few who think that, es-
pecially in the metropolis, 101. a-year is too low a
rent for a qualification. But looking at the de.
grce of intelligence possessed by that class of
persons, we are far from partaking of the opinion
that 101., as a criterion, is too high. The theory
upon which property is made the basis of quali-
fication, either for the electors or the elected, is
founded on the presumption that the possession
of property implies the possession of intelligence
and discernment. The presumption in former
times was generally a correct one, for the means
of education were only open to the rich, and to
have admitted to the elective franchise, the
serfs and villeins on an estate, who could neither
read, write, nor reason, would have been a pal-
pable absurdity. But at the present day, when
most of the labouring classes, particularly those
employed in manufacturing industry, are better
informed than the gentry were three centuries
ago, the distinction of property, as a criterion
of intelligence, is often wholly fallacious.
Without going so far as to credit Lord
BROUGHAM'S assertion, that there are country
Squires who cannot count ten upon their fingers,
we nevertheless fully believe that the members
of the London Mechanics' Institute are, for the
most part, better qualified for either electors or
legislators than a vast number of large landed
proprietors. Therefore, the more general edu-
cation becomes, the more the elective franchise
ought to be extended, for the probability of the
abuse of the franchise becomes gradually less ;
and whenever -the time shall arrive when every
man in the country can read, write, and reason,
we should have no hesitation in saying there
ought to be universal suffrage. Universal suf-
frage would at present be mischievous, because
the universality of the population are not in a
condition to exercise such suffrage with freedom,
or with reason ; but we approximate constantly
closer to the time when it will no longer be an
evil, but a necessary good. The great problem
in dealing with a representative system is, to
adapt it to the state of the popular intellect ; and
though we cannot undertake to pronounce Lord
JOHN RUSSELL'S adaptation to be perfect, it
approaches infinitely nearer perfection than the
system under which we have hitherto lived.

The Reform Bill gliins strength daily by the
agitation of the question. It was confidently
stated yesterday that the Ministers would have a
majority of 40. The country gentlemen are gra-
dually becoming convinced of the necessity of
the measure. It had been arranged that Mini-
sters should try their strength upon the question
of the Timber Duties, rather than on that of
Reform, but how far this understanding will be
persisted in seems doubtful. It is curious to
hear the plans of the outs, which are all ready,
provided only they can " first catch their hare."
Sir ROBERT PEEL is the embryo Premier, and
the Duke of WELLINGTON President of the
Council. Heu ! vatuni ignarce mantes !

The lack of arguments with the Borough-
mongers in the late debates has certainly been
most remarkable. There was indeed some
genuine humourin Sir CHARLES WETHERELL'S
performance, and a sufficiency of common-place
talk in Sir ROBERT PEEL'S, but on the side of
the Anti-reformers there has not been any thing
like a shadow of reasoning, with the single ex-
ception perhaps of Air. BARING WA LL'S
speech. That Honourable Member laid much
stress on the inconveniences that were likely to
arise from the representative body becoming the
reflection, as it were, of the opinions of the
people, inasmuch as the mass of the people are
liable to great error and prejudice, and do not
p, take of the more refined and philosophical
views entertained by persons of scientific attain-
ments, of whom many are to be found in the
present Parliament. If the nation is to be go-
verned by popular clamour, injustice and mischief
might, it is said, frequently be done, as witness
the Catholic Question, upon which the opinion
of the people in
general was decidedly intole
rant, as well as most qu stions of political
economy, which are altogether misconceived and
- '
controverted by the vulgar and uneducated. It is
desirable, it might be urged, that the House of
Commons should be composed chiefly of men
who, although held in respect by large bodies of

simpletons, are, nevertheless, pirfeet ignoramuses
in the art of Government ?

The fallacy of this argument consists in over
looking the inalienable right of the people to
govern themselves. And if they have this right,
6 it not an act of social injustice to defeat their
exercise of it, by means of rotten boroughs ? It
is just the same argument as is used against the
ne
negroes—they are not fit for emancipation ! or
againstfit
fora tfih.eeelGtaottirsnit:irelPitor Portuguese--they
iss e
ot—tl individuals'v are not
n
who are to erect, themselves into judges of the
character of representatives that ought to be
chosen by the people, but it is the people alone
that arc entitled to decide upon the representa-
tives they like the best. No doubt it is the
duty and interest of the people to select the
wisest and most virtuous men to represent them,
but it may be taken as an axiom that the people
will find these men out in the long run, pro-
vided only their choice is perfectly free. The
truth only wants a fair field in order to gain the
eventual ascendancy in the world, and although
the multitude are now the victims of the grossest
delusions, they cannot be so any longer, when
their moral and intellectual qualities have re-
ceived a due share of cultivation. A corrupt
Parliament frustrates and retards, so far as it can,
such cultivation, because its interest is in oppo-
sition to the interest of the nation. Noble
Lords, and Honourable Gentlemen, sneer at
" the march of' intellect," because they see in it
the growth of a power which will, sooner or
later, annihilate all their aristocratical, and phi-
tocratical, devices, for oppressing and plundering
the people. But the real servants of the people
ought not to have, and cannot have, any in-
terest opposed to that of their constituents.
The growth of intelligence will therefore act
and re-act between them and the nation, as
the impulse to sound legislation as well as the
spring to virtuous action.
There has been much talk about the just in-
fluence of property, and assuredly property af-
fords the means of exercising an authority over
others, both for good and fur evil. But the in-
fluence of property for its own sake can never
be any other than that of corruption. Property
has no more pretence to possess an influence
over the elective franchise which a voter exer-
cises at the poll, than over the vote which a
Member of Parliament gives in the House of
Commons. The exercise of a public trust from
motives of fear, favour, or affection, is prostitu-
tion alike at all times and in all places ; and to
remove the impure class of motives, in order to
make way for others of a better and nobler kind,
should be the main object of those who desire
the permanent and secure establishment of public
virtue.

THE FUNDS.-(THIS DAY.)

CITY. TWEL VE O' CLOCK.

Montreal Papers to the 11th Feb., Quebec to the 9th Feb., and
Buenos Ayres to the 12th Dec., have been received at the North
and South American Coffee-house.

A long debate took place on the 31st Jan. in the House of As-
sembly on the expulsion of Mr. Christie, atter which a division
took place on the motion of Mr. Thibaudeaw, that Robert
Christie cannot sit and vote in the House as a member, which
was carried by a majority of forty-one to two.
Two important debates took place in the Upper Canada House,
the first of these on the Marriage Bill, the other oa the second
reading of the Intestate Bill, which was thrown out by the cast-
ing vote of the Speaker; there is also an important despatch
from Sir George Murray, transmitting the order of Council in
relation to the Colonial Trade.

Extract of Lord Aylmer's speech in the House of Lower Ca-
I nada :—ln convening of a new Provisional Parliament, which is
rendered necessary by the death of his late Majesty, a circum-
stances which has made it desirable to call you together
at an earlier period, my experience in regard to the local
concerns of this province does not as yet permit my directing
your attention to any particular object connected with its inter-
nal improvement, but I can assure you that I am now, and
have been since my arrival amongst you, diligently employed in
acquiring such information on these points as will enable me
hereafter to offer some soma useful suggestions for your consi-
deration ; there is, however, one object to which I wish to
advert, I mean the currency,---and I do so merely for the pur-
pose of informing you, that l am in the possession of some fur-
ther information on that subject, which shall be placed at your
disposal, in the event of your taking up the consideration of it
again ; I had a hope I should be enabled to lay before you some
communication from his Majesty's Government upon the ques-
tion of finance, but not having it yet in my power to do so, I
think it necessary to apprize you that I have reason to know that
the unavoidable pressure of public business incidental to the
death of his late Majesty, and the change of administration which
has recently taken place in England,have interrupted the progress
of measures contemplated by his Majesty's Government on the
subject. These measures, I have reason to believe, will soon be
brought to maturity ; under these circumstances you will, I
trust, see the necessity oi making some provisional arrangemonts
for meeting the expenditure of the Government.
(From the Buenos Ayres Papers to the 3d Uecember.)
The affairs of the province of Entrerios occupy at the present
moment a great portion of public attention. The flotilla in the
Uruquas has, it is said, captured a launch, which had sailed
from the port of Fray Vento, having on board some officers and
uniforms, with a number of letters, which are of considerable
importance. The crew escaped on shore. From Cordova and
the provinces of the interior there is no news of moment.
MONTEVIDEO.—We have received papers from this city to
the 9th inst. ; they contain no political news. A meeting of the
merchants had taken place at Consultado to consider the most
advisable means to withdraw the copper money.
Exchange on London, 'td.
A Leeward Island mail has arrived, which sailed from St.
Thomas's on the Ist of February ; and one from Rio Janeiro,
the date of sailing not yet known.