The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-07 00:00:00

PRUSSIA.

Several Poles have been recently arrested at Ber-
in, and all non•domiciled Poles were ordered, on the
3d inst., to leave the city within twenty-four hours.

SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN.

Whether or not there be any serious intentions of
war, so much is certain, that warlike preparations are
being carried on with much activity. The Minister
of War has just issued a notice to the cavalry depot,
and states that any horses which may be voluntarily
placed at the disposal of the service will be gratefully
received.

By a recent notice all ships' captains who could
transport troops to Prederira were to send in their
natnes.—Borsenhalle, March 2.

CRACOW.

A Dater from Vienna in the German I?,,Prm
says :--" The report is in circulation here that a
revolution has broken out in Cracow, and that the
Russians have entered the city and occupied the
whole country as far as Buchnia. There
can be no question that there has been a collision
at Cracow between the troops and a portion of the
populace. It is likewise notorious that large bodies
of Russian troops are concentrated on the frontiers
of Galicia and Poland, and there combined circum-
stances may have given rise to the report."
The Ost Deutsche Zeitung says—" The intelligence
is in circulation here that serious disturbances
have taken place at Cracow. A regiment which was
entering the ciry was received by the inhabitants
with great indignity, whereupon the troops returned
the attack at the point of the bayonet."

We have not yet received any details.— Cologne
Gazette, March 6.

ITALY.

INVASION OF TUSCANY BY THE AUSTRIANS.
The Siecle, of yesterday states, that the French
Government had received dispatches announcing that
the Austrian army had invaded Tuscany. The
Austrian Government, claim a right to enter the
Tuscan territory, under the treaties which guarantee
the Grand Duchy of Tuscany to Austria, on the
failure of the line of the present GRAND DUKE, or
on his retirement from the Government.
By a decree of the 24th ultimo, of the Pro-
visional Government of Florence, the convocation
of the electoral colleges is prorogued to the 12th
of March. By another decree, the two manors of
Coltano and San Rossore are given in guarantee for
the new Treasury Bonds to the amount of /60,000
lire (635,000 f.)
It is stated that important correspondence with
DE LAUGIER has been intercepted, and deposited in
the hands of justice. The facts in question, being
anterior to the establishment of the military commis-
sion, will be judged by the ordinary tribunals.
A camp of Tuscan troops is to be formed at
Pistoia.
The Costituente Italiana, of the 26th ult., says :
" We know positively that GuEnAzzi and D'AricE,
at the head of a strong column, yesterday male a
solemn entry into Massa. The fortress displayed the
white flag."
The Alba of Florence of the 26th ult. says,—
" To-day will be published a decree dissolving the
military commission, as all danger of civil war is
passed."
Cardinal ARTONELLI, the Pro-Secretary .of State
of the POPE, has, in the name of his HoutiEss, ad-
dressed the following protests to all the diplomatists
resident at Gaeta against the confiscation of the
property of the Church by the Roman Constituent
Assembly. It is dated at Gaeta, on February 19.
"The assembly of factious men which, usurping the
title of deputies of the people, has established itself in
the capital of the Pontifical States, under the title of the
Roman Constituent Assembly, advancing with an ardent
audacity in the application of its system of impiety, in-
justice, and destruction, has lately occupied itselt with
two projected laws by which all the property called mort-
main is declared to be the property of the State, reserv-
ing certain provisos for insuring the effect of this sacri-
legious spoliation of all property, both real and personal,
which this faction presumes to decree against the
churches, and all religious establishments without ex.
ception. This attempt of these factious men, as well as
all their other attempts, past and to come, already stand
condemned from their very source by preceding publi-
cations of the Holy Father, and principally by the
solemn act issued by him on January 1. But, seeing
the diabolical artifices and manoeuvres which the authors
of these spoliations will not fail to employ, in order to
gain as quickly as possible the benefit of their interested
views, the Holy Father, in his double capacity of Sove-
reign Pontiff and Sovereign of the States, has thought
fit to warn all those who at this time have, or hereafter
may have, to treat for the said property wish the self
called Government of Rome, or those acting under it,
that the provisions in question of the Roman
Assembly involve the violation of the ancient
and mcdern laws which, and above all in the
Pontifical States, have ever guaranteed the property
of churches and pious estaladshments, and also
a violation of the sacred rights of the Church of Jesus
Christ, as well as the laws it has laid down for the pro-
tection of its possessions, and for preventing their being
diverted from the religious or pious uses to which they
are destined. If the said self-called Constituent Assem-
bly pretends, as appears by the generality of the words
it employs, to reach not only ecclesiastical and pious
property, but also the possessions of the University and
other foundations purely laic and civil, the measures
tak, n oy it are perfectly null and void in law, as ema-
nating from a band of factious men, who, by all kinds
of acts of violence, fraud, and ingratitude, have
usurped the legitimate authority, in order to oppress,
much more than to govern the States of the
Holy Church. The will of his Holiness, there-
fore is, that it be made known to all, and especially
to foreigners of every state or nation, that all the
grants and alienations, whether for long terms of years
or in perpetuity, all mortgages or other contracts of
whatever nature they may be, which may be made or
entered into by the said self called Roman Assembly and
Government, or by those claiming under them, of which
ecclesiastical property, whether real or personal, and all
other property held in mortmain, may be the object,
are and shall be null and of no effect, and shall be con-
sidered as done by men who, by a public and manifest
spoliation, have usurped the property of another. Con-
s( quently, no cause, no motive, no pretext shall in any
manner render them valid, even when the contracts are
such as the Church or pious establishments have been ac-
customed to enter into, or even acts already commenced,
in virtue of the Pontifical authority, or of the authority
of the bishops or other legitimate superiors within the
limits of their respective legitimate jurisdictions. For
from such authorisations, or from any other analogous
circumstance, it can never be inferred that a manifest
usurper can do, continue, or consummate that which can
be done only by the legitimate owner or administrator.
rids is why the churches and other establishments in
mortmain shall have, in all times hereafter, the right of
recovering their real and personal property, free from all
charges with which they may have, been burdened by the
usurpers, as well as the arrears of the produce of it in
the mean time. Those who may have made purchases of
them, or entered into any contract with regard to them,
cannot reclaim from the lawful owners either the
prices agreed upon, or any other compensation. They
shall have no claims upon any one except the
usurpers with whom they may have contracted. In conse-
quence of this manifested will of the Sovereign Pontiff,
the undersigned Cardinal, Pro-Secretary of State, has
made it known to your Excellency, by the express com-
mand of the Holy Father, requesting you at the same
time to hasten to communicate it to your Government,
in order that its contents may have the greatest possible
publicity, so that all such persons as may be drawn into
contracts as to the property in question may not be able
to plead ignorance. The undersigned is happy in hav-
ing the opportunity of renewing to your Excellency the
expression of his sentiments of esteem and distinguished
consideration.

" Cardinal ANTONELLL"
Letters from Rome, by Vienna, announce that
Austria has offered the POPE aid in men and money.
The CZAR has declared himself in his favour. The
POPE is said to have obtained a loan of six millions of
scudi in Russia.

In the Chamber of Deputies of Turin, of the 27th
ult., BARGAGNI proposed an amendment to the ad-
dress, engaging the Government to send four depu-
ties to the Roman Constituante, unless the resump-
tion of hostility with Austria should immediately
take place. The Ministry renewed the declaration
that they would remain completely aloof from the
Constituante. The amendment was rjected.

THE INDIAN COMMAND.
DETENTION OF THE MAIL.
It will be seen, by reference to our Parliamentary
report, that Lord John Russell announced last evening
that her Majesty had entrusted the command of the In-
dian forces to Lieutenant-General Sir Charles J. Napier,
which we were enable d to announce in our Third Edi-
tion yesterday. Sir C. J. Napier had interviews in the
morning with the Duke of Wellington and Lord John
Russell, and it was arranged that the mail for India, via
Marseilles, which should have gone out this evening, will
be delayed several la) b, to enable the new Commander-
in-Chiet to arrange everything so as to depart with it
with the least possible delay.
Thus Sir William Gomm, to whom dispatches have
been actu'tlly sent by the Government, appointing him
to to the coalman-I, will be at once superseded by one to
whom the public now look with so much confidence as
the best successor to the present Commander-in Chief
in the Punjaub.
Two regiments, viz, the 75th and 87th Foot will, it
is said, embark for India as soon as tonnage can be
provided by the East India Company.

The Norfolk Chronicle of Saturday informs its
readers—" That the Bishop of Oxford is about to lead.
to the altar the amiable and accomplished daughter of
Baron Alderson, with whum his Lordship spent a few
days, on the occasion of his visit to the opening of the
church."

IMPERIAL PARMA ML NT

(THIS DAY.)

HOUSE OF COII lONS.

The SPEAKLIi. took the Chair at Twulve o'ekt,k, bu
some time el3l,:Qtl before a House WAS mule.
THE PEACE MOVEMENT.

Mr. BRO I HERTON presented [etiiions from I an•
cashire and North Wales praying that all national dis-
putes na;:y he ~ettled by disinterestA arbitrators.
Captain HARRIS presented a similar petition from
Christchurch.
THE N AVIGATION-LA WS.
Sir EDWARD FILM ER presented petitions from
the mayor and corporation of Gravesend, and also from
the owners and masters of ships who had sailed to all
parts of the world, praying that there might be no
alteration in the navig,tion-laws.
THE FINANCIAL MOVEMENT.
Mr. PAGE WOOD presented petitions from several
places praying that the expediture of the army, navy,
and colonial agents may be reduced to the rate of 1835.
RATE IN AID.
Sir I). NORREYS presented a petition from the
Union of Mallow, praying that the rate in aid might be
Equally applied to the whole of Ireland.
REPRESENTATION OF SOUTH DERBYSHIRE.
The SPEAKER announced that he had received no-
tice of the death of Mr. Mundy, the representative for
the Southern Division of Derbyshire.
'TRANSFER OF REAL PROPERTY.
On the motion being put for the second reading of this
Bill,

Mr. H. DRUMMOND said that, previous to entering
on the peculiar merits of the question before the House,
he felt it necessary to state a few of the facts out of
which it had arisen; and in the beginning he must say
that this was not a matter in which the lawyers only were
concerned, for it was peculiarly a question in which the
owners of landed property were especially affected, and in
which they were almost solely interest. d. Wite the altera-
tion—if it were effected—the lawyers, as a body, would
have no reason whatever to be dissatisfied. He would,
therefore, now simply repeat that in taking up this case
of the difficulties of landed property it was necessary
for him to show how the present emergency of the
proprietors had been brought about. The difficulty in
which landed proprietors were now placed was no new
thing ; it had always existed, even from the very period
of the conquest, and he might say before it. To show
that such was the case he would read them an extract
from the book of a celebrated lawyer. But he must
previously remied the House that all lands under the
teudal system were originally held by military tenure.
Each holding supplied its men capable and ready
for warlike service; and wherever the occupant
was unfit or thought to be unfit for such ser-
vice the lord of the land did not hesitate
to remove him, and put another that was so fit
in his place. This had led to the supposition that there
were some peculiar qualities in, and some singular rights
connected with, land. But he must contend that it was
neither more nor less than a commodity, disposable as
other articles were to be disposed of; and capable of be-
ing dealt with as all other commodities were dealt with.
The landlords of those days, however, required other
than military services, and, pretty much like their suc-
cessors in the present day, frequently got into debt.
Their creditors, unable to force them to payment, or to
seize their land, in consequence of their means of resist-
ance, naturally went to the judges. We 11, this lawyer
said that the judges, also naturally, when they were ap-
plied to to give power and authority to seize the land,
said no; but if the landlords keep the land, they shall not
have a hoof to put upon it. The remedy for the evil
was certainly at the best inconvenient, generally dan•
gerous, and sometimes impossible. The landlords them-
selves, too, when inclined to get rid of the inconvenience
of debt were equally at a loss. They had nothing to give
in discharge of their obligations but their land, and
that they were unable to pass away, and hence their
distress. It was true that a great part of this system
died away at the close of the Tudor dynasty.
But was there of necessity any reason in the power now
exercised by the Court of Chancery, which was first of
all to say, when any unforseen contingency arose in the
transfer of property, what course was to be adopted,
and secondly, to devise the means of carrying it into
effect. He thought where they bad an hereditary,
aristocracy that was essential to that condition of so-
ciety; but he did not think it was necessary to every
other. But he was not going to enter into that subject.
The expenses of sales of property were immense, owing
to these causes. He held in his hand a list which suffi-
ciently exemplified the costs arising on the sale of small
properties. In one case, where the value of the pro-
perty sold was 5001., the costs were 124/.; in another,
where the value of the property sold was 150/., the cost
of transfer was 501., and in another, where the value
of the property sold was 620/., the expense of traes.er
was 2001. He said, then, that every attempt that had
been made to diminish the expense of transfers under
the present system was entirely useless. He should be
glad to know how they could predetermine the length
of a conveyance. If they wanted to shorten
the recital, they must shorten the deed itself.
They were completely in the hands of the lawyers at
present. The landowners knew nothing whatever about
the titles to their land. A solicitor brought them a
paper to sign, and they signed it, and put their hand
upon a seal, and then repeating after him, they signed
and delivered it as their act and deed ; and they knew
no more about the contents of the document than the
poor, 'helpless young girl who came to sign her
marriage settlement did of the nature and operation of
that instrument.—(flear, hear.) Now, he contended
that it was above all things necessary and desirable to
cut up the root of those evils. The only means by
which the House could effect this alteration efficiently
was by a register in the first place, and by making the
entries on the register book evidence of the transfer of
the property. There were great objections to registra-
tion he knew ; the best summary of those ob-
jections was to be found in the third volume
of Sir Edward Sugden's " Vendor and Purchaser,"
where he summed up all the objections. The question
was, who was to register ? Oh, said the landlord, I
am to register. Why ? Because lam the owner of the
laud. Oh, said the lawyer, on the other hand, I am to
register. Now, an equity lawyer was very like a police-
man.—(Laughter.) A policeman never saw a man with
a good coat on his back but he wished to have him
before a magistrate, simply, because he was the owner
of a good coat, and envied him for it.—(Laughter.) Talk
to a alawyer about your property, and the first question
he asked was—has there ever been an examination of
your title. He (Mr. Drummond) believed substantial
justice would be done in 99 cases out of 100 if the House
passed a declaratory Act that every man from this hour
should have a Parliamentary title to all his estates. Lawyers
had a perfect horror at the notion of a man's having
possession of his own estate.—(Laughter.) He would
say to landed gentlemen, if they wanted to get this
done without bringing their title-deeds and laying them
upon the table before every pettyfogging attorney, that
he would advise them to support this Bill.—(Hear,
hear.) They thought, no doubt, that was not very
palatable. There was a Commission sitting at
the present moment, and he (Mr. Drummond)
happened to know some of the "secrets of the
prison house." An eminent man on that Commission
said to a witness—" I know very well there is not such a
thing in my belief as a strictly marketable title, and I know
that a court of equity will not compel any man to take
a title that is not free from doubt, either as to matter of
fact or of law. We then submit, on the part
of the vendor, an abstract of title to coun-
sel, and request him to advise upon that ab-
stract, with the view of stopping up the loop-
holes in the title; counsel then gave their opinion; what
can be supplied was supplied, and what can't be sup-
plied was a matter of consultation with counsel, and then
the conditions of sale are settled." That was a legal
question put to a witness by one of the most eminent
men, and the answer of the witness was that he did not
disagree with the words in the interrogatory. Now,
Sir Edward Sugden said that out of 50 titles the 50th
only was bad. That showed, at all events, that the ex-
amination of the title was a great difficulty under the
present system. In framing this Bill, he (Mr. Drum •
mond) had to consider, first of all, this House; and,
secondly, his (Mr. Drummond's) position in it. He must
know how far the landed genth men in the House were
prepared to go. They could not bore a hole with
a saw. If he knew the extent to which the
landed proprietors would go, he would then frame his
Bill exactly to that point; tut he had been compelled to
frame his Bill without knowing exactly where he was to
slop, and under the apprehension that he might stop
short. Now, one objection to registration was the
making it compulsory. (Hear, hear.) Now, if
they meant to have a compulsory registration,
there must be a machinery already prepared on the same
day to receive every title-deed. Now, in Edinburgh
alone there was business enough to fill 400 folio vo•
lames at least. Ile thought registration should cer
tainly be voluntary for a great many reasons; any-
thing that was compulsory with properly was always
dangerous; and, secotidiy, view it as they would, they
were laying the foundation for altering the whole body
of law; and he thought the more cautiously they pro•
seeded the more the House would feel its way. The
Honourable Gentleman went on to say that he
had no personal motive in bringing this matter before
the House, and concluded by saying that he should not
propose to go into Commit!ee with the Bill until the
courts of law again sat at Westminster, when the House
would have the assistance 01 the ablest lawyers in the
House in discussii.g its merit,— (Cheers )
The teOLICI FOR-GENERAL was s tisfied that the
Hon. Member (Mr. Drummond) would not find among
the members of the protession of the law any difference
of opinion respecting the great evils arising from
the complication of titles, and the great im •
portance of simplifying the transfer of property,
and of raising money upon it.—(bear.) That was the
strong desire among the memb ra of the profession, so
far as he was acquainted with their feelings. When the
flon. Member introduced his 811 he (the Solicitor.
General) looked at it with a sum. re Oesire that it would
remedy the existing evils. He believ. d, hewever,is it were
carri. d into elf et just as it stood the only persons that
would ben. fit by it to a great vent would be the whole
class lawyers.—(Hear, hear.) The question of registra-
tion had attracted the attention of lawyers for a con-
siderable time, and the objections to it had not come
from the lawyers themselves. Fifteen years ago, when
a Commission on registration made a report, only one
lawyer of any considerable eminence was found opposed
to it. The greater part of the opposition to registra-
tion had always come from country gentlemen. Ile
believed they would be the persons principally benefited
by it. With respect to theßill, a few obsereatioes upon some
of its provisions would convince the House, and he hoped
the Hon. Member for Surrey, of the utter hopelessness
of ever carrying' it into effect.—(llear, hear.) The sub
ject genet ally was involved in a complication of difficul-
ties, and while he admitted that considerable improve-
ments and alterations could be made in the existing
system, he was bOttad to add that the system of local re-