The Sun.
London, England, 1831-03-01 00:00:00

•
A.

LONDON,
TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 1, BSI.

The close approach of the discussion of that
grand Question to which the whole country is
looking forward with an anxiety unparalleled in
the annals of her history, which is to confirm or
annihilate the power of Government and decide
the destinies of Great Britain, compels us to
restrict ourselves to a mere enumeration of the
few remaining meetings on the subject which
have not yet appeared in the columns of The
Sun. Gladly would we report these meetings
at length—gladly would we do them that justice
which their importance demands, but space and
time are imperative, and we must, however re-
luctantly, submit. To be brief then ; we have
now lying before us full reports of Reform meet-
ings held ; in England, at Stansfield—Lincoln
—Christchurch—Lymington—Poole—Sunder-
land—Dorchester—Cockermouth—and Ches-
ter ; in Scotland, at Roxburgh—Elgin—Castle
Douglas—Dumfries—and Haddington ; in Ire-
land, at Dromore—Belfast—Waterford—Kil-
kenny—Cork—and Clonmell ; in Wales, at
Montgomery— Holvwell Swansea—Carmar-
then—Flint—and Newport. In perusing the
reports of these various meetings, it is impos-
sible not to be struck, first with their re-
spectability; secondly, with the extraordinary
shrewdness, energy, talent, and determination
that characterize them. They breathe an air of
stern, steady, solemn resolution, not to be misap-
prehended or despised. Reform is no longer in
the hands of the Radicals ; it is no longer con-
fined to the humbler classes of the community ;
it has risen to the dignity of a national
question ; it has become a sun in the political
horizon, on which the gaze of all parties is rivet-
ted with equal intensity. We are far from ex-
aggerating matters when we state that nine out
of every ten men who have influence and stand-
ing in society, and, above all, who have pro-
perty to lose, have become staunch Reformers.
In Scotland this is strikingly apparent. There,
the principal speakers at Reform meetings
have uniformly been men of wealth—of intellect
—of high and commanding influence—Heads of
Corporate Bodies, and Professors of Learned In-
stitutions—who, so far from being cautious or
crippled by the peculiarity of their situation, have
thundered forth their opinions on the one topic,
in a tone and with a manner that niust
silence the clamorous, convince the sceptical,
and paralyze the timid Boroughmonger. In
Wales the same spirit is predominant, but in-
deed throughout the kingdom, in every city,
town, village, and hamlet, wherever the ghost of
an opinion has, stolen its way, the conviction is
unanimous that without Reform there must be
—Revolution !

So assured is every Reformer of this stern
truth, that he has discusses ilie point at
issue, as if it were, one in which he himself
were the chief person interested ; as if it were
less a national than an individual, less a public
than a private, question, on whose failure or
triumph depended his own existence.
Another striking -feature in these meetings
is the enthusiasm with which the ballot
has been received. A t Lincoln—at Bristol
—at Nottingham—at Newark—it was no
sooner proposed, than the assembly rose to a
man and hailed it with three cheers. And yet
the ballot, as a great political remedy, is
scarcely a year old ! Even a few months since
it was a puny bantling exhibiting every symp-
tom of premature decay. Subequent events
have, however, combined to lend it strength and
energy. The infant has become the boy, the
boy is fast ripening to the man. What a por-
tentous sign of the times is this precocity
How pregnant with matter for serious reflection !
Hercules even in his cradle is not to be des-
pised ; but Hercules full grown and resolute is
a hero whom it requires a being like himself to

conquer.
W hope the Tories will bear these things in
mind. Not a few among the most stubborn
have, we know, resolved on thwarting Reform,
not by boldly opposing it—they arc far too
shrewd for such madness—but by moving an
amendment which may cripple, while to all ap-
pearance it favours the question. We know too
that in the event of success, they are looking for
the co-operation of the Lords, who, by crippling
the question still further, may reduce it to a per-

feet nullity. The Dames of some of these men
are known to us, as they soon will be to the
public. But we warn them to forbear in time. The
season is gone by for evasion. The whole country
is awake, acquainted with its rights, and resolved
to regain them. It is no longer safe to rely on
the ignorance of the people. There is scarcely
a man in the community, no matter how humble
be his origin, how imperfect his education, who
is not master of Reform in all its bearings, and
who will not at once see through and resist the
trickery of those who attempt to thwart its pro-
gress. Political unions have not spread them.
selves abroad over the country for nothing. Im-
mense masses, comprising thousands and tens of
thousands of men, resolved by every constitu-
tional means to see themselves righted, have
not been drilled—disciplined—enlightened in
vain. Let the Ultras then look to it. Let
the Boroughmongers take a hint in season.
To the people we would say be tranquil, but
vigilant ; be confident, but not without distrust,
even though Government is your friend and
BROUGHAM your advocate. Watch the pro-
gress of Reform with the lynx eye of jealousy ;
survey it in all its bearings ; track it through all
its windings ; weigh well its details ; compare
them ; combine them ; analyse them ; meditate
upon them ; consider how far they satisfy, how
far they fall short of your just demands. Above
all, look narrowly to the Boroughmongers and
their allies. The spirit of despair is abroad, and
you well know its power.
With the Ministers we would be equally
urgent. We would say, let your plan of Reform
be full and efficient ; such as it becomes en-
lightened rulers to bestow, and a grateful country
to receive. Be not afraid of consequences ;
faint not by the way-side ; attempt not to retrace
your steps ; the road to victory is in front—de-
feat and ruin are in the rear. The country, rely
on it, will see you safe through all your diffi-
culties. Your cause and theirs is the same ; both
fight under the same banners. Even should you
be compelled to resign, the people will again and
again reinstate you in office. Besides, where are
the Ministers who will dare to step forth and
supply your vacant places ? Be resolute, then ;
be unanimous, and win a name ii history such
as no former Administration ever yet obtained.

In the House of Lords last night, Lord
BROUGHAM, in presenting a Reform petition,
declared himself still opposed to the ballot. In
the Lower House, Mr. O'CoNNELL gave him-
self the coup de grace, in an explanation, which
he intended to be a complete vindication of his
late conduct with respect to the Crown prosecu-
tion instituted against him. Mr. STANLEY an-
swered him in a way that gave satisfaction to the
whole House.

The labours of the many Law Reformers who
in the various departments of the Court of
Chancery, the Courts of Common Law, and
the Law of Real Property, are striving to correct
abuses, and to introduce better-systems, may re-
ceive great encouragement by reflecting on what
has of late years been effected in the Criminal
Branch of our Jurisprudence. The revision and
consolidation of a multitude of Statutes which
had been accumulating for centuries into a rude
and undigested chaos, have led to the compre-
hension of many important divisions of law
within the scope of a single Statute, and we may
refer to the Jury Act, the Criminal Justice Ad-
ministration Act, the Acts for preventing in-
juries to property, and to the person, and to the
late Forgery Act, as creditable examples of the
good that may within a short period be brought
about by an industrious reforming hand. It
would be unjust to withhold from Sir ROBERT
PEEL the praise he is on this score so well en-
titled to, whatever difference of opinion may
exist on the philosophy of the penal system which
his legislation has sought to perpetuate.
We have before us a new and valuable work,
entitled " A Digest of the Criminal Law of
England, by EDWARD E. DEACON, Esq.,
Barrister-at-Law," and we cannot too strongly
express the high sense we entertain of the in-
dustry and judgment that have been displayed in
this successful attempt to bring under one view
the whole field of our criminal jurisprudence.
The subjects are classed alphabetically after the
manner of " Comyn's Digest," and " Burn's
Justice," so as to be easy of reference, contrary
to the case of most law books with which we are
acquainted, and as the Digest comprises the
' latest enactments, it will be very useful not only
to the profession, but to magistrates and all
others who desire to have at their fingers' ends
the last''imder which we live. Since, unfor-
tunately, the time when the Statutes of the Realm
were publicly promulgated has lop g since
passed away, and since there prevails so general
an ignorance of such Statutes, even among
Justices and Lawyers (as witness the proceedings
under the late Special Commissions), correct
information on the subject may assuredly be ac-
counted some of the most useful knowledge
that can be diffused.

Mr. DEACON, in his preface, justly observes
that the entanglement and obscurity of the Eng-
lish Law have arisen in a great measure from the
abuse of the practice of reporting adjudged cases.
" The unhappy Mania of the present day," says
he, " to take down every obiter dictum of a
Judge--every casual observation made by
" him upon the plainest princirle of law, and
" then to cram it into print, has really grown to
" such a pitch, that there is now no saying
where this reporting rage will stop, nor can it
<, be wondered, among these myriads of re-
ports, if one of the consequences should be,
" to find tlre Judges often contradicting each
" other, and sometimes even themselves." The
proper and only remedy for this nuisance would
be to have authorized reporters attached to every
Court, whose reports alone should be regarded
as authority. At present the Law Reports being.
under no controul, are merely on the footing of
the reports given in the Newspapers; and wehave no hesitation in saying, that both -the one
and the other are the frequent, though uncon-
scious, instruments of the propagation of error.
'We do not altogether agree with Mr. DEA-

CON in his estimate of the evils of breaking in
upon existing laws. Undoubtedly the stability
of the law is highly desirable, in so far as it
affects its notoriety, but the changes wrought by
time in the frame of society, and the perpetual
succession of new ideas, and new habits, render
it impossible that the criminal, or any other
branch of law, should be exempt from fluctua-
tions. We hold the Forgery Bill of last Ses-
sion to bo a scandal to our Jurisprudence, and
that the efforts of good men should never for a
moment be relaxed in order to substitute for it
a law more consistent with justice and mercy.
We hope Mr. DEACON'S second edition will
contain a Forgery Bill of which capital punish-
ment will form no part.

The French Papers contain little intelligence
of moment. The Ministry still feeble—still
undivided, willing to be resolute without the
means to enable it to be so, is becoming daily
more and more unpopular. SOULT and TAL-
LEYRAND have both, we hear, strongly remon-
strated against its vacillation and want of energy.
The Marshal's complaint was, we understand,
that General SEBASTIAN! had, without his
knowledge, given orders for disarming the
Piedmontese refugees on the Savoy frontier.

We have received by express the Paris Papers,
dated yesterday. The intelligence in the Quo-
tidienne is worth attention. The following is
an extract of a private letter, dated Paris, Sunday

evening :
" Every thing is tranquil for the moment, but the re-
publicans threaten a disturbance about the middle of
March. The Austrians are marching to put down the
insurrections in Italy, and the French Govern►nent has
given orders for disarming the Italian refugees who have
collected on the frontiers of Piedmont. The Prussians, the
Dutch, and the Spaniards are continuing their warlike
preparations. Marshal Soult is also actively proceeding
with the same. In the meanwhile committees for revo-
lutionizing almost every country i• Europe are sitting at
Paris. The Polish, the Spanish, and the Italian Com-
mittees are avowed, and an Irish Committee is said to
exist, but this has not yet been admitted by the parties
concerned."

(From the Temps.)
Some letters from Germany state, that the Emperor
Nicholas has declared by an ukase, that the kingdom of
Poland is united to Russia, and that henceforth it is
merely to be a province of the Muscovite territory.
(From the Quotidienxe.)

Much satisfaction, mingled with a slight degree of asto-
nishment, was manifested last night in the diplomatic circles,
with respect to a conference that had taken place the
evening before, between the Amhaesidors of England and
Austria and M. Sebastiani. It is said that the two Am-
bassadors went together to the French Minister, to
whom Lord Granville declared, as a preliminary, that
his Government could not disapprove of the entry
of the Austrians into Italy. It is also added, that ,
M. Sebastiani hastened to reply with his habitual
[iconic and simple tone, " that neither did he consider
the invasion, the stay, or the measures of repression of
the Austrian soldiers in the States of Modena and the
States of the Church, could be considered as acts derogatory
from the system of non-intervention, •o happily esta-
blished in Europe by the firmness of France, and which
the Government of King Louis Philip were firmly re-
solved to maintain, and to put into execution whenever
the good harmony which the great Powers ought to pre-
serve among themselves, did not require the sacrifice and
the temporary abandonment of the same system of non-
intervention."
An Austrian division under the command of General
Baron de Geipert, was to have entered the Duchy of
Modena on the 16th.

General Bentheim is on the frontiers of the State of
Ferrara, ready to enter the States of the Church, should cir-
cumstances render it necessary. A corps of ob,ervation,
almost entirely composed of Hungarian regiments, has re-
ceived orders to take its station upon the frontiers of Pied-
mont, from whence it will cover Upper Italy. At Bologna,
which is the centre of the revolutionary movements, and
where preparations were making to form a National Con-
gress, there was a talk of proclaiming Napoleon 11.
It is still proposed at Vienna to give a command in the
army of Italy to the Duke of Reischstadt.

In the Prussian State Gazette we have an-
other Manifesto by the Emperor NICHOLAS, in
which the despot impiously invokes the blessing
of the DEITY on his exertions to enslave the
Poles. The spirit of this Manifesto is of a most
violent outrageous character, and like the gene-
rality of such ultra documents, will most probably
defeat itself. From Warsaw nothing decisive is
known, though abundance of rumours are in
circulation.

M. SURLET DE CHOKIER has formally an-
nounced his acceptance of the office of Regent
of Belgium. The establishment of this Re-
gency, which is of course only temporary, se-
cures Belgium indirectly to France.

ROYAL REFORM.—We believe it is perfectly
true, that Mr. FORRESTER, a Groom of the Royal Cham-
ber, has been dismissed, by his MAJESTY'S desire, in con-
sequence of declining to support the Reform Bill. He is
to be succeeded by Mr. CAMPBELL, brother of Lord
Cawnen.— Times.

A Tory met a Whig, this morning, in the
street, and said " we shall beat you to-night on the Re-
form Question." " Perhaps you may," replied the Whig,
" but probably in rising so, you may beat yourselves."
VOTE BY ALLOT.--lt was seriously dis-
cussed by several Members attending at the House of Com-
mons this morning, previously to the commencement of
bwiness, whether a better opportunity could be found for
trying the practical effect of the ballot than upon the Reform
question of to-night.

On the night of Lord BROUGHANt'S cele-
brated speech on the abuses of the Court of Chancery, the
Duke of WELLINGTON was observed to be one of the moot
attentive listeners, and the loudest among those who
cheered the Loan CHANCELLOR'S statements; it cannot
therefore fairly be said that the Duke is opposed to a!
Reform.

It is rumoured that Mr. COLTMAN is to be
the Chief Justice in Bankruptcy ; that the other new
Judges are to be chiefly of the common law bar ; and
that the compensation to be given to the commi,sioners
is in some cases to be 4001., and in others 3001.
Observer.

The reduction of Salaries' Committee have
abolished the salaries of Lord Presient of the Council
and Lord Privy Seal. The Secretaries of the Treasury
are to have 2,500/., and the Under Secretaries of State
1,500/. a-year.

It was reported this afternoon in the City that
prince TALLBYXAND would leave London to-morrow !
With respect to this rumour, we shall only remark that, at
one o'clock this afternoon, there were no symptoms of de-
parture observable at his Highness's residence in Portland-
-I►lr_ce,--Morning Paper. .

- •
COUNTY MAYo.—The Ballina Impartial
of Wednesd iy gives a statement of an affray which took
place on Friday morning, near Foxford, between a number
of the peasantry of the barony of Gallon, and a military
detachment under the orders of some of the Magistrates.
The peasantry consisted of upwards of 100 armed men,
iea+
s
replied
rpal
niaed',ol when aocasul
al ren:i(ui
the
upon
hin
Kindwi
na
he Who are you?
Comm .nded by a person of respectable appearance. This
King's name" to halt,
the
We are not to be intimidated." Ile then ordered his
decorations on his
party to advance, and not to be afraid. After firing with-
out effect on the Magistrates, who were considerably in
advance of the military party, the insurgents made an at-
tempt to outflank the soldiers, but fled on receiving a volley
from the latter, who mortally wounded a fellow named
DUNCAN (since dead), and made prisoner another fellow
of the same name.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.-(THLS DAY).

COURT OF CHANCERY.
DON NEGA N V. LT IiCTION•

Mr. WRIGHT moved a few days ago for an injunction,
ex-parte, on behalf of the plaintiff, as against the de-
fendant, a bookseller, and the publisher of a Greek and
English Lexicon, edited by the plaintiff, to restrain him
from selling the Lexicon at a price contrary to the agree-
ment. By the terms of the agreement between the par-
ties, the defendant w. .:s not to sell the work by retail, in
boards, at more than thirty-one shillings and sixpence a
copy ; and at not more by wholesale than 245. in quires, and
255. 6d. in cloth. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant
had broken the stipulation by selling, retail, in boards at
forty-two shillings, and indeed all the copies at a higher
price than specified by the agreement. The Lord Chan-
cellor refused to grant the injunction, on the ground that
the plaintiff had his remedy at law, in the shape of an
action for damages. The Learned Counsel dedred to
have an opportunity of renewing his application this
morning, on the ground that it appeared to him lie could
not have made himself understood to the Court from
the decision his Lordship had come to. He felt he was
able to satisfy the Court that the plaintiff had the right,
according to the principles of this Court, to make his elec-
tion, whether he should come here or go to law.
The Loan CHANCF.LLOR said it might lys so, but he
should certainly not hear any more about this motion,
without the defendant's previous!; having had notice.
Mr. KNIGHT obtained leave to give notice this morn-
ing for the next Seal.
His LORDSHIP proceeded to hear appealp.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE-(THIS DAY.)

FRO LLOYD'S.

DEAL, FEB. 9.B.—Wind N.W. squally.—Arrived the Olive
Branch, from the Cape of Good Hope; and the Heroine, Dal.
rymple, from London, for Dominica.
LIVERPOOL, FEs. 27.—The General Toran has been aban-
doned at sea, crew saved by the Montgomery, arrived here from
Charleston.

tr, Fr.». Z.—Arrived his Majesty's ship Pallas
from Malta, sailed the Ist ult.
STANOt;ATE CREEK, FEB. 28.—Arrived the Aurora, Cor•
nehy, from Venice.
COWES, Fan. iB.—Arrived the Virginia, Hodgson, from
Havannah ; and Samuel Wright, Knight, from New York.
CLYDE,- Fee. 2.s.—Arrived the Union, from Cadiz.
FALMOUTH, Fan. 27.—Wind W.—Arrived the Osborne
packet, from Bermuda, sailed the 9th of January, and from
Halifax the 9th ult. _ _ _

BRISTOL, FRB. .—Arrived the Eolus, Cutcliff, frern St.
Andero.

The Rapid, Mathias, from Gallipoli; and the Ranger, Branch,
from Lisbon, have arrived at Cadiz.
Arrived off the Lizard, the Mary, from St. John's, N. B.
The Arrow, Williams, from Venice, arrived at Yarmouth
Roads, experienced very bad weather in the Mediterranean, and
threw 32 casks of shurnac overboard.
The Union, Sparrow, from Sunderland, arrived at Harwich,
for London, lost foremast and sails.

THE MARKETS.-(THIS DAY.)

HAY MA RKETS.—( At per Load of 34 Truesea.)

CUMBERLAND (LATE ST. JAMES'S.)
Coarse helvy Lowland Meadow Hay 12 5 to 12 10
New Meadow Hay 0
.0 t 1 U

Useful Old Ditto f.l 10 3 15

Fine Upland Meadow and Rye-grass Hay 4 0 4 5
Clover Hay 2 15 5 0
Oat Straw XI 12 to £1 14 1 Wheat tlt. aw... 2 0 " 2
Best Meadow and Clover Hay 59. per load lower, and Straw
2s. per load higher than last quoted; prices otherwise stationary.
Supply great, and trade dull.