The Sun.
London, England, 1831-04-01 00:00:00

POST-OFFICE REGULATIONS.

The new Post-office regulations, as announced by Lord
Althorp on Wednesday night, by which part of the in-
habitants of the suburbs of the metropolis will be relieved
from the extra charge on their General Post Letters,
would afford a snore extensive and equitable relief if the
radius (as it is called) of three miles were taken from a
point more in the centre of the town than the Post-office
it-elf happens to be. A radius, too, is not quite appli-
cable to an oblonc, space, the metropolis, from Kensington
to Ihiw, beirio: eight miles in kugth, .3'lterez;s it iiiitrec
more than 17a1f that distance in.wiitit at any ose [Oaf:
' A three-mile-radius from the Post-office will act, therefore,
very unequally on the east and western ends of the town ; for
while in the former case it will extend to Hackney andMile-
end, in the latter it will not reach the Regent's Park, the
E,lgeware-road, or Sloane-street, whereas an equidistant
line taken from Somerset-house, which is the real centre
of London, would embrace all those latter points, and
many more, which the Post-office radius would exclude.
The boon, however, will be a very material one, and we
are quite confident that if by these, or any other sugges-
tions, it can be improved, the Duke of Richmond will not
hesitate to do all in his power to afford a just and equal
accommodation to the public.

The cause .of Reform is rapidly spreading
throughout the kingdom, and various new publications are
anounced to give it support. At Birmingham, a new
paper, called the Midland Representative, is to be started
forthwith on the popular side of the question. The spe-
culation, as well as others of a similar character, is likely
to answer, if the paper is conducted with integrity, and
all will feel the advantage of the Government lowering the
duty on newspaper stamps and advertisements.—Morning
Advertiser. -

The clause in the Reform Bill concerning
leaseholders has excited the wonder of all who have at-
tended to it ; it must, no doubt, have crept in its present
shape by some mistake, and will be amended in Commit-
tee. A leaseholder who holds a farming lease for 21 years,
paying 501. rent or upwards, under which his interest in
the land may be worth little or nothing—or, as it has
often unfortun itely proved of late, less than nothing—is
entitled to vote. So far so good; but, as the clause now
stands, if a man hold an estate worth 501., or 5001., or
5,000/. a-year, for a term of 1,000 years, at a rent of 1/.
or -a pepper-corn, he will have no vote it respect of this
property. In this way many of the holders of valuable
leases under ecclesiastical and other corporations, where
the reserved rents are small (a very large and the most
opulent and independent cl iss of leaseholders), besides the
owners of houses held on building leases, all the 99 years
leasehollers of the West of England, and many possessors
of property under terms substantially equivalent to free-
holds, will he excluded. We have heard many representa-
tions on this subject; but, of course, the mistake needs
only to be pointed out to be removed.
War between Austria and France is consi-
dered inevitable by a great majority of the City politi•
clans ; but there are still many well-informed people who
think it may be deferred for a time. For our part, we are
inclined to think otherwise. It is not likely that Austria
will withdraw her troops from Bologna. She will never
submit to such an act of self-deb .sement,—an act which
would produce a greater moral effect against that Power
than the sustaining a decided defeat in the field. As for
France, she'cannot, and ought not, submit to the occupa-
tion of Bologna by the Austrians. It, in fact, amounts
to an open declaration of war; and there can be no doubt
that all France will resent it as such. On the other hand,
however, France has fearful odds to contend against__
Austria has 300,000 regular troops, perhaps 200,000
militia, and, it is supposed, a well-supplied treasury.—
Then there is Prussia, with her 450,000 regular troops,
and 150,000 militia. Russia has 400,000 troops ; the
German Confederation nearly 300,000, and Holland has
100,000. All these Powers, in the nature of things,
must be opposed to France, secretly, if not openly. It is
true, Russia is engaged wi,h the Poles, Holland with the
Belgians, and we have good reason for believing that the
prucian troops cannot be depended upon—or, in other
words, that they will not fight against liberal institutions.
Then, again, France has public opinion in her favour ;
her troops will he received with open arms by the Italians,
and we are assured that, with the exception of the Aus-
trians, the Germans will be decidedly opposed to a war
with France, unless she is clearly proved to he the
aggressor. Of this we do not think there is any probabi-
lity. Hitherto she has acted with the greatest forbear-
ance, and, with the present Ministry, it is not at all likely
that she will change her policy—that she will forego the
high moral advantages which she now possesses, and adopt
a system of aggression that will have no other effect than
to array against her the whole of Europe. It is said that
the object of the visit of the eldest son of CasaMsa PER-
RIER to the Court of, London, is to-assure our Ministry of
the entire confidence of the French Government in the
justice of Great Britain, and that, should France take up
arms, it will be in support of her dignity and honour' as
a nation, and not for the purpose of aggrandisement.—
31._,PErtaixat we Understand, arrived in' London this
•
morning (Thursday),—Afornirig Herald. '