The Sun.
London, England, 1822-03-26 00:00:00

[MORNING lIERALDI

One of the nrrost serious grievances in France
is the system of delivering and examining pass-
ports. It affects equally native subjects and fo-
reigners, particularly in their commercial trans-
actions. Active and industrious speculation is
completely trammelled by it; and though the
French, from long habit, bear it better than their
trading visiters—like a convict habituated to
dance in his chains—yet it has always been a
subject of complaint. It has at length been no-
ticed in the Chamber of Deputies—and the
exposure of it by M. Girardin, on Thursday,
proves it to be still more teasing and oppressive
than we had supposed. 44 This branch of
the Police," he says, " has become, more than
ever, an active instrument of intolerable persecu-
tion directed against all citizens, as well as
strangers. Even the rights of the Deputies are
not respected. Their letters are opened—the
seals being broken ; and Paris is in a state of
siege. There is no egress from it without an in-
quisitorial scrutiny of the morality, that is, of
the political opinions, of the applicant for a pass-
port ; and circulars are sent into the departments,
which render the obtaining of pasgports there
almost impossible, not only to commercial
agents, but to merchants of respectable and
known character." From the statements made
in the Chamber, it appears that a merchant,
whether French or foreign, is liable to be
arrested for the most trifling informality, at
every step he makes, by a gem d'arnte) who

PRICE SEVENPENCE.

has uncontrolled power over his person, and who
uses that power with the utmost severity, until
communication is held with the Prefect, perhaps,
at several leagues distance. Such a system, par-
ticularly when enforced with a sombrous and
jealous rigour, is fatal. to the interests of trade,
which depend so much upon quick and decisive
speculation and speedy execution. These tram.,
mels chain down activity both of body and mind.
It is true, that in the present-agitated and alarms
ing state of France, great vigilance is necessary
on the part of the police. " The Missionaries of
revolt who traverse the provinces," are, if we are
to credit the Paris Papers, " all disguised as
commercial agents." But it appears that, at
present, there is not only vigilance, but an almost
complete arrestof the ordinary movementsof trade.

[BRITISLI PRESS.]
The corn merchants of the city of London—
the holders and importers of foreign corn, peti-
tioned -the- liarree of Common* last, night that
some measure may be adopted for the pro-
tection of their interests. In direct opposi-
lion to the tenor of this petition, appealed
one from the owners and occupiers of laud
in Monmouthshire, praying for a further re-
duction in taxation, and for security against
foreign corn. The relief sought by the corn-
merchants is permission, no matter how un-
restricted, to import and sell foreign grain for
home consumption; the protection required by
the farmers and occupiers of land is the total ex-
clusion of all foreign corn ; and thus the question
is agitated from Session to Session, each party as-
serting that their peculiar interests are the most
intimately interwoven with those of the country
irk general. There can be little doubt that the de-
mands of the corn merchants are in conformity
with the soundest principles of mercantile policy,
and with the interests of the great body of the
consumers ; but in the existing state of the
law we cannot understand upon what pretence
they now come to Parliament for relief. They
have speculated and failed. They had con-
templated the opening of the ports, and amassed
a large quantity of grain, and to do them
justice, they at one moment had by their dexi.
terity almost succeeded in raising the averages
above eighty shillings; but their failure in thi
speculation differs from no other disappointment
in mercantile affairs, and as in other circum-
stances they must the consequences of
their error in judgment. The presumed inten-
tion of the Agricultural Committee to recom.
mend the employment of a large sum of public
money in the purchase of superfluous corn of-do-
mestic growth, was noticed by Mr. Birch, but it
was neither avowed nor justified by any Member
of the Committee.