The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-05 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON,

nently with the affairs of foreign Po'.vers, it has
taken upon itself the elevated office of an Arbiter
and a Mediator. It is from a considerati on of these
facts that we conceive the present Advisers of our
SOVEREIGN to be entitled to the respect of the conti-
nental statesmen ; and it is from a remembrance of
the wonderful and almost unparalleled. difficulties
they have been called upon to overleap, that they have
entitled themselves to the lenient criticism of the
English population.

One great fact should always be borne in recollec-
tion in analyzing the policy of her MAJESTY'S Go-
vernment : the fact that that Government has passed
through a period of unprecedented anxiety without
having given cause for internal disturbances, and
without having incited a belligerent feeling among
any of the Continental or Peninsular Powers. In
Italy, where so many passions have been at work,
where matters are complicated almost beyond the
possibility of their disentanglement, in Sardinia, in
Lombardy, in the country of the Lagunes, in the
Florentine duchies, in the States of the Church, in the
Abruzzi, in Calabria, in the Two Sicilies, the efforts
of our diplomatists have been uninterrupted, and
those efforts have, without exception, been conciliative

—from the conclusion of the armistice between
CHARLES ALBERT and RADETZKY to the negotiation
of an amicable settlement of affairs between the Nea-
politan Monarch and the Sicilians. In Germany
again, the aim of England has throughout been the
pacification of those who must otherwise have become
irreconcilably infuriated against each other. The only
division of Christendom, where civil war has prevailed
without inciting Lord PALMERSTON to endeavour to
effect a reconciliation between the belligerents, is that
portion of the Spanish peninsula, where the troops of
ISABELLA have been engaged with the sup-
porters of MONTEMOLIN. And that the Fo-
reign Secretary has not interfered in the
affairs of Catalonia is attributable to the insult
offered to the majesty of the British nation through
the person of its ambassador. To SOTOMAYOR and
not to PALMERSTON are owing those miseries and
that bloodshed which have convulsed the northern
and eastern provinces of Spain. Elsewhere the
labours of the Cabinet of Lord JOHN RUSSELL have
been eminently conciliative, and they have not only
been conciliative, but they have been singularly
efficacious. It is for these reasons that we regard
the ruling Government as in a position such as
enables it to appear before Parliament without any
emotions of trepidation. It has not only a conscious-
ness of the rectitude of its intentions, but a conviction
of the ultimate triumph of its principles throughout
the Continent.

Were the Foreign Policy of the Administration
the only point in which it could be regarded as vul-
nerable, it might then, without any undue temerity,
defy destruction. Of all the departments, moreover,
of the Administration, the most embarrassing at the
commencement of 1848 was indisputably that pre-
sided over by the Foreign Secretary ; and yet such
has been the liberality, the manliness, and the
patriotic devotion of his conduct during twelve
months of almost uninterrupted revolution,
that, at the beginning of 1849, Lord PALMER-
STON, of all the Ministers of the Crown, may
go down to the House with the least anxiety
as to the chances of an impeachment. Whatever can
be said of the management of our Colonies, of Ireland,
of the Woods and Forests, of our finances, or of the

Home Department, it is out of the question that any
one, however enormous his self-sufficiency, will deny
that the foreign policy of the Government has passed
through an entire Year of Revolutions, without hav-
ing plunged the country into the calamities and the
ruinous expenditure of TVar ; and that it has so far
been successful, in its character of mediator, as to have
effected a cessation of hostilities, that may in the end
lead to the conclusion of a permanent Peace.

On the 16th December last we directed the public
attention to a novel description of life assurance
offered by the " Metropolitan Counties and General
Life Assurance Society." The praiseworthy alacrity
exhibited by the society in thus anticipating the pub-
lic wants had due effect. For a single payment of
10s. the sum of 1001. might be secured to the family
or representatives of the party insuring, in the event
of death being occasioned by any accident while
travelling by railway. Although the ordinary avo-
cations of the party might render him a daily passen-
ger—although a considerable portion of his time
might be consumed on the railway while journeying
from town to town, or from his place of residence to
that in which his business was carried on, the in-
surance could be effected at the same moderate rate.
It is by no means surprising that the large and in-
fluential body of commercial travellers should
feel deeply interested in a project which afforded
so many advantages to all, but more especially to
those engaged in occupations such as theirs. For a
small sum one of the casualties to which they were
rendered peculiarly liable might be averted. Those
who confidently anticipated a continuance of health
and strength during a prolonged career, who
could not afford the large annual pre-
mium required for an ordinary insurance, might,
at all events, guard against a contingency that might
at any time defeat their calculations, and involve their
families in the deepest distress and destitution. A
fertile source of anxiety would thus be removed, and
the mental ease and tranquillity thereby obtained
would be cheaply purchased by the trifling payment.
The project was not, however, intended,as a substi-
tute for, but as an adjunct to, the usual species of
insurance. It did not remove the propriety, the
duty that devolved upon every head of a family
of providing, in some degree, against the irreparable
loss of a husband or father, a protector or provider.
The ordinary class of insurance should still be re-
sorted to wherever practicable; and if death
should be occasioned by a railway acci-
dent, the additional compensation, the double
payment, would be seldom more than was required
for the future comfort and respectable support of the
bereaved family. It might soothe the pangs of the
dying sufferer to think that his providence and fore-
sight had placed a reasonable provision at the disposal
of his afflicted widow and his helpless orphans.
Since that period another company has been formed
for the purpose of applying the principle of life in-
surance to single journeys on railways, and notices have
been served of an intended application to Parliament
for extraordinary powers, by the " Rail way Passengers'
Assurance Company," which is stated to be formed
"for the purpose of insuring compensation for loss of
life, or for personal injury, to persons travelling by
railway, whether arising from accident or negligence."
The plan is simple enough—

"It is proposed that irrespective of distance, a pas-
senger may, by the payment of 3d., on taking a first-
class ticket, of 2d., on taking a second-class ticket,
or of ld. on taking a third•class ticket, secure
to his survivors, in case of death, 1,0001,
5001., or 2001. respectively. And where the ac-
cident does not terminate fatally, liberal and im-
mediate compensation to himself, the several sums men-
tioned, being in each particular case the limit, although
not necessarily the measure of the sum to be paid."
It is also proposed—
" That the assurance should be effected through the
instrumentality of tke railway clerk, who at the
time of issuing the usual fare-ticket shall, if the pas-
senger wishes it, receive the premium together with the
fare, and stamp the ticket with the private mark of the
insurance company." Or, "if the railway companies
should refuse their assistance in carrying out the pro-
posed plans, the company will issue independent tickets
of their own.
Should an accident occur the company will offer
i
compensation
thew injuredithinth
party the at
the prescribed limmittser will be
; f not
accepted by
referred to two arabnidt r atthoer s , t ohne er
bt
yo
tire
clamant i nte,
by the company,
whose award shall be a
final and conclusive. If a
shall higher sum
warded than was offered,
be
the entire costs of the arbitration shall
company, otherwise the costs
be borne by the
One of the chief difficulties to the contemplated shall :be within the discretion of the arbitrators.
ar-
rangement would be the want of a binding policy. This
is, however, obviated by the 6th section of the pro-
posed;Act,which enacts that tickets narked or stamped
by the authority of the company shall be held as a valid
and bona fide execution on the part of the company of
the olicy or contract set out in the schedule to the
Act, and that no other matter or thing shall be re-
quired to be done, in order to bind the com-
pany to the due performance thereof. And it
also provided that a per tentage duty
of one per cent. on the receipts shall be paid by the
company in lieu of stamps on the said policies, a pro-
position which, it is said, bas been acceded to by

the Chancellor of the Exchequer on behalf of the
Government. If the duty on fire and marine a ssu-
rances should not be entirely done away with dining
the present session, we trust that some such equitable
adjustment may take place, and that a duty fairly
proportioned to the premium paid, as 1 per cent,
would be, should only be demanded in place of the
2001. per cent. required under the present system.

The object of the society is undoubtedly
good, but there are some points that should be
corrected. In the first there is a great dispropor-
tion between the sums to be paid by, and the corn.
pensation afforded to, the different classes of pas-
sengers. A first class passenger, for his 3d. may
receive 1,0001., while a second-class passenger, for his
2d. would only be entitled to 5001. in place of
6661. 13s. 4d., while the more humble third-class,
passenger would only receive 2001. in place of 3331.
6s. Bd., which should be the just proportion according
to the payments made. It is thus 33 1-3 per cent.
against the second class, and 66 2.3 per cent. against
the third-class passengers. This is neither just nor
equitable. As large a ratio of accidents in pro-
portion to the number of travellers take place in
the first, as in either the second or third classes.
Many years ago, HORACE told us that—

" Pallida mors cequo pulsat pede,
Pauperum tabernas, regumque turres."

And no change bath since taken place to war-
rant the distinction taken by the company..
The well - stuffed cushions of the first-
class will not banish the King of Terrors ;
he will as readily seize on the inmate, as on the,
more humble traveller by the unglazed and comfort-.
less third-class carriage. Indeed, accidents; are
rather more likely to happen to the former, from tho
the increased speed at which express trains travers e

the country.
Again the rates appear to be assessed on too high a
scale. For a single payment of 21. 10s. the Metro -
politan Counties will insure the sum of 500/. to :a
young man. He may travel twice a day for thirt3r
or forty years, and no further charge will bts
made. Now the new company require two-
pence a journey to insure the same sum.
If 730 journeys be taken within the year, this
would amount to more than 61, or 601. for ten years,
or 2401. for forty years, all of which would be covered
by the single premium of 2/. 10s.
We have thus indicated the objections to the pro-
posal. The principle, however, is a sound one, and if
the objectionable points be modified, we trust that
success will attend the exertions of the company ;
that they may be rewarded according to their deserts.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris journals
.of Saturday
and of yesterday.
Matters still look serious in regard to the differ-
ence between the Ministry and the Assembly. The
quarrel is growing, day by day, darker and darker ;
and the Prince PRESIDENT still clings with pertinacity
to the men first selected by him to form an Adminis-
tration. Hopes are yet entertained that the cause of
M. ODILON BARROT may be strengthened by the
acceptance of one of the portfolios by M. DUFAURE,
though the latter continues to reject all propositions
to that effect. On Saturday, the belief among the
Republicans of the Veille was, that the danger of an
explosion had become so very serious as to render the
retirement of the Ministry inevitable. Yesterday,
however, the Moniteur dispelled all such anticipations
by officially announcing that the PRESIDENT of the
Republic would not yield to the clamour against his
Cabinet.

Late on Saturday evening the Assembly closed its
sittings with an important vote. M. WOIRiIiTE
having presented the report of the committee of in-
quiry into the military demonstration of the 29th
January, which declared against the question of
urgency, and gave an opinion in favour of the policy
of the Government, M. PERREE proposed an amend-
ment to the effect that the Assembly declares that the
tendencies of the Ministry appear to it to create
dangers to the Republic, and passes to the order of
the day. After a long and stormy debate, it having
been proposed as a further amendment that the
Assembly pass simply to the order of the day, this latter
amendment was rejected by a majority of 407t0 387.
Subsequently the Cabinet assembled in the Palace of
the Elysee Nationale, when the resolution was come
to which we have already announced as having ap-
peared in the Moniteur.
This defeat of the Administration is generally
regarded as owing to M. MARRAST, who was amongst
the number of those who voted for M. LEDRU ROL-
LIN'S motion for the impeachment. In consequence
of that vote the PRESIDENT of the Republic has shown
his displeasure, by refusing to partake of the State
dinner given on Saturday by M. MARRAST, as Pre-
sident of the Assembly—a dinner given specially in
honour of the Prince, and to which all the Ministers
and great public functionaries had been invited to
meet him. On Saturday morning Prince Louis
NAPOLEON sent an apology for his absence, which he
attributed to indisposition.
From a circumstance which transpired yesterday
it appeared that the Prince, so far from being indis-
posed, gave a large dinner party himself in his
palace. Although M. ARMAND MARRAST is striving
to make out that the refusal of the Prince to attend
his banquet was intended as an insult from the Go-
vernment to the National Assembly, it must be suffi-
ciently manifest to every reasonable man that the
vote of the PRESIDENT of the Assembly upon the
question of impeachment affords an ample justifica-
tion to the refusal of his invitation by the PRESIDENT
of the Republic.
To-day the discussion upon the second reading of
M. RA.TEAU'S motion in reference to the dissolution
of the National Assembly takes place.
Colonel FORESTIER has been discharged from cus-
tody, there being no charge against him.

Count D'ALTON SUEE has written the following
letter to the papers contradicting the report of trea-
sonable papers having been found in his possession :
" Sir,—Even a prison would become supportable,
could it protect from calumny those who are its inmates.
But bolts and locks do not protect one from falsehood.
There is scarcely an invention which is not at this mo-
ment circulated against me. An evening paper affirms
that I was arrested, with 200 Socialist Republicans,
while in the act of presiding over the club called La So-
lidarit6 Ripublicaine, of which I may say, en passant,
that it is not a club, but an association, to which I am
a perfect stranger.
A morning paper also makes itself the echo of the
most extraordinary rumours. According to this journal
there was found in my house a decree of the future Pro-
visional Government, levying an impost of 3,000,000 on
the rich, suspending tie, hhnrty of the pre.., .',pp-".a.
ing individual liberty, and giving up to unheard-
of acts of vengeance a portion of the population. On
this point calumny assumes the character of extrava-
gance, calculated, no dqubt, to excite in me that disdain
which deprives one of the power of language, and thus
reduce me to silence. But I will baffle this calculation.
As falsehood penetrates into my prison, truth must
issue from it. I will expose the falsehood of my calum-
niators by the denial from which they hoped to escape,
by the ♦ery absurdity and unworthiness of their attacks.
As to men of good faith,to them I shall merely say that
I must have felt myself free from all reproach when I
took no precaution to defend my liberty; and that the
conscience of the public will be convinced, as mine is, of
the nullity of the accusations against me the day I shall
appear in the presence of justice. " D'ALTON SHEE.
" Conciergerie, Feb. 3."
The Club of the Palais National has decided on
supporting as candidates for Vice-Presidents and two
Secretaries of the National Assembly, MM. CoRBON,
GOUDCHAUX, HAVIN, LAMORICIERE, BILLAULT,
GREVY, PEUPIN, and LOUIS PERREE.

M. LEON FAUCHER, Minister of the Interior, was
elected, on Saturday, Member of the Academy of
Moral and Political Sciences, in the place of Count
Rossi.

The PRESIDENT of the Republic had conferred the
Order of the Legion of Honour on M. BONPLAND,
the celebrated traveller and naturalist, and on Dr.
JACKSON, of Boston.

During the review, which took place on Friday in
the Champ de Mars, the PRESIDENT distributed de-
corations of the Legion of Honour to several officers
and soldiers, whom he thus addressed :

" The decorations I have to distribute to-day are few,
but they are more honourable for those who obtain'
them. The cross of the Legion of Honour has been
too often lavished under the Government that preceded
me. This shall no longer be the case. I wish the
Legion of Honour to be the direct recompense of ser-
vices rendered to the country, and to be men in future
to unquestionable merit. I hope, gentlemen, by that
means to restore to that institution its glorious prestige."
This address was received with unanimous ap-
plause.
The Constitutionnel announces that a portion of tie
army of the Alps has made a movement towards
Pars. Two brigades of that army are now march in