The Sun.
London, England, 1847-08-27 00:00:00

The circumstances of the case were very simpl,

There had been no combination or conspiracy of an,
kind which would render such an offence dan...
gerous to the safety of the vessel, or calling for such,
exemplary punishment. The prisoner had maintained at
excellent character during the entire time of his service
a period of more than eight years and a half, and wt
regarded by the officers under NN hom he served a a
an exceedingly well-conducted man, there havin g
been but one trivial complaint preferred against hin
during five years and seven months. Unfortunately„
on the morning of the 27th April, he was reported by
one of the naval cadets for some trifling offence, and ,
being much excited and irritated thereat, bad becom e
intoxicated, whether from obtaining additions tl
liquor, or from the quantity allowed having taken al i
unusual effect in consequence of his great excitement,,
it did not appear. When in that state of inebriation..
and speaking warmly on the subject, the cadet wh,
had lodged the complaint came in his way, an(l
called out to him to make less noise, on which the'
unfortunate man, who was infuriated almos t
to madness, struck him a blow on the mouth ;
he was immediately taken into custody, and has been,
kept in irons until the present time, a period of fou t
months.

'We are well aware of the grave characte r
of the offence, and of the absolute necessity for put-
ting down, by the most stringent remedies, any act
of insubordination, or resistance to superior officers-.
in the execution of their duty ; but there are many
phases or shades of the crime, and scarcely any the t
would warrant a capital punishment. It should b e
seen whether the accused party was associated wit' h
others, or was wholly isolated in the transaction--
whether a tendency to mutiny existed in the ship—op•
whether the crew were contented and tranquil. Abovt:
all, it should be ascertained whether the act arose
from any temporary ebullition of passion, or whether
it had been premeditated and brooded over. But the

article made no difference or distinction; it dealt
with every variation of the act in the same
sanguinary and bloodthirsty spirit—a resistance to a
superior authority under any circumstances whatever
could only be adequately expiated by the death of the
offender. No matter how deeply his feelings had been
burt, his passions aroused, or himself goaded to mad-
ness, by the taunts and_ insults of some beardless
tyrant, the slightest outbreak subjected him to a
painful and ignominious death. It is well known
hoW, many opportunities exist of oppressing
istilors2 A system of tyranny can be carried on for
months under which the best-conducted man will be
driven to desperation without being enabled to obtain
protection in any quarter. He is not.merely subject
to the will and pleasure of one despot," who
may order him to be flogged without
trial, or even hearing him in his defence, nay,
with scarcely the necessity of assigning a reason
for the degrading and odious infliction ; but he has
many masters, any one of whom can render his life
miserable. There are so many meshes within which
he may be entangled, that no man can possibly escape
if a superior should conceive an animosity against
him. The 'greatest attention to his duties, the most
zealous discharge of everything required at his hands,
would be insufficient for his protection. What wonder
then, that w't repeatedly hear of desertions from a
service where such things are tolerated, and where
even the remuneration is not proportioned to the toil,
or at all equivalent to that which the same individual
can obtain in the .mercantile marine. No wonder
that seamen cannot be procured to man our fleet
without a considerable delay, and, perhap.,
the operations of the press-gang. We are
well convinced that our naval supremacy
would not be in any manner endangered by
the substitution of a more humane code for that
now in force for the government of our seamen.
Nay, we are convinced that the efficiency of our
navy would be increased, and its discipline
as adequately preserved, if our gallant seamen
were no longer treated as slaves, who could
only be coerced by brute force. At no
period could the experiment be more properly
made than at present, when, happily, we are at peace
with all the world, and when no rumoured wars dis-

turb our tranquillity. The changes might be
gradual, and such as that no rink could be incurred
by their adoption for a limited period. We will hope
that the next session may not be suffered to elapse
without putting the matter in train of settlement,
that the claims, the services, and the condition of
our gallant defenders may be fully considered, and
that every beneficial alteration compatible with the
efficiency of the service and.-the maintenance and
preservation of discipline may be effected.

In consequence of the military preparations of the
Sonderbund, the authorities of the canton of Ticino
have called out their military contingent, and it is
supposed that the other cantons who support the legi-
timate authority of the Federal Government will fol-
low this example. The case of the canton of Ticino
is a precedent which settles the question of the right
of interference on the part of the Federal Govern-
ment in continental matters. In 1815 the canton of
Ticino refused to submit to the orders of the Federal
Government, and the cantons composing the now re-
bellious Sonderbund were the first to insist on the en-
forcement of those ()piers, and on the supremacy of
federal over all cantonal government.

Madrid journals of the 20th have arrived.
The Heraldo states that PACHECO, who continues
still in office, has demanded an audience of the KING,
to " submit to him the considerations of public in-
terest which exact the immediate reconciliation of the
royal pair." The Correo states that the reconcilia-
tion ought not to be despaired of.
It is said that the bank of San Fernando has
agreed to advance one-fourth of the loan of
100,000,000 reals.
eMr d
MADRID BOLSA, AUG. 20.—The Three per Cents.
N
Five
pe
e done
cneaet 25t
at forifaosr paper; and
h ; the Coupons,
the
Debt
at l5 ;
withoutthis
Interest, at 5-k.

,Ve have received the Paris papers of Wednesday.
The Duke ee PRASLIN died in the prison of the
Luxembourg, at five o'clock on Tuesday afternoon,
from the effects, it is said, of arsenic. Full particu-
lars of the circumstances will bo found in another
column. The circumstances of his death are, to say
the least, very suspicious, It is strange that, kept
under the immediate surveillance of the cleverest
pulice in the world, the Duke DE PRASLIN should
have managed to elude their vigilance, and thus
escape from justice. It is equally strange that M.
ORFILA and all the other physicians should have mis-
taken the symptoms of poisoning by arsenic for
those of poisoning
by laudanum ; unless, indeed, we
hypothesis,
ueicsiids,etbhyat
shwavailnlogwminagde
laanuduannsuutcnc,ehsse-,
unsuccess-
ful thepht
after his transfer to the prison of the Luxembourg,