The Sun.
London, England, 1840-10-09 00:00:00

( From the Morning Advertiser:)

We yesterday alluded to the vast number of letters
eviaien are at nll times lying in the Dead Letter-office
in St. M trtin's-!e-Grand, and of the existence of which,
in the greet majority of cases, the parties to whom they
are addressed jive and die in entire ignorance. In
meny eases, however, persons for whom letters are in-
tended obtain infermation from the parties by whom
they were written that at specified periods and places
such letters were put into the Post-office, and conse-
quently make application for them. In some cases
they recover them after a considerable interval of time ;
in .others they do not recover them at all. The num-
ber of missing letters in one year, a few years ago,
respecting which inquiries were made by the parties
to whom they were addressed, was upwards of one
thousand. Of this number about eight hundred were
eventually recovered. Now what, !et us ask, be
came of the remaining two hundred, many of which
contained money ? In such an establishment as
the Post-office, and in such a country as this,
such things ought not to be. There must be
some great and glaring defect in the regulations of
that establishment when so many letters, known
to hlve been written by particular persons at particu-
lar times, and a considerable number of them contain-
ing encicsurrs of money, jewellery, and other valuable
trinkets, should have been applied for, but coup not
be found. Of the total number of lost letters in the
course of the year to which we refer, we are not in a
condition to speak with confidence ; but, as we stated
yesterday, it is always very great. For eight successive
years, ending at a recent date, the money found in the
letters winch were opened in the Dead Letter-office,
amount,2,l ev -y year to many thousand pounds. Again
we repeat that such a state of things ought not to be
suffered to exist in a great national establishment like
the General Post-office. No means which human in-
genuity could suggest ought to be left untried with the
view of discovering the addresses of parties far whom
letters are lying in the repositories of St. Martin's-le-
Grand. Perhaps the most effective measure which
cauld be adopted would be that we yesterday sug-
gested. The publication we recommended would
contain the addresses of all such letters ; and those d
belonging to particular districts would
ouhtless be co-
pied into the local papers, and thus
could not fail to
er for whom
be brought under the notice of the persons
they were intended.

ABDICAT:": ()I" THE KING Op
THE NETHERLANDS.

THE PROCLAMATION.

" We, Wi'liam, by the grace of God, King r ,
Nether!lnds, Prince of Orange Nassit7, of
Duke of Luxemburg, &c.
" Penetrated with the most reverential gratitu 'c 'or
the aid, encouragement, and support which the Almighty
Ruler of Nations never has ceased to afford us in the
high relations to which He called us, we may look back
with satisfaction on the period of nearly 27 years, during
which we have exercised the highest power in our na-
tive land, and our Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, and
have, to the best cf our ability, endeavoured, in accord-
ance with the rules and precepts of the constitution, to
promote the happiness and prosperity of our beloved
c
ty and the safety of the country with which (mil
ancestorsle
vhi',.,we
were bound by so many close ties, and to
u e are also so intimately united.
" Manifold are the blessings wherewith the Most I
High has
pressure distinguished our Government, even under the
of the •
rlitical events of these latter years,
wherein we
expeigreat and unceasing
the injurious influence which
upon us. g Care and affliction have exercised
" The anxieties and difficulties of thp high adminis-
n
trore and mere, iation have weighne'd
conse upon
leo: us. We feel this daily
ciue
of the increase of ou
)c, is, and the perception of the
duty impo•eu on u

henceforth to follow ir, the conduct of the affairs of the
kingdom some other rules than those which before the
modifications and additions recently introduced into the
constitution were by it established and prescribed.
" By our proclamation of the 4th of September last,
we gave full confirmation to these charges and supple-
ments, and their operation is now about to commence.

After the most serious reflection, we hare consi-
dered this the most fitting period for carrying into exe-
cution our long-contemplated purpose of passing the re-
tuaining days which God may please to grant us in re-
pose and freedom from the cares of Government, under
the grateful recollection of all the benefits that His
kindness and wisdom have conferred upon us.
" A firm, vigorous, manly, and more youthful hind,
free from the weight of old age, and unembarrassed by
antecedent recollections, will hereafter be required for
the administration of the kingdom and the promotion of
its happiness and welfare, and under our full impression
and conviction that the burden of the Government
would henceforth oppress us, and incapacitate us during
the remaining years of our life from devoting due and
' vigilant attention to the interests of our beloved sub-
jects, we have, after mature deliberation, out of our own
entire free will, this day resolved to terminate irrevocably
our long reign, and to transfer our Royal, Grand Ducal,
and Ducal authority to our beloved son, the Prince of
Orange. who is the lawful inheritor of our Royal,
Grand Ducal, and Ducal Crowns.
" We thank our beloved subjects for the multiplied
proofs of confidence and attachment which we have,
during our reign, in the fullest measure experienced on
their part, and we are convinced that they will receive
with love and respect their new King, to whom the
country is already so greatly indebted, and who, with a
heart profoundly moved, but with manly courage, in
huoble dependence on the aid and support of God Al-
' iniz,hty, has accepted from our hands the crowns of the
Netherlands, Luxemburg, and Limburg, to be from
this day forward, possessed by him and his legitimate
successors, in consequence of the solemn act of our
voluntary resignation and transfer, which is, through
our core, deposited in the archives of the kingdom and
the Grand Duchy, there to be laid up and preserved.

" Finally, we charge and order that our present pro-
clamation, with which we close our reign, shall be pro-
mulgated in a solemn public judicial session of the High
Council of the Netherlands, of the Provincial Courts
of Justice, of the Criminal Tribunal of Amsterdam,
and of the District Courts, as well us at the fronts of
the council chambers of the chief towns of provinces
and districts, where it shall, moreover, be posted at all
customary places ; and lastly, that it shall be inserted
i❑ the Staatsblad.

" Done at the Loo, this day, October the ith, 1840,
" WILLIAM.

" By the King's command,
" VAN DOORN."

THE PEACE OR WAR QUESTION

(From the Debats of Wednesday.)
We sincerely avow that we are quite at a loss to
comprehend the conduct of the Ministry. We are not
desirous of taking advantage of the embarrassments in
which it is placed, and, in spite of the abuse and the
calumny which are showered down upon us with one
accord by its Journals, we shall not quit for an iostant
that line of moderation which the gravity of the cir-
cumstances renders our duty to the country. But we
have a duty also to fulfil towards ourselves, and, after
having carried our moderation as far as possible, we
have every right to decline, as far as we ourselves are
concerned, all connection with a policy of hesitation, a
policy of sudden leaps, which exasperates, one cannot
tell with what end or aim, the uneasiness and suscep-
tibility of the country ? What does the Ministry wish
to do? What is it doing? Has it a plan, an aim, a
line of conduct, or will it live on from day to day, left
to the mercy of events ? We do not intend to exa-
mine here whether the negotiations have been con-
ducted well or ill, whether the signature of the treaty
of London was to have been prevented or not, whether
it would not have been better to protest against the prin-
ciple of the treaty itself than to cavil as to the means of
execution : we set aside all these questions, which are
inopportune, perhaps ; we will admit all the Ministers
have said and done ; we will allow that they have taken
all the measures of which the position of France ad-
mitted ; but we cannot be considered too exacting if
ice demand that the Ministry should be consistent with
itself ; that it should come to some resolution ; that it
should say what it has decided, and whether it has de-
cided anything, If it fears to decide by itself, at Last
let it convoke the Chambers ; let it give signs of life, in
fact ; for in this prolonged uncertainty the public mind
is in a state of tornsent—men's ideas are driven to ex-
tremes. Let the Ministry, then, declare its opinion,
for it is impossible for us to believe that, after two
months and a half, the events of Beyrout have taken it
by surprise. We are well aware that the same prints
which yesterday heaped abuse upon our heads, and
called us the partisans of peace at any price, will now
complain of our impatience. This will be only another
contradiction added to the many, and as to ourselves we
consider it just and advantageous, in face of the coming
events, that every one should make up their accounts,
and take what belongs to them.
When the Ministry declared to us that France had
been insulted, that her vital interests were menaced, we
could not but believe it, for we had no means of verify-
' ir'? the facts. It ordered armaments and levied troops,,
and we approved of what it did. It desired to fortify
Paris, and, in spite of the gravity of such a decision as
that, it experienced from us a frank and unreserved
adhesion. Events, however, have progressed, and every
step which they have taken has been a surprise to
the Ministry, a subject of declamation to its Journals,
without there being any possibility of discerning, in the
midst of all this torrent of words, any will, any fore.
sight, any determination whatever. The Ministry first
thought that the Treaty would never be signed ; it was
signed—that it would not be ratified, and it was ratified
—that it would not be executed, and the cannon of
Beyrout has dispelled this error. And what, then, is
the Ministry doing now ? Deliberating, endeavouring
to come to some understanding, as it everything had
been new and unexpected in the events—as if its
mind ought not to have been made up two months ago.
Nevertheless, if the Ministry remain silent, its Journals
indulge every day in declamations unworthy of a nation
such as France. Party feelings are aroused, and the
National sets up every morning a furious" Marseillaise."
How long is this situation to last? Let not the Mi-
ni.try forget. In a few days we may hear, perhaps, that
the English have attempted to execute upon Sc. Jean
d'Acru cr Tfiribli an exploit similar to that of Beyrout.
The public opinion needs to be fixed in order to support
without danger commotions like these.
In fine, let the Ministry explain its intentions. Is
the treaty of London in its eyes a treaty of partition or
of cealition against France ? If it means to oppose it,
&at what limits will its patience stop ? If the treaty of
London, on the contrary, contains nothing menacing to
France, it ought to reassure the alarm in the public
mind. .It ought to speak out. As for ourselves, the
Ministry has no right to accuse us of hostility with re-
spect to it. We have carried the moderation we owe
to so heavy a responsibility as that of the Government
to the last extreme, and now the case is urgent. The
Ministry must declare its intentions, or the government
or public opinion will escape from it without a hope of
return.

(From the Courrier Francais.)
There is nothing now which can stop the temerity
of the Powers but the winds and the tempests. Every
day they trample some new right under foot. The
Porte has proclaimed the deposition of Mehemet Ali,
It has pronounced this sentence of excommunication
in spite of itself, without necessity, and at the demand
of Lord Ponsonby, en old spoiled child, who threatened
to require his passports if refused. Whilst the repre-
. . _

sentative of England was publicly intimidating the
Divan, Russia obtained of it wi:b more address a mea-
sure which will have at least the appearance of spon-
taniety.
tto3unid Paella is said to have re-claimed in a forma!
note the assistance of the naval forces of Russia in the
Mediterranean, and the Cabinet of St. Petersburgh will
take good care not to refuse. Consequently, we may
soon expect to see the squadron which the Emperor is
now arming at Croustade sail out of the Baltic. Every-
thing will be attempted if France permits it. There
is no species of humiliation which will not be inflicted
upon it. The foreign Powers think the peace party is
so well established in France, that neither Ministry, nor
Chambers, ncr Press can unseat it.
It is thus clear enough. England and Russia arc
dividing between them the domination of the East.
There is no longer a Sultan at Constantinople, there is
no empire, there are no Mussulmans. Two Ambassa-
dors, resembling those pro-consals whom Rome sent to
Asia in order to make or unmake Kings, dictate to the
Porte the resolutions it should take, and the Porte has
neither opinion nor will ; it is nothing but an instru-
ment in their bands. Oae only man resists in the name
of the Turkish nationality, whilst East and West sub-
mit. giving at the same time an example of courage and
a lesson of moderation to all these Cabinets coalesced
for his oppression.
We dare not speak of Europe, for if France yields—
if the last obstacle which still checked the accomplish-
ment of the treaty of the 15th of July is to disappear
p will have bowed her neck to the yoke. Tbe
Bourse on Tuesday experienced a panic terror upon the
newsNove
mthbaetrt,haendCthha::btehres
Nwlei rir ei
s tconvoked
about b forou t
an ultimatum to the Powers. Would to Gtotio'de
were so, and that the advice of boldness and atldiu:afertici
soiatf
firmness
prevailed in the inspirations of the Cabinet ! Franc
tllvaotui
01 would
st,h eanndb enaort dboewgni
vweinthuayll
tiot st
the i gmhot c tkhe er
yb,balance
e soef
barbarians of the North.
We thought that the days of trial had passed We
' r^
Pe eived at last in the opinion w ,-.•hich ' ,overna a resolu-
tion to which we were unaccustomed. W 0 thought that
France was about to emancipate herself from Europe.
The force, the lice, the blood of the nation appeared e.
re-
generated. We were aboutrh
at last to enter into full
The
possession of ourselves. Government tiered to
have a
will of its own in theface of Europe, as in the
But we state it with
face of internal parties.emotion,
with grief, with despair (if a country can ever despair of