The Sun.
London, England, 1847-02-23 00:00:00

scription conceivable. After running a tilt with, their
diplomatic pens, the belligerent! parties have reduced
the war of their logomachy to weapons the most con-
temptible and harmless. They have respectively
battled with each other in the tribune and in official
dispatches—they are now engaged in a drawing-
room contention, consequent upon the transmission of
invitation tickets. On Friday evening a sumptuous
entertainment was given by the Marquis of NOR-
MANBY, and on that same evening the salons
of M. GUIZOT were the scene of similar
festivities. One would scarcely have anti-
cipated that out of this domestic coincidence
could have arisen anything sufficiently important
to require the repeated deliberations of the French
Cabinet, and to elicit the pungent expletives of the
Parisian press. Yet such is absolutely the case.
The amusing characteristic which has continued
conspicuous among the Gauls from the remotest an-
tiquity to this present year of the Redemption, is
visible throughout the whole of the circumstances
arising from the Montpensier marriage. In the bull-
fights of. the Prado on the oceasion of the Spanish
nuptials, in the elevation of the infant " olive branch"
of M. BRESSON into a dignitary of the Peninsula, in
the fandangoes danced before their Royal Highnesses
of France, in the presence of the prince of feuilletonists,
M. ALEXANDRE Dusies, during the marital ceremo-
nies—in every accompanimentof this remarkable pro-
ceeding, the arch-characteristic of the Gallic nation
was peculiarly apparent. Frivolity was blended with
affairs ofnational magnitude; proceedings upon which
depended the fate and interests of entire communi-
ties were surrounded,by the adjuncts of a masquerade,
and:were entered: upon! with thej inimitable abandon
of a mere holiday pastime. As much incongruity
was discoverable throughout this singular transaction
as in the freaks of the dancing Chancellor, Sir CHRIS-
TOPHER HATTON, or the card-playing round the bed-
'side of the dying MAZARIN. It is fit, therefore, that
what was commenced with extravagance should ter-
minate with absurdity.
Scarcely; credible as it may appear, the• Cabinet
Ministers of Louis PHILIPPE have been assembling
to decide upon the important question whether the
reunion of the Marchioness of NORMANBY should be
attended by them, or_whether, as a significant indica-
tion of their sentiments towards the British Ambas-
sador, they should altogether abstain from partaking
of that brilliant entertainment. The dawn of Friday
broke,

"And heavily in clouds brought on the day
Big with the fate,"
not of " CATO and of Rome," but of GUIZOT and the
hospitality of the English embassage. Rumours cir-
culated through the capital, anxiety clouded the
countenance of every citizen, the equilibrium of the
money market trembled, when the decision of the
Government is at, length announced. The Minis-
ters had resolved to absent themselves from the
salons of M. L' Ambassadeur Anglais ! Upon
this astounding position of affairs, the suppressed
passions of the Parisian newspapers burst forth
in an incontrollable chorus. The Presse scorns
Lord NORMANBY for inasmuch as he is no longer in
his adolescence ! and sneeringly surmises that, not-
withstanding the indignities he is receiving daily in
one shape or another, the Noble Marquis will remain in
the French metropolis, becoming, merely for the sake of
the retention of his post, " as supple as M. GUIZOT has
shown hiMself to be resolute!" The Journal des Debats
again is stung into a paroxysm of hatred against M.
TILLERS and his organ the Constitutionnel; it endeav-
ours to criminate both as the secret parasites of the
Russell Administration. The Siecle, again, cannot
recognise in the quarrel anything less than a positive
outbreak between England and France. Defend us
from these lovers of the marvellous ! they regard
everything through such a magnifying medium.
There is something so irredeemably extravagant in
these ebullitions of feeling on the part of the French
Government and its organs, that we cannot presume
for a moment but what the matter must be brought
to a conclusion in a way appropriate to the preceding
circumstances—that is to say, in a manner rather
ludicrous than terrible. When every reasonable
Legislature would have been striving to conciliate
.the jealous population of the Peninsula, the Legis-
lature of France is forwarding to Madrid snuff-
boxes, ribbons, and a live novelist! When we should
have expected from every one of usual intelligence
and of ordinary sense of propriety a manly
retractation, or a dignified withdrawal from
office, M. GUIZOT and his colleagues are sulkily re-
fraining from joining the guests of the Marquis of
NORMANST. The Noble Lord is assuredly entitled
to the lenient consideration of his political antago-
nists at home, considering the delicacy of his position
among such eccentric diplomatists—a position scarcely
one jot less delicate than that of Lemuel Gulliver
among the one-eyed philosophers of the flying
island.;

On Thursday morning the Solicitor-General of
Ireland was declared duly elected to serve in the Im-
perial asn thedefeartepresentative for Galway,
and repeal
Parliament
ed in what may be as
eecon-
sidered one of its strongest holds ' hbeen
in the capital of the
Far West. The contest was, indeed, one of unex-
ampled severity, and, until the very last moment, the
victory remained doubtful. Even after • the closing of
every booth it was impossible to speak with • certainty
as to the final result, and counsel on either side were
engaged in arguing on the admissibility
of several
votes, and a close scrutiny was
instituted into the qua-
lifications of the electors appearing on the list, during
which several were struck off at either •
side ; at length
the " Union Jack " waved in t •
numph, while the
banner of repeal was for the first time, in the "city
of the tribes," depressed by defeat, and trai •
led in the
dust. Much may, undoubtedly, be • . ascribed to
the personal qualifications and t
s rong claims
of Mr. MONAHAN on the co •
nstituency, and
perhaps no other candidate could have been found
who would have succeeded in def •
eating so powerful
an opposition ; but still the unexpected victory will
inflict o a heavy blow and a great discouragement"
throughout all " repeal land." The utmost exertions
were used en behalf of the unsuccessful candidate,
the feuds of "old" and "young" Ireland were, for
the time being, patched up, and " moral force" and
physical force" men, united by a temporary armis-
tice, strained every nerve for OTLAHERTI and repeal.
All the arts of electioneering tactics were made use of
and little attention was raid as to the propriety of the
means adopted ; forged letters were written, and even
a fictitious slip purporting to have been expressed by
ourselves, end announcing the downfal of the Rus-
sell Ministry, was brought into the town, and the
erroneous intelligence circulated throughout the
entire locality, and for a short time implicitly be-
lieved; the most erroneous accounts were sent in every
direction where voters could possibly be supposed
to be residing, generally stating `a considerable ma-
jority for OTLAHERTY from the time of the last
official declaration of the state of the poll, until it
became notorious that not the slightest credence
could be given to any rumour of that description ;
while the " physical force phalanx " brought their
theories into practical operation, and were not satis-
fied with heaping contumely and reproach on the
supporters of the British connexion, but too fre-
quently had recourse to the Irish method
of persuasion, . and not only damaged the
windows and other property of, but also
frequently inflicted severe violence on, and injury
to, the persons of the Monahan party ; and yet, not-
withstanding all these unparallelled efforts, the Soli
citor- General was returned by a majority of four.
Great, however, as the tumult and excitement had
been during the progress of the contest, it was fear-
fully increased when the final result became gene-
rally known. The mob became infuriated to the highest
degree, stones were hurled in every direction, until it
became necessary to call out the military and police.
The Riot Act was read, and but for the great for-
bearance of the soldiers many of the people must
have fallen victims to their own rashness and insanity,

The Solicitor-General will be a most valuable
auxiliary in St. Stephen's to the Government; his
thorough knowledge of the Irish law, the soundness
of his judgment, the clearness of his intellect, and the
lucidity of his style, will render him a most desirable
addition to the Ministerial ranks. There is at
resent a singular dearth of Irish lawyers on
eithcr side of the House. With the ex.
ceptioo of Mr. O'CoNNELL, no man who
has attaik'
ed any degree of eminence at the Irish
bar has a seat in the House ; no law officer of the
Crown for thal." country has been in Parliament since
p.. T. P. C. Ssibill was appointed Muter of the

`~.tA.r~: