The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-04 00:00:00

TIVIT V
EN !,NG.

and shows that Corms Jr's Juries who had got
too much into the habit of levying nominal deodands
in ,ach eases—which we must say the higher Courts
tws tack favoureA—are at length resolved to do their
Ale, arid protect the public from slaughter and mutila-
t,on by steam conveyance. But we do not clearly see
,t :,resent whether the 2,000/. was imposed on account
the Iwo deaths, or of one only—that of Dawson. If
account of the two, we fear it may give rise to a tech-
Liical objection, because separate deodands were not
L.vied on each. An ith,r objection may arise of a more
substantial nature, and it may became a question in a
;,igher Court, whether a deodand can be levied at all
when the homicide, about which the Coroner's Jury in-
.juires, is held to be the result of a criminal act, and
lot a mischance, or, at least, of that inferior degree of
ri,gligenee which does not amount to murder or man-
, ,ghter. We confess that this is a subject re-
, ,ciing which, at the moment, we are not prepared
give a decided opinion. High authorities seem to
differ. Judge Foster says, " accidental death which
bappeneth without the interposition °pitman means in-
ducetti a forfeiture, which the ignorance and superstition
,f ancient times called a deodand." This definition of a
3sodand appears to favour a doubt of the Coroner's
Jury having had any legal power to levy a deodand at
all in the cases of Dawson and Simpson. Of similar
,:ntiort is Lord Coke's statement. That most learned
authority says, in his third institute, " deodands, when
goy moveable thing inanimate, or beast animate, doth
move or cause the untimely death of any reasonable
'sreature by mischance in any county of the realm (and
vat upon the sea), without the will, olenee, or Milt of
Ainisell or of any person, they being so found by law-
ful inquisition of 12 men, being protium sanguinis—the
n rim of blood—are forfeited to God, that is to the
'Bing—God's Lieutenant on earth, to distribute in
works of charity for the appeasing of God's wrath." In
Popish times, the deodand originally went to have masses
and other superstitious rites performed for the soul of
the person untimely slain. Now, the two definitions of
the word deodand, which we have quoted from Foster
aad Coke, favour the opinion that it is a species of fine
which can only be imposed in case of death by mis-
chance, yet Coke, in the very same page from which we
,ave made the former quotation, says, " If A killeth a
man with the sword of B, the sword shall he forfeited
to the King as a deodand, because movet mortem,
and for default of sate-keeping of the same by the
awner." Here we have the instrument of death stated
to be legally forfeited as a deodand. Let us look to
another great authority—Lord Chief Justice Hale.
He says, " Popularly the moveable chattel that brings
,‘ man to an untimely death is forfeit to the King,
.and is usually granted by the King to his almoner
to distribute in charitable uses," " and this is the
reason that in every indictment for murder, man-
,:aughter, &c., the indictment finding that he was
with a sword, staff, &c., ought also to find
the price—viz., 55., &c. ; because the King is en-
titled to that instrument whereby the party was killed,
or the value thereof ; and that, although it was the
sword of another man, and not his own that gave the
stroke." This he says in his first Pleas of the Crown ;
in the second he repeats the necessity of expressly
stating the price of the weapon in the indictment,
for, he adds, "the weapon is a deodand forfeited to
'lie King." It has not been usual, however, for Coro-
-sers' Juries to levy deodands in cases of murder and
manslaughter ; but it is an invariable practice to state
he value of the instrument of death in the indictment.
From what we have stated it will sufficiently appear
that it is doubtful whether Coroners' Juries can connect
a deodand with a case of criminal homicide ; and we
dare say the deodand in the Harrow case will for this,
among other reasons, become a subject of litigation.
The London and Birmingham Railway was, up to the
time of that dreadful fatality, one of the best conducted
of all the railroads ; one, therefore, regrets that it should
have so seriously impaired its character for security, by
the Company retaining in their employment an engine-
:Jiver who had previously proved his unfitness for the
fluation, by some other omissions of duty which were
observed upon during the investigation before the Co-
roner. Every one must acknowledge that the observa-
tions appended to their verdict by the Jury were such
as do credit to their discernment, and prove their anxi-
ous desire to obtain protection for the public against a
recurrence of such dreadful fatalities.

FRANCE.

CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES.

SITTING OF MONDAY, DEC. 1—(SIXTII DAY).
(Continued from our Paper of yesterday.)
At a quarter past four the sitting was resumed.
M. Do Lamartine—Gentlemen, the powerful orator
has just addressed you has placed the discussion
on its; right and most elevated footing. The question
before us is not merely the political existence of the
-Paella of Egypt ; the question is that of peace or war,
the constitution of Europe, and the rank which France
is to regain and preserve in it. I Clinnot conceal
a:re....t.y of my eon-ling as I do
after so bri:ijava. a display
.„.„t eloquence, I hope to and in the justice of 14:11+
Wro-tie. ----"Ltim M. Berryer, I can most conscientiously
etcetera that I do not stand before you'.he political par-
tisan, but the good citizen ; like him, Gentlemen, I can
say that I am animated by no policy of party ; that I
regard only the welfare of my country, and desire only
la: plead the cause of equity and justice. The Hon.
Member who has just preceded me would make it appear
Ilea France has been humiliated—is this true ? But
nefure I enter upon that part of the question, I must be
Allowed to ask whether it is true that, since the revolu-
tion of July there has been, on the part of the Powers, a
eixed but secret antipathy to this country ? If I thought
ttli;, and that the antipathy was a growing and not a
decreasing one, I also, Gentlemen, much as I value the
3-,issings of peace, should be an advocate for war, even
Although it should be a war of despair. In such a state
of things, no man would cry with a louder voice than
m> self, for no war could be more calamitous for France
than a peace of such a nature. But, Gentlemen, let us
ant be carried away by our feelings, or captivated by
nOpeals of eloquence—let us also appeal to reason and
facts. Allow use to ask, whether, when France took
?tpon herself the guardianship of Spain—when Austria,
reenaced in her Italian interests, suffered France to
giant her standard on the walls of Ancona—there was
eey evidence of this fixed but secret antipathy? It
very easy, Gentlemen, to say that this antipathy
di.l exist—nay, it is easy, by appeals to the passions.
to inculcate a belief in its existence ; but, with the
.9?v:dtece of facts before us, will you say that the anti-
TeWny was manifested on the occasions to which I have
•R I i tided ? No, Gentlemen, it had no existe.nce.—(Ap-
;,robation from the Centres.) I now come to the question
of the East ; and here chow toe, before 1 call upon you for
LIF judgment, to say a few words as to the ne4otizt-
thins. I shall confine myself strictly to facts, and then
:k you if France lies Veen humiliated. What passed
r; 1833
_lbrahim Paella, availing himself of the des-
, • te situation pf the Ottoman Empire, in order to seek
a pretext !or a quarrel with the Pacha of Adana,
crossed the Taurus. The French Ambassador then
rasa, " Turkey cannot raise an army, and the Russians
match to Constantinople." He sent an agent to
11.-ahim to entreat him to stop ; he did stop, and ac-
eepted the propositions of the Sultan. Whilst this was
got:41; 0n9 9L3 000 Russians had landed under the walls
-
of Constantinople ; but at the first nea's of the line of
eonduet which Ibrahim had consented to adopt they
pithdrew and re-emberked in the ships which brought
This is what passed hi 1833.--( Here the Hon.
.7ia,•rnber read a letter from the Emperor of Russia to
;tint Or:off, in which he orders his General to re-
m:era& with all the Russian forees, the moment he
ze.oui..ii hear that Ibrahim Pacha had abandoned
he; intention of pushing forward.) Do you seo
Gentlemen, in this proceeeding of the Emperor of
Russia anything like an intention of humiliating France,
miler whose influence Ibrahim Pacha had acted ? Do
you see in this anything like hatred or see
eret antipathy ? For my own part, I can say conscier-
.7;oosly that I do not perceive in such conduct anything
4- hatred or attempt at humiliation. (M. de La-
snaoine then passed in review the events which have
oteutsed since 1839, and observed that all the docu-
ments which existed showed clearly that during the
zi:vernment of the Cabinet of the 12th May, thee. ther
.;.'revers of Europe had never exhibited any public feel-
ing of hostility towards the French nation.) When
one Ministers of Ist March came into dice, the situa-
-.;on of things, as connected with the Eastern question,
~,,eae by no means desperate. The question was, however,
Al urgent one. Everything proved that the solution
7„,,tel not be too prompt, and yet we have seen the Ca-
i)ieet Pf the Ist March for eight months encouraging
a;,d pretooting every attempt at temporising, What
~,ost the diplomatists of Europe have thought of the
:each Cabinet ? They knew that the question was
,fee which could not be kept open without danger
; they
Ar that its prompt solution was
wasessential for the gene-
.ral peace, and they saw the
French
' net
Cabinet
dCabi t.emnerti'iwnags
eaeing to itse, .
,Cneld they fail to think tat ea
he French
The Powers may do as they like in
Eitrope, we will treat in Egypt Gould they, Gentle.
rich, come to nny other conclusion in their own minds,
titan that the French Cabinet, which had been the first
to recommend the arrangement of the Eastern question
in
London, was endeavouring to bring about a direct ar-
rangement between the Sultan and the Pack( without
their concurrence or approbation
?—(Applausefromthe
erszotres.) Whilst the negociations were dragging chair
sieve- length in London, the Freeell Cabinet sent a
(Aatize d'Affaires to Alexandria, and the Powers then
inte'rred that the object of the mission was to fehstrate
therute and take out of their hands the right of settling
tae Easters question. Thus it was that the alliance
England was dissolved, and it was not ei;thout
etionous motives thet two Powers, whose interests in .the
L'iseet are of so o;)posite a nature, formed an alliance on
the'Eastern quest:on. I will now ask whether we can
bone ply say that there has been insult and treason
teyerat
',France ? You have seen the documents—
you ha 'Ye heard the facts—you have heard the protests-
- Russia, the reiterated protestations of England,
56es which Lord Palmerston, the man most corn-
d.._-(.Loud ° • -
the, *aeri
exclamations from the Left.) Well,
erre •t Tamen, 110 t to name individuals, I again ask
Gen-