The Sun.
London, England, 1840-02-26 00:00:00

NEW STRAND THEATRE.

The extraordinary marvels, performed nightly by the
GREAT WIZARD of the NORTH, are of a nature so myste-
rious and trely wonderful, that, notwithstanding the march of
intellect, there is a general exclamation, " Is this extraordi-
nary being Mortal or Supernatural ?"
On THIS ETENING (WEDNESDAY), FITS. 2ti, and
sluring the week, the GREAT WIZARD of the NORTH will
ecrf.rrn his extraordinary Mysteries a la Magique—proving that
he has the power to make the " eyes the fools o' the ether
concluding with the paralysing
GUN TRI'CK, _ _ _

Boxes, Is. 6d.—Pit, Is. (Id —Gallery, fki.
Doors open at Palf-past Six—eommeneing at half-past Seven,

bribed is any way, and boldly defended the propriety of
EIMAZTEILD taking advantags of is defection to give
peace to that part of Spain. The Noble Earl justly
said that it was anti-Anglican, and of questionable
loyalty, to give aid to the Usurper. When the ery of
" /Co Popery" was raised in this country, it was sur-
prising that en outcry should be raised for the re-estab-
lishment of the Catholic religion, in all its power and
all its intoleraase, in Spain. Ho declared that the
Liberal party in Spain had kept all their engagemcn ts,
1 and that their conduct reflected honour on them.

The Earl of AszaniErtsupported and enforced the
views of the Marquis of LONDONDEIBT, and condemned
the Quadruple Treaty.
Viscount MILSOERWE adverted to the origin and ob-
ligations of the Quadruple Treaty, and explained that
England was bound to aid Spain as long as she was
suffering from the presence of Don CAlLoe.
No objection was made to the motion ; and after a
few words from Lord ASHELIETON, the House adjourned.
In the Commons, after the 'petitions were presented,
which were as numerous as usual, Mr. WlLLtatts, of
Coventry, asked whether there was any expectation of
the duties on silk being altered ? Mr. LASOUCHERN, as
the negotiations with France were pending, declined to
give any answer.
Sir R. JENKINS moved his resolutions that the du-
ties paid on several species of East India goods should
be the same as duties on similar good: coming from
other parts of our empire. Though the duties on East
and West'lndia sugars have been equalized, the East
Indians suffer much delay and inconvenience by being
obliged to prove, before they can export sugar, that
foreign sugars are prohibited from being imported
into the provinces whence they export their sugar,
and they wish them altered. The Hon. Baronet also
contended that the duties on tobacco grown in India,
on Indian rum or silks, and on cottons made in India,
should be lowered, and might be, with justice and ad-
vantage to both countries. He recommended, too,
that the cultivation of Assam tea should be encouraged,
and showed that it would be wise to induce the natives
to look to England for assistance. Our empire there
had been acquired under circumstances which made it
the wonder of the world.

Mr. HOOO seconded the motion and entered into a
long statement concerning the trade of India, some of
the principal parts of which had not increased since
1806. The trade in coffee and sugar had increased since
the duties on those articles had been equalised.
Mr. LA/WI:CHEJU, professing„ on the part of the
Government, the utmost friendliness to the East
India interests, urged the House not to pledge
themselves to the resolutions which affected on
many points the political, colonial, and manufactur-
ing policy of the country. The Right Hon. Member
made a variety of statistical statements to illustrate the
general importance of the alteration proposed, and the
small disadvantage the present system actually sub-
jected India to. He opposed the Committee, but as-
sured the Hon. Mover that the Government would
give the subject their best consideration.
Mr. HUISE, Mr. A. CHAPMAN, and Mr. EwART sup-
ported the proposition.
Sir J. Housousa objected to the form of the motion,
and offered to refer the matter to a Select Committee,
which Sir R. JENKINS might nominate.
Mr. C. BULLEIt recommended the Hon. Baronet to
adopt this suggestion, and spoke strongly, as, in fact,
did all the Members, on the propriety of equalizing the
duties.

Mr. WARBURTON made some just observations on
the principle of the restrictions, and described the de-
bate as turning on the question whether Mysore was an
English p,ssession or not.
Sir R. JENKINS, in the end, withdrew his motion,
and the petition is to be referred to a Select Committee
to be appointed to-morrow.
On Lord JOHN RUSSELL moving that, after June 1,
Orders of the Day should take precedence of motions
On Thursdays, Sir ROBERT PEEL recommended the
motion to be deferred, whe❑ he might most probably
support it. Lori JOIIN complied with the suggestion.
After a few observations by Lord PALMERSTON on
the effect of the commercial treaty with Turkey, some
information connected with it, moved for by Mr. HOME,
was ordered to be laid before the House. According
to Mr. HuME, it will be only in Turkey Proper, and
not in Syria and Egypt, that this treaty will be ad-
vantageous. . _

Lord STANLEY moved for leave to bring in a Bill to
amend the laws relating to the registration of voters in
Ireland. The motion, which gave rise to i considerable
debate, was agreed to, and the Bill ordered to be
brought in. According to Mr. O'CONNELL, the in-
tended Bill ought to be called a Bill for preventing the
freeholders being registered, except by the direction,
and at the expense, of the landlord. The object of the
measure seems to be, to give that upright, patriotic,
useful body of men, the landlords of Ireland, more
power than they possess, even at present, over the
semi-slaves who are called their tenants.
Mr. HUME'S motion for returns of the number of re-
gistered electors in the counties and boroughs, was
opposed by Lord ELIOT and others on account of the
expense and trouble it would cause to make out the re-
turns, but on a division, was carried by 87 to 76.
Sir F. TRENCH obtained, after some little opposition,
and some rather coarse remarks, a return of the com-
parative expense of the Bude light and of wax candles.
The Committee to inquire into the business of the
Courts (Scotland) was appointed.
Sir M. WOOD moved that the Sheriff be allowed to
go up with the City Address to her MAJESTY, end in
the course of his observations stated that the Sheriff
would never pay the money out of his own pocket.
Lord J. RUSSELL opposed the motion, and moved
the other Orders of the Day, which was carried by 81
to 39.

On the motio❑ that the House do adjourn, Mr.
GODSON moved, as an amendment, that Mr. Sheriff
Ev•NS be discharged forthivith, but the motion was not
praised to a division, and at Ono o'Clock the House
adjourned.

If our rulers, whether Tory or Whig, had at any

t;me during the last twenty years, been animated
by a wish to secure at all times an abundance of
seamen for our men-of-war, what would they have
done ? That is the question we shall now consider.
Seamen have always been deficient, officers have
been too numerous. Whether good or bad we say
not, but admirals, captains, lieutenants, midshipmen,
&c., have been more plentiful than the service
required. Parents used interest to get their sons
into the Navy as officers, and used interest to get
them promoted, so that however deficient
the ships might be of seamen, there never
has been any want of officers. Whence
arises this contrast ? The officers, shut up in the
same chip with the men,are exposed to the same fate
and share the same hardships. They go together to
the same pestilential climate, and there is no shelter
for the officers from the enemy's balls which the sea-
men do not equally enjoy. The storm that pelts the
topman, equally pelts the midshipman and the lieute-
nant ; they keep watch together, are turned out at
the same hour, and relieved at the same hour. The
food of all classes, so far as they live on the ship's

, .
provisions, is the same. It is not the priva-
tions of the service, therefore, which keep men
from entering it, but the very different treatment
the common men receive from the officers.

The seamen have long been subjected to im-
pressment. That villanous practice has existed
for ages, telling all men that the service into which
they must be forced is something dreadful. It is
not necessary to impress men to a festival. The
consequences of impressment were as dreadful as
the thing itself. Like the stolen negro the
stolen sailor was compelled to work by a rope's
end or a cat-'o-nine-tails. As the stolen negro is
watched over by drivers during the day, and shut
up in barracks during the night, so the stolen
sailor was guarded by soldiers and officers, and
could not be trusted to go ashore. He was kept
months—aye, years, in close confinement, and
whipped on his bare back for the most trifling
offences. Our ships were made, for the seamen, ob-
jects of horror ; they were as loathsome as prison:,
as offensive as tread-wheels, and as terrible as
an executioner. However gladly and eagerly
young men crowded to them as officers, seamen,
from the treatment they received, always shunned
them as men shun what they dread and detest.
Now, the officers never were pressed—never, ea
very rarely, were subject to be flogged, were allowed
to go on shore, and were treated with confidence.
They were the Janissaries whose feelings and opi-
nions the State was obliged to consult, whom it led
like men, while the seamen were driven by it like
slaves. If any class of officers was wanted,
means were taken to invite men, proper
rewards were given, and they were sure to
be obtained. During the war a memorable
example of this occurred. There was a deficiency o'
surgeons in the Navy. They were neither liberally
treated nor sufficiently well paid. As the Admi-
ralty did not dare to press surgeons, it had no al-
ternative but to give them rank and increase theh
paY• It did so somewhere about the year 1803,
and never since then has there been the least want
o.vt
ifiadvAee' edolailfpoaidsi.sui
iees(tacttnefidotsr,sitir:eetglnsi
e:poenln;its)ai.7ll)leetlii
lintenfi,ae,tiolitra,itndio:coofiretlillw(it he situa-
tionebeli
e,,,
i the differecitolitlreetsrxe,aata;d:t 'of the officers and therefore,bti ei e 111.1r)eourt
1 wh:ch has made the former abundant and the latter
IscaNrcoewilis
even
51uluienr(si,
iendsi
these were known to faanectisha likes,c
Bloof,
been known to them ever since. 'Well, for twenty-
' five years with these facts known to them, and all

that time the country suffering for want of seamen,
and running great risk in case of war, having no
alternative but again to have recourse to the immo-
ral, criminal, end worse than negro-kidnapping
praetioe of impressment, what have successive
Boards of Admiralty done,—and what should they
have done ? They have raised the wages a very
trifle--.they have given some few pensions—they
have increased the number of petty officers, giving
promotion to the seamen—they hare relaxed the
system of imprisonment—they have somewhat cur-
tailed the flogging power ; but they have not done
half enough to render the naval service acceptable
to seamen.

Branded as it was by the old kidnapping system,
great and peculiar exertions should have been used
to remove from the mind of the seamen the just
horror they have of serving in men of war. The
practice of impressment should have been as so-
lemnly and severely stigmatized as ever was the
slave-trade or slavery ; but our rulers have con-
stantly and pertinaciously refused to give it up, and
have thus continued a felon-mark on the Royal
Navy.
The horrible system of flogging should have been
also stigmatized ; both Whigs and Tories have che-
rished it. They persist in degrading the naval ser-
vice by all the characteristics of slavery, and then
express surprise and astonishment that men do not
crowd to tender their legs to the irons, and their
backs to the cat.

No want of funds or pretext of economy should
have kept the State from giving to the seamen such
wages, be their amount what they might, as would
buy their free services. It has had millions to
waste on the hulls—it has had millions to reward
idle sinecurists, pensioners, and statesmen, ►hose
services for four years entitle them to 2,000/. a
year ; and it is an idle, paltry excuse to assert that
the country could not give wages enough to buy
the services of the seamen. If it cannot, then it
cannot have them ; and must not, for the sake of
saving a few pounds, commit a flagrant outrage on
some of the bravest but most defenceless of its
people. But the State has not yet raised the
wages of seamen high enough. The State ought
to give more than the merchants ; it has always
given less, and hence it has not, and cannot have,
seamen.

These are the great measures our statesmen
ought to have adopted, had they been animated
by a wish to provide for the national defence by
just, honourable, and honest means. They should
have raised wages ; they should have abolished
flogging and all cruel punishment; and they
should have got the Legislature to pronounce a
solemn curse against the cruel, the unchristian,
the savage practice of impressment. Had they
done so, our ships would have swarmed with men
—our hungry and half-starved population would
have gone willingly and cheerfully to sea—and the
i,aval service would have had to reject volunteers
instead of accepting felons to swell the crews,
make up a show, and still further disgust all men
with the naval service.

With plenty of volunteers, and the reputation of
the Navy embalmed in the minds of the seamen,
a great proportion of the 200,000 seamen, men-
tioned by Admiral ADAM, or perhaps the 300,000,
including all who gain their living on the water,
would at all times be available for the Navy ; and as
we have a much larger mercantile marine than any
other nation, a much more extensive sea board, and
a. more maritime population, we never should, as
now, have to tremble at the possibility of being as-
sailed either by France or Russia, or by both
united. Our rulers have ordered it otherwise ;
they have trampled justice under foot, they have
continued to treat the sailors like slaves, and the
saves properly keep away from their service.
With plenty of volunteers, policy ought to have
dictated that in peace ail the ships afloat should
have had full and complete crews of seamen, and
seamen only. Instead of the peace complement
tieing smaller than the war complement, and
mingled with soldiers, it should have been greater ;
for the cast of a few hundred men, and their pro-
visions, is a trifle for England, and it should have
consisted wholly of seamen With ships so
manned, one half the crews could, if necessary,
he instantly drafted to other ships, and the
crews could be completed by soldiers. Great Bri-
tain would then, on an emergency, be provided
with a band of free and gallant defenders, who
would effectually protect her against the maritime
conscripts of France, or the regimented slaves of
Russia. The policy of our rulers, both Whig and
Tory, has been fcr twenty-five years of peace the
ieyerse of this, and we now hold our safety and our
liberties at the mercy and forbearance of the Rus-
sians and the French. Such is the consequence
of that crooked injustice which statesmen love.

We subjoin without comment the Speech of the
QUEEN REGENT of Spain on opening the Cortes on
the 18th inst. Her Majesty was accompanied by the
young Queen ISABELLA 11., and both in going to and
returning from the Palace of the Cortes, their Ma-
jesties were loudly and enthusiastically cheered by the
ppi:lwoniirogigopt.hohu. lace. The Chambers were to meet on the 19th
to appoint Committees to verify the election returns.
The tenor of the Royal Speech caused great dissatisfac-
tion to the ultra-Liberal Deputies, who observed with
astonishment that no guarantee was offered for secur-
ing to the people the benefits of the Constitution, and
that, while sympathy was expressed for the sufferings
of the monks and nuns, no allusion was made to the
miseries of the people. But in the new Cortes the
Exaltados are no longer the majority, and therefore
their complaints will have very little influence within
the walls of the Chambers. When the crowded state
pre-
soi d
Queenen o f
Christinathe
the
you,i
asBpre speech,
follows
accompanied
lsteppedhothw ewhich
:l
ve forwardsheie s tbra
by
admd y
of our columns will admit of it we shall hare something
ourselves to say upon this subject :
When the Queen Regent hnl her daughter were seated,
sthenetePdret
clear with
satisfac-
tion,,
asvteonili
Senators
tedo.i
rnsg Theamndy s
De speechlfe amongputi
ew s
_a s
firm
the
Quadruplel
nyd affectionrelationsf a
Fit
rh ae f
nnu eldew supportaloyaltyinthd Alliance,
the
oh ,oro
eeff thentob
tw:
neßritain
curSpanishse
il-
lustrious daughter, Queen Isabel 11., whose throne rests on
roptnea srgtthioi
yeefes people,tmhmoeo es kingdom.c anddailysatisfactoryTrge°r ei
t yatti
oe
t footing.ll e
s rights
proofs
st
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ktmehmi
triumph
Kagi r
idanni
august
ngagmti
ueon
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otwoe
ftsf
the
coshaa
uaunLurrgdsdoh
cwt
Sardinia
ueacgr is
:roe
aofi.uaxdr
Countries
rTd andeh se
re-establishedh lo
aocommercialt
syhraeelother
cdetermination
understand.
ednnrei
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dnnot the
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e
treaty of peace and amity has just been concluded with the
Republic of the Equator, which will shortly be followed by
a treaty of commerce. A similar intention to renew our
long-interrupted intercourse manifests itself in the other
States of the American Continent. Our Transatlantic
possessions, which are models of loyalty, enjoy undisturbed
tranquillity, and their prosperity is daily increasing.
" In the Peninsula, the greatest part of the provinces
taste the sweets of peace, and reap abundantly, and with
public testimonies of gratitude, the fruits of the memorable
treaty of Bergara.
" Thanks to the beneficent influence of that treaty,
to the zeal and firmness of the authorities, and to the sup-
port of the brave and worthy National Guard, which has
justified the important object of its institution, order and
tranquillity have been maintained throughout the kingdom.
In the few and trifling instances where they were disturbed,
the measures adopted by my Government aufficed to check
the evil, and the salutary curb of the laws will prevent the
recurrence of similar disorders.
" The inclemency of the season paralyzed the progress
of our arms. The greater portion of our military forces,
now concentrated in Lower Aragon, is preparing for new
triumphs, which I confidently expect from their valour and
discipline, as well as from the intrepidity of their General-
in-Chief. In the meanwhile,
the provinces of Gallicia,
Toledo, and Ciudad Real are pacified, and if, to my great
regret, others do not enjoy the same blessing, my Govern•
ment has devised the measure necessary for the attainment
of that so anxiously desired result.
" After a disastrous war of seven years, the finances are
not in so prosperous a condition as might be wished. We
still possess, it is true, immense resources, sufficient to
retrieve the credit of the nation, and to leave unimpaired
its good faith, which naver belied itself. My Government
will shortly present to you the budget and other Bills
deemed indispensable and urgent for regulating the ad- •
ministration, promoting the progress of public wealth, and
relieving the creditors of the State, both domestic and
foreign; and reconciling at the same time all those
with the principle of rigorous economy, which our position
makes it imperative for us to follow.
" The great work of pacification being thus far ad-
vanced, it is indispensable to initiate the nation in the
knowledge of the advantages of the constitutional system,
by means of laws, which being in perfect harmony with the
Constitution of the State, will giveforce and energy to
the Government, as well as pledges and guarantees for the
preservation of'order and public tranquillity.
" With this important view the Government intends
submitting to you various projects of law, of which the
Sueh
and'
spirit of the
rtunhruegneilical ciwpysa municipalities gravitywi
accordlt
constitution in vigour; that necessary to correct the placea r esv
iethetch re pa
rl
tloyev
no etl
ira admitted.
a deputationsnds
de-
fects which experience has pointed out in the electoral
law ; that which, without curtailing in the slightest man-
ner the liberty of the press, will oppose a barrier to its
abuses ; that which Las for its object to guarantee both
the security and dignity of religion and the maintenance
of the clergy, without overlooking the said position. of
the secularized 11;111S aad friars ; that fur the organa--
tion of the Council of State, in order that it may serve
as a beacon and guide to the Crown ; and, finally, the
legislative measures required for the administration and

the national navy, ever worthy of the liveliest solicitude,
and other objects of equal importance.
" Gentlemen Senators and Deputies,—Peaco, the union
and reconciliation of Spaniards, are, and have always been,
the wish of my heart. Providence has blessed my efforts
by insuring the triumph of our arms. It is for you and my
Government to do the rest. I rely upon yoar support and
loyalty, and trust that, when all are united around the
throne of my august daughter, under the banner of the
constitution, which we have sworn to maintain, we shall be
strong enough to overcome all the obstacles which mighl
be in the way of the consolidation of order and of rea
liberty. Such are my wishes, and such is that which
the nation expects from you, and this noble hope shall be
realized."

After the Queen had concluded the speech, which was
listened to with great attention, and in many parts of it
loudly applauded, the Queen banded the manuscript to the
Minister of Grace and Justice, and the President of the
Council having taken her Majesty's orders, announced that
the Session of the Cortes for 1840 was open, and had
commenced.

The Paris Journals of Monday continue to harp
upon the rejection of the Duke de NEMOURS' Dotation
Bill, which appeared to have caused great confusion
at the Palace. The QUEEN wept, the Royal Dukes
stormed, and the KING revived the threat of 1831, of
resigning the sovereignty of so ungrateful a nation.
This threat, the Capitol says, the KING is still bent
upon executing. Kings are apt to miscaleulato their
own importance—a fact which Louts PHILIPPE will
soon discover in the event of his resigning, the Royal
dignity. DIOCLESIAN and the Emperor CHARLES V.
were as great wooers of retirement as Louts PHILIPPE,
and one of them at least lived to repent parting with the
bauble, which he so lightly contemned when in his pos-
session.

The Duke FERDINAND of Saxe Coburg
Gotha has signified to the KING of the FRENCH that
he will not withhold the hand of his daughter from
the Duke de NEMOURS on account of the loss of the
Dotation Bill.

The most contradictory rumours were in circulation
in Paris respecting the formation of the Cabinet. The
Duke de BRoGus, Count MoLE, and M. TRIERS are
spoken of as chiefs of the new Ministry, and by some
Journals a coalition of these three Statesmen is regarded
as by no means improbable. There is nothing else of
importance, foreign or domestic, in the French Papers.