The Sun.
London, England, 1841-02-18 00:00:00

147, WEN MG- P. DITIoN

rya to have eseapei punishment by pleading his Peerage
(a.vmming the vatiditv of such a plea), would have lieon •-•vso
1-re unsatisfActory than the actual termination of Pis
We think otherwise ; for if such a privilege. still exists, it
tine that it should be dragged from its lurlt.ii.g
place, and once for all abolished. That it did exist to late
as 1825 when Mr. Justice Coleridge, in hiS alluotations
en .13:acksione's Commentaries, penned the following very
pertinent rerun' k;, is only too certain —" This is one of the
very few cases of privilege," said that Learned Judge,
" retained in tin- English law ; and of all privileges, that
of inzpunity in the commission of crime is the most dis-
gracflid to those who enjoy it, and the most odious to those
who are debarred from it. By this law ji Peer may ut
day rob en the higliway, steal horses once, break a house,
or rob a church (crimes capital in a commoner), and is
li-
able to no personal punishment whatever."

• (From the Morning Chronicle.)
We do not suppose that our rer dors would thank us for
endeavouring to show how the guilt of the Earl of Cardi.
gan could have been estslekhed. Before the solemn farce
of this trial WA3 entered on, conjecture was often busied
with the way in which the acquittal would be brought
about ; hut that he would be acquitted was never doubod
for one moment. Could the privilege of Peerage have
been claimed, odious as the distinction is, it would have
left the law answerable for the escape of tile Noble Earl ;
whereas his acquittal, for want of the evidence which
might easily have been obtained, revolts the common
sense of the country, and cannot fail to lower the
charrctcr of its highest tribunal in the general estimation..
We can easily understand that it must have bees
exceedingly painful to Noble Lords, many of whom
have themselves given and received challenges, and
fought duels, to be under the necessity of convicting the
Earl of Cardigan, and it has been asserted that a blunder
in conducting the prosecution was purposely committed, in
order to free their Lordships from the necessity of pro•
nouncing on their honour a solemn acquittal, after the
most unexceptionable evidence of guilt. But be this as it
may, the people will look only to the naked fact of thakae-
qoittal of a man of whose guilt there coulkl•not be even a
shadow of doubt ; and, scorning to perplex themselves
with the trickery by which the end was attained. or with
settling the respective shares of the responsibility between
the prosecutors end the tribunal, they will arrive at the
conclusion, that the House of Peers have solemnly deter-
mined that henceforward duelling is not to be considered a
violation of the law. After this acquittal of the Earl or
Cardigan by the supreme tribunal of the country, if there
shall not be one law for the peer and anetlitr foLtb.-,
peasant, no man in Ftagland ought to be concted
shedding the blood of another in a duel.

MONEY MARKET and CITY NE WS,

FROM THE P4OIINING PATERS OF THIS DAY.
CHRONICLE.—The leading article in to-dLyti
Chronicle, relative to the liberation cf Mr. M'Lcod
bail, has removed much of the remaining uneasiness ontsr-
rained on that subject ; but the business done in tl,s,
English Funds has been limited, prices being kept down
by the renewed rumours of a revolutionary movement at
Constantinople, alluded to in the morning papers, and by
the expected success of the Fortifiction 13111 in the French
Chamber of Peers. We mentioned the story of the out-
break at Constantinople in our City article of Monday as
one of the causes which had depressed the Funds here
on that day. It was coremutricatcd• in private iett,;ls
from Paris so far back as Friday last, which
reached the City only on Monday morning, and it
seems extraordinary how such a report could have found
its way to affect prices on the Paris Bourse only on Mon-
day afternoon, three days af.er it was current there is the
diplomatic circles. Had there been any grounds for it, an
event of such importance must have found its way to the
Money Market much sooner; and wo attribute the slight
fall in the French Rentss on Monday to a knowledge that'
the Commission in the Chamber of Peers were favcurablo
to the Fortification 13111, the passing of which would ren-
der the appearance of proposals for a Mulch loan of largo
amount a question only of time, if the works be seriously
entered upon, as it is notorious that the French Trecsurf
cannot find the funds necessary for their execution without
borrowed supplies, and London is the only market to which
M. Burnam can turn his thoughts with much hopes of
success of obtaining them.

TIMES.—A private letter from Baltimore states the
belief of the writer that the L'anks is Maryland and Vir-
ginia would resume specie payments on the Ist inst., of
which it was considered u fair indication that the notea in
Maryland were at per for specie. Of the state of the
country generally, however, as to its commerce and i:s
fiscal operations, it is observed that it will yet be necessary
to have one, and perhaps two crops out of mother earth
before all be right."

The arrival of a private vessel from Barbadoes furnishes
papers thence to the 13th of January inclusive, which is a
later date by nearly three weeks than those brought by the
packet conveyance. The main fact they contain is, that
sugar-making had commenced iu the island. The crop
was expected to be in quavity about the same as last year.
Ground provisions were evlerrywhere scarce.
In the French Chamber of Deputies on the 13th inst.,
the Debate on the Customs Duties -Bill was resumed, but .
the only occurrence worthy of notice was a question put
to the Minister of Commerce whether it was his intention
or not to reduce the duty on iron. It was obserefill, that
although much had been said respecting the interest taken
by the Government in the agricultural prosperity of
France, iron was so dear that it was in some localities an.
article of luxury, and wooden spades were plated with iron.
The reply of the Minister of Commerce was, that although
it was the wish of Government to reduce the duty, the
present was not a proper time for -such a measure, as the
iron manufacturers were those who were suffering most.
Mr. Labouchere's Bill for the equalization 'of the rum
duties, read for the first time on Monday, cannot fail to
be an object of the highest interest to those concerned
the produce both of the East and West Indies.
By the first clause, every gallon of rum, of any strength
not exceeding the strength of proof by Sikes's hydrometer.,
and in proportion for any greater or less strength, being
the produce of any British pen •ssion within the limits of
the East India Company's charter, is to pay 9a. 4d., snit
every gallon of rum shrub the same amount. A proviso is
contained in the second clause, that such rum or rum shrub-
shall be the produce of a British possession in India into
which the importation of foreign sugar shall have been pros
hibited, or of sugar the produce of any British posit.
sion within the limits of the Company's charter into vi"
foreign sugar cannot legally be imported, The Act,
if passed, 36 not to come into operation till it k
proved that foreign rum and rum shrub have bet
prohibited to be imported into any of the possessions frog.
which the importation is allowed, according to a provision
in the 3d clause ; and, as a precautionary measure, it is
required in the 4th clause, that before such rum or ruin
shrub be entered in the United Kingdom, the master of
the ship shall deliver at the Customs a certificate, by the
collector of the sea-customs of the port where the run.; or
rum shrub was taken on board, testifying that the shipper
of the article had produced a certificate by the revenue
collector of the district in which it was produced that it
really is the produce of such district. The second read-
ing of this Bill is fixed for next Friday.
Some doubt having arisen on the construction of ate
of der in Council of the 10th of last August, as to whe-
ther a distinction was to be made between the produce of
the East Indies and other British possessions when im-
ported into the Cape of Good Hope, the Customs basing
adopted the interpretation according to which a dis-
tinction was to be made to the disadvantage of India,
the East India and China Association have applied to tgo
Treasury as to the real meaning of the order, and re-
ceived an answer, in which the Lords of the Treasury
state that it appears to them, on consideration of the order,
quit goods, the growth, manufacture, and 'produce of
-stories under the government of the East India Cern.
tel.
a void be admissible into the Cape of Good Hope on
tpli n
same arms as goods from any other British posses.They add that they will give the requisite
officers at the Cape to pre-
pCtiouestoomast'his point.
vint. instructionsaabnr3rat:i,
nt„1.17,0

SUN.—The mark,:t was steady for English securities
to-day, with a fair busit, "!I doing. The fact of the,.
'
new agents of the United St.,,tes Bank having accepted
such an immense amount of per drawn on them by
that establishment, and received ,!tv the packets lately
arrived, helps to inspire more coti6t:lonco among our
monied interests. Consols for present transfer were
to-day quoted 881 to 88/, and far time the came. Es.
chequer Bills were worth 5 to 7 premium, and India
Bonds 10 discount. Bank Stock brought 1631 to
164/, and East India Stock 246/. The New Thee.
and-a Half per Cents. were at 97 to 96i, and the Re.
duced Three par Cent. Annuities BSi to 84.
Two-and-a-
The Foreign Market was quite neglected but prices
did not go lower. Spanish Active Bones were worth
23- for money, and 0:32. to I for the account. Portu.
guese were not dealt in. Buenos Ayres Stock rose.
again to 25 and 26, Colombian Old Bonds were at 22/,
and Brazilian touched 72 to 7.21. French Five per
Cents.Haif
per were
Cents.du l l
steady
ysOact.,saontdo
,1.. Dutch
In the Railway shares there was no alteration. Great
Western brought 2.5 to 26, the New 111, Birming-
ham and London 86 to 84/, South Western 19/, and
Manchester and Leeds, New, 3 premium. Brightott
were q, Blackwall 4/, North Midland 26, Edinburgh
wereeisitei
and Glasgow si, and Birmingham and Gloucester Y
discount. Australia Bank Shares were 1,, ./, and Lou-
don Joint Stock 21 pfemium.

Later dates have come to hand from Barbadoes to-
day, viz. to the 13th January, and which are of a gra-
tifying character. It will be remembered that up to
the end of December the most serious drought had-
prevailed throughout the colony, so as to threaten the
annihilation of the canes, but before the date of our-
present advices, refreshing showers had fallen, which it
was hoped would prove general over the island.
Notwithstanding this, however, the crops will, "
doubt, prove eery short, and it is mentioned as a re-
markable fact that a few days previously there were
anot
retnnoiguigah, s provisions tof home
onof
fth
eg rpoowptuh in
kkti
otah,e
wi dfo
r
a wereo r
indebted for supplies to America.

The Memorial
of Dieppe states that there is
such a scarcity of hands to man the cod-fishing ships in ghat.
port, which ought soon to be sailing for Newfoundland,
that the traders have addressed two successive petitions to
the Minister of Marine, praying him to take measures for
their aid, and, if possible, to set some of the sailors of tho
navy free from their engagements, in order that they may
re-enter the merchant service.
TUE TURKISH FLEET.—A correspondent of
the Augsburg Gazate at Alexandria observes that tho
Turkish fleet remained in that port eighteen months; ttat
when it arrived it had on board 15,000 seamen and 7,0(41
troops, of whom 5,000 have since died, and 2,000 de-
serted ; that the whole pay of the sailors is in arrear,
which they have received. This it
cost Mehemet Ali, during that time, upwards
do
en
de
, month,hias
of 60,000 purses (about 7,500,000 f.), and his own aqui•
ron not less.
isce pa
added,