The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-07 00:00:00

nioruin'g jtn

LONDON, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 1847.

Intelligence is arriving now with such rapidity, and
of such an extraordinary character, from the different
quarters of the habitable globe, that it can neither be
uninteresting nor unprofitable to take a comprehen-
sive but cursory glance at its peculiarities. Recent
alterations in the Legislatures of Foreign countries
hare assimilated, or are gradually assimilating, so
many millions of the human race with ourselves,
that it is with peculiar emotions we take into consi-
deration the liberal institutions which have recently
sprung into existence. Our sympathies are conse-
quently enlisted in an especial manner in the relations
subsisting between the kingdoms beyond our
shores. When Prussia is obtaining an elective
Parliament
li, from the sagacious generosity of its en-
,h iened, SOVEREIGN and when the inhabitants even
of the Papal States are receiving the boon of a
species of representative Conclavet from their illus-
trious ruler, we may,
upon hh
, the
eout affectation, con-
gratulate ourselves progress, both politi-
calo and social, of our own
generation;
and we may
selves to ridi-
e
be permitted, without subjecting
cube, to speak with something l
the progressive regeneration of mankind on of
being effected under the auspices of Christlawrih it'ch 13
Although we are startled by the account
of
palling butcheries in the Chinese empire—butcheries such a frightful magnitude that we should be
dis-
posed to regard the rumours with incredulity but for
our recollection of the sanguinary temperament of
the Budhisis and the extraordinary numerical
stn ngth of the subjects of the Celestial EMPEROR—
although we are told of the massacre of 130,638
individuals in the departments of Chang-Chao
and Tseven-Chao, we must acknowledge that the in-
formation received fr)rn the Asiatic dominions is
generally of a more bloodless character than hereto-
fore. The dispatches just arrived from India, in
anticipation of the Overland Mail, are almost of a kind
to cause exultation and gratitude, even in the sudden
and mysterious death, already mentioned, of the in-
famous ARBAR KHAN. Reports are divided as to
whether that ruthless chieftain has fallen a victiirri;
his own inordinate intemperance or to poison, admi-

nistered to him at the instigation of his parental
enemy. No individual among his contemporaries
was held in such universal and merited execra-
tion as the deceased Wuzeer, and no one
will be go totally devoid of persons to bewail
his disappearance. Among the significant cir-
cumstances which are now transpiring in our
Oriental possessions, or in . their immediate
vici-
nity, must be mentioned the reformation already vi-
sible in the behaviour c. f his Highness GHOOLAB
SINGS. At present he is described as enacting
the part of a reformed rake ; he has apparently sown
the last handful of his wild oats, and is now engaged
in weeding out the tares and thistles. Besides this sin-
gular phenomenon in the physiology of Eastern princes
we must record the question which has recently been
agitated in the provisional government of Lahore,
namely, whether or not the young Maharaja
DUULEEP is to receive the advantages of an English
education. Unhappily the proposition has for the
time been abandoned in consideration of certain reli-
gious prejudices prevalent among the inhabitants of
the Punjaub, and likewise in consequence of a defi-
ciency of revenue.

Travelling in imagination from this metropolis, in
a totally opposite direction, we discern in the ac-
counts arriving from the United States a vague pro-
bability of a conclusion to the warfare that has been so
long desolating the provinces of Mexico. The usual
exaggeration is of course perceptible in the braggart
narratives of native prowess and generalship contained
in the Yankee newspapers. According to these vain-
glorious scribblers, SANTA. ANNA has yielded to the
inferior numbers but the superior determination of the
men commanded by old ZACHARY TAYLOR ; accord-
ing to them, also, the disturbances which recently
prevailed in California have been suppressed ; Vera
Cruz and the Castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, with a gar-
rison of four thousand men, have been delivered into
the hands of the American assailants, under General
SCOTT, and the capital of Chihuahua has at last capi-
tulated to the division of Colonel DONIPITAN. Not to
mention the circumstance of these incredible assurances
having been preceded by a hiatus of nine days alto-
gether unaccounted for, we must observe that the
statements received from New York are so flagrantly
1 contradictory, and so ludicrously incongruous, that it
is impossible to place any reliance whatever upon the
accuracy of the American dispatches until they shall
have been confirmed by others coming directly
from the Mexican frontier.

While these remarkable events are presumed to be
occurring on the opposite shores of the Atlantic, a
very fortunate change is visible in the political tem-
perament of the Iberians. Scarcely has Queen ISA-
BELLA scattered the Afrancesado faction derisively
to the winds, and invoked the loyalty of the Spanish
multitude than Queen MARIA DA GLORIA releases
herself from the thraldom of her evil adviser.

The propositions forwarded to Lisbon by Lord
PALMERSTON have at length met with the cordial ac •
ceptance of the Lusitanian SOVEREIGN. All differ-
ences are, by the English intervention, to be amicably
arranged between the MONARCH and the people of
Portugal. Civil war in that kingdom may already
be counted among the bygones, and there is every
reasonable probability that the Junta of Oporto will
waive all exorbitant demands for the satisfaction of
granting tranquillity and constitutional freedom to
their countrymen. Not merely is the Saldanha
Ministry dismissed, but an entirely new one, under
the direction of ILDEFONSO LEOPOLDO BAYARD, as
head of the Department for Foreign Affairs, has
been formed by the personal exertion and selection of
MARIA DA GLORIA herself. A termination to the
woes that have been during so many months inflicted
upon the Portuguese through the obstinacy of the
Court party may, therefore, be confidently antici-
pated ; and it must never be forgotten that whatever
aivantages arise from the settlement of the late ani-
mosities will be attributable, first, to the justice of the
popular clamour; secondly, to the decisive conduct of
the Junta of Oporto; thirdly, to the courage, the ardour,
and the perseverance of the insurgent commanders
DAS ANTAS, SA DA BANDEIRA, and their subordinate
assistants, and, finally, to the well-timed and judicious
interposition of the British Government.
Before dismissing the consideration of the state in
which the various foreign dominions in the two he-
mispheres are placed, it must be recorded that matters
continue quite as unsettled as ever in countries bor-
dering on the river Plata. In Turkey, moreover, the
misunderstanding still remains unadjusted between the
Sublime Porte and King OTHo. Efforts are making
t'or the tranquillisation of Kurdistan, but otherwise the
Ottoman Government is encompassed with difficulties,
both Grecian and Russian. Consolatory news is
arriving, however, from the opposite shores of the
Levant,—news of a more consolatory character than
that of territorial aggrandisement or diplomatic suc-
cess—the approaching corn and rice harvests of
Egypt promise to be unusually prolific. With
this encouraging announcement we conclude our
summary.

Mr. WATSON deserves much credit for the persever-
ance and energy he has exhibited in bringing before
the country the various abuses that still exist in
our Courts of Law, with a view to their correc-
tion and amendment. Much has of late years been
done; extensive and valuable alterations have been
introduced, and each succeeding year has seen
some of the remaining impurities swept away and
abolished. But much still remains to be effected—
there is still a wide field and ample opportunities for
the labour of legal reformers. It is not merely in the
principles of the law that these changes are required.
.fhere are many points in the practice, in the manner
In which its machinery is brought into operation,
apparently of trivial importance in themselves, which
practically are productive ofconsiderable inconvenience,
and which, in many instances, amount to a denial of
justice to the suitor. The number and amount of
the fees demanded in every stage of the proceedings
—both at law or in equity—may be enumerated as
among the more prominent of these grievances
No matter how well-founded may be the claim of the
injured party, he is prevented from seeking redress
unless he is prepared to advance large sums for the
payment of those fees, which he must, under the
most favourable circumstances, be satisfied to lie
out of for a considerable period. The poor man's
progress is arrested at the very threshold of the temple
of justice. There is no entrance for him unless he
is prepared to pay heavy perquisites to the greedy
janitors by whom the portal is guarded. But this is
not all ; there are many bars, at each of which a
heavy toll i 3 demanded before the seeker for justice
is suffered to proceed on his journey. Even if
dragged before the tribunals by unjust and un-
warranted claims, he is not permitted to defend
himself unless he is prepared to comply with the
extortionate demands made upon his purse. If he
does not appear he is condemned by default, and
perhaps deprived of his property, or made to expiate
faults of which he was never guilty. If he
appears he must pay, and that heavily,
before he is allowed to answer the charge.
It is not merely an amount sufficient to pay the ex-
penses attendant on the administration of justice I
that is levied from the pockets of the suitors, but
considerable sums are each year paid into the na-
tional exchequer. in the Court of Chancery alone
no less than a quarter of a million sterling is annually
abstracted from the litigants ; while from the other
law courts, in the three years ending in 1843, after
payment of the salaries of officers, and the amount of
compensations, more than 100,0001. sterling were ap-
plied to the general purposes of the country. Surely
such a state of things should not be sanctioned or
s y
slmtlevme rEvery should
of fees
promptlytsifsohr
tchi
tolerated.f A sweeping and efficient measure of re-
form
thn abolished.
of his natural libertye in
.return;rsfoar
surrenders
enacted, and the entire
afforded bymthaneySrteastte to his andctehprertoappinreorpttyeo,cr—ttiloohnne
I submits to person
- he contributes accordlin
restrictions for the common weal—
I expense—is taxed in almost his
means to the general
0 the moment he calls upon th:vneart possible manner, but
of the contract to afford himieirtedte perform its part
denied that protection, unless he pays largely
he is totally
The justice that should be open to !ver
claimant,ayrgely for it.
the poor as well as
.to the rich, is withheld until it to
purchased by the suitor.
These fees are relics of the olden time, when
jobbing pervaded every portion of the State
machine. Friends, relatives, or dependents of the
leading members of the predominant party were to be
provided for. Sinecures were created, new fees were