The Sun.
London, England, 1840-01-04 00:00:00

grown, and there is fast growing, a contest to
destroy the law and the Constitution. Nor is
there any chance that against justice and a hungry
people the landlords and the law can prevail? By
the Corn-laws property is confounded with an odious
tax and placed in jeopardy, and now they are array-
ing the people against the Constitution, which being
no better than rotten parchment without their sup-
port, will pass into dust and oblivion.
But if the people of the manufacturing districts
I are disposed to help themselves, as they appear to
be, we fear they must not rely much on the
metropolis. There was an excellent and numerous
meeting at Leeds on the last day of the old year,
the MAYOR in the Chair, at which resolutions for
the total repeal of the Corn-laws were passed, and
a petition adopted in spite of some opposition on
the part of the Chartists, who wanted to petition
for the overthrow of the present House of Com-
mons. One of the resolutions described the Corn-
laws as " at variance with the laws of GOD and
the rights of humanity." Such is proper lan-
guage, and it is needless to add that they
are also inimical to the interests of society.
At Liverpool, says the Mercury, a requisi-
tion, very numerously signed, has been presented to
the MAYOR, and a meeting fixed for Thursday
to consider of the best means to co-operate with
the Anti-Corn-law agitators. At Sunderland, we
are informed, that an intended meeting has been
given up because the Magistrates dread a breach
of the peace.
" It would seem," says our Correspondent, " that the
holding of a public meeting in Sunderland has become a
matter of great difficulty. There can be no doubt that
this has been brought about by the insane conduct of
the Chartists, who have for a considerable time made a
point of attending all public meetings, and attempted to
force their own nostrums upon them, no matter for
what purpose they might be called. They have thus
rendered themselves odious—done irretrievable damage
to their own cause—and very seriously retarded the
progress of improvement."
We write, as if the destruction of the Constitution
were yet to take place ; but wlren the citizens of
a town cannot assemble together to petition the
Legislature, the Constitution is already practically
at an end. The dearest and best rights, whether
by the violence of the mob or the tyranny of the
ATTORNEY-GENERAL is of no consequence, are
overthrown. Opinion is stifled, and the unrighteous
landlords, forming a practical alliance with a violent
mob to put down discussion, fear not the retribution
which they would dread, could the citizens assem-
ble and freely declare their opinions.
Perhaps the great calamities which are impending
over the country, the destruction of all well regu-
lated freedom, the growth of violence, the increase
of pauperism, distress, and despair, may at length
startle the inhabitants of London, and induce them
to help the Anti-Corn-law agitators of the North.
At present, however, the metropolis is dead to this
all-important question. It has no voice on a mat-
ter which concerns the welfare of the empire. The
Queen of Cities has ceased to be the home of pa-
triots, and the noble spirit of her BECKFORDS has
given place to the meanness of money-scriveners.
Like the inhabitants of Sunderland, they are afraid
to meet in public ; and by their fear they allow
their best privilege to fall into desuetude.
We are aware that they do not yet feel the dis-
tress which afflicts Ireland and ti e manufacturing
districts ; London is half supported by the taxes.
The plunder of the landlords is spent here. The
Londoners are receivers of the stolen goods. The
judges, the clergy, the tradesmen, the professional
men who depend on them, or on the general busi-
ness of the Law Courts, all the monied classes, all
the holders of Bank Stock, all those who are dig-
, counting at from six to twelve per cent., feel no-
thing of the distress which afflicts so large a por-
tion of the manufacturing community. These
classes constitute the bulk of the influential people
of the metropolis, and there is no motive why they
should risk the disturbance of a public meet-
ing, invaded by the Chartists, in order to
procure a repeal of the Devil's laws. They
will only bd touched when the revenue begins to
fall off, and till then we must repeat Mr. VIL-
LIERS' advice to the manufacturers of the north :
they must depend on themselves—they must help
themselves, and place no reliance for aid in pro-
curing the repeal of the Corn-laws on the once
lirited and free inhabitants of the metropolis.

We are glad to see that Sir FREDERICK POL-
LOCK had the manliness to tell the Judges, at Mon-
mouth, that the custom of overruling objections,
and allowing trials to go on, though it have existed
for ages, could not be too soon altered. We
yesterday made a few remarks to show that the
custom was unjust, and that in fact the Judges, by
declaring the law, actually made an ex post facto
law. Sir FREDERICK POLLOCK quoted the case
of WALSHE, who was convicted, and though it
was dexid.;:d by the Judges, on such a reserved point
of law, that he ought to have bee❑ acquitted, the
man was attainted life. We are disposed to
conclude, therefore, that we .!hall have Sir FREDE-
RICK POLLOCK'S sanction for Ole observations we

yesterday made.
If we do not misunderstand the case in questio:l,
it differs much from ordinary cases of reserved
points of law. In general the Judge is clear as
to the law, but the Counsel objects to the law as
the Judge lays it down ; and it is the objection
to the Judge's law which is reserved for the con-
sideration of the Superior Court. But in this case,
so far as we can understand it, the opinion of
the Judges coincides with that of Sir F. PoL-
LOCK. They are afraid, however, so to decide, be-
cause no other Judges have previously made a law
on the subject, or given a decision on it. Such a
circumstance seems to us a sufficient ground to stop
the trial, which would be infinitely better than to
make an ex post facto law by which Mr. FROST
may be hanged. Judge TINDAL is a humane man,
and we would suppose that he should have been ra-
ther pleased to get such a good plea for allowing the
unhappy men at once to escape. The disposition of
this age, averse from bloodshed, would have re-
joiced at the mistake, and its consequence—the libe-
ration of the prisoners. It is more ready to honour
the feeling which prompts a Judge to interpret a
point of law to exonerate an unfortunate or guilty
prisoner, than a JEFritiEs-like eagerness to strain
a point to obtain a conviction.

The collision between the Civil and the Ecclesi-
astical Powers in Scotland is no longer confined to
the men of gowns and wigs. The people are begin-
ning to enter warmly into the affair, and before long,
if we may judge from appearances, all Scotland will
be in a ferment. The contest lies between the sober
advocates of the supremacy of the law, and the en-
thusiasts who stand up for the independence of the
Kirk. The violent proceeding by which the Com-
mission of the General Assembly—a packed Com-
mission consisting almost exclusively of Vetoists—
suspended seven clergymen of one Presbytery, for
i;o other crime than yielding obedience to the au-
thor:v of the highest Civil Court in the country,
excited the astonishment of all right-
naturally'
thinking mt.'"
It could not fail to affect the congregations of
;ers with a feeling of deep in-
the suspended mitris
dignation, that pastors, whom they loved and
c
respected, should have a brand of disgrace publicly
stamped upon them without cause ;
b
wreaations accordingly resented the anind sult. their
on-
The

nhabitants of the seven parishes held meetings, and
drew up resolutions, in which they expressed their
disapprobation of the course pursued by the Com-
mission, their attachment to their ministers, and
their determination to stand by them to the last.
These proceedings were followed by an Injunction
from the Court of Session, restraining the Clergy-
men, directed by the Commission to occupy the
pulpits of their suspended brethren, from setting a
foot within Church, Church-yard, parish-school, or
any of the other parochial precincts appertaining
to the State, and the aforesaid Clergymen were re-
duced to the humiliating position of being barred
out of the Churches, and of announcing the illegal
sentence of their employers in public-houses, in the
highways, or wherever they could find a few strag-

gling hearers to listen to them.
A public meeting was next held at Aberdeen
at which the LORD PROVOST presided, and at
which were passed resolutions condemning the
conduct of the Commission as harsh, arbitrary, and
illegal, but professing, at the same time, sincere at-
tachment to the Church of Scotland, as established
by law. The Vetoists saw that if things were
allowed to go on in this way, their cause was lost.
Something must be done to counteract the spirit of
opposition to their pet Act before it spread over
Scotland, and with this view the Rev. Messrs.
CUNNINGHAM and CANDLISH, of Edinhurgh,
the two most violent partizans of the obnoxious
Commission, are despatched to Perth, to get
up a meeting in favour of " non-intrusion," ea
they falsely term their veto, which took place
on Friday last. Another meeting of the same kind
was held at Greenock last week, at which a Dr.
MACFARLAN delivered a very long and very warm
speech, in the course of which he declared that
he was ready to give up all that he received from
the State, rather than submit to the law of the
land in ecclesiastical matters. We are sorry to
perceive that some of the speakers at this meeting
attempted to give a political turn to the question.
'This is highly imprudent—it is particularly repre-
hensible in a Clergyman.
Dr. MACFARLAN has taken the proper view of
the platter. He has no objections to be a mem-
ber of an endowed and law-established Church,
but he cannot submit to be governed in matters of
conscience by human laws. That being the case
he is ready to renounce all for conscience sake ; he
is willing that the connexion between Church and
State should be severed at once. We cannot but
applaud this honesty of purpose, and strongly re-
commend it to Dr.CHALMERS and others who are,
in our opinion, a little too anxious to unloose the
knot which they can cut in an instant.

We have received to-day the important pamphlet
just published by Mr. JONES LOYD, on the ►na-
nagement of the circulation during 1839. We can-
not now discuss its merits, and should not advert to the
subject, were it not that we see a Morning Contem-
porary seeks to create •or continue a prejudice
against perfectly free banking, by describing the
issue of bank-notes as coining money. It is no
such thing. It has no resemblance to coin-
ing money. A man, whether a banker or not,
borrows of his neighbours and friends, giving
them his notes of hand, or his promises to pay
on demand, or at a certain date, which is no
more like coining money than it is like making
watches. We shall enter further into the sub-
ject on Monday. But we could not allow even
this day to pass without protesting against such an
,unfair and such a mischievous misdeicrcption.

Leiters and papers from Madrid of the 26th I
ult. have been received. ESPARTERO had
charged himself with the responsibility of M.
LINAGE'S letter, and the Ministry terrified by
the apprehension of being driven out of office, af-
fected to be satisfied. The General-in-Chief had
likewise cancelled the Ministerial order for the re-
moval of Generals SEOANE and VALDEZ from
their respective Captain-Generalships.
A despatch from Valencia informed the Minister
of War that that the QuEEN's troops had taken the
town and fortress of Chulilla.

The French Journals of Thursday publish the
New Year's Day Addresses of the Diplomatic
Body, the Chambers, the Council of State, the
Municipality of Paris, and a host of other public
functionaries to the KING, with his MAJESTY'S
answers. They consist of the usual common-
places on such occasions, and are equally devoid of
truth and sincerity. Their publication is a satire
upon the French nation.
The Commerce of Thursday states that General
SCHNEIDER, the Minister of War, is to exchange
his seat in the Cabinet for a command in Africa.
This is likely to lead to a complete modification of
the Cabinet. The KING is tired of M. TESTE,
so that he will be one of the rejected. We have
reason to know that M. GuIZOT is already in

treaty for the Department of the Interior.
Letters from Vourla, of the 10th ult. announce that
the entire British fleet was still lying in that bay. It
was said that five French sail-of-the-line had been or-
dzred home, with Rear-Admiral La Susse, and that the
Jena, ;Montebello, Santi Petri, and Hercule would alone
winter at Vourla. On the 6th, whilst Admiral Leland°
was inspecting the Diademe, a boarding axe fell on the
head of Lieuten.:.qt Coulomb, who only survived a
few hours.
The Courrier de Lyon states, on the authority of a
letter from Lausanne, dated 26th ultimo, that one of the
battalions of that place has received orders to hold itself
in readiness to march to the Valais, where a sanguinary
contest was expected, as the country was said to be in
a state of open revolt. The letter adds, that three of
the federal representatives, in their mission to complete
the official list cf th voters of the Lower Valais, had been
grossly insulted, and compelled to seek refuge at Sion.
Mr. Bell has arrived safely at Sinope, after breaking
the Russian blockade on the coast of Circassia.
BOURSE.--PATisx,st Tiiiivaigsbneastv,
ultwNes.t2.
Last
Price Price. Price. Price
irench 5 per Cents 111 70 ...• 111 75 ... 11l 70 ... i, i 7.5
4 per Cents.... lO2 50 ... 102 50 ••• 1012 50 ... 102 50
3 per cents 80 55 ... 80 90 .. 80 55 ... 80 55
Bank of erance 2950 ...2975 ...29tia ...2975
Latfitte Bank I.ooof. Sh 1035 ...1025 ...1005 ml.t::s
Belgian 5 per Cents
Bank
Passive JO2 ...
8;5 „,, 845 ... 142 50 ... 842 W
Spanish Active 24% ... 25 ... 21,14, ... 2i
0 ... 6 „. 6 ... 6
Portuguese 3 per cents =3% .:. 20% ... 23% ... 23%
Neavol.t.o ........—........
Roman iol% ... 10152 ... 101 ... 1111

RAILWAY SHARES.
St. Germain ... ..... ,„„ 572 50 ... 572 50 ... 572 50 ... 572 50
Versailles, It. B 495 ... 495 ... 495 ... 495
LB, „.„„,„.„
Mulhausen to Diann..
Montpellier to Cette 375
Strasburg to Bale 317 50 ... 317 50 ... 317 50 ... 317 ha
ASPHALTES AND BITUMENS. •
Yarn (Mabeily's)

An Evening Contemporary, in a Second Edition,
states that according to advices by the George the
Fourth, which arrived at Liverpool yesterday
morning, the French had landed 1,100 seamen at
Monte Video, and that an engagement was daily
expected to take place between them and the troops
of Rosa. The accounts are described in the letter
of the correspondent very correctly, as meagre and
jejune—and, besides, the latest date given is the
31st of October, while both The Sun and the
same paper gave accounts on Thursday, so late us
the 7th of November in which no mention is made
of the circumstance.