The Sun.
London, England, 1840-08-11 00:00:00

That there is but one step from the sublime to the rid

culous was an axiom ever present to the mind of Na-
poleon, and frequently illustrated in his own chequered,
brilliant, and disastrous career. The lustre of one por
tion of the life of this great man illumined the dark in-
anities of another, and cast a light of glory and grandeur
round the whole. But though from the sublime to the
ridiculous be but a step as facile descensus, yet from
the ridiculous to the sublime is an immense effort—a

transition little short of miraculous—hic labor, hoc opus
est, and therefore we cannot imagine any concurrence of
circumstances or display of ability which can rescue the
name of Prince Louis Napoleon from the unmitigated
ridicule and contempt which his insane imitations of
revolutions at Strasburg and Boulogne must attach to it.
Let it not be asserted that success was all that was
wanting to make these wild, unorganised, and frivolous
experiments hold place with the mighty movement
caused by Napoleon after his escape from Elba. There
was no analogy whatever in the circumstances, Napo-
leon was certain, without any subornation or intrigue, to
have in his favour, beside the popular prestige, the whole
army of France, which owed its existence and its glory
to him, and of which almost every officer had been pro-
moted and exalted in his service. Even Napoleon,
however, had great difficulties to contend against in the
aristocratic or imperial tendencies which he had evinced
previous to his firstexile, and on his return therefrom—
tendencies which made the French people lukewarm in
his cause. But on what possible concurrence of events
could Prince Louis calculate on accomplishing, under
far more adverse circumstances, that which his great and
most renowned predecessor had failed to achieve ? We
cannot even venture a surmise. The attempt, however,
is so universally regarded as that of a madman, that. it is
needless to expose the stupidity and insanity which
prompted it.

(From the Morning Post.)
Lord Melbourne has already within this year en-
nobled one Mr. Thomson. The Morning Chronicle of
yesterday announces the proximate elevation of another.
Of the past appointment we did not complain, because
a gentleman of ancient family and large possessions has,
by prescription, no unfair claim to a peerage. There
arc other claims which are also happily recognised by
the Constitution—those of merit and successful service.

We are at a loss to imagine under which category the

coronet of Mr. P. Thomson is to be justifies. We
are not, certainly, unreasonable enough to object to
the lowness of his origin ; but we have a right to

ask when and in what way it has been adorned or Illus.
trated ? Is it that the trade of the country so pros.

pered under his care and control that the commercia
interests will receive with satisfaction this token of her
Majesty's favour to him and to themselves. The de-
rision or alarm with which they received the hare inti-
mation of Lord Melbourne's intention to appoint him
Chancellor of the Exchequer, so marked and insuper-
able that it exiled him to Canada, is the best comment
upon his superintendence of our commerce, and the
clearest answer to this question. But perhaps the
) justification of this new honour consists in Mr. Thom-
son's Government of our North American provinces.
His sole achievement has been the introduction of a
measure which, almost undefended by his colleagues, has
met the singular fortune of displeasing all men of all
parties in the Legislature. It has, moreover, been ren-
dered nearly null and inoperative by the Duke of Wel-
lington's amendment.
(From the Morning Herald.)
The history of the Parliamentary Session of 1840 is
sufficient to annihilate the last remains of confidence in
all public men—more especially in the pretended cham-
pions of Conservatism. The Session opened with the
discussion of the far-famed Privilege Question—an oc-
casion on which the House of Commons contrived to
render itself more odious to the community than any
House of Commons has done since the days of the
Long Parliament. The pretensions of the Commons'
House involved, in fact, nothing less than a claim to
despotic power over the Queen's subjects, and over the
most sacred institutions of the country. The most
effective—the most highly-lauded (by Whig-Radicals)
—of the assertors of these pretensions was Sir Robert
Peel. The great Conservative (Heaven save the mark !)
leader lent all his energies, and all the influence of his
position, to a foul attack on the majesty of the-law, and
on the independence of its most dignified and venerable
administrators ! In this suicidal policy, Sir Robert
Peel was supported by Lord Stanley, by Sir James
Graham, by 11r. Goulburn ! Scarcely had the Com-
mons sneaked out of the consequences of their d scre-
ditable assault on the independence of the courts of law,
when the question of the Corn-laws was brought for-
ward ; and Sir Robert Peel, although still lending his
influence to the maintenance of these laws, contrived, in
his usual style of prudence, to take much lower ground
I in defending the cause of English agriculture, than he
ad done during the previous session.

THE WEATHER.—We have been blessed, du-
ring the week, with the most brilliant as well as the most
seasonable weather. The heat has been most intense, and
it must have the most beneficial effect in ripening and ma-
turing the precious fruits of the earth. From all quarters,
from the east and from the west, from the north and from
the south, the same gratifying reports of the state of the
weather continue to arrive. Let us hope, therefore, that
the crops, if they should not be so large as the early pro-
mise of the spring gave reason to expect, will, at least, not
fall below an average. The fine weather has, it will he seen
by our market reports, caused a fall in the prices of wheat
and flour. —Liverpoo ]Albion.
The following shameful affair " came off," as the
phrase is, on Thursday evening at Jackson's grounds :
An Irishman, named Burke, of some notoriety for another
similar feat in riding two horses from London to Hereford
three or four years ago, backed a horse to go twenty miles
over twenty hurdles within an hour. The poor animal
accomplished the jumps and nineteen miles of the distance
within the time, and was then dead beat, scarcely able to
move or stand, and in such distress that a skilful farrier
was of opinion he could scarcely survive the night. The
horse was not previously trained for the work, but pur-
chased out of an omnibus a day or two previous.
PFIRE.—On Saturday morning, at half-past six ,
o'clock, a fire broke out in the house of Mr. Croucher,
A meeting of the proprietors of the
hair-dresser, High-street, Shadwell. It was occasioned _.. ..-,c.
by an escape of gas in the kitchen. Two kitchens, with
the staircase, were destroyed, and the shop and parlourDistrict Banking T I MDo
.
Yorkshire
at Leeds. Th
sustained considerable damage. The house is not insured. Friday
banklasit submitted,
c report on the affairs of
A BLIND HUSBANDMAN.—It is a singular the thenthelastadverting to the heavy losses
circumstance, that on the farm of Mr. Parsons, of Row- sustained
ut during
few year, stated that they arese
thorns, a man, quite blind, has been mowing regularly " princi „and y 1
with a accounts of considerable snl,-
during the hay harvest. This man was for some time in nitude,
and"involving conduct of the late general • "
it was •
ment, he contrived, by the assistance of another, toe
make elt appears that the uniform manager.
practice of the di-
his escape to his paternal home, at Stab:shy, wh
111 rectors to inspect at short and •
regular periods an ab-
supports himself as a husbandman. He mows very WI, street of the debtor balances, but ; I-.
takes a proper width, and is considered to whets
accounts in question
scythe better than the generality of mowers. Besides
and extent of a knowledge of their real character
corn, and
mowing, he can thrash, draw thatch, drill, beefk._ advance was kept from the directors by
De rin -
1 means of false returns. W
make himself generally useful in farming worWhen this was discovered, a sub-
- committee assisted
shire Chronicle, the Leeds board, and the result was the
between three and four 1 placing of these accounts •
Yesterday afternoon, . . .
ll* dit. b b ' • in smash more satisfactory con-
o'clock, a messenger reached this city, bringing int Nev 1. ion y o taming cash and securities to an extent which
on th e premisesaonfd Mr. m. at first they
gence that a fire was ragingdid not anticipate. Independently of these
the Church-farm, Himbleton,requiring circumstances,
Ireland, of the directors attributed their low profits to
engines. Those of the
the immediate despatch of the eng
~, the continued depression of trade, especially in their
accordingly
offices were sent on
Phoenix and Birmingham district. The losses, after consuming the reserved
• with most commendable alacrit FRIGHTFUL AND FATAL ACCIDENT.—On
to the scene of destruction 57' fund and balance of profits for the present year (after
h t d the i
but the flames bad nearly ex aus e emse ves before Saturday last, during the absence of his mother at market,
pa 'in the last half-yearlydividend) were estimated at
having destroyed the greater part of a rick of ; 1 g,
their arrival, and sound a little boy named Martin took down a ginger-beer bottlo
hay of between thirty and forty tons, a barn, and a rick of I 40,000/. To place the Bank on a securel which contained vitriol, and supposing it wasginger beer.
hay shares from
straw. The engines, however, were serviceable in extin- \ footing, it was proposed to reduce the
'dei e. to 10/. he swallowed a large portion of ocontents. Au agoniz-
guishing the burning embers, and preventing further mis- 1 151. per share to the amount now pal up, , in et ath was the consequence, and the feelings of the un.
chief. The accident arose from the over-heating of the I Per share ; the 5/. to be carried to the credit
,ot an ac- happy mother were pitiable. Medical aid was at once of).
hay-rick. We do not understand that any portion of the l count to be called the " bad debt account ;' that, so ; twined, bat was only availing in mitigating the wretches'
vroperty was insured.— Worcester Vercad. `soon as the actual amount of loss on any bad debt is child's dying sufferings.—Merlin.

SUN.—•The excitement of last week on the Eastern
question and the great fluctuation in the Funds have
calmed down, and everything is assuming its rented
appearance of tranquillity.
As considerable interest and anxiety are felt in the City,
and indeed among the public at large, to ascertain who
really are the parties implicated in the late scandalous
attempt to affect the value of the public securities at the
risk of fermenting a civil war in the country of a
neighbouring ally, it may be as well to state that the
Committee of the Stock Exchange held a meeting to-
day, with the intention of taking into consideration
the propriety of vindicating their members from the
imputations cast on them. It appears that the party
who engaged the steam-vessel from the Commercial
Company is not a Member of the House, and we pre-
sume, therefore, that he will turn out to be what is tech-
nically termed a jobber.
The foreign securities generally had an upward ten-
dency. Spanish Active Bonds rose from 25i to 26-1 ;
Portuguese New Stock, although the Treasury at Lisbon
is represented, in the accounts of the 3d instant, received
to-day, to be in a most wretched condition, improved
from 32} to 331 8, and the Three per Cents. touched
22 . Colombian Stock went as high as 25, and
Mexican rallied to 301, the former being for the Bonds
of 1824, and the latter for those of 1825. Brazil Stock
was firmer at 794 ands ; Dutch Two-and-a-Half per
C
eerin,Ctisiee.
ns‘tl,lel.artrette m9iiirae buoyantrtkoetiokoe.epsavtersy2istetaodly:
aand h
nd tweep have
rarely seen it more free from excitement and extensive
fluctuations than during the last fortnight, when every-
thing has been so bonleveree. The slight appearance of
neeksesdina then 3,,
advance. Liverpool
The— market
aGn dr
leadinge oa
Southnt
,cr,acWestern, Saturday
twearny,s
Western, h3:7.
es ratherwere
e dittol 9lasti
;
flatness
o
mNa.er,k,
adln6tl,l-:-N;deaLwy o,ans2d4of°7ll°a:ni.tsdt B!aek w all , ; ditu, and Bic
ming
and North Midland New, 41- prem. Brighton were
74, Midland Counties 9, North Midland 11, and
Northern and Eastern 7 discount.

MONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS.
(MONDAY EVENING.)