The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, JULY 13, 1848

of the higher classes, and especially of the higher
classes of traders, than by anything that mere
measures of legislation could effect." Something
more of this, and the Hon. Members for Ashton-under-
Lyne and Salford will certainly have their abilities,
and their amiabilities together, eclipsed by a sort of
political extinguisher.
Although the trumpery pretence of piety, called the
Sunday Trading Bill, has advanced so far as to have
been committedproforma , there is scarcely the shadow
of a chance that it will pass into an Act of Parlia-
ment during the session of 1848 ; and this, notwith-
standing the majority of 28 which in a House of 122
rejected the amendment, that the said Bill be read that
day six months. The House of Commons has not
leisure to expend its energies upon such frivolous in-
novations. There is something more serious to be
done just now than to distinguish the hours when
sprats are to be vended, or when, without a decided '
dereliction of duty, a man may imbibe a cup of cho-
colate. It is argued, however, by Mr. HINDLEY and
Mr. BROTHERTON, that in compliance with the ordi-
nances of the DEITY, the Sabbath should be kept
holy by a Christian nation. Doubtless. We grant
it. As an axiom of ethics we take the matter
as wholly undeniable. But surely the maintenance
of the sanctity of the Sunday—not the Sabbath, for
that is Saturday—should be a voluntary act on the
part of the community. Otherwise the merit of it
would, in the vast majority of cases, be annulled. If
men went to church through fear of the stocks or the
horsepond—where would be the merit of the church-
going ? If a man passing down a certain road be
compelled by law to give sixpence towards the poor
of the parish under penalty of being fined to the tune
of ten shillings, is there any merit in the alms think
you ? No, the practice of the faith of the Naza-
rene degenerates from the awe of OMNIPOTENCE
into a terror of the magistracy so soon as
the will of Parliament dares to arrogate
to itself the right to corroborate by its puny voice
the tremendous revelations of the DIVINITY. " Ini-
tium sapientir timer Domini," says the Royal Pro-
phet—" timer Magistri," says the representative of
Ashton-under-Lyne. Away with such pragmatic
interpolations in Holy Writ ! They are blasphemies
against that Genius of Christianity, whose authority
is traceable to more august records than the pages of
Hansard, and whose edicts are emanations from a
holier region than a drawing-room in Dartmouth-
street, Westminster. Besides this : we put it to any
sane man, does there not appear to be something im-
pious in the notion of enforcing the mandate
of the GOD of Christendom with the feeble La Reine
le veute of a creature of dust ? The mere idea
is abhorrent to right reason, not to say
to faith and to conscience. No : if the preservation
of a peculiar quietude and sanctity on the Sunday is
among the injunctions of Revelation, that ought
surely to be enough to prevent the Houses of Par.
liament from transforming a moral obligation into an
act of civil obedience to the Legislature.
Another absurdity in the Bill introduced by Mr.

HINDLEY is that of rendering its clauses applicable
in a very stringent manner to the poorer classes, and
exempting the richer classes as much as possible
from the penalties of its infringement. Look at
the position of matters as they are at this
moment under the old law based on the
Act of CHARLES 11., the law prohibiting the
sale of all wares or merchandise on Sundays, with the
exceptions of milk and mackerel. Look at the evid-
ence taken before a Committee of the House of Com-
mons, the statement of a witness named Boggis, men-
tioned before Parliament yesterday by the Hon. CRA-
VEN BERKELEY. " The witness stated," said the Hon.
Member for Cheltenham, " that on the day in question
(viz., a certain Sunday when he was passing near the
brewery of Messrs. TRUEMAN, HANBURY, BUXTON
and Company, situated in Brick-lane, Spitalfields), a
boy was passing along carrying a basket of dry figs ;
that the boy was taken up and carried off by the po-
lice merely for the offence of crying and selling a few
figs,by the profits on which to obtain a morsel of food.
That the same witness on the same day, about three
o'clock, passing the brewhouse of the Hon. Member
opposite, heard the clanking of chains in the brew-
house, heard the noise of heavy operations, and wit-
nessed the escape of a great quantity of steam, from
which the inference was obvious that there, at all

events, there was no rest or repose on the Sunday ;
but the poor boy was taken into custody because he
sold a few figs to procure himself a crust, while a
great company carried on the trade of brewing with
impunity, and he doubted not that it was so in all
breweries." Now, although the Hon. Representative
of South Essex, who is a member of the firm in question,
endeavoured to explain that the Sunday work at the
brewery was as little as possible, he by no means
gainsayed the accuracy of the statement made before
the Committee and quoted by the Hon. Member for
Cheltenham. So that it becomes manifest that under
the existing law the grievances are intolerable to
the very poor, and nothing whatever to the very
rich ; and the modification of the law, according to
the plan proposed by Mr. HINDLET, would only ren-
der that atrocious class-legislation more grievous
and conspicuous. The fishmonger of the West-end
could find a market for his ice and his sturgeon on
Sundays without any fear of the consequence, and
the wretched costermonger of Brick-lane or the
New-cut would be walked off to the police station
for trying to earn a few pence for his Sunday's
dinner by selling half-a-dozen apples or a handful of
dried figs. Such is the justice resulting from the
interference of pious Legislatures and Pecksniffian
Politicians.

We have repeatedly alluded to the defective man-
ner in which what ought to be public prosecutions
are conducted in this country. According to the
constitutional theory, when a criminal action is
committed, the private wrong is merged in the injury
to the general body, and, nominally at least, the
complaint is preferred in the name of the SOVEREIGN
as chief magistrate of this mighty empire. The
offence is declared to have been committed against
the peace of our Sovereign Lady the QUEEN, her
crown and dignity, and it is for the preservation
of the general tranquillity, for the assertion of the
supreme majesty of the law, which has been outraged
by the violation of its precepts, and in discharge of
the protection which is due to every subject, in ex-
change for his allegiance, and his contribution to the
exigencies of the State, that it should be so.
It is perfectly manifest that few private individuals
hare at their disposal means sufficient to enable them
to carry on heavy prosecutions with vigour and effi-
ciency. It may require considerable expense and
labour to get up the body of evidence sufficient to
expose a well-planned conspiracy, or to investigate
the truth where the circumstances are involved in
doubt and obscurity. Even if the party injured
should be possessed of such ample pecuniary resources
that he can, without difficulty or inconvenience,
obtain professional assistance, and advance the funds
necessary for the investigation, it is most improbable
that the details of the case could be managed with the
same skill and judgment that would be exhibited by
whose
h publicose e
odepartment,ure
energies underw were
thee
devotedd irect i otno ofth a
tpar-
ticular
persons
branch of the profession, and who were
accustomed to trace out crime through its various ra-
mifications and subterfuges. The man possessed of
sufficient wealth to enable him to disregard the ex-
penses of such a prosecution has, most probably, a fa-
mily solicitor. We will concede that he may be a
man of ability and integrity, although it is at least
possible that he may be found wanting in these most
essential particulars. It is not, however, for his skill
or experience in criminal law that he has been se-
lected, but because he bas given evidence of ability
of a very different character. The prosecution,
however, as a matter of course, is confided to his
care, although he may be better qualified to
trace out the intricacies of a title to real estate, or to
discover a concealed flaw therein, than to lay bare
and expose the machinations of artful offenders
against the law of the land. The charge, however
well grounded in point of fact, might therefore fail
through his inefficiency or want of experience,
although he was actuated by a sincere desire to dis-
charge
the duty he had undertaken to the best of
a n coot u nms
made
e from
the
e
his ability and judgment. Again, such a person
may
who employh ad private
peculiarfriend-
ship
ccriminal
motivesin
alofla
study, and who, however skilled in
the technicalities
of special pleading, might not be competent
to prepare an indictment that would bear strict
investigation, such as another of
perhapsinferior

standing in the profession would be enabled to do,
whose chief practice had been before the criminal tri-
bunals.

We have thus shown that under the most favourable
circumstances there is, at least, the possibility of a
failure of justice and the escape of guilty parties,
from the system at present in operation, that should
not for a moment be sanctioned or tolerated. It is
not necessary to multiply instances to show the prac-
tical evils that result thereupon. We constantly hear
the presiding judge complaining of the time of the
court being unnecessarily consumed, because cases
are not ready for investigation when called on—
too frequently of the slovenly and inefficientlmanner
in which the prosecutions have been conducted, and
even sometimes that he is obliged himself to add to
his important duties, as arbitrator between the Crown
and the prisoner, the functions of prosecuting counsel,
and to elicit the facts by examining the several wit-
nesses from depositions, which he had never seen
until they were handed to him upon the bench, after
the prisoner had been given in charge to the jury.
The recent case of the murderers of Mr. BELCIIA11.•
BEES cannot be forgotten, when but that a barrister
of well-known ability happened accidentally to have
been in court, who consented at the last moment to
conduct the prosecution, the prisoners might have
evaded the punishment due to their atrocious crime.
In addition to these grave and weighty reasons for
the appointment of a public prosecutor, we may add
that it would remove the possibility of any compro-
mise being effected, and also that the punishment
would be more efficacious as an example, when it was
clearly perceived that it was inflicted for an injury
to the public generally, and not for the gratification
of private vengeance. There would also be a greater
certainty of that punishment than under the present
system, when it is a matter of mere chance whether
a conviction can be obtained or not, and it
is notorious that the certainty of a minor punishment
is far more effectual for the repression of crime than
a much more severe one, where there is a greater
prospect of escape and absolute impunity.
There is another ground, as far as the case for the
prosecution is concerned, why a change should be
effected. As we have already stated, every subject
is entitled to protection for his person and property
in return for his allegiance and the contributions to
the national Exchequer extracted from his pockets in
the shape of either direct or indirect taxation. Let
us, however, see the manner in which this protection
is afforded. He may be robbed or swindled out of
his property, or have serious injuries inflicted upon
his person, but there the evil does not ter-
minate. He is bound over to prosecute, and
heavy demand are in consequence made on his
purse and his time. If he be a conscientious man,
anxious to do his duty to society and to carry on the
prosecution efficiently, he must incur considerable
expenses, which he will never be reimbursed, and
which will materially increase his first loss and ag-
gravate the original grievance. The case of Mr.
GRAY is a striking illustration in point. That gen-
tleman was swindled out of property to a large
amount. He pursued the necessary inquiries with
the utmost zeal and energy, and in such a manner as
deservedly obtained for him the marked approbation
of the magistrates and judge before whom the case
was investigated. Actuated by the most honourable
feelings, he repeatedly refused to receive full payment
for the goods which had been obtained from him, which
was several times tendered for his acceptance, pro-
vided he would connive at an acquittal. The guilty
parties were convicted—one of the most formidable
conspiracies against the property of the merchants
and traders of the metropolis was exposed—the in-
famous confederacy was broken up, and the principal
delinquents banished from the country,;:and how
was Mr. GRAY rewarded who had thus earned for
himself the public gratitude as a national bene-
factor ? He undoubtedly received much empty
praise. Every one spoke of his admirable con-
duct, his high deserts; but to the original
loss, for which he was never reimbursed, several
hundred pounds were added for the expenses
of the prosecution, and which he was permitted to
bear by the admiring and grateful public. So much
for the system, as far as the case for the prosecution
is concerned. That however is by no means the most
objectionable part thereof. It is many degrees worse
in relation to persons who may be unjustly accused.

They, indeed, have fur greater cause to complain than

any others. The worst crime may go unpunished, but
the most innocent parties may also be involved in a pro-
secution. It leads, in fact, too frequently not only to
impunity to the guilty, but also to deep and serious
vexation and inconvenience to the guiltless.
We shall return to this subject, which a want of
space prevents us from concluding, on an early day.

ministers—to surround the throne with all the prestige
necessary to its duration—to restore to it the sovereign
reclaimed by justice and the welfare of the nation—to
secure the juvros and privileges which have co-operated,
for so many centuries, to the prosperity of our coun-
try,—such is our mission, holy mission, which will
surely prevail with the help of God, which cannot
fail us if we do not depart from the path of
loyalty. Men of Navarre and of the Basque Pro-
vinces, to arms, then ! Navarrese and Basquers,
let us group around the standard raised by our King.
Be our motto Charles VI. and Oblivion of the Past.'
Who is the Spaniard who would refuse to enrol himself
under this banner, which declines the co-operation of
none, in order to fight and win the brainless who would
still oppose its triumph?
" The success which we aim at, and the glory which
follow, cannot be obtained with,ut sacrifices, but the
greater the energy of our first endeavours the less will be
our sacrifices. If by a blind obstinacy, those who now
preside over the usurping ',Government which weighs
upon Spain, should prolong a system which is breaking
down, for its weakness and unpopularity, the nation
in her just :wrath, will soon force them to disappear
from the political scene, and in their :precipitate flight
they will be followed by the execration and malediction
of all good Spaniards, whose good will they might so
easily have gained.
" Our triumph depends on ourselves. The country is
waiting for us, as for its liberator; its benedictions and
gratitude must be our precious rewards ; but the King
who will not delay to be among us, the King who will
soon be a witness of your courage and of your sacrifices,
will not fail to retntnierate you with that royal munifi-
cence to which his generous heart prompts him.
" Veteran chiefs, whose fidelity and experience are
well known to you, will lead you to the path of duty.
Follow them. Do not deviate from the line marked out
for you, and you will undoubtedly gain the object, which
at all times has been obtained by the Basco-Navarres.
Proud of this title, I shall take care that it remain always
yours without stain; your glory is mine.
" The name and the happiness of our country. This
shall be the magnet by which my actions will con-
stantly be directed.
" Long live the King,
" JOAQUIM ELIO, General-in Chief of Navarre."

MADRID, BoLea, JULY 7.—Three per Cents., 20
paper; after Bolsa, 20i 15.16 cash. Five per Cents.,
121 paper ; after Bolsa, 12i cash. Passives, 4i paper,
after Bolsa, 4.1 cash. Coupons, 8 paper. Bank of St.
Ferdinand, 70 paper. Exchange on London, at 90
days, 42 50.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris papers of yesterday.
The Government has caused the following official
statement to be published respecting the insurgent
prisoners :

" The judicial proceeding relative to the events of
June proceeds rapidly. 3,000 prisoners have been in-
terrogated by the examining magistrates. So soon as
the examination had been sufficiently advanced, four
military commissions were appointed to determine, after
investigation, to which of the classes specified by the
decree of the 25th of June, 1848, the prisoners severally
belonged. This is pursued actively, and 168 prisoners
have already been set at liberty. Until this time the
Executive power of the Republic has abstained from
denial of the imputations of savage nightly executions
taking place in pursuance of secret judgments. The
Executive power has relied on the good sense of the
public. Whatever may be the apprehension of certain
minds, whatever the disposition of one part of the popu-
lation to adopt the strangest suppositions, the Executive
power persists in thinking that it is useless to defend
itself against similar accusations, it is only astonished
that they should have been made, and paints out to the
indignation of good citizens those who make use of public
and private sufferings for their own ends."
In the course of Tuesday's sitting of the National
Assembly, the following decree was unanimously
voted :

" The effective force of the active army, stationed in
Paris and its environs, shall be fixed, after the 20th
instant, and until it be otherwise decided, at 50,000 men
at least."

The Assembly next granted 500,000 francs for the
improvement of the forest' belonging to the State.
The discussion on two other prjects of decree was
adjourned at the request of the Minister of Public Works,
after which the Assembly heard several reports on peti-
tions of no interest.
The Minister of the Interior afterwards ascended the
tribune, and, in the absence of M. Bethmont, Minister
of Justice, who was indisposed, presented a project of
decree on the security in money required for the publi-
cation of journals. That security, which lately amounted
to 100.000 francs, in the departments of the Seine, Seine
and Oise, and Seine and Marne, was to be reduced to
less than one-fourth . The proprietors of all journals,
published in those departments more than twice a week,
shall deposit in the Treasury a security of 24,000
francs; those only appearing twice a week, 18,000; once
a week, 12,000; more than once a month, 6,000. In
cities of 50,000 inhabitants and upwards, the security
is to be 6,000 r.; and in the towns containing less than
50,000 inhabitants, 3,500 f. The proprietors of journals
which appeared since the 24th of February last are to
be allowed a delay of 20 days to deposit the required
security, and those existing previous to that date shall
be reimbursed the surplus in the course of six months.
The Minister next deposited,—l. A project of decree
relative to the repression of offences and crimes, com-
mitted by the press, which differed little from the exist-
ing legislation; and 2. A project of decree relative to
clubs and secret societies. The projet de loi, with re-
spect to the clubs, is to the following effect:—Any per-
son desirous of opening a club must make a declaration
to that effect with the authorities, and give in a list of
the members who are to be the founders of it. One-
fourth of the place of meeting is to be at all times open
to the public, and there can be no secret meetings or
meetings with closed doors. An agent of the Govern.
ment is to be at all times present if the Govern-
ment should think that necessary. Minutes are to be
kept of all the business done at each meeting,
which is to be signed by the office-bearers
present, and which is to be at all times open
to the inspection of the public authorities. Per-
sons making speeches contrary to the laws can
be prosecuted, and the president and other office-bearers
are also subject to prosecution it they allow speeches
contrary to law to be made. No organized system of
communication between different clubs can be esta-
blished. Any one contravening these provisions is to
be subjected to a fine of from 400 f. to 500 f., and, if
thought necessary, to a suspension of civic rights for a
period of one year at least, and three at most. Whoever
appears at a club with arms is to be liable to an impri-
sonment of from three to six months, and to the priva-
tion of civic rights from three to ten years. The tribu-
nals can order the closing of a club when convicted of
having contravened any of the above enactments ; and,
in case of the club meeting after the order of dissolution
has been pronounced, the parties so offending are to be
liable to an imprisonment of from six months to a year,
and to a suspension of civic rights for them from five to
ten years."
The Moniteur publishes an order to the army,
signed by General DE LAMORJCIERE, in which it is
stated that four companies of the 2d battalion of the
18th Regiment of Infantry, having laid down their
arms to the insurgents, the colonel commanding, two
captains, and two lieutenants are dismissed the ser-
vice, and the four companies in question dismissed.
The Government has declared against the propo-
sition of M. JULES Favas for confiscating the
private property of Louis PHILIPPE.
•

The Assembly met yest(rday at half-past two.
M. Degousee had to present, in the name of the be-
Y, a decree declaring that General
Charbonnell, who have given their
Dreaavulxvie o
rf
andthe Acsosleumnabll
lives fur the Republic, have merited well of their
country, and that their bodies should be deposited in the
Hotel des Invalides.—(Hear, hear.) The funeral was
to take place next day, and the Assembly had already
named the grand deputation that was to attend as a mark
of respect.
The decree was adopted unanimously.
M. Emery presented a report of the Committee ap-
pointed to examine a proposition freeing from taxation
for a period of eight years all houses commenced in Paris
before the Ist of January, 1849. The Committee re-
commended the Assembly to adopt the proposition, with
this difference, that the term should be ten years, and
that, in addition, all landlords entering houses for the
working classes should be allowed a premium of 6 per
cent .on the outlay.—Ordered to be printed and distri-
buted.

The Bill relating to Bons du Tresor as far as regards
their renewal, was then brought forward.
The only article runs thus:—" All holders of Trea-
sury bonds, issued anteriorily to February 24, 1848, or
renewed since that period, and the consolidation of which
has been ordered by the Bill of July 7, cannot, accord-
ing to the terms of that Bill, exercise any proceedings
against the endorsers of the said bonds."
The report presented on this Bill explains its object
in the following terms :—" It appears that private in-
terests raised up difficulties as to the execution of the
consolidation ordered by the National Assembly ; the
third parties, assimilating this measure to the refusal of
the Government to reimburse the bonds in cash, pretend
to have such refusal formally specified by protests, in
order to preserve by these means their right to proceed
against the endorsers. The measure adopted by the
National Assembly cannot receive any such interpreta-
tion ; the Bill does nut leave the Bons du Tr6ior under
the empire of the common law ; it transforms them into
Rentes, and its effect from that moment extends to all
the conventions of which they could have been the ob•
jest. The Bill is obligatory on all the parties interested,
the first holders, the successive endorsers, and the present
I possessors. No person can withdraw himself from the
consolidation—it is imperative on all. The act of protest
besides would be declaratory of an act that is not true,
for the State does not refuse payment; but, on the con-
trary, by a combination, the propriety and necessity of
which the national sovereignty has decided, a value has
been given by the Treasury in exchange for the funds
which had been paid it, and that value the national sove-
reignty has judged to be perfectly equivalent."
The Bill was adopted without remark.
The rest of the sitting was occupied with reports on
petitions, none of which were of any public interest.
The Assembly rose at a quarter past four.
The Sub-Committee of Finance has decided in
favour of a project of decree on postal reform, tending
to establish an uniform rate of 20 centimes on all
letters in the interior of France, but the Assembly

will probably not agree to this, as it will diminish the
resources of the State by several millions.
In the Committee of the Assembly on Foreign
Affairs an interesting conversation took place on the
subject of Italy. General OUDINOT expressed an
opinion that France should at once interfere. M.
DE LAMARTINE replied, in a long speech, in the
course of which he minutely examined the Italian
question. He pointed out with great force the dan-
ger of intervention on the part of France, and con-
tended, that although the time might come when
France would be called upon to interfere, it was not
at the present moment. He contended that interven-
tion on the part of France would be at the present
time an act of wanton aggression, as it was not
wished for by the Italians themselves, and was not
necessitated by the military condition of the KING of
SARDINIA'S army. An intervention, he declared
would be a casus belli. It would be throwing down
the gauntlet to Europe at the very moment when
France was bound to prove by her acts what she had
asserted in words, that she was desirous of living in
peace and harmony with Germany and Italy.
The Reforme of Sunday was seized for reprinting
an article from the Representant du Peuple.
The steamer Cocyte arrived on the 7th at Toulon
from Algiers. She left at Algiers the steam-frigate
Labrador, which was destined to convey troops to the
East, in which quarter there were strong indications of
revolt. Several other ships had already taken their
departure with troops, and a battalion of the 36th of
the line, then at Algiers, was to be embarked on the
2d for Bugia. It was reported at Algiers when the
Cocyte came away that a part of Kabylia was in agi-
tation, and that an affair had taken place a short dis-
tance from Bugia, in which the natives had a strong
force. More precise details will no doubt
be brought by the next arrivals. How-
ever this may be, the garrison of Bugia
must be sufficiently strong to assume the
offensive with vigour, should circumstances require it.
The steam corvette Infernal, which left Oran on the
30th ult., with a squadron of the 41st Chasseurs and
their horses, and some infantry, brings favourable
accounts from the west of Algeria, where since the
last expedition against the tribe of the Flittas, sent
out by General PELISSIER, there has not been any
disturbance.
BOURSE—PaIm, WEDNESDAY, JULY 12. _

THREE O'CLOCK.—The Bourse was ♦ery animated to-
day, and a great deal of business was done. This rise
is to be attributed merely to the confidence felt by the
public in the re-establishment of order, in consequence
of the vigorous measures adopted by the Government
for the regulation of the press and the clubs. There
was no news at the Bourse, either foreign or domestic,
of any interest.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK-EXCHANGE. JULY 12.
Namur and Liege, 3—Northern of France, s%—Paris
and Lyons, 33—Sambre and Meuse, 3.

solidate more and more the relations of friendship and
good neighbourhood which are so happily established
between the two countries and their Governments. The
French Republic may reckon on the loyalty of our sen-
timents and the sincerity of our wishes for the welfare
of France. nappy in her pacific relations with all na-
tions, Belgium only wishes to continue in calm and se-
curity, to enjoy her independence, her political neutrality
and in.:r institutions. I congratulate myself, Monsieur
le Ministre, on seeing you placed at my Court as the re-
presentative of France. The kind remembrance which
the head of the Executive Power of the Republic and
yeti have preserved of Belgium as a land of hospitality,
the numerous friends which you find there, will contri-
bute to ensure more and more in the relations of the
two countries that character of cordiality and stability
which is so desirable in the interest of the two coun-
tries."

After the audience, General DE SIEM, aide-de-camp
,o the KING, who had gone with the Court carriages
or the representative of the French Republic to the
llotel de Bellevue, took him back to the hotel with
:he same ceremonial.