The Sun.
London, England, 1848-08-19 00:00:00

FRANCE.

The Committee of Justice has resolved, after an ani
mated discussion, to recommend to the National As•
sembly not to take into consideration the proposition of
M. Leichtenberger, that the state of siege should be
taken off before the discussion on the Constitution. M.
Cremieux has been appointed reporter.
M. de Lsmartine has addressed the following letter to
the editor of tho Spectateur

" ,S,r,—You announce that several meetings of repreeenta-
fives have been kind enough to think of me for the Presi-
dency of the National Assembly. Whatever might be my
gratitude for that honour, which I should receive from the
sole idea of my colleagues, be kind enough to inform them,
through your journal, of the material impossibility for me to
accept such high and difficult functions at this moment. I
should be sorry for my silence to cost the Assembly a ballot
lost on my name.—Receive, &c."
In publishing the above, the Bien Public intimates that
the state of M. de Lamartine's health requires repose.

LOMBARDY AND PIEDMONT.
The Piedmontese Gazette of the 14th publishes an or-
der dated Vigevano, Aug. 10, by which the Piedmontese
army is cantoned in various places of the vicinity. The
chief head-quarters are at Alexandria. Further accounts
of the 9th from Bologna stato that the citizens took two
pieces of cannon at the Montagnols, and the curate of
Borgo Panigale, at the head of 1,800 men, took two
more. At two P.M. the Austrians were retiring. The
Duke of MODENA entered that city on the Bth; he has
published a proclamation, conceding a general amnesty,
except against the chiefs and promoters, whom he allows
to leave the state. The proclamation adds, that the
Duke is engaged in giving those concessions he intended
to grant before the commotion.

ROME.
Advices from Ferrara of the Bth at noon announce the
arrival at that hour of an estafette from Rome to the
Prolegate, with dispatches ordering him to intimate to
the Austrians to evacuate the Pontifical States; and to
state that, in case of refusal, measures have been agreed
to between the French and English Ambassadors to ob-
tain the execution of the order.

In the sitting of the Bth, of the Roman Chamber of
Deputies, Cardinal SOCLIA read the following declara-
tion, signed by all the Ministers:—
" His Holiness has firmly resolved to defend his States
against the Austrian invasion, with all the means that the
State and the well regulated enthusiasm of his people may
furnish. His Holiness loudly denies, by our organ, the words
cf Marshal NVelden, protesting against whatever sinister in-
terpretation may have been given to his expressions, and de-
claring that the conduct of Marshal Welden is considered by
his Holiness as hostile to the Holy See and to the Pontiff.
who cannot intend, nor intends, to separate the cause of his
people from his own, and considers every insult or damage
done to the people as done to himself; and his holiness has
already declared this by solemn acts, and with all the autho-
rity of his supreme rank of Prince and Pontiff, as may also be
proved from the following dispatch.
(Signed) CARDINAL SOGLIA, President ;
FABER'; DE ROSSI; LAURI; GUARI; PERFETTI."
The dispatch alluded to is dated the Bth, and ad-
, dressed to Cardinal MARINI, Legate of Forli, command-
ing him to proceed immediately, accompanied by Prince
CosINI, senator of Rome, and Prince SIMONETTI, to
Marshal %VELDEN, and demand of him an explanation of
his conduct, and intimate to him the immediate evacu-
ation of the provinces ; or his HOLINESS R ill employ
all the means in his power to repulse the unjust occu-
pation.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
PRIZE MONEY FOR THE ACTEON.

Mr. Chippendale has announced to Captain 111ansel and
the officers and company late of the Actaeon, 26, that a dis-
tribution of the nett proceeds of the brigantine, name un-
known, captured on the 3d of April, 1846, will be made at
the office of the agent, No. 10, John-street, Adelphi, on and
after the Bth of September, 1848:

Captain ... £9l 18 9
First class (lieutenants) ... ... ... 21 19 7
Second class (surgeon, purser, master, and war-
rant-officers) 12 11 91
Third class (midshipmen, Ist class petty-
officers, &c.) 6 5 10i-
Fourth class (2d class petty-officers) ... 4 311
Fifth class (able and ordinary seamen) ... 2 1 11i
Sixth class (landmen and marines) ... 1 7
Seventh class (boys) ... 013 11i
This distribution is made under the old order in Council,
which is much more fair and equitable than the new distri-
bution of prize money, a specimen of which we gave on
Wednesday, in the announcement of prize money for the
officers and men late of the Styx. Above it will be seen
that the captain has one-eighth of the whole, and about 4i
times more than the officer next in rank to him, the lieute-
nant, and about 30 times more than the able seaman ;
whereas, according to the new allocation, the captain
gets 71 times more than the lieutenant, and nearly 70 times
more than the A.B. According to the old scale the
lieutenant gets 1 2-3 times more than the surgeon, purser,
mate, &c., and 10 times more than the A.B. ; but the new
scale gives him twice as much as his subordinate officers.
What induced the Admiralty to "amend" the old scale of
distribution of prize money, after this unjust and dispro-
portionate fashion, we cannot, at the present moment,
divine. Commanders were plentiful enough for coast of
Africa or any other service; lieutenants, however, were, as
they are now, certainly with good reason, very shy of the
station. The alteration, indeed, in giving the commander
7i times more than the lieutenant, instead of 4 2-3 times
more, which he was, under the old scale, entitled to receive,
was certainly rather a novel method of inducing men of com-
mon sense to volunteer to serve on the most deadly station
in the world. The inconsistency here, however, is something
more than ridiculous—it is, to use the mildest term, a posi-
tive injury, which we trust will soon be repaired by the pre-
sent Board of Admiralty.— Herald.