The Sun.
London, England, 1848-03-20 00:00:00

fallen Government has left a floating debt to the Republic!
payable immediately or at an approaching period, and
which on '24th February last amounted to not less than
872,000,000 f. ; considering that the Royal bonds, of
which a part has already been paid from the Treasury of
the Republic, still figure in the floating debt for a sum
of 274,539,900 f.; considering that these bonds are for the
greater part the property of capitalists whose interests
are not directly connected with those of industry and
commerce; considering that those bonds will not remain
unproductive in the hands of the holders, inasmuch as
the interest will continue to be paid on them at the rate
of 5 per cent.—decrees, on the proposition of the Minister
of 'Finance, that from the date of the promulgation of
the present decree until the decision of the National As-
sembly, the holders of royal bonds created previous to
the 24th of February, 1848, may exchange them for
coupons of the national loan in Five per Cents. at par.
In case such exchange is not accepted, those bonds will
be paid in cash at the public Treasury within six months
from the day of their falling due.
" Article 2. The Treasury bonds issued in place of
cash, or as a renewal of bonds become due by the de-
partment of Finance since the establishment of the
Republic, will of full right be repaid in legal coin.
" Article 3. The Minister of Finance and member of
the Provisional Government is charged with the execu-
tion of the present decree.
" Made in Paris at a Government Council held the
16th of March, 1848."

The Moniteur contains the following decree, plac-
ing 60,000,000 f. at the disposal of the Minister of
Finance, for the encouragement of agriculture,
manufactures, and commerce :
" The Provisional Government, in consideration of
the decree, dated this day, which imposes 45 centimes
additional on the amount of the four direct taxes; con-
sidering that one of the first duties of the Government
of the Republic is to alleviate the distress which during
four years has caused such injury to agriculture, manu-
factures, and commerce; considering that credit is the
most urgent necessity of those three elements of public
credit; considering that the greater number of private
establishments are paralysed; considering that it is
necessary to supply the manufacturers with the me:ins
of securing employment for the numerous operatives
employed in their factories; decrees—
" Article I.—A sum of 60,000,000 f. is placed at the
disposal of the Minister of Finance.
" Article 2.—This sum of 60,000,000 f. shall be divided
between the various workshops which, according to the
terms and following the disposition of our decree of the
9th of March, 1848, shall be successively formed in
Paris and in the departments, and in all the great agri-
cultural manufacturing and commercial centres.
" Article 3.—The division shall be based on the par-
ticular nature and the proportional importance of the
necessities of the different localities.

" Article 4.—The Minister of Finance, member of the
Provisional Government, is charged with the execution
of the present decree.
Made in Paris at the Government Council, the 16th
of March, 1848."
The election for officers of the National Guard
has been postponed, at the request of the people, to
the sth of April. The following are the reasons
given by the Moniteur for this postponement
Our desire, our interest, our dearest wish is to make
that vigorous population enter into the National Guard,
whose instincts of order and organization have produced
in the procession of yesterday a picture which is our
pride. The Provisional Government wishes that all
citizens should exorcise their rights, that the
National Guards should, not only in principle but in
fact, be an armed people. Already the National
Guards, which on the lit of February only amounted
to 5i,751, form to-day an effective force of 190,299
men. What men, what parties would be so senseless
as to hope to carry out ideas which are for ever re-
ceived in the face of that democratic force, and which,
already established in the capital, will soon be estab-
lished in all the departments. The Provisional Govern-
ment, which wishes to allow citizens the time to inscribe
themselves, wishes also to allow them the opportunity
of meeting, selecting, and discussing the merits of the
different candidates for the rank of officers. It is on this
account that we prolong the elections of the officers to
the sth of April." _ _ .

A deputation of the Irish, residing in Paris, yes-
terday- went up to present an address of felicitation to
the Provisional Government. After the reading of
the address, M. LEONARD, a member of the deputation,
said—

" Combatants of February,—l come, under the aus-
pices of the Municipal Council of the town of Seas, to
ask to be admitted into the great French family, and to
continue to aid the cause of- liberty, which I have as-
sisted in establishing. I come to depose the flag of
Ireland in the hands of the Provisional Government;
may it for ever wave in unison with those of their
brethren."

LAMARTINE, Member of the Provisional Govern-
ment, replied in the following terms :
" Citizens of Ireland,—l regret that the whole of
the Provisional Government who have just withdrawn,
after the serious business of the day, have not the
satisfaction and pleasure of hearing the address you
have just presented. Ireland has inscribed as her
motto the noble words of the Martyr, whose me•
mory you have just recalled to our minds. ' Let
no slavish hand engrave an inscription on my tomb till
Ireland be free.' These words have become a truth for
your country, a proheey of your religion, and soon, I
hope, of your complete Constitutional independence.—
(Cries of " Bravo, bravo!") The great man, whose
name you recal to us (O'Connell) has taught the world
the most energetic, although the wisest means, for the
people to regain their rights; he created what he himself
called, by a denomination borrowed from liberty itself,
peaceful agitation. This agitation has entitled Ireland
for several years past to the admiration of the world.
And I have not the least shadow of a doubt, that after
having successively conquered religious liberty, and ar-
rived so near to constitutional liberty and independence,
it will ultimately procure for you the full enjoyments of
this portion of your nationality. It is in this spirit, gentle-
men, that the new French Republic receives the testimo-
nials of sympathy you this day oiler up to her. Know that
the heart of France has never been closed to Ireland, even
under a state of despotism—(Cries of " Vive la Repub•
lique")—it has always beat high with the emotions
of your generous country, and if I required any other
proof, it is in the adoption of the noble citizen who
comes to offer his services to the Republic. How could
we refuse to recognise him, when we acknowledge the
whole of you as French citizens ? "—(Applause.)
M. ICARD, Professor of the Irish College, here said :

" Gentlemen—Allow me, as much as lies in my power,
to repair an involuntary misunderstanding. The mem-
bers of the Irish college, having been invited to accom-
pany their countrymen, left the college with that inten-
tion ; but, strangers to the locality, they have been lost
in the crowd, and I have just heard that they have
repaired to the column of July, thinking to meet the
members of the Provisional Government. This, lam
persuaded, will explain their absence, for I know their
sentiments well, and their sympathy for the French re-
volution, alike magnanimous, peaceful, and glorious, and
from which their Government will learn that Govern-
ments on the present day ought not to rely upon phy-
sical force, but upon the sympathy they have the happi-
ness and the honour to command."
M. LA:MARTINE replied :

"Be good enough, Sir, to tell the pupils of the Irish
seminary that, it the Provisional Government has not had
the satisfaction of hearing them, it has had the pleasure
of seeing them from the windows of the Hotel de Ville.
Pray, thank them, and tell them that the liberty
acquired in February by the French people is not hostile
to the human conscience. France glorifies herself, on
the contrary, in finding in her religion the source of her
liberty, and those who fraternize with her in the sen-
timents of religion will be doubly brothers."—(Loud
approbation.)

The deputation then withdrew, amidst cries :of
" Vive la Republique !" " Vive le Gouvernement
Provisoire !"

When the members of the Irish College went up to
the llotel de Ville yesterday, some of them got mixed
up with the crowd, who treated them with great re-
spect, and cried " Vive ]a Religion !" On their re-
turn many of the people accompanied them, and
repeated the same demonstrations of respect.

The Moniteur of Sunday contains the following
official announcement in relation to this reception of
the Irish deputation :
"The English Ambassador having demanded friendly
explanations with respect to the fact of an Irish flag
having been presented yesterday at the Hotel de Ville,
the Minister of Foreign Affairs has replied to him that
Franco did not recognise any other flag in England but
that of the three united kingdoms. He added, that
in replying to the Irish, he made no use of any ex-
pression which was not in conformity with that
thought, at the same time that he could not but mani-.
fest the sympathies of Franco for religious and liberal
Ireland."
The Moniteur adds—

" It is by a typographical error that the Moniteur of
this morning makes M. Lamartine say that the Republic
recognises the Irish as French citizens. The phrase
was addressed to a citizen of the name of De Sens, who
is of Irish origin, who had joined the deputation, and
who had come to offer his services to the Provisional
Government. lle was-the only citizen to whom M. de
Lamartine replied, "The Republic congratulates itself on
your being naturalised in France, and adopts you as a
French citizen.'"

The new sf. pieces of the Republic were issued to
the public on Friday. They are well executed.
The Orleans Railway Company has issued a notice
to the holders of its bonds, stating that, being unable
at present to pay them off, it is obliged to demand a
delay of six months, for which period it will pay the
interest in advance at the rate of five per cent. per
annum. The company declares, that having been
authorised to provide for the execution of works
called for by the increased traffic on the line, it had
collected together, in order to meet its engage-
ments, a sum of more than four millions, a great
part of which was in bons du trsor. The finan-
cial crisis having rendered it impossible to make
these securities available, it has found itself under the
necessity of demanding. the indulgene-, iust named.
at,
present crisis was over, it would be in a position to