The Sun.
London, England, 1848-10-19 00:00:00

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LONDON, THIIRSDAY,VCTOBER 19, 1848.

The memorial from the citizens of Dublin praying
for an extension of the royal mercy to Mr. Satlra
Oliaiee (and as a natural consequence to his mis-
guided associates, who have been convicted before the
Special Commission, now sitting at Clonmel), was
presented on Monday to his Excellency the Lord
Lieutenant of Irelind, by the deputation appointed
for that purpose. The numerous and influential
signatures attached to the petition—the universal
feeling of men of all classes, shades, and 'varieties of
politico" feeling in support of its prayer, coupled with
the strong and unanimous recommendation of
the jury by whom the verdict was returned, which
subjected the unfortunate gentleman to the fearful
penalties prescribed by the law for those convicted of
high treason, afford the strongest hope that the Go-
vernment will comply with the general desire that
the lives of all parties concerned may be spared, and
that the public may not be horrified by the execution
of the barbarous sentence. This expectation is
strengthened by the demeanour of the distinguished
nobleman who has so ably discharged the duties of
the Viceroyalty of Ireland during a period of unex-
ampled difficulty, when receiving the deputation ; and
by the tone and character of his reply to the Lord Mayor
of the Irish metropolis, and the other influential
gentlemen who accompanied his Lordship in his
mission of mercy. The application was judiciously
limited to the remission of the extreme penalty.
There was no undue interference with the royal
prerogative, no attempt at dictation, as to the
nature or amount of the punishment that should be
subseituted for that of death and mutilation. The
memorial simply stated that the petitioners "cor-
dially concurred in the recommendation of the jury
by whom the prisoner had been found guilty, and
humbly and earnestly entreated the exercise of her
MAJESTY'S gracious prerogative of mercy in his
favour." Although no definite answer was returned,
on the ground that the Commission was still sitting
at Clonmel, and occupied with the trial of persons
charged with the same offence, and also that notice
of a writ of error had been given, yet
his Excellency gave the strongest assurance
that " full weight should be given to the
recommendation of the highly, respectable j ury

who tried Nr. O'BRIEN." A general impression,
therefore, prevails, that justice will be tempered
with mercy towards all the State prisoners.
The citizens of Dublin have not, however, been
singular in the expression of their feeling. ' A
similar memorial was adopted at a meeting held at
Cork, which was likewise attended by men of all
parties, and which was signed by the mayor, clergy-
men, magistrates, and other inhabitants of that
ancient city. The latter document is worthy of the
highest consideration. It enters at greater length
into the reasons which render it most impolitic
and unwise " to carry out the dreadful sen-
tence of the law " than the Dublin memorial.
The application is made not only on behalf of Mr.
Sulru O'BRIBN, but of all the State prisoners under
sentence of death for high treason, and it is made not
merely as an.appeal to the feeling a of humanity, which
must be entertained by every person who, considers
the circumstances of the case, but of sound policy and
expediency. The petitioners say--
"It would be unbecoming of us to make any
appeal to your Excellency's humane feelings.
We are satisfied, mercy unsolicited, would pre-
vail it' those feelings were allowed to prevail.
But in these afflicting cases the sterner influences
of State feelings interpose, and therefore, as lovers
of our native land, believing that its social
amelioration can alone proceed under the
protection and influence of peace, law, and
order, and anxious to promote contentment amongst
the people, we venture to express earnestly to your
Excellency our deliberate conviction that the exercise
in the present instance of the noblest prerogative of
the Crown will tend to secure the tranquillity of the
country, and the loyalty of the people.
" In the name then of the citizens of Cork, without
distinction of creed, class, or party, we venture to en-
treat in this instance the exercise of the Queen's
prerogative. Let it interpose between the awful
sentence of the law and its execution ; then will the
lasting gratitude of the nation be secured, and under
every social suffering it will be testified in a manner
most pleasing to your Excellency by the peaceful
demeanour of the people, and by their unalterable
attachment to her Majesty's person, her throne, and
dignity."

%;re extract the foregoing passages verbatim. They
should be considered without curtailment or mutila-
tion. They express the views of intelligent men,
well acquainted with the national character, who
hare themselves the strongest interest in the main-
tenance of peace and tranquillity, important stakes
in the welfare and prosperity of the country. They
believe that tranquillity will be restored and pre-
served by an act of mercy—they believe that pros-
perity will be promoted, that the disaffected will be
won over by the certainty that they live under a
mild, a paternal, and a powerful Government, that
can afford to exhibit moderation and leniency is the
punishment of offences that are invariably more
severely dealt with, in proportion to the strength of
the conspirators and the prospects of success
that attended their efforts. The object of punishment
is not revenge—it is to deter others from the perpe-
tration of similar crimes,lto act as a warning and
example to those who might offend in like manner.
That object, however, would be better attained by a
different course. The crime of high treason is happily
a rare one in modern days. Forty-five years have
elapsed since any person has been convicted on a
similar charge in Ireland, and every feeling of dis-
loyalty that might induce parties to indulge in feel-
ings of a treasonable character would be better eradi-
cated by a course which would, indeed, make our
SOVEREIGN rule in the hearts and affections of her
subjects, rather than by attempting to restrain them
by the baser influences of terror and coercion.

A few years ago the people of England and the
people of France were astonished and delighted by an
event then unprecedented in royal annals—the visit
of her Majesty Queen VICTORIA to the KING of the
FRENCH. The familiar intercourse which from that
time subsisted between the royal families of France
and England still further delighted, if it no longer
astonished, the loyal subjects of both countries. When
Queer, VICTORIA and King Louis PHILIPPE rode
together, sans cereinarae, in the char-a-bane at Eu,
or when Sir ROBERT PEEL and M. GUIZOT strolled
arm-in-arm under the oaks of Windsor, the reality
of the entente cordiale became comprehensible to the
multitude. Appearances, however, are proverbially
deceitful, and such appearances, convincing as they
might have been for the moment, were anything but
conclusive proofs of the stability of the entente
cordiale. The true philanthropist, solicitous for
the fraternity of nations as any member of
the Peace Congress, would have turned with
an indifferent air from the contemplation of Royal
visits and Ministerial civilities to scrutinize the secret
sentiments of the people of the two countries. By
the homely fireside, and not in the regal reception-
room or ministerial bureau, would we have sought to
test the stability of the cordial understanding.
Experience has manifested the wisdom of such a
course. What would a personal friendship between
her Britannic MAJESTY and Louis PHILIPPE avail
now in a political point of view ? Or what would
be the worth of the best understanding in the world
between Sir ROIigERT Psfar, and M. Guizor at the
present moment under existing circumstances ? If
the entente cordiale had only meant a cordial under-
standing between the Sovereigns and Ministers of
France and England, then that entente cordiale would
now be at an end. But happily the words had a far
wider signification. Happily they may now be
pronounced as truthfully and as appropriately as ever.
This fact will be apparent to any one who takes the
trouble to inquire into the mutual relations of the two
countries. This fact will be apparent, without
trouble on the part of the inquirer, to any one who

may chance to remark the blue coats and glittering
calques of the French National Guard which are
daily to be seen in every street in London. The
visit of the French National Guard to England is,
to our thinking, an immeasurably more convincing
proof of the amicable relations of the two countries
than the royal interviews at the Chateau d'Eu, or the
return visit to Windsor Castle. The visit of the
National Guard is a very significant and most satis-
factory sign of the times. It is true, Frenchmen have
often before visited England, and English uti4rcLy have

long since been conspicuous on the Continent, but the
travellers in both cases have only travelled as indivi-
duals, and their wanderings, however influential to
themselves, have been in consequence politically in-
significant. In the present instance it is otherwise.
It is not a group of chance travellers from France
that we encounter in our daily promenades, it is the
National Guard of France, in their public and na-
tional capacity, come to fraternize with the people of
England. Military though their appearance be (for
the French are essentially a nation of soldiers), these
strangers are neither more nor less than the very
people—the shopkeepers of France, come to mingle
with the " nation of shopkeepers," as they term us,
This is a practical illustration of the principle of universal
fraternity—an illustration more solemn and more
significant, because more tangibly real, than the con-
tinual inscription of the word upon every erdre du
jour of the Republic—an illustration as solemn and
as significant as the first proclamation of that word
by the philanthropic Republican amid the stormiest
tumults of ;evolution. The proposition of universal
disarmament set forth by a member of the Peace
Congress, and approved by Mr. Connam, is immeasur-
ably less calculated to promote the cause of universal
peace, than is the appearance of these armed French-
men in the streets of London. Cordially they have
come, and cordially they have been welcomed. They
have been greeted with British hospitality, which
they have acknowledged with more than their pro-
verbial politeness. They will carry back with them,
1-t us hope, a kinder and more fraternal feeling
for England and the English people even
than that which prompted them to pay this
♦isit, and they will leave behind them similar senti-
ments in the breasts of their English: hosts. These
visits, productive of so much mutual satisfaction, are,
we are inclined to hope, only precursors of a con-
tinued course of international communication, until,
under the beneficent auspices of " fraternity," the
British Channel, realising the happy vision of the I
poet, will only serve
_

" To join the nations it divides."

MEETINa HIM ITALY-WAY.— Young Hopeful—
" Well, it's of no use, Governor; I can't stick to busi-
ness. I want to be a soldier, and you must buy me a
commission." Governor—" No, my boj, I can't afford
to buy you a commission, but I'll tell you what I will
do; if you will go down to Chatham and enlist, I will
give you my word of honour I won't buy you On"—
Punch.