The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-11 00:00:00

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LONDON, TUESDAY, JULY 11, 1848.

We carefully abstained from noticing or making
the slightest allusion to the subject of the recent
Chartist trials, so long as a single one of the cases re-
mained sub judice, s 6 id a jury had as yet to pro-
nounce its verdict on the guilt or innocence of any of
the accused. The last and most important of these
trials took ;place yesterday. In every instance the
offences charged have been most conclusively es-
tablished against the several prisoners. The majesty
of the law has been vindicated, and those who at-
tempted to disturb the peace and tranquillity of the
entire nation, and to stimulate men suffering the
privations consequent upen a general cessation of
employment, to armed resistance against the
authorities, are now undergoing the severe
but salutary punishment due to the crimes
for which they have been convicted. It is
now, therefore, perfectly legitimate to direct the
public attention to the serious character of these
offences, to show that it was essential to the safety of
the country that such proceedings should be nipped
in the bud, and suppressed by force of law before
matters had assumed a still more formidable aspect,
and the unhappy dupes of those misguided men had
been plunged into guilt of still greater magnitude,
which could alone have been expiated by an ignomi-
nious death on the scaffold. It cannot be denied that
the law officers of the Crown, in selecting the cases

for trial, and also in preparing the indictments, tem- ,
pered justice with mercy, and exhibited a striking
instance of forbearance. An example had become
necessary to convince those who desired to effect
changes in the law of the land by violence and in-
timidation, and to coerce those who conscientiously
differed from their political views and sentiments,
that the law was supreme, and that alterations and
reforms, however desirable in themselves, could only
be sought for by strictly legal and constitutional
means. In doing so, however, none were prosecuted
but the ringleaders, and those who, by the audacity of
their language and the seditious and inflammatory
sentiments to which they gave utterance, proved that
they were ready to go to the utmost lengths in the
dangerous course on which they had entered, to
poison the minds of their hearers, and, if possible, to
prepare them for becoming in turn instruments of
mischief. Every person who was present, in
any manner participating in the proceedings,
was legally responsible for the consequences ;
but none such were selected, and in no single instance
can it be asserted that the party was not morally, as
well as legally, guilty of the offences laid to his
charge.
There was no less leniency shown in the nature of
the charges preferred. The indictments were for
misdemeanour only, although, had the Government
desired to inflict a heavier measure of punishment,
convictions could as easily have been obtained under
the recent Act, which would have led to the expatri-
ation of the convicted parties for a long term of
years. It should be mentioned that there was no
creation of a new crime in England by that statute.
Under the law previously in force the parties guilty of
that open and advised speaking might have been tried,
and, if convicted, would have suffered death as traitors,
The law was then assimilated in all parts of the
United Kingdom, and while it was rendered more
stringent in Ireland, where the privilege belonging
to every British subject of full and free discussion
had been most grievously abused, its severity was
materially mitigated in this country. No reasonable
complaint could, therefore, have been made if the
Government had instituted proceedings thereunder,
and if the fate of JOHN MITCHEL had been awarded
to those who professed his principles, and strove to
propagate them amongst crowded auditories of the
poorer classes, who, without occupation or employ-
ment, were too ready to lend a ready cre-
dence to the insidious statements made, and
to follow the fatal advice offered to them. It was
not, however, necessary to go to such lengths
in this country. The people generally had not been
led astray—the magnificent demonstration of the
lovers of order on the 10th of April had testified that
there was no real danger beyond the temporary in-
convenience that might take place. The Executive
could, therefore, afford to be merciful; a prolonged
imprisonment of the offenders would show the power
and determination to enforce the law, and to prevent
a repetition of similar conduct, as well as their banish-
ment, and therefore the mitigated charge was only
pressed against them.
We cannot conclude without remarking on
the contrast exhibited between the state of Lon-
don during the past week and of Dublin du-
ring the continuance of the state trials. There
everything was excitement and feverish anxiety
—here nothing more extraordinary was apparent
than if some of the most paltry pickpockets had been
placed on their trial ; and Messrs. FUSSELL, WIL-
LIAMS, VERNON, SHARPE, LOONEY, and JONES, are
consigned to their respective cells without awaking
one single emotion save of pity and contempt.

The minority of Eighty-four must not be forgotten.
Although Parliamentary Reform—as embodied in the
motion of Mr HUME—has been denied to the popula-
tion of England by the House of Commons, that
Reform has only been stayed off, not rendered impos-
sible ; it has only been impeded for a moment, not
indefinitely postponed ; it has not been dropped into the
bottomless pit of oblivion, but has been buried for a
while only to prepare for a more glorious and trium-
phant resurrection. As far as the records of
Hansard can influence us in such an opinion, it
would really seem that questions of reform grow
something after the fashion of asparagus— sprouting
up fruitlessly for the first two or three seasons only
to be lopped off, to wither away, and to rot into the
ground, again to sprout up, again to be lopped off,
and again to wither away—until the crop rises
up at last in its real strength and maturity. Such
is reform. Such was the progress of the famous
measure passed in 1832 ; such was the progress of
Catholic Emancipation ; such was the progress of
negro emancipation ; such was the progress of
free-trade in corn, and in other articles of mer-
chandise. The doom of procrastination is inevitable ;
the ordeal of disappointment must be passed through ;
the patience of the community must be exercised.
Or, if we would have it otherwise—if we would
avoid the misery of procrastination, the annoyance
of disappointment, and the discomfort of compulsory
patience—we must abandon the moral-force system
for the physical-force system ; we must run the
hazard of destruction instead of tarrying for
the certainty of success; we must listen
to the advice of the clever madman, JOHN MITCHEL,
instead of listening to the rational and logical recom-
mendations of RICHARD COBDEN. Which shall we
do ? How shall we act ? Reason, humanity, pa-
triotism, expediency—all give the same answer. We
must wait I Not sullenly, or doubtingly, or in-
actively—but with resolution, with unanimity, with
ardour in our exertions, and with a perfect confidence
as to their result. So then let us act ; but mean-
while let not the minority of Eighty-four be for-
gotten.

Since the popular movement began in real earnest
with the commencement of the present century—no
reform has ever, on its first introduction, experienced
a defeat so singularly propitious. No first
division upon a motion chalking out such
enormous innovations has ever given such a splendid
and auspicious minority—a minority of Eighty-four.
Those eighty-four names are worth remembering, as
the names of eighty-four real Reformers, staunch
friends of the people, politicians entitled henceforth
to the perfect confidence of their fellow-countrymen.
Look at the names of those already familiar to the
Parliamentary historian. Besides the two distin-
guished tellers JOSEPH HUME and RICHARD
COBDEN, of whom it were superfluous for us to speak
in terms of eulogium—there are such men as—
CHARLES VILLIERS, the staunch antagonist of Pro-
tection in the days when to be a free-trader was to
be an outcast from the political circles JOHN
BRIGHT, the second man of the League—GEOßGE
FREDERICK MUNTZ, the Member for Birmingham—
THOMAS WAxLEY, of Finsbury—PEYRONNET THOMP-
SON, the author of Catechisms, as witty as Peter
Plymley and as unanswerable as Peter Porcupine—
RALPH BERNAL OSBORNE, of Middlesex—the Right
Hon. CHARLES TENNYSON D'EYNCOURT, of Lambeth
—Alderman HUMPHERY, of Southwark—the Right
Hon. TRoaus MILNER GIBSON, of Manchester—the
Hon. GRANTLEY BERKELEY, of West Gloucestershire
—the lion. CRAVEN FITZIIARDINGE BERKELEY, the
Liberal representative, who, as a long-tried, bold,
and Radical Reformer, has just been returned for the
fifth time for the borough of Cheltenham—Dr. Bow-
RING, the Learned Member for BoIton—WILLIAM
SHARE AN CRAWFORD, Of Rochdale—Gen. Sir DE LACY
EVANS, of Westminster—WlLLlAM EwART, of Dum-
fries—GEOßGE THOMPSON, the eloquent representative
of the Towernamlets—Osmax Ricaapo, of Worcester
—Lord.INuoENT, the noble philanthropist who sits for
the borough of Aylesbury—Sir BENJAMIN HALL, of
Marylebone, with his noble colleague Lord DUDLEY
STUART—besides sixty-three others, amongst whom
—the most marvellous of all—must be especially re-
membered the gifted representative of Canterbury,
the Honourable GEORGE, AUGUSTUS, FREDERICK,
PERCY, SYDNEY SMYTHE ! These men, and especi-
ally the names we have enumerated, must not
be forgotten. They deserve our recollection and
they shall have it. When the ballot is gained,
when the country is mapped into electoral dis-
tricts, when Parliament is triennial, when there
is a household suffrage—and the day when all
these things shall have been accomplished is by
no means distant—the names of COBDEN, HUME,
VILLIERS, the Bzair.ELßra, the THOMPSONS, BRIGHT,
BOWRING, D'EYNCOURT, and their confreres, shall
be remembered. We promise them that. We, who
are compelled by our nature, by our inclination, and
by our responsibilities into a perpetual vigilance.
They shall not be forgotten.

THE S UN, LONDON,

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.

We have received the Paris papers of yesterday.
Paris was perfectly tranquil, but new arrests and
new searches continue to be made every day. Among
other houses which have been searched is the hotel of
Queen CURISTINA, in the Rue de Courcelles. The
LFgitimatists are, it is said, deeply implicated in the
insurrection, and many of the elite of the Faubourg
St. Germain have perished in the barricades. Among
the slain the blouse and casquette of the workman
has been frequently found covering the fine cambric
shirt of the noble, and the small white and delicate
hands which clutched the musket had evidently
never toiled. None of the bodies thus discovered
have been owned by ther relatives, although several
of them have been recognised.
The Journal des Debats says :

" The investigation into the circumstances of the late
insurrection is far from being terminated. MM. La-
caille, Puget, and Haequin, juges d'instruction ut
the civil tribunal of Paris, and MM. Deusy,
Vincent, and Rene Dubail, advocates, adjoined by
the Government to the military commission, act
permanently at the fort of Ivry. They have
already heard upwards of 800 prisoners. It is in that
fort that are detained the leaders of the barricades, the
principal insurgents, and the presumed assassins of
General Brea and Captain Mangin. One of these pri-
soners, the head of the barricade of Fontainbleau, re-
lates with a frightful cynicism that when General Brea
perceived that he had been drawn into a snare, he
came up to him and said, Friend, save me, and I will
always regard you as my father—it is easy for you to
save me!' A quarter of an hour after, the General was
dragged into a guard-house and pierced with upwards
of thirty balls. It was the same man who gave the
signal and fired the first shot. Captain Desmaretz, of
the 24th Regiment of the line, who escaped by means of
concealing himself under a bed, has just identified Dain,
Nourrit, and Milliard as parties concerned in that
dreadful act. There are still 700 prisoners to be inter-
rogated at Ivry. Several insurgents have signified their
readiness to make revelations. On their indications,
250 warrants were issued on Saturday, principally
against marchands- de-vin, keepers of lodging-houses,
and even some persons in a high position."
The Union says—

" The insurrection of June has mysteries yet un-
known. The Investigating Committee is on the path of
great discoveries. We are informed that an insurgent,
depositary of a terrible secret, has written a letter to M.
Antony Thouret, representative of the people, to offer
to reveal it to him, in exchange for his liberty, stating
that on the secret depends the safety of the Republic.
M. Antony Thouret, without prejudging anything on
this grave proposition, instantly remitted the letter to
the President of the Committee of Investigation."
The number of prisoners alreaiy arrested amounts
to 16,000.

A meeting of the mayors of the arrondissements
was held two days ago, under the presidency of the
Mayor of Paris. At this meeting reports were re-
ceived of the results of the general or partial dis-
armaments in the different legions. The following
account is given of them, and other subjects of dis-

cussion
:
"The disarmament was greatly advanced in the Bth
Legion, and was going on without any difficulty; but
in some quarters it was not complete. To effect this, it
was necessary to make further search with the concur-
rence of the Gardiens de Paris. The Boulevard Beau-
marchais remains still to be inspected. In several places
considerable quantities of arms have been discovered;
particularly on the Quai Valmy, where 200 muskets
were found in one depot. In the 9th Legion, the dis-
armament is completed. The magistrates have obtained
7,500 muskets, without reckoning those which, after the
fight, were found in the houses which were occupied by
the insurgents. And yet only 7,086 muskets had been
delivered out by the authorities. In the 12th Legion
the operation is terminated, and a great many more
arms have been recovered than had been regularly given
out. In the other arrondissements the disarmaments
have been only partial. In the Ist Legion 11 companies
have been disarmed, and 1,500 muskets brought in.
In the 2d Legion only two companies have been dis-
armed completely, but there were to be also some par-
tial disarmaments; but the operation was not finished
on Thursday. In the 3d Legion there were to
be only some partial disarmaments; but some of these
remained to be done, particularly in the streets near the
Clos Saint Lazare. In the 4th Legion the operation
was not finished. One company had completely dis-
armed. In the sth Legion the disarmaments were to be
partial, but in this seven or eight companies are of neces-
sity to be disbanded. In the Bth Legion a complete
disarmament of six companies is to be effected. In the
7th Legion the operation is to be only partial. A great
number of arms have been found in wells and on roofs
of houses, and it is expected that a much larger quan-
tity will be discovered. In the 10th Legion the disar-
mament is partial only, and has been made without any
difficulty. In the 11th Legion the operation is not
finished. Four companies were disarmed completely,but
the arms have been partially returned. In general the
disarmament was not met with any resistance, and has
been dune with the greatest facility. We are
assured that the meeting recognised the neces-
sity of a new law for meeting the various
objections that presented themselves. It was con-
sidered desirable that no citizens living in fur-
nished apartments should be armed. At the same time
the attention of the Mayor of Paris was called to the
passports with money for the expenses of travelling to
be delivered to workmen applying for them in order to
return to their own countries, and it was resolved that
the Prefect of Police should be requested to make the
necessary arrangements. The mayors entered into the
details of the service of the ateliers nationaux, and of
the relief to be given to the workmen at their own
homes. In all parts the ateliers nationaux have disap-
peared, and relief at home if afforded, in concurrence
with the Bureaux de Bienfaisance, to all who are in
want of it. In some arrondissements the gratuitous
services, in this distribution, of the National Guards
have been required and accorded, in others salaried
agents are employed. In most of the arrondissements
the late brigadiers of the ateliers nationaux earnestly
desired to be employed in the distribution of relief
at home, but the mayors have all rejected their offer,
being resolved not to. leave a germ of the organization
of the ateliers nationaux. In general the relief
has not exceeded Bf. a week, and it was agreed that it
should be distributed with the greatest discernment, so
as not to become any obstacle to the resumption of
work. The meeting received with satisfaction an ac-
count that the paper manufactories had resumed acti-
vity, and that the cabinet-makers had received some
orders. The mayors stated that they willingly received
applications for work, and would act as mediators be-
tween the masters and the men in any questions which
might arise, and would strike out of the relief-list all
such men who might refuse to take such work as was
offered to them. Finally, several of the mayors have
called to the attention of the chief administration em-
ployment of women. It would be desirable if the mayors
of arrondissements were enabled to distribute work at
home to such women as are in need. This would be a
means of reducing, by real work, the assistance granted
by the Administration. The meeting, before it broke
up, on the proposal of one of the mayors, expressed a
wish that measures should be taken by the Government
to revive work and assist the necessary resources."
General BEDEAU has at length consented to accept
the office of Minister for Foreign Affairs.
M. PROUDIION, the Socialist Member for Paris, and
the proprietor of the journal called the Representant
du Peuple, the gentleman who recently proclaimed
the doctrines that " property is theft," and " family
a prejudice," has proposed that there should be a
confiscation for three years of all rents, whether of
lands or houses, with a third of the interest received
by mortgagees, and of the incomes derived from the
public funds, &c. ; one half of this he would give to
the state, and the other half to the shop-keepers,
lodgers, and all who are in want. In commenting on
this scheme of wholesale plunder, the Constitutionnel
says:--
" The question is no longer for the writer to sustain,
as if for a wager, the detestable paradox, that property
is a robbery ; the question is to carry his views into
practice, to take back from the landlords the third cf
their revenues for the advantage of their tenants, their
farmers, their debtors, and the State. But of two things,
one—either M. Proudhon really is of opinion that pro-
perty is a robbery, and in that case the robbers ought
to be made to give back, not the third, but the whole of
what they have unlawfully taken from the public ; or M.
Proudhon is not convinced of the truth of his doctrine,
and then his plan is nothing more than a proposition .of.
legalized robbery. It is at the same time a leaven of
hatred thing down amongst those who would have to
lose and those who would have to gain in the execution
of this plan of spoliation. M. Barbes, on May 15,
wanted to take a milliard from the rich ; the insurgents
of June inscribed pillage as the device on their flags.
M. Proudhon proposes to decree at the same time
.a
forced taxation and legal pillage ! Such is the whole
groundwork of communism I
" We shall not attempt to discuss this odious extrava-
gance. It is much better at the present moment to ap-
peal to the good sense of tenants, who will certainly
comprehend that at a period when the financial situation
of the country is recovering itself, from the mere fact
of
all
at the Government has announced its intention to
faithfully keep all the engagements •of the state; a re-
spectdra revive,
tvdiforovonef,
ottfhhetaahl
Iparbivo au tre engagements is the paramount duty
t
e
good citizens, of all sincere friends of the country
Republic.workingd
should
classesf s
it
be
is
should be et
reanimatedha t,
ameliorated, ct hreadti
tt h se
con-
dition
d
that money should get into circulation; that the pros-
perity of France should resume its course, it is necessary
that the rights of the landlords should be protected not
only by the firmness of the Government and the watch-
fulness of justice, but by the good sense of the servants
themselves. After alluding to the readiness with
which landlords have come forward to meet the pressure
of the time with regard to -their tenants, the Conetitu-
tionnel proceeds—" it may be remembered that in April
last, in certain quarters, a system of refusing to
pay rent was adopted, and the landlords who refused to
yield to the exigencies of their badly-disposed tenants,
were subject to all kinds of threats and ill-treatment. In
some places furniture was removed in open day in spite
of any remonstrance or rosistance6 in others, intimida-