The Sun.
London, England, 1848-03-24 00:00:00

tb trbf Wbition

SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock.

FRANCE.

The Government plan for making advances on
deposits of goods and merchandise is generally ap-
proved ; it is thought to be an approach to our system
of bonded warehouses and negotiable warrants.

A credit of 500,000 f. on the revenue of 1848, is
taken by the Government to be applied to the repair
and preservation of the 18 palaces, galleries, museums,
and establishments kept up by the Monarchy. An-
other credit of 250,000 f. is taken for the expense of
building the temporary hall of meeting for the
National Assembly.

The Court of Assizes of the Seine is about to enter
on the trials of the persons arrested during the attacks
on the railway stations of the Amiens and Rouen
lines.

The Patr•ie states that a Republic has been pro-
claimed in the Duchy of Luxembourg, but not in the
city itself, which is under the guns of the fortress.
The news is official.

A levy of recruits has been ordered throughout the
Kingdom of Poland.
The Chapel of the Tuileries, which was uninjured
during the occupation of the Chateau, will be opened
for Divine service on Sunday next.
The Journal des Debats publishes the following
letter, addressed from Lyons, on the 18th inst., by
the Commissary of the Provisional Government to
the Minister of the Interior :
" Notwithstanding the continual rumours and the
alarming reports propagated, but which have no
foundation, I think I can answer for the maintenance
of tranquillity and order. Nevertheless, the financial
crisis is alarming."

ITALY.
THE ROMAN CONSTITUTION.

We have received an extraordinary supplement, or
" flying-sheet," of La Lega Italiana of Saturday last
(the 18th inst.), which contains a formal proclama•
tion of the new Roman Fundamental Constitution by
his Holiness Pope Pius IX.
As the mere summary of the general arrange-
ments of the new constitution occupies a space of
three or four closely printed columns, exclusive of the
introductory address to the people, we can only state
the substance of the same in a few brief sentences :

The College of Cardinals (chosen by the Pope) is
to be constituted a Senate, inseparable from the
game, and two Deliberative Councils for the forma-
tion of the laws are to be established, consisting of
the " High Council" and the " Council of Deputies?'
The judicial tribunals are to be independent of the
Government, and no extraordinary commission courts
are to be in future established. The National Guard
is to be considered an institution of the State.

The Pope convokes and prorogues the Legislative
Chambers, and dissolves the Council of Deputies,
being required to convoke a new Chamber within
three months, which will be the ordinary duration
of the annual session. The sessions are to be public.
The member's of the Senate are to be appointed by
the Pope for life, and their number is not unlimited.
The qualification of a Senator is the age of 30 years,
and the plenary exercise of civil and political rights.

The Senate will be chosen par preference from the
prelates, ecclesiastics, ministers, judges, councillors
of state, consistorial lawyers, and the possessors of
an income of 4,000 scudi per annum.

The Pope will appoint the President and Vice.
Presidents.

The second council will be elective, on the
numerical basis of one deputy to every 30,000 souls.
The electors are to consist of the gonfalonieri,
(mayors), priors, and elders of the cities and
communes ; the possessors of a capital of
300 acucli ; the payeis of direct taxes to the amount
of 12 scudi per annum; the members of the col-
leges, of their fagalties, and the titular professors of
the universities ; the members of the councils of dis-
eipline, the advocates and attorneys practising in the
collegiate tribunals, the laureates ad honorem in the
state universities, the members of the chambers
of commerce, the heads of factories and industrial
establishments, and the heads of scientific societies
and public institutions assessed for certain amounts.
The qualification of a deputy is the possession of a
capital of 3,000 scudi, or the payment of taxes to
the amount of 100 scudi per annum, and the
members of colleges and professors of universities,
&e., will be eligible ex officio. The profession of
the Popish religion is indispensable as a qualifica-
tion for the exercise of civil and political rights.
A distinct electoral law will regulate the elections of

deputies. The persons of the members of both
councils are sacred, as far as their votes and
speeches are concerned, but it appears that the pri-
vileges of freedDm from arrest on civil and criminal
process are limited to the actual session and a month
before and after. All laws and new taxes must be
sanctioned by these two councils and assented to by
the Pope; but the councils are not to be allowed to
propose laws which may affect ecclesiastical' or
mixed affairs which may be opposed to the canons
and disciplines of the Church, or which may tend to
vary or modify the present statute. They are also
forbidden to discuss the " religious diplomatic rela-
tions" of the Holy See to foreign countries.
The discussion of financial matters exclusively
appertains to the Council of Deputies. The sum or
civil list appropriated to the endowment of the Pope
and the College of Cardinals, and to ecclesiastical
purposes generally, as well ns to the expenses of
the corps diplomatique, the Pontifical Guards, the
maintenance of the Apostolical palaces and
museums, and various other purposes, is fixed at
600,000 scudi per annum, including a reserve fund
for contingencies. The canons, tributes, and dues,
amounting to the annual sum of 12,000 scudi, are
to remain at the entire disposal of the Pope. The
Ministers are responsible for their actions, and have
a right to speak in both Councils, whether members
or not. The session of the Chambers will be sus-
pended by the death of the reigning Pontiff, but the
new Pope must convene them a month after his
election. The Ministers are to be confirmed and
replaced by the Sacred College.
The rights of temporal sovereignty exercised by a
defunct Pontiff are vested in the Sacred College,
during the interregnum.
There will also be a Council of State, composed of
ten councillors, and a body of auditors not exceeding
twenty-four. This Council will be required to draw
up projects of laws, and to give its advice on admi.
nistrative affairs in cases of emergency. Ministe-
rial functions may also be conferred upon it by a
special law.

The present statute will be enforced on the opening
of the new Councils, which will take place ab3ut the
first Monday in June. The functions of the present
Council of State will cease 20 days previous to the
opening of the Councils; but it will, nevertheless,
continue to examine such administrative measures
as may be presented to it for consideration. All the
legislati►e enactments not contrary to the decress of
the present statute remain in force.
The proclamation is dated the 14th of March, and
h authenticated by the sign-manual of his Holiness.
The advices from Naples in the Lege Paliana of
Saturday, announce the expulsion of the Jesuits from
that city in accordance with the popular will. The
indignation against the " holy" fathers was general
and nothing but a promise to leave Naples saved them
from summary vengeance.
It was feared at Naples that Messina was still a
prey to the lames of civil war. The Government,
however, had sent a special messenger to stop the
further effusion of blood by the proclamation of the
new constitution.