The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-02 00:00:00

THEATRE ROYAL, ADELPHI.
THIS EVENING

rill be repeated an entirely New Drama, called THE LIONESS
OP THE NORTH, or, The Prisoner of Shlasselboarg Alexis
Itoraanouski, Mr. Webster; Tripteleraus Kroet, Mr. Wright; Eliza-
beth, Madame Celeste.
After which, THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH. John Peery-
hingie, Mr. 0. Smith; Caleb Plummer, Mr. Lambert; Tackleton,
Mr. Cullenford; Zdward, Mr. Selby; Dot, Mrs. Fitzwilliam; Bertha,
Woolgar; May Fielding, Miss Taylor.
To eenelade with an entirely New and Original Christmas Pan-
t'unhn., called HARLEQUIN AND POONOOWINGKEEWANO-
ILIttEEDEEPLOREEDEEBUSKEERANG; or, The King of the
Cannibal Islands. Harlequin, Mr. T. Ireland ; Columbine, Miss
Fleminz ; Clown, Mr. C. 3. smith; Pantaloon, Mr. 3fitchemsou.

TIIBATREROYA.L' LYCEUM.
THIS EVENING WILL BE pERFOR3IED
THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH:
A
OF ROME, FAIRY
TALE
The r rita et pal CharActers by Mr. Keel Mr•
Mr. F. Vining, Mrs. Kaley, Miss H. e • Emery, Mr. Meadows,
Y. Mrs. WOO
vireatravaganza,
Grove, Oss Howard, Miss Forster, and Miss Turnr. 111 d
-e' 31i"
After whleli will be repeated a New Grand Romantic
Schah of
entitled THE ENCHANTED HORSE ; or, Prince
ss of Bengal. Principal Characterssuzb
Porsla and the Prine.sl
Keeley, Wigan, F. ma:thews, Collier, Turner, Kinloch,
Dawson, Howard, Arden, &e:"
d ames Keeley, Villars, Hodg6l.l,
OXFORD-iTMr.
THIS EVENING
Will he repeated THE CRICKET OX THE HEARTH. The
Principal Characters by Messrs. Ryder, Compton, Leigh Murray,
~IrtneY, Mrs. Stirling, Mist; Marshall, Mrs. Fosbroke, Miss
Rrentnell, and Miss Somers.
To be tblloweel by a New Extravaganza, entitled JEAMES, THE
RAILROAD FOOTMAN OF BERKELEY-SQUARE. Jeames Plush,
Compton.
To eonolude with a New Christmas Pantomime, entitled THE
RAY OF THE KINGDOM ; or. HARLEQUIN AND THE FAIRY
LUE BELL. Harlequin, Mr. W. H Harvey; Columbine, Miss
; Clown, Mr. Flexmorc ; Pantaloon, Mr. T. Hill.

ROYAL. OLYMPIC THEATRE.
THIS EVENING

_ -
will be pvasentod a Domestic Drama of powerful interest, entitled
THE LADY OF ST. TROPEZ. George Maurice, Mr. J. Browne;
("mint D'Aubrieve, Mr. Brookes ; Hortense (the Lady of St. Tropes),
Miss L. Melville.

To be followed by the MARRIED BACHELOR.

♦nd enneluding with the now Pantomime, unapproachable for glee
• grandeur, called FORTUNATUS ; or, THE MAGIC CAP.
✓ -xtunatus, Miss Hamilton ; Prince Megrim, Mr. Gockrill ; Fairy
I,Leen, Miss Bromley ; Harlequin, Mr. Smythers ; Pantaloon, Mr
Charles ; Clown, Mr. Jeffertni; Columbine, Miss Laidlaw.

ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITITEATRE OF AMTS.
THIS EVENING

will be performed the novel Drama of THE PYRENEES. In
which it. 'Welien's celebrated Deg Emile will appear, whose per-
th:oaances at the Cirque Olympique, Paris, has drawn crowded
1...-"n3es for the last nine months.
Nee. Scenes of the Circle, combining the talent of tho French and
English Artistes.
r which will be repeated a New Grand Comic Equestrian Pan-
Art - bed HARLEQUIN DON QITIXOTTE LA MANCHA;
to-nime, C
or,
sancho rasza, and Dulc_lcn.ea of nohow, with new Scenery,
in'euras, :Vectianical Changes,

DAVIDGE'S ROYAL SURREY THEATRE.
THIS EVENING
Wlll he performed TIIII MENDICANTtes SON or, Ton, he
Rog Jew of
Senthwark. Supported by 3lessrs, Hin, Johnsers,
It aYlard, Lewis, ileslop ; Mesdames IL Vining, Martin,
nd Daly,
ketrUFZ.b. new Grand Christmas Pantomime, entitled
The uowe;iiii AND TILE OLD WITCII OF TEDDINGTON ;
Columbine, NITYao" "ood Queen Bess. IT ariequin, Mr. Cormack ;
e' '
AlivAnderson; sprit Yss ; CloWn, 31r. Paul Herrlag i
Pantaloon,
Stilt.

ROYAL, VIUTORIA THEAT/CE.
RIMUJID PLANTAG
TAD; EVENINd.
ET in Three Acts, supported by messrs.
YN
Osbaldiston, E. F. Saville T., Fed
rericks, lli gie, Dale, Herbert,
After which, Professor
gearle, and MiSaes Vincent:Richardson, Eliza Torrey, Mrs. G. Lee.
HEMMINGS and his SONS will give more
unparalleled feats of Classical Gymnasia than ever yet has been an surpas gven
sin e the celebrated Risley himself.
hibited,
OX-
To conslduds with a now gorgeous Pantomime, called TIPPITY-
4VITCHET; or, HARLEQUIN TIM BOBBIN and the COMICAL
ccr.rc uxii of LASCASRIRE. Harlequin. Mr. chaptno
s, Messrs. E. Blanchard
; Coluni-
binit• Xi" Le Vita; the Two Clowns,
anchard and
31`—,• - Nla Id ; tag
an
Two Pantaloons, Mr. Franklin and •he veteran Tom
_._._._......_._.____xtng of Pantomime and Prtnoe of Yantaloons.
Elanch.-d. 'be very
______..................
A fine
,ii.-h of white currants was gathered on
in the garden of William Ford, Esq., Yeo,
Chrtstmas-dAy; .
,'Vestern Lama
ary,
near yesampton....
....

THE WEATHER.—SUN OFFICE, JAN. 2.
THERMOIDIFER, Lowest, 29 ; Highest, 40 ; Noon, 34.
BAROMETER, 33,33.—W1ND W., frosty.

HIGH WATER AT I.OXDON-HRIDGE THIS DAY.
31,ming 112 minutes after 4 Evening IS minutes after 5.

by which alone the utility of the subscription con-
tracts may be preserved, are impracticable.

And the fact is, that these inquiries are imprac-
ticable. As Lord SHAFTESBURY says, the session, or
even the year, would not be long enough for a com-
plete inquiry into even one subscription contract for a
large sum total. If you are to go into inquiries as

to the pecuniary means of individuals, common jus-
tice requires that such inquiries should be made in a
scrupulous, painstaking manner, which involves time
And then how is pecuniary competency to be fixed ?
Will any two men agree as to the standard of
pecuniary competency in such cases ? Is a man to
be required to be able to pay down any day, in a
slump sum, the whole amount for which he has
signed the deed ? Most persons will say that this
would be most unjust, as he would only be called upon
by the company to pay the sum in several instalments,
extending over several years, and perhaps never at
all be called on to pay the whole sum. What portion
then of the sum is he to be required to possess, in
order to establish his competency ? Again, is he not
to be allowed the benefit of his credit, as well as of
his property, in this inquiry ? Is he to be debarred
from reckoning on savings of income, gains in busi-
ness, gains by railway speculations, for the payment
of his instalments ? Then, again, you cannot isolate
one subscription contract. To what extent has a
subscriber in one railway company made himself
liable in other companies ? All this shows the im-
practicability of the suggested inquiries into sub-
scription contracts. If they are to be made at all,
coon find
tthey
make must
t h completelycommit;teaensdwinoultdhesoaot
emb ommapdlee t ely,
themselves " in wandering mazes lost."
But even if these inquiries were not impracticable,
there are other great and insuperable objections to
them. They would strike a fatal blow at railway
enterprise. Who would embark in railway specula-
tion if it is necessary to involve a ripping up of all
his private affairs before a Parliamentary Committee.
No man, whose credit was of consequence to him
(and what man's is not ?), could subscribe a railway
contract without running a risk of having that credit
endangered by the malice, or (at beat) interested zeal
of parties interested in competing schemes. But the
publicity itself would be an extinguisher on railway
speculation ; and without railway speculation, depend
upon it, there will be no railways ; and why is railway
speculation to be proscribed ? What is all commerce
but speculation ?

The publicity to which the names of railway sub-
scribers are, as it is, exposed by Parliament has, we
have no doubt, only an injurious effect on the cha-
racter of railway speculation. The House of Com-
mons requires its railway Committees to include al-
ways in their reports a list of the names of sub-
scribers to the amount of 2,0001. and upwards, and
last year it is well known that a Parliamentary paper
was published separately, giving the names of all
persons who had subscribed any railway contract for
an amount exceeding 2,000/. Many a strong mind
is not above a prurient fondness for gossip ; and this
Parliamentary paper, giving insight into the railway
speculations of individuals of all classes and occupa-
tions, has been more popular than a new novel. What
is the natural consequence ? That persons who do
not like to have their affairs canvassed—who have no
objection to a profitable investment, but will not have
it on that condition—who are sensitive as to their
credit ;—the very men, in short, whose participa-
tion in railway enterprise is most desirable, decline
signing railway contracts, and the field is left more
than ever to the stags.
Let not our remarks be misunderstood. We oppose
publicity in this case, not from a desire to encou-
rage improper speculation, hut because we believe
that it has no effect whatever on the shameless, and
deters speculators of character, that it certainly does not
diminish, and if anything tends to increase the evil
which all right-minded persons must desire to abate.
But this evil, like all moral evils, legislation can only
deal with effectually, by dealing with it indirectly.
We shall take a future opportunity of suggesting one
or two regulations, very simple and very easy,
which would strike a deadlier blow at " stagging "
than all lists of names or inquiries into names, carried
on to the end of the world, would ever accomplish.

At the meeting held at Hereford, on Wednesday
last, the League achieved another great triumph.
Hereford is situated in an agricultural neighbourhood,
and the protectionists mustered and showed fight.
The monopolists left no stone unturned to endeavour
to divert the meeting from its purpose. Mr. Tom-
HINS in vain endeavoured to revive the fallacy that
the corn-laws were for the benefit of the la-
bourers. He was met by indignant cries of
" six shillings a week ;" and, although he posi-

tively affirmed that the agricultural labourers
were now better off than they had ever been, he did
not venture to assert that the average rate of v‘ ages
was more than 6s. a week. Coupling, therefore, his
affirmative with his omission, we come to the conclusion
that the wages of the agricultural labourer in the dis-
trict with which Mr. Tian is connectedhave never,
since the enactment of the corn-law, exceeded 6s.
a week, and yet this gentleman and his brother pro-
tectionists still attempt to " bamboozle" the la-
bourer by telling him that the corn-law
has been enacted for his especial benefit.
Mr. Tommyrs concluded an ultra-protectionist
speech by proposing an ultra free-trade amend-
ment. The " dodge," however, did not succeed
—the "dodger" had not been sufficiently "artful."
Acting on the sensible advice of Mr. COBDEN, to do
one thing at the time, the meeting carried the original
resolution in favour of a total and immediate repeal of
the corn-laws. Having done that, they agreed to a
resolution in favour of free trade generally. That,
however, was a mere work of supererogation ; for
when once the monster monopoly sinks, it will drag
down every other monopoly with it in its vortex.
Let the corn-laws be repealed, and, within twelve
months, there will not be protective duty of any sort
or description left.

The leading articles of the Paris papers, which
owing to the severe weather in France and the bad-
ness of the roads, we have received at a very late hour,
are chiefly filled with comments on the proceed-
ings of the Chamber of Deputies, but we find
nothing in them of interest to the English
reader. The success of the Ministry in all the
sessional appointments has been complete. The re-
sult has had a favourable effect on the stock and
share-market, and every kind of security had
advanced.

On Wednesday the Three per Cents. for cash closed at
83f. ; for Account, 83f. 30c. ; Five per Cents., 120 f. 50c. ; for
Account, 1201. 15c. ; Bank of France Shares, 3,3001. t
Spanish Three per Cents. 401,4 f. ; Spanish Five
per Cents. 371,4 f. ; Neapolitan and New Loan, no quota-
tions. The share market has followed the upward
movement of the stocks, and all the leading lines have im-
proved. Paris and Orleans left off at 1,257 f. 50c.; Paris
and Rouen, 1,032 f. 50c. ; Ruuen and Havre, no quotations;
Avignon, 985 f.: Vierzon, 680 f. ' • Strasburg and Basle, 2601;
Boulonge and Amiens, 550 f. ; Northern, 763 f. 75c. ; Bor-
deaux, 660 f. ; Fampoux, 500 f. The promise market has also
improved; Lyons Definitives. 145 f.; Strasburg ditto, 60f.;
and Tours and Nantes ditto, 90f.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, Jay. 1.
Anglo-Belgian — Madrid and Valencia...
—Mauritius
Barba does
Callao, Lima,
Boulogne and Arniens 114.i Nanntr and Liege 4
Bordeaux &Mediterran North Jamaica ...
Bordeaux and Toulouse Orleans and Vierzon
Ceylon . .... .. ..
.. ..
13°. & Cette (Espeleta) 2 Orleans and Bordeaux 1l
DO. ( Mackenzie's ).. 2 Over Yssel -
Paris& Lyons (Laffitte) 2 'l,i
citic Coast and Pa-
Dutch Rhenish ..
''
...
--
- Ditto (Ganneron's). 3A
Central of Spain Ditto (Caloa's) - 2%
Demerara ''''''
• •
''''" ''''''' 214 Paris and 0r1ean5......
Dendre Valle ''
Ditto (Sud Est)
Dieppe ir a nt Parisl alho i . 1.
n.
. c-t
: 81
1/5 Paris
alDrr. GI
o(ss a. c an(onaßAmndeydrpßriad. ur6edel
Strasburgi,sL 18) --
ns e ..„
and Havre —
1\ 1 1
t; a:
0, riesiar
en d
North St.
of Quentin.
spa i n . .. .
._---
S t r as 1 ) s r a n I I
East Indian
Grt Northern of France
Constituted
Meuse .... 6
Great Indian Peninsular
Do. Pepin le Ilallenr,.
Great Paris and Lyons. 2,4
Bale ....
Great Western Bengal Tournay,jaZ
Great Western Canada 31A den, and Ilia"' Lan-
Jam ales S. Mid. Junction j Tears and tt . _
Nantes
Do. North Midland — 1 (Mackenzie's). '
Do. Extension

Jersey,
Louvain and Jemappe 23A
Lyons and Avignon— 2%
Luxembourg

Le. (O'Neurs).".
Trinidad.....,
Verona and Ancona....
West Flanders

Sir Robert Peel, Lord Lincoln, Sir James Graham,
and Mr. Gladstone returned to town to-day from a
visit to her Majesty at Windsor Castle.
It is expected that a Privy Council will be held
to- morrow at Windsor, when the Duke of Buccleuch
will be appointed Lord President of the Council, in
the room of the late Lord Wharncliffe, and the other
newly appointed Ministers will kiss hands on their
respective appointments,

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