The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-15 00:00:00

for the full investigation into the causes of his death,
and the able statements and opinions thereby elicited,
the public would still be ignorant of the great fact
_ _ _

that death in its most horrible and terrific form

has been constantly inflicted in uur env for
a trifling breach of military regulations, in-
volving no moral guilt on the part of the
unhappy sufferer; the good old system would
still have gone on, and hundreds of lashes would
still continue to be inflicted, without any of the pre-
cautions now required being even dreamt of. The
great amelioration that has taken place is wholly
owing to the publicity given to that transaction. The
wise, the :ust caution of the Rev. Mr. TRIMMER, the
praiseworthy and honourable manner in which
he acted on that occasion, has probably saved
the lives of, has certainly prevented the most
fearful suffering, the most horrible torture, from
being inflicted on hundreds of our fellow-creatures,
of our brother Britons. He has had the happiness of
producing a result within a few short weeks for which
philanthropists might have laboured zealously during
their entire lives, and the attainment of which would
be looked upon as a sufficient reward for a life
of labour. It has been alleged as a reason
for refusing the name of the regiments in
which such abominable cruelties have been perpe-
trated, that if they were particularised invidious
comparisons might be made—it might lead persons to
entertain very unfavourable opinions of particular
officers. And why should they not do so ? believing
as we do, that it is in the worst-managed regiments,
in those governed in an ill-judged and injudicious
manner, that such punishments are the most fre-
quent, that the officer who cannot maintain
the efficiency and preserve the discipline of those
placed under his command without the constant use
of the cat, is unfit for the service, and that those who
succeed in so doing, without any, or a comparatively
small amount of punishment, thereby afford the
strongest evidence of their fitness for command.
We think it due to such officers that the
facts should be fully known to the public
that honour may be given where honour is
due, and that not merely to the officer but also to
the soldier. Would it not be a prouder boast to such a
man that he had served in a regiment whose conduct
had been so meritorious, so irreproachable, that for
twenty years not one of its members had been de-
graded by the lash, than that he had participated in
any—the most glorious and triumphant—
victory? A had and ill-conducted man
might by accident have participated in
the latter, but it must be a man of
approved merit who can boast of the for-
mer. Is there any one who would not gladly
get such a man into his service, when in the fulness
of time he had obtained his discharge, and was look-
ing for that employment which the inadequacy of
his pension, the niggardliness of his country, com-
pels him to seek ? Such a publication is due to the
deserving soldier, end it is but just that he
should receive it ; it would raise him above
a host of competitors for employment,
and would give him at once character, honour, and
consequently food. If there was any reason to
justify or excuse the commanding officer of a flogging
regiment, any peculiar or extraordinary necessity
that compelled him to adopt such a course, there
would be numerous friends and advocates ready ti;
step forward in his behalf. But, above all, the
publicity given would act as the strongest
check to the system. A cruel man may think
little of torturing those whose destinies are com-
mitted to his charge, but he will reflect before
he wantonly incurs the odium which will be the
almost certain result of the abuse of the power en-
trusted to him. For these reasons we think that the
particularisation of the regiments and the quantity of
punishment inflicted in each should, above all, have
been insisted on.
The other returns would, to a certain extent, have
shown the consequences of the system. If the public
have been unduly deprived of the services of
any man for an unreasonable time, if the injuries in
one case are much more serious than in another,
the causes which lead thereto should be investigated
and known. If the proportion of deaths within a
limited time after the infliction of corporal punish-
ment amongst those subjected thereto should greatly
exceed that of those who have not been so punished,
it would be a fair presumption that the excess
was caused by the flogging, and afford an ad-
ditional reason for its discontinuance. The sub-
sequent observations of the surgeons on the
consequences thereof would be peculiarly valuable,
and we cannot conceive by what process of reason-
ing it can be contended that such observations of an
officer on duty, as to what he observed in the per-
formance of that duty, to his commanding officer,
can be considered as confidential communications.
We sincerely hope that if the lash is not abolished
by next session, that the demand for these returns,
which must be of the greatest benefit, may be
reiterated and acquiesced in.

Malta papers of the 4th have been received. The
Malta Times of that date declares that nothing could
have been more kind than the reception of MEHEMET
ALT by the SULTAN, thus directly contradicting the
accounts which some of the Paris papers bad copied
from another of the Malta journals.
Inaanum Pacns arrived at Malta in the steam-
frigate Avenger on the 2d. He was received with a
salute from Fort Angelo, and another salute was
fired on the following morning when he landed, ac-
companied by Admiral Sir Lucius CURTIS. On
landing he was received by Colonel BALNBEVIS, the
acting Governor and his staff, and a guard of honour
of the 42d Royal Highlanders. When his Highness
arrived at the Governor's house, there was another
guard of honour from the 88th regiment to receive
him. He left the same evening for Alexandria.
The following is an extract from a letter, dated
Constantinople, July 27, which appears in some of
these papers :
" Yesterday Sir S. Canning, the English Ambassador,
tEugr3e.pht.
quitted this capital in the Ueda steamer for Trieste, and
hleenc2,.-nvheardsataionn,inwtehrvichiewwawsitrhaththeer
lPoancgl:athoei
thence to London by Paris. Some days before his depar-
ts
Excellent}
Viceroy expressed to the Ambassador how grateful he was
both towards the people and the Queen of Great Britain for
the reception given to Ibrahim Pacha. Speaking of the trans-
port of the India mail across Egypt, the Pacha declared that
he perfectly well understood all the advantages which must
result to his country from the establishment of a good and
sure passage across the Isthmus of Suez; but be added that
this means of communication ought not to he a question of
commercial speculation, and therefore he himseX should un-
dertake the work, and not entrust it to any company what-
ever. Before his departure Sir S. Canning presented to the
Porte an energetic note on the testimony of Christians in
the Turkish courts of justice. The present system, the nose
says, is a continual source of perjuries, for the Christian,
knowing that his testimony cannot be received, buys over a
Mussulman, and gets him to swear what lie wants. Men
are found at Constantinople who live by selling their oaths,
doing this openly, and disposing of their services to the first
comer. The note concludes by the observation that such a
state of things, if not remedied, may influence the relations
of the Porte with Foreign Powers, in case circum>tances
should again occur analogous to those of the affair of Sir
Lawrence Jones. Mr. Wellesley, son of Lord Cowley,'is to
1111 the functions of British Minister during Sir Stratford
Canning's absence, or until a new Ambassador is named.
On the 24th Sir Stratford Canning received a dispatch from
the new English Ministry, offering to maintain him in his
post, but he had already decided on returning to England."

Intelligence has been received from Lima, to the
effect that the Peruvian Government has abolished the
right hitherto conceded to foreign Consuls in cases of
dispute between the subjects of their respective nations
and natives, of calling the parties before them, and,
endeavouring by conciliation to prevent the neces-
sity of their going before the tribunals of the country
They are now merely to be allowed to give their as-
sistance to their fellow-subjects when the cases are
before the tribunals.
The Foreign Consuls at Lima have formally pro-
tested against this abolition.

On the evening of the 6th instant there were nu-
merous assemblages of the people at Cologne. The
citizens, however, had formed themselves into a
guard, and they succeeded in maintaining the public
tranquillity. A deputation, appointed by the respect-
able inhabitants, met on the 7th, to investigate the
circumstances attending the riots of the 4th, and to
draw up an address to the KING on the subject.
The King of PRUSSIA arrived at Vraemgnoarth on
the 3d August, and immediately proceeded to pay a
visit to Prince INlErrsaNicu. The Ministers Da CA-
MTS and D'UR'DEN, Count SomNs, and Count DE
FLAIIAVT, are also at Vraemgnoarth.
Letters from Kiel (Holstein), of the 6th August,
state that, notwithstanding the urgent representations
of the Royal Commissioner, the States refused to pro-
ceed to the consideration of any business so long as