The Sun.
London, England, 1848-05-02 00:00:00

OVvittag

LONDON, TUESDAY, AIAY 2, 1848,

An extraordinary amount of repugnance
evinced list evsning by several of the more
guisbed among our Liberal represenlbative: d. was
i
Houso of Commons against the introduction
()fn the
resident in
of a ew.qc:ve character to foreigners
Great ilritain. Wkh all our heart we sympathise inn
that repugnance, and yet we are as heartily rejoiced
that the second.rea.lirg of the Alien 13111 was carried
with a majority of 1 I 9. Doubtless to those who are
couscituitiously opposed to this particular proposition
of the Government there will appear in the foregoing
decimation w w inconsistency.
To a ye
onderful degree of
To oar mind, however, we are guilty of no incon-
sistency whatever in abhorring the one project and
commending the other, for in our estimation there is
between the two nut even a shadow of resemblance.
Those who imagine that they are remaining true to
that great Constitutional cause of liberality with which
the kllustrious names of BROUGHAM, Fox, GREY,
WHITBRSAD, ROMILLY, WILBERFORCE, HOLLAND)

MACKINTOSU, and LANDSDOWNE have become iden-
tified are labouring under a deplorable delusion.
This delusion arises from a sudden and extravagant
obliquity of judgment in regarding as identical the
circumstances of 1793 and of 1848, and in repre-
hending with equal ardour the despotic Act demanded
by the Cabinet of PITT, and the harmless and rational
( Act required by the Cabinet of RUSSELL. Between
the two Bills there is not one jot more analogy than
there is between the two epochs—the bloody epoch
when ROBESPIERRE was in the ascendant, and the
pacific and fraternal epoch when the political pulse of
France beats in unison with the gentle heart of
LAMARTINE. True it is that Mr.Buelee in 1793 sup-
ported the Alien Bill of Mr. PITT because his
whole soul revolted at the atrocities of those satur
nalias of murder and spoliation which imparted for
ever a diabolical significance to the 10th of August
and the 7th of September. True it is that a lively
imagination or a miraculous gift of penetration may
detect in LEDRU ROLLIN a DANTON, in SORRIER. a
CIIAUMETTE, in CABET a lIEBERT, in BLANQUI a
MAriaz, in LERROUX a VARLET, and in the Demo-
eratie Pacifique a travestie of the Vieux Cordeliers.
Yet, granting all this—granting there were ample
cause for dreading the revival of the Reign of Terror.
and of the emulation of those ruthless democrats
who in the Committee of Public Safety and in the
Revolutionary Tribunal connived at the blasphemies
of ANACRARSIS KLOOTZ, and at the pitiless accusa-
tions of BILLAUD Valteeses—we maintain that there
would still be required a reason for the passing of an
Alien Act like that submitted to the House of Com-
mons in 1793. No massacre at Paris, no diffusion
of anarchical doctrines on the continent, would, to our
thinking, ever justify an Act so despotic and uncon-
stitutional. It is because the Alien Bill of 1848 is
diametrically the reverse of the Alien Bill of 1793,
that we are disposed to accept the former cordially,
while we continue to regard with abhorrence
the very remembrance of the latter. To explain our
meaning thoroughly it is only necessary to observe
that the measure introduced to Parliament in 1793,
and afterwards revived in 1814, empowered the So-
vereign or the Privy Council to proclaim any indivi-
dual an alien, and to drive him from the country
without assigning any reason whatever, and without
being restrained in these tyrannical proceedings by
any sense of responsibility. Whereas according to
the Alien Bill of 1848 the Government will only be
authorised to proceed on information sufficiently
decisive to satisfy the mind of the Secretary of State
that the person in question is embarked in enter-
prises (or call them, if you will, conspiracies,) calcu-
lated to be productive of very dangerous consequences-
Even, then, according to a declaration made last night
in the House of Commons by the Right Hon. the
Attorney-General,—" if an application were made in
the Lower House for such particulars and informa-
tion, the Secretary of State would be bound to pro-
duce them in justification of the Government." In
this circumstance alone there is an ample guarantee
that • justice will be shown to those unfortunate re-
fugees who are driven to this country for shelter
'from the itOrini and perils of continental revolution,
Beyond this, however, there is a still more
remarkable security to those foreigners who are
actuated by merely pacific and reverential
sentiments ; and that is the facility which at present
exists of obtaining letters of naturalization. Some

conception of how great this facility is may be
gleaned from the fact that, while in 1793 and 1814
"insuperable objections presented themselves to kb-
reigners in obtaining letters of naturalization," no less
than 789 such letters have been obtained, at an insig-
nificant pecuniary outlay, since the passing of the
Naturalization Act of 1844. Consequently, as
letters of naturalization can be obtained so readily,
and as those who are naturalized are not capable of
being subjected to the penalties of the Alien Bill, and

as the powers of the Government are re.

stricted in this instance within the narrowest
limits, and as the Government, even when
acting within those limits will be responsible to the
vigilance of Parliament—we are disposed to welcome
the proposition of her Majesty's Ministers with a
cordial and unconditional confidence. Nu danger
can by possibility ensue in consequence of re-
posing so small an addition of power in the hands
of our rulers, and the character of England will
remain unchanged as the resort of political desti-
tution, and the refuge of culpable .or unfortunate

Istatesmen. Some intelligent opponents have ob-
jected to the Bill, because, in their estimation, it
may be regarded as an insult in Paris, and
as an evidence of jealousy towards the French
Government. We should like very much,
indeed, to know whether any honest French-
man would consider his country insulted by
the infliction of penalties upon some unprincipled
adventurer in the shape of a' Propagandist,
and whether he would not consider his country in-

suited by the derision cast upon the accent of French•

men by the Hon. Member for Oldharn, and by tha

comparison of the citizens of France to ourang-
outangs, which drew down last night the applauding
laughter of the House of Commons upon the remarks
of the Hon. Member for Montrose. What to us is

it whether the maiden speech or the Noble Lord,
now Prime Minister of England, was a diatribe
against an Alien Bill conceived in a spirit ci
true despotism, or what does it matter whether in
1816 Lord Aurnoß.r. declared " that no danger could
be apprehended here from the machinations of any
foreigners ?"—the Alien Bill of 1848 proves on exa-

urination to have a decidedly constitutional tendency,
and is calculated to render innccuous the niachina-

tions of Propagandists and Communists, and there-
fore we are rejoiced to find it introduced so boldly by
the Government and accepted so cordially by Par-

lament.

Ste WILLIAM SOMERVILLE last night obtained
leave to introduce a Bill " for regulating the Elective
Franchise, and for the Registration of Parliamentary
Electors in Ireland," being one of thezelief measures
which Government had announced their intention of
bringing forward with a view of removing the just
complaints of Irishmen, and tranquillizing their un-
happy country. The chief features of the proposed
measure are perfectly unobjectionable, and although
it may well be doubted whether it goes far
enough in placing the constituency on a sufficiently
wide basis, these are details which can fairly be con-
sidered in Committee, and by no moans affect the
principle which strikes at the root oT some of the
most prominent abuses, the most flagrant evils of the
present system. These are chiefly—first, the ambi•
guous character of the franchise ; secondly, the nar-
rowness of the several constituencies, consequent
upon the insufficiency of the franchise ; and, thirdly,
the system of registration, which at present is open to
many and weighty objections.
The Right Hon. Baronet forcibly and clearly ex-
plained the evils resulting from the ambiguous and
doubtful character of the franchise. There was no
uniformity of decision ; not only assistant-barristers
or County Court Judges, as they may be termed,
differed in their construction of the statute, but even
the Judges of the Supreme Courts themselves inter-
pretated the law in a totally different manner.
ffence, persons who in one county would be con-
sidered perfectly eligible, and placed on the list of
voters, might, in the adjoining one, be rejected.
of a
There could even be no certainty
the
necessarily e results
osns
theri y
partlePi
to much expense,
pea
a
peals to the ultimatpedtritbounaj,.
i
great Thisirritation
of those who were refused what
they were fortified
hat they- conceived to be
a just right, and in which o
by seeing others who were similarly circumstanced
to appointments being
eligibility of the to themselves in the enjoy meet of the franchise. It
might also possibly lead
conferred, not from the superior
districts in which
par-
ties, but from their peculiar views oil questions which
might influence the elections in the
they might be called in to adjudicate, and thus to
give a predominance to one or other of the conflict
jog parties therein. There was another evil of great
magnitude, however, which was scarcely alluded to,
which will be wholly removed by the contemplated
alteration, viz, the temptation to perjury, which
existed so long as the possession of the franchise was
oi nf
tahney degreepart
y elsauiraffzg ed
itt, eto depend
rof t
he
upon,e he
the
might bring
testimony
forward as witnesses in eupport of his demand.
Every one at all acquainted with Ireland is too pain-
fully aware of the mass of conflicting evidence, the
contradictory swearing, that is brought forward on all
risters, and the time that is
disputed questions of value before the Assistant-Bar-
unnecessarily consumed

in hearing and adjudicating upon that evidence. No
system could be devised more calculated to demoralize
[he peasantry, and induce them to think lightly
of the solemn obligation of an oath, than that tc
which we have adverted, and in abolishing altogether
the practice the Government will have conferred
A boon upon Ireland that will be highly valued by
every right-minded man in the community. For the
future there will be no question of beneficial into
rests, or what solvent tenants might give for the tene-
ments if in the market to be disposed of ; neither will
there be any question of the tenure. The franchise

depending on occupation will be wholly based upon
rating; one simple and invariable rule will be adopted
Every person occupying premises rated to the relief at
the poor at 81. per annum or upwards, will be entitled
to be placed upon the register of electors ; and joint
occupiers, provided that each occupation when

divided was of the net annual value of Si.,
according to such rating, will likewise be
entitled. This is a great improvement, for no
. _

sufficient reason could be assigned why parties who
were each possessed of the requisite amount should
be excluded, because they enjoyed an undivided
estate. Persons also entitled to estates in fee or in
tail of the annual value of 51., will be entitled to a
vote, provided they are in the actual occupation of
the premises. The only restrictions on these right:,
will be that the party must have been in the occupa-
tion of the premises for six months before he can bt-
placed upon the registry. He must also before voting
produce a receipt for the payment of the last rate that
has been made for the relief of the poor. There is to
be no change with respect to parties qualified other-
wise than by occupation, nor with respect to the town
qualification, save that in the latter case all the
clauses requiring payment of municipal rates are to
be repealed, with the exception of so much of the
poor-rate as had not accrued within the preceding
three months, and the franchise is to be conferred
upon joint occupiers.
The smallness of the several constituencies in

Ireland has been generally admitted ; when it is
considered that the whole of the county voters in
that country at present do not exceed 60,000, not
quite double the number who possess the franchise
for the West Riding of Yorkshire, the necessity of
a great extension will be apparent. The Chief Se-
cretary calculates that the numbers will be qua-
drupled under the new system. This will, undoubt-
edly be an improvement; the only question will be
whether it is sufficient. It is, however, a large
instalment of justice ; and, as we have already said,

t is one of those details that may properly be settled

in Committee, which does not at all affect the great
principle of a franchise based upon rating, and not in
any degree dependent upon tenure or the construc-
tion of a doubtful statute.

The :registration question is stated to be exceed-
ingly complicated, and the full consideration of this
part of the subject has been postponed until the
second reading. We shail therefore wait, without
expressing any opinion, for the explanations that nia3
~hen be afforded. One distinction between the prac-

Lice in the sister kingdoms. will, we trust, be abo,
fished. In this country the ' lists of voters are
revised every year, and if a party has improperly
been placed upon the registry, the name
will be expunged the following year, if any well-

rounded objection can be alleged against his reten-
tion. This is not so in Ireland. If a party has once
been admitted, he must remain thereon for eight
years. There can be no valid reason why the law
should not be assimilated in both countries, and why
an annual revison :should not take place in Ireland
as well as in England.

The predominant feeling of all the countries of
Europe may just now be summed up in one word—
Expectation. However different their individual
condition, each and all look with mingled hope and
anxiety to the future. All have been, more or less,
agitated by the recent convulsion, although all have
not been alike influenced by its effects. In some
nations the worst throes of revolution are over—
those agonies which, according to a happy simile of
MACAULAY'S, invariably convulse the body politic
-luring the exorcism of the evil spirit of despotism.
But even in those in which the evils of revolution are
at an end, and peace and tranquillity are restored, the
benefits of revolution are yet to come, and
such nations, necessarily, look anxiously to the
future. The more hopeful and ardent Republicans
look forward without fear—unwavering believers in
their own attractive theories, they fondly imagine
their full realisation to be at hand. Others, again,
too sadly convinced of the instability of human
affairs, watch the progress of events with fear and
trembling. Nevertheless, however varied their opi-
nions, all feel that a great era in their nation's his-

ory is at hand, and wait in anxious expectation. So
t is with France, now that the novelty of Re-
publicanism is at an end, that the hazards
of the elections are safely over, now that
the truth of the theories of Republicanism
—those schemes which, under the name of "liberty"
and " equality," have so often filled the hearts of
nations with ambition and enthusiasm, and which, as
set forth in the proclamations of Ronasrixax and the
pages of LAMARTINE, have excited such universal
and irresistible admiration—are about to be subjected
to the severe and practical test of reality. Expecta-
tion is at the present moment the predominant
feeling of France and of every individual
Frenchman. And a similar feeling pervades
those other kingdoms which, like France, have
recently attained to a higher degree of liberty, such
as Prussia, where the KING has signalised himself by
his concessions, and such even as Austria, where ex-
traordinary liberal innovations have in an especial
manner testified the power of the popular will. But
there are other nations as yet less fortunate than
those we have particularised, who are filled with no
less expectation and anxiety for the future—nations,
who have yet to taste the full blessings of liberty,
such as Italy, even now battling for her rights, or
who have yet to strike the final and decisive blow for
independence, such as Poland, even yet enslaved by
the domination of Russia. Can we be wrong in
saying that the one great feeling which now
fills the hearts of nations situated like these
is expectation, the most eager and anxious
expectation, as to what the coming hour may
bring forth for them ? Nor is England ex
&tided from participation in this universal feeling.
We, too, look upon the future with hopeful anxiety.
The endeavours of the disaffected to promote dis-
turbance have happily failed, and even the
alarm which those attempts had excited has
now subsided. We await in calm, but not
the less anxious expectation, the realisation
of those ameliorative projects which have recently
been the topic of political discourse, and have excited
the popular anxiety. Other kingdoms are now fol-
lowing in our wake, and modelling their constitutions
by our example ; and it is consequently by no means
fitting that we should relax from our exertions. Black-
wood, in comparing the revolution of Europe and the
Chartist attempts in this country, very correctly
ridicules the notions of those pseudo-patriots who
desire England to emulate the liberal movement in
other nations. " There is no royal road to freedom
any more than to geometry," he observes. " Eng-
land has preceded other nations by two centuries
in this glorious path ; it would ill suit the
masters to recede, and imitate the follies
of such as are only becoming tyros in the at-
tempt to follow it. Those who have long reached
the summit, and know with what difficulty it was
attained, can afford to smile at the young aspirants
who invite them to descend and renew the toil of the
pscent."

Nevertheless, however correct this may be, it would
be equally unfit for " the masters " to suffer
their imitators to surpass them. It is for us still to
maintain our proud position in the van of the great
regenerating march of progress. Such, notwithstand-
ing the opposition to the Chartist movement, is the
earnest desire of the English people, and because, they
too, like all the other European nations, are now look-
ing forward with anxious expectation.