The Sun.
London, England, 1848-11-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON,

ever insignificant, which could tend to retard the ter
rible and degenerating progressa of Retrogression.
It is, therefOre,
.by' means remarkable to find
these organs'of the policy of NICHOLAS exaggerating
their enthusiasm%to such a degree that they are not
whams ea-to-assail with' the shafts of ridicule and the
bludgeorn:oevituEeiatioh the unfortunate men driven
from RusgranTorand for their political opinions, and
compelled by the l'oice of calamities over which
they have no' control whatever, to seek shelter and
Assistance from-thithospitable people of Great Britain.
Whifehowever, theseeassaults, directedagainst refugees
why are altogether powerless and defenceless, may not,
for 'the rel ons
talready given, be in the smallest de-
gree rethal:kable, they are nevertheless sufficiently
ungenerous and bass' to 'excite from us the strongest
*expressions of our. indignation., Both in the language
employed by the Times of this morning and of
Saturday there are derisive allusions to the interest
felt by the people_ of this country for the Polish re-
fugees as an evidence of merely so much sentimen-
tality. And yet a little while ago—strong amongst
the strongest, earnest among the most earnest,
eloquent among the most eloquent of the
advocates of the cause of Poland and the
Poleii, was this same Times newspaper !
IJpcin_ the consistency of its present conduct we shall
not condesc'end to enlarge. In reference, however,
to the, irrational character of the attacks made upon
the exertions of the Association of the Friends of
Poland, and especially upon the charitable ball to be
given this evening in :the Guildhall of the city of
London, we must be permitted to make a few very
ksimple observations. If the Polish Ball Committee
were composed of so many public depredators, it
Lord DUDLEY. STUART were given to the emulation of
4the course pursued by Mr. RICHARD TURPIN upon the
14QueEN's highways—the furious condemnation of the
President and the Committee of the Association would
be all well and good. But when it is borne in recol-
lection that the support granted to the ball is alto-
gether gratuitous, that the money given for the
tickets is given voluntarily, and that not one sixpence
is " extorted" from the people of this country in aid
of4t.helisgociation, the fury of the assailants of the
charity becomes altogether preposterous. Suppose
novi; that Mr. JACKSON, or Mr. SMITH, or Mr. Tom-
were to announce by flaming posters, that they
had taken the Hanover-square Rooms, and that on
such-and-such an evening there would be given a
:PubliC.ball and masquerade—would the Times news-
paper feel itself called upon to denounce the said Mr.
.JAcKsorr;l/4 Mr. SMITH, and Mr. TOMKINS, as men
thieving from the destitute poor of England the
.moneys which might otherwise have been distributed
i111.12g shape of soup or winter flanelling ? We con-
jecture not. And yet when the proceeds of such an
entertainment go to support a number of unfortunate
refugees instead of tending to the emolument of
JACKSON, SMITH, or TOAIKINS, the ball is attempted
to be written down as a crime against our suf-
kring fellow-countrymen. The Polish refugees
are consoled, by, stale aphorisms on the instability
of fortune, but ar._4) told not to expect more from
England than'' the solace of verbal compassion, and
rthe gratuities of a shroud and a coffin. Really the
language of our Contemporary brings irresistibly to
our recollection the words of the fellow described in
Gargantua. RABELAIS might almost have written it
as a prescient. sarcasm upon the enemies of Polanda
" Quand doncques ie les voirray tumbez en la riuiere
et prestz d'estre noyez, en lieu de les eller querir et
bailler is. main, ie leur feray ung beau et long sermon de
conteniptu mundi et fuga seculi, et lots qu'ilz seront roydes
morts, ie lee iray pescher."—Liure L chap. xlii.
Fortunately, however, for the character of our peo-
ple, for the fair fame of the city of London
for the lives of the Polish refugees, and
for the credit of humanity, the violent blows
administered by the Times have fallen innocuously.
They have not only proved utterly ineffectual in
damaging the cause against which they wore directed
—they have even done yeoman's service towards its
encouragement. For it will be perceived, from an
announcement in another column, that Lord HoLLAND
yesterday enclosed 101. to the Polish Ball Committee,
declaring that he forwarded it in consequence of the
attacks made by our Contemporary. Such is an
eloquent and fitting retribution, and one which will
be enforced this evening by the brilliant attendance
at Guildhall, and the unusual abundance of the sub-
scriptions.

Another railway statement has been given to the
public. The York, Newcastle, and Berwick Railway
Company have followed the example already set by
the London and North-Western, the Great Western,
South-Western, London, Brighton, and South Coast,
and Lancashire and Yorkshire Companies ; and we
rejoice to say that, in every instance, the full and
unreserved account of the affairs of the companies
has had the effect of assuaging the fears of the share-
holders, and of alleviating the panic that had pre-
viously prevailed, and which was attended with such
injurious results to all those interested in railway
property. A knowledge of the true state of facts
completely negatived the erroneous statements and
calculations that had been put forward,:and proved to
the public, that', there was every prospect of divi-
dends that would pay at least from six to eight per
cent. on the amount of capital invested at present
prices, and that at the most moderatelestimates, which
were far more likely to be below than above the
mark. The natural result has followed, there has
been a marked improvement in the prices of shares
in all the companies that have published statements of
their affairs, and enabled the public to judge for them-
selves upon incontrovertible data of their true position
and prospects.
The statement now under notice—the sixth that
has been published, which will be found in extenso
in another part of our impression—is remarkable for
its simplicity, clearness of arrangement, and the
amount of information conveyed. It reflects the
highest credit upon the intelligent gentleman whose
name appears attached thereto, and proves how well
merited was the eulogium passed upon his character
and acquirements by one whose experience and
judgment in everything relating to railway affairs at-
tached extraordinary weight to his opinion. When
proposing that gentleman far the appointment of
secretary to the " Newcastle and Darlington
Company " in 1842, Mr. HUDSON then said,
" The person I have to propose is one whom I
have known a number of years, who is per-
fectly competent for the office, and who, from his
abilities, his industry, and his energy, is capable of
discharging its duties in a manner satisfactory to the
shareholders." How fully warranted was that cha-
racter must have long since been manifested to every
person brought into communication or connected in
business with its object, and the present statement
adds additional confirmation to its accuracy.

In the present instance the statement of expen-
diture, lice., is up to the Ist November instant,
to which day the total expenditure amounted to
5,375,483/., and the estimated amount of the gross
sum that will be required for the completion
of the works now in progress, and of the new works
proposed to be executed, is 1,869,2281.—making the
gross amount to be ultimately raised 7,244,7111., or
leaving a sufficient margin for every possible contin-
gency,realised by calling' uwhich
what a mr
eomu
an
itn os f
unpaidcapi a I
oc an n t
hbee
7,300,000/
extension shares Noe. 1 ancll2, and by exercising
the powers of borrowing ttothe extent of
toe
in their
1,550,000/., including the existing
debt, which at present amounts mortgage
722,073/.
only. The company will
possession 330 miles of railway,then have
from which they
reasonably enough, on the data that are given,
estimate a gross income of 20,0001 per week,'
or 1,040,000/. per annum, which, after pay-
ment of all liabilities for working expenses,
interest on borrowed capital, and rent, will leave a
clear annual profit of 478,9701. This profit will
suffice not only to pay a dividend of seven per cent.
per annum on the share capital of the company, but
will leave a clear surplus income of 76,470/. per
annum, to meet any contingency that might arise,
and, of course, on a future occasion to swell the
dividend.
The directors have pursued a manly and straight-
forward course in declaring that they are ready to
take upon themselves the responsibilities they have
incurred on behalf of the company in the provisional
arrangements into which they have entered with the
Newcastle and Carlisle, and Maryport andj Car-
lisle Railway Companies, in the event of the pro-
prietors being unwilling to accept the leases. It
, shows how thoroughly convinced they are of the

soundness of their views and the value of the arrange
ments into which they have entered.
The reasons adduced for their unshaken confidence
in the soundness and stability of the undertaking
entrusted to their management are of the most con-
elusive character. We shall adopt their own lan-
guage, in which they state—" This confidence is
founded upon their experience of the steadily in-
creasing traffic which every year has brought upon
the lines notwithstanding the check occasioned by the
recent extraordinary commercial depression, and
upon their conviction that, as a railway undertaking,
the property is wholly unassailable—that no traffic
can be abstracted from it by competing lines—and
that an: unfailing source of continually improving
revenue is secured to it in the inexhaustible mineral
wealth of the counties of Durham and Northumber-
land."

It should not be forgotten that the quantity of
coal alone exported from the ports of Durham and
Northumberland has increased within the four last
years 45 per cer.t., and it is impossible to state to
what extent this improvement may be carried when
the additional facilities afforded by the formation of
the Tyne Dock and the completion of the Sunder-
land Docks are at the disposal of the company.
We heartily congratulate the shareholders on this
statement, which proves that the undertaking in
which they have embarked is of the soundest de-
scription, and that it affords prospects of success
that can be equalled by few, and probably not sur-
passed by any similar undertaking in the British do-
, minions.

The proceedings that have taken place on the
Chartist trials at Edinburgh afford a remarkable con-
firmation of the views which we have repeatedly put
forward as to the superiority of the administration of

the criminal law in Scotland. We would ask our
readers to compare for a moment the manner in
which the prosecution was conducted there with
what has been witnessed in our own metropolis, and
what took place in unhappy Ireland during the re-
cent State trials. Everything there proceeded with
dignity and decorum, and tended to create an addi-
tional respect for the majesty of the law.

There was no unseemly wrangling between
counsel for the Crown and the prisoners. The pre-

siding Judge was not compelled to descend from his
more important functions to become moderator be-
tween the combatants i❑ the forensic arena, neither
was he (as too frequently happens to peace-makers)
assailed in turn by those whose violence he attempted
to restrain. No applications were made, either as of
right or of favour, to be permitted the exercise of
privileges, without which it was argued (and with
too much apparent truth) that a fair and impartial
trial could not be obtained, and the prisoners enabled to
prove their innocence of the crimes laid to their
charge. Every reasonable indulgence that could be
desired was afforded. The constitution of the jury
panel could not be impeached. A list of those who
were to decide upon their guilt or innocence had been
served upon the prisoners fifteen days before the trial,
so that they had full time to investigate the characters
of the arbiters of their future fate. They could not
be taken by surprise by the production at the last
moment, of evidence of which they bad no
previous notice, and which therefore it would
be utterly impossible for them to rebut. A list
of the witnesses, and of all the documents that
were to be produced in support of the charge, hal
been delivered along with the jury panel. They were
not called upon to plead at a moment's notice to an
elaborate indictment of enormous length, worded in
the most obscure and doubtful language, which none
but those who had made the science of the law their
especial study could be supposed to understand. A
plain and simple statement, that could readily be
comprehended by uneducated men, was also
handed to them, which set forth the exact nature
of the charge which they were called upon
to repel. There was no cavilling about obtaining a
copy of the indictment upon paying scrivener's fees,
nor as to the number of times in which the officer of
the court was bound to read it over verbatim, slowly
and distinctly, in place of the dastract which is
usually mumbled over. Everything was calculated
to inspire respect for the administration of the law in
place of exciting the very opposite feeling. Again,
in place of the Crown having the first and last
word, the statement of the case and the reply, which
must necessarily be highly prejudicial to the person
placed on his trial, the last appeal to the jury was given
to the advocate for the prisoner. When the evidence
for the defence or in exculpation, as it is termed in the
sister kingdom, was closed, the counsel,for the Crown
commented upon that evidence, and was replied to by
those for the several defendants. It would, indeed,

be impossible to complain of any hardship or oppres-
sion. The charge of the Learned Judge was digni-
fied and impartial, wholly indifferent between the
Crown and the prisoners. The verdict of the jury
was, perhaps, the most remarkable variation from the
course adopted in this country, where a simple
guilty or not guilty will alone be accepted.
It shows the gradations and shades of
crime, and must greatly assist the Judge in
deciding on the amount of punishment. Our readers
cannot have forgotten the case of Mr. WILLIAMS, who
was tried in Dublin recently, and the difficulty of
' inducing the jury to return a decided answer of not
guilty, although their unanimous finding was tanta-
mount thereto. Here the jury declare "that the
charges of conspiracy as libelled were not proven,"
and they find some of the prisoners guilty of using
language "calculated" to excite popular disturbances,
although they deliberately leave out the word " in-
tended," which formed the principal ingredient of the

accusation.
We shall, probably, on a future opportunity,
point out the great advantages attendant on this
practice, which a want of space forbids our entering
upon at greater length this day.

Gladly do we announce the fact of the election of
the Right Hon. THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY to
the dignity of Lord Rector of the University of
Glasgow. It is au honour nobly merited and nobly
given—the historian having gained a majority in all
the four nations, notwithstanding the powerful
influence exercised in behalf of the opposing
candidate, Colonel MURE. WE are the more
sincerely gratified at the triumphant election
of Mr. MACAULAY to a post so accordant
with his own brilliant reputation, from
the circumstance that, although a member
of her, MAJESTY'S Government, and Paymaster
of the Forces, although a statesman of great rhetori-
cal abilities and of tried consistency, he has long been
and is still excluded from taking his seat in Parlia-
ment. If the labours of attendance in the House of
Commons do not interfere with the progress of his
great historical work, we would willingly regard the
election of Mr. MACAULAY to the Lord Rectorship of
the University of Glasgow as an augury of his
speedy acceptance by some Parliamentary consti-
tuency.

UNIVERSITY ELECTION of LORD

RECTOR.
GLASGOW, WEDNESDAY EVENING.
The'election took place to-day, and the numbers were—
For Mr. Macaulay ... •.. ... 255

-- • ---
For Colonel Muro ..•

... 203

Majority for Mr. Macaulay ... -52
Mr. Macaulay had a majority in all the four nations

POLISH BALL.—We understand such is the interest
taken in this philanthropic affair, that the total nuin-
bar of tickets sold, up to yesterday afternoon, much
exceeded the number which had been sold previously
to the day of the ball last year. Lord 1). Stuart
yesterday received a letter from Lord Holland, dated
Brighton, enclosing 101. for his ticket, declaring that
he forwarded such amount in consequence of the
Times' attacks, adding that, if the name of Lady
Holland and himself could advance the charity, they
were at the service of the Polish Ball Committee.
Lord Panmure also sent 50/. for his ticket.—Murnipir
Advertiser.

TIIE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE INDIAN NAVY.—
At 2% rneeting• of the Court of Directors of the East
India Company, yclterdav, Captain Stephen Lushington,
now connuanding -her .`lajesty's ship Vengeance,
in the Mediterranean, wa.-4 appointed to the superintend-
entship of the Indian navy, by the casting vote of the
Chairman.

GLASGOW.—CnoLERA.—Another case of cholera
was reported yesterday afternoon. The name of the
patient is John Campbell, residing in Steele's Land, Port
Dundas. Both the parties reported in yesterday's im-
pression as having been seized, we regret to state, have
sinca died. Morton, residing in Grmme-street, died yes-
terday morning at four o'clock; and the other patient,
John Gordon, residing at Burnbank, lingered on till the
afternoon, when he expired.—Vorth 13r titsh Mail.