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

Ohnth 1111 An
•

LONDON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 1846.

The American PRESIDENT, among other strange
political doctrines put forth in his Message, protests
against any interference of European powers with the
affairs of the North American Continent. He will
admit nothing like "balance of power" in the New
World ; he, in the name of the American Republic, in
fact claims the entire sovereignty, and will " suffer no
brother near the throne." The tyrant NAPOLEON
entertained somewhat similar opinions ; he debarred,
or would have debarred England from the Continent,
because, said ho, England had no business there. The
shopkeepers must be confined to their island, or may
roam on their element, the ocean, but they shall
have no voice at Berlin, or Vienna, or St. Petersburgh.
France is the mistress of the Continent, because
she is the most enlightened, most powerful, and most
brave nation, and to her it belongs to arrange political
matters, and boundary lines, and tariffs with the re-
spective States. NAPOLEON had as much right as
PoLx, nay, a great deal more, if we look at all the
circumstances of the two cases, to erase from the
statute-book of nations the words " balance of power,"
and to shut out England from every continental
council. With the exception of Hanover, which did
not in fact belong to England, and was merely an
appanage of the GUELPH family. She had not an inch
of territory on the Continent, and consequently, but
for the balance of power, could not claim any
feasible right to interference, but that balance of power
includes a vast deal, and its maintenance
in the New Word is as necessary for the prosperity,
safety, nay, very existence of England, as in Europe.
England is the country against which POLK chiefly
or solely directs his anathemas ; but she is not to be
deterred from looking to her own interests because a
temporary Emperor or a temporary President threatens
vengeance, and insists on the establishment of certain
conventional laws, which conquerors only, or lawless
repUblics, confident of their vast brute force, can
seriously propose to the world. The mode in which
the head of this encroaching republic reasons, though
he has not sufficient impudence to use the same
words, is this :—The United States have, by their
industry, perseverance, and bravery, become all-
powerful on the northern continent, (the
same argument was used by NAPOLEON.) Providence,
by blessing her labours, has justified her policy.
She cannot allow any other state to frustrate her
plans or attempt to obstruct her destiny, which
points out for her domain the entire territory, ex-
tending in breadth from Long Island to California,
and in length from Baffin's Bay to the Isthmus of
Darien. It is true the English possess celonies in the
north, but England has no right to be there ; Eng-
land must be confined to Europe, or may hold her
despotic sway over millions of submissive Hindoos in
India. She shall not interfere with us—she shall not be
permitted to talk of the balance of power in countries
which we have made peculiarly our own, and where
our power is omnipotent. And as for the descen-
dants of the Spaniards, what right have they
to any portion of the northern hemisphere ?
Their province is the south. They invited
us into Texas, because they could not people
the country or govern it themselves ; they are
ready to sell to us for a small consideration, or give in
exchange for the abatement of doubtful claims the
whole of California, and without these appendages
Mexico is nothing ; it cannot defend itself against
these meddling Europeans ; so, unless the lazy, super.
stitious, and helpless descendants of the Spanish
settlers can amalgamate with us, and adopt our laws
and government, the sooner they pack up their mining
tools and be off the better. These are the objects of
the democratic party, of which POLK is at this mo-
ment the chief, and unless England interfere and
assert her rights in time, they will to a certainty be
accomplished. But England cannot submit to such
a ruinous policy, or listen to such disgraceful con-
ditions, or stand by idle while the balance of power in
the north is utterly destroyed, and all her valuable
possessions in the Caribbean Sea, in the Pacific, and
in Canada, are placed in the utmost danger. The
Oregon affair has latterly, in our opinion, been put
forward as a feasible ground for war. The de-
mands within a few years have risen enormously ;
at one time a portion would have satisfied
the claimants, now they will be content with nothing
less than the whole ; and these claims, say the war-
like party, " cannot be abandoned without a sacrifice
of both national honour and interest." They knew
that England would not grant the entire territory,
and could not grant it without abandoning her na-
tional honour and interest, and they have thus
obtained the first step in the grand movement—
a plausible pretence for taking by violence what they
could not obtain by negotiation, or by impartial ar-
bitration. The people of this country, if they do
not now, will soon see the American policy in its
true light. It is too manifest to be any longer con-
cealed, and all we hope is, (for the power of Eng-
land is undoubted) that our Government will be wise
and firm in time, and b e prepared to resist with true
English spirit aggressions, compared with which
those made by NAPOLEON were nothing—aggres-
sions which threaten the destruction of our commerce
and our mercantile navy, and our very existence as a
colonial power.

A well-informed and sensible writer on railway
legislation in Tail's Magazine, some of whose remarks
were extracted in yesterday's Sun, with approbation,
makes one recommendation, however, in which we
cannot entirely concur. And we are the more anxious
to express our dissent, as we believe the recom-
mendation to be likely to find favour. It is a recom-
mendation to Parliament to employ itself in investi-
gating subscription contracts. " Each company of a
group," says the writer, " might be called in succes-
sion to prove its list of shareholders and their means.
It would be open to each of their rivals, or any of
their
competitors, to bring counter-proof. As soon
as the affirmative or negative was established to the
satisfactiontobe pnfuthteout
of Committee,cour,, the inquiry should be
closed • any
company failing
tto prove its competency
ought
Now we will
Pia" immediate. junta-position to
this recommendation the
opinion of Lord SHAFTES-
BURY, the great arbiter of railway
legislation
House of Lords, on the subscription in the
contracts of rail
way companies. The opinion is racily given, and is
conclusive to our mind as to the folly of the .e
sub-
scription contracts.
"My opinion of the contract is this, that it is perfectly u
e
leis ; it is a contract binding parties, their heirs, executors, administrators, to millions of money; and it is impo,„;lie
that in the whole session, or the whole year, you can hare time
enough to inquire as to the means of the subscribers to meet the
contract. I will mention one case; a Bill passed through the
house of Commons, and came into the House of Lords, to
form a canal to unite the two channels across Devonshire; it
was at the end of the session, and there was anin-
complete subscription contract. I said, 'this Bill cannot
go on ;' and a certain person said, ' I can set all
that right;' and he got subscriptions to the amount of 200,0001.
in the course of a few days, I found that he had got his foot=
men and his chimney-sweeps to sign a contract to the amount of
200,0001. The subscription list is, in my opinion, perfectly use-
less. The House of Commons have partially corrected the
evil, by saying that the powers of the Act should not take
effect till a certain proportion is paid up, The real truth isf
that we do not attach any great value to the suiScripb.)4 ‘O4,
tract. The other day I had a subscription contract before
me for a milion, which was of no value whatever."—(kvi-
dence Wore Select Committee of the House of Commons on
Railway Bills, p, 13),

This is letting out the secrets of the prison-house
rison house
with a vengeance ; and, on this showing,co was there
n
ever such a farce as the subscription act fßiut
if the subscription contract is required,
recommenryl
the inquiry
which the writer in Tait.,
seems to follow as a necessary consequence. ds
But
not wily, according to Lord SHAFTESBURY, the most
competent of witnesses, have such inquiries not been
instituted, but the practice of Parliament has been
to connive at turning the subscription contract into
" a delusion and a fraud." Now the existence of so
i extraordinary a practice raises a presumption that it
is necessary, or (in other word.' that the inquiries,