The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-07 00:00:00

lirk Mill: k .-Al

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 1846.

As the meeting of Parliament approaches all par-
ties are filled with anxiety. They stand like soldiers
on the eve of battle, pondering on the morrow's fight.
All are agreed that a fierce struggle is at hand, yet
the issue is hardly to be doubted. It needs no astro-
loger to tell us that free trade is in the ascendant; but
the contest may be desperate and protracted for a
while. The great body of the people are unanimous
and resolved, and their resolution ensures the ulti-
mate triumph of the cause, but the duration of the
conflict depends in a great measure on the conduct of
those interested in the maintenance of protection.

The necessities of the times and the wants of the
people must influence the decision of any Govern-
ment, Conservative though it be. Apparently neither
of these causes are sufficiently powerful to induce
the aristocracy to yield an inch of their privileges.
Even now, when the crisis is at hand, we find the
Duke of RICHMOND and his brother protectionists
upholding their favourite doctrines with all the
acrimony and violence of desperation. " Protection'
is the watchword in the ranks of monopoly ; like
charity, it seems to cover a multitude of sins; it is
truly a fine-sounding word, were it only as bond fide
as it is beautiful. " Protection for the British
farmer"— " Protection for native industry"— how
plausible, how patronising does it appear. And the
Noble Dukes are right : it is protection that they
want ; but for whom ?—for themselves or the British
farmer it is not difficult to determine. They indeed
seek protection, not for British industry, but for
British landed interests ; not for the farmers, but the
owners of the soil. What avails it to have hereditary
legislators if they are unable to legislate for them-
selves ? Where would be the glory and greatness of
England if the "lords of the land" were not pro-
tected ? Who would then pay the mortgages on
their estates, find portions for their daughters, seats in
Parliament for their sons ?—who would furnish a
gorgeous reception for royalty, or procure the
delights of a battue for the courtly and refined ?
Fear not, Noble Lords ! in the nineteenth century
we could find no men barbarous enough to dim the
lustre of the Peerage, or deprive the country of the
privileges of protection! Feast on, therefore; there
is but one objection, which no doubt your sagacity
can easily remove. If the laws are only to be made
for Peers, what is to become of the people ? Will
your Lordships deign to answer so impertinent a
question ? If we mistake not, you have already done
so. The courteous kindness of nobility has proposed
curry and such savoury condiments for the starving.
Gracious condescension !—a few weeks may decide
differently. In the meantime, we will leave "the friends
of agriculture," and turn to a worthier portion of the
exclusive class. The present number of the Oxford
and Cambridge Review contains an admirable article
on the " Corn-laws and the Aristocracy," written by
one of the aristocracy themselves, and pourtraying
the sentiments of the new generation. It is remark-
able for the moderation of its sentiments, the calm
and soberminded view of the present position of the
landowners. It is evident that a large number of the
latter must be at present in a state of considerable
perplexity; comparatively free from prejudice and
perversity, they are restrained from any movement
through fear of misrepresentation. To these a word
in season will be most beneficial. Let them give their
earnest attention to the article we have referred to ; it
has evidently been written by one nursed in the pre-
judices of protection. Forced to think for himself,
ne has found that " the corn-laws form no part of
the English Constitution." His old convictions still
exert their influence; he sees "little to be gained"
by their repeal, yet he also sees "much to be ha-
zarded by their retention." The following is the ap-
propriate advice given to the aristocracy of England :
" First, they may abandon at once and altogether the
struggle, and adopting frankly and boldly their new
position, with all its dangers, duties, and responsibilities,
offer the corn-laws as a peace-offering to the genius of
their Country, and thus prove to the world alike the
disinterestedness of their past resistance, and the mag-
nanimity and courage of their present assent. This
course, we believe, has found recommenders at pro-
tection head-quarters, and has the merit of settling the
question for ever. It is either a bold and wise resolve,
or a cowardly and stupid concession. Believing, as we
do with the late Lord Spencer, with Lord Lyttelton,
with Judge Coleridge, and Dr. Chalmers, that the land
of England would not cease to be profitably cultivated,
although individual cases of distress and hardship might
occur, were the cern-laws to be repealed—we shall not
upbraid the leaders of the country party with treason or
cowardice if they adopt this course. Great dangers
require great ventures, and the moral effect of the gen-
tlemen of England coming forward, and doing of them-
selves what neither Russell, nor Peel, nor Cobden could
do without them, could not fail to be immense and salu-
tary. But this step, if taken, must be taken with
unblanched cheek and gallant bearing. It is the brave
venture of men who, uncompelled, for their country's
sake, leap, Curtius- like, into the gulf : there must be
no murmuring, no complaining, no voting against the
first reading of a Bill, staying away on the second, and
voting for the third : no unnecessary abuse of others, no
petulant attempts to render the sacrifice, if it be one, as
little gracious as may be. If carried out in this magna-
nimous spirit. the aristocracy and gentlemen of England
may rely on their resolve being appreciated by the
people. No doubt the fatal concessions of the French
aristocracy will be urged in bar of such a line of conduct,
and the day that witnesses it will be designated the
day of dupes ;' but are the cases really parallel ? Are
the corn-laws truly part and parcel of the venerable
remainse
t.lllvindk,toenocefrc the old
are
lei oloeltnddh,
they
English
en
them,ngroel itss
restoration,
i)aroicinsewt,iidhat thateuannttditom,t,nhrbe.
eDn beneficial
pioussfihrcaaeva
Disraeli,
revo-
lutions
andur
•
wise at one time, the reverse at another • and to identify
the existence or even the splendour of ;he English aris-
tocracy, with the corn-laws is as insulting to that order
as it is in fact untrue."
yse setting
iwe
n g
If these counsels be folloWed
ztsthey
deserve,
By
may augur well for the comingsession.
themselves in violent opposition to all reform, the
landowners may create a temporary disturbance—
they will ensure their own downfal and disgrace ;
by giving way for a time they will secure their own
power, and find abundant "protection" in the grati-
tude of the people—
" There is still a little left of time to do
~
That out of love, which will he out of hate."
On their decision depends not so much the triumph
of free trade, for that is secure without them, but

on their decision depends the influence they them-
selves will possess on future occasions. We would
warn them to beware in time ; there is such a thing
as making a virtue of necessity, and there is also such
a thing as passing the bounds of endurance. They
have their choice—on their own heads be the conse-
quence. Whatever be the conduct of the older leaders,
it is with pleasure we find the new generation have
come to a decision. It would have been inconsistent,
indeed, to have found those who ever advocate the
cause of the suffering poor, ranged with their oppres-
sors to rob the people of their bread. Professing
high Tory principles, the writer of this article de-
clares he feels "too great a confidence in English
energy, English skill, English soil, and English
climate, to look with dread on a competition with
foreign farmers," concluding with these words :
" Should our attempt fail, as we fear it will, and this
country, that might be so powerful in its internal con-
cord, and must be so weak in its divisions, be separated
into:two hostile factions ;—should 'Delenda est Cat thago'
be the cry from one camp, answered by No surrender,'
from the other, then we trust, that all those who think
with us that now by a bold wisdom on the part of the
aristocracy the country may be spared the miseries of
that strife, will then, their counsel having been rejected,
and their generals determined upon war, share with
them the dangers of this campaign, and fight with a
good courage, though, like blameless Falkland,' with a
dejected spirit and a troubled mind. If there be dif-
ferences of opinion at the council, let there be none in
the action. It is to aid those deliberations that these
pages are written ; not to throw difficulties in the way
of their accomplishment. But, in the words of Scott,
• the times flies fast on: let us resolve either for peace or
war ; and let it not be said of us in future days, that six
thousand Scottish men in arms had neither the courage
to stand their ground and fight it out, nor prudence to
treat for peace, nor even the coward's wisdom to retreat
in good time and safety.' "

The horrors excited by public executions, and more
especially the scenes which occurred on Monday, when
two persons were put to death for the greatest of all
crimes—murder, have induced some of our Contem-
poraries to advocate the abolition of all capital punish-
ments. Such exertions deserve praise for humanity ;
possibly they may be beneficial, too, in promoting
civilisation, as they tend to discourage the morbid
appetite of the vulgar for such sights, and hold up to
public reprobation all those who can take an interest
of any kind in the violent death of a fellow-creature.
But, admitting these and other advantages, the
question is still one of great difficulty, and it would
become the Government and the Legislature to
weigh well every probable result before any material
alteration be made in the existing law. We are
decidedly opposed to what are called " legal murders,"
as measures of punishment, and admit that they may
not be so effectual in deterring mankind from com-
mitting great crimes as some legislators maintain,
but still they may be justified on other grounds, and
mainly on the ground that the life of no human being
is to be placed in danger from the wicked propensities
or violent passions of another. Suppose a secondary
punishment is inflicted, and these wretched criminals
are banished to Norfolk Island for life, is there any
security that they will not repeat the crime upon
an unsuspecting companion in affliction, or
upon their taskmaster, or some other innocent human
being whom their ungovernable temper, reckless of
life, may devote to destruction ? There is, in fact,
no security whatever. Nay, on the contrary, such a
result has frequently occurred ; and it is no uncom-
mon news to receive from our penal settlements that
a convict, guilty of homicide, with circumstances
rendering it almost equal to murder, or another,
whose depraved nature neither kindness nor severity
could modify, had murdered his comrade, and ex-
piated his offence on the gibbet. Have the Judges,
or the jury who recommended such persons to mercy,
nothing to answer for ? Is the Government entirely
free of blame in letting loose upon society, or even
keeping in imperfect control, such dangerous cha-
racters, and thereby becoming, to a certain degree,
blameable for the second murder of a human being ?
It is impossible to guard against such deplorable
deeds of cruelty by ordinary measures of restraint.
Neither shackles, nor bars, nor any other means less
frightful than death itself, will effect the purpose; and
is it not better, therefore, that ten persons, nay, hun-
dreds, should suffer an ignominious and a just death,
than that one human being, guilty of no crime,
should be hurried, unprepared, into the presence of
his Great JUDGE ? Looking at the crimes committed
by the two 'wretched beings executed yesterday,
What man can feel sympathy for their fate ?
The one, a young woman, forgot the confi-
dence reposed in her by the unfortunate victim
of her cruelty, rose in the night, and, with a rope,
which she had purposely prepared, strangled while
asleep her unsuspecting companion, that she might
carry off undisturbed the paltry sum of five pounds.
She might well repeat again and again on the
scaffold " I deserve it, I deserve it." The other
criminal murdered his fellow-labourer in a moment
for saying a few words to his master. We will not
appeal to the authority of Scripture, strong as it is,
for sanctioning the execution of such barbarous
criminals, nor say that public executions may not,
by their frequency, tend to brutalise the mind;
but the question is, can they, with safety to the
innocent, be entirely dispensed with ? May nut the
good far counterbalance the evil ? and is it just that
any man's life should be placed in jeopardy for the
sake of carrying out a doubtful principle ? Some
jurists have gone a great deal farther, and would in-
flict the punishment of death on every person who
took away the life of another. Even the humane
SMOLLETT would apply it to lunatics. In closing his
reflections on the execution of Earl FEMURS, he
says—

" Perhaps it might be no absurd or unreasonable re-
gulation in the Legislature, to divest all lunatics of the
privilege of insanity, and, in cases of enormity, subject
them to the common penalties of the law ; for though,
in the eye of casuistry, consciousness must enter into the
constitution of guilt, the consequences of murder com-
mitted by a maniac may be as pernicious to society as
those of the most criminal and deliberate assassination :
and the punishment of death can be hardly deemed un-
just or rigorous, when inflicted upon a mischievous being,
divested of all the perceptions of reason and humanity."

We have intelligence from Madrid of the 29th ult.
The Senate had met on that day, when some of the
usual sessional arrangements were made. They
were to meet on the 30th to discuss the Address in
reply to the Royal Speech.
The Three per Cents. closed at 361 for cash, and
3641 at 60 days; and the Five per Cents. at 23/ for
cash, and 23i at 60 days.

Most of the Paris papers of Sunday contain arti-
cles on the Budget presented to the Chamber on the
previous day by the Finance Minister, of which we
gave the chief items yesterday. The public appears
to he well satisfied with the statement, and its effect
on the money market was favourable. Even the
Opposition journals can say little against it, and both
the Commerce and the National merely complain that
when the finances are so prosperous, M. LACAVE LA-
PLAGNE has broken his pledge of last year, and refused
to reduce the Five per Cent. Stock. The former
admits that the extraordinary vote of credit for naval
constructions and stores is very large. This vote,
however, will be extended over several years, the sum
to be taken this year being not more than 13,000,000 f.
(520,0001.) Mr. POLK'S insolent remarks respecting the
interference of European States with his unjustifiable
encroachments on Mexico has probably been the
main cause of this vote for strengthening the French
navy. lhe Preece, an Opposition journal, adverts to
the financial statement in favourable terms. " The
statement of the Minister," it says, " demonstrates
that France has escaped the scarcity of provisions
which affects other nations. 'We shall thus be free
for a certain rise in price in some of the necessaries
of life, and this additional dearness will last but a
short time, as the approaching harvest is announced
under the most favourable auspices. The Minister of
Finance is, moreover, occupied with the consideration
of measures to prevent the recurrence of the com-
mercial crisis which, during some weeks, pressed
upon the money market of Paris, and which now ap-
pears to have arrived at its term." The Committee
of the Chamber of Peers had appointed Count
PORTALIS to draw up the Address in answer to the
KISG'S Speech. Accounts had been received
from Algeria, dated December 27. BUGEAUD
was,d withas usual,
themsalisn pursuit
oafppeAarusD-tEhLat-
uitlt fiD
he
hEand,
made another razzia, having captured near Guetefa
500 of the Arabs, and killed 200. In the province
of Dellys the tribes were said to be perfectly tranquil.
But little business was done in the Funds on Sunday,

but they were more firm than on Saturday, and the
Three per Cents. had risen to 831. 10c.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, JAN. 5.
Anglo-Belgian — Madrid and Valencia...
Barbadoes
Boulogne and Amiens.. 13 Namur and Liege 414
Bordeaux &Mediterran North Jamaica ...
Bordeaux and Toulouse Orleans and Tierzon
Do. & Cette (Espeleta) 2 Orleans and Bordeaux 121/
Do. ( Mackenzie'o ).. Over Yssel
Callao, Lima, and Pa- Paris & Lyons ( Laffitte) 2
cilia Coast
Central of Spain ..
Ceylon .
Demerara
Dendre Valley ... Paris and Rouen .
,Dutch Rhenish ... ...... 8 Paris and Strasburg
Dieppe & Paris Janet. (Ganneren's)
Dijon and Blalhouse ... Do. (Coupe de L'Est)
East Indian ....»........ 1% Do. (Aymard's) —
Fampoux & Hazebrouk Paris and St. Quentin —
Grt Northern of France Rouen and Havre 31%
Constituted 15% Royal North of Spain.
Great Indian Peninsular Sambre and Meuse ..„„
Great Paris and Lyons. 2% Strasburg and Bale ....
Great Western Bengal :jai Tournay,Jurbise, Lan-
Great Western Canada den, and Hasselt ...
Jamaica S. Mid. J unction Tours and Nantes
Do. North Midland — (Mackenzie's) —
Do. Extension
Jersey — Do. (O'Neill's)
Louvain and Jemappe.. 2% Trinidad
Lyons and Avignon.... Verona and Ancona —
Luxembourg .. 2:Ai West Flanders —

THE QUEEN'S RE PLY TO THE

DUBLIN ADDRESS.
To the Address of the Lord Mayor and Corporation
of the City of Dublin, presented to her Most Gracious
Majesty on Saturday, at Windsor Palace, published by
us on Monday, her Majesty was pleased to return the
following reply:—
" I have heard with pain the statement which you
have thought it necessary to address to me respecting
the extreme poverty of a portion of my Irish subjects,
and the aggravation of their distress which you antici-
pate, from a deficiency of food, in the present year.
" The welfare and prosperity of Ireland are objects of
my constant care and earnest solicitude; and the failure
of the last potato crop, and its apprehended consequences,
have not escaped my attention.
" I have directed precautions to be taken which may,
I trust, alleviate the evils unavoidably attendant on this
calamity, and I have summoned Parliament to meet on
an early day. - -

" I li)ok With confidence to the advice which I shall
receive from the united council of the realm, and I shall
rejoice if measures can be devised which, under the
blessing of Divine Providence, may relieve the wants of
my Irish people, may improve their condition, and insure
their future happiness and contentment."