The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-03 00:00:00

erroneous. Had the Learned Commissioner consi-
dered the cases, he would have found that " Jellis sr.
Mountford" has been partially overruled, it being sub-
sequently decided that a debt in a former schedule
would not support a fiat in bankruptcy, as a creditor
would not be permitted to harass a debtor by issuing
a fiat in bankruptcy when entitled to a dividend
under an insolvency ; but where a creditor's debt was
altogether omitted from a schedule he might issue a
commission of bankruptcy, not having a right to
proVe his debt under the insolvency. It must be
borne in mind that " Jellis v. Mountford,"
on which the Chief Commissioner and . the
Commissioner in Bankruptcy relied, was decided on
statutes long since repealed, which did not empower
a creditor whose debt was omitted from a schedule to
prove it under the insolvency, therefore he had no
remedy except by resorting to bankruptcy. But
under the ipresent Insolvent Act 1 and 2 VICTORIA,
C. 110, a creditor can prove his debts even though
omitted from the debtor's schedule, which leaves no
pretence for a creditor under an insolvency to issue
a commission of bankruptcy on a debt scheduled or
omitted, and as debts under an insolvency are satis-
fied by the operation of law, and the creditor de-
prived of the right to recover, they ought not to be
permitted to operate as an impediment to an insolvent
trader from petitioning under the protection statutes.
Up to the present time some of the judges adopted
the practice as laid down by Mr. JAGOE, while others
followed the decisions of the Commissioners of Bank-
' ruptcy and Insolvency, and we believe all the
Commissioners of Bankruptcy, and three of
the Commissioners of Insolvency, dismissed
petitions in consequence of former debts,
not having been inserted in the schedules. But Mr.
Commissioner LAW had no opportunity of expressing
his opinion till the present case, and as he differed
from Ns_hrother Commissioners, he no doubt felt it
was imperative upon him to state his reasons fully
and clearly, and we confess that he has not only suc-
ceeded in doing so, but has also set the question at
rest, as his arguments are conclusive so far as re-
lieving a petitioner from the necessity of inserting in
his schedule the debts of a former insolvency. In
this able judgment, the Learned Commissioner fully
reviews the insolvent code in a manner which shows
that he has made it his study ; but we must refer
to the judgment, which renders any further comment
unnecessary, and which we shall to-morrow give in
&dens°.

It is to be regretted that this question has not been
long since settled, as the decisions contrary to that
of Mr. Commissioner LAW must have inflicted an
amount of injury on small traders which can scarcely
be estimated ; and we trust that the monstrous ab-
surdity of requiring the insertion of debts not reco-
verable either at law or in equity, will not further be
insisted upon, notwithstanding the previous decisions
of a contradictory character.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.

We have received the Paris papers of Saturday
and yesterday.
Paris still continues tranquil. Several insurgents
who had taken refuge in the neighbourhood of St.
Denis have been captured. _

In the sitting of the National Assembly on Frida,
M. MARIE took his seat as President for the first
time, and delivered the following address :
" Citizens,—ln calling me to the presidentship of this
Assembly, you have given me a high mark of confidence,
for which I thank you. I thank you above all for hay
ing once more, and at a difficult moment, made an ap-
peal to my devotedness. Tho fatal days which have
cast over France au immense affliction imposes on all
most important duties—l am well aware of them, and I
accept them. Men's minds may be astonished at them,
but they swell •at the fact, and give men courage,
and it is on that side that I hope to justify your
confidence. Besides, if for an instant Republican
France was forced to bend its head before an
impious war, it may now at length raise it up with
increased pride and confidence. The Republic conti-
nues strong and, pure, and will remain powerful and
fruitful, for anarchy will not prevail against it. No, it
was not the-peoples of February, so great in combat, so
great in victory, who raised up these sacrilegious barri-
cades, over which, thank God, the colours adopted by
France have never floated. No, it is not the Republic,
which fought against the Republic, but barbarism, which
once more dared to raise its head against civilization.
The victory was written down for us in the very laws of
humanity. It is for us now, citizens, to consolidate it by
the wisdom of our labours, by the firmness of our conduct,
by the moderate, but existent development of the princi-
ples which the Republic has laid down. France knows
this, and bears it in mind when looking at you. You have
before you an immense task; but you have also an im-
mense courage, and an ardent determination to fulfil it.
With time as an auxiliary, with peace in the capital, with
order, above all, that supreme law of society, all
sufferings may be alleviated, all miseries succoured, all
the springs of labour and industry again placed in
motion. As to me, citizens, permit me once more to
felicitate myself on the noble share which you have
assigned, me. In order to render myself worthy of it I
have examples to follow—striking examples, and which
you have sufficiently increased to prevent them escaping
the public eye. I shall follow them ; I shall also have
to aid my zeal that sacred law of my country, which is
never invoked in vain. Permit me to reckon on your
kind support. The gravity of the circumstances call
for corresponding gravity in our discussions, and you
will aid ma in maintaining it. You will also maintain
the /liberty of all opinions. On these conditions be
certain, citizens, we shall see those great parliamentary
days of past times revive of which France is proud, and
which she againidemands in order to fix on immoveable
bases the constitution which she attends."—Approbation.
In the course of the sitting the President made the
following important announcement :
" The Railway Bill has been temporarily withdrawn
from the order of the day, on the demand of the Mi-
nister of Finance.—(Ah, air!) I say temporarily with.
drawn,'because ario determination has yet been come to
with respect to the measure."
From the known 'sentiments of M. GOUDCIIAUX on
the subject, however, there can be but little doubt
that the Railway. Bill of the late Government will be
altogether withdrawn.
In the course of the sitting of the National Assembly
on Saturday, M. Gouin presented a proposition from the
Committee on Finance, tending to fix the salaries to be
received by the President of the Council and the Mi-
nisters. It proposee a sum of 10,000 f. per month for the
former, and 36,000 r. per annum for each of the latter,
thee-salszies to commence on July 1. It furthermore
allows to the 'members who composed the Executive
Committee's; sum of 5,000 f. a- month each during the
period they were in office, and to their secretary a sum
of 3,000 f. a month.'
The President read a letter from the son of General
Nefsgrier, thanking the National Assembly, in the name
of the family, for the pension granted to the widow.
The President' also read a letter from M. Reynal, an-
nouncing that General Bourzon had expired from the
wounds which he had received during the late insur-
rection.—(Marks of regret.) " I have to inform the
Assembly," said the Hon. President, " that the state of
General Dumesme is hourly improving; General Du-
vivier is going on more slowly, but his position gives no
occasion for apprehension."
The remainder of the sitting was occupied by the dis-
cussion on the Municipal Nlections Bill.
On Saturday the Members met for the purpose of
organizing the Bureaux for the month of July. Among
those elected Presidents of Bureaux are MM. Thiers,
Berryer, Dufaure, Vivien, Dupin, Billault, De Tracy,
De Beaumont, and Francois Arago. M. Arago is the
only Member of the late Executive who has been elected.
The Committee on the Constitution, in its sitting of
Friday, decided that its members should be divided
among the Bureaux, so that there should be at least one
in each, to give the necessary explanations.
In the Bureau presided over by M. TIIIERS, to
which the project of the Constitution has been re-
ferred, that gentleman, on its first sitting, took occa-
sion to make the following important declaration, on
the subject of what is absurdly called the " organiza-
tion of labour." It would appear that M. TRIERS is in-
clined to the enactment of some measure analogous to
the English poor-law. lie sees no objection to pro-
claiming the right to assistance to the aged and infirm,
because the promise thus made by the State can,
with the aid of the charitable institutions, be kept ;
but he objects to proclaim the right to labour, because
the State, by making such proclamation, enters into
engagements which it cannot possibly keep. We
hope that all those engaged in organizing the Re-
public, will study attentively this most remarkable
speech:—
" M. Thier3, president of the bureau, said, that in prin-
ciple he liked what was simple and positive; that he had
little taste for tho vague and general declarations by
which the majority of constitutions were preceded ; that
ho paid but little attention to the exemple of their former
revolutionary assemblies; that those assemblies had been
more remarkable for patriotism and talent than for poli-
tical experience; that our new Republic, for the peaceful
establishment of which he was most anxious, should not,
if it wished to succeed, seek to imitate the first Republic
attempted in 1792 ; that it should, on the contrary, dis-
tinguish itself by simplicity of language, wisdom of con-
duct, and a display of good sense. But (added M.
Thiers) this declaration of rights and duties, which I
would not have placed at the top of the constitution, has
been there introduced. To remove it might have been at-
tended with more inconvenience than advantage, and we
must use all our efforts and our care to change all that
there is really defective in the constitution,
in order to let pass what has only the fault

of offending very particular feelings. I admit, there•
fore, the principle of a declaration of rights and duties
and I examine it only in the point of view of the utility
or the danger of the rights put forth in the declaration.
I find, for instance, that it is of the greatest utility to pro-
claim at the head of our constitution, the two-fold principle
of property and of family. It has been, however, thought
indispensable to add two other principles, viz., the right
of mau to assistance, and the right of mac to labour. I
am of opinion that everything should be done for the
people that it is possible to do, but I am also of opinion
that no more should he promised than what it may be
possible to perform. To promise them more than that is
to deceive them ; it is to expose them to deceptions
which they will revenge with muskets in their hands.
Let, therefore, the right of assistance be proclaimed ;
I see no great danger in that, for with well-endowed
charitable institutions such promises may be fully
kept. Society, moreover, does itself honour by en-
tering into a voluntary engagement to support old
age and those whom sickness and infirmities
may render incapable of labour. But to proclaim
the right of man to labour is to make an absolute en-
gagement to furnish at all times and at every season
work for those who cannot procure it themselves. I
have thought very seriously of what is now called the
organization of labour' (a new term for a thing which
is not new), and I have deplored the imprudence with
which such insolvable questions have been started. It
is necessary that the subject should be seriously and de-
liberately discussed in the National Assembly and with-
out any reserve, for it is desirable to know whether any
one possesses the secret of suppressing at will all the
sufferings of the people ; if no one possesses this im-
portant secret it should not be bold forth, for by so do-
ing an effusion of human blood is sure to take place.
The horrible scenes of the last few days are sufficient
proof of this. But while waiting for such a solemn
discussion we may here ask ourselves whether any one
possesses the power of securing work at every season to
the working classes ? Doubtless a good Government
may, by sound legislation, and by a good system
of taxation, contribute to favour production and
increase labour; but in the richest and most industrious
countries, and particularly iu the latter, it is impossible
to prevent occasional crises from over-production, and
which necessarily cause a suspension of labour. In such
eases it is not possible to prevent occasional interrup-
tions. The draining of marsh lands and agricultural
colonies have been spoken of as capable of furnishing
employment at this moment of crises. Such undertak-
ings are a sad resource offered to unemployed workmen,
for it would be scarcely possible to propose to a mechanic
or a weaver to go into a strange part of the country to
dig the earth. Their inexperience at such kind of
labour would render such employment almost as bad
as being entirely out of work. I must, however,
allow that I do not despair of the possibility of there
being means to be adopted which, to a certain point,
might gratify the twofold condition of employing hands
rendered idle by the present crisis, and furnishing them
with work suitable to their respective occupations and
habits. Without making itself either manufacturer or
agriculturist, it is true that the State might make linen,
cloth, shoes, and arms for the troops; it has fortifica-
tions to construct, artillery-waggons to build, and steam-
engines to manufacture; by creating establishments,
therefore, the principle of which should be to work but
little in times of industrial prosperity, and a good deal in
times of distress, it would not be impossible to guard
against periods when work was wanting. I have deeply
reflected on a system which might reserve the works
with which the State is naturally and necessarily charged
for times when the general manufacturing establishments
have but little employment to afford; but this system,
which would require a corresponding financial arrange-
ment, would be difficult to establish, and would be very
costly; the State, as is always the case, would execute
its work well, but at a dear rate. I am, however, in
favour of making an attempt of the kind; it will be
well to reserve the works of the State in order to offer
them to the workmen when other employment fails them.
But although I do not despair of the possibility of such a
combination, would it be prudent, on such a doubtful
prospect, to hazard• the proclamation of the right of
labour? Would it not be more advisable to find another
wording, which, while it implied all the good will and
anxiety of the Government to procure employment to
workmen who were without it, would not impose an
engagement which could not be fulfilled? There is no
doubt that work could always be found, such as has
lately been given to the workmen ; but to men unaccus•
tomed to such labour this is a hard resource, and is only
a system of deception for the State, which pays fur work
which is not properly performed, and, what is still
worse, becomes a dangerous encouragement to idleness.
Something besides the clearing away ground and making
embankments must, therefore, be found. I have en-
deavoured to discover it, and I am of opinion that some
useful results may be attained. At all events, as nothing
certain can be offered, I consider that the goodwill of
the Government should be made known, but care should
be taken not to engage it in an absolute manner. By
pledging it imprudently in proclaiming the right to
labour is a false principle, and I should propose that the
expression should be omitted, which is but a falsehood
put forth to the people."
Le Representant du Peuple, which professes to be
one of the organs of the working classes, states that
General CAVAIGNAC had settled a plan for the disso-
lution of the national ateliers. Some of the workmen
are to be transferred to private ateliers where the
means of employment yet exist. An office is to be
opened at each mairie, where workmen will receive
information as to the ateliers where work may be had.
Those who cannot find labour are to receive out-door
relief until work be found, and a great number are
to be conveyed as colonists to Africa.
The following was the situation of the Bank of
France on the 29th of June :

... f. 80,488,317 45
... 72,152,058 02
... 7,623,638 04