The Sun.
London, England, 1848-10-17 00:00:00

THE SUN, LC iNDONI

prisoner, and those with whom he was acting, did
not approve of the course decided upon by Mr.
O'BRIEN ; that they were not prepared for an im-
mediate outbreak, even although they might have
contemplated one upon a future occasion, and that
their participation, so far as it was afforded, was
merely for the purpose of preventing the arrest of
SMITH O'BRIEN, and avoiding it themselves, an
offence undoubtedly of a very grave and serious
character, but lacking that universality of purpose
which is an incident essential to maintain the charge
of high treason. It is manifest that some
at least of the jury took this view of
the case, for we find them, in answer to a
communication from the Judges, stating, at ten
o'clock on Saturday night, "that they were not
likely to agree," and again coming into court a little
before eleven, and receiving a statement of the law
from Judge MociftE, who, in answer to a question to
that effect, informed them "that if any one did any
act, aiding and abetting
.a person guilty of treason,
though he might not be conscious of the intent of
the other, he was also guilty of treason." On this
point, then, their verdict seemed to have turned, for
shortly afterwards their agreement was announced.

This, then, must be assumed to be the law
at the present day, upon which a human
being has been convicted of the highest of-
fence known to the law, involving not only
the loss of his own lite, but the corruption
of his blood—the disinheriting of his innocent chil-
dren, if they should by a possibility come to inherit
property in his right. He might be wholly ignorant
of the treasonable intent or purpose of another; he
might himself not harbour a disloyal thought, and
yet he might be convicted of high treason because he
was unfortunately in company with, and rendered
1 assistance to, a traitor. Surely, under such a code,
no person can possibly be safe. Every man's life
depends upon a mere chance, and may be forfeited
for the most trivial acts, coupled with the most inno-
cent intentions. We do not censure the Learned Judge
by whom this astounding state of the law was laid
down to the jurors. He but discharged the
duty imposed upon him and faithfully reported the
opinions of a former Judge, who interpreted the law
in other days. The point in question was determined
on the trials of the Earls of ESSEX and SOUTHAMPTON,
and the latter nobleman was convicted of high
treason, although he actually believed that he was
only assisting his friend in a private quarrel, and
according to the ruling of one of the most eminent
Judges that ever occupied the judicial bench (Chief
Justice HALE), that all who accompanied Lord
EssEx to London, whether they knew of his intent
or not, were guilty of high treason.
Surely it is high time that there should be a
searching revision of the Criminal Code when so
monstrous an absurdity may be perpetrated thereunder,
as finding a man practically, although not morally,
guilty, and sacrificing human life in support of a legal
fiction. These legal fictions are a stain and disgrace
upon our law. Parties should be fairly and justly
responsible for their own acts. It is perhaps fitting,
in order to produce greater care, that they should
also be pecuniarily responsible for the acts of their
servants, but not criminally so. Lord BROUGHAM
declaimed with indignant eloquence in the House of
Lords against the monstrous absurdity of putting
Mr. BLUNDELL, of Ince, upon his trial on a charge of
murder, because his servant left a rope drawn across
the road, over which an old woman fell and was killed.
How is it worse than the state of the law that makes
a person responsible for the intentions of another of
which he has no knowledge whatever. 'We trust
that an enlarged and comprehensive measure
for the reform of the criminal law may
speedily be introduced—in no point is it more re-
quired than in the doctrine of constructive treason.

Austria has no longer any power of cohesion.
Whatever may be the result of a collision between the
armies of the various generals who are concentrating
their forces upon Vienna—it is most certain that the
downfal of the German Czoseas is inevitable, and
that that empire which has been aggrandized since
the thirteenth century from a petty principality to a
vast agglomeration of races, making altogether a
population of about 36,950,600 souls,'"and extending
over a surface of 157,368 square miles, will be for
ever dissipated and scattered. Nothing can again
bind together an empire so peculiarly heterogeneous
in its character. Antagonistic in temperament,
various in religion, contrary in habits, opposite in
complexion, separated by language, by traditions, by
costume, by prejudices and by partialities,
the thirty-seven millions who have hitherto
obeyed the mandates of the Austrian Em-

perorsj will no longer listen to those mandates

now that the awe inspired by an irresponsible des-
potism has been removed, now that the people hare
been roused from the slumbers of slavery by the voice
of Revolution. Before now, the great house of Haps-
burg-Lorraine despoiled its neighbours ; now in its
turn it will, itself, be despoiled. Austria on former
occasions partitioned the dominions of Italy, the
principalities of Germany, and the kingdom of
Poland. The moment of retribution is at length
approaching. The doom has been pronounced—the
talisman has been broken—the spells have been turned
against the necromancer—the dominions of Austria
are on the eve of being distributed among the
fragments of those nations who have hitherto been
only the sport and the victims of the crowned ad-
venturers of Schonbrunn.
To those who are not conversant with the origin
and development of the Austrian empire the foregoing
calculations may appear to be somewhat premature,
and the more so when the doubtful posture of affairs
in the capital is taken into consideration. At the
present moment it is true that it remains entirely a
matter of conjecture whether KOSSUTH will be
triumphant over the forces of JBLLAcmcn, or whe-
ther Dzax will prosper where AUERSTERG is dis-
comfited. Some hopes are still reposed by the parti-
sans Of FERDINAIID in the daring of WINDESCHGRATZ
and in the military genius of RADSTZKY. With such
commanders on the side of the dynasty it is imagined
that the came of the populace cannot be victorious
except by the interposition of a miracle. We give as
little heed to these frivolous arguments as we wculd
to the tattle of a tea-party of gossips and fribbles. The

solution of the great problem as to the consolidation

or the disruption of the Austrian empire is discover-
able, not in the old art of war, but in the stripling
cience of ethnology. If the lovers of the absolute
policy of METTERNICH are sanguine because
of certain martial statistics, we are immea-
surably more than merely sanguine by reason
of a vast number of glottological facts and
psychological deductions. Even the Supreme Diet
cf Vienna, under the Presidency of FRANZ SMOLKA,
is labouring under the delusion that the motley
colours of what is called in the aggregate Austria
can be still mingled together harmoniously in the
woof of a liberal and moderate constitution. The
dream is beautiful, but will be very speedily dissi-
pated. We will in a few sentences explain the reason
of this our conviction. It has already been observed
by us that the Austrian empire is literally the ag-
glomeration of a great number of different races,
without any affinity whatever towards each other—
a position of affairs which, to secure its
permanence, necessitates the exercise of a very
despotic authority. To render the heterogeneous
character of the component parts of this empire ap•
parent it is only necessary to enumerate the names
of the principal divisions—such as the Bohemians,
the Moravians, the Silesians, the Slovacks, the Galli-
cians, the Transylvanians, the Servians, the Illyrians,
the Bukovians, the Tyrolese, the Carinthians, the
Carniolians, the Styrians, the Croatians, the Bul-
garians, the Russines, the Sloventzes, the Magyars
the Sclavonians, the Italians, the Germans, the Poles,
the Wallachians, the Malorusses, &c. &c. &c.! ! !
Such is the empire which the Diet dreams of holding
together now that the diabolical charm of Des-
potism has been dissolved, and after the tremendous
convulsion of the late revolutionary outbreak ! Now
that we have mentioned the disruptive character of
Austria, it would surely be superfluous to argue why
it is, in our opinion, impossible to effect anything
like a continuance of the cohesive power of the late
absolute Government. The reasons are obvious.
They are, as we have already observed, recognizable
in the mere rudiments or elementary principles of j
ethnology.

The puzzle now is—not whether it will be dis-
severed, but how its fragments will be distributed.
To our mind the Answer appears simple enough. The

Italian portions of Austria must be allowed to drift off
to strengthen the reviving nationality of the Roman
peninsula. The German portions will tend to con-
solidate the grand Germ anic Confederation. As for
the rest, they will natur ally and necessarily compact
themselves, in their rel Ative positions, towards the
formation of that noble 2'-anslavic Empire which will
soon have arisen betwef m Western Europe and the
dominions of the Aurfuc RAT. By this rational arrange-
ment the balance of power on the Continent will not
be dangerously compromised. None of the kingdoms
already in existence w ill aggrandize themselves by the
acquisition of the deb, rig of Austria to the detriment or
peril of their neighbo firs ; and the order of nature, of
religion, of language , of PROVIDENCE will be com-
plied with and universally obeyed. Poland will be
avenged. Italy will be restored to her independence.
Germany will have secured her vast and symmetrical
nationality. And:a broad and impassable barrier will
have arisen to secu re civilised Europe from the bar-
barian hordes of ' the CZAR. Will this revolution of
Austria, then, bi LYE been a blessing, or will it have
been a curse ? -Ag• gregated to its present dimensions
by rapine and spoliation, it will have met with the
doom of the robb, 3r. Its requiem will be chaunted
less in sadnes! i tha n in exultation.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris papers of yesterday.
The Assen ably met at one o'clock, and the hall was
crowded.

M. DUI" AURE commenced the proceedings by
ascending t)• to tribune and reading the programme of
the new Cal tinet ; it is couched in very conciliatory
language. The debate on the question of confidence
or no confitderne then commenced, and MM. DUPONT
DE BUSSAC, P,ORTALIS, LANBRIN, and LEDIU Romas
severally denounced the new Cabinet as one of re-
action. M. LEDRU ROLLIN was so violent that he
was frequently interrupted by the Assembly, where-
upon he left the tribune without finishing his speech.
A scene of great confusion ensued, and when the post
left General BEDEAU was in vain endeavouring to
obtain a "hearing; the friends of M. LEDRU ROLLIN
having determined, that since he had been put
down by clamour, no one else should be heard. The
Government will, it is said, have a large majority.
The admission of M. DUFAURE into the Cabinet is
looked upon by all real Republicans as a false step
from which General CATAIGNAC will not be able to
recover. The true Republicans of all shades are
opposed Ito the Ministry as decidedly reactionary and
monarchical, and as a proof that they are justified in
so regarding it, it may be mentioned, as a curious fact,
that the instant the advent to power of M. DursantE
became certain, those negotiations which were going
on for a compromise between the elder branch of the
Bourbons. and the Orleans dynasty were broken off
by command of LOUIS PHILIPPE, who looks forward
to being able at no distant day to resume his position
as KING of the FRENCH.

The National, the organ of the moderate Republi-
cans, which has hitherto supported General CevAxo-
NAC,declares that it is:now unable to do so. The more,
says the National, it considers the change just made,
the more firmly is it convinced that a
fault has been committed. It admits that
General CAVAIGNAC, in arranging his Cabinet
in conformity with the presumed majority
in the Assembly, acted in a strictly constitutional
manner, but it thinks that the votes given
on the questions of the press and the election
of the President of the Republic were not
a clear proof that the late cabinet had lost the confi-
dence of the Assembly ; and it therefore contends
that General CiTAIGNAC ought, in the first instance,
to have gone once more and taken the opinion of the
Assembly on a vote of confidence. That part of the
question, however, being now settled, the National

says :—" It only remains to know if the Assembly
will ratify the choice made." On this point the
National does not choose to express an opinion, but
it declares that beyond all doubt the choice made by
General CAVAIGNAC is a deviation from the policy
Pursued by him up to the present time, and intimates
its opinion that in consequence of this fault the Mo-
derates will ultimately triumph over the pure Repub•
licans. In concluding its remarks the National says :
" We ask General Cavaignac if he has not made
too great a sacrifice to these circumstances, of which
he has not sufficiently shown us the imperious ne-
cessity, by himself creating the eventuality of a vic-
tory gained, under his auspices, by the Right over
the Left ; that is to say, in short, a victory gained
over those who hare achieved the Republic for
France, by those whom the Republic has gained
over since the 24th of February to its principles and
its truths."

There is another fact more suggestive even than
the defection of the National from the Cabinet—it is
the support given to it by the Journal 46 Debats. The
organ of M. GuizoT declares tbat it is predisposed
to look with favour on the Cabinet of M. DUFAURE
and yet this same journal which is so predisposed,
thus comments on the deficit of the revenue. After
stating that the deficit in the revenue for the first
quarter was 16 per cent., for the second quarter 46
per cent., and for the third quarter 401 per cent., it
says—

" We shall make few reflections ; the subject is
sad, and the reflections which it suggests, are still
more so. A hundred and two millions of deficit in
nine months in one single branch of the revenue !
We believe that there is not an example of a similar
perturbation in the financial history of any nation.
I Let one calculate, if it be possible, how much these
102 millions represent of decrease in the public
wealth, of individual ruin, of the slackening of in-
dustrial labour, of manufactories closed, of wages
lost to the labouring classes, and of miseries of every
sort ! We wish very sincerely that the Republic
may keep all its promises, and spread wealth and
comfort in the midst of the population. But, in the
meantime, here are the fruits of the revolution of
February I"
We may judge of the sincerity of the Republican
professions of M. DUYAURE by the manner in which
those who are predisposed to afford him their support
speak of the Republic.
M. Sinoua, the new Archbishop of Paris, was
formally installed in the Cathedral of Notre Dame
yesterday. Various placards, announcing Prince
Louis NAPOLEON as a candidate for the Presidency
of the Republic were yesterday posted in Paris.
A new division of Colonists, eight hundred in
number, left Paris on Sunday for Algeria.
PARIS BOURSE—Morm.tr, OCT. 16.
THREE O'CLOCK —The new Ministry does not inspire
much confidence at the Bourse. The whole of this day
has been very dull, and business almost at a stand.
For the Account, the French Three per Cents. have
risen .sc. ; Five per Cents. have also risen sc. ;
Loan is the same as on Saturday. For Money
the Three per Cents. have risen sc. ; Five per
Cents. have risen to the same amount; Loan has fallen
10c.; Bons du 'rasior not quoted; Bank of France Shares
are 10f. worse; Belgian Bank Shares are at 855; Five
per Cents. remain without variation; Spanish Active
not quoted; Three per Cents. have declined a i per
cent.; Passive not quoted; Roman has fallen + per cent.;
and Rothschild's Receipts i per cent. Exchange on
London (30 days), 25f. 424 c.; ditto (90 days) 251. 20c.
Railway Shares for the Account, settling of 31st of
October:—Northerns have declined lf. 25c.; Marseilles
and Strasburgs remain as on Saturday. No others
quoted. For money, Marseilles have risen 2f. 50c., and
Nantes, If. 25c.; Orleans, Rouens, Vierzons, Bordeaux,
and Northerns have declined lf. 25c. each. The others
are without any change.

BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE

LONDON STOCK-EXCHANGE, Oar. 16.
Boulogne and Amiens, 534—Northern of France, g
Paris and Lyons, 47 —Paris aad Strasbourg, 1. ii‘i—Satabre
and Meuse,

SPAIN.

Madrid journals of the 14th have arrived.

The Gaceta of the 14th publishes a decree enact-
ing that the periods of service of the generals, officers,
and soldiers serving in Catalonia shall, be counted
double.

General VILLALONGA has ordered the potatoes
planted by the populations of the banks of the Ebro
to be removed, the Egs to be gathered in, and grain
and vegetables to be secreted, so as to deprive the
insurgents of food. Notwithstanding the severity of
these measures, the vigour and energy of the Carlists
is daily on the increase. The Clamor Publico says
that Cabecillas, who were constantly on the watch
to avoid the QUEEN'S troops, are now as constantly on
the watch to fall in with them and give them battle.
The bands in the province of Tarragona have in-
creased to upwards of 500 men, commanded by
GEBER and ESTARTUS, who levy contributions, and
scamper off with their prey unmolested to their
mountain fastnesaes.

CABRERA was at Caldetenas on the 2d with his
troops. On the 4th he marched to Olot, and on the