The Sun.
London, England, 1848-06-03 00:00:00

THE 815 N, LONDION,

of the reactionary movement. France is at the pre- I
sent moment placed in a peculiar and most perilous
position. She is now undergoing the transition from
the ideal to the real, without enjoying the imaginative
perfections of the one or the practical benefits of the
other. It is a common adage that it is
more easy to gain a victory than to make good
use of one. It is the period after success
that is the period of difficulty and danger. It is
when victory has cooled the ardent, and success in-
toxicated the wise—when ambition stimulates the
disaffected, and self-interest divides the hitherto una-
nimous—it is then that the true soldiers have cause
to consider their conquest insecure ; it is then that
it behoves them to have their loins girded and their
swords unsheathed, and to be as prepared for action
as on the day of battle itself. Such is the position of
France at the present moment, and so is it incumbent
on the true lovers of France to keep incessant watch
over the liberties of their country. They have every
possible incitement to exertion, they have that which
should be the first thought of every genuine
patriot—they have the fate of their country
in their hands. Their own liberties as men,
and their own rights as citizens, are in
like manner wholly dependent upon their exertions,
and if public opinion can afford them an additional
stimulus, they may rest satisfied that the eyes of the
world are upon them. " Soldiers, from the height
lef,,
these pyramids forty centuries contemplate you .
exclaimed a French General to his army at the battle
of the Pyramids. And, in like manner, might the
leaders of the French encourage them now in their
exertions. Not only do the solemn memories of
the past contemplate them—not only do the records
of former patriots and champions incite them onwards
as with living voices—the present, with its Argus
eyes, surveys their every movement, while
the future waits to take its impress from
their hand. With such stimulants to perseverance
it is hardly to be supposed that the French nation
will be false to themselves or to their mission. The
words of their sublime " Marseillaise" should be their
perpetual watchword. They should prove themselves
to be indeed " children of their country," and then only
will their " day of glory" be arrived. A passive
struggle is, however, unavoidably more arduous than
an active one. And it is passive exertion that the
French are now called upon to practice. It is no
longer necessary for them to raise up actual
from thebarricades in the streets, or to expel a tyrannical ruler
regal chambers of the Tuileries. But
it is now necessary for them to resist fearlessly and
resolutely
every insidious attempt to restore the ty-
ranny from which they are but just emancipated, and
it is necessary for them, moreover, to cast out even
from the very tribunal of Government the disaffected
and the evil councillor. A relapse is more danger-
ous than the malady itself, and reaction often
leads the way to a tyranny more insupportable
than the one overthrown. The placard which, with
such unblushing effrontery, proposed his Royal
Highness the Prince DE JOINVILLE as a fitting
person to represent the Parisians in Parliament,
may, perhaps, have an effect which the
authors neither anticipated nor desired. It may
remind the Republicans of the desperate character of
their enemies, and may arouse the French people to
a steady and invincible resistance of all their in-
trigues, whether of a pacific or bellicose nature. The
Reforme launches out into an earnest and indignant
denunciation of the cool audacity which dared to post
the Orleanist placard upon the very walls of Paris—
of Paris, the seat of the Republican Government! But
a more forcible denunciation of this attempt may be
found in a verse of the Republican hymn—
" Francais ! pour nous, ah quelle outrage
Quel transport cela doit exciter.
C'est noes qu'on ose mediter
De rendre a !'antique esclavage."
This verse would have formed a singularly appro-
priate conclusion to the proposition of FRANCOIS
D'OxLEANS as the representative of Paris, and should
have been inscribed beneath it on the city walls.

On Thursday we pointed out the peculiar advan-
tages which would result from a judicious system of
emigration to our Australian colonies, as well to the
emigrants themselves as to the present inhabitants,
and to the mother country. The former would be
certain of obtaining immediate employment, at a re-
munerative scale of wages, together with abundant
supplies of the best description of food for the support
of their families. The colonists would procure the
labour of which they are so much in want, and
which is essential to the due development of the
ample resources within their reach, but which
are neglected and wasted in consequence of the
scarcity of labour, and the parent state would still
maintain its connexion with those hardy and enter-
prising men, retain them as her subjects, and create
a new and most valuable market for the productions
of her native industry.
Such results, so important and so beneficial to all
parties, should not be slighted or despised. But
they can only be attained by a well-arranged and
prudent system, proportioning the arrival of the im-
migrants to the wants of the settlement in which
they are about to be located; exercising a power
of selection, so as to suit the various parties
to the existing state of society in the several' districts ;
exhibiting the fostering care of a parent in aiding the
young community during their early struggles, and,
if necessary, pledging the national credit on behalf of
our brethren, who, although they have departed from
our shores, and sought a home in another hemisphere,
still own the same allegiance, maintain the same free
institutions, and carry with them English habits,
English feelings, and English duties, even to the anti-
podes. What is required is not mere emigration, but
a well-devised and systematic colonization.

The report of the Court of Directors of the New Zea-
land Company, which was adopted at the annual
general meeting of the shareholders held on
Wednesday last, and the substance of which appeared
in The Sun of that day, is an important document,
showing that the directors are fully alive to the great
interests committed to their charge, and disposed to
turn to the best advantage the assistance afforded
by the Government. It is not necessary now to
enter into the causes that for some time occasioned
difficulties, and placed impediments in the way of the
company, and materially impaired their usefulness.
It is sufficient to say that these causes no longer
exist, and that there is now the most friendly co-ope-
ration on every side. Those who exhibited so much
energy in adverse circumstances will, we doubt not, act
with equal zeal and ability in increased prosperity and
under more propitious and favourable auspices. A
great trust has been confided to their hands ; the
welfare of the southern province of New Zealand ,
mainly depends on their administration. Under the
agreement entered into last year, the company is in-
vested with all the rights of the Crown over all
lands that are or may become Crown property avail-
able for colonization, and loans to the amount of
236,0001. sterling have been contracted with the
et
Government for the purposes of colonization,
until
87070117
hruealiaslerdeafdrOymbetehne
proceeds of
as
thesesuffici landsn ; fundsl2
of
received by the company on account thereof, and the
balance of 108,000/. is still receivable.

With such means at their disposal,much may be
expected at their hands ; as yet the extent and
posi-
tion of the available lands have not been fully
ascer-
tained, and of course until that most essential preli-
minary has been settled no definite conclusion can be
arrived at. Sufficient, however, has been enun-
ciated to entitle the directors to the public
approbation for the course in which they are pro-
ceeding. The unhappy differences that existed
with the colonists in the settlement of Nelson have
been put in a train for a satisfactory and speedy ad-
justment. Governor GREY has been selected as,arbi-
trator to adjudicate upon all such cases as cannot be
amicably arranged, and the entire landed property of
the company has been placed at his disposal, out of
which he is empowered to make every equitable
arrangement. The directors are also engaged in a
re-examination of the "Nelson trust funds," so
that it may be hoped that the confidence and
harmony so essential to the prosperity and happiness
of the district may be fully restored.

A due attention to the means of transit for the
intended colonists, so that the disease and
demoralization attendant on overcrowded and badly
ventilated vessels may be avoided, would manifestly
be one of the first duties of such a body. The directors
state that they have made arrangements for dispatch-
ing " a regular succession of passenger ships upon a
system which, while it combines economy with

efficiency, makes provision also for an attention to
the habits of domestic privacy and feelings of per-
sonal self-respect, as well as to the health and ordi-
nary comforts of the several classes of passengers."
Those who have shuddered at the fearful and heart-
rending scenes that have been enacted on board of
some emigrant-ships during the past year, will
rejoice to find that there is little prospect of a
renewal of such horrors in the vessels dispatched
under the auspices of the New Zealand Company.
The balance-sheet of the company shows liabilities
amounting to 387,500/. 103. 5d., including the Go-
vernment debt and the paid-up capital amounting to
200,000/. ; against which they have assets to the value
of 61,761/. 4s. 9d., exclusive of their claims to land,
which extend to 1,071,435 acres as yet undis-
posed of.
One point to which the attention of the meeting
was called will, we trust, be immediately attended to,
and an adequate remedy provided for the evil.
We allude to the difficulties interposed in
the way of transfer of lands by the heavy ex-
pense of conveyance. Mr. BURNAND stated at the
meeting that he had himself paid no less than 661. for
the conveyance of a small parcel of land. We have
already roempeawtehdalt m
repeatedly urr. JAMBS benefitsgedtmhevasstTEwAßTso happily
to be ob-
taintermed a " free trade in land itself " and the disad-
vantages of any unnecessary delays, difficulties, or
expenses in the transfer. The difficulties in attaining
this desideratum, which are so formidable in this
country from the complicated character of our titles,
may easily be surmounted in an infant colony.
Plans could be prepared for effecting cheap and
expeditious transfers, in which there should be no
danger of the purchasers being deprived of their
properties from any flaw in their titles. We trust
that this most essential point may be placed upon a
satisfactory footing under the direction of the com-1
parry ; they may be sure that in no particular can
they confer more important benefits on the inhabi-
tants of the colony with so little trouble or expense
to themselves.