The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-03 00:00:00

al I 111 ,-"2.lnm

LONDON, THURSDAY. JANUARY 3, 1846.

For the last five years the meeting of the French
Chambers has not excited so little interest, or so few
apprehensions, as that which has just taken place, and
it is gratifying to the friends of peace to find that the
amicable relations between England and France
formed the main feature in the KING'S Speech, in re-
ference to foreign affairs. For some time, indeed
ever since the Syrian expedition was announced, the
session opened with alarming symptoms. Neither the
Chambers nor the French public were satisfied with
the policy of MIENS and GUIZOT. The one was
blamed for the vast excitement he had caused—for
the determination evinced to take part with AlEnintsT
Au, and oppose the allies, and for the very " mean
and shuffling " manner in which he receded from his
high-sounding pretensions. The policy of M. GUIZOT
for a time was little more welcome to the nation in
general, and was loudly blamed by all the organs of
the Republican and Legitimatist parties. M. Tnizas
had shamefully deceived them, and humbled France,
and M. GUIZOT did nothing whatever to retrieve her
honour, or efface the disgraceful policy of his predeces-

sor. The bad temper caused by these national feelings
had an unfavourable effect on every succeeding trans-
action between the two countries, as evinced by the
angry discussions about the islands in the Pacific,
the Pritchard affair, the right of search, and several
others, which it is needless to enumerate. Fortu-
nately for both nations, these hostile symptoms have
almost totally disappeared, and France in perhaps all

respects is more intimately allied with England than
with any other European State. None of the Great
powers, in fact, have yet become fully recon-
ciled to the present dynasty; their Sovereigns
keep at a distance from France, not one
of them deigning to acknowledge cordially
the new state of things, and the most powerful
amongst them, from some unexplained grudge, or
some stronger feeling, has for years refused to
appoint an ambassador to the Court of Versailles.
The conduct of England, whether under the ad-
ministration of the Tories or Whigs, has been totally
different. The WELLINGTON Ministry at once con-
curred in the voice of the French nation, and ac-
knowledged LOUIS PHILIPPE ; and both the GREY
and MELnouivisc Cabinet did everything in their
power (with the exception, perhaps, of the attack on
the Pacha of EGYPT) to keep on good terms with
France. Since that event, Lord ABERDEEN and M.
Gum; all must admit, have managed affairs
with praiseworthy skill. They have softened
down asperities, diminished national prejudices,
and, for the good of every state in Europe, have
maintained peace between the two most powerful and
civilised States, and thereby guaranteed the peace of
Christendom. It is no small compliment to these
statesmen that this has been done without any com-
promise on either side tending in the slightest degree
to tarnish national honour or independence ; and
other nations, with the exception we fear of one,
rejoice as much in the result as the two prin-
cipals. We confidently hope that the people of
France will see the advantages thus gained for their
country, and be only more impelled to cultivate
the arts of peace so warmly cherished by the SOVE-
REIGN, and already so productive of the greatest bless-
ings, whether as regards the increase of imports and
exports, the vast undertakings for the establishment
of railways, and the modification of taxes. Already the
Government has announced proposed changes with
regard to the importation of iron and cotton ; the enor-
mous salt-tax will probably be greatly reduced, and a
radical change made in the system of postage. One
great load, however, must long be borne—the enor-
mous expense of maintaining an army.in Africa;
but this great expense may turn out the
greatest blessing, and compel the Chambers
to revise the whole scheme, and put an end to a
system, not only ruinous to France, but fatal to
the honour of the French army, and disgrace-
ful to the people who submit to it. Some
measures will be adopted this session for put-
ting an end to the horrible razzias, and mas-
sacres, and unheard-of cruelties practised by
BUQBEITD, if we may judge from the remarks made
in a brief speech of M. SPEY, given in another part
of The Sun, and the reception it received from the
Chambers. This is only what Europe has a right to
expect from a nation which boasts, perhaps justly,
of the great services it has rendered to civilisation.

The Anti-Corn-law meeting recently held at Ilfra-
combe, a report of which we have given in another
column, is a most remarkable one. It was an inde-
pendent meeting, fully and ably attended by the towns-
men of the place, without any external aid whatever.
It was the spontaneous expression of the feelings of
the inhabitants of the town of Ilfracombe against the
corn-law—their emphatic protest against the "unjust,
unrighteous, iniquitous tax upon food." This pro-
test is the more important, coming, as it does,
from a town which is the seaport of a district ex-
clusively agricultural. There are no manufacturers
residing in the neighbourhood of Ilfracombe to
stimulate the townsmen to meet and declare in
favour of free trade. There were no practised de-
baters present, the prestige of whose names might per-
chance have frighted the protectionists from their pro-
priety—the speakers were all townsmen with whom
their fellow-townsmen were in habits of intercourse,
and yet in a town, the capital of a district
purely agricultural, the protectionists of the
district dared not to meet the inhabitants of the
town, and Ilfracombe pronounced unanimously
and energetically against the corn-laws.
'We have said that the meeting had nu external aid,
and, truth to say, it needed none. The opening speech
Of Mr. DICKENSON, the worthy portreeve of the
tthowen, is one of the most logical arguments against
t o read, r°4aws that it has ever been our good fortune
and it is as eloquent as it is logical. The
wages protection fallacy " was admirably exposed
by him. Mr. T3LlGii,too, went into some statistics
with regard to the labourers of Devonshire, which
are most important, corningyea.swt.htey do from a gen-
tleman who is daily
an e
which he describes, and who, living
of the scenes
of the district in which these :111)8 in the midst
1g
taking
place, cannot be suspected of exaggeration
gageZio
in-
asmuch as he would thereby lay himselll'' opento instant contradiction and exposure. " Thelut
plea," said Mr. Bunn, "that I shall notice is, that
they would continue this tax for the benefit of the
labourers. There are about 20,000 of these poor fel-
lows in the county of Devon existing upon Bs. per
week. Let us for a moment consider this bene-
fited class. Upon an average they have four
children, making a family of six ; deduct
Is. a week for rent, Is. for fire and candles, 2a. for
clothes, shoes, and bedding, they had a balance of 4s.
left to furnish food for 21 meals for six human
beings, that is, less than 2id. per meal." Now
is it not the vilest hypocrisy to talk of the
corn-laws keeping up the rate of wages after this ?
The example which Ilfracombe has thus set in
holding a town's meeting without external aid is
a noble one, and will, we trust, be generally
followed by the inhabitants of other places.
A few more of those spontaneous independent
meetings will effectually put the screw upon
Sir ROBERT PEEL ; and although we know, from
experience, that he is made of squeezable materialst
yet, if the pressure be not kept up, he is, like Indian
rubber, apt to rebound; therefore, to quote the elo-
quent words of Mr. JONES, the proposer of the second
resolution, " We would importune them, as they
value their country's welfare and happiness, to
surround the Throne with petition upon petition—
with remonstrance upon *ili!,nstrance—yea, upon
1 this matter we would have thal become perfect

O'Connellites, and agitate ! agitate ! ! agitate!! !
and never hold their peace until the statute-book
shall be relieved of one of the foulest blots that ever
disgraced its pages."

The Paris papers are chiefly occupied with the re-
marks on the KING'S Speech and the sessional busi-
ness of the Chamber of Deputies. Some of the Op-
position journals continue to blame that part of the
Speech which relates to England ; and the Siecle in
particular, which asserts that ➢I. GUIZOT has placed
the dynasty and nation under the protectorate of that
country, to which the Government paper, the Journal
des Debuts, thus replies :—" As regards the English
alliance, all sensible men consider it to be the safest
guarantee of the peace of the world. This, our
opinion, has been repeatedly expressed by M. TRIERS
himself. But England stands as much in need of
our alliance as we do of hers ; neither country deemed
itself obliged to place itself under the protectorate
of the other. England did not place herself under
our protectorate by consenting to the abolition of
the right of search, and Queen VICTORIA did not
come to France the first to make the homage of her
crown to the KING of the FRENCH, no more
than Lours PHILIPPE, in returning the visit of the

Queen of GREAT BRITAIN, proclaimed himself her
liege subject. England and France are united be-
cause they have but one and the same interest, one
and the same object—the maintenance of the peace
of the world—because everything tends to unite

them, placed, as they both are, at the head of the free
and civilised nations. The two Governments inspire
each other with mutual confidence ; they have given
each other pledges of mutual loyalty ; and if the Bri-
tish Cabinet consented to a very great sacrifice in its
opinion—that of the right of search—it was, because
it knew that the French Cabinet, the Cabinet of the
29th of October, concealed no arriere pewee, and
prosecuted with similar ardour the abolition of

the odious slave•trade. The alliance is consequently
honourable on both sides—it is free ;it rests on a mu-
tual exchange of good offices. The Speech from the
Throne expressed nothing else ; it might have ex-
pressed the same truth in still stronger terms,
without wounding in the least the dignity of France.'
The prospects of the session, as far as one can judge
from present appearances, are of a very peaceable
character, and the labours of the Chambers will pro-
bably be devoted chiefly to internal improvements,
and the affairs connected with the material interests
of the country. This, indeed, appears to be the
view taken by M. SAPEY, who, as senior Member of
the Chamber, occupied the President's chair till the
appointment of M. SAUZET. On addressing the
Members before he resigned the office, he made some
judicious remarks, which deserve to be quoted:—

" The principal measure," said he, " for which the
gratitude of France would be due to the present
Chamber, was the establishment of the vast network
of railways, which must afford such rapid and ad-
vantageous openings to the produce of the country,
and, at the same time, increase the well-being of
the working-classes. In speaking of these great
lines of communication, he could not but express
his regret that the somewhat too ardent impulse that
had marked their commencement, had given birth
to an over-excited spirit of speculation, which had
produced a crisis in the money-market. He had no
doubt that the Minister of Finance would take the pro-
per steps to prevent such a state of things for the future.
The Hon. Deputy then referred to the necessity of
discussing, in the course of the session, the best means
of keeping up such a reserve for the army as would,
without entailing any expense on the nation, afford
the means Of raising a large moveable force at a
moment's warning. He hoped, also, that the navy
would be placed on such a footing as was suitable to
the dignity of France. He trusted that, in consider-
ing the wants of Africa, it would be borne in mind
that conquest had run its course, and that the spirit
of order and civilisation ought at length to prevail in
its turn. The wish of the Councils-General called
loudly for two reforms—the diminution of the duty
on salt, and a uniform postage of letters ;" of both of
these measures he acknowledged himself to be a warm
advocate. But what, above all, ought, he observed, to
occupy the attention of the Chamber, was the financial
condition of the kingdom, and he trusted that zealous
efforts would be made to confine the expenditure
within the limits of the receipts. The Hon. Deputy,
after dwelling on the necessity of carrying on the dis-
cussions without having recourse to useless recrimi-
nations, concluded by thanking the Chamber for the
indulgence which they had manifested towards him
during the course of their preparatory proceedings.
This address was well received. The Committee on
the Address in the Peers met on Wednesday, and
having expressed a desire to obtain explanations from
the President of the Council and the Minister of the
Interior, it was agreed that they should attend the
Committee on Saturday. We subjoin some miscel-
laneous extracts from the papers :
"On Wednesday, at one o'clock, on the occasion of
the approaching new year, the King received the Arch-
bishop of Paris and his clergy. At eight in the evening
his Majesty received the ladies of the corps diplo-
matique, and at half-past eight the Council of State.
" According to the official reports of administration of
criminal justice in France during the eight years, from
1836 to 1848 inclusively, 47 parricides have obtained
the benefit of the law which authorises juries to return
with their verdicts of guilty a declaration of the exist-
ence of extenuating circumstances. Of these, the greatest
culprits, 19 have had their punishments reduced from
death to hard labour for a limited number of years, at the
expiration of which they are let loose again upon society,
with the indelible stain of their father's blood upon
their heads. During the same period of eight years there
were convicted of wilful murder, including poisonings
and infanticides, 1,307 persons, who by the same finding
of extenuating circumstances escaped the capital punish-
ment which would have been their doom but for the law
which puts it in the power of the jury, by the addition
of the above-mentioned finding to their verdicts, to re-
duce this penalty.
" During the first fortnight of December the average
price of the hectolitre of wheat was,—at Toulouse, Gray,
Lyons, and Marseilles, 24f. Bc. ; at Marans and Bor•
deaux, 211.81 c.; at Laurent and Le Grand Lemps, 22f.
27c.; at Mulhausen and Strasburgh, 24f. 96c.; at Ber-
gues, Arras, Roye, Soissons, Paris and Rouen, 211.
53c.; at Saumur and Nantes, 19f. 44c.; at Metz, Verdun,
and Charleville, 21f. 13c.; and at St. Lo, Paimpol,
Quimper, and lennebon 191. 94c."
" The price of bread for the first fortnight of the pre-
sent month remains fixed at 38 centimes the kilogramme
(about 7d. for the 41b. loaf).
" There issued from the French press, during the year
1845, 6,521 books of various kinds, 1,405 prints, 492
pieces of music, and 104 maps—in all 8,520 works.
" M. Alfred Marcy Monge, who perished in the wreck
of the Papin steamer, was a grandson of the celebrated
mathematician of that name. M. Marey Monge was ad-
mitted into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1840, as a
junior in the Consular Department, and was soon after-
wards appointed provisional consul at Belgrade. Thence
he was removed as Consul to Corunna. An accidehkai-
milar to that by which he lost his life gave him an opfoli-
tunity in 1844 of distinguishing himself. The Vedette
Government steamer, on the 15th October in that year,
while at anchor off Corunna, was in danger of being
lost, from a sudden and violent galo of wind coming on.
The state of the sea was so tremendous that no one else
had courage to face it ; but M. Monge jumped into a
boat, and, being followed by others encouraged by his
example, the Vedette was reached, and brought safe into
port. For this bold and humane act he was invested
with the Order of the Legion of Honour. In June last
he was appointed Consul at Mogadore, in the room of
M. H. Jorelle, and was going there when he met his
fate, being only 31 years of age. He has left two
brothers, the eldest a Major-General serving with dis-
tinction in Africa, and the youngest attached to the
French mission in Chins."

BUSINESS
LDDOONNE
as a close holiday. At TORT .
Cents. were quoted at 83f. 15c.
New Year's-day was observedoNatesthtehePaTrihsrßeeoupersre
Anglo-Belgian . :Madrid and Valencia
G ICI'
IOCF
.......... i
Barbadoes ............... Mauritins
KOREExIcG
fiNARNAGILEW,
JAATT 52A. T THE
3%
Boulogne and Amiens.. 12% Namur and Liege
Bordeaux &Mediterran North Jamaica ••• •—• 7, Bordeaux and Toulouse
--. Orleans and Vierzen .. li 34
Do. & Cette (Espeletal
, -- Orleans and Bordeaux 11%
Do. (Mackenzie's) .. 2 Over Yssel
Callao, Lima, and Pa-
ciao Coast
Central .
lof Spain ..
Ditto (Calon's).... .. 2%
Ceylon
Demerara
D — Paris and Orleans
endre Valley ...... ... Paris and Roue* . .....•
Dutch Rhenish ... ...... 7% Paris and Strasburg Dieppe & Paris Janet. (Ganaeroa's) _ 2l
Dijon and Mulhouse ... Do. (Compe de L'Est) - East Indian . .... ll/i Do. (Aymard's)..... ---
Grt Northern of France Paris and St. Queatin.
--
Constituted lO4 Rouen and Havre__
Great Indian Peninsular % Royal North of Spain:
Do. Pepin le Hallear — ISaitihre and Meuse .... ......
Great Paris and Lyons 2% Strasburg and Bale .... -_
Great Western Bengal Tournay,Jurbise, Lan-
Great Western Canada den, and Hasselt ...
Jamaica& Mid. Junction Toars and Nantes
De. North Midland — (11.1a,ckenzie's) .--
Do. Extension
Jersey — Do. (O'Neill's). ......
Loavain aid Jemappe — Trinidad
Lyons and Avignon.... 214, Verona and Ancona l3/
Luxembourg
-..i.

Madrid journals of the 25th ult. have been re-
ceived, but, owing to the severity of the weather,
those of the 26th had not reached Fads at the &par.