The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-07 00:00:00

a justification of his excesses. The forcing the men to
sign the false entry in the log is put down by Mr. JERVIS
to the account of that cunning which always accom-
panies madness. But what does he say to the :*act of
the captain having navigated his vessel in safety to
Fayal, and from Fay al to England ? Could
a madman—that is to say, a man incapable

of distinguishing right from wrong (for such
only are entitled by law to be acquitted on the ground.
of insanity)—could a madman have done this ? At all
events, there must have been a marvellous method in his
madness. Never has there been a verdict given more
contrary to evidence, and we trust that this case, fortu-
nately unconnected with politics, and, therefore, a case
to which all our legislators and juris-consults can apply
their minds without prejudice, will have the effect of
drawing the attention of the Legislature to the subject, so
that some remedy may be provided for this crying es il.
The task of providing this remedy, as it strikes us, is by
no means a difficult one. We would suggest that, in
all criminal cases in which it is intended to set up the
plea of insanity, the question of insanity• should be tried
and deci(led on substantively before the trial of the in-

dictment ; or, perhaps it might be better still, to have
it argued on demurrer, taking care, however, tbat such. I
demurrer should not be cmsidered as admitting ;
the truth of the crime charged, •so as to
deprive the prisoner of the right, to have the
case investigated, thus leaving it to the Judges
to decide the validity of the plea. At all events we woull
suggest the propriety of enacting, that in no case shall
the plea of insanity be considered as proved unless it
shall be shown either that the prisoner had been, before
the commission of the crime, under restraint as an in-
sane person, or that measures had been taken b:-fore the
commission of the crime to place him under. such re
straint ; or that, on being brought up to plead, it shall
he evident to the Court, after heiring medical evidence,
that the prisoner is at that moment in such a state of
mind as to be unfit to undergo a trial.

Happily for some thousands of our fellow countrymen,
both Huuses oF Parliament, yesterday, aequiewed in the

suggestions contained in the first report of the Select

Committee• on Railways, to which suggestions, in our

last, we made particular allusion. With the intention
of so far facilitating matters as to open fresh channels
for the speedy employment of the destitute labourers on
the other side of St. George's Channel, the Peers have de-
ferred their opinion in some measure to the system of action
adopted in, railway proceedings by the Commons,
. .

without however iu the smallest deg:se comproMi:.-ivg

Lf it own pre-expressed judgment. By the arrangcraent
Ist cuncluded the different amount of per tentage re-

quired by the two Houses to be paid upon deposits

before a Bill could be entertained,--natuely, ten per
cent. by the Lords, and fivo per cent. by the
Commons—have been very judiciously modified by

the former in order to accord with the regulations
of the latter, and meet, at the same time, the ex-
traordinary exigencies of the moment. In this manner it

is resolved that before the first reading one-twentieth
only will be r, quis:te, and before tho third rtading
another twentieth, a resolution which amounts, in the
end, to the original plan of operation. In expressing our
most earnest sathifact:on at the promptitude which is
thus evidenced by the Legislature, and its manifest

anxiety to ameliorate the fearful and de: prate

condition of the industrious clasies in Ireland,.
we aro more especially desirous of repudiath g the
ilisinuation, and of particularising the uttered

by Mr. BERNAL. What peculiar " unfitness "or " in-
justice" there can be in giving priority to Irish railways
we cannot, by the utmost ingenuity of reasoning, dis-
cover. A remarkable debility exhibits itself in one
portion of our political constitution ; that portion is
Ireland. Restoratives, or rather tonics and sAiinulants
of a powerful description, are necessary to amend
that unnatural debility, and to i fuse new vigour
into the emaciated part—to replace lassitude by
nervous energy. For this purpose, no sane
Government would surely direct the operation
of those tonics or of those stimulants equally to the
comparatively strong as to the positively weak portions;
but would rather, by every means within their capacity,
endeavour to animate with its pristine power the part so
deteriorated and decayed. It would be a sin-
gular mode of rescuing the inhabitants of Drog-
heda from their foodless and helpless con
dition to offer a plentiful supply of provisions in
the furthest limits of Yorkshire or of Westmoreland,
and, nevertheless, this would be tantamount to the pro-
position in question, namely, that by a priority. nf Eng-
lish an.l Scotch railways, the Irish labourers would re-
ceive the readiest amount of assistance. Perhaps, in
refutation of this singular argument, it will be sufficient
to make two simple observations ; first, that
a person incapable of procuring sustenance in
his own immediate neighbourhood is not very
competent to undertake the risks and expense:,
of a long journey; and, secondly, that the originetors'of
any railway would prefer the comparatively insignificant
outlay of hiring workmen in their vicinity to the some-
what costly mode of obtaining "bands" from a very
considerable distance. Schemes for the instanta-
neous relief of our Irsh brethren must be neither
dubious nor inferential; the unhappy populac,
of that island must have no einuosities to track
out no labyrinths to penetrate, before arriving
at the boon which is to give them a chance of labour, of
food, and of life. Their E pules and mattocks must be
called into use upon the very earth adjoining their ho
vels; the bushels of Indian corn or measures of maize,
with which their bodily labour is to be recom.
peesed, must be heaped out upon their thresh.
holds. The compact in this case must be
simple : home-work for home. bread ; toil upon
their native sod for a crust. Mr. BERNAL stated that
" what the people of Ireland wanted at this moment n as
food, and not railways to Galway or the south." As an
aphorism this is correct enough ; the ultimatum of tie
Irish wish is indubitably " food and not railways," bet
then the food they desire is not the food of beue
volence or charity ; their demands are just and
honest so
.i such wages fir so much manual
labour —no more. Largesse, or the metings-out
of generosity, are not what they require—they ask nut
for a gratuity, but for employment. And, as among
the most reasonable means of affording than that cm
ployment, we regard the present facilitation of local
railway Bills with peculiar pleasure, since, from thi,
very depression and impotence of the multitude, may
arise their more rapid and permaeent improve-
ment, and that out of the grave of penury may
be exhumed the benignant spirit of regeneration.
On Wednesday next Mr. O'CONNELL will bring before
Parliament the terrible minutia: of famine and disease
which now threaten to decimate the ranks of his
fellow-countrymen. And with these melancholy details
we would fain anticipate some still further incitement
will be administered to the Executive department, se
that the measures taken by Government with reference
to Ireland may be neither relaxed nor delayed.

Madrid journals of the 30th ult. have been received.
Most of them advert to the Speech of the Quren o'
ENGLAND, praise the liberal measures to whia
it refers, and consider they will be of great importance
to Spain. The father of General NARITALZ, the Conde
DE CANADA ALTA, died on the 28th.
The Funds were more firm. The Three per Cents.
closed at 32; for cash, and 321 at sixty days; and tl e
Fives at 231 for the same time.

The Paris papers are almost entirely occupied with
the discussions in the Chamber of Deputies, and com
ments on the amendments. They are in general, how-
ever, destitute of interest. The last subject was the ex-
re:lido-A to Madagascar, and in ansn er to questions
from several Members, Admiral MACKAU said, in the
arrangements made with England, the rights of Franc(
had been reserved, but that there was no idea at present
of forming an establishment on the island. The objects
of the expedition were to chastise the natives for in-
juries committed on French settlers, to explore the
coast, and extend the influence cf France in that
quarter. It was possible that England might take part.
in the expedition, but at the same time it was
fitted out so as to act alone. Some Members objected
to such an expedition, which would cost some
8,000,200 f., and was intended for no practical purposes.
Ultimately an amendment suggested by M. I)'ANGE-
VILLE, a supporter of the Government, and to the follow-
ing effect, was adopted :—" France does not refuse to
make the sacrifices imposed upon her by such great in-
terests, but she reposes with confidence on the prudence
of the Government that it will not multiply, without a
well ascertained necessity, those serious and distant ex-
peditions." M. ST. PRIEsT gave notice of an amend-
ment recommending the reduction of interest on Five
per Cent. Stock. The following remarks on the posi-
tion and prospects of the French in Africa appear in the
Journaldes Debati ; they fully admit the difficulties caused
by the indefatigable perseverance and skill of ADD-EL-
KADER:—
" The situation of Algeria, without ceasing to be grave,
and to call for serious atter.tior, has at last ceased to inspire
uneasiness. Considerable reinforcements were sent from
France with remarkable celerity immediately after the disas-
ters of Sidi-Brahmin and Ain-Temottehen. °'The army found
itself in a condition to contend against an almost general in-
surrection, and to keep it under, if it was not able to sup-
press it entirely. The native tribes, who had been excited to
delirium by the intoxication produced by the two above-
named disasters, no longer think that the last hour of French
domination has come, -and they are beginning to return to
submission, on seeing that all the calamities of war are again
about to fall on them. But Abd-el-Kacler is there to inter-