The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-17 00:00:00

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LONDON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1846.

Since our observations upon the temporary resig-
nation and speedy reinstatement of the Isturitz Ad-
ministration, a variety of changes have occurred at
Madrid. The present Goverment could not be in a
more precarious condition. By the tergiversation of
its leader; by its subserviency to the wishes of King
Louis PHILIPPE; by its acquiescence in the odious
marriage of the heir presumptive to the throne ; by
its
,truckling and unconstitutional policy, the
present Ministry has estranged itself from the
hearts of the Spaniards. Nothing can re-elevate it
to the confidence of the community. It has fallen as
irreparably as ever did the Humpty Dumpty of the
nursery rhyme. Among the non-electoral as well
as among the electoral members of the population it
is abhorred. In the districts to which the franchise
has not yet extended, as well as in those districts
which are entitled to a representative, PIDAL and
MON, are regarded with detestation. The slight con-
fidence which was originally reposed in the President
and Minister of State has been frittered away by the
readiness with which he connived at the Montpensier
alliance, and the jealousy with which he has been
subsequently regarded is increased by a multitude of
collateral circumstance. Little doubt is now enter-
tained throughout the Peninsula that the days of this
obnoxious Administration are numbered. There is
not, indeed, the slightest probability that a much
longer retention of office will reward Senor ISTURITZ
and his colleagues for their nefarious proceedings
during 1846, Never was a Cabinet composed of
more brittle and fragile materials ; never was an
apparent homogeniety produced from more hetero-
geneous particles ; never did statesmen act more
entirely upon the execrable principle of expediency.
It is satisfaction, however, to reflect that such a
shameful abuse of authority is on the eve of receiv-
ing its invariable recompense. It is some sort of
consolation that the power which the Minis-
ters have endeavoured to retain by so many
atrocious acts, is about to be torn from their
unwilling hands. ISTUEITZ and his associates have
aided in the destruction of the Spanish nationality,
but in doing so they have precipitated their own dis-
comfiture. It is LA FONTAINE'S fable of the rat and
the tree all over again. After a feverish enjoyment
of authority the 11franncesado Administration will be
driven into obscurity l .
the members of that Adminis
tration are pursued by the
m avengingeol spirit of the na-
tion ; their NnEsis is the People.
During the last fortnight ie
el
intelligenceearlhas reached
pyhiendic Eating
us at intervals from the Peninsula,
the approach of some Ministerial catastrophe. Every
packet has_brought fresh:omens of a Portentous c

racter. The shadow of coming events was clearly
discernible, and from the outline of that shadow it
bas continued to be manifest, during many days,
that the Spanish elections will be the ad-
vent of a new epoch. Those elections
are being carried forward with considerable
enthusiasm, and their results are, in a vast majority
of instances, proving inimical to the existing Govern-
ment. Even in the capital itself, where the Cabinet
is presumed to have its stronghold, and where,
according to a very prevalent rumour, votes are being
purchased for so many dollars by the Ministerial can-
didates, even in Madrid the vigour of the Administra-
tion is shown to be a mere phantom, and that phan-
tom is betraying symptoms of its evanescence. In
the six colleges of the metropolis—in Maravillas, in
Prado, in Lavapies, in Vistillas, in Barquillo, and in
El Rio—the want of influence to the Government
assumes a negative and sometimes a positive appear-
ance. On the evening of the 6th ultimo the majority
of votes in the first district was 81 in favour of the
Progressista; in the second, a majority of 113 for the
Progressista; in the third, a majority of 83 for the
Progressista; in the fourth, a majority of
merely 13 for the Ministerialist ; in the fifth,
something like a majority of one for the Ministerialist;
in the sixth, a majority of six for Don PEDRO JOSE
PIDAL, the Minister of the Interior. By the dis-
patches of the following day, just transmitted to us, it
is almost a matter of certainty that three Progressista
candidates will ultimately be returned for Madrid.
Accounts from the provinces are of a similar descrip-
tion : the Ministerialists are being discomfited in
all directions, and the Progressistas are gaining a
marked ascendancy. The consequence of this is ob-
vious : the Cabinet must succumb to the torrent of
popular sentiments. With the tide running against
them, and their oars broken, they must yield to the
current and be drifted away at its pleasure.
If we discovered any signs of the diminution of
French influence in the Peninsula, we should
rejoice at this inevitable dismissal of ISTURITZ,
of Sawn, of CANEJA, and of their partners
in the Administration. The contrary, however, is in •
disputably the case. Louis PHILIPPE has forged
the chains of Spain with too many precautions, and
with too much art, to admit of their being shaken off
so readily. They differ from fairy gold only
inasmuch as they are changed in character
after a time, instead of disappearing altogether.
They are .transformed from hymeneal chains into poli-
tical chains. The transition is graduated with in-
finite adroitness, but it is perceptible notwithstanding.
With the retirement of the present Ministers the
Afrancesados will not have been subjugated, they
will not have lost one jot of their influence at Court;
the royal couple will still continue to be obedient to
the directions of the Count DE BRESSON. A number
of incidents have very recently disclosed the prepon-
derance of French influence not merely in the palaces
of Madrid and Lisbon, but in the bosoms of the most
dissimilar personages. The communication dispatched
by the King. Consort to his brother, Don ENRIQUE,
and the reply of the latter thereto, have
shown very significantly the power of per-
suasion possessed by his Gallic MAJESTY. The
INFANTE has fallen from the elevated situation which
he had attained by his bold and independent pro-
ceedings. Those who anticipated greatness from him
will have been marvellously disappointed by the sud-
den alteration which has been effected by the Royal
logician of the Tuileries. Don ENRIQUE has forfeited
his very enviable popularity for the indolence of a
Court life, for the luxury of a palace, for the softness
of ermine. He has thrown away an opportunity but
seldom granted to so young a Prince. He was the
idol of the Spanish population in his banishment; he
has returned to Madrid, and he is a mockery and a de-
rision. Spain must look elsewhere for the means of
extricating herself from her present abasement.
Never was she so degraded ; never were her children
more faithless to that nationality for the preservation
of which their forefathers fought and bled ; never
was there a greater necessity for the advent of an in-
corruptible patriot. There is a whisper abroad that
NARVAEZ will be restored to authority on the resig-
nation of ISTURITZ. Unless the nature of that ruth-
less soldier be completely metamorphosed Spain
should avoid his domination as a curse.

We have asserted that estates in Ireland are at this
moment as good securities as they have ever been for
the several sums advanced upon them, and that the
greatest inconvenience that any prudent encumbrancer
can be sutject to, is the affording of a temporary in-
dulgence to his debtor, and allowing him a prolonged
period for the payment of his interest, an incon-
venience which is less in amount than that which he
must sustain if he should forthwith file a bill in equity
to enforce the immediate payment of his charge, and act
in the most harsh and oppressive manner towards his
unfortunate debtor. We have already (in The Sun of
the 4th instant) pointed out the fearful sufferings that
would be entailed on the proprietors of encumbered
estates, the enormous waste of money in useless and
unnecessary litigation, and the serious national injury
that would be occasioned by such proceedings
becoming general. To that the encumbrancer may
reply, how is he affected thereby, and why should he
be expected to give up any of his rights ?—that he
will give no indulgence, but will enforce immediate
payment by every means allowed and sanctioned by
the law. We trust there are but few who would use
such an argument, and who would seek to exact their
pound of flesh under such circumstances; but, as
there may be some so utterly selfish, and regardless of
every higher consideration, it is desirable to show, that
by adopting such a course, they would deprive them-
selves of the payment of any interest whatsoever for
several years, a period much longer than that which
would be rendered necessary by the urgency of the
distress and the difficulty of obtaining payment of
rents throughout the greater portion of the kingdom.
Should they decide on filing a bill, a considerable
time must be spent in obtaining the necessary in•
formation to lay before the equity pleader, in order to
enable him to prepare the draft. The engrossing,
serving subpoenas, and getting in the answer of the
principal defendant, would also occasion so great a
delay, that an order for a receiver could scarcely be
obtained over the lands, under the most favourable
circumstances, before next long vacation ; there
would then be the time that would elapse while the
Master was approving of a fit and proper person for
the office ; and, when appointed, the new receiver
would be allowed a period of fifteen months to pass
his accounts. The Master would then fix a time for
him to bring in the balance in his hands, before which
period the creditor could not hope to obtain a single
shilling on account of interest, on his demand. He
would also have a heavy outlay to his own solicitor,
no part of which could be repaid until the final
termination of the suit. This simple statement,
showing that between two and three years at the least
must necessarily elapse before even any portion of the
interest would be paid, may satsfy such a person as
we have alluded to, that it is not his interest to throw
the property into Chancery so long as there is a
reasonable hope of his obtaining payment by other

means.

The sufficiency of the security must be estimated
by the value of the estate, and the amount that could
he obtained therefrom, when brought for sale into the
market. The latest public sales of property that
have taken place will fully establish that neither the
present distress of the country, nor the heavy sums
presented at sessions, under the Labour-rate Act, nor
the state of the Money Market, have had any effect
in depreciating the value of real property in Ireland.
Take for example the prices realised for parts of the
estate of the late Earl of &ESSINGTON, which were
sold under the decree of the Court of Chancery,
within the last few weeks. The sale commenced on
the 23d ultimo, and was continued, by adjournment,
until the 7th instant. It would be impossible,
therefore, to contend that every circumstance of the
times that could awaken the fears of purchasers
were not fully known, and maturely considered ; and
yet we find that some of the property in the county
Tyrone produced no less than from 35 to 39 years'
purchase, a rate as high, we venture to say, as almost
any that had ever been obtained in Ireland. Scarcely
any were disposed of at less than from 25 to 27 years'
purchase, and it is said th_t several of the sales will
be opened by over-bidding?. Whatever, therefore,
may be said of the unfortunate condition of
landed proprietors, and the ruin that awaits them, it
is manifest that it has not had the effect of deterring
capitalists from investing their money in the purchase
of land. In order to show that they have not formed

a rash judgment, it will be necessary to inquire into
the circumstances of the people, and the burdens that
may be placed upon real property by reason thereof.
It is now generally admitted on all sides that the
able-bodied poor must not be allowed to become
destitute, but that a sufficient quantity of employment
must be provided to keep them in constant occupa-
tion. The landowners themselves admit the claim of
the labourer to a maintenance out of the lands on
which he was born, and to which he belongs ; they
avow themselves ready to alopt any measures calcu-
lated to effect that great object, and they only ask
f
that the labour may be expended on the cultivation o
the soil, in works of a beneficial and reproductive
character ; they seek that they may be permitted to
direct the exertions for which they must pay into the
most favourable channel.

' This is a moderate and reasonable request,
and there is no doubt that it will receive the
attentive consideration of the Legislature. Within
a few short weeks Parliament will re-assemble,
and Ireland its affairs and prospects, its exi-
gencies, and the means necessary to overcome its
difficulties—will assuredly form the most prominen
topic for discussion. The measures that will be in-
troduced for the employment of the people will not
be of a similar character to the Labour-rate Act of
last session. 'We have the assurance of the Noble
Lord at the head of the Ministry that the provisions
of that Act were carried into execution in a spirit
totally different from that which was contemplated
by the Ministry when bringing it in. It was intended
merely as an auxiliary to private exertion—it was
made the chief, if not the only source of occupa-
tion. The embarrassed and badly-disposed occupiers
made it an excuse for withholding the scanty and in-
adequate quantity of employment which they
had been in the habit of affording, and
permitting their lands to get, if possible,
into a still more disgraceful state than usual,
while those wbo were willing to perform their duties
faithfully, and to provide the quantity of employment
that would fairly be chargeable against them, were
unwilling to bear a double portion of expense, and
to be taxed for the negligence of their neighbours.
They, consequently, in many instances, discontinued
the works they had commenced, and cast their la-
bourers also on the public fund. Such a state of
things could not continue, and the very magnitude of
the evil will, to a certain extent, be valuable, as it
will serve as a beacon light and a guide to the Senate,
pointing out the dangers that are to be avoided in the
new enactments that may be introduced.
The public works that have already taken place,
and which may be carried into execution before the
introduction of the new system, cannot be considered
as injurious or unprofitable, or as entailing any very
severe burden on the land. The amount already ex-
pended may be taken in round terms at half a million,
and if we allow a further expenditure of one million and
a half sterling, which would provide occupation for
400,000 labourers (representing about two millions
of people), for a period of fifteen vs eeks, by which
time the new measures will be brought into operation,
it will amount to less than one-sixth the rental of the
kingdom, but, as the payment will be spread over a
period of ten years, the stlm to be levied will be some-
thing less than threepence-halfpenny in the pound,
or one and a half per cent. per annum on the rental of
the country. There is nothing so very formidable in
this to fright the isle from its propriety, or to in-
duce persons to occasion real danger, in order to
avoid a phantom. It is less than half the charge for
income-tax which many persons in England are ob-
liged to pay, and from which Ireland has been
exempted.
The value of those public works that are now
in progress, and the other benefits to the land-
owners, far exceeding the responsibility to which
they will be subjected, we shall show on a future
occasion.

We invite the public attention to a letter signed
" VIGILANS," which appears in our columns this day.
The subject is one of paramount importance to a vast
body—to all possessed of slender means, who are not
enabled to pay the higher fares demanded by the
railway companies for the conveyance of first and
second-class passengers. A great improvement has
of late years taken place in the accommodation
afforded to the less wealthy portion of the public by
several of the better managed lines, but much remains
still to be done, and we are convinced that the best
interests of the companies themselves will be pro-
moted by due attention being paid to the comforts of
all classes. On the first introduction of the railway
system an erroneous idea appears to have prevailed
amongst the directors, that it was necessary, by every
means in their power, to discourage all parties who

might have resort to the cheaper class of carriages,
either from motives of economy or necessity. Third-
class passengers were subjected to every description
of inconvenience. They were conveyed almost ex-
clusively by slow trains, that consumed double the
time in the journey that was occupied by the more
favoured ones. They were dispatched at the most
inconvenient hours of the day, and in carriages that

would seem to have been constructed for the express
purpose of ascertaining how great the quantity of
discomfort the public could be brought to submit to.
The vehicles were wholly uncovered, without seats
of any kind; the passengers were huddled toge-
ther like a flock of sheep, without means of
sitting down during the journey, or resting them••
selves in any way. In summer they were scorched
by the heat, in winter they were exposed to the in-
clemency of the weather; and at all seasons they had
no protection from the cinders or ashes that might fly
from the engine, next which they were generally
placed, that they might receive the chief danger in
the event of any accident. We have no doubt that the
seeds of disease and death were sown, in many in-
stances, on such journeys, and that numerous widows
and orphans might trace the loss of husbands and
fathers to illnesses originated from such sources.
The experience that has been acquired on this
topic has afforded the strongest evidence of the erro-
neousness of the early opinions on this subject. In
every instance in' which the experiment has been
tried, it has been found that increased facilities to
travellers, whether by reductions of fares or other
ameliorations, have also increased the profits of the
companies. Witness the effect produced by the
alterations introduced by the North-Western Com-
pany, by which great advantages were given to the
public, and large additional gains acquired by the
company. It might naturally be supposed that re-
sults so favourable to all parties would have induced
other companies to have acted in a similar spirit, but
such, unfortunately, is not the case : there are some
parties so blind that they must be coerced even for
their own benefit.

But there is another element that must enter into
the calculation as well as the pecuniary interests
of the company. A vast monopoly has
been sanctioned by the Legislature ; the ordinary
modes of conveyance have been set aside, they could
not contend against, or co-exist with, the gigantic
power of the railways. The several statutes autho-
rising their construction, and incorporating the com-
panies, provided certain rates of fares that should be
charged to the different classes, and there was an
implied contract, on the part of those to whom these
concessions were made, that they would provide suffi-
ciently for the public accommodation, by taking pas-
sengers of all classes at convenient times, and by
proper vehicles. It was found, however, that the
duty to the public in that respect was not fully car-
ried out, or regarded in that equitable point of view
that might reasonably have been hoped for. Parliament
accordingly interfered, and by a statute passed in
1844, by which almost every railway company in the
kingdom is now bound, provided for the conveyance
of third-class passengers by what are termed the
Parliamentary trains, such trains to start at hours to
be approved of by the Lords of the Committee of the
Privy Council, to travel at a rate of not less than
twelve miles an hour for the whole distance, including
stoppages, to take up and set down passengers at
every station which they should pass on the line;
the carriages in which passengers should be conveyed
by each train to be provided with seats, and protected
from the weather, in a manner satisfactory to the Lords
( f the said committee, and the fare not to exceed one
penny for each mile travelled. There were other pro-
visions in the same Act for the amount of luggage to
be allowed for each passenger, fares of children, &o.
Here, then, we have the direct interference
of the Legislature for the protection of third-
class travellers, and a special enactment

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