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

SECOND EDITION

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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 TEISES and GUIZOT. The one was
blamed for the vast excitement he had caused—for
the determination evinced to take part with MEHEMET
ALI, 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. TRIERS
r tlia shamefully
Oung whatd,bwinhled. France,
' honour, oz..icsce 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 MELBOURNE 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.
GUIZOT, 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
BUGEAUD, if we may judge from the remarks made
in a brief speech of M. SAPEY, 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 no external aid,
and, truth to say, it needed none. The opening speech
of Mr. DICKENSON, the worthy portreeve of the
town, is one of the most logical arguments against
the corn-laws that it has ever been our good fortune
to read, and it is as eloquent as it ii logical. The
wage% protection fallacy " was admirably exposed
by him' Mr. BLIGH' too, went into some statistics
with regard to
the labourers of Devonshire, which
are most important, coming
as they do from a gen-
tleman who is daily
an eye-witness of the scenes
which he describes, and who, living
things
n are
he e
taking
of the district in which t
place, cannot be suspected of exaggeration, in-
asmuch as he would thereby lay himself
open
to instant contradiction and exposure. " The last
plea," said Mr. BLIGII, "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
ls. a week for rent, is. for fire and candles, 2s. for
clothes, shoes, and bedding, they had a balance of
left to furnish food for 21 meals for six human
beings, that is, less than 21d. 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 materials?
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
"We would importune them, as they
vreasluoelutitohne,ir
country's welfare and happiness, to
surround the Throne with petition upon petition—
with remonstrance upon remonstrance—yea, upon
this matter we would We them become perfect