The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-25 00:00:00

the Prime Minister, whose well-known courtesy and with the positive statements of the ablest sea-faring •
amenity gave the surest guarantee that when once he men, that the salvation of their ships and crews in the
consented to receive the deputation there would be no most trying circumstances, and when their best Admi-
attempt to cut short or diminish the time necessary ralty anchors had broken, or otherwise failed them,
for the full explanation of its objects. It gave that was solely attributable to their having a patent anchor
Nobleman an opportunity of stating his own feelings on board, would have led the Admiralty at once to
and opinions, of explaining the difficulties to be en- adopt them generally in her MasEsTy's naval service.
countered in legislating for a country so circum- Yet, strange to say, up to this hour, and with all the
stanced as Ireland, and elicited from his Lordship a accumulation of evidence contained in the official
declaration that must be hailed with the greatest I reports in their possession, which now lie before us,
delight by every philanthropist, by every well-wisher no decision whatever has been arrived at.
of Ireland, viz.—that his Lordship did not shrink The degree of value attached to the preservation of
from the necessity or duty of interfering even where , human life is no less a test of the advance of civilisa-
the waste lands were the property of individuals. tion than a criterion of good and enlightened go-
Neither did he deny that while property had its vernment. Yet, while a deep degree of public in.-
owners and rights, that such ownership and rights terest is taken in those institutions which (like the
should not be allowed to interfere with the operations Humane Society) contemplate the preservation of
intended to develop the resources of the soil and individual lives—while a Committee of Inquiry
improve the social condition of the people. This is is granted for the examination of a question-
the great principle for which we have long been con- able invention, the sole purpose of which is rapid
tending, on the adoption of which great and gigantic and wholesale destruction—no such Committee
measures for the national regeneration, for the per- has ever been granted in the case of an inven-
manent welfare and happiness of our sister kingdom tion which is adapted to the preservation of human
must be based. The rights of property are to be life, and of public and private property, to an incalcu-
defended and respected as far as possible. Every lable extent, and in every quarter of the globe. We
fair and legitimate encouragement must be afforded to trust that considerations of humanity no less than of
private speculation, conducted in a fair and bone fide national policy will induce the present Government
spirit, and employing a due quantity of the super- to desert the course pursued by their predecessors,
abundant labour. In no case where the proprietor of and to devote to this important subject a prompt and
the soil is willing, and will undertake to proceed impartial attention.
without delay in the improvement of his lands,
should he be interfered with, save so far as
may be necessary to ascertain that the money
has actually been expended in a fit and
proper manner, and granting every possible assist-
ance, by a loan of money proportioned to the amount
of his own outlay, and the quantity of land to be re-
claimed or improved. But where this is not the case,
where the owner positively and absolutely refuses to
avail himself of the opportunities afforded for the im
provement and cultivation of lands, which he and his
ancestors, or those through whom he derived his
title have suffered to lie idle and unproductive for cen-
turies, then we at once and unhesitatingly say, that
the public welfare, the common weal, demands that
he should no longer be permitted to retain the owner-
ship of lands, the duties incidental to which he is no
longer able or willing to perform. We would not
deprive him of any portion of his property without
giving him a full and ample equivalent for that
taken away from him. We would have it fairly
valued by a jury of his countrymen, by his neighbours,
men thoroughly acquainted with the value of land in
the vicinity, and the amount paid to him either by a
sum of money, when he had clearly established his
title thereto, or by a reserved rent-charge issuing
and payable out of the lands themselves, for the pay-
ment of which the amount that would be expended
thereon, and the greatly increased value of the lands
consequent on such expenditure, would afford the
most satisfactory guarantee. This principle, that
lands the property of private individuals are to be
taken, whenever required for public purposes, has
been so long acted on, that it now scarcely requires
an argument to satisfy us of its justice. We see it in
daily use, whenever lands or tenements are required
for laying out or making a road, opening new streets,
improving or beautifying cities, and in many other
instances which it would be tedious to specify. Nay,
that power of the compulsory purchase of property
at its fair value has frequently been dele-
gated by the State to private individuals,
associated together for the execution of some work
of magnitude advantageous to the public. Witness
the cases of railroads, canals, bridges, docks, &c., &c.
No new precedent will therefore be established in
taking these lands that are to be improved either into
the hands of State or of the persons by it authorised to
proceed with the undertakings. But we see many
objections to the course suggested by the Rev. Mr.
COLLINS in his singularly impressive and able state-
ment. He drew a fearful and harrowing picture of
the scenes witnessed by him in the discharge of his
onerous and important duties. A mother feeding
her fever-stricken child with her own suck, adminis-
tered with a cup and spoon ; a starving husband
and father going three miles to earn eightpence
for his day's labour, leaving his wife and
children prostrated under the same terrific
disease, unable themselves to stir or move, and
without one single human being to administer the
slightest relief, or even to moisten the parched lips
of the sufferers with one single drop of cold water.
The heart shudders, we stand aghast at the mere
consideration of such misery. What must be the sen-
sation of the lookers-on, of the wretched victims
themselves ? what of the unhappy father who saw his
infants perishing before his eyes, and was obliged to
desert them in their afflictions, to leave them without
that soothing kindness that might alleviate their
miserable condition ? When such scenes as these are
deposed to by a trustworthy eye-witness, it surely de-
mands that the whole social condition of the country
should be closely reviewed and analyzed, and that we
should not be restricted by the maxims of legislation
growing out of a highly artificial state of society.
So far we agree with the reverend gentleman, but we
think that in place of the improvements being effected
by Government, without reference to the
wishes of the proprietor, and the amount
of expenditure made the first charge on the
land, such a course would be entirely new, and might
establish a precedent most dangerous to the rights of
property. Besides, for many years, the proprietor
during his own life, and perhaps that of his children,
might not receive anything out of the lands, the pro-
duce of which might be entirely required for the liqui-
dation of the public debt; but by the course we sug-
gest, he at once receives the fair present value of the
lands, and the State may be in a very short time reim-
bursed its outlay by the sale of the fee and inheritance
thereof, and have an opportunity of creating a class
of comfortable yeomanry and small landowners,
which may be productive of vast benefit to
the country. The interview was valuable
in another respect, viz., the marked assent given by
the Premier to the principle that the rule by which
the wages of a working man should be calculated is
what is necessary for the support of himself and
family, and the virtual abandonment by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer of the rule laid
down in the Treasury minute, that the wages given
at the relief works should in every case be 2d. per
day lower than the general wages of the district,
where such wages have already been reduced to the
lowest amount that can be considered sufficient to
keep life and soul together. Any further dimunition
must be wholly out of the question. The Right
Honourable Gentleman stated his opinion that wages
should be improved, and that the minute of the
Treasury was not the law, and might if necessary be
modified in the respect alluded to.
of

It is not in France alone that the principles of
free trade are making progress. In Belgium an
association has been formed in favour of commercial

liberty, of which M. CHARLES DE BROUCKERE, ex-
Minister of Finance, has accepted the presidency.
They have just published a manifesto, appealing to
all well-meaning men of every party to join them,
inasmuch as the object which they have in view is
without the pale that divides parties. The manifesto
concludes as follows :

" It has been said, and with great truth, that the
principle of commercial liberty is the principle of peace.
Now the principle of peace, partout et taujours, is the
sole immutable and eternal bases of our independence.
With peace, and the absolute freedom of international
relations, the smallest nations may attain to the pleni-
tude of life of great empires ; they have no longer cause
to envy them."
Prince METTERNICH returned to Vienna on the
night of the 14th, and on the following day held a con-
ference with such of the diplomatic corps as were then
in the capital. It was supposed to relate chiefly to
the affairs of Spain.
The Austrian Government has issued an ordon-
nance declaring that every engine-driver on the rail-
roads of the State who shall have, for the space of one
year, performed his duties without having caused any
accident, shall be entitled to a reward of 100 florins
(260 f.), and that every engine-driver whose trains
have met with no :accident for ten consecutive years
shall receive 1,000 florins (1,600 f.) and a gold medal.

It is gratifying to find that the liberal policy of the
new POPE is already producing all the effects which
the friends of liberty and order had anticipated from
its adoption. The following is an extract from a
letter from Rome, dated the 12th instant
"It may, without fear of exaggeration, be said that
the government of the new Pope has improved the morals
of the people of our capital. Since the publication of
the amnesty not a single crime against the person has
been committed in Rome, and yesterday, during the
fife of the Nativity, although the Corso was filled with
an immense crowd, during the whole day not the
least disturbance took place. It has been noticed on
more than one occasion that on quarrels arising in wine-
shops, it has been only necessary to remind the parties
that they are now living under the reign of Pius IX.
to immediately put an end to them. In the provinces, on
the contrary, deplorable excesses have been committed.
A few days since, at Jasi (in the Legation of Bologna),
a band of workmen threw stones at the windows of a
house in which the late Pope GregoryXVl. had stopped
one night while visiting that place, and dragged a bust of
that prelate through the streets with a cord round its neck.
The Austrian Consul at Jasi immediately sent a report
of this outrage to his Ambassador here, who in his turn
sent off a courier to Vienna, addressing at the same time
a note to the Cardinal Minister of Foreign Affairs, point-
ing out the necessity of immediately putting an end to
such revolting acts."

Count Rossi, the French Ambassador, is about to
quit Rome for Paris. He intends returning in No-
vember.

Madrid papers of the 18th have arrived. We find
in them an outline of the whole of the debate of the
17th in the Cortes, and part of that of the 18th, on
the marriage question. The following is the report
they give of the discussion :—" M. NOCEDAL made a
long speech against the marriage of the INFANTA
with the Duke DE MONTPENSIER, as did also M.
PACHECO, who said it was calculated to cause serious
misunderstandings between France and England, and
he reminded the Cortes that it had been agreed for-
merly that the marriage should not take place
until the question of direct succession should be
settled by the birth of direct heirs to the throne. M.
DoNoso CORTES denied that there was any chance of a
rupture between England and France on this subject,
and said it was much better to marry the INFANTA to
a Prince who presented himself under the auspices of
liberty, than to one who should appear as the symbol
of conquest. The President of the Council of Ministers,
in allusion to the notes of Mr. BULWER, said he had
received one in which Mr. Bumvsa declared that the
marriage of the Duke DE MONTPENSIER would not
affect the friendly relations of the two Cabinets. M.
MoN, in replying to M. PACHECO, said the Ministers
had, in the marriage affair, only obeyed the will of the
QUEEN, and they took upon themselves exclusively
the responsibility of bringing the affair before the
Cortes. He asserted that the question was purely
Spanish, and not of a nature to lead to foreign inter-
vention ; on the contrary, he was, he said, sure that
it would give satisfaction to foreign Courts. M.
BRAVO MURILLO spoke strongly in favour of the mar-
riage, and said he did not understand how any
Deputy could, on this occasion, resist the will of
the QUEEN."

The President then read a " private proposition,"
signed by M. ORENSE, whereby the debate was not
to be closed as long as any Member inscribed should
wish to speak.
At the hour the post left M. ORENSE was proceed-
ing to move his proposition. No one, however,
doubted of the result, which has since been com-
municated by telegraph. Mr. BULWEIt was present
during the debate, and it was reported in the Cham-
ber that he had received orders from his Govern-
ment to protest in the most strong and ener-
getic terms against the MONTPENSIER match.
The Opposition papers have been again all
Seized. The French Ambassador has announced that
the Duc DE MONTPENSIER will not accept any dota-
tion that may be voted to the INFANTA. NARVAEZ,
according to the Heraldo, arrived at Vittoria on the
16th, and was hourly expected in Madrid. The
Progressistas appear to be increasing in energy,
courage, and force every day; upwards of 1,000 addi-
tional signatures have been appended to the petition
against the French alliance. The English squadron,
it is said, sail from Cadiz on the 16th. A letter from
that city, dated September 18, says :
" Yesterday, Vice-Admiral Parker, accompanied by
the Commodore and all the Captains of the English
squadron in the bay, paid a visit to our General Com-
mandant. In the evening most of the officers of the
squadron went to the theatre to see the opera of .Hernani.
Between two of the acts the General Commandant
caused a splendid collation to be served to the officers,
and to which he had invited the political chiefs, the first
alcalde, and several generals. This day, at one o'clock,
the General Commandant visited Vice-Admiral Parker
on board the flag. ship, and partook of a breakfast which
had been provided. The greatest cordiality reigned be-
tween the British and Spanish officers who were present.
The Admiral gave as a toast The Queen of Spain ; and
may her marriage be a source of happiness to herself
and the nation.' .rhe General Commandant proposed
'The Queen of England ;' and in a speech which he
made on the occasion expressed a hope that, if there
should be a war, Englishmen and Spaniards would be
fighting en the same side."

Nothing can be more disheartening than the slow-
ness and apathy with which official bodies advance
towards the most substantial reforms. Evidence is
cumulated upon evidence ; interested and prejudiced
objection subsides into silence ; startling and cala-
mitous events, one after another, impress upon the
public the necessity of the change; but all these com-
bined are found powerless to stimulate into activity
official indifference. This observation is strikingly
verified in the history of that most important and
ingenious improvement in the structure of the anchor,
which has been repeatedly brought before the notice
of our readers by our reports of the results of nume-
rous trials of the anchorin question (PoRTER's)
against those of the Admiralty in different dock-
yards, as well as at sea. The result of these trials,
ordered by the Lords Commissioners of the Admi-
ralty, is thus stated in the official reports—viz.,
that the patent anchor is 172 per cent. stronger than
the Admiralty anchor, weight for weight, while in
holding power it has the advantage by 85 per cent.,
whether on soft mud, as in Portsmouth harbour, or
on hard ground, as Ryde sands, in both which situa-
tions the most careful trials have been instituted. In
addition to these demonstrated facts, the official re-
turns contain the reports of no less than thirty-five
officers of every rank and great practical experience
in the navy, in unqualified approbation and preference
of PORTER'S anchor, in every particular in which one
description of this instrument can surpass another.
Now, it is " estimated from authentic sources,"
says the Nautical Magazine for May, 1846, " that
the number of British vessels yearly destroyed by
shipwreck is six hundred, the value of property about
two millions and a half sterling, and the number of
lives aboutfifteen hundred and sixty." It may be sup-
posed that these facts taken in combination, together

If any proof were wanting of the state of public
feeling in Spain, it would be furnished by this speech
of the General Commandant, which is most important,
as showing the feeling of the army.
General MAUOTO sailed for the Havannah from
Cadiz on the 11th.
MADRID BOLSA, SEPT. 18.—The Three per Cents.
were done at 36* for cash ; the Four per Cents. at
22 ; the Five per Cents. at 22i ; the Passives at 6i;
and the Coupons at 201.

We have received the Paris papers of Wednesday.
The Presse has the following, which may be deemed
the official account of the settlement of the Tahiti

question :
" Some journals persist in repeating that the Govern-
men, intends to abandon the four Society Islands—.
Huahine, Borabora, Raiatea, and Maupiti; but we are
able to give details on the subject, which cannot leave