The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-10 00:00:00

THE SUN, LON,3ON, THURSDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 10, imvi

any importance, and only two of any probability.
That the rumoured retirement of GUIZOT, and eleva-
tion of MOLE to the premiership in Paris, should
abruptly destroy a Peninsular Government which had
been so artfully and so artistically constructed, is
marvellously improbable. That the refusal of An-
MERo, the Minister of Marine, to apologise with due
obsequiousness to the Infante Don ENRIQUE for his
discourteous behaviour at Cadiz, should have nipped the
new-born rose of French domination "i' the bud," or
even have " fed on its damask cheek " in secresy, is
equally preposterous. The two principal rumours,
however, to which we have referred are much
more rational. The first, if correct, reflects dis
gracefully upon the Court. On the 30th of Novem-
ber the salt contract between the Government and
M. SALAMANCA terminated. M. Mos' was obdurate
in his refusal to renew this grant, and in its renewal
were said to be implicated the pecuniary interests of
the Duke DE RIANZARES. According to many cre-
dulous individuals, this obstinacy of the Minister of
Finance was the immediate cause of the resignation
of his colleagues. According to others, that resigna-
tion was attributable to a very different and an in-
finitely more creditable circumstance. Senor
PACHECO, the avowed leader of the Conservative
Opposition in Congress, and Fiscal of the Supreme
Tribunal of Justice, had applied according to an
official custom for permission to visit Cordova, for the
purpose of personally superintending his re-election
by his constituents. That permission had been re-
fused by Senor CANEJA, the Minister of Grace and
Justice, and in consequence thereof Senor PACHECO
instantly tendered his resignation. The report was
prevalent that it was the disinclination of Queen
ISABELLA, at the earnest solicitation of the King
Consort, to accept the resignation of enor
PAcuEco, which had determined the Minis-
try generally to resign. 'Whether these con-
jectures be literally correct or not, it is certain
that the first prejudices of the SOVEREIGN have been
conquered, that the resignation of the Fiscal
of the Supreme Tribunal has been u:tima.tely ac-
cepted, that ISTCRITZ and his colleagues have been
reinstated in office, and that all this has been
accomplished through the instrumentality of the
Count DE BRESSON. Is anything further wanting to
divulge the efficiency of the French representative in
the Iberian metropolis ? Are not the manacles
which had been concealed by the gala-dress of
the Ministers now sufficiently disclosed ? Are
not the contemptible Afrancesades bound
to the imperious and volatile will of a
foreign population by the ties of gratitude as well
as by the shackels of sycophancy ? Are not the
anticipations of England verified in this disgraceful
transaction ? Are not the Spanish millions under
the arbitrary control of a feudatory lord acquired
by marital chicanery ?
There is a solitary consolation in these recent
proceedings at Madrid ; it is, however, only an antici-
patory consolation. If the information received is
credible, the King Consort has evinced a disposition
for independent action, which may be developed in
the end to the redemption of the Government. Sup-
posing that the circumstances which we have
described Le correct, :his Majesty has displayed
a character singularly contrasted with the
foebleness of his predecessors. It is earnestly to be
hoped that he may not emulate the partial idiotcy of
the Prince of the ASTURIAS or the weakness Or
CHARLES IV., but that he may assume to himself a
moral and mental importance most calculated to re-
dound to his own honour and to the salvation
of his native land. We are not disposed,
however, to repose much upon the promises
of improvement in the nature of a Spanish
Bourbon. This is not the moment, indeed,
to indulge in such day-dreams. When the country
of the CID is subjected so entirely to the pleasure of
a French monarch ; when the streets, which rever-
berated with the wail of that pathetic lamen-
tation, Ay di rni Alhama ! are paced by
the obsequious parasites of a Gallic Ambas-
sador ; when the whole of Spain is oppressed
with a bondage as entire as that of BOBADIL, it is not
the most fitting time to indulge in thoughts which
may possibly prove the mere hallucinations of the
fancy. The Spaniards must do something more than
wonder and conjecture.

On Friday we alluded to the statement made by a
Contemporary as to the steps that have recently been
taken for the purpose of foreclosing many mortgages
affecting estates in Ireland. We pointed out the ex-
traordinary sufferings that would be thereby oc-
casioned to many families, the great and unnecessary
expenditure that would be thrown away in useless
litigation, the evils that would ensue in consequence
of so large a part of the rental of the country being
locked up in the coffers of the Court of Chancery, and
the impossibility of any considerable portion thereof
being, in the present state of the law, made applicable
to the effecting of permanent and valuable improve-
ments, the employment of labour, or to those acts of
charity that are now so imperatively demanded. The
abatements of rent, which every well-disposed land-
lord is disposed to make at the present crisis, in order
to bear his portion and participate in the losses of his
tenantry, would be thereby effectually prevented. In
fact, it is scarcely possible to conceive a greater
national calamity than would be produced by such a
panic becoming general amongst the holders of charges
affecting Irish property, and pressing with undue
rigour, or taking active steps to compel the imme-
diate payment of the principal of their debts. There
is no just; reason why such a panic should be originated,
and yet the number of cases in which proceedings
have been actually instituted, so far beyond the
usual average, would indicate that such a feeling is in
existence and spreading rapidly throughout the land.
Its furthar extension, its continuance, must be in the
highest degree injurious to all parties ; and it becomes
the duty of every one anxious for the national
prosperity, and the welfare of individuals, to expose
the groundlessness of such fears and the impossibility
of their realisation.

We have asserted that the actual payment of their
capital would be injurious to the creditors themselves,
and at the same time fatal to the debtors. The latter
part of this proposition requires little proof to
establish. When it is considered that the whole, or
at least, by far the greater portion, of the costs,
charges, and expenses of all parties during the entire
progress of the suit would fall on the residue that
would remain for the unfortunate inheritor after pay-
ment of every encumbrance affecting his property;
that an increased number of such unreserved and
forced sales would greatly deteriorate the value of
landed property ; that it would become a drug in the
market, the supply greatly exceeding the demand,
thefear ful consequences to the unwilling and reluc •
tant vendor may be easily understood. Those who
are old enough to remember the year 1798, and the
period immediately following, when, by reason of a
panic, an extraordinary quantity of real property was
thrown upon the market and disposed of at any prices
that could be obtained therefor, can state the amount
of such diminution of value, which went to a degree
that could scarcely be credited at the present time.
We have been assured that at that period eligible
estates were frequently sold at eight or ten years'
purchase ; but it is necessary to establish that
payment of these demands would also be very injurious
to the creditors themselves.

The general rate of interest payable on charges
affecting land in Ireland may be set down at fire per
cent. per annum. That is the highest rate legally
chargeßble on such securities in England, but in
Ireland six per cent. is sanctioned by law, and is in
many instances actually paid on most unexceptionable
investments. The Court rate of interest in England
is fixed at four per cent., while in Ireland five per cent.
is allowed under similar circumstances. Generally
speaking, one per cent. more is obtainable there than
here on securities of equal character, and, although of
late years many loans have been effected in Ireland
at fuur and a half, or, in some few instances we
believe, even at four per cent., those for which five
and a half cr six per cent. are paid exceed tl,etnin
number and amount, and the average rate may fairly
be set down at five per cent. Now this is far beyond
the rate that can at the present time be obtained even
in Ireland on satisfactory security. Were it not for the
heavy expenses attendant on the transfer of the
charges, the loss of time, the delays incidental to a
full investigation of title, and the other difficulties
which the law interposes, that makes it not worth
the debtor's while, to endeavour to effect a new loan,
there is little doubt the creditors would have to accept

payment of their principal money, or to reduce the
interest thereon to the extent of from one-half to one
per cent. throughout the country. If they had their
capital, and were now seeking investments, they
would be contented with less interest, and would in-
cur a certain expense to their own legal advisers, a loss
of interest, while their capital wag lying idle and unpro-
ductive, pending the investigation of the title, and a
certain risk as to the validity and sufficiency of the
security they were about to accept. It, therefore, ap-
pears manifest that those who have well established and
sufficient encumbrances charged on land in Ireland
would be seriouly damaged by the present satisfaction
of their claims.

The only rational grounds for such a panic would
be the following, viz. :—a fear that the Legislature
might, by any enactment, compel the mortgagees or
ow ners of such charges to contribute or bear any
portion of the extraordinary burdens that may be
imposed upon lands by reason of the Labour-rate Act,
or such other measures as at any time hereafter may
be introduced for the purpose of enforcing adequate
employment for the labouring population of the
country ; or that the landlords, whose properties are
involved, and who are paying heavy interest on out-
standing liabilities, may not be able to meet the de-
mands for interest, in consequence of the present dis-
tressed state of the country. We hope to be enabled
to show that there is no sufficient foundation for either
of these contingencies.
The first of these fears was in some degree occa-
sioned by the insane conduct of some of the proprie-
tors themselves, who, without consideration or re-
flection, demanded that the Legislature should corn-
pel the mortgagees and encumbrancers, and all per-
sons drawing any incomes derivable from, or posses-
sing charges affecting lands, to participate in their
burdens, and to bear their proportion of the new rates
that are to be levied on the real property of the
country. Those persons were only desirous of shift-
ing some portion of the extraordinary expenditure off
of their own shoulders, and thought little
of the abstract justice of transferring it to those of
any other part of the community. Neither
did they consider the consequences to themselves
as the owners of such encumbered estates,
that must inevitably be the result of such an in-
equitable transfer. In the first instance, a charge on land
is in its nature essentially different from the land itself.
However prosperous the times may become, however
greatly the value of the lands may be enhanced, the
possessor of the charge can reap no benefit therefrom ;
he can only demand the stipulated interest or pay-
ment of his principal money. The discovery of a
mine, the bringing the soil into better heart, improved
methods of cultivation by which the produce may
be quadrupled, would not increase the amount of
his demand by one single farthing. As, therefore,
he cannot be benefited by the increased value of the
land, so likewise he cannot be injured by its dete-
rioration. It is not just that such should be
the case ; there is no reciprocity whatsoever.
The capitalist, who lends his money on landed
security exchanges the prospect of an increase
in the value of land for the certainty afforded
to him of receiving the original sum he has
lent without any possibility of diminution, while, on
the other hand, the proptietor of the land hopes that
it will still become more valuable, and that he will
have a larger surplus applicable to his own purposes
at a future period, after payment of the interest of his
debt. Were it otherwise, he would fell such a por-
tion of his land as would produce a sum sufficient
for his exigencies, and hold the residue unencum-
bered, in place of borrowing a sum of money on the
security of all his lands. One of those parties specu
lates for a rise in the value of land, the other in the
value of money, and neither, against whom the
balance for the moment may happen to incline, has
any right to complain, or to call on the other to bear
any portion of the consequences of his own error of
judgment. He entered into the speculation with his
eyes open ; he must abide the result. We must con-
clude for this day, but we shall resume the con-
sideration on an early occasion.

The due administration of justice is one of the first
objects of a civilised community. To the just and
efficient operation of the criminal branch of it, the
public naturally look with greater jealousy than to
that of any other portion. Life and liberty are
affected by our criminal code. The privilege of
liberty is undoubtedly subject to serious curtailment
under the influence of the civil law; but this is
trifling in comparison with the powers conferred by
the criminal law for depriving the subject of
his liberty. Where transportation for life, with
all the dreadful incidents of slavery—rendering
the punishment to many Par worse than the loss of
life itself—may be the sentence, following conviction
of a criminal offence, the public would be wanting
to themselves if they did not scrutinize, with the
utmost jealousy, and in all its bearings, the entire
structure of our criminal jurisprudence from the
foundation to its very apex. It is but just that man
should act in this wise. As a member of a social
community, he is called upon, and is considered, by
implication, to have abandoned his natural rights in
exchange for the conventional ones, secured by
the State. By virtue of this requisite ex-
change, the first law of nature, that of self-defence,
the most primitive of all rights, is placed under most
rigid restrictions. Man is prohibited from taking the
law into his own hands. It is ruled, that any injuries he
may receive shall be redressed through the appointed
tribunals of the country ; and, it is presumed, that the
wrongs he has suffered will be beneficently repaired.
When, then, so much of natural prerogative is, as it
were, per force completely resigned, mankind at large,
wherever civilization prevails, will sternly require
from their respective rulers, that all laws, where life
and liberty are concerned, shall be both justly framed
and equitably administered. Righteous laws are
plants of the slowest growth. They must, to be
effective, necessarily vary with the artificial develop.
ment of different communities. To modify and ad-
just them, so as to correspond with the ever-changing
phases of society, is a work of the nicest art, and
demands the influence of the highest order of in-
tellect. It is by reason of the difficulty of accom-
plishing this task, enhanced as it has been in every
age, by, at one time, the turbid passions of powerful
and selfish subjects; at another, by the tyrannical
disposition or insatiable ambition of a monarch, and
the other innumerable deranging accidents of the social
system, that justice has been frequently precipitated
from her seat, and the keenest miseries entailed upon
the human race.

In our land, the criminal law is first officially set in
motion by the fiat of the magistrate. It rests with
him to commit or discharge the prisoner. In this
way, his powers are enormous; far greater, indeed,
than his responsibility, which is, in fact, next to
nothing. For years, however, has our magisterial
bench been left in a most inefficient condition. Even
our metropolitan magistrates, who are well paid for
their labours, are constantly committing egregious
blunders, as e‘idenced by the repeated censures which
they get from the Secretary of State for the
Home Department So much has this been felt,
that we believe the Government have resolved
upon filling up every vacancy by the appoint.
ment of a person who shall be qualified, by study and
practice, to discharge these grave functions. But, if
this be determined on, and, as we think, wisely, why
not adopt the same system with the provinces, and
sweep off the legally-unenlightened Dogberries, who
so uselessly and perniciously crowd our quarter-ses-
sions ? An unpaid body of men never answer—that
is, they never fully act up to what is required of
them. Previous habits of life, and special ignorance
of the judicial vocation, prevent their doing so. No
one can enter a country justice-room but what
he is sure to see the justice completely led by
the nose by the clerk of the court. Is not this
enough, where matters of imminent import to the
subject are hourly handled, to bring the blush to the
patriot's cheek ? Would not common sense dictate,
that, if no better substitute could be found, the clerk
and the magistrate should change places ? The
present system cannot last ; we are literally dis-
graced by it. Motives of economy cannot be suffered,
for a moment, to war against our recommendation.
Justice should be pure and undefiled. Too high a
price cannot be paid for the acquisition of such a
blessing; and whether the stream of justice be
diverted by corruption, negligence, or ignorance, the
effect is not the less baneful to the citizen. Better to
have one sound lawyer on the bench than fifty
leaden-witted squires.

We have perused the report of Tuesday's pro-

ceedings at the Surrey Sessions with great dis-
satisfaction. First, on account of the magis-
trates having sentenced several prisoners to be
privately whipped, and next, on account of the
inexplicable disproportion of the different sentences.
Three persons, aged respectively 18 years, 23, and 24,
having slept one night in Kingston workhouse, the
next day stole three loaves, in the hope of being sent
to prison. The Chairman ordered them twenty--
one days' solitary confinement, and a private whip-
ping. Supposing they sought the shelter of the prison,
on account of its better fare, instead of the work-
house, is not 21 days' solitary imprisonment, of itself,
a commensurate punishment for stealing one loaf?
Why aggravate the sentence with the degradation of
corporal torture ? For anything thzt appears in the
report, the prisoners were not old offenders.
What can the magistrates expect will be the issue ?
Time men will, in all probability, leave the prison
degraded and hardened, and bent upon committing
some felony, which will send them out of the country.
It is a vulgar error to conceive that, in awarding
punishment, the law regards merely the
prevention, in future, of the like offences.
It has another, and a higher aim, at least,
it should have, viz., by the effect of the
punishment, to reform the character of the offender.
It is against human nature to suppose that men of
twenty-four years of age will be reformed by bodily
laceration.

Again, a boy aged seventeen, pleaded guilty to the
charge of stealing a Dutch cheese. He had not been
in the workhouse, like the others, above alluded to.
neither, as they, did he plead want as an excuse. His
sentence was fourteen days' solitary confinement, and
a private whipping. He therefore got a milder sen-
tence, by one week, than the others, between
one of whom and himself, the difference
in age was only a year. To a considerate
mind, a week's solitude in a prison is
a severe ordeal to pass through. Yet the worthies of
the Surrey Sessions weigh these matters so indiffer-
ently, that, it seems, in their judgment, as light as a
feather in the scale, and appears to be quite hap-
hazard whether the heavier offence, rebus sic stanti-
bus, receive a more lenient sentence, or vice versa.
We sicken at these legal incongruities.

The Post Ampt Gazette of Frankfort has the fol-
lowing from Berlin, dated the 29th ult. :—" Our
Minister for Foreign Affairs has just received an
energetic protest from Lord PALMERSTON against
the suppression of the republic of Cracow. AL DE
KAMPTZ has received instructions to proceed without
delay to Vienna, to regulate there the commercial
relations with reference to the incorporation of Cra-
cow with the Austrian monarchy."
According to a letter from Galicia, in the Augs-
burgh Gazette of the 2d, the last royal decree in fa-
vour of the peasantry, and by which the obligation of
forced labour is still further diminished, has diffused
much satisfaction among that class of the population.
In the same letter it is stated that the incorporation of
Cracow has inspired so much confidence as to the
future tranquillity of that town, that house property
has risen one-third in value.

Madrid papers of the Ist have arrived. They are
wholly taken up by the discussion of the late Minis-
terial crisis. This crisis is important, as showing
that the Queen of SPAIN supports with impatience
the yoke of the Afrancesado party, and that Senor
ISTURITZ and his colleagues are not in reality the
Ministers of the Queen of SPAIN, but the Ministers
of the KING of the FRENCH, forced on the reluctant
QUEBN by the French Viceroy, Count b'nEssoN.
The War-office was completely destroyed by the
fire of the 29th.ult. " The magnificent edifice," says
the Tiempo, " which was formerly the palace of the
'Prince of the Peace,' and has since served as the re-
sidence of most of the Secretaries of State, is, at
the present hour (December 1, three at night), but a
heap of ruins. The papers, valuable furniture, silver
articles, and coffer of the Minister of IVar, have be-
come a prey either to the flames or to the avidity of
those who could not reach places usually impene-
trable to the applications of misery—a sight both
mournful and shameful ! At present we cannot enter
ino further details."

According to the Clamor Public° the loss sus•
tained by the fire amounts to above 30,000 piastres.

The accounts from Portugal are to the 25th. At that
date no action had taken place between the troops of
SALDANHA and those of DAs ANTAS. The Marquis
of LOULE, it is said, was endeavouring to induce DAS
ANTAS to give battle without delay.

MADRID BOLSA, DEC. I.—The Three pr Cents,
341 at the close, paper offered ; Four per Cents. at 21;
Five per Cents. at 21k, there is money; D‘bt, without
interest, q; Parer Coupons 191, there is money.

We hare received the Paris papers of Monday.

There is a controversy going on among the
Minis-
terial journals as to the wording of M. GUIZOT'S note
to the Northern Powers, on the Cracow affair. The
Presse st'ted a few days since that the note of M
GvJzoT expressly declared that the violation of the
treaty of Vienna by the Northern Powers had placed
France at liberty to violate it whenever it should be
her interest so to do. The Portefeuille, on the con-
trary—which paper is the organ of the Foreign-office
—denies this statement, and says—

" We are assured that M. Guiaot, after directing at-
tention to the fact that the revolution of July was
effected in hatred of the treaties of 1815 ; that the most
energetic and the boldest portion of the victorious party
wished to tear up these treaties, do clared that the con
&taut thought of the King's Government was to watch
over their maintenance ; that France has religiously re-
spected them ; and that their violation on the part of
the three Courts is so much the less comprehensible that
it was not necessary to the security of their possessions.
But (adds M. Guizo9 France will not imitate the ex-
ample given to her ; her Government continues to re-
gard the treaty of Vienna as the basis of the balance of
power in Europe, and f9r,,her part, she was decided not
in any way to infringe it.
The _Esprit Public says that the note was originally
drawn up by M. GuizoT as published by the Presse,
but hints that it wJs subsequently modified in com-
pliance with fears not shared in by the Minister
himself.

-IVe find the following quoted by the Journal des
!Mats from the Revue Diplomatique, on the subject
of the absence of the Foreign Ambassadors from the
file given by M. GuizoT to the Bey of 'rums :--
" To prevent false conclusions being drawn from the
absence of the foreign Ambassadors from the late fele
given at the hotel of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, it
is important to state fully the facts. When the King's
Government, on the eth of August, 1830, entered into
the treaty of commerce with Hussein Bey, the title given
to him in it was ' Prince of the People, Chosen of the
Grandees, issue of blood Royal, brilliant from marks
the most brilliant, and for the most sublime virtues,
Hussein Bay, Master of the kingdom of Africa.' The
same titles have been acknowledged by Sardinia
and Belgium ; one, in a treaty of the 22d of February,
1832, and the other in a treaty of the 14th of Octo-
ber, 1839. Upon these precedents it was quite natural
that the Bey of Tunis, on arriving at Paris, should
be received at Court as a Sovereign Prince. Never-
theless, the Turkish Ambassador, on the day after
the reception of the Bey by the King of the
French, showed a disposition to demand his passports ;
but, reflecting on a step so serious, and which could not
be taken without express instructions, his Excellency
confined himself to delivering a verbal protest to M.
Guizot, reserving future proceedings till after he had re-
ferred to the Sultan. In the meantime, the Bey, having
intimated his intention to appoint a day for a reception
of the diplomatic corps, the Ambassadors, Lord Nor-
manby among the first, declared that, as Hussein Bey
was only the vassal of the Sultan, he was bound to make
the first visit to the Ambassadors. To comprehend the
rtheiagtnAs,mbanasdsadtho.arst represent
of this expectation, it must be remembered
full bearing
nth istltgeroupnedrsoneveonf trhreiinrcseosvoe-f
the Blood, when they arrive at a foreign Court, always
pay the first visits to Ambassadors. His Royal Iligh-
ness the Prince of Salerno, father of the Duchess
d'Aumale, recently conformed to this rule of etiquette.
The Bey of Tunis, notwithstanding his desire to respect
the diplomatic etiquette of Europe, conceived it neces-
sary to refrain from a step which might be construed
into a renunciation of his claim to be an independent
Sovereign. This circumstance is the cause that, at all
Court entertainments, care has been taken that the
The
should not come in contact with the diplomatic corps. I.he
Minister of Foreign Affairs wished in his turn to testify
to the Bey the esteem which the rare qualities of his High
ness had so generally acquired in France. But the previous
announcement of the intended pretence of the French
Princes at this fete appeared to the Ambassadors to be
an imperious reason for their confining themselves strictly
within the laws of etiquette, according to which they
would be bound to claim precedence' of the BO'.
To
avoid a dispute, which would have been so much to be
regretted, they deemed it would be prudent to abstain
from appearing at the entertainment. At the same time
to prove that their absence was imposed upon them by
their official duties, and not from any personal feelings
towards either the Bey or the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, they sent their wives and the other members of
their families. From all this it results, that the absence
of the Ambassadors had no other motive than the am-
biguity, in their eyes, of the political position of the Bey
—whether he is to be considered as a Sovereign Prince,
or as a vassal of the Sublime Porte. It appears that,

in cona,cprence of this point, of etiquitte, the 13,,y has
sesp- ruled his frprarations eor hi; kurnPy to England."
The state of the monev market continues to excite
great anxiety in Pari3. The price cf corn is rapidly
rising throughout Prance.
A letter from M. ALEXANDRE DUMAS, dated
Algiers 30th November, which appears in the Presse,
says—

" You have, without doubt, heard that our prisoners,
respecting whom there has been so much anxiety for the
last fourteen months, have just been restored to us.
There are ten, including a woman who was eight years
ago captured at the gates of Oran. The following are
their names. Render several families happy by publisi,
ing theta as soon as possible—Lieut.-Colonel Courby de
Cognard, Lieut. Lame.), Sub-Lieut. Thomas, Dr.
Cabasse, Lieut. Morin, of the 15th Light Infantry ;
Marii:thal-des-logis chief Barbut, of the 2d Hussars ;
Ttarp, a kussar ; Trottt, a chasseur of the Bth bat-
talion ; Michel, of the 41st of the line ; and Th 1;e
Gilles. Lieut. 'Ellerin, of the 41st, died on the eve of
the liberation. It is M. Pieiard, captain of the Veloce,
who was charged with the whole of the enterprise, and
Who has conducted it so well. M. Durande, an enseigne
de vaisseau, received the prisoners in his balancelle, and
conveyed them to Djemma-Ghazaouat,where we left them
in good health."
The following interesting account of the manner
in which these unfortunate persons were restored to
their liberty appears in another letter from Algiers,
published in the same journal :
" About a month ago a letter from M. de Cognard
reached the Governor of Mililla, informing him that for
a sum of 30,000 f. the person who had charge of the pri-
soners would consent to their evasion. As such a sum
was not to be found at Melilla, a letter was forwarded
to the General at Oran, who immediately sent for the
Ccrarnaudant and a discreet officer. Durand, a young
enseigne de vaisseau, was the person designated. At Oran
cases of money were put on beard the Veloce for Me-
lilla, at which place Durande took the command of a
balancelle (a small fishing vessel). The Veloce was
sent to Cadiz to he placed at the disposal of A. Dumas,
and the French artists who accompany him. We
left Oran on the 14th, and returned to Melilla on
the 27th, having passed a few days at Cadiz, Tan-
giers, Gibraltar, and Tetuan. Hardly had we cast
anchor e hen a Spanish officer (Captain Conna,
of Mk lilla) arrived in a boat, and announced the
deliverance of the prisoners, and the departure in the
balancelle of Durande. I trarscribe the recital made
by the Spanish officer to M. Dumas, and IA Ilia, with the
aid of an interpreter, M. Dumas wrote down under his
dictation. The day before yesterday, Nov. 24, two Arabs
arrived with a latter, announcing that the priscners were
at four leagues from the point of Bestinza. The signal
announced for the following day was a great fire. I
set out for the point of Bestinza, which is four leagues
from Melilla, in a Spanish boat, with M. Durande, and
we waited at the distance of a pistol shot from the
shore. At first we saw four or five men arriving on
horseback, and who made signals. I then landed alone,
and approached them with the Arabs who had brought
the news. They told me that the prisoners were only
half a league off. Three-quarters of an hour after-
wards they arrived, ten in number, including an old
woman, who had been eight years in captivity. They
were on horseback, and the men were dressed in the
remains of their uniform. The eleventh had died
on the road of fever. M. de Cognard alighted, and held
me in an embrace for a quarter of an hour. He then
told me to regain my boat, for fear the Arabs should in-
tz nd to play me false. I replied that I would remain,
being resolved to take him and his companions back
with me, or to remain a prisoner with them. An Arab
was then taken on board to convince him that we had
she money. S3rce difficulties were made, but finally
we brought the prisoners to Melilla, and yesterday after-
noon they left, with M. Durande, in the balancelle for
Djcmina-Ghazanuat. We did not (continues the officer
•.1." the V(1!oye) stop longer than to shake hands with
Captain Coppa, and on our arrival at Djemma-Ghazouat
ound that Durande had landed all the prisoners. An
nstant ufierwards we had the satisfaction of shaking
hands with M. de Cognard, Dr Cabasse, and the other

officers. We did not, find M. Duraede, for he had had
the courage to perform twenty-seven leagues in his pcor
").elaneelle, for Or.in, to announce the, success of his mis-
ion to the General. Ia the everting there was a grand
hanqaet at the camp, at which 120 officers sat down, in
honour of the prisoeers. As soon as it was over the
V6loce left for Algiers."
In reply to the questions put by the National on
the subj et of the purchase of corn for Algeria from
NI. ROTHSCHILD, which we published on Saturday,
the Moniteur Parisien says that the hostilities in
Algeria at the end of 1845 had prevented many of the
tribes from sowing their seed in time, and that this
circumstance, with the visitation of locusts and long
drought, had considerably reduced the native pro-
duce; that the war department has, in consequence
of the dread of scarcity in France, acted wisely
in obtaining a supply of corn from abroad, and
that to do so the Minister had applied to M.
ROTHSCHILD, as he would apply to our merchants ;
that at a later period considerable purchases having
been made elsewhere, at advantageous prices, for
Algeria, the corn destined for that colony has been
delivered at Marseilles for internal consumption ; that
the Minister had not invited competition, as, by
showing the want of corn by the French Govern-
ment, it would have led to a rise in foreign markets;
and, finally, that the Chambers only have a right to
be informed by the Minister of the price at which he
purchased."
The Constitutionnel has the following from Brest :-
"There is nothing new in naval movements ; but the
scantiness of our stores is such, that there has been the
greatest difficulty in fitting out the Dancif frigate. The re
is not enough of flour and wine in store to supply three
months' provisions for the Boussole corvette, bound to
the Antilles on a pressing mission. It is unheard of
that, on the departure of a vessel from the first port of
France, her captain should be told-' You are to take in
at Martinique the wine necessary to complete your stock,
and which we cannot give you.' Some time back there
was nut enough of coals for the Flambeau steamer,
bound for Cherbourg. The stores' department at last
succeeded in supplying what was wanted."
The Bourse opened on Monday with some degree of firm-
ness at the closing quotations of Saturday, but some heavy
sales to realise profits had a tendency to-bring down prices;
and at the close both Threes and Fives were quoted lower,
the former at 80f. 75c. (the Coupons on this stock are de-
tached to-day); and the latter at 118 f. 10c. The market
closed as follows :-Three 'per Cents., for cash, 80f. 85c. ; for
Account, 801. 75c. ; Five per Cents., for cash, 118 f. 15c ;
for Account, 118 f. 10c. ; Bank of France Shares, 3,505 f. ;
Neapolitan, 102 f. 50c. ; Spanish Fives, 33% ; Ditto Threes,
not quoted.
RAILwAys.-The Share Market has also shown less firm-
ness to-day, and at the close of the day the lines were
generally called lower. For cash-Paris and Orleans,
1,250 E ; Paris and Rouen, 8851.; Avignon, 880 f.; I,Tierzan,
390 f.; Strasburg and Bale, 2181. 75c.; Boulogne, 4451. ;
Northern, 640 f. ; Bordeaux, 557 f. 50c. ; Montereau, 3-101.;
Fampoax, not quoted ; Paris and Lyons, 507 f. 60c. ;
Paris and Strasburg, 482 f. 50c. ; Nantes, 490 f. ; Dieppe,
352 f. 50c.
BUSINESS DONE IN :FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, DECEMBER 8.
Boulogne and Amiens, 1 3://4-Luxembourg,l,4 - Namur and
Liege, 31/2-Northern of France Constituted, 101,-Orleans
and Bordeaux, 734-Par...is and Lyons Constituted, 5-Paris
and Strasbourg Constitut ed, 414.

DEATH OF LADY CAROLINE DRUMMOND.—This
ben -volent lady expired on the 4th inst. at her residence,
in Fitzroy-street, Fitzroy-square, at the advanced age of
80, after a lengthened ii lness.
THE ABORIGINES PROTECTION SOClETY.—Tues-
day Lord Palmerston received a deputation from the
Aborigines Protection Society. charged with presenting
a memorial, craving his Lordship's persuasive influence
with the French Governmeet in favour of the natives of
the Georgian and Society Islands, and more especially
that the acknowledged independence of the latter might
be permanently secured. The deputation, consisting of
Samuel Gurney, Esq., the president of the society,
.Tames Bell, Esq., its treasurer, Dr. Wright, D.D.,
Henry Chriity, Esq., S. Woolmer, Esq., E. Martin, Esq,
and several other gentle men, received a cordial assurance
that his Lordship's sedulous attention would be given to
the subject.
DREADFUL OCCURRIINCE.—On Wednesday
morn-
ing, the body of a man Ives found, in a literally
roasted
state, in the hot ashes, ttf; Mr. Dixon's works, it.e furnace,
Govan. It
as they fall
appears that the ashes, forming a mass,
sink into a bed of successive layers,
which is constantly in a 1 seated
e rife deceased was a poor,
t smouldering state,
and emitting noxious guts zs.
houseless creature, suppc dto be a foreigner, and of
whose name or connexions neon about the works, and it
thing is known. lie had,
however, been frequently se
appears was in the habi t of making the ash heap his
bed, having no place of • shelter, and finding comfort in
its warmth.
s probable that, on the occasion in
question, he had seems
dbeemen overpowered, perhaps suffocated,
by the gas from the rubbish, after laying himself down,
and, while in a state of s t upefaction, or rather, it is to be
hoped, after life had tots lly ceased to exist, the burning
of ' the body had gone on by a slow process, until found
in its partially consumed state, with the integuments, it
is said, crumbling to the touch. A more shocking and
denlorable result of destitution Ilea seldom occurred.—
Glasgow Railway Journa,T,
TOOT-RACE FAR 100 I.—On Tuesday, the walking
match between East, of L endon, and Powell, of Hamp-
ton (two well-known ped strians), to contend over six-
teen miles of road, came ie iff near the Dog and Partridge,
at Bedfont. Powell took the lead, and performed nearly
seven miles in one hour, rind ultimately won, he cover-
ing the sixteen miles of !road in less than two hours and
a half, at a fair toe and 1 mel walk.
ROYAL BOUNTY.--T 1 le overseers and churchwar-
dens of Windsor have re ceived a communication from
the lion, and Rev, C. L . Courtenay, domestic chaplain
to the Queen, that her Majesty graciously intends to
place in the hands of the parochial authorities there the
sum of 250 L, to be distri bated amongst the needy and
distressed parishioners o a New Year's day, in meat,
bread, coals, and blanket 1. The objects of the royal
bounty are to be selected by the parish officers, and the
distribution is to take placc in the New Riding. school at
the Royal Mews, in the pre .!sence of her Majesty and the
Prince Contort.

A jolly Jack Tar, having strayed into a show at a
fair, to have a look at the v d beasts, was much struck
with the sight of a lion and tit Ter in the same den. "Why,
Jack," sail he to a messraate, who was chewing a quid
in silent amazement, " I shouldn't wonder if next year
they were to carry about a s ailor and a marine living
peaceably together'." " Ab," fit.id his companion, "or
a man and wife !"

MONEY and COMMERCIAL NEW S
(From The Sun of last Night.)
The Cotton market at Liverpool yesterday was active
again. Sales 20,000 bales, including 10,000 American
on speculation, at an advance of id. per lb. compared
with last Friday. Shares were rather flat.
The sale of railway shares, yesterday, at Messrs.
Dimond and Co.'s, did not go off so firmly, and the
general aspect of shares was not so satisfactory as it was
last week. The following are a few of the principal
sales :

Barbadc es £0 6 6
Great Western of Bengal 0 5 0
Shrewsby., Wolverh., and South Stafford 3 9 6
Leicester & Bedford, Exchange Certficate 0 10 6
Great Ltixembourg
Liverp. Manch. and Newcastle-upon-Tyne 2 8 6
Manchester and Southampton, 1847 1 10 0
Shropshire Union and Canal
North British, Extension: 1 10 0
Great Northern ....
Madrid and Valencia. 1 0 0
Eastern Counties, York Extension 3 6 6
Shrewsbury and Birmingham
Boston, Newark, and Sheffield 0 14 6
Paris and Lyons 5 0 0
Exeter, Yeovil, and Dorset ... 0 14 0

The West India files of papers seem to afford a
satisfactory repot t from most quarters of the state of
the weather, and the progress of sugar making,
though we have the old complaints of the Coolies,
who are certainly not favourites, and therefore
not likely to be sought for much longer.
A suspension of Coolie immigration, if only by reason
of the heavy expenditure it occasions, appeals to be
thought by no means improbable. The sugar
question had led to one or two meetings being
held in Jamaica, but we find nothing new in the argu-
ments, though there is doubtless much to com-
mend in the recommendations for economical
management, and the adoption of central fac-
tories. There may be some idea formed of
the present value of West India property, from the
circumstance that two estates in Guiana, amplyprovided
with machinery, labour, and water power, and situated
in most favourable localities, having been let for 1.0001.
a year each.
The state of affairs in Mexico, as mentioned in these
accounts, differs but little from what was represented in
the American advices. If anything, however, the
position of the United States volunteers is de-
scribed as "being even worse than we might
suppose, and the navy was not very efficiently manned.
It is to be feared that the intelligence of Santa Anna
haying seized upon the conducta with three million of
dollars, intended for Europe, is but too true ; a report to
that effect, prevalent at Vera Cruz, being brought over
by the steamer.
The Stock Market is rather dull again. We shall
have the transfer books for some of the leading invest-
ments closing in a day or two, and this serves to show
that there is a slight preponderance in-the opinion of par-
ties as to the markets receding, or at least as to money
becoming scarcer, prior to the re-opening in January.
The sales, at the same time, have not been extensive.
Consols realise 95i to 95i- for present transfer, and 9.5 i
to 951 for time. Exchequer-bills have been marked
12s. to 9s. premium. The New Three-and-a-Quarter
per Cents have been done at 96k 4, and the Three-per-
Cent. Reduced at 94i t. Bank Stock is worth 2071
to 2061.
The Foreign investments have been quiet. Mexicvn
have improved, however, their value being at 221 to
22i for the Active. Spanish Five per Cents. are 26} ;
and the Three per Cents. 37-a. There is some doubt yet
as to the precise position of the Ministry at Madrid, and
whether M. Isturitz has had matters so decidedly his
own way. Portuguese Four per Cents., have been
marked 39 ; Belgian Four-and-a-Half per Cents. have
been 95 to 954.
The share market looks fiat again, and prices are
slightly in favour of buyers, both for the home and
foreign lines. Northern of France have been down to
4,1; premium.

ONE CLOSING
PRICES OF BIUTISH FUNDS. o'cLocK. FRiczs.
Bank Stock 20714 20614 2061,,,
3 per Cent. Reduced Anns 94 is % 94%
3 per Cent. Consols Annuities 95%% 9514
New 314 per Cent. Annuities 96 ~1/1 95 it
Long Ann uitiestoexpim J an. 1860 9 15-16
Ditto 30 years, Oct. 10,1859
Ditto :30 year*, Jan. 5, 1860 lO 3-16 10 3-16
India Bouct, 1,0001..
South Sea Stock
Ditto Old Annuities
/t 3
Ditto New Annuities ... 943 94 yik
Consols for Account 952'8 V 2 95%
Exchequer Bills, 10001. Phd. ... 11 12 9 p 9 p

ONE CLOSING
i'RICES OF FOREIGN FLTNDS. O'CLOCK PRICES
Mexican, 5 per Cent. 1846 22% 2314
Ditto, Account . 221/2 22 22% 2314
Portuguese Bonds, 4 per Cent
Ditto, Account 39 381/2
Russian Bonds . .... 1111% 1111%
Spanish 5 per Cent. 1840.
Ditto. Account
Ditto, Passive
~a 5%
Ditto 3 per Cent.
Dividends on the above payable in London.
... . .

Belgian 414 per Cent .: . 95% 95
Dutch, pa Cent .
Ditto. 4 per Cent. Certificates 93 921 h

PRICES or BUSINESS DONE CLOSING
isAILW_4.Y SHARES PAID. AT ONE O'CLOCK. PRICES.
Aberdeen . .. 20
Amber.. Is; ott., Boston,
and Eastern Junction 2%..... 2%% 2%
Armagh, Coleraine, and
Portrush l%
Belfast St County Down 4;% — .
Birmingham andnudley 43g. ..... .... . ..... ...
Birmin. and Gleucester..loo 1271/2. 1271/1
Ditto New 17% 31%
Birmingham and Ox-
ford Junction
Birkenhead, Lancashire,
- --

,
and Cheshire June.... 2% —
Boston, Stamfd, & Birm. 225. —
Bristol and Exeter
Ditto, New
Bristol and Gloucester... 30
Bristol and Liver. Junc.. 2%......
Buckinghamshire
Caledonian
Ditto Half Shares 2l/3 — ~.........•..
Cambrian & Grand Jane 42s
Chester and Holyhead... 27% 2SIA
Ckurnet and Blythe 2
Chester and Manchester 425. —
Cheltexham and Oxford 2 ...... .
Clydesdale Junction.. ... 20
Cork, Blackrock, and
Passages
Cork and Killarney ... 2%
Cork and Waterford ... 1% —
Cornwall
Ditto, Half Shares ... 21/
Cornwall & Cent'l Devon 2%
Direct Lincoln, East Ret-
ford, and Shen Jane. 2% —
Direct Northern
Direct Norwich
Dublin and BelfastJunc. 12% — . ...........
Dublin, Belfast, and
Coleraine
Dublip and Galway... .. 4
Dundalk & Enniskillen 10
Eastern Counties 14/. 16s ...... . 22% ...............
Ditto New l2l. 16s 7% p•••••'•••'••
Ditto Perpetual, 5 par
Cent, No. 1....... 61.135. 4d —
Ditto ditto, No. 2... 61. 13s. 4d... % P•••
Do., York Extension.. 2 ...... 31/41% 3%
EastDereh'm andNoech 1 ......
Eastern Union 35 .. ... 54
Ditto, Quarter Shares 8%....••
Do. Exten.(Hanvich) 1% ...... .........
Do., Climb. and Ely.. 2%...••• —_
East Lancashire ......... 14 ...... 18%.. ....•
Ditto, New .......... .. 5 ...•• 914
Do., do. (late Preston I
91/1
and Ormskirk)... .. 5 ......
2%...... ......
EaDstolidnoc.o,lNnsehwirSecr.i!...... 111574......
214
i/i
East & West of England 1A ..... „_, .
Edinburgh and Glasgow 50 ...... --............
Ditto Half Shares ... 10 201/2 ..,,,,,,,,,•..•
Ditto, Quarter Shares 12% ...... _
Edinburgh & Northern.. 121/2 _
Edinburgh and Perth... 3
...... _
......
..
...
Ely and Huntingdon ... 12%,..... 131, „ .
Enniskillen and Sligo •.. 2V2 ......
_...72 74
Y CKOiVi
mi i,
at
..
,DB,OAr Sye
rt
5051,4 : : .... : : _
Shares (5 per
Exeter,
15
Gip]; soigt.
Ditto,
'New
cent. guar.) ...
Gloue.,Abel3-stwith,aud
Central of
.N 1 Walesvo
et
st.ti.nel r
n.g... -.. 12
341/2_ .
.. .. . 2 p
Goole, Doncaster, &c. .. 428: •-..-.
‘"--1
GG
rr
eaantdEU:tieonni
&( ••
and Lynn ... ........ 1 r,,
GreatG r.i.m..5.b..y..! (.1. Shef-
field ••• ••
10
Great South. and Wtst.
(Ireland)
Great Munster 2l/2......
Great North of Scotland 2 %......
Great Northof England...loo 233
Ditto New
Ditto, New .
Ditto, New
Great Western B5
Ditto 1h Shares
Ditto AI Shares lO
Ditto Fifths 2O
Ditto, New
Huddersfield & Manclies. 13 ...... •
Ditto, Extension
Hull and Selby 5O ..... 1071 A, 107%
Ditto % Shares
Do. Half Shares 25 —
Ipswich & Bury St. Edna. 11%
3- Do., do., and Norwich 2%
Lancaster and Carlisle... 50
Do. New
Leeds and Bradford —
30
is 7SIA %
2
Leeds and Carlisle
Leicester & Birmingham 225. —
Leicester and Bedford... 225.......—
Leeds, Dewsbury, &c.... 22% 33 .
Do., Branch (Blue) ... 2% 91%
Do. Extension(Green) 2%.....
Leeds and Thirsk 17%..... 153/x.
Ditto, New
Lpool., Machstr & New
castle Junction
.....
...
Liverpool and Bury
London and Blackwall. 16/. 13s. 4d. 811;.i
Do. New
Ditto Extension
...
London, Brighton, and
South Coast
Ditto, Fiftks
Do. Consol. Eighths.. 10
Do. Guarant. 5 per ct. 9 - ••• •• •• •• ••• '...
LondonandGreenwich 12/ 15s 4d
Do. Preference ...18/17s 2d
London, Hounslow, and
Western ........ ....... 2 - •••
London:aqd N. Wcsternloo 193% 1941/ 194%
Do. Quarters
Do., do., New
Ditto Fittli3

20%

133/4

1/4 p

28%

191/4
)32

2%

33
9%

-
153/4