The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATEIRDAY, JANUARY 2. 184 i.

the two great parties. They struggle only for office.
To the right-thinking people will be left the im-
mortal honour—and they will by and by achieve it
—of crushing the vilest law that ever cupidity, in
the disguise of patriotism, dared to enact.

MR. HETHERINGTON has published a report
'of his trial on Dec. Bth, for a blasphemous
libel, in which the whole of the authori-
ties cited in the defence are given at full length.
It does great credit to Mr. HETHERINGTON'S
abilities, and we earnestly wish it may be of
service to him with the Judges, in considering
their sentence which has yet to be pronounced on
him, or, should that be more than a nominal punish-
ment, with the Government in inducing it to re-
mit the punishment. Society cannot be served by pu•
nishing the mere trade agent in circulating opinions,
and the law will receive no credit by being made
the instrument for repressing honest discussion in-
stead of punishing crime. In Mr. HETHER-
INGTON'S case, his offence is the smallest conceiv-
able, even by those who object to free discussion
in matters of religion. He did not write the work
—he was not the original publisher of it—the
author has not been prosecuted—the original pub-
lisher was allowed to escape freely on pleading
guilty, and Mr. HETHERINGTON, who is merely
the agent for selling a book published at Man-
chester, has been found guilty, and awaits, what
ought in justice—as the offence is nominal—to be
the smallest quantity of punishment.
There is one peculiarity in this case, which does
not seem to have been sufficiently noticed. The
indictment set forth the passages which are
characterised as blasphemous. The ATTORNEY-
GENERAL called a witness to prove the publication,
but he called no witnesses, and he made no obser-
vations, to prove that the language was blasphe-
mous ; he left that, and so did the Judge, for the
Jury to decide, by such light of common sense as
they may possess. In their opinion, the language
quoted is a blasphemous libel. They decided no
matter of fact by their verdict, but matter of opi-
nion. They differ from Mr. HASLANI, and, then:-
fore, Mr. HETHERINGTON is found guilty of pub-
lishing blasphemy. What is, and what is not, blas-
phemy, is a question very difficult to decide.
It will be as well, we think, to place before the
public, the names of the Jury and wise men
who immediately decided, without any evidence, that
this was a blasphemous libel. We copy them, there-
fore, from Mr. HETHERINGTON'S report:—

From this it will be seen at a glance how dear to
France has been the Administration of ALTHIERS.

General BUGEAUD, ever memorable for prefer-
ring an invasion of Cossacks to an invasion of
Prussian bullocks, on the principle of free-trade in
beef, has been appointed Governor-General of
French Africa, in the room of Marshal VALLEE.
An article from the National on this subject will
be found subjoined.
The Silesia Gazette publishes a letter from the Uk-
raine, dated the 9th ult., which states that several thou-
sand peasants, living on the confiscated estates of Prince
Adam Czartoryski and Count Potocki, in Podolia and
K,sw, were to be transported, in virtue of i rnperial or.
ders, to the barrens of the Chersonese and Tauris. All
the nece-sary preparations were made to carry this barbar-
ous measure into execution.

The Prince Royal of Bavaria arrived incog. at Trieste
un the 19th ult., and embarked on the 21st in the Count
Koilowrath steamer for Athens. The Prince travels under
the name of Count de Verdenfels.
The National, speaking of the nomination of General
Bugeaud to the Government of Algeria, says :
" The appointment of General Bugeaud to the Govern-
ment of Africa is equivalent to the re-establishment of the
influence (now nearly destroyed) of the Emir Abd-el-
Kadir, who may be called the creature of General Bu-
geaud, since it was he who made him what he has become,
a powerful enemy : it is the cession of 200 leagues of
coast of an immense territory in the interim ; it is reducing
the province of Oran to the Mitidjah ; that of Oran to the
banlicue of the town ; that of Bona to the surrounding
marshes. We shall have in vain conquered Constantine,
Setif Medeah, Cherchell. General Bugcaud bears, in-
stead of the sword, the pen of the negotiator of the Take,
and he is going to efface at one stroke, as he formerly did,
all the conquests which our brave army has bought with its
blood, and which at least indemnified us in some degree
for ten years of infamy.—. Gazelle de France.
No mails have arrived.

CONSTANTINOPLE, DEC. 8. —The Tahiri:Bahiri, Govern-
ment steamer, which has this moment arrived from Syria,
brings word that Ibrahim having attempted to extricate
himself from the difficult position in which finds himself in
the environs of Balbec, and to open himself a passage ac-
cross Mount Lebanon, had completely failed in this at-
tempt ; he was repulsed with cons:derable loss by the
mountaincers,—Journal de Smyrne.
It appears that thnrneasures relative to the Greeks set-

tied in Turkey, which were resolved on by the Porte, in
consequence of the refusal of the Greek Government to
ratify the treaty of commerce concluded at Constantinople,
arc going to be carried Into effect.—Journal de Slut ne.
BO UR S.E.PARIS, THEIR/MA Y. DEC. 31.
first Highest Lowest Last
Price Price. Pricy. Price
trench :`.. i.er Cents llO 50 ... 110 55 ... 110 as ... Ile 35
3 per Cents 76 so
_. ;6 5J ... 76 5U ... 76 50
dank 01 trance
iselgian !Sank
5 per Cent, 97% ... 07V4 ... 97k, ... 97
31.er Cents
New Loan
Outch 2% per Cents 54 ... s'l ... 52 ... 52
NpAinell Active V4S, ... '25 ... 24N ... 25
Passive 5% ... 5.i ... ;7,i, ... 5%
Neapolitan
IbAnan .... ItN ... 99 ... 944 ... 99,,

MAGAZINES-CONTINUED.

MONTHLY CHRONICLE.

Often as we have read about Venice, we know
not that we have ever met with a description
that gave us a more vivid idea of this City of Pa-
laces " throi:ed on a hundred isles," than is con-
tained in " Letters from the Continent," which form
the principal attraction of this number of the
MonthlN Chronicle. The writer tells us, that
" living at Venice, is like being at sea, without
any of the drawbacks and discomforts of an actual
voyage ;" and then proceeds to relate the impression
it made on him, in language replete with impas-
s►oned eloquence. " The First Love" is a tale,
whose one leading defect is, that, though meant
to be a direct transcript from life, it abounds in
improbabilities. One or two of the incidents,
however, are touching, and hit off with true femi-
nine delicacy. " A Visit to the House of Con:-
mons," is a passable jeux d'esprit in rhyme.
The present portion of " Sketches of Spanish
Generals," furnishes us with a short memoir of
Mina, the first and most celebrated Guerilla Chief
in Spain. " French and English Alliance" is
misnomered. It should have been entitled "An
Essay on the March of Mind during the Middle
Ages."