The Sun.
London, England, 1848-10-19 00:00:00

11111 h
illt trielrang :41 Air

LONDON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, MS.

The memorial from the citizens of Dublin praying
for an extension of the royal mercy to Mr. SMITE
O'BRIEN (and as a natural consequence to his mis-
guided associates, who have been convicted before the
Special Cornnsission, now sitting at Clonmel), was
paesented on Monday to his Excellency the Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland, ley the deputation appointed
for that purpose. The numerous and influential
sidznatures attached to the petition--the universal
feeling of men of all classes, shades, and varieties of
political feeling in support of its prayer, coupled with
the strong and unanimous recommendation of
the jury by whom the verdict was returned, which
subjected the unfortunate gentleman to the fearful
Penalties prescribed by the law for those convicted of
high treason, afford the strongest hope that the Go-
vernment will comply with the general desire that
the lives of all parties concerned may be spared, and
that the public may not be horrified by the execution
of the barbarous sentence. This expectation is
strengthened by the demeanour of the distinguished
nobleman who has so ably discharged the duties of
the Viceroyalty of Ireland during a period of unex-
ampled difficulty, when receiving the deputation ; and
by the tone and character of his reply to the Lord Mayor
of the Irish metropolis, and the other influential
gentlemen who accompanied his Lordship in his
.mission of mercy. The application was judiciously
limited to the remission of the extreme penalty.
There was no undue interference with the royal
v•erogative, no attempt at dictation, as to the
azure or amount of the punishment that should be
lubstituted for that of death and mutilation. The
memorial simply stated that the petitioners "cor-
d:a:ly concurred in the recommendation of the jury
by whom the prisoner had been found guilty, and
Dumbly and earnestly entreated the exercise of her
Marosra's gracious prerogative of mercy in his
favour." ;although no definite answer was returned,
on the ground that the Commission was still sitting
at Clonmel, and occupied with the trial of persons
charged with the same offence, and also that notice
of • writ of error had been given, yet
his Excellency gave the strongest assurance
that " full weight should be given to the
recommendation of the highly; respectable jury

who tried Mr. O'BRIEN." A general impression,
therefore, prevails, that justice will be tempered
with mercy towards all the State prisoners.
The citizens of Dublin have not, however, been
singular in the expression of their feeling. A
similar memorial was adopted at a meeting held at
Cork, which was likewise attended by men of all
parties, and which was signed by the mayor, clergy-
men, magistrates, and other inhabitants of that
ancient city. The latter document is worthy of the
highest consideration. It enters at greater length
into the reasons which render it most impolitic
and unwise " to carry out the dreadful sen-
tence of the law " than the Dublin memorial.
The application is made not only on behalf of Mr.
SMITH O'BRIEN, but of all the State prisoners under
sentence of death for high treason, and it is made not
merely as an,appeal to the feelings of humanity, which
must be entertained by every person who, considers
the circumstances of the case, but of sound policy and
expediency. The petitioners say—
"lt would be unbecoming of us to make any
appeal to your Excellency's humane feelings.
We are satisfied, mercy unsolicited, would pre-
vail if those feelings were allowed to prevail.
But in these afflicting cases the sterner influences
of State feelings interpose, and therefore, as lovers
of our native land, believing that its social
amelioration can alone proceed under the
protection and influence of peace, law, and
order, and anxious to promote contentment amongst
the people, we venture to express earnestly to your
Excellency our deliberate conviction that the exercise
in the present instance of the noblest prerogative of
the Crown will tend to secure the tranquillity of the
country, and the loyalty of the people.
" In the name then of the citizens of Cork, without
distinction of creed, class, or party, we venture to en-
treat in this instance the exercise of the Queen's
prerogative. Let it interpose between the awful
sentence of the law and its execution ; then will the
lasting gratitude of the nation be secured, and under
every social suffering it will be testified in a manner
most pleasing to your Excellency by the peaceful
demeanour of the people, and by their unalterable
attachment to her Majesty's person, her throne, and
dignity."

We extract the foregoing passages verbatim. They
should be considered without curtailment or mutila-
tion. They express the views of intelligent men,
well acquainted with the national character, who
have themselves the strongest interest in the main-
tenance of peace and tranquillity, important stakes
in the welfare and prosperity of the country. They
believe that tranquillity will be restored and pre-
served by an act of mercy—they believe that pros-
perity will be promoted, that the disaffected will be
won over by the certainty that they live under a
mild, a paternal, and a powerful Government, that
can afford to exhibit moderation and leniency in the
punishment of offences that are invariably more
severely dealt with, in proportion to the strength of
the conspirators and the prospects of success
that attended their efforts. The object of punishment
is not revenge—it is to deter others from the perpe-
tration of similar crimes,; to act as a warning and
example to those who might offend in like manner.
That object, however, would be better attained by a
different course. The crime of high treason is happily
a rare one in modern days. Forty•tive years have
elapsed since any person has been convicted on a
similar charge in Ireland, and every feeling of dis•
loyalty that might induce parties to indulge in feel-
ings of a treasonable character would be better eradi-
cated by a course which would, indeed, make our
SOVEREIGN rule in the hearts and affections of her
subjects, rather than by attempting to restrain them
by the baser influences of terror and coercion.

A few years ago the people of England and the
people of France were astonished and delighted by an
event then unprecedented in royal annali---the visit
of her Majesty Queen VICTORIA to the KING of the
FRENCH. The familiar intercourse which from that
time subsisted between the royal families of France
and England still further delighted, if it no longer
astonished, the loyal subjects of both countries. When
Queen VICTORIA and King LOUIS PHILIPPE rode
together, sans ceremonie, in the char-a-bane at Eu,
or when Sir ROBERT PEEL and M. GUIZOT strolled
arm-in-arm under the oaks of Windsor, the reality
of the entente cordiale became comprehensible to the
multitude. Appearances, however, are proverbially
deceitful, and such appearances, convincing as they
might have been for the moment, were anything but
conclusive proofs of the stability of the entente
cordiale. The true philanthropist, solicitous for
the fraternity of nations as any member of
the Peace Congress, would have turned with

an indifferent air from the contemplation of Royal

visits and Ministerial civilities to scrutinize the secret
sentiments of the people of the two countries. By
the homely fireside, aid not in the regal reception-
room or ministerial bureau, would we have sought to
test the stability of the cordial understanding.
Experience has manifested the wisdom of such a
course. What would a personal friendship between
her Britannic MAJ,NsTv and LOUIS PHILIPPE avail
now in a political point of view ? Or what would
be the worth of the best understanding in the world
between Sir ROHERT PEEL and M. Guizor at the
present moment under existing circumstances ? If
the entente cordiale had only meant a cordial under-
standing between the Sovereigns and Ministers of
France and England, then that entente cordiale would
now be at an end. But happily the words had a far
wider signification. Happily they may now be
pronounced as truthfully and as appropriately as ever.
This fact will be apparent to any one who takes the
trouble to inquire into the mutual relations of the two
countries. This fact will be apparent, without
trouble on the part of the inquirer, to any one who
may chance to remark the blue coats and glittering
ca.griues of the i'rench National Guard which are
daily to be seen in every street in London. The
visit of the French National Guard to England is,
to our thinking, an immeasurably more convincing
proof of the amicable relations of the two countries
than the royal interviews at the Chateau d'Eu, or the
return visit to Windsor Castle. The visit of the
National Guard is a very significant and most satis-
factory sign of the times. It is true, Frenchmen have
often before visited England, and English natords have
long since been conspicuous on the Continent, but the
travellers in both cases have only travelled as indivi-
duals, and their wanderings, however influential to

hemselves, have been in consequence politically in-
significant. In the present instance it is otherwise.
It is not a group of chance travellers from France
that we encounter in our daily promenades, it is the
National Guard of France, in their public and na-
tional capacity, come to fraternize with the people of
England. Military though their appearance be (for
the French are essentially a nation of soldiers), these
strangers are neither more nor less than the very
people—the shopkeepers of France, come to mingle
with the " nation of shopkeepers," as they term us,
This is a practical illustration of the principle of universal
fraternity—an illustration more solemn and more
significant, because more tangibly real, than the con-
tinual inscription of the word upon every •rdre du
jour of the Republic—an illustration as solemn and
as significant as the first proclamation of that word
by the philanthropic Republican amid the stormiest
tumults of revolution. The proposition of universal
disarmament set forth by a member of the Peace
Congress, and approved by Mr. COBDEN, is immeasur-
ably less calculated to promote the cause of universal
peace, than is the appearance of these armed French-
men in the streets of London. Cordially they have
come, and cordially they have been welcomed. They
have been greeted with British hospitality, which
they have acknowledged with more than their pro-
verbial politeness. They will carry back with them,
Ist us hope, a kinder and more fraternal feeling
for England and the English people even
than that which prompted them to pay this
visit, and they will leave behind them similar senti-
ments in the breasts of their English, hosts. These
visits, productive of so much mutual satisfaction, are,
we are inclined to hope, only precursors of a con-
tinued course of international communication, until,
under the beneficent auspices of " fraternity," the
British Channel, realising the happy vision of the
poet, will only serve

" To join the nations it divides."

MEETING MR HALF-WAY.— Young Hopeful—
" Well, it's of no use, Governor; I can't stick to busi-
ness. I want to be a soldier, and you must buy me a
commission." Governor—" No. my boy, I can't afford
to buy you a commission, but I'll tell you what I will
do; if you will go down to Chatham and enlist, I will
give you my word of honour I won't buy you our—
Punch.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris papers of yesterday.
On Tuesday the National Assembly agreed to
clauses from 85 to 90 of the Constitution without
amendment, and almost without discussion.
M. MARRAST, the President of the Assembly, and
M. DI:FAURE, the Ministerial leader, have agreed
that it is desirable that the remaining articles of the
Constitution should be passed with as little delay as
possible, and therefore there is every probability that
the whole of the Constitution will be voted in the
course of the ensuing week.
The Ministry appears to be increasing in strength.
Several of the Members of the party of the Palais
National and of the club of the Institute, who ab.
stained from voting on Monday, have now given in
their adhesion to the Ministry. The fact is,
that the insane violence of M. LEDEU ROLLIN and his
followers has so alarmed many of the moderate Re-
publicans that they are willing to make great
sacrifices to secure a strong Government.
A " democratic and social " banquet, at one franc
per head, took place on Tuesday at the Barriers
Poissonniere. More than 2,000 persons attended it ;

and as there was no place large enough to contain
all, they divided into two parties, one presided over
by M. PIERRE LEROUX, and the other and smaller
one by M. D'ALTON SEER. It had been announced
that 200, or at least 150, representatives of the
people would be present, and that M.
LAMENNAIS would be president, and M. Levan
Rosalie vice-president. Only three representa-
tives, however, attended—M. PIERRE LEROUX,
M. PROUDHON, and Gaarro. The defection
of the others caused some sensation. Nu-
merous toasts were drunk, and the follow-
ing were loudly applauded :—" To the Revolution,"
by M. PROUDHON "To the old Montagne," by M.
PIERRE LEROUX ; " To the Revolution of Vienna,"
by M. MADIER DE MoNJAU, advocate ; "To the
Union of Democrats," by M. CaneT ; " To the De-
mocratic and Social Republic," by M. D'ALTON
SHER. At about seven o'clock theprincipal banquet
was brought to a close by the singing of patriotic
songs, and MM. PIERRE LERoux, PROUDUON, and
CARET, accompanied by some of their friends, went
and harangued the smaller gathering, after which all
the guests dispersed. Numerous groups of workmen
assembled on the exterior boulevard, and at the en-
trance to the Rue des Poissonniks, but tranquillity
was not disturbed. The authorities had taken meas
sures for the preservation of order.
The committee on the state of siege have deter-
mined to recommend to the Assembly that the state
of siege should be immediately raised.
The following proclamation, drawn up by the
Abbe LAMENNAIS, has been signed by all the Red
Republican Members of thelAssembly :
" We are far from the day on which, after heroic
combats, the Republic, issuing brilliant and glorious
from the midst of victory, displayed itself to the world
as the living image of liberty, equality, and fraternity,
as the sacred symbol of all the hopes of the future.
From one extremity of Europe to the other the nations
saluted it with their acclamations, and, penetrated by
the new spirit, by the regenerating breath, they broke
their old chains in the name of the right which
France had inaugurated. She herself immediately
gathered the fruits; in political order, the abolition
of privileges, and universal suffrage ; in social order,
the enfranchisement of workmen, first condition of
the transformation of labour itself, to :arrive at a
juster division of its products, to the guarantee of
the life of all in a society one and jointly responsible.
Soon, however, the conquered parties united and
organised. Everywhere that their influence could
extend, they applied themselves to exciting by in-
trigue and calumny enemies to the Republic and
obstacles to its Government. Creeping little by little
into the administration, they there introduced their
principles and their passions, and made of the revo-
lutionary power which they had conquered an arm
against the revolution itself. We were driven back
to the gates of the monarchy, and it is there that we
now are ; it is to the men of the monarchy that the
destinies of the Republic have just been confided.
We understand the fears of the people, and their in-
dignation kr which certainly there is too much
cause. Let them, however, not alarm themselves be-
yond measure, and especially let them take care not
to cede to perfidious provocations. Whatever may be
done to drive them to acts of disastrous imprudence,
let them remain calm and firm, masters of themselves,
in order to be masters of the future. It is thus that
they will prove their strength, and that they will find
it uninjured, invincibly by union, if it should again
have to come in aid of right. For ourselves, honoured
by the title of their representatives, we know to what
that title obliges us ; we know our duties, and will
fulfil them. Sent by the people, united to the people,
we will struggle, and it is our belief we shall conquer
with them."
The Constitutionnel has the following on the pre-
sent financial state of France :
"The Minister of Finance, in his late speech on
the mortgage notes, brought forward a ststement of
the financial situation of the country, of which the
following are the principal results-:—M. Goudchaux
declared that, on February 25, the State had in hand
192 millions, arising from the payments made on the
loan of 1847, and from the emission of Bons du Tre-
sor exceeding the average circulation at the corre-
sponding period of preceding years, so that in deduct-
ing from these resources, estimated at 278 millions,
the 192 millions in hand, there would remain a ba-
lance against the State of 86 millions. The situation,
on Sept. 30, was this—The State possessed 174 mil-
lions, or 18 millions less than on Feb. 25, but it was
69 millions more than it possessed on Sept. 30 of the
year before. The extraordinary charges which have
weighed on the Treasury amount to 646 millions—
viz., 125 millions reimbursed to the floating debt;
125 millions voted to aid the manufacturing and com-
mercial situation of the country; 208 millions of
augmentation of expenses in the different Ministerial
departments, amongst which that of war alone has
absorbed 106 millions; and, lastly, 190 millions of
deficiency in the taxes. The extraordinary resources
by the aid of which the Treasury meets the extra-
ordinary charges amount to 630 millions—namely,
177 millions of the new loan, 54 millions of money
paid up on the Lyons shares; 75 millions advanced
by the Bank of France ; 115 millions received on
the tax of 45c.; and 45 millions still remaining to be
received on the same tax! 60 millions coming from
the arrangement effected by the Northern Rail-
way ; and 104 millions of the reserve of the
sinking fund. The Treasury has still to re-
ceive this year 50 millions from the Bank of France,
exclusive of the 75 millions to be paid by it for 1849,
and which, if the Minister is to be believed, will
not be required, which would render the alienation
of the forests unnecessary. M. Goudchaux then
enumerated the resources which still remain at our
disposal to ensure the action of the different services.
From that statement it appears that, on September
30, the Treasury possessed 35 millions in its strong-
box ; 91 millions were remaining due from the loan
of 1848 ; 38 millions from the payments on the
Lyons shares ; 125 millions to draw frow the credit
opened by the Bank of France; 139 millions of seen-
rities; in all, 428 millons of disposable resources.
The Honourable Minister then declaring that the
expense, (at the rate of 25 days of service per
month), since February, had exceeded the receipts
by one million a day, comes to the conclusion
that with the 428 millions in the possession of the
Treasury, there would be sufficient funds to provide
for the public service for a period of 428 days, or 17
months, or up to February 28, 1850 This news'
says the Afoniteur, was received with the ut-
most satisfaction.' But it is important to see what it is
really worth. First of all, M. GOUDCIIAUX puts
down amongst these 4.28 millions, his securities at
139 millions, and his cash in hand at 35 millions, or
174 millions in all, coming from ordinary and cur-
rent receipts, and which are not to be included amongst
the extraordinary resources; next, the question of
the service of the Treasury is not alone to be looked
at ; the situation of the budget must be also taken
into consideration. But it is certain, according to
the report of M. BINEAU, that the deficiency of the
current year will amount to about 350 millions, and
that after having applied to make up that sum the

loans contracted this year, nothing scarcely will re-
main of these loans for 1849. Thus, therefore, with-
out taking into consideration the delay which pay-
ments of expenses always experience, it will be ne-
cessary, in order that the services should be ensured
until 1850 with th• resources now at the disposal of
the Treasury, that the year 1849, which, besides,
will not have any tax of 45c., should find means to
suffice for itself."

The adjourned debate on the Constitution was read
at the sitting► of the Assembly yesterday. Clauses up
to 100 had been agreed to up to the hour when the
post left.

M. Ducous, the ex-Prefect of Police, has pub-
ished the
,following address- to the inhabitants of

'aril :

"On resigning the functions which I accepted
after the conflict of June, I cannot refrain from offer-
ing to you my thanks for the favour with which you
have received the acts of my administration. Devoted,
body and soul, to the Republic, I used all my endea-
♦ours to apply its principles, and cause them to be
beloved. What I have tried to do as a magistrate I
will continue to do as a representative of the people.