The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-30 00:00:00

SUN, LONDON FRIDAY MORNI L' G, JANUARY 30, 1816.

during the present year there had been deposited 818
plans of projects in the Board of Trade, and there now
stood for the consideration:of the House 687 Bills. There
could be no doubt but that the number of railway Bills
to be considered during this session would be so great
as to render it impossible to find Committees to consider
these Acts. The capital required for these I3ills
amounted to 370,000,0001. of money. Now, this sum
would not be all required, because many were compo.
ting schemes ; but making every deduction, not a less
sum would be applied for than 100,000,0001. Last year
they had authorised 118 Bills, requiring 56,000,0001. ;
the previous years 46 Bills, requiring 14,000,0001;
making a demand; of 70,000,0001. in three years ;
thus making an average call during the next three
years of 20,000,0001.; and the lowest estimate of the
amount required during the next year would be
100,000,0001. It was necessary for Parliament to con •
sider whether the diversion of this enormous amount of
capital to railway enterprise must not be detrimental t('
the interests of the country, and whether some
limitation ought not to be placed upon it ?
Already had the price of labour and materials been en-
hanced to an inconvenient degree. Neither was it for
the interest of railway enterprise itself to permit this
state of things to continue. It had been said that the
evil would provide its own remedy ; but still Parliament
ought not to invest companies with great powers, to Let p
them suspended over the heads of parties intere-ted,
and to permit them to indulge in reckless exi en-
diture. On these grounds, he thought it right
that some limitation should be placed on these schemes.
He thought the Executive Government was right in not
taking upon itself the responsibility of not placing it
check upon these schemes. It was for Parliament. to
decide on the subject; Government had applied their at-
tention to it, and had made preparation to lay before
Parliament all the necessary information. It would be
useless and unprofiitable to lay that information on the
table for discussion before the House, and the Govern-
ment thought it the more useful plan to refer the matter
to a Select Committee, and he therefore begged to move
for the appointment of a Committee for the purpose.
Lord BROUGHAM, when called upon to increase the
grants of money for railroads from ,20,600,000/. a 3 ear
to 53,000,0001. a year, said it became Parliament to
pause and inquire before they consented to such a
grant. He would suggest some alteration in the matinee
of conducting the Private Bill business, in order to
secure a proper consideration of these Bills. He would
never wish to take from the privileges of the House, but
Parliamentary Committees were the worst tribunals to
sit judicially and decide upon the disposal of millions of
property, and he trusted that some more satisfactory
tribunal might be established.

Lord KINNAIRD trusted the Noble and Learned Lord
would bring forward some measure to remedy this evil,
which was undoubtedly a great one. The Noble Lord
gave notice that on Monday he should move for a re-
turn of fees paid to this House on introducing railway
Bills, and also on petitions. In one case he knew the
costs of opposing a Bill had been 8001., and out of that
sum 300. had been paid in fact to the officers of that
House.

Lord ASHBURTON supported the motion for the ap-
pointment of the Committee, and agreed that it was ne-
cessary to put some limitation on railway speculation.
He was inclined to refer the prosperity of the last three
years and the increased employment:given to the labour-
ing classes, to the increased expenditure consequent upon
the formation of railways rather than to the relaxation
of the protective duties.
A NOBLE LORD suggested that it was important that
the report of this Committee should be presented at the
earliest possible period, in order to prevent the pay-
ment of deposits on those Bills which were reported
against. On the other hand, they would do great injus-
tice, if they did not give the subject due consideration.
There should be laid down some principle on which
these were to be considered. There were great diffi-
culties attending the subject. It would have been
better to have applied some check at an earlier date.
and thus have prevented an useless expenditure of
money.

Earl GREY hoped they were not to be considered V.
pledging themselves to the novel principle of limiting the
amount of capital to be invested in enterprise. Parlia-
ment: ought to consider if parties had sufficient capital—
if the object in view was for the public good—if it
unjustly interfered with private interests. Parliament was
stepping beyond its functions if it attempted to decide bow
much capital should be withdrawn from other enterprises
to be invested in railways. Individuals were the best
judges of that point. They would be committing great
injustice, if, upon a hasty and superficial examination,
they took upon themselves to determine which df the
railway schemes should be proceeded with, and which
not. He would suggest, that instead of having two
Committees of the two Houses, it might not be possible
to have one joint Committee of both Houses.
Lord ASHBURTON considered it almost impossible to
ascertain whether the companies possessed sufficient
capital or not.
Lord MONTEAGLE considered it was impossible for
their Lordships to discharge their functions with credit
or satisfaction, so long as the House of Commons in-
sisted on treating railway bills as money bills. He
hoped, in order to afford due consideration to Irish
railway measures, the House of Commons would consent
to an equal division of the consideration of railway
Bills.

Lord REDESDALE believed that it was impracticable
for Parliament to deal with 600 Bills in one session, and
therefore it was necessary to make some alteration in
the existing system.

The Earl of DALHOUSIE then nominated the Corn
mittee.

Lord BnounnAM proposed that it should be a Com-
mittee of secrecy.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH thought there was no
danger of the proceedings of the Committee becomirg
known.

The motion was then agreed to, and their Lordships
adjoured till Monday.

The House of Commons met at Four o'clock.

Petitions were presented for various railway Bills.
Mr. BRIGHT gave notice that, on Monday next, he
would move the re-appointment of the Committee on the

gamQ-lawp.

On the motion of Sir ROBERT PEEL it was agreed
that the House at its rising should adjourn to Monday
next, after a short discussion.
In answer to a question from Mr. T. DUNCOMBE, Sir
JAMES GRAHAM stated that it was the intention of the
Secretary-at-War, at an early period of the session, to
introduce a Bill for the amendment and consolidation of
the Militia Act.

In answer to a question from Mr. BRIGHT, as to when
the militia would be called out,
Sir J. GRAHAM stated that, under the present law, it
was competent for the Government to call out themilitia
at a fortnight's notice.
Sir R. PEEL, in answer to a question from Lord JonN
RUSSELL, said he had no objection to lay on the table the
papers with respect to the hostilities in Rio de la Plata,
as far as they had reference to the grounds on which
France and England had united on this question, but the
papers relating to the atrocities committed he must at
present decline producing.
Lord J. RUSSELL, in answer to a question from Mr. B.
ESCOTT, stated that he had not yet determined whether
he should, during the present session, again bring in the
Ecclesiastical Courts Bill.

Mr. HASTIE, on the part of the bankers of London,
complained of their being compelled by the standing
orders to pay the money they received for railway de-
posits into the Bank of England in the name of the
Accountant-General of the Court of Chancery. lie
thought there ought to be some relaxation of the stand-
ing orders in this respect, as the greatest confusion
would prevail. He believed that all purposes would be
answered by paying the money into the Bank of Eng
land and sufficient protection afforded to all bond fide
railways. He would make a motion on the subject on a
future day.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the
deposits, when paid in to the name of the Accountant-
General, were as available for the purpose of trade as if
paid into the Bank in any other way. All that was
required to get it out was the order of the Court
of Chancery.
Mr. P. M. STEWART said that the money that was
paid into the Bank of England in the name of the
Accountant-General was froze up and totally unavailable
for the purposes of trade. As to obtaining an order in
Chancery, that, as was well known, was the work of tim • .
Sometimes such a document was not obtained for twenty
years.

Mr. HUDSON thought that the whole difficulty would
be got over by the transfer of India Bonds, or Consols,
or Exchequer-bills, instead of cash being required to
be paid into the Bank.
Mr. MUNTZ could not see what objection the Govern-
ment had to receive their own Exchequer-bills.
Sir R. PEEL trusted the House would not interfere in
this matter, as he felt convinced that the spirit of im-
proper speculation would never be put an end to unless
the public sustained some inconvenience.

After a few observations from Mr. F. BARING the sub-
ject dropped.

On the motion of Sir C. NAPIER, a Committee was
:appointed to inquire into the manner in which the Poor-
;law Couituiesionero hwro ex,erci4ed the powers for the

establishment of district asylums for the houseless poor
in the metropolis, confided to them by the statute of the
7th and Bth of Victoria, c. 101 ; and also to invite 11110
the effects of any asylums supported by voluntary sub
scriptions which may have been formed for the same
purpose ; also (pursuant to previous notice) a Select
Committee to investigate the subject.
Lord ASIILET moved for leave to bring 'in a Bill to
reduce the hours of working of young persons in fac-
tories to ten hours in the day. Two years had elapsed
since he brought the subject before the House ; but
events had since taken place that illustrated the
truth of those principles he had then propounded ;
and the question was now narrowed to this—Would his
proposition be carried into effect without i!,jury to trade
or detriment to the sages of the labourer. The Noble
Lord then went at considerable length into what
had taken place during the last year in the manufac-
turing districts, fur the purpose of showing that the
shortening of the time of labour had been attended
a ith no injury to trade, while it improved the a ages
and the physical condition of the labourers and their
children. Their physical and mental condition had
been so improved, that they did not appear to be
the same race of human beings. He alluded to
these statements with great satisfaction, be-
cause they gave him great hopes for the future.
Great benefit had also been effected in the manufac-
turing districts from the half-holiday system. Among
all these improve meats, none had been effected with
respect to children whose ages varied from thirteen to
eighteen, they were still calls/ upon to work twelve
hours out of the twenty-four. He thought the House
would admit that this was a subject well worthy of its con-
sideration, and that was the great object he had in view.
Without the House adopted some such measure as that
he proposed, he was sure the manufacturing labourers
would never desist in their perseverance to obtain it.
It was the tenth time he had brought this subject before
the House, and he trusted it would be the last. It was
honourable to the operatives of this country, that, endea-
vouring to procure justice, they had never used the words
of menace, or a vindictive expression. The Noble Loid
concluded by moving for leave to bring in the Bill.
Sir J. Gnanasr, on the part of the Government,
would not, on the present occasion, offer any opposition
to the Bill. In his opinion, however, what bad passed
aineQ 1844 siloWEd that there was no necessity at the
present time for legislative interference between the em-
ployer and the employed. He thought the Noble Lori
was entitled to great merit for the arrangement that
had already taken place ; but he thought that some
thanks were due also to the Government. By these
measures no man could work in a colliery, linen,
silk, or flax manufactory more than twelve hours in the
day. He admitted the magnitude of the subject, and its
importance to the parties interested particularly; but
the pubic must also be considered. He thought the
proper course would be to postpone the opinion of the
House upon this subject until a decision had been come
to on the question brought forward by his Right Hon.
Friend at the head of the Government on the subject of
corn.

Sir J. STRICELAND thought the operatives themselves
would be satisfied with an Eleven Hours' Bill; and if
such was the case, it would be unwise, at the present
moment, to interfere between
_the employer and the
employed.
Mr. TRELAWNEY thought the BM would be of no
good ; that it was, in fact, a me..tsure to rob Peter to
pay Paul.
Lord J. MANNERS approved of the measure.
Mr. Hum: objected to the measure. He believed
that all the arguments of the Noble Lord could be easily
met and answered. He considered the course proposed
to be adopted by the Right Hon. Baronet at the head of
the Home Department was the correct one.
Mr. B. ESCOTT believed that many hundreds of opera-

tires had been ruined by the measures of the Noble
Lord, and he should be able to prove that, when the
proper time came for discussing the Bill. He believed
the Noble Lord was rraintaing a mistaking philanthropy.
Mr. COLQUJIOUN believed the Noble Lord was correct,
and trusted that he would persevere in his honousable
and humane course.

After some observations from Mr. ROEBUCK, Mr.
BRIGHT, Mr. FIELDEN, Mr. WAKLEY, and several other
Hon. Members, leave was given to bring in the Bill.
The remaining orders of the day bei.ig disposed of,
the House adjourned at Half-past Ten to'Clock till
Monday.

On referring to the new tariff proposed by Sir ROBERT
PEEL, we are only more confirmed in the opinion that
it is highly satisfactory, and that it will be received most
favourably throughout the country. It is of a compre-
hensive character ; it will afford relief to many classes,
and perhaps most of all to those who gain their liveli-
hood by daily labour—a class, unfortunately, in former
times neglected or forgotten by our aristocratic legisla.
tors. As an act of justice, as well as of political policy,
it therefore recommends itself to all those who prefer
fair play to selfish interests, who wish to see peace and
good order, and loyalty maintained by liberal institu-
tions and wise legislation, rather than by the musket and
the bayonet, and those barbarous and despotic laws so
much admired by the SIDMOUTIIS and ELDONS. The
people of this country are the very last in the
world to rise against their SOVEREIGN, or even
resist the authority of the Executive, and seldom or
never have recourse to illegal proceedings unless when
driven to them by acts of oppression or the most glaring
injustice. The middle classes, unlike those of a neigh-
bouring country, do not spend their time in billiard-
rooms, and in sauntering idly on the public promenades;
they do not, for want of better employment, hatch plots
and devise schemes of war; they are constantly engaged
in some active employments for bettering their condition,
or raising themselves a step in the ranks of society. And
as for the hard-working population, they are unequalled
by those of any country in the world. They
will perform twice as much work as the same class in
France in the same time, and no men are more thankful
for getting employment. It is the paramount duty,
therefore, of a Minister to attend to the interests of such
a class, and if he will not, or cannot grant them electoral
privileges like the rest of the community, he is bound
by his sacred trust, as well as by the necessity of secur-
ing peace throughout the country, to show that their
rights are not forgotten by the Legislature. In this
respect, therefore, the tariff is eminently judicious and
impartial. A vast proportion of those articles which are
to be admitted duty free at once, or at the end of three
years, are necessaries of the first importantie to the great
body of the people. Should the tariff not be obstructed
by the House of Peers (and no man who wishes to
see that body respected will desire such a result), some
ten or twelve articles of consumption will be admitted
without the payment of any duty whatever. Among
these may be mentioned live cattle, Indian corn, rice,
bacon, beef, potatoes, pork (fresh or salted), vegetables,
cotton manufactures (not being articles wholly or in
part made up), linen manufactures, woollens, &c. But,
in addition to these, the duty on a large number
is to be greatly reduced, on many of them one half—
such as butter, cheese, candles, hams of all kinds, hats,
boots and shoes, soap, and some fifty more, which it is
needless to enumerate. In the long list, however, we
cannot discover the foreign article to which, in these
hard times, a Noble Duke attached so much importance
—curry is to be found nowhere in the three lists. That
part of the tariff which relates to corn is of more con-
sequence, perhaps, than all the rest. The impost is '
to last for three years (but whether for the good of :the
farmer and landlord is a doubtful question), and then, in
the language of Parliament, " cease and determine." In
the meantime, however, it is very light, and can make only
a very trifling difference in the price of bread, for at the
present price of wheat three-fourths of the duty will be at
once remitted. All these articles are consumed chiefly
by the middle and lower classes, or, speaking more
correctly, they form a much larger proportion of the
outlay of these classes than the rich, and a fall in price,
therefore, cannot fail to afford material relief. But
the rich are not forgotten, for the import duties are
to be greatly reduced on carriages, silks, brandy and
Geneva, mounted canes, crystal, cut or manufactured,
lace, perfumery, velvet, and even that Russian delicacy,
caviare, is not forgotten. Altogether, the selection has
been judiciously made ; and the public cannot justly
complain that, as a quit for such material changes, some
burdens on land are to be reduced. The landlords would
well to accept the offer, and not provoke further in-
roads upon their exemptions, which are still sufficiently
oereerous and large. The money saved by the exemp-
tion of entailed estates from the legacy duty alone is
enormous.

Anxiety upon the abstract question and the practical
developement of an unrestricted purchase of food being
now in a great measure allayed, the attention of both
people and Legislature is directed to the alleviation of
the distresses arising from the dearth of the potato crop
in Ireland. Because the wan and withering evidences of
destitution are not visible in our immediate neighbour-
hood ; because our metropolitan markets are plentifully
supplied with vegetables, and because the cries for help
are comparatively weakened by the distance of the sup-
plicants, we are not to moderate our interference under
an impression that the calamity does not require such
immediate measures of amelioration. No extravagance
hes beim resorted to in the rnmonrs which have already
er.foreLd the existence of this evil upon the public. It
would be absolutely worse than voluntary obtuseness
—it would be cruelty to deny the reality of this ter-

rible ordinittion of PROVIDENCE and the necessity
there is for some instant intefferente, whereby its poig-
nancy may be removed. Far from such piobeedinge
beet:Anil-1g less requisite in proportion as the season ad-
ietnete, every eticeessiee week tends to increase the
scarcity of provisions lie districts already subjected to
the privation, and to extend it over thei parishes whit h
have hitherto escaped. Statistics have been oft;
cially collected, and those only render the actuality of the
fact more apparent. Nor is there anything to impede
the assistance of Government : an iteportatit surplus in
the revenue has accumulated during the past year--=the
application of that surplus, or at least a portion of it, is
ostensible. The actual necessity of Settee movement
being made has indeed become too self-evident for the
local authorities or for Parliament itself to treat the
matter any longer with indifference-=the channels have
already been mapped and dug out, the barren land will
be irrigated. On Wednesday, in the course of a stiniewhat
animated discussion upon the second reading of the
Public Works (Ireland) Bill," this truth was insisted
upon in a manner both emphatic and unanimous, So
imminent and prevalent did the wants of our fellow•
countrymen, in that naturally fruitful island, appear,
that the Bill in question was stigmatised, not for its
unnecessary character, but for its insufficiency. Instead
of expressing gratitude for the sum proffered to their
afflicted constituencies, the representatives of Irish
interest, in the persons of Mr. O'CONNELL and
Sir H. W. BARRON, declared the utter inadequacy of the
loan proposed. That loan, being simply fifty thousand
pounds, and the estimated number of people unem-
ployed somewhere about four millions, it was calculated
that the share to each individual would be precisely
THREEPENCE, and this, be it especially remembered, as
a means of obtaining sustenance during three months.
With perfect truthfulness, therefore, did the Hon. Mem,
leer for Waterford exclaim that this " would be like a
drcp of water to the sea l" Nevertheless, we regard the
proposition with something like affection, re-
garding it as the skeleton upon which some
more substantial form of relief may be mo-
defied. It is the germ of a more favourable
and equitable generosity; still, to compete at all with the
advancement of famine, its germination must be most
rapid. This is not a moment for the sticklers about eco-
nomy to occupy with their theories or their axioms—
it is the time for shipping off money or provisions.
It is not a moment for ingenious arguments upon a clause
that may appear slightly questionable—it is the
time for dispatching food to " the needy by the way-
side." It is nut a moment for the cautious adjustment of
some subtle detail—it is the time fur assuaging the pangs
of the direst penury. Hence Mr. O'CONNELL acted with
the most discriminating justice towards the inhabitants
of Ireland when he declared that " he would give his
support to the measure under the protest that
the Government was not to consider that
they were doing all that was necessary for the Irish
people in their present melancholy state." Far other-
wise ; the present must be regarded as merely an instal-
ment of a much more bountiful amount. Not,
however, that we would imply this appropria-
tion of the public money to be a gratuity or a largesse.
As Ireland shares in the pressure of taxation with
ourselves she is assuredly, in an hour of emergency,
entitled to some pecuniary assistance. The money,
therefore, being disbursed in return for manual labour
at public works, according to the Act of 1 Vic.. chap. 21,
is but a piece of ordinary political distribution. Still
it would be fallacious and preposterous to expect that
Government would sustain the whole burden of such a
casualty: such a supposition would be contrary to all
reason. Among the parties adjacent to a scene of des-
titution like those now visible in so many quarters of
our sister island, there are always personages of suffi-
cient wealth to alleviate the sufferings of their poorer
brethren ; and such an alleviation is absolutely incum-
bent upon them as true Christians and true
citizens. If the Ministry have been awaiting
some demonstration of this nature to spur them forward
in their laudable undertaking, they must by this time
he amply satisfied. The Special Sessions Court, con-
vened in Nobher, county Meath, on Monday last, merits
our most decided approval: it was for the purpose
of providing employment for the destitute in Morgallion
and Lower Slane, in the same county, and was conducted
with laudable earnestness. Let the other districts, which are
suffering in like manner, imitate these philanthropists of
Meath ; let Government vie with them in their exer-
tions of charity, and the malady will be purged away.
Such measures as we have already seen proposed will
indeed bring a golden harvest: plenty will come of
dearth :

" Nox habet suas voluptates ;"
and a most beneficent freedom of trade will arise from a
murrain among the potatoes.

Accounts from Madrid of the 21st leave little doubt
that the marriage of the QUEEN with the Count
TRAPANI has at last been sanctioned by the Govern-
ment, and that it will meet with serious opposition from
a variety of quarters. NARVAEZ will, however, in his
usual vigorous way, soon put down all opponents. Fifty
Members met to draw up a remonstrance against the
marriage, with a view to get some explanation from the
Government; but Ministers declared that they would
give no explanation, and NARVAEZ added that if any
manifestations should be made in the Cortes on the sub-
ject, they should be immediately dissolved. It appears
this had the desired effect; and all, except a very small
number, gave up the project. In the Deputies, on the
21st, Senor AGUAYO.poved an amendment to the para-
graph in the Address relative to the new system of
taxation, condemning the financial plans of Senor Motc.
That Minister showed that his plan had been most suc-
cessful; that the income for the year 1845 amounted to
1,200,000,000 reals (12,000,0000, and covered the
expenditure. The amendment was rejected by a majority
of 100 to 45.

The Funds had declined. On the 21st the Three per
Cents. closed at 32i, and the Fives at 23k, both at
60 days.

The French Chamber of Deputies have been occupied
chiefly for two days in discussions on the abuses which
have taken place in the Government department of rail-
ways, but we find nothing in them that requires any re-
marks. M. BERRYER is expected to make a speech on
the Oregon question, or rather on the policy that France
ought to adopt in case of war between England and
America, and has given notice of an amendment on the
Address to the following effect :—" If peace should be
disturbed by the conflict of the pretensions of two great
nations, France reserves to herself the privilege of tak-
ing care that no attack be made on the principles of
public law, which protect on the seas the liberty and the
dignity of international relations." An interesting, and
probably violent, debate will be the consequence. Ac-
counts had been received from Algiers of the 20th. Ac-
cording to these the cavalry under General YUSUF
had been completely broken up from the fa-
tigues it had suffered in pursuing AnD-EL KADER,
and the General had returned to Algiers. The Moni-
teur Algerien has an account of the disaster of ti e column
under General LEVASSEUR, but it is very meagre as
compared with that'which has been already published.
According to this statement, the number of men who
died on the march was only one hundred and fifty.
The Moniteur publishes returns of the duties paid on
imports into Frame during the month of December,
1845, which, we trust, may not be without a good
effect. These returns show a considerable decrease
in the amount of duties collected. Thus, while the
customs in England are yearly increasing, those in
France, under the restrictive and prohibitive system,
are constantly diminishing. As compared with those
of 1844, there is a falling off of 1,264,608 f. The re-
ceipts of the entire year amounted to 151,795,160 f.;
they had been, in 1844, 152,114,261 f, and, in 1843,
143,776,723 f. The principal articles of import in 1845
were coffee, 257,135 metrical quintals ; corn,
1,929,317; cotton, 728,731; copper, 96,171; hempen
and flaxen yarn, 73,109; cast-iron, 561,153; linseed,
434,060; sesame, 3,174; coal, 21,325,691; olive oil,
300,666; indigo, 21,134; wool, 275,019; nitrate of
potash, ,028.
10 nitrate of soda, 48,894; lead, 234,563;
•
colonial sugar, 1,023;910 ; foreign sugar, 195,913;
linens, 31,050; zinc, 137,524, &c.
The following article, comparing the constitutional
system in France with that of England, appears in the
Reforme, and amply illustrates some remarks on the same
subject which appeared lately in The Sun :-
1 " Let us avert our eyes from the shameful spectacle offered
during the last eight days by our Chambers, and look at that
which is passing on the other side of the Channel. There,
also, we behold two Chambers, a Ministry, and an Opposi-
tion, contending not to corrupt and degrade the country
more and more, but to devise means of extricating it from the
difficulties into which its own constitution and external
events have embroiled it. Every time that the annual return
of the session leads us to compare our situation with that of
our neighbours, we invariably ask turselves how it happens
that two institutions, apparently cast in the same mould, pro-
duce results so widely different? The superficial observer too
lightly ascribes the contrast to a difference in the character
of the two nations. There is another cause. The English
people have themselves framed their institutions and mar-
vellously adapted them to their character. France received
hers ready made, prepared, and modified by royalty. We
have only the mask of the representative regime, the framers.
of our institutions having carefully suppressed that which
constituted their soul and life. It is said, that in England
that regime is vivified-by the power of public opinion. This
is true; but how comes it that that opinion, so efficient in
Great Britain, is unavailable in France? It. is because that
its liberty of action and expansion exists in the former. The
English have a right to associate—to meet on the public
square, or in a field when the town does not contain a space
sufficiently capacious to accommodate tbe meeting. In
France twenty persons assembling periodically in a saloon
are regarded as conspirators. Young men proceeding to the

house of a professor to compliment him are charged by
gendarmes as if they were rioters and revolters. Public
life is everywhere stifled. The engine for coining is the
only thing we have borrowed from the tnglish insti-
tutiond. Let us, suppose for a moment that what has
lately occurred & England was tried in France; and
that, to effect the reform of a political or coin-,
mercial law, an extensive association:wee organised, hav-
ing its acknowledged chiefs, its orators, its treasurer, and
its budget. Let us suppose that the association had con-
voked; at Paris and in the provinces, in the great cen-
tres of population, monster meetings of 20,000 and 30,000
persons, and levied publicly on its adherents a contribution
of 7,000,000 f. or 8,000,000 f., with the avowed object of
creating agitation and procuring the repeal of the law, or
the overthrow of the Cabinet which supported it. Would
riot, We ask, all the attorney-generals, the gendarmes, sol-
diers, and tribunes in the country be called out in such case
to prosecute, disperse, imprison, and condemn the delin-
quents ? The noise f the fusillade and the fracas of re-
quisitorles would have drowned the voice of the popular
orators, and all the courts of justice in the empire, including
the Court of Peers, would hasten to save the State by con-
fiscating first the funds of the association, and afterwards
sending its chiefs, leaders, and adherents to rot in the dun-
geOns of Mont St. Michel and Doullers. In England, the
Government sees in these demonstrations of public opinion
mere advertisements, of which it knows how to avail itself.
It resists as long as it can, but it yields when it considers re-
sistance likely to prove fatal to it. England thus reformed
the rotten boroughs, which France has inherited, and is now
preparing to modify the corn legislation."
We subjoin some miseeiiioleous extracts from the
papers are warranted in
The Journdl de la Somme says :—" We
stating that the MiiiiStry has rejected the &nand of Prince
Louis Napoleon for permission to go to Florence t 0 attend
the deathbed of his father, under a pledge that he w‘luld
return to prison at the first call. The Council conceived
fhb
a compliance with the demand was only within the royal
prerogative of the King. It remains therefore for his Majesty
to decide " The foolish young man, it is said, will not make
a direct request to his Majesty.
Ibrahim Pacha will leave Vernet-les-Bains on the 4th
of next month. He will remain at Perpignan till the Bth,
after which he will proceed to Paris by Toulouse, Bordeaux,
Nantes, lee.
A.letter from Berlin states that the differences of opinion
amongst the delegates of the Protestant churches, now as-
sembled, is great enough to prevent the deliberations from
having any result. Some of them are even on the point of
quitting Berlin, and returning home before the termination
of the deliberations.

The Courrier Francais publishes the following intelli-
gence, without, however, vouching for its authenticity
" It was reported to-day, in the diplomatic circles, that the
King of Prussia had been obliged by a popular movement to
quit Berlin and seek refuge at Potsdam. Nothing precise has
yet transpired on the subject, but such an event would not
be improbable in the present• agitated state of the public
mind, roused to the highest pitch by the religious congrega •
tions now assembled in council at Berlin, and by the provincial
diets, which were displeased with the reply returned by the
King to their reclamations."
A letter from Lausanne of the 22d says :—" The state of
our unfortunate Canton de Vaud is getting worse every day.
The Conservative party in it is completely disorganised and-
discouraged. When the last communal elections at Lausanne
took place, upwards of fifty electors were wanting, for all of
them had emigrated to foreign countries. The dismission
en masse of the majority of the clergy leaves several of the
parishes without public worship and religious education for
youth. At the Christmas festivals many of the churches
were without the celebration of the Last Supper. In some,
the magisters of the villages were appointed by the authori-
ties to officiate instead of the dismissed priests. In different
places the religious services were disturbed by acts of pro-
fanation, notwithstanding the presence, and, perhaps, in some
instances, encouraged by the presence of the gendarmerie."
On the Paris Bourse the Three per Cents. closed on Tues-
day at 83f. 55c.; the New Loan at 831 50c ; the Five per
Cents., 122 f. 25c. ; the Orleans Railroad shares, 1,260 f. •
Rouen, 1,002 f. 50c.; Northern, 752 f. 50c. ; Havre, 731 f.!
25c. ; Avignon, 980 f.; Vierzon, 705 f. ; Bordeaux, 640 f. ;
Troyes and Montereau, 457 f. 50c.; Basle, 255 f. ; Fampoux,
5001.; Spanish Actives, 37%; Ditto Three per Cnts., 3914 ;
Ditto Passives, 64.