The Sun.
London, England, 1848-09-27 00:00:00

HP, SUN, LONDON,

that "the diversion of capital from its ordinary em-
ployment in commercial transactions to the construc-
tion of railways," was one of the chief causes of the
commercial distress that so lately paralysed the na-
tional industry, and brought many of the most useful
members of the community to the verge of bank-
ruptcy. The folly of sinking our floating capital in
the construction of railways, instead of applying it to
the production of commodities for legitimate
trade, has been commented upon in the most stringent
terms. It has been insinuated that the sterling divi-
dends that have been paid have been provided for out
of capital, and have not been realised by fair and
legitimate ,traffic; and every device that could be
resorted to for injuring the prospects and depreciating
the property of a large and influential class of our
fellow-subjects, whose enterprise should have ob-
tained the national gratitude, has in turn been
adopted. It would appear as if the object of the
parties had been to excite a railway panic, to work
upon the minds of weak and timid persons, and
thereby induce them to withdraw their capital,
at any cost and at any sacrifice, ,from the
investments in which they had realised ample divi-
dends, paid with the utmost regularity, and upon as
valid and safe securities as any that could be selected-
Too much success, we regret to say, has, for the time
being, attended the attempt. 'While every description o
property throughout the entire country became un-
usually depreciated in value, the fall in the value
of railway shares was wholly unprecedented. It is
notorious that even at the present prices seven or
eight per cent. may readily be obtained on the amount
invested in the purchase of shares in some of the
oldest and most s'cure undertakings. It may safely
be asserted that the present market price of shares in
the principal trunk lines throughout the kingdom is
not fifty per cent. on their real and bona file value.
It might naturally have been expected when
the trading, the commercial, and the manufacturing
interests were unusually depressed, when every
branch of industry was paralysed, and those who in
ordinary times earned large incomes by the exercise
of their several trades or callings, were only too happy
if the losses did
_not exceed the profits, and they
could live upon a portion of the capital realised in
more propitious seasons, that railway property
should share the general fate, that dividends should
be lowered, and that the selling value of railway
stock should be more than proportionately depre-
ciated ; but there can be no valid reason
why that depreciation' should have been carried
to the extraordinary extent which has surprised
and astonished those best acquainted with the
changes and fluctuations of the money market,
and baffled the calculations of the most sagacious and
experienced persons. This state of affairs cannot
possibly be prolonged for any considerable space of
time—a change must speedily come that will once
snore place matters upon a sound and satisfactory
footing. Already indications may be discerned of an
approaching improvement in the prices of every de-
scription of securities, and of an abundant sup-
ply of money at easy rates of interest. There
is an ample supply of bullion in the coffers of the
Bank of England and of the private, and joint-stock
banks throughout the kingdom. The reserve of
notes in the banking department, too, is far more
than can possibly be required, and which cannot be
maintained at so high an amount if the directors
desire to keep up a fair dividend to the proprietors of
Bank Stock. It is, therefore, only reasonable to
suppose that greater money accommodation will
speedily be granted to the community in
ge-
neral, and every legitimate facility afforded to those
desirous of obtaining legitimate discounts, and, as a
natural consequence, that persons who now, from an
absurd timidity, keep their resources hoarded and
locked up, will speedily seek for beneficial invest-
ments for the capital now lying idle and unpro-
ductive.

As railway property has been the most depreciated
it is almost certain that the reaction will be the
greatest therein. Indeed, there is no possible reason
why it should not be the case. For what other species
of investment can six per cent. now be obtained, and
that can be procured in the best lines, and at the
lowest dividends that have been struck for
many years past? These dividend. wiil not
only be maintained, but in almost every in-
stance a considerable increase may be looked
for, with the greater degree of commercial activity
that is approaching, and also with the new branches
that are coming into daily operation, and which will
act as feeders to the main line. The reports of all
the leading companies that have recently been pre-
sented to the half-yearly meetings of shareholders
hold out the strongest hopes of better times and
greater prosperity rapidly approaching. We would
strongly reccommend all persons interested, before
they permit their property to be sacrificed at the pre-
sent most inadequate prices, either by the sale of
their shares or by neglecting to pay up
the calls that may be made thereon, and their conse-
quent forfeiture, to examine carefully the position
and prospects of the company to which they belong,
and they will then speedily discover how absurd are
their fears, and how subversive to their own best
interests, and suicidal is the policy that would lead
to such a course.

On a future occasion we shall be prepared to show
that the expenditure upon the construction of rail-
ways could not, under a proper monetary code, in any
degree have injured the commercial interests, on the
contrary, that the parties to whose spirit and enter-
prise we are indebted therefor, are national benefac-
tors in the highest degree, and deserving of national
gratitude.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris papers of yesterday.
The announcement of the arrival of Prince Louis
NAPOLEON in Paris on Sunday was premature. The
Asseneblee Nationale says—
" Louis 'Napoleon was expected yesterday in Paris,
an apartment having been engaged for him in the Rue
Tranchet. The National was, therefore, ill. informed in
announcing his arrival. lie has left London, but is de-
tained on the road by serious indisposition ; his family
themselves are ignorant of where he is or when he will
arrive. The Prince intends to make the journey in the
strictest incognito, and not to make known his arrival
until he takes his seat as representative. There was a
report current in London that he would be arrested on
arriving in Patis. Several of his partisans who had in-
tended to have got up a kind of ovation in his honour
r have given up the idea. The success of his cacdidateship
in France drew towards him a crowd of courtiers of a
secondary order in London; in order to escape their
importunities he was compelled to receive the visits
of his friends at the house of a Madame B. The
Government has adopted the most energetic measures
to oppose any attempts at an ovation in favour of
Louis Napoleon; it has assured itself of the feelings of
four battalions of the Garde Mobile and of the Garde
Republicaine, who, it is said, are determined to fire on
any ono who may raise a cry of Vivo l'Empereur!'
The Garde Marine and the Gendarmerie have been also
held in readiness to support the Garde Mobile. All the
troops are ordered to be on the alert, and cartridges
have been distributed at all the barracks. General Ca-
vaignac and his council appear determined to offer an
energetic resistance against all attempts. Persons who
are generally well informed on the subject declare that
on the first occasion of any bloodshed in consequence of
the presence of Louis Napoleon, the Generel will demand
of the National Assembly the bani,linsent, not only of
the Prince, but of all his family. It appears that the
Napoleonist party, instead of meeting any support from
the Red Republicans, would meet with a decided oppo-
sition from them. The Government fears that under
pretence of fighting for the Pretender the Republicans
of June would assemble in arms, and become, after
gaining success, more formidable than before their late
defeat."

It would appear from the Reforme that Prince
Louis NAPOLEON cannot reckon upon the Red Re-
publicans for assistance in the furtherance of his
ambitious projects, should he entertain any such.
That journal emphatically warns all true Republicans
against a Russian plot for restoring monarchy in
France, and placing a Bonaparte on the throne.
The llloniteur du Soir officially contradicts the
statement which appeared in the National, that four
French steam frigates had arrived at Venice with
4,000 men.

It would appear from a statement in the National
that the French citizens inhabiting Pesth have offered
their assistance to the Hungarians, in their struggle
against the reactionary attempts of the Ban JELLA.-
cnicu and his semi-barbarous Croats, who are endea-
vouring to establish in Hungary by force of arms the
despotic rule of the Emperor of AUSTRIA. The
National says—
" The Hungarians know that it is prudent for them to
count on their own patriotism; but the war that they
sustain is so truly the struggle of liberty against abso-
litkism, that allies spring up about them to march by
their aide against the common enemy. Corps of volun-

teers are organizing in Polani to come to the aid of the
Hungarians. The Democrats of Vienna, who knew that
with Hungary would fall the power of Austria herself,
are also arming, and the famous Academical legion,
despite the clangors that are menacing it, even in
Vienna, have just sent off to the support of Pew a corps
d'elite. In fine, the French, who inhabit Hungary do
not wish to remain unmoved spectators of a war which
inspires such generous sentiments. On the 18th, the
following proclamation was posted on the walls of
Pesth:—

•" The French citizens residing at Pesth have obtained
the honour of forming a private corps of volunteers,
who will carry both the French and Hungarian colours.
They will receive arms from the Hungarian Govern-
ment, and will be led to the combat by M. Lafitte, an old
warrior, at whose residence they are invited to put down
their names. The uniform will be that of the National
Guard of Paris. All Frenchmen will be sure to listen
to this call of their fellow-countrymen. They will feel
that the gag of the Republic ought to be shown in the
struggle that is about to take place, and that it is
France that combats wherever the cause of liberty is at
stake. "

We find the following in the Republique :

" The state of the Bank of France continues to pre-
sent a cansiderable increase of specie in its coffers, but
its portfolio of bills due continues to undergo a constant
diminution. It is certain that this decrease is not at an
end, and it is to be feared that before long we shall
see its portfolio below fifty millions. Can it be other-
wise, when the Bank is overcharged with public securi-
ties, and seems to hold its millions only at the disposal of
the Government ? What can commercial houses hope
for, when aid seems to be designedly withheld from
them, and yet they never were in greater want of assist-
ance to enable them to get over the crisis which now
weighs them down ? We again repeat it—the Bank of
France ought to aid men in business, as well as give its
co-operation to the Minister of Finance. But it is cer-
tain that it does not do so, and, from the late returns,
the conclusion to be drawn is that the financial position
of the country is each day becoming worse."
Towards the conclusion of the debate on the 20th
Article of the Constitution in the National Assembly,
on Monday, M. DUYERGIER DE HAURANNE made
a most eloquent and argumentative speech in favour
of the principle of two Chambers, as opposed to the
principle of a single Chamber, which is proposed by
the framers of the Constitution.
The following lette: has been addressed by M. DE
LAMARTINE to the Democratic Club at Nismes, in
reply to their address to him on the subject of his

speech on the right to labour :
" Citizens,—l thank you for the Republican blunt-
ness of your letter. I thank you for the confidence and
the kindness which it leads me to suppose you entertain
for me. I will reply to it with entire frankness also—it
is the politeness of the heart. lam not a Socialist, and
never have been. Read my writings and speeches on
this question from 1835 to 1848. Property, under all its
forms, is sacred in my eyes. I have always said that I
only knew one communism—the communism of senti-
ment; that is to say, the religious love of the people, the
progressive series of institutions of labour, assistance, and
practical fraternity calculated to ennoble, dignify, and
improve the condition of all our brethren. In proclaim-
ing the Republic we restored their sovereignty to the
people. To be sovereign they must be reasonable,
otherwise they soon lose the title and exercise of so-
vereignty. It is, therefore, for them now to govern
themselves by their legitimate representatives. If they
do not respect themselves in their elected, in what will
they do so? And if they do not respect themselves,
who will respect them in the world? Recommend them
moderation and wisdam, which are what I never cease to
recommend myself. You think that I betray and abandon
them. You are mistaken. I serve them in the only
manner in which they require to be served at this
moment. The impatience which is caused among them
is the certain loss of all the rights they have conquered,
and all the social advantages of which those rights pro-
perly exercised give them the pledge. If this misfortune
occurs history will not accuse me—it will accuse those
who mislead them. The Republic, such as they desired
it in February, March, and April, was the sovereignty
of public reason, not the wildness of impracticable
sects and suicidal passions; and such is the Republic
which will instruct, moralise, and enrich the people. If
of a sect or violent, the Republic would give the victory
of the lendemain to the enemies of human reason and
progressive institutions. I could desire to make this
conviction pass into your hearts, with the same strength
that it exists in mine. That is henceforth the only ser-
vice that I can endeavour to reader to our country. Put
aside after the storm by the impatience of some, the re-
sentment of others, I have no other ambition than that
of seeing the Republicans of all dates and all theories
unite in the idea common to all, of causing the Repub-
lican form to be accepted as the regular instrument of
perfected civilisation. In this point at least, citizens, we
are agreed; for whatever be the difference of our ideas
on the constitution of property, of labour, of branches
of industry, we are Frenchmen, we are brethren, we are
Republicans."

The Minister of Agriculture and Commerce has
just addressed a circular to the prefects, calling on
them to send in returns as to the yield of the late
harvest. They are also directed to state particularly
the_produce of the potato crop.
The seals which had been placed on the papers of
M. CHATEAUBRIAND after his decease were taken off

on Saturday, in presence of a commissary of the Go.
vernment, charged to claim, in the name of the state,
such papers as might be found in the possession of
the ex•minister and ambassador of the Restoration of
a nature to interest the Republic.
The I?epublicain, of Havre, says that the municipal
councillors of that town have resolved to wait on the
wealthy inhabitants to solicit them to contribute to
the loan of 250,000 f. voted to provide for the eventu-
alities of the winter, and assist unemployed workmen.
The town, it is said, will pay 6 per cent. interest on
the loan.

The Minister of War has taken all necessary mea-
sures for the immediate execution of the decree of the
19th, by which the National Assembly has sanctioned
the,creation in Algeria of agricultural undertakings
for affording means of existence, based on property,
to unemployed workmen in Paris and other large
towns. A commission has been appointed to examine
the claims of applicants. In an interview with the
committee the Minister of War announced that the
first detachment, consisting of SOO persons, destined
to form the first colony, will leave for Algiers at the
beginning of October, and other detachments will
follow every week. Everything has been prepared
for their reception in the colony. M. TEELAT has
been chosen President of the Committee, and M.
DIDIER, one of the representatives of Algeria, Vice-
President.

ARRIVAL OF LOUIS N APOLEUN IN PARIS.
HIS APPEARANCE AT THE NATIONAL

ASSEMBLY.

The National Assembly met yesterday at the usual
hour, and considerable excitement was produced by
the announcement that Louis NAPOLEON was in
Paris, and was about to take his seat. A slight
movement was perceived in the neighbourhood of one
of the side doors of the hall of the Assembly, and
Prince Louis NairoLzoic entered and took his place
on the left between M. VIEILLARD, formerly his
tutor, and M. HAVEN. For a while the sitting was
In a measure suspended, for though M. MARCEL
BARTRE went on with his remarks, not a word could
be heard.

The President—l have to call on Hon. Represen-
tatives to keep silence.
With some difficulty order was restored.

M. Marcel Barthe proceeded with his observations
in favour of a single Chamber, but wai totally un•.
attended to.

The President—The tribune is to M. Clement for
an election return.—(Deep silence.)
M. Clement said he had been charged by the ninth
bureau to declare that the election of Louis Napoleon
Bonaparte, for the department of the Yonne had been
perfectly regular, and there was no opposition or pro-
test sent in. In consequence the bureau recom-
mended to admit the citizen Louis Napoleon Bona-
parte provisionally, until he should justify his age
and nationality.—(Marks of disapprobation ; noise ;
cries of " Send the case back to the bureau, and let a
proper declaration be made.")
The President—The Hon. Representative ought to
speak clearly and categorically on the case.—(Cries
of " Yes, yes," and uproar.)
M. Vivien—The bureau was quite clear about the
validity of the election. All the gentlemen present
belonging to the bureau were of opinion that a pure
and simple declaration in favour of the admission
might perfectly well have been given in. The ob-
stacle to such a course was, that certain susceptibili-
ties were felt by the Assembly on the subject. Public
notoriety as to age or nationality could, certainly in
a case like this, supply the place of documents.—
(Hear.) He proposed, therefore, that the election be
proclaimed valid and the citizen Louis Napoleon Bona-
parte be admitted forthwith.—(Cries of" Yes, yes !")
The President—ls there any opposition ?—(Cries of
" No, no.") Consequently I proclaim that the citizen
Louis Napoleon Bonaparte is admitted as a member
of the Assembly.
Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte then rose in his
place and said, I demand permission to speak.
Voices from all sides—" To the tribune, to the
tribune."

Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte then ascended
the tribune, and real with a firm voice the following
address :

"Citizen Representatives—
"lt is not permitted to me to guard silence after
the calumnies of which I have been the object.
" I require to express here, frankly, and on the
first day when I am permitted to sit amongst you,
the true sentiments which animate me—which have
always animated me.

" After thirty-three years of proscription and exile,
I at last recover my country and all my rights of a
citizen.

" The Republic has given me this happiness ; let
the Republic receive my oath of gratitude—my oath
of gratitude ; and may my generous countrymen who