The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-05 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, S

recently illustrated Asiatic history is altogether nega-
tive : we are satisfied with what has there transpired,
simply because the result of that bloodshed and rapine
must, in all human likelihood, prevent greater blood-
shed and more grievous rapine at a subsequent
period. The victories on the Sutlej, though more
sanguinary than the defeats in Caubul, afford infinitely
greater reason for the rejoicings of the lovers of.
humanity—not 'because the English standards were
triumphant--not because Oriental warriors were
vanqubhed—but because in the former case may be
recognhed a more solid guarantee of the future tran-
quillity of those regions, and of the less probability
of further hostilities and more extended carnage.
There was, undoubtedly, a smaller loss of life at
Caubul, in proportion to the number of conflicts and
of combatants, than in such engagements as the
battle of Ferozeshah and the victory of Sobraon ;
but with the lesser bloodshed of Caubul there was the
greater probability of future disturbances, while with
the greater bloodshed of the Sutlej there was the
lesser probability of subsequent massacres.

The information received from Caubul is of so ex-
traordinary and extravagant a kind, it is so distorted
by improbabilities, and so coloured by romantic de-
tails, as almost to render credence impossible. Accord-
ing to the accounts principally in circulation, over-
tures for the renewal of hostilities with the British
have been made to the AMEEE and the associated
chieftains of Affghanistan, by a Vakeel or ambas-
sador, irom no less august a personage
than. MAHOMED SHAH BADSHAII KAJUR, the
ng of Persia. The solemn reception of this
illustrious Vakeel by the head of the Kuzzilbashes ;
I his ceremonious introduction to the durbar ; the in-
terview which subsequently occurred in the Ameer's
garden, between MAHOMED AKUAR KHAN and the
Persian envoy, and the agreeable hob-nobbing which
followed thereupon, are so invested with the colour-
ing of fiction, that we are almost inclined to regard
the narrative as a stray leaf shaken from Mr. LANE'S
translation of the " One Thousand and One Nights,"
than a sober dispatch received during the September
of 1846. 'Whether the Shah of PERSIA be really
adventurous or designing enough to instigate his
neighbours, the Afghanistan warriors, to another
outbreak, and whether the A3IEER has sufficient
sagacity to resist the rather powerful temptation of
his imperial brother, are circumstances which can
only be developed by time. DOST MAHOMED KHAN,
the wisest and most moderate among the Affghans,
is reported to have been considerably affrighted by
the daring proposition of the Persian Sovereign, and
in the prudence of the AMEER'S character we possess,
possibly, tb.e best guarantee that this wild and auda-
cious scheme will be rejected by his fellow-country-
men, and ultimately relinquished in Persia. Al-
th-Jugh the Wuzeer almost promised 20,000 Seikhs,
and MAHOMED AKRAM KHAN 30,000 Kohistanees,
for the expedition, on condition that its expenses were
liquidated out of the Persian exchequer, we can re-
main satisfied until the arrival of additional intel-
ligence, firstly, because of the awe which has been
stricken into the hearts of the Seikhs and Affghans
by the prowess of our soldiers; secondly, because the
envoy is not explicitly accredited ; and, thirdly, be-
cause of the name which DOST 111AnomEn KHAN has
acquired for forethought and moderation.

The directors of the South-Eastern Railway have
determined to exhibit to the public the strongest
proof of the necessity of some controlling power, by
which the indiscreet and injurious acts of the
managing bodies of the different railway companies
may be restrained and checked. It would appear as
if they were resolved to furnish an unanswerable
artgument why the regulation of the fares
should be taken out of their hands, or, at
least, placed under a vigilant supervision.
In every instance in which reductions of fares have
taken place there has been a more than proportionate
increase of the traffic, and while a great benefit has
been conferred upon the public at large, the com-
panies themselves have derived a larger profit, have
won golden opinions from the people, and at the
same time obtained a larger dividend on
their shares. It is hardly possible to con-
ceive that any body of men should be so
blinded to their own interests, so imbued with
erroneous views, and so totally reckless of the good
opinion of the community as, at this particular period
—immediately after the prorogation of Parliament,
by which the possibility of legislative interference is
precluded for some time at least—to increase largely
the rate of charges by their different trains. This
the South-Eastern Company have thought proper to do;
and the case is aggravated by the fact, that they rested
their opposition during the last session of Parliament
to a rival project chiefly on the ground that they had
Instae great reductions in their fares, which were then
Ir.:,obably cheaper than almost any other trunk line in
' the kingdom. This moderation on the part of the
directors of the South-Eastern Company it is gene-
rally supposed was the chief cause of the rejection of
the North Kent line, by which a great saving in the
distance to be travelled would have been afforded to
the inhabitants of the greater part of the
county. Dover, itself, would have been brought much
(sixteen miles) nearer to the metropolis, and
thus the greater part of the passengers proceeding
to the continent would have been secured by the
North Kent. Perhaps there is no other of the trunk
lines in England that would have so much reason to
fear competition, or to dread the sanction of the
Legislature being granted to an opposing railway.
The circuitous route, by which the greater portion of
the passengers are obliged to travel, in order to
reach their several destinations—the greater distance
to be traversed is in itself a grievance of sufficient
magnitude, and one which could only (if at all) be
compensated by the greatest attention to the public
interests in ell other respects, an extraordinary degree
of accommodation, and, above all, a special care that
partiPs should not be compelled to pay an increased
price for the additional space over which they were
taken. The most specious promises were held out by
the directors, they complacently pointed out to Mr.
MORRISON'S Committee that the fares of the
South-Eastern Company had experienced a
greater reduction than even those on the London
and Birmingham line. The correctness of the con-
duct of third-class passengers was borne honourable
testimony to by the chairman of the company, and, in
fact, little was to be desired on the part of the
managers, except, perhaps, a greater degree of punc-
tuality—a stricter adherence to the specified times
of the departures and arrivals of the dif-
ferent trains. Many, on the faith of the
implied promise held out by the company, took
country places, calculating their expenses according
to the old and long-continued scale of charges. On
such persons, the nature of whose avocations acquire
an almost daily attendance in town, an injury has
been inflicted ; an additional expenditure of 155., 205.,
or perhaps 30s. per week has been rendered neces-
sary—a serious matter to many who are obliged to
look closely to their outgoings, to manage their
incomes with the utmost degree of prudence, economy,
and foresight. It is not too much to say that the
additional charge would in many instances have
deterred the parties from a residence in Kent or
Sussex, and would have induced them to select their
country quarters in the neighbourhood of some rail-
way whose directors would not in their corporate
capacitycommit an act of which each, asan individual,
would scorn to be guilty. The manner too in which the
increase has been effected has been most unwise and
injudicious ; it has been higher, in proportion, on the
class least able to afford it, and greater for short than
long distances. Thus, for the entire distance the
advance has been to express and first-class passeng,,,,
10 per cent., or from 18s. to 205., and from r
16s. 6d. ; to second-class passenger?, 20 per cent., to
from 10s. to 125.; and to, or
,d class 221 per cent., or from 6s. to
17:o thess.s
ib,cytdh.
charge.
g e
2
being the
highest amount they could
greater—ex. gr., the
For
shorter distances it is mur,h
change in the old and new fares to Tunbridge Wells
are as follows, viz. :

OLD FARES.

Express
,!,43. °' NEW FARES.
Ist Class ., d. Express lOB. 6d.
2d Class . Od. Ist Class Bs. 6d.
3d Class 4s. 6d. 2d Class Gs. 6d.
..... 2s. Bd. 3d Class 3s.lod.
being an ;:ncrease of 221 per cent. on the first class,
and nP, less than 45 per cent. on the second and third
class. This increase is the more objectionable when
it is considered that the passenger§ are taken 11 miles 1

additional ; the distance by road being 35 miles only,
while by the railway it is 46 miles.
Again, to Maidstone, where 22 additional miles
must be traversed, the charge is as follows :

Trains.

Old Fares. New Fares.
s. d. s. d.
Express
Ordinary first-class
Ordinary second class
Ordinary third-class
being an increase on the express of 37i per cent.,
on the ordinary first-class 28i per cent., on the
second-class 44 per cent., and on the third-class
50 per cent. We trust that the directors
will not obstinately persist in the error they
have committed, but that they will speedily, and
with a good grace, yield to the strongly-expressed
feeling of the public, and, by an immediate recur-
rence to the former charges, make all the amends in
their power to the parties injured. By so doing
they may obtain a pardon for their mistake ; but
should they persevere, a just retribution will convince
them that they have miscalculated the extent of the
national forbearance.

A question of considerable importance, connected
with the unfortunate failure of the potato crop in the
south of Ireland, has recently come before the petit
sessions at Fermoy. It appears that a common
custom, prevalent throughout the greater part of that
kingdom, is for the farmer to contract with his
labourers for their employment for a period of twelve
months, and that a part of the remuneration given
consists of a house, and a plot of ground for a crop of
potatoes, possession of which is given to the labourer
on entering into the agreement, and the stipulated
price is liquidated by the labour of the tenant, at a
certain rate per diem, who is said to be working
against his rent. It is but justice to the humbler
classes to state that hitherto these engagements have
been most religiously observed and punctually ful-
filled on their parts; and that though the rents
demanded and obtained have been very high, and far
beyond the money value of the premises, scarcely an
instance can be mentioned of default in giving the
stipulated quantity of labour. Their entire re-
sources in the earlier part of the year are devoted to
the cultivation of the plots so let to them : on these
they expend their time, their labour, and the residue
of their last year's crop as seed. And they look for-
ward to the return therefrom as affording the only
means of subsistence to themselves and families from
the time of the incoming of the potato crop. Their
humble wants are satisfied with the food and shelter
they so obtain, and they are enabled thereby to give
their labour without any money payment therefor.
In the present year, however, circumstances have
differed materially from what they have been on otdi-
nary occasions. A fearfurvisitation of PROVIDENCE has
blighted the crops, and threatened famine and desti-
tution throughout the country; the potato gardens,
on which their little all was expended, have been
totally destroyed ; the produce is unfit for human
food, and not worth the labour of digging. The
wretehed cottiers are left without food of any
description, and without the means of procuring a
single meal for their starving families. They repre-
sented to their employers the miserable condition to
which they had been reduced, the utter impossibility
that they could, continue to work out the rent agreed
on ; that flesh and blood required support, and that men
could not labour without the means of sustaining
human nature ; they could not bear the tears and
lamentations of their famishing children, and see the
partners of their cares and sorrows pine away before
their eyes ; and they concluded with the moderate and
reasonable request that the farmers would pay the
wages for their labour in cash, and permit the
rents of the gardens, now a mass of rottenness,
to lie over as a civil debt, to be defrayed at
any future period when a more favourable
state of things might exist, and there would be the
possibility of a surplus to be applied towards its
liquidation. This, however, was in the majority of
cases refused ; they had set their seals to the bond,
they had entered into a contract, which should be
fulfilled per fas et nefas. The rustic Shylocks
were resolved upon exacting their pounds of flesh.
Those who would probably have to apply for allow-
ances to their own landlords demanded by the
universal failure—who would justify the falling into
arrears of rent by the imperative necessity that
existed of sustaining their own families before any
portion could be applied to the satisfaction of the
claim, had no bowels of mercy for their poorer
neighbours, and would not yield to the argument
which they felt to be of peculiar force in their own
cases. They had recourse to an old statute, 43 Geo
111., cap. 86, which has frequently been acted on in
similar cases, and which provides "that labourers
refusing to work, or neglecting their work during the
time for which they should be engaged, might be com-
mitted to gaol for any time not exceeding six months,
or to the House of Correction, to be kept to hard
labour, for any period not exceeding three months."
This stringent enactment was the power by which
the farmers sought to enforce work from the starving
men. The wives and children were to be driven to
the workhouses, while the husbands, the fathers,
would be hurried off to gaol to expiate, as criminals,
the non-performance of an agreement which it was
morally impossible that they could specifically per-
form. A number of summonses were obtained under
the statute alluded to, and it is hardly necessary to
say that the proceedings were watched by the multi-
tude with the most thrilling and intense interest. It
is impossible to estimate what would have been the
consequences of a conviction. It is said that hunger
will break through stone walls, and we can only
faintly image to ourselves the riots and disturbances
that must have inevitably ensued in such a case.
Extraordinary measures would, indeed, have been
necessary to preserve the peace of the districts so
painfully menaced.

This result was, however, averted by the talent and
ability of the professional gentleman (Mr. CARROLL),
who conducted the defence. lie boldly impeached
the previous decisions, as having been made on
erroneous grounds, and argued " that the statute
only applied to cases where the hiring was for
money wages, or where the employer was willing to
pay the labourer in cash, without making any de-
duction for the rent of his house or potato garden.
That the agreement was only a civil contract, on
which the farmer might proceed for the recovery of
the debt, when due, before the assistant-barrister, or
by any of the other means afforded for the recovery
of such debts." A difference of opinion took place
amongst the magistrates on the bench, three being
of opinion that they had the power of committing
the defendants to prison, and wishing to exercise
that power, while four adopted the argument of Mr.
CARROLL, and took the more humane, and, as
it eventually proved, the more correct, view of
the enactment. It was finally determined that the
cases should be postponed for the opinion of the law
advisers of the Crown ; and we are happy to say that
that opinion has been in adcordance with that of the
majority of the justices, and that it has been pro-
nounced not to be within the summary jurisdiction of
the justices under the statute.

By this decision the peace and tranquillity 01. the
.
country will be preserved, and an extra
'
amount of human suffering be averted.
..ordinary -
tainly a hard case on the farmers, It is cult
...e to bear it—the re-
eventually fall on those best abl taut the loss m
presentatives of the wealth '..nd property of the country.

The Levant MAid has arrived, bringing intelligence
from,Constant;Anopie, Smyrna, and Athens.
The Srr
pna papers of the 21st state that ME-
Ala sailed on the 17th from Constantinople,
in_ the. Turkish steamer Esseri-Djedid, followed by
the Egyptian steamers Nile and Boulag. The Journal
de Oonstantinople of the 16th gives the following
particulars of his visit :

" Mehemet All, it is expected, will leave to-morrow
evening by the Ottoman steamer Esseri-Djedi.O. He
will be attended as far as Cairo by Amid Bey, first
Chamberlain to the Sultan. During the stay of Mehemet
Ali in this mipital, which has been nearly a m ()nth, he
has been everywhere received with marks of the ifighest
distinction, and h',;.q visit will, doubtless, tend to consoli-
date the relations between Egypt and the mother t
•ountry.
During the stay of the Viceroy in the Turkish capital,
be has given away in char,!tY and presents the en( ,rmaus
sum of fifty millions of piastrN. He has received ' mag-
nificent presents from the Sultan ;Ind Sultanas; roct
tongst
the number are a brilliant, weighing 27 carats, and
at more than a million of piastres, and six vases or' . solid
gold, enriched with diamonds." -.mined
The same journal says, in reference to the rec.* 3nt
disturbances in the Turkish provinces borderiu g on
the Black Sea :
WhO luquirY WO the 6441064094 at Ent3 Mira
Y_.. - . . „ _

ATTIRDAY EVENT

is being actively carried on ; the authorities in
this case give proofs both of their firmness and modera-
tion. According to the last accounts received from the
Hadjara, a second engagement had taken place, in which
the rebels had been defeated. There is no doubt but
that, with the reinforcements which Eumer Pacha has
received from Constantinople, order will be speedily re-
stored. In a few days we shall doubtless learn that no-
thing remains of the disturbances but the punishment to
be inflicted on Keur Hussein Bey, the leader of the re
hellion."

An Ottoman squadron, consisting of two ships of
the line, three frigates, four brigs, a schooner, and
two steamers, is about to sail for the Archipelago.
The Athens journals of the 20th state that some
fresh shocks of an earthquake had been experienced
at Alessinia, which had so alarmed the inhabitants
that they had encamped in the open fields. It was
rumoured in Athens that some of the more turbulent
spirits on the Thessalian frontier were organising an.
invasion of that province with the tacit consent of M
COLETTI, the Greek Minister. Some pirates had
captured a small vessel off Nicaria, and had put the
crew to the sword.

Letters from Rome of the 22d ult. state that the
Papal Government is about to contract for a loan
with native and Belgian capitalists, for the pur-
pose of converting the rive per Cents., and
thus reducing the expenditure of the State
to a level with the revenue. The Legates
and Delegates of the provinces have been ordered to
return a list of all public functionaries, stating their
capacities and their salaries. It is also proposed to
enter into a convention with France for the transpor-
tation of condemned convicts to Algiers.

The Government of Saxony has acceded to the con-
vention concluded between Prussia and England on
the subject of international copyright. This fact is
announced in the Cologne Gazette.

A letter from Vienna, published in the Hamburgh
Correspondent of the 29th, states that Prince MET-
TERNICH was occupied at Kcenigsburgh with the
question of Schleswig-Holstein. `lt will be regarded
generally in a federal point of view, and the resolu-
tion of the Diet will have the force of a law. All
the German Governments are in accord on this point.

Madrid papers of the 29th August have arrived.
The Gazette publishes the following decree, an-
nouncing the approaching marriage of the QUEEN :-
" We, Isabella 11., by the grace of God, and by the
constitution of the kingdom, Queen of Spain, to all whom
these presents may come, make known, that having re-
solved to contract a marriage with our cousin, Don
Francisco d'Assis Maria, in order that the provisions of
Article 47 of the Constitution may receive their accom-
plishment, using our Royal prerogative, and after having
taken the advice of our Council of Ministers, we have
decided on convoking, and do convoke by this present or-
donnance the Cortes of the kingdom for the 14th Sep-
tember next. To this effect we do command that on the
said 14th September in this present year the Senators
and Deputies be assembled in the capital of Spain for a
meeting of the Cortes.
" Given at our palace this 28th day of August, 1846.
" I, THE QUEEN.
(Countersigned) " Minister of the Interior,
" PEDRO TIDAL."

MADRID BOMA, AUG. 29.—The Three per Cents.
were done at 36 35i for cash ; the Four per Cents. at
22 ; the Five per Cents. at 23 ; the Passives at 64;
and the Coupons at 201.

We have received the Paris papers of Thursday.
The Constitutionnel has a long article on the sub-
ject of the marriage of the Queen of SPAIN, in the
course of which it states that Lord PALMERSTON has
expressed his objection to the marriage of the Due DE
MONTPENSIER with either the QUEEN or the INFANTA.

" The Alinisters," says the Constitutionnel, "readily

assent to that exclusion, as respects the QUEEN, since
that marriage was always refused by the Court of

France ; but they will assent with less resignation to
the exclusion as respects the INFANTA.
The following address in reply to the Speech from
the Throne, was agreed to by the Chamber of Depu-
ties on Thursday by a large majority.
" Sire,—The Chamber of Deputies has promptly re-
sponded to the call of your Majesty. The will of the
Charter had to be accomplished, and we were all anxious
to lay before the constitutional throne our respect and
our oaths.

" Your Majesty announces to us that at the period of
our ordinary labours you will lay before us measures
connected with the domestic and foreign affairs of the
State ; we will then enter into an examination of the
questions which regard all the interests of the country,
its prosperity, and its grandeur. But at the present mo-
ment we have a mission to fulfil which we love,—France
has charged us to bear to you the faithful expression of
the sentiments with which she is penetrated towards you
and your family.
"In honouring us with her suffrages, she has loudly
declared that between her and you, between her and
your dynasty, the alliance is indissoluble.

" Siie,—Yo.o have learnt from your youth to love and
serve France ; there are no trials which you have not
supported, no dangers which you have not every day
incurred, to secure her repose and her happiness. Pro-
vidence protects you, and will prolong that reign which
the will of the nation has founded for the safety of our
laws and of our liberties. Both your children and ours
will reap the fruits of our common efforts, and, as the
highest recompense, your name will live blessed and re-
spected in the memory of the country."

In the course of the debate, M. DUCIIATEL, the
Minister of the Interior, stated, in reply to N.
LARABIT, that the Government had adopted measures
to prevent a recurrence of the incendiary fires ; and
that several incendiaries were in the hands of justice.
N. LAROCIIEJAQUELIN thought it right to defend the
Legitimatist party from the accusation that they were
connected with the incendiaries, and the subject
dropped.

The Chamber at its rising, was prorogued to the
ith of January. _

Mr. COBDEN arrived at Bourdeaux on Sunday.
He was received by M. DUFFOUR DUBERGIER, the
Mayor, and invited to a grand banquet to be given
in his honour by the Free Trade Association on
the 4th September, which invitation he at once
accepted.
The Marquis of NORMANDY has left Paris for

Vichey.
The Three per Cents. closed on the Paris Bourse on
Thursday at 84f. 35c. ; the Five per Cents., 122 f. 10c. ;
the Orleans Railroad Shares, 1,277 f. 50c; Rouen, 9CBf. 75c.;
Havre, 712 f. 50c. ,• Great Northern, 720 f. ; Avignon,
938 f. ; Vierzon, 633 f. 75c.; Bordeaux, 580 f.; Boulogne,
495 f.; Basle, 220 f.; Fampoux, 400 f. ; Dieppe, 390 f. ; Paris
and Strasburg, 500 f. ' • Tours and Nantes, 508 f. 75c. ;
Paris and Lyons, 535 f. ; Lyons and Avignon, 495 f.; Bor-
deaux and Cette, 487 f. 50c.; Spanish Domestic Debt, 34,A ;
Ditto Passives, 514.
The following are the quotations for the new lines :
LYONS, SEPT. I.—Avignon and Marseilles, 912 f. 50c.;
Northern, 708 f. 75c.

BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, SEPTEMBER 4.
Boulogne and Amiens, 13%—Direct Bombay and Madras, %
—East Indian, %—Louvain a la Sambre, I li—Namur and Liege,
2%—Orleans and Bordeaux,.B%—Paris and Rouen, 37U —Rouen and
Havre, 28.

THE SUN ExPaEss.--The Queen's speech was de-
livered by commission on Friday afternoon, and copies of
The Sun newspaper containing the speech, were for-
warded to this city the same evening, by Mr. Murdo
Young, the spirited proprietor of that promptest of all
prints.— Western Times.

DEATH OF SIR ROBERT PRESTON, BART.-Sir
Robert Preston, Bart., the oldest of that class of title in
the empire, expired at Blackadder on the 30th ult., in
the ninetieth year of his age. He was born in 1757,
being the only son of the celebrated General George
Preston (who at one period was commander of the
Royal North British Dragoons), by the daughter of
James Johnston, Esq. He married his consin, daughter
to John Preston, Esq., of Gorton, and had issue, amongst
other children, Robert Preston, Esq., formerly a
Diajor in the army, who succeeds to the title and estates.
The latter are in Lincolnshire' Somersetshire, and
Perthshire, and the family of the deceased were known
as the Prestons Walleyfield, in the latter county. The
title, a Scotch one, was created in 1637, and the sixth
baronet having died in 1834 without any issue on the
male line, of the first baronet, the title reverted accord-
ing to patent of creation to the nearest male collateral
relative, the deceased, who was the representative of the
first baronet's nearest brother.

AN ADVERTISING VAN IN DIFFICULTIES.—Yes-
terday, at noon, as one of Sir Peter's " antipathies " was
perambulating Seymour-street, Somers-town, covered
with enormous placards, vaunting the unparallelled vir-
tues of some doctor somebody's lotion, the horse that
drew the vehicle took fright, and singular enough, depo-
sited the whole freight of medical wonders in the shop
of Mr. Nobbs, chemist, &c., at the corner of Charles-
street, and Upper Seymour-street, via the window.
Luckily the fracture of a few panes of glass, and not a
little threatened peril to more than one of those portly
and partly-coloured vases which are certainly the most
attractive if not the most harmless objects in a druggist's
shop, embraced the extent of the mischief done.
A SECOND BERNARD CAVANAGH. - Lord J.
Manners visited at the workhouse John Harden, a
pauper of diseased mind, who is now for thirty-three days
without having taken a particle of solid food. The un-
fortunate man is little altered in person, except about
the regions of the stomach, which is sunk in and quite
reduced. He is compelled, with great difficulty, to take
a nogging or two of broth in the twenty-four hours.—
Limerick Chronicle.
THE OUT-PENSIONERS Or CHELSEA HOSPITAL,-.-
On Thursday all the out• pensioners of Chelsea Hospital,
on being paid their quarterly pensions, received a por-
tion of their accoutrements preparatory to their being
called out for actual service.
Prince George of Cambridge, it is understood, will
enter upon his duties as Commander of the southern dis-
trict of Ireland early neat mouth. His official residence
will be at Limerick.