The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-26 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY MORNING, JANUAR\ 26.

LITERATURE.
BALLAD ROMANCES. By R. H. Horne.
Apart from the eccentricity of its being a " farthing
epic," Orion was sufficiently remarkable to engage oar
sympathies with Mr. Horne as a poetical thinker of no
mediocre capacity. There was a freshness and an un-
couth strength about many of its passages which cir-
culated swiftly through our perceptive faculties to our
heart ; there was a clear manifestation that
its writer, walking forth amidst the fruition
or nature, was not wholly impervious to her divine
influences; that he could estimate—and that to no ordi-
nary extent—the more celestial attributes of humanity.
The subtlest variations of character, the most shadowy
phases of passion, were to him no inexplicable riddles.
He could analyst, with considerable perspicacity the
bosom impulses of his fellow-creatures, and could track
with more than usual accuracy the devious labyrinths
of opinion. In this combination of powers his
intellect had something in it which pecti.
liary demanded our regard; and assuredly was
sufficient to have warded off the terrible onslaught and
malignant ridicule of Blackwood Mr. H. H. Horne was
no marvel in the world of letters ; it is true there was
nothing dazzling in his literary aspect, nothing start-
ling in his originality, nothing prodigious in the calibre
of his intellect. But there was enough delicacy of sen-
timent, force of imagination, and propriety of style, to
entitle him to our regard, and to disarm criti•
cism of its barbed javelins. Hence it is that
we derive much pleasure from his appearance
in the character of one who would sing
us seven good English ballads. The effort is not so vio-
lent as in his former volume of poetry ; and, possibly on
this very account, more is achieved. Some of the stories
are familar enough in themselves, such for instance as the
legend of " Bedd Gelert," but even those are surrounded
with such a newness of imaginary as to render them more
than acceptable. One ballad in particular, a fine, bold
narration in the manner of Walter Scott, and not inferior
to some of his most successful poems. We utter this
belief advisedly, after an attentive perusal, and we re-
peat the opinion in all truth of mind and candour of
judgment. The tale in question is entitled " The Noble
Heart," and excellently appropriate is the title. Sympa-
thy for the hero, " Ludolf," is aroused at the very com-
mencement ; from the moment King Ottocar thwarted
his intentions of marriage, and the Knight h mself,
troubled at the casualty, and
" Bowing vaguely in the air,
Went pausing down the marble stair."
Nor is this sentiment diminished, when Hulda, the fair
partner of his sorrows, participates in every gloomy
anticipation:—
" While something like a boding crept
Into her heart—alone, she wept."
The thoughtfulness and ingenuity with which the several
personages in the story combat each others views is really
something admirable ; and the many details which tend to
heighten the vividness of the picture are cleverly managed,
from the painting of the scenery to the mention of
Hulda's variable countenance, and •' the pain that strayed
across herface." For picturesqueness of description the
account of the tournament is, perhaps, the most conspi-
cuous point in the composition, opening with a nerve of
tone most characteristic.
" The crimson banners stream and flare,
The trumpets smite the brassy air;
The war-steeds neigh, and romp, and sway,
And snuff the exalting battle-day.

. .
A charger's hoofs with gusty bounds
A moment beat redoubling sounds,

His coal-black armour, thick inlaid
With diamonds, cast a fretful shade," &c.
And, again, what can be more simple, more emphatic,
or-raore superbly poetic than the following little epi-
sode—With its great crushing climax. Ludolf is stand-
ing in a moody reverie ; his bride has been carried from
him by a band of soldiers :
a And while 'twas done,
Three knights rode by at set of sun,
They check'd their steeds, and thus said one—
' How changed is Ludolf—see ye there!
Mute, passive, with a lingering stare,
He suffers men to seize his bride,
While standing fondly at his side;
Then silent droops all pale and lone,
And sits upon a boundary stone!'
The second said, His spirit lost,
Now, ghost-like, stroys round Lindenforst :
It is not Ludolf that we see.'
The third advanced right bitterly—
' fhou art a recreant knight,' he said ;
And Ludolf rose, and struck him dead!"
There are a hundred other beauties which we would will-
ingly particulatise in that single .‘ Legend of Bohemia,"
but it will suffice to say, that these " Ballad Romances,"
by R. H. Horne, (with the exception of the fantastic
oddity at the end) are scattered among with excellencies;
they are coloured with the tints of naturalness, and
receive vitality from the heart.

THE BARON'S YULE FEAST. A Christmas
Rhyme. By Thomas Cooper.
Recently we found ourselves under the necessity of
animadverting very forcibly upon a prose composition
by Thomas Cooper, which was tarnished with vulga-
rities and rife with solicisms. In uttering our condem-
nation, we divested it of all appearance of acerbity, by
awarding due praise to its author as a very earnest and
gifted poet. His Prison Rhyme had impressed our
mind with this conviction, and his Christmas Rhyme,
"The Baron's Yule Feast," only serves to fix this con-
viction more permanently and more strikingly. The
" ambition to contribute towards the fund of Christmas
entertainment," in which agreeable labour he perceived
many popular names engaged, was an ambition north),
of commendation and triumph ; and charmingly has he
embodied the reveries of his imagination. "Boz exqui-
site and heart-born stories for the season, when " a God
was incarnardined in Galilee," evidently instigated
Thomas Cooper to the present effort—a carol in the
unshackled rhythm of " Christabel." In it the bard
sings of the Yule festivities of the olden days :
at his voice the miners start again into existence;
the Master of Unreason is there with all his pristine
antics; the boar's head reeks with a gustful odour upon
the board; the wassail creams up once more beneath
the dais; the hippocras, the flawns, the good brown ale
is there in plenty, and so also are the baron and the
knight, and the minstrel and the donz?l, and the losels
without number. Nor is the spectacle delineated in
feeble characters; the whole scene, with all its bluff and
roaring adjuncts, stands out as crisply and as tangibly as
the carved fruit and cherubims upon an old oak chest.
But the most charming and fantastic feature in this
little volume—with its right dainty title-page--is the
exuberance and, sooth to say, the oppositeness of the
different songs chaunted round the ingle in Torksey hall.
Rife with the green glory of the forest, par exemple, is
THE WOODMAN'S SONG.
I would not be a crowned king,
For all his gaudy gear ;
I would not be that pampered thing,
His gew-gaw gold to wear:
But I would be where I can sing
Right merrily all the year;
Where forest treen,
All gay and green,
Full blythely do me cheer.
I would not be a gentleman,
For all his hawks and hounds,
For fear the hungry poor shortie ban
My halls and wide-parked grounds;
But I would be a merry man,
Among the wild wood sounds—
Where free birds sing,
And echoes ring,
While my axe from the oak rebounds.
I would not be a shaven priest,
For all his sloth-worn tythe,
But while to me this breath is leased,
And these old limbs are lithe,
Ere death bath marked me for his feast,
And felled me with his scythe,
I'll troll my song
The leaves amo: g,
All in the forest blythe.
Such thoughts are the true wellings-up through the turf
of dreamland; they smack of natural feeling. Thomas
spontaneous Coop
image
nv
eh.
rge aeprpit
co thete
ttisrreeye, hems
lasths brimming
he
a were
ketiresesndeoitender
nlobvreev
otherwise,
a) c eea rs,a
the
er
"dreamy
el is
yd
in
k
eneveroldplenitude of bliss or antepast of woe ;"were it otherwise, he
moonlight ; were it otherwise he could never pourtrayl
the brain as the " limber" of tears. Resides
already particularised, there are—a genuine, roysteersionegg
old English ballad, called "The Miller of Roche" - •
several simple, but nervous, love-ditties—a comical
°haunt of a Gosherd—another by a Swineherd, with a
right jolly chorus—cum multis aliis. The book altogether
is an original; it is just suited for the winter's fireside,
over a posset and curds.

ASHTON-UNDER-LYNEt—FREE-TRADE QUALIFICA- I
noNs —The free traders of this district are most active
in
energypreparing e
atlh ediirsplqauyaeldi fibcaytti ohnesg.
enStluecmh e
oh as been
of
m os s
itehye,
that this village can boast of more free- trade qualifica-
tions than any other place in England, of the same mag-
nitude. The inhabitants of Mussley have also esta-
blished a freehold building society, which is now in a
most prosperous state.—Manchester Guardian.
SIR ROGER DE COVERLET, A TALE OF THE COURT
OF CHARLES 11., by the Author Of " Maids of Honour," 3 vols.
The above work is published this day by Mr. Colburn, of
Great Marlborough-street, and may now be had at all the
libraries. Mr. Colburn has also just published the following
new works of fiction :-2. The Citizen of Prague, edited by
Mary Howitt, 3 vols. 3. Contarini Fleming--Alroy—ro-
mances by B. Disraeli, Esq., M.P., author of " Coningsby"
and " Sybil ;" the two romances comprised together in 3 vols.
4. The Queen of Denmark, edited by Mrs. Gore, 3 vols.
5. The Attractive Man, by Mrs. Trollope, 3 vols. And 6.
Dunster Castle, a Tale of the Great Rebellion, by J. T. Hew-
lett, M.A., author of "Peter Priggins," &c. 3 vols.
ATTEMPT TO SHOOT THE GOVERNOR OF WAKE-
FIELD HOUSE OF CORRECTION.— On Friday night last a
villain fired a pistol at Mr. Shepherd, the Governor of the
House of Correction at Wakefield. About nine o'clock in
the evening Mr. Shepherd was returning home down Back-
lane, and when passing a field which is divided from the lane
by a wall, a pistol was presented and fired at him by some
person in the field, who said, as he fired, " D—n thee, take
that." Mr. Shepherd fell down, no doubt from fright, but
happily received no injury, the shot having passed into and
through the crown of his hat.—Doncaster Gazette.
HOSPITAL FOR CONSUMPTION, &C.—At a meeting of
the Committee of the Hospital for Consumption and Diseases
of the Chest, it was announced that Sir Edward Paget had
most kindly acceded to the wishes of the Committee, conveyed
to him through the Duke of Richmond, to allow a bazaar, to
be
course
oe
unhre esfiel
tdoofi
fnetrti
erection
Rounoi
13d:ait
nl
raof turn. dnepdnt
oso,nf
the
ah
ne
(.1 :net: ,hwa i
tnht Jho use
pn et
au nle
eennxo tw,
had >nr
tt IL
sig-
nifiedee her intention to patronise the undertaking.
POTATO DISEASE —A meeting of the parishioners of
Liscarrol was held in the parish chapel on Sunday, the 13th
inst., (at which the Rev. William Golden presided), for the
purpose of ascertaining the probable amount of injury done
to the potato crop in that locality; and to transmit the sub-
stance of the information derived to the proper authorities.
The accounts given of the gradual progress of the disease
were truly appaling, and, to judge from analogy, the pros-
pects are gloomy, desponding, and deplorable..—Cork Exam.

THE COUNTIES! THE COUNTIES!

ONLY SIX DAYS MORE !
• (From the League.)
We are now come to the last time of asking • The
Thirtieth of January is at hand. Another wcr.c.., and it
will be too late. When we next address Lhe t.ublic, the
campaign will be over, ar.d the watchword of struggle
And victory—" Qualify I Qualify ! Qualify !—will have
lost its meaning and power, for this season. Friday
next, the thirtieth instant, is the latest day up to which
county qualifications can be purchased in time for the
registration of the year 1846. A week hence, and the
books will be closed. Whoever is unqualified then, will
be too late for the church-door lists in July, and the
Revising Barristers' Courts in September—too late to
bear a part in any general election that may take place
between the Ist of December, 1846, and the Ist of De-
cember, 1847.

We entreat our hitherto unqualified friends to lose not
an hour that now remains to them, for arming themselves
with the only one weapon that can avail in this warfare
of right against might, and of a nation against an olig-
archy. We trust that no free trader possessed of the
means of entering himself on the muster roll, will sub-
ject himself to the bitter mortification of being self-
doomed to stand by a passive and powerless spectator of
the closing struggle. Let nobody dream that this
question either will or can be settled without an
appeal to the people—i. e., an appeal to those of
the people who have got votes. Never mind
about Sir Robert Peel and his " plan"—be that plan
what it may. The assumption that Sir Robert Peel can
carry the total, immediate, and unconditional repeal of
the corn-law through the two Houses of Parliament,
without an intervening general election, is one of the
wildest of hallucinations. The people have done it all,
thus far—and, rely on it, the people will have to do it all
at last. The total, immediate, and unconditional repeal
of the corn-law will, almost certainly, be the work of the
next House of Commons ; and the next House of Com-
mons will, almost certainly (should the present one live
long enough) be elected under the registration of 1846.
The time is short—yet much may still be done in this
short time. In the precious six days that now remain,
there is time for thousands and thousands of the unen-
franchised to pay money, receive their conveyances, and
take out their title to a freehold interest in the soil of
their country, and a share in its Government. In those
counties, more particularly in which most work has been
already done, these few days may be invaluable. Where
much has been accomplished, and the victory is all but
won, a little more may make all the difference between a
minority and a majority—or between a mere majority,
and a majority so decisive and commanding, as to pre-
clude all possibility of defeat, or even of contest.
Once more, then, with all the earnestness and emphasis
prompted by the conviction that the time, though short,
is yet long enough for great successes—that victory is
within our grasp, if we will but grasp it —and that the
exertions of the next six days may have much to do with
making the Parliament that is to snake England free for
ever from landlordism and artificial famine—we reiterate
our fervent exhortation and entreaty to the free traders of
every county in England, to
QUALIFY, QUALIFY, QUALIFY.

SIR ROBERT PEEL'S SPEECH.
(From the Chronicle.)
A deliberate reperusal of the singularly powerful speech
in which, on Thursday night, Sir Robert Peel announced the
principles of his policy for the present session, has fully con-
firmed our first impression of its extraordinary importance.
We reserve for a fitter occasion all allusions to his public
conduct in former years, and abstain from attempting to
estimate the moral relations in which the free-trade Premier
of 1846 stands with respect to the Conservative agricultural
party of 1841. The present is no time for this sort of criti-
cism. Looking at the recent Ministerial manifesto, in con-
nexion with the all-absorbing question of thetime, we cannot
but regard the speech in which a First Minister of the
Crown—on an occasion both allowing and requiring the
fullest previous deliberation, and the exactest choice of
language—explicitly disowns the fundamental principles of a
vast and extensively-ramified system of policy, and formally
announces his conversion to new views of commercial legisla-
tion, as an event of first-class magnitude and most decisive
significance. Of the merits of the speech itself, it were un-
just to Sir Robert Peel not to speak warmly and strongly.
It is a speech remarkably devoid of his characteristic faults.
There is litti (of himself in it. It is an infinitely more na-
tural and earnest speech than we have been accustomed to
hear from Sir Robert Peel's lips. It is much less the speech
of a Parliamentary tactician—and much more that of a
statesman and a man—than he has accustomed us to ex-
pect from him. He speaks less in his own name than as
the organ of great public facts and necessities ; as the re-
sponsible representative of the Crown and people of
Great Britain. There is no Hansard in it ; no
attempt at making out a case for his own " con-
sistency." The only consistency for which he
seems solicitous is the consistency of his present
convictions and policy with present realities. He
takes great pains to show that his course during the late na-
tional crisis, from week to week and from day to day, has
been in consistency with the requisitions of the grave and
terrible emergency in which he has been called to act ; he is
most anxious to satisfy us he is right now—but he evinces
no desire to prove that he was right one, two, or five years
ago. He has learned wisdom from experience, and he says
so. He finds himself and his policy in collision with events
and natural laws, and he declares plainly, "he can continue
the contest no longer." He has discovered that Mr. Villiers
is right, after all, and he must make that appear in his next
vote. This time we really have a " frank and explicit "
speech. The Premier disdains even to make the
use which might have been made of the temporary
and casual circumstances of the present season, to
smooth over the transition, and reconcile a new
policy with the old opinions. He does not throw it all on
the potatoes. He was wrong, at any rate. It is not the
potato pestilence. but " an enlarged experience" that has con-
vinced him. He "will not withold the homage due to the
progress of reason and truth, by denying that his opinions
on the subject of protection have undergone a change.' This
is the true tone. This frank submission to the lessons of
events—this unreserved surrender to the dictates of expe-
rience—this abstinence from all attempts to gloss over the
real abruptness of his conversion, by connecting it with pre-
vious indications of opinion, or with unlooked-for casualties—
is the part both of a wise statesman and a sincere man. It
is as good in policy as in morality. Such a course at once
disarms censure, arrests attention, and commands respect.
Sir Robert Peel's best hope of convincing all those of his own
party who are worth convincing, lies in taking this tone—in
presenting to them, in the broadest and plainest way, the
facts and considerations that have worked conviction
in him. He does not so much assume to teach his
followers, as to assist them in learning for themselves. He
brings them face to face with the great array of facts by
which be has been humbled and subdued, and asks if they
can defend the position which he has found untenable ? He
recounts all that impressive experience of the last six years,
which public discussion and agitation have rendered familiar
to national intelligence, and which his official position and
responsibilities have compelled him to master; and leaves
the world to say, what else can he do ? In this view, the
speech of Thursday night must tell with immense power.
It is a statesman's exposition i f national policy, based on a
large view of national experience, and addressed direct to
the national intelligence. With
commer-
cial public, in particular—with all, of every class, who are
ie whole of the
capable of putting two ideas together, and are not blinded
by the influences of an imagined pecuniary interest in
the result—the effect must be irresistible. After reading
the Premier's most lucid and powerful demonstration
of the relations of cheapness and dearth of food, to wages,
revenue, and public morality and order—and his terrible de
tails of the potato failure in Ireland, from which we learn
that on " a low estimate," at least " one-half of the actual
potato crop in that country is either destroyed or remains in
a state unfit for the food of man"—all the world will feel
that Sir Robert Peel, in his position, with his means of
knowledge, and his responsibilities, co:Suld not have come to
any other than one conclusion. That he has come to this
conclusion, despite every personal and every vulgar political
inducement to the contrary; that he deliberately sacrifices
his party to the empire, and his consistency with Hansard
to consistency with the facts and responsibilities of his posi-
tion; that he stakes his official existence on obtaining a re •
versal of a once favourite policy of his own, because that
policy turns out to have been a mistake; this is about the
most startling, decisive, and overpowering attestation that
a political truth ever received from the word or deed of
man. We have now only to express our most fervent
and anxious hope, that the measure to be announced
to the world on Tuesday night may be found, in its breadth
fulness, and simplicity, worthy of the Ministerial declaration
of principle. The superstructure will, we trust, be as wide
as the foundation—the conclusion as large as the premises.
We cannot believe, until we see it, that a confession of faith
so broad and true will be narrowed and falsified in the per-
formance. Sir Robert Peel cannot have raised so high the
hopes of the country merely to dash and disappoint them.
He cannot, after rousing the bitter and implacable hostility
of a powerful class, descend to the gratuitous meanness of
seeking to re purchase their favour by concessions un-
worthy of himself, unjust to the country, utterly futile for
any purpose of conciliation, and fit only for a Minister
holding office on that servile tenure" which he has
repudiated with so becoming a scorn. No man knows
better than Sir Robert Peel the force of a Minister's words—
especially of such words as those of Thursday night, spoken
after months of• deliberation, to an eager and expectant
country. He cannot be ignorant that he has broken the
bridge behind him, and cut off all retreat on the past; that
only two " courses" are now " open to him"—a great and
splendid success, won with, by, and for the people, or a
the
shameful defeat at the hands of the " wretched remnant of
bisberoproaofrtuYg 'he is without a party—and collapses
House of Commons for the populous
into 'h
of Tamworth. He has only the
an expiring faction." He is now the Free-Trade Minister of
the Queen and the people—or he is nothing. If he have not
theandnation
plain
influential
Af
lo er mh
country to look to for support. That support he has
he knows.
man-
fully invoked. He may have it—on conditions which

THE QUEEN'S SFEECII.—A DIFFICULTY SOLVED.
There is in her Majesty's speech a passage of great im-
port, the exact purport of which, however, has given
rise to some discussion, and considerable speculation.
Her Majesty, after an allusion to the failure of the po-
tato crop in Ireland, says, " I have adopted all such
precautions as it was in my power to adopt for th',, pur-
pose of alleviating the sufferings which may be caused
by this calamity." The nature of those precautions has,
it is believed, now been ascertained here. There are off
the port of Cork 30,000 quarters of Indian corn, which
are understood to form a portion of 100,000 quarters
which have been ordered by the British government for
the relief of the Irish people—a proof that her Majesty
and her ministers have not been altogether insensible
to the threatened destitution and starvation of the poor
of Ireland.—Manchester Guardian.
NEW WAREHOUSES IN LIVERPOOL.— There were
no fewer than eighty-six warehouses erected in Liver-
pool during the past year, the majority of them being
of immense proportions, and on the fire-proof principle,
—Manchester Guardian.
ACCIDENT TO LORD MOSTVN.—This venerable and
venerated nobleman
met, we deeply regret to state, on Sa-
turday last, with a most serious acciden whilst engaged in
that manly sport, of which his Lordship is well known to be
a warm patron and active participator,
lie was, as usual,
amongst the foremast in the chase, and close at the death of
poor Reynard,
when the horse stumbled and pitched his
Lordship over head, rolling over bim and kicking him se-
verely. We are, however, glad to state that no bones are
broken, and that his Lordship, though much mangled, is,
owing to the native vigour of his constitution, not only out
of danger, but rapidly convalescent. The inquiries at Peng-
wern, of the neighbouring gentry, during the course of the
week', were most numerous.—Carnarvon Herald.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS.

FRIDAY, JAN. 23.
The following Petitions for Railway Bills were presented,
and ordered to lie on the table :
Avrahire and Galloway Railway.
Wakefield, Pontefract, and Goole (Methley, Askern, and
Oakenshaw Branches) Railway.
Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Wakefield, Huddersfield,
and G, ole Railway.
Edinburgh and Peebles Railway.
General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Railway.
Epsom and Dorking Railway.
Direct London and Portsmouth Railway.
Manchester and Birmingham Railway.
Leeds and Bradford Railway (Alteration- of Levels in
Bingley).
Staines and Richmond Junction Railway.
North Kent Railway.
Liverpool, Manchester, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne Junc-
tion Railway.
Larne, Belfast, and Ballymena Railway.
Newry, Warrenpoint, and Rosstrevor Railway.
East Lincolnshire Railway.
Belfast and Ballymoney Railway.
Belfast and County- Down Railway.
Irish Great Western Railway.
North Staffordshire Railway (Potteries Line).
North Staffordshire Railway (Churnet Valley Line).
North Staffordshire Railway (llarecastle to Sandbach).
Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway Amend-
ment and Branches (No. 1).
Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway Amend-•
ment and Branches (No. 2).
Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway Amend-
ment and Branches (No 3).
Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway Amend-
ment and Branches (No. 4).
Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway Amend-
ment and Branches (No. 5).
Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway Amend-
ment and Branches (No. 6).
London and South-Western Railway (Chertsey and
Egham Branch).
London and South-Western Railway (Romsey and Red-
bridge Junction).
London and South-Western Railway (Basingstoke and
Salisbury Extension).
London and South-Western Railway (Epsom Branch).
London and South-Western Railway (Salisbury Junction).
London and South-Western Railway (London-bridge Ex-
tension).
London and South-Western Railway (Hampton Court
Branch).
London, Newbury, and Bath Direct Railway.

NOTICES GIVEN AT THE PRIVATE BILL-OFFICE.

FRIDAY, JAN. 23.

Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Wakefield, Huddersfield,
and Goole Railway—Committee on Petition, Monday, Feb. 2.
Wakefield, Pontefract, and Goole Railway ( Methley,
Askern, and Oakenshaw Branches)—Committee on Petition,
Monday, Feb. 2. ,
North Kent Railway—Committee on Petition, Monday,
Feb. 2.

Staines and Richmond Railway—Committee on Petition,
Monday, Feb. 2.

RETIREMENT OF DR. NICHOLL.
The following explanation of his motives for retiring from
the office of Judge•Advocate-General has been addressed by
Dr. Nicholl to his constituents:—

TO THE ELECTORS OF CARDIFF, COWBRIDGE, AND LLAN-

TRISSENT.

Gentlemen,—Having ceased to be Judge-Advocate-
General, I hasten to lay before you the cause and circum-
stances of my retirement from an office which confers honour
on all who hold it worthily.
When suddenly driven to the south of Europe by the
health of one deservedly dear to me, I foresaw that the same
cause which forced me abroad would enjoin my residence out
of this country during a longer period than I could properly
be absent from the discharge of my official functions ; and on
the 19th of October I most reluctantly made, in a proper
quarter, a communication to that effect.
An ffer was kindly made that I should not retire until I
had a better opportunity of deciding on the necessity of re-
maining on the continent.
I readily, though with faint hopes, accepted that offer.
Those hopes having vanished, I announced that my duty to
others forbad my constant residence in England throughout
the spring,, and I begged that a successor might be given to
me whenever that could be done most conveniently.

Such, gentlemen, have been the cause and circumstances
of my retirement. My political attachments and affections,
and my confidence in Sir Robert Peel's Government, are as
strong and as decided as ever. As a proof of this, I have
sought and have been appointed to an unpaid seat at the
Board of Trade.

I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,
Your most faithful servant,
33, Belgrave-square, Jan. 23. JOHN. NICHOLL.

RAILWAY SHARE MARKETS.

MANCHESTER, JAN. 23.

STOCK EXCHANGE.—The sales are —Birkenhead, Lancashire, and
Cheshire Junction, 471 p.—Blackburn, Darwen, and Bolton, 2 p.
Clitheroe Junction, v.p. c.—Eastern Counties, 224 —Grand Union,
p.—Lancashire and North Yorkshire, % p.—Leeds and Thirsk,
4 p.—Leicester and Bedford, % p.—Liverpool, Ormskirk, and Preston,
p.— London and Manchester (Rem.), % dis.—London and York,
2 p.—Manchester and Birmingham, 77 4 —Ditto, New Quarters, 7%
p. —Manchester and Birmingham Continuation and Welsh Junction,
dis.—lanchester'and Bury Atmospheric, % p.—Manchester and
Leeds Extension, 4%p.—Manchester, Midland, and Grimsby, p.
—North Staffordshire, 3% p..—North Western, 38s. p.—Nottingham,
Erewash, Ambergate, &c., % p.—Oldham, Birkenhead, &c., par—
Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction, 2 15-16 p. —Sheffield and Man-
chester, 130—Ditto, Quarters, No. 3, 4 p.— Shropshire Uniou Rail-
way and Canal, % p.—South Eastern and Dover, Consolidated
Halves, 114 p.

Week Last 2, ...,
...;
ending NAME OF RAILWAY. week. t ,70''
.').g)
X £
Jan. 17 Arbroath *and Forfar •••••-• • •• • • •• 171 178
- Bristol and Birmingham - -
16 Chester ariA Birkenhead . ••- ••••• • • • • - 542 420
15 Dublin and Drogheda• •••••••• • • • - - • • 586 504
20 Dublin and Kingstown .. •••••• • • • • • • 606 552
18 Dundee and Arbroath .•••--• • • - • • • • 228 217
17 Durham and Sunderland ............. 644 736
17 Edinburgh and Glasgow .•• • . • ... •• • 2,523 2,173
18 Eastern Counties and North Eastern • • 6,282 3,786
17 Glasgow, Kilmarnock, and Ayr ••• • • • 1,871 1,403
17 Glaispw and Greenock. •• ..... •• • • 726 687
- Grand Junction .. - -
17 Gravesend and Rochester.... -
- Great North of England ............ - -
18 Great Western .• •
19 Hartlepool ~• •• • • - 1,166 -
17 London and Birmingham, &c.....• • • 30,586 25,872
18 London and Blackwall • ......• 727 733
17 London and Brighton. ••••••• • •• .. • • 3,362 3,074
20 London alld Croydon ..
- London and Greenwich .• •
17 London and South Western .•• • • • ... 5,046 5,139
18 Manchester, Bolton, and Bury ••• • • • 884 840
16 Manchester and Birmingham 3,858 3,250
17 Manchester, Leeds, and Hull Assoc.• 5,256 5,318
17 Midland Counties. ••••• • • • • •
17 Newcastle and Darlington •••• • • •
17 Newcastle and Carlisle •• • • 1,661 1,417
18 Newcastle and North Shields. •••• • •• 387 341
18 Norfolk... •• • 197
1,369
- North Union and Bolton and Preston -
- Paris, Corbeil, and Orleans •• • • • •••••••• 41-'4°56:
43:90825i
19 Paris and Rouen .•••••••• - •• • • • • • "416 337
1717
sPoruesthtonEasanitnid W.Yr..e.
..
.. : : . . .
....... . . . .
4,823
3,582
17 Sheffield a.n.d.
.......................
.... :....
..........
11:513686
884608
17 Taff Vale
..•.
Ulster . • .... ••••.••••• •• •• • • • • • ..... •-574
- Yarmouth and Norwich •••• • • • ..... ..._ -
17 York and North Midland .•. • ..... .. 4,305 4,596

LErm.--The vessels in the wet docks are lying three
and four tier deep at present, which speaks well for business,
and is rather unusual at this season of the year.
THE GOVERNMENT PROPOSITION WITH REGARD
TO RAILWAY BILLS.—We understand that it is the intention
of Sir Robert Peel to propose on Monday that a Committee
should be formed of the Members of both Houses of Parlia-
ment, for the purpose of instituting a preliminary examina-
tion into all the proposed railway schemes, so as to select
those projects which, either for local or general benefit, it
would be most desirable to carry into execution, and that
the Bills for the Mies so selected will alone be permitted to go
before the Standing Orders Committee.

The Barbadoes Globe, of the 18th of December, gives
the following account of an accident to the Governor :—" It
is with exrreme regret that we announce an accident which
this day occurred to our esteemed and indefatigable Governo:.
While walking in his gardens at Pilgrim, this afternoon, his
Excellency, by some chance, tripped and fell, unfortunately
breaking his right leg just above the ankle."
It was said at the Clubs, on Friday night, that the free-
track party on both sides of the House have made a calcula-
tion of their joint strength, and that the odds in their favour,
as against the protectionists, are about 300 to 250. Of
course, there are waverers, and trimmers, and doubters, over
and above.

FRANCE.
CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, JAN. 21.
RELATIONS WITH AMERICA.

The order of the day was the adjourned discussion on the
address.

M. Guizot, Minister of Foreign Affairs—Gentlemen, the
Chamber will allow me to request not only its usual kind-
ness, but its entire liberty of spirit, and its most considerate
attention. The Hon. 'M. Thiers yesterday made an appeal
to your first impressions--to your instincts; I shall appeal
to your judgment, the surest fundament condition, in my
opinion, of all good and great policy. What I ask of you I
have practised myself in the examination of this question. I
have telt all its gravity—l foresaw, long before I acted on
the Texan question, all the objections that could be raised to
our policy. It required my deepest conviction to determine
the line of conduct which I felt it my duty to recommend to
the Crown, and I am convinced that it is the only one suit-
able to the great interests of the country. I wished to point
out in the first place, with some degree of precision, what I
have done. I shall retrench nothing—modify nothing—that
I have done. I wish only that it should be well explained.
In concert with the Texan representative at Paris, and called
on by his overtures, I advised Texas to preserve its in-
dependence, and I counselled Mexico to recognise that inde-
pendence—nothing more. From the first I set aside all idea
of guaranteeing that independence. I declared, both in this
tribune and elsewhere, from the very outset of the question
that its solution depended entirely on the resolution of the
Texan people; that when their determination should have
been declared we should have nothing further to say. Con-
sulted by it while yet undecided, we gave our advice, we ex-
ercised our influence. Since then, the Texan people have
declared themselves; the majority for the annexation is evi-
dent ; from that moment we abstained from further action,
we neither used nor sought to use any kind of influence. In
the course of the affair we had no communication on the ques-
tion
ten with the United States ; we addressed no note to them
on lie subject; the question was entirely between the
two independent states, France and Texas. I main-
tain the correctness of this ep°li v, but I considered
it my duty to re-establish it in the terms in which it
was practised ; nothing could be more candid, more cor-
rect, or more considerate of every right. In this state of
things, when I met in the message of the President of the
United States words which I have already quoted in another
Place, I could not but feel some surprise (the Hon. Minister
then read the extract from the Message relative to the inter-
vention of European Powers in the affairs of the American
continent, and continued)—that is to say, that we are for-
bidden to interfere or express our opinion on the affairs of
any independent nation of North America. We ;have had
with those nations relations and affairs in common, and
nevertheless we are interdicted from exercising our moral in-
fluence over them. I ask the Chamber whether this is suit-
able to the dignity and grandeur of France. For my part I
consider our dignity to be in a certain degree wounded by
this pretension, and I do not hesitate to say that if any other
Government had made use of the same expression, it would I
have met with general censure in this assembly. I have J
done nothing more than claim freedom of action for French 1
policy in North America. As to the interests of France in '
those countries, they are of two kinds—commercial and
political. As to commercial interests, I shall be very brief
in my remarks on them, although the Honourable Deputy
(M. Thiers) has perhaps treated them with a little dis-
dain. We have a great general interest with the affairs of
the New World. This general interest is this—it is, that
there is not there a single mode of regulating the tariffs.
Picture to yourselves the entire of the New World regulated
by one con mercial law I Do you consider it would be for
the interests of our commerce to have it governed in Ame-
rica by such a state of things.' So much for our general in-
terest. As to Texas, and to our superior interest in that
affair, I cannot admit the disdain shown by the Hon. M.
Thiers. In 1838 the recognition of Texas by France was
based on the advantage of our commercial relations with
that country. At that period it appeared desirable to have
in that part of the world a great country which could supply
us with raw materials, and purchase our productions on
better terms than the United States, and it was this motive
which determined the recognition of the independence of
Texas by us. I shall now pass on to the political interests.
M. Thiers made u of an expression which I accept. Yes,
the question here ndoubtedly is one of the policy of the
lit
world. There ei re immense facts connected with it, which
were inevitable the present state of the world; three great
Powers—Russia, England, and the United States—were
seeking to extend their territories. From circumstances
which you are well aware of France was not pursuing
the same course in so great a degree; it had undertaken
a great task in Africa, which it is for its ho-
nour to bring to a successful termination. But
with this exception France was not seeking terri-
torial aggrandisement; but it concerns her that the
three great nations I have alluded to should observe a balance
of power, that neither one of them should be exclusively pre-
ponderant. France has this great interest and she has also
another—the maintenance of secondary and independent
states. In Asia, Russia, and England had increased their
possessious ; but they had now mutually stopped in thefr
progress. In America, the United States were aggrandizing
alone. I shall not here repeat what I said in another place of
the sentiments with which the grandeur of the United
States does and ought to inspire us; we applaud it both as
regards the present and the future. It is necessary to us for
the part which we are called on to perform in the affairs of
the world. Ido not retract any of the expressions I have
used, for no conviction can be stronger on the subject than
what I feel. Is it to be supposed that in no case, whatever
may be its progress, the greatness of America is not to
be to us a subject of uneasiness, that she can never be for
us a cause of umbrage, if, for instance, the whole conti-
nent of America were to fall into the same hands? (Murmurs
from the Left.) It is sufficient for me to remind you of the
words which I just now used. The language of the Presi-
dent excludes you from all participation in the affairs of
America ; he forbids you to meddle with them, notwith-
standing the relations which you have with states there
situated, or the treaties you may have concluded with them ;
and it will be easy for me to convince you that the preten-
sion of M. Thiers is excessive. By the words balance of
power, and counterpoise, I did not intend to make any assi-
milation between the New World and our own, although the
experience of the one might well serve as a lesson to the
other ; I said that we ought not to remain without thinking
of the future, at the aspect of a great power, which I wel-
come as sincerely as any one. It has been said, that we sa-
crifice to this forethought our present relations with the
United States. In a country like America, where things pro-
ceed so rapidly, foresight cannot be distant and confused.
Call to your recollections what this country, now so great
and so powerful, was fifty years since. Who among you
could have anticipated such a development of her power?
• Who can foresee what that power will be fifty years
hence? In the face of such facts, I repeat that forethought
is not distant; it is wise and prudent. Neither is it true
that we sacrifice to it our present good relations. Between
intelligent nations good relations are not so easily broken,
when the general interests and feelings of the countries are
in their favour. Do not in the least believe that the affair
of Texas will have so disastrous a result as has been repre-
sented ; our good relations will not be compromised ; they
will surmount those momentary difficulties ' • we may there-
fore take thought for the future without fear and without
danger. I can find in it sufficient motives to justify the po-
licy at once reserved and candid which we have followed.
There is, however, another imminent and pressing interest
to which I would direct all the attention of the Chamber.
The United States are not alone on the American continent;
they have, under the title of neighbours, frequent relations
with England; relations which are at the present moment
delicate and even perilous. I need not say that I allude to
the Oregon question, and it is with regard to this point that
the policy we have followed is excellent. The Chamber
must permit me to say a word on the subject of our relations
with England.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") Those relations
are easy and friendly. We wish to maintain them so; we
consider that this intelligence between the two countries is
necessary for the maintainance of peace; we are convinced
that it is necessary to choose between real intimacy and that
indifference, that coolness, which does not completely disturb
peace, but which removes from it its real character, and we
have made that choice.—(Marks of adhesion from the Centre.)
I have to add, that this policy has taken nothing from the
independence of France.—(Denial on the Left.) Gentlemen,
. if I could put aside the solemnity of this discussion, and
appeal to the familiarity of private conversations, there is not
a single person to whom I could speak, who would not allow
that the policy of France with respect to England has been
completely independent.—(A loud burst of denial on the Left,
met with counter-exclamations from the Centre.) Consider
all the questions that have divided France and England for
the last five years—Greece, Spain, Syria, Otahiete, and the
Right of Search—and you will see that the independence of
France has been complete, and that the results of the good
feeling between the two nations have been reciprocal and
equally to the advantage of each. M. Thiers told you yes-
terday that the two countries were discontented with each
other—that England considered herself sacrificed to France.
M. Thiers—No, no. .

The Minister of Foreign Affairs—l shall read your very
words.—( The Hon. Minister here read, from the Moniteur,
the expressions of M. Thiers, on this point.)
• M. Thiers—l cannot admit the interpretation given by the
Hon. Minister to my words.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs—l give no interpretation
whatever—l merely read the words themselves.
M. Thiers—Because 1 was yesterday impartial and true,
the concessions which I made are now turned against ins.
What I meant to say was, that in consequence of the manner
in which the alliance was conducted, the two nations were
exceedingly discontented with each other. And whilst im-
mense sacrifices have been made, and in particular the Prit-
chard indemnity—(‘ Oh, oh," from the Centres)—l repeat it
that whilst one makes immense sacrifices, the other is not
satisfied with what it has obtained. Yes, I repeat it with a
profound conviction, it is a badly-conducted alliance which
renders the two nations dissatisfied with each other. This
state of things is due to events which have been unneces-
sarily brought about by the present Cabinet.—( Applause
from the Left.)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs.—l must beg leave to deny
in the most positive manner that the two countries are in the
least discontented with each other.—(Dissent on the Left.)
I must demand pardon from the three lion. Gentlemen who
interrupt me if I do not recognize them as the country
(Approbation from the Centre), or take their opinion as that—
of the great majority of the nation. I repeat it, the two
with each
'countries are not discontented other- they have
not for a length of time been on _better terms. Call to
mind in fact all the questions, all the
t incidents that have arisen
to trouble their relations during he last five years, and how,
by the mutual confidence of the Cabinets, these diffi-
culties have been surmounted.
Ota-
heite—of the Right of S earch ofMorocco.—(Violent Think,ex-
for instance, of
clamations on the Left.). All these
questions have been re-
solved in a manner conformable to the trae interests and
honour of the two countries.
And
do you suppose that this
would have been equally the case with every Cabinet—with
every description of policy? Do you believe that if matters
had been conducted in the two countries with less prudence,
these relations would not have been altered? Do not ima-
gine any such thing, for you would fall into a great error !
The reason of matters having passed over so peaceably is,
that in both countries there were men who placed general
policy above all special questions; who comprehended that
mere temporary incidents ought to be settled amicably—
(Hear)— and that the flag of peace ought to float aloft, high
above all passing differences.—( Loud cheers.) Such are the
means by which good relations have been maintained, and
I repeat it, that they- could not have been effected by
every hand—(Renewed cheers.) But I leave aside this
question of our relations with England, which I should not
have alluded to, had I not been led to it by the Hon. Deputy
opposite. I return to our relations with America. What
line of conduct ought we to observe in the question pending
between the United States and England? We ought to
make every exertion to prevent a collision, but should it,
notwithstanding our efforts, unfortunately take place, our
part will be to guard between the two nations an absolute
neutrality. Such is the line of conduct which we shall fol-
low, and I venture to say, that it will not be without an ad-
vantage and profit to France. As we acted with respect to
the United States in the question of Texas, so should we have
done With respect to Engand, if she wished to take pos-
session of that country. We wished to express the sentiraue
of France in the future policy of the world—and w
• eed on
acted precisely as General Washington de"rielerc of
in 1794. That great man founded the po y
neutrality for the United States, at
owed ao