The Sun.
London, England, 1833-05-10 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 10, 1833.

FRENCH SINKING FUND.

The French Sinking Fund is composed of two
sums; first, of 44,616,463 francs, allowed as th,
annual gum paid out of the taxes for redeeming th,
n :dons' debt ; and second, is composed this year of
the sum of 48,473,157 fratxs, the interest on an

funds already bought up, but which in France ar«
not annulled, but invested again by the annual sums
allowed for the Sinking Fund. Of course next year
this 48 millions will be added to by the proceeds of
the interest on the capital invested this year—and
so on every year as long as the 44,616,463 francs.
or any other sum, shall be annually applied to the
purchase of the Rentes which are to he annually
bought up by the Sinking Fund. You of course.
therefore, understand that the Rentes which have
been bought up already in years gone by amount tt
48,473,157 francs per annum, and that this suit
can either continue to be applied to buying ul
more Rentes, as is the case at present, or else to the
general or any specific expense of the Government.
These two sums, at present forming the Sinking
Fund, and amounting to 93,089,620 francs pet
annum, are not applied in redeeming the 5 pet
Cent., because the 5 per Cents. are above par, and
are not, therefore, redeemable, but are applied it
the redemption of the 44. 4, and, above all, 3 per
Cent. Stocks. The interest of the 5 per Cent.
Rentes amounts to 134,370,931 f. per annum; that
of the CI per Cent, to 972,218 f.; that of the 4
per Cent. to 2,889,158 f.; wid that of the 3 per
Cent. to 30,682,268 f. The total of the interest on
this funded debt, on which the Sinking Fond
operates, is then 166,914,475 f. The sum of
93,089,620 f. is of course then applied in purchasing
from week to week portions of the capital of ti e
stock which constitutes these retires. But as the 5

per Cents. are above par, 5 per Cent. Stork ought
not and cannot be purchased; and, consequently.
the Sinking Fund is at this moment nearly wholly
employed in buying up 3 per Cents. The absurdity
of this system is obvious, since, whilst 5 per Cents.
are at 102, the 3 per Cents. are actually at neat ly 78.
If money is worth 5 per cent. in France (and it is
worth that sum), then the 5 per Cents. are at the
right price; but the 3 per Cents. are infinitely too
high. If, on the contrary, money is not worth 5 per
cent., and the 3 per Cents. are, therefore, at 78, why
then five per cents for the same reason ought to be
at a corresponding price with the three percents., that
is to say, if seventy-eight be a just price for the
three per cents., 130 is the just price for the five
per cents., instead of 102. The truth, then, is, that
the three per cents, are sent up by the ridiculous ap-
plication of nearly the whole of the Sinking Fund
to the purchase of three per cent. Rentes, in con-
sequence of the five per cent., Rentes being above
par. M. Laffitte has perceived the folly and the
wretchedness of this Gambling at the Bourse, and
has come forward with a proposition for reducing
the Sinking Fund to the annual sum of 44,600,000
francs voted by the Chamber, and for applying the
interest of the funds bought up, amounting this
year to 48,473,157 francs, to the relief of the peo-
ple, by diminishing the burden of their taxation.
M. L3flitte also proposes to divide the 44,600,000
ants as follows :-Ist 30,700,000 francs for buying
up five per cent. stock; 2d., 240,000 francs for
funding 4f per cent. stock; 3d. 1,660,000 francs
towards reducing four cent. stock; and 4th, only
12 millions, instead of nearly 90 millions of francs,
in sinking three per cent. stock. Thus, the tricks of
the Bourse gamesters would be stopped—a modes
rate,and well apportioned, and proportionate Sinking
Fund would be established—the additional tax pro-
posed on liquids would be rendered unnecssary,
and the stock bought up by the Sinking Fund would
at once become useful to the people, by diminishing,
the enormous burdens they are compelled to sus-
tain. This proposition, of M. Laffitte will, how-
ever, be opposed by the Minister, a;td by all who
prefer an unequal and gambling Sinking Fund,
which can be applied as the Government may think
fit, in supporting this or that Stock in the market,
according to the individual speculations of the Mem-
bers of the Administration, and not in purchasing at

low prices the Stocks, with the sole object in view
of paying off the d, bt, and saving 'minty to France.
A Project of Law, conferring the benefit of
primary instruction on the population of France,
has just passed the Chamber of Deputies, and has
been sent up to the Chamber of Peers. It is too
monarchical—too aristocratical—smacks too much
of a government measure—and is far from heing
what France could have desired, especially as it
does not provide for the education of females. But
yet this project is a great good; and when it shall
have passed the House of Peers, one of the promises
of the Charter of 1830 will have been redeemed.
The priests have been excluded from the manage-
ment of those schools for the young in the French
communes, without they are elected by the people.
This is an immense good. The Government took
the part of the priest,, and wished them to be mem-
bers of the Council of Educivion, by virtue of their
office. But this was rejected, and priests will not
any longer be allowed to dominate over the maters
of the public schools. Nor are the masters of the
schools elected in the communes to be any longer
subject to approval and confirmation by the Munster
of Public Instruction. This also is a great im-
provement. On the whole, the Project of Law is
a vast step taken ; and though much will remain to
be effected, the law will accomplish much. Let us
then rejoice, that at last the Revolution of July will
confer upon France the benefit of Infant Schools.
0. P. Q.

nu the:23l, M. Gasparin, the prefect of th..! I lepartment
'he Rhine, received orders by telegraph to prevent tht
')anquet from t,kintz place, and to publish an ordinance.
leclaring that by virtue of the laws of the 14th and 180
D,cernber, 1789. of the 16th and 24th August, 1790
mi of the 19th ant! 22d July, 1791, he, the Prefect, pro-
,,,bited the festive Republican scene in question. Thi,
. .

,oilinance was received with hisses and groans, and tin
Republicans declared that they would not regard it, as it
was illegal and monstrous. Some of the most celebrate,'
barristers of the city were also consulted—and they al
,igned an opinion that such an ordinance was opposed ti
the charter of 1830, which had repealed all those old ano
worn-out laws of by-gone times and days which had in,
nger any connexion with the period in which we live.
The excitement which this ordinance occasioned, was
..on augmented by another, which issued on the 27t1
ivotu the sam? Doctrinnaire Prefect, and which actual!,
prohibited the Troubadours, who for years past have amused
td delighted the working classes of Lyons by their song
Ind mirth, from continuing their practice of singing the
" Marseillaise," " Parisienne," and other popular airs. Tilts,
popular airs had recently been sung to words in praise of
o.e R.-public, and which were, therefore, offensive to thi
Prefect—and their prohibition was, therefore, pronounced,
['his Ordinance led to disturbances on the 28th and 29th

—the young men and the workmen joined publicly in
l!nging boto the airs, which were in•erdicted, and shouts
of " Vice la Republique!" rent the air. Apprised of these
cireumstanc,s, and anxious to preserve the second city o 1
the kingdom from the horrors of martial law and a state of
siege, to which Paris had been subj,cted, M. G irnier
Pages declined attending—advised that the fete should be
at least put off—and recommended obedience to the laws,
,:i none hut a legal resi•tance to oppressive measurer.
The National also counselled the friends of the liberty of
the press at Lyons to avoid c infl ct wi h the mlitary
forces of the Government, which the latter would rejoice
t bring to bear against them—and cautioned them against
,njoring their cause by an imprudent conflict with the
Government, unless they could be sure of success. Of
course, the National d elated that the fete was legal—that
the Ordnance of the Pref,ct countermanding it was irra-
tional and absurd—and that as a matter of right the R. pub-

lic ins of Lyons were and •uhtedly entitled toassemble. Bur
the National counselled the Republicans to content them-
selves with protesting against the illeplity of the decision
of the Prefect, and there, fur the present, leave the ques
Lion. Tire Republicans of Lyons appear, however, averse
to adopting this advice—and they have, to the present
moment, only consented to postpone the fete until to-
morrow week. This Republican demonstration has
crew ed much uneasiness to the Government, and excited
considerable alarm among the Dactrinnaires for the
‘' handful" of nctious turn out in even one city to be
5,000 male Republicans.
There have been likewise, during the few past days,
troubles not only at Lyons but at Leves—and not only at
Lcves but at Chartres—and at Tarascon, Chaumont,
Gevres, Montpellier, and in the departments of La Vendee.
These troubles in the departments are, in some cases, po-
litical, in others religious, and in others have been to-
mented by local acts of oppression and by local bad govern-
ment. But these troubles show every where the existence
of dissatisfaction, of discontent, of unhappiness, and of
that uneasy state of feeling which precedes a more general
and extensive explosion. It is, therefore, that to them I
direct your attention. 0. P. Q.