The Sun.
London, England, 1851-07-03 00:00:00

THE SUN,

both for the adornment of the literary annals of
his age, and for the advancement of the
interests of t ess successful aspirants for
fame, wb it ap ars to be his pride to
acknowleN his brethren, and his ambition to
befriend as his fellow-labourers. The indomitable
energy displayed by him in the development of his
own splendid and comprehensive abilities, has been
only equalled by his perseverance in furthering the
cause of authorcraft, by his generosity in maintain-
ing the rights of his class—a class which he rather
boasts of belonging to, than is ashamed of recog-
nizing—and, above all, by that elevated magnanimity
which has impelled him to advocate the organization
of a system of international copyright in spite of all
the miserable insinuations which he must have fore-
seen might be directed against him by the more
evilly disposed among the Pococurantes ofhis genera-
tion. Hence it was that on Tuesday afternoon we
listened, not without the warmest emotions of pride
as well as of pleasure—pride at a courage which alto-
gether despised the sinister inuendoes of calumny—
pleasure at an announcement which illustrated in a
vivid manner the largeness of his popularity—to that
candid avowal of Sir BULWER LYTTON to the
effect, that had such a law as the one here required
been formally established, when first he began tc
write, he himself would have been richer at this day
by no less an amount than 60;0001.! The fact waQ
instanced, remember, merely by way of showing the
importance of carrying out the reform here demandee
if we would benefit literature itself by benefiting its,
generslly spe-
admit ill-cared-for cultivators. True
no doubt, that the case of Sir BULWER LYTTON ir
one of a singularly exceptional character, being the:,
of a writer who has ascended to the very topmo,
round of the ladder of celebrity, en intellectull
Athlete who has been not merely a competitor, but a
victor in nearly all the arenas or departments ci
litera ure. Poetry of the satiric, the idyllic, and the
lyrical character he has crowned by his national epic'
of "king Arthur," a work which in many respects
must be regarded as his masterpiece. Romano
be has applied to the resuscitation of life in the
bones of antiquity as in his " Last Days of
Pompeii," to the delineation of society it,
the mediaeval epoch as in his beautiful
narrative of " Harold," and to the portraiture of mo-
dern times in its revolutionary aspect as in " Za-
noni," in its artificial aspect as in " Pelham," in
its criminal aspect as in " Lucretia," and last, and
" best beautiful" of all, in its home or domestic aspect,
as in his exquisite story of the " Caxtons." An
essayist he has proved himself to be of no indifferent
order by his charming melange " The Student." A
traveller more than usually observant he appears be-
fore us throughout every chapter of his " Pilgrims c f
the Rhine." An annalist of distinguished veracity, as
may be seen by reference to his " History of
Athens." A political writer of considerable power, as
was sufficiently demonstrated by his " England and
the English," a creator of minor and perhaps more
graceful fictions than those implied under the generic
title of The Novel, such, for example, as "Lida," or
as "Falkland," Sir BULWER LYTTON has at the
same time secured to himself a prominent position as
the most popular and successful dramatist of his age,
whether in the romantic drama, as in the " Lady of
Lyons," in the comic drama, as in "Money," or in
the tragic drama, as in "Richelieu." Against
a reputation of this Protean character it would
be idle to suppose that we could find many
emulators advancing, and frivolous, consequently, to
imagine that his case should be regarded as otherwise
than exceptional. Nevertheless, while the proceeds
of their literary industry might be less in amount
than those obtained by the energetic genius of Sir
BULWER LYTTON, they cannot be regarded by any
means as less to them in proportion. On the con-
trary, we might in most instances designate them as
larger and of more serious consideration. Another
argument, put forward with equal emphasis bo)
Sir BULWER LYTTON, WAS one calculated to
" tell " rather powerfully on the citizens of the
United States, seeing that it threatens them with the
extinction of their rising but already nearly exhausted
titerature. Referring to Belgium as a testimony o;
the pernicious influence of any country flourishing
upon the piratical reprinting of the writings of a neigh-
bour, he insisted that Auuei iea was even now giviek
evidence Qt the same lamentable decline in thi,
rase of her intellect. " Their Coorea and the'.
IRVING, their JONATLIAN EDWARDS and their
CHANNING were children of a past genera-
ti in," said Sir BULwER LITTON, at this
portion of his harangue, " and not one," he
added, "is rising in their stead" worthy of being
regarded as their successor. From this we pre-
sume that the Eugli.h author scarcely regards as his
contemporaries the histot ical antiquary Paascorr,
the annalist BANCROFT, the essayist EMERSON, or the
poet LONGFELLOW. The omission ti such names
appeared to us somewhat of an oversight. Yet, even
with them, it must be allowed that the Unite°
States has, of late years, given but indif-
ferent tokens of vigour in reference to the de-
velopement of anything like a national or indi-
genous literature. Nor can this be in any way surpris-
ing, seeing that whereas the publishers of New York
would have to pay BRYANT fur a new poem, they
would hive to pay nothing to TENNYSON, while they
would be compelled to hand over a sum of money
to N. P. WILLIS for a new satirical fiction, they
would be required to hand over not one farthing for a
much better work of the same kind by W. M.
TRACKERAY, and while they would be reduced to the
necessity of remunerating W. H. PRESCOTT for a new
volume of history, they would be expected to do
nothing of the kind in return for a similar book by
T. B. MACAULAY. These are home truths which it
would be well for America to con seriously and
betimes. By advancing such " stubborn facts" as
these Sir BULWER LYTTON i 3 most effectually ad-
vancing the cause of an international law of copy.
right.

"The great chicory question" has been disposed of
for the present year. Sir CHARLES WOOD has flung
the mantle of his protection over those who indulge
in an innocent predilection for adulterating a good
and wholesome article, subject to a heavy import
duty, with another of an inferior and cheaper de-
scription, and thus committing a gross fraud on the
purchaser by giving him something very different
from that fur which he had contracted, and which
ha supposed he was about to receive. We had sup-
posed that the Government would never directly sanc-
tion a fraud that could be regarded as neither more
nor less than receiving money under false pre-
tences. Sir CHARLES WooD has, however, com-
pletely disabused our minds of this erroneous impres-
sion, and proved that so far as he is concerned Use
amount of revenue to be obtained is the only object
deemed worthy of consideration—the Alpha and
Omega of his solicitude. It is true that be joined
another matter which might justify Government in-
terference, viz., "if the article mixed were delete-
rioui ;" but that he slurred over ao rapidly as to
show that was quite a secondary question in his
opinion.

Now, without in any degree entering into the
question as to the salubrity of chicory as an article of
doily consumption—a point, however, on which we
believe there is a great difference of opinion amongst
persons capable of arriving at a sound conclusion—
we should say, that it should, at least, be optional
with the consumer whether he should be allowed to
drink the pure coffee or the " Wood admixture."
Tastes will differ as well as doctors, and constitutions
are not so exactly similar that what will agree with one
Person may not be injurious to another. Why, then,
to
we ash, might not the coffee and chicory be sold
"der their proper names ? Those persons who ac-
Cordinga
improven d eve n
Honourable representations made to the Right
Baronet preferred the " mixed article,"
any extent that might might
the
got additional quantities of plain chicory to
beverage, gratify their tastes to
hindrance. They mightbe
I take plain chicoryw.lever), agreeable without let or
if they thought proper,
of coffee. They could":u7tr an
its being " adulterated"
or spoiled by the scidittti Q• lit
tastes of those who still clung with
rate without being compelled to
desperate tenacity
infinitesimaltaooy a at a quantity
ceap r
toto the " Indian berry," and liked the
stringent
pay for the depraved
name although
they could not obtain the reality.
not in any degree be damnified by they,
tre
The '
sehnofour:cdebmeenstolodf tuhnedEerxciistes rerigguhlattiodne Y, then' would
regulations,
that
that en,
" wiroo7 aliould be celled u coffee ~ , ' t
94 .Ichiomei

" chicory," and the one not confounded with the
other, while those who objected to the home-grown
substitute might, if they pleased, obtain pure
coffee, a matter of considerable difficulty under
the existing system. _ _

But the question cannot be disposed of even on
these grounds. There are other acd even more power-
ful elements that must enter into the calculation.
It has been proved that the adulteration is not re-
stricted to mere chicory, but that the most horrible
abominations—horse beans and lupins, dog biscuits,
mahogany shavings, tan, and other even more objec-
tionable matters are mixed with the article, and
"strongly recommended for family use." There
can be so doubt that these things are dele-
terious, but Sir CHARLES WOOD contents
himself with saying " that he believes
it is not a general practice," and that " he found some
persons who dealt in coffee were naturally indignant
at the imputation they conceived to be cast upon their
honesty by its being said that other things than
chicory were mixed with coffee."

Now, on the first point, we must say,that, if it can
bs shown that the system is at all recognised, if even
a small proportion of the dealers are guilty of such
gross misconduct, it is quite sufficient to justify
stringent regulations being adopted and enforced.
Respectable chemists would not recklessly dispose of
arsenic or other deadly poisons to every applicant.
The persons who did so were few in number, and yet
it was found necessary to introduce a new measure
for regulating the sale, although the parties acting
indiscreetly amounted to but a fraction ptr cent. of
the hig'aly respectable body who were affected
by the enactments. The question is not whether
it is " a general practice," but whether
.tny instance could be adduced of such acts ; and, un-
'ortunately, the evidence on that point is too conclu-
sive to admit of any doubt or difficulty. The
extreme sen.itiveness of the parties who are so
" naturally indignant" at the imputation does not by
any means alter she nature of .the question. If the
cap did not fit in some degree they would not b.
quite so ready to assume it.

Even on the only point which Sir CHARLES WOOD
considers worthy of notice, the " protection of the
revenue," we are ready to join issue with him. The
diminished consumption of dutrpaying coffee, while
all other beverages of a similar deseription, tea, cocoa,
Ste., are increasing in proportion to the population
and the improved circumstances of the working
classes, sufficiently prove the injury to the revenue
arising from the practice. It is sufficient to
say that an untaxed article is substituted for
one paying a heavy duty to show that there must
be an injury to the revenue unless the consumption
of the mixed article should be so greatly increased
(by reason of the admixture) as to occasion a greater
consumption of the pure berry than would be °b-
rained if it were sold without the adulteration.
On this point every particle of evidence
is against Si, CHARLES WOOD, and proves
chat the revenue is very seriously injured by the
practice.

There might be some weight attachable to the ar-
gument respecting the inconvenience of any Excise
interference ; but when it is known that such inter-
ference is tolerated with respect to tea, tobacco,
pepper, &c., &c., it is too absurd to adduce it as a
reason why the coffee dealers should be allowed an
exemption not afforded to any other persons subject
to the Excise laws, and to which they themselves are
.übjected in other matters in which they deal. In
this and in other matters we must trust to the voice
of public opinion to enforce the retirement of Sir
CHARLES WOOD, and to obtain for him a successer
who will pay some attention to the wishes and feel-
ings of the community.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris journals of yesterday.
The Moniteur publishes the following b,legraphic
ispetches with reference to the PRESIDENT'S j.)urney :
" TOURS. TUESDAY, HALF PAST ONE P.lll.

"The inauguration tram arrived bete at a quarter-
past twvlve. The President of the Republic was received
with enthusiasm by the populution, the National Guard,
and the garrison."

"POITIERS, HALF PAST FIVE, P.M.
"The train arrivui here at haif-past thiee. An im-
nense crowd, assemblyd at the stati, n, saluted the Pre-
ident with its accl,ma‘nns. After the b,nedicti,m of
tie locomo.ives, the President of the Republic pa tied
through the town on his way to the Prefecture. De-
putations from six depait Lents and the inhabitants of
the n4ighbouring country show the same anxiety as
he inhAntants of Poid rs to give a worthy reception
the head of the Executive power."
A grand lePa was given by the Mayor to the PRE-
sIDENT of the R-nublic, at which the Mayor proposed
Lhe PRESIDEINT'S health, prefacing it by the following
speech :

Monsieur le President,—Permit me, in the name of
the city ut Poitiers, to thank you for having by your
presence added to the solemnity of our inaugurating
ie es; with the railway there opens for us a new era of
mpurtance and of actlvity ; we now touch the gates of
earis and of Bordeaux. This is valuable conquest fir
our commerce and our manufactures, the happy augury
of what we may expect from our being brought closer
to the two great centres of population. We, on this
day, owe to it the advantage of having amongst us our
illustrious visitors and the power, in presence of a
powerful and sympathetic auditory, to request the
establishment of the faculty of sciences which has been
so long promised to us, and to solicit the support of
Eke Government to give to our new lines of communica-
tion all the developments which they call tor. Ou
this happy occasion, however, we must not be
egotists, and when on all sides we see crowd*
hasten within our walls,
we feel the necessity
of turning our ideas
_towards our dear coun-
try. Long enough rent asunder by violent
shocks, France will have no more impious and fratri-
cidal struggles; she recognises no other arbitrator but
legality, no other contest between her children bat that
which takes place in the electoral arena. Let us have
confidence in the enlightened patriotism of our fellow-
citizens; be persuaded that on the great day of voting
the nation will know how to dictate in a pacific, but
powerful and irresistible voice, the supreme decree before
which all Frenchmen will bow with respect. Then will
have ceased much of our uneasiness; a feeling of security
will revive, republican institutions will soon become
strengthened, and the numerous ameliorations proposed
by so many enlightened minds will be realized. On
those ameliorations, you, in particular, Monsieur le
President, have fixed your serious and deep attention,
happy thus to prove that you well comprehend the duties
of the high mission which has been confided to you, and
the wants of the period in which we live."
This toast was drunk with loud applause, after which
the PREsiDENT of the Republic replied as follows :
" Monsieur le Maire,— tie my interpreter with your
fellow-citizens, and to thank them for the reception, so
kind and so cordial, which they have given me. Like
you, I look to the future fate of the country without ap-
prehension, for its safety will always proceed from the
will of the people freely expressed, and religiously se-
cepted.—( Applause.) And, therefore, I anxiously wish
for the solemn moment when the powerful voice of the
nation will bear down all kinds of opposition, and place
in accord all rivalitiea. Fur it is must sffl.ning to be-
bold revolutions convulse society, heap up ruin on ruin,
and yet leave still upstanding the same passions, the
'same . xigeucies, and the same elements of disturbance.
When one traverses France, and beholds the varied
riches of her soil, the marvellous products of her in-
dustry; when one admires her rivers, roads, canals, and
railways—her ports bathed by two great seas—one is
obliged to ask to what degree of prosperity she would
not attain if a durable tranquillity would permit her
inhabitants to ou-operate together, with all their means,
for the general good, iu place of yielding to intestine
dissensions.—(Applause.) When, under another point
of view, one reflects on that territorial unity which has
been bequeathed to us by the persevering efforts of the
monarchy, to that political, judicial, administrative, and
commercial unity which has been given to us by revo-
lutions; when one contemplates those populations, so
intelligent and laborious, animated as they almost all
are by the same belief, and speaking the same lan-
guage—that clergy so venerable, inculcating morality
and virtue—that magistracy so renowned for impar-
tiality, which causes jestice to be respected—that army
so valiant and well-disciplined, which is only ac-
quainted with honour and duty—(Bravo, bravo)—
in fine, when one learns to appreciate that crowd of
eminent men capable of guiding the Government,
and to adorn assemblies as well as the sciences
and the arts—when all this is borne in mind, one seeks
with anxiety what the causes can be which prevent this
nation, already so great, from becoming still greater,
and one is astonished that a society which contains so
many elements of power and prosperity can expose itself
so frequently to seek its own ruin.—(Loud applause.)
Can it then be true, as the Emperor has said, that the
old world is ended and that the new one is not yet
firmly fixed? Without knowing what it will be, let us
do our duty to-day in preparing for it solid foundations.
—(Hear, hear.) I am well pleased to employ this len.
guage to you in a province remarked at all times for its
upm. Let us
na tdrei
ro t
Charles
s
t nhoe c efnotrrgeeot f aht e ryooi uo
rr
e tsoi swt ann 07-9

thAt it was for fourteen years the refuge of nationality
in France when invested.—(Applause.) Let us hope
that it will be still one of the first to give the example of
devotedness to civilization and its native land.—(Loud
applause.) I now drink to ' The prosperity of the town
of Poitiet•s.'—(Prolonged cheers.)"
a Idiunet (du Nord) has been named reporter
of the Committee appointed to classify the petitions
presented to the Assembly praying for a revision of
the Constitution. The number of signatures
(including parks) attached to these petitions
,•4100uit- to 144 890,126, awl whoa -- -all