The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-28 00:00:00

''.f,4' brtBsill4 .lUlt

LONDON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 1851.

Where is Mrs. SLOANE ? It is some weeks since
we addressed that interrogatory to those through
whose negligence and apathy she was enabled to effect
her escape. We have now great satisfaction in
being enabled to return a more satisfactory
answer to that inquiry than we had ventured to anti-
cipate. From a
paragraph in another part of this
day's impression, it will be seen that Mrs. SLOANE
has at length been apprehended, and that she
11 at tbis moment an inmate of her
MAJESTY'S gaol of Newgate ! For this fortunate
result we may take some degree of credit to our-
"iv". We felt the fearful consequences to
society of permitting a person charged
with So fearful an outrage to escape
with
impunity. Such an evasion of justice would,
indeed, bring the majesty of the law into
contempt and disrepute, and excite a
feeling among
the great body of the working classes-
-of those whose
children might be subjected to such treatment as
that experienced by the f f
un or.unate JANE 1V "ItED—
which should be avoided by any means practicable.
We have reason to believe that our Kt.:tides on the

subject stimulated the dormant energies of the board
of guardians of the West London Union, and
produced the tardy and inadequate reward of 201.,
offered for the capture of the fugitive, and also of
the additional 301. from the Home-office. It also
appears that our notice last week, that she was residing
under a feigned name in Boulogne, put the officers
of justice on the right track.
We have now a certainty that the entire transac-
tion will be fully and fairly investigated, that no por-
tion of evidence will be withheld in consequence of
the absence of the person chiefly responsible. The
weight that should be attached to the stories which have
been circulated as to the alleged intention of the
defendant to surrender herself to take her trial
along with her husband, may be estimated
by the fact that she had fled from England to
another land, erroneously supposing the extradition of
criminals treaty did not apply to cases of mis-
demeanour, but still more distinctly from the
circumstance that she did not or could not
procure bail for her appearance. That pleasing tale
was intended to prevent the stringent search that
would otherwise have been instituted. It has, how-
ever, failed, owing to the determination shown
by the public not to permit themselves to be
deluded by such pretences as those which were so
readily swallowed by the worthy Alderman before
whom the preliminary investigation was conducted.

Among the various claimants to the attention of
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who seek from that
Minister a relief from the burden of taxation, the
soap-makers are not least important. That the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer will have a sum left
out of his surplus, even after he shall
have repealed the window-duties, is, we
believe, admitted by all financiers, and the claims of
the soap-boilers are certainly very strong. In the
first place, the tax on soap is a direct tax on cleanli-
ness, and, therefore, like the window duty, is
a promoter of disease, and should be at once removed
by any Government which professes to care for the
sanitary condition of the people. The imposition of
this duty causes the price of soap to be increased to
the consumer in a much greater proportio❑ than
would at first sight appear, inasmuch as it subjects
the manufacturer to Excise surveillance, and forces
him to adopt a more expensive and cumbrous
method of manufacturing than he would
adopt were the trade entirely free ; this again
operates most injuriously on our export trade. With
a free trade in soap, we should supply the world; we
have all the ingredients of which soap is made at a
much lower rate than any of the continental
nations ; and yet the French soap-makers beat us
out of the Mediterranean market, because they are
enabled to use an apparatus which the soap-makers in
this country are prohibited from using. The soap-
makers of Liverpool, in their recently published
" Reasons for Advocating a Repeal of the Soap Duty,"
relate the following hard case:—
" An extensive export soap-maker here some time ago
received an order for white soap for the Havannah; it
was executed, and the quality gave so much satisfac-
tion that a second order was sent, which the maker
could not accept, having lost in the first transaction 41.
a ton in the drawback ; the soap having been made of
palm oil, was above the specific gravity allowed by the
Excise, and was accordingly charged with an extra
duty, though whe❑ shipped the regular duty of 14/. a tun
only was allowed in drawback."
We are not surprised to learn from this able docu-
ment that the foreign export trade i❑ soap has fallen
off in Great Britain; our only surprise is to hear
that it is not utterly annihilated in conse-
quence of the restrictions imposed on the soap
manufacture—restrictions, be it remembered, to
which the Irish soap manufacturer is not
subjected, the consequence of which is, as the Liver-
pool soap-makers state, that "the soap-makers in
Ireland frequently ship a particular quality of soap
in bond to Liverpool by steamers, for transshipment
on board a vessel for a foreign market, while a Liver-
pool soap• maker would lose nearly 455. a ton in
the drawback if he made a similar article." The
price of soap is so enhanced by the imposition
of this duty, and by the restrictions to which the fair
trader is subjected, that it operates as a premium to
the smuggler, and the illicit manufacture of soap
is carried on to an extent that to the uninitiated
is scarcely credible. Thus the tax is as
demoralising as it is injurious. That the
repeal of this duty would be followed by an im-
mense increase in the manufacture of soap, as
the repeal of the glass duties was followed by an im-
mense increase in the manufacture of glass, and
by a consequent increase in employment fur
the labouring population, cannot be doubted
and the shipowner and merchant would be
equally benefited with the labourer by the im-
mense development which would be consequently
given to our export trade. By throwing open the
trade and releasing the manufacturer from the shackles
of the Excise, there cannot be a doubt but that the
community at large would benefit not only by a de-
crease in the price of soap, but by an improvement
in its quality. The Liverpool soap-makers say :--
"Since the duty was taken off candles the quality
has greatly improved in this country, the chandler. are
able to use palm oil almost exclusively, from which
they can produce the finest candles now in use. This is
not the case in our trade, as the quality of soap in
England has much deteriorated within the last few
years."

Whether wa consider the subject in a sanitary, a
commercial, or a moral point of view, there cannot
be a doubt but that the Excise duty on soap is most
objectionable. _

On Thursday last we extracted from the Journal
of Industry an article to which was affixed the
well known signature of " Aladdin" on the subject of
"Railways is British India." It is almost unneces-
sary to say that the matter was considered in an en-
lightened and comprehensive spirit, and that it was
treated in a masterly manner. The vast importance
of railways in social and commercial, as well as in
political and military points of view, was clearly and
distinctly shown. There might not be any very
great difficulty in this part of the case, for few
indeed could be found to controvert a proposition
so self-evident as that immense advantages would be
derived from the construction of a judicious system of
railways, by which intercourse and traffic would be
materially facilitated in the Anglo-Indian territories.
But how is this great desideratuna to be achieved—
whence is the enormous outlay that weuld be required
for so gigantic an undertaking to be obtained ? and, if
accomplished, would the project prove remunerative
to the speculators and yield a reasonable profit on the
amount of capital that would be invested P These are
the questions to be answered before the matter can
be taken up in the ordinary way by a company of
private individuals, who look only to the amount of
dividend which they may fairly calculate on receiving
from the earnings of the lines, and who totally dis-
regard the advantages to be derived by Great Britain
from an almost unlimited supply of cotton, the raw
material on which the industry of so many of our
fellow-countrymen is exercised, at a cheap and easy
rate of purchase, and by the new market that would
be supplied for the sale of our manufactures,
and the demand of a new set of cus-
tomers, who would probably consume as
much as all the rest of the world together.
Neither would such a company make any very great
allowance for the consolidation of the British power
in the,East, which would be placed on the best foun-
dation—the affectionate loyalty of a happy, contented,
and grateful people, who felt that their comparative
prosperity, such as they could never have hoped for,
under their native rulers, was attributable to the
wisdom and enterprise of the Unglish nation. The
revenue obtainable from those wide-spread dominions,
containing about 610,000 square, oomleso,o mahnudinahn souls,abited
by a population of more than „0010
and which revenue would be greatly increased by the
change, would nut in any degree affect or influence a
private company, who, as we have already stated,
would look only to the probable earnings of the rail-
ways. The preliminary interrogatories would there-
fore probably meet unfavourable responses, so far as
private parties were concerned ; for, although we are
convinced that Indian railways would eventually
prove remunerative, even if constructed in
the ordinary way, there are scarcely data
sufficient to satisfy capitalists—a timid and sus-
picious race—of the fact, and we cannot therefore
venture to anticipate that works adequate to the exi-
gencies of the case, and calculated to develop the
wonderful natural resources of our Oriental domi-
nions,
will be constructed by private enterprise, at
least without a Government guarantee to secure

THE SUN,

the parti;s concerned tram any possible
loss ; and if such a guarantee is to he
given, it would surely be as well for
Government to undertska the matter themselves,
even though they were compelled to borrow the I
necessary funds in the ordinary mode. What differ-
ence can there be between a guarantee that the rail-
ways will earn a certai❑ specified amount, the com-
pany being bound to make up and satisfy to the
shareholders any deficiency therein, and the receipt
of the earnings and the payment of the same amount
in the shape of interest on a debt contracted for the
purpose of executing the necessary works ? Unques-
tionably none, so far as the company are concerned.
Should the railways prove a bad speculation they
would be in nearly the same position one way as the
other, whether as sureties or borrowers ; although,
even in that rather im probable contingency, they
would receive ample equivalents in increased revenue
and diminished expenditure, more especially in the
military department. But if, on the other Land, as
we hope and believe, that the undertaking would
prove profitable, per se, without any reference to
other matters, the company would have to pay
a much larger price, more than double
the original cost to the fortunate shareholders. In
either case, then, or in whatever point of view the
question may be regarded, it appears that it would
be the interest and policy of the company to construct
these much required works on their own account.
But Mr. DUNCAN has pointed out a mode in which
this object can be carried out " without costing a
farthing—without borrowing—and without paying a
fraction of interest on any loan," whereby a large
source of permanent revenue would accrue to the
company. This is by the judicious application of the
principle which has already been tested in the case
of the " Meat Market at Guernsey," which DANIEL
DE LISLE BROCK gave to his country, " without sub •
tracting one solitary farthing, as principal or interest,
from a single Guernseyman, or a single foreigner ;"
where, as Mr. DUNCAN justly remarks, " no burden
of debt exists, and an annual income of 4001.
(less the cost of repair) is secured in per-
petuity, without the imposition of a farthing
of tax." The same plan that proved so eminently
successful on a small scale would answer equally
well on a large. It would be as easy to construct
railways in India at a nominal expenditure of
10,000,000/. sterling, and yielding a permanent in-
come of 1,000,0001. to the company, as it was to erect
a meat market in Guernsey at a nominal outlay of
4,0001., and to derive therefrom a perpetual revenue
of 4001. per annum. Let the Court of Directors
the magnates of Leadenball-street ponder
on these matters. If they desire to ascer-
tain the advantages of railways, so far as
the cultivation of cotton in India is concerned, let
them study an admirable work just published, " The
Cotton and Commerce of India, by JOHN CHAP-
MAN, Esq., Founder and Manager of the Great In-
dian Peninsular Railway Company," a publication
which will well repay perusal, and which is indeed
conclusive on the question ; and, if they doubt the
practicability of the mode of execution, let them con-
sider what has already been accomplished on a small
scale in one of the Channel Islands, and see
whether there are any difficulties connected with
the one which were not equally applicable
to the other, and which were not easily and readily
overcome. If those inquiries be entered on in a
proper spirit, without bias or prejudice, we shall ere
long have to congratulate England and India on the
construction of works worthy of the power and enter-
prise of the Angio-Saxon race.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris journals of yesterday.

The interpellation of the new Ministry took place
yesterday in the Assembly, and ended not merely in
the defeat but panic flight of the Burgraves, the
justification of the PRESIDENT'S Ministers, and the
triumph of the Republicans, who, by their judicious
tactics, terrified the Burgraves into a hasty closure
of the debate, without an adverse vote against the
Ministry.
The debate was commenced by M. HowYN-TitIx-
!HERE, who said that, for the first time in the Par-
liamentary annals of prance, a Cabinet had been ap-
pointed consisting exclusively of persons not belong-
ing to the legislative body. He demanded whether this
proceeding on the part of the Executive power was
incidental or part of a system ? If the Ministry were
really one of transition, it would be a sign that that
power was lowering its tone. But to lower one's tone
is not al ways to answer with sufficient distinct-
ness. He would now ask the Government to what
it was leading them, and to whom f He then entered
into an examination of the origin of the Ministry, and
called upon the Ministers to explain the nature of
the policy which they intended to follow ; for it was
not enough to reassure alarmed and uncertain minds
that they were persons unknown to the Chamber or
the country. He asked if the genealogy of the
Cabinet was to be sought in the Message or October
81 or of November 12. He called in question the
seriousness of the attempts made to form a Ministry
out of Members of the Assembly, and assigned as
proofs of the insincerity of the negotiations entered
into with this object the fact of M. WAIsSE having
been summoned from Lille by the telegraph on the
same day that M. LEON FAUCHER was charged with
the mission of forming a Cabinet; so that even the
English papers were able to predict that a Cabinet
would be formed in the way in which it had turned
out. With respect to the policy which the Ministry
intended to follow, he wanted to know if the Govern-
ment intended to apply the electoral law of 31st May
to all elections, or to exempt the election of the Pre-
sident from this application.
M. ROPER, the Minister of Justice, replied, that the
Government understood by the independence of the
two Powers mentioned in the message, and com-
mented on with so much dis►rust, nothing at variance
with what had been laid down by the Constitution,
their separation in fact. He was exceedingly explicit
in his declaration that the Ministry was
_essentially
transitory, and meant to be nothing else. It was a
cabinet of administration, not a political cabinet—a
cabinet of transition, conducting in the shortest delay
to a definitive cabinet. .

M. ODILON BARROT was then desirous of speaking,
but M. MATHIEU DE LA:DROME, who was in possession
of the tribune, insisted on his right. M. MATHIEU
DE LA PRO/LE then taxed the Legitirnatists and Or-
leanists home with the want of confidence ex-
pressed by their leaders in the permanence of
the republic, and showed that they had set
the example to the Government of Louts
NAroLEoN to prepare a solution in his own favour.
Thereupon in order to avoid a discussion on and an
exposure of their own delinquencies and treasons, the
Burgraves determined to bring the debatd to a close,
to which of course the Bonapartists had no objection ;
the Burgraves, in fact, "have had enough of it," and
it is evident that they can now always be effectually
silenced and coerced by raising a debate on their own
contemplated treasons. All these exposures cannot
but tend to the ruin of the reaction and the consoli-
dation of the Rs public.
No one seems to enjoy the humiliation of the Bur-
graves more than M. EmILE DE GIRARDIN. The
Preese has the following pungent article on their po-
sition :

" The Burgraves cannot console themselves for the
loss of their influence. Unhappy lovers, betrayed by
Ministerial influence, they cry, they call, they implore,
they menace. But this capricious mistress laughs at
their sorrow and their disappointment. She dues not
content herself by driving them to despair by
her infidelities ; she humiliates them by her
preferences. M. Changarnier and M. Thiers are not
simply disgraced—they are supplanted by M. Waisse!
There are, then, naturally many deceived, ambitious,
and wounded vanities. We cannot pity them. We
have not placed our stake in the game of the Burgraves,
and we are rather tempted to believe that we should
win something if they were to lose a good deal. It the
majority divided be powerless, so much the worse for it!
he country, which nominated it on its promises, will
judge it by its awe. As for the Assembly, its part is one
of the most simple; if it distrusts the Executive Govern-
ment, let it re-establish the counterpoises it has broken ;
let it keep itself in equilibrium by liberty; let it abolish
restrictive and compressive laws! If it does not do
that—if it will not do it, let it be delivered to its
own simple forces, come what may! So much the worse
for it. It will only have the fate it deserves. There are
only two means of protection for an Assembly which
considers itself menaced—the material force o an army,
or the moral force of public opinion. To which of these
two forces will the Assembly appeal? To the first or
the second? To form a camp around the Legislative
palace—to protect the inviolability of the Assembly by
an array of bayonets—to organic an important com-
mend in the bands of a general devoted to its prero-
gative—it has thought of all that, and still no doubt
thinks of it. But is that serious? is it possible? Sup-
pose that Gen. Changarnier and Gen. Lamoriclre be at
the head of 40,000 men to protect the Parliamentary
frontier, which no one attacks! We would not give eight
days to such an army to be broken up by ridicull !"
The PRESIDENT of the Republic is engaged in en-
deavouring to form a permanent Ministry; he has
sent to Constantinople to offer the Ministry of War to
General Auric. In the event of the General ac-
cepting the portfolio of this department, he will be
succeeded as Ambassador at Constantinople by Ge-
neral I\I.LoNAN.
The members of the National Assembly who hold