The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-29 00:00:00

prietors are now successfully engaged, some as
gerauts, some as managers, and others as proprie-
tors. flere, then, we have an enterprise of French
capitalists in England—perhaps one of the first—in
close analogy with that of English railway proprie-
tors in France. As the French capitalists had not
observed the working of the railway system, and
having no data for confidence, had left the lead in
them, in France, to English capitalists, who Had
grounds for confidence in them, so th 3 English
capitalists, not having observed the working of the
amalgamated system of omnibusses in Paris, give •
the lead, in London, to French capitalists, who
have had means of observing, what is practicable.
The interference of the French Government to re-
strict the freedom of the French capitalists to
embark in such an enterprise, is, we apprehend,
just as erroneous in principle, and as injurious to
France as it would have been to England had the
English Government been, in any such apprehended
emergency,empowered to interfere irt the like man- '
ner with the foreign investments of English capi-
talists. To interfere with the freedom of trade in
capital, by the French capitalist, in the notion of in-
ducing him to lend his money at 5 per cent. at home,
is no other than a forced loan, interfering with
others at home who would probably be willing to
lend at five, and to deprive him, or the French
capitalists, or France, of five per cent. of profit
due to their enterprise—not to speak of the incon-
venience to the English community in being de-
prived of the full advantage of the experience and
skill acquired iu France.

From-the tenor of the writing in the Assembler
_Nationale, it might be imagined that it was only
the capital of Franco which is being sent away by
her capitalists to " enrich " foreign countries ;
whereas some of the money which her capitalists
send out will be money received by them as agents
from other foreign countries than the one to which
it is sent ; and whilst it is being so sent from
France, other foreign capital is going into France
to " enrich it," from Austria and Germany as well
as from England.
The order alluded to, as interpreted by the
Assembler Nationale, tends not merely to the
maintenance but to the extension of the old fiscal
wars of protectionism and prohibitions, of which
we had hoped to see the termination under the sway
of the present Emperor. Every one who has personal
communications with him on matters of business
leaves him with an impression that he is " up to his
great position," and superior to the men by whom
he is surrounded. From his known tendencies in
favour of freo trade, there is much doubt whether
this backward and anti-free•trade measure is not
due solely to the Minister of Finance.

EARTHQUAKE IN CALIFORNIA.

(Front time " San FranciJo Herald.)

The severest shock of earthquake ever experi-
enced in this vicinity since the settlement of Cali-
fornia by Americans, occurred on Friday morning,
at just 21 minutes past 5 o'clock. Every building
in this city and vicinity shook to its foundation,
and in some quarters the houses swayed and rolled
as vessels in a heavy sea. Tue inmates of every
dwelling were awakened, and some were even
thrown from their beds, so violent was the shock.
Many persons rushed into the streets, and but that
the circumstance of their sudden appearance was
of a character to produce sensations of terror
rather than merriment, the scene would have been
most ludicrous. The large hotels were depopulated
instanter, and in the general rush articles of furni-
ture were thrown down, occasioning noises which
added considerably to the clatter and confusion
caused by the earthquake.
In the upper stories of the large brick buildings

the violent motion produced a general cominotion
among crockery ware. Vessels containing liquids
were turned over, either by the shock or in the
hurry of the inmates to escape. Every disturbance
was credited to the earthquake, however, and it ap-
peared to be an almost unanimous impression that
San Francisco was about to share the fate of Jed.lo.
The howling of dogs, and fearful bellowing of cattle
in the suburbs, produced a fitting accompaniment
to the scene. Even the pigs broke from their pens
and ran away grunting with fright. The horses
tied in stalls fairly shrieked with terror, and tried
to break their halters.. Indeed, everything ani-
mate and inanimate was more or less affected by
the shock. 'We hear of some very remarkable in-
cidents of birds seeking refuge from the impending
danger by flight through open windows. From night
watchmen and others, whose duties kept them from
sleep, we learn there were several light shocks pre-
vious to the heavy ones
The last shock was preceded by a sound as of a
heavy gust of wind passing through the cordage of
a vessel, and the motion was accompanied by
rumbling noise like that which is produced by a
Heavily freighted vehicle passing rapidly over a
wooden bridge. The shock occurred at twenty-four
minutes past 5 o'clock, apparently ranging from
south-west to north-east, and lasted about fifteen
seconds. The motion was horizontal and undulating.
Some persons describe the motion as of a whirling
nature, but this could not have been the case
with-
ou occasioning much greater damage to the
masonry of the brick and stone buildings. It is
evident that the violence of the shock was diffe
rently experienced in various parts of th© city. In
some localities in the suburbs its degree of violence
was innch greater than in others. In several in-
stances the vibrations were so great as to overturn
heavy pieces of furniture. Again, the motion is
compared to that produced on shipboard when the
side of the vessel is struck by a heavy sea—a sud-
den shock without vibration. Very few persons
escaped being aroused by the shock, but some there
are of whom it is said that they slept on undis-
turbed through the whole.
Some estimate may be formed of the violence of
the shock when it is stated that a man sleeping on
the third floor of the Custom-house building was
thrown from his bed to the floor. The walls of
this building are composed of masonry capable of
resisting a broadside from a ship of the lime. Not-
withstanding its immense bulk and strength, the
building was tossed like a feather on the wave.

Ther® was a scene of unusual terror and excite-
ment in Montgomery Block, the large and substan-
tial building on Montgomery-street, between Mer-
chant and Washington-streets. As soon as the
first movement in the building occurred, the in-
mates of the various rooms were awakened and
leaped to their doors in the greatest imaginable
haste.
The different halls in the successive stories of the
building were soon filled with the terror-stricken
occupants, each running hither and thither in their
sleeping habiliments towards the various stairways
Iwhich lead down into the street. Some of those
who occupied apartments in the fourth or highest
story rushed from their rooms regardless of their
nudity, and came jumping, leaping, and tumbling
down the first and second flights of stairs, clearing
them in a bound or two at the most, and, with
white lips and chattering teeth, held their way
until they reached the ground, where they stood
in amazement and doh et until the cold air and the
absence of terrestial commotion calmed their fears
and reminded them that the apartments which
they had vacated were more comfortable than those
into which they had so suddenly precipitated them-
selves. The building was certainly jostled with
great violence by the quake, but it moved as
though it stood upon elastic springs. Not the
slightest cracking or evidence of a collapse was
heard or seen in any part of it.
The consternation among the inmates of the
large hotels occasioned scenes which may be better
imagined than described. The population of the
Rassette House rushed, tumbled, or precipitated
itself down the stairways and into the street ; and
such an array of beauty unadorned was never before
witnessed in San Francisco. This edifice, it is
said, shows no marks of injury by the shock. The
scenes at Wilson's Exchange, St. Nicholas Hotel,
and International Hotel, were equally remarkable.
The occupants of Wilson's Exchange took refuge
in the Tehama House, which is a frame, and con-
sequently in less danger than the other. Many of
the inmates of the nternational found their way
en masse to the Plaza, where, like their companions
in misery, they shared each with the other such
articles of apparel as had been caught up in the
hurry of flight.
_ __ _ _

Hundred; of the residents of the central portion
of the city rushed to the Plaza, naturally thinking
that the open space would afford them greater
i
refuge than the roof of a toppling building. When
ng.
the shock was over, the rush for pantaloons and
petticoats was quite as great.
As an evidence of the alarm which had seized
most of the residents about the Plaza, for squares
'distant they were found, at the New York Bakery,
near the corner of Clay
and. Kearney-streets,
clamouring for coffee as a sedative for
their almost
palsied nerves. The same scene took place at other
restaurants in the vicinity of the various markets,
which are usually opened at an early hour, in order
to accommodate the butchers and stall-keepers of
various kinds. The proprietors dealt out the
soothing beverage unsparingly, as if equally rejoiced
at being able to relieve the excitement of their
patrons, and the consciousness that mutual danger
had passed away.
The fire wall of the north side of the brick build-
ing at the corner of Oregon and Front-streets,
occupied by Goodwin and Co., fell over into the
street. The wall was but eight inches in thickness,
and badly put up at that.
The front wall of Wilson's Exchange Building,
on Sansome-street, near the south end, is cracked
from the foundation to the roof. In its present
condition, the southern portion of the building is
quite unsafe.
The walls of the building No. 70, Front-street,