The Sun.
London, England, 1851-07-28 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON,

of truth, and avenger of falsehood.* If therefore
the matter rested there, we should think that there
could be but little difficulty as to the solution of the
problem. But it was rendered, if posssible, more
unequivocal by the 1 and 2 Victoria, cap. 105—a
declaratory Act " to remove doubts as to the validity
of certain oaths"—by which it was declared and
enacted " that in all cases in which an oath may
lawfully be and shall have been administered to any
person, either as a juryman, or a witness, or
a deponent in any proceeding civil or crimi-
nal, in any court of law or equity in the
United Kingdom, or on appointment to any
office or employment, or ON ANY OCCASION WHAT-
EVER, such person is bound by the oath adminis-
tered, provided the same shall have been administered
in such form and with such ceremonies as such person
may declare to be binding." It then provides that,
" in case of wilful false swearing, every such person
may be convicted of the crime of perjury in the same
manner as if the oath had been administered in the
form and with the ceremonies most commonly
adopted."

What further argument then can be urged ? Al-
derman SALOMONS and Baron ROTHSCHILD have both
declared the form to be not only " binding," but "most
binding" on their conscieeees. There can, therefore,
be but little doubt but that they would have been
subjected to every legal penalty for any infringement
of the solemn obligation. Even the ATTORNEY•
GENERAL, while arguing on the opposite side—(alas !
that ALEXANDER COCKBURN should fight under the

wrong banner in such a cause)—was forced to
make that admission. The gravest sanction, not
only of eternal but of temporal penalties, is
thus accorded to the sacred declaration. They
have substantially complied with the spirit of the
law. They have not, as they might, evaded the point
at issue, by requesting to take the Roman Catholic
oath—in which the objectionable words were not
included—but they complied with it in all essential
points. The object of that oath was to guard against
the claims or supposed claims of a family now ex-
tinct. The succession to the throne of these realms
is no longer disputed. The allegiance of every Briton is
not only due, but freely rendered to our Most Gracious
QUEEN. It requires no oaths or declarations to en-
sure their affectionate loyalty. If ever there was a
work of supererogation, it is the enforcing
of such unnecessary obligations. Bat that is
beside the question, for Alderman SenomoNs and
Baron RoTascutnn have taken it in its real essence,
and only objected to a portion of the form which was
intended to give it additional validity, but which
would have been less binding on the con-
sciences of the Honourable Gentlemen than
that by which they bound themselves.
What, then, will be the position of the House of
Commons, if they should, after refusing to admit the
parties, find themselves opposed by the unanimous
decision of the judges of the land, if they
should say that Greenwich and London were
partially disfranchised, while the Exchequer Cham-
ber should declare that Alderman SAnostoris had
taken the necessary oaths, and had incurred no
penalty for sitting and voting in the House ?
Would they persevere obstinately and pertinaciously
in wrong doing ; or would they confess their
error, and make the arnende honorable by admitting
those whom they bad previously rejected.? Either
course would be sufficiently humiliating to a body
whom we are ever anxious to treat with respect, and
we only hope that by a sound and judicious decision
the possibility of so unpleasant an alternative will be
prevented.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris journals of Saturday
and of yesterday.
The Committee of the Assembly appointed to con-
sider the proposition for regulating the leave of ab-
sence of Members, determined unanimously on Fri-
day to recommend that the Assembly should adjourn
from the 10th August to the 20th October.
The consideration of the question of the ratifica-
tion of the Lepredour treaty with the Argentine Con-
federation was, on the motion of M. DE Relics, post-
poned until after the recess.

1 he Councils-General of the Departments meet on
the 25th August, and the efforts of last year to pro-
cure from them Bonapartist and unconstitutional mani-
festations will, no doubt, be renewed. On this subject
we find the following in the National:—
"The Councils-General are convoked for the 25th
August. The Bonapartist faction reckons on the
Councils-General to give support to a new proposi-
tion for the revision of the Constitution. It may be
remembered what unheard of efforts were made
last year to obtain from these councils the vote
of revisionist wishes; these efforts will be renewed
this year, and it is hoped to repair by a manifestation
of departmental aristocracy the defeat submitted to in
the Assembly, and the branding imposed on the Mi-
nistry on the occasion of the manoeuvres employed to
obtain revisionist petitions. The agitation of the dis-
cussion which has just taken place is about to be car-
ried into the Councils-General; some disturbances will
be excited in the country; the Constitution will be ac-
cused of causing them, and the uneasiness which will
result from them. By harassing the country it is hoped
to throw it into the hands of the party of prolongation--
old tactics, odious manoeuvres, on which the good sense
of the public has long since done ample justice."
The same journal says—
" The Council of State, in its sitting of Thursday last,
continued the discussion of the Bill on the responsibility
of public functionaries, and of the President of the Re-
public. Thanks to the efforts of those who have an in-
terest in preventing the Bill from being brought before
the Legislative Assembly in proper time, the discussion
on it goes on very slowly. Things are come to that point
that, in order to defeat these manoeuvres, it will be per-
haps necessary for the Assembly to withdraw the Bill
from the Cou❑cil of State, and to discuss it as it was at
first sent to it."

On Friday M. DUFAIIRD presented the report of
the Committee on the Lyons Railway Bill. The re-
port recommends that the line should be completed
by the State.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, JULY 26.
Boulogne and Amiens, 10:y4—Rouen and Havre, 9%_
Sambre and Meuse, 36.

.41
4-it
s°( .
'
, )1 • .',4
',1.,
, CAI,.
'
'''
~.,.„-y--„,.- ,4,,•.. ~,:.
~.