The Sun.
London, England, 1851-02-28 00:00:00

ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.

The excitement which has prevailed in political
circles at the " West End" for the last few days, in
consequence of the unparalleled interregnum in the
constitutional government of the country, has been
followed by a lull to-day, owing to the abandonment
of Lord STANLEY'S exertions to form an Administra-
tion. His Lordship's residence in St. James's-square,
hitherto a scene of continual bustle and excitement,
occasioned by the arrival and departure of numerous
members of the Protectionist body, now wears a quiet
and orderly appearance, and affords unmistakable
evidence of the abortive nature of his brief but active

campaign.
At the "Carlton" and
" Reform" Clubs, however
there is no diminution evinced in the anxiety to,
catch at every rumour afloat, and to glean some intel-
rrgence of " the last political movements." The general
impression appears to be that, since Lord STANLEY
has resigned the commission given to bim by the
SOVEREIGN, an Administration formed by a coalition
of a portion of the late Government and several
members of the Peelite body is inevitable, but how
such an Administration is to be composed at present
is involved in impenetrable mystery. The state-
ment that the refusal of Mr. GLADSTONE
to join Lord STANLEY arose from a decided
objection to re-impose a protective duty of
us. on corn is unfounded, as it is well known
his Lordship at the outset abandoned such an idea;
though it is possible, if he had come into power, he
would have proposed
to relieve the agricultural in-
Wrest of a portion of their burdens. The real diffi-
culty in the Tray of Lord 811.1414; as well as is that

of Lord JOEN RUSSELL, has been throughout the
" \Popish- question," both Mr. GLADSTONE and Sir
JAMES GRAHAM dissenting from any interference
with the ecclesiastical government of any religious
sect.

A meeting of the members of the Whig Adminis-
tration was held this morning, at eleven o'clock, at
the residence of Lord LANSDOWNE, in Berkeley-
square. Lord JOHN RUSSELL, Lord PALMERSTON,
Earl GREY, the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, Sir
GEORGE GREY, and all the other members of the late
Government, arrived punctually to the hour. The
meeting lasted one hour, but, of course, what trans-
pired it was impossible to learn. All we can say
is, that as soon as it broke up Lord LANs-
DOWNE drove off in his carriage to Buck-
ingham Palace, to have an audience of
her MAJESTY. Lord JOHN RUSSELL remained
at LansdOwne House with one or two of his
colleagues, while the others speedily departed.
Sir G. GREY and the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
were observed leaving Lansdowne House arm-in-arm.

There can be no doubt that whatever arrangements
may ultimately be arrived at, they will not be suffi-
ciently matured by this evening to enable Lord Join
RUSSELL to make any definite statement to the House
of Commons concerning the new Administration ;
we think we may therefore be justified in saying
that his Lordship, on the House resuming to-night,
will request a further adjournment of a few days.
Lord LANSDOWNE'S interview with her MAJEsTY
was only of short duration. No definite intelligence
respecting it had reached the clubs at the hour of
going to press.

Perhaps equal difficulty has never before been ex-
perienced among English statesmen in the way of
forming an Administration. Usually, on the retire-
ment of a Prime Minister from office, his successor
has at once been detected in the acknowledged
leader of H. M. Opposition. Very different is
the result of the recent resignation. Three RICH'
MOISDS in the field were nothing in comparison with
the aspirants for Ministerial authority starting for-
ward immediately on the fall of the Whig Plan-
tagenet. As the most decidedly antagonistic to the
policy of the late Cabinet, the policy of the Protec-
tionists was not unnaturally looked to in the first
instance as the probable sequel to the downfall
of the RUSSELL Government. People turned, as i
were, spontaneously, to observe the conduct of the
brilliant and daring chief of the Country Party, in an
emergency offering such unexpected opportunities to
the furtherance of his ambition. They were curiou►
to see whether the Rupert of Debate might not
prove himself equally the Roland of Administration.
Had he but discovered among his political associates
men qualified in audacity to participate in his
chivalric enterprises, we might have found the
country by this time committed to the hazard
of a Government , actuated by the prin-
ciples of agricultural monopoly. Unfortunately
for Lord STANLEY, but fortunately for the empire,
his overtures to his quondam colleagues and his
hitherto supposed associates were promptly and em-
phatically rejected—Mr. GLADSTONB evincing as
decided an objection to share in the mingled dangers
and glories' Of the undertaking as Viscount CANNING
did at the instant of its suggestion. After cherishing
this hopes to the last moment of uncertainty, the
!leader of the Protectionists found himself de-
!sertecl by his principal followers, and driven
,reluctantly to the necessity of announcing
'his incapacity to form an Administration.
:The obstinate and even stolid incredulity betrayed by
the underlings of the faction at the first intimation of
'this failure was an amusing corollary to their vain-
glorious boastings and their ultra-braggadocio predic-
tions. Never were men more miserably chapfallen.
,TAPER looked bewildered, and TADPOLE the very in-
carnation of disappointment.- All the clubs of the
party were panicstricken by the news of a result so
opposed to. the prophecies indulged in by their
self-confident journals of the same morning. White's
got a fit of the blues, and the Conservativf
found a difficulty in conserving its equanimity. By
this time they are managing to put a little better face
upon the matter, assuming an air of indifference in
regard to a misfortune shared in by Lord STANLEY
with the Premier of the ex-Government. Enjoying,
as we may be permitted to do, the heartburning
provoked by the contention for power, and with power
the enjoyment of so many inestimable perquisites--
we must still view with profound solicitude the diffi
culties more than ever in the way of drawing a Cabi
net out of the abyss of the crisis, or, at any rate, the
difficulty of constructing one at this moment of a
nature' calculated to resist the assaults of opposition.
Embarrassing as the situation indisputably is, we
are yet very far indeed from looking upon it as alto-
gether removed beyond the grasp of statesmanship.
True it is that the future First Lord of' the Treasury
will have to satisfy the raging appetite of an almost
countless number of applications for legislative and
administrative measure....—some of them of the most
contradictory kind imaginable. He will find himself
dragged in one direction by the anti-Papal
feeling of England, and in another by the
pro- Papal enthusiasm of Ireland. The necessity for
retrenchment will be forced upon him to the defiance
of all rational contradiction, while urgent demands
for the maintenance of our forces, and generally
speaking of our establishments also, will be entirely
removed out of the pale of denial. He will be re

quired to sustain the revenues of the country, and
will be compelled to remit a large proportion of the
existing taxes. If ha gratifies the Protestant ardour
of one portion of the United Kingdom, he will
inflame the Roman Catholic zeal of another. If

he diminishes the amount of imposts levied upon
the industry of the land, and thereby imparts satin•
faction to the labouring classes, he will be compelled
to increase the imposts levied upon property, and
thereby estrange the feelings of its possessors. The
question, therefore, remaining to be decided by the
future successor of Lord JOHN RUSSELL is this—
Whether he will be prepared to sacrifice his love of

ease to the ardour of his patriotism, or whether he

will show himself so fully impressed with the im

portance of establisbing a libital form of Gover❑

ment, that to the end that he may fulfil
this intention he will fling himself boldly into
all the perils reserved for the magnanimous statesman•

Administrators capable in every respect of occupying
this eminent position of responsibility England hap-
pily possesses at this moment—men distinguished by
their genius, their experience, their courage, their
_ _

l•
probity, and their great Ministerial achievements

To them the people are looking confidently as to their
ulterior rulers. From them the nation is patiently
awaiting the announcement of a policy capable of re-
ducing the present confusion to something like calm
and regularity—satisfied that with this object before
them they will dedicate their noblest energies to the

service of the multitude. Among the statesmen here

alluded to, we may enumerate the illustrious Secre -
tary of the Foreign Department, whose name has

become in a manner identified with the dignity, the

vigou; and the F plen dour of Great Britain—the dis.

inguishtd Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, whose ge,

nius as an administrator rescued that island from

the horrors of famine and insurrection and,
together with these, one of the most gifted Mi-
nisters of our generation, the statesman who

presided over the affairs of the Home Depart-
ment during the continuance of the PEEL Government.
From the union of men like these we might feel
confident of obtaining a Cc.binet worthy of maintain..
ing the power and the prosperity of England. From
Sir JAMES GRAHAM we should receive the long-de-
sired reforms relating to the currency, from Lord
CLARENDON the evidences at once of that energy and
judgment which are among the first requisites of ad-
ministration, from Lord PALMERSTON the sureties of

a perpeteation of British influence among the prin-
cipal races throughout Christendom. Prom all we
might rest secure of one thing, namely, that abilities

.....
of the very highest order would be devoted, with the
utmost energy, to the furtherance of the interests of
the empire, and to the cultivation of its political, `o•
cial, and commercial deve',opment.

A second report of the Committee on Legislative
Recognition of the Rights of Inventors, tends very
Perceptibly to fonard the principles of jurisproerice

which should regulate that most necessary improve-
ment. We obserie with some anxiety every onward
step taken in this beneficent movement. The opening
of the Parliamentary session, so far from diminishing
our regard for the particular reform alluded to, en-
hanced the fervour with which we look forward to its
prosecution. Very few matters relating to the de-
velopment of prosperity in this commercial coun-
try appear to us of superior importance, very
few things affecting so intimately the causes
of our national prosperity. It is, therefore, with more
than common satisfaction we watch the successive
reports issued by the intelligent, active, and enter-
prising committee to whom the responsibility of
fostering the reform has been entrusted. From the
first of these official manifestoes we were disposed to
augur well for the results of the agitation. Our hopes
are more than confirmed by the whole tone of the
second. Happily for the inventors of the United
Kingdom, it requires a vast deal to discourage the
majority of, the members of the committee,
or, so far to fill their minds with despondency,
as to incline them to diminish in any
manner tha.energy of their exertions. Little, more-
over, has been done by the antagonists of the im-
jiroiernetiritilCulated to retard its progress—words
only of enCluragement to the advocates of the rights
of inventors having been audible hitherto. Much
benefit maytonsequently be anticipated from the cur-
liality with:which the initial rep irt has been welcomed.
The circumstance of the close proximity in which we
stand at this period to the Grand International Exhi-
bition is of itself enough, in all conscience, to satisf)
the least sanguine judgment of the reasonableness of
such expectations.
Already it4is well known that several ingenious
hut impoveriihed inventors have been deterred from
making public.the fruits of their experimental in-
quiries, unable to secure themselves from. the perils
of piracy by obtaining the requisite letters patent,
and unwilling to resign the result of many years' in-
tellectual toil to the pecuniary advantage alone of
men in no way entitled to such emolument. The
records, of genius afford unhappily but too many
instances of calamities which have befallen
those poor students of science who have
Adventured " upon philosophical researches with-
out capital sufficient to enable them to bring
Their contrivances into use after the time of their

perfected fabrication. Alchemy may have never yet
-tuned out the 'aurum potabile from the crucible,
nut men havOndubitably died in rags and penury
with some invention or other in hand, capable, if em-
ployed, of proving a veritable philosopher's stone as
t'ar as regardelthemselves, turning their poverty into
affluence, and iLeir squalor into pomp. Unless some
shield be contrived by the law for the pre-
vention of the recurrence of this injustice, inventors
must still remain liable to see others reaping the
narvest of their ingenuity while they themselves have
perished obscurely and unpitied—the public still con-
tinuing subject to the danger of losing improvements
of incalculable value through the premature demise
of the experimentalist, before fortune had enabled him
to announce his triumph with impunity. Anything
which can in any way, and under any cir-
cumstances, release society Irom the pains of
this anomalous position must assuredly com-
mand our warmest encouragement, and arouse
the sympathies of
,even the most phlegmatic. Thanks
to the enterprise and humanity of the Society of Arts,
a committee hi' at length been formed for the pur-
pose of carryi4, out the desired alterations. This
committee we have already hailed as a harbinger of
good to inventors, and through them to the entire
community. Its:eontinued efforts in behalf of an im-
portant but neglebted class of society demand our
reiterated commendations, and we doubt not but that,
sided by public syMpathy, enforced by the arguments
of the Press,' all assisted by the advocacy of one
or two influenti44 Reformers in the House of Com-

mons, the nation will before long have reason to re

.joice in the dissipation of an evil heretofore weighing
.very heavily bc)Ah upon science and manufactures.
rhe second report, now lying at our elbow, contains,
among other encouraging intimations, the assurance
of the increasing hopes entertained by the committee
themselves of the,ultimate success of their undertak-
ing. Nowhere can they recognize any but the most
nbstantial vouclii,rs for the propriety of their eti-
erprise. Nowhere can they perceive promise of
aught but good- flowing from their endeavours.
Persuaded of the justice of the cause at stake, and
incited by the ,approval of every individual who has
yet pronounced an opinion upon the subject, the
committee appear to be resolutely determined to
develop their scheme against every possible opposi-

rion ; nor do we ourselves recognize in the future
anything but tokens of the most decisive victory. A

little while longer, and the boon so long desired
for- inventors will have been wrested from the
Legislature.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have receivers the Paris journals of yesterday.
The Committee of the Assembly eppointerl•to con-
'bier the proposition of M. SCII(ELCHER for the aboli-
don of the punishment of death, have determined
to report against the adoption of the proposition.
'ley express their approval of the abolition of the
punishment of death for political offences by the Pro-
visional Government,' but consider that the protection
of society requires the retention of some punishment
more severe than the galleys or imprisonment to
deter those from the commission of crime who leave
the galleys and the prisons more depraved than when
they entered them.
The report of the Committee appointed to consider
the proposition of I‘l. NOEL PARFAIT, for more
strictly enforcing the law which confines extraordinary
missions within six months, has been distributed to
the Assembly. Theeport declares that the Commit-
tee has seen with regret that the Executive Power
has on several occasions appointed members of
the Legislative Assembly either to extraordinary
missions or military commands, without any neces-
sity appearing to exist for such appointments. It
has also been sorry to perceive that frequently, by
means of successive permissions given to absent them-
selves, the persons so appointed have, after having
made a momentary appearance in their places in the
Assembly, again departed, thus rendering the pre-
scriptions of the law quite illusory. In consequence,
the Committee has unanimously, minus one vote, been
of opinion that the proposition ought to be taken into
consideration.
This is intended as " a heavy blow and a great dis-
couragement" to the entourage of the Elysee. On
the other hand the police are busily engaged in con-
cocting plots for the evident purpose of frightening
the refractory majority into obedience. We find the
following in some of the Ministerial journals :
" A labourer, yesterday, in passing along the Rue
du Maine at Montrouge, found a pocket-book con-
taining papers, which he immediately deposited in
the hands of the commissary of police of the commune.
That functionary was greatly. surprised to find
amongst them a plan of insurrection!in Paris, with a
map on which the positions to be occupied by the
insurgents were marked in red ink. T heplan was
divided into several head), marked—Primitive Posi-
tioos—Materials for Barricade,—First Attack--First
Positions—Attack on Second Position—Third Attack
—Barricades—Defence—lncendiary Fires. All the
papers were sent to the Prefect of Police, and an
lehave
vt
e any belong.
old
proverbv
in-
vestigation has been set on foot to discover the persons
to whom he
England, that those
h in
who hide can find. Who is the inyeterious and
anonymous labourer w
insur-
rections in the public streets ?
opicks up plans for
The sale of the PRESIDENT'S horses took place on
'Wednesday, and produced 54,235 francs.
Several of the officers of the National Guards of
Strasburgh have resigned in consequence of the re-
fusal of the Mayor to permit a review on the anni-
versary of the Revolution.
The Gazette de France says— .
" The discussi n of the proposition of M. Creton for
doing away with the laws of proscription now existing
against the two branches of the house of Bourbon is fixed
for Saturday next "
The Vote Unicersel was tried on Wednesday,
before the Court of Assizes of the Seine, for publish-
ing an article in which it " excited the hatred of
citizens, the one against the other. The. gerant and
author of the article were found guilty, and the
former was sentenced to one year's imprisonment and
a fine of 8,000 francs, while the latter was sentenced
to six months' imprisonment and a fine of 1,000
francs. Besides this, the journal has been suspended
for a mouth. The article wes an address " Aux
paysans."
The Bourse was more animated than for some days
past, and the price of public securities rose. The
Five per Cents. opened at 96f. 45c., and closed at
96f. 55c. ; the Three per Cents. closed at 57f. 90e.
13us1en-88_0(!Ne IN FOREIGN 11.4„.11..W.:5_A

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, FEB. 27.
Boulogne and Amiens, 83/4 Central of France (Orleans
and Vierzon), 1614—East Indian, 12— Luxembourg, 1%--
Ditto, VA—Namur and Liege, B—Northern of France,
143/i—Orleans and Bordeaux, 33/4—Faris and Rouen, 251
—Feria t►Ud rStraSb9llrg, R9geg and 'Lyre, 10/4.