The Sun.
London, England, 1856-06-09 00:00:00

TROOPS IN CANADA.

The following despatch has been laid before the
Canadian Parliament :

" Downing-street, May 2.
"Sir,—You are aware that the Treaty of Peace pro-
vides for the prompt evacuation by her Majesty's forces
of foreign territories at present held by them ; and that,
among other arrangements for the distribution of the
army on its return from active service, orders have been
given that five regiments shall be selected to be stationed
in British North America, of which three are allotted to
Canada.
" Such an amount of force is not of a character to
afford much room for misconception as to the purpose of
her Majesty's Government, but still I think it better to
address to you a few remarks in explanation of that
purpose.

" Earl Grey's despatch to Lord Elgin, of the 14th of
March, 1851, laid down the principles which were then
adopted by her Majesty's Government in regard to their
colonial policy, considered in a military point of view ;
and, in reserving to the mother country the duty of ►main-
taining garrisons for fortresses of chief importance, such
as Quebec, invited the co-operation of the province for
the auxiliary measures of defence. The vigour with
which at this moment a militia force is being organised
justifies our continuing to place, as we do place, the
fullest reliance on this policy.
"It is not, of course, to be expected that the force of
the gar/lions alluded to should be at all times of an
unvarying strength. It may vary occasionally from
military or political reasons. During the war just
ended, when the chief military strength of the empire
had to be concentrated for the operations in the East,
regiments stationed in Canada were withdrawn ; and as
my predecessor, Sir George Grey, explained in a de-
spatch, dated the 11th of August, 1854, increased re-
sponsibility was thrown upon the province. That
emergency has now happily passed away ; but, although
the regular soldiers in Canada may be more or fewer at
any particular time, the policy of her Majesty's Govern-
ment continues the same, and they desire to place their
main dependence on the well-proved loyalty and courage
of her Majesty's Canadian subjects to repel any hostile
aggression, should the occas►on ever unfortunately
occur ; although in that event her Majesty's Government
would not fail to give to the province the full support of
the whole power of the British empire.
"You will take care that no misapprehension on this
subject shall exist in Canada, which might produce any
relaxation of the honourable exertions which the province
is now making to establish a suitable military organisa-
tion. I have had the greatest satisfaction in submitting
to her Majesty the accounts which you have transmitted
to me of the spirit and energy with which all classes of
her Canadian subjects have come forward to carry into
effect the provisions of the new Militia Act, and 1 trust
that the result wiil be that this local force will speedily
be placed on a footing ofpermanent efficiency.—l have, &c.,
"H. LABOUCHERE.
"Governor Sir Edmund Head, Baronet."

THE NEW PUBLIC MARITIME LAw.-A letter from
the Hague, of the 3d, says :—" The representatives of
France, England, Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Tur-
key, have each delivered to Baron Van Hall a note, ac-
companied by a declaration containing fresh maritime
principles for neutrals in time of war. It is expressly
stated in the note that none of the powers who have ac-
ceded to these principles shall conclude any treaty except
on similar bases. It is expected that Holland will accede
I to this.soggestion.':l-4filimnid

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, SATURDAY EVENEIG.

THE TIPPERARY BANK SWINDLERS.

Thanks to the Master of the Rolls, the Irish Go-
vernment has condescended to lend an ear to the
narratives of fraud and swindling which have been
almost daily related in the courts of justice here,
perpetrated by the Sadleir gang. As we have be-
fore remarked, the surviving criminals are at large,
while their victims are sinking into destitution and
misery before them.' The Right Hon. T. B. Smith
is not now, as he was in 1845, the chief public pro-
secutor ; but he is likely to do good service by his
admonitions to the gentleman who holds the situa-
tion. The following article from the Freeman's
Journal is pregnant with importance :
" We understand the Master of the Rolls received
yesterday a telegraphic despatch from the Attorney-Ge-
neral, wishing to know when ilia honour would deliver
judgment in the case of the English shareholders of the
Tipperary Bank. The Attorney-General stated his
desire to be present on that occasion, for the purpose of
ascertaining whether a prosecution for conspiracy can
be maintained against Mr. James Sadleir and other par-
ties. The Master having expressed a very decided
opinion on the subject, as well as on the imperative duty
of the Government to insure a prosecution, the latter,
moved by the attention drawn to the matter by the Mas-
ter of the Rolls, and the conviction of that able lawyer,
who himself concluded one of the most memorable pro-
secutions on record, that ample materials exist to bring
the offending parties to justice has directed the Attor-
.nerGeneral to take. the -initiattver and for that purpose
the first law officer will be present when the Master
delivers his judgment."

There are few persons better qualified to testify
to the capacity of the Master of the Rolls than the
proprietor of the Freeman, who was one of the de-
fendants in the "memorable prosecutions" alluded
to in the foregoing article.

The Southern Reporter, speaking of the law as
laid down by the Master of the Rolls in the case
of the English shareholders in the Tipperary bank,
says

" There cannot be the slightest doubt that the con-
duct for which that high and able functionary considers
James Sadleir should have been criminally proceeded
against, before now, is quite common amongst the di-
rectors of railway and other public companies, and that
the system of paying dividends out of capital and not
profits !s, up to a certain period of a company's existence
at least, rather the rule than the exception. Everybody,
indeed, has been amazed at the impunity which James
Sadleir seemed to enjoy ; but the astonishment did not
result from the idea that so ordinary a deception as that
of being a party to paying fictitious dividends was attri-
buted to him. The surprise of the public had quite a
different cause, and arose from the universal impression
that his involvement in his brother's frauds was much
deeper and more criminal than this would appear to be.
They perceived that an enormous amount of property, of
which he had the guardianship, had been all handed
over, without security, to John Sadleir, converted by
him to his own purposes, and lost to the owners, and
while they could not distinctly discover in what way
James Sadleir was legally guilty, they yet could not
imagine the possibility of a man directly instrumental in
such a wholesale plunder having done no act that the
law could punish. They certainly did not imagine that,
if he were punishable, it was because of the conduct for
which the Master of the Rolls so emphatically rebukes
the executive for not proceeding against him.
" We sincerely trust that the law is as the Master of
the Rolls declares it to be, and we are squally desirous
that, being so, an example shall be made in the ease of
James Sadleir, which will have the salutary effect of
warning directors of public companies, in future, to shun
deceptive representations of their condition."