The Sun.
London, England, 1851-10-11 00:00:00

sibility of doubt that the national prosperity has tot
been impaired by the practical operatio❑ of the fri
trade measures that gave rise to so many toucbi ❑g
Jeremiads and gloomy vaticinationa on the part of
our Protectionist contemporaries, and of the would- ba
prophets at agricultural symposia. These experiment s
have been attended with the most triumphant success ,
so far, at least, as the interests of the community a t
large are concerned. We shall now proceed to exa• •
mine the particular features of the present return' ,
and contrast them with the corresponding items 111
those of last year.

In the first place, we find that there is an increase
on the entire year of 77,0721., and a decrease on the
quarter of 1,1971., when compared with the similar
periods of 1850. This might not appear ao very satis-
factory as wo have stated, but a closer examinati,m
will show that the improvement is in the ordinary
revenue, and under the very best heath, while the
falling off is in the extraordinary branches, chiefly ir
the " repayment of advances," which afford no real
test of the national prosperity. In the ordinary re-
venue, however, we find that there is an improvement
of 235,972/. on the year, and of 124,646 on the
quarter.

In the Customs, in which reductions of duty on corn,
sugar, timber, and other minor matters have come into
operation during the interval since October 1850, we
find an increase on both year and quarter—on the former
of 59,4.571., while on the latter it amounts to no less
than 83,1901. The removal of some of the restric-
tions on the trade and commerce of the country have
produced these happy results. We have no doubt
that a perseverance in the course so happily entered
upon will afford still more decisive corroboration of
the " expediency" of the new commercial policy, its
"justice" being beyond the possibility of dispute or
difficulty.
The Excise, notwithstanding the abolition of the
duty on bricks, appears even in a still more favourable
light. Under that head we find the increase on the
year amounts to no less than 343,0181., while on the
quarter it is 36,511/. When we consider that this
item indicates the degree of employment afforded to
the working classes, showing the comforts which
they are enabled to make available for use, it will
afford the purest delight to every philanthropist to
find that "a fair day's wages for a fair day's work',
can readily be obtained throughout the country.
While the statesman will reflect on the prospects of
tranquillity and peace, arising from the happy and
contented position of the labouring population.
Those who are well fed, clothed and lodged, who can
enjoy their glass of beer or ale, will not easily be
induced to participate in any disturbances, or to risk
the welfare they have been enjoying in grasping after
shadows.

The Stamps show more unfavourably than any
other branch of the revenue. The decrease on the y ear
is 179,995/ , while on the quarter it is 74,4041.
When, however, we look to the alterations in those
duties that were effected last year, which, it was
estimated, would have occasioned a loss to the revenue
of half a million of pounds sterling, and also remember
that the dealers throughout the country were re-
placing their stocks, which bad been considerably
reduced, we shall find no real cause of complaint,
but, on the contrary, for self-gratulation in the present
returns of the stamp revenue.
The Assessed Taxes, too, show diminutions on the
year and quarter of 3:3,993/. on the one, and 21,588/.
on the other. There is, however, less variation
in these than in other matters. A greater or less
degree of promptitude on the part of the collectors
or payers will fully account for what may at the mo-
ment appear to be an alarming deficiency.
The Property-tax is, however, of a different cha-
racter. That, ri 3we have repeatedly stated, may be
looked upon as the index to the prosperity of the
middle classes, of merchants, traders, and professional
men. There is still a deficiency of 58,004/. on the
year (equivalent to a loss of about 2,000,0001.) in the
incomes of the parties. There is, however, a slight
reaction on the quarter, there being an increase
of 2,2721., and we hail with the greatest delight this
trifling proof that the tide is at length beginning to
turn. The Post-office, thanks to the energetic exer-
tions and prudent councils of Ito WLAND HILL, shows
an increase on the year and quarter of 150,0001. and
79,0001. respectively ; while the Crown Lands, mirabile
dicta ! also show a change for the better, there being
an improvement of 10,000!. on the year, and of
20,000/, on the quarter. The Miscellaneous revenue
however, has diminished by 54,5111. in the year, and
275/. in the quarter.

The above are the only items that are of
any practical value in estimating the actual
condition and prospects of the country. We may,
however, add that in the insprest and other Moneys
there is a deficiency of 2G,1771. on the year, but
an improvement of 2,7151.: on the quarter ;
'cti hlk. on the 13.!payment of Advances the decrease is
132,723/ on the former period, and 128,558/. on the
latter. Oa the whole, the present document may
be regarded as highly favourable, fully realising the
most sanguine anticipations that had been formed
with respect thereto.

Conjectures as to the fate of the Arctic Expedition
really appear to be as interminable as the efforts made
for its discovery have proved fruitless. Each of the
enterpriziog men who have at different periods gone
in search of Sir JohN FRANKLIN and his companions
have unfortunately returned home about as wise as
when they departed. Yet, ineffecturl though their
previous exertions have been, hopes are still enter-
tained by them of the ulterior salvation of the missing
navigators. The extraordinary circumstance which
has just occurred in the county of Gloucestershire—a
circumstance which, however, apparently incredible,
requires on the part of the Admiralty the very closest
investigation—seems to afford an additional induce-
ment for the indulgence of those anticipations of
ultimately finding the lost followers of Sir JohN
FRANKLIN. Reading as the incident recounted else-
where in our columns of this evening does like a
passage from some fantastic romance, rather than like
the matter-of-fact mention of an actual occurrence, it
is still sufficiently possible that a balloon of the
kind described should have been dispatched from the
Erebus on the chance of its reaching the knowledge
of our naval authorities, to admit at any rate of a
searching and dispassionate examination. It is of
course marvellous to imagine that this aerial messen-
ger should, of all places in the habitable globe, have
descended in England—" this precious stone set in
the silver sea"—selecting, as it were, in one of the
smallest points of terra firma the very spot where its
arrival would be calculated to effect the most good—
traversing the wildest regions, to drop at last com-
fortably down among the strawberry beds and cu-
cumber frames of a lady's garden at Gloucester.
Whatever may be the result of the scrutiny now
being made into this very singular incident, there can
be no question that there is still remaining a chance of
our at. length communicating with the survivors of
a ww
hckin..u.s:ling expedition. While we are bold enough to
,ie cige a conviction of this character,
we must
at the same timi, ad
important end-eavour; mit that the three latest and most
was the Government exLlNavetdo'failßedfl
Sir Jo FIN FRAN I(
On foot by
'ord assistance to
expL.:toion unadlteorgeCtahpetra.in TAhuesre-
TFlRNlNtKhZeNwaandthpleaced under th:tcomtnand of Captain Lady
and owtir beaded
by
veteran Sir JOHN Ross,
PENNY ; there was the expedition
its °figin to the
benevolence of a body of BUbscrible the
expeditions left the shores of Enrsglan:dehhiuonfdel;bitchhe
'Aces, and each of
ItauorsntedpralietrioauLaoutsless effort of mingled haredhihohoadsZ
philanthropy.

Several individuals are impressed with notion
that nowhere can there now be a chance of findin
FRANKLIN, CROZIER, and FITZJAMES, after the
vigilant inquiry which has been made for their detec-
tion. The majority of those, however, who are
at all acquainted with the northern regions remain
up to the present moment sanguine of ultimately
finding those gallant commanders, if the authorities
persevere in their assiduous encouragement of those
maritime researches. Captain AUSTIN fancie.l that
twhi'l Expedition may be discovered Jone's Sound,
ereas Captain PENNY persists, it would appear, in
supposition ef the
"lung forward to its being found blocked up in
the ice l'ePiud ton Channel. The latter
the sententious lelt of
two seemsg to us, moreover, parti-
cularly dEservin
attention ; for, although in
en, terprising sailor
tion by Captain p"
EeNrillilrtten in a moment of irrita-
Channel requires no furthersaidetit 1e
by that gallant and
considers Wellington I
"oath, all having been

done that lay in the power of man to accomplish, it
is impossible not to see at a glance that such was
literally not his opinion upon " second thoughts,"
his first request to Government on his return home
having been for a powerful steamer to enable him to
return and penetrate further in the direction above
indicated. There cannot remain, indeed, any doubt
that all was not done that could be desired in the
way of scrutinizing the whole of Wellington
Channel from one extremity to the other.
Captai❑ PENNY, in truth, appears to be seriously, im-
pressed with the belief that Sir JoxaN FRANKLIN
haring wintered at Cape Riley, had proceeded up
Wellington Channel, being after that movement un-
expectedly blocked up by the ice, the frost being
so severe as to have since then prevented his
escape from this confinement. There can be no
question, all things considered, that the conjectures
advanced by the officer here alluded to, are the most
reasonable that have yet appeared ; and it is therefore
veey earnestly to be hoped that he himself may be
enabled to carry out his views immediately on
the return of spring, so that a last and crowning
effort may be adventured on for the salvation of the
missing expedition. A disposition to depreciate the
merit of the ideas thrown out by Captai❑ PENNY
seems to be betrayed by those who are infatuated
with a confidence only in officers capable of inditing
the magical letters R.N. after their signature. Any-
thing like this we would here most strongly repro-
bate as not:only ungenerous but unjust, and we cherish
a belief that the authorities at the Admiralty will
at the first favourable opportunity, evince by
their conduct a magnanimous anxiety to for-
ward the projects of Captain PENNY without any
regard to the circumstances of his not holding a de-
finite commission under Government. By so doing,
those servants of the Crown would be best advancing
the interests of humanity we are fully satisfied, and
be doing honour at the same time to that nary which is
at once the pride and defence of England. It appears
to us, in fine, that the first decision which has to be
arrived at by the Admiralty is, by comparing the
narratives of all those who have hitherto gone in
search of Sir Joule FRANKLIN, as to whether any one
among those individuals have penetrated to 112 de-
grees W. longitude, and 71 degrees N. latitude ; and
the next desirable resolution is that of empowering
Captain PENNY, immediately on the return of spring,
to proceed with a powerful steamer up the Welling-
ton Channel, in the hope of at length by that means
carrying assistance to the long-lost expedition.

The Great Exhibition will close, according to pre-
sent appearances, this evening, and the glories of the
Crystal Palace will from henceforth be numbered
among the things that have been. We say, according
to present appearances, for we cannot but yet hope
that when her Most Gracious MAJESTY shall have
become acquainted with the ardent, the unanimous
wish of her subjects that the Exhibition, which is even
now at its zenith, should be kept open to the latest
moment allowed by law, she will be pleased to accord
to them the sailors' fourteen days' grace, and to
direct that the final closing of the Exhibition
shall be delayed until the Ist of November.
We are the more desirous that this delay should
take place, because it will afford an opportunity for
reconsidering the question as to whether or not there
should be any ceremonial observed at the closing of
the Exhibition. We are ourselves strongly in favour
of the observance of some such ceremonial—that which
was solemnly opened by prayer cannot be fittingly
closed without thanksgiving to the Great RULER of
the Universe for having vouchsafed to grant so abun-
dantly the blessings which were then craved at his
hands. If there be none of the magnates of the land
present at the closing, the Archbishop of CANTERBURY
should at least be there to return thanks in the name
of the people, and we doubt not but that his presence
would insure the presence of almost all those who
were present at the opening, and thus render the
ending of the Great Exhibition worthy of its com-
mencement.

Even should our hopes be realised, the days of the
Great Exhibition are numbered; in less than a month
at the farthest it will cease to be. Not so, however,
we trust, with regard to the Crystal Palace. That
will, we hope, be suffered to remain as the Palace of
the People, in which they may take their enjoyment
for ages to come. We hopa it may be continued on
its present site, but if the private influence of interested
individuals should so far prevail as to procure its re-
moval from Hyde-park, of which it is the greatest
ornament, we trust that it will be erected in some
other portion of the metropolis (Battersea-fields
has been mentioned as a good site) where, as a winter
garden or a museum, or a picture and sculpture
gallery, it may still continue to be the pride of the
metropolis.

To consider the effects industrial, moral, and poli-
tical, which the Great Exhibition cannot fail to pro-
duce throughout the world would require not one
article merely, but a series of articles, and these
matters can be more calmly, at all events more
fittingly considered when the Exhibition shall have
closed then they can be at the present moment. W
cannot, however, close this article without being wit-
ness to the exemplary manner in which all our foreign
visitors have, without exception, conducted themselves;
they have proved how false were the accusations
which the reactionary bigots recklessly brought
against them, how absurd were the terrors of the old
women of the SIBTHORP brigade, how transparent
the falsehood of those who contend that it is necessary
for continental Kings to keep up a large military
force to maintain order. The conduct of our foreign
guests since the Ist of May has proved that order can
be maintained without the presence of a military
force, and that when the rulers honestly trust in their
people, the people never betray that trust, but are
their own best maintainers of order.

An admirable suggestion, emanating from one of
our most popular tragedians, will be found elsewhere,
having reference to the surplus of the funds of the
Exhibition, and the most judicious and desirable
medium of its appropriation. Now that the Crystal
Palace has received the last gathering of its millions
of visitors, it is but reasonable to find proposals ad-
vanced from various quarters for the employment of
the funds remaining, after the payment of every ex.
pense, in the hands of the Royal Commissioners.
Among the whole of these proposals not one, we are
satisfied, will be advanced with larger claims upon
general attention than that which has here been ad-
vanced by Mr. JAMES ANDERSON.

We would direct the attention of our readers, more
particularly of those of them who chance to be de-
pendent upon their exertions for their subsistence, to
the letter of Mr. GEORGE TIIOMAS, which appears in
another column. It is a great credit to the mercan-
tile clerks of this great commqrcial country, that
they should, by their own unaided efforts, have suc-
ceeded in organizing such an excellent association as
the Provident Clerks, and we hope that the day is
not far distant when every clerk in the kingdom
will feel it to be a duty to be a member of it.

COURT OF CHANCERY.—It is stated that Mr. James
Parker, Queen's Counsel, has been offered one of the Vice-
Chancellorships in Chancery, consequent on the promotion:of
one or both of the present Vice-Chancellors to the Lord
Chancellor's Court of Appeal. Mr. Parker has, we are in-
formed, accepted the offer, and will be officially nominated
to the office now that the question of Vice-Chancellor Bruce's
promotion is finally decided. The Learned Gentleman was
called to the bar in 1829, and enjoys the entire confidence of
the profession for his profound knowledge of the principles of
equity, and his vigorotes intellect.—Morning Paper.
MR. FREDERICK WEBSTER'S BENEFIT.—The an-
nual benefit of Mr. Frederick Webster, to whose admirable
.as,te and untiring perseverance the visitors to the little
ii;'ll"Ze testes
f w"tnc,iiiilb'peersse olfhethle
In,i,tare in the Haymarket are under greater obligations than
'Theatre, who a the
own pupils, who will
PlaythisentertainmentsMajesty'sandcommence of Love, after which there will be a
de ,:u-r, and the whole
to his other merits Aier U:nfinished Gentleman. in addition
I worthy and excellent brol
4,ederick Webster Cas abeeinion
masons, and there cannot leir of the ancient longorderof i're a-
will muster in strong force at tahedolubt but that the brethren
MURDER AND SUICIDE IN
respondent states that yestetda; aft
rence took place in George-street, ei3"°ll a
named Mary Newman, who, Blaymarket on Monday.
ERMONDSity..—.A cor-
horrible occur-
With
heerrinitendsey. A woman
girl about six years old, lodged at No. 23titli
paroxysm of insanity inflicted fatal wounds u
her child with a knife. The persons in the inaPtneuu
boa, hood were attracted to the spot by and child, a
at street, in a
herself and
the
seereeiate neigh_
little girl, whom they found in a dying state, the
being quite dead. A coroner's inquest will be h 3of the
.. mother
he on the
bodied Lo-day.