The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-02 00:00:00

e LIT itUillit .`Add

ez.w,
LONDON, MONDAY, JUNE 2, 1851.

Duelling, the vilest reptile among vices, appears,
after all, not killed but scotched. After an interval
of several years, the public journals are again being
disgraced with paragraphs recounting the repetition
of these brutalities, and this, moreover, among the
green lanes of England, not in the fields of Carolina,
or in the Bois de Boulogne. What has added consi-
derably to the chagrin with which the multitude has
observed the revival of these so-called Affairs of Ho-
nour (!) is the circumstance that with them are
found associated a name until recently belonging to
one of the foremost men in the country, one of
the most beloved of her patriots, and one of
the most illustrious of her statesmen. A miserable
quarrel over a card table, resulting in a blow and a
challenge, seems on investigation to have been the
cause of the hostile meeting, which has induced us
reluctantly to revert to a matter upon which we had
foolishly imagined a final condemnation had been
pronounced. And in doing so, we unfortunately dis-
cover fresh inducements to become
the subject, in the circumstance another, and yet
that censorious upon
more disgraceful, because more disastrous, encounter
of a like kind, has within the last few days taken
place on the opposite shores of the Channe 1. Those
who have recently watched the columns of the news-
papertha tragedy have remarked in them, of course, a record of
which lately occurred in the vicinity of
Boulogne--a tragedy which, however burlesque in
some of its particulars, resulted, nevertheless, in all
the horrors of assassination. Turning from these
melancholy spectacles of most imbecile infatuation to
a more abstract view of the crime of duelling, we would
especially remind the supporters of the Peace Society of
this among other countless testimonies of the unreality
of their day-dreams. While in the very bosom of
the social system can be found men so brutalized in
temperament and blood-thirsty in character as to

look with complacency upon that method of settling
personal differences, the advocates of arbitration might
as well talk of the joys of amenity to wild beasts, or
of the delights of a vegetable diet to cannibals.
Ferocity must, in the first place, be thoroughly era-
dicated from the hearts of individuals, before we can
reasonably hope to put an end to war
between different Governments. To ourselves,
therefore, it appears not less idle to preach peace to
the nations than to recommend the abolition of duel.
ling to the generality of individuals. So long as
some people are tetchy and others revengeful, so long
as some states are avaricious and others bitten by a
mania of vainglory, so long as some persons set an
undue value upon the opinion of the frivolous, so
long as some among the powers of Christendom re-
main vulnerable to the temptations of spoil and of
victory, of fame or of territorial aggrandise-
ment, so long, we are satisfied, wiil it be
preposterous for the philanthropist to attempt to
bring about a premature millennium by beating the
spears into reaping-hooks and the swords into plough-
shares. It should be remembered that the tempers of
some men explode not less suddenly or infallibly than
a charge of dry gunpowder. Besides which there are
fashionable men lounging every day about the gayest
haunts of this, as well as of most other capitals, not

less cuttbrohts in disposition tban the bandits of the
present day or the highwaymen of the last century—
fellows you would think who might carry daggers in
their rattans and revolvers in their snuff boxes, with-
out being in any remarkable degree extravagant or
out of character.

Fortunately we have still left us one method of
dealing, we think rather effectively, with these same
incorrigible dueliists. Reason has failed to convince
them of the folly, not to say the outrageous crimi-

nality and indecency of such proceedings; neverthe-
levs, we still cannot help believing that society has
left to- it one certain method of vindicating its
authority, an authority so long and flagrantly
outraged. By rendering duellists punishable, upon
all occasions, in the same manner as the lower class
of felons, we conceive that a wholesome corrective
might be administered. Let both the seconds and
the principals in these absurd " affairs of honour"

le treated as the vilest perpetrators of the petties

Larceny are treated by order of the metropolitan

magistrates, and we wager this vice will prove, before
long, by no means of frequent occurrence. Prison

diet and prison discipline would turn out, in these
instances, at least, beneficial. A severe cropping

of the lock 3 of dandyism by the hands of. the

goal barber would be felt as a not unimportant
penalty ; and a trot of seven or eight weeks
upon the treadmill of one of our London peniten-
tiaries would enforce the lessons of morality by a

We have received the Paris journals of Saturday
and of yesterday.
Saturday was a grand field day with the re action-
aries of all classes, who had reserved all their peti-
tions for a revision of the Constitution until that day,
and who then presented them en masse. Of the
manner in which these petitions are got up, our
readers may judge from the following reply of the
National to the remonstrances addressed to the Re-
publicans by the Ordre:— . .
" The Ordre complains that the Republican party bas
decided to r•lme, whatever may happen, the revision ot
the Constitution. The Republican party is in fait ex•
ceedingly culpable. It hes before it three a iversaries,
one of them, like the Debuts, declares that the revision
of the Constitution will ha the disavowal or retractation
of the 24h February; another, like MM. 13.•rryer, de
Falleux, and their journals, says that the problem to be
caved is the return to the traditional and hereditary
monarchy; and the third desires to produce from the re•
vhion the prolongation of the powers of the President of
the Republic. The three parties, though divided at to
the use to which the victory is to be turned here-
after, agree at present in bat ering the Republic, and we
forsooth have the cruelty to refuse consenting to that
course. The knife to cut our throats is politely pre•
seated to us, and we, wonderful to say, do net stretch
out our necks. The Ordre is exceedingly surprised at
our obstinate resistance, and has to convince us a decisive
argument—that the populations ot the country districts
are by a great majority in favour of the revision. But
the populations in question are universal suffragists, d
awe
In our free land of England we have no prouder
inthlle.way of the national will. That is the argument
we, the Republican minority, think fit to throw obstacles
pinvoapiettesantonrocte.beTooiwthdich we reply, that the will of the
boast than the glorious privilege of pacing our real
or imaginary grievances before the country in the
stern language of free men ; and we believe in the 31 exists. To appealpn to utoniavaerisoanlgsuaffaratghee ladw of
May
on it, it ought to exist. But it has beenan
destroyed,
the wide circle of civilization there is no country in which
knearly four millions of electors have been
the expression of human thought is less restricted
the" Ordre('if tills° viiicsito,
sfutrr so i that the argument of
than in our own. It must, no doubt, happen that
its vAerygrefa'ki•undmatoivoen..
some mad enthusiast will occasionally overstep the Is the rest of more s value
went is going on in the country, we are turd, and, if we
limits of the law ; for though the British Constitution
tdioonnootftay cta..re,Bmay end in the unconstitutional re-els c-
pmaarktee.s
iTtsisidslactohveerOvrkdre has disco-
doesbe largely imbued with the democratic principle, yet
that Constitution fence round our rights and vered. and it at oncea
in order to conjure away the peril, it Linda()own. But,
efficient than to yield to the torrent, and con:ehnint,gtom theore
privileges with so wholesome and necessary a re-
straint as to prevent liberty from degenerating into
electihne.ofw
M.'
...to,unkght, in its ayateet, to end in the re-
revision which
re-
libertinism. No lover of rational freedom, no friend
hjcskprpecaorms to us
ds
stoabemianiip pti
or, dfl "rnygt the
gDketf popular
in
IS aparte. We ask pardon of the Of (Ire,
of social order, can reasonably object to a restriction
policypburotvietrab,
Sc manifestly useful ; and while we would anxiously
he water ouch
fear ot b•ira, w•
g k- e et- Much obliged
guard- the liberty of the iubject, we have no t -
for the receipt. As to the pretended manifestation
BYrnpathy with those who by word or deed of the wishes of the great majority of the country
should districts. where does the Ordre find any trace of it? commit a breach of those laws by which
society is held together.
W e would vindicate the Is it in the pettions sent by the prefects, hawked about
laws and punish
this done in the-
We could hy no means
up to public
Government that woulnd
instruments of cruelty oar
tan offender ; but we would have by the mayors dotributtd by the gendarmes and
other Government agents? The Urdre probably does
rua merciful spirit of British law. - not accept suen pr.
Lffiets,. and so., for
hwimt of better, it
execra sanction, nay we would hold
poses
what they ought to be, a
'We have been led into these
of the petition of Mr. Banns-v
of the Chartist leaders, who in 18
- long term of
thet man, the system, or the contents
to itself
h be
t the
ew
sentimentswish
ei sau
of restricted majorityo ri authority, what
thee lietestuopr:
suff,age. Unfortunately for the argument
tempt to make our laws of the Ordre, the sentiments which it supposes to exist
torture, instead of being in that majority are in contradiction
h one with the other,
benefit and protection to all,
remarks by theperusal and mutually exclude each other. In fact, make the two
followine• affirmations agree together, if you can:-1.
The majority, says the Ordre, desires the revision of the
JONES, a barrister, one
48 wa.s sentenced to a
imprisonment for a seditious
delivered at a Chartist meeting. If that ' aoesupeech
a true statement of facts—and it is document
havingaaask s o much such
contain Constitution; 2. It does not know what a Constitution
•
is. So that here is a majority which does not even know
what it wants, and which was ignorant even of the exist-
ence of that Constitution against which it is represented
c„hom hostileth e iOrdrefi te u titoon; .0 s
tlany toruurt h,,,p wp
opposition
idtiido
nn
to
possible not to give credence to it, seeing to the revision. It was sufficient that it was evident that
how easily it can be contradicted if untrue_ it was oa the part of the Royalist coalition a tnacceuvre
we can use no language sufficiently strong reason,na
t she
tiatnthep-usbellida: The Or
di
enlisted
e added this peremptory
to denounce the horrid system of discipline
in conwith
the
o,_l,aors i,r, L_.un.der the flag or reyi-
Legitimist, and Bonapartist
leaders, do
Tothill-fields Prison. It would appear, from tog That is, rot even know what the question is all about.
Statement of Mr. Jorm9, that the Chief Justice at the stroptes,u!itoirtewthasan en?ugh to remove all &John, and
possible for the Republicans to have
July session of 1848 sentenced him to be imprisoned dot
c'rt *IN occabioo. The Urdre has consequently un•
%keti WI MU I
for two years and one week, "no other punishment lions_
461124,04.1.0 Pre the conversion of the most ,rebul-
Tough it has rendered us that sea vice
being embraced- in the Sentence, " and while in the without imeinaga i , we are not the less rateful "
dock, in reply to a question relative to his treatment M. Moans has withdrawn g *
his proposition for al-
in prison, Mr. Jon asserts that be received " re- lowing the motion on the
revision of the Constitution
pealed assurances of considerate and lenient treat- if rejected, to be renewed before the usual time for
, the renewal of rejected anent -" ..
, yet, notwithstanding the.e assurances, and
has brought his propositions • and M. MouLis"
forward motion f '
notwithstanding that hi • •
s sEntence was simple impri- awlsrelating
to a npeti-
of the Constitution to a se-
sonment, _Without an • •
y additional punishment, .14r. I loct committee. Di. JuLusr4vßE moved .; '--
4* WU
"141"414 ta 141 the 11 ' 4 kg* What tint prii4.?to for a irritiiii coca NO
14igalerld.
.....,•......--' 124,4 WS lA. .
.. t _ . . _ _ _
441 could

method more convincing than that of mere argument.
Without some vigorous movement of this kind we

despair of seeing the entire eradication of duelling
'rom the aociil system. With such regulations,

however, as those we have here intimated we ere

satisfied that the vice would, before many seasons

bad, *lapsed, be tabooed us that greatest of a;

possible abominations, an unmitigated snob
bism. People would at last come to re.

gatd every duellist in the same light in
which RICHARD AVENEL was regarded by Colonel

and Mrs. PompLET, namely, as a most unmistbkgable

and a most egregiously-to-be-despised Vulgarian.
When such a conclu‘ion shall have been arrived at,
then adieu, for some littla while at least, to all fears
of its revival. Prove his system to be contrary to
morality, and you. talk in vain to the duellist. Show

him that it is a direct and flagrant violation of fashion,
and you need dread no long continuance of his evil
practice. To effect this most desirable change, there-
fore, every sincere well-wisher of his fellow-man

should direct all his energies, so that the community
may be relieved of this, at least, among the various

artificial vices engendered by civilization.