The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-03 00:00:00

journals of the same evening, to be given in extenso
the day afterwards in the columns of the Momiteur.
Supposing these fair promises to be loyally ful-
filled, there could not of course remain an instant's
doubt but that arrangements of this kind in regard
to the Tribune, in the first place, and in the next
place in reference to the general constitution of
political Journalism, would, by necessity, be to the
good—would, in very deed, be what we have all of
us hoped it really might turn out to be in earnest,
namely the insertion of that small end of the wedge
aforesaid—would in point of fact be the inaugura-
tion of a new era in the consolidation and the
popularization of the Napoleonian Government.
Remembering what in other respects that Govern-
ment of the BONAPARTES notoriously is, remem-
bering that the sceptre of those modern C2ESARS,
under all its lavish gilding and jewellery, is in truth
but an iron rod welded out of the sword of the
greatest conqueror and the greatest genius of modern
times—one can only, however specious these fair
promises may look at the first blush, one can only
at the best regard them, so to speak, with half a
hope, one can only doubtingly and hesitatingly
trust that (in reference to each of these three boons
before mentioned) France may get it
The introduction into France, however, of the
Free Trade principles—that was " the first love"
among those Three Graces regarded in any way with
glances of affection by the present despotic Govern-
ment of our Gallic neighbours. For that " first
love " now in December, as originally in January,
the Imperial Government across the water remains
faithful ; and this, moreover, in spite of the count-
less little petty peddling efforts at opposition
directed against it from the first to the last by the
purblind multitude of the French Monopolists.
Our columns of that evening will be seen to demon-
strate in a rather striking manner how faithful,
how staunch in its adherence to its first impulse
towards Free Trade, at the commencement of the
year of grace now closing, the Imperial Government
of France continues to be. Of the firm adherence
of the French Government to the principles in
volved in the Commercial Treaty recently negotia-
ted between ourselves and our neighbours, the
Supplementary Tariff reproduced from the Ifionsteur
of Saturday in The Sun of this evening affords,
indeed, a sufficiently forcible attestation. Glance
down those columns and you will see clearly
enough—though you may chance not to be a
thick-and-thin believer in the advantages accruing
from Reciprocity Treaties even of the most left-
hand description—you will see clearly enough,
even though remaining in considerable doubt and
jealousy as to Mr. COBDEN'S late mysterious doings
in Paris—you will yet see in very despite of
that quite enough in this Supplementary Tariff
now appended to the Treaty, and formally com-
pleting it, to assure you at last that some good
may come of it after all : though very far from what
was so confidently predicted as certain to result
from the Treaty to those who believed
in, and who have continued to believe
in it unceasingly from the first period of ' its
announcement. The advantages we shall look for
from the treaty, so soon as it shall have come into
actual operation, will, nevertheless, be little more
than the advantages likely to arise from the ordi-
nary influences of association ; from the French
commercial world " rubbing elbows" with the Eng-
lish commercial world, and so gradually coming
little by little to a recognition of the manifold and
multiform blessings resulting from Free-trade prin-
ciples. So soon as reliable knowledge shall be ob-
tained by our French neighbours, away with this
otherwise intrinsically absurd treaty ! Free-trade
then at last assuming the place now occupied by
that spectre of Free-trade, the mercantile phantasm
of Reciprocity !

The greater part of the,general public probably
never heard of " the Spinning House." They
know more of Spielberg and St. Elmo—Austrian
and Neapolitan despotism, and the dungeons by
which it has been upheld, and all mutineers against
it, vulgarly called patriots, punished, being far
better known than the Spinning House and the
despotism of his Majesty, the Vice-Chancellor of
Cambridge. The ignorant of Cambridge have
learned, however, within the last few days what
the " Spinning House" means, and have seen that
it is a University prison ; they have seen, too, that
its inmates do not consist of delinquent members
of the University only, but of persons suspected by
M. M. the Proctors and Vice-Chancellor of the
University, whom and the former may have captured
in forays into the streets, and into the interior of
omnibuses, anywhere about the town. In fact, it
comes out that all persons, suspectus de malo, or,
according to various proffered translations, "sus-
pected of wrong," and " suspected of wrong
doing," and " suspected of evil," and " guilty of
evil"—all such persons might be seized by
by the University authorities, and incarcerated at
their pleasure in this said " Spinning House." To
this place, without a warrant, merely by word of
mouth, the Lord Chief Justice tells us, the Vice-

Chancellor may commit the unlucky suspectas de

malo, there to atone ina prison dress and on prison
fare, and in the cold and darkness of a narrow cell,

`or being suspected.

Now the law of this case it is not for us to dis-
pute. The Judge lays it down that so it is, and
we take his word for it without hesitation. We
only say, that if law it be, the sooner it is mended
the better. Such a loi des suspects is wholly at
variance with all our criminal legislation ; even
the Lord Chief Justice in a summing up that leaned
strongly to the University authorities, so felt the
repugnance between Cambridge proctorial law and
the common law of the land, that he felt con-
strained to remind the jury that, "It was not for
them to consider whether the law was just,
but to administer the law as it stood."
A pretty plain confession that the jury
might well be incredulous as to any law au-
thorising imprisonment by any authority at dis-
cretion, on the ground of suspicion merely, and
without the troublesome formality of a public trial.
The public certainly would hardly have believed,
but for the evidence, that any Englishwoman could
be arrested by a proctor, and not merely detained
till a public trial should be had of her case, but that
the Vice-Chancellor could be sent for to this
" Spinning House," and that he could, then and
there, without the roundabout formality of hearing
witnesses far the accused, much less of giving her
the opportunity to seek legal advice, order her at
once foul teen days of " Spinning House" discipline.
It is in his power, we believe, to order six weeks of
Spinning House discipline to those who are unlucky
enough 'to be
suspected by him and the proctors.
The morals of the
yniversity are, of course,o
u
theng
pretestn forho
tahtitse nd the
U
nc
anoma-
lous jurisdiction. But surely
the base will not bear
the superstructure built on it. Let the Chancellor and
the Proctors have what power the U •
niversity sees
fit to give them within its own walls, let them have
the fullest control over all who are in any sense
members of the University wherever they may find
them; let the University confer all the powers over
its own subjects which it thinks needful for the
morals of its young men ; but in the name of
English liberty, and the spirit of English law, let
not University officials have the free inhabitants of