The Sun.
London, England, 1856-06-26 00:00:00

RAILWAY TRAFFIC RET URNS.

GREAT NORTHE RBr RAlLWAY.—Traffic :alum for the
week ending June 15, 1856 £20,330 5 3
Corresponding week last year 19,324 16 1
LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE RAILWAY. —Traffic ro•
turn for the week er Kling Juno 22, 1856 £24,007 14 7
Corresponding week last year. 21,506 18 0
CHESVER AND H( )LYHEAD RAlLWAY.—Traffic return for
the week ending Ju no 22, 1856 25,884 14 1
Corresponding wee! 4 last year 5,390 8 6

---
ll'acreage in. 1856 . £494 5 7
CORK AND BAN DO N RAlLWAY.—Traffic return for week
ending June• 21, Et.% £254 9 0
Correspondiaz week last; year 215 13 8
LONDON CIEN:ERAL OMNIBUS COMPANY.—Truffic re-
turns for the we ek ending June 21, 1856 £9,807 5 1

CROSSED CH] :QUES.—•Tbe new act to amend the law
relating to drat Tilts on bankers was yesterday issued.
The preamble sta tea that , doubts have arisen as to the
obligations of bankers with respect to cross-written
draughts, and that it would conduce to the ease of com-
merce, the securir: vof property, and the prevention of
crime, if drawers >r h. )lders of draughts on bankers,
payable to bearer <24 •to order on demand, were enabled
effectually to direct the payment of the same to be made
only to or through scimi ) banker. Therefore it is enacted
that a draught °robs& with a banker's name is to be
payable only to or Oro' igh some banker. The act is
now in force.

METROPOLITAN LIPR( YTEMENTS.—The new street from
Spitalfielcis Church to S L-oreditch, for which an act was
passed in July, 184 G, is ow entirely at a stand for want
of ready money ; the su 'rri required to complete the un-
dertaking is about 27,0 00, /., to meet which deficiency
the Commissioners of VITOI Its are em2owered to sell or
mortgage the building grow id on each side of the street.
In October laKt, after tbe strl ject bad been discussed for
some month% the architect re oresented the inexpediency
of selling arly of this groand b fore opening the street as
a public thoroughfare, and ant Tested the propriety of
borrowing 20,0001. on mortirge,

CENTRAL AATBRICA,

In relation to the affairs of Central America, a corre-
spondent desires to correct a belief lately circulated, to
the effect that " the project which adopted the river San
Juan and the lake of Nicaragua ac the line of the inter-
oceanic canal has come to an end, and that the prospec-
tive company has been dispersed to the winds." It will
therefore be useful to recapitulate in a few lines its
actual position. The company was formed in 1850,
under a grant from the State of Nicaeagua, giving it, on
certain conditions, an exclusive right to construct the
canal, or, if a canal should be found undesirable, a rail-
way or other communicatior. This grant was also ac-
companied by an exclusive privilege to navigate the
waters of Nicaragua by steam, and to construct internal
roads, as well as by a gift of eight sections of land, each
of six miles square, along the river and lake. It was
incorporated by a charter from the State of New York,
and its promoters were in active intercourse with Mr.
Clayton and Sir Henry Bul mar during the negotiation
of the Clayton•Bulwer treaty, the terms of which were
understood to have been specially framed with a view
to the co-operation of England and America in the con-
struction of the route, the colonisation of the country,
and the maintenance of its independence and neu-
trality. This intercourse, moreover, led to a pledge
being given by the American holders of the con-'
cession, that one-half of its valuable privileges
should be offered to Great Britain. Thus far no-
thing could have been more satisfactory or promising
than the prospects of the enterprise. The company then
deputed Messrs. White and Vanderbilt as commissioners
to London to make an unreserved offer of participation
in all that they had secured. Upon their arrival they
were met by every exploded objection that could be re-
suscitated. The impossibility of navigating the river
and lake, the dangers from earthquakes, reptiles,
malaria, and hostile savages, were pertinaciously insisted
upon, and the commissioners found themselves treated
rather as adventurers seeking a great boon than as per •
sons who had gained something of value by their promp-
titude and shrewdness, and who now, from motives of
sound policy, with which they had the sense to perceive
their own interests ware identified, had come to make a
frank and liberal offer to divide it. When they had de-
monstrated the futile nature of the various objections,
and no alternative was le t to the English capitalists but
a direct refusal without assigning any reason, or an at-
tempt to delay a decision by demanding further satis-
faction, the latter course was adopted. A document,
signed by some of the most eminent houses in London,
was then given to the commissioners, promising to intro-
duce the enterprise to the British public if the company
would,at their° wn expense, first cause satisfactory surveys
to be made, and afterwards submit these surveys to the
approval cf engineers to be nominated by the British
Government. At the same time the commissioners
were told that these London capitalists would decline
having anthing to do with carrying out the temporary
transit, and would prefer to confine their interest to the'
ship canal. The commissioners returned to fulfil the
conditions imposed, and finding that the privileges of
temporary transit and of steam navigation on the waters
of Nicaragua were held in London of no account—al-
though they in fact constituted the most unquestionable
prize of the concession—these gentlemen at once te-
commended the New York shareholders to procure from
the State of Nicaragua a separation of the privileges, so
that pending the arrangement of the canal question they
might independently secure all the profits of the rapidly
increasing traffic by the river and lake. The original
company was therefore split into two companies—one
called the Accessory Transit Company, and the other the
American, Atlantic, and Pacific Ship Canal Company.
Meanwhile the required surveys for the canal were car
ried on at a great outlay by Colonel Childs, the chief
engineer of the State of New York, and a numerous
staff, and plans and reports were completed and printed
which, for precision and apparent reliability, have
perhaps rarely been exceeded. The company, having
thus fulfilled what was required of them as a preli.
winery condition to the co-operation of this country,
again sent commissioners to London, consisting this
time of Mr. White and Mr. Routh, accompanied by
Colonel Childs. The plans were submitted, and it was
found that the cost of the work was estimated at little
more than haif the amount originally conjectured. Le rd
Malmesbury, at that time Foreign Secretary, was then
requested to name two Government engineers to verify
them, and these gentlemen, after a long examination,
reported, not only in their favour, but expressed great
personal confidence in Colonel Childs. Everything then
seemed complete, and the commissioners relied upon be-
ing able to leave London in a few days with the satis-
factory announcement that, upon one-half of the capital
being arranged to be subscribed in the United Stater,
subscriptions for the other half would be opened in
London, and that the two nations would go band in
hand in controlling the future destinies of Central Ame-
rica. To their astonishment, however, they received a
refusal, unaccompanied by a single qualification to ex-
plain or justify the manner in which they had been in-
duced to incur enormous expenses, and to devote two
or three years to demonstrate points upon which they
themselves were already fully satisfied, In a state
of extreme irritation they returned to New York,
and laid the whole case before their shareholders and
the public. The comments which followed, and which
were expressed in formal resolutions, were, as might
have been expected, of the strongest character ; and
it is believed that from that moment the plan of Ameri-
canising the country by the method which has since been
carried out, and of procuring, if possible, the abr.vation
of the Clayton•Bulwer treaty, took its rise. The Transit
Company are alleged to have used Walker for that pur-
pose, or, at all events, to have afforded him constant aid
in every way. The result of the alliance has been the
usual one in such cases—Walker, upon obtaining suc-
cess, having repudiated them and abolished their privi-
leges, taking advantage of a dispute among the managers
to transfer the concession to that portion of them whom
he believes to be his most devoted adherents. It is pos-
sible, however, that the Canal Company, is not neces-
sarily involved in the destruction of the Transit Com-
pany. The parties connected with its- management are
nearly identical, but the shareholders are a different
body ; and, although the concession was to expire if not
acted upon within a certain period, there was a clause to
provide for delay in case of civil war or other unforeseen
difficulties. This company, therefore, may still be rt.
garded as having a tangible existence, and it is probable
that, whenever the question of constructing the canal or
a perfect railway communication across the Isthmus
shall be revived, the parties interested will endea-
vour to induce the United States Government to
recognise and enforce their claim. The hasty sketch
thus given on the most material points of the history
will suffice to check the erroneous impression lately con-
veyed, even by a Government statement in the House of
Commons, that the scheme for the Nicaragua Canal was
abandoned on the score of difficulty. Of course, after
their repulse on this side, the Americans suffered it to
remain in abeyance, because the profits and facilities of
the temporary transit route then constituted their object.
The discussion of the canal plans, moreover, would have
increased the obstacles in the way of getting rid of the
Clayton•Bulwer treaty, which, so long as it exists, must
render impracticable the annexation of the country and
its conversion into slave states. It is evident that,
whatever may have been the cause of the treatment be•
stowed by the English capitalists and the English Go-
vernment on the American company—who up to the
period of their rebuff had unquestionably acted in good
faith, and the value of whose offer has since been de

monstrated by practical experience—it is mainly to the
consequences of that treatment that all the alarming
features which the Central American question Las since
assumed are due, The public may be reminded also
that this is no new inferenne, but that such a result was
foreseen to be inevitable at the time when politicians
and capitalists thought the anxieties expressed upon the
subject. to be altogether unworthy of their regard.—
Times City Article,

SECRET SOCIETIES IN FRANCE.-" LA

MARIANNE."

The following affords additional particulars respecting
he formidable society of " La Marianne." of which'
some account has already appeared in The Sun.
In 1848 the party of the Mountain, which had not
then adopted the views of the Socialists, feeling itself
powerless against Cavaignac, on the one side, andSocial-
iHM on the other, endeavoured to connect itself with
those members of the Socialist party, such as Ledru Rol-
lin and others, who were at that time influential, and
proposed to them the establishment of a political society
which, according to the views of some of their number,
was to play the same part as the old Jacobin Club. It
was the least extravagant section of the Socialist party
which thus desired to organise itself into a militant and
propagandist' section. The society thus projected was ,
accordingly formed. It was styled, "La Solidarite."
Its constitution is sufficiently well known, Ledru
Rollin and his followers of the Mountain, together
with certain Socialists, became members of the Council
General which met in Paris. Auxiliary societies were
formed in all the departments, arrondissements, and can-
tons. The Council-General consisted of 40 members.
Amongst them there was a minority, by no means nu-
merous, but exceedingly energetic, which had only
consented to form part of the Council with the view of
propagating the ultra principles among the numerous
branches of "La Solidaritd." This minority held the
opinions of Blanqui, Raspail, &c. ; it was clintnunist
and revolutionary, and under the appearance of acting in
unison, with "La Solidarite," had, as early as 1849,
begun to influence its friends and subordinate agents in
the provinces to create a crowd of secret societies whose
members wore drawn from the most ardent leaden of all
shades of extreme Socialist opiniod. Though the consti-
tutions of all these societies were almost identical, their
names varied with the different localities in which they
were established. But the names and the societies them-
selves by degrees disappeared, to make way for one name
and one society—that which is now so well known as
" La Marianne."
Originally. "La Marianne " was itself nothing but
one of these branch societies, and confined exclusively to
the South of France. In those impassioned and imagi-
native regions, the name of "La Marianne" or, in the
southern dialect, "La Marianne"—has served to desig-
nate in turns, and even at one and the same time, the
revolution, the republic, the strife of the parties, and
the guillotine. When the revolutionary struggle of par-
ties terminated in the Terror (1793), and the gralotiea be.
came the order of the day, the peasant; of the South in-
variably spoke of it as "La Marianne." The origin of
the term is this. When the worship of the Catholic
Church was succeeded in France by the wer hip of Rea-
son, there used to appear, in the public festivals of the
Decade, at the head of the allegorial processions which
were then in vogue, two of the handsomest girls of the
province, "arrayed, or rather disarrayed," a rantique,
with half the bosom exposed. One of these young ladies

...sp,,,.ev.wpr.mftw,,,,wp.E...-,-,,u0-u,,,,,,, ;,:x.l- •,,,,•:;,,,,,,,,,'''l,''''':,
used te, l'aphMOili I.l,iliton, ilia ether LihefiYii the
b
ware meant to personify the republic, per.
people, always faithful to old traditions,
the,
sisted in calling them by the name of
who
two most popular Catholic divinities-Mary and An"
had Pre'
-the mother and grandmother of Christ,
viously always led the van of all the Catholic processionf'•
represented sometimes by images of wood er wax. eci:n;
times by real women. When Mary and Acne wets
times
by Reason and Liberty, the
South used to chant a rhyme beginning thus :-
" Are I'baven la Marianne
At length we have the true Mary and An
iia
in other words, Reason and Liberty united. When t
peasants of the
bhortwanodwothrdeys
tworship of Reason was abolished by the ThErmideriatig, .
nthoe,
guillotine. It was in ordebrectaomfleattthere
theulteimutnttietelyd had come to represent a pa.
the secret
the southern peasantry that the founders of
societies of 1848-49, especially in the rural districts, ga"
to them the name of " Marianne."
The public will recollect the active and energetic re.
tnbiecktnraamdietioonf
sistance which the coup d'4tat of Louis Napoleon We:
riunced in the provinces, and especially in the Soutb.
This resistance arose from the powerful organisation of
.. La Marianne." It is difficult to realise the number °,,
supporters secured by the founders of "La Maria:well .
especially in the departments where Pretestantisni an;
Popery both exist. as in the departments of the °LI! ii,
g 0 r atlo ,
the Herault, &c. It may be stated without eta;
that at the epoch of thecoupd'etat, the societies affiliatee
to " La Marianne" nurnberei close upon a million mein;
hers. But those who had directed the movement Brol,
o Ls
t,
Napoleon were either shot or banished to Cayenne
bases. Only a few were fortunate enough to escape i'
. bs
mere handful remained in Fiance, and they were do ,
found iu Paris, for measures of repression having -re
taken in the capital even before the secret societiesowiethe s
formed and organised in the provinces, the member' d le
metropolitan clubs were more on their guard, an e
wag
caped the vigilance of Louis Napoleon's agents. It nth,
from this metropolitan nucleus that the new Pr,°_,Par la
proceeded which was subsequent to the coup d 614" rd.!
the provinces, the leaders had been almost' all ester
ea e
nated, but the members remained. No sooner bad Ter,
recovered from the violent blood-letting of Deeetn se, '
910 •
1852, than the insurrectionary movement !ain
Starting from the mountains of the South and -r°m,, at
estuary of the Rhone, thepropagandist reeree-aeed•
advanced up the line of the reat river, and u''''' oe
itself over the whole of France.g At the preset surface :e.
of France
"La Marianne" spreads over the entire io
ranee a network invisible to thi eyes of the 13,43nted
It is stated that 40 or 50 deatmeuts "are in"' 00.
by it, and that its members number at least 60,0 ,
The truth i-', that there is no department. of rryeall
where "La Marianne" has not numerous rem-e g,
cations, all of them under different 113.-hat
Paris is the centre of the whole organisation, Tie'
the strength of the society is in the provinces.,
coo
artisans, especially those employed in the otentljahlisb•
of iron, in printing, and in the large furnishing eisettod
ments, are no propagandists ; they perfectly and -hlic;
one another ; what they want is the social rePl2 up
and they only wait the signal for action. . wee,
the more impatient betray themselves; ae, for fesh..oo.
last year, when the rumour spread of an atteinPt ;here
of the Cent Gerdes on the life of Louis Napoleon' des la
was on that occasion a commencement of barrice;-0111
the streets of the Faubourg St. Denis. But, gen-tbeir
speaking, the future armies of the revolution are 00 .The •
guard, and their warriors are prudent and discreet', the '
officers of the societies bring them the ordere eiteol
committee ; and at this moment the committee, 1131 ,
Occasion* .
of
Iforty, consists of only three persons. 'of Seri!
n the report of the recent trials many aaalLl:i•totet : '
f°
societiesL have transpired-for instance, "La lu-1-01 that '
es Enfants de la Liberte," &c. ; this prove- I, of i'
the old system is still adhered to, and that 01,,.,01 !:
shootbra has its appropriate name. But all these d'in-qr 1
nches are connected with one parent tree of ,:
Marianne." Although I have considered it aPt thel
conscience to mention no names, I ought to oheerf" der!
Ledru Rollin is no longer one of the influential lee re :
of "La Marianna." The affiliated societies aa ,1°: so
swear by such or such a chief of the democracy, tliortr '
longer
te recognise a leader, they desire, with 011 dot 0
b
definitive and complete suppression of all loePt t'
connected in France with the idea of goeeritinee `.'1,,-T ere '
ready
fard as regards administration ; that is to say, ""-'eti 0
ea y enough to preserve the one, but detertnio dia
abolish the other, in name, if not in fact. Theeleeao he
principle of " La Marianne" is, that there ougLti.
no more masters, but clerics of the nation evellow7ise, '