The Sun.
London, England, 1869-12-14 00:00:00

PROTECTIONIST AGITATION IN FRANCE.

The able Parisian correspondent of the Times (M.
Prevost Paradol) regards the position of Free Trade
in France as very serious. Even if the Emperor
employs all his influence for the maintenance of the
'reaty, which is doubtful, the danger must still be
The Treaty is unpopular, because, firstly,
e two industries which have benefited by Free

mat.

Trade—to wit, the silks and the wines—were pros-
perous before the Treaty, while two industries,
which were also prosperous before the Treaty—to
wit, cotton and iron—have suffered greatly from it,
or, what is quite the same
for the vulgar, after it.
An increasing prosperity in silk and wines is as
nothing in the eyes of the French public, when com-
pared to the real distress of the textile and iron
industries. Moreover the origin of the compact
between England and. France is considered bat in
these days of awakemn6 liberty. " Our Free Traders
did not take time to win over the French public to
their doctrines ; they could not resist the temptation
of becoming masters of the field by the help of the
secular arm—that is, by ono unexpected and irre-
sistible stroke of Imperial will. They are likely to
pay for it, and to see their dear work, the Treaty,
sinking down wider that same weight of a bad origin
which is now pressing so heavily on the Empire
itself."

THE BIRMINGHAM EDUCATION LEAGUE'S SCHEME.

The Birmingham Education League will not wait
for Mr. Forster's Bill. They are acting altogether
independently of Government, though, of course, not
with the idea of opposing it. A. scheme has been
drawn up by Mr. Dixon and others, which will soon
be put into the hands of a draughtsman, to be pre-
pared forintroduction to the House of Commons.
Veanivhile for the information and education of the
public mind, a synopsis of the contents of the measure
is to be issued.

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND THE CHURCH OF

SCOTLAND.

A discussion has been going on in North Britain
as to the relations of the Established Church of
England to the Scotch Established Kirk. Some
pf.the disputants, would have it that the Episcopal
Church, with its high claims to Catholicity, looked
down upon and ppurned the humble Presbyterians ; it
would not acknowledge them at all. The Episco-
palians themselves and some Presbyterians, deny this
statement, and point, in proof of its incorrectness, to
the 55th canon of the Church of England, which
runs as follows :
Before all sermons, lectures, and homilies, the preachers
and ministers shall move the people to join with them in:
prayer, in this form, or to this effect, as briefly as ,conv,o-'
niently they may: Ye shall pray for (*list's Holy CatWtov
Church, that is, for the whole congregation of Chiista,
people dispersed throughout the • whole world, arid'
especially for the Churches of England, Scotland, and
Ireland.

WINDING UP PUBLIC COMPANIES.

Vice-Chancellor Stuart is 76 years of age, ana
belongs essentially to the past generation of lawyers;
but a recent announcement of his shews that he is
still capable of doing good public service. He
promises to reform the present long, tedious,
ruinously expensivo system of winding up bankrupt
joint-stock companies. With a sweeping generalisation
which is a prominent feature in his character, ho
brings a charge against the whole army of official
liquidators : he has never yet (he declares) seen a
winding-up conducted satisfactorily. No public
company ought to take as long as three years to
close up its accounts and settle its arrangements.
The court, however, is used for a continu-
ance of delays—most satisfactory, doubtless, to
the lawyers, but disastrous to shareholders and
creditors. Sir John Stuart has determined to change
all that; so he has given notice that ho will inquire
into the case 3 of all the companies which ho has
ordered to be wound up, and command the liquida-
tors ho has appointed to make a report showing the
cause of their want of expedition.