The Sun.
London, England, 1860-03-16 00:00:00

THE WEATHER.-SUN OFFICE, MARCIE 16, MO.

THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
50—highest sumo noon yesterday.
42—lowest this morning and during the night.
51—this day at noon.

BARONIZTER-30.05.
WIND, North-Westerly ; fresh and squally, with fine
weather.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tins DAY.—Morning, Bh. 37m.—Afternoon, 9h. 24m
To-waxow.-Morning, 10h. 10m.—Afternoon, 10h. 55m

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THE SUN.
LONDON, FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 1860,

It were idle to disguise it. If NAPOLEON goes
on in his purpose to have Tuscany to himself, or
keep it for a time, as a matter of prudence, till the
present effervesence subside, in order to hand it
over to his Cousin, for whom it was from the first
intended, we would not give sixpence for
the present peace of Europe lasting over the
spring. By that time circumstances may be
considered so far favourable for the prosecution
of his ulterior plans, that the Emperor of the
FRENCH will take Europe by surprise, and appear
on the Rhine in all his military grandeur. Then
woe to the living in those parts, for desolation will
spread dismay far and near. We stated yesterday
that NAPOLEON had intimated to the Swiss
Envoys that no part of Savoy would be conceded to
Switzerland. Now he stretches his Imperial Power
yet further, for he has commanded VICTOR EM-
• SIANIJEL not to accept Tuscany, although it has been
voted to him by almost universal acclamation ! The
King of Sardinia may name a prince of his house, but
annexation, pure et simple, to Piedmont is posi-
tively deprecated ! After this what will NAPOLEON
do next ? The Times' correspondent says that—
" VICTOR EXIMANUEI„,by tho same account, is de-
barred from annexing the Romagna, which may
be governed by a Vicar acceptable to the POPE.
There is one point of difference between the
Holy Father and the Grand Dukes of
Tuscany and Modena— he remained in his
capital, and took no part in the war with
Austria ; the Grand Dukes abandoned their
territories, and were to be found in the camp of the
enemy. The question now is, will M. CAVOUR dis-
regard these counsels, brave the anger, and go on
annexing, even under the threat, which is repeated,
of the evacuation of Lombardy by the French army?
At the moment I write Savoy and Nice are pro-
bably annexed to France, by municipal manifesta-
tion rather than by universal suffrage. In certain
cases of annexation a manifestation is speedier and
more certain than popular suffrage; and, should
annexation be contemplated in any other direction,
Savoy might serve as a precedent. But what will
hardly fail to produce much sensation in Europe, is
the fact that the whole of Savoy is taken by France,
and nothing left to Switzerland of what she has a
right to. This, I must say, is contrary to the de-
claration of the French Government that the inte-
rests of Switzerland should be cared for;—those in-
terests meaning the annexation of the neutralized
provinces to Switzerland on the annexation of Savoy
to France. These promises are, it appears, flung to
the winds ; and Switzerland will be left as exposed
as she can well be, and easy access, through
her,
elsewhere. This will be heard with consternation in
'Switzerland; and it may not be regarded with
absolute indifference throughout Europe."

A long debate took place in the House of Lords
_last night, on the question of the Address to her
MAJESTY respecting the treaty of Commerce with
France. The arguments were much of the same
tenor as those so bountifully'Vouchsafed of late in

the Commons, and a division:took place, when there
appeared--Content for the treaty 68, and 38 against
it. The speeches were numerous and eloquent—
that of Earl GREY pointed and sententiously sar-
castic. It was also very argumentative. He said
that the repeal of indirect taxes to ihe amount of
£3,900,000 ;a-year, in the face of a deficiency of
£9,000,000, was a hazardous and ambitious
experiment. Parliament in 1861 would have to
deal with, probably, a deficiency of £10,000,000
in consequence of our continued preparations
for self-defence and the small provision made for
the expenses of the war with China--a provision
so inadequate that the budget of 1861 must be
charged with the difference. He thought that the
treaty ought not to have been signed without a
formal disclaimer having been previously obtained
from France of her intention to annex Savoy and
Nice. The Earl of MALMESBURY concurred with
the opinion of Earl GREY, but admitted that he
was not opposed to commercial treaties, for that
when a member of Lord DERBY'S Government
seven years ago he himself had entered
into negotiations with France with a view to ex-
tend the commercial relations of the two countries.
Those negotiations did not succeed, owing to the
unwillingness of the French to make mutual conces-
sions. It was said that this treaty was not a bargain;
but, if it were not, what was it ? The treaty was
not only a commercial disadvantage to this country,
but a political mistake. The treaty was a conces-
sion, not to this country, but to the PALMERSTON
Government, in order that by conciliating the
cotton party it might retain office. It was a treaty
not between the French and English people,
but between the Emperor of the FRENCH and
Lord PALMERSTON. He corroborated this asser-
tion by reading extracts from an article in the
Journal des Debats of the 10th of March, and
asked whether, if this was the view taken by the
French people, it would tend to cement the friend-
ship of the two nations. He condemned in un-
measured terms the conduct of the Government in
signing this treaty pending the question of the
annexation of Savoy, and sincerely regretted to see
the Emperor a the FRENCH departing from that
policy which he had proclaimed at the commence-
ment of his reign, and entering on the course which
had been so ruinous to the First Empire.,
The Earl of DERBY was equally strong in his
opinions both as respects the treaty and the budget,
which were so dovetailed that in voting the address
they were made by anticipation to agree to the
budget also. On the whole, he condemned the
course adopted in repealing so many taxes and re-
imposing the income tax at 10d. in the pound to
make up the deficit. Next year the income tax
must be increased perhaps to a shilling, and ulti-
mately it would become a permanent tax even in
time of peace, which was a dangerous as it was an
objectionable principle.

Whatever our opinions may be in respect to the
Budget and Treaty of Commerce, we hail with
pleasure any measure which is really for the public
good, and Ministers deserve unqualified praise for
the bill brought in last evening in the Com-
mons by the enlightened Attorney-General. It
was a bill to amend and consolidate the law re-
lating to Bankruptcy and Insolvency in England.
In order to place the various points before the reader,
we shall give a succinct synopsis of the learned
gentleman's measure. He observed that the evils
in connection with the existing laws relating to
bankruptcy had been complained of in the time of
Lord ELDON, and notwithstanding the antiquity
of the complaint, no adequate steps had been taken
to redress it. Attempts had, however, been made
iu the years 1831, 1843, and 1849 to remedy the
evil, and in the latter year a new code had been
introduced ; but he was sorry to say, that so far
from having the desired effect, the complaints were
louder now than before the work of reform had
been undertaken. The great object which it was
desired to effect was to devise a cheap and effec-
tive machinery for collecting and realising the
estates of insolvent persons. The expense of ad-
ministering an estate in the Court of Bankruptcy
amounted to very nearly 33 per cent. upon the
assets realised. In ordinary life, 5 per cent. was
considered a very high rate of charge for collecting
debts; but in the Court of Bankruptcy, the unfor-
tunate creditor whose debt amounted to £6OO would
have to submit to a reduction of £2OO to satisfy the
claims of those whom the State had appointed to col-
lect the assets of his debtor. This, he submitted, was
an evil which would alone be sufficient to warrant an
alteration in the law. He had intended to propose
the entire abolition of imprisonment for debt ; but as
such a suggestion might have caused a good deal
of diversity of opinion, he had determined not to
introduce it, but to leave it for a separate measure
to be brought in hereafter. He proposed that any
person, whether a trader or not, should be at liberty
to present a petition for adjudication in bankruptcy,
and that every insolvent person willing to make a
surrender of his property and a full disclosure with
respect to it should be adjudged a bankrupt. He
also proposed to relieve insolvents from future
liability to pay the debts of their creditors, as ho
considered that the present state of the law in
that respect was cruel in its operation and detri-
mental to the interests of society. To meet the
cases of persons who might decline to give up their
property, it was provided by the bill that, after
remaining 14 days in custody, they should be
brought before the Court, whether they liked
it or
not, be examined with reference to their
property, and be adjudged bankrupt. Insol-
vency and bankruptcy would for the future be
blended together, and the present absurd and un-
intelligible distinction would be done away with.
In the case of nontraders a few very simple tests
of insolvency would be adopted. A creditor
holding a judgment against such a debtor
would have the power to summon him before
ev should t
he
b e
the Court, and if he could not satisfy the
debt, or give securityhe nfoerxt it,
evil ef
he
considered insolvent.
T
existing system was the manner in which provi-
sion was made for the administration of the law.
There was not the least necessity for the five
commissioners who now presided in the Court of
Bankruptcy. The judicial functions of those gen-
tlemen were limited to one hour a-day for three
days in the week, or three hours per week, for
which they received £2,000 per annum each. He
proposed to sweep away the commissioners in
London altogether—to relieve them of their func-
tions, and to give them their £2,000 a year for
life, but to hold them liable to act should any
exigency arise that might render it necessary
to make them auxiliary to the administration
of justice. In lieu of the five commissioners
on whom the administration of the law now
devolved, one judge would be appointed, who
should take the same rank, and receive the same
remuneration, as the judges at Westminster-
hall. The business would also be divided so as to
make a distinction between that which was purely
judicial and that which was purely administra-
tive. The latter would devolve upon the re-
• gistrars of the court, and it would become neces-
L sary to establish as auxiliary court for small
estates. Facilities would
also be given for private
arrangements and compositions,and , it would not