The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-06 00:00:00

sum of 1,500 f. ; to Mademoiselle Tuccrow, my for-
mer femme de chambre, the annual sum of I,ooof. ;
and to Holdet and Escoyer, the two_ valets de
chambre of the Duke d'Orleans, the annual sums of
1,500 f. to the former, and I,ooof. to the latter.
Having at heart the prosperity. of our house,. it is
my will that, in case, through improbable but pos-
sible misfortunes, namely, that my two sons should,
by dying before me, without leaving direct heirs,
render me the proprietress of a portion of their pro-
perty, the estate which I may leave shall be divided
amon,,,c, the princes of the House of Orleans, and in
their default among the princes their sons. In such
event the wishes I have above imparted to my sons
would, as regards their relations, become obligatory
charges, together with the desires I may subse-
quently express in codicils. I beg Mr. Fremyn,
senior, my attorney, to accept the duty which I
confide to him in the appointment of my executor,
and I hope he will recognise ifr-this a proof of my
gratitude for his enlightened counsel. I desire my
sons to present to Mr. Fremyn, senior, from me, a
diamond ring of the value of 3,000 f. Whatever the
place of exile where my days may close, and what-
ever the tomb I may happen to find, I request my
sons, and, in their default, my heirs to have my
remains conveyed to France whenever our family
may return to it, there to deposit them in the mor-
tuary chapel of Dreux, beside the tomb of my hus-
band. I here close my last will with an assurance
of pardon to all such as may have offended or
afflicted me, and with an entreaty to all those I may
in my turn have offended or pained, not to retain
the memory thereof. My last words are for my
beloved sons—a prayer and a blessing.
" HELENE, DUCHESSE D'ORLEANS.
" Eisenach, Jan. 1, 1855."

FRANCE AND THE UNITED KINGDOM.

(From the Belfast Mercantile Journal.)
It must be very gratifying not only to the in-
habitants of the British Islands, but also to the
greater portion of the better classes in Erance, to
know that our Queen has again met the Emperor
of the French in friendly intercourse, even, al-
though it hasbeen at one of the strongest and most
formidable fortresses in his kingdom. It is truly
delightful to find two great nations, that used to
consider themselves as natural enemies to each
other, thus linked together as brethren, but we
must nevertheless confess that there is something
about this vast warlike construction at Cherbourg
that weakens our faith, and raises doubts in our
minds as to the durability of the union between
the two greatest powers of Western Europe.
That Great Britain and France ought to main-
tain the most amicable relations, is a truth based
not only on the general desirability of peace, but
also on the specific capabilities and requirements
of the two countries. The course of policy pur-
sued by both, however, has been eminently un-
favourable to the intercommunity of the two peoples.
War generated taxes, and taxes generated custom-
house tariffs, which, in their turn, surrounded each
country with a hostile barrier, calculated to dimi-
nishto the lowest amount that profitable intercourse
which would have woven a threefold cord. of amity
not to be severed but on the most serious occasion.
A Custom-house is a commercial fortress con-
structed for hostile purposes ; and a Custom-house
officer is a commercial soldier, whose employment
is to make war on the trade oinations—to prevent
or limit their commercial interchange, and thereby
to diminish as much as possible the reasons founded
on material interest, which would induce nations
to cultivate peace. So long, then, as France and
Britain do not engage in a commercial interchange,
far more extensive than that which exists at present,
there is no real or solid bondof union between them.
A politicalbond can never be the substitute for a com-
mercial bond. The moment the occasion passes
which leads to a mere alliance of arms, the poli-
tical bond may be snapped, because it contains
nothing more solid than the opinions or tempers
wh o whose
statesmen. Opinions may change, and tempers may
become irritated ; new parties may arise,
policy is of a different character; or misunder-
stamlings may occur between individuals, which
may lead to misunderstandings between govern-
ments ; the bond of amity may thus be severed,
because, in fact, there is no real interest between
them. It is quite otherwise with the commercial
bond. The commercial bond is not a mere alliance
—it is a complete net-work of positive and pecuniary
interest, and its severance wherever it has been
allowed to exist, would carry with it such a ramifi-
cation of loss and detriment, that every effort is
made to avoid the danger, and almost every claim
complied with, rather than break off the profitable
interests of reciprocal trade. We see this in the
United. States, where the slavery and anti-slavery
parties aro morally as hostile to each other as if
they were at war. The north would willingly
deliver itself from all connection with slavery. It
abhors slavery, and, above all, the fugitive slave
law, which brings the abomination into its own
territory. But it dare not sever its connection with
the south, except as the very last resource, when
union would be no longer possible. It is bound by
the mighty tie of a free commercial intercourse.
The south supplies it with its cotton and. its pro-
duce ; and, in return, it finds in the south a market
for its own manufactures, its calicoes, hardware,
plantation goods, machinery and other articles. It
has a free trade with the south, and this free trade
is almost the only bond that keeps the States
together in a condition of internal peace. Let a
range of custom-houses be established along the
line that separates the free States from the slave
States—let the two parties mutually tax each
other's goods, and let there be as little commercial
interchange as there is between France and
Britain—and a disruption would inevitably take
place. War would probably ensue, and. the two
countries would set up separate governments 'of
their own. The same principle applies, though
to a modified. extent, to the relations between
Britain and the United States. The planters are
far from being friendly to Britain ; and were it
not for their commercial interests, they might
rashly seize some pretext for strife. But they are
bound to Manchester, to Birmingham, Sheffield,
Liverpool, Glasgow, and Belfast, by the golden
bands of trade. They would willingly—to use
their own expression—" thrash the Britishers ;"
but the Britishers are the only people who can
buy their cotton crop, which would rot on their
hands were the traile to be interrupted by war.
They would be ruined, in the first place, with
considerable chance of being beaten afterwards ;
and few men are willing to engage in an enterprise
which promises them certain ruin and. only proble-
matic glory. Our present alliance with. France,
then, we regard as by no means secured until we
open up a trade that would make the interests of
the two people identical. Trade has this advantage,
that it brings profit to both parties. It differs from
gambling, where the sum. gained by one party is
lost by another. Trade, on the contrary, is a real
and genuine profit to both. If we buy cotton from
America, it is because the cotton is more valuable
to us than the articles given in exchange ; and. if
the Americans sell their cotton, it is because the
articles received in exchange are more valuable to
them than the cotton.
Owing to the stupidly restrictive system still
dominant in France, our trade with her is miserably
small compared to what it could and would be under
a wiser and. more liberal policy.
British manufactures are sought after with great
avidity in that country, but, owing to the restric-
tive tariff imposed, they are comparatively so dear
that they can only be used by- the rich.
The province of Ulster, with which we are more
immediately concerned, suffers seriously, owing to
the high duties imposed upon her limns and linen
yarns. The recent exhibition in Paris must have
clearly revealed to any observant Frenchman the
great loss sustained annually by his nation in
consequence of this prohibitory policy. For the
article .of linen alone, the French nation pays at
least one-fifth more than it would do under a mo-
derate system of duties ; the loss amounting an-
nually to at least 21- millions sterling, or 62 mil-
lions of francs. The French Government loses a
handsome revenue, formerly derived from this
source, while the aggregate capital employed in the
flax spinning trade in France is not greater than
the annual loss sustained by that nation in keeping
up these prohibitory duties.
The consumption of linen in France is very great.
Linen napkins, as well as table-cloths, are used at
table by all classes. Linen is generally used for
under-clothing, and the linen blouse, either dyed
or undyed, is the universal outer garment. In con-
sequence of this 'general use, the linen manufacture
of France is of great magnitude, being reckoned at 7
yards for each person, or about 250,000,000 of yards
per annum. Estimating the value at 1-1- franc or
Is. English per yard, the annual value must be
about 312,500,000 f. or £12,500,000 sterling.
Messrs. Herdman, Grimshaw, and Patterson, in
their valuable report on the Paris Exhibition, pre-
sented to the Chamber of Commerce, in 1855, from
which we take the above figures, are of opinion that
the same fabrics could be produced in Ireland. and
Scotland at 20 per cent. less, on account of the
lower price of our linen yarns, which are now ex-
cluded from France by these prohibitory duties.
During the year previous to this prohibitory
system being adopted by Louis Philippe (1841), the
export of linen yarn from Great Britain and Ireland
to France was ten millions of killogrammes, or ten
thousand tons, value 41 millions of francs, and
a duty was paid to the French Government of six
millions of francs.

At that tlmo an agitation was commenced by
the French flax spinners to exclude British linens
cmd linen yarns by/ prohibitory duties, and the
00Yerninellt of Louis Philippe acceded to their