The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-23 00:00:00

means equivocal symptoms of late that the more
ardent and ambitious spirits in the French army
are getting tired of the monotony of peace.
L'Arntee s'ennwie. We are haunted by no dreams
of a naval war in the Channel, or of an invasion of
England from Cherbourg. But we do see immi-
nent danger of war in the Mediterranean on so
popular a pretext as the assertion of the right of a
nation to choose its own rulers. This danger may
be averted if England sincerely and cordially unites
with Sardinia to uphold, by peaceable means, the
cause of constitutional government in Italy. Any
English statesman who will at the present moment
come forward with an unequivocal declaration in
favour of such a policy may rely on the enthusias-
tic support of the nation. The people of England
know by sad experience that if there be war in
Europe, England is sure to be drawn into the
vortex. The people of England deprecate a rup-
ture of peace, but still more do they► deprecate any
complication of European affairs that may expose
them to the risk of dynastic or party considerations
inducing their own Government to attempt to draw
them in to make common cause in war with any of
the despots of the Continent.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.-April 22.

COURT OF' QUEEN'S BENCH.
EX PARTE DENISON, M P.

Mr. Macaulay, Q.C. (with whom was Mr. Rooh-
fort Clarke), said he was instructed on the part of
Mr. Edmund Denison, M.P., and chairman of the
Great Northern Railway Company, to move for a
rule calling upon Francis Goodlake to show cause
why a criminal information should not be filed
against him for a libel on Mr, Denison, published
in the Times on Friday last, the 16th inst. The
matter complained of was an article of some length
under the head of " Money-Market and City In-
telligence," and was a comment on the conduct of
Mr. Denison and other gentlemen connected will
the Great Northern Railway Company. The
lesirned counsel read the article complained of, as
follows:

"The public are at length made acquainted with
the delinquents in the railway conflict. It is to
the Great Northern Company the country owes the
disgrace sustained from the fact that interprises in-
volving between 40,000,000 and 50,000,000/. of
capital, and the consequent incomes of many
hundred families, can be conduc'ed on no
better principles than those which were com-
mon to the most reckless gamesters of half a century
ago. During the past week various meetings have
been held of the deputations from the several com-
panies whose business is liable to be affected by the
unscrupulous proceedings of the mammoth con-
cerns, and who have used every effort to bring
about an honest adjustment. The result, how-
ever, has been a failure. They had arranged an
brbitration on every questioa referred to them,
but at the last moment Mr. Edmund Denison, M.P.,
the chairman of the Great Northern Company, re-
fused consent on the most vital point—that of rates
and fares—and actually proposed to refer it to the
consideration of the traffic managers of the respec-
tive undertakings. It has thus become evident that
the Great Northern Company even in entertaining
the mediation never had any inteation'to submit
to it, except where they could ascertain it might
he used for some unfair advantage, and the depu-
tations have accordingly brought their labours to
a close. In doing this they sufficiently express their
sense of she conduct that has been exhibited, and
• leave the solution of the existing difficulties in
the hands of those on whom more immediately de-
volves the responsibility attending them.' There
is very little further to be said. In private life,
when one man attacks another, and will neither
wait a regular appeal to law nor leave his case iu
the hands of intelligent and disinterested men, no
perplexity is found in assigning him his proper po-
sition. He is treated as a pest, who can only de-
grade and annoy any society to which he may be
admitted. What-should be the place of the chair-
man of the Great Northern and his colleagues is a
question for the community to determine. The
most grievous consideration in the affair is that
such men should have been selected and upheld
to deal with the property of a body of persons
who may be looked upon-as fair representatives of
the middle classes of England, Mr. Denison and his
brother:directors are thechoiee of people of weight—
landowners, merchants, clergymen, professional men
and trustees of all kinds. They do not, therefore, in-
flict upon us simply the mortification of seeing half-
a-dozen individuals who claim a decent status act-
ing unscrupulously, but are able to proclaim that
their system of procedure is such as is strongly
approved by hundreds who may be taken as
average examples of the national character. It
would matter little into what personal deviations
Mr. Denison and any other member of the board
might allow themselves to be betrayed if thematter
ended with them ; but when they are to be recog-
nised as the agents of a large section of society,
we get a most unpleasant indication of the tone
that must he prevalent among us. The share-
holders cannot plead that they have been taken by
surprise, and had no reason to expect what they
now observe. There is nothing in the present diffi-
culty that is not perfectly of a piece with all that
took place in the Redpath history ;—his appoint-
ment, without a character, to unchecked power
over the shares of the company ; the subsequent
attempts of the board to shift the responsibility of
all the laxity that had existed, and meanly to throw
it on the shoulders of subordinates ; and, finally,
the prevarications and blind intemperance that
characterised the determination to effect, if possible,
at any cost to the company and injury to the
claimants, the repudiation of the dividends
due on the preference shares, were sufficient to
denote what might be expected in all cases
involving points of temper and morality, so
long as the management should remain in the
s one hands. It is the proprietary, therefore,
upon whom the odium of what is now going on
must fall. Unless they contrive to redeem them-
selves from the reproach by forthwith disavowing
the acts committed in their name, it may be hoped
they will suffer in pocket as well as in self-respect,
and that the process will be assisted by Parliament
whenever an oppectunity may present itself."
Mr. Macaulay said no doubt could be entertained
by their Lordships that this language was of a libel-
lous oharacter.
Lord Campbell—What do you say it imputes ?
Mr. Macaulay said the article referred to certain
facts which had taken place, and a proposal which
had been made to submit to arbitration certain im-
portant matters in difference, and the writer in-
formed the public that, the mediation of the depu-
tation baying been accepted, they bad used their
efforts to bring about an honourable adjustment,
and had arranged an arbitration, when, at the last
moment, Mr. Denison refused his consent on the
most vital point, that of rites and fares. It then
went on to say :
"It has thus become evident that the Great
Northern Company, even in entertaining the me-
diation, never had any intention to submit to it
except they could ascertain it might be used for
some unfair advantage, and the deputations have
accordingly brought their labours to a close." It
then went on to say :
" There is very little further to bs said. In pri-
vate life, when one man attacks another, and will
neither wait a regular appeal to law nor leave his
case in the hands of intelligent and disinterested
men, no perplexity is found in assigning him his
proper position. He is treated as a pest, who can
only degrade and annoy any society, to which he
may be admitted."
It then s rid,—
" What should be the place of the chairman of
the Great Northern and his colle igues is a question
for the community to determine."
Mr. Justice Wightman.--Yes, but you do not
answer the question as to what the imputation is.
Mr. Macaulay said the imputation was, that,
having accepted the mediation of independent per-
sons, who had proposed an honourable adjustment,
the Great Northern Company had withdrawn from
them the only vital question—that of rates and
fares, and that by so doing they showed that in en-
tertaining the mediation they never had any inten-
tion to submit to it, except when theycould ascer-
tain it might be used for some unfair advantage.
The article then went on to state that—
" In private life, when one man attacks another
and will neither wait a regular appeal to law nor
leave his c ase in the hands of intelligent and dis-
interested men, no perplexity is found in assigning
him his proper position. Ile is treated as a pest,
who can only degrade and annoy any society to
which he may be admitted."
Any more gross imputation on an individual there
could not be, nor one more serious when applied
to a gentleman who held the double position of
tuenal,er of Parliament and chairman of the Great
Northern Railway. The article then went on to
charge Mr. Denison with "prevurication," and to
loaf him with odium, both as a public and private
n are."

Mr. Justice Erle—What is that about " preva-
riottion ?"
Mr. Micaulay real the passage, which ran thus :
'' There is nothing in the present difficulty that
is not perfectly of a piece with all that took place
inhis appointment without
a
power over the shares of
e h rhoa r
a lctteedrptaotteocrkye
the company; the subsequent attempts of the board
to shift the rs sponsibility of all the laxity that had
existed, and meanly to throw it on the shoulders
of subordinates ; and, finally, the prevarications
and blind intemperance that characterised the de-
•cormination to effect, if possib'e, at any cost to
the company and injury to the claimants, the re-
pudiation of the dividends due on the preference