The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-11 00:00:00

Commence at 7.

ROYAL STRAND THEATRE.
Lessee and Directress, Miss Swanborough.
THIS EVENING, WOOING IN JEST AND LOVING
IN EARNEST: ;Messrs. Selby, I'arselle, and Misa Swan-
Ix rough.
After which THE MAID AND THF. MAGPIE.
Fo,'lnwed by THE LAST OF THE PIGTAILS : Messrs.
C. set by, J. Bland, J. Clarke, &c.
And THE BONNIE FISH WIFE.
Commence at 7 o'clock.

AsTLET,S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE,
Westminster-road.
Sole Lessee, Mr. William Cooke.
Astounding and Expensive Parisian Engagement.
THIS E V ,ENING, and during the week, will be presented
TILE WOOD MAN'S HORSE, introducing a treble company
of equestrians- and the finest Stud of Horses in the world.
Characters by Messrs. Holloway, W. Cooke, Anson, Francis,
Mark Howard.. Anderson. •
Followed by- the inimitable SCENES OF THE ARENA,
in which Mr. 11% .Cooke, Mr. Runnels, Miss Kate Cooke, and
Madlle. Blanche w ill appear.
After which, 31.1.47ame Amile Maurice, from Paris, will make
her Terrific Ascent i:rom the Stage to the back of the Gallerlee.
Mons. Maurice wilt Also hare the honour to introduce his
extraordinary Dogs.
To conclude with A • MISTAKEN STORY.
Dres Private Up,wr Boxes 2S. ; , ; Galleries, 6d.
Boxes licit; is. to .£'2 2s. and upwards.
Stage Man aLrer, Mr. R. Phillips.

CANTERBURY H ALL, Westminster-road.—
'Proprietor-- C. MORTON.
The public_ IS.. most rospectftoV informed that the FINE
ARTS GALLERY, in connection with the above Hall, IS NOW
OPEN DAY= AND NIGHT, fron.' 11 o'clock a.m. until 12
o'clock p.m. The New Gallery cont 'tins an extensive Collec-
tion of Pictures, by Ancient and Mo gem Masters, and is also
devoted to Art productions generall;. The Proprietor feels
he may confidently assert that, vieweil altogether, the exist-
ing Music Hall, the New Fine Arts Gallery, and the recently
added Ante-Hall, will present an attriction which, whether
as regards the architectural beauty of the structures them-
selves, or the varied and hitherto ttnattempted combinations
within, will be found to be wholly without parallel in the
Kingdom.
The MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT commences as usual at
Seven o'clock.

THE WEATHER.—STJN OFFICE, Nov. 11.

THERMSMETEIt, IN THE SHADE.
45—highest since noon yesterday.
40—lowest this morning and during the night.
46---this day at noon.

BAROMETER-30'33•
Wl.Tcn, South-Easterly ; light, with fine weather. Heavy
fog in the morning.

The question of Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law
Amendment must come before Parliament and the
country next session. Two bills have already
been brought forward—the one by Lord CHELMS-
FORD in pursuance of the pledge he had given, the
other by Lord JOHN RUSSELL, who, to a certain
extent, may be regarded as expressing the views
of the 'Society for Promoting the Amendment of
the Law. We believe that many alterations will
he made on behalf of the Government in the
measure brought forward by the Lord Chancellor,
and that with the beneficial alterations contem-
rhitod., it will go far to meet the views both of creditor
and debtor, affording a just and fail- distribution
of property amongst the bona
.fide claimants, and
protecting the latter if he has honestly and truly
disclosed the state of his affairs, and given up his
entire estate for distribution amongst those justly
entitled to participate therein.
The distinction that has hitherto prevailed
between traders and non-traders will, to a certain
extent, be abolished. It does not follow that the
Court for the relief of Insolvent Debtors will there-
fore be closed. Oa the contrary, that Court will
becom2 absolutely indispensable. There are thou-
sands of persous whose effects could not defray the
expenses of proceedings in bankruptcy. Indeed
there are many at this moment who :are too
poor to become insolvents, and who are only
enabled to obtain their liberation through the use
of funds placed at the disposal of the Commis•
sioners and other public officers. The business of
the Court is admirably performed, and there are
many honourable instances in which parties have
defrayed their debts even to the last shilling,
although exempted from legal liability either
against property or peuon, save with the leave of
the Court, which will only be granted on facts
clearly and explicitly set forth.
But the Insolvent Court 51.:0u1d be authorised to
grant complete relief; the power may be safely
confided to the eminent judges who preside
therein, or those who may be appointed their sue-
cc sots. The present law is a tar on prudence.
It is virtually a bar to any future su,_Tess on the
part of the person who has been compelled to seek
relief. His future exertions are mortgaged, and
should he be fortunate enough to save a little
money, it will only be the cause of vexation and
annoyance. It ?nay bring hint again before the
Court, rip up the troubles which had been what
is commonly termed a nine days' wonder, and occa-
sion very serious damage to his position and
credit. Can any reasonable cause be as-
signed why the insoh-ent, if he passes
his examination with credit, should be
placed in a worse position than the bankrupt ? A
large proportion are men who arc within the opera-
tion of the bankrupt laws, but whose assets are not
sufficiently large to tempt any speculative attorney
to work a commission. The creditors certainly are
not sufferers. They obtain full and complete jus-
tice, and have no reason to complain that the
matter has been decided in Portugal-street rather
than in Resin ;hall-street. The only sufferer is the
insolvent, who is compelled " to leave hope behind,"
inasmuch as any future success, any triumph that
may attend on ability,. fidelity, and zeal, will be not
for his OWII advantage, not for that of his family,
but for those who may possibly have proved obdu-
rate creditors, and completely ruined his prospects
in the hour of distress and difficulty. It is not
natural to suppose that a man would submit to
privation and difficulty—that he woul:l refuse him-
self am- indulgence, when it was merely for the
benefit of such per;;ons. The debts incurred after
his discharge have priority", and therefore he takes
care to make his liabilities fully equal to his invest_

ments.
Now this is against public policy. There is no
principle on which it can be sustained, and we
hope and believe that Lord CHELMSFORD will next
session terminate the anomaly, and introduce the
greatest amelioration in the law of debtor and
creditor that has received the Legislative sanction
for a long series of years.-
Imprisonment for debt will also probably be
abolished; at least so far as the mere will and plea-
sure 1:0E the creditor is concerned—the:e malice
will no longer prevail. Vindictive persons. cannot

be allowed to take the law into their own hands.
It must be administered by responsible judges, who,
if they think proper, may be authorised to punish
lan improvident or fraudulent debtor.

Reactic n seems to havo begun in earnest in
America. It is hardly two years si:ce BUCHANAN
and the Lila,ve Power were triumphant, in a severe
struggle,, over FREMONT and Free Soil. Pennsyl-
vania, t; 'le Quaker State, gave the vote which.
virtually placed in the Presidential Chair one of her
own sons.. It was known that anti-Slavery feeling
there wn very strong, but it was not so strong as
to be uninfluenced by immediate proximity to a
Slave Sta te, and by the prospect of giving a Presi-
dent to ti'e Union. Mr. BUCHANAN also discreetly
said as little as he could which might irritate the
Freemen of the Northern States. Since his elec-
tion, however, he has found it impossible to serve

two masters. He must choose between them, and
he chose the Slave Power. Hence his miserable
Kansas policy, by which he offered that territory
a heavy bribe if she would but enter at once as a
Slave State, while, if she did not, she must remain
several years before she could be an Independent
State at all. The bait was rejected with scorn, and
Kansas is rewarded by seeing the Missouri ruffians
withdrawing into more congenial quarters, and her
free population rapidly increasing and insuring her
soon taking rank among the Free States.
Not only in this affair but in others, Mr.
BUCHANAN has not been lucky. That is, not lucky
for electioneering purposes. He is no nearer ap-
propriating Cuba than any former Presidents have
been. Central America is not annexed, nor likely
to be, just yet, and even in the dispute with Great
Britain about the alleged misbehaviour of our
cruisers, for one thing the facts turned out to be
fictions, and for another, Lord MALMESBURY was
able in good faith to point to the demands of Gene-
ral CASS himself as the rule by which England had
guided, and was still willing to guide, herself. The
whole affair turned out to be that very undignified
thing which we designate familiarly as a "mare's
nest." Mr. BUCHANAN, therefore, has irritated the
North by what they regard as treachery in regard
to Kansas, while he did not satisfy the South, and
has failed to reap any compensatory Ostend or
filibustering laurels.

Hence it is, as we suppose, that the elections
have gone decidedly against him in the North.
In Pennsylvania, and in Indiana especially, he
appears to have emboldened the Republicans, and
proportionately to have depressed the energies of the
Democrats or pro-Slavery men. The former were
previously very much divided into sections who
could not be induced to act together. But the
prospect of decided victory by union has now dis-
posed the rival sections to compromise their dif-
ferences; in which case it would seem they can
carry all before them. " Settlements have been
made everywhere—we are informed—and New York
itself is likely to show large opposition gains." If
so, we are told, the probability is that the next
House of Representatives will be hostile to the
Administration. With so impulsive a people,
however, as the Americans, it is not safe to con-
clude too hastily. Not a year ago BUCHANAN ap-
peared likely to vanquish all opposition, and he
must be a bold man who could predict victory to
the Republicans from their present successes.
It is very gratifying to observe that our apparent
yielding—for it turned out there was nothing to
yield—on the right of search, seems to have
brought the Americans to their senses respecting
the slave trade. They appear now to feel ashamed
of doing nothing to vindicate their flag from the
stain of this infernal piracy. They have, as we
have seen recently, captured a slaver themselves,
have iandect net emaciateu tra 6,, 0 _
on their own shores, and shipped them off again to
the coast of Africa, to Liberia. A letter from the
medical man in charge of them, to a friend in this
country, has just been published. It gives a heart-
rending account of their degraded mental and
physical condition, and of their dreadful sufferings;
but what is most remarkable—all American as he
is—he denounces the infernal traffic as indignantly
as an Englishman could do. He is confident that
his country is as hostile to the slave-trade as ours,
though this is hardly compatible with the very
rare captures made by American cruisers. He
maintains, however, that we must make the slave-
trade piracy and murder, which we have already
done, and only want the Union to follow our ex-
ample. He says that we ought to try slave-traders
on a different plan, "probably by swinging them
at the yard-arm." Good ! Dr. RAINEY ; only get
your Yankees to agree to it, and England would
readily swing the crew, or the officers at least, of
every vessel condemned as a slaver.
When we find Americans, and the Emperor of
the French, too, ashamed of the trade, we may
begin to hope for humanity. If these two countries
would but do their duty, we would soon make Spain
do hers, and then farewell to this accursed traffic
for ever.

The Reform agitation has now entered on ano-
ther phase. The honourable member for Birming-
ham proposed in one of his speeches at that town
that Reformers should take their bill into their own
hands ; that they should select some trustworthy
member of their party to undertake the charge of
a bill on which the utmost practicable amount of
unanimity can be obtained, and then press it on the
House as the bill they were determined to carry.
Whether Mr. BRIGHT then spoke by the card or
not, we are not perinitted to know ; it is one of the
secrets of the hitherto little known Reform
Committee. We recommended, however, at the
time, atid—Tfavb -done 'so bufute, the - plan
of Reformers acting for themselves, and let-
ting Government know both that they meant
business, and what sort of business they
meant. And we have urged the advantage of such
a course for men who have nothing to conceal if
Government threw them on the country, and also
the advantage., if Government assented to their
views as expressing those of the country.
The Reform Committee has taken Mr. BRIGHT
at his word. They have convened a meeting of
Reformers from different parts of the country,
and; having informed the hon. member of what
they intended to propose, they invited him to tin
meeting, and formally, by a resolution moved by
Mr. ROEBUCK, and seconded by Mr. MIALL,
placed in his hands the preparation and conduct in
the House of Commons of the People's Reform
Bill. It was neither in Mr. BRIGHT, nor
for Mr. BRIGHT to refuse to carry out his own
own proposal. He accepted' it, therefore, and it
is, we presume, settled that a National Parliamen
tary Reform Bill, with the names of BRIGHT and
ROEBUCK at its back, is to be ready for us all next
spring. The party in office may be as willing, great
part of them at least, to give us a bill as they are
reported to be, and the House of Bedford may be
prepared to outbid them or not. All here is con-
jecture ; no one knows what Lord JOHN RTJBSELL
said and did at Knowsley, and no one knows whe-
ther irreclaimable Tories arc to retire, and a Rus-
sell-Stanley Administration to be the result.
6:a7
guesses all—but, it is no guess that a man
Oken the task of drafting a bill for the
country, wheiis not quail at any.difficulty. It
luniPdaen d
rt
likely to

4/11
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ROIT 111,,•!.

THE SUN.
THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 11, 1858.