The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-29 00:00:00

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN FRANCE.

The following article appears in the Moniteur
of yesterday :
For some time past, several foreign journals,
receiving articles composed in France, have undo
taken to represent the Imperial Government as
lending itself to an odious persecution of the Protes-
tants. It would be too painful to reproduce the in-
jurious and almost degrading terms we meet with in
these articles, for we should have to blush for those
fellow-countrymen of ours who have accepted the
sad part of vilifying their country to other na-
tions. It is only political animosity that can allege
the Protestants in Fiance to be " hunted down by
the prefects, priests, and police agents, . . .
and obliged to assemble in forests like their
ancestors at the time of the Drauonnades." The
cause of religion has nothing to do with these de-
plorable accusations, and all French Pro' estants,
honest and loyal citizens, reject them utterly. They
know the truth. The mperor has always mani-
fested his sentiments of protection towards all the
religions recognised by the State, and he has just
solemnly alluded to them in his opening speech of
the Legislative session. His Government lass
never disobeyed so high and just a will ; but, as
was its duty, has everywhere, and with regard to
everyone, enforced the execution of the laws by which
the police regulation?, with regard to differeu t forms
of public worship, are determined. Thus, it has
felt bound to require that authorisation should be
asked for the opening of temples and formation of
religious meetings ; and when the founding of
schools has been proposed, it has required that the
regulations of the law of March 15, 1850, should be
complied with. But there are always a few men
greedy of innovation who delight in noise and the
ardour of contentions, and whose exaggerated zeal
impresses on religious doctrines the passion of con-
quest. They have boldly denied the right of the
States and have laid claim to absolute independence
in their outward acts. When brought before the
tribunals, they have been condemned, because the
one had violated the other. On the other hand, wl
there has been occasion, not to bring citizens back to
the respect clue to our: organic laws on religion,
but to decide upon the authorisations required,
there has been sometimes a concession of
them, sometimes a refusal. Why? Because the
authorisation can only he granted from a perfect
knowledge of the individual case, and because,
wherever the new foundations attested rather the
invasions of an excessive proselytism than a real
state of calm mental conviction and sincere conver-
sion to another faith, a wise and enlightened go.
vernment ought to wait. The duty of authoi ity is
not to contribute to agitations by blindly favouring
all the enterprises of religious zeal. Its duty espe-
cially consists in maintaining the public peace by
assuring to each recognised form of worship that it
shall not be attacked by any other. Every citizen
is free in his belief, and may change it ; but no
one can compel the State to consecrate publicly
the formation of new flocks, as long as the certainty
does not exist that it has to deal with things honour-
ably and irrevocably consummated. Such has been
the rule of the government's conduct, a rule
inscribed in the laws and in the good sense of the
country. It has been applied with moderation and
good faith. The Minister of the Interior and the
Minister of Worship have themselves examined,
and most attentively, all the requisitions; they
have obtained repeated information, and made re-
peated inquiries, and have only given their deci-
sions with all the guarantees of an enlightened con-
science. As to what concerns the free primary
schools, nothing more has been done than what the
existing laws permit. Tnese laws created the right
of opposition, and this was resorted to, when there
were legitimate reasons for believingthat tho found-
ing of a school in a commune was not so much a
serious want felt by the new religion, as an instru-
ment of disturbance and aggressive propagandism
against the religion of the majority of the inhabi-
tants. Then the departmental councils, con-
sisting of the most respectable inhabitants,
have judged definitively, in virtue of their
right, either rejecting or admitting the oppo-
sition offered by the administrative or judicial
authorities. This is what is called an odious per-
secution, and this is why an equitable and loyal
government has been slandered to foreign coun-
tries. All the wrong it is guilty of is that of keep-
ing to the execution of the fundamental laws, and
these laws, far from admitting au unlimited liberty,
irresponsible in the public performance of worship,
subject it to the guardian superintendence of the
State. Take away this control, and civil society
will soon be delivered up to religious wars of every
kind, nor will there be any respect and security
for any established form of worship. His Ma-
jesty's government is therefore firmly resolved
on exercising this control, as constituted by the
laws. It is equally resolved on repressing the "
at'acks and violent provocations, which the several
religions make on one another, or mutually undergo
in the press. The constitution wills, that each of
those creeds recognised by the State shall be respected
in • its dogmas and usages, because each creed, in
its turn, is bound to respect the dogmas and usages
of the rest. It is needful, therefore, to put au end
to all passionate polemics of a nature to offend the
conscience of the citizens and outrage their belief.
It is by works, and not by disputes, that the spirit
of faith caa act and spread in a great nation, which
lives under the shelter of its laws, and suffers no
aggression on the public tranquillity. But if it is
useful to defend the several creeds against the evil
they cause one another by censurable polemical ex-
cesses, it is still more useful to defend society, in
its integrity, against the spirit of subversion and
revolutionary impiety. This glides behind religi-
ous discussions, and profits by them in order to de-
stroy all principle of authority, by inspiring con-
tempt for every principle of religion. The Govern-
ment is armed with the necessary means for pro-
tecting at the same time both religion and the
State, and it will use them energetically.

ADVICE TO PLAYGOERS.—" Staled not upon the Order
of your going, bat go at once."—Punch.
THE ST. THOMAS CHARTERHOUSE SoHooLe.—Yester-
day 2,500 of the poor children now being educated at
the St. Thomas, Charterhouse, and Golden-lane Public
Schools, were taken in a body, by way of a treat on the
marriage of the Princess Royal, to see the Crystal
Palace.
CRYSTAL PALACE.—ONE SHILLING DAL—THURSDAY,
Jan. 28.—Admissions on payment, 8,154 ; ditto by
season tickets, 373 ; total visitors, 3,527.
A letter from Mentz, in the Leipsic Gazette, says :
"It is stated that the report of the commission charged
to estimate the damage caused by the explosion of the
powder magazine will be shortly laid before the Ger-
manic Diet, with a demand for an indemnity. The
produce of the subscriptions raised in Germany,
will meet about one-third of the damage, and the
purchase money paid for the ground of the old Kastrich
by the Confederation will furnish another past. Lastly,
it is said that the Confederation will not demand from
the city of Mentz a sum of 20 000 florins which it owes
towards the expenses of the Federal fortress.
DEATH OF LIEUT. RAINIEE.—Lieut. John Rainier,
son of the late John Rainier, Esq., banker. Hackney,
and nephew of the late Admiials Peter Rainier and
James Vasbon, died at Ramsgate on Tuesday, in the
61st year of his age. This gallant officer entered the
navy on the 17th Nov., 1810, as first-class volunteer,
on board the Desiree, 36, Captains Arthur Farquhar
and William Woolridge.
DEATH OF COMMANDER BREWER —We have to record
the death of this gallant officer, which took place very
suddenly on Monday niuht. He bad been out to see
the illuminations, and on his return took his supper as
usual, and retired to his bed-room, where shortly after-
wards he was found by one of his sons lying on the floor
quite dead. At the inquest held on his body, the jury,
in accordance with the medical testimony, returned a
verdict of " Died from extravasation of blood on the
brain." The deceased entered the navy, July 21, 1812,
as first-class volunteer on board the Defiance, 74, Capt.
Richard Raggett.
CANADIAN AND AMERICAN EMIGRATION.—An
im-
portant arrangement has been completed between the
London and North-Western Railway and the Grand
, Br
'e
Trunk Railway of Canada, by which passengers of the
first, second, and third classes can be 1, bookedol 1
London offices of the latter Company, .ad
-
street, -
street, E.C., to their destinations on the American 'Con-
tinent, for one payment, which includes the railway
fare from London to Liverpool, the sea transit,faearintehadttear
by steam or by sailing ship, and the railway
upwards of 150 leading stations and cities in e
and the United States, as
Quebec,
even as Kansas, a dis-
tance of 1,694 miles from
and of 1,818 from
Portland. The valuable pamphletsebee' on the resources of
Canada, the map of Canada, showing the railway
connections with the United States, the tariff of
through rates, and the protection afforded to emigrants
by the Grand Trunk route, continue to ba issued as
usual, gratis, on application either personally or by
letter, at 21, Old Broad-street, London, E.O.
LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE RAlLWAY.—Traffic re
turn for the week ending Jan. 24, 1858 119,102 0 0
Corresponding week last year 21,748 0 0
GREAT NORTHERN RAlLWAY.—Traffic return for the
week ending Jan. 17, 1858 £23,750 7 8
Corresponding week last year 21,549 14 8

LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY. —Traffi c
return for the week ending Jan. 24, 1858 —01,766 0 0
Corresponding week last year

CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAlLWAY.—Traffic return for
the week ending Jan. 24, 1858 24,367 0 0
Corresponding week last year 4,427 0 0

NETT ORGANISATION OF THE FRENCH

ARMY.

The following report has been ad'irased to the
Enlreror Napoleon by Marshal Vaillant, Minister
of War

"Sire—The majority of the great milite.ry
powers of Europe have their forces constantly
united in armies or corps d'arrnee. France, on the
contrary disseinioa' es her troops in territ,ritd divi-
sions, completely independent one of the other,
and having no common bond except thp superior
authority of the Minister of War. This organi-a-
tion presents the inconvenience of keeping at a
distance from the troops during peace the greater
number of the chiefs who are destined to exercise a
superior command over them in time of war. Our
system of barracks has not permitted the points
of concentration of troops to be sufficiently multi -
plied anywhere, except in the divisions of Paris
and Lyons, to form commands of an imptrt-
ance equal to the dignity of a marshal of the em-
pir e. It therefore appears necessary to create foe
the marshals positions which would give them in
time of peace over the generals commanding the
territorial divisions on action similar to that which
they are called on to exercise during a campaign
over the general commanding the active divisions.
For that object, and without modifying the present
distribution of the troops in the interior of the em-
pire, any more than the constitution of the terri-
torial divisions, it appears desirable to unite the
troops stationed in these divisions into several
great command,, at the head of which marshals
could he placed. Such a measure would have the
effect not only of utilising and keeping in
activity those high dignitaries of the army, but
Would give to the commandants of divisions—
now isolated one from the other, and for the
most part distant from the centre of the govern-
ment —a force of cohesion which is now wanting to
them. Our troops, necessarily dispersed in so many
different garrisons, and unequally divided over the
surface of the empire, could be rapidly united at a
given moment in the hand of a single chief, and be
taus prepared to preserve on all points public order
and the security of the territory. Struck with these
advantages, your Majesty has ordered me to study
the means for carrying them into execution, and
yourself have laid down the bases of this new orga-
nisation. The institution of extensive commands
has already worked in a useful manner at different
periods in France, and in order to suit existing cir-
cumstances it has appeared to me useful to re-esta-
blish it on the conditions which form the object of
the decree which I have the honour to submit to
your Majesty.—l am, &c., ILLA.NT. "
Toe reports followed by a decree dividing the troops
of the empire into five large commands, to be con-
fided to Marshals of France, with the title of
Superior Commandant of the troops stationed in
tire North, East, S tvh-east, South-v at, and West.
The first command will comprise the troops in the
Ist, 2d, and 3d military divisions, with the head-
quarters established iu Paris ; the second, those in
the 4rh, sth, 6th, anel 7th divisions, with its head-
quarters at Nanny ; the third, those of the
Stir, 9th, 10th, 17th, and 20th divisions, with
the head-quarters at Lyons ; the f urth, those
of the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th, with the
head-quarters at Toulouse ; and the fifth, those of
the 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th, and 21st divisions,
with the head-quarters at Tours. The generals in
oerrunand of the mili arir divisions will report to the
Superior Commandant as to the situation, disci-
pline, and instruction of the troops, but they will
retain their direct relations with the Minister of
War on everything connected with territorial com-
mand. In case of disturbances, but only in that
eventuality, the Superior Commandants will of
their own accord order such movements and con-
centrations of troops as they may consider neces-
sary.