The Sun.
London, England, 1867-06-05 00:00:00

the house which is to sit upon this bill, and that
they will look after the main chance, and consider
the payment of creditors to be the one thing need-
ful in the working of the Courts of Bankruptcy.
If they decide upon going further they will fare
worse, and so will all those who have to suffer from
their mistakes. There are other means which might
be adoptedfor the punishment of fraudulent debtors,
and the sooner this is looked into the better; but the
immediate object of the end in view, the appropria-
tion of the property of the debtor for the satisfac-
tion of the creditors, should not be lost sight of.
We are not without hope that the House will see
this, and to judge from the tenour of the discussio❑
of yesterday some notion of this sort seems to be
taking root in the minds of some sp2akers. The
Attorney-General will, we hive no doubt, consent
to such alterations as will amend the present scheme,
but we feel convinced that the system that now pre-
vails in Scotland will be the only one in the long
run that will satisfy the ends of justice, and to
gain the approval of the public.

The Parisians are not having at all an entire
holiday, and their pleasure is not unmixed with
grave considerations of business and questions of a
political character which involve mighty interests.
The visit of the King of PRUSSIA is the subject of
conversation in all circles, and the theme of com-
ment among all who look beyond the present
moment to the future results of the scenes now
enacting around them. Since Count BISMARCK
accompanies his MAJESTY some additional interest is
imparted, and curiosity is stimulated to a great degree.

It is not likely indeed that the visit is only to see the
wonders of the Exhibition, or to speculate upon the
progress of decadence of the different nations that
exhibit their skill. Perhaps undue importance is
attaehed to the affair, but some excuse is to be made
for those who are jumping at conclusions, when we
consider the Prussians themselves are not behind
hand in looking at the thing in a serious light.
It appears that prayers are offered up in
the churches of that country to supplicate that
the blessings of above may rest upon the
meeting between the two Sovereigns, and thus
that the cause of peace may be advanced and fur-
thered, so that their expectations may be on tiptoe
in the circles of the Parisians without calling for
that criticism or awakening that ridicule which
sanctions, justly at least, such extreme ebullitions
among our neighbours.

We have no doubt that a good deal may depend
upon the result of this visit, and it is no secret that
the success or the failure of the schemes of compro-
mise that will be treated of or touched upon
will involve the interests and happiness of
many communities. We hope for the cause of
humanity, and the progressive prosperity of the
nations:of Europe, that a satisfactory issue will fol-
low upon this meeting, and that we may, for some
time at least, hear nothing of those rumours of
wars which shake society to its foundations, and
retard the interests of civilisation and the spread of
commerce through the course of unnumbered years.
However, there is no use to think of such an end, if
the Prussians will not concede a good deal of their
expectations and lower the tone of their de-
mands. The Emperor NAPOLEON has had a
good deal to put up with, and he must
be disappointed at the course of affairs during
the last year or two, and he will not be ap-
peased unless he distinctly understands what is the
policy that Prussia has determined upon to pursue.
If BISMARCK be wise lie will appreciate the signi-
ficance of the situation, and determine that his
ventures shall now be for peace, and that his only
safety will lie in discretion ; but if he does not do
this the consequences will be serious to his own

reputation, and disastrous to the prosperity of the
country he serves with so many professions of zeal.

The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into
,he recent acts of intimidation and outrage at

Sheffield have commenced their arduous labours
and held their first sitting at the Council Hall
Sheffield, on Monday. The inquiry, as was na.
tural, excited a good deal of interest, and both
masters and men were fully represented. The
Mayor, and other gentlemen unconnected with the
trades, were also present during part of the sittings.
Great interest has long been felt respecting the
working of these associations, and the facts brought
to light of late have tended to confirm rather than
todissipate any estimate formed of their mischievous
effects. We have heard a good deal of the general
working of the unions so far as the ordinary rela-
tions of business are concerned, but the Sheffield
inquiry especially refers to the outrage and " rat-
tening" cases which have given that town an un-
enviable notoriety. Whatever opinion may be formed
of the rights of men to demand an increase of wages
or to " strike" until they coerce their employers
into giving what they want, there can be only one
verdict on the conduct of those who employ
violent means to injure and destroy those who
refuse to listen to their arguments. It is a
proof of the dangerous tendency of these unions
that any working man should ever have been per-
suaded that such intolerable oppression could under
any circumstances be justifiable. The readers of
" Mary Barton," celebrated for its faithful pictures
of working life in the great cities of the North,
will remember the passage in which John Barton
describes his visit to the poor man whom those ou
strike had injured. When the strong workman
stood in the hospital ward, and listened to the
moans of the miserable sufferer, his heart
sunk when he recalled his own share in his
sufferings, and he resolved never again to take
part in such cruel injustice. No doubt if many
of the union men could see the effects pro-
duced by their conduct in various quarters they
would change ther minds, and, to do them justice,
most of the unions disclaimed: any sympathy
with the Sheffield outrage. But the system of
" rattening" is nothing more than tyranny under
disguise of numbers, such tyranny as no
master dare practise against his men, or any
man in the upper walks of life dare try
with his associates and fellows. It is nothing
more or less than compelling a man by
force or contrivance to do that which he would
not do by choice, and, in spite of all the talk about
the rights of labour, it is contrary to the whole
spirit and tenour of English legislation. We have
always boasted of our political and social freedom,
but it seems that so far as trades and their men arc
concerned, this freedom has no existence whatever.
A regular system of terrorism goes on, to which it
is only wonderful so many should be found to submit
year after year, but the evidence both of masters and
men reveals some astonishing facts. Thus it ap-
pears that in the saw trade the masters have to find
the tools for the men, no member of the Union
filling a situation being allowed to find his own
tools. The object of this rule is that iu the event
of a strike all the loss shall fall upon the masters.
In the Scissor Grinders' Union both masters and
men are forced to contribute to the funds, although
the former receive no benefit from them. It is a
common thing if the masters' subscriptions are not paid
up to steal the " bands" and thereby stop the work.
The evidence of JoHN PLATT, who worked for 17
years as journeyman, afterwards becoming a nianu_
facturer on his own account, and who, in both