The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-10 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, INIARCII 10, 1860.

augmented ; that many of the sufferers through the
wholesale clearances that have been effected belong
to those who are not employed on public works, and
it is very hard that they should be turned out with-
out any compensation, while others profit largely
by the change that sacrifices them and their pros-
pects, Mr. HENLEY very properly called Mr. Gm-
sort to account for the arbitrary opinions he had
expressed, and declared that the right hon. gen-
tleman had laid it down in the most distinct terms
" that whatever the amount of hardship or difficulty
might be in sweeping away the houses of the poor
men the House of Commons was not to take any
steps whatever." As Mr. HENLEY said the House
should not go into the matter with a foregone con-
clusion "that nothing can be done." This would be
a fatal error, and we are glad to find that, notwith-
standing the evil example of the President of the
board of Trade, the House does not seem inclined
to fall into it, for on both sides many members
expressed their earnest hope that some satisfactory
solution might be come to on this question. Indeed
it is one which, more or less, affects the interests
of all classes, and imperatively calls for notice at
the present time.

On Thursday last Mr. SHERIDAN very properly
called the attention of the house to the case of Mr.
FERGUSON, the particulars of which were before the
public a short time since. A letter was read by Mr.
SHERIDAN, which ha had received from Mr. FER-
GUSON, and the details are certainly enough to
excite indignation at the treatment which he received.
As he was walking home late at night from a party
which he had attended professionally, carrying his
'portfolio of music, he was met by a suspicious-
looking individual, who followed him. The
place being lonely, Mr. FERGUSON felt
alarmed, and quickened his pace, but the
stranger gained upon him and seized him by the
arm. He protested that he was a musician, and
and that what property he had he would gladly
give up, but the assailant contrived to persecute
him. Believing him to be a garotter, Mr. FER-
GUSON drew his knife, and the other man was
wounded. When in answer to his cries for assist-
ance two constables came up, Mr. FERGUSON
found to his surprise that he was considered to be
the guilty party, and was dragged to the police
station, where he was treated with great cruelty,
and, in fact, as if he were a confirmed offender.
Sir G. GREY was very indtgnant that Mr. SHERI-
DAN should have meddled with the affair, and
exerted all his ingenuity to prove 'that no
one was to blame, except the unfortu-
nate individual who was so suddenly transformed
from a peaceable traveller on the highway to a
culprit in a cell. If it be necessary to have police-
men parading the suburbs in plain clothes, as the
Home Secretary seems to think it imperatively is,
let them, for the sake of justice, and in the name of
common sense, act with more discretion. How are
people, going along the roads to know, by intui-
tion, that such and such a man is one vested
with the authority of the law. Nothing is said
to prove that the policemen in question announced
himself in his real capacity, and asked for infor-
mation respecting the man he stopped in so summary
a fashion. If he had exercised a little more
patience, and examined the parcel which
Mr. FERGUSON was carrying, he would have disco-
vered his mistake in supposing him to be a thief, or
at any rate a suspicious character. Bad as his con-
duct was, however, that of the constables who tock
the unfortunate musician into custody was worse.
They had no right to treat him in the manner they
did, and it would have been much more becoming
had the Home Secretary reproved them for doing
so, instead of persisting in making the worse appear
the better cause. It is to be questioned if policemen
in plain clothes ought to be permitted to stop per-
sons on the highway at all ; and certainly, unless
they can contrive to manage more adroitly than did
the disguised officer at Sydenham, the sooner
the practice is put a stop to the better. How are
people who pass through lonely places at night to
know which is a thief and which a policeman? While
they are debating the question, if the former, he
will have every opportunity of getting the better of
them; and, on the other hand, if the latter, he will
be consigned to the tender mercies of a station-
house if he seek to defend himself from assault.
There is something very wrong in all this ; and Sir
G. GREY, with all his skill, could not make it out
to be satisfactory. He defended Mr. TRAILL'S course
of action in particular, whereas that was unneces-
sary after what had occurred ; and the real ques-
tions at issue were the circumstances of the
policeman in plain clothes interfering with a person
quietly walking along, and the same person being
treated so harshly at the station. When the jury
have disposed of this question of the Sydenham
disturbance, it is to be hoped that the matter may
again come before the House, and that the very
awkward and inconvenient arrangements now made
respecting policemen in plain clothes may be
altered. Sir G. GREY is very decided as to what
the officials are to do, but he did not say what those
unfortunate persons ought to do who are thus
summarily assailed when they are passing quietly
along the roads of the suburbs. A better instance
of the folly and insecurity of the present system
could not be given than the late unfortunate inci-
dent at Sydenham.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

.-......•••••••••....----........-•

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, Friday Evening.

The information I gave you yesterday in regard
to a meeting at Paris of the Powers to regulate the
affairs of the Danubian Principalities is confirmed
by the Moniteur to-day. It says representatives
will assemble on the part of England, France,
Austria, Italy, Prussia, Russa, and Turkey.
A letter from Madrid gives an explanation of
some offensive expressions alleged to have been
made by M. Mon, formerly Spanish Ambassador at
Paris, in regard to the Emperor of the French. M.
Mon, in the Chain*, expressed his astonishment
that such observations had been attributed to him.
He said that, so far for speaking against the Em-
peror of the French, he knew his eminent qualities,
the skilful mode in which he governed, his cordial
feelings towards foreign Powers, and his friendship
towards the Queen of Spain and for that country
generally. The preservation of general peace was
due to the Emperor, and he was incessant in his
endeavours to preserve it. Even with respect to the
difficulty in regard to the Pope, he was convinced
that the Cabinet, over which the Duke de Tetuan
presided, would be treated by the Emperor with the
justice and kindness demanded by the great and
important interests • which were involved. While
speaking of Spanish affairs, I may notice that Gen.
Prim is expected in Paris from London, and that,
with the permission of the French Government; he
is about to reside at Tours. The Prince Royal of
Denmark is also expected here.

A French officer, General Count de Lostanges
de Sainte Alvene, who distinguished himself in the
late Crimea, has just died in Paris after a long and
painful illness.

A Marseilles paper publishes the following in re-
•ference to the volcanic island of Santorin, in the
Greek Archipelago. The last vessel of the Mes-
sageries Imperiales, which left Marseilles for the
Pireus, had on board a photographer, whose object
was to represent the various phases of this strange
phenomenon. It is very long since there was a
similar occurrence, but on the last occasion when
our island rose out of the sea at a point not marked
In the maps a French vessel stopped to make ob-
servations. The captain went on shore and hoisted
the French flag, but on the summit of the hill he
met John Bull, who bad already planted the Eng-
lish flag there. The question was to whom did the
island belong. The matter was referred to diplo-
matic authorities, and ultimately it was decided that
England had the right to it. After some time,
however, the same volcanic revolution which had
formed the island, caused it to disappear, and at
the same time when England sent to take formal
possession of it the island was no longer in exist-
ence. It still, however, appears in the list of the
possessions of England, under the name of Lost
Island.

It will, perhaps, excite some astonishment that
the French Chamber is occupied with a proposal
to modify the system of free trade—at least as far
as corn is concerned. Suck', however, would be
the effect of an amendment proposed to the ad-
dress in the paragraph relating to agriculture by
M. Pouyer-Quartier, who wishes to have a fixed
duty of 2f. per hectolitre upon the introduction
of foreign corn into France. The agri-
riculturists of France have long complained
that the price of corn is not sufficiently
remunerative. The grain statistics, which
I sent you the other day, however, show that
there is no proof of any foundation for their com-
plaints. The importations of corn into France have
materially decreased, and the exports have increased.
The Chamber is still occupied with the subject, but
be the fate of the amendment what it may, there is
not the least probability that the French Govern-
ment will change its policy, which, like that of Eng-
land, is decidedly in favour of free trade. The
Baron de Veauce, who defended the principle of
free trade in corn, supported his arguments by
facts and statistics, and, indeed, argued in support
of unshackled commerce generally. At the present
time the statistics in regard to the produce of corn
are supplied by authorised agents for the various corn
producing localities, but some of the deputies, it is
said, intend to make a proposal having for object to
institute inquiries relative to agricultural matters,
under the direct sanction and authority of the
Chamber.

The literary fact of the day is the reception of M.
Prevost Paradol at the Academie Francaise, in the
room of M. Ampere. It was unanimous, and
great interest was manifested. M. Paradol, who is
still a young man, is the author of several much-
esteemed literary productions, and his newspaper
articles have increased his reputation. M. Paradol
made a.speech very eulogistic of his predecessor, and
used many phrases replete with classical knowledge.
M. Guizot, who presided, followed in the same vein,
and complimented M. Paradol upon the
triumphs he had already achieved, not only
in literature but in science. M. Guizot
" Whether you have
saidA o nta attemptedogf ,Montaigne,
e M.
describea.
great moralists of France,
searlaLraa tdl°Brieruyere, La Rochefoucauld,
or to bring to light the merits of the great writers
of divers times and divers countries, poets or prose
writers, orators or philosophers, Aristophanes, De-
mosthenes, and Seneca, Thucydides, Tacitus, and
Macaulay, you have imbued your labours with that
generous power of admiration, that powerful sym-
pathy for the master works of human intelligence
which form the honour and the authority of literary
criticism. M. Guizot also made a powerful enco-
mium upon the predecesior of M. Paradol,
Ampere. Both speeches were enthusiastically
applauded.

The Moniteur of this evening states that the
health of the Prince Imperial is entirely re-
established.

One of the most eminent sculptors of France, M.
Jean Duseigneur, has just died in Paris, in his 58th
year. Some of his works are to be seen in the
churches and in the Museum of Versailles. He also
executed some admirable busts of well-known
personages.