The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-09 00:00:00

DEMOCRACY v. ,DESPOTIS.II.

(From the New York 2ribitne.)
Whene.ver a republic is overturned, or a constitu-
tional monarchy converted into a despotism, the
oracles of aristocratic opinion exult over the fact as
affording conclusive evidence that self-government
is a fallacy, and a triumphant " I told you so" is
chorused round the world. No matter though the
subversion be effected by sheer usurpation and mili-
tary force, as in the successive overthrows of 'the
earlier and of the later French Republic, it is at
once assumed that democracy is a chimera, and.
that government and absolutism are practically
synonymous.

Why is it that no correspondent conclusion is
drawn from any failure of despotism
The original French Revolution is popularly re-
garded as a subversion of monarchy by democracy ;
when in truth the old system fairly broke down from
its inherent depravity and rottenness, before demo-
cracy raised its head. Republicanism merely suc-
ceeded royalty when the former had fallen into
utter bankruptcy and decay. In mercantile par-
lance, the monarchy failed, and democracy was
called in to dispose of the assets.
A similar experience has just befallen the Aus-
trian empire. There, despotism has long had free
course and been glorified. It may be truly said to
have enjoyed as fair opportunities as often as can
be realised. A martial, gallant, and mainly loyal
people ; an aristocracy wealthy, capable, and intel-
ligent; a royal house proverbially fortunate, not
strikingly deficient in ability, distinguished by
courage and persistency, and never otherwise than
decorous in manners and decent in life, with a.
statesmanship for half a century illustrated by the
genius of Metternich. Austria, moreover, has had,
and probably still has, powerful allies, and was
saved from ruin hardy ten years eince by the
armed intervention of Russia, as she had been cen-
turies before by that of Poland. And yet Austrian
despotism, after exhausting its resources in artful
shifts and desperate expedients, has just been com-
pelled to go into liquidation. In the slang of the
streets, it has " gone up."
Had this happened two generations ago, it would
have been attributed to the influence of philosophers
and doctrinaires—to the daring speculations of
Rousseau, the genius and wit of Voltaire, or the
liberalism of Joseph IL Now, there can be no pre..
tence of the potency of any casual influence.
Liberalism is coming in at Vienna simply because
despotism sadly confesses that its day is over. The
Emperor wants to be a despot ; the court, the
trusted statesmen, and the great generals of the
empire, are all absolutist; but " the stars in their
courses" are stronger than emperors and courts ;
and it is reluctantly given up that a government of
archdukes and Aulic councils has become an impos-
sibility. So bankrupt despotism abdicates—starved
out—penniless ; and asks the people to take the
government into their own hands, and see whether
they can contrive the ways and means of making
the two ends meet.

ATTEMPT TO SUFFOCATE A FANILT.

At a meeting of the Kesteven justices at Lincoln
on Friday last, a married woman, named Fanny
Moore, was charged with having, on the 30th ult.,
feloniously attempted to suffocate a man named
Samuel Holmes, his wife, and family, who reside
under the same roof as defendant, in the parish of
Bcissingham. The complainant stated that he and
his family were in bed on the night in question, and
at about a quarter past 12 o'clock he was startled
by brimstone fumes coming into his bedroom from an
adjoining room, under which was a kitchen occupied
by defendant. The fumes came from the room below,
and entered the spare room through the crevices
between the boards. He lived next door to the
defendant, but it was all under one roof, and de-
fendant occupied rooms under their bedrooms.
Directly he saw the fumes he got out of bed and
went to fetch the police-officer. When he returned,
with the police officer he went into the kitchen and
saw the brimstone in a utensil placed near the
door. In answer to a question from the bench, he
stated that there were four families living under
one roof. John Holmes, a labouring man, son of
the complainant, said when he smelt the fumes he
immediately got up and carried his two younger
brothers down stairs, and took them out of the
house- into the open air. They appeared to be
partly suffocated, and did not speak until they had
been out of doors several minutes. Police-sergeant
Ball said that, from information he received, he
accompanied the complainant to his house on the
night in question, and, on going into the bed-room,
he smelt the fumes very strongly. He afterwards
went into defendant's room and asked her for what
cause she had been setting brimstone on fire, to
which she replied that it was in consequence of
complainant's family always throwing water into
the room through the crevices, and that it was
done to diminish the damp. Complainant added
that defendant had threatened to smother him.
and his family. In defence the woman stated
that she never had burnt any brimstone, but that it
was her husband, and he was present to answer for
himself. As there was not sufficient evidence to
place them on their trial for attempted murder, it was
only left to the bench to bind the husband of the
defendant in his own recognisances of £lO for six
months for the good behaviour of his wife. The
expenses, which amounted to 155., were ordered to
be paid by defendant's husband. The magistrates
expressed great regret at not being able to punish
them both, as, if the inmates of the room had un-
fortunately been asleep, death by suffocation must
inevitably have been the consequence.

A SHIP ON FIRE. IN THE LONDON

DOCKS.

Early yesterday morning a fire broke out on
board the American ship Hortense, Captain Barncs, .
which was lying on the north side of the jetty in
the western basin of the London Docks. The ship
had completed her loading on Saturday evening for
Port Philip, and was to have been hauled out of the
dock in the course of yesterday morning to proceed
on her voyage, when about a quarter-past six
o'clock smoke was observed spurting through the
seams of the forehatch, and on the mate taking off
the hatch he was met by a dense volume of smoke
of a most sulphurous character, which nearly ren-
dered him insensible. Recovering himself, he pro-
cured a bucket of water and threw it down the
hold in the hopethat the fire would be extinguished
in its infancy. A momentary glance, however, suf-
ficed to convince him that the whole place was in a
blaze. Soon afterwards the flames shot up through
the batch, and rose nearly half way up the fore-
rigging, threatening the destruction of the ship and
placing many others, which were lying near at the
jetty, in great peril. The dock police and firemen
by this time had been apprised of the outbreak,
and the land and floating-engines were at once
brought near the burning vessel, and the most
vigorous efforts were made to check the fire. A
large quantity of water wts pumped into the
cargo in the forehold, and after the most active
exertions on the part of the firemen and police, the
fire was subdued, but not until much damage was
done to the cargo and the forward part of the ship.
The sulphurous fumes which arose from the
burning mass excited some suspicion as to the real
character of the cargo, and the captain admitted
that a quantity of lucifers and congreves and fusees
had been shipped as cargo in the vessel. ►'his led
to inquiries, and the dock police ascertained that in
the course of Friday and Saturday upwards of 116
cases of these inflammable articles had been received
on board and stowed. As soon as the flames were
extinguished, the cargo in the hold which had.
escaped entire destruction was got up and put
overboard into a lighter, when the very dangerous,
character of the shipment was still further dis.
closed. Many of the wooden cases had simply a
tin lining, the solder of which would be quickly
acted upon by heat, the fusees and matches being
packed in the usual way in the ordinary thinpaste-
board boxes.

THE WAY TO PRODUCE EITHER SMALL OR Ii_ARGB,
POPATOXS.—A correspondent of the j, ester I=
writes as follows :—" As the season for planting
Itpl made
is at hand, I send you the result of an
exg;llon eten of the
a few years since. I picked out o
weighed 111 b., and
smallest tubers, which I set wholde
produce was 891 b.
rows. They weighed 31b 10oz., asbero,
fatio feet apart in the
A single root, consisting of 26
othertu
portion 1 cut into 64
the largest potatoe 21b.
Ttll:ee4lb. 120 z., and the produce
side of the others, and in the
sets, and planted them by
same manner; these weighed.
ed 101 b.
was 2221 b. A single root
The most rerns.rkabl *
and the largest tuber 31 _ ediffer-
encele of six potatoes weigh
~,i ce was the size of the tubers, for you
in this Pr.---"1
which V.,,ere set whole,
will f 26 and only weighed 111 b., when a root
comas
• ted 0
of the sets which had six weighed 101 b. ; those
from one
he sets were very superior in quality as well as sizo..
from t
produce in the gross weight is also much in favour of
observe tbat a root of those l, _
The
those which were cut, 41b. 120 z., yielding `;..221b., and those
which were but whole only producing 8911 b. from 31b Botz.
This experiment, as far as it goes, proves that the largest
potatoes cut into sets Will produce a larger and better
quality, and double the weight of those which were set
whole. I should observe that these were a large sort of
potato called the De Rohan ; they were planted on the 20th
of April, and gut up on the 6th October. The fluke it!an
excellent potato, but generally small ; if the smallest
were cut and planted in sets there is no doubt eke size
would be greatly increased.
The Russian journals speak of the breaking up
of the frost which till nearly the end of March rey idered
8. tubers
the Neva and other rivers bopassable by Vefi 00_ 1

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-(YESTERDAY.)

The SPEAKER took the chair at 4 o'clock.

The following bills were considered and ordered for third
reading :—Belfast and County Down Railway, Exeter and
Exmouth Railway, Gainsburgh Bridge to East Retford,
&c., Great Northern and Western (of Ireland) Railway,
Great Western Railway (Capital), Kilrush and
Kilkee Railway and Poulnasherry Reclamation,
Morayshire Railway, Nantwich and Market Drayton Rail -
way, Gawestry and Newtown Railway (Branches, &c.) ;
Portadown, Dungannon, and Omagh Junction Railway ;
Preston Markets, &c., Shrewsbury and Welchpool Rail-
way, Stratford-upon-Avon Railway; and Wallasey Im-
provement.