The Sun.
London, England, 1857-06-23 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY_ EVENING, JUNE_ 23, 1857,

and it is clearly impossible for any man who does
not devote his life to the study, to understand
the duties imposed on him as a good and faithful
subject. And yet by one of those legal fictions,
still tolerated, even the most illiterate person is
supposed to be thoroughly informed on every
point, to have the laws of England at his fingers
end, available for his information at any moment.
We are told that, in all, 65 statutes have al-
ready been prepared, of which those which have
just received the first reading may be regarded as
fair specimens, and that nine others are now in
the hands of the commissioners. This is certainly
doing a great deal, and affords a reasonable hope,
that, with equal industry, the work may are lon g
be finished. , We want, however, codification., as
well as consolidation, and, to our judgment, it
seems as if the operations could proceed simulta-
neously and with little additional labour. The
people should be able to know what they were
bound to obey, and it is notorious that the whole
duties of good citizens are by no means contained
in all the statutes, voluminous and elaborate
though they may be. The Statute Law gives the
mere skeleton, which has no vitality until that
which has been handed down from time immemo-
rial, and been affirmed by the judicial wisdom of
all ages has been fully and fairly incorporated
therewith.

It can scarcely be anticipated that even the
present limited number of bills can receive the
legislative sanction during the present session.
The Judges will depart on Circuit within a few
weeks, and their advice and opinions may be of
paramount importance, besides; there should be
ample time for mature and attentive conside-
ration, which cannot be bestowed, during the
busy portions of the year, but which may be given
during the recess. We should therefore rejoice if all
of the 65 bills now in readiness were introduced
and laid before the country, while the work of
active legislation may be properly postponed until
the commencement of next session. It would be
well also, if care were taken that new bills should
be so framed as to occasion but little trouble in
the way of consolidation.

Criminal procedure has, it appears, been post-
poned, until a decision can be arrived at respect-
ing the address of .the last House of Commons,
for the appointment of a Minister and Department
of Justice. The appointment of Crown prosecu-
tors, properly selected, will be indispensable to
the administration of the Criminal Law, now
about to be consolidated, and, we earnestly hope,
codified.

At a late hour last night, or rather an early
one this morning, Mr. LowE carried a resolution
through a Committee of the whole House, whereon
to found a bill for the regulation of Joint Stock
Banks, or rather to extend to these establishments
the benefit of the Act of last year. Jt is intended
to remove the existing difficulties in the way of
the formation of such companies, to ensure a pro-
per register, which will at once show the contri-
butories, in the event of any winding-up, and to
stop actions against individual shareholders
whenever the winding-up process has been insti-
tuted. So far so good. There is nothing more
important to the trade and commerce of the coun-
try than the possession of banking facilities. Without
these indispensable adjuncts Joint-stock Banks can-
not be properly conducted, and yet under the exist-
ing laws they are discouraged in every possible way.
Almost insuperable obstacles are interposed in the
way of the formation of a new company, and when
these have at length been overcome, after enor-
mous trouble and expense, a mere license to trade
is all that is granted. They cannot issue a single
Rote, however ample the securities they might be
prepared to offer. The law is, in fact, almost
prohibitionary; and, notwithstanding the inviting
and ample field for competition, the restrictions
and liabilities are such that few capitalists will be
prepared to embark in banking speculations.
One of the most mischievous provisions is that
which renders a man liable, both in person and
property, and in the latter both to the last shilling
and the last acre, and that although he may be
the holder of but a few shares, and did not in any
degree participate in the management. We regret
to say that this evil is to be perpetuated. The
well-known views of Mr. LOWE have been appa-
rently overruled,'.and that, although the experience
of the British Bank would show that the unlimited
',lability was equally injurious both to the creditors
and shareholders. Mr. WYLD, whose efforts in fa-
vour of the creditors of that unfortunate concern
have been of the most efficient and energetic
character, pointed out the inevitable consequences.
Those who would gladly pay a reasonable and
definite sum, when they found they were to be
stripped of their all and reduced to beggary
entered into arrangements to dispose of their
properties and go into perpetual exile. It is
indeed difficult t o understand how any wealthy
capitalist will face unlimited liability ; and
there is no reason to doubt that the
same principle that prevails in other cases
should be made applicable to the sh are-
holders in Joint-Stock Banks. This defect
in the measure may, however, be amended in
committee, and then the Bill will prove of real
value to the community.

The unfortunate and innocent shareholder has
also been placed within many fires. He has been
proceeded against, simultaneously, in Chancery
and Bankruptcy ; and, as if the con-
current jurisdictions of these tribunals was
not sufficient, he might have his goods seized in
execution, by any creditor. Nay, more, the
same process might be multiplied a hundred fold,
so that the original debts, due to the sharp prac-
titioners, would be far more than quadrupled.
This will henceforward be ameliorated ; but until
the principle of limited liability is introduced,
and the privilege conferred of issuing (on
unquestionable security) notes of convenient
denominations, banking will not be placed
on a sound or satisfactory foundation, bene-
ficial alike to the shareholders and the com-
munity at large. As we ha-a already
stated, the
measure is good, so far as it goee, but a conside-
rable addition must
- -be made before it will be ex-
tensively acted. on, or the existing void properly
filled.

-.er Majesty will hold a Privy Council on Thursday
next, the 25th inst., at Buckingham Palace.
Tull FROZEN DEEP.—Her Majesty has commanded a
private representation of Mr. Wilkie Collins's drama
of "The Frozen Deep." It will be given on Saturday
week at the Gallery of Illustration, the characters being
sustained by the original corps of amateur ladies and
gentlemen who played in it at Tavistock Melee.
ADELPIII TBEATRE.--Mr. and Mrs. Barney Williams
last eight returned to this theatre for a limited engage-
ment. No novelties were produced on the occasion.
DISTRIBUTION OP Tu ORDER OF VALOUR.—Notice
has been issued that persona applying for tickets of ad.
mission to the reserved seats, to witness the ceremoty
of the distribution e
the Order of Valonr, should send
in their applica3ions to the geartermaster-General,
VALOUR. —Notice
Horse Guards, on or before Wednesday morning.
Ailey dress ball, under the immediate pa-
THE GRANn CALEDONIAN FANCY DRESS BALL,—
Trhoneaagnenoufabl.feir Majesty and members of the Royal family,
for the benefit of the Royal Caledonian Asylum and the
Royal Scottish Hospital, was given at Wißooms,
King-e'ereet, St. James's, and although it could not be
said to be the folle6t, it was one or the best balls we
have witnessed during the last three years.
The specie from America yesterday includes 50,000/.
Mexican dollars. Of the sold 50,000/. will be sent to
the Bank of France, and 40,0001. has already been pur-
chased to an to the continent for silver. A consider-
able portion of the remainder will, perhaps, be taken to
he Bank,

LATEST NEWS.

THE FRENCH ELECTIONS.

SUCCESS OF REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES.

CAVAIGNAC, CARNOT, AND GOUDCHAUX
RETURNED FOR PARIS.

The following estimates of the results of the
Paris elections hove been made up in haste, and
may probably be modified by the official &dark,
tion orthe ballot :

FIRST CIRCEMSCRIPTION.
Delalain 10,070
Laboulayo 4,676
Reynaud 1,682

Majority for the Government candid tte 5,394

SECOND CIRCUMSCRIPTION.
Devinck
Bethmont 9,070

Majority for the Government candidate 1,402

THIRD CIRCUMSCRIPTION.
General Cavaignac .. . 10,315
Thibaut ... 10,108

Majority for the Republican candidate 237
FOURTH CIRCUMSCRIPTION.
Varin

E. 011ivier

Gamier Pages ...

Majority for the Government candidate 2,891
FIFTH CIRCUMSCRIPTION.
Carnot 12,031
Monin-Japay 8,426

Majority for the Republican candidate 3,608
SIXTH CIRCUMSCRIPTION.
Goudchaux 13,042
Ferret 10,464

Majority for the Republican candidate 2,578
SEVENTH CIRCIIMSCRIPTiON.
Lan queti n
Darimon 6, 826
Bastille

Majority for the Government candidate 3,783
EIGHTH CIRCUMSCRIPTION.
Lepelletier 13,820
Vavin 9,033

Jules Simon

2,268

Majority for the Government candidate 3,787
NINTH CIRCUMSCRIPTION.
Konigswater

F. Lasteyrie

Majority for the Government candidate 4,541

TENTH CIROIDISCRIPTION.

Dr. Veron 15,417
Eugene PeHaan

Majority for the Government candidate 8,197
In the first, the fourth, and the seventh circum-
scriptions the elections will commence again on
Sunday, there not being an absolute majority for
one candidate over both the others put together.
The third circumscription, which has elected
General Cavaignac, consists of the quarter of the
Palais Royal and that of the Boulevard Bonne
Nouvelle, with the faubourgs Montmarte and St.
Denis.

The fifth circumscription,' for which M. Carnot
is returned, comprises the quarters of the Porte
St. Martin, the Temple, St. Martin des Champs,
and a portion of Belleville.

MARSEILLES, JUNE 22.
The steamship Blidah has been wrecked at the
mouths of the Ebro. The passengers were saved.

News from Egypt, due on the 13th instant, has
been received. The harvest is abundant.

In Persia, the Minister of the Shah has caused
the Affghan Prince of Herat, who had been taken
prisoner, to be decapitated ; he also wished to exe-
cute the brother-in-law of the Shah, who was ac-
cused of holding a correspondence with the English
Minister during the war ; but the French ambassa-
dor succeeded in obtaining a commutatim of the
sentence, by pointing out that these condemnations
were a violation of the stipulations of the treaty.

THE PENINSULAR MAILS

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)

SOUTHAMPTON, TUESDAY MORNING.
The Peninsular anl Oriental Company's steamer
Alhambra,
Captain Woodgates, has arrived with
Peninsular
and dates from Gibraltar, June
6 ; cdl mails,
Lisbon, 19 ; Vigo, 20.
1a

She brings 61 passengers, specie value 2,4651.,
and cargo of oranges; eggs, lemons, potatoes, &c.
Gibraltar Exchanges, on the 13th, were quoted
London, 50i ; Paris, 5 37 ; Marseilles, 5 38 ;
Madrid, 1 dis.

Off Cape Roca, oa the lt9h, she passed the
steamer Vasco de Gana, for Lisbon. j;
The Peninsular anl Oriental steamer Sultan left
Vigo, for Lisbon, on the 20th.

Off the Start, on tie 22d, the Alhambra passed
the brig Vesta, the Pltrician, and the ship William
Pierre, of North Shields, with loss of figure head
and part of cutwater, wishing to be reported.
The American barque Nevada, with the first of
the 100 guns from ;he American people for the
fortress of A-lessandzia, in Sardinia, arrived at
Gibraltar ou the 12th, and left on the 16th for
Genoa.

Tho screw steamer Hydaspes left Lisbon for
Brazil at daybreak on the 11th,

The Royal Mail steamer Avon arriv©d at Lisbon,
and left for Brazil, on tho 14th.

Exchanges at Lisbon, for three months on Lon•
den, 53 ; Paris, 5 34; Genoa, 532 ; Hamburg,
47 ; Amsterdam, 411.

Stock continued at the same prices as by the
previous mail, but with a slight tendency to

prove,

The loisbon House of Deputies had agreed to
place 22,0001. at the disposal of the King for his
marriage expeuseo, and to settle GO (onto (about
13,500/.)upon the Queen per year,

The debate on the Bndget wits expected to be
closed on the 20th. The Cortes were to be pro-
rogued till the 30th Juno,

COLLISION IN THE CHANNEL.—SOUTHAMPTON, Mon-
day.---The European and American Company's steamer
Queen of the South has arrived from Bremen, on her
Way to New York. She ran down the brig Atalanta, of
Southampton, in the Channel last night. The Atalanta
sunk. All hands on board of her were saved, with the
exception of one boy, who was drowned. The Queen of
the South sustained no damage.
VISIT OP THE ARCHDUKE FIIRDINAND MAXIMILIAN TO
PORTSIMTIL—Yesterday morning, at ten o'clock, his
Imperial Highness the Archduke Maximilian arrived at
the Royal Clarence-yard, and was received by the usual
authorities, naval, military, and civil. His Imperial
Highness witnessed shell, shot, and congrevo rocket
practise from the Excellent, against targets placed at
various ranges. The divisional and broadside practice
gave the highest satisfaction. The rockets were not well
laid nor their range accurately adjusted. His Imperial
Highness, having inspected the dockyards, returned to
town by special train.
CRICKET.—tHE UNITED ALL VNCLAND V. SIXTEEN
OF Tig UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.—Tbis match was
commenced at Lord's yesterday, and the fallowing will
!die* tht result of the first day's play :—Cambridge, first
innings, 128 ; United, first innings (four wickets stand-
ing), 70.
SUlClDE.—Yesterday morning, shortly after 9 o'clock,
William Bushell aged 50, a mariner, who resided at
Leman-street, Goodraan's-fields,Whitechapel, swallowed
arsenic with intent to commit suicide, and expired a
short time after his admission to the London hospital.
INFANTICIDE AT CAMDEN TOWN.—Yesterday the in-
quest on the body of the child who was found dead on
the towing-path of the :Regent's Canal wa,i brought to a
close. The jury returned a verdict of wilful murder
against Mary Madden, the mother of the child, who has
absconded.

LITERATURE.

The Tao Aristocracies. A Novel. By Mrs. Gore.
3 vcls. Hurst and Blackest.
In this work Mrs. Gore has displayed her usu,'
knowledge of the world, but in this instal—
...at al-so''; tI2Oes; very
wide scope is presented for the •
manyith _:stration of her
-.40t only to the spark-
powers. We are introduced.
ling sketches of high
which her former
the otherse
noersm
tikl. of
3aYtaufa,cturer, Mark B
writings abound, }-
world. The chief object of in-
arneson, whose
ttl:reeswtoirsk
carecr is traced, from his first entry as a junior
clerk, to his subsequent reception as a partner in
the firm of Lambert, then one of the moat im-
portant in the country. The principal point in this
work is the description of the war that arose be-
tween the rival classes—the pride of wealth against
the pride of birth. This peculiar feeling is very
ably traced in its many ramifications. Mark
Barneson himself was an honest, upright man, one
not inclined to bear malice or hatred, and not dis-
posed to let his interests clash or interfere with
those of others separated from him in the social
scale. However, circumstances, to which all must
succumb, forced this man of the people into the
circles of hav,t ton. Although alien to his nature was
the contact, he maintained his native dignity of
deportment, and, by disclaiming, rather than seek-
ing, advances, he left no room for the most censo-
rious to call him upstart or officious. He did rot
escape unharmed from the conflict notwithstand-
ing, for what he shunned for himself had become
necessary for his daughter. In the intercourse with
their wealthy neighbours they had met the Mar-
quis of Ullesmere. One of his younger sons, Lord
Bernard Vere, and Barbara, the only daughter of
Mark Barneson, had formed an attachment to each
other. Atfirst, by the mutual consent of the elders
of the circle the idea of a union between such
opposite interests was negatived, but as time
passed on, and Mr. Barneson discovered that in
spite of change of scene his beloved Barbara
drooped and pined, a change took place. In a
spirit of princely magnificence he formed his
plans, resolved that his daughter should
enter the family of the Veres, gifted with a
dowry that would eclipse in splendour the marriage
portions of the noblest houses of the land. For a
time all went well. The Marquis of Ullesmere was
delighted, and although depressed by the line of
demarcation that would henceforth be drawn be-
tween himself and his child, Mark rejoiced to see
light again sparkle in her eyes, and hope reanimate
her drooping spirits. The plan was not fated to be
happily realised; various untoward events occurred
which, at first trifling, gradually assumed a form of
greater consequence, and presented an aspect of the
darkest dye. It was thus rendered impossible to
the worthy manufacturer to pay down to the trus-
tees the sum agreed upon at the time of Barbara's
marriage. The junior partner of the firm of Lam-
bert was a man of a most evil nature. Partly from
being Of an unsuspicious characterhimself, and partly
from being sometimes bewildered by family affairs,
Mark Barneson had permitted too much latitude
to this man. Ferrier, as he was called, was the
last being in whom such a trust should have been
reposed. He speculated with the money he ab-
stracted during the absence of the master, which
was discovered only when heavy losses of another
sort obliged au immediate and unexpected super-
vision.. Fortunately, by the assistance of friends
he had made during his long and upright career,
the establishment of Barneson was saved from ruin;
but great were the difficulties he had to undergo.
Although relating to the details of trade, the strug-
gles he underwent, and the various attendant inci•
dents, are possessed of great interest, and may not
be deemed unworthy of attention iu the pages of a
novel, which are usually dedicated to the history
of a romantic existence overshadowed with senti-
mental sufferings. The character of Rhoda, Lady
Arden, is very well pourtrayed. She was the
eldest daughter of Matthew Lambert, the original
proprietor of the firm. It was by her ambitious
marriage that the intercourse with the higher
classes was begun which subsequently led the unfor-
tunate Mark into so many difficulties. Her life
was a most unhappy one, chiefly through her own
faults, and her constant struggles with pride and
passion, her fear of her husband's discovery of the
dark secret connected with her family, and her rage
at learning that she had a rival in his attentions,
are all traced with a skill and energy that arrest
attention. A striking contrast was her sister,
"poor pretty little Lattice," who was the wife of
Mark Barneson, and whose early death rendered
him doubly devoted to their daughter. " The Two
Aristocracies" may be expected to rival in favour
the former productions of this popular authoress,
there being many materials to work from, and
great skill employed in the labour.

The Professor. By Currer Bell, author of "Jane
Eyre," &c. 2 vols. Smith and Elder.
A new work by a writer of remarkable powers
and singular succev, must always excite in the
minds of its readers an unusual amount of interest
and expectation. In the present instance the inte-
rest is increased by the mournful circumstances
attending its publication. Though the first work
that was really intended for the public, it is the
last that they will ever receive from the Land of its
gifted authoress. This combination places it in a
manner beyond the pale of censorious criticism. It
would be unfair to expect from her earliest produc-
tion of any importance, the same finished style
or developed powers that meet us in " Shirley" or
" Villette ;" and while thus claiming the indul-
gence due to a first work it would be impossible to
criticise with severity, or censure with harshness
the latest publication of a genius so original and
vigorous, of an author tried by so many disappoint-
ments and shackled by so many cares. It will be
remembered by those who have read the interest-
ing memoir of its lamented author, recently
given to the public by Mrs. Gaskell,
that the three sisters having each prepared a tale
for publication, tried to obtain a publisher. After
many delays the two youngest were successful, and
" Wuthering Heights" and "Agnes Grey" were
accepted by a publishing firm ; but " The Professor"
was not so fortunate. It went a weary round of
unsuccessful applications, and the author was at
length forced to lay it aside unpublished. In her
preface she attributes these failures to the unro-
mantic structure of the narrative.
"I said to myself that my hero should work his way
through life as I had seas r:al living men work theirs
—that he should never get a shillinc, he had not earned
—that no sudden turns should lift him in a moment to
wealth and high staticn ; that whatever small compe-
tency he might gain, should be won by the sweat of his
brow ; that before he could find so much as an arbour
to sit down in, he should master at least half the ascent
of "the Hill of Difficulty;" that he should not even
marry a beautiful girl or a lady of rank. As Adam's
son he should share Adam's doom, and drain through.
out life a mixed and moderate cup of enjoyment.
"In the sequel, however, I found that publishers in
general scarcely approved of system, but would have
liked something more imaginative and poetical—some-
thing more consonant with high wrought fancy, with a
taste for pathos, with sentiments more tender, elevated,
unworldly. Indeed until an author has tried to dispose
of a manuscript of this kind, he can never know what
stores of romance and sensibility lie bidden in breasts he
would not have suspected of easketing such treasures.
Men in business are usually thought to prefer the real ;
on trial the idea will often be found fallacious ; a pas-
sionate preference for the wild, wonderful, and thrilling
—the strange, startling, and harrowing—agitates divers
souls that show a calm and sober surface."
We are informed in a note by Mr. Nicholls that
this preface was written by Currer Bell, with a
view to the publication of the work shortly after
the appearance of Shirley ; but that, being dis-
suaded from her intention, she made some use of
the materials in Villette. As the two stories are, in
most respects, unlike, it has been represented to him
that " The Professor" should not be withheld from
the public. As its name implies, and as the reader
may divine, it narrates the fortunes of an English
teacher in a Belgian school. The story, which is
told in the form of an autobiography, opens by in-
troducing us to its hero in the capacity of clerk,
in the counting-house of his elder brother. His
mother, a member of an aristocratic family, had mar-
ried a man engaged in trade, to the disgust and anger
of all her relatives. Both died young, leaving two I
sons. Edward, the eldest, followes his father's
profession and amasses a fortune. William. Creems-
worth, the hero, is educated by his uncles, who
offer him a profession which he rejects, and
angry words ensue. Irritated by their contemptu-
ous allusions to his father, he declares he too would
be a tradesman, and joining his brother accepts a
place in bis counting-house. There he meets with
tyranny, insult, and neglect, although performing
his duties with industry and credit. By the inter-
vention of a Mr. Hunsdon, a wealthy merchant,
he leaves his brother and goes to Brussels to ob-
tain employment. He secures the post of English
professor in a selgian boys' 'school, and subse-
quently in a young ladies' establishment. After
various minor incidnts he falls in love with a sub:
teacher, half-Swiss half-English, named Frances
Henri. After some delays they are married, esta-
blish a school, realise a competence, and come f*
England to spend their days in peace. Such is the
plot of "The Professor," in which it will be seen the
authoress has rigidly adhered to her determination
of avoiding the romantic and extravagant. But
her great power has always been shown in strik-
ing the spark of romance from the cold steel of
daily life, in investing the plain and unattractive
with all the interest of heroes and heroines, in
rousing the commonplace from its mediocrity, and
painting life not as it is to the many, but to sen-
sitive,: earnest, and, reserved spirits like her own.
The Professor evidently partakes of her character ;
he may not have been intended to do so, but in- ,
cidental touches, and occasional descriptions prove

the similarityb Edward, the elder brother, is one •
of those Unmitigated characters that the Bronte
sisters loved to paint ;—without the slightest trace
(21!natigiti feeling, unrestrained by any social proprie-
ties, and alike devoid of heart and destitute of prin-
ciple. Mr. Hunsden, the manufacturer, is the most
original character in the book, though scarcely the
most successful. He is a compound of contradic-
tions ; he does William Creemsvvorth many services
but adds to them such vulgar taunts, and officious
comments on his personal affairs, that they can
scarcely be regarded as benefits. He bears some
resemblance to the Yorke family in Shirley, and
perhaps was drawn from the same prototype, as
those singulargbeings. His name, Yorke Huns-
den, would seem to indicate an intentional simi-
larity. As for the foreigners pourtrayed, Miss
Bronte had the right to be a good authority,
and a correct portrait painter, having lived for se-
veral years, both as teacher and pupil in a Belgian
school, but it can only charitably be hoped either
that she was particularly unfortunate in her asso-
ciates, or that she has unconsciously drawn them a
little darker than life, deepening their levity into
vice, their lethargy into stupidity. There is a
whole gallery of foreign portraits, and but two are
not unfavourable. These exceptions are M.
Tanderhuten' a good-natured quiet German, and
Mlle. Henri, before alluded to. The boys' school
are stolid and stubborn, their master is dissipated
and treacherous. The girls' school is even worse,
and their mistress, though shrewd and clever, is
not troubled with much principle. Mlle. Henri is
a pleasing, yet spirited character. She is one of
Caner Bell's most attractive heroines. The tale
is told with clearness and vigour, its actors are de-
picted in a few strong touches, sometimes hard,
sometimes bitter, rarely gentle or soft. The style,
as the style of the author always has been, is
earnest, powerful, and sincere. A strong truth-
telling spirit that spurns the subterfuges and deceit
of conventionalisms and hypocrisy is evident in
every page. But she has not learned to sheathe
the iron hand in the velvet glove. Words and
phrases occur; which a more cultivated
taste would have rejected, and give a
shade of coarseness to a page that has no need of
such artificial strength. Recalling the incidents
of its author's troubled existence, the reader will
not marvel at the dark and gloomy thoughts and
views of life so often traced in its pages. Doubtless
the worst characters we meet with were drawn from
thelife—not from the writer's visions. They showed
her all that is good and noble and attractive, which
otherwise she could scarcely have pourtrayed.
Trouble and suffering have ended for her now ;
the noise of the world's approbation no longer
meets her ear ; it only remains for those she has
so often thrilled and gratified to receive with con-
sideration and kindness the last offering of a genius
so rare and powerful, fettered by every obstacle
that natural temperament and individual circum-
stances could oppose to its progress. •