The Sun.
London, England, 1857-06-10 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 1857

Foremost among all the Orders of the Day in
the House of Commons for this present date,
Mercurii, 10° die Junii, 1857, there appears (as
if satirically) this astounding announcement :

"a 1. Sale of Beer Bill ;—Second Reading."

We doubt it very much. "A 1?" We never
should have supposed it. Even now, although it
lies before us printed formally, in very legible
characters, upon Parliamentary Paper No. 20,
folio 397—we remain obdurately incredulous.
We don't believe it—aty more than PAUL Dom-
BEY believed Mrs. PIPCSIN'S bugaboo story about
the Mad Bull who devoured the Little Boy who
asked Questions. And, as if in timely justifica-
tion of our unbelief, there appears a little further
down upon the same page—not among the Orders
of the Day, but underneath those Orders of the
Day, so preposterously headed by Mr. HARDY'S
Folly, his Hobby, his Fancy, his "Beer Bill "
(really, in Parliamentary slang, his Beer
Bill)—There appears second among the Notices
of Motion the following :—" Mr. KER SEYMER,—
Oa Motion for Second Reading of Sale of Beer
Bill, ti move, That it be read a second time upon

this day six months." Another opportunity is
consequently afforded to the House, of ridding
itself of this preposterous measure, which is an
indirect, btit a very grotesque, and a very signifi-
cant reflection upon its philanthropy ! Before our
impression for this evening goes to press, the House
will, in all human probability have decided upon

the relative merit; of Mr. HARDY'S Order of the
Day, and Mr. vSEYMER'S Notice of Motion. lt
will be seen, consequently, by a glance from these
leading columns to that other portion of our journal
in which to-lay's Parliamentary proceedings are
dulr chronicled by our reporters, how the com-
paratively few members present on a Wednesday
afternoon's sitting have decided. It will probably

be seen—unless a sudden and unexpected succes

have carried. Mr. KER SETMER'S exceedingly ra-
tional motion against the Second Reading—that
again the settlement of the difficulty has been
postponed ; that again the matter is referred

onward—this time to a detiiled scrutiny in Cam-
mittee. Sooner or later the crotchet of Mr.
HARDY is doomed. We cannot but think this.
It were an insult to the good sense of the House
of Commons t) conceive for an instant that it could
be otherwise. Upon that sound sense wo place
our reliance in this matter, and to it Wti are die-
posed all the more earnestly to appeal, now, that
the Believers in Virtue by Act of Parliament aro
all agog, apparently, about the old, old project
lacquered up again into an appearance of newness
—the whimsy of your thick-and-thin Tea-Totallers
—the Maine Liquor Law movement I It ap-
pears, by a paragraph given elsewhere in our
impression of this evening that the promoters of
that movement aro strenuously "at it" again

down at Manchester. A conference has been hel 1
there to further the scheme for Punishing the
Sober, in order to try and do good (against his will)
to the Drunkard. That —literally—'_s the mean-
ing of that monstrous folly called the Maine
Liquor LAW I An offshoot of which Folly is Mr.
RARDY'S Bier Bill ! Render drunkenness ini-
p9ssible, or try and render it impossible, by
causing the traffic in intoxicating beverages to be
declared and you deprive sobriety of any
credit whatsoever. The exercise of Free Will ou

the part of a worshipper is an essential emtlitiou

for any value whatever in the exercise of Religion.
Surely every sane man must recogniso this. Surely
every man in his senses must see at ono3 that to
carry off an unbeliever and blasphemer to Church
—gagged and in a straight wa,istcolf, is not pre-
cisely the way to forward the interests, or to dif-
fuse the principles of Right Religion. S ill less
would it be the way if all kinds of pevle indis-
criminately, good and bad, believers and unbe-
lievers, were SD carried off gagged and
straight-waistcoated. The fanatical promoters of
Yirtue by Main force, of Sobriety by Maine force,
may, if they have a mind to it, be as strait-
laced as they please, themselves. But others

with equal reason may object (if they hare

not a micd to it) to be straight-waistcoated. For
once and for all, we say The right-thinking peopll
of this country won't hare it—this absurd ph In-
tasy of a Maine Liquor Law. And quite as reso-
lutely determined we believe they will shew them-
selves to be not to have the small end of the
wedge inserted in the shape of this farce of a

tyrannical little pettifogging Beer Bill affecting
the beneficence of philanthropy.

The beneficial effects of Lord BROUGHAM'S re-
turn to bis place in the House of Lords are
already perceptible. The obnoxious proviso,
which, by prohibiting the guilty party from again
contracting matrimony, reduced her to the deplor-
able alternatve of "prostitution or want, of
sinning or starving, of the streets or the work-
house," has been expunged by a decisive majority,
and a subsequent proposal, that the offender
should be prevented from marrying the person
with whom the adultery was proved to have been
committed, was also rejected. We heartily con-
gratulate the Rouse and the country on this
auspicious result, We felt convinced that the
impolitic restriction could not bear the tee,
of calm and mature consideration, that their
Lordships would sot persevere in a course which
must have brought them into collision with the

other House, and of which the inevitable effect
would be to cause the rejection of the bill, if it
were obstinately persisted in. Indeed, it seems
by no means improbable, that the quasi amend-
ment had been introduced and carried with a
view to that very result.

Some other decided improvements were also
carried. Husbands deserted by their wives were
declared to be entitled to the same remedy as
women would have. This is only fair and reason-
able ; there should be full and perfect reci-
procity. The like remedy shoul I in, , every
instance be given for the like offence.
We only trust that the principle may
be rendered universal, and that the rights
or wrongs of both husbands and wives may be
placed on a precisely similar foundation. We
cannot see any benefit to be derived from the
substitution of the words " judicial separati on"
For " divorce a mensa et thoro." The meaning
of the latter was clearly understood by evt)ry
adult male and female throughout the length and
breadth of the land; and the coining of a new lega.l
phrase, the only effect whereof would be to aff)rd
legal gentlemen an opportunity of displaying tbßir
ingenuity, should be avoided, save on intelliggile

grounds. As, however, " the rose by any other
name will smell as sweet," there is no great rea-

son to cavil at that, the effect whereof will be ex-
actly the same as if the more familiar terms had
been used.

The only other discussion and division referred
to the substitute for the obnoxious action of
trim. con. The issue was simply whether the
offence should be punished with fine only, or with
fine and imprisonment, or either of them. The
latter course was adopted by a majority of ten.
There is much to be said on both sides of the
question. On the one hand, it is decidedly ob-
jectionable that the personal liberty of the sub-
ject should be interfered with by the simple
decision of a Judge, without the intervention of a
jury. It is to a certain extent abolishing that
which is justly regarded as the great palladium of
our national freedom. On the other, it is certain
that there are many who would regard a mere
fine as a bagatelle, a thing only to be sneered at,
who would look on imprisonment in a very
different point of view. And, as the object is
to render the law a real terror to wrongdoers
not a mere scarecrow, where wealthy offenders
are concerned, it seems desirable that the power
of incarceration should be added. All would be
accomplished by inserting a clause that the sen-
tence of imprisonment should only be pronounced
after the verdict of a jury before a criminal tri-
bunal.

Respecting the fine there is one point which
appears to have been altogether disregarded by
all parties. It may possibly operate as a sentence
of perpetual imprisonment ! It will 'become a
Crown debt from which the party amerced cannot
be exonerated by the insolvent tribunals, or the
surrender of all his property in possession, re-
version, or expectancy. At present, damages
in an action for crim, con. constitute
a ground of remand, which is invariably
acted on according to the extent of the damages
and the criminality of the offender. This, how-
ever, will now be changed, and a clause or pro-
viso ought to be added that would enable Vie
person in actual custody for the offence, to obtain
the benefit of the Insolvent Act on submitting t
a vesting order, which would divest him of his
entire property, and subject him to the other
regulations incidental t 3 an application to that
very efficient tribunal.

The Committee now sitting on the Bank
Charter Act cannot possibly ignore the fearful
consequences that must result from a continuance
in the present exorbitant rate of discount. As
the Times recently acknowledged, "a return to
cheap money"—i. e. a moderate charge for peQu-
niary accommodation—" cannot be anticipated
for several years 1" It is scarcely necessary to
point out the inevitable results that must follow
" increased labour with gradually diminished
means"—and these only obtained " at usurious
rates of interest." The fact is, as stated in a
communication which will be found in another
part of this day's impression, that "the drones
are cared for to the injury of the working bees, and
their ultimate exhaustion is certain, unless some
decided effort is made," and that very speedily.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, by deciding
to pay the redemption of the Sound Dues in
Specie, or its equivalent,within three or four months,
has precipitated the crisis. Under the existing code
we cannot Jnaintain the struggle very long, and
then Mercator and his disciples will be in the
position of him who " killed the goose that laid
the gulden eggs." There is, however, no limita-
tion to the greed of gaiu. As the schoolboy pro-
verb declares, "the love of money increases as the
money itself ;" and the putative parent of the
Act having acquired an almost fabulous fortune
by the use of what he now terms " worthless
rags," is willing to kick down the ladder by which
he has ascended, to prevent others from attaining
a similar elevation.

The phrase "pig on bacon" was well known in
Lancashire in the olden time, nor is even yet
altogether forgotten. We do not by any means
complain of the mode in which the Leviathan
fortune was accumulated, but certainly the man
who derived such almost miraculous advantages
from legitimate and well deserved " credit,"
should be the last to deprive others of similar
facilities.

Many plans have been suggested by which
"free trade in currency" could be obtained with-
out the slightest risk of depreciating the circulat-
ing medium. An issue of Exchequer Bills of small
and convenient lenominations, say 1/. 2/. and 3/.
would, as recently suggested by a respected
correspondent, answer every purpose. No
person would refuse that which would
sat.sfy the demands of the tax-gatherer,
whose visits are unfortunately neither " few nor
far between." But the laziness of a for
mer Comptraler of the Exchequer prevented
that desideratum from being carried into practical
effeo.. If, however, Parliament should sanction
the principle, not only would the interest of the
Unfunded Debt be saved to the Exchequer, but
there would be an unobjectionable carrency, which
could not possibly be depreciated. The amount would
be regulated by Parliament, and the whole would
be redeemed within the year by almost daily
instalments. This would liberate a large quantity
of gold now required for the business of every-
day life, and render it available for our foreign
commerce, for which alone it is wanting. We
trust that the new Parliament may show,
ere it is too late, that it is neither
indifferent to the exigencies of the community,
nor incompetent to deal with a subject on which
the welfare and prosperity of the industrial popu-
lation so greatly depends, and which can alone
ensure that great blessing—" A fair day's wage
for a fair day's work."

General ASHBURNHAM and Lord ELGIN either
have arrived, or will soon arrive on the coast of
China, and we may hope, therefore, before long to
hear what course will be taken ; the reinforcements,
however, seem to linger, and the Raleigh is pro-
bably hoplessly wrecked, her valuable stores of
shells being, it appears, rendered useless. We
fear, therefore, the hot season will render it
impossible to effect anything till the autumn, by
force of arms. There are, however, symptoms of
increasing difficulties on the side of the Chinese.
It is stated at Shanghae that the Imperial Go-
vernment has actually proposed t) levy a tax on
opium there, to which, as implying the legalisa-
tion of its sale, it would never have condescended,
had not the Imperial Exchequer been as empty as
that of the CZAR at the fall of Sebastopol. Its
troops also were greatly in arrear of pay. The
rebels, too, iu Central and Northern Chins, had
gained considerable fresh successes ; and in the
South, in the province of Canton, notwithstanding
the savage executions by Yztr, the rebels have
become very numerous, and in the adjoining pro-
vince of Kwang-sa have captured Kweilin, the
capital, a well fortified place, which has hitherto
resisted all their attempts. YEII himself, it is
said, cannot keep his troops together for want of
money.

Pending the arrival of important news, it may
be interesting to our readers to be apprised briefly

of the actual state of the Chinese rebellion. In-
deed, we have almost forgotten it during dur
own greater wars nearer home, and in our own
quarrel with the Cantonese. It should be re-
membered that this vast empire consists of eighteen
provinces, on an average, almost equal in BiZO to
Great Britain, a fact which sufficiently accounts
for its population being eighteen times larger
than ours, without its containing more inhabitants
to the square mile. Its entire width is intersected
by one cf the largest rivers in the world, on which
stands the ancient capital Nankin. The province
and city of Canton, to which Europeans were con-
fined
till after the late war, is in the extreme
south, and Pekin, the present Manchoo capital, is
in the extreme north of this vast empire; some 17
degrees of latitude intervene—about the same dis-
tance as from Madrid to Aberdeen and farther.
In so vast and populous an empire, administered
by eighteen governors, over ten times which might
serve for as many kingdoms, it is not to be won-
dered at that insurrections occur ; and the fact is,
that under an absolute and centralisedadministra-
tion like that of China, there, are as in France or
Austria, no means of reiress but insurrection.
Mal-administration at Pekin, or by any of the
provincial governments can be rectified only by
resistance. Hence, though the form, of govern-
ment has been unchanged for at least two thou-
sand years, yet oppressive and incorrigible bad
dynasties have been repeatedly expelled.

The late rebel:ion, or more properly speaking,
insurrection against the Manchoos and their
dynasty had unquestionably a religious origin.
HUNG SEW TSECTEN, who now styles himself the
Heavenly Prince, is a kind of second Mahomet.
His course began in some mysterious visions
vouchsafed him during a severe illness. He
appears to have been delirious, and, what is
common in delirium, to have seen vivid represen-
tations of what he had read in the Protestant
Sriptures many years before, but forgotten. He
had so forgotten, that when a few years after the
visions the successes of the English at Otnton le I
him to look at the books he had received from
them again, he was astonished to find the key to
his dreams in them.

From that time lite does not seen to have
doubted that the God worshipped by the western
barbarians, whom he now termed foreigners, had
appeared to him ; that the Protestant Scriptures
were an authoritative revelation from Heaven, and
that he was called to commence the task of a
Religious Reformer. He does not appear to have
thought of insurrection against the Goverment
very unwisely, attacked by it; and a consi-
derable body of political rebels having joined him,
they commenced their work of expelling the Tar-
tars from all the cities of the empire : this appears
to have been towards the close of tho year 1850.
At this time they commenced their religious-
political movement to establish a new and native
dynasty -of Taeping, or Universal Peace. Nume-
rous bands of discontented men, of bandits, and
even of pirates driven on shore by our cruisers,
have joined the rebels ; but "the God worship-
pers" continue to be the strength of the whole
movement, and thousands who have thought their
moral code too strict have deserted them on that
account. They believe in one GOD, and in JESUS
CHRIST as his S )n, not his eTtal ; and the Ten
C,)mmandrnents are their moral code. HUNG SEW
TSUEN is regarded as the second son of GOD, though
apparently in a much lower sense than JEsus. In fact,
their knowleigo of Christianity seems to bo
:imited to what a learned native Chinese, without
single idea from modern civilisation, could ex-
tract from the 01,1 and Ne.v Testament, which he
had received from a native convert. Ho and his
God worshippers fight with the ardour of patriots
against the Manchoos, and the :c3al of a DAVID
against idolators.

The Tae-ping rebels rapidly forced their way
through from the south-east across half the Em-
pire, till they reached the Groat River on the
banks of which they have ever since established
their head-quarters. They soon descended the
River and took possession of Nankin, and cf
Chin-ke-anz, where the celebrated canal crosses
the Groat River. There, of course, they are not
far from us at Shanghae. In the summer of 1853,
a considerable detachment from the main army
started northward through the other half of the
empirea from they fought their way skil-
fully and bravely Pekinravelyw ;
with Tartars in their front and
Tartars iu their rear, till they nearly reached
Pekin itself, which it is supposed they expected to
take by surprise. The EMPEROR obt tined from
Mantchooria, beyond the wall, a body of Tartar
cavalry. Having nothing to cope with it, they
were temporarily checked, and turned back to send
or wait for reinforcements, occupying meantime a
good position. After the arrival of the latter,
a year longer in the
c
North,having continued i ns ut
stormed
nearlyed
large
ities in the face of
the Tartar armies and their cavalry, they finally
returned to the south of the Yellow River, and
united themselves again with the main body on
the Great River. In this position, the best pro-
bably in the Empire for their operations, in com-
Imand both of the best natural and artificial navi-
gation, they appear to be firmly fixed, and to be
extending their conquests in all directions.
Our readers who wish for information cannot
do better than consult the work of Mr. T. T.
MEADOWS, Chinese Interpreter in H. M. Civil
Service, "The Chinese and their Rebellions," to
whom we are indebted for the less-known facts
above mentioned. His work will repay well the
perusal of all who take a political and religious
interest in the vast and little-known Empire of
which it treats.* It seems plain that the EMPE-
ROR, embarrassed by the great Rebellion, and
YER, equally embarrassed by the numerous rebels
of his own province, can be in no condition to
oppose any vigorous action on the part of Euro-
peans.

* THE CWINESE AND THEIR REBELLIONS, viewed in
Connection with their Natural Philosophy, Ethics Le-
gislation, and Administration. By T. T. Meadows.
London : Smith, Elder, and Co., 65, Cornhi 1.

The Queen and Prince Albert left Buckingham
Palace, yesterday afternoon, for Windsor Castle.
Madame Musurus had an assembly last evening, at
the residence of the Turkish Embassy, in Bryanston•
square.

Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess
D'Aumale honoured Frances Countess Waldegrave and
Mr. Harcourt, M.P., with their company at dinner at
Strawberry-hill on Sunday last.
The Earl of Dalhousie, with the Ladies Susan and
Edith Ramsay, have arrived at the Queen's Hotel,
Upper Norwood.

The Earl St. Vincent `hag arrived at the Clarendon,
from Meaford Stone, Staffordshire.
Lady Antrobus's party, announced to take place this
evening, is for the present unavoidably postponed.
The officers of the Royal Dragoons gave their annual
dinner yesterday at Griiltcn's Hotel, Albemarle-street.
Major-General Marten occupied the chair. The dinner
was numerously attended,

THE MONDAY EVENING CONCERTS FOR THE PEOPLE.
These concerts having been brought to a close for the
present season, a grand concert will be given in aid of
the "guarantee fund" on Thursday evening next (to-
morrow), at St. Martin's-hall. Miss Dolby, Mr. WeiBs,
and other distinguished artists have generously offered
their services.

WINDING-UP OP A BREAD AND FLOUR COMPANY.—The
Bread and Flour Comp3ny of Plymouth, established
recently under the new Limited Liability Act, is baing
wound-up ; and the official liquidator has found it neces-
sary to make a call of 4/. per share as a first instalment
to discharge the liabilities incurred.

LATEST NEWS.

AMERICA.

SOUTHAMPTON-, WEDNESDAY, 10

The European and American Company's screw
st:am. ship Queen of the South, Capt. Beale, arrived
this morning from New York, which. she lt:ft on
the 27th ult., and her news has consequently been
anticipated by the Asia. She brings 160 passengers
for Southampton and Bremen, and a large cargo.
She proceeds direct. to Bremen after landing paz-
sengers, having no cargo for London.

FRANCE.
PARIS, TUESDAY.
The Paris correspondent of the Nord says :
" With regard to the Bank of France, I learn that
Count de Germiny has been definitively appointed,
and that his nomination will be officially announced
immediately. As to M. de Vuitry, who was spoken
of for the post, he becomes president of the section
of finance ; MM. Bavoux and Lang'ais, deputies,
will be nominated Councillors of State, as I have
before announced. M. Biinvilliers will very pro-
bably be named president of the section of the In-
terior in the ro )m of M. Boulay (de la Meurthe),
who enters the Senate. No hing has been decidA
as to the successor of M. de Germiny at the Credit
Poncier."

The King of Bavaria took his departure yester-
day morning from Paris.
The Senate met yesterday, M. Troplong in the
()hair. The military c Kin was again brought under
discussion, and after observations from Marshal
Pelissier, General de Bounoily, Count Segur-
d'Agness-au' first president Delangl, first pre-
sident Barthe, the Marquis de la Rochejacqueiein,
and Count do Beaum •nt, the Senate declared by a
majority of 99 votes to 4, that it did not oppose
the promulgation of the measure. The senatus-
consultum concerning exchanges of property be-
tween the State and private persons was adopted
unanimously by 97 votes. The biH for extending
the privilege of the Bank of France was brought
under examination, and the Senate declared by
103 votes to 1 that it did not oppose the promul-
gation of the measure.
BOURSE, June 9.—The following were the last
quotations :

Cash. fr. c. End of Month.
4i per Cents
3 per Cents 67 65 67 80
Bank Shares 4,475 Credit Foncier 560
Credit Mobilier 1,160 -- Roman
Do. Account 1,162 50 Austrian
Belgian 4i
Piedmontose (5) ' id. 25 Home Debt