The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-19 00:00:00

act of the Government he runs the risk of his jour
nal being suppressed. He cannot undellake
this risk without the consent of the director, of
the council of surveillance who represent the
shareholders, of the printer whom the law declares
an accomplice, and who exposes himself to com-
plete ruin. A Government employe may bring him
an article which he is obliged to insert with-

out saying whence it conies, eTen though
it may be directly antagonistic to his own views.
The director, constantly menaced, in his turn warns
the writers. The conseil de surveillance, the share-
holders, the printer, are all in their turn watch-
ing for the preservation of their liberty or their
property. " There is many a jeurnalist whom you
judge to be timid or bought over," says one writer,
" whose articles deprive his coadjutors of sleep."
No wonder that in such a state of things the inde-
pendence of the press is but a name ; that it reserves
the bitter censure which might find a more suitable
vent at home for the doings of its neighbours; that
while the English press forms the great safeguard
of the liberties of the people against the relics of
feudal tyranny in high places, and the stormy
sophistry of democratic demagagues, the coun-
trymen of CARREL and BERANGER can find no
voice to plead for that cause of national freedom
and liberal government which has cost them more
blood and tears than any other nation in Europe.
The writer we have spoken of sums up tho four
safeguards against despotism as follows :

Ist. Honest elections.
2d. An independent tribunal.
3d. Magisterial integrity.
4th. The liberty of the press.

In the spirit of SHERIDAN'S famous apostrophe,
though unfortunately looking at the reverse side
of the picture, he asserts that the three first of
these essentials are but a dead letter without the last.
With a free press, the merits of candidates for elec-
tion are discussed, the parliamentary and legal
debates are reported and criticised ; but with
this powerful enemy removed or silenced, it
is not difficult for those in authority
to influence or falsity the elections. The
debates, unknown to the public, are powerless,
and the magistracy, entirely dependent on Govern-
ment for advancement, are not likely to be incon-
veniently independent. And what results from
these elaborate precautions—this carefully-woven
net—this intricate and infallible political system ?
A. thorny and perilous tenure of absolute authority,
an anxious and hazardous occupation of a doubtful
dictatorship ; while the great body of the people,
their eloquence silenced, their energy cramped,
their intelligence insulted by the supervision and
censorship of ignorant officials—are deterred from
the pursuit of any of those honourable political
careers so fascinating to an ambitious and intellec-
tual nation. But the evil reacts upon its authors.
If the people are debarred from the free expression
of thought and sentiment, the Government also lose
the vast advantage of testing the temper of the
time, of judging the force of public opinion on
various questions, of measuring the national con-
tent or dissatisfaction. The free circulation of air
is carefully excluded from every crevice. The fresh
breeze is stigmatised as full of danger ; but let
those in power take heed that the vacuum be not
the precursor of a hurricane which shall play its
part the more roughly from its unnatural and for-
cible suppression.

Since writing the above we have received, by the
second edition of the Times, from its Paris corres-
pondent, ;nformation which fully confirms the
views expressed above. The correspondent says :
—" I have reason to believe that, with the view of
obviating the effect produced in England by the
violent language of a considerable portion of the
French press, a confidential communication of an
important nature has been addressed by the
Minister of the Interior, M. Billault, to: all the
Prefects in France. If lam correctly informed—
and I have reason to believe that I am—the Minister
expresses his regret that such exaggerated language
should be used when speaking of the English
people, as well by reason of the disquietude which
it must excite among them, as that it tends to
destroy the confidence and embitter the feelings of
those of whose opinions the English press is the
channel. The Prefects are reminded how much
greater that unpleasant effect must be when this
violent language is employed by journals usually
supporting the policy of the Imperial Government,
and which is made responsible abroad for these
excesses. The Prefects are therefore instructed to
request the journals in question to be more circum-
spect ; and, while they are at liberty to refute errors
and protest against injustice and calumny, and to
defend energetically the rights of the country, they
might easily avoid offending the susceptibilities of
a great people, and rather promote friendly relations
between the two countries."

Now all this bespeaks the fear of NAPOLEON,
more than his love for England. Why did he let
loose the angry or bad feelings which he had him-
self excited throughout every part of France, and
then like the incendiary, who found that the fire was
raging beyond his calculation, endeavour to allay
the blaze which had obtained too much ascendancy
for him to smother ? That his fulminations
throughout the Press have awakened a spirit of
patriotic fervour in this country has now alarmed
NAPOLEON, and all his arts will fail to sooth the
irritation which his double dealing has aroused.
We may listen to his declarations of friendship,
but we will continue to arm all the same, for
judging by his past conduct we shall not place
any reliance upon his professions, however bland
or hypocritical. We now know our friend, and
shall deal with him after his own fashion. His
friendship is but a mere flash in the pan, and shall
be dealt with on its merits.

" Thrice is he arni'd who hath his quarrel just,
And he but naked, though cas'd up in steel,
Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted."

There is a dear little borough down in Sussex ;
we quite forgot it was a borough when we first
drove through it in a chaise, mistaking it for a
largeish agricultural village; and such, indeed, it
is ;—but with the assistance of the whole, or parts
of eleven surrounding parishes, it makes up the
Parliamentary borough of Midhurst. Mr. COBDEN
hails from its vicinity, however, and the Hon.
SPENCER, HORATIO WALPOLE was long time its
representative ; and since then the author of " Ten
Thousand a-Year " enjoyed that honour. And if
we went back to days prior to the Reform Bill,

when it possessed but eighteen real voters, and
one bunlred nfmninal ones, the snug little
borough could boast of giving a voice in
Parliament to Lord Chief Justice Sir JOIIN PRATT,
to lord PLUNKET, and even to the celebrated
CHARLES JAMES Fox himself. It is one of Lord
JOHN'S rural boroughs, a class he would like -t
keep for variety's sake, and to prevent that du
uniformity of independent constituencies -which
larger towns present. The only difficulty is to dis
tinguish it from the county constituency. It is, ir.
deed, not so much a borough as a nice little manage
able county of less than 300 voters, and not more
than about 7,000 men, women, and children, scat-
tered over a district of some 23,000 acres. It is a
pleasant country—no railway comes too near. A
stage coach, however, may yet be seen at Midhurst,