The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-16 00:00:00

lay its hands ; not only has the old resource of loans
been freely used, but when the bank enlarged its capi-
tal the Treasury directly pocketed £4,000,000 of it ;
again it bagged five millions and a half sterling, by
laying its hands on the army dotation fund ; no
money came amiss to meet the demands of these
truly "extraordinary" credits; even a new species
of loan was invented, called the obligations ken-
tenair es, by which also the prodigals contrived to
raise about another five and a half-millions
sterling. This splendid Governmental ex-
travagance, accompanied by not much bet-
ter thrift municipally and in private life,
could not have lasted much longer, let the har-
vest have been as good as it might. But happily'
we believe, for France, as the potato rot for
Ireland, the seasons came in to hasten
the winding up of the folly. The system,
if such extravagance can be so called, must have
come to an end of itself; but when a deficiency of
food and of trade came upon such a course of
national improvidence, there was nothing for it
but to draw in or be drawn down.

At the same time, it will be universally acknow-
ledged that the EMPEROR has done a manly thing.
He has turned on all who may charge him with
inconsistency, as the late Sir JAMES GRAHAM
did in the late corn law debate, when per-
scented with quotations from his published opinions,
—saying "I've changed my mind, and there's an
end on't"—we confess we look upon the man with
some respect who feels himself strong enough to
say so. Better, of course, never to err ; but since
we all of us are pretty conscious of sharing largely
in that human tendency, we all like Letter the
manliness which owns an error, than the evasions
and excuses which are often proferred to make
the best of it. Only—to a magnanimous confession
of error, like that of Sir ROBERT PEEL, or of Sir
JAMES GRAHAM, the essential thing is sincere
and thorough adherence to the new policy. If the
Emperor of FRANCE will now pursue the policy
which his new financial proposals demand, if he
cease to maintain armaments perfectly useless, ex-
cept to compel others to do the same, if he thus
enable us to diminish our war expenditure, and
relieve us from the accursed income tax, he may be
quite sure of creating very different sentiments in
this country to those which now axists towards
him. We shall test the value, therefore, of
his present act by Mr. GLADSTONE'S next budget.
We have a Chancellor of the Exchequer who is
certaily quite as hostile to reckless expenditure as
M. FOULD can be ; and if we have not a bad har-
vest here, we have a people smarting under the
most odious, because most inquisitive and unjust of
war taxes, solely because we do not choose to lie at
the mercy of France. England would soon follow
France in reduction of expenditure, and much more
willingly than she did in its increase.

niE WEATHER.—SIIN OFFICE, NOVEMBER 16, 1861.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
41—kighest since noon yesterday.
26—lowest this morning and during the night. The
coldest day yet.
31—this day at noon.
BARomirrzu--29.62 ; rising.
WlND—North-Westerly; light, with fine weather, but
bitterly frosty. Last night was the coldest this season.

In consequence, we presume, of the lamented
indisposition of the venerable President of the
Law Amendment Society, the annual series of
meetings of that learned and laborious association
was inaugurated, on Monday last, by the pre-
sent Solicitor-General, and not, as hitherto, by
the noble and learned ex-Chancellor. Lord
BROUGHAM having already taken his departure
from our shores, in search of health and repose
at his southern residence near Cannes, Sir
ROUNDELL PALMER undertook to discharge, in
his Lordship's stead, the responsible duties of
ai
England will understands, if France does not, areh an
of no. Those
rdiar
that there is but one means to effect a large reduc- merely the customary pro forma duties of a chair-
tion of expenditure—reduction of naval and mill- man of a public meeting. They necessitate, in
Crmon duties,
character.
it will b
They e remembered,
aren not
rary votes. In India and at home the budget for' the first instance, a capacity on the part of the
the year has had our defensive establishments for acting President of the Association to take a
its barometer. We do not deny that the miscel-
comprehensive survey of recent law reforms, to
laneons expenses have increased considerably, but give a lucid digest of the changes for the better
they have, for the most part, given us a quid pro brought about in that way during the late session
quo. The cost of army and navy is, on the con- of Parliament, and, above all, to epitomise clearly
trary, merely so much paid for insurance against risks and succinctly those other ameliorations or mo-
-better to pay it than run the risk, of course : but difications of the law, as it is, that the Society
risks, and prevention of risks, are unproductive. proposes to itself to advocate in the shape of prac-
If an Irish Encumbered Estates Court, or national tical amendments. Happily for the general inte-
education, cost us something, or even a packet or a rests of the community at large, and for the espe-
telegraph, we still have some permanent return in cial interests of the Law Amendment Association
the benefit to trade or social morals the itself, the Solicitor-General proved himself emi-
army and navy we expect nothing from, but nently well qualified for the task devolved upon
to prevent our neighbours from breaking into him by the absence of Lord BROUGHAM. His intro-
our house. When the Duke of WELLINGTON de- ductory remarks on Monday evening were every-
termined on economy, it was at the Horse Guards thing that could have been wished. Nothing
he began, and he could safely do it, for no "EM- could very well have been more inspiriting, in its
PEROR" was at the mercy of his own fickle temper, way, than Sir ROUNDELL PALMER'S insisting, at
and the still more fickle temper of the peasantry the very commencement of his address, that the
and army of France. When Indian finance must time had surely now arrived when " a greater
Ibe righted at any cost, neither Mr. WILSON nor amount of the Society's attention should be directed
1 i Mr. LAING could do anything without reducing the to the amendment of defects in the substance of the
army, and this process has already almost brought law than had hitherto been given to that part of the
about a balanced account. But no mighty military subject." Nay, further, said the hon. and learned
I neighbour looms like a thunder cloud on the horizon gentleman—" No one could help feeling that the
of India.
law was unsystematic, and that in many respects it
Possibly the French Government understands was productive of injustice." In proof of which he
this quite as well as we do. There are, indeed, remarked at once as about the aptest "case in
indications that M. FOULD does so, though he may point" that could be particularized, that "There
not speak too openly. The French army and was a pretty general agreement amongst that
II
navy will, however, be the test of Louis branch of the profession to which he belonged that
NAPOLEON'S sincerity. He can, in a few it was in the highest degree desirable to simplify
years, have a full Exchequer, if he only re- land transfers and land titles. But," he added,
nounce his ambition of military predominance. "he for one felt that there was a little disposition
M. FOULD suggests to him the truth when to shut our eyes to the inherent difficulties of the
he hints that his financial policy compelled object. It might be desirable that the transfer of
all Europe to arms ; of course he meant that the land should take place with the same facility as the
extravagance he proposed to check was mili- transfer of stock; but then it was not desirable that
tart' extravagance. If the Budget was only to be one man should have an easy mode of selling the
founded on estimates not to be exceeded, but if property of another man." And so in regard to
these estimates were to be as large as the sums titles. "If," said the:Solicitor-General, "any sys-
hitherto voted, and the supplementary credits com- tem of clearing them by Parliamentary process
bined, this so far from relieving the Exchequer, or could be devised without injury to anyone, he
from quieting the just apprehensions of Europe, should be ready to apply it to any extent. He did
would still require new taxes or loans for the not think," he added, " any scheme which would
former, and compel the latter to keep up as large lessen the dominion of the owner over his property,
armaments as ever. Nothing worth doing is done, or which would make it less valuable for useful
till the core of the evil is reached—and that is the purposes, would be acceptable to the possessors of
ambition of France—for it is the country which land, and he doubted if it would conduce to the
makes its EMPEROR—to speak with authority over prosperity of the country." All which is, of course,
Southern and Central Europe. Could we but be perfectly judicious in its way—conspicuously wise,
sure of the temper of France, and, therefore, cautious, and temperate. But the intimation of all
of that of her ruler, we could as easily return to this by the second law officer of the Crown, was so
twenty millions for defensive insurance, as we far unsatisfactory under the circumstances that it
once were content with little more than half that indicated, as plainly as possible, that the Govern-
sum. France and her EMPEROR are solely respon- ment has no intention whatever—at any rate
sible to the taxpayers of England for inflicting on as yet—of introducing any measure at all upon the
them the burden of an income tax. Her army and subject referred to. Indeed, the Solicitor-General
her navy together we hold to be nothing less than acknowledged (rather superfluously, we cannot but
a defiant outrage on this country. We have never think) what any one might have predicated without
had an army large enough to render our navy for- his acknowledgment—that if the Government had
midable to the shores of France. France could any intention whatever of the kind he, at least, was
spare an army large enough to occupy an English ignorant of it ! Observing at the same time, that if
county,
and persists in having a navy fully equipped he were entrusted with such a measure, in his
to transport it and
protect its landing. We think capacity as Solicitor-General, he should certainly
y deserves to be characterised by epithets endeavour to give it effect. Very earnestly do we
we do not care to bestow upon .
tit is about to be reversed.
slow to proceed pari passu in disarmament
in-
threatener of her shores; and if such be really
case, we shall then, and then only, look on the
commercial treaty as an honest shakingwil
hands. tart'
ttiacruylasrelyssioanfterf this assurance volunteered by Sir
th theh ROUNDELL PALMER; while presiding ever the
the a.uguration meeting of the Law Amendment Society,
the autumn of 1861, that when the parliamen-
utT2wsihllalnlohtavaellofawirltyhecommmatetnercetdo,
The finances of France had, indeed, got almost Sir Huou Co
into the last difficulty—in ten years M. FouLD remain any longer neglecthd, by reason of the u. n-
perial spendthrift that he has made away accountable apathy of the present do-nothing
with
s thei:l 1 Imperial
000,000 sterling by extraordinary credits; Administration.
that to raise that amount he has seized on every As to the necessity there is for
sfuorlitchierr.imopernoevreai
Accumulation of money on which the State could ments in the Law of Patents, the to

THE SUN.
LONDON, SATURDAY, NOV. 16, 1861.

. „
.47 f'l6o4lllr
t tom'
'-4:14;147: -;110 1-
_ -
" .iliai7,;92';‘• it r• ,
_ utoll,l,