The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-15 00:00:00

In May it was known the licence would cease and
determine—and when May arrived it did so cease
and determine. The monopoly so far is past and
*ten the
gone. There is an end of t
Coalition Whig-Peelite Ministry is constrained
'at last to forego the advocacy any longer
of the selfish interests of the Hudson's Bay mono-
polists. There is still the territory over which the
Hudson's Bay Company possesses, or rather claims
to possess, proprietary or quasi-proprietary rights
—the district, in fact, held under the Charter of
the Merry Monarch. In reference to that charter
negotiations are still pending between the trading
Company and the Imperial Government. We can
only hope that that monstrous charter will fol-
low the way already taken by the almost
equally monstrous; licence. But at any rate the
licence has expired, and, further than that, will
not be renewed, even under a Whig Administre.tion !
We will take that as a happy augury. Bit by bit
our hopes are being realised. North America, bit
by bit, is reverting to the Crown. New fields of
enterprise are opening up to our colonists. Along
the seaboard of British North America, both upon
the east and upon the west, upon the Pacific
and upon the Atlantic there are gigantic Colonial
possessions ruled by authorities delegated from the
Sovereign of these realms—here in Canada, here
in British Columbia : an empire carved out here by
the sword of General JAMES WOLFE, here by the
pen of Sir BULWER LYTTON. Between thaw two
extreme divisions of our territory in North Ame-
rica there extend Over many geographical degrees
the wide and fruitful regions hitherto abandoned
to the fur-trappers of the Hudson's Bay Company.
One solitary settlement alone has been created
hitherto by the Company at the centre of those vast
tracks of land—that known as the Red River Settle-
ment. Thither, from the east and from the west,
the civilising influences must now in due course
advance—whether the advance be slow or rapid
depends entirely upon the councils of her Britannic
MAJESTY'S Government. As to our hopes in this
respect under the Whig Coalition—much may
have been conjectured; a little may be
hoped, more may tr.: feared, in the way of
tleold official apathy, from an acknowledgment
mad? last evening towards the dose of the remarks
utt.ftd with a certain amount of frankness, by the
new 'Colonial Minister, the Duke of NEWCASTLE.
His Grace observed : "In the course of the noble
earl's speech he asked a question as to the encour-
ageoent that was to be given to the extension of
colonisation in the more southerly parts of the
Hudson's Bay licensed territory, and also of the
Hudson's Bay territory of this side Of the Rocky
Mountains. He did net think that it was for the
Colonial officeofth;::i country to take any decisive step
in favour of colonisation. All they could do was to
take care that no impediments should be thrown in
the way of those who wished to promote schemes
of colonisation. HP agreed with the noble earl
that a matter of great importance was the establish-
ment of communication between the boundaries of
, Canada on the one side and the boundaries of Van-
couver's Island on the other. He was aware that
a scheme had been brought forward for construct-
ing a railroad across the continent. He must say
that he did not look upon such a scheme as being at
all a. -visionary one, but he did not think that as yet
any plan had been produced of such a character as
ought to be taken up. Ho was aware of a minor
scheme to carry posts across the continent by
means of the lakes, and along the line indi-
cated by the noble earl ; and he would be most
anxious to give every encouragement to any
scheme that was likely to effect such an object.
He did not contemplate at present any exten-
sion of the postal subsidies, however, and collie,
not b at_ iciac CR) 1
ment to take up any scheme yet proposed fr ex_
tending the communication across the North Ame-
rican continent. At the same time he thriught this
was a matter of great national importance, and
therefore it would be his duty to g'Ave to it every
attention in his power." The meaning of all which
is, apparently, that the laissez all
ier system is again
intended to be carried out by
ie not rather say in re-
tarding Whig administra-
tors in regulating (might v-
tarding ?) the developme'at of our British North
American possessions. The duty devolves upon
Parliament, in that, case, of applying an increased
motive power to the sluggish machinery of the
Coalition Govern? rent.

Lord JOHN AUSSELL need not be "without in-
formation" an 7 r longer about the horrors of Peru-
gia. As usu Al, the knowledge of the public is
probably ver much in advance of the " official in-
formation ;" but we have now from a witness—a
sufferer— -and he, being an American, one who is
seekin
g compensation—which leaves no room what-
ever for doubt. The details, indeed, are such as
co- ald hardly have been invented by a DE FOE, and
writer even moderates some of the first ac-
counts of the destruction of life.

Let us see, then, what it is which the Head of
I half the Churches of Christendom rewards with
praise, and by conferring a General's rank on the
leader of the Papal banditti, if indeed banditti be
not a name they would disgrace. Amongst the
statements, which are only given as " universally
believed," we are told that the troops, bad as they
are, were not told of their destination till far on
their way—that they then mutinied—that the
" sack of Perugia" was the bribe to invite them to
proceed—that the French Government had offered
a band of real soldiers who would restore what is
called " order," but not disgrace humanity—and that
this was refused. But an order was issued "to
make an example of Perugia for the sake of other
cities," and to " decapitate the rebels." The writer
saw the order, and does not believe it was forged.
If it were, the troops acted as if it were not. The
American gentleman who writes had no idea that
the lives or property of neutrals could be in danger;
he, therefore, kept in his hotel, one chiefly fre-
quented by Americans and Englishmen, and one
whose landlord—who seems to have been a man of
the most unpolitical and quiet temperament—was
amongst the first of the murdered, and that in his
own house. The American was with him till
within a few minutes of his murder, and the poor
man's last act was to ascend the roof of his house
and warn off some boys who were likely to pelt
" the Tedeschi." There was not a shadow of a pre-
text for attacking his quiet hotel ; it was done
for pillage, for pillage and murder, and for this.
only. On descending the landlord closed the shut,
ters to prevent accidents, and he and his guests,
seeing what was going on, sought refuge in a
closet concealed f the
by the door being a part o
paper-hangiig of the room. The Americans -cs ere
saved by it t,'-om the first bloody fury of the
ruffians, so were the poor landlord's wife and
mother, but he wa,s butchered on his way to it—
they shot him on the landing and then despatched
him with their bayonets. Two servants below were
next murdered ; the American's servant saved
himself by springing at the soldier who was about
to bayonet him, exclaiming to him in French that
be was a Frenchman, at the same time hugging
him so closely as to pinion him.

..,Tlkey then forced the servant to discover the
retreaY ofit'lle American and the wciaen. They
were dragged out into the middle of the room, and