The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-27 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JULY 27, 1868.

RailAN AFFAIRS.

(From the CorreiTondent of the TVestminster Gazette)
ROME, July 18.

The absence of a call on the temporal powers
to be represented at the forthcoming Council,
to which I drew your attention when speak-
ing of the Bull iEterni Patris two weeks ago,
has excited a clamour of comments in the jour-
nals and assemblies of Europe ; and those who
have long protested against the interference
of the Holy See with secular Governments,
now, after the manner of " the children in
the market-place," heap torrents of abuse on
it because it composes its deliberative assem-
bly of the spiritual element alone. Captious
and contradictory charges are no new weapon
in the onslaughts of the world on the Church ;
in this instance their use is singularly ill-
advised. In abstaining from summoning the
princes of the world to take part in its deli-
berations, the Holy See has proved its posses-
sion of the capacity, what it is so often re-
proached with wanting, to take the measure of
the altered circumstances of the age. In this
day of Constitutional Governments, of what
avail would be the intervention of any sove-
reign ? Whatever opinions lie might express
or agree to, would his vote bind any section
of his subjects ? And if it be urged that the
Government should be represented by some
accredited Minister, it must be asked again,
what figure would be cut in an ecclesiastical
assembly by statesmen who have repudiated
the first principles of church government, and
are ignorant of the first data of the catechism ?
Not to dwell on the higher ground—the pro-
mised assistance of the Holy Spirit to the acts
of His Vicegerent—the wisdom and prudence
of the arrangement must be apparent_ to all
who consider the altered relations throughout
the world between men and their rulers.
Would the Emperor of Austria be satisfied
to occupy a lower place at the Council than
his predecessor at the Council of Trent ?- Yet,
since at the instigation of Napoleon the title of
Roman Emperor has been relinquished, the
very raison d'Lire of Austria, which was to
represent the Holy Roman Empire, has been
surrendered. Or, would the Emperor of the
French be very well pleased to see himself
placed side by side with Juarez, red-handed
with the blood of his " brother " Maximilian ?
Or would the holder of any of the ancient
thrones of Europe like to be elbowed by the
Presidents of the various American Republics ?
Yet Presidents of Republics would surely,
claim a place next to constitutional mon-
archs. And what would become of Victor
Emmanuel ? Could he expect to be summoned
as King of Italy, when Rome knows him not
as such ? and even if an entrance were found
for him anyhow, how could he bear to face the
Pontiff King, of the fifteen usurped provinces?
Anyhow, temporal sovereigns have no right in
the Council, except as representing their
people, but princes, whose political creed is that
all religions are the same in the eye of the
State, cannot be said to be fair representatives
of their Catholic subjects, particularly in an
assembly which is called to deliberate, among
other matters, on the means with which toe'
redress the impiety of civil legislation. And
if the supreme rulers would be out of place in
an assembly of Cardinals in the Vatican, how
much more so would be their ambassadors !
Imagine M. de Persigny or Baron Beust, for
instance, under such circumstances, or an envoy
from Victor Emmanuel ! A man who knows
something about Italy, observed, facetiously,
the othe;day, "If I had a place in the Coun-
cil, and I saw any Italian placemen come into
the assembly, I should immediately secure my
pockets, and advise others to do the same."
Many journals have been drawing out wild
deductions from the circumstance of the mar-
riage of the Conte di Girgenti and the Infanta
of Spain, attaching a great deal of importance
to the consequences the union may have to the
advantage of the House of Bourbon and to
the detriment of other dynasties. It is not
difficult, however, to see the many reasons
which confine the choice of the houses of
Naples and Parma to members of their own
family, and, apart from this, circumstances
have been brought to my knowledge which
show that the present case was ruled more
by private than by State reasons. The Queen
of Spain had, in the first instance, asked the
hand of the Duke of Caserta for the Infanta,
having been strongly advised thereto by Don
Sebastian, who, while at one time receiving the
hospitality of the Naples family, had had op-
portunities of knowing the Duke. But the
Duke of Caserta had' just before sought the
hand of the daughter of Count Trapani, and,
besides, it would not have been to his taste to
settle in Spain. Francis 11. then proposed the
Count de Girgenti, then serving in the Austrian
army, in his stead. The Count objected at first,
as he was too fond of his military career to wish
to settle down at once in a comparatively in-
active life His objections were, however, over-
ruled, and he consented to go to Spain. The
Infanta won his heart on their first acquaint-
ance, and he became shortly after so anxious to
hurry on the marriage that it became necessary
to arrange a long travelling programme for
them, in order to give time for preparing their
future residence at Madrid. Here, in Rome,
the young Princess has charmed every one by
her affability, no less than by her piety: In
a few days more they will leave fora tour in
Austria and France. The Isabella 11. is lying
at Civita Vecchia waiting their orders for the
journey. The Count is anxious to present his
bride to the Empress Francis Joseph, and the
Emperor Napoleon has invited them to visit
him in Paris.
Baron Meysenburg has left Rome, much
distressed by the conduct of his Government,
yet not without hope of an improvement. Ad-
vices from Vienna, indeed, affirm that Baron
Beust is on the eve of a fall, which would, of
course, greatly change the face of affairs. The
laws lately passed would probably not be re-
scinded, but their admimstraticin would be
sensibly modified, and Baron Meysenburg
would come back to Rome in the character of
ambassador.
Commendatore Visconti, who has lately re-
ceived from the Pope the title of Baron in
token of his appreciation of his great success
in the cause of archaeology, has just added
another to his many successful excavations,
having laid bare an altar of Hercules in the
Via de' Pettinari. While on the subject of
the Pope's patronage of art, I may mention a
visit he paid on Tuesday to the studio of M.
Ewell Lafont, a French artist, who is at work
on a large picture of the Battle of Mentana.
He was much interested in the composition,
and spent a considerable time making out
likenesses and points of interest. Observing
Soracte in the far distance, he began reciting
the lines from Horace, " Candidum Soracte,"
&c. He recognized General Kanzler at once,
and General Polhes, and did not forget to
make sure that the young Duke of Caserta
was in hi* due place. Then he pointed out
Colonel Allet, and then observing De Charette,
he exclaimed—" Ah ! there is my brave De
Charette, and to think that, of all false things,
men should say that lie Las left us !" As a
further deweti to this charge to which I have
already alluded, Baron de Charette has written
an outspoken contradiction to it in a letter to
the editor of the Journal de Paris, in which
lie expressed his intention of beine• back in
Rome by the 17th inst--an intenti7bn which
has been already fulfilled.
News from beyond the frontier continues
menacing ; all the preparations for another
Garibaldian invasion are going on the same as
last year; recruits enlisted, sinister-visaged
parties, provided with suspiciously faultless
passports, hovering round the troops in every
disguise. Thus, several vendors of lemonade
were taken up in the neighbourhood of the
camp the other day, charged with tempting
men to desert ; while pretended deserters from
the Italian army apply day by day for admis-
sion into the Pontifical ranks, where they
would have better opportunity for carrying on
their game. The Italian Government remains
perfectly passive. If it had the will, it would
not have the power, to cthitrol matters. Among

"7_ \

its own functionaries, and in high places, too,
are men sold to the Mazzinian sect, and ready
to risk all to procure its triumph.
We have had a tridico for fair weather, since
which the rain has nearly left us, and the tem-
perature is now delightful. This improvement
has been gladly hailed in the camp, and, if it
continues, General de Courten will take down
his brigade, composed of Zouaves, cacciatori
nostrali, dragoons, artillerymen and engineers,
on the 23rd.

A late visitor to the camp, in a long and
very interesting letter to the editor of the
Osservatore, confirms all I had previously told
you of the good spirit of the troops, and the
benefit of the essay of camp-life to them. "It
was impossible to pass through the lines," he
writes, " and not be struck, both with the
admirable forethought of its promoters and
directors, no less than with the discipline and.
harmony prevailing among the men, and which
is, indeed, the most valuable ornament of this
military city. . . . . The larger tents are
conical, according to the French system, the
smaller ones are made with two slopes, but
appear very solid. The hospital is an airy and
spacious wooden erection, thatched with straw.
The few sick (on the day of my visit twenty.
seven out of 4,500) receive every care." Speak-
ing of the damage done by the weather, he
explains that it has been less than might have
been expected, owing to the nature of the
ground ; the floods permeate through the vol-
canic scoria,. ; are carried away by skilfully
adjusted pipes, and leave the soil dry within a
very short time of the storm. He further re-
marks on the readiness of the men to adapt
themselves to their new life, apparent from
their happy expedients for supplying defi-
ciencies of all sorts, from their ingenious de-
fences, and tasteful ornamenting of their dwel-
lings. Finally, he disposes of the stories of
desertions by the hundred, in which the Italian
papers indulge, by stating that the result of
his investigations makes the whole number
forty-three, and that these were men accepted,
without due investigation into their character
and intentions, in the midst of the anxieties of
last year's campaign ; that they were all Swiss,
Germans and French—not one single Roman
or Italian among them.
An intrepid lady-aeronaut has been exciting
• a good deal of notice lately. She went up last
Saturday evening from a garden in the Quattro
Fontane-street. The balloon rose very slowly
at first, so that she was able to scatter some
flowers on the people assembled to witness the
ascent. Its course was watched with much
interest, and many people drove behind her
carriage, which went out to meet her at the
Tavolata, a few miles outside Porta S. Gio-
vanni, where the descent was accomplished
very successfully. she makes another ascent
this evening.
Cardinal de Angelis is about to return to
his diocese of Fermo. The Pope has conferred
on him the title and stipend of Camerlingo,
without requiring residence in Rome, in order
to make some compensation to the diocese for
the spoliation of the Piedmontese.
There was a procession on Sunday, which
I do not remember to have seen before, in
honour of the Precious Blood. A relic of the
True Cross was carried under a canopy by
Mgr. de Merode, lights being borne before, and
a party of Zouaves acting as guard of honour.
Itfa
startedrasthe from
Ge
S.saNicolo in Carcere, and went
as
passing back by the Ara
Ceeli.
A fresh detachment of Canadian Zouaves
has arrived. They kept the day of S. John
Baptist, patron of Canada, with festive honour.
Mr. Larrogue, who had arrived home the day
before, made them a spirited address on the
nature of their undertaking, and the temper
of the troops they were about to join. He
excused himself from speaking at greater
length by his weak health, his Mentara wound
still requiring him to carry his arm in a sling.

THE CREDIT FONCIER OF ENGLAND.

(From the Anglo-American Times.)

The Second Report of the Credit Foncier of
England, which carried its operations to the 30th
Sept., 1865, signed by the Right Hon. STUART
WORTLEY, and Messrs. JAMES LEVICK and J. N.
DANIELL, is one these gentlemen must look back
to with pleasure. The delightful anticipation which
must have characterized those to whom we owe that
document has surely left to them an agreeable souvenir,
and should they see our remarks they may recall
the charming remembrance. The directors say
the first object they had•in view was the declaration
of such a dividend as might be permanently main 7
tained, which they fixed at a niiiiinuon of 20 per
cent., establishing a fund to insure its mainte-
nance, and render the shares of the company " a
safe and highly desirable investment." Yet this
represents but half the dividend then proclaimed,
for a bonus at the same rate was added. They
recall with scarcely less satisfaction the opinions to
which they hat committed themselves in correcting
those enunciated by stupid people about disaster to
the commercial world from the close of the American
War. The complacency with which they show they
were correct we hope has not been damped by their
after knowledge, and we trust their prophecies now
furnish them with as much comfort and pride as
they then experienced. The figures are next given,
whereon they distribute the dividend at the rate of 40
per cent. to the proprietors, as in the previous half-
year,BoBowsht l ea carryingreshlt
naturally consider will be
they to the other funds a balance of
alike gratifying to all. It is discovered that the
capital is inadequate for the grandeur of the under-
taking, and much valuable business had been daily
declined. This is the first well-put bait in the trap
destined to capture gulls innumerable. That subject
is then cleverly dropped, and the unfounded reports
regarding the company taken up.
" In utter dis-
kdireclytors, pehowever, are more
dis-
regard of facts, rarely, if ever, has
aspersed, e
any commercial
so unwar-
rantably
associati oanssbaeielend7 recless
the
than consoled by the reflection that rarely, if ever,
has a company achieved so remarkable a success."
But they only suffer in common with the other new
and great forms of enterprise, being one of the i
first to introduce the principle of joint-stock
finance ; and they proudly add, that the balance-
sheet presented to the shareholders affords the best
answer to these aspersions. At this point the skil-
ful writer saw doubts arising in his reader's mind ;
balance-sheets may represent any return by merely
over-rating the value of the assets, and this ghost
' is at once laid. First comes the assertion that the
directors have in all cases made ample allowance
' for every contingency. Next, that to place the posi-
tion fairly and without exaggeration before
the shareholders, in every instance the assets
have been valued below the lowest market
price ; and- the paragraph winds up with the " fact"
that the investments are of that sound character,
I and the affairs such that, if necesserf,
the company
could be immediately wound up by the distribution
among the shareholders of £8 10s. per share, on
• which £5 hail been paid. Having thus clinched
that matter, having discussed the past and present
of the company, the directors then " place on re-
cord their deliberate opinion and conviction that
this company is destined in a very short period to
take a foremost place among the leading monetary
institutions of the country." Now, ag tin, our skil-
ful writer reverts to the subject upp2rmost in his
mind—" All concerned will learn with satis-
faction the determination of the Board to in-
crease the capital to the full amount autle)'-
rized by the Articles of Association." One
hundred thousand new shares are to be issued
As a prise to the present shareholders ; the propor-
tion is allowed to them of one pew share for every
two shares then held, at a preininni on each of
£2 103. ; the remaining 50,000 to be offered to the
general public at a premium of £3 10s. per share,
the shareholders being allowed to buy at the in-
creased premium with the general The
directors find it incumbent to explain why they
admit any of the outside public into this pro-
fitable concern, but " they are so impressed with
the importance of increasing the area of influ-
ence, second only to capital, that they feel confident
the shareholders will approve of their admitting the
public to a participation in this issue." They then

go on to prove the immense benefit to be derived
from the liberal terms offered, and they show that
the shareholders practically receive a bonds of £1
on each share they subscribe for by getting the
shares at £2 10s. premium, independent of the pro-
bable rise so sure to ensue. With the new capital
the directors will be in a position to meet the exi-
gencies of any business, and they intend to increase
out of future profits the dividend reserve fund to
£200,000, in accordance with the plan annoanced
in last report, to have in hand a year's dividend of
20 per cent., which they believe will make their
shares a2O per cent. stock. Finally, in accordance
with their custom for the information of their share-
holders, the directors give their opinion of the pro-
bablevalueof money during the next half yehr. They
find certain trades giving signs of increase] activity,
various branches of coamerce,, stagnant during
the American war, are reviving. They hold that
the Bank rate cannot go below five per cent.,
though " the soundness of trade and general pros-
perity of the country " make it equally doubtful
whether the value of money will continue to main-
tain its present high rate. This is dated October
12, 18(35, therefore the six months brought the
reader to April 12, 1866. Let us give these finan-
cial.snthusiasts and monetary prophets the benefit
of an extra month i❑ which to realize the delight-
ful anticipations grounded on " the soundness of
trade and general prosperity of the country." On
the 11th May the City is alive with business men ;
at least men in a hurry—although hurry can avail
little—considering that every lane in the Golden
Circle is so crammed that it is by no means easy
to elbow a way through. This new financial busi-
ness had reached its climax,—its legitimate result.
However recklessly the Credit Foncier had been
aspersed, the broad fact has struck home to
the heart of England, that a variety of other com-
panies were, in truth, vile :swindles, which would
have been crushed beneath the heel of a paternal
Government. On all sides shatters were going up,
and though two years have elapsed men now are
not surprised at that frenzy of alarm, but beyond
measure astonished that they could have accepted
such reports, and suffere I themselves to be led into
such a fool's paradise. Alas ! how fearful has been
their punishment; and it will be -an interesting
history that tells the full results of the new financing
these directors so proudly claimed as theirs. The
Credit Foncier asserts that it had been unwarrant-
ably assailed, and a better time to prove it cannot
be given than the present. Its assailants pro-
nounced its securities rubbish, its system of busi-
ness false, its accounts wholly unreliable. They
declared that but for the enormous sums drawn

from the public by the successful issue of the new
shares at the £3 10s. premium, it would in the
panic have collapsed ; and they even say that had
it not been for after calls, in spite of this timely in-
crease, it could not have continued to exist. Let
any one compare the report on which we now com-
ment with that just issued, and say whether the
reckless assertions or the unwarrantable statements
were on the part of the assailants or on
that of the directors. It is unfair to give all
the credit to the Governor and the Deputy-
governors, whose names wind up the precious docu-
ment before us. ALBERT GRANT, Esq., M.P.,
every one knew to be the managing director and
the ruling spirit, the titled, the.decorated of foreign
Princes, the regenerator of continental cities, the
grand scavenger of Brussels, &c., &C.