The Sun.
London, England, 1850-10-14 00:00:00

zation must continue liable to have their dw•e',

ling-houses broken open in the dead of the
night, and their very lives placed in peril
of assassination. The late melancholy catas-
trophe at Frimley has shown rather conspicuously
how the guilt of murder may arise out of the less
heinous crime of burglary. It is with a view, therefore,
not only to the well-ordering of society, but wish
a solicitude to witness the better conservation of the

lives and property of the unoffen ding members of the
community, that we here direct attention to the atro-
cities flowing from a shameful laxity of vigilance and
a most culpable insufficiency of punishment.
That such repeated outrages should be per-
petrated throughout a kingdom like this, in
an ;age like the present, under the ' vaunted
shield of a constitution like - our own,
is a circumstance surely fraught to ourselves with
shame and amazement. Where, in Heaven's name,
are those manifold advantages said to accrue to the
exiting generation from the adiancement of science
and' the general progress of civilization ? Where are
the benefits arising from the municipal police and the
couptyconStabulary ? Where .are,t he good results of
all those lines of railway, of ail those intricate threads
of the electric telegraph which intersect the pro-
vinces in almost every conceivable direction, rendering
our intelligence in a manner, so b Speak, endowed
with the mysterious power of übiquity ? Where
are all these and a thousand other so-called beneficial
consequences of the recent development of knowledge,
and of the extension of our experience—When we find
the houses of our peaceful citizens broken open again
and' again, their apartments ransacked, their plate and
jewels purloined, their private papers wantonly de-
stroSTed, and sometimes they themselves cruelly shot
doWn on their own hearths, or' most brutally blud-

geoned ? Nor must it be presumed by the unob-
servant that these thirgs take place alone in
the " rural districts, in places to some extent with-
drawn from the watchful care of a police maintained
with a cost and care so very considerable. Only a

--
week or so back, we had to record an outrage of this
character committed •in the very heart of this busy
metropolis, and that, moreover, not during the hours
of darkness, when an oversight in the police might
be pardonable, but actually during the hours .of ordi-
nary business. Nor is the case of Mr. CIIIIZTON, the
victim in question, strange though it be, so Singular
as 'to be unprecedented. Even since the recent
period when that gentleman was nearly strangled
by ' the ruffians, who carried away part of
his curious and valuable •property with such
consummate, and, we might almost call it, admirable
impudence, even within the last week we have had
occasion to notice a most daring highway robbery,
perpetrated in one of our most crowded thorough-
fares. Unhappily, however, it is unnecessary to.par-
ticularise individual instances of crimes of this cha-
racter, seeing that scarcely one broad sheet of a daily
newspaper can be published stithout some new record
of some additional offence of the description.
_The
question is, in short, not Are these crimes of frequent
occurrence ? but How can they be most effectually
suppressed ? • •
Various suggestions have been made as to the best
method of henceforth guarding against burglary both '
in town and country. One of the latest and most in-
genious is to the effect that recourse shall again be
had to the old plan of suspending an alarm• bell con-
spicuously on the outside of every secluded domicile
in such a way as to be in communication with the
different sleeping apartments. Robbers would no
doubt be deterred in many cAses by a precaution of this
simple nature ; yet, beyond this, other remedies, reme-
dies, too, of a more decisive kind, must be adopted by the
community, or otherwise the evil can never be ett=c-
tually eradicated. For the present we would brit fly
but most emphatically suggest, that in every instance
where the police can be shown to have been
grievously negligent, they may be visited with the
most severe and summary punishment. We cannot
call to recollection any instance in which the want of
activity and vigilance on the part of these so-termed
guardians of the public has been more glaringly dis-
played tbanthat which has been mentioned•by a provin •
cial contemporary as having within the last few days

occurred at Birmingham. Elsewhere will be found
the particulars of the murderous attack made on the 7th
inst. by a party of burglars on the person of Mr.
THOMAS MARSTON, a gold and silver beater of that
city. It will be seen from the detailed narrative of
the Birmingham Journal that, although the unfortu-
nate gentleman defended himself for a considerable
time with the utmost gallantry in a band-to-hand en-
counter with bis assailants, two or three policemen (one
of them a sergeant, and another a sub-inspector) stood
outside the front door of the premises, quietly looking
on and listening to the disturbance, while the robbers
bludgeoned Mr. MARSTON into a state of insensibility,
and then coolly made their escape unmole3ted. Any
evidence of stupidity comparable to this we cannot
call to recollection. There was the tradesman him-
self, shouting for aid as a man may be supposed to
shout when defending himself from the blows of as-
sassins, there were his daughter and a servant
screaming from one of the windows for assistance,there
were a sergeant and a sub-inspector of police listening
for a long while to their entreaties for their inter-
ference—and yet only effecting their entrance
when the street.door was opened for them on the in-
side, when Mr. MARSTON was found lying covered
with blood and in a state of insensibility on the stair-
case, and when the perpetrators of this murderous
outrage had adroitly absconded at their convenience.
Again we say, that one of the most effectual means
of preventing the continuance of this organized system
of burglary is the infliction of some punishment upon
the police whenever they are proved to have betrayed
a gross and culpable want of vigilance.

The only subjects of any importance now agitating
he political world in Ireland appear to be the enun-

ciation of the Catholic Bishops .in reference to the
proposed Catholic University, and the proceedings of

the Irish Tenant League. We shall for the present,
commit their right reverences to more pious bands,
and shall turn to what we conceive the mere impor-

cant subject—the Irish Landlord Question. We have
frequently through the' columns of this journal—
long before the formation of the Tenant League—
emphatically impressed on the Government the ne-
cessity of adjusting the relations between the land-
lords and tenants of Ireland by legal interposition.

We were unable to see any other means of

stemming the tide of crime and misery which

overflowed that wretched country in consequence oi

the state of land- law there ; we conceived there could
be no security for the life and property of the land-
lord till the tenant had &fixed, safe, and permanent

interest in the soil. Every day's experience convinces
us that we were right, and our exertions shall not
cease till we see this subject fairly and legally settled
with a due' consideration for the interests of all.

This question has lately, through the proceedings
of the Tenant League, occupied a considerable portion
of public attention at both sides of the channel. In
Ireland, particularly, it has been invested with a pe-
culiar interest from the novel confederation it has
produced—sects and classes, hitherto kept asunder by
religious prejudices, have formed a holy alliance upon
common ground. The Celt and the Saxon, the
Catholic, Protestant, and Presbyterian have united in
one solemn and peaceful league for the attainment of

legislation upon this subject.
With the propositions of the Irish Tenant League,
or the mode which they would prescribe for the legal
settlement of the question, we have at present nothing
to do, and shall content ourselves to-day wtil'a few
words as to the propriety, nay, the NECESSITY, of
legal interposition between the landlords and tenants
of Ireland.
Many who argue against legislation upon this sub-.
ject put forward strange and, to our minds, very un-
tenable doctrines; some say the law should not inter-

fere with solemn and voluntary contracts, but should
leave them to free competition. Now the most
superficial knowledge of, the laws of the land would
convince this class that such contracts have been fre-

quently the subjects of legislation. Though we deem
it scarcely necessary, yet we can refer to the Fac-
tories Bill, the Health of Towns Bill, the Truck Bill,
and various others where voluntary contracts have
beed interfered with. Others, again, not rash

enough to maintain this doctrine, adopt the
artifice of ingenious sophistry, and would
beg the question that land contracts differ
in some imaginary essence from all other contracts,
To these we would say, all tenures and contracts of
land are the creations of the law, and are subject to
the revision of• the power which made them, when-
ever social order or the public good require it. Is the
shield of the law to be thrown over the factory girl
and' the 'miner, and refused to the tiller of land in
Ireland ?
Others, still blinded to facts and the history of Irish
landlordism, say—Show us the NECESSITY for in •
terfering with the ancient usages and the established
laws on this subject.
The handwriting on the wall would, we fear, con-
vey no warning to such as these. Can they not read
the dread necessity in the most cruel evictions ? Can
they not see it in old roof-trees scattered to the
winds, and the wretched inmates sent to perish ley
the wayside? Can they not see it in the midnight
incendiary, who, in the reckless insanity of despair,
consigns house, life, and property to the flames ?
Can they not see the dire necessity for legislation on
this, point in the mid-day assassin,
broad light of heavenwho, in the
, with blood-stained hands,
sends his victim unprepared before his 'MAKER ?
Will they still leave the Irish land question to such
legislators as these ? If the hideous scenes of crime,
and cruelty, and blood, which have resulted from the
pret
la t
law,
or, perhaps more appropri-
ately, eland, will not convince such
persons of the NECESSITY of legislation, further argu-
ment with them would he
n 6ndAltoer do-fl al awnd in -
useless, for no reasoning
could convince.
One of the greatest organs of
public intelligence—
we will not say of public opinion—in this, or perhaps
in any other country, has frequently pealed forth its
thunders to obstruct the settlement of this question by
legal on• interpositt
• 'The first
argument advanced by
this organ was, in substance, this—that the tenure of
land in England and Ireland was the same, and was
not the subject of a trust in either country.
In reply to this we demonstrated that the landlords
in six counties of Ulster held their lands, not
for their own private benefit alone, but for the ad-
vantage. of the settlers upon. those lands also, and that,
legally, any violation of those conditions would
amount to a forfeiture of their estates. It next ad-
vanced the strange progpsition that yoluntary con-
tracts were beyond the province of the law. To this
we replied by fads and precedents. Driven from
these outposts, it then threw upon its adversaries
the onus to show the NECESSITY for legislation
upon land contracts. To this we think we have also
sa'isfectorily replied. What effect our reasoning
may have upon the mutations of the kaleide-
scope of Printing-house- square we cannot presume
to say ; but, perhaps, what our plain reasoning could
not effect will be accomplished by a few resent and
'intelligible hints from a higher quarter, and that in
the future consideration of this question we shall have
our contemporary as a powerful ally instead of a
dangerous adversary.
It has been frequently our pleasing duty to do jus-
tice to the ability with
which Lord CLARENDON
has' administered the affairs of Ireland. No Irish
Governor had ever more difficulties to encounter—no
statesman could have met those difficulties with more
firmness and wisdom ; his almost intuitive foresight
• enabled him to crush rebellion, without bloodshed,
and the extraordinary powers with which he was
entrusted by Parliament he exercised with a mode-
ration that does him honour. It would appear that
the NECESSITY, which some of our contemporaries
cannot see, has been fully recognised by this wise and
able statesman. In reply to a very temperate ad-
dress • from the " Ulster Tenant Right Provincial
Committee," his Excellency says, "That it would be
improper on his part to discuss the relations that
should subsist between landlord and tenant, As
TUE QUESTION WILL BE DROUGHT UNDER TUB
CONSIDERATION OF PARLIAMENT NEXT SESSION ; and
you may rest assured it is the earnest desire of her
MAJESTY'S Government to promote such an arrange-
ment as may be satisfactory to all parties concerned:,
His Excellency goes on to say that landlords and
,tenants are mutually dependent on each other, and that
their" interests are identified ; " but his Excellency
is convinced that IN IRELAND, AS ELSEWHERE, respect
for the rights of property will be found perfectly
compatible with that SECURITY AND CONFIDENCE

upon which the PROFITABLE INVESTMENT OF CAPITAL

MUST DEPEND.'

Such is the emphatic and significant language of
one of the best and wisest statesmen that ever ruled
the destinies of Ireland, and we trust it will for ever
silence the twaddle about the " sacred rights of pro-
perty," the " inviolability of voluntary contracts,',
&c. &c., and that henceforward those who have con-
trol over that mighty engine for good or ill—the
public press—will exercise their power for the attain-
ment of that most desirable end, the rendering life and
property really sacred, by procuring for the occupier
of the soil a fixed, secure, and equitable interest.

'THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris papers of Saturday
and yesterday.
They are filled with reports of what passed at the
sitting of the Commission of Permanence, but these
reports are RO contradictory that it is almost impos-
sible to believe that all the journals are speaking of
the same occurrence. For instance, the Journal des
Debats, in speaking of the proceedings of Friday,
says :- _ _ .

•' The Commission met to-day, M. Dupin in the chair.
All the members who took part in the meeting (f TU43-
day last were present, as also AM. Mole and Berryer.
The Commission heard the accounts of the review. It
apt:of ared struck by certain manifestations which took
place after the example given by some officers. It is
said to have expressed much astonishment that the Mi-
nister of War did nothing to prevent such manifestations,
and which he himself had censured at the last meeting
of the Commission. The Commission adjourned to the
next day to resume their deliberations.
On the other hand the Constitutionnel declares :

" We can assure our readers that no Minister was re-
quired by the Commission of the National Assembly to
give explanations about the review. The Commission did
not see in what passed at Sartoiy anything which called
for the extraordinary and immediate convocation of the
National Assembly."

Whilst the National reports that—
" The Commission, dccidtd, after an animated discus
sion, that the accounts given by the members should be
inserted in the minutes for the information of the As-
sembly. The Commission, moreover, adopted a resolu-
tion to the effect that it saw with pleasure the calm and
s
yeopa
thatisxful
hsecbtuoni
the
tsriteeieec
tddeacaat
obntavblmi
blamed
umimtirdht
yeaheiednue
ion
commanding
nxpngadcirl
someseem:
smdeffil
eoeernesneptacetol
esorfusrt
osrehv
vrfedee
trsbfi
ienyodcetnebbocstneeoymtar tmetrafilifsonasfuti
officers
fi,
ent
,icßaorgnneer dss:
followd
th e troops,
their
own
resist all attempts; and it therefore thought proper to
do no more than merely note in writing the facts that
had occurred and the impression produced by them."
In seeking to form a fair judgment from the compari-
son with each other of these contradictory reports, we
must bear in mind one important fact, the existence of
which is scarcely compatible with the accuracy of the
report of the Constitutionnel—the Committee, after
sitting for some hours, adjourned to the next day. If
the report of the Constitutionnel be correct, it is
scarcely possible .to imagine what necessity there
could have been for any adjournment.
It appears that at the meeting of the Corn-
mittee, they refused to confirm the minutes
of the proceedings of the former sitting, which
had been drawn up by M. LEON FAUCHER, and which
softened down the nature of the explanations demanded
of General D'HaurrouL. Having referred back
these minutes for correction, the Committee resolved
that the accounts given by its different members of
what each had observed at the review should be in-
scribed in the prods verbal, for the inforniation of
the Assembly. During the course of the discussion
attention was drawn to the circumstance that Colonel
DE MONTALAMBERT, the brother of the Comte DE
MONTALEMDERT, the Jesuit orator of the Assembly,
bad made himself most conspicuous by shouting
" Vive l'Empereur," in which he was, it is said, en-
couraged by Colonel EDGAR NET, aide-de-camp of
the PRESIDENT.
After a great deal of discussion the Committee ad-
journed to Saturday, and, on their re-assembling on
that day, the following vote of censure on General
bllauTeouL, the Minister of War, was agreed to, the
Count Dann being the only member of the Committee
who' opposed it :—" The Committee considers it its
duty to record in its procas verbal the disapprobation
twohiicthat its
tssittingattaches of yesterday, to theefearcdayts,hy the memberswhich
of the Committee who were present at the
review which took place on Thursday on the plain
of Batory. It also disapproves of the acts of
encouragement which produced these manifestations,
and the absence of all repression of the acts com-
plained of, notwithstanding the warnings given to the
Minister of War, and the promises made by him on
that subject to the Commission, to the effect that he
would enforce the observance of the rules of military
service and maintain the discipline of the army.
Nevertheless, the Committee, considering the general
attitude of the troops, who only yielded, and that to a
very limited extent, and by a spirit of obedience to the
illegal encouragement and provocations of some of
their leaders at the moment of the defiling, is of opi-
nion that there is no occasion to convoke the Legisla-
tive Assembly at the present moment, and adjourns
tid the next meeting."
The Bulletin de Paris of yesterday denies that
Colonel NET, aide• de- camp of the PRESIDENT of the
Republic, encouraged the officers to shout " Vive
l'Empereur !" and " Vire Napoleon !" on the con-
trary, he tried, but in vain, to prevent them.
The Patrie has long been hesitating between Bona-
partism and Legitimacy ' • it has at length declared
for the former, and all the Legitimatist editors have in
consequence quitted it.
The Moniteur publishes a decree of the PRESIDENT
of the Republic, reducing the export duty on cast iron
from 25c. to lc. the 100 kilogramme!.
The same official journal publishes a second decree
of the PRESIDENT of the Republic, appointing Ad-
miral MONTAGNES DE LA ROQUE to the command of
the fleet in the Levant, in the place of Admiral Tan-
HOURT, whose period of service has expired.
The Moniteur publishei a notice from the Minister
of Commerce, announcing that in future no cigars can
be imported by foreigners residing in France without
a special permission from the Minister.
The Five per Cents. were quoted in the Passage de

I'Opera at 91T. 70c.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK 'EXCHANGE, OCT. 12.
Namur and Liege, 8— Orleans and Bordeaux, 2.5i—
Sambre and Meuse, 234.