The Sun.
London, England, 1850-07-16 00:00:00

01111111 M Pititt

LONDON, TUESDAY, JULY 16, 1850.

The Protectionist journals are uttering joyous
paeans in consequence of a supposed reaction in
favour of the obsolete principles of monopoly. Ac-
cording to our contemporaries Ireland is the chief
scene of the retrograde movement, and they rely on
the late election for Cork city, and the forthcoming
election for the county Mayo, in which Mr. BUTT,
the eminent Irish Queen's Counsel, is said to be cer-
tain of success, as affording abundant evidence of the
accuracy of their statements.
At the time of the Cork election we fully and
clearly explained the causes that led to the return of
Colonel CIIATTERTON. They were altogether of a
personal, and not of a political nature.
The private character of the. Gallant Colonel was as
popular as his public opinions were distasteful
to the constituency. His family had for many years
been resident in the immediate neighbourhood of the
city, and when he himself retired from the service in
which he bad attained so distinguished a position, he
entered on the occupation of the family mansion.
During the fearful and trying scenes that followed
the mysterious disease which destroyed the food of
nine-tenths of the people, the Honourable and Gallant
Officer maintained the post on which he had entered,
and contended as boldly against the famine and ac-
companying pestilence as he had formerly done
against the enemies of his country. He faithfully
discharged the dteies of a resident gentleman,
and did much to alleviate the sorrows and
sniti t.
~..the sufferings of his unfortunate
tighbOitas. Gls
.had also another claim, which
igord4 hi no-ordinary assistance in his canvass.
bYetbr#4 acithe mystic tie" muster in consider-
-014 quarters 41,11 e " beautiful city," and perhaps in
part of the ere are the obligations of Masonry
jor4eatii;o4isated ; each member of the Order
".
,illt,'N'tniikres° say is, at all times ready to
'sot " his brethren in evszty. emergency.
, ant Colonel at that pariod occupied I
"try high rank in th 9 Orin'—no lass, we believe, 1'

than Proviac=and Master for South Munster,
and he thus obtained very many votes which might
otherwise have been recorded in favour of his op
ponent.
But these advantages, important as they un-
questionably were, would still have been
insufficient to have placed Colonel CHATTERTON
at the head of the poll, had it not been for the unfor-
tunate division that occurred among the Liberal party.
Had Sergeant Mußear been a candidate the result
would have been very different. The Learned Ser-
geant was an especial favourite with all classes in
his native city, where his family had long deservedly
maintained the highest character. During the time
he represented Cork he had won golden opinions
from all sorts of men, and there was an universal
feeling of regret when he resigned the trust he had
so faithfully and efficiently discharged into the hands
of those by whom he was selected. It is enough to
say, that his successor did not give equal satisfac-
tion. It was said that he did not bestow
very great attention on the local and commercial
questions about which the citizens of Cork felt deep
interest, and that he did not respond so promptly to
the various communications addressed to him by his
constituents as Sergeant MURPHY was accustomed
to do. It is certain that at the next general election
he was defeated, and that when he again came for-
ward, on the death of Mr. CALLAGHAN, there was a
general feeling of dissatisfaction expressed by some of
the staunchest Free-traders and most uncompromising
members of the Liberal party. Sergeant MURPHY
was the man for the people. They would have him
and no other, and when Mr. M'Caxvur refused to
submit his pretensions to the decision of the most in-
fluential electors, and declared his determination
to go to a poll, the discontent and dissatis-
faction greatly increased, and many refused to
go to the hustings. It was not that they desired the
return of Colonel CHATTERTON, but they were de-
termined to have any representative rather than Mr.
ALEXANDER M'CARTHT. This election, then, could
not be received as a fair test of public opinion in the
south of Ireland on the important question of free
trade or protection. It arose solely from local causes,
wholly unconnected with topics of general interest.
If Mr. BUTT—we should, perhaps, say Professor
BUTT, for by that title he won fame and his
present distinguished rank in his profession—should
be elected for Mayo, it will also be owing to per-
sonal and not to political causes. There is, per-
haps, no individual in Ireland of greater ge-
neral popularity than the Learned Gentleman.
It is not merely his eminent position
as a barrister, his legal lore, benevolent disposition,
and brilliant and persuasive eloquence, that would
gain the suffrages of the electors; but he has the re-
putation of being an ardent Nationalist, enthusiasti-
cally attached to his native land, and anxious to pro-
mote her welfare and prosperity at any risk and at
any price. Many may believe that he is mistaken in
questions of detail, that he is mistaken in many
points, but his heart is supposed to be in the right
place, and when that opinion is entertained inlreland all
minor errors are regarded in a very favourable light,
and looked upon as venial faults, which each man
hopes that time will remedy. His disposition is
essentially Irish ; he has many of the virtues and
some of the faults of the national character,
and we can easily conceive that an enthusiastic and
warm -hearted people would prefer such a man as a
representative to even respectable mediocrity, where
there was no diversity of opinion.
But the strongest recommendation of the Learned
Gentleman will be the able, zealous, and disinterested
services which he rendered on the occasion of the
state trials to SMITH O'BRIEN and his unfortunate
companions. His conduct on that occasion gained
him the good-will and respect of every member of the
young Ireland party. His successful defence of Mr.
GAvIN DUPYY aidel to that feeling; but the
generosity to poor O'DoNaGnuis completed
the charm. When he discovered that
his client was unable to defray the heavy expenses of
the trial, he not only placed his gratuitous services at
the disposal of the prisoner, but also, we believe,
afforded considerable assistance from his private purse.
'The letters breathing thanks and gratitude that have
arrived from the antipodes—from O'BRIeN, from
MEAGHER, from M'M.usus, and O'DoNooutm—are not,
and cannot be speedily forgotten. It is owing to these
causes, and not to a coincidence of:opinion in favour of
protection that Mr. BUTT'S election for the county of
Mayo is rendered extremely probable. Neither
should it be forgotten that the Mayo constituency
cannot be considered as fairly representing the
people. The state of the Irish county franchise
has recently been brought under public notice.
Perhaps in no part of the kingdom are
deficiencies more remarkable than in Mayo. That
county has an area of no less than 2,130 English
square miles, and a population, according to the last
census return•, of 388,887 persons ; but the regis-
tered electors only number some 3.50 voters, or rather
less than one elector for every 1,000 persons. Under
such circumstances, then, we are entitled to protest,
and we do earnestly protest, against the result of the
approaching election for the county of Mayo being
accepted as a test of public opinion in Ireland on the
great question of free trade, or in favour of restric-
tive imposts of any description, whether for purposes
of revenue or of protection.

We refer cur readers to a letter which appears in
another part of our impression, and which we have
extracted from the columns of our able and spirited
contemporary, the Leader, on the subject of the "il-
lustrious obscure," who, last week, had the
modest assurance to wait uroa Lord JOHN
RUSSELL and the Marquis of CLANRICARDE
and to arrogate to themselves the character of " the
representatives of the weekly press of the metro-
polis." It is really amusing to find these
pious persons straining at the gnat of the postman
and complacently swallowing the camel, in the
shape of men, and horses, and boys, and country
agents, who carry the Sunday newspapers to the
railway and distribute them over the country for the
especial and_ pecuniary benefit of these " unco guid."
These men, horses, boys, and agents, are, it
is clear, engaged in a work of necessity. Some of
these gentlemen have the modesty to suggest that the
Gazette should be published earlier (that is to say
tbat the London Gazette should not contain tbe pro-
ceedings of Friday) for their especial convenience; of the
feasibility or advisability of such a plan we leave those
to judge who remember 1844 and 1845, when the
Gazette contained the reports of the Railway Commis-
sioners; on the various schemes submitted to them,
many of which had not been agreed on until
late on the Friday afternoon. The pro-
posal that Saturday and Sunday papers should
publish on a Friday afternoon is as outrageous a plan
of confiscation as was ever propounded. The Sunday
papers go to great expense to procure the latest and
most accurate reports of the proceedings of Saturday,
represented
so as to be to Saturday what the daily journals
areto every other
by day
tthe deinputathtieon week. The
journals
on Thursday, Friday, or
Monday, and are made up
entirely from the morning papers, and it is to bring
the Sunday papers, in the producing •
g of which a
vast deal of labour and a vast deal of money
has been expended, into competition wit • 11
those cheap
products of scissors and paste which are published on
Friday that these gentlemen aim.

The Sabbatarians boast of the number of
signatures which they have ebtainedtotheir
petitions. The exposé before the Committee
of the House of Lords on the Liverpool water
Works Bill will enlighten the minds of the public.as
to the manner in which these monster petitions are
got up. It appears that a, petition, purporting to be
signed by 19,000 ratepayers, was presented against
that Bill. It wai represented to their Lordships that
the greater number of these signatures were forge-
ries, an investigation was ordered, and the Col
lowing evidence was taken :
" Duncan 2.l‘Artbur was called, who stated that be
bad been employed by the rate-payers' committee to ob-
tain signatures to their petition. He had only three days
to obtain those signatures. He bad written many of the
signatures to the petition himaelt, and when be had got
the various sheets filled up with names he then carried
them to the committee. Out of the whole number he
might have obtained thirty genuine signature'. He
had, upon one occasion, gone to a public-house,
where he bad sat down and written about 300 of the
signatures which appeared attached to the petition.
Whilst he was at that public-house three others of the
agents and himself had dipped themselves into a water-
butt, so that the committee, when they arrived at their
place of assembly;should believe that they bad been
walking about at: day in the rain.—(Loud laughter.)

They walked in the streets in that state. Never called
at the houses of the ratepayers at all.
" Cross-examined by Mr. James—Was in no regular
employ; called himself a bookkeeper; kept his own
hocks. This did not give him a livelihood. Had been for
years employed in getting petitions stued. Assisted in
getting signatures to the late petition in favour of the
navigation-laws.
"The Chairman—Had you a sheet to get signed for
that petition? Witness--I had, my Lord.
"Mr. James—Have you rot stated that that petition,
which purported to be signed by above 50,000, was not,
in truth, signed by 5,000? Witness--I have, and it is
the truth.

" Mr. James—Did you, then, treat those gentlemen
in the same way as you have treated this ratepayers'
committee, by taking in a list of false signatures
to their petition? Witness—Yea, I did ; in the
present case I certainly received instructions to
get no names but of those persons who were rate-
payers; but we adopted the course we did, of writing
signatures ourselves, in order that the committee should
feel that we had well earned our money, by getting a
long list of names to the petition. The witness then
went on to say that he had been paid by the day, and
nct according to the number of signatures he obtained.
" Three other' agents' then made similar statements,
and the nonchalance with which each admitted that he
had forged a large number of signatures excited much
astoni,ha eat."

Will the Sabbatarians inform us how many agents
of the M'Aarnun class they have employed to get up
the petitions presented by Lord ASHLEY, and how
many times, and in how many different capacities,
each pious postman and righteous Post--office clerk,
anxious for a holiday, has signed each petition ?

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris journals of yesterday.
The following is the official account of the journey
of the PRESIDENT to Compiegne :
" The President ot the Republic on Saturday evening
started for Compiegne, to pay the visit premised by hire
when there last year. He left the Elysee at halt-past
eleven, and was received at the railway station by Baron
de Rothschild, president, 'and MM. Deleveque, Periere,
Caillard, and Delon, members of the board of directors
of the Northern Railway Company. The President of
the Republic, who was dressed in plain clothes, was ac-
companied by M. Boulay (de la Meurthe), the Vice-Pre-
sident of the Republic, the Minister of War, and Co-
lonel de Belleville and Captain de Toulongeon, his
aides-de-camp, who went in the tame carriage with
him. The Prefect of Police accompanied the President
as far as the station. The Ministers of the Interior
and of Public Works and several representatives, in-
vited to the file but detained at the sitting- of the
Assembly, could not accompany the President, but
left Paris in the afternoon. In less than two hours
the train accomplished the whole of the distance be-
tween Paris and Compiegne, after a short stoppage at
Pontoise and Beaumont. At the latter station a woman
advanced to the President's carriage and solicited the
discharge of her son, who was serving in the 18th Regi-
ment ot the line, and whose time would expire in a few
months. The Prince received the application graciously
charging the Minister of War to comply with it. He
was bailed with the warmest enthusiasm by the persons
who bad assembled. A brilliant assemblage awaited
him at Compiegne. On alighting from the carriage he
was- received by M. Randoing, Prefect of the Oise, M.
de 16staud, sub-prefect of the arrondissement, and the
mayor and his deputies. The commandant of the Na-
tional Guard, the colonels of the 8;h Dragoons, the
commandants of the gendarmerie, and of the de*, of the
sth Hussars were also present. A salvo of artillery
from the National Guard announced the arrival of the
train. A carriage Was in waiting, which the Pre-
sident entered, and he proceeded in it to the
chateau. A triumphal arch, with the initials
•L. N.,' surmounted by two eagles and tri-coloured
flags, and bearing the motto, • Vivo le President,'
was erectei at the entrance of the town, and the streets
through which the Prince passed on his way to the
chateau were ornamented with garlands of flowers and
evergreens. The houses were also dressed out with
flags, and the bells of the churches rang a merry peal.
The Hotel de Ville was ornamented with devices in
which the arms of the town were mingled with the ini-
tials of the illustrious visitor. The people of the coun-
try had not been informed of the visit of the President
on Saturday, and they mustered but few in number, but
all the inhabitants of the town were at their windows to
welcome the President. On reaching the court of the
chateau, the Prince was received by the National Guard,
a squadron cf the Bth Dragoons, and a picket of the Ch
Hussars, and was hailed with enthusiastic cries of Vive
Napoleon!' After reposing himself for a short time, he
went into the ball-room, Ni here he received the clergy, the
military and municipal authorities, the members of the
different courts of law, &c. At three o'clock the Presi-
dent and his suite went to visit the manufactory of Ours-
camp, nearly eight miles from the town. The Prince
was received at the entrance of the establishment by M.
Peigei-Delacourt, the director of the Ourscamp Com-
pany, who presented to him Mr. Lecomte and M. Mer-
cier, the director of the works. He visited all the
workshops, which were in full activity, and inquired
with much interest into all the details connected with
the work, the pay of the workmen, &c. He a.terwards
visited the houses and gardens of the workmen. His
visit was signalised by several incidents, which produced
a lively impression on all present. A poor woman, car-
rying a sick child, twelve years of age, met the Presi-
dent and the Bishop of Beauvais, who accompanied him.
The prelate gave his blessing to the child; at the same
time the President gave the poor woman a proof of his
munificence. An old soldier recovering from sickne se, was
the next object of his notice, and to him one of the
aides-dc-camp gave two pieces of gold. At one of
the houses visite(' by the President a wedding was being
celehret.-d. The bride advanced to the President
and begged him to honour her humble residence with a
visit. The Prince graciously accepted the invitation, and
to expressions of congratulation for the happy couple,
added a present of 206 F. for their first-born child. The
Prince afterwards visited the ruins of the abbey, and
the Salle des Morts, which is still in a perfect state of
preservation. This Gothic hall desires its name from
its having been used as the burying place of the abbes of
Ourscamp. The Prince terminated his visit by going to
the ancient residence of the abbes of the order, which
now serves as the residence of the director of the manu-
factory. He was received at the foot of the grand
staircase by Mme. and Madlle. Peigat-Delacourt and
other ladies. The President gave his arm ti Mme. Debi-
court, and entered the dining-room,where an elegant col-
lation was laid out,and of which he partook. While at table
the President entered into conversation with the director
on the subject of the manufactory, and in the remarks
he made, clearly evinced how much he had at heart the
interests of the working classes. On leaving, the Prince
placed 400 francs in the box destined for the relief of
the sick. The numerous workmen of the establishment
had assembled in a line outside the gates, and as the
President passed along their ranks be was hailed with
loud cries of • Vive Napoleon I' At six o'clock the
President and his suite retureed to the chateau, which
he soon afterwards left on horseback, accompanied by
his aides-de-camp, to take a ride in the neighbourhood.
At eight o'clock the Ministers of the Interior and Public
Works and about twenty representatives arrived. A
dinner of sixty covers was given by the Prince to the
Ministers and other distinguished personages,
,In., the
evening theid*wsts a grand reception."
The Journal des Bands takes up, on the part
of the press, the gauntlet thrown down by the As-
sembly, and shows that if the war is to be continued
between these two powers it will be the Assembly
that must ultimately succumb. It says—
" The Assembly ought to know that if it declares war
against the press as an institution, as a power in the state,
or rather as a power and society, it is striking its own
allies—rather it is striking against itself. Press and
Parliament may sometimes quarrel; bat fur all that, we
contend that our lives and fortunes aro identified. 0
legislators! you are now flinging food to popular pas-
sions. Be it so; the cry to day is We must get rid of
these writer.' Heaven grant that this may not one day
be followed by this other cry, We must get rid of these
talkers.' "

The Constitutionnel advises the immediate proroga-
tion of the Assembly for two months.
It will be remembered that during the course of the
discussion on the electoral law, M. TIIIERS declared
tbat it was not an attack upon universal suffrage, but
that it would merely disfranchise homeless vagrants,
thieves, and dishonest persons. Among the persons
disfranchised is M. TfiIERS himself. In which of his
own categories are we to class him ? It would, in-
deed, appear that the members of the Assembly have,
in passing this electoral law, passsed a self-denying
ordinance.

The Evenement says—
" A question of some interest is about to be presented
for the consideration of the jugs de pa ix of the second
arrondissement. Are the representatives of the people
electors from the fact of their holding that office, or
must they fulfil the conditions of the electoral law? It
is an interpretation of Art. sof that law. In fact, it ap-
pears to result from it that the representative has the
right to have Paris regarded as his legal domicile, but
not that his function as representative gives him the
quality of elector. It is on the name of M. Thiers that
the question will be started. Some citizens have re-
quired his being struck off the list; they wish to prove
to him that he forms part of the vile multitude."
Trade is reviving in all parts of France, and the
prospects of the harvest and of the vintage are ex-
cellent.

A telegraphic dispatch from Madrid, of the 18th,
states that the health of the Queen of SPAIN conti-
nues good. The joy of the Orleanists at the death of
the young Prince is stated to be unbounded.
The Patric says, according to accounts received
from Buenos Ayres to the sth of May, there is rea-
son to fear that the negotiations opened with General
ROSAS by the French Government will not be at-
tended with a pacific result.
of Itlee
C.lllooentoitmeuerreptuobrolie
sshs a
for
1847, comparativeß4B , and
The imports in 1849 were 1,142,000,000 f., in 1848
they were only 861,000,000 f., but in 1847 they had
reached 1,342,000,0001.; the year 1849 shows an
increase of 281,000,0001. over 1848, and a decrease
of 200,000,000 f. as compared with 1847. The
exports in 1847 were 1,270,000,0001.; in 1848,
1,153,000,000 f.
Assembly definitively;in vloBt4e9d, t
h 1
e,42132i,10100,000 relativef.
to The
e
establishment of pension funds for the opera-
tive classes by 560 to 1. It afterwards resumed the
ectadopted,ine to fiarsstta,mapn
admisceunassmioenntonotfhemPiospat, andsub
subjecting

duty of five centimes political pamphlets containing
less than three printed sheets by 326 to 272 ; and se-
cond, an amendment of N. DE RIANcY, laying a
stamp duty on the Roman fcuilletons, by 351 to 252.
The remainder of the sitting was taken up with a
stormy discussion on an article offensive to the cha-
racter of the Assembly published to-day by the
Povoir, the responsible editor of which is to be sum-
moned to appear at the bar of the House on Thursday.
The Bourse was firm with little business doing.
The Five per Cents. opened at 95f. 95c., and closed
at 96f. sc. ; the Three per Cents, closed at 571. 5c.;
the New Roman Loan at 771 f.

BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOC&-IsaCHANGE, JULY 15.

Boulogne and Amiens, 7% LuxemboUrg, 23r—Northern
of France, I. % Orleans and Bourdeaux, 3—Paris and
Rouen, 234—Rouen and Havre, 9 jg —Tours and Nantes, 31A.

SPAIN.
Madrid journals of the 10th have arrived.

Their contents are unimportant.
MADRID BOLSA, JULY 10.—There was no business
done to•day nominally the Threes were 33i ; the
Fives were 12,1316 nu,ney.