The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-01 00:00:00

infintinff wi

LONDON, FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 1844.

Whatever may be said or thought of the late pro-
secutions in Ireland, it is quite clear that the feelings
of the people of England have been roused from
apathy and indifference, as to the state of the sistdr
country. Never, at any period of his• life, did
O'CONNELL stand so high in the opinions of
Englishmen as at this moment —never did sym,-
pathy for the wrongs of Irishmen, and admiration
for the constant champion of his countrymen, prevail
to anything like the extent now exhibited, and
never did persecution produce results more unfavouti-
able to its originators than the persecution set on
foot by the Irish Government, to crush the man whom
it has tended to exalt. And we believe that Irish
gratitude bears equal.pace with English sympathy ;
that conciliation rules where exasperation lately pre-
sided ; and that the very kindliest and best feelings
have taken the place of bitter hatred, and undisguised
detestation. The tone in both countries has changed,
is changing, and will change still more, when the
cause of Ireland becomes, as the late trials have tended
to make it, the cause of the whole empire.

The demonstration of English sympathy which is
to take place at Covent-garden Theatre on Tuesday,
the 12th instant, will increase the kindliness which it
is so important to encourage. Seldom have we seen
a list of names joined for such a purpose, equal to
that which our columns this day show joined as
stewards, for the purpose of fraternising with Ireland
and O'CONNELL.

May such meetings, and such feelings as they call
into action, prevail ; and then England and Ireland
united, happy, and free, may show the blessings
which spring from good government, free from
partiality, jealousy, and suspicion.

The LORD CHANCELLOR and the Duke of WEL..
LINGTON were absent from the House of Lord: last
night, and no business was transacted.

In the Commons, after the presentation of petitions,
Mr. V. SMITH gave notice that on Thursday se'n-
night he would move for leave to bring in a Bill to
alter the oath taken by Roman, Catholics before en-
tering Parliament.

Mr. S. CRAWFORD gave notice that, on the motion
for going into Supply this day, he should tnove that
the petitions presented to the House relati;te to the
grievances of the people be referred to a Select Corn-
rnittee, and that till such Committee be granted the
supplies be withheld.
Mr. MACKINNON gave notice that he would on
Thursday se'nnight move for a Select Committee to
inquire into prison discipline.

In answer to a question from Mr. HAWES relative
to the Custom-house robberies, Lord G. SOMERSET
said the inquiry was going on with all possible speed,
but he could not say when it would terminate.

In answer to a question from Mr. WALLACE, Mr.
GLADSTONE said that in all cases when railways were
brought before Parliament, in which any new powers
were required, the clause recommended by the Rail-
way Committee would be brought into operation.
He understood the clause would apply to the whole
Erie in each case.

The Earl of LINCOLN brought in a Bill for regu-
lating the building of houses in London and the
neighbourhood. It' aPplied chiefly to drainage, to
the prohibiting the eitr:liing on of dangerous trades;
or trades noxious to heat!), in.cPwaetildistricts, and

the appointment of surveyors. •!‘
Mr. RICE called the attention ire the House to the
Report of the Committee Onihipvrreeks, and moved
for a Select Committee to carry the objects of the
Committee into effect.

,
Sir ROBERT PEEL said the subjeft was unner the
anxious consideration of the Gcoternment, but they
would propose nothing till the Report of the Commis-
sioners was completed and duly considered. Several
Members spoke on this important subject and others
connected with it, and finally the motion was with-

drawn, on an understanding that the Government
would take the affair into their own hands.

Sir V. BLAKE, after a brief discussion, withdrew
his motion relative to a more speedy communication
between Great Britain and America.

vv
Mr. WALLACE postponed his motion on railways
for three weeks.
Colonel RAWDON moved, that owing to the late-
ness of the proclamation to prevent the Clontarf
meeting, a risk of dangerous collision was incurred,
and a precedent, therefore, established dangerous to
the lives and liberties of her MAJESTY'S subjects.
Mr. V. STUART seconded the motion. Lord
ELIOT, in a lengthened speech, detailed the circum-
stances which led to the proclamation, and trusted the
House was not called upon to express its censure of
the Government in the way asked for by the Gallant
Colonel.

The _House divided, when there were for the mo-
ion 62, and against it 90.

Lord WousLEr brought in a Bill to inclose com-
mons, and land held in common. -

The LORD ADVOCATE brought in a Bill to amend
the law with respect to prisons and prison discipline
in Scotland.

The House rose at a Quarter before Eleven o'clock.

All the excitement caused in France by the occu-
pation of Otaheite, and the bad 'feelings generated
between the two countries by the late proceedings of
Admiral DUPETIT Tuoilsits, might easily have been
avoided by common prudence. No spot on the face
of the earth could have been selected'which was less
suited than Otaheite for a French colony. It is, from
the education, the habits, and the aspirations of the
people, peculiarly English. It was discovered by
Englishmen, it was visited by English missionaries
more than forty years ago, and thee,
their successors, have ever si

influence over the petty Sovi

chiefs who govern the countr

gence they have acquired,
ideas may have sprung up among them, are
purely English' and Protestant, and they
will suffer no amalgamation with another
creed or another nation. What madness, then, to
throw a firebrand among them, and exhibit in a new
colony all the horrors of religious dissension ! If the
French retain possession of Otaheite either a protec-
tors or supreme rulers, they} must expel the mis-
sionaries, they must change the religion of the coun-
try, they must make the whole system French, and
necessarily lead the people to believe that the men
that come from the East are a selfish and degraded
race, who have no settled points of faith, and who
only vie with each other in disturbing a little peace
ful community, which would have been tenfold more
happy if no European had ever been amongst them.
While the French remain protectors of that
country, there can be no peace. Is it not,
therefore, a matter of serious consideration for
the Governments of England and France to do away
with this French Protectorate, and find out some
other islands in the Pacific, or elsewhere, which
might equally suit the purposes of France ? England
has no reason to be jealous, she has no reason to be
niggardly, she has colonies in every quarter of the
globe ; and when the French Government has shown
such a friendly disposition to this country, and the
Cabinet has risked its existence to suit the views of
the English Cabinet, ought we not in return to show
some generosity, and assist the GUIZOT Ministry, not
only in repelling the attacks of the Opposition
journals, but in conciliating, by some acts of kind-
ness, nearly the whole of the French nation ? We
have taken possession of New Zealand. The French
were there before us, but they have been ousted from the
county, or if any colonists remain they are subject
to English dominion. We have added immense
territory to our Indian possessions, we have taken the
Falkland Islands, we have occupied the whole of
CA aria, and find a harbour in every quarter
of the globe for our shipping, yet the British
Government seems determined to grudge the
French every inch of ground out of their own
territory ! This is not the way to maintain the
entente cordiale. There must be reciprocity a con-
cession, or the two countries cannot long remain at
peace. Even Louis PHILIPPE, with all his skill, and
GUIZOT, with all his determined bravery, must at
last give way, if England will not virtually assist
them in conciliating public opinion in France.
England can afford to be generous, and shame to her
if she loses the fairest opportunity that ever occurred
of reconciling the two greatest civilised nations of the
world, and securing universal peace.

That insurrectionary movements and revolts, which
have so incessantly agitated the' Southern States of
Europe within the last tea or twelve years, should
still, even after that lapse of time, have lost .so little of
their activity as, at this moment, to convulse both
Spain and Portugal, is rather a moral necessity than
any political phenomenon. Xis the result.Llnore to
be deplored than marvelled at--of a reaction, excited
by a recent experience of free institutions, which is
still warring against the Governments and prejudices
of many past centuries—against the moral and social
habits, the tone of thought, and the bent of 'feeling
engendered by them. We must not too nar-
rowly scan the political errors of parties whom
we assume to be in earnest in their efforts
to consolidate their newly-achieved liberties, if
they become somewhat reckless in the pursuit
of so favourite an object ; or if; distracted by
the various courses of action which present them-
selves for their, adoption, they daily with the means
till they lose the end. Considerations of this kind
especially apply to the position of Portugal,
as contradistinguished from that of. Spain, at
the present day. In Spain, all the elements of
feverish excitement appear to have recombined
of late, for the sole purpose of working out, in a war of
partisans, and amidst the public ruin which has been
thereby entailed upon the country, a fierce and
grinding military despotism. In' Portugal, not-
withstanding the strife of parties, and the
interruptions of unprincipled ' intrigue, the
advance of the people has been more gradual, but
more steady, and further, in the direction of ultimate
freedom. Yet it cannot be denied that the existing ,
Government of her Most Faithful MAJESTY has not
abstained from serious violations of what may be
considered the fundamental constitution of the
kingdom, namely, that of 18.29, and, her Most
Faithful MAJESTY'S decree of February 1842. It
is as little to be doubted that during the last
two years instances have occurred" in • which
her MAJESTY'S Ministers must be held to have
exercised an undue constraint and control over:
the spontaneous acts of their Royal Mistress. This
species of virtual coercion, on the part of COSTA.
CABRAL and others, and the delinquencies and de-
ficiences of their administration of foreign and do-
mestic affairs, appear to have induced the recent hostile
movement of Count Bo:wrist, ex-Minister of 'War.
His proclamation, addressed " to Portuguese citizens
and soldiers," breathes the same fervent and devoted
loyalty towards the person and authority of the Queen
of PORTUGAL as he unquestionably manifested
throughout the whole of his career, after the death
of the Regent Joe.o VI. to her Most Faithful MA..
JESTY'S Illustrious father, Dom PEDRO IV., the Duke
of BRAGANZA. The Count declares that his move-
ment is against the present Ministry of the
QUEEN,
who, in consequence of the violent restraint in which
they hold their Royal Mistress, " prevent her from
fulfilling, her gracious promises on promulgating the
decree referred to, and from attending to the desires
and petitions of her people."
The Count's proclamation thus designates the pre-.
sent Minister of Portugal :"
" This Ministry, guided by a man who has no creed, and
has no love of country, who looks to nothing but his own in-
terest, and who is blinded by the unbounded ambition which
rules him, ready to alter his system or political opinions ac-
cording to the profit which may result to him, always ready
to sacrifice those with whom he may have been most inti-
mately connected, and even to pronounce as enemies of .the
State, those who will not lend themselves to become tools of
his caprices, or who do not aid in his brutal despotism. This
Ministry has placed us on the frightful abyss which threatens
to engulf us."

The proclamation, after eulogizing the unalterable
loyalty of the people and the army to the Sovereign,
describes the grievances under which they labour,
" which have caused the disappearance of [public
rights, and of individual security, and the overbur-
dening of the people with taxes." The wrongs of
the army are largely detailed and insisted -on.
The Count then appeals, by all the stirring, recol-
lections and great names of Portuguese history, to his
fellow-citizens and soldiers to unite with' him in
"saving their country, the QUEEN) and their liberty l''

The time, he says, has now arrived for so noble
an attempt. _ _

It seems evident, both from the language of many
of these passages, and from that of a very remarkable
farewell address to its readers in the Revolucao of the
Bth ult., that some transactions have taken place in
the communications between the Crown and its
Ministers, of which we have not yet learned the par-
ticulars. In the course of the 'editor's address, he de-
clares that on the morrow the whole liberties of Por-
tugal will have been trampled under foot and extin-
guished by the Ministry of the QUEEN, "who is ac-
customed," he remarks, "to be coerced." , ...." To-
morrow there will not be even these formalities—
neither tribunal, nor Parliament....no property, no
liberty, no press !"
_ _

As we observed in a former article, the well-known
loyalty, merits, and services of Count Bomrim—his
past favour with the QUEEN and her Royal Consort—
his intrepidity and success in the field, and his ad-
mirable administration in the Cabinet both as Foreign
and as War Minister, leave the whole affair at pre-
sent under a painful mystery, which is not dimi-
nished by the brief announcement we have received
of the Count's arrest at Elvas.

Since the above article was written we have later
news from Portugal, which effectually discredit the
account of Count BOMFIM'S arrest, but gives us no
further intelligence of the movements of that officer.
On the 16th of February, in conformity with a com-
munication, dated on the 10th, and addressed by him
from Herdada de Torre to the commandant of the
7th Military Division, BOMFIM was expected at
Lisbon. He had declared " that he would put him-
self en route as soon as possible, in order to present
himself at the capital." He adds, that he had been
at the residence of his friend the Count D'AVILE;
Te of the Minister of War,
health permitted he would
into effect.

Lgence reached Lisbon that
BoMFIM had placed himself at the head of the insur-
gents, and that Count D'Avn.Ez, a general officer, had
also joined them ; but the latter part of the intelli-
gence, with respect to AVILEZ, has been subsequently
contradicted.

A proclamation of the Count, on his joining the
insurgents, was issued on the 14th inst., from which
the following are extracts :
" Inhabitants of Lisbon, and soldiers of the garrison !—I
have taken command of a division, which, in a short time,
will present itself before the capital, firmly resolved to make
a reality of the sacred promise which was given to us on the
10th of February, 1842.
" Portuguese I. the brave men who accompany me are your
friends, your companions in arms. All of them respect and
desire the Constitutional Charter of 1826, but all of them
have been betrayed as you have been ; to all a promise was
made and has been broken.
" The Constitutional Charter does not exist ; Costa Cabral
is the only Power of the State.
" To arms, brave companions of glory !
"The Constitutional Charter! And the Queen free from
restraint ! The faithful execution of the sacred promise of
the 10th of November, 1842. " COUNT BOSIFIM.
" Head-quarters, in Alcaia, Feb. 14, 1844."

The intelligence from Madrid, which is to the 21st
ult., is of the same painful character. According
to a dispatch from General RONCALI, he opened his
fire against Alicant on the 17th, at one o'clock in the
morning, and had thrown a great number of shells
into the town. The insurgents made a sortie, but
were driven back. The horrible butcheries on both
sides continued unabated, and scenes of a still more
horrid description are anticipated on the fall of Alicant,
which cannot hold out long. According to one report,
Roxcau had already shot one in every five of his
prisoners, who amounted to more than two hundred
and all the insurgents, taken in two Custom-house
sloops, were ordered to be shot on deck.
The Gazette publishes a decree, re-establishing the
Papal tribunal of the Rota, suppressed by a decree
of the Provisional Regency of the 29th of Decem-
ber, 1840.

The "Three Per Cents. were done at 291 for cash
and 301 at sixty days ; and the Five per Cents. at
21i for cash, and 22i at sixty days.

We are agreeably disappointed in the articles
which appear in the French Opposition Journals of
Tuesday, on the announcement respecting Otaheite,
given in the Moniteur of the previous day. From
the strong attacks which they have for ten days been
aiming at M. GUIZOT, and the friends of peace in
France, a terrible explosion might have been ex-
pected, but fortunately we have only a subdued mur•
mur, a sort of lamentation, that the dignity of
France had not been better maintained ; and that the
KING in Council had not, on the receipt of the in-
telligence, proclaimed their intention, without
waiting for the opinions of Lord ABERDEEN
and Sir ROBERT PEEL. One of the most
violent of the journals belonging to this class,
the National, calmly observes :—" The proceeding of
the Government was foreseen. When we read in
the English journals and in the report of the sittings
of Parliament, what interest England took in driving
us froni Otaheite, we could easily foresee that
Otaheite would be given up. But M. GUIZOT, who
is aware or the jealous avidity of our neighbours,
and who also knows how incapable he is of keeping
up any dignity with them, ought not to have waited
for their demands, but to have re,establisbed Queen
Pomani before an order came ,from. London. But
no ; he. waited a fertnight, in order that the humilia-
tion might he'complete—in order that it might be
deafly proved in. the ,face •of the world—.that . his
Cabinet is the .very humbhi servant of Sir ROBERT
PEEL and Lord ABERDEEN." M. 'MI ER? journal
takes nearly the same' view. " When," it says,
" the English journals and the Houses of Parliament
call our Government to account for ,the resolute act
Of Admiral DUPETIT THOUARS, an act of weakness
was naturally expected' &Om our Cabinet. We, for
our part, fully looked 'for: this,' and said that we did
so. But since it resigned itself to making, this new
concession to ;lie:entente cordiale, hew-can it have so:
far failed in management as not to preserve appear-
ances? As'soon as the Ministry was in'posseasion of
the AdMiral'S dispatches, it certainly must have com-
prehended that' the news would be badly received in
London, and that strong remonstrances would be
made. Why did it not therefore at the first moment
gather courage from its weakness ? Why, resigned
as it was to the granting of everything that could be
asked, did it, not take the initiative, and act with re-
splution,beforeany demand was made upon it ? It is
possible,• and we hope, . fiAr the honour of the cowlts
try, it has been sow, that tlie*e,wa.l a division in the
Council, and that some of its members have placed a
higher value on.the feelings of the. nation than on the
notes of Lord AnagnEETt. Ntre willingly believe
that the Minister of Marine has not abandened With-
otft defence to the timorous rancour of M.-Gni;or
the work of a brave and loyal sailor, _who ii distant
seas has upheld' the dignity of our flag. But these
oppositions, honourable as they unquestionably have
been, have only made the Matter worse.".
The France is'very brief, but poetically eloquent.
It could not have deseribed in.,a more_ heroic strain
the destruction of all the islands in the Pacific :
" The new and deplorable concession to England, in
the disavowal Of Admiral DUPETIT TBOUARS, has
outraged 'public opinion. The Chamber of Deputies
thrilled with agitation;, the Stoek Exchange itself
experienced its effects, and the Funds felt the recoil of
this act of shame."

The Journal des- Debats has no article on the sub-
ject; but another Ministerial-paper, the Globe, con-
cludes a long argument with the following judicious
remarks Speaking seribuily, what difference is
there at bottom, between protecting and occupying;
As to what. relates tO: the use Which the Opposition.
journals_willinake- or. the humiliation- of France to.
Englanc4:ia..piece .of -silliness, which men of sense
no longer think of. It is .scarcely three menthe
since the English, Government disavowed Commodore.
PiuLET:when. he: took possession' of the Sandwich
Islands: Great-nations•arelike-men of tried honour—
they can acknowledge their erxara_..vdthout being
afraid of an accusation of weakness."
The documents moved for in the Chamber, on Mon-
day, amount. to nine, and extend over a period from
September, •1842; to November, 9, 1843. One of
these is the Report of AdMiral DUPETIT THOUARS, to
which are attached two letters from Admiral TROostis
to Queen POMARE and the Great Chiefs, dated re-
spectively the Ist and 3d of November, 1843 ; and
another a _ letter from Queen POMARE to Louis
PHILIPPE, King of the French, also of the same date.
The debate' on this is looked forward to with much
interest. Some surprise has been excited at Paris by
the departure of the KING, at this season, to the
Chateau d'Eu, and various Causes are'' assigned. '
Queen CHRISTINA arrived at Nimes on the morning
of the 23d inst. The steam-boat in which her MA-

JESTY passed along the Rhone being overtaken by the
night, she was obliged to land on the Ile de la Bar-
thelasse, which she crossed by torchlight. The Pre-
fect of Vaucluse offered her MAJEsTv his carriage, in
which she arrived safely at Nimes. The QUEEN went
the same day to Montpellier, whence she was to pro-
ceed direct to Narbonne, in which town she proposed
to rest on Sunday last, and on Monday to cross the
Spanish frontier.
On Tuesday the Three per Cents. closed at 82f.
20c. ; and the Fives at 125 f. 60c.

THE BOURSE—MoNDAY, EEL 26.

First Highest Lowiist Last
- - - •

Price. Price. Price. Price.
French Five per Cents. .... 125 60 .. 125 70 .. 125 GO .• 125 GO
Four per Cents. •• .. 106 25 .. 106 25 .. 106 25 .. 106 25
Three per Cents..... 82 20 .. 82 30 .. 82 20 82 20
Bank of France.. ... . ... —3260 . • 3260 ..3260 ••3260
Lailltte Bauk, I,ooof. Sharesllo7 50 .. 1107 50 ..1107 50 —llO7 50
5,000 f. Sharesso77 50 ..5077 50 ..5077 50 ..5077 50
Belgian Bank .. •• • .
Belgian Fives
1840 .. • •
1842 •• •••• •• 110 .. 110 1091 .. 1091
Spvish Passive .••.•• • • • • • • 51 • . 51 • . 5, .. 5;
Old Deferred.. ••• • • 71 •• 71 •• 7} •• 7i
Portuguese Five per Cents • • 46 .. .. 46; .. 461
Neapolitan lO3 90 .. 103 90 .. 103 75 .. 103 75
Roman ....................106j .. 1061 .. 1061 .. 106/

. ,•
ika, 1;1, ;•.
41)4= , vi .- -17,,- J At ), '.
A A9'
irtit,,l;r4iii =EL-:', cz:4‘,',-1...P 441. • '7'. 1
1. W .'i ~.44,...),= ~
' ,
- ", '' I - 177.4131110 '!: 7;' ;,o'-'.'-
•••
.-..t.',i,:;444016,„ ,-... Rr • MOS\ .;,,,,",•14,40:1:11;‘h ~,.,-. -
~,m,e''.,...,0 ra ~ • ii..-- ,I— ' ' VP ,

end these missionaries, or -
Lnce had a where he ceived the orders
n his state of h
rere
se
try.
On the 19th, t e intellig
and whatever religious