The Sun.
London, England, 1844-07-08 00:00:00

•
itliffr: lit

LONDON, MONDAY, JULY 8, 1844.

We are utterly at a loss to understand why these
long speeches are made in the House of Lords on the
Irish State Trials. It was known to Sir TRoMAs
WILDEI and Mr. KELLY, and the other counsel for
Mr. O'Cosivzia. and his friends, that the. judges
must leave on a certain day, we believellVednesday,
to open the assizes at their respective circuits, and
that the House of Lords, represented by the Law
Lords, Amounting to half-a-dozen, or' thereabouts,
would not. pronounce judgment hut .in • presence of
the Judges, yet threedays have already been spent in
long-winded arguments, which might ho4rebeen cons-
pressed into half the compasa. Every argument of im-
portanee, all thefacts, alt the points, of law,,all the'
references •to authorities, might hiveheen adduced at
theclose of the sitting on Friday; the AiYORNEY.
GENERAL could have, replied on Saturday, tbe Judges•
could have given their opinion on Monday,.and the
Law Peers might have delivered their final judgment
on Tuesday. Mr. O'CONNELL would thus have
• known his fate ; butt as it is, possibly he may not
know it till the month of March,. 1845, when
all his colleagues shall • have been • set at
liberty, and he shall have only a month, or
two months at moat, to complete the period
of expiation for the great crime of making-an nttempt
to free his countrylrom slavery. We make no ann-
. sion to the repeal question. _We have, ever..been hos-
, tile to it, because it is impossible without 'a civil war,
and that all. along 34,,VCosNELx. has repudiated in.
the strongest language that he could use, and his uni-
, form;Policy has proved that his deeds are in
perfect accordance with his words. There never was
such a preposterous 'mode of conducting a great ques-
tion, nor such an anomaly in the administration of
justice, as these State Trials have exhibited from the
beginning to the present time, for the end is not yet
come. In the first plate, why punish, if the law.
allows an appeal which may end in a. complete se-
w-Sp:U:OW ? Why send Mr. O'CONNELL and his friends,.
I :while the. Court ,of Appeal may pronounce
ent, and .at the same time declare that
Ye been inegier 14r-boned "But, above
S

all, why do his counsel waste time in long
speeches while the very object which they pe.
fess to have in view may be defeated by the
multitude of words ? The counsel for the traversers,
taking this day into the account, have now had four
days ; they were warned that the time was limited•
If the ATTORNEY-GENERAL chooses to occupy two
days more they cannot complain; and thus the
great object for which they receive fees—
large fees, too—will be defeated, and the
' whole scene will exhibit only a flourish of words.
Does Sir T. WILDS or Mr. KELLY not know that
the Law Peers and the Judges have watched with
intense interest the whole procedings in the Queen's
Bench in Dublin, that they were masters of the case
before it came before them, and that if the counsel
were to speak for ten years, they could not make
a stronger impression than they could in ten hours ?
Many parts of these harangues, and ene entire
speech, in particular, were not listened to
at all—they were regarded as mere verba irrita ;
and thus the most valuable time—the time, if pro-
perly employed, which might have saved Mr.
O'CONNELL—has been wasted in pure legal display.
The whole affair is involved in mystery, and should
it end by an adjournment, it will appear to English-
men, and to foreigners too, as the most perfect bur-
lesque of justice, and afford to Mr. O"CoNNELL a
better argument than any he has yet found for a
total reform in the institutions of his country.

Recent circumstances seem to have inflicted " a
heavy blow and great discouragement" on that ar-
rogant and dictatorial bearing which the Home Se-
cretary has so often exhibited during. the present
session, when matters were taking an unpleasant and
embarrassing turn, and Hon. Members on the Oppo-
sition side of the House were, speaking their senti-
ments with more freedom than ceremony ; and
he appears to have become as moderate and
acquiescent in his tone as he was once:notoriously
the reverse. On Friday night, in particular, during the
debate on the New Poor-law Bill, he displayed a readi-
ness to conciliate the opponents of that measure—
so far at least as might be practicable without abso-
lutely compromising what little remains to him of
consistency—that it was quite edifying to wit-
ness, forcibly illustrating, as, it does, the truth of
SHAKSPEARE'S remark, "sweet are the uses of ad-
versity." On Mr. DUNCOMBE'S suggesting, with re-
ference to the Bastardy clause, that the time allowed to
unhappy females to name the father of their child,
namely six months, was hardly long enough, and
urging on Government the propriety of extending the
period to twelve calendar months, the Home Secre-
tary at once assented to the alteration, adding, with
unwonted courtesy, that he thought that the Hon.
Member for Finsbury was perfectly right in his view
of the case. Again, nothing could be more conciliatory
or deferential than his manner of defending the power
given to the Commisioners of apprenticing illegitimate
children, which Mr. Wrxx ELLis and several other
Members obj,?.cted to, remarking that such a power
could be much more properly exercised by the poor-
law guardians in their several districts. , " He might
be wrong," said the Right Hon. Secretary, " in having
proposed the clause"—this is no slight admission for
Sir JAMES GRAHAM, who last session would pro-
bably have, told the dissentients that they. were a set
of JACK CADE legislators—", but no one, he was
happy to find, impugned his motive in doing so. He
was afraid that in those local Boards of Guardians
local interests might be consulted at the expense of
the persons about to be bound out. It could not
be denied that, in such boards, 'there might
be a natural, though selfish desire, to economise,
even at the expense of the poor little helpless
children whom they might be willing to bind.
into a distant and perhaps incommodious situation, in
order to rid themselves and their district of the
probable expense of providing. for them in future.
What he wished to impose was, not any unnecessary
or unfair restriction on the board of guardians, but
only to give to the Commissioners a power over the ap-
pointments of the board, which would tend towards
the
:benefit of the poor apprentices." W,e are no
advocates for increasing the already enormous
powers of the Poor-law Commissioners, but
on this particular occasion—which is an ex-
ception to the general rule—we think that
the authority which it is proposed to invest, in them
is perfectly justifiable, and that Sir JAMES GRAHAM
exercised -a sound discretion in standing by the
clause. In far too many places, the present condition
of parochial apprentices is one .of stern, unqualified
slavery ; it is work—work—work—and nothing but
work—with them from morning till night ;, hardly
the slightest interval of relaxation is allowed them ;
they are ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-lodged, ill-treated,
their masters having, apparently, no other object than
'to Make as much, money by their, incessant labour
as possible. The description of the , sufferings of
these squalid, - helpless little creatures—dread-
ful as it confessedly is—has,. we fear, been
little, if at all exaggerated, in Mr.,. DicaaNs'
admirable . tale of " Oliver Twist." Under.
these clreutnstances,. we agree with., Sir JAMES
GRAHAM that the Commissioners-Lor if,not the Com-
missioners, some other unbiassed, uninterested, dis-
passionate party—should be allowed to exercise -a
restrictive influence, as regards the binding of
parOchial apprentices; for, as Mr., WAKLET con-
siderately • urged, they are " the orphans of the
State," and, as such, are every way entitled to its
prbtection.

'Accounts' from Madrid of the 20th ult., announce
more arrests. General SAN MiauzL and his brother
had been ordered to quit the capital, but for what
reason is not stated.' A general belief prevailed that
a decree would appear in a' few. days for dissolving
the ' Cortes, and summoning a new assembly for
Ogtober. _

The Three per Cents: were done et 27 -13-16th for
mill, and 28 at 60 dais., There was no quotation for'
the Five per Cents.

The'Moniteur publishes the following intelligence.
7rom Morocco • • -
TELEGRAPHIC DISPATCH _ _

- I " Ovcu i,. lioaocco; JUNE 19.
" On the 16th 1 informed the Morocco chief that
I was about. to march. on Ouchda, but that I still
offered him the conditions proposed by me before the
battle of the 15th ; he replied pacifically, but with-
out coming to any, conclusion, On the- 19th I entered
.Ouchda without firing a ihot, • •
• "
,The Morocco troops had. retired two days, be-
Sore ,in the greatest disorder. Discord reigns amongst
the chiefs and indiscipline amongst the soldiers.
E'' his small army appears to be dissolved. Ouchda
will be respected. I shall leave it on the 21st, taking
with me about 1,500 persons of 'the population of
Tlemcen. and the remnant of the Deyzis, who were
retained by force, and are desirous of following us.
• (Signed)
• " BIJGEAUD, Marshal of France."

" Ouchda,"- says the Journal des ebats, "is a
litile town, inclosed by the walls of its gardens, and
protected by alarge,fortress. Its population is esti-
mated at a thousand inhabitants of the. Moorish and
Arab race. It has a mosque and three chapels, &di-.
icated to ancient. santons. The houses, built of clay,
iir&low and of wretched appearance, the streets wind-
,'ing and covered with flints. The fortress; where
,the
Kai dof the district resides, i guarded in m4inary
times by & dozen of soldiers ; but were there even
- _

..snore it could not be defended, in congequente of its
wretChed condition. A spring of excellent water, at.
a tittle diatance from Ouclida, keeps, up the. whole
.yearround., verdure and freshness in the gardens,
through which it is distributed by the system of irri-
gatiOn that the Arabs practise so well. The distance
betliveep Tlemcen and. Ouchda is sixteen leagues, or,
About sixteen hours march for, the troops. The inter.
mecliate`earnp of Lalla-Magrania, in front of Bridgi,
is nineleagues froruTlerocen. Ouchda and the camp are
each'nearly three leagues from the frontier,. and con-
seqUently six leagues from each other. A great rais..
take would be made if the country where the troops
now are
,was to_ judged. of -hy the. gardens of
Ouchda. This spot .can only be looked..on as an
oasis in the desert of..Angad:,. This deeer com—
mences beyond the Aiverifillouts, at mor4',ibita forty
leagues from Tlemcen. Like, the AlgeKne, Angad,
which extendt to the south of Tlemcen, it is,of fright-
fill aridity,' -particularly in summer, though, here
and there may be seen 'spots where irrigation is prac-
.tised; and where tillage is carried on. All the
rivulets are in that season dried up, and one may
`marsh for six or, eight hours without finding water.
ft isi impossible at this season to carry on, military
.operations in such a eountryi and: ;therefore ..we are
not astonished o find; bilituthat Buttitit's- &patch,

thatle is about to evacuate Ouchda, and return to
the Tlemcen territory. Whilst Marshal BUGEAUD
was marching on Ouchda, General LAMORICIERE
was proceeding back in the direction of Mascara, to
defend, if necessary, against the presumed incursions
of ABD-EL-KADER, the countries to the south and
south-west, which are, besides, guarded by the
columns posted at Sebdou, Saida, and Tiaret, in the
limit of the little desert. All the tribes of Orin re-
main peaceable. Letters confirm what we have al-
ready announced relative to the occupation of a point
on the coast, near Nedroma. Two steamers, each
towing a merchant vessel, left Oran on the 23d for
Djema-Gazouma, transporting a battalion, with pro-
visions, ammunition, and all the materiel required for
an entrenched camp. This place is situated at the
mouth of the Telez rivulet, which flows from the
Nedroma. Opposite is the little isle of Los Cara-
coles, a Spanish name, which means Isle of Snails.
Not far from this are the Zapharine isles, belonging
to Spain, opposite the mouth of the Malouia. The
post of Gazouma, on the maritime frontier of Morocco,
will serve to neutralise all the incursions which the
enemy might attempt between Tlemcen and the sea,
in the district of the lower Tafna."

Another telegraphic dispatch announces that the
-Prince DE JOINVILLE arrived at Oran after a passage
of five days. The Funds were slightly depressed on
Thursday in consequence of rumours that there
would be a break up, or at all events a partial modifi-
cation of the Ministry, and that several of the mem-
bers of the Cabinet were dissatisfied with the article
in the Moniteur, which had been inserted without
their knowledge. That article still furnishes subject
for angry comment. Both the Globe and the Journal
des Debats deny the correctness of the statements put
forth in the Opposition papers, according to which
the amount of indemnity received by LOUIS PHILIPPE
when Duke of ORLEANS, was above 16,000,000 f.;
the total amount, as they state, not being more than
5,000,000 f.
In the Chamber of Deputies a discussion took
plitro,on the recruitment a the army, when Marshal
SOULT .ontended for the eight years' service, on the
ground that a levy of 80,000 men a year for seven
years' service would only furnish an army of 450,000
men. The Marshal, however, was defeated, and the
term of service was reduced to seven years. The de-
bate on the Budget then commenced, and it is ex-
pected to last for several days. The amount of sup-
plementary credits demanded is 8,000,000 f. It ap-
pears from the Navy Estimates that during the last
twenty years they have increased from 60,000,000 f.
Ito 116,000,000 f. per annum.