The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-30 00:00:00

reigu, that he has ever cultivated, as far as in
his power, the friendship of England, not by conces•
sions derogatory to the honour or injurious to the in-
terests of his people, but by prudent, firm, and, at
the same time, amicable negotiations. His great
object was to convince both nations that

peace was their best policy, and thanks to his
own, firmness and perseverance, aided, no doubt,
by Ministers , entertaining the same dispositionte
he has been eminently successful, and every wel"
disposed citizen and true patriot of both countries
say, " Long may he reign." We have tried war
with France for fifty times, and when peace came,
and the reckoning was cast up, both nations ever
found themselves equally losers. For the results of
a different policy Louis PHILIPPE deserves the
highest praise, and future generations will do him
ample justice.

The ex-Radical, ex-Protestant, and very eccentric
Sir CHARLES WOLESLEY, ci-devant " Legislative
Attorney " for the town of Birmingham, has ad'
dressed a letter to the working classes in the manu•
facturing districts, in which, amidst much vitupera'
tion of the Anti-Corn-law League, he, unlike most
of his brother protectionists, does descend to state..
ments on which he founds arguments. The statement
on which all his arguments are based is as follows :---
" You all know there is what is termed capital. We
landlords have capital. An estate which belonged to
my nephew, called Tixall, which joins mine (rental about
6,0001. pe7 annum), has lately been sold to Earl Talbot
for, I think, 240,0001.; and the steward of the estate told
me, if his Lordship got 3 per cent. for his capital,' he
would be very well off. Well, then, here was 240,0001.
capital, and 3 per cent. interest.
" Well, now we will go on a little further ; I will take
a tip-top man from among the master manufacturers,
even Mr. Cobden himself. We have been informed he
comes from among the yeomen of Kent ; and who so
respectable as a yeoman of that county ? For, as the
old song says, And a man of Kent was he.' Well, we
will suppose this man of Kent had some capital also.
Come, as hat shall we say, by way of a guess, it amounted
to ? Why, 5,000/. Well, here then was Mr. Cobden's
capital. Now it is very generally understood that he
makes a large income, say as much as Earl Talbot gets
for his capital, 6,0001. per annum. If so, the one gets
three per cent., the other the deuce knows what per
cent., for I will not stay to calculate it."
Nov this " three per cent" fallacy is a very
favourite one with the protectionists. The late Sir
FRANCIS BURDETT, on more than one occasion,
broached it in the House of Commons, and at pro-
tection meetings it is generally put forward as the
cheval de bataille. Sir CHARLES WOLSELET puts the
case in a nutshell, and, as example is of more force
than precept, we are glad that the Right
Hon. Baronet, instead of confining himself,
as is too often the case with the protectionists, to
generals, has condescended to particulars, and has
chosen Earl TALBOT and Mr. COBDEN as the respec-
tive representatives of the landed and trading interests,
for the purpose of instituting a comparison between
them. Earl TALBOT gets three per cent. for
his capital invested in land, and seeing that
Earl TALBOT " toils not, neither does he spin,"
and that his capital is invested in the very safest man-
ner possible, we do not think that he has any great
reason to complain. Sir CHARLES WommEr then
assumes Mr. COBDEN'S capital to be 5,0004 and
proceeds, "Now, it is very generally understood
he makes a large income, say as much as
Earl TALBOT gets for his capital, 6,000 L
per annum. If so, the one gets three per cent., and
the other the deuce knows what per cent." We give
Sir C. WOLRSLEY great credit for the studiedly obscure
way in which he has put this. "He makes a large
income, say as much as Earl TALBOT gets for his
capital." True, he may make a large income, but
not upon capital alone, as Earl TALBOT does. Mr.
COBDEN makes his income by his personal exertions,
He deducts the interest upon his capital before he
calculates his profits, and those profits are not the
interest of his capital, but the wages which he has,
earned as a skilled labourer. Now if Earl TALBOT
were to employ himself in productive labour, as Mr.
COBDEN does (if be were to cultivate his estate
himself instead of letting it), he too would have an

the greater probability of Sir R. PEEL'S being able,
to settle the question confirmed by so distinguished
an opinion as Mr. MACAULAY'S. " Sir It. PEEL must
now undertake the settlement of the question. It is
certain that he can settle it. It is by no means cer-
tain that we could have done so; for we shall to fi
man support him ; and a large proportion of those
who are now in office would have refused to support
us." Let us hope that Mr. MACAULAY is not quite
correct in his last surmise—that none of the present
holders of office will support Sir R. PEEL in doing
what they would have opposed from Lord JOSS
RUSSELL. The maintenance of a high standard of
public character must never be lost sight of in the
agitation even of the most important public question;
and, while it may be conceded to Sir R. PEEL'S un.
official followers to change their votes from confidence
in the Minister, changes of this sort require at least
freedom from the temptations of place to guarantee
their sincerity to the public.

The annual speech of Louts PRILIPPE, delivered
on Saturday, gives dissatisfaction, as usual, to the
Paris Opposition journals ; but, Considering the
political tenets and the Republican views of some,
and the hostile feeling of others to the reigning
dynasty, the KING and his Ministry will probably
regard these symptoms of discontent as the surest
proofs of national prosperity, and an admission of
that wise policy which has consolidated the strength
of the kingdom, and secured the Constitution of
1836 against the attempts of Republicans and Legiti•
matists. It• is only fair to state—and indeed it can-
not be denied—that France for many years has not
enjoyed such tranquillity and prosperity as she enjoys
at the present moment. It would be difficult, indeed,
to find a period in her history when such encourage-
ment was given to national industry, and the dispo-
sitions of the people so completely turned away from
the wild schemes of conquest and glory to the more
substantial blessings of peace, and the development of
the numerous sources of wealth and power possessed
by that great nation. His MAJESTY, therefore, with-
out vanity might boast that the policy which he had
maintained would one day cause the memory of his
reign to be held in honour. When was France so
prosperous ? During the reign of Louis XIV. she
gained great conquests for a time, but they cost her
great sacrifices; alley were all, except a very few,
snatched rudely from her, and towards the
close of his reign France perhaps never
was in so low and miserable a condition.
The enemy was at the gates of Paris--
the youth and the financial resources of the
country were exhausted, and a peace of any kind
was considered better than war. During the reign
which followed affairs, were not in a • better
state. France lost all her possessions in Ca-
nada and India, and, in fact, was stripped
of every colony that could contribute to her
trade or strengthen her navy. The disasters
and the victories which took place under Louts XVL
and the Republic are too well known to require re-
cital, and during the whole reign: of NAPOLEON the
policy of the Government was of the most ruinous
character. France never had such an enemy as NA'
POLEON. lie annihilated her commerce and national in-
dustry,
,wasted her strength in foreign wars, andfinalli
brought her to the brink of utter ruin. The Restoration
was productive of only one good—it produced $
revolution, established a new dynasty and a new Con-
stitution, which have for the last fifteen years been
effecting a complete change, strengthening the hands
of the peaceable, encouraging the industrious, and
assuaging the hostility of neighbouring States.
It is the peculiar glory of the present KING'S