The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-11 00:00:00

TILE SUN, LONDON, THRTRSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 11, 1844.

we do not see upon what-grounds he can affect to
complain of his removal from that society. But
it will be said, how are you -to ascertain that a
man is expensive in his habits? The answer is,
that the external-eviden-Eng generally sufficient;
but if it fail, you have the man himself, whom
you may examine as to his expenditure. A place
of education is, as regards the pupils, properly in-
quisitorial, and it ought to be vigilantly inquisito-
rial. The parental authority is communicated to
its governors, and we suppose it will not
be denied that in a case of doubt a father is en-
titled and bound to make a strict inquiry into
the habits of a son still under his roof. Two
or three examples of young men removed
from the Universities for " expensiveness,"
eo nomine, would do much good in render-
ing expense unpopular. This applies to the
pupils who receive too much money from
their parents, or have, otherwise, too much
money at their own disposal but it ap-
plies also to those who squander borrowed
money; for these last an additional guard
might be found, in an Act, not of the Univer-
sities, but of the Legislature, barring the reco-
very of any debt
_incurred by a young man in
statu pupillari, whatever his age, nor could
money-lenders or tradesmen justly complain of
such an act; to every debt there must be two
consenting parties, the creditor and the debtor ;
but if you want to get rid of the evil, you must
address yourself to him of the two who has most
power to obviate the mischief, and who is most
likely to be acted upon by considerations of rea-
son and interest—this, every one sees, is the cre-
ditor in all cases, more especially in cases where
the debtor must be an inexperienced youth.
PROM TRH MORNING PAPERS OP THIS DAY.

ADVERTISER. The Anti-Corn-law League
continue to carry everything before them.
They are not only calling forth the loud plaudits
of every meeting which the leading gentlemen of
the Council address, but they are calling forth
immense sums from the " vasty deep " of pockets
whose bottom it has hitherto been found all but
impossible to reach. There must be something
very powerful in the arguments, something more
than ordinarily winning in the eloquence„ of men
who, in addition to " thunders of applause," can
elicit thousands of pounds from a particular
meeting. This the League are doing—doing not
once in a month or two, but doing almost every
day. Messrs. Cobden, Bright, and the
other working men of the League, are
making a triumphant tour through the
country. They may, with great propriety,
adopt the motto, " We come, see, and con-
quer." They not only convince the myriads they
address that the corn-laws ought to be repealed,
but, which is an infinitely greater fact, they
prevail on every meeting to aid by large contri-
butions of money in procuring the repeal of these
laws. Thus to conquer men's reluctance to put
their hands into their pockets, is an achievement
worthy of being recorded. The latest anti-corn-
law triumph was that which.took place at Ashton
on Monday, and which we recorded in our paper
of yesterday. From that inconsiderable town
the extraordinary sum of nearly 4,5001. was ob-
tained. One of the subscribers, who only gave
1001. last year, gives 500/. this year; while seve-
ral gentlemen who, in 1343, only contributed
1001., contributed 3001. on this occasion. Will
the monopolists misunderstand this? What
stronger proof, we should like to know, would
it be possible to give them of the progress
which anti-monopolist principles are mak-
ing in the country? The legitimate con-
dition to be deduced from this increase in
the amount of contributions by the same persons
is, that the convictions of these individuals as to
the necessity of corn-law repeal are doubly,
trebly, and, in some cases, five times as strong
as they were last year. Can any monopolist
suppose that a system can be much longer up-
held which men are so anxious to see abolished ?
Impossible. The men who have contributed such
princely sums to see the bread monopoly put an
end to, will never rest until they have accom-
plished their object. The question occurs, what,
with. all that is passing around him, will Sir Ro-
bert Peel do ? Supposing it possible that up to
this moment he has been an inattentive, or tills

taken observer of the signs of the times, surely
he can be so no longer. Not only do justice and
the interests of the country require immediate
and total repeal, but, without such repeal, his
Government cannot long survive. If he con-
tinues to oppose himself to the League, he will
perish in the unequal contest. It is not now too
late to retrace his steps; but if he persist in his
present course for a few months longer, the de-
struction of his Government is inevitable, and his
own character, as a statesman, will be irretriev-
ably ruined.

TIMES.—Two errors on subjects connected
with our foreign policy, but widely differing in
importance, offer themselves to our notice for
correction. The first relates to the affairs of
Greece. Two foreign newspapers, both generally
well informed, state, that Lord Aberdeen and M.
Guizot, in the principles which they have laid
down as the elements of the Greek Constitution,
have expressly provided that the Sovereign
should not only have the nomination to all civil
and military offices, but also " should propose
laws, and aid in drawing them up." This is not
the fact. Both M. Guizot and Lord Aberdeen
know too well the proper limits of a constitu-
tional government, and the becoming prerogatives
of a constitutional Monarch ; both also feel too
sincere a solicitude for the exclusion of all em-

barrassing accidents from their scheme of Greek

polity, to dream of suggesting a provision which
must either make the people dependent on
the Crown, or plaCe the Crown at the mercy
of its Ministers. M. Guizot must remember

what was the effect of such a principle on the
Governments of the. Regency, of Louis XV., and
Louis XVI.; and Lord Aberdeen, as an English
Minister, is alive to the practical value of a
theory, which prevents the Sovereign from doing
wrong by devolving the necessity of the respon-
sibility of action upon his official advisers. M.
Guizot and Lord Aberdeen are equally desirous
of saving Greece from the mischiefof a Monarch
who is his own minister, and the worse mischief
of a Ministry which shields its weakness or its
wickedness under the sanction of an irre-
sponsible King. A Sovereign who selected his
own Ministers and proposed his own laws would
soon be inclined to mimic the language, if not
the designs, of Lous XIV., and to look upon the
State as a mere function of himself. In Greece,
as in other European States which enjoy a
settled constitution, the power of proposing
laws will rest with the Chambers, whose suf-
..

(rages are required to enact them. The
other error relates to the right of search.
The Paris papers seem to imply, upon the sup-
posed authority of M. Guizot, that England has

consented to give up the right ,of search. No
such concession has been made by the British
Cabinet; and we may confidently assert that no
such concession will be made. Most willingly
would this country abandon a right the exercise
of which is attended with involuntary annoyance
and irritating disputes, providing the objects for
which it was guaranteed were attainable by any
other means. But she has obtained this right at
a great and costly sacrifice; she has used it in
co-operation with other nations of Christendom,
to suppress a nefarious traffic, which as yet she
has only been able to moderate, and not to sub-
due; and until the treaties on which this right is
based, and by which it is sanctioned, are can-
celled 11
or disavowed, she cannot court such an in-
jury to her own honour and the common inter-
ests of humanity as would be inflicted by the
tame abandonment of a most precious privilege,
and the timid compromise of a great duty.

RECEPTION OF THE FRENCH
. • CONSUL AT CANTON.
The Paris Messager, a Government paper, gives
the following official account of the interview between
the Count de Ratti-Menton, the French Consul-
General in China, and the Imperial Commissioner of
the Emperor :
"M. de Ratti-Menton, who was accompanied by
M. Fornier-Duplan, the Captain of the Alcmene,
having arrived at Wampoa, addressed a letter, on the
31st August, to the Viceroy, requesting an interview.
On the 6th of September the Consul, with his Chan-
cellor, M. Fornier-Duplan, and eight officers of the
corvette, arrived at the country house of the Viceroy,
where he was received by the Mandarin Yang- Quang-
Tong, Judge of Canton ; Hum-Seu, the delegate of
the Imperial Commissioner • the Kwang-Tcheou-
Fou, Prefect of Canton; and the Sub-Prefect of
Casabranca. At noon the gongs announced the ap-
proach of the two grand dignitaries. After having
taken their seats in the great hall they sent a mandarin,
with blue crystal buttons, to inform the Consul that
they would receive him with pleasure. There were
assembled in the hall his Highness the Imperial Com-
missioner wearing the yellow sash, in token or his
relationship to the Imperial family, his Excellency
the Viceroy, the Kwang-Tcheou-Fou, and several
mandarins of blue and white buttons. As the Consul
and the persons with him entered the hall, his Im-
perial Highness and the Viceroy rose, and went to
meet them. The Count de Ratti-Menton delivered
in an enclosure of silk, a letter from M. Guizot,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the Viceroy. After'
having removed it from its envelope, the Viceroy pre-
sented the letter to his Highness, and read the transla-
tion which had been made of it. Nuemrous questions
were then addressed by the two dignitaries to the
Consul, and to the captain of the Alcmene, respect-
ing the King of the French, the Royal family, and
M. Guizot, and the relations existing between France
and the other powers. The French Consul then
presented to his Highness the Imperial Commis-
sioner a letter requesting for France the same ad-
vantages as had been granted to England. The
Imperial Commissioner replied, verbally, that as
the Chinese Government had acted so generously to-
wards England, notwithstanding their ancient and
recent differences, the Imperial Government did not
think it could be less amicable as regarded France.
Matters being thus settled, the authorities uncovered
their heads, and invited the French to do the same
(in China, it is required by etiquette that the heads
should be covered whilst business is being discussed).
There were then served at different small tables a
variety of sweetmeats, and some of which the Im-
perial Commissioner presented to the French from
time to time. Before the meeting broke up, M.
Fornier-Duplan repeated to the Imperial Commissioner
a request that had already been made to the Viceroy,
for- the liberation of a Chinese Christian, who was
arrested two or three years ago, and branded in the
face with a red-hot iron, for having been in the
service of a missionary who had been taken in the
interior of China. The Imperial Commissioner pro-
mised to write to the Minister of Justice at Pekin,
and to recommend this request to him strongly. The
reception, which was alike brilliant and cordial,
lasted more than an hour.
The same journal publishes as follows the corre-
spondence connected with the above :
" Ky-Ing, High Imperial Commissioner, &c., Ky-
Kong, Viceroy of the Province of the two Kwangs,
&c., to his Excellency M. Guizot, Great Minister
of France, charged with the department of Foreign
Affairs.
" The 13th day of the 7th intercalary moon of the
23d year of the reign of Taou-Kwang, we received
in audience the Count de Ratti-Menton, sent to
Canton by your Excellency in the quality of Consul
of the first class, and he transmitted to us direct the
letter in which the illustrious Minister manifests to
us such honourable sentiments of affection. Our
hearts are filled with joy on the occasion, and we
thank him for it. We have long known that the
empire of France is one of the first states in Europe.
Three centuries ago it carried on commerce with our
empire. Between these two empires peace • and
friendship have constantly reigned. Never have there
been dissensions, discord, or any subject of litiga-
tion. The merchants of France have always observed
in their affairs a spirit of order exempt from all con-
fusion; their conduct has always been regulated by
the laws and justice. 1, the Imperial Commissioner,
have lately received from my august Emperor the
authority to allow foreigners to trade in the five ports
of Canton, Font-Chow, Amoy, Ning-Po, and Chank-
Hai, and consequently, and in accord with my col-
leagues, I have fixed and determined the regulations
relative to commerce, as also the tariff. The mode-
ration of the duties which have been established proves
incontestibly that we have been in this respect as
open and generous as possible towards the foreigners
who visit these distant countries. To the French
merchants we grant the same privileges as the
English and other nations have obtained from the
approbation of our Enuyeror. M. de Ratti-Menton,
who has just arrived at Canton in quality of Consul of
the first class, furnis'twd with official letters from
the illustrious Minister, and who, besides, has already
filled several posts in other countries of Europe,
where he distinguished himself by his prudence, his
affability, and his conciliatory spirit, will easily suc-
ceed in directing the French merchants, whom he
will scrupulously cause to observe all the arrange-
ments relative'to trade, :and will thus enlarge our re-
lations of commerce and' friendship. Such is the reply
we have the honour to :address to the illustrious Mi-
nister of France, entreating him, in order to prevent
all confusion, to employ the same terms as those
which we have used to (express his titles and powers.
—Canton, the 17th day of the 7th intercalary moon
of the 23d year of the ign of Taou-Kwang."
Copy of a letter from de Rattis Menton to his High-
ness the High Imperial Commissioner, dated Can-
ton, September 5, 18;43.
ighness,—As spoon as the Government of
his Majesty the En rperor of the French was
informed of the hail- ry re-establishment of peace,
his first thought wa s to appoint a consul. He
imagined that this n.'seasure might contribute to
give more extension to tie relations already so ancient
which exist between Mina and France, and every-
thing strengthens the lope that this desire will be
realised. Nevertheless,. in the present state of things,
.
and notwithstanding the- harmony which has prevailed
between the two empre.9 for more than two centuries,
his Majesty the Emper 01 of the French, my august
master, desires only for h is subjects a participation in
the privileges enjoyed b.:7- other nations in the Celestial
Empire. I have conseq u. sntly the honour to request
your Highness to have the goodness to give me a
document, sealed with Ch e great seal, similar in all
respects to that which the English and the Americans
have obtained, as regards. their future relations with
these countries ; this doe u merit will be sent by me to
the Government of his :Majesty the Emperor of the
French, who will see in it a just reciprocity of the
sympathy which France has always felt for China."
Letter of the High Corn as lissioner and of the Viceroy
of the two Kwangs to `Count de Ratti-Menton.
" Ky-Ing, High Imp ea 'ial Commissioner, Member
of the Imperial Family, Yriceroy of the Provinces of
the two Kwangs, &c., 3.—Ky-Kong, President of
the War Department, ceroy of the two Provinces
of Koang-Tong and K:ouang See, &c., &c., send
collectively this official a n swer. The 13th day of the
7th intercalary moon sof the 23d year of Taom-
Kwang (September 6, i 843). We, the said Com-
missioner and his collea3l ie, had the pleasure of an
interview with the Hon ourable Consul of the first
class, who presented us d irectly with a letter, which
we have opened, readt, and perfectly underetood.
France is an illustaiouts and powerful State of the
Western Ocean, which, for more than three cen-
turies, has entertained peaceable and friendly re-
lations with China, • without the slightest dis-
agreement or effusion of blood. Having come
to Canton by the express orders of the
Emperor, my mast( , to there determine on
a tariff and commer ,c!ial regulations applicable to
the merchants of all ri; itions, and these regulations
having been drawn u p and agreed upon, and the
tariff established and cc )rt ipleted in a manner to abolish
all illegal duty, and all' exaction, I, the High Impe-
rial Commissioner, have. respectfully submitted these
two documents to the a pprobation of his Majesty,
whose answer, received through the medium of the
Minister of Finances, con tains his gracious authorisa-
tion to carry the said tax iff and regulations into exe-
cution. Henceforth th e merchants of all nations
will superabundantly enyeoy the kindness of the Em-
peror of China, who has icondescended to manifest his
kindness for foreigners, and to open to them an inex-s
haustible source of pros it -. France, therefore, who
has so long maintaine. 3 friendly relations of amity
with the Chinese, and w h ose merchants have hitherto
conducted themselves pe as :eably, conformable to strict
equity exempt from all disorder—France has a
particular right to be in sgarded with equal kind-
ness. No other count ,r y shall certainly be more
partially favoured. We, ache said High Imperial Com-
missioner, and his collee ig me, have, in consequence, on
the demand of the honor; ir able Consul of the first class,
caused copies to be made of the new tariff, and the
new regulations relative to commercial matters; and
have formally affixed to a tem the seals of our office.
We send them subjoined. officially to the honourable
Consul of the first class, inviting him to have them
translated into the langi ta; 7,e of the Western Ocean,
and to publish them in his country, in order that
French merchants may lts ow them and conform to
them. In consequence of the opening, for the interest of
commercial transactions, of the five ports of Canton,
Font-chow, Amoy, Ning-pe and Challis Hai, the im-
perial duties specified in the tariff, as well as the ton-
nage dues, will be alone demi nded, all otherdutiesbeing
henceforth abolished ; the otl ter provisions of the regu-
lations are the result of the -good feelings of our great
Emperor towards foreign 'tra 'ders. His Majesty, de-
siring to relieve them from: ai
11 impediments whatever,
and to open to them a large a ource of profit, his kind•