The Sun.
London, England, 1844-12-18 00:00:00

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131/1 RIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS
>'s
OH THE EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
GLUBE.—A reference to Lord Stanley's appoint-
'Pots will prove his preference for the navy, inter -
fliPteil occasionally ey an infidelity in favour of a
istarlet coat—exceptions to the rule more apparent
piatnzrro:y in e! perhaps. The nautical finance of Captain
New Zealand enjoys a pendant in the
e'
tlrseney regulations ai Cape Coast, in Guinea, which
lettlernent was this year blessed by being placed
under the immediate control of the Colonial-office (it
Ihad been for many years previously governed by a
`4tartrittee of London and local merchants), Lord
s
Ithl,llley sending out, as first Governor, Commander Hill,
• The currency of Guinea is regulated by a gold
standard—all transactions of moment being valued in
ounces of gold and in ackies (the 1-16th part of an
ounce)_; the smaller business of life being managed
b
fifty to a penny sterling. These, however, are corn-
irnlY moneys of account only—trade being barter,
44 pieces of cotton cloth (romauls) are in general
t'roulation ; they were formerly used even to pay
the troops. In short, money's worth is given
f°r money's worth only, or for what will pro-
lar d money's worth from the European merchant.
disdain
Stanley and his naval Governor view with
the
this uncivilised system; and Mr. Gladstone,
e Master of she Mint, is ordered to pack up chests
fq_rSilVer pieces worth three-halfpence each, of copper
things and half-farthings, which it is proposed to
the!ocluce into the monetary system of Africa through
p military
ind civil denferior servants are to be paid in these
e-lir? I Fancy our sable brother, disgracefully ignorant
f
Ricardo and Torren.s, and of the incalculable advan-
els of a metallic currency—who had never received
i 3 palm oil, his bunch of plantains, or his day's
t:11', anything but a yard of cotton, which he could
Ist round his waist, a piece of lead with which to
(ink"( his fishing-net, or to be cut into a musket slug,
s°nie courie shells, which are the favourite orna-
titi•lletnt and (therefore) the universal currency of the
e,r,ior•--faucy a man who never had received
hic,34"ing not intrinsically useful to himself or
4,p. neighbour, gazing at Captain Hill's copper
'-farthings or three-halfpenny silver—things
"unknown to and rejected by his neighbours,
objectional even as not of that substantial
ewt Which constitutes, in a country of clumsy
01e)g,,,5, and destitute of locks and pockets, one
the essential merits of a currency! He would as
4 easily
assig-
nats perceive the value of Captain Fitzroy's
T;as of these atoms, inconvertible to any end.
rlne may lead him to discover that the silver
illek°gles are fractional parts of a dollar, but there is
sti hope of his ever taking to the half-farthings. Ly-
ctirlgns's iron money may have been as inconvenient
°,ugh our Ashantee or Fantee friend would prefer
e‘, out that was avowedly issued "as a restraint on ex-
epn4ivo speculation"—as our solemn Premier would ex-
cu. it. However, Capt. Hill having a vile corpus, the
th'4l corpi, on which to experiment, and compelling
to4ll to receive pay in this money, they in their turn
tnt°Pelled no doubt after " awful sacrifices" and tre-
ttendous palaver, their creditors to receive it; and
ehse Poured it as legal tender into the coffers of the
hise°llcan merchants. After taking the trash to an
"venient amount, the merchants bethought
ei eloselves of asking the Governor to receive it
again for Government bills on England. His Ex-
tee
s "V declined compliance, giving the gratifying
1„.-)on that he was not yet in want of money—in other
bYr 0 rd
S, that he had yet stores of the trash in his strong
p,rs• On a merchant replying that he must then
II 4% to take any more, Captain Hill retorted, that
refusal to take the " current coin of the realm "
Gould expose him to a fine; and that if the merchants
refused
to take "his " money, he would get Yankees to
settle there who " would be glad of the chance !"
This was assuredly an old menace from an officer
Mired to protect British interests and commerce ; but
ie„,l,_°'ence displayed in the remark is more interest-
s, bringing winging us back, as it does, to the type of Cap-
Hill's half-farthings and Captain Fitzroy's two-
-4,,,111ing notes, the French assignats, the projectors
.4 issuers of all three being evidently assured that
nothing but sheer stupidity or deep villainy could
p
,ricnnpt any one to refuse their valuable issue. It
finance
to have been to carry out this philosophic
elee that Captain hill broke his promise to Sir
olurge Stephen, of returning to England in the first
in
Piafter
.his arrival. Sir George's disappointment is
3 n 'which the colony of Cape Coast must deeply
31TPathise.
liel'iANDAßD.—The decision of the Board of
er:" of Houses and Proctors at Oxford has had the
is r"
°°ll fortune of giving general satisfaction. This
e. 1- easant so far ; but it is rather invidious to com-
disarl,t Bo emphatically as some of our Whig-Ra-
of edn'°lltemporariee compliment the Board—a body
and in-e4t,ed gentlemen—for acting with good sense
We a Just and honourable spirit. For ourselves,
nevertake— had a doubt of the line the Board would
str,Aand therefore perhaps it is that we are less
have
with the formal announcement of it. We
th e heard of but one objection whispered against
e Itoard's decision, which we will give in the words
of
the objector :—" The most objectionable point in
ttProposed proceeding regarding Mr. Ward's book
hat with which the case opens—' Whereas it is
notoriously reputed and believed throughout this
University, that a book, &c., has recently been pub-
lished in Oxford, by the Rev. W. G. Ward, M.A. It
Were a hard thing formally to proceed against a man
hon mere notoriety and general belief. Mr. Ward
h 4, indeed, obviated the difficulty in his case by
avowing,h under his own hand in a letter to the Vice-
, ancellor, that the book was written by him, but the
accusation in its present form stands awkwardly for a
Pit,codent, and we should gladly see it amended."
the
ease is probably without precedent, because
44: attempted obstruction to justice is without prece-
t, for we suppose that never before was what we
It !I
ti:IY call the effrontery of pettifogging carried so far
i,f,(l a man to refuse acknowledging a book adeer-
toi printed, and published with his name in
title-page, and for months publicly
"red for sale in the shop of every book-
seller
14 er in the town in which he resided. In the
hlsenee however, of precedent, recourse is always
i to the analo of the law. Now the law pro-
tel that declarations made in the presence of a
;,-„,113' accused are to be received as evidence
ealnst him, not as conclusive evidence, but as evi-
rtrice to go to a jury, illustrated by the circumstances
Zikr;the culprit's demeanour when the declarations were
tCa. Now it will not be denied that the advertising,
lee printing, the publishing, and the exposing for sale
Of his
windows openly during menths in the place
titl Is residence, of a book with a man's name in the
thee-Page, is a sufficiently distinct declaration made in
10,, man's presence, and as such, according to the ana-
' of the law, very proper evidence to be adduced
againsto him ; he, of course, being free to prove, if he
8641, that he disowned the work, or that sickness, or
tome other adequate cause prevented his knowing
that such a book was imputed to him. Such noto-
ti''Y as Mr. Ward's book, and Mr. Ward's name in
mitt title-page, had in Oxford, supersedes the neces-
NY of any formal proof. The presumption that a
41 will not allow a book to be advertised, printed,
4'l published, and for months sold in his name is so
ii.43l'g, that strong proof must be adduced to rebut
r+ and in another analogous case, even the strongest
hutting proof is not allowed to be sufficient.
b11,1)Ple Mr. Ward to have but once promenaded
-411'd with a lady whom he permitted to repre-
, 11t herself as Mrs. Ward, to have visited in com-
trY with his fair companion the well-supplied
ktp°Ps of Mr. Loder or Mr. Spiers, in the High-
ieet ; and suppose that his lady had thought
ft
s ,to run up a heavy bill with Mr. Loder or Mr.
piers, in the name of Mr. Ward, the Rev. Gentle-
m„° must pay every farthing of the bill. It
could not serve him to prove his obligation of
e
y as a Fellow of Balliol, nor his more
ienl o vows of celibacy, taken no doubt,
the hands of Doctor Pusey and Mr.
6 twtnan, to demand the lady's marriage certificate,
tirl to give the most satisfactory proof in the world
arat his acquaintance with the fair debtor was the
110 test possible. He had allowed her, though for a
IRlllfic moment, to represent herself as Mrs. Ward, the
i-„"Y of the Rev. Mr. Ward, of Balliol ; and the
'kzorable law would compel him to settle her ac-
b.,litiot. with Messrs. Loder and Spiers, and to pay
Lao her other debts, though due to persons who
;1, never before heard of his name. Such is the
:Olt which the law allows to notoriety in such
r attars. But surely if it is just that a man is liable
toer all the debts of a lady whom he has allowed
h bearhis name, for it may be only half an
Our, he is justly liable for the contents of a
:hi' which he has suffered to bear his
1 name for half a year. There is, therefore, neither
ardahip nor repugnancy to the principles of
„CT ln presuming his authorship of it, from the noto-
titrpublication of a book with a man's name in the
tie
; arid it is absolutely necessary to do so
to dealing with the members of a party who have
moulded their morality upon a system of simulation
atilo dissimulation, and who would find it very conve-
tpent to combine at once all the credit of an Inge-
Loons and daring frankness with the security of ela-
uurate chicane.

On Wednesday Morning a fire occurred in the cot-
tage
of John Millbank, at Great Saling, arising from the
~t'ughtless and foolish act of a lodger putting under his
it tinder, which it appears had not been properly ex-
. ,Y4r4l*ed. Policeman Sergeant, while on duty at three
e 4 the morning, observed flames in the cottage,
t he he gave an alarm, aud.rendered assistance, and for-
henately the fire was got under without much damage
r,Y°LI destroyin the curtains and furniture of a bed.—
erB Rena g
.TuX IRON WORKS IN CARMARTHENSHIRR.—It is
said that Alderman Thompson is about to take the iron
South South \Vales Railw
shall have been perfected, it is
More than probable that the neighbourhood of Kidwelly
and renabrey will become a second Merthyr.— Welchman.

WEATHER TABLES FOR THE
YEAR 1845.
By P. MURPHY, Esq.
Mr. Murphy has restored his weather almanac
nearly to the form in which it first appeared, when
by some wonderful prognostications he announced the
coldest day in the year, and pointed out in the most
striking manner several symptoms of the weather
fully confirmed by the results. He confines the
limits of the work to the calendar, furnishing, of
course, the probable state of the weather for each
day in the year. Wednesday, the Bth of December,
1845, he marks thus—" Severe frost, probably.' lowest
degree of winter temperature." The following are
extracts from his introductory observations :
In regard to the present season it has been, as ap-
pears, predicted by M. Arago, of the French Institute,
that ' the pending winter will be the coldest known fir
many years.' And those who have taken the trouble to
compare our rredictions of the weather for the months
of November and December, 1844, as published in our
last year's almanac, will perceive from their almost daily
verification, that so far back as the autumn of 1843,
when that work went to press—that, as regards the com-
mencement of the present winter, we had anticipated
this result so far back as the period alluded to. In re-
ference to the remainder of the season, however, it will
be seen by the subjoined Weather Tables' for the
months of January and February, 1845, that they by no
means agree with the prediction of M. Arago ; as in the
latter months, when the severity of the season is usually
experienced in these countries, if our anticipations he
well founded, the cold of the present winter, whether
for duration or intensity, will in no respect equal that of
1829 ; and as a short time only will decide the relative
merits of these views, we are satisfied to abide the re-
sult ; and own that it is not without pleasure we find
ourselves engaged in a pas de deux with a man of the
high standing and calibre in the world of science of
M. Arago. Knaves and quacks only take refuge in
mystification ; as truth and honesty of purpose have no
occasion for a subterfuge of the kind. And if parties
who set up for knowledge in this department of physics
nearer home, would only copy the example set them by
M. Arago in this instance, and appear before the public,
people would be enabled, by comparison, to form an
estimate of their pretensions ; and have only to hope that
the precedent will not be lost on them.
"More might be added in this way, mais a quoi bon r
as things will hold their accustomed course, whatever
may be said to the contrary. But as the subject of
magnetic agency in nature is daily forcing itself more on
the attention of men of science,--and the better to un-
derstand and arrive at a knowledge of something like
general results, and correct ideas in reference to this
universal agent, a Magnetic Congress' is announced
to be held at Cambridge in the month of June, 1645 ;
let us hope, we say, that the correction of the charts, so
as to make them available in reference to that hitherto
little noticed, though most important subject, the phy-
siology of the earth's surface, will not be unattended to.
" With regard to the indications of the weather in the
subjoined Tables, occasional aberrations will, as a matter
of course, be found to occur ; simply by reason of the
impossibility which exists of its being otherwise. But
if, as expected, that these Tables present a correct out-
line of the nature of the approaching seasons of 1845,
combined with general accuracy in details, the author's
object in presenting them to the public will have been
attained."

DARING AND IMPUDENT ROBIIERY.—On Monday
night, about seven o'clock, a carter, in the employ of
Mr. West, the town carman, brought nine chests of tea
to the house of Messrs. Marshall and Co., tea-dealers in
the Strand, and whilst in the act of delivering the last
chest but one, which did not occupy him more than a
minute, two men in a light cart drove up along-
side of that containing the tea, took the last chest,
placed it in their cart, and drove off. The tea was
fine gunpowder, value between 21/. and 221. A
little girl who was attending a fruit-stall
close at hand observed the occurence, ran to
the shop, told the carman what she had seen,
and pointed out the cart as it drove off. Had the carman
raised the cry of alarm, it is almost impossible the thieves
could have escaped, but he seemed so bewildered at the
moment, that he made very little effort to capture them.
Particulars of the robbery have been given at the various
police- stations.
BUNGAY.—At about half-past five o'clock on Tues-
day evening last, a fire broke out on the farming pre-
mises of Mr. Onesimus Edwards, at Kirby, which en-
tirely consumed three haystacks, an outhouse, and
one large pig. Four engines were speedily on
the spot, and succeeded in preventing the fire
extending itself to the buildings, &c. The
premises belong to Lord Berners, who, as well
Mr. Edwards, is fully insured. The origin of the fire is
at present doubtful, but there is much cause to fear that
it is the act of an incendiary. Another fire broke out at
Broorae on Wednesday noon, on the premises of Mr.
Miller, which entirely destroyed the out-buildings' &c.
The amount of property destroyed is valued at 401. A
maid servant, who has lived 17 years in the family, is in
custody on suspicion of being the incendiary.—Norwich
Mercury.
The late General Lord Lynedoch's estate at Lyne-
doch, near Perth, has been purchased by James Simp-
son, Esq., of Foxhill Bank, near Manchester, for 135,0001.
and his late Lordship's adjacent estate of Balgowan has
been purchased by W. Thompson, Esq., of Edinburgh,
for 43,0001.
SUNDERLAND.—The Lords of the Treasury have
granted 7501., part of the Parliamentary grant for public
walks, &c., to the corporation of Sunderland, in aid of a
plan for providing a place of recreation for the inhabi-
tants, the only condition of the grant being, that the
groneautlnyd w
s,
ecuhreendpausrcahralsaecd, seohf al I andthe pmpeeroplae-.
recreationiae
legally
for
It is intended to purchase and lay out Building-hill. The
estimated cost is about 3,0001., the remainder of which
will be raised by public subscription. The town council
of Sunderland have resolved to apply to Parliament in
1846 for powers to enable them to light the town with
gas. This is already done by a Company, but the cor-
poration expect to be able to do so at a cheaper rate, and
at the same time to realize as much profit as will relieve
them from the necessity of levying a borough rate. The
present charge is 10s. per 1,000 cubic feet.
SRA.SONABLE AND MUNIFICENT DONATION.—At
the last celebration of the Holy Sacrament at Wands-
worth Church, a lady placed on the salver at the altar a
TOOL note, to be laid out by the worthy vicar in warm
clothing and fuel for the poor of the above parish. After
communicating with the generous donor, the vicar pur-
chased, at wholesale prices, a large quantity of blankets,
rugs, flannel, sheeting, woollen hose, Guernsey frocks,
and coals, which, under the superintendence of the
vicar, his curates, and the domestics of his establishment,
were distributed according to the desire of the benevolent
lady ; and the numerous partakers of this seasonable
bounty left the vicarage with hearts gladdened by the
mode in which the gifts were dispensed. In this parish
there are a great many poor, both inland and along the
waterside, and due precaution was taken that no de- cry-
ing poor person should go away without some participa-
tion of this really handsome, and, in this inclement
weather, most seasonable gift.
CHESTERFIELD Houss.—The room in which the
body of the late lamented Princess Sophia of Gloucester
was laid in state, was originally the billiard-room attached
to Chesterfield House. It forms the right wing of that
noble edifice, and the following anecdote as to its erec-
tion may be strictly relied on as authentic. It appears
that when the Earl of Chesterfield resided at the above
house there was not a billiard-room, or, in fact, any room
in the house fitted for such purpose on the premises.
In the same unfortunate predicament was Montagu
House, the then residence of Lord Montagu, which sub-
sequently became the residence of the late Queen Caro-
line. Both Noble Lords being excessively attached to
the game of billiards, it was agreed between them that
they should play a match at that game, and that the
losing party should build at kis expense a billiard-room
on the premises of the winner. The Earl of Chester-
field proved the victor, and accordingly Lord Montagu
had built on his noble antagonist's premises the room
in question. The house then became very unsightly,
and the Earl of Chesterfield was compelled, in order to
render his house uniform, to build the other wing.
THE IPSWICH Docx. Commtssiox.—The usual
monthly meeting of the Dock Commissioners was held at
the Town-hall, on Friday last. The minutes passed at
the last meeting were read and confirmed. Thomas
Warne and William Rands, jun., were appointed to the
vacant offices of coal meters. Mr. Ross gave notice,
that at the next monthly meeting he should move that
the vacancy in the committee, caused by the non-resi-
dence of Mr. John Churchman, should be filled up. There
being no other business to transact, the meeting then
adjourned.—We understand the Commissioners have
sent a memorial to the Board of Trade, petitioning them
to give their assent to the proposed extension of the
Eastern Union Line of Railway from Norwich to Ips-
wich, and we doubt not their application will meet with
the approbation of that honourable body.—lpswich
Express.
AWFULLY SUDDaN DEATH.—It is With feelings of
the deepest regret we have to announce the death of the
lady of John Leahy, of Silverapring. She retired to rest
last evening, apparently in her usual health and spirits,
and after having lain down, coughed slightly, turned on
her side, and, awful to relate, expired. The death of
this truly estimable lad y has thrown a lare circle of
relatives and friends into deep affliction.—Cogrk Southern
Reporter.
HER LATE ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCESS
SoFHLIMATILDA OF GLOUCESTER.—A stone has just
been affixed to the entrance to the catacomb containing
the remains of her late Royal Highness, bearing the fol-
lowing inscription :—" Princess Sophia Matilda, 1844."
His Excellency Aaly Effendi, since three years Am-
bassador at this Court, has been recalled, it is believed,
at his own instance, on account of this climate not
agreeing with him. Ho will be accompanied by his
Secretary of lgmbassy, Khayr Effendi. The loss of this
finished gentleman will be a matter of sincere regret to
all his colleagues. His Excellency will be succeeded by his
Excellency Sarim Effendi, who will be probably accom-
panied by his brother, as Secretary ofEmbassy. His Excel-
lency Sarim Effendi WAS formerly Ambassador here, hav-
ing succeeded Reshid Pacha. On his return, he
was sent to Persia as Ambassador to his Ma-
jesty the Shah. After his return, he was
made Minister of Commerce, land subsequently
Minister of Foreign Affairs, succeeding Refaat
Pacha. Serbia Effendi will therefore return as an old
acquaintance, and may be confidently called one of the
best diplomatists of which Turkey boasts. His Excel-
leney is expected in about two nienths.—Court Journal.
The sudden death of the young ar.d handsome Mar-
quise de Bethisy, eldest daughter of the Due de Rohan
Chabot, has caused the most melancholy sensations in
the higher circles of Paris. She had just risen from her
confinement, and was, to all appearance, in a perfect state
of convalescence, when she suduenly expired, before even
her doctor, who bad just left her, could be called back,
Water on the heart is said to have been the cause of this
awful and distressing catastrophe.-,Court Journal.

LITERATURE.
THE BOOK OF FASHIONABLE LIFE.
Cunningham, London, 1844.
The title-page of this little work informs us that
the author is a member of the Royal Household, from
which his readers are of course to infer that his di-
rections on the subject of the etiquette to be observed
in the drawing-room, the dining-room, and ball .room,
which he has laid down with singular minuteness and
precision, are such as may be implicitly relied on.
How this may be we know not, but certainly some of
his directions evince much good taste and sense, while
others are clearly superfluous, and become ridiculous
by their very circumstantialness and the emphasis
with which they are given. Speaking of the art of
conversation, which is by no means so easy a one as
may be imagined, the writer observes :—" Whatever
the subject may be, it should be originated without
effort, and descanted upon naturally ; in this respect
well-educated women are our best models, for although
their powers of reasoning may not be so strong, they
have much more of what may be termed harmony of
thought, than men, and their English, moreover, is
pure." This is justly observed, but then follow some
directions respecting dinners, not a few of which are
simply absurd. The volume is interspersed with se-
veral amusing anecdotes of Court and fashionable life,
which serve to relieve the monotony, and, we may add,
the formal and pedantic nature of the subject.

THE CHANNEL ISLANDS.
thosela `rho
of n
o thinloi
Islandsthell'p'eossaersesinoontoafintoLgCthhaennnuelmberof
a matter
importance. Mismanaged and misgoverned as they
undoubtedly are, they are nevertheless valuable de•
pendencies of the Crown, containing a faithful and
loyal population of more than 70,000 souls, encom-
passed on all sides by the sea, and employing a ship-
ping amounting to more, we believe, than 30,000 tons,
according to the latest accounts.
But it is not solely at their intrinsic worth that
these islands should be rated. A British Minister
should consider not only their actual value, but what
they have cost, during the progress of the war, to the
parent country. In that gigantic contest from which
Great Britain came out victorious, it has been com-
puted that our country was obliged to embody and
maintain upwards of 10,000 men, solely for the de-
fence of the Channel Islands, independent of a
squadron of ships of war. The amount of the civil
and military establishments maintained in Jersey and
Guernsey during that eventful period, has been com-
puted alone at no less a sum than 284,1631. 16s. sd.
annually, in addition to a million of pounds otherwise
expended.
So immense an outlay as this was only justified
by the universal opinion that if these islands were in
the hands of the enemy the trade of the Channel
would be placed in peril. And so it unquestionably
would previous to 1815 ; for the possession of the
islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark,
would then have placed in the hands and at the
disposition of France that numerous host of priva-
teering vessels which, in the hands and under the
guidance of Britons, inflicted such serious injury on
the trade and commerce of our then most implacable
enemy. But the introduction and the general use of
steam in our navy has since materially diminished the
importance of this branch of the question, as we took
occasion to show in reviewing the pamphlet of the
Prince de Joinville ; though we are not insen-
sible to the advantage in the event of war (which
Heaven avert !) of having a naval station either at
Benlay Bay or at Alderney. But, in war, or in
peace, it is only fair that dependencies such as these
—enjoying not only protection but valuable immu-
nities, and on the erection of one of whose fortresses,
the foundation of which was laid in 1806, no less a
sum than 800,0001. was expended by the British
nation—should be governed by British laws, British
usages, and British customs. It is high time that in
the year of our Lord 1844, Jersey and Guernsey
should emerge from the barbarous code of feudalism;
and, being British in heart and British in feeling,
should adopt not only our laws and municipal insti-
tutions, but our language, as the code and the lan-
guage of her judicature and her people. The moral
and intellectual condition of the people of the Channel
Islands, notwithstanding the facilities afforded by
railroads and steam, can never be thoroughly im-
proved till the use of the English language and the
adoption of the English laws present a universal
medium of communication, and contact, and homo-
genity with the parent country. These general
observations—true at any time, and important as true
—derive augmented interest from recent occurrences.
For the last week the Court of Privy Council has
rung with the echoes of Jersey and Guernsey ; and
her Majesty's representative, the gallant and chival-
rous Lieutenant. Governor of one of those islands,
finds himself at issue with the Royal Court. It may
so happen, too, that before the close of the next
Hilary Term, the Court of Queen's Bench, where
her Majesty in person is supposed to preside,
may come into legal conflict with the Supreme
Court of the Island of Jersey, and these collisions—
always unseemly, if not always unseasonable--can
only be prevented for the future by rendering St.
Helier and St. Aubin as much part and parcel of
the realm of England, as St. Albans and St. Neots.
It may and will be said by the Jersey and Guernsey
people, that their islands are prosperous and
flourishing ; but the prosperous and flourishing
condition of the islands is due, not to the
right of electing their own judges—not in being
governed by their own Legislature—not in the in-
operativeness of certain British writs and certain
British laws—not in the exemption from the impress
service, under the old system of manning the British
iafinindg into
itihoeticeex—istbeuntc,e hearof is
to
ymee a on
tt efrr e per ivi le
traders,gesr
too yt
who are perpetually declaiming against freedom of
commerce—hear that the prosperity of the Channel
Islands arises altogether from a system of free trade
and low duties !
The late H. D. Inglis, who resided in the islands
from 1832 to 1834, and who, during a two years'
residence, commanded not only the opportunities to
observe, but, what is still better and far rarer, the
capacity and discrimination necessary to accurate
observation, thus speaks of the causes of the pros-
perity of the Channel Islands in his agreeable work :
" The flourishing condition of the island is not, how-
ever, owing to the privileges which are so much valued
by the people, and which may be termed political privi-
leges, but is owing to its great commercial privileges.
When I come to speak of the commerce of the island,
these will be enumerated and explained ; meanwhile, I
would only observe, that it is these commercial privi-
eges which have filled its harbour with shipping, and ex-
tended its commerce over the world—these which confer
upon it the advantage it possesses over other spots, in
commanding, at a lower price, the luxuries and many of
the necessaries of life."
We are well aware how very dangerous and impo-
litic a thing it is to interfere with the laws and the
language of a people who have long lived contented
and happy under a vicious and barbarous system ;
nor should we advise such a course if the people of the
Channel Islands alone were concerned. But now that
these islands are within a few hours' run to London,
and, by the aid of steam, within a few hundred
minutes' sail of Granville and St. Malo and the French
coast—now that thousands and thousands of British
inhabitants resort thither for the purpose of business,
pleasure, commerce, or with a view to become perma-
nent residents—now that the acts of the Lieutenant-
Governor are questioned and traversed by the Bailli
and Jurats, it becomes more than ever necessary to
Le accurately informed of the nature and constitution
of those Courts, and the mode of election of those
judges with which the inhabitants are so enamoured.
Of the constitution and legislature of the islands,
Inglis thus speaks :
" The constitutions of these islands ought not to he
left to the management of their own legislatures. Amend-
ments are required both in constitution and laws, which
will never be male by the authorities in either island.
It would be absurd, in these days, to moot the question
as to the powers of the British Government, or to discuss
the question, whether the right of legislation over these
islands is vested in the King as Duke of Normandy, or
as King of England. It is a favourite opinion in the
islands, that in cases where the general interests of the
empire aro in any way connected with the interests of
the island—where, in fact, there is a common interest—
the British Parliament may interfere; but that in all
local matters concerning the interest of the islands
solely, legislation lies with the island institutions and
the Privy Council. Ido not see the force of this dis-
tinction: I look upon it to be the duty of the island
legislature to legislate for the benefit of the whole em-
pire ; and if certain changes in the constitution of Jersey
or Guernsey would insure greater security to property,
more certain or cheaper justice, or would even hare the
effect of diminishing feuds, and of advancing civilisation;
and if there is no hope that the island legislatures will
themselves originate these changes, then there is suffi-
cient ground for the interference of the British Govern-
ment, and for the adoption of whatever measure; may
be sanctioned by the British Parliament. In these ob-
servations I have Jersey more than Guernsey in view,
though I am very far from subscribing to a very general
opinion in Guernsey, that there no reform is needed."
These observations were written ten years ago, and
recent occurrences give them a ten-fold force. Sir
Robert Peel may smile, look specious and solemn—
enunciate some puling plausibilities—or bring forth,
with faithful gestation, some admitted truism, only a
century and a half old, dressed up for the occasion in
his " richest wardrobe" of euphonious and sounding
expletives. He may talk, like his Solicitor-General,
of the law of expediency, the only law by which he
squares his conduct—he may send Sir James Graham
to the Privy Council, as the descendant of " John of
the bright sword," to interpret the Coutumier de Nor-
manth!e—or tell the " travelled Thane, Athenian
Aberdeen," to shroud himself in More than his usual
North British reserve—he may tell his Chancellor to
crack ribald jokes; but will he come to a Parliamen-
tary solution of the question at issue, satisfactory to
the Lieutenant-Governor of the Channel Islands, or,
most material of all, satisfactory to the British
People ? lVe accorded to the British Premier the praise
in
which he deserved, for recently appointing aj ud