The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-26 00:00:00

1.1 •
,4 L 0111111 I < t

LONDON, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1845.

It is impossible to reconcile the views taken by
certain merchants, stockbrokers, and the City pro-
phets, of Mr. POLK'S Message, with the tone which
pervades it throughout, and the express words, which
relate to subjects of the most vital importance to this
country. Many of these parties consider the docu-
ment rather of a peaceful character, and prognosticate
that, as Le has done the Legislature the honour of re-
fer:inc.,: the Oregon question to them, the whole
burden is cast on their shoulders, and they cannot be
so mad as to plunge two nations into war for a
poMt t.f difference which might be honourably settled
by arbitration. But it yught to be remembered that
PoLx. could do nothing less than refer t!--e question to
them ; they are, by the constitution of the
country, the arbiters, and without their con-
sent notice cannot be-given to Great Britain that
the joint occupancy shall cease within the year,
nor any material step whatever be taken. The cha•
racer ef the pa; ties, both in the Senate and the Lower
lioute,.bai a great deal also to do with the affair, and
that alone ought to excite strong misgivings as to a
favourable termination of the disputes with America.
It is admitted, apparently without any contradiction,
that the majority in both Houses belong to the de-
mccratical party, that they are cordial supporters of
the policy pursued by the late and the present Chief
11.14i._,,israte, and Mr. POLK'S Message may, therefore, be
regarded as much an exposition of their views as of
his own. are as anxious for peace as any party
in the country, not even excepting the Society of
Frierele, but we cannot shut our eyes to danger, nor
join ;cith those who cry " Peace, peace, while there
Is no peace." Nothing can be more precise than the
I:mg:nage of Mr. POLK and the alternatives which he
aareinrwed re,pecting the Oregon dispute. Last
see: i tie a hole of the territory, and
, ,-,:theretion, foal tre soli-inn announce-
men--; •; iIcBEET PEEL and Lord ABERDEEN, '
in ; c,tii 11,-.llses cordi:illy joined, that England
2,A prep.ired to resist such a demand, he repeats his
firt -rt.'on, and lays it down as a fact, about
4a- ;, • e :n he no dispute, that the United States
~..mproinise- " without an abandonment
"f jes7 and clear territorial rights, their own
reap, et, aiA their national honour." It is im-
Pos-ibla to use any language more precise than this,
or more clearly point out to the world, that, unless
England gives way, war must be the only alternative.
But Sir lioueter l'e.er, cannot give way; he cannot
retract his deliberate avowal, that the " Bri-
tish Government is resolved to assert her
claim, and prepared to maintain it." The people of
this country could not submit to the degradation of
yielding one iota of their righta after such a declara-
tion ; and no Minister who, under Present eireum-
A'ances, could truckle to such imperious and unjust
demands, would be suffered for one week to re-
tain his place. Sir RonaaT PEEL must know
that this Oregon affair is a very secondary
question, and that he must look further,
examine the policy laid down by POLK and others in
raference to the North American continent, and see
h:.-•thi•r that can be maintained without the expul-
sion, of every British subject from the English pos-
a,aeirs io that quarter, and a fatal !'-,lo‘v to one
of the tno,r important branches of our colonial
trade. "It should be announced," says the
PRESIDENT, "to the world as our settled policy,
that no future European colony or dominion shall
without our consent be planted or established on any
part of the North American Continent"—which
means that no European colony hds any right what-
ever to exist on that continent, and that the very first
opportunity will be seized for expelling, from Canada

Accounts from Paris state that the market for stock
and railway shares had recovered from the late dept Via..
sion, and that all kinds of securities were more, firm
than they had been for several days. This was attri-
buted chiefly to the intelligence fror:4 London an-
nouncing the failure of Lord J. Rt:SSELL in forming
an administration. On Monde!' the Three per Cents
at one time reached 821. 10c.., but they afterwards fell
to 801. 90c., owing to tome heavy sales. Many
orders had arrived from the country to purchase rail-
-way shares. On Tuesday we stated that the contract
offered by LAFFITTE and Co., for the Paris and Lyons
Railway, had been accepted by the Government, and
we now learn that the adjudication for forty-one
years and ninety days had been confirmed by a reyel
ordonnance of the 21st. The Aloniteur, which pub.
lishes this ordonnance, contains also the following re-
port on the subject from the Minister of Public
Works to the KING :--
" Sire,—The law of July 16, 1845, has authorised the
Minister of Public Works to proceed by competition to
make the grant of the Paris and Lyons Railroad. In
execution of this law, I announced that the adjudication
would take place on the 20th inst. Two companies de-
clared their intention of coming to this adjudication.
One alone was admitted to make the tender, the other
made known to me that it withdrew from the competi-
tion. The law imposed upon me the obligation of
fixing in a sealed letter tho maximum of the term for
the enjoyment of the grant, above which no aejudico.-
tion could be made. In the presence of a single com-
pany, the fixing of this maximum demanded my most
serious attention. After deep reflection, 1 fixed upon
41 years 90 days. The company by its tonder having
demanded an enjoyment for 42 years and 6 months, there
could be no adjudication. Immediately one of the
members of the company announced in his own name.
a willingness to accept the maximum which I had fixed,
and the issue of the meeting was a tender from the
company, in conformity with this declaration. I have,
therefore, to take the King's command whether I should
accept this tender, or announce a new adjudication. It
appears to me that anew adjudication on a known maxi
mum, and which I see no reason to alter, presents to the
State no chance of acquiring better conditions than
those which have been acceded to by this said company.
It appears to me, also, that the appointing a new edju-
dication.,would hold in suspense the large capitals col-
lected by the companies which were prepared for the
competition, amounting to 200,000,000 francs, and would
withdraw them from circulation at a period of the year
when business transactions are the most numerous, and
the wants of commerce at the greatest height. Under
these circumstances, Sire, I have not hesitated to make
up my mind that this is an occasion for exercising the
faculty given to the Government by the royal ordonnance
of 4th December, 1836, rendered in execution of the
law of 31st January, 1833, directing the public admi-
nistration as to the formalities to beobserved on passing
all contracts entered into by the Governmeat. It results
in effect from this ordonnance that when at adjudications
unacceptable terms are offered—that is to say, higher
than the maximum fixed by the Administration, the
Administration has the right, without having recourse
to a new adjudication, to receive a second tender, pro-
vided it do not go beyond the maximum. I have,
)heria etripa Ay therefore, the honour of proposing to the King the
annexed firm of an ordonnance, accepting the offer of
a I
admitted to compete for the grant of the
oand Lyons Railroad, and deslaring it to be the
grantee of this railroad upon the provisos and conditions
of the Administration, and fur a duration of enjoyment
of forty-one years and' ninet days found respect, sm.y •—I am, with pro-
The Journal des
"S. DLTMON."
Debate publishes the following
letter from Algiers of the 15th inst :
" The rumour is spreading that Abd-el-Kader, having
divided his troops, has fallen back with his most faith-
ful followers on the Tell. If the Emir has penetrated
into the interior, as the Arab couriero declare, he must
have passed by Ain-Teseletnet, and finally penetrated to
the Benib'on-Seliman, where he has numerous partuans,
and where the country is exceedingly uneven. If Abd-
el Kider executes the projects attributed to him, hf will,

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ELEPHANTS ON THE FRENCH STAGE.—We learn
from the Paris papers that two well trained elephants
are now performing at the Theatre National Cirque
with the greatest success. They are the property of
Mr. Hughes, an Englishman, who is also the proprivtor
of the ..MammothCircus," in this country. A piece
has been written expressly for the purpose of displaying
the wonderful sagacity of these remarkable animals. The
Slide of December 15th, in a notice of their clever per-
formances, remarks, that at the fall of the curtain the
elephants were loudly called for by the audience, and
whet' they again appeared on the stage flowers and
bixiquets were thrown at their feet, when these animals
introduced the very novel innovation of swallowing all
the flowers
Complaints are uttered of a great advance recently
made in the rates charged by insurance companies. Upon
stocks of general warehouses this increase is said to amount
to from 100 to 300 per cent. It is fairly argued, that if the
rates hitherto charged have produced a remunerating profit,
it is hardly just to impose an additional tax on carefulness.
—Times.
NEW POLICE COURT IN WESTMINSTER.—The ma-
gistrates of Queen-square Police-Court received on Wednesday
an order from the Home Secretary, directing them to remove
on Thursday, January Ist, to the new court which has been
erected in 'Vincent-square, in lieu of the present inconvenient
premises in Queen-square, and which, by an order in Council,
is to be called the " Westminster Police Court."