The Sun.
London, England, 1842-12-23 00:00:00

NA VAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTIL—The Austrian frigate Bellone, com-
manded by the Archduke Frederick, is taking on
board live stock, &c., preparatory to returning to
Trieste. She will go out of harbour in a day or two.
A grand ball will be given on Wednesday in honour
of his Imperial Highness, which will be attended by
all the elite of the neighbourhood. Naval officers
who have visited the ship report well of her internal
condition.

The new steamer Spiteful, built at Pembroke, base
been commissioned at Plymouth by Commander
William Maitland, 1840, reported for service in the
Mediterranean.
The Samarang, 26, Captain Belcher, fitting out at
this port for surveying service in the Chinese waters,
is progreszively getting manned, but retarded in her
equipment by the unfavourable weather. She is to be
supplied with lanterns for night actions, invented by
Mr. Hay, operative chemist, of Portsmouth.
The Cambridge, 78, Captain Barnard, recently
from the Mediterranean, is in the harbour refitting,
so
and, contrary to expectation, is ordered to proceed as
n asreadyis
notto P
known.lymouth for further directions. Her
destinationo

The Warspite, 50,Captain Lord John Hay, has
left Spithead for the West Indies. She goes in the
first instance to Bermuda, to meet the Vice-Admiral.
Sir Charles Adam, and for her Captain to be present
at a Court-martial, ordered to be assembled for the
trial of Captain the Hon. C. Elliot, of the Spartan,
26, for having flogged a Midshipman of that ship.
We ascertain by letters of the Bth instant, that the
Formidable, 80, Captain Sir Charles Sullivan, Bart.,
has arrived in safety at Minorca, and was repairing
her damages in the harbour of Port Mahon, having
been towed thither by the Cyclops steamer. She has
lost her rudder, and is leaky, and after temporary
repairs is to proceed to Malta. Her safety is ascribed
to the light wind which then prevailed, or she would
have been a total wreck at the mouth of the Llobre-
gat, near Barcelona.

- The Pilot, 18, is orderedhome from the West Indies
to be paid off, having been in commission upwards of
four years.
Thel Tyne and Conway, 26 gun ships, are being
brought forward for commission at this port.
The new sloop Frolic, 16, Commander Willis, is
ordered to proceed to the West Indies, as soon as
ready. She is to convey to the Bahamas, Governor
Sir James Cockburn.
At Spithead.—No ship of war.
In Harbour—St. Vincent, Victory, Cambridge,
Excellent, Royal George Samarng, Frolic, Nau-
tilus, and Thunderbolt, iocket and Volcano steamers,
and Austrian frigate Bellone.
We have just heard that orders have been dis-
patched to the Captain of the Formidable, 80, Sir
Charles Sullivan, Bart., to return to Spithead, as soon
as the repairs of the ship are effected.—Brighton
Gazette.

ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL FOR THE DRITITI7IIII
SICK.—It gives us sincere pleasure to learn that con-
tributions towards the new and extensive premises in
Gray's Inn-road, purchased for this excellent, institu-
tion, are beginning to flow in pretty copiously.
Within these few days donations of 100/. from Miss
Lee, of Knightsbridge ; 2CO/. from J. T. ; and 1001.
from B. G.; besides many other smaller amounts
have been paid to the account of the charity. Those
under the initials of J. P. and B. G., came through
their bankers, Messrs. Grote and Co.

Cirmary.-LlNrednesday, the sitting Magistrates at
Bow-street, Worship-street, and Clerkenwell Police
Courts, each acknowledged a donation of 101. from
the Goldsmiths' Company, for the relief of the poor.
We learn from Turin that the hamlet of Novette,
in Savoy, has been almost entirely reduced to ashes,
upwards of sixty houses, including the parsonage,
having been burnt down, leaving a hundred families
without shelter or bread, as the whole of their har-
vest, which was in the barns, has also been consumed.
The church is much damaged, and narrowly escaped
total destruction,

LONDON :
FRIDAY MOANING, DECEMBER 23, 1842.

All argument as to the-utility of a Corn-law to
protect the cultivators of the soil is at an end.
The Protectionists have wholly given up the
question. No man now says a word in defence
of the law. At the meetings of the agriculturists,
there have been complaints enough of the Tariff,
and enough of Sir R. PEEL'S Corn-law; there
have been vague aspirations after protection, but
not a word has been said in favoUr of the sliding
scale. The points yet doubtful on the subject
are these :—First. When will the public mind be
fully saturated with the knowledge which painful
facts have lately made apparent, and how long
will it require to give the public sentiment the
technical form and dress of an Act of Parlia-•
ment ? How long must the nation continue to
suffer fr(im of a law of which the folly has been
demonstrated to the complete conviction of the
people ?. Secondly. Is the repeal to he total and
immediate, or partial and gradual, allowing the
law to slide out of existence?

We cannot answer the first question, but if
the rumour to which we yesterday.alluded have,
any foundation—and we see. so many proofs of
the progress of conviction amormst 'the -agricuL
turists, that we believe it has—the embodying of
the public sentiment in an Act of Parliament is
nearer hand than most people suppose- it it be
the duty of the leaders of society to go before, it,
as the name implies,
and if all laws must apply
to the future—the past being beyond the power
even of Parliament—we may reasonably expect
that the Ministers will go in advance of" the
sluggish multitude of their followers and hasten
to pass an Act,)
Which may to some
eitent pre-
cede and prepare for the complete formation of
public opinion. Foresight is Perhaps the most
necessary,- and yet the rarest quality of a states..
man, for without that he cannot adapt his en-
actments. to the unknown • future. To suppose
that he has much influence over the,,
is proved,
progress ,4
society, and either guides oil controls it
by modern experience, to be as idle a chimera

as ever entered the brain of any reforming
visionary. Over opinion, which is the guide of
action, tne statesman has, perhaps, not more in-
fluence than any observing man who writes in a
newspaper. It is his business, therefore, to fore-
see, if he can, that future which he cannot
command, and to adapt his laws to it. If the
Ministers, therefore, be wise, they will encou-
rage the landlords to unite with them, in giving
at once that freedom to trade which must ulti-
mately be given, because it is essential to the
prosperity and the peace of society.
As to the second question, our own opinion is
clear, decided, and has been frequently expressed.
We are for an immediate and total repeal, and
we are glad to see that converts to that opinion
are multiplying every day. We will quote, for
example, a part of a letter which has been ad-
dressed to the Scotsman by a Sussex farmer, sheep,
and cattle dealer, the signature to which we be-
lieve to he genuine, and the sentiments of which
we know are entertained by the farmers of the
South :
I am on English agriculturist who would have
stuck like a rivet to any Corn-law that might have
worn the appearance of finality; but who, seeing that
no political party can maintain a law of protection as
a final measure—seeing that sooner or later the Corn-
laws will be totally abolished—l seek with the ut-
most anxiety ther total and immediate repeal.
And I ask for this filler well considering the whole
subject ; after hearing the opinions of many of our
leading farmers in the midland, southern, and western
counties of England, who agree with me in saying,
" Either let us be protected, or let us know on what
ground we are to stand and protect ourselves." Each
week I meet two or three score of first-rate graziers

and cattle-dealers ; each quarter of the year I meet
several hundreds of leading graziers and corn-growers
from eight or ten of our agricultural counties ; and
during each of these periods I see many hundreds of
the smaller farmers of the same districts, all of whom
demand either to be protected by a permanent law, or
to be at once freed from the destructive effects of end-
less changes and insecurity.
The question of gradual abolition, I assure you, Mr.
Editor, and your north country readers, is never
mooted in the south and west of England. We are,
many of us, Conservatives in general politics. We
opposed the Whigs and the eight shillings' duty, be-
cause we knew they could not keep to it as afloat %flea.,
We supported the Conservatives,. and looked

sue.

forward to Sir Hobert Peel in the hope of a permanent
maintenance of protection; but we now see that, as
conflicting interests stand, Sir Robert Peel neither
will nor can fulfil these former expectations. I meet

few men who are not convinced of this. Ask anti• hun-
dred of our south country farmers what, in the matter
of the Corn-laws, they would like best, and ninety-
nine will answer—" A Corn-law not to be altered."
Ask, after this, what they prefer, when they see such
a Cora-law cannot be obtained ; they will hold their

tongues. Ask if their total and immediate repeal is
not the best alternative ; you will find :-ourself landed
perchance, in an argument on the supposed results of

total and immediate— repeal ; and, pet-baps, you will
hear some doleful suppositions, likelihoods, doubts,
and fears. But ask it the gradual abolition would be
preferable ; and at once, from all, you hear a burst of
" No, no; let ui be protected in reality, or take away
that protection. If we are to die, let us die ; but do
not torture us with a slow death !"

That comes froM the same county where the
Messrs. G °RINGS have lately told the farmers
they must no longer rely on protection, which
• is a strong presumption in favour of its accuracy.
At the same time, it is a delightful proof of the
general spreading of enlightened opinions in
that part of the empire. The Duke of Ricn-
moND, though he somewhat sulkily sticks to
protection, and tells his tenants not to alarm
themselves, but " wait and see if men proposed"
great changes, lots not been able to stop the
march of opinion in Sussex, where a short crop
and low prices have made the mass of the agri-
culturists extremely uneasy, and anxious to be
no longer plagued with laws which mock them
by a promise of protection that is never realised.
Agreeing in many of the opinions of his Corre-
pondent, the Scotsman is now an!advocate for as
total and immediate repeal. The Editor says—
Every farmer who expects to occupy his land for a
term of years, with or without a lease, must long for
protection against perpetual uncertainty. This he
can only receive from a final measure; and the
agriculturists themselves are now fast arriving at a
conviction, that no measure short of free trade can be
final. Every country gentleman who intends to buy
or sell an estate, must feel his situation as full of per-
plexity as that of the farmer who rents it. Let it he
kept in mind, that what is called " free trade" still
leaves the British corn-grower a protection equal to
the cost of importation, which averag►es ten shillings
per quarter, or more than twenty per cent. on the
present price of wheat. To this advantage many
others are added. His capital, skill, and machinery,
are vastly superior to those of the foreigner ; he has
better and cheaper means of transport, and he must
always have virtually a monopoly in the supply of
animal food.

When we thus find the opinion that the laws
should be totally and immediately repealed ra-
pidly gaining ground in the country, we only
feel the more confirmed in our views. If a law
were to be passed partially and gradually to re-
peal the existing law, there could be no guarantee
that the repeal law would not be itself repealed.
Nay, it is highly probable that the agriculturists,
who would suffer by the check given to enter-
prise till the end of the gradual change was
reached, would be the first and the most strenu-
ous to demand that repeal. We believe, too,
that they much over-rate the effects on prices of
a total and immediate repeal. If it be true, as
experience has proved, that the law has not kept
up the price to the expectations of the agricultu-
rists, it is also probable that abolishing the law
will not reduce the price as much as they fear.
They formed their opinion of the law, as Mr.
GREG has remarked, from what was intended by
the law-maker, not from the actual effect of the
law. Their present apprehension of the effects
of total repeal are more derived front their old
faith in the promises of the law, than front their
present conviction as to its performances. Their
comparisons are all based on their habitual be-
lief that the law would give them 60s. or 655. a
quarter, not on the fact that it has only given
them 565. or less, and at present does not give
them above 475. We believe, therefore, that they
may dismiss all their fearsof a great reduction
of prices from the abolition of the Corn-law, and
if prices were to fall 5 or 10 percent., they would
be speedily compensated by the steadiness of the
price and the brisk demand.

a-
Mr. 11. GREG, who is quite indefatigable in
his exertions to improve the agriculture of Eno,
land, has just sent forth a second,
pamphlet, p
fished by Ridgway, on " Scotch Farming in
England." The following is the summary which
he gives of his views:—
The principal difficulties, then, in the way of the
general establishment of an improved system of agri-
culture in England, I conceive to be-
1. The low state of intelligence amongst the Eng-
lish farmers and labourers, and the general ignorance
of landowners themselves on the science of agriculture,
and proper management of their estates.

2. Tlie uncertain and divided ownership of land,
arising out of common and manorial rights.
3. The law of entail, by which no man owns his own
estate.

4. The prevalence of tenantcy-at-will, and unwil-
lingness of landowners to grant leases, and to resign
the incidental privileges of landed property.
5. The rents being paid in a fixed amount of money,
instead of a given quantity of produce.
Some of these points scarcely concern the
Legislature or the public, except as matters of
curiosity and information. They do not, we
think, fall within the scope of legislation. The
Legislature, for example, is itself much too igno-
rant to undertake the education of the farmers,
and that can only be improved by making them
.aware of their deficiencies. It is of no use setting
the blind to lead the blind. School education,
on which Mr. H. H. GREG relies very much, pre-
vails most extensively in Germany, without
making the people good agriculturists, or active,
energetic men. We listen, therefore, with some
repugnance to culogiums on a State-given edu-
cation as a means of improving agriculture.
It is the business of the Legislature to take
care that the ownership of land shall be so regu-
lated that the land may be turned to the greatest
possible public advantage. It is bound, therefore, '
to put an end to conflicting and uncertain rights,
and bound to guarantee to the present generation
as full a power over the soil as any of its pre-
decessors possessed ; or it is bound not to
give effect to entails, tying up land by the
will of men long since returned to kindred dust.
Every man should own his property fully and
completely, subject to all public charges. No_

blemen and gentlemen should be at liberty to
provide for their younger children, and at liberty
to improve their estates by selling any portion
of them. Every acre of the land of this country
has been bought over and over again; and it is
now a merchandise, the representative of money,
and it ought to be as freely bought and sold as
other merchandise. The second and third para-
graphs refer to subjects which we think are proper
for the consideration of the Legislature, and it
ought to attend to them.
The fourth head treats of a subject with which
legislation should not meddle. Whether a man
lets his land to tenants-at-will, or by leases, is
no business of the law-maker. The owner of the
land is to have it in full property ; and, in ac-
cordance with the principle we have just laid
down, he may lease it in any manner he pleases.
The same observations apply to the fifth head.
Whether the rent be paid in money or grain,
no more concerns the law-maker than whether
the tailor pays the shoemaker with coats or with
bank-notes. For the sake of clearness, and for
the sake of science, we are sorry that Mr. GREG
has not made the distinction we have pointed
out, and has left it to be inferred by his remarks
that each and all of these defects may be, and
ought to be, remedied by the act of the Legisla-
ture. We demur to such an inference, and have
thought it necessary to draw attention to the dis-
tinction, that we may not be thought wholly re-
gardless of the rights of landowners.
At the same time, we must observe that their
claim to tax the public in order to keep up rent,
gives the public acomplete right to pry into their
mode of managing their land. What should
we care that the landowners chose to employ
half their estates in feeding partridges and hares,
and allowed -the other half to be only half-tilled/
that theymight have in the tenant-at-will a political
slave, if tee were not called upon to pay him fin•
keeping his game and neglecting tillage ? If we
could buy our bread where we pleased, how he
employed his land would be ncthing to us. The •
tax on bread, in order to raise rent, makes the
landowner responsible to the public for the
manner in which he employs his land, and,
rightly understood, reduces him, while he thinks
he shows his power, to a state of slavery. Mr.

GREG says—
I have at this moment lying before me particulars
of a large estate advertised for sale. The first farm
on the li,t consists of 244 acres, rent 2101. per annum;
and the second, 239 acres, rent 2201. Both farms are
within twenty-five miles of London, tithe free, and let
to yearly tenants ; and a note is attached to the de-
scription of both, " an exceedingly low rent, in conse-
quence of damage arising- to the crops from the game
and rabbits.

The landlords must not attempt to " eat their cake
and hare their cake." as the saying is. They must
not deny to a tenant the security of a lease, claim his
vote at elections, keep a quarter of their estates in
cover, permit their game to destroy his wheat and
turnips, and yet expect him to pay a full rent; nei-
ther must they tax the community, by the creation of
a monopoly, to enable him to pay a full rent. They
must choose between diminished income and dimi-
nished privileges, and not attempt to keep up both at
the expense of the nation, by maintaining the
Corn-laws.

The pamphlet, like all Mr. R. H. GREG'S pro-
ductions, is sensible and worth reading.

We seldom or never take notice of the meet-
ings of the " National Repeal Association," which
are held once a week in Dublin ; for the subject
is one which excites little public interest, Ireland
being already well convinced that no substantial
benefit will ever accrue from the agitation of Re-
peal. Occasionally, however, a remark is let
drop by one or other of the agitators, which
deserves a passing notice; and accordingly we
may here just briefly allude to an observation
made by Mr. JOHN O'CONNELL at the last meet-
ing of the Association, who stated that he had a
motion to make with regard to the English Press,
" which was of a piece with the English people
in its conduct towards Ireland in the moment
of triumph. The particular point he referred to
in this motion was, the claim set up by the Eng-
lish Press, and echoed by the English people,
for a remission of the Income-tax. They
made that claim without the slightest
reference to Ireland, or without caring what in-
justice was inflicted on her." We take no notice
of Mr. O'CONNELL'S sneer at the English Press,
for it is as unjust as it is absurd; but what does
he mean by saying that England claims a re-
mission of the Income-tax, without reference to
Ireland? How could the one country have refer-
ence to the other, in discussing a claim of this sort?
Ireland has no Income-tax. The " machinery"
for such an impost—as Sir ROBERT PEEL assured
his faithful Commons—is wholly wanting in that
fortunate spot of earth. If she were cursed with
this detestable tax, gladly, most gladly would
England help her to kick off the burden ;
but having no such specific grievance to
be redressed, we do not see how we can
act otherwise than we are now acting—
that is to say, labour hard to throw the impost
off our own shoulders, without pausing in our
work, and distracting our attention by the con-
sideration of how far the tithe system and the
New Poor-law are, or are not, injurious to Ire-
land. Whatever the Repealers, for obvious
reasons, may choose to allege to the contrary,
England, of late years at least, has never been
fbund wanting to the sister country in her hour
of distress and danger.

The Police Courts of the Metropolis under-
went a sort of purification sonic time ago, when
several of the Magistrates were superannuated,
and barristers of a certain number of years'
standing were substituted in their place. Taking
these changes into account, together with the
new system of police, the public had reason to ex-
pect better protection, and a betteradministration
of justice, but they have been grievously disap-
pointed. Not half the complaints were made
against the old Magistrates that are now made
with too much truth against certain of these
young gentlemen learned in the law; and as re-
gards the constables, people arc absolutely
afraid to speak to them, or even come in their
way. If a man walks fast he is supposed to
be after no good, if he loiters and looks about
him he is equally suspected, and if he should
have the misfortune to incur the displeasure, or
' offend the dignity of the policeman, he is
dragged to the station-house and given in charge
as drunk and incapable. We animadverted
yesterday, on the conduct of Mr. GREENWOOD
towards three young men, who, from all
accounts, were quite innocent; yet two of them
,ewereremandedvidmlce
w a
was
soond
es
fteseptiicveio n
thatc of felony,th e
i\g
iabui
stt thera e
had not courage to adhere', io his decision, and
tceoreday
consequently restored
iticasrtodrieadrgtehewmastobrthoueigrhft a
riegnadisa.stYaens:
Yes-
who, probably aware that the attention
of t
other young man before the same Magis-
trate,public, and perhaps of the official autho-
rities, has been called to his decisions, placed
more confidence in the statements of the pri-
soner than in the evidence of the policeman, and
we learn, complained of being arrested with-
outdischarged him forthwith. The prisoner,
flt when the answer from
ca
lneyr k just
w as cause,yo
more could you want ? " But the most
You are discharged; what
outrageous case of all yet heard before Mr.
GREENWOOD, is that of Mr. KING, a surgeon, re-
siding in the neighbourhood of Russell-square.
It appeared that, on the 13th inst., while return-
, ing home in the evening, he was arrested by a
policeman who, as will be seen from Mr. KING'S
evidence, had a grudge against him; he was then
dragged to the station-house, and confined in a cell
for the night. On Wednesday he brought for-
ward several witnesses, one of them a Major in
the army, who proved in the most satisfactory
manner that there was not one word of truth in
the evidence on which a respectable medical
man had been fined for drunkenness. Mr.
GREENWOOD, however, had decided, and his
sentence could not be reversed. We refer
to a full report of the case under the proper
head. It is the duty of a Magistrate to hear
charges for drunkenness against any parties with
great caution, but, above all, those made against
professional men, whose character =and prac-
tice may be ruined by the false evidence
of policemen. A surgeon, rather than have
such a fine inflicted and made public, would
purchase his escape at any price ; and we may,

therefore, easily account for the anxiety of Mr.
KING to get his release, or clear his character
of such a grave charge by the most undoubted
evidence. This he has done very satis-
factorily ; but the injury has 'been com-
mitted, his name is registered on the
police-books with the words " fined ss. for
drunkenness," and his rivals and enemies may
make a good use of the fact. Some days ago a
publican was fined 51. by the same Magistrate,
on a charge made by a policeman that he
saw two drunken men in his house, and for
this he may possibly lose his license and
his means of subsistence. The illegal and
unjust decisions of certain Magistrates require
the immediate attention of the Home Secretary.
With such credulous judges and such unscrupu-
lous informers, no man's character or property
is safe.

A communication has been received from Con-
stantinople, by • way of Vienna, announcing a
serious misunderstanding between the Court of
St. Petcrsburgh and the Sublime Porte, on the
Servian question. The Emperor of RUSSIA, it is
said, in an autograph letter to the SULTAN, had
formally demanded the revocation of the decree
in favour of the present ruler in Servia, and the
re-establishment of the banished Prince MI-
CHAEL, in whose family, Russia contends, the
sovereignty of Servia is invested for ever, by vir-
tue of a finnan of the late Sultan AlAumoun. It
is also said that the Divan refused to assent to
this demand, upon which M. DE BOUTLNIEFF
declared that he was instructed to demand his
passports.

Madrid paptrs of the 13th instant have *been
received. The Gazette publishes an address from
the militia of Cadiz, which will excite sonic more
indignation at Paris, as it directly charges France
with having excited all the insurrections which
have occurred in Spain since 1840. Letters from
Barcelona of the 13th announce that the REGENT
intended to raise the state of siege, and grant an
amnesty on the l6th instant. He proposed being
in Madrid by the 26th. MASA NET, the murderer
of General BASSA, in 1836, and GIBERG A, were put
upon their trial on the 15th. M. LISSEPS, the
French Consul, having had cognizance of the
charges against him inserted in the Madrid Offi-
cial Gazette, on the authority ofSenor G UTTIEREZ,
the political chief of Barcelona, had addressed a
strong protest to the Captain-General, denying
in Coto the allegations of Senor GUTTIEREZ, an
demanding satisfaction fir the insult, by the dis-
missal- of that functionary.
The Fives on the Madrid Exchange on the
13th were done at 25 13-16 cash : 2G sixty day's;
and the Threes 22 sixty days. Exchange on
London, ninety days, 371.

In the comments made by the Paris journals

on the Barcelona insurrection and its conse-

quence, it is gratifying to find that one takes a
calm and dispassionate view of the REGENT'S
conduct, and reprobates the calumnies cast upon
him and the English Government. That journal,
we believe, is under the influence of N. GUIZOT,
and as it may, therefore, be supposed to speak
his sentiments, we make no apology for giving
the article at length. The lies about the For-
midable, the writer settles in a very summary
manner :—" We have alluded more than once,"
says the Globe, " to the marvellous concord
which exists in our journals relative to the
affairs of Barcelona. Some are for an absolute
King—others for a constitutional female Regent
—others for a Republic—but all are agreed in
desiring the overthrow of the present Govern-
ment. The Globe, which is the enemy of revo-
lution, under whatever standard, and the enemy
of the overthrow of Governments, whoever is to
profit by them—the Globe alone has spoken out
freely and openly relative to the events of Cata-
lonia. The other journals say that the insur-
gents at Barcelona shouted Vive la France!
This may be true, but we beg to ob-
serve that in a preceding insurrection—for such
events are common at Barcelona—the demolition
of the citadel was accomplished amidst cries of
Mort aux Francais ! If the journals of the Op-
position now accuse England of having excited
the insurrection of the 14th ult., we have not for-
gotten that these same journals accused Frauce
and Queen CHRISTINA of having organised the
echauffouree of Pampeluna. Reasoning calmly
and without prejudice, we ask what is the true
state of the question ? Almost an entire popu-
lation rises in arms, massacres a portion of the
garrison, ignominiously expels the remainder,
and proclaims a new Government. The existing
Government arms in its own defence, marches
against its enemies, and calls upon them to lay
down their arms. They resist, and send emis-
saries throughout the neighbouring country.
The cry is now, that all Catalonia is rising, and
that fifty thousand insurgents are about
to place the army of the Government be•
tween two fires. What, in such a position
as this, was the chief of the Government
to do ? Was he to wait until these fifty thou-
sand men should have blockaded him at the fort
of Montjuich? In that case, what capitulation
could he have expected? lie resorted to action,
therefore ; he attacked, and he has triumphed.
It remains to be seen whether, after the victory,
he displayed unnecessary rigour; time will show
whether this was the case or not. Are we at the
present moment to give credit to the thousand
and one rumours which are current on this sub-
ject, without having the least confirmation as to
their truth? What also do we know for certain
as to the conduct of the French and English
Consuls ? On this side of the Pyrenees, decla-
mations are made against the English Consul ; on
the other side, all the anathemas are for the French
Consul. The Debats now tells us that the French.
Consul acted in concurrence with the Consul of
England; that the two went together to the Junta,
which implored their mediation ; that they went
together to the Governor of Montjuich, and had
together at the head-quarters of Llobregat a
conference- with VAN HALnN; and, finally, that,
in each of these proceedings, the two Consuls
did not fail to repeat that they were acting from
the pure dictates of humanity, and not as the
official representatives of their nations. What
is most grave as regards our Consul is the fact
of our Government having rewarded him for his
conduct, and thus placed the Spanish Govern-
ment under the necessity of demanding his re-
cal, if it be true that it has permitted its agents
in public, authentic, and official documents, to
describe, as they are said to have done, the acts and
the conduct of the French Consul. It is affirmed
on this side of the Pyrenees that guns, shells,
congreve rockets, and powder, were supplied by
England to the fort of Montjuich. The Presse
has even gone to the absurd length of stating that
the Formidable had gone aground for the ex-
press purpose of
landing munitions of war, and
having them conveyed to the fort which was to
bombard Barcelona. From the other side of the
Pyrenees we learn that the Formidable was
only saved from total wreck by the aid of our
steam frigates. Our sailors assisted and co-ope-
rated in lightening the Formidable, with a view
to saving her from destruction. They succeeded,
and were saluted with cheers from the crews
of the Formidable and the Rodney. Were our
ships and our crews therefore accomplices or
dupes of the trick said to have been practised
by the Formidable? What is to be concluded
from all this? That we must still wait. The
Spanish Chambers will soon open ; questions
will
to the affair of Barcelona. The matter will be
be put
canvassed
l?.a on d explanations demanded relative
and
Con.
, and the truth will appear.
Until then we must pity the peaceful popula-
ti o
always, arc time victim; of the follies of parties.
Le
t n
feel which,
for i n
the
as elsewhere, now as
us con
thatants who remain at the
i
discretion of the conqueror, when the chiefs of
the insurrection fly, almost always with their
pockets full."
The Debats, the Court journal, represents the
state of Catalonia as very alarming. There is
nothing in the Spanish journals to warrant such
a statement, but the ex-Queen CHRISTINA may
have agents in that province who are better ac-
quainted with what is doing or what is to be done.
" Troops continue to flock towards Catalonia,"
says that journal, " 4 and receive, as they arrive,
orders to repair. to sigh places- as require their
presence. ESPARTER), assisted by his Minister

of War, RODIL, is constantly engaged in giving
orders, specifying- routes, and combining move-
ments of troops, as if fbr a campaign. This dis-
play of forces is anything but superfluous in the
actual state of public opinion in Catalonia. All
parties are ready to unite and take up arms
against the Government. The Exaltados, who
supported it, and overturned Queen CLLRISTINA,
are divided at present into Esparterists, or Con-
stitutionalists, and Republicans, or impatient
Progressives. TheCarlists and the Christinos,
tnimical to the REGENT, the more bitterly be-
cause they were conquered and put down by
him, let the Republicans alone, as they are their
avengers. To political passions are joined those
which the manufacturing 'question has excited,
so that, notwithstanding the reduction of Barce-
lona, it may be affirmed that all Catalonia would
rush into revolt and anarchy, were it not for the
numerous forces which the REGENT displays
there so opportunely.

The following telegraphic dispatch appears in
the Messayer

" BARCELONA, DEC. 15.

" Two thousand men, one-half of whom arc
soldiers, are working at the re-construction of
the citadel. A war contribution of 3,000,000 f.
has been imposed on Barcelona, and must be
paid within three days. The city will be bound
to supply its c;mtingent for the recruitment for
the years 1840, 1841, and 1842. ESPARTERO rs
still at Sarria. The 13 soldiers shot on the espla-
nade were drawn by lot from those who were
arrested after the entrance of the Captain-
General."

The French Funds, which had been much de-
pressed by the news from Catalonia, have rallied
a little. The report that ESPARTERO had de-
manded the recal of the French Consul at Bar-
celona, is attributed as the chief cause of the
depression.

The King and the Dukes ofNemours and Montpen-
sier visited Vincennes on Monday, where his Mcjesty
mounted on horseback and reviewed the troops of the
garrison, after which he inspected the works of the
fort; from thence he went to Saint-Maur and the
fort of Charenton, after which the Royal party got
into their carrages and returned to the Tuileries.
The King, in addition to the Royal Dukes, was ac-
companied by Marshal Soult, Generals Dode, T.
Sebastiani, Rumigny, and Vallaint; his Aides-de-
Camp, Colonels Estissac, De Chabanne, and Dumas,
and his orderly officers. His Majesty was repeatedly
greeted by cries of " Vive le Poi!"

BOURSE—PARIS. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20.
First Highest -..owest Last
Price. Price Price. Price.
French Five per Cents. 119 ... 119 ... 118 50... 118 60
4% per Cents. 106 60... 106 60.. 106 60... 106 60
Four per Cents. 100 95... 100 95... 190 95... 100 95
Threes 7B 65... 78 55... 78 10.. 78 20
Bank of France 3320 —.3320 ...3320 ...3320
Belgian Bank BO5 ... 805 ... 805 ... 805
Belgian Fives
1840 lO4 ... 104 ... 104 ... 104
Portuguese Fives 321 ... 321 ... 321 ... 321
Neapolitan ...... .....
Boman lO4 ... 104 ... 104 ... 104
RAILWAY SHARES.
St. Germain B3O ... 830 ... 830 ... 839
Versailles, L.B lO5 ... 105 ... 105 ... 'O6
R.B 265 ... 265.. 265 ... 265
Rouen - 632 50. 610 ... 625

Orleans.
612 50.

612 50.-

Strasburg to 8a1e...... 202 50'7... 202 20°"la 2600 f 5 2.09

BELGIAN FUN-S.—BRUSSELS, Dec. 20.
Actual Debt, :).% per Cent,_ —
Rothschild's Loan, Five per Cent. lO2 y‘
Loan of Thirty Millions, Four per Cent 93
Three per Cent...........
--Thirty-seven Millik ns, ditto ..--

72%
(1840) 103%
Loan of City, 1832, Four per Cent
Society of Commerce, Four and a Half per Cent —
Bank of Belgium, Five per Cent 77
National Society —
Exchange on London (short) «..—
—Brussels Papers, Lee. 20.
AUSTRIAN FUNDS.—VIENNA, Disc. 12
Five per Cents. Metalliques
Four per Cents. JOON
Three per Cents .
Bank Shares
Allgerneine Zcitung, Dec. 10.

A CONSERVATIVE FESTIVAL took place at Devon-
port on Tuesday. There were 540 gentlemen present,
including two Conservative Members for Devonshire,
in a Hall which the Chairman said he " defied the
world to equal." There was much self laudation
about the growth of Conservative principles, and the
increase of Conservatives, meaning, we presume, the
increase of those who now, as a principle, look to Sir
Robert Peel's Administration for admission to the
snug places which abound in the neighbouring Dock,
Ordnance, and Victualling yards. Amongst the
company there was a fair sprinkling of those who
are dependent on the Government, and without im-
peaching either the consistency or the principles of
the convives, we are afraid, contrary to the
opinion of the Chairman, who unfortuneely alluded
to the subject, that the change of Ministry
has had considerable influence in causing the
increase of Conservatives in the borough of Devon-
port. The Chairman says it is so great, that the pre-
sent Members must look on the gathering as a notice
to quit and demean themselves accordingly. They,
however, will wisely wait and see which party is in
the ascendant at the next general election. They will
not assume that the boasting of their opponents is the
index to the number of their own friends, and they
will not retire because their enemies are tired of them.

INCOME-TAX.—The Town Council of Edinburgh
passed, on the 20th instant, a series of strong resolu-
tions against the Income-tax, by twenty votes to four.

NEW POLITICAL GOOSE•CLUB.

BY AN ULTRA-TORY.

" About three or four weeks before Christmas, a
society is formed, under the somewhat peculiar name
of the Goose-club, at Somers-town, the members of
which are called on to pay sixpence per week."—
The Sun of yesterday.

Tantarara ! Rub-a-dub-dub !
Who'll join—who'll join our new Goose-Club ?
Sibthorp's President, Borthwick's Sub,
And Bobby will keep us all in grub;
We can boast of many a rat and scrub,
Many a green political shrub,
And many an Ultra-Tory cub,
Like the bigot in Dean Swift's Tale of a Tub,
Or the placeman of old, whose name was Bubb;*
And we care no more for satire's rub,
Or the patriot's scorn, than Beelzebub !

Who'll join our Club ? there's little to pay,
And character won't stand much in the way,
For we're used in error's wilds to stray,
And our object is, from day to day,
No matter what Liberals think or say,
The march of enlightened Reform to stay,
Bigotry's game to boldly play,
Swear right is wrong 'till our hairs are grey,
And compel John Bull (God grant we may !)
To own for ever our party's sway.
Tantarara! Rub-a-dub-dub !
Who'll join—who'll join our new Goose Club?
* The famous placeman, Bubb Doddington.