The Sun.
London, England, 1842-04-28 00:00:00

CHARTIST MEETING.

A meeting, convened by the Political Institute, was held on
Tu.-sdav, at the Crown and Anchor, " for the purpose," as the
notices expressed it, " of considering the best steps to be taken
in the present alarming crisis." About one thousand persons
were present. The Chair was taken by Mr. Cameron.
The CHAIRMAN cungratulated the meeting on the progress
which the Chartist cause has made: The time was when they
found it difficult to get a place in which to assemble. Now
the most spacious and prominent places of meeting were avail.
able to them. Public opinion expressed through them had
been put down by armed ruffians; but at that moment dele-
gates from various parts of the country were there assembled,
to state the sufferings of their various localities. They could
judge of the progress their cause had made by the manner in
which Mr. Sharman Crawford's motion had been received in
the House of Commons. On the occasion of that motion Sir

Robert Peel had boasted of his prophecy with respect to the
Reform Bill, but he forgot to state that he had himself fulfilled
his own prophecy.--( Hear, hear.) He (the Chairman) trusted
they would be coon in a position to present Sir Robert Peel
with a different argument, in the advanced organization of the
people. —( Cheers. )
Letters of apology were read from Mr. T. Duncombe, M. P.,
and Mr. Lc ..der, M.P. .

The CHAIRMAN said that no apology had been received
from Mr. Wakley.
The SECRETARY (Mr. Parker) proposed a resolution in
favour of increased exertion in behalf of the name and princi-
ples of the People's Charter.
Mr. BALLS seconded the resolution.

Mr. Bazasrow, member of the Convention from Notting-
ham, supported the resolution. Class legislation was the evil
with which they were grappling. They were determined to
wage eternal war with it, and to give it no quarter until they
not only annihilated it, but all the corrupt principles which
through it were engrafted on our institutions.
Mr. Fs:Annus O'CONNOR came forward, and was received
with loud cheers. He had often before sworn allegiance to
the Charter and its principles, but as a good thing could
not be done too often, he then repeated his vow of alle-
giance to the Charter in name and in principles.—( Cheers. )
fheir cause, as the Chairman had said, had greatly pro-
gressed; hut he did not, as some did, expect much conces-
sion from their present Tory Prime Minister. His opinion
was, that if the Whigs were devils, the Tories were devils
in hell.—( Cheers.) They had nothing to hope from Toryism.
When it was weak, it was cowardly ; when strong, it was
tyrannical.—(Cheers.) Therefore the people should go against
the whole system in bulk, ark not depend on any of the factions.
The people would certainly do so. They were every hour be-
coming more politically active. Sir Robert Peel was forcing
them into political intelligence. Every man worth 1501. a-
year would be certain to be politically informed.—( Cheers. )
The Tery Prime Minister had become one of the greatest pro •
moters of the Charter.—(Loud cheers.) They had been told
that the Charter was buried; but after seven years, since its
first agitation, the Chartists were more ripe and ready for
action than ever.—(Cheers.) On Monday next the trades
would carry the muster roll ad the nation to the House of Com-
mons, surrounded by the delegates, who were commissioned to
seek fur full representation for the people. They were the
only associated party in England capable of putting down
Toryism.—( Cheers. ) He therefore called on the Whigs to
join them ; but unless they did so in name and in principles
they should not join them at all.—(Cheers. )
Delegates from Wiltshire, Glasgow, Midland Counties, and
Lancashire, addressed the meeting. After which the resolu-
tion was carried unanimously. •
A resolution in support of the General Convention, and
pledging unabated exertion to procure the pardon of Frost,
Williams, and Jones, as also of all political offenders, was
agreed to. . . _

Several Delegates addressed the meeting in support of the
Charter, and called for a numerous attendance at the proces-
sion on Monday next. —The meeting then adjourned.

CIVIL ANI) COMMERCIAL JUS-
TICE IN FRANCE.
The Moniteur.contains the report of the Minister of Justice
to the King, on the state of civil and commercial justice in
France for the year 1340. It occupies nearly twelve columns
that Journal. The following resume, however, embraces all
alit contains of general interest. The first portion of the re-
pnrt relates to the Court of Cessation. It states that the num-
trof new appeals to this Supreme Court, in 1840, was 549,
which was about the same as in 1839, but very inferior to
that of preceding years, and the Minister announces that it had
beets for some years gradually decreasing, which he ascribes
to a mere perfect comprehension and more perfect application
of the law by the other Courts of Justice. The report next
proceeds to the Cours Royales. It appears that the -number
of causes inscribed in these Courts throughout tha kingdom
in 1840 was 10,517, being 573 less than in 1639. The
number of undecided causes standing over from 1839 was
6,936; of the total number 11,539 were decided upon in
1840, so that the number standing over at the end of that
year was 5-16 lass than at the end of the year 1839. Of the
11,5' -auses tried in 1840, 866 had been entered on the re-
gistry of the Court for more than two years ; 3,234 from one
to two years; 3,627 from six months to one year; 1,623
from three to six months; and 2,169 were decided upon
within a period of three months from the time of their being
inscribed. On 6,778 appeals from the civil tribunals, 4,671
judgments were confirmed; and of 1.654 appeals from com-
mercial tribunal=, the number of judgments confirmed was
1,158; the rest in both cases were quashed either wholly of
partially. The number of new causes entered for trial be-
fore the civil tribunals in 1840, was 125,051, being exactly
1,000 more than the average of the three years preceding
1839, and 5,678 more than in the year 1639 taken alone.
To these 125.051 new causes were added, 50,519 standing
over from 1839. Of the whole number 135,119 were tried,
leaving a much smaller arrear than in 1839. The period of
time during which the causes had been inscribed is stated
as follows for 125,205 only,- the returns being clearly made
out only for that number .=-47,450 were tried within three
months; 22,409 within from three to six months ; 31,619
from six to twelve months; 16,783 within two years ; and
6,854 after the lapse of more than two years. 743 of the
suits were for separation de corps by married persons, and
3,642 for separation of property. Of the 743 suits for sepa-
ration de corps, 642 were granted, and 3,589 for separation
of property. The number of suits for interdiction in cases of
insanity or imbecility was 598. The number of causes before
the tribunals of commerce in 1840 was 170,323, of which
5,828 were standing over from 1839. Thl decisions in 1840
amounted to 164,190, leaving 6,135 undecided. Of the 16,190
causes 41,864 were tried by the tribunal of the Seine ; 7,320
by the Tribunal of Lyons; 4,225 by that of Rouen ; 4,197 by
that of Bordeaux; 2,478 by that of Marseilles, and 2,363 by
the Tribunal of Toulouse. The number of appeals from deci-
sions of the Commercial Tribunals was only one in 76. The
report states that the number of declared commercial failures in
1840 was 2,618 ; whereas the annual average from 1817 to
1826, as stated in a general return in 1831, was only 1,227 ; of
1,826 failures declared in 1840, and of which the amounts
could be clearly ascertained, 114 were under 5,000 f. ; 287
under 10,000 f.; 914 under 50,000 f.; 251 under 100,000 f. ; and
260 above 100,000 f. The total amount of delats in these
failures was 123,194,066 f., being an average of 67,477 f. for
each. The number of causes brought before the 2,846 juges de
paix of the kingdom was 904,219, to which were added 6,221
standing over from 1839 ; 901,089 were decided upon in 1840,
and 9,351 were left standing over.