The Sun.
London, England, 1842-05-07 00:00:00

BLACKIVOOD S STANDARD NOVELS.

Blackwood, Edinburgh and London, 1842.
In thin varied and entertaining collection we have
,ome of the best works of fiction that have appeared
Legatees," " Sir
upwards. Seven
luring the last twenty years and
volumes have been already published, containing
(.i3talldtr'sel‘no\%%-erylsheof,
the
ee
and the " Entail ;''
iaptain Hamillon's " Cyril Thornton ; Lockhart's
Valerius ; and Michael Scott's " Tom Crin-
rle's Log." Of ' Galt's tales, the
best if only for •
de-
cidedly is the " Entail," . its portrait of
Leddy Grippy, than whom, Sir Walter himself never
penned anything truer to life—more original in the
Shakspeare's Jack Fal-
staff, more exq"u"lilsAriotye'r'loysshftei,r'l'eicitous in the execu-
tion.grave humour,
We shbuld as soon dream of forgetting this
shrewd Scottishhousewife,
her constant apprehension of being taken in,
with her dry,
and her vigi-
lant, incessant attention to the interests of number one, as
we should think of forgetting
sptaaff,hdiße tbrlitislea's
olnta,moro marked, indivi-
dualized characters which have made a deep impres-
sion on our minds. Galt here attained .his highest
any of
point of excellence ; he.wrote many subsequent fictions;
but none, however meritorious, that could bear compa-
rison with the "Entail." Hamilton's "Cyril Thornton'.
is one of the most striking military tales in the lan-
guage, and will furnish the reader with a vivid idea ol
the character of the Duke of Wellington's Peninsular
Campaigns. Of " Tom Cringle's Log," which firs.
made its appearance in the pages of " Blackwood's
Magazine," where it at once attracted general atten-
tion, it is enough to say that, as a sea tale, it is superior
to any of Howard's or Capt. Marryat's and ever}
way equal to Cooper's 4, rilot," or "Red Rover.'
Lockart's " Valerius, ' though heavy as a whole, has
passages of exceeding vigour and eloquence, and in its
present cheap and commodious form will, no doubt,
be much more generally read than heretofore. These
novels are each comprised in', one six shilling duo-
decimo volume, which appears monthly ; is neatly got
up, and embellished with suitable engravings ,

THE MAGAZINES (t.'6N:GLUDiD;.

COLBURN'S UNITED SERVICE
MAGAZINE.

Li an article " On Atighan Affairs," Colonel A. F.
Macintosh has given a brief account of the Affghans
(whom he describes as a treacherous and unprincipled
race), and of the probable motives of Lord Auckland
for the invasion of their territory. This officer, we
believe, had an appointment in Persia, when the Shah
mustered his forces preparatory to his attack on
Herat; he had . many opportunities of studying the
nature of our relations with the countries to
the West of the Indus, and his opinion,
therefore, must be entitled to considerable authority.
It would appear that our fear's of an Affghan inva-
sion, date so far back as the war with Tippoo Sail),
and that these probably gave rise to the late unfor-
tunate expedition against Caubul. " Our apprehen-
' sions from Affghanistan, therefore," says the writer,
" are:not of yesterday, and considering that they are
a warlike race of determined freebooters, possessing a
very strong country, in close proximity to a very
weak one (the Punlaub) which forms the frontier of
our rich and tempting dominions, it is very natural
that we should desire that their independence of
our power should be of as short duration as
possible." It is his opinion that the natives must
be thoroughly subdued, allowed no places of
strength on the. plains, and tamed and di-
minished in numbers as much as possible in the
mountains. In conclusion, he recommends the public
to suspend their judgment, and not condemn, un-
heard, military leaders, placed by
_the acts of their
superiors in a situation so novel and fraught with
difficulties. The other articles deserving notice are
" The Naval and Alilitary establishments of Greece,"
" The. British Admirals slain in Battle," in which
there is an amusing tale about Admiral Benbow ; and
" Plans for promotion in the Army."

THE SPORTING REVIEW
Two of the younger branches of the nobility figure
in this periodical much to their credit—the Hon.
Grantley Berkeley and Lord Wm. Lennox.. The
former continues his observations, from.practicarexpe-
rience, on old English sports, and gives smile useful
instructions, no doubt, though we cannot speak from
experience, on the management of hounds, the duties of
huntSmen,and more particularly the duties of those half-
bred sportsmen who sally from provincial to wns,and take
the unwarrantable liberty of speaking both to hounds
and huntsmen, without knowing what they say. The
other article contains some accounts of sporting
excursions in the Missouri country, which possess
much interest. The interviews with the native
chiefs, the description of the antelopes, and the
novel mode of bringing them within shot, show that
the Noble Lord is not only a good huntsman, but
capable of relating the adventures of flood and field.

n addition to these there is an adventure with a

tiger, illustrated with well-executed wood-cuts ; a.
beautiful embellishment, entitled " Springing Wild
Duck," by Armfield, and a map of Mr. Tudway's
country, in the neighbourhood of Bath and Wells.

BARRISTERS (IRELAND) BILL.
The remarks of Sir Valentine Blak4:ip' the House
• . •
of Commons respecting 'this appeared:,Only in a
part of our impression, -thud sus they are of some im-
portance to those interested, we publish them again.
It may be necessary to state that Sir Valentine was
not aware that the Irish students intended to oppose
the Bill, else he would have withdrawn it at once.

Sir V. BLAKE stated that the only object which he
wished to accomplish was, that - irish law students
should not be compelled, as at present, to reside at
one of the Inns of Court in London its a preliminary
qualification to be called to the Irish bar. He stated
that the Bill, .as now printed, was introduced by him
at the special instance and request of persons who
represented that they • were a deputation frOm the
Irish law students • it was their Bill, and he
(Sir Valentine Blake) told the deputation
that the Bill contained objectionable matter, in
his opinion ; but that, from his respect •for the
students,.he would bring it in and have it printed,
and if permitted by the house to go into Committee
upon it, the objectionable parts might be omitted, and
that part only retained which would repeal the exist-
ing law as to the residence of Irish students in Lon-
don. He was, however, sorry to perceive that all the
established legal authorities in the House were op
posed to the repeal of the old Act of 33 Henry
which, when enacted, Was useful, just, states-
manlike, and necessary. But when it was recol-
lected that there was then no University in Dublin
—that the .:superiOr Courts of Law and Equity
in Ireland existed merely in name—that there
was no law library—no king's Inns—that, in fact,
the administration of justice was conducted under the
ancient law—that there were no Assizes—no Sheriffs
—no corinties then in existence; there could be no
doubt but that under such circumstances it was pru-
dent .and wise to introduce the system, whereby
students for the Irish bar were instructed .in the

practical knowledge of the administration of the laws
of England. This House would not deny the ex-
istence of the changes which are the result of time.
We have it on the authority of Mr. Hume, that when
he wrote (now approaching to a century ago) the
population of Ireland alone was greater than the popu-
lation of the three kingdoms at the time of the death
of Elizabeth. Was it too much to affirm that it was
now three times as great as the population of the
whole United Kingdom when the 33d Henry VIII.
was enacted ? This law was impolitic, and unsuited
to the present time. Was it just or fair that men,
who had struggled to obtain degrees in Trinity Col-
lege, and who had not the pecuniary means of en-
tering their names on one or other of the Inns of
Court in London, and of a residence there for
near two years—was it consistent with a true
patriotic feeling to exclude nine out of every
ten men thus situated, many of them distinguished,
and some having obtained academical honours ?
To be thus excluded from all participation in the lot-
tery of professional advancement was indeed an in-
justice and a cruelty which he (Sir V. B.) hoped to
be instrumental in abolishing; if not now permitted,
he would persevere in some other form, and thus
achieve what he considered to be for his country one
of its most undoubted and valuable privileges. Hav-
ing brought this measure forward under the circum-
stances before stated, and at the special request, as
he (Sir V. Blake) thought, of the Irish students,
it was not without the utmost amazement he saw
himself placarded as an unworthy Irish Member
by a meeting of the students in Dublin, held on the
16th inst. It was plain that a great misunderstand-
ing of the circumstances under which he was pre-
vailed upon to introduce the present Bill did exist
at that meeting, and that no one at it was aware
that persons here, acting in the name and on behalf
of the Irish students, were, in point of fact,
the authors of the Bill, and so far misled him
(Sir Valentine) as to induce him to undertake
the duty at the special instance and request of the
whole body of the Irish students. It was satisfac-
tory, however, that even in the disclaimer put forth
at that meeting, there was contained a full and ample
recognition of the principle for which alone he (Sir
V. B.) would perseveringly contend, namely, the aboli-
tion of the prohibition to admit persons duly educated
to the Irish bar, unless they were in pecuniary cir-
cumstances 'which would enable them to pay 301. or
401. for an admission, and to reside in London.

THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA, THE
RUSSIAN NOBILITY, AND THE SERF I'OPU-
LATION OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE.
We publish subjoined a document of much importance—
namely, an ukase of the Emperor of Russia for ameliorating
the condition of the serf population of his empire. We give
at the same time an order of the Minister of the Interior, and
a circular letter of the Grand Master of Police, accompanying
the ukase, modifying and limiting the sense of the Imperial edict.
An apparent contradiction is evident in the text of those
documents. It seems as if the benevolent intentions of the
Emperor were arrested almost on the point of execution, by an
atter thought cf policy, forced upon him by unseen obstacles
which had arisen. We are enabled, however, by a communi-
cation from Vienna, of a confidential and important nature, to
explain this seeming inconsistency.
We arc told that the Emperor of Russia, having resolved to
liberate, in one sweeping act, the immense portion of the po-
pulation of his empire born in a state of servitude, lately called
together the Council of State, for the purpose of making his
intentions known. The proposition was received by the sub-
servient portion of the Council with satisfaction ; but the old
and powerful nobility present declared that such an act was
tan'amount to a revolution—that it endangered their lives and
properties, and that, in honour and conscience, they could nut
adopt it.
'1 he Council separated without any decision being taken,
and the utmost secrecy was for some time preserved on the
subject. But a matter so important to all the great interests
of the nobility and inferior classes could not long be suppressed,
and at length the public became alarmed with reports relative
to the Emperor's intentions. The old nobility (whose fathers
have heretofore proved what desperate expediencies they were
capable of resorting to, when their interests were affected by
the Imperial will,) assumed atone, almost amounting to menace,
against the Emperor, while, on the other hand, the liberal
portion of that class, supported by popular opinion, openly
avowed their approbation of the Autocrat's conduct.
In this state of things the Emperor was forced to compro-
mise, and, unwilling either to give up his favourite project,
or to have the appearance of yielding to the clamour of the
old nobility, he issued the ukase above alluded to for the modi-
fication of the condition of the serfs, accompanied at the same
time by an order of the police, explaining it in a manner cal-
culated to satisfy the apprehensions of the opposition.
The question now remains in this rather uncertain position.
The violent and headstrong character of the Emperor, who is
never known to recede from any resolution deliberately formed,
gives reasons to believe that he will proceed to other and more
decided acts, while the deeply-rooted prejudices of the nobility,
who are equally reckless in their resolves, may lead them,
rather than submit, to make such a resistance as might be fatal
to the Emperor.
Viewing this subject in all its bearings, it is one of great im-
portance, and neither the Revolution of 1830 in France, nor the
Reform Act in this country, have led 'to the serious conse-
quences which may arise from further agitation of it.
We need only add that our information on this matter is
drawn from the best and most authentic sources.
UKASE TO THE DIRECTING SENATE.
In the ukase of his Majesty to the Directing Senate, dated
2(1 of April of this year, and signed with his own hand, it
is said:—
" The articles 440 and 457 of paragraph 9 in the code of
laws, fixes the regulations according to which seigneurs are
allcwed to ccnvert their serfs into free laboureri, in making
over to them in lull property seignorial lands, in consideration
of certain reciprocal.advantages to be specified in special con-
tracts. But, willing, in the interest of the State that these
feudal lands, one of the privileges of the nobility, and which
are engaged by contract, be guaranteed from all that might
endanger property belonging to the nobility, we have thought
proper, by interpreting article 442, paragraph 9 of the code of
laws, to concede to the seigneurs who should be disposed to
conclude with their peasantry contracts based on the said ar-
ticle, and this without prejudioe to the interests of the labour-
ing peasantry, to concede to them the right of supremacy over
the lands thus conceded. And we order that all peasants who
shall receive portions of the said feudal lands to recognise this
supremacy. Wherefore we have decided that all contracts
passed by mutual consent betwee.t.i,„Vle s:i!grict::;sunasndwthtlici‘
peasantey shall be based on the g
council of "the empire,l and sane-
have been CK3mineiLin. 044
tioned by
0• tenure of the peasant to the seigneur can be regu-
"ltited in. the contracts by money arising from the produce of
the land, or from any other kind of industry.
"2. Should the peasant refuse to fulfil the conditions of the
contract which they hare accepted, they shall be compelled
thereto by the local police, under the guarantee of the head
of the nobility of the distict, and under the superintendence of
the Government authorities.
" 3. lhe peasants who shall have entered into contracts
with their seigneurs shall henceforward bear the denomination
of peasants who have obligations to fulfil.'
"4. In as far as these peasants are concerned, the recruiting
service shall follow the rotation laid down .by the ordonnances
for that service.
"5. With respect to the support of the Greniert d' Abon-
dances (depots for grain), and the. assistance to be given in
case of tire, which are at the charge of the free peasants,
under the direction of their seigneurs, if the latter refuse to
take upon them this responsibility, the obligation shall be ful-
filled by the nearest authorities. •
"6. The seigneurs shall organise among the labouring pea-
santry a local administration, and shall have the high police.
7. As for the contracts to conclude with the peasants who
belong to the properties engaged with the banks of the empire,
if the intention of the seigneurs these properties in pledge,
they must obtain the consent of the bank before passing a
contract.
"8. The seigneurs and the labouring peasants, who will
have been liberated, are to consider the contracts passed between
them as indissoluble, each, however, keeping the right to
change certain clauses of it in case the property should be
engaged to the banks of the Crown. These charges must be
guaranteed by those banks.
" 9. The contracts entered into according to the above dis-
positions shall be drawn upon stamped paper of the fourth class,
and submitted for our sanction and signature according to law.
"10. The directing Senate is entrusted with the carrying
into effect of this ukase."
" The next document is from the Minister of the Interior,
dated April 2, 1842, addressed to the head of the police at St.
Petersburgh. The Minister, in forwarding the above ukase,
says that the object of it is to determine the nature of the te-
nure of the peasantry in the contracts they will form with
their seigneurs, but that the lands remain, as heretofore, the
lands of the nobility. From hence it clearly results, that the
relations which exist between the seigneurs and the peasants,
with whom no contract should have been concluded, remain
the same as ever, and experience no change. All this is ex-
plained in the terms of the ukase, and it must be understood
in that spirit. If the Emperor had had any other view he
would have openly declared it. As he has not done so, to seek
in the imperial ukase, or to persuade others that it can bear
any other signification, would be a great crime, since it will be
acting against the will of our Sovereign,
" His Majesty therefore orders to all military and civil
Governors to watch with care that no false interpretation be
given to the present ukase, such, for instance, as the freedom
of all peasantry. If among any class should be found evil-dis •