Star. — London, England, 1830-10-07 00:00:00

R the materials of which it was composed, they might rest assured that their constantly reiterated appeals would operate a most eft'octual moral reformation upon it. (Cheers.) With regani to the Ai! these to the King, it was true, that, constitutionally speaking, the people tax them. selves. But practically the people meant the Ministers for the time being. It was they who caused :he reduction of, or an addition to tax ation. An Address., then, to his Majesty, setting forth the urgent de. mends of the people, founded upon a just knowledge of their wants, and of their rights, would be of great practical utility; for, should his Majesty be persuaded of the expediency of the measures demanded, an intimation of such opinion would be given to his Premier. There was, besides, sonieti•ing of tact, perhaps, or it might be called prudence, in thus addressing the King. It was well known that the present Premier had aforetime denounced such public meetings as that to he a mere farce ; but now that the Field Marshal had reason to consider them snore a tragedy than a farce, lie would not he slow to catch at every !item incident that might occur calculated to impugn motives ; and should they refuse to address the Ring, it would afford their opponents an opportunity to charge them with disaffection to the State. He then adverted to the charge of corruption brought against the News. p.pir Press, and declared it to be his opinion, that, under the present circumstances, it was almost:impossible that the Pressicould be free from it. Every thing tended that way ; but more especially the fact, that tit St/11•1111triCe of the existing laws, none but persons of large .16 I SLA could adventure upon the establishment of a newspaper. HIM, it was that such coolness was evinced by the daily press towards the cols, which the meeting were then discussing. Hence the sneers at , time 1 meet:dings of such meetings, or the entire omission of any no. till of their proceedings. Nor could it be supposed that those who piolited by the monopoly which the enormous taxes upon the press e, is gave to a few. would cordially unite their efforts with those of the r.ople, to remove those taxes, and thereby throw open the trade to a /air and generous competition ? As an illustration of the spirit in which smith discussions as these were received by the press, he would mention tircuinstance that had recently occurred. An able and masterly ar ticle on the Newspaper Press appeared a few months ago in The Es. anainer, showing in what manner the conductors of that mighty power could, and did sway it tosheir will, regardless of the general welfare. Now it was notorious to all the friends of the writer of that article, that he was visited with the resentment of the great leading Journal of Europe, to the considerable detriment of the writer's pecuniary interest--(Hear, hear.) What, then, was the practical inference to be drawn from these huts ? Why, seeing that the Daily Press had an interest opposed to the general interest, it would be worse than useless for the people to look for their co-operation in the task they had undertaken ; and that, there. fore, it behoved them to feel, that, in order to accomplish the grand ob. jest they had in view, they must work it out by their own unassisted views. As a test of their sincerity, he would, in the conclusion, say (and this be did without the slightest knowledge of the gentleman to whom he was about to allude, beyond what he had gained since being in that room,) that every person present ought to become a subscriber to the publication about to be issued by Mr. Carpenter (cheers), so that lie might be able to cope with the Attorney-General, and obtain a thir trial of strength upon this all-engrossing subject with the pow. era that be (cheers). After a few words from Mr. CLEAVE, Mr. RICHARD TAYLOR observed, that not one of the faults imputed Oleic or elsewhere to the public Press which had not their origin in the monopoly then so loudly and so justly complained of—it was that mo eopoly which laid the foundation of those complaints of partiality in the reports of public meetings, and at police offices—a partiality which nude some men doubt whether the Press, shackled as it was by the ex isting monopoly, tended more to good or evil. If they could but suc ceed in destroying that monopoly, they might hope to see the Press of London as respectable as was that of Paris. It was well known to all ho had opportunities of turning their attention to such subjects, that the provincial Press was more respectable than the London, and, for this reason, that the men by whom it was conducted were known ; but in London, perfect secrecy surrounded those by whom the abominable ty. ninny was carried on. Nothing was known of them, nor could any re. dress be obtained for the injuries they inflicted. Religion and supersti tion had been spoken of as the same ; but though they might so appear to the Gentleman in the Chair, and to others near him, he trusted those words were not in the minds of the majority of the assembly considered a. synonimous. (Hisses and applause.) Mr. OWEN said, as some allusion had been made to Sir James Scar. lett, lie felt bound to observe, that when called upon with reference to the new view of society, he said that Mr. Owen was the first man who had ever proposed any system of relief for the people apart from reli gion, and he (Sir J. Scarlett) would give 1,0001. towards a trial of the experiment, and that if it were proceeded with, he would not hesitate to give as much as 5,0001. Human nature, they would thus see, was not all evil—it was better than many men thought--no man was without some redeeming quality; though he might be to blame in many respects, he still deserved praise in one, at least.— Ile proceeded to say that, he did not agree in the sentiments expressed by die gentleman who opposed petitioning to the Houses of Parliament; Inc thought the new parliament should have a fair trial. The House of Commons was not only composed of many new members, and of old members in new positions, but the state of Europe, and of the par t:Cs in this country, was materially changed since parliament last met, and it atom wise and prudent to give the new House of Commons fair play, and to wait to ascertain what it could and would do to relieve the people from their various difficulties and oppressions. He promised the me sir.g that it' the new parliament could not, or would not, lis ten to the explanation of practical measures to well educate, beneficially employ, and cordially unite, all the people, that he would enable them, without violence or disorder, to work out their own salvation by their industry, rightly directed. As to the observations made by the parties who advocated the cause of religion, and lie had no doubt advocated it most conscientiously, he would say, and he requested the calm and sober attention of the meet. ins to what he was to advance, that the error respecting religion arose from none ot' the supporters cf the various sects over the world, under the difference between conscientious conviction or individual moral truth, and the unehanpiny and everlasting truths of nature. That the CS ristian was by his education forced to receive one kind of individual moral truth the Mahonittlan a second ; the Jew a third • the Hindon a fo u rth ; an d so on over t h e w h o l e wor ld. Th ese several individual moral truths, or conscientious convictions made upon the minds of the respective patties, were opposed to each other, and had no' 'elation whatever to the truths ef nature derived from facts, always con sistent with each other, and in harmony with all the knowledge that man has yet been permitted to acquire. (Immense applause.) When, (added Mr. Owen,)socicty shall advance so far as to detect the present errors on which individual moral truth is founded, and shall train the rising generation to have theirjrnoral truth, or conscientious convictions, in never-deviating accordance with real truth, or the everlasting truths of nature derived solely from. and always in unison with facts open and known to all, then will moral evil be removed from the world, and a Milleniuin state of society may be made to commence • and this period, my friends, is near at hand. The present shaking Of the nations will not subside until the means of obtaining this state of society shall be conquered from the errors of old antiquity. (The most enthusiastic cheering continued for several minutes.) The Chairman having sat down. Mr. Pitt endeavoured to obtain a hearing, but without success. A man in the garb of an artisan stood up to defend the Christian Re ligion from the attacks of Mr. Owen and his supporters, and Mr. O'Brien contended that the meeting should not confine them selves to an attack upon a single tax, bat should make their complaint more comprehensive. After some further discussion, in which several persons participated, Mr. Owen proceeded with the reading of the address, as follows : We now come to a subject, the importance of which is equal to any that has yet been discussed lit this or any other assembly, and it is in timately connected with the previous proceedings of this meeting. It is to consider the best mode of giving the people real knowledge. The present methods employed for the purpose are—' The political speeches of the members in both Houses of Parliament, as published by the re porters ; the religious doctrines delivered to the population from the pulpit ; the education given to the upper classes in the Universities and great public seminaries ; the training of the middle anti lower classes in the ordinary and charitable schools of the country ; the instruction in our codes of laws by the courts of law ; and, lastly, by occasional and periodical writers, who have themselves been instructed in some of the previously stated methods.' These several models of giving knowledge to the people have been in active operation for hundreds of years, and yet the great mass of the people, nay, 1 will say of the whole popula tion, has not yet obtained as much real knowledge, beneficial for prac tice, and for all the highest objects and attainments of society, as might not be given to them with ease and pleasure at a small expense in less than ten, probably is lees than five years. The British empire, after making all due admission for the late brilliant proceedings in France, is still, owing to various circumstances, the centre and head of the civilized world, and London may be said to be the focus of the British empire. in London, then, the metropolis of the British empire, and the leading power of the old worn-out system of the world,l under the reign of irrationality, ought there not to be established a su perior mode of giving real knowledge, valuable for practice, and highly beneficial to all ? Those who know the world, who have been behind the scenes with the present state actors upon the public stage of life, know well that each one of them is in abase position—that to maintain his continuance in his caste he dares not in public, in any one of the insti tutions mentioned, speak the truth, without as much error as will ren der the truth almost useless for practice. The instructed in the present ways of the world know that there is not a single individual of superior capacity and attainments in the Government, the Church, the Law, in the Universities, or in any of our public Seminaries of Learning, as it is called, who dares in public to express what he knows to be true upon those subjects, upon a full knowledge of which the permanent well doing and well-being of mankind depend, and without a knowledge of which happiness never can be obtained ; nor yet can any of the writers venture to give to the public any of the great fundamental truths re specting which it is the most important that the public should be well informed. In Parliament„ in the Church, in the Courts of Law, in the Universities, and the public and private seminaries, there is a conven tional language used which never expresses the views, feelings, and knowledge of the s to their full extent, and they therefore al ways lead the uninitiated part of the public astray. This evil, ermines, as it is, aaawat. at this moment be avoided. It is a na tural cassequanas of society having been formed on a funds mental pAnciple of ettor, which, while it shall be allowed to remain, will render it impracticable for any individual, with impunity, openly to express his real thoughts and his feelings; and this error perpetrates imbecility, insincerity, and folly, dwougbouttbe whole world. Since I was ten years of age, this error has presented itself, with all its conse quent evils, to my mind. The object of my life ham that period has been to devise the peaceable means by which this error and these grievous evils to humanity might be conquered. I well knew that the obstacles i to be overcome were of the most formidable character—that I had to con- tend against all the deep-rooted prejudices of antiquity—the ignorance of the lower, and the mistaken self-interest of the middle classes, with the imagined privileges of the higher orders, both in Church and State. The prize, however, to be obtained by success, appeared to me of too high value to the population of the world, to permit difficulties or dan gers of any description to induce me from that period to the present to waver, for one moment, in my determination to hazard all that man can hazard to relieve his species from the ignorance and misery in which, during all the past ages, this fatal error has involved the human race. In this warfare for the happiness of the world, prudence, decision, and perseverance, of no ordinary description, were re quired ; and, therefore, the only weapons with which I armed myself were truth, kindness, and moral courage, and with these alone the victory has been achieved. (Hear, hear.) For, my friends, there is no opponent now in the field who will longer openly con tend for the truth of the one single fundamental notion on which alone the whole fabric of society rests for its safety and security. No ! there it now no one sufficiently kid in ignorance longer to contend that ma*, by his nature, has been fanned with power to predeter mine what the cosmic:ions qj his mind shall be on any subject, or So decide, previous to the knowledge which he is compelled to receive by esperiesta, what shall be the feelings produced in hint by the impreuions received from any ester:sal object whatever. The fact being as I have stated. a moral revolution is necessary ; an entire new order of society, founded on a principle never yet understood or acted upon, becomes unavoidable. It is a feeling of this nature, though im perfectly understood, that now agitates the minds of the mass of the people in all countries, and this agitation, if resisted, will hourly in crease, until it becomes a wild storm, irresistible in its power, that will, with violence, sweep away all the worn-out institutions of the world, unless there shall be found among some of the leading Governments of Europe men of sufficient penetration and comprehension of mind to dis cover the latent cause of these extraordinary movements, and with moral courage sufficient to enable them now to make a stand against the Igo°. lance of antiquity, and to induce them to form a new alliance of Go vernments to establish truth, order, and union, among their subjects, instead of the deception, disorder, and disunion which now, nom wily from error, pervade all the kingdoms of the earth. That our country, in union with France, may:find these men in the Governments of the two kingdoms, is greatly to be desired by the people of both countries. And to remove the obstacles in the way of such men coming forward in Britain and France, it is most desirable that arrangements should now be formed,by which the great and important fundamental truth, previously stated, with all its mighty powers for the re-organiza tion of human society, to insure its permanent prosperity and hap. pinese should be proclaimed to all, and in the shortest possible time rendered familiar not only to the British public but to the world. To effect this great object, and that the dire effects of civil war may be staid, it is my intention to hold public meetings In this me tropolis, for the purpose of promulgating those high and important truths, which the most deeply affect all the great interests of man in his undivided capacity, and as a member of so ciety • interests which at the moment involve the immediate well-being and happiness of every nation in Europe. As truth in prin ciple, and the application of it in practice for the advantage of the human race, without regard to the opinion or private interest of any in dividual in this or any other country, ate the sole objects which I have in view ; the proceedings of these meetings will be open to all who wish to attend them, and were I in the possession of the surplus funds, which I once possess ed, they should be open to all without expense; but in common justice to my family, I can now give you only my time and talents, such they are, free of cost. In future, therefore, such small I sums as will be t'ound, by experience, to cover the charges for room, printing, and advertisements, will be collected on entrance. I have never I received a penny front the public, nor do I ever intend to receive one.— It may be satisfactory to the public to know what are the outlines of the system, founded on the new fundamental principle to be brought forward, and advocated at the public meetings. I will therefore very I briefly mention some of them : " I. Full and complete liberty of conscience en all subjects deemed sacred or profane. " 2. The preservation of all'private property as the laws now secure it to individuals. " 3. The guarantee of existing incomes to those who have been trained under the old institutions of society to derive their support from them. " 4. The formation of entire new arrangements to enable the rising generation to produce and to distribute wealth, and to be educated in the best manner. " 6. The formation of arrangements to enable the existing producing classes to supply themselves, by their own industry, with the necessaries and comforts of life. " 6. To effect these changes by reason, and not by force. " 7. That among the producing classes a condition of society shall be formed, which shall not exceed a state of neatness and the beneficial comforts of life, until all the industrious classes shall be enabled to par take of similar advantages. The particulars of the state of society shall be fully explained after the public mind shall be sufficiently en. lightened to appreciate its advantages. The proceedings of these pub lie meetings to be given to the public by the daily papers now estab. lished, or by others to be established, that will give a full and faithful account of them ; and to be published as tracts in a cheap form, for the' benefit of the present poorer classes. These appear to me the means by which real knowledge, the most important for practice, may be given in the best manner to all the people." =_Previous to Mr. Owen's address, a Resolution had been moved by a gentleman present, to the following effect, which was carried, amidst loud applause. " Resolved, That the men who made the laws to fettcr the press have done so from hatred to the liberties of Englishmen, and that those who enforce them ought to be considered as a nuisance to the peace and hap piness of society. It was understood that a meeting should be held every eight or ten days, for the purpose of promoting the object stated in Mr. Owen's ad dress, after which thanks were proposed to :the Qui:mans but as Mr. Owen declined it as unnecessary, a proposal was adopted to give him three cheers, which was immediately done in the most unani mous and heartfelt manner. IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINERY. At a public meeting held some short time ago, in the theatre Leices ter-place, on this important subject, and 'of which we were able to give at the time, but an imperfect notice, Mr. Owzx began by making some introductory remarks on the uses and abuses of machinery in general ; he designated the introduction of mechanical and other scien tific power, in the form of labour, as one of the greatest blessings that men have yet discovered, or the most extended and powerful instrument of oppression to the working classes that has ever yet been introduced into the world. But so long as its Increasing and unlimi table powers shall be misunderstood and misdirected, it could not fail to prove the greatest curse of the human race. It would become, in the hands of the few enormously wealthy, an engine of oppression, most injurious to the population of all countries. Mr. Owen then briefly stated the uses of machinery. These were to diminish the necessity for unhealthy and disagreeable manual labour. To produce with economy and foresight, and with the least inconvenience to the population, the greatest amount of wealth, of the most intrinsic value. To diffuse this wealth the most equally that is practicable among all ranks, and throughout all nations. And lastly, its use was to supply the means, when they shall be tightly directed, to remove poverty, or the fear of it by ignorance, or the possibility of its return, from among all people. While, on the contrary, its abuse is to create a greater necessity, through the poverty which it occasions among the working classes, for an increase of unhealthy and disagreeable labour, on the part of those who previously had too much of it. To apply this power without economy or foresight, to create a large amount of useless productions, miscalled wealth, and chiefly to feed the senseless vanity of the few. To apply it as it is now directed, under a system of indivi dual competition, to reduce the faculties of the working elaases, the pro. ducers of all wealth, to the lowest point of value that will support ex. istence In the most wretched form. To support the existing system by continually increasing the advantages of the few, at the expense of the comfort and happiness of the many. Mr. Owen then glanced at the various speculations and theories on these points which bad been enter tained from time to time, observing that modern political economists were led astray by superficial appearances. The Lecturer then observed that the mama' progress of mechanical inventions is to increase in a ' continually increasing ratio, one invention suggesting and becoming a steppingstone to another; therefore, long before the first batch of work men thrown into idleness by one invention has obtained employment, or ' died off, another set, by a new invention, has been forced upon the market of labour, still further to reduce its value and overstock the supply; and to this progress there is no cessation—but, on the con trary, the number of inventions, and consequently of the unemployed, are continually upon the increase. To attempt to snake this state of matters permanent, to establish it as a regular system to which the population will consent to submit, is as vain as to attempt to war against the elements--nature forbids it, and nature must be obeyed.—. The pro gress of machinery renders an entire new order of society unavoidable. All Europe and America cry aloud for change. They ask for the use and not the abuse of machinery in every country, and there will be a continual shaking of the nations until the request of the people shall bc fairly met and granted by the governing powers ; adding, that It was for these weighty considerations and many more which might be added, that he had recommended an address to his Majesty, and petitions to both Houses of Parliament. The whole of Europe (observed Mr. Owen) and America, from the new state of society, demanded a change; the request of the people must be complied with—ova-production was the cause of the present distresses of the people After proceeding at great length, Mr. Owen concluded by moving a series of resolutions, grounded on his address, which were proposed and carried, after several persons had addressed the meeting. POLICE REPORTS. MAN S lON.HOU ST.—A coal -meter, named Fact y, was charged before the LORD Mayo a with having violated the confidence him, l by signing a meter's ticket for one chaldrun (12 oche) reed in coals, which proved to be three bushels and a half deficient. Mr. Staunton stated that the coals were sold by Samuel Johnson, of Rutland-place wharf, and that witness desired the carman to measure a certain sack which he pointed out. There was a demur about measuring that particular sack, but the witness insisted upon it; and in conse quence of the remarkable deficiency, he sent for a coal-meter to the coal. meters' office ' and had the whole chaidron measured. The deficiency proved to be three bushels and a half. The defendant made one of the customary excuses—viz that the mis take was unavoidable on account of the great difference in the size of the coals, and the appearance of the bulk of the different bushels. Mr. Staunton said that another coalameter endeavoured to screen the defendant from exposure, and offered to send a sack of coals to him (witness) if he would forego the remessurement. The Loan MAYOR considered the interposition of the second coal. meter a proof of conspiracy. His Lordship declared, that if connivance had the effect of stopping Si bushels out of 12 sacks, the public were indeed but miserably protected. lie was determined to punish every case of short measure, whether it arose from neglect or any other cause ; and be ordered the defendant to be suspended for one month. Edward Edwards, a coal-meter was then charged by Mr. Reeve and Mr. Rurastead, the principal coal -meters, with having improperly inter fered to prevent the re.measurement of the above-mentioned coals, by offering a sack of coals as a recompense. The interference was clearly proved. The defendant declared that he never had interfered with the mea surement of the coals, but be happened to be present at the time they were ordered to be re-measured. The LORD 5IA:oz said, he considered the conduct of Edwards worse than that of Facey had been, and suspended him for a month. Soon after the parties left the room, Mr. Staunton returned, and in formed the Lord Mayor that Edwards had just shook his fist in his face, and called him a perjured villain." A warrant was :issued for the apprehension of Edwards, who, upon being taken, was so penitent, that the LORD Manz, at the request of Mr. Staunton, discharged him. A great quantity of unwholesome salmon has been lately imported. The exposure which the practice of selling unwholesome salmon got a few years ago, for a considerable time checked it. The fact is, that the public were.so much shocked at the hazard they ran by eating kipper and shedder salmon, that they would not touch any, and an enormous loss was sustained by the importers of good salmon. This result was a caution to the salesmen, who suffered severely, and the market remained clear of the offensive article. Robert Wilson, a fish salesman, was summoned by Mr. Cioldham, the clerk of the market, to whose unceasing exertions:the public are in. debted for protection from this dangerous food, for having exposed some of it for sale. Mr• Goldham produced a sample of the fish, with's prodigious roe in it, and which, he said, would, if allowed to remain in its proper ele ment, have produced 1,000 young in the course of the year. The fish was speckled on the back with red spots, and was what the salesmen called a " harlequin." It was extremely injurious to the constitution. It was also what the judges called a "hook-nose," a common deformity with fish out of season. The tavern-keepers, in some instances, played tricks with the roe of the unwholes4me fish. They frequently served them up u lobster sauce, aid those who ate this nice substitute for that delicious sauce,did not know to what to ascribe the belly-ache after hav ing indulged themselves. In the city the deception could not be easily practised, but at the west.end of the town it was quite common, He had destroyed 3,000 of these fish already, and the lons to the public might be very well imagined. The Loan MAYOR said it was evident the practice of taking un wholesome fish was injurious to the fisheries as well as to the health of the public. The defendant said that the unwholesome salmon was usually packed in the bottom of the boxes along with that which was unexceptionable. He was wholly unconscious that salmon of the kind was in any of the boxes which he had to dispose of, and would take care to give due notice to those at the fisheries for whom he made sales. The LORD illawon ordered that the fish produced should be de stroyed, and that the defendant should pay the expenses. W. Beceroft, a bummarec, or retailer of salmon in Billingsgate. market, was next charged with having exposed unwholesome salmon for sale. Mr. Goldham said he had two or three times cautioned the defendant, who had no excuse, as he as well as the other bumtuarees were excellent judges of fish. The Loan Maims( asked - what could be the motive of the defendant for selling fish of the kind ? _Mr. Goldham said, they got it for Sd. or 41. a pound, and could not resist the temptation of the great profit. The LORD MAYOR ordered the fish to be destroyed, and assured the bummaree that he should, if again found exposing such an article for sale, be deprived of his stand. Thomas Gilson was charged with a similar offence. The defendant said he could not help being deceived, as he bought by candle.-light, when examination was exceedingly difficult. kir. Hostata said it was impossible for men of such experience to be deceived. They knew the unseasonable fish at a glance. The fish was ordered to be destroyed, and the defendant was told that if he repeated the offence he should be deprived of his stand. LastirTst-irrazyr.--Pefer Saunders, a man having the appear ance of a naval-officer, but who has for a long time been " upon the town," and has figured at the bars of the Thames Police-office and Union-hall, upon .different charges of swindling, was brought before Mr. WALLER, charged with stealing two watches, under the l at followin circumstances : Mn. gs, a lady residing - in Mount-street, Whitechapel, said, on the 28th o last month, the prisoner came to h eri house, and wished to hire a lodging, saying, he had just come from New South Wales, in the George. She was induced to let him sleep there, and as he said he had no clean linen, she lent him a shirt. The next morning he went away, and did not return, and she soon after missed two watches. Another lady, named Greenfield, said the prisoner came to her house, and from his representations, she lent him five-and-twenty shillings, and he decamped. He was, however, brought to her house by a man to whom she had given information of the robbery, and when she asked him for the money he said he could not give it her then, but he would leave her a watch as a security for the repayment. This watch was produced, and identified by the first witness as one of those she had lost. _ _ Lee, an officer, said, from information he received, be went to the White Swan public-house, Ratcliff-highway, and took the prisoner into custody. On searching him, he found the duplicates of a watch, which had also been identified by Mrs. Bagss. The prisoner was fully committed to Newgate for trial. HaTrom-aaanzw.—Yesterday William Turner, a drayman, in the service of Reid and Co. brewers, appeared upon a summons before Mr. Rogers, to answer the complaint of Mr. Simmonds, of Euston. square, for negligent driving. The complainant stated, that on Friday last he, accompanied by his groom, was driving in a stanhope along the Harrow-road, towards tireen ford, when, just as be approached the eight mile-stone, he met a dray drawn by three horses, which warped to that side of the road on which he was driving, and as the road was too narrow to enable him to pass the dray, he drew up and called out to two men whom he saw sitting on the dray, to guide the horses aright. The men, one of whom was the de.. fendant, appeared to take no notice whatever of him, and by this time the leader approached him so nearly as to render it impossible for him to get out of the way, and he expected every moment that himself and the stanhope would be crushed to atoms against the wall. However, fortunately for him, he had a dog in the stanhope, whose barking affrighted the leader, and caused him to warp again suddenly to the opposite side, which was the only thing that could have possibly saved him (the complainant) and the vehicle from utter de unction, and as the dray passed close by him he distinctly obxreed I that the two men were fast asleep. He roused up the defendant, and having asked him whose servant he was, he replied that he was servant to Mr. Reid, the brewer, of Liquorpond.street, to whom the dray be. longed. On the following day he called at Messrs. Reid's brewhonse, and having ascertained the defendant's name, he had a summons issued for his appearance here to answer for his neglect, and he (the can. plainant) was induced to press the charge, because not only was his own life and the lives of other passengers on the road exposed to the most imminent danger, but also the life of the defendant and that of his companion, who, while they were asleep, might have tumbled off the dray and been crushed to pieces. Mr. Roasas having asked the defendant what he had to say to the charge, he replied that having been up at a very early hour, and tra velled much of the country on the day in question, he became fatigued, and having sat on the dray to rest himself, be dropped off asleep. He had been 20 years in the service of his present employers, and never during that time had there been a single complaint made against him till now. The person who sat on the dray with him was not a drayman, but a poor man, whom he picked up on the road, who had walked a great deal, and who was unable to proceed further at the time on foot in consequence of his lameness. Mr. Roans observed, that as a caution to him against endangering his own and the lives of others in future, he should fine him in the pe nalty of 10s. and costs and, turning to 3lr. Simmonds, he said the public, no doubt, would he very much obliged to him for the trouble be had undertaken in the business. The defendant having paid the penalty, Mr. Simmonds handed over the 10s. fine to the Magistrate, to be deposited in the poor-box. The Magistrates thanked him, and he withdrew. THA3IESPoLtac.Orricx.—IMPORT %31T DECISION.—YOIterday Alichacl Skelly and Patrick Wray, two Irish coal.whippess, ap. pared before Mr. BALLANTIVE, On an information laid spinster/tem under the 148th section of the Coal Act, for refusing to attend upon a summons of one of the magistrates of this °See, to give evidence against Capt. Richard Wardell, master of the ship Triune, by which they had incurred a penalty of 901. and all the costs an conviction. The information was she firer laid under the clause named in the Act, and the hearing of the case excited much interest. Mr. F. Id:Wegener, a solicitor, attended in support of the informs, Lion, and stated that several informations bad lately been preferrad against the masters of colliers, coal undertakers, publicans, and otlitti, for taking what is termed in the coal-trade ‘, tow-row, "—that in, a gratuity exacted from the coal whippers who are emplo yed in chance, the ml-ships in the river, and which is divided amongst the publics,., the muter, and the undertaker, after being deducted from the hard earnings of the poor labourers. The penalty for exacting " tow.zuw" is 201. and although proceedings had been instituted for the sole puritost of securing to the men the whole of their hard.earned wages, it was but seldom any of them would come forward to give evidence against trio% • who exacted the many. Under these circumstances they tette corn pelled to adopt the present proceedings. George Ells, a 19tamss police.officer, deposed, that en Monday, the 20th of September, he served summonses on both defendants, for then, to attend and give evidence against Captain Wardell for exacting money from certain sod-whippers Who were employed in clearing his yew! The summonses were signed by Captain Richbell, but neither of ti, defendants appeared. Mr. BALLANTINI inquired if the information was dismissed in con sequence of the non-attendance of the two men ? Mr. Wegener replied in the affirmative. His client was saddlL with all the costs, and be had no doubt the witnesses had beer tampered with by those who were in the habit of taking tow-tow from the labourers. The defendants declared that they were not aware of the conse quences of not obeying the summonses, or they would have attended. They were engaged in clearing a colliery on the day the information was to be heard, and should have lost a day's work had they come forward to give evidence. Mr. BALLawslux said, their expenses would have been allowed by the magistrates had they obeyed the summonses, and they could not plead ignorance of the law, as each summons distinctly stated the penal. ties incurred for non-attendance. They had acted very foolishly in rue coming forward, as the information was laid against the master of tht vessel, to prevent themselves and fellow-labourers from being impose! u The defendants said they were totally unable to pay any penalty. Mr. Wegener said, he was imperatively called upon to press for conviction, as an example to deter others from disobeying the Magi,- %rates' summonses. Mr. BALLANTINE said, as the case was proved, he had nu other alternative than to convict in the full penalty of NI. and costs. The act_anve him no power of mitigation. The defendants being unable to pay the penalties, were consigned to the house of correction. UNlON.MALL.—Yesterday four men, employed In pulling down houses in High.street, Southwark, to make way for the approaches to the new London.bridge., were brought up on the following charge : Waubey, the street-keeper, a ft er having described the wretched state of the thoroughfare in High-street, owing to the work going forward there, said that no attention whatever was paid by the superintendents of the new improvements in that quarter to the accommodation of the public. The manner in which the houses were pulled down by the workmen was exceedingly dangerous to those who happened to be passing near the spot, for instead of using the necessary precaution of placing a board in front of the buildings, no such course was adopted, and the workmen, to save:trouble, were in the habit of making ropes fast to the external walls, and then a number of them pulled away until they brought thr whole mass of rubbish into the street. On Saturday last several houses were pulled down by this expedient, and workmen, instead of clearing the rubbish way, allowed it to remain, blocking up the thoroughfare, to the great inconvenience of the public, until the Monday evening, although they were frequently warned during Saturday to remove the obstruction. Mr. Sor.ostox %am, the magistrate, complained of the very int. proper way in which the houses were taken down in High-street. He had no doubt, he said, that the workmen were allowed boards by the contractors, but they were not used, and the houses were levelled to the ground in the manner described by the street-keeper. He had himself witnessed that very morning one of the houses pulled down by that dangerous mode, instead o f bricks being lowered down in baskets, as practised on the city side. He also observed that there were no boards placed up in front of the buildings in a course of being taken down, which rendered it extremely hazardous to those passing that great tho. he street-keeper said, that the defendants were all at work in the centre of the street that morning clearing bricks, and although they were told to remove the impediment thus created, they refused. Mr. CHAMBERS mid, that the public thoroughfare was not to be obstructed by the rubbish, which should have been conveyed away in. stead of being left there. The Magistrate then asked one of the fore. men whether it was out of necessity that the thoroughfare was blocked up, from the Saturday until Monday evening? The foreman said that he could give no answer to the question ; upon which Mr. Cnamagns convicted the defendants in a penalty of 40s. each, and intimated his determination of inflicting fines on all those who were brought before him for offences of a similar description. Town-Hatt.—Elias Fro*, 14 years of age, was charged with stealing a coral necklace and a pair of pearl ear-rings, from Jane 11eb. ber, seven years old. The prisoner, as she was at play, asked her ta show her the way to Weston -street; as they were going, the prisoner took of her necklace, and pat it in her bosom, for fear of the crowd, she said ; presently they came to a toy-shop, where the prisoner told bar to go in and ask the price of a doll, and let ber look at the ear-rings the while, which she took out of her ears; when she came out of the shop the prisoner was gone. The prisoner was remanded. ATTEMPT OF A MOTHER TO DESTROY HERSELF AND INFANT! On Tuesday evening, about seven o'clock, an interesting young female, rather genteelly dressed, with an infant st her breast, went into the house of Mr. Gardner, the New Globe Inn, in the Mile End. road, and called for a glass of hot rum and water. She remained a short time, when, having finished her glass, she bade Mrs. Gardner good night, and left the house. In a few minutes after, some men wen: coming across the field near the bridge over the canal in Bow Common. lane, when they saw the female first throw something she had in her arms into the water, and immediately after jump in hersel£ men, with all speed, ran to the house of Mr. Holmes, a grocer, 14r means to rescue the unhappy woman from a watery grave. Mr. Holmes returned immediately with the men to the bank, where they found the poor creature struggling in the water, and apparently sinking, and her infant was lying in about two feet of water nearer the side of the car.al. Mr. Holmes, at therisk of his life, rushed into the water, and at the mu. ment the poor woman was sinking for the last time, he caught hold of her dress, and dung fast to her, and the men on shore dragged thew both to the side of the canal, the female quite insensible ; in which state both she and her offspring were conveyed instantly to the New Globe, where Mr. New and Mr. Huskiuon, the surgeons, attended, and used the necessary means to restore suspended animation, in which they happily succeeded after a lapse of three hours. The infant was also recovered; and too much praise cannot be given to Mrs. Gardner tor her humanity towards the unhappy woman and her child. die pro. cured a wet.nurse for the infant, and prepared an excellent bed for the mother, and employed a woman to sit up with her all night, with ne cessary nourishment for her and the infant. The poor creature gate her name Hannah Stonehouse, and that she resided at No. 51, '4'ml:- hope-street, Clare-market; and she stated that her infant (a tine girl) was only three weeks old. Her cause for attempting the dreadful act she alleged to be the desertion of her husband, and abject distress. The unfortunate woman and her infant are now in lilile.end workhouse. Yesterday morning, between six and seven o'clock, Mr. John Tcw, who for a considerable time has rented the nip of the Boar and Castle Tavern, Oxford -street, was found in the cellar with his throat cut. The female servant, as usual, went up stairs at the above hour to call her master, but not finding him in bed, and his clothes le. ing on the chairs, she ran down stairs and discovered the cellar door open—which was very unusual. She immediately gave an alanii, when two of the men in the yard came to her assistance. and on going into the cellar discovered the unfortunate man lying on his face, and wel tering in his blood; his throat was cut in a dreadful manner, and the razor was grasped in his right hand, with part of his apron weund et, the handle; he was quite dead ; he had only his shift and drawers 07. Deceased has laboured under a melancholy affection for some titre. BI RTHS. The 4th inst. at her mother's house, in Portmamoguare, the 1 1 4 of Capt. Coulson, Grenadier Guards, of a daughter, which only w vited a few hours..—The btk inst. at Harrow.on-tbor.Hill, Mr.. T. Hewlett, of a daughter.—The 6th inst. at Sydeolsans-common, 31r'. Nis, of a son. MARRIED. The sth inst. at St. Maryc,TanTheth, W. Willis, Esq of Chester. place, Kennington, to Sarah Howard, third daughter of G. Sanders. Esq. of East-place, Kennington.—The sth lust. at Rickmansworth ,l Palmer, Esq. of Upper Glocester-place, Dorset square, to Miss Levi Dawbiney, of Rickmansworth—The 6th inst. at Clapham Church, the Rev. G. Price, rector of Ronald Kirk, Yorkshire, to Georgian', 01 ' only surviving daughter of the late Capt. C. Pelly, R.N.— Tbe emb ult. at St. Giles's ' Camberwell, Mr. W. H. Cope, of Newingto n. Surrey, to Esther Elisabeth, eldest daughter of Mr. R. Fled, of Aldersgate-street. DIED. Thursday last, at Greenwich, Mr. W. Smith, aged 6s, formerly of the city of Dorliame—At Hastings, on the 21st ult. Mary, wife of IL N. Wilmot, M.D.—At Brighton, on the 30th ult. Lieut.-Col. P. Clarke, late of the Grenadier Guards—At Malta, on the 26th of Aug. the infant daughter of the Hoo. Lieut.-Col. Seymour Bathurst. --The 29th uk. at Brighton, aged 24, Mary, the wife of T. Walker, H+9• of Land Hutton, in the county of York. LOUDON t hinted and Published by JOAN lIAYNI, /gibs &raft. °Pries, No. 1, Pickett•plsa, Temple Use. 1 f