The Sun. — London, England, 1819-08-17 00:00:00

gr .....ms. I'ltON-'INCIAL JOURNALS. (Front The.Shryield Mercury of the i inst.) . ; We have 'often expressed our opinion that 'the present agitated state of various parts of the coun try, particularly of tl►e Northern lsistricts, arises ghnost solely from ►he distressed and pinched con 7 dition of the labouring poor; and not horn any revolutionary disposition eNciting them agains't the insiitutiolls of their fathers. It is the goadings of prunry and want, more than theftnitis decla mations of Mt. Hunt, or the whining cant of Mr. Harrison, tha,t collect such crOwds in tuinultuons and illegal assemblies, and , originate the violent qt)d ridiculous resolittions that are passed in them:• TI. is appears tO he the true hrigiii . of the mischief ; bore I,rima milli lobes ; '81)d it would be both int p'"Olitie and d'anH!! rus to stiffer one source of the evil to: tt•gross all our attention and vigilance, to the neglect of this the principal and primary one. . Many indirect causes, have been assigned for the present distressed condition of the treat neass ,of our labouring population. The heavy taxation which all clasSes ate obliged to pay to the go vet ittnent.-- 7 the operation of the Poor Laws, fos tering the vety evil '!ley were meant to alleviate• —the stagnation of trade, arising from the tran sition of the nation from a state . ot war to one of peace—all have been coosidcred as the causes of our distress; and all probably have sonic share in ptodneing the evil. Not the immediate and most obvhinscause, at present, is to he toilful in the lowne . ss of wages tt . mringst the working classes, be W'hich it is absolutely impossible for them to support thenaselVes and families, however well emj!loyed they may he, wijhout relief from some gnat ter or other. When we are told that a eirtlll weaver earns olly six or seven shillingsfi week, thoneh he works sixteiut hours every day of that CaO we. %vatic airy other proof ofhis dis tressed situation, or tired '‘k.e scald) for any other cause for his discontent and Wretchedness These wages must he Perfectly itietkquale to hiS own ilprori, far less to the support.of hia The inevitable consequence is, that relief miter he sought for front the Parish, which is thus forced to m,ke up the deficiency. We ate aware how ild:rate 3 011[1;4 it is t'o interfere het wiXt the o.er ietot his mai.ter, and what Mischief might at isc front attempting to regulate - the price of labour. Buz it is Assoc obvious that wages like these arc tliiicit 10-lOw :he value of laliouie It appears, trout a spt-o-cii of Lord Castlereltfzb's, during ti,e last 'hat both our Export :rand Import Trade had increased, and we kafitc-that the imporis of Co.tots have ofitte been very Miteli 8,1 4: mewed. 1, r4lm this We — infer, that as' rro;nv goods ii:v.l! been lately manufactured its dining noire flourishing periods. The evil, therefore, - does not consist its ;he want of employment, but in the lowness of wurees, by which'a workman is obli.;:eil to tits almost double what he Was arCitS to do, hi order to gain a livelihood. 'From (Ilia it arises that Tmany have nothUtg at all to do; and others arc starved and bard worked at 'the sante tiome That the condition of the labouring classes has deteriorated very mirch,from what it was formerly, will• be evident to any one, who will compare the value of labour and the price, of bread at the present day, with what they were a hundred or fifty years :Igo. We make hold to say, that the weekly labour of a common workman as a mason, a tailor, weaver, or shoemaker, could purchase almost double the number of quarter❑ loaves a hundred years ago, that the same labour can buy at the present day. Nothing can evince more clearly the distressed condition of the present race of workmen, or explain more satisfactorily the cause of the enormous amount of our present Poor Rates. We are aware, however, that there most he •great difficulties in the way of reutedyiPg - this evil. It is perhaps impossible to fix the value of labour, which, depending on time demand am! supply, must fluctuate accordingly. It 'is asset,- . tial also that our manufactures should be as low priced as possible, imm order to meet competition in the foreign market. Yet we cannot help wishing to see some plan chalked out, by which labour should be better paid than it is at present. And we luckily have an instance of this having fie: n done with all the good effects that could be wished for. Among the Spitalfields manufac turers, it is the practice for the masters and jour neymen to settle amongst themselves time price of their labour, and this is regulated according to the circumstances of the trade. Whether this system, which has'answered so well in the limited and local trade of Spitalfielmis, vv.ould succeed as well in the more general business of the country, we will not take it upon ourselves to say. But we are disposed to thiok, that neither the distrets nor the clamour of our Manufacturing poor will terminate, till some increase takes place in time price of their labour. The execution of Edward Broadbent,' at Hors ham, on Friday, for the murder of 'Serjeant Watson, Brighton, noticed in our paper of yes terday, was accompanied with the following 'dis tressing circumstance :—When the wretched man dropped his handkerchief as a signal that he was prepared, Mr. Stuart,, tire gaol 7 keeper, ordered the man who was at the 'head of the horse to more on, which he did not appear to understand, n►od the unfortunate man finding no attention paid to his signal, threw himself from the cart, when, dreadful,to relate, the noose being bungling ly•formed, the rope slipped, and lowered 'the poor fellow so, that his toes rested on the ground. The gaoler now proposed to untie him, adjust therore, and turn the sufferer off again; but one of the offi cers of the Sheriff called aloud for a spade, which could not he procured for some minutes, but it was at. length brought, when the ground was dug from under his feet, which wt.?re held up by the exeeu dotter, during the operation, and at this period the Acute sufferings of the dying man were made manifest by a deep groan. The concourse of spectators upon the melancholy occasion *as un usually small, in number not more than a -bun died, consisting chiefly of boys and girls. LAW INTELLIGENCE, COURT OF CHANCERY, Auc. IC, IN THE MATTER PE STEVENS, A LUNATIC. The Lotto CH A NCELL\OIIIO that natter of Stephens I -.have read carefully all the papers, and have attended to all the circumstances of the case from the month of February 1817 to the present Moment, and I had thought it right that one pro ceeding bright be in the nature of a " menus . in 4uirendo," but atter diligent search 1 can dischver nu instance of the• kind, except where the_ finding Of the Jury is insufficient. They must find that a patty is of soloid or unsound mind: where it is nicreLy stated that he' is not able to manage his tyan bcfaits, anti so on, in that case the finding is not sufficient ; hilt in the case of a commission, which in point of form is 'right, •I can find no in stance or such a proceeding. 'That iudtofes the rpieso,,n, whether on the evidence as it stands I Can ,npt.rseqe the commission. I !biol.; I cannot : I do not see what I can do : there must bean ac• tin!) to traverse the commission. I have read the proceedingvwith.great care. • . (10 110. t know whether your Lordship has seen him.—We understood his Lord ship to say he ;had not. IloaNe---.lt will be the utter ruin of bin] and his•fortune. • Mr. ATTORNEY-GRNERAL—May we not move to quash this commission., on the odund that he is restured • . , - LORD CHANCELLOR--I have no evidence of that; I have great respect tor Dr. Lathan - and the other Gentlemen; but I -do not- think,-; upon the evi dence, that I can set t-he commissio aside. •AIr.ATTORNEY•GENERAL-1 believe Dr. Powell, .Dr. Ainslie, an& Al r. Warhol ton, a VC, seen him. LORDCHANCELLOR—NO, you would- not Jet ,them. If you wish thein to see him* Mr. ATTORNEY. , GENERAL—The only -objection wag, that he did not wish to see them at his • tiro , tier's suggest ion. Upon- your ,intimation he will be happy to see them. LORD CHANCELLOR —Most UlipleStlODably they ought to see hint. • ill r: liottNe—l -know he has nOt the least re luctance. LOUD CTIANGELLOR—Let me know the resilit. EloßNE—tle Is not only anxious be seen by them, but by.any ot4ier person in addition to them. LORD CHANCELLOR—I can have but one wish. Be st7goo(l as to .arr,nge that these Gentlemen may seo,hint. Mr. ElottNE—There can he no objection to Dr, Latham also .stein;; •. L01t1) CHANCY.LLOR—Or any body else,. Mr. ATTORNEY-GENERAL—And Dr. Willis. . CIIANCELLoR — " Be it So. Noihiii g would be wore saiiSlaCtoly to me than a favour able !*suit, atter these Geutlensen shall have see❑ him." G9RDON U. GORDON. The LORD CHaNCELLCg delivered judgment, in this long•contested cause. After a minute review of all the depositions taken under the commission sent down to Scotland, his .Lordship was decid ed,t.y of opinion, than when the defentkor, Janes Gordon, obtained from the plaintiff, Harry Gor don, the agreement which the latter now sought to set aside, he knew thartheir father and mother had been privately married before, the birth. of the plaintiff, his elder brother, whose legitimacy was established by that marriage, and that the defen dant did not,. previously to the agreement,- com 7 municate to the plaintiff what he knew respecting the legitimacy of the latter. Whatever Mr. James Cordon might say to the contrary, his Lordship could not entertain any other belief than that which he had 'stated, without Supposing, what there was not the stnallest reason to suspect, that several of the persons tvhoge depositions had beets taken by the Commissioners had been guilty of th:: . most deliberate and atrocious perjury. His Lordship 6 n ally decided, that the Court was bound to release the plaiotitf from an agreement entered into ,troder such circumstances. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. CORN WALL.-BODMIN, AuGuEy.ls. ROE ON DEMI,:' , E OF HEALE AND OTHERS VERSUS HASHLEIGH.-THE SAME VERSUS 36 OTHER I'. LPS 9 N S . These ejectwents, 37 in number, were brought by the assignees of a person of the name of Dingle against Cl►arles Itahleigh, EN. and whets, to obtain possession of certain houses and buildings, a pier, and other property, in a newly crea!ed ' , own called Charlestown, in the neigh. bourhood of. St. Austle. . _ . I. It appeared that Dingle had been long in the employ of Mr. Rashleigh, and though un educated was in possession of considerable powers of perception. _foresaw the immense bene it to be ,derived from converting a barren spot into a port and harbour ; and, with the assist ance of Mr. Rashleigh, who had granted him a freehold for life in the premises, actually convert ed that barren spot iuto.a place of the first import ance to the comity, as one which afforded the g - reatest facility to trade, and the greatest advan tage to those engaged _in, mining pursuits. Mat . Mt went on with increasing success from 1790 rn 1 - SO9, when Mr. Rashleigh withdrew his protec tint) from Dingle, arrested him, threw him into prison, and re-assumed the possession of the whole of the property. The other creditors of Dingle sued out a commission of bankruptcy, and the present plaintiffs, as assignees under that corn mission, proceeded to recover the possession; but as Mr. Rashleigh set up a claim to a large amount against the bankrupt, and insisted that lie had a lien upon the lease, a reference was agreed to. The award made upon that occasion was virtually set aside at the last sittings in the Court of, King's Bench', on the ground, that the arbitrator had purposely kept out of the way, to avoid re ceiving notice - of the revocation of the submission, and the elaints of the assignees were again put forward. The case was most ably argued epon the docu mentary evidence by Mr. Serjeant Pell, Mr. Gase lee, Mr• SVildc, ant! Mr. Scarlett, jun. for the plaintiff, and by Mr. Adam and Mr. Selwyn for the defendants ; the result was, (hat the plaintiff obtained a verdict, complete, in 26 of the CalliSCs, and as to the remaining 12, an objection was taken, that a sufficiently formal livery and seizin had not been made under the lease to the bank rupt. The Learned Judge (1113sT) reserved the point, and allowed the defendants to move the Court above for a nonsuit as to the 12 ; but on the other 25 ejectments, the verdict was unconditional. DURHAM ASSIZES, AuousT 13. C RowN-CoU RT.—MURDER. Eight o'clock this morning was tile time fixed for this trial ; but so great was the curiosiety to ' see it, that soon after seven every corner into which a human being could squeeze himself was occupied. At eight precisely the trial began. It. was obviously of a nature to excite the greatest intetest. We recollect an extraordinary trial for murder at Lancaster, two years ago, when a fa ther, his brother, his syn, and another, were convicted of the murder of two helpless fe males, who were left in a house where considerable property was to be found, and were put to death only.. as a security against the detection of the robbers. This case was re markably similar to that of the Ashcroits. But here only one unhappy woman was in the house. To her murder, however, was added the burning of the house, in order to conceal both the rob bery and the murder. In this case too, as in that of the Ashcrofts, the evidence .against the pri soners was entirely circumstantial. But the diffi culty was much increased in the present case by the lapse of four years since the atrocious deed bad been perpetrated. John Eden, aged 28, James Wolfe, aged 56, and George Wolfe, his son, aged 30, were charged with the wilful [Harder of Isabella Young, at Herring ton, on the night of the 28th Aug. 1815. Mr. WILLIAMS opened the case to the Jury. The nature of the charge against the prisoners : could not fail to have etwaged their attention.—' Any attempt on his part to excite their attention would be improper, therefore, as being super fluous. Bit it Would be improper for another reason : any thing of exaggeration or inflamma tion which might Withdraw their minds from sober and deliberate investigation would be most improper. But there was in this case where withal to rouse their feelings, if he were to dwell upon the circumstances. A young woman, belp;. less and defenceless, was the person brutally,but ebered ; the house was set in flames to conceal her :blood. Such were the circumstances of enor , fishy and atrocity attending the ease they were to enquire into. But their great business was to enquire who were the persons that had perpe trated this atrocious deed. He would shortly state the outline of the evidence to be laid before them. Isabella Young bad been - in the service of Miss Jane Smith," since Lally Peat, a•Lady of great iibulenee, and of . iingular habits and manners.— One of her singular habits was to have only one female servant in her house. Miss Smith had been from home for• a week previously to the 'murder, and had left Isabella Young in her • house. at Herrington, a village about four or five miles from the town of Sunderland. Isaballa Young bad, been alarmed . the night be . • fore this fatal attempt ; - she had heard the•bar re moved from the doOr, and in consequence solicited a neighbour to sleep with her on the night of the 28th of August, 1815. Her solicitation failed ; but that neighbour heard her bolt the door at ten o'clock. Another neighbour found her about two o', lock' next morning murdered. Thebonse hail been set fire to ;. but the fire had no' reached the part where she was at the time she was seen, and d r agged out. That the murder had been com mitted by some persons or other would he prov ed, therefore, beyond all coot roversy. He would now state to them the evidence which al , fected the several • 'prisoners, John Eden had been a soldier in the Durham Militia, who marched into Newcastle on the 26. h of August, the Saturday before this tragedy. It would tie prov cal that he was Aren't from his segiMent on the night of the 28th and the morning of the 29th, and it the JurY would believe the witness, (James Lincoln,) they would find that Eden called at that witness's house on the evening of Monday the 28th, aud'told him, that be and two others were going to HerrinOon on a very disagreeable hosi isess„ and spoke of Miss Smith's mouldy money. An idea had prevailed 'that she had accumulated money; this bad excited cupidity; and her re tired manner of living gave hopes of gratifying that cupidity. Eden spoke, of her mouldy money, and if the witness should - be believed, 'arid lie knew no reason why he should not, they would find hint that night upon this very business Eden hail been a keehhan. Icn the evening he had been it, blue clUthes ; next mottling he was seen neatly dressed, andhaving honille,(oo Imimport ant circumstance,) 12 miles from Newcastle. He had every appearance of haling changed Isis clot hes.— ' Oa one occasion lie saidhe could establish en alibi, and prove that he was at Newcastle; there he- certainly, ought to have been, but be would be proved by the muster-roll to have been - absent.. Now he would proceed to James Wolfe. He bad held a farm front Miss Smith, and had fallen in ar rear. with his lent. She had become displeased with him, and got rid of him. ft would be proved flint lie had afterwards, on many occasions, said he would he revenged, he was not done with her yet.. In addition it would be proved, that in December, 1814, on a remarkable windy day, when a wall bad been thrown .down, and killed a man, a circumstance that naturally fastened on the me mo: y, Wolfe mentioned to a Jame'S Shaw the wrongs and injustice done to him by Miss Smith, and said that he - ivotild be revenged. To Shaw Ise remarked, that it would be easy to rob her house. Next as to George Wolfe, he had been remaskably regular in his employment, which was that of a furrier, at Bishop-Wearmouth buton the night of the 28th he was absent, and Willi!) he returned on the morning of the 29th, he ‘l, , ac observed to have a black eye, and to have scratche on his face, as if done 'with flails. . His first ace' count of it was, " I was drunk, and fell in.the streets of Sunderland." On another occasion .he said, one of his children bad been unwell, and he had risen to get sonic water for the • child,. and hurt 110 - iself. He was apprehended in Edinburgh, and a pocketbook was found whir .him, which he said he had got from the family of his wife siz years before. Lady Peat would prove this pocket took to have been her's, and to have been in b i er l dwelling a week before the murder. Soch the evidence which would be laid before 'bete they would weigh it with that measure d con-sle 41 ' ration, and that attentive caution, which it - fie their province to exercise ; and they wolA t a r , doubted not, come to such a conclusion al evidence warranted. tto After the examination of several witnesse°, to of whom swore that. Eden• had solicited the to sdi assist in the robbery, and Lady Year had ,Woro the pocket-book found in James Wolfe's...ls) session, as part of her stolen property, Mr. Baron Voon recapitulated the dence, and made several remarks oo th e . rious parts of it. The evidence, con t he wholly of circumstances. MI must fee l .46 o' highest indignation against the perre r T n ot. of the horrid crime committed ; but they 1 10 % 0 0 suffer their f.telings to carry them to convta, without full proof.—lf they were satis fi ed wi t ' ir e . doubt that the prisoners, or any of them, / : pt the perpetrators, they would find a lew c. guilty. The Jury retired about half past two n'c' o l, c . It was then proposed to call another Jury for t o ' other trial of murder in the calendar ; l e e r. Lordship remarked that they could not by proceed to another trial while a Jury were closed upon murder. It was at last 0114 - t defer the other trial till to-morrow morning' • eight. At half-past four o'clock the Jury returned:''; Their approach excited a most visible sensai° o throughout the multitude as,4emble 3 in Cfrilke When the Foreman pronounced the iter".o. Guilty upon John Eden, the general feeling e°?oty no longer be suppressed. A similar expres s e l b c was repeated when Guilty was announce d as 'oa verdict on James Wolfe. George Wolfe bps! f Not Guilty. A female, said to be the wife or °.,% of the prisoners, shrieked in a most agonil::i.o tone when the verdicts were riven. Tbe e :ol wretched convicts stood unmoved. George lir °"'" r, bowed his bead, and was scarcely able to " I thank you," when lie heard himself acquitthed, el When they were asked successively cessively wha t - be had to say why sentence of death should IlOt pronounced, - ; f ito John Eden said he was innocent, and went 01 0 a confused statement of perjuries against 10, IP, of his having never seen the man (James LW ° - a witness) in his life. hea James Wolfe said, he was innocent as vr,:po God ovule him. He had been at Cockburn Yr"' the thing was done. 0' Mr. Baron WOOD pronounced the awfoi ,i t tence to the following effect :—" John EJeD; E ps JaMes Wolfe, you have been convicted ° f , i ' e e crime of wilful murder, one of , the greatest c ro which man can comit, a crime punisbehle vlcts b i death, not only by the laws of this land, bkit the law of God, and the voice of Nature. In p e d case, murder was also attended with ap.rgra wat t o circumstances. You committed the mu rder b , conceal breaking into a house at midnight,and r°e„ Bing it of much property ; and, to conceal the to ,t. der, you set fire to the house. Such an e eeuilll l 4 lation of crimes has been seldom heard of, ''.„; I hope will never be beard of again in this o°ol try. One of you, I am sorry to observe, sc ell3 o to have considered and planned the act som e before, audit seems as it you determined to Vg it into execution at all events. The o th er or seemed I to have determined to kill Miss Sllll vs -- i m if she had been there. Nothing seems interrupted you in your nefarious' course. P a ,710 IVolfe here exclaimed, " I am as clear as G° er: heaven.") But murder seldom passes undisc o 7 4, eel or unpunished. By the providence of God , , 1 0 cumstauces occurred which have brought Y; 0 , crime to light, and it is now my painfuldutyt ° ,P, nounce your punishment,which must be cartieo!"o6 execution. I hope you have repented, and cot-Wilco to tepent. I most earnestly recommend to Y ° , ll l ,se apply•by prayer to God for th.it mercy in arr y h 'i fi g world which man cannot give you here. N °l ltte now ,remains for me to do but to peonotiece otl e awful sentence which the law ordains f or 31 , % ry crime. That sentence is, that on Monday "ces the lfith of August, you be hanged by your O r o till you are dead, and your bodies after% s o f given to be dksected and anatomized ; ao` l God have mercy on your souls 1" far' Julio Eden would fain have entered int° w is Cher protestations of his innocence, but he : 07 , not allowed. As he was led away, he lo ol ' eu css wards the crowd behind the dock, and said b e :be innocent, he had never seen the man? ati" hoped his case would be a warning. • uPg Yesterday morning Thomas Yarworth, 9O'C Y ° ree man who was employed with others in building of Shadwell Church, Lligh-street, ";re by some unfortnnate accident preciPitated fro"' ( ~..1 1 1 1 scaffolding (a great height) to the grouna 55141 great force, by which he fractured his scull.t•i; injured his body in a dreadful manner. carried to the London Hospital on a it'l lJ.' where he died soon afterwards. Yesterday morning a young woman, - ti T er s Mary Evans, who was riding in a cart with Mho along the Commercial-road, on getting 00 ' vehicle she fell down, and a coach fo )loor S passed over and injured her so dreadtulli , , • she shortly after died in the hospital. • BIRTH. of • n the I 6th inst., at his house in Hunter-str e a et, .- r O t or. wick-square, the lady of Rogers Ruding, Esq., of dau4 RRIED • MA, YeSterday, at St. Gregory's Church, Alexander Esq., of Cluoie, Dumfriesshire, late of the Honouraciracltt, India Company's Medical Establishment , Bengal, t,ctor eldest. (laughter of John Hyslop, Esq., surgeon , commons. - % . I .••4. , : . DIED. tH 4 ' 4 n oi On the 4 4th instant, at Feyntower , Scutland,,thF,•r-otte General. Sir ,David Baird : his brother; : ;' Lieutenant - John liaird,Jof the Aberdeenshire Militia.w wif e f : 4r. On Sunday, In her th y . 27th }_ea Charlotte, the "- ° Edward Winchwortil, of Iligh-street, Mary-le-Boot ()vie 011 Sotukay utorning, at Lewisham, Mary, the ,James Wilson, haherdasher, of the Strand. • , .............--- -.....„.... G . r e° • ~,, . 1 • LONDON: Printed by J. B. CARSTAIRS, of No• (''' W. iI; Ormond-street, Queen-square; and published 1.,,1 0 , SIP SCRIPPS, of NI): 7, South illolton- street, •a t 'I w oo' tithe, No. 112, Strand ; where Advettisement s, -Letters, &c. (post 7 paid) must be addressed. • t o L. tef z flti a OTI th i tern l'o„ e nu „ (a,.