The Sun. — London, England, 1841-08-11 00:00:00

MORNING SUN. PLYMOUTH BREAKWATER. The following paper, containing a succinct, yet inte resting account of the rise, progress, and present state of this national undertaking, which was read at the recent meeting of the British Association at Plymouth, will, we are sure, prove interesting to our readers. We ex tract it from the Plymouth _Herald : PLYMOUTH BREAKWATER. " W. STUART, Esq., Superintendent of this Work, then read the following paper : " Gentlemen,—Before I proceed to the immediate sub ject of my paper, I may, perhaps, be allowed to state that from the moment at which I first learned that the eleventh meeting of the British Association would be held at Plymouth, I purposed preparing a communication upon the Breakwater to lay before it, for I readily ima gined that a communication respecting that great national undertaking could not be but well re ceived. Had this, however, not been my determina tion, I should have felt myself called upon, after the recent papers which have been presented to the Association in this and another of its sections, to make some communication upon the subject ; for, as the matter now appears before you, the present stone Breakwater has on the one hand been productive of very injurious results to this great naval and maritime port, by causing a deposit within, and consequent loss of depth of water of about five feet ; and on the other hand, not withstanding the great outlay on the part of the Go vernment in the construction of that Breakwater, it will be entirely destroyed by submarine agency. But as to the correctness of these conclusions I shall presently say a word. The importance attached to Plymouth as a naval station, arising from the magnitude of its Dock yard, and other causes, gave rise to the Breakwater. In the early part of the year 1806, the attention of the Admiralty was directed to the subject, and in the month of February in that year their Lordships directed the late Mr. John Rennie, civil engineer, and the late Mr. Joseph Whidbey, then Master Attendant at Woolwich Dock-yard, to proceed to Plymouth to survey the Sound. It is unnecessary that I should say a word upon the judiciousness of the selection thus made of the parties who were to plan a Breakwater for Ply mouth Sound. Mr. Rennie was then at the head of his profession, and up to the period of his lamented death, 1821, maintained his well-earned reputation. Mr.Whid bey had had considerable experience as a Master in the navy • had sailed round the word with Vancouver, dur:. ing which he had made extensive surveys of harbOurs, tides, &c., and for several years had been Master At tendant at Woolwich and Sheerness Dockyards. On the 18th of March, 1806, Messrs. Rennie and Whidbey met at Plymouth in order to carry out their Lordship's in structions, and on the 21st of April they made a joint Report to the Admiralty with the result of their survey, and at the same time submitted to them a plan for a stone Breakwater, and gave their opinions upon several plans which had been previously proposed for protecting Ply mouth Sound and Cawsand Bay, none of which, however, had been prepared under the directions of the Board ofAd miralty. The plan proposed by Messrs. Rennie and Whidbey consisted of a Pier or Breakwater across Ply mouth Sound, of 1,700 yards in length at the top, 1,000 of which at the middle part was to be straight, and 350 yards at each end was to incline to the straight part in an angle of about 20 degrees, leaving an opening at either end for the passage of vessels, &c. The top of the Breakwater was to be ten yards in width at the level of ten feet above the lower water of an ordinary spring tide, and to have a slope on the south or sea side, of three feet horizontal to one foot perpendicular, and on the north or land side, one and a half horizontal to one perpendicular. The work was to be constructed by blocks of stone, thrown promiscuously into the sea, in the line of the intended Breakwater, leaving them to find their own base, and the top was to be composed of a cut stone pier. This report and plan was very favourably received, but owing to frequent changes in the Government and other causes, the commencement of the Breakwater was delayed, and it was not until the 22d of June, 1811, that the order of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent in . Council was issued for that purpose. The necessary steps were immediately taken to carry out that order, and in the beginning of 1812, twenty-five acres of lime stock rock, situated at Oreston, adjoining the harbour of Catwater, were purchased for a sum of 10,000/. The first stone of the work was laid on the 12th of August, 1812, after which vessels continued to discharge their cargoes, consisting of stones of from half a ton to 7 tons in weight, upon the line of the direction of the intended work. By the 30th of March, 1813, a small part of the Breakwater was visible at low water, and by the 30th of July following the work was dry at low water to the ex tent of about 720 yards. The work progressed so rapidly that in the month of March, 1814, first-rate ships of war were enabled to anchor in the Sound, instead of in Cawsand Bay as they had previously done. In No vember 1814, it was determined to bring up the Break water to the height of 20 feet above low water of spring tides, and to finish it with rubble instead of with a cut stone pier as originally intended. In August, 1815, 1,100 of the 1,700 yards of the intended length of the Breakwater were brought up above the level of low water, spring tides. Up to .this time 615,057 tons of stone had been deposited. The first storm which mate rially effected the work, occurred in January 1837 ; and in the month of November, 1825, another storm occurred, far exceeding in violence any that had pre ceeded it since the work began. The wind blew from the S.S.E. to S.W. and the tine rose seven feet higher than the usual flow of spring tides. At this period, 1,241 yards in length of the Breakwater were completed, of which 796 yards were overturned and deposited upon the northern slope, during the storm (which lasted only a few hours) leaving only 445 yards remaining not much damaged at the east end of the main arm. The slope•as left by the sea on this occasion from low water upwards was about 5 feet horizontal to 1 foot perpendicular and in some places ra ther more. It was therefore determined in April 1825, to form the Breakwater regularly from the level of low water, spring tides, with a casing of rough squared blocks of granite and limestone on the top and on the exterioror south side with a slope of 5 to 1, and on the inner or north side with rough blocks of limestone with a slope of 2to 1. It was also determined to change the centre line by placing it 39 feet 6 inches to the northward, so as to leave the great mass of materials to seaward, and to in crease the width on the top to 45 feet. I may here remark that although the Breakwater was so much affected by this great storm, and considerable damage was sus tained by the shipping then in the harbour, yet the generally received opinion was, that had the Breakwater not been in existence, the shipping would have sustained still greater damage, and the lower part of the town of Plymouth been swept away. In 1830 it was found necessary still to add to the south side, by depositing about 60,000 tons of stone as a foreshore, fifty feet in width from the top of the south slope at low water at the west end, and 30 feet at the east end of the main arm. In 1833 it was proposed to complete the extreme western end of the Breakwater with a circular head of solid masonry with an inverted arch as the foundation of an intended lighthouse. In February, 1838, a storm removed about 8,000 tons of stone from the foreshore at the west end, and threw them over to the north side, and disturbed a portion of the masonry, where it was uncon nected or in an unfinished state. A further extension of the foreshore at this part was consequently agreed upon. Another severe storm in November of the same year, producing nearly similar results, occasioned the construction of a buttress not only for the purpose of se: curing the foot of the south slope, but also to afford protection to the intended lighthouse, by breaking the force of the sea, and preventing the stones composing the foreshore from beating against the lighthouse. The force of the sea at this part of the work is so consider able, that stones of 15 and even twenty tons have been taken from low water, and carried over the top of the work. The buttress as, well as the work in progress round the west-end at the foot of the slope at low water is composed of granite masonry, dove-tailed horizontally, and vertically fixed with iron lewes or cramp s , th e rough blocks formerly deposited being first removed by the aid of a diving-bell, to the depth of from 3 to 5 feet below low water, and the masonry then laid at the above men tioned level. It was originally calculated th a t 2 , 0 00,000 tons of stone would b e required to construct a Breakwa ter according to the plan of Messrs. Rennie and Whid bey, but from the various extensions of the wo r k, th e quantity has necessarily increased, i an d t he total amount deposited since the co mmencement of the work o n th e 12th August 1812, up to the 31st July, 1841, wa s 3,377,068 tons. The greatest number otton3solstontieles deposited in any one week amounted t 0 4 1 2 , , ,and greatest quantity in any one year to 332, 075. The estimated cost of the Breakwater, as originally planned in 1806, was 1,013,9001., but this amount cannot fairly be brought into comparison with the actual out lay, owing to the frequent alterations which , have taken se_ place in the mode of executing the work, and the con for Tient increase in the quantity of materials required the purpose. The expenditure upon the whole under taking up to this period has nevertheless only amounted to 1,111,7001.; and the cost of the Breakwater when completed (including the Lighthouse) will not exceed 1,300,0001. I have mentioned the exact expenditure upon the work because various erroneous statements have been put forth in print and otherwise upon the subject. In a recent publication it is said that three millions of money have been already expended, and but a few days since it was stated in the course of the reading of a paper in this section that three such Breakwaters would cost six millions of money. The lighthouse tower intended to be erected on the western end of the Breakwater was commenced on the 22d of February last upon an inverted arch, which had been previously brought up from below low water of spring tides, and is now in progress. It is to be of granite 14 feet in diameter in the clear, and the centre of the light will be 55 feet from the top of the Breakwater. This lighthouse, when completed, will supersede the light vessel now moored at the west end of the Breakwater, where it was stationed in 1813, since which time, al though strongly fastened, it has more than once broken adrift. Having now briefly noticed some of the leading points in the progress of the stone Breakwater, I will refer to some of Vie Breakwaters which, prior to its commencenn nt, were nroposed to be constructed of other materials. One of these was to be of cast iron, proposed by an offieer of Vie Royal Navy in 1804. Others, two of stone and ole of woud, Were proposed ii 1811 by Mr. Bentham. His wooden llreakivater was t( consist of 117 floats of wood of a tr:awnlar or rather prismatic form ; each float to be 30 feet in breadth and depth, 60 feet in length, and to be paid over with oil of tar, and other cheap tar, and to be held in their places by means of iron chains. Mr. Bentham estimated the expense of such a floating Breakwater, including moor ing chains and fastenings, a.. 201,8251. He submitted his plan to the Government in 1811, but they neverthe less determined. upoja dip construction of a stone Break- Water. . It isclear, ihdn, that plans for iron and wooden, as well as for stone Breakwaters for the protection of Plymouth Sound, were submitted to the Government of the day prior to the commencement of the present one, although it has been sta ted that had a pl a n f o r a woo den Breakw a t er b een submitted to the Government a great saving to the country might have been effected. Thirty years have since elapsed, and my o wn opini on is now, as it ever has been, that the Government .acted wisely in determining upon a stone in preference to a wooden Breakwater for Plymouth Sound. I will now allude to another and certainly an impor tant question, which has been recently mooted in refe rence to the results said to have been produced by the Stone Breakwater on the harbour of Plymouth, I refer to the accumulation of mud and silt, and consequent loss of five feet in the depth of water. I exceedingly regret that I had not an opportunity of being _present at the Geological Section, when a paper was read by Mr. Wil liam Walker, on " Submarine Geological changes pro duced by Pholas at Plymouth," as it was not announced in the printed Journal of Sectional Proceedings for the day. It has been asserted that the accumulation has taken place in the Sound, and that a decrease in the depth of the water has taken place to the extent which I have just named, and this is attri buted to the erection of the Breakwater. Referring to the original report of Messrs. Rennie and Whidbey, I find the following statement, respecting the settlement of mud and silt, in the Sound :—" From conversing with pilots, and various other intelligent men w hom ♦re met at Plymouth, we have reason to believe the depth of water in the Sound is on the decrease, by the settlement of mud and silt brought down by the rivers from the in terior country, and also by the embankment of the mud lands within, thus diminishing the ancient receptacles of the waters of the tide, which both in its flux and re flux occasions a powerful scour in its passage through the Sound." The fact is, that a recent enclosure of 275 acres of the backwater of the Catwater above Laira bridge had just taken place, and it seems evident, I think, from this observation, that mud and silt was then in the Sound. On a consideration, however, of the whole question, whether the plan of a Breakwater, as proposed by them, would have any material effect upon the Sound, Messrs. Rennie and Whidbey were of opinion that there was no possible danger of its becoming more shallow, and that no further deposition of silt or mud would take place, except, indeed, immediately without and within the Breakwater itself, out of which they conceived no in jury would accrue. The question now arises, what effect has the Breakwater had upon Plymouth Sound ? Has it decreasad the depth of water there ? and, if so, to the depth of five feet, as alleged ? The question is in deed a most important one, and if there be any . truth in the allegation, it may be fairly asked, " How is it that the authorities have not investigated the subject ?" We have already seen that the Breakwater originated with the Government, and having been constructed under the immediate direction of the Admiralty, it may seem strange that their Lordships have not entered upon the consideration of a subject so vitally affecting this naval and maritime port. But let me inform you that their Lordships have not overlooked the sub ject, they have had it investigated, and I cannot but think that, when statements are put forth as to the filling up of the Plymouth Sound, some reference, at least, should be made to such investigation. In conse quence of a communication, made in July, 1838, to the naval authorities of this port, to the effect that a deposit was then going on in the Sound, the Admiralty directed Mr. James Walker, Civil Engineer, to report fully upon the subject, and the best means of providing against the apprehended injury to the anchorage. Mr. Walker, after a very long and laborious investigation of the sub ject, and after having had a minute survey made of Plymouth Sound, in the progress of which upwards of 2,000 soundings were taken, reported to the Admiralty in 1840, that, taking the mean of all the soundings that could be supposed to be affected by the Breakwater, the result was, that there was but very little increase or decrease, and that, if there was any decrease of depth in the Sound (except close to the Breakwater, and which could produce no practical evil), this was certain, that if *had taken place it was but small, certainly not enough tAlkause alarm, or to justify expensive measures for removing the cause. So much then for the allega tion of a decrease of five feet in the depth of the water in the Plymouth Sound. But now to the question of the submarine agency. I have been connected with the Breakwater since its commencement, and have conse quently had the most ample means of watching the pholas, which, according to the opinion of some parties, are destined ultimately to destroy the work. The follow is the result of my observations :—The perforation of limestone by the pholas only takes place at that part of the work which is between the low water of spring tides, and the low water of neap tides ; this per foration only occurs upon the outer surface of the stone. and to a depth not exceeding three inches. I have never discovered any such perforation in the interior of the work, although I have recently had occasion, in the execution of the Breakwater, to remove •stones by the aid of a diving bell to the depth of five feet below low water, which had been deposited there upwards of twenty-five years. I am aware that loose stones have been taken up from beaches and from the bottom of the Sound, perforated by the pholas, but they must have been perforated before they got to such places, for the pholas have never on such occasions been found alive. The Breakwater has, indeed, realised the expecta tions of its warmest friends, and if the opinion of one who has been connected with the undertaking throughout is to be relied on, the Members of the British Associa tion, the inhabitants of Plymouth, and the public gene rally, need be under no apprehension that the anchorage in the Sound will be destroyed by the accummulation of mud, or that the Breakwater itself will ever be lost to this country by the submarine agency in question. The thanks of the Section were then given to Mr. Stuart. _ _ _ In the course of the reading of the paper, Mr. Stuart produced a Chart of Plymouth Sound, on a large scale, with the recent soundings ; a Plan and Section of the Breakwater, as originally designed, showing the several alterations, and its present state ; also a model of the cir cular head and inverted arch of a plan of the lighthouse, as now constructing. THE FARMERS' INTEREST BRISK TRADE. Farmers, who reside near large town's. are sufficiently alive to the importance of manufacturing prosperity. They know that every additional factory gives new im petus to the demand for their field and dairy produce, and that every new hand employed adds so many shil lings to the amount of money turned in the weekly market. All this is obvious, and all this is admitted even by the greatest sticklers for the Corn-laws. But there is another advantage, less obvious, but more direct, which the farmer derives from brisk trade—a decrease of the competition of his own business. This we have alluded to before, but it has not been dwelt on, either here or in any other agricultural district, so much as it deserves. The farmer, like the cotton spinner, is a capitalist. He sets out with a certain amount of money and skill, and he looks about him for the best investment he can find. If there be plenty of farms in the market and few persons look ing after them, he will be able to make a good bargain, and sit down at such a rent as will leave him a due reward for his skill and labour, and a fair profit for his capital. But if there be few farms in the market, and a great number of " bidders" for them, the chances are that he will get such a " down-sitting" as will force him to scrape his last farthing together, at term time, to make up his rent. Now, what are the circumstances in which farms are plenty and tenants comparatively scarce ? A prosperous state of manufactures. Walter Dawson, Hillhead, had a long lease of his farm at a very moderate rent. He had lived comfortably, and in his latter years rather genteelly, but his lease was nearly out ; and although he could not expect to last long, and had saved as much as would serve his own turn, and, perhaps, a little more, he had four sons grown or growing up, and he wished, of course, that they should be pro vided for. Hillhead, even at an advanced rent, would do for one of them, but what was to be made of the other three ? They could not get farms with out bidding against their neighbours, and taking possession at a rent too high ; and they were unwilling, of course, to descend to the station of farm-labourers. Emigration was put in their view, but they did not wish to separate so far from their old parents. Fortunately, it was a time of brisk trade, and, by a little good manage ment, old Walter got the three provided for in the neighbouring town.. One obtained a situation as second clerk in a new factory, another opened a large meal store, and the third went into company with a baker and grain -merchant. The whole three succeeded in business, and Hillhead was left to the eldest son, who resides there with his wife and his mother (the old man being dead, and has the happiness of mee ti n g hi s bro thers and their wives at the new-year and other holiday times. This is one picture ; let us turd to another. John Grassly occupies a farm in Aberdeenshire on a nine teen years' lease ; b u t as he had worked out the tail of a long lease tha before, h e i s genera lly un d ers t oo d t o as be well to do in world. He has only three sons, but into manho close on each other, they grew at d t up they fo od lowed the same time. All of them had assisted oc and were, to some extent, acquainted c a s ionally about the farm town, with the principles and practice of agriculture. The second had been for some time in a lawyer's offic e in Ab er d een , but he soon perceived that the profession waso a v d e e rstocked, and wisely abandoned it. An attempt was m to procure a cadet ship in the East India Company's service but it failed; and thus , about four and ie third, ago,old John found himself , with three sons on his hand, them provided for. He t ried Aberdeen for clerkship s, n of p ar t n erships, or feasible openings, in any line of business, but none were to be g ot ; trade w as dull, and th ere was not even employment for the youths belongin g to the town who wished to wear go od coats. John had a littl e spare money and some bank shar e s , so he s et next about at tending " farm lettings." After much difficulty, and add ing 20/. or 30/. a-year to the rents of at least half -a-dozen of his neighbours, he succeeded in procuring, two years ago, a lease of two hu ndred acres, on which he has settled his eldest so n . He overb ade, by thirty pounds, the former occupant, who, being unable to find a place to suit him, has sold off his stock, and gone with his family to Australia. The farm which young Grassly has got, is said to be high rented ; and it is doubted whether, even with the assistance of his father, he will be able to set out his lease. For a year I after the settlement of the first son, old John, naturally anxious to have his childrendnear him, cast about for farms for the other two, but he was unsuccessful ; so, after adding considerably to the rent of many a poor fellow, he has been forced, at last, to give the two lads a sort of outfit, and send them abroad. The names in these stories are, of course, fictitious ; but few of our country readers will find difficulty in applying them'to circumstances that have come within their own know ledv ; nor will they fail to draw the moral, that farmers have a clear and direct interest in promoting any mea sure that will add to the prosperity of manufactures and commerce. The agricultural population increases in nearly an equal ratio with the manufacturing. Farmers will marry and have sons ; their sons must be provided for, and un less they are drawn off by the large towns, or by emigra tion, they remain in the country only to add to the ex isting over-competition for farms. This might be all well, if the number of farms went on increasing with the increase of applicants for them ; but while the peo ple of this country have grown from twelve to twenty four millions, the farms have rather decreased in num ber.. Great Britain has not grown an inch larger ; and, although some spots here and there have been brought into cultivation, there has been no demand for more farmers. The new land has, in general, been added to old holdings, and the policy of landlords—their desire to make the most of their property—has led to the junc tion of farms rather than to their splitting up. What, then, are our farmers to do ? The baneful Corn-laws have closed up every avenue to employ ment for their sons and daughters in large towns, and the effect of competition on themselves, arising chiefly from this cause, has so raised their rents, that they cannot save money to keep their families in genteel idleness. Will they go on—nay, can they go on, rearing a population for Australia and the Ame ricas, and spending all their spare money in outfits ? Or will they join their fellow capitalists, the manufacturers, in demanding a change in our commercial policy, which will provide employment at home, and profitable em ployment too, for all classes of the community ? Of this they may rest assured, even for a short time, to live comfortably they must either get rid of the restrictions on commerce, or apply restrictions elsewhere. There is now for the people of this country no medium between free trade and the stern application, either voluntary or involuntarily, of the Malthusian checks on population. Indeed, starvation and poverty have been at work already. It is hard to say how far moral restraint may yet have come into operation ; but the late census of the large towns shows that the cruel necessity of keeping down the number of mouths to the amount of bread, has not newly arisen.—Aberdeen Herald. VISIT OF THE BLIND TO GART SHERRIE IRON WORKS. On 'riday last, we had the satisfaction of accom panying Mr. Alston, and about 40 of the young male and female inmates of the Blind Asylum—an Institution which almost entirely owes its prosperity to his benevo lent perseverance—on a pleasure trip to Gartsherrie Iron Works. The party was also accompanied by Mr. Finlay, the teacher of reading and arithmetic ; Mr. Orme, the teacher of music ; Miss Lamond, the matron, and her assistants ; and railway carriages were placed at their disposal by the kindness of Mr. King, the Secretary to , the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway. As this mode of travelling was entirely new to almost all the blind youngsters, their sensations appeared to be those of mingled awe and pleasure—the former, however, pre dominating, as they became sensible that they were really being dragged along at lightning speed at the tail of a locomotive. The snorting of the engine seemed to the younger class of tourists a matter quite inexplicable, and one of the little fellows, in commenting on its powers, summed up by saying—" But d'ye hear, man, how terribly it's hosting (coughing) ?" The country along the line was explained to the blind by Mr. Alston and the teachers ; but on the whole there was little to interest or instruct the party until they reached the heart of the iron district, or land of fire, which is illuminated night and day by the vast furnaces of Gartsherrie, Dundyvan, &c. At Gartsherrie, they were received by Messrs. James and George Baird, who conducted them into the centre of the square, around which fifteen or sixteen distinct volumes of flame shot up from as many furnace craters. The operation of con verting the stone into a burning liquid, and then mould ing it into bar or pig iron, from which steel and malle able metal were afterwards formed, was fully detailed to the blind visitors ; they were taken near enough to be sensible of the vast heat 'of the furnaces, handled the bars, and felt the sandy moulds in which they were produced. Their anxiety for information on every point Was eager as it was creditable, and before they left Gartsherrie furnace square, they seemed to have made themselves fully acquainted with all the details of the process. From thence the party was con ducted over railway paths, and horrid roads, to the handsome church which has recently been erected upon the brow of a hill overlooking the dense populations of Coatbridge, Sunnyside, &c., where busy thousands have sprung up as it were since yesterday. The inhabitants observing that something unusual was on foot, flocked in considerable numbers to the church. Here Mr. Alston took one of the boys to the precentor's desk, who turned up and read passages, selected at random, from holy writ, with the most perfect ease and fluency; and it seemed to afford matter of no slight surprise to the villagers that a blind boy could read as well, or better, by means of his fingers, than their own childen by the aid of their eyes. Several pieces of vocal music followed, under the direction of Mr. Orme, and from the harmony of the parts, and the proficiency of the male and female vocalists, this was no less pleasing than the reading had been interesting. The assemblage, so hastily called together, was then dismissed, and the blind were treated to a refreshment in the ses sion-house. While the party were making ready to re turn, Mr. Alston, and a friend or two who accompanied him, were invited to Gartsherrie Cottage, where they were introduced to the newly elected Member for the Falkirk Burghs, and Mr. Alston's visit was amply repaid by an unexpected donation of 401. to the funds of the Institution, viz., 101. from Mr. Baird, M.P., and 101. each from Messrs. James, Douglas, and George Baird. And Mr. Alston further thinks that by this visit he has sown the seed which will fructify in a pecuniary return before a lengthened lapse of time Having completed their visit, the youngsters were con ducted to their seats in the train, and were whisked into town, full of gratitude, and anxiously comparing notes regarding all they had felt and heard. 44 Small things are great to little men," and on this principle those who enjoy a weekly ruralising trip to the country or coast, have little notion of the pleasure which a jaunt like this, that, like Christmas, comes only once a year, affords to the inmates of the Blind Asylum—the delight with which its coming is regarded, and the food for reflection and pleasing converse which it leaves behind. We are gratified that Mr. Alston gOes on persever ingly and successfully with his printing for the blind, and has now produced the largest library for this unfor tunate class of our fellow-creatures, which exists in the kingdom or out of it. In addition to the whole of the Bible, in 15 volumes, he has produced more than twenty other works on religious, scientific, and instructive sub jects ; and in the present week will finish the printing of the metrical version of the Psalms, according to the Church of England. He next, we believe, intends to turn his attention to bringing out " Goldsmith's His tory of rtOme," and some of the popular publications of the Messrs. Chambers, which are known as the " Lite rature of the People." We take pleasure in mentioning a circumstance most creditable to the liberal feeling of these gentlemen,—viz., that they have allowed Mr. Al ston to make use of and print any or all of their works, without any charge for copyright, or consideration in lieu of it ; and this must be held as contributing a valu able mite to the blind when we look to the care, ability, and expense, with which these publications are got up. —Glasgow Herald. THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST i i 1841, TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SIR, I was much struck with the force and truth of some observations contained in an article of your journal of last Thursday, headed, " What's to be done ?" in which, I think, are summed up in a few compendious and unanswerable arguments the leading causes of the recent triumph of Toryism at the elections. The answer to the question, "How happens it that parties have been so evenly balanced as to cause Chartism, intimidation, and bribery to turn the scale ?" is well worthy of repetition, and should be deeply impressed upon the minds of all classes of Reformers:—" Now the problem so hotly de bated may be solved by looking at the state of society in this country. There is enormous wealth, and most ab ject poverty; a privileged aristocracy, and an aristocracy of the purse ; the latter striving to obtain the counten ance of the former, by aiding it in the establishment of an oligarchical despotism. Descending from them through the various grades of squirearcy, genry, professions, re tired tradesmen, we find them all moved by the same de sire of getting into the circle just above them—and for this content to sacrifice their independence of mind, their liberties, their consciences. Voluntary slaves themselves, they hate to see independence claimed and exercised by those below them. With such ramifications the oligarchy could not fail to exercise an overwhelming influence over the dependent, which can only be counteracted when the popular mind is sufficiently excited to set at defiance both promises and threats." Yes, Sir, it is to this miser able feeling—the base compound of a petty ambi tion and pettier avarice, that we are., indebted or the disgraceful apathy of the middling classes at the registry, and upon all the important poli tical questions of the day. To it we may trace their want of a generous confidence in a Reform Ministry, or a deep faith in the leading principles of civil and reli gious freedom—hence their readiness to sacrifice their future permanent strength, freedom and happiness, to the sensual gratifications, and the personal conveni encies of the moment. Hence the mad outbreaks of chartism—the fever of Owenism—the intense ignor ance, poverty, and misery of the operative classes. Above all may we not look to this spurious ambition of the glitter and trappings of aristocracy, and the soul-absorbing pursuit of wealth, as a means of ac quiring them, to this slavish idolatry of rank and fashion, without intelligence or virtue, as the natural parents of that estrangement at the present moment of the lower from the middle classes—one of the master evils of our present social position, the stumbling block and barrier between us and all political reformation ; and which must be cleared away before the nation can again start fresh and fair on her career of freedom. The middle classes have been made the ladder upon which the Tory party are again quietly mounting into political ascendancy : " Whereunto the climber upwards turns his face, But when he once attains the upmost round He then unto the ladder turns his back ; Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees By which he did ascend." When they have been used they will be spurned. They 'will then be treated, by those whom they have hoisted into power, as they • deserve—us unreflecting instruments, and mindless tools. But " time and skill will couch the blind." A few years and bitter experience will convince them that their true place, their most glorious position, is at the van of the one o l il ne a g and ae flowing t s r , and atn may unt i working cl asses . There are two giant rivers i n t h e Western wor ld , w hi ch, when forced by the hand of Nature i n t o a common channel, meet with the fury of e cmb vastgau tn in st operativetide, until, In bta tracedtamed streams eda udbdi);t im t u h ce e lti t oi ra nw v ee e do l l l ob e yu r r f d o ai r ud sta m n a c n e y dis united their wat ers gradually commingle, and at last roll on in deep,easpseosweurffuEl,nangladuudnirteesde.mhTleheatmthidis dmoment those rivers, and free trade is the common channel into which they have been gradually forced by Nature and Nature's God. If the comparison be a cor rectcompletea t Union o f f t h t e h o u s a e t u t o t f, h rr e e a h t e a c l r a t s and s e s, rect one, we may c on f i d ently look forward at no distant o m cd: t lyl is s e tt l io e tu s tth o ien f its frame ; and now forced into an unnatural and vicious opposition, partly by their own wilful neglect, folly, and ignorance, and partly by the false reasoning, the grinding avarice, the scheming ambition, threats, and bribery of a gang of commercial monopolists and landed proprietors. To hasten this union should be theleading object of every true Reformer. The plan so often and powerfully advocated by your excellent journal of spread ing through every town and village of the land Reform and Registration Societies, appears to me the surest and simplest method of achieving this all-important point. The creation, the triumphant progress, and daily increasing importance of the Anti- Corn-law League, should encourage us in the attempt ; it is in miniature what a national league might be upon a scale as extensive as the greatness of the cause, the dignity of the nation, and the certainty of success should demand. A central society of this nature, with provin cial branches, delegates, talented lecturers, with periodi cal meetings, and general conventions, vigilantly watch ing over the registration of votes, and affording practical political information to all requiring it, might, by the ex ertion of a few talented, courageous, and persevering minds, form an engine, of popular power formidable enough to batter down those fortifications within which the food taxing oligarchy has been sheltered, and shake to its very centre the citadel of Toryism. It will encounter and 'break up that spirit-crushing centralization system now rampant in every village of England—a system of centralization to which we have too long and patiently crouched, and too constantly beheld in active operation easily to admit its extent, to credit its danger, or to be startled by its tyranny. I will intrude no longer upon your valuable space, but I hope to prove to positive de monstration in another letter the existence in this land of liberty of a complicated, comprehensive, and powerful plan of tyranny which may be traced from the house of hereditary legislators to the parish clerk and the vestry-room, its machinery worked by Tory lords lieutenant, Tory parsons, Tory magistrates, Tory squires, backed by a Tory army, navy, yeo manry, and the great bulk of the learned professions —a compendious scheme of oppression, which cramps and withers the mental and physical powers of our rural and town population—which Louis Philippe, the genius, the evil principle of centralization itself might admire and envy, even behind the fortifications of Paris, and the bristling bayonets of his guards; a system which might appear almost hopeless to endeavour to uproot, but for the liberty of the press and the courage of our national character. I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, Aug. 2, 1841. CIVIS. CONDUCT of - the BRITISH in INDIA. We have had occasion for some time past to remark a very great improvement in the Anglo-Indian press, and in the manner in which the affairs of our immense Asiatic dependencies are recorded and discussed by our Oriental Contemporaries. The circulation of these journals in Europe has increased fifty-fold since the opening of the steam. communication ; and the public in the mother country are learning to devote a more enlightened at tention to the acts of the British Government in India and to the distant achievements of our people in the most unknown and inaccessible parts of the eastern Con tinent. In spite of the difficulties of out-of-the-way names and strange topography, we shall avail ourselves of some of the more recent communications from these sources, to follow the course of Lord Auckland's agents and Sir John Hobhouse's policy beyond the Indus. The first Afghan campaign, in which we include all that occurred between the arrival of the Bombay army at Kurachee in November, 1838, and the withdrawal of the troops in January, 1840, was attended with all the splendour of uncontested success. Shah Soojah was restored to the throne of Cabul ; the coalition of the Sirdars of Candahar was dissolved, and the great for tresses of Ghuznee and Khelat captured ; the loss of the British army was estimated at less than 400 men ; the Dooranie Order and the more substantial rewards of a peerage and a pension were lavished on the fortunate Generals of that bloodless expedition, which left a burden of 9,000,0001. sterling on the Company's exchequer, and a worthless tyrant on the throne of Cabul. The subsequent events, which belong to what is called the second Affghan campaign, have a very different cha racter. From the beginning of January, 1840, to the month of March in this year, our troops have been engaged in 23 conflicts, chiefly w ith th e fi erce p re d atory clas of the country. We have sustained 13 defeats or checks in the mountains, or before their natural for tresses. We have lost 1,400 men and 17 European offi cers ; and the service on which the British army is en gaged, at an expense of 3,000,0001. or 4,000,0001. per annum, is a perpetual desultory warfare carried on in support of the authority and the revenue of an in secure ally—the feeble and detested Sovereign of a wild and independent people. The Affghan empire, from the sea to the Tartar mountains, and from the Indus to the confines of Persia, covers about 13 degrees of longitude by 13 of latitude ; and over the mountain clans of Central Asia, which people that vast wilderness, the Court of Cabul, backed by a handful of foreign troops, has no more authority than it ha s over th e waves of the Persian Gulf. Nevertheless, our forces are con tinually engaged in levying tribute from tribes which have hardly paid their allegiance to the King, or in ex pelling freebooters from the strongholds in which they defy his authority. The consequence is that our inter vention is execrated by this fierce aristocracy and their dependents. The Beloochees, the Murrees, the Kud jucks, the Bralibes, and as many more tribes as the children of Israel subdued from Dan to Beersheba, are all converted into inveterate foes of England, without having been subdued as subjects of England's ally. Some of the proceedings of our agents towards these native tribes appear to have been hut little adapted to conciliate their good-will or to command their respect. Every claim of Shah Soojah to collect tribute from this or that mountain chief is supported, without being in vestigated, by a force which attacks the stronghold, plunders it, if possible, and drives the inhabitants into the mountains at the inclement season of the year, either to starve or to turn into banditti, and to harass our convoys. A few of the cases which have occurred under the diplomatic sanction of Mr. Bell, who appears to be the acting Viceroy over the King of those countries, deserve particular notice. One of the mountain chiefs, named Beerjar Khan, the leader of the Dhomkies, had attracted the notice of our agent as a contumacious freebooter. He was induced, however, to submit upon certain stipulations, and, upon the invitation of Mr. Bell, he came down from the mountains, accompanied by a Scind of great authority, whose presence was to have been his protection. But after he had made his salaam to the agent at Shikar poor, and been fed for some days, as the custom is, he was kidnapped with his people, and conveyed as a pri soner to Bukkur, whilst his horses and arms were sold by auction. In Cutchee the administration of the province and the revenue was confided by Mr. Bell to Mahomed Shurreff, a man of the very worst character, who seems to have swindled the Government and oppressed the people. In conjunction with this notable functionary, Mr. Bell pro ceeded to issue a proclamation, by which all the jaghires of the province were attached. or, in other words, se questrated, subject to the production of proof of rightful ownership, on which the landed proprietors and sirdars were allowed to reclaim them. The consequence has been, that for every fraction of land or revenue thus resumed by the Crown, a host of implacable enemies has been created, to assail the authority by which they have been beggared and to sack the country. But the conduct of Mahomed Shurreff and his coadju tor, Mr. Bell, to the unfortunate natives of Kudjuck, in the gelied country, in the month of February last, far eclipses all the other fiscal excesses which have reached our knowledge. The people of Kudjuli' had - facilitated the passage of the British force under Major Leech in 1839 ; and they appear to have been much better dis posed to us and to their Shah than the warlike moun taineers to whom we just now alluded. At the getting in of their crops they had offered to pay the revenue by making the " buttai," or usual division of the grain ; but this opportunity was neglected, and the corn was housed. When the Naib Mahomet Shurreff after wards claimed the " buttai," it seems that some de lay arose ; however, an interview took place with the Chiefs of the towns, and they agreed to make the payment on the 19th of February. On the day before that which had been thus fixed a strong party of troops was sent by Bell to Kudjuck to enforce the pay ment. A collection was instantly made by the inhabit ants to pay the sum agreed upon within two hours. The Kudjuck chiefs were in the act of bringing out the trea sure, when they saw our guns and troops advancing, and they retreated to their homes,_ declaring that they were betrayed. The unequal combat (f©r the town was defenceless) was interrupted by the women coming out with korans on their heads to supplicate for peace; and at nightfall the firingceased. On the following day the place was occupied, and all that it:contained was declared prize property. The crops were destroyed by the bullocks and camels of the army; the town was sacked ; and the troops which were sent to collect revenue carried off everything in plunder. But the frightful act was not yet consum mated. An order was issued by Bell that the very walls of the town should be razed to the ground, and that Kudjuck should never be reinhabited I That order was obeyed. The old and bedridden were removed from the roofs which they and their fathers had inhabited for seven generations. Men, women, and children were turned forth upon the scorching plains of Cutchee, house less and ahungered, to expiate a crime of which they were not guilty. These facts are fully recorded in the Bombay journals, and they are corroborated by our own accounts from India. Wherever these lines are read, they will excite a burning blush, that such enormities should have been perpetrated under the sanction of an. English agent, and that the pretended policy of this country should have been supported by acts so cruel, unscrupulous, and im politic.-7'imes. EXTRAORDINARY CAPTURE OF A SHARK. - —The following instance of cool intrepidity and presence of mind has been related to us by a gentleman who was an eye-witness to the fact. A sailor, an African by birth, commonly known by the name of King John, was, about three or four weeks ago, diving in the Pass of Sa vanne, in search of copper from the bottom of the schooner Louisa, which was wrecked there some time before. On his first plunge, King John remained• a considerable time under water, and, coming up. was observed by his comrades in a boat close by to be en gaged in a severe strugglewith a fish, which he soon succeeded in bringing to the boat. It was a shark of five feet in length. King John states, that on descending towards the wreck, he found the monster lying quietly by the side of the vessel's hull ; fearing that he would be soon seen or scented by the grim creature, from whose jaws there could be no hope of escaping, the expert diver determined at once to make a desperate effort, and, care fully avoiding the direction of its head, he clutched it at the small of the tail, and thus secured, the monster was conveyed to the boat from a depth of six or seven fa thoms water !—St. Lucia Free Press. May 29. VALUE OF GROUND IN GLASGOW.—Last week the remaining portion of the estate of Kelvin-grove, lying to the north-west of the old botanic garden, and extending to about twenty-thren. Scottish acres, was pur chased by Colin M'Naughton, Esq., of this city, for the sum of thirty thousand pounds. EXPRESS FROM PARIS. PARIS, MONDAY. r:- A- sudden, and unexpected change took place on the sth instant in the Belgian Cabinet. M. de Mulinear, Minister of Foreign Affairs, has resigned, though he retains his seat in the Council of Ministers. He is superseded by Count de Briay, the Finance Minister, who is himself re-placed by M. Smitz, the Director of the Belgian Bank. Reports say that Count de Mulinear was opposed to the projected_ Customs union between France and 'Belgium. The Moniteur of Monday announces the sailing of the Inflexible and Santi Petri ships-of-the-line of the Bth from Toulouse, under the command of Rear-Admiral Lasusse. " This officer," says the Moniteur, " has been instructed to re-establish in the seas of the Levant a naval station charged to watch over the protection of French commerce. He will unite under his orders the different ships of war employed in those seas." The accounts from Toulouse, published by the Govern ment, were still satisfactory, but the opposition to the fiscal measures of M. Humann was hourly gaining strength. The Municipal authorities of Bordeaux, Troyes ' and Douay had protested against them. The National Guard of Condom had forwarded a con gratulatory address to their comrades of Toulouse ; another was preparing in Paris. According to the Frankfort Journal of the 3d, his Royal Highness the Due de Bordeaux was said to have had his arm broken by a fall from his horse near Kirch berg. Madame Laffarge has been found guilty. Although it rained rather heavily in Paris on Mon day, the fears for the harvest were fast subsiding. According to a return published in the Moniteur of Monday, 38,000 people of colour were emancipated in the French colonies since 1830. Le Temps, referring to what it mentioned yesterday about an intended revolution in Spain, says that the movement is to break out on the 15th, and the army, headed by Don Diego Leon, to share in it. During some days rumours had prevailed that a gene ral insurrection against the fortifications of Paris was about to take place. We are enabled, however, to dis credit the report. It was reported on the Paris Bourse that intelli gence of the Sultan's death had been received by Go vernment. PARIS BOURSE.—Five per Cents., 116 f. 80c. ; Three per Cents., 77f. 80c; Spanish, 201. The proceedings in the Cortes are totally devoid of interest. M. Arguelles, the new guardian of Queen Isabel 11., had appointed the widow of General Mina Guardian to his Royal Ward, in the place of the Marchioness of Santa Cruz, and M. Busto, Bishop elect of Tortosa, Confessor to her Majesty, in the room of the Patriarch of the Indies. A letter from Madrid informs us that the elevation of Madame Mina to the post of Governess to the young Queen has done more harm to the ruling party than fifty protests of Queen Christina could do. Espartero is un easy at the aspect of things. All parties are disap pointed in their expectations of him, and a large portion of the army is not friendly. The Correo Nacional mentions that Ministers intended to demand extraordinary powers from the Cortes. The Madrid Gazette contains a circular addressed by the Minister of War to the Captains-General of the pro vinces, recommending them to caution the troops under their orders against the calumnies propagated by the enemies of the Constitution for the purpose of creating disunion between the army and the citizens. El Corresponsal quotes a letter from Mahon, an nouncing that the numerous ships of war cruising off the Balearic Islands occasioned some uneasiness. The French were extending the buildings of their hospital in the Island del Rey, the lease of which had been re newed. The Five per Cents. were done at 24 for cash, and 24i 9-16 at 60 days. The answer of the Spanish Regency to the protest of Queen Christina has' been received at Paris, but not made public. A letter from Constantinople, of the 21st ult., states, that although some cases of plague had manifested themselves among the suite of Said Bey, he and all the Egyptians attached to his household had, nevertheless, received free pratique, and were lodged in the Seraglio. Said Bey had not yet been admitted to an audience of the Sultan : but preparations were making for that purpose on a most magnificent scale. The real object of his mission was still unknown. Some believed he has been sent to negotiate a diminution of the amount of tribute to be paid by the Viceroy, whilst others positively asserted that he was instructed to form a close union between all the influential Osmanlis against the Christians. M. Titoff, the Russian Ambassador, was said to be on bad terms with - the Divan. Accounts from Candia state that Tahir Pasha had been wounded in a late engagement with the insurgents. THE LANCASHIRE YEOMANRY We give the followiug explanation of a circumstance, which we quoted a short time since from a Manchester paper, and which has been addressed by the Noble writer to a contemporary:— " Worsley, Manchester, August 6, 1841. " Sir,—From a paragraph in your paper of yesterday, I infer that remarks have lately appeared in other publications of extensive circulation, on my recent ac ceptance of a commission in the Lancashire Yeomanry, which attach a most undue importance and a most erro neous construction to that proceeding. lam reluctant to trouble your readers or yourself on such a subject ; but as the absurdity of the conclusious on which you have commented is partly attributed to a misconception of the facts, you will, I am confident, not object to apply a further corrective in the following statement:— Some months ago, Colonel Braddyl, the late com mandant of the Duke of Lancaster's Yeomanry, an nounced his intention to retire. The officers of the corps did me the honour of desiring that I should succeed to the vacancy, and with my consent the appointment was effected in the usual course, by the recommendation of the Lord Lieutenant to her Majesty. My eldest son at the same time also received a commission in the corps. When the latter appointment was made known in this neighbourhood, some forty or fifty of my neighbours and tenants, unsolicited on my part, expressed to me a desire to form themselves into a troop, in the hope that my son might obtain the command of it. The present establish ment of the corps, consisting of three troops, being small in comparison with the force in other districts, I should have had little scruple in recommending this pro posal to the consideration of her Majesty's Govern ment ; but believing that the estimate for this branch of the public service had been made up for the year, I was unwilling to trouble the Home-office with an appli cation which could have no immediate result. I have, therefore, in fact, neither raised a troop of yeomanry, nor taken any positive step towards the raising one. It would appear that these ordinary and most unimportant occurrences have been magnified into a measure for the special protection of my own property, or even some more objeetionable purpose. Whether they can reason ably bear such a construction the public may judge. " I do not trouble you with any observations in de fence of the yeomanry force, or my connexion with it, as I do not gather from your observations that the mere fact of my joining it is objected to. If it were so I should be inclined to leave our defence to the many Whig gentlemen who, much in my opinion to their own credit and the public advantage, and I am confident under no absurd or selfish apprehension of danger to their own property, bear commissions in the yeomanry, and take an active interest in its efficiency. " I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, "F. EGERTON." WOOLWICH-MONDAY. ROYAL ARTILLERY. Captain Nedham, Lieutenant Hawery, and 50 non commissioned officers and men, marched for conveyance to Portsmouth, where they are to embark in the Athol troop-ship, and sail immediately for Jamaica. Gunner and driver Smith, of the 4th battalion, one of the volun teers for this service, absented himself yesterday, and, although two parties were sent in search of him, he could not be found. He returned, however, of himself this morning, when he thought it would be too late, and was placed in custody, and will be tried by Court-martial for the offence. Another volunteer was soon found in his place, and the men marched in high spirits for their destination. Gunner and driver Smith will, it is said, not only be punished for his conduct, but he will be sent out to Barbadoes with the Ist detachment or company for that station. Yesterday (Sunday) a distressing accident occurred at the Woolwich Dockyard, which has been the cause of the deepest grief to the family of Mr. Feltham, one of the inspectors of the police having charge of the yard. Their son, a fine boy about ten years of age, while play ing round the edge of the New East-dock, which has re cently been completed, fell into the water, and was un fortunately drowned, having remained upwards of a quarter of an hour under the water before the body was found. Every possible means to restore animation was adopted, but without effect. The melancholy occurrence took place between three and four in the afternoon. FIRE AT GLASGOW.—On Friday, betwixt twelve and one o'clock, a large four story land of dwell ing -houses in North-street, Anderston, was discovered to be on fire, the flames, when first observed, issuing from the roof with great fury. The fire engines were on the spot with despatch, but we are sorry to say all the fur niture in two dwelling-houses were destroyed. A nar row escape was made by a person named Thomas Mac , diarmid, employed in the work belonging to Messrs. Muir and Brown. He entered one of the houses, when the fire was at its height, for the purpose of making an effort to recover some part of the furniture, but found his way out completely obstructed by the flames. He was then under the necessity of going out by one of the win dows, from which he hung suspended, on the fourth story, to the great terror of the people below, who expec ted every moment to see him dashed upon the pavement. Feather beds were spread beneath to receive him when he fell ; but providentially he found another means of escaping from his perilous position. He kept his place with great coolness and presence of mind, till he found his feet hanging in front of one of the windows on the story below, when he continued to push down the upper frame of the window, so as to obtain upon it a sure foot ing. He then, with great dexterity, put down one of his hands, and getting hold of the window, entered the house in safety; to the great relief of a large concourse of people who witnessed the wonderful escape. The origin of the fire is attributed to the carelessness of some plumbers who were repairing the roof, and who had a fire upon it for the purpose of melting lead.—Glasgow Argus. VETO ACT.—From the proceedings of the Synod of Argyle it appears' that the Synod has agreed to overture the General Assembly " to suspend the Veto Act, and that the Church should abandon her present position, and return to that obedience to law and orderly conduct, in the maintenance of which in times past she has enjoyed so many blessings."--Glasgow Argus. H E E R A 1 1 Of SUNDAY NEXT, the 15th of August, Will a spirited, accurate, and exclusive Account of THE CONTEST BETWEEN BRASSEY AND TASSPARKER, FOR TWO THOUSAND POUNDS, By " VATES." Boulogne Rves—The Trip to France—With all the General and Sporting New% of the Week. To be had of all News Agents in Town and Country. Office, 20, Catharine-street, Strand. No. 13, Great Marlborough.street. .TEW WORK, EDITED BY BOZ. " THE PIC NIC PAPERS, BY VARIOUS HANDS." Edited by CHARLES DICKENS; Esq. (BOZ). And llustrated with numerous Plates, by GEORGE CRUIK SHANK, PHIZ, &c., in. 3 vols. post Svo., IS NOW READY FOR DELIVERY At all the Booksellers and Libraries. Henry Colburn,Publishar, 13, Great Marlborough-street. 4 . , 40 - Caul MI 14 - 'l l m , rVriilurllq „ i sa , 1' CAPTAIN CHAMIER S NEW NAVAL STORY. Now ready at all the Libraries, in 3 vols. post B vo ., fr 0 M BOWLING, A TALE OF THE SEA. By Captain FREDERICK CHAMIER, R.N., Author of "Ben Brace," " The Life of a Sailor," &c. " One of the best novels which has proceeded fro'm Captain Chamier's popular pen. The career of the imaginary hero is made the vehicle for placing before us incidental delineations drawn from the life of several of our most celebrated naval he roes—Nelson, CollingwoodPervis, &c., with a variety of other sketches, both real and ideal, forming altogether one of the most characteristic, spirited, and entertaining illustrations of sea-life that our recent literature has furnished."—Naval and Military Gazette. Henry Colburn, Publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street. ROYAL SURREY THEATRE. UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF MR. DAVIDGE AND MR. WILLIS JONES. Grand concentration of attraction, and no advance in the price. THIS EVENING, AUGUST 11, Will be actedtjord Byron's Spectacle, called THE WILD HORSFLOR, MAZEPPA, THE CHILD OF THE DESERT. Introducing Mr. Ducrow's Magnificent Stud of Forty Horses, highly-trained Palfreys, Fairy Peneys, the Equestrians, and Companies of both Theatres. After which, THE SPLENDID SCENES IN THE CIRCLE, In the Largest Arena in the World. In which Madame Duerow, Signor Hillier, the Great Ameri can Rider, the British Horseman, Signor Felix Carlo, arid the First Artistes in Europe will appear. To conclude with the Nautical Drama of BEN THE BOATSWAIN. Supported by the strength of the Company. ROYAL VICTORIA THEATRE. UNDER THE DIRECTION OF MR. OSBALDISTON. First week of " Mary Clifford !" increased attraction of " Wo man's Love !" three more nights of " Bin* Eyed Susan !" and first week of " The Wood Demon THIS EVENING, AUGUST 11, The performances will commence with the New Domestic Drama in Three Acts, called MARY CLIFFORD ; THE FOUNDLING APPRENTICE GIRL ! William Clipson, Mr. E. F. Saville ; Bowling, Mr. Paul . ; Robby Benham, Mr. Gardner; Sarah, Mrs. W. West ; and Mary Clifford, Miss Vincent, tits acknowledged Heroin• •f Domestic Drama. After which, the Nautical Drama of BLACK EYED SUSAN. __ _ _ William, Mr. E. F. Saville ; Gnatbrain, Mr. Gardner ; Jae9b Twig, Mr. Paul ; Doggrass, Mr. James ; Susan, Mrs, W. West. To conclude with, THE WOOD DEMON. Hardyknute, Mr. E. F. Saville ; Willikind, Mr. Gardner ; Una, Mrs. W. Wed. Boxes, 2s.—Pit, Is.—Gallery', 6d. Half-price to the Boxes only, at Half-past Eight. To• morrow, Mary Clifford, Woman's Love, and The Wood Demon. THEATRE ROYAL, ADELPHI. LAST WEEK BUT ONE of the GREAT WIZARD of the NORTH'S performing in the British Metropolts. Last Six Niibts of the HARMONIOUS YOUTHS. I is with deep regret that the Wizard puts forth the above arniounoetnesat, but as preparations are about to be made on an extensive scale for the opening of the Adelphi Theatre for its Theatriejel Season, the Wizard is compelled prematurely to finish his season of wonderment ; therefore those who wish to see the Wiaerd and his mighty doings, must not new " stand on the order of going," but "go at onee." During the con cluding twelve nights the Wizard will display all his peculiar powers, mortal and superhuman, which are without parallel in this or any other country. Those who wish to hear the "sweet melody" of the "Bell Ringers," must remember that their Engagement finishes on Saturday, the 14th instant. N. B. No second announcement of " Last Week." Boxes, 2e. 6d. ; Pit, Is. 6d. ; Gallery, 6d. Second Price at Half-past Nine o'clock. Boxes, Is. 6d. ; Pit, Is. Places for the Boxes may be taken from Mr. Swinburi, at the Box-office, between Eleven and Four. Parties are respectfully informed, that as the Dress Circle is nightly crowded, an early application is requisite. N.B. Private Boxes, containing six persons, N. ss. Doors open at Half-past Seven ; the Wizard appears at Eight o'elock precisely. Half-price at Half-past Nine. v ia * After the conclusion of the Wizard's London Engage ment, he will appear in Brighton and Southampton. RAILWAY SUN THE IS NOW PUBLISHING, PRICE ONLY SIXPENCE. TO CORRESPONDENTS. " H. D." should, first of all, claim to be. rated, and being rated, and his rates paid, should then, if hia name be not put in the register, require that to be done by the Revising Barrister. We can give "R.W., Norwich," no more information than is contained in the paragraph and advertisement be referred to. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE THIS DAY. rning 11 minutes after 7. I Evening ,S minutes after T. -4 1 LONDON: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1341. It might have been expected from the com ments of the Tories that the result of the elec tions, so favourable to them, would at once have restored confidence to agriculture and trade, and at once have revived national prosperity. Ac cording to them, the end of the Whig Ministry should be the beginning of the national happi ness, hut as yet no signs of its approach are visible. On the contrary, every day brings more gloomy accounts ; and Whigs, Tories, and Radicals, in the manufacturing dis tricts, agree in saying they never saw trade so bad.. As if to spite the Tories, commercial failures, and almost unexampled manufacturing distress, have set in, as the Tories are yelling with exultation at their own success. The rising sun of an harmonious Legislature—Peers and Com mons being one—and of a strong and united Go vernment, combining the caution of PEEL with the fervour of STANLEY, and the administrative talents of GRAHAM, backed by the military re putation of the Duke of WELLINGTON and the legal acumen ofLYN DR uusT,supported, too, by the trading knowledge of ASHBURTON, and the diplo matic skill of ABERDEEN, far from clearing up the horizon, has only made the whole atmos phere look dark and murky, as if a great storm were at hand. We can account for this; to the Tories it must be inexplicable. Though the Whigs have been in office during the last eleven years, Tory policy has on too many points prevailed, and caused all the mischief we now suffer, or are threatened with. Restrictions on trade, the Corn-laws, high discriminating duties on sugar, the timber duties, are all Tory regulations ; and if some Whigs objected to the removal of them, the Tories to a man vehemently opposed it. They cannot forget, and we believe the public have not forgotten, that they threw out the two mea sures brought forward by Colonel SALWEY and Lord SYDENHA➢I, to allow foreign corn to be ground in bond, as they opposed and defeated every other measure to lessen the restrictions on trade. 'Whatever, therefore, might have been the inclination of Ministers, it is clear that on all questions of free trade they would be deserted by the landlords of their party, and they, therefore, had no alternative but to acquiesce in the laws they could not overturn. They never had the power to repeal the Corn-laws. At present the authors of all the mischievous restrictions on our trade are coming into office; they are in a considerable majoritY ; and hence that bankruptcy,' gloom, and alarm which have rapidly extended since the returns were known, and which are only, we are afraid, the heralds of those greater convulsions which will attend or follow the seizure of the Government by the Tories. However much statesmen may talk about the effect of laws and government, and however MORN INC SUN. eloquent the clergy may be about the fallen 11a ture of man and the necessity for more religion, the fact is, that the evils of society are all eco nomical or pecuniary, and not to be cured by any cunningly contrived statutes, or any amount of preaching. Starvation is not to be remedied by coercion, unless it proceed so far as speedily to terminate the life which has become almost a burden; but in the present condition o f the community, too many lives must be taken to make this a feasible und er t a ki ng for any modern HEROD. Religion will not fill men's bellies, and they must be fed bef ore th e y can be taught. The two nostrums, then, o f more l a w, or more Government, and more Ch ur ch, to cure our present wants—which are hunger and destitution , low wages, little employment, and scanty profit —whatever may have been their efficacy in other times, are now utterly valueless, and to rely on them in the present danger will be imbecile quackery. The hulk of the people are already sick of the law and the Church, which, existing for their protection and comfort, give them neither. O f what use are they, if they do not secure the people meat, clothes, and fire ? Without these they cannot live, and these they have not. f t will not do to say they have no right to then ; for if they have no right, what right have th e law-makers and parsons to possess them in abun dance ? We know that there is a great repil; nance to enter into a discussion of the rights 0 ' the different classes, and more particularly of th e rights of property; but these kinds of disc' sions are now forced on the people by the va s ' distress of the industrious classes, and the copu lence of those who pret en d t o p ro t ec t them a nd provide for their welfare. No right will long be safe or respected in such a condition of s ociety and the sooner men make up their minds to laY aside their squeamishness and look our prese nt danger full in the face, the sooner it will be sur mounted. We had occasion to remark on WednesdaY , , io an article on a " Passa g e o f th e Edi n b ur gh - be ; view," that, fast as the populatio n h as i n crease" since the Revolution, the wealth of the commu nity has increased much faster. But all that in' crease of wealth has somehow or other been Tll ° c ; nopolized by the la w - ma k ers , by th e c l erg y, an d by some few favoured and protected classes' while the bulk of the labo u r ers are worse o ff than were their ancestors, if that be possible, in respect to the great necessaries of life, nieat, x' . clothes, fire, and shelter. The foll ow ing passag e from Mr. J. ASHT ON Y ATES ' l e tt er t o the la owners and farmers of Carlow confirms this view' and points out some of its consequences on t he present condition of trade : Had a more liberal policy prevailed in the couneila U Of , the nation towards th e wor ki ng c l asses ,—h a d the . „ g vernments of ,this country been more intent on rais i n the condition of their own subj ec t s by education an economical and financial refo rms , th an u p on s ustain in g the ancient systems of feudal domination throughout t other States of Europe, it is probable, that we 5 1103 0 , not at this moment have been so dependent as we no ~a find ourselves upon foreign count r i es for the consul: o V" of a large portion of the cottons, woollens, hardwar es ' &c., which we now produce. It is o w i ng princiPa".l therefore, to the low condition in which our workni e s live, that we are subject to those frequent revulsiont in trade, which bring want of employment and gr e n ti c i privation to the poor, followed by great losses a. 0 . dangers to the rich and middle classes. For not 11 1,7; is more clear than that in proportion as you raise the character and condition of the people, you inspirei „.. desire and the power to - increase their comforts and e joyments—and that when these improved habits are ae L , quired, the exchange of their labour and ingenuitY , th superior clothing, food, and lodging, is continued wAto equal advantage to the laboure r and the landowne,r - : he the farmer and the capitalist—to the artisan and " o f manufacturer. The best consumers of the produce ..r our looms and our mines, as well as of our fields, are ou. own fellow-subjects ; and greatly indeed do those P er , sons err, who conceive that it is by keeping low wagee and a degraded condition of the workmen, that the trader. and agriculture of the country are to be made to prosper. But different principleshave prevailed still maintain them, point to our great a dvance _ d pro allstea Y ell. the arts of civilization, as well as to o ur gress in population, as proofs that the system works well. They might as well adduce the vast growth of population.ag and the increase of cultivation in Ireland, as proofs the goodness of the system ; and that the Irish pea sants must necessarily be very prosperous and happh because they pay high rents for the bog lands, winch ;and thions:nt they formerly eut for fuel without paying any or the most trifling rents. It is admitted, that the owners of the land have been enormously enriched; that their re venues are three or four times greater in Proportion t° their acres, than in any other countries ; even their stewards and agents, their servants and drivers, have become potent lords of the soil—by their p ru dence and ingenuity not unfrequently changing pl ace s with their employers ; and it is also true, that by the same sr' tern, rich manufacturers and merchants have arisen in numbers from the ranks of the operatives and over seers of the trading community, whose children, beeeir ins lords of the soil, have vied with the nobles of th e land in splendour and power. and at length become Lords of the ascendant by the same talents and perseverance which first raised their families out of their low estat e ' But the sad reality still remains, that the condition of the bulk of the working classes, especially in agriculture! 11 _ worse than it was, both in England and Ireland, previ ous , to this great advance in our n a tio n al wea lth, and the gre w ' increase in the value of the lands. Now it will become those g entlemen vrh e , bawl for more law and stronger Government an d more Church, to show that the suff er i ng people , have not done their duty, and that the law ile a the Church have. What is the duty of th e working classes? To sustain a n d nourish t he community; and most admirably ha ve they per formed it. The amount of national wealth liar gone on increasing; the number of persons wil e have been sustained in absolute idleness, or iii what is called unproductive occupations, ha s , been vastly and wonderfully augmented. A l the other classes, the owners of rent, the Po" sessors of tithes, the recipients of taxes, the re" ceivers of profit and interest, have all been! amazingly enriched, and that part of the soci al.. ;task which is appropriated to the industriong people has been skilfully, vigilantly, and une/c" ceptionally performed. What is the duty of the law-makers, of the Executive Government, and the Church ? guide, protect, comfort, and instruct the ind ° l - , trious classes. Have they d one t h e i r d u ty as we': as the industrious classes have provided for them' They have not. They are enriched; the.' wallow in opulence and ease ; and the industrious classes are doomed to penury, ignorance, o ld great distress. It is unnecessary to go into de' tails, unless to trace out the individual acts by which the result has been brought about. Th e plain, unanswerable fact is that the law-makers and the clergy have claimed for themselves th e office of protecting, instructing, and comforting the people; and the people are neither protected , instructed, nor comforted. They want the )mmon necessaries of life, and their distress i 5 I I llnplete proof that the ruling classes have grossly neglected their duty to the working classes, who so amply provide fbr them. Some unthinking, unobserving Tory scribblers would have the world believe that the distress of the people is the consequence of the extension of commerce. But the person least acquainted with the laws of nature is aware that the greater the number of any phenomena embraced 1 3 any rule the less is the chance of fluc tuation, and the more steady and undeviating the rule. Why should not this hold good of com merce, and fluctuations decrease as trade ex" tends? That, in fact, is the natural course, an d trade only fluctuates beyond the fluctuations of the seasons—which are neutralized in proportion as trade includes the whole earth, the average o f all being perpetual and undeviating fruitfulness —because it is limited, restrained, and perverted by Tory- and other ignorant law-makers. Th is alleged cause of distress is one of the pretexts by which the Tories seek to hide from the ill dustrious classes the wrongs they do them. Some persons seem to suppose that the rignt of property stands in the way of the People, is the cause o f th e i r di s t ress . If that be so, it I the duty of the law-makers to alter the right of property, for it behoves them, above a ll thing, to protect the industrious classes. The funda mental idea of a Government is that of one oil man keeping watch and ward, while AV The hole other provides food and clothes. end mo dern Governments have properly no other object than to they ar e ban ' to protect the producing classes . • engaged in their toils, and in the enjoyment nt t heir produce. If the right of property' , established or sanctioned by the law-maker, of the cumbrous contrivances of ANIMAL MAGNETISM. Now ready, in 3 vols. post Svo., S T U R M. A TALE OF MESMERISM, &e. E R By ISABELLA F. ROMER. Richard Bentley, New Burlington-street. to tl Um. Ira Ica'; 'CrE tve Tel tc