The Sun. — London, England, 1842-06-08 00:00:00

trbtrV Xbition SUN-OFFICE, Seven o'clock. ASCOT RACES• (THIS DAY-BY EXPRESS.) The Queen's Plate of 100 guineas, for threeyrs old, &c. Mr. Nightingale's Ajax, 4 •yrs (Sly) 1 Lord Westminster's Satirist, 3 yrs Mr. Thornhill's E. 0., 3 yrs 3 A fine race. Plate of 501. Swinley Course. Mr. Balchin's Dromedary Mr. Wreford's f, by Taurus, out of Escape . A dead heat. ELECTION COMMITTEES. (THIS DAY.) WATERFOJW. The Committee met this morning at eleven o'clock ; it having been decided that the objection of the Returning Officer to the certificates was invalid, and ought not to have been made, and the Committee came to the reso lution, " That the names of the following persons which bud been improperly rejected by the Returning Officer, ought to have been placed on the poll for Messrs. Barron and Wyse;" then follow the names of the rejected votes ; this decision gives 330 votes to Barron, and 329 to Wylie, and consequently places the petitioners in the majority. Mr. CocKuruN said, what he now wished to do on the part of the sitting . Member, was to reduce the majority in which the petitioners were placed by correcting the poll. Mr. AUSTIN stated that the poll, as amended by the decision, now stood as follows : Barron Wyse 528 Christmas Heade 216 The Learned Gentleman contended that as the allega tions of the petition were confined to the illegality of the certificates and the return, the Committee was not com petent to go into a ganeral scrutiny . of the poll. Ile quoted a ()Teat number of precedents in support of this "ley.- of the case. Mr. Sergeant WRANdlitAat, who appeared to be suffer ing from indisposition, replied; he contended that the Committee sat to try the whole merits of the election, as distinguished from the smaller question of the return. Mr. AUSTIN replied and had not concluded at four &Clock. ATHLONE (BOROUGH). The Committee appointed to try the Petition against the return for the borough of Athlone met this day at ten o'clock. E. Divett, Esq. in the chair. The petition is from John Dowd and Thomas Glynn, electors of the borough, against the return of Captain G. de la P. Beresford ; the unsuccessful candidate was Mr. 1). H. Farrell. The allegations of the petition are to the same effect as in the Waterford case, namely—that the words "houses and premises" were inserted in the certificates, and that such votes were improperly rejected, to the number of 93. The Counsel for the sitting Member are Mr. Cock burn, Mr. Austin, and Mr. Smyley - for the petitioners, Sergeant Merrewether and Mr. O'll ' amlyn. The petition having ben read, Mr. CocKBURN took an objection, in limine, on the ground that one of the petitioners (Mr. Dowd) having withdrawn from it,. and voided his recognizances, the petition was informal ; in fact there was no petition before the Committee at all. He had announced his intention not to prosecute the petition, both to the Speaker and to the sitting Member. Mr. Serjeant MEREWETWER contended that this was a question, not for the Committee, but for the House of Commons, to decide ; and the objection ought to have been made when Mr. Dowd announced his intention to withdraw from the prosecution. The Committee decided that the Counsel for the peti tion should proceed with his case. Mr. Sergeant MEREWETHER then commenced his opening argument, and was proceeding with it when the Speaker wars announced to be at prayers. COAL MARKET.-(THIS DAY.) _ Ships arrived since last market.day, t 2. a. d. I s. d. Aoeir's I 21 0 Cart's Hartley lB 6 Walls End Morrison) :7 6 Old Tanfield ..... ........ ..... ... 14 0, Walls End Stewait's 26 6 Wylam Walls End Hotspur lO 0 Walls EA HoN.er l6 C Walls End Killingworth ... 16 6 Walls End Seymour Tees l7 0 W. E. Braddyll'iHetton ... 20 6 Watts Ei.d Tee, Walls End Haswell. ... 20 0 Garnant Stone '3 6 Walls End Hetton 0 0 SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF THIS DAY. GLOBE.—We are not sure that, in alluding to the disgraceful exhibition which Mr. Ferrand made of himself last night in the House of Comnyins, we are not contributing to his gratification, by aiding his efforts to acquire notoriety. That honourable dis orderly gentleman has so often shown himself in sensible to shame, that it were vain to endeavour, by reproof, to make him conscious of indecorum, however gross. To appeal to the rules which are recognised and obeyed by those who move in the Society of gentlemen appears altogether ineffective when .Mr..Ferrand is in question. After the experi ment of last night, the Hon. Member for Knares horough must be allowed to utter what he pleases, Without being held responsible for his language. It would be only co-operating with the notoriety-hunter's ,desire to get up a scene, that he might play the chief part in it, to demand explanation from him of any personal allusion, however injurious, in which he had indulged—for the . authority on which he had rested any accusation, however gross, or the re t:actation of any assertion, however offensive. A man of honour is as careful to avoid giving offence as he is prompt in vindicating his feelings or his fame from indignity or injury. Mr. Ferrand indulges in calum nies without seeming to imagine that he can be con sidered responsible for their truth. The assurance that he has heard them, or something like them, from some nameless individual, is the authority on which he rests their claim to credence ; and his making the state ment within the walls of Parliament is the protection which screens him from consequences that would ne cessarily follow the indulgence of his propensities elsewhere. The tumultuous proceedings of last night, by, which the business of the country was impeded and the sitting of the House abruptly broken up, will, we trust, be the last of the kind the public press will have occasion to record. It cannot be that such scopes can take place in the House of Commons without materially lowering its character and in - pairing its dignity in the estimation of the country. STANDARD.—After the termination of the pro ceedings upon Lord Ashley's proposition, the House went into Committee upon the tariff, when an obser vation was made by Mr. Ferrand that Dr. Bowring's statements upon foreign trade ought not to be received as an authority, because the inquiries of the learned .gentleman had been partial and imperfect. A prodigious clatter of " personality" was raised upon this expression of Mr. Ferrand, and it more or less disturbed the debate ititrough the remainder of the night's sitting. This stratagem of constructive affronts and mock passion is a very convenient and therefore a very trite one. Every one, however, must see through the trick —must see that there was no offence given or intended in Mr. Ferrand's telling that that had been the case which it was evident beforehand must be the case. Dr. BoWring is, we believe, a perfectly honourable man, hut he is a thoroughly bigotted political economist, and, as such, he was selected and sent abroad by the late Government, to aid their views of forcing measures founded on their politico-economic theories upon the country. Could such a man act fairly, however honourable his intentions ? The thing was impossible. .He could not consult all ; and there fore, in the selection of those whom he was to con sult, he would be determined by his opinion of The intelligence of the parties ; but this opinion would necessarily be formed from the agreement of these ,parties in his own doctrines, viz., the doctrines of the political economists ; all others would be rejected as narrow-minded, ignorant, antiquated persons, behind the light and intelligence of the age. A Dr. Bowring's commi ss i on was not merely A ma in, as to re ceive evidence, but to analyse and digest it, c an there be a doubt that he must give a preference to th ose views which most nea rly coincided with - his own ? The fault was not in Dr. Bow ring, but in those wh o sent him out. Th e Learned Gentleman is not to blame for acting as every prejudiced man must act, how honourably disposed soever ; but the late Government is greatly culpable for sending a prejudiced man on such a mission. Dr. Bowring is—we repeat it cheerfully— = honourable man ; but he certainly is not one jot a more honourable man that Mr. Ferrand. Now, what would the country think if Sir Robert Peel's Govern oient were to send Mr. Ferrand alone to inquire into an d report upon the state of the factory districts, %with a v.iew to measures of general legislation ? We have no doubt whatever that Mr. Ferrand would do his part honourably ; but we could scarcely have the face to represent his opinions as possessing any substantive authority, or to defend - the Government .employing the honourable gentleman as its sole organ for collecting information. - - MARRIAGE IN HIGH LIFE.—The Marquis of Wa terford Was this morning married at Whitehall Chapel, to the lion. and accomplished Miss Stuart, daughter of Lord Stuart de Rothsay. The ceremony was performed by his Grace the Archbishop of Armagh, in the presence of a numerous host of friends and relations of both parties. The noble father of t h e bride gave his daughter away. The Noble Marquis and his b r id e were loudly cheered on their leaving the chapel by the ercwd which had assembled, 0 2 :FORD UNIVERSITY HERALD OFFICE, TUESDAY, JUNE 7 , JB42. —At two o'clock this day the question of the re al of the slatute of 1836, expre ss i ng a - want of confid ence i n Ham p d e n , the Regius Profes s o r o f Divinity, was brought forward in Convocation, when, after a debate a division took place, the numbers being— P1ace5..................... 219 NonPlacets... ....................... ........ 33 4 Najority against Dr. Hampden . . .... 115 IMPERIAL =PARLIAMENT: - (THIS EVENING.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. The SPEAKER took the chair at the usual hour. Sir H. INGLIS presented a petition from certain electors of the borough of Nottingham, stating that if any bribery or corrupt practices had taken place, they were not parties to it, and submitting that, according to the law of the land, a new writ ought to be issued. The Hon. Baronet also moved that the petition be printed with the votes, and gave notice that he should to-morrow call the attention of the House to its prayer. Mr. GRIMSDITCH presented a petition from Mac clesfield in favour of the Ten Hours' Factory Bill. Mr. BROTHERTON , presented a petition from the borough of Salford, praying for a restriction of the hours of labour in factories. POOR-LAWS. Sir T. D. ACLAND presented a petition (we (lid not hear from what place) against the Bastardy Clause in the Poor-law Act ; and praying that the age to which the putative father is bound to maintain the child may be extended to nine years. • MECHANICS' INSTITUTION. Mr. HUME presented a petition from the members of the London Mechanics' Institution, numerously signed, praying that all public institutions may be relieved from the payment of assessed taxes. Also a petition, praying that the tolls might be taken off the metropolitan bridges. Also a petition against prosecutions for blasphemy. Mr. WYNNE ELLIS presented a petition from the Leicester Mechanics' Institution, praying that it, and similar institutions might be exempted from the payment of assessed taxes. Mr. SHIEL presented petitions from Ashton-under- Lyne and Clitheroe, complaining of Roman Catholic grievanfes POOR-LAW. Captain PECHELL presented a petition, agreed to at a Meeting at Seaford in Sussex, against the continua tion of the new Poor-law for five years, and praying for its repeal in England and Wales. The petition was signed, on behalf of the meeting, by Mr. Brooker. NOTICES OF MOTION-POOR LAWS. Mr. R. YORK gave notice that in the Committee on the Poor-law he would move that certain clauses be ex punged fron the Bill, and others of them altered. Mr. PARKER gave notice of his intention in Com mittee on the Customs Act, to move that the same duty imposed on timber coming into This country from any foreign part, should be imposed also on all timber coming from the Isle of Man, and Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, and Sark. Mr. SHIEL gave notice of his intention, on the 23rd of June, to move for certain papers relative to the inter. ference of France with the affairs of Tunis. SALMON FISHERIES BILL. On the motion for um further consideration of the Report of the Salmon Fisheries Bill, kr. MACKENZIE moved that the further considera tion of the Report should be taken into consideration that day three months. The powers of the Commis sioners were most extraordinary ; they could call u it nesses bsfore them, but they had no power to compel their attendance. The expense of litigation would be immense. A rich man could hang up a cause in the Court of Session for an indefinite length of time. Mr. FOX MAULE supported the Bill, and justified the composition of the Board of Commissioners. After observations from Mr. S. Ei.us, and Mr. CAMP BELL— Captain GORDON was not opposed to the Bill, but to the mode in which the Hon. Gentleman meant to carry out his measure. He objected to the machinery of the Bill. He thought it better that as the salmon fisheries were in such a state of uncertainty, the Hon. Gentleman should let the Bill go down to the country, and when the parties interested had time to consider of it, let the measure be brought on next session. He certainly on those grounds should oppose the Bill. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and :the House divided, when there appeared— _ . For the motion BB Against i ' Majority in favour of the recom mittal of the Bill ---68 The House then went into Committee on the Bill, and the Bill having passed through Committee, the Report was ordered to be received on Friday next. THE CUSTOMS' ACT. Mr. HUME wished to know whether it was the inten tion of the Government to proceed with the tariff in the absence of the Right Hon. Gentleman the First Lord of the Treasury. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER saw no reason for postponing the tariff, though the Right Hon. Gentlemen were not present. Mr. HAWES thought it was a very unusual thing to proceed with a Government measure on a Wednesday night, without any notice having been given to lion. Members that such a course was to be adopted. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that his Right Hon. Friend at the head of the Government, had distinctly intimated that as he yielded precedence on yesterdey to the Noble Lord, the Member for Dorset shire (Lord Ashley) he should proceed with the tariff. He did not think, therefore, that it could be said the House was taken by surprise. DISTRESS IN THE MANUFACTURING DIS- TRICTS. Mr. ALFORD wished to ask the Right Hon, Baronet, the Secretary for the Home Department, whether it was intended that the contributions, now being raised for the relief of the distress in the manufacturing districts, were to be distributed in Leicester and other towns as well gs in Stockport, Burnley, and Paisley, to which it seemed to be understood by some parties that the relief was to be confined ? Sir J. GRAHAM said that all subscriptions, sums of money, and donations consequent on the Queen's Letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury should be placed :It the disposal, absolute and uncontrolled, of the Manu facturer's Relief Committee. On the motion of Mr. REDDINGTON, The Sudbury Disfranchisement Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed on Wednesday next. MANSLAUGHTER BILL. Captain POLHILL moved the second reading of this Bill. Sir J. GRAHAM opposed the Bill. He did not wish to detain the House unnecessarily by stating all the ob jections to the Bill, but he had the strongest possible conviction that it would be inexpedient to change the law. Mr. BARNEBY was sorry that the Right Honour able Gentlemen expressed his intention to oppose the Bill. He hoped, if he could not give his sanction to the poesent Bill, that he would endeavour to remedy the various evils of the present law. Captain POLHILL said that he regretted the Right Hon. Baronet was going to oppose the second reading of the Bill. He considered it one of justice and humanity. He brought it forward under that impression, and he should therefore perstivere in pressing it on the House. Mr. F. MAULE was very much inclined to agree wit h the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the view he took of this question. He thought that Coro ners ought not to be entrusted with the power of bailing. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw. (The result of the division was not known when our Reporter left.) STATE OF TRADE. (From the Manchester Guardian.) STATE OF TRADE.—The unfavourable nature of the commercial advices from India, coupled with the an nouncement of one or two failures here had a rather depressing effect upon our market yesterday ; and goods and yarn were both flat, though without any change in prices. We are sorry to learn that the con dition of the working-classes in the neighbourhood of Burnley, and indeed generally throughout the districts in which hand loom weaving has been extensively carried on, is becoming worse daily ; and the patience which their privations have hitherto been supported has of late greatly diminished. ROCHDALE FLANNEL MARKET, MONDAY, JUNE 6.-- The increased demand for flannels to-day has bee', quite equal to that of last Monday, but there is yet no improvement in the prices. The principal purchasers are the large manufacturers, who are buying under the impression that wool has arrived at its lowest point. The wool market remains tolerably steady ; and the dealers are asking a small advance, but have generally submitted to the old prices, except in coarse qualities, which may be quoted a shade higher. HUDDERSFIELD MARKET, JUNE 7TH.—There is some difficulty in reporting the state of trade at this juncture, as we are evidently on the eve of some change which can scarcely be for the worse. In fact, appearances are on the bright side but certainly, as yet, there is nothing to warrant the boast of some newspapers of a general revival. The season of the year, the splendid weather, and years of terrific depression, must result in a change for the better ; and unquestionably there is a move, an inquiry, and a feeling of increasing con fidence, that indicate a gradual return to a healthful state, if it be not counteracted by stupid, suicidal legis lation. In fancy woollens a fair amount of business was done ; but the demand for waistcoatings and other light fancies was dull. There was also a tolerable in quiry for heavy low-priced woollens ; but fine broads were dull of sale. Prices are stationary ; not improved LATEST MANCHESTER BETTING. M ANCHESTER—TUESDAY EVENING. The presence of the Court at Ascot, the capital bill of fare, and the splendid weather have attracted many of our leading speculators. The room was but moderately attended at noon ; several engagements were, however, made to small amounts. 6 to 4 on M T HE ASCOT OUP. r. Kirby's L anercost—taken 2 to 1 agst Mr. Orde's Ileeswing—off. take 5 to 2 7 to 1 agst any other—offered 4tol on two agst the field —taken and then offered THE NORTHUIOBERLANOPLATE.---.5 to I was at first laid against Alice Hawthorn. Closing prices :- 9to 2 agst Mr. Plummer's Alice Hawthorn—t. then off. sto 1 agst Mr. Heseltine's The Shadow —t, then offered. Several offers to take 3 to 1 and name the winner at twice. Galaor and one or two others were named, but no prices tran spired. THE ST. LEGER.—We did not hear an offer against Attilla ; 100 to 10 was taken on Aucklpaonidntasnmd oorffee;reld2agtoailisitnl.7anberienra --wanted in ponies at tw o b the 2 s t o a o w c a e s was taken Don Me teor — e ore room broke up,300 to The Duke of Wellington left town this afternoon on a visit to her Majesty at Windsor Castle. his Excellency Count St. Aulaire, the French Ambas sador, and his Count ess , are e xpected to arrive at the re sidence of the Embassy in Manchester-square, this after noon, from Windsor Castle. The grass crops are looking remarkably well, and promise an abundant harvest. Should the fine weather con tinue, much is to be put under the operation of the sickle next week.—Somerset Gazette. THE ASSEMBLY. The Edinburgh Observer thus sums up the As sembly's proceedings :—During the sitting of the Assembly itself, exclusively of what has since been going on in the Commission, there have been in all about twenty-four clergymen, or presentees to churches, either altogether deprived of their stations and benefices in the Church--denied their legal rights, or subjected to a greater or less mea sure of censure (as it is called), with the pleasant prospect of being deposed within a year hence, or driven into courts of justice in self-defence. And it is not so much the number as the nature of these cases that excites surprise. Eleven of these gentlemen have been suspended from the exercise of important privileges, and the dis charge of important duties for many months, be cause they had held brotherly communion with other clergymen, who, under the protection of the supreme law of the country, are in possessiop of an untarnished character and a stable position as ministers of the Gospel ; eight are subjected to torture and expense for another year, because they gave obedience to the imperative enactments of Acts of Parliament; four are kept out of their livings, in violation even of ecclesiastical rules, enacted by the Church itself ; two are deprived of their livings for the imputed offences of others, and their settlements de clared null and void; two are deposed or deprived of sta tus and capability of being reappointed to livings, ex pressly and avowedly because they have instituted legal proceedings for defending their legal rights—and on one pretext or other, about forty ministers and pro bationers of the Church have been bereaved of their rights, and had their reputations held up mercilessly to scorn before their countrymen, and subjected to all the refined torments that an inquisitorial ingenuity can devise, simply and solely because they will not bow the knee to this Popish Baal, which has reared its head among us. With one solitary exception, there is not, so far as we can discover, a single case in which these proceedings can be vindicated upon any principle of law or of justice ; and when we take into account the nine depositions and deprivations which took place in the Assembly of last year, we have fully half a hundred instances within twelve months of the most grevious ecclesiastical oppression. Such a sweeping prescription as has thus taken place, or is now in progress, has not occurred since the Revolution • and it was not surpassed at an y period of our history, except in times of the most outrageous persecutions under the Covenant, in the reigns of Charles and James 11., and on the reaction of the Revolution. Such a state of things is absolutely appalling, and calls loudly for remedy and redress, and, though that remedy and that redress may be slow in arriving, we are fully convinced that it assuredly will come. The processes of protection have already commenced, and must rapidly succeed each other. The first of these that has commenced is in the case of Air. Wilson of Stranraer, who yesterday (Thursday) pre sented a note of suspension and interdict (a second one) for staying execution of the atrocious sentence of deposition against him, solely because he had sought and obtained an interdict from the Civil Court against a Presbytery, who were proceeding in violation and contempt of, and injunction by, their ecclesiastical superiors. On that suspension, Lord Ivory has given the following deliverance, which is important as it recognises and applies the rule laid down by the Court within the last week, in reference to all similar cases. This is the first instance of re claiming against the doings of the late Assembly; but we predict that it is not the last ; and further, that the bold defiances flung out by Mr. Earle Monteith and others last week, will ere long be emphatically responded to in a manner that will bring their heroe to the test : "2d June, 1842.—The Lord Ordinary having con sidered this note with the productions—in respect of the previous interdict of the Court in this case, and the rule laid down by the Court as that which should be followed in all questions of the kind, upon the report of this case by the Lord Ordinary to their Lordships —appoints the note to be intimated and answered within fourteen days ; and, in the meantime, sists execution, and grants in terdict as craved till the case comes again to be advised, with or without answers. (Signed) J. IVORY." SWINDLING IN LIVERPOOL. A correspondent directs attention to some " swind ling" practices by a firm in Liverpool, by which he has suffered, and urges on our part the public expo sure of the individuals concerned, but declines taking for himself any share or responsibility in the business. It would be extremely rash, however, and Quixotic in newspaper practice, to entertain and investigate even the tithe of cases of imputed commercial fraud, where the difference is often a very nice one between over reaching and swindling, and where a jury might possibly be disposed to view the matter, if the parties were publicly named, in a very diffe rent light from the sufferers. This remark will hardly apply to the case referred to, which, if the circumstances stated are strictly true, can bear but one denomination. We must in prudence decline a mention of the names, but a detail of the circum stances will be both useful and amusing to the com mercial world, and may perhaps suggest means by which the snare may be avoided. It appears that at Liverpool, as in London, there is a society " for the protection of trade against swindlers," and that the persons referred to have been more or less under their observation since 1837. They have assumed, in the course of their practice, three or more dif ferent names and partnerships. They are said to have boxes at the post-office for each firm, and to be well known to the postmaster, who does all he may with propriety to restrain them in their course, but dares not go further. They are also well known at the railway station, where a delay in the delivery of goods directed to them has sometimes purposely taken place, to allow time for recalling them if any suspicion should have arisen, though they durst not go so far as to give any warning, for fear of being visited penally with the consequences. A respectable trades man in London having had the precaution to make a reference for information to the society just mentioned, was fortunate enough to get back his goods before they had passed into the possession of the swindlers. On their information he was further apprised that the parties are so little able to maintain a respect able exterior on the spot, that their office of busi ness in Liverpool only stands at a rent of 51., and even that was not regularly paid, the landlord having been compelled to distrain for it. Being completely " blown " in Liverpool, their chief prac tice has been upon the credulity and eagerness after business of the London, Birmingham. and other distant traders. When drawn in to the extent found to be practicable, and on application for payment, the usual answer was by a circular, stating that th e parties had become invcllved by the failure of some bank, and that " they are compelled to offer ss. in the pound, or go to a bankruptcy." This expe dient generally answered the purpose of gaining a little more time, but no instance was ever known of that or any other dividend being paid. The princi pal party was seldom to be seen, but employed a youth under age to meet the goods incautiously sup plied to him, at the carriers' warehouse, and trans fer them to some other place to be disposed of. He lodged over the river in Cheshire for greater se curity, but, though he was in the habit of getting goods for nothing, never paid his rent. He af fected, however, great sanctity, and was usually to be seen with a Bible or Prayer-book in his hand. Having thus given an outline of the case, the question naturally arises how innocent or thought less persons may be protected ? The merchants have no right to ask from a public. journal to put itself forward, by an open and direct expo- . sure, to meet the expense and trouble of a prosecution for libel, which must attend even a favourable verdict. They form associations in the great commercial towns, the organisation of which is very perfect, to protect the subscribers from fraud by giving notice in printed circulars, but all who are not subscribers—and a Lon don merchant would not think of entering into such a subscription at Liverpool —are left without any pro tection whatever. But there seems to be no reason, when a case is so marked and perfectly notorious as that above described, why they should not publish the fact as an advertisement to all the world giving a guarantee to the ch anne l through which it is made known. Their answer would probably be that this would spoil the trade of the association by making subscriptions unnecessary, and be otherwise a very troublesome mode of proceeding, not to mention that objections, would probably be made in m an y quarters to receive such a guarantee, or to insert the adver tisements at all. Perhaps, if clue caution w as exer cised u an n t k s n a o n w d n traders to t he m i n withoutsup p l supplying minute in- quiry,n g gnods to pers ons such practices could not be carried on at a ll ; and this we fear is the only certain protection whi c h bym beforee merchants is to be looked for in cases like that just described The narrative may, at all events, be of some use, a s ii points out a safe medinm for information, and must induce a general caution. The rest the parties must THE SUN,-LONDON, W-.EDNESDA EyENING, JUNE 8, 1 842. TEE' LAST OF THE BRANDY DRINIs.ERS. Well : there is no mistake about the matter, and I really believe that I am the last of the long race of brandy-drinkers. There were plenty of us when I began, and of all these not one is now left. Temper ance took off the greater part ; and bad spirits thinned those who remained : there were some who died young, and yet not regretting life ; whilst others were old men when the call came, and yet went grudgingly, as though they had not had trouble enough. lam the only one left, and this bottle that I hold in my hand contains the last drop of distilled spirits that the world now contains. When I have consumed it, as I shortly shall, and with it yielded my last breath, there will be no more brandy in the world and no more brandy-drinkers ! Well : I have lived seventy years, and I have seen strange changes. It is now 1890, and I was born in 1820. I recollect Father Mathew, and I can re member when it was considered no sin for a man to warm his heart with the generous juice of the grape, or to give fresh energy to his drooping faculties by the aid of a little plesant inspiring drink. The world was not a bad world then, although it was always the fashion to abuse it. There were kind hearted good souls in it, and there was a warmth and friendship which would offer a strong con trast to the chilly coldness of these modern times. Men drank good stout ale then, and were not afraid of it. They kept it as a friend in their cellars, and watched over it jealously, yet not in a niggardly spirit. If they had friends they shared it liberally with them, and never dreamt of having committed a crime. They made songs, and they drank to them ; they kept their high days and holi days, and instead of setting themselves apart from the poor, they' made the labourers come and be happy , with them. They had sheep-shearing and harvest home, and a hundred other pleasant festivities, where the ale-keg was broached, and the heart of man was made happy. They may call those times bad, but I never saw better. Temperance has changed all this, and I am old enough to recollect when the attack was first made. They who commenced it were kind-hearted men, and there was much need of their services. Great miseries (brought about by political causes) were weighing upon the people, who had grown too poor to brew their own malt and hops, as they used to do, and so had been driven to drink villanous compounds called gin and whisky, and were fast sacri ficing their bodies and souls together. This scene fright ened a great many goo,d people, who, without troubling themselves about the causes, looked only to the effect, and declared a deadly war against alcohol, as they now called this new enemy. For a season they battled man fully and with proper zeal againt Mister Alcohol, who was certainly doing an immense deal of mischief, and whom at length they pretty well managed to put down. Moderation at first was the cry, and I, who was then a young man, became a member of a Temperance So ciety; but by and by they wanted me to take a vow to abstain from all spirituous drinks whatever, even small-beer, and then I took my leave of them, and joined the Old Paddington Brandy Club (limited to two glasses per diem), of which I am, as I said, the only surviving member, holding the last bequeathed drop of the generous liquor whose extinction has been so fatally pronounced. The race, then, of brandy-drinkers is at an end, and not a drop of alcoholic drink of strength suffi cient to intoxicate a spider is to be found upon earth. with the exception of the small wasting quantity i hold in my hand. The whole world is a world of water-drinkers, and man contends with the horse and the sheep for a taste of that crystal stream whose in sipidity he professes to admire. The result might have been expected. As the mind is influenced by the body, and this latter is acted upon by whatever is received into it, it has followed as a necessary conse quence that man has become as insipid as his drink, and his life as monotonous as the dull never-varying stream from whence his potations are drawn. A cold, selfish, artificial set of beings have taken the place of the old inhabitants—men who rarely smile, who love not music, who banish the dance, and whose grand test of virtue is thrust into the narrow limits that they prescribe for Temperance. Instead of the good old English songs about " Sir Barley-corn," 'there is nothing heard but wishy-washy compositions made over tea-tables' by a parcel of gos sipping old men and women, who have not the souls to put together two staves decently. All our poets too have been tumbled off the shelves, because they were not Temperance men. Shakspeare went first, for they could not abide' the idea of patronizing a man who is constantly exclaiming in favour of wine ; and one by one all the dramatists followed; old Deckar, Martson, Beaumont and Fletcher, Massinger, Rowe, down even to poor Sheridan Knowles and Lytton Bulvver. The ancients also were not spared. Anacreon among the Greeks, and Horace with the Romans, were voted abominations, and latterly the comic writers have been going out of fashion. This being the case, of course the novelists could not stand. One by one they have been proscribed, and now it is considered as great an abomination to have a work of Sir Walter Scott in one's library, as it would have been in my time to be seen reading Tom Paine's " Age of Reason," or " Voltaire's " Die ' tionaire Philosophique." But, besides this effect upon the genius and grow ing talent of the country, another, still more to be deplored has been produced on the minds and disposi tions of men. There is much less generosity and warmth of heart than there used to be, for as men have made Temperance the grand saving virtue they seem to have lost sight of a host of other kind feelings which it used to be the fashion to cultivate. The sympathies have been moulded into a set of stiff automata, which only move in a certain set direction, and have no natural spring of their own. There is no longer any spontaneous charity ; and as to scandal and malevolence, it seems to me that they never were so rife in the world. Selfishness is now the leading feature of the age, and the world has become so cold and chilly that I really long to finish my glass and be out of it. What vexes me also, is to see the old Saxon Nor man stock deteriorating physically, for since men and women have given over drinking ale, they certainly have not such large families, nor yet such fine chil dren. Why this is I cannot say, but I speak of it as a fact. John Bull was always noted for being a strong-backed, broad-chested, long-armed, straight legged, full-calved, bull-headed, handsome-looking fellow, and he could always lick every other nation in the world when he had his belly well lined with good beef and beer; but John never liked fighting without his pint of ale per diem, or a good glass of rum, and I set it down to his not having these that we have been recently whopped by those miserable beggars the —'s and But I must now conclude this paper, for I feel that I am growing weaker, and the last drop of brandy is nearly gone. I suppose the Temperance people will make a great bobbery over my grave, for I know they have been looking after me for a long time. I care very little for them however. My liver is sound, in spite of all they may say, and 1 weigh sixteen stone, which is more by many pounds than the best of the water-drinkers can come up to. What. I re gret is, that there should be so little social feeling left in the world, and so very few even empty beer harrels. Brandy there is none—for here goes the last drop !—Montreal Morning Courier. do for theinselves..-L•Times. WILTSHIRE TOPOGRAPHICAL SOClETY. — Saturday last was the second anniversary of this novel and useful Society, %%hen several of its members met at the chambers of Mr. Alex ander, in the Adelphi, to elect the President, Vice-Presidents, and other officers, for the ensuing year, and to report on the progress and prospects of the 'lnstitution. Earl de Grey was re-elected President, and the Bishop of Salisbury, Sir John Cam Hobhouse, Robert Gordon, Esq., and Joseph Neild, Etq., 111. P., Vice-Presidents. Mr. Alexander and Mr. Britton were continued as Honorary Secretaries, and the Dean of Hereford, with Henry Merick Hoare, Esq., sere added to the Council. A " Topogra_phical History of the Parish of Grittleton," by the Rev. J. E. Jackson, with six illustrations, was ordered to be printed, and the Histories of " Kingtor, ' Langley, and Christian-M a lf or d," were reported to be so far advanced, as to be ready for publication before the ensuing Christmas. Collections for other parishes were de scribed to be in various stages of progress. An increase of members was announced, and the funds of the Society de scribed to be equal to the payments for the publications In pro- I great, and a surplus to invest in Government securities. INDIAN DESPATCHES. The following were omitted in our Third Edition of last night through mistake : From Major-General John IlPCaskill, Commanding In fantry Division, to Captain Ponsonby, Assistant Adjutant-General. Camp, Ali Musjid, April 6, 1842. Sir,—l have the honour to report, for the information of Major-General Pollock, C. 8., commanding the forces, that, agreeably to his orders, I marched yesterday morn ing from Jumrood, in command of the rear-guard of the column for the attack of the Khyber Pass, composed of the troops detailed in the margin.* The complete success of the attacks made by the force in advance, rendered unnecessary any active operations on ray part. At nightfall I took the necessary precau tions for security, and the troops bivouacked at a spot about two miles within the Pass, without any molesta- tion from the enemy. The rear-guard arrived in camp at two P.M., this day, no part of the baggage having been plundered, nor any loss sustained. I have reason to be highly satisfied with the exertions of Lieutenant-Colonel Tulloch, second in command, of Captain Smith, Officiating Deputy Assistant Adjutant- General, and of every officer placed under my orders, in, performance of the duties assigned to them. I have, &c., JOHN M'CASKILL, Major General, Commanding infantry Division. 11 2 guns H. A. 3 guns F. A - . , 2 Squads. H. M.'s 3d Drago.ths, 10 L. C., 2 R sls Irregr. Cay., 1 company H. M.'s. 9th foot., 1 company 6th N. 1. 3 companies 6 0 th N. I. From Major-General Pollock, C. 8., to the Secretary to the Government of India. Sir,—ln continuation of my despatch of the 6th inst., have now the honour to enclose a return of casualties w'Lach t o ok pl ace on the sth an d 6 t h ; th ose o f t h e latter date occurred in taking possession of Ali Musjid. l am happy to s a y t h e amount o f our l oss is trifling, consider ing the Very great opposition we experienced from the the notice of the R Fi:lci;lEninginleaesr, last communication I inadvertently omitt e d to mention the name of Lieutenant John Becher, Acti ng and ißight t h i tt i v o e n t o o u r r a e b q l u e e t s h t e y G o o u .,e A rn v i 1 0 l r 12 G r i e n i g i e r t a c; of India in Council the very essential services rendered by that officer in clearing the Pass of the impediments constructed by the enemy, which be did with a degree of celerity, notwithstanding their strength and difficulty of removal, that elicited my warmest satisfaction. I I have, &c. GEORGE POLLOCK, Majo r -G enera l , Return of Killed e , ° \o mVanudnde ing d: under the Com man d o f M ajor -Gener a l P o ll oc k , C. 8., west and o Missing the ln d of u s. the Troop s on the sth April, in forcing the Khyber Pass. Camp Ghurree, Lalla Beg, April Bth, 1842. Staff-1 wounded. 11. M. 9th Foot-1 European commissioned officer, 1 colour sergeant, 6 privates killed ; 1 :European com missioned officer, 1 drummer, 31 privates wounded ; total killed and wounded, 41. 26th Regiment N. 1.-2 sepoys killed ; 1 fife major, 2 havildars, 17 sepoys wounded ; 1 bugler, missing ; total killed, wounded, and missing, 23. 30th Regiment N. 1.-2 sepoys killed ; 1 havildar, 12 sepoys wounded ; 1 sepoy missing ; total killed, wounded, and missing, 16. 33d Regiment N. 1.-2 sepoys wounded ; 1 sepoy miss ing ; total wounded and missing, 3. 53d Regiment N. 1.-1 sepoy killed ; 1 sepoy wounded ; 3 sepoys missing; total killed, wounded, and missing, 5, 64th Regiment N. 1.-1 European commissioned officer, 3 havildars, 4 sepoys wounded ; 1 sepoy missing ; total wounded and missing, 9. Jezailehee Regiment-1 sepoy killed ; 2 jemadars, 4 havildars, 2 naicks, 18 sepoys wounded ; 10 sepoys missing ; total killed, wounded, and missing, 37. Total-1 European commissioned officer, 1 colour sergeant, 12 sepoys and privates killed ; 1 staff, 2 European commissioned officers, 1 fife major, 2 - jemadars, 10 havildars, 2 naicks, 1 drummer, 85 sepoys and privates, wounded ; 1 bugler, 16 sepoys and privates, missing. Giand total of killed, wounded, and missing, 135. G. PONSONBY, Captain, Assist. Adj.-Gen. Name of Officer killed—Lieut. Cumming, her Majesty 9th Foot. Names of Officers wounded—Staff, Brigadier Wild, slightly ; Capt. Ogle, her Majesty's 9th Foot, slightly; Lieut. Mulcaster, 64th N. 1., severely. NOTIFICATION. Benares, April 21, 1842. The Governor-General feels assured that every sub ject of the British Government will peruse with the deepest interest and satisfaction the report he now com municates, of the entire defeat of the Affghan troops under Mahomed Akbar Khan by the garrison of Jella labad. That illustrious garrison, which, by its constancy in enduring privation, and by its valour in action, has al ready obtained for itself the sympathy and respect of every true sohker, has now, sallying forth from its walls, under the command of its gallant leader, Sir Robert Sa!e, thoroughly beaten in open field an enemy of more than three times its numbers, taken the standards of their boasted cavalry, destroyed their camp, and recaptured four guns, which, under circumstances which can never again occur, had during the last winter fallen into their hands. The Governor-General cordially congratulates the army upon the return of victory to its ranks. Ile is convinced that there, as in all former times, it will be found, while, as at Jellalabad, the European and native troops mutually supporting each other, and evinc ing equal discipline and valour, are led into action by officers in whom they justly confide. The Governor-General directs that the substance of this notification, and of Major-General Sir Robert Sale's report, be carefully made known to all the troops, and that a salute of 21 guns be fired at every principal station of the army. By order, &c. T. H. MADDOCK, Secretary to the Government of India, with the Governor-General. FROM THE GOVERNOR OF BOMBAY IN COUNCIL. From Major-General England, Commanding the Sinde Field Force, to the Secretary of the Government of India. (Extract.) Camp, near Quetta, April 2, 1842. I have the honour to acquaint you, for the information of the Right Honourable the Governor-General in Coun cil, that having advanced from hence on the 26th ult., with the troops mentioned in the margin,* I arrived at the entrance of a defile which leads to the village of Hykulzye early on the 28th, at which place I had intended to await the remainder of the brigade now in progress to this place through the Bolan Peas. 2. From the total impossibility which now evidently prevails in obtaining any sort of information of the num bers and position of the enemy, and from the stern si lence observed on such subjects by even those whose ie. terest seems to depend on our success, I had no reason whatever to suppose that the people visible on these hills near Hykulzie were more than an assem blage of the scouts and marauders which are thus placed on all parts of this country whenever our troops traverse it ; and the principal men of the vil lage of Hyderzie, which is about six miles from the defile in question, and who received us on the preced ing day with the greatest apparent cordiality, carefully kept from our kuowledge, though much questioned on the subject, that Mahomed Sadeg, the insurgent chief south of Candahar, was strongly posted in theipass above mentioned and contiguous heights, for the express pur pose of opposing our progress. 3. It became evident as we approached, that there was some preparation made for resistance by the insurgents on the commanding ground which flanked our line of march at this point ; and after a rapid reconnoisance, I proceeded to attack the principal hill by four light companies, including that o f her Majesty's 41st regiment, supporting the attack by the remainder of the wing of that corps, under cover of the four guns of Captain Les lie's Horse Artillery ; the remainder of the troops being duly distributed for the protection of the baggage. 4. The enemy kept his strength concealed behind a succession of breast-works improved by a ditch and abattis, until our advance reached the crest of his exte rior defence, when a crowded body suddenly sprung up, and made the contest so unequal that it was immediately evident it could not be advantageously maintained. 5. The light companies fell back, therefore, on the small supporting column of her Majesty's 41st Regi ment, which, on the appearance of the enemy's cavalry, which now rushed out from behind the hills, formed square, and gallantly resisted the efforts which were made to pene!rate and break it ; the matchlock men of the enemy still keeping up a sharp an d d estruct i ve fi re from the heights. 6. To persevere in a second attack on the new deve loped strength of the enemy, with the small numbers I had disposable for such an operation, I deemed to be unwarrantable ' • and I therefore d e t erm i ne d to move b y my right to the ruined village of Bazar, three miles to the N.N.E., in which direction the baggage was first or dered to proceed, and the troops followed across the plain in echelon of squares, the artillery prot ec ti ng b y alter nate guns, and the whole covered by as good a display of cavalry as we had at command. 7. The steady manner in which this movement was made, prevented any close molestation from the enemy ; neither did they make any attack on us during the night. 8. I here discovered that 400 men, principally cavalry, had joined the insurgent's forces, from Candahar, the day before my arrival, and that with a view to resist us, Mahomed Sadeg had collected also at this point, from Shoranent and Shawl, 500 men, and that Mirza, a Kakur Chief, with one hundred of that tribe, also formed part of his force ; the rest of the enemy's strength was made up by the Atchuliyze horse, formerly in our service, by armed villagers of the neigh bourhood, making an estimated total of at least 1,500 or 2,000 men. Many officers, however, consider it to have been much greater. 9. I moreover discovered that the defences within which the enemy fought, had been works of two months' preparation, and I have seldom seen better cavalry than those, which for the first time displayed themselves, when the light companies fell back on her Majesty's 41st, at which moment several of the enemy were bayoneted in their attack on the square of that half battalion. 10. On the morning of' the 29th, it was percep tible that the insurgents had been collecting further reinforcements of armed villagers during the night, and that arrangements were making by them on an increased scale to resist any renewed assault on our part, and it being evident that the object of my re maining in the Pisheen Valley was negatived, whilst its resources and communications were thus in the hands of an enemy much stronger than myself, and that the latter could not be dislodged from the important heights he occupied without incurring severe addi tional losses, I felt I should b es t serve t h e v i ews and interests of Government, by falling back to my position at this place until reinforced ; and I am happy to say that this difficult operation has been accomplished, although encumbered with a train of 1,500 baggage animals and camels, and four and a half lakhs of trea sure, and many wounded men, notwithstanding the con stant presence of the enemy, without hurry, and without incurring the loss of any baggage or article of public property, beyond such as might reasonably happen in any ordinary march in India. 11. In passing near some strong ground yesterday, near Hoolach, a company of her Majesty's 41st regi ment ascended a steep hill on our left, and killed six teen of a'party of the enemy, from whom our column was receiving some annoyance in its progress, many others being wounded. 12. Having now detailed the circumstances belonging to the military events in this vicinity for the last few days, I solicit the favour of bringing to the notice of the Right Honourable the Governor-General in Council, the good conduct of the troops generally, and the gallantry of her Majesty's 41st in particular, under Major Browne. I had every reason to be also satisfied with the good practice of Captain Leslie's efficient battery; and Major Apthorp of the 20th Bombay Native Infantry (severely wounded, and since dead), led tho light companies to the attack in the best possible style. 13. I have received from Major 'Wyllie, Assistant- Adjutant General, Captain Boyd, Assistant Quarter- Master-General, Captain Davidson, Deputy Commissary General, and the rest of the Officers of the Staff, very valuable and zealous assistance. Sinde Field Force. Return of Casualties in Action with the Enemy, near Hykulzye, on the 28th March, 1842. Head Quarters, Camp, near Hoochlach, March 30, 1842. Her Majesty's 41st Regiment Foot-1 captain, 2 ser geants, 1 corporal, 14 privates, killed ; 1 sergeant, 1 corporal, 50 privates, wounded. Light Company sth Regiment N. 1.-1 sepoy, killed ; 3 sepoys, wounde.i. Light Company 20th Regiment N. 1.-5 sepoys, killed ; 1 major, 2 naicks, 7 sepoys, wounded. Light Company 25th Regiment N. 1.-1 naick, 2 sepoys, killed ; 6 sepoys, wounded. Total-1 captain, 2 sergeants, 2 corporals or naicks, 22 privates or sepoys, killed ; 1 major, 1 sergeant, 3 cor porals or naicks, 66 privates, or sepoys, wounded. Grand Total-27 killed ; 71 wounded. Names of Officers killed or w ounded—Captain W. May, her Majesty's 41st Regiment killed ; Major F. Ap thorp, 20th N. I. commanding Light Battalion, wounded severely and dangerously ; since dead. Remarks—Wounded-13 privates, dangerously ; 1 ser geant, 3 corporals, 20 privates, severely ; 33 privates, slightly. W. WYLLIE, Major, Assistant-Adjutant- General, S.F.F. * 4 Guns, Horse Brigade, i Troop 3d Lt. Cavalry, 5 Comps. H.M. 41st Reg., 6 Comp. Bombay, N. 1., 50 Poona Horse. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, thine 7. The SPEAKER. took the Chair shortly before Four o'Clock. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN MINES. Sir R. IL INGLIS presented a petition from the clergy of the Established Church in the West Riding of Yorkshire, in favour of the measure of the Noble Lord the Member for Dorsetshire, to regulate the employment of children in mines ; also a petition, with a similar prayer, from the ministers and' members of various Dis senting congregations in Yorkshire. POOR-LAW AMENDMENT ACT. In reply to a question froth Mr. S.CRA.NiFORD, Sir J. GRAHAM said that it was not . his intention to move the second reading of the Poor-law Amendment. Act until the tariff was disposed of. EMPLOYMENT OP CHILDREN IN MINES. Lord ASHLEY presented a petition from Cheltenham, in favour of a Bill for regulating the employment of children and women in mines and colieries. The Noble Lord, in submitting to the house the Bill of which he had given notice, then proceeded to say that it would not, he hoped, be deemed presumptuous on his part that when he rose to propound his motion to the House, and when he asked for its sympathy and partial hearing, he should add, at the same time, that he felt quite certain of obtaining their indulgence. The novelty of the subject, its magnitude, the deep and solemn interest that attached to it throughout the country, and the consideratien of its vital influence on the wel fare of so large a portion of our fellow-countrymen, would be of themselves sufficient to obtain for him a favourable hearing. He would not, moreover, forget the indulgence which he had on many former occasions experienced from the House. lie might now perhaps be allowed just so far to speak of himself as to say that there was some little reason why he then pressed. himself forward in bringing this matter under the notice of Parliament. The Report lying on the table was the first Report of the Commission for which he had the honour to move in the month of August, 1840. The prayer of that motion had been granted by the then Administration ; and he must avail himself of that opportunity and of every other fitting opportunity of expressing his sincere and heartfelt thanks to the members of the late Government, and more especially to his Hon. Friend the Member for Perth, the then Under-Secretary of State, and to his Noble Friend in the other House of Parliament. at that time at the head of the Home Department, riot only for the Commission which they had granted, but for the Commissioners they had appointed—gentlemen who had discharged the duties assigned to them with unrivalled skill, fidelity, and zeal.—( Hear, hear.) Now it was impossible for any one, whatever might be his statio n , if h e h a d b u t a h eart in his bosom, to read the details of that awful document without com bined feelings of shame. of horror, and indignation. But he would dwell on the evils of the system rather than on those who might be accused as being in some measure its authors. An enormous mischief had been discovered, and an immediate remedy was called for. Sure he was, that if those who had power would be as ready to abate oppression as those who had suffered would be to forget its infliction—sure he was that there would take place such a revival of good understanding between master and man, between wealth and want, between the rulers and the ruled, as would conduce to the restoration of social comfort, and, under God's blessing, to the permanent security of the empire.--( Hear, hear.) When he moved for the Commission he ventured to state the manifold and impor tant character of the information that would be derived from that inquiry, and that expectation had been fulfilled. There were other Reports still to come, which would show the whole condition of the people. The Report that had already been made showed many sad causes of pauperism, and disorders engendered by the present system, which was, evidently, tend ing fast to the destruction of the British race. The Report also showed the condition, moral, social, and religious, of the people. He knew it might be said that vice was not new — that it had occurred, and would occur again. That was true enough, but the danger to the country from these things was net comparative but absolute. Their forefathers had to deal with thousands, while they had to deal with millions. They must act boldly with the evil, or its magnitude would be so great that it could not be overcome. He would now proceed to show what was the condition of the lower orders of the country who worked in mines and calleries ; in doing so he would have to detain the House with a long and wearisome detail ; but it was better to make out a case by evidence than by mere statement. He would first of all call the atten tion of the House to the age and sex of persons employed in mines and collieries. This differed in different parts, and in some parts the male only was employed, while in others the female was employed too, and in South Staffordshire, Shropshire, and Derbyshire, it was the custom to employ children in col. holies at the age of five or six years. In Somerset, children be tween five and six years of age were employed in the mines. In the smaller collieries, towards the hills, they were even at an earlier age. In Cumberland many at seven years of age ; in South Durham some were found as early as five years of age. There was a :remark of the Commissioner, Dr. Mitchel, on this subject, which he would mention. The Commissioner said it was very true the children employed were not very numerous, still their number was such as was painful to contemplate. Many there were who now heard of such a state of things for the first time, but it was an evil which he firmly believed they would hear of with sorrow and regret. However, in jus tice to the great coal mines in the north of England, he (Lord Ashley) must say that the greatest care and kindness had been shown towards the workmen, and many of the evils stated in the Report were not mentioned as appli cable to the great northern mines. In North Devon there were some children employed in the mines at five years of age. In the east of Scotland it was more common for children to begin work at five or six years than in England. In the west of Scotland children began to work at a very early age. In North Wales children of five years of age were rarely employed in the mines, but very commonly at seven years of age. In South Wales more cases occurred of children of early age than in any other. It was not unusual there to take them into the pits at four years of age. In North Somerset the ages were generally between six and seven. In Ireland the ages at which children were sent into the mines were never under thirteen and between that and eighteen. With respect to Ireland, he saw that neither children of tender years, nor females of any age what ever, were employed in those underground operations. He could not hut say that he had often admired the generosity and warm-heartedness of the Irish people, and he must say that if this were to be taken sea specimen of their barbarism, he would not exchange it for all the refinement and polish of the most civilised nations. The next point was the character of the localities ; and this formed a very material con sideration. If the ventilation and drainage were good, that was a great alleviation. If otherwise, the most painful diseases would be engendered. The character of the employment must depend, to a great extent, on the seam, which varied from ten inches to twenty yards. In South Staffordshire the mines were warm and dry, and there was a considerable supply of fresh air for ventilation. The same I might be said of 'Warwickshire and Leicestershire, but in Der byshire the state of things was very fearful; black damp was very prevalent, the ventilation was very bad, there were fre quent and fatal explosions, and the work people were greatly distressed by the quantity of carbonic gas which every where abounded. The Report stated that many of the pits were so wet, that the work people had to work all day with their shoes covered with water, which was constantly dripping from the roofs; and that, a short time after they commenced their day's labour, their clothes were drenched. The children, especially, complained of this state of things. It must be borne in mind, that in this district the regular period for a full day's labour was fourteen, and occasionally sixteen hours.—(Hear, hear.) In North Lancashire, the drainage was extremely bad; the place was always knee-deep, and often belly-deep in water. In the east of Scotland, the working was sometimes from one hundred to two hundred yards from the main road : the females had to crawl back on their hands and knees; the drainage and ventilation wore both exceedingly bad. In North Wales the roads were low and narrow ; the place was dirty, nasty, damp, and badly ventilated. In South Wales ventilation was neglected. The people complained of the presence of carbonic acid gas, sufficient to produce ju rious effects on the workmen, though not to stop the works. As a general result, the Commissioners stated that the work men in Glamorganshire and Pembrokeshire suffered from want of ventilation, which produced unwholeiome diseases, which had a manifest tendency to shorten life or abridge the years of useful labour. The House would see it was absolutely neces sary, in order to make out a case, that he should state the matter accurately, and for this purpose it was better to quote the words of the evidence itself, which might easily be height ened by the efforts of one's own imagination.—( Hear. ) Now, with regard to the nature of the employment, this was especially worthy the attention of the House. It appeared that children and young persons were employed to draw loads by chains in Shropshire, Derbyshire, the West Riding of York shire, Lancashire, Cheshire, the north of Scotland, Wales, and South Yorkshire. The children were compelled to go on all fours, with a girdle round the waist, and they were to draw loads by a chain which passed between their legs. Those places, where they were so employed, were worse than a common sewer, and more wet, and they continued all day working in foul air, a damp place, and destructive tempera' ure. What was the testimony of the people themselves on this point. One said .‘ the labour was severe." An old miner said, he could only say it was a barbarity.',' A young child, Robert Norfolk, said " that he was taken to work at seven years of age; that a girdle was tied round him; that the skin broke, and the blood rae down." He said "that he was afraid of being beaten if he said anything, and that he could not straighten his back the whole day." In the West Riding of Yorkshire girls were employed as carriers, and they worked, being naked down to the waist. In many collieries these females worked with adult colliers, who were also naked ; two gentlemen stated, that though living within a few miles, they could not have believed that such cruelty ex isted. The Commissioner went on to say, that in a pit near New Mill the chain had worn holes in the trousers of two girls, and he states that no sight could be so disgusting or indecent—no brothel could equal it. It was impossible (said the Noble Lord) to enlarge on all these horrors ; the evidence was most abundant, and selection would be difficult, but this he would say, that nothing could be mere graphic or touch ing than the evidence of many of these poor girls themselves, who, insulted, oppressed, and corrupted as they had been, exhibited oftentimes a simplicity and kindness which ren dered tenfold more heartrending the system that had forced them away from the holier and happier duties to which Providence had destined them, into occupations so unsuited, so harsh, and so degrading.—( Cheers. ) Some girls had to traverse 12,000, 14,000, and even 16,000 yards daily. In the east of Scotland s a years of age, had to make fourteen journey girls and women were mostly employed i n carry i ng coal ; and one girl, of six day with a weight of 501bs. o f coa l i n each journey, having- to ascend a height equal to that of St. Paul's cathedral.--( Hear. ) It appeared, from the ev id ence taken before the Commissioners, that fathers liftingfrequently ruptured themselves in lifting coals upon their children's backs. —( Hear, hear.) If this system were bad for the female sex generally, it was still more hor rible for pregnant women. He would refer them to the evi dence of the work people themselves, and he would rely rather upon the evidence of the work people than upon all the other evidence put together. He had never been misled by the evi dence of the working people in any thing that related to their own condition.—( Cheers.) Let them look at the evidence of Betty Halse. She stated that she worked with a belt round her waist, and a chain between her legs ; that, in ascending the pit. she had to lay hold of a rope, and if there were no rope, or anything that shy could catch hold of, that it was hard work. That she was frequently standing up to her thighs in water; that her clothes were constantly wet, and that her skin was frequently rubbed off by the belt and chain. Instances had been known in which we.men had been delivered of children and gone to work in a week. The oppression of coal-hearing was such as to impair women in after life ; there were few whose legs were not injured before they> were thirty years old. Vast num bers of them had dead children, and they were always obliged to go to work in the pits within ten or twelve days after they were delivered, and up to the moment of delivery they were kept at work. One witness stat e d t h at i t was only horse work, that it crushed their haunches, bent their ancles, and made them old women at forty. One old Scotchwoman said to the Commissioners, you may just let Queen Victoria know that we are all true loyal subjects, that we do not mind hard work, but that we object to horse work, and that she will have the bless ings of all the coal women on her head if she will get us out of the pit and send us to other work.—( Cheers.) So said he ( Lord Ashley ), and she would not only have the blessings of all the Scotch coal women, but the blessings of every female who felt for her sex, and of every man who knew what it was to have a daughter. The next point of consideration was the hours of work and time of rest. When the work-people had full employment, it appeared that the 'regular hours for the children were rarely • ts less than 11 hours, more frequently 12, 13 hours. In Derbyshire they worked 17 hours out 0 / 1 _ tbe e taking the time of their leaving home in the morning Se e _, return in the evening. In the east of Scotland they: overwhelming evidence to prove that that the label* is, o n continued 15, 16, or 17 hours of the 24. The evidenoeilsl; that this system operated most injuriously on the_lS4Vt' or arel in souseelistehe 1424, well as moral condition of the work-people. There esa:s ees , time set ap ar t f or mea l s, an d the poor chi ld ren took heir food as best they might. With respect to the physieal,?; in some p ar t s o f t h e country there was most abandon dence. The evidence of the children themselves was , et f‘ s ing. A ge n tl eman w h o h ad b een professionally ertsPeY oi 0 years in th e i ron wor k s, sa i d that there were manY e l es r er a, scrofula of different kinds brought on by this system el !!,,.„ t In North Du r h am tied Northumberland the people statest: 6 ; they would willingly suffer a diminution of wages if thej efe e were shorten e d. I n the east of Scotland the peoPle t ee is fatigue the m ost extreme. Agnes Ker, a young 11„ -eliese years of age, said, " It is sair crushin work bringing !r o e' burdens." A not h er sa i d, " It ism sair fatiguing.. 1 .! , , The result of thi s k in d o f l a b our m i ght be classed arfoneise stunted growth, cr i pp l e d ga i t, i rr i tation of the he ad spa - tl ~pr. great variety of diseases, premature old age and deat i li e ssi Scott Harrison repo r t e d th a t severa l b ecame cripples; i e e e sd of the spine were very common ; numbers of ssrl e i e ssl girls were di s t orte d i n t h e sp i ne and hip ; diseases oft were frequent ; ma n y of th em were ruptured, even mu's , ell over exertion, and many were ruptured on both sill: oil the medical witnesses agreed in these statements. - 111 , . destructive disease which affected them was asthma; the ' , affected as early as seven years of age, and at the age of there was scarcely one amongst them that was not airmy - eof for several years at first, the patient did not suffer in Ass et health;' their health soon gave way, however, and the °S t si was scarcely ever ended. The cause of this was, the s 7 b o il proper ventil a ti on . " The men," said an o ld m iner °f est experience, "di e o ff lik e rotten s h eep. " The next diwadi a very extraordinary one, and of which the House Pain might might not ha ve h ear d, i t was the melanosis, eile. black spittle, which arose from there not being attwtes oxygen in the air. The medical officers said it•w:tio most serious and fatal disease of all; Dr. Lesit', said the symptoms were lassitude of the whole botly,l 4 7 o rise of breath, f requent st i tc h es i n t h e s i de, quick pulse in S ing 100 strokes a minute—severe coughs night and ds.s_eeeilis copious expectorati on o f black- spittle. It cou ld D`r;i:tb. wondered at, then, that p rema t ure o ld age and death s.re tel result of the labour, and that long before death cause et d i were deprived, throueh disease, of the means of obtat7ee livelihood. Another witness stated, that at the age of ; 0 0 greater part of the collie rs m i g ht b e cons id ere d as disabieeleo as old men. Six mo n th s ' l a b our i n t h e mines, it was We' S enough to effect a vi s ibl e c h ange i n t h e part i es emploYll,lo ) witness said that the foul air in the mines seriously affealTYo, lungs of the children, and contributed to shorten their io si The Commissio ners i n t h e i r summary of the Reportelfret that diseases were very often engendered in the mines, aljes each generation of that class of labourers were conestrm'y ttnct soon atter 50. Th e mora l e ff ects of the systelkese equally prominent, and equally pernicious. He would °''' few statements u p on t h a t he e d, w hi c h would show the es of those people, and how necessary i t was t h ey should, H . es devise a remedy fur th e ev il.—( H ear, h ear.) A . • d r stated in his evidence th a t c hild ren o f humble tempete., l : o o ol e duet often returned after a season i n t h e collieries grerm rupted, and, as an old teacher said, " with the malt dispositions." The effect of the system was ,to supafr habits and f e elings o f f eroc it y t h at were perfectly tret e! One boy said, that bei ng una bl e to d o w h at was b e /o0 i s 4 strength, he was thrown down and two of his ribs kielS_ e _aroi Another witness said that a b oy was b eaten w i th a stiFfoli trampled on till he could scarcely steed. Another witeo that boys were frequ en tly b eaten ti ll t h e bl ood flowed fret; wounds. Another pe rson sta t e d t h at h e saw the uncle % 10 take him by the ears, and knock his head against the warel Yorkshire he was happy to say the accounts were more P.'isi able. In Halifax it is stated that they treat girls if as boys. One Commissioner stated that on seeing e s bleeding in the face, and making inquiry as to the cause, bi• been informed th a t th e l a d h a d b een knocked dawn an d st - upon by a collier, and i n ano th er case h e had seen a b°ler 0 % his eye knocked out, an d ot h erw i se ma i med. There sreriifets doubt many exceptions to this ; but he was sorry to set-a 4 generally speaking, colliers showed themselves a most arns o and ferocious race. The moral effect of these things W:: 0 0e enough in the male, but it o p era t e d muc h worse i n the ;eer They were brought up in ignorance of everything tbe4 p ssii, to know, and from th e s t a t ements h e h a d b efore him it issi that the females employed in mines were worse than Int" that when once their morals were corrupted their langa m acji conduct became frightful in the extreme. The Rev. 00 .. I ' o l Robins stated that the pra c ti ce o f wor ki ng fema l es in Sneuients was one of the greatest ev il s , p h ys i ca l , i ntellectual, and oc•or In consequence of th e d egra d e d cond i t i on of the per° IS gaged in the coal mines, the peasants refused to riner,l'' ' daughters of colliers. Th e men d ran k , and the wesrm73. lowed their example. D r . Th ornwa ll gave i t as his -10; opinion that women bro ug ht up i n t hi s way scarcely knefore? 0 0 modesty was, except by n ame ; an d h e trusted t h at •be • o f, died he should have th e sa ti s f act i on of see i ng the srte lal If' away with. He (Lord A.) knew that the Commissiene rlt t esel not by any means told the worst of the story. But it rei,d no stretch of imagination for those who heard the,: : ‘ ,:e. sent statement to conceive what the extent of the e v i l ' je an y It was an evil which required the vigorous and km - nestl e... oo terposeion of the law to remedy it. Its suppression W° i f' for, by the public virtue, p u bli c h onour, public charac ter'' he rejoiced to say by the public sympathy. Never bedy been since the first disclosures of the atrocities of the e d trade so universal a feeli ng o f h orror as was now S all throughout the country on th is matter. T he wel l - i n tent i O OO and honest proprietors who were anx i ous f or an smelt would be gratified to learn of the introduction of the . Bill. He should propose in his Billto cut off the princiPa_ ol l •ei_st 4 He should propose the total exclusion of all females ft°,o mines and collieries in the kingdom. But there were rr , who were interested in maintaining the system, and 1 ! .. .' elate to the House the motives which induced these p 4 0 oppose an alteration. The work people themselves te l _; e ir 0 4 girls and women never got coals, they only remained ara Of, sad a woman at best was only considered as half a sne n : g . li ti underlooker said that one reason why the warns'''. employed, or frequently in the coal-pits, was that seel twenty years of age would work for 2s. a day, or e •f: man of that age would demand 3s. 6d. It renee to the coal master; the only difference was, tAdfAr collier could spend Is. or Is. 6d. per day more at .inif, house. But let them loot at the mischief of the systesse s ,:A it a good arrangement for the women ? Quite' the Iv ' A surgeon of Barnsley said the female character welf ye ser destroyed ; that females so employed could neither 4i_T a - 0 the duty of wives nor mothers, and that he could Pr e , i 4. greatest difference in the homes of those colliers wholl y :0A • did not go into the pits. The Sub-Commissioner, 3 1 r.% 00 1 made little hasi o. summed up by saying, that, after taking a very extegill; 00' . of the whole case ; the result of his inquiries was, that nfia, ployment of y o u ng persons i n suc h l a b ours shut them 010 all useful knowledge ; that the wives could do little to their homes comfortable, and that the husbands wer e 00 stantly driven to the ale-house. But in this matter thei_4oi not left to mere s p ecu l at i on ; t h ey h a d the b ene fi t o f eins4 e ei , Mr. James W r ight, w h o was manager to t he Pe esse°' Buccleuch, stated, th a t f our years ago he superintende d • mines, from which females and young children were ex;; and the cons e q uence o f th e i r exc l us i on was a vast insPr e isiv e li i!t r in the comfort s an d genera l con di t i on o f t h e colliers.•-• , . families left, b e i ng d es i rous t o ava il t h emse l ves o f t he ise ure eil , their females, and went to other pits, many of whom re' fp) arid the colliers were much more regular than heretofor e. , Alexander Maxwell, who first issued those orders, l e d,' ger, stated that many families left, but they returned e , they found the roads were improved, and ma n y` males went into service and preferred it. Mr. Wejll 4o 4o ceeded—and he begged to call the attention of the no 01$ 1 . what he stated—he said he felt confident that the eal F e, of females was advantageous to the colliers in a physt‘T , ' of view. And why ? The cause was perfectly disgust, ss e 00 0 was worse than anything he ( Lord Ashley) ever heard cause the males would not work e. nset roads—the l e e e k s ir , were brought only when nr nova could be ind e st ertS draw or work. They were mere beasts o f the iet ' How were they to remove this system and of° duce a better? By the exclusion of females the e t ee:br, would be comp e ll e d to alter their system; th e pits srf ee ett better ventil a t e d, an d b et t er roa d s wou l d b e made, nest change the s y s t em as to ena bl e men who new wo rked eight days in the fortnight, to discover their own int el Dbl' : the alteration. Thi s was con fi rme d b y t h e statement '" e , eft Hulton, who never suffered females or children armit:, years of age to go i n t o pi ts , th e consequence o f whic h 0,1, that the population there was in a state of great cons ,e' comfort and morality. This was corroborated by Mr. "s e who said that in consequence of new ventilation and in t i . . o 04 ~,, roads a man and two boys got as much money as on,e whole of the females were employed, and many of the 1 7101,,i able femals went int o service. —(Cheers.) Women iliT e er e i entirely excluded, and no boys were employed under t' e years of age. There were the rules, and the results h see' meet beneficial to the state of the colliers. Before thel e int 0 were made, the colliers were in the habit of nugrati; o g r ott l propertion of one-fourth, but since only in the pro ,is one-eighth. He migl:t very easily accumulate' ft but he would not detain the House ; be migh_ i ts'Aer ee i : sfro i ever, state that the manager of the Duke of i, clench had said that since women and children bad m - kd o eluded from his Grace's mines, they had never had 007,74 raise the price of coal.—( Hear, hear.) The next point 0 Bill was the exclusion of boys under the age of thirteen ' i and he would state why he took this for the limit. In tb : place the Factory Act p ro hibi ts t h e l a b our of children. ri that age, and the employ ers i n th e cotton and woollen t 4 h „,„..1 complained that an undue advantage was given to 5111.,, 11 0 50 . and coal works; he w i s h e d t o p l ace t h em on an equalte _Vt . they might be able to pr ocure a su ffi c i ent supp l y o f chi" r ,srS the age of thirteen, to mee t t h e d eman d s o f the COttt woollen manufacture. Th e ev id ence went to s h ow that t;eorse'; years ought rather to be the age, and that he s hould r be fir e fe prefer, b u t h e h a d t a k en t hi rteen f or the reasons he haueeel, stated. If they wen t d own i n t o t h e p i t t h ere they n3110'04, and wo r k as l ong as t h ose w h o set them to work chase' 4. 05; subterranean inspection, that was i mpossi b le at presets hie even if possible, it w ou ld not b e sa f e. He would not It" an inspector to go dawn into a mine to do anything thlig ee eila - ,.. be distasteful to the miners. Mr. Mitchell said that all W "obeet S . down into the mines must work what time the ininerioet ee r s , It was impossible to have any thing like a system of 'v, Ir - Y the mines. Persons guilty of offences against the e a eiSn, which were not heinous in the eyes of the miners, fo en le",,, 0" '+' r firge there. In f ac t, f ew persons ventured to go dov eil ni• iof .. A . was abundant evid en c e t o s h ow t h at t h e chi l dren ei nP' pre mines never dared to complain of ill usage. Pueisb e)e bei ":1 e . been interdicted by the owners in many instances:oo4/e.- --,, colliers worked alone below the ground, and had fall e g e e ell e inflicting punishment on whoever they pleased. If the be were men of regular habits, there would be no nee be tt ee their employing women and children in the Intn e ;e s 'es sie ) e i * greater part of the men would not work more than etlder to or some nine days in a fortnight, and spent the re' ns o ler e e the time in drunke ness and debauchery, anti then , i n jes e an make up for thi s le s t ti me , th ey took d iwn their sy mee e el children into the pits. If the labour of women and en o ld 6 ; the pits were entirely prohibited, then the men ". t pr°,4 ~ mesas to do their duty in a proper manner. The ne e s tep loyeo sion he would introduce was that no persons should be , be s' oe as engineers, but. males turned twenty-one years of at! e ' e slin o f '. quite sure that the matter was one which should be I " s rvie! e g if they wished to preserve many valuable lives for the 0 07 the country. Dr. Richards stated that in " P er ot. e t districts of Devonshire, accidents were very num, d r oril,„,t many mines, the miners were let down and ee the with baskets attached to ropes worked by a steam - e 4 .4 ts" se eb engine was frequently left in the charge of children_ ; ta ~...g elevee, and even five years of age. The Srib-In'P ery o'r ee it was very common in Derbyshii e to emel o Y v e e 00 1 L eis children for that purpose ;he had known children let ° re . i . years of age performing that duty; the men w er e so so 101 , six at a time, and he had frequently seen the chi ie sners eri less as to let the rope get off the pulley. Thse 0 ,0101 00 that the worst thing that happened to them was -he t till a ted little bits of boys as engineers, and he added, that be trni b is knew the value of a man's life, he Was not fit S. pos ess ie e r ' with the management of engines. Accidents were ts' of drew e y• when children were the engineers, the burden over the wheel gear. Mr. Wild slak e r ecir ea i which all the men in the basket were frequently P eine ode One eis°' — ,, in consequence o f thi s, t ed to the bottom of the pit and crushed to atoms. b y a s I was mentioned to have had his attention attracted nse i g oesr e e, running across the floor; he neglected, in c l e wheel, 0 put on the break; the burden turned over I seet oe e ee anti six unfortunate people were dashed to the course, lost their lives. Such accidents were . .t .., eurrence. With respect o the fourth and last r" -- o b * l'6 e- t o . '''