The Sun. — London, England, 1833-05-28 00:00:00

. . SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. No question of commercial, financial, or eco nomical policy has ever excited greater interest or anxiety among the great body of- merchants, shipowners, and tradesmen of the metropolis, connected with the traffic or the 'supply of the colonies, than the proposed abolition of negro slavery; accordingly, -no city meeting was ever more numerously attended, or more zealously watched, than the assemblage of the West India body collected yesterday at the'City of London Tavern. In addition to the intrinsic value and agitating nature of the subject, our civic politi cians had their curiosity stimulated by the ap pearance of a new set of performers on their boardQ. They saw the actors in the Thatched house Tavt rn, St. James's, transferred to the east ward ofTemple-bar,and expected,for the first time, to hear various Noble Lords and landed gentlemen who, according to their own account, have been suffering from the infliction of West India pro perty for many years past, but are still resolved not to part with the cause of their sufferings. These were to mix with the alarmed consignees of West India produce, or the trembling mort gagees of West India estates, in opposing the Ministerial project of negro emancipation, and the whole was looked forward to as a most inte resting political spectacle. The result did no' disap;.oint the expectations of such persons, and hone of the friends of the meeting can be more eager to assert, than we are willing to admit, the high respectability of the individuals who composed it, or who took part in its proceedings. Nor can anybody more readily acknowledge their undeniable right and title to make their views, their wishes, their interests, and even their alarms (however unfounded) known to the King, the Parliament, and the country. Many of them, such as the Earl of Harevrood, and a dozen of other Peers, or country gentlemen, have not only a stake in the colonies, but considerable estates at home; and others, such as merchants and shipowners, not only do the business of our slave plantations, but have a great, direct, and immediate interest in 'the general trade, manufactures, and naviga tion of the empire. But, making all these admissions, and being ready to concur in every thing else that can be said in behalf of the wealth, fair fame, and private respectability of the parties who met at the City of London Tavern yesterday, we can by no means pronounce in favour of their discretion, their knowledge, their prudence, or their wisdom. They certainly abstained from many irritating topics which had been introduced into previous discussions,— they did not presume before a British public to defend slavery in the abstract, or to insist upon its beneficial perpetuity among the institu tions of the empire,—they did not echo the language of the Jamaica parish meetings, or of the Jamaica Legislative Assembly, and talk about the duty becoming rebels because they could no longer remain oppressors--they did not hint an intention of throwing off their allegiance, or of resisting the authority of the British Parliament, should it pass the obnoxious decree,—but, short of these extravagances, their speeches and resolutions must be admitted to be both mischievous and dangerous. Instead of tendering their advice to the Government for the improvement of a pl an a d opte d a f ter muc h anxious deliberation (the details of which are still expressly left open for future correction or arrangement), they pass a sweeping sentence of condemnation upon Ministers for accomplishing too precipitately, and with too much violence, an object which the great body of the nation blame them for having too long neglected, and for now endeavouring to effect by a two tardy and inde cisive process, intended to consult the interests of the planter by a continued sacrifice of the rights and welfare of the negro population. In stead of declaring that, being hostile to the possession of property in their fellow-man, they only desire a fair consideration or compensation for the eventful lost-es which the change from slavery to freedom may produce in the manage. ment of their estates, they talk still of the negroes as chattels, and presume that Government intends to plunder them first, in order after wards to expose their plantations to fire, and their agents or persons to massacre. If they really desire the abolition of slavery (upon seeing that it can no longer be maintained), let them tell us what compensation they would ex pect for their « property," or at what price they would willingly co-operate with the friends of justice and hutbanity in washing out the foul stain which adheres to the national conscience. This is their only right,—this ought to be their only duty. But in the whole scheme of their resolutions, and in the whole course of their speeches, they seemed to consider themselves as acting, not on their own behalf, as against the nation, in demanding a fair indemnity in case of loss, but for the British nation against its Parlia ment, against his Majesty's Ministers, arid against our coloured population. Hence they begin by telling us of the importance of the coloni es to the mother country, of the quantity of shipping which they employ, and of the amount of taxes which their produce brings into the Exchequer. By such a resolution they, of course, mean to insinuate that all those who are friends to negro emancipation are, by the very terms of the pro position, enemies to our colonies, to our ship ping, and to our revenue ; and they thus cover their own ill-understood interests, or long-che rished prejudices, under the cloak of a patriotic impeachment of their fellow-subjects. Then come predictions of the loss of our naval superiority by the emancipation of the blacks, that emanci pation being always taken as equivalent to the loss of our colonial possessions. Their argu ment, rambling as it is, seems to be the fol lowing :—A negro can never work without the application of the cart-whip. He can never work from the same motives of other men, namely, the stimulus of adequate wages, or the desire of accu mulating the means of comfort. The abandon ment of the lash Will therefore be the extinction of industry,—the extinction of industry will be the destruction of our sugar and coffee planta tions,—the loss of those will lead to the loss of the shipping employed in bringing colonial pro duce to Europe,—that will lead to the loss of the 7,000,000/, of revenue levied on such pro duce, to the consequent ruin of our artisans, manufacturers, and tradesmen who prepare articles for the colonial market, and to the injury, if not ruin, of all the persons who now derive their incomes or annuities from colonial property. Now, it is plain that all this superstructure of terror and alarm is founded on the gratuitou s assumption that the negro will never work unless he is treated like a brute, and that he must be everlastingly kept like a brute, if we desire that our West India plantations should he cultivated, or our Exchequer enriched wid: sugar duties. But so far is this from being a self•_evident maxim or a necessary truth, that it is denied by all those who demand negro emancipation, that it has been a thousand times proved to be false, and is contradicted by an extensive ex perience in the very colonies to which it is ap plied. On this subject we have not room at present to enter, but we would recommend those who read the speeches delivered at the London re m , ..ern yesterday to confront them with an ex cellent pamphlet by Mr. Cropper, of Liverpool, sent us a few days ago, entitled Interests of the Country and Prosperity of the West India PlaPters mutually Secured by the immediate Abolition (2f Slavery. We were rather amused to observe the dexterous manner in which an Hon. Ship-owner attempted to repeat his old objections to the " reciprocity system," on a question of negro emancipation ; but we cannot think that his execution was so happy as his design. His allusion to America, was certainly very unlucky, and his want of success ought to counsel him not to venture beyond the Sound or the Baltic trade. The proportion of our trade with the United States carried on in Bri ti,h bottoms last year did not amount, he as sures us, to more than one-tenth of that carried on in American bottoms ! Has this relative quantity altered of late; and, if so, from what cause ? Not, sorely, from the reciprocity sys tem, which has existed with the United States of America since 1815, and which, indeed, was founded on a treaty that subsequently became the model of all our similar compacts with other commercial and maritime states. The following tire the chief articles of the treaty in question : " No higher or other duties or charges shall be imposed in any of the ports of the United States on British vessels than those payahle in the same ports by vessels of the United Sta.es ; nor in the ports of any of his Britannic Majesty's territories in Europe on the vessels of the United Stares than shall be payable in the same ports on British vessels, " The same duties shall be paid on the importation into the United States of any articles, the growth, produce, or manufacture of his Britannic Majesty's territories in Eu rope, whether such importations shall be in vessels of the United States or in British vessels ; and the same duties shall be paid nn the importation into the ports of any of his Britannic Majesty's territories in Europe of any article, the growth, produce, or manufacture of the United States, whether such importation shall be in British vessels or in vessels of the United States," The Americans refused to trade with us on any other conditions, and what we were obliged to concede to the powerful Government of the United States we could not refuse to the more feeble commercial navies of northern Europe. Hence the origin and justification of that change in our navigation laws which Mr. Young is so zealous to condemn, but which no English Go vernment could at first have prevented, or can now alter, without entailing on ourselves greater evils than we inflict upon others. We may men tion, by the way, for Mr. Young's benefit, that the Americans have in this respect followed the policy of Great Britain, and that still their enter prise is such as to give them a manifest advan tage over all other nations who take their pro duce or trade to their shores. In the year ending September, 1830, of a total of imports amounting to the value of 70,876,920 dollars only 4,841,181 were imported in foreign vessels. —Times. We can only refer our readers to the very ample report which we have given of the great West India meeting, held yesterday at the City of London Tavern. It w►ll be seen from the resolutions that the meeting are opposed to the Ministerial scheme of emancipation, which they predict will destroy our own colonies, while it will directly encourage the slave trade and slavery in foreign countries. We foresee that the Mi nisterial measure will encounter desperate oppo sition in the commercial world, and it is but natural that this should be so. The number of families whose fortunes are more or less con nected in ith the West Indies as planters, mort• ogees, shipowners, &c., in this metropolis and the other great ports, is immense. Mr. Horsley Palmer, who stated himself to be in no way connected with the West India colonies, observed that " the present is a reckless mea sure—(Cheers)—leading to a reckless spoliation —(Cheers)--destructive of everything which ought to be saved in the shipping and com mercial interests of the country, and on the mortgages, annuities, and settlements of every kind on West Indian property.—(Loud cheers.) By heavens, my Lord, these Ministers have brought forward a measure, which if it were pos sible to be carried—(Hear, hear)—endangers the property of every man in the kingdom and its dependencies.—(Loud cheering.)" We ourselves do not believe that the Ministerial plan will work. And this is, we suspect, the opinion of all those who know any thing of the West Indies. The planter and the slave will be instantly brought into collision, and were there a Magistrate for every plantation it would be impossible to preserve order. We confess we desire for the sake of Ministers, to whom we wish well, that the plan were withdrawn, for we foresee that if they persist in it, they will soon have cause for bitter repentance.—Morn. Chron. It must be wholly unnecessary for us to point the attention of our readers to the meeting which was held yesterday in the city of London. We venture to say that the British metropolis never witnessed an assemblage better entitled to attention, or more certain► to command it. If knowledge and exi crience are entitled to a hear ing upon a subject in which ignorance and folly have already spoken in the loudest tones ; if probity and honour deserve the ascendancy over cant, hypocri'y, and affectation ; if a most valu able and important class of our fellow-subjects, already deeply injured, and now threatened with utter ruin, have the right to remonstrate against the destructive purpose of those who seek to complete their destruction ; if the West India colonies, the manufacturing induAry, the mer cantile greatness, the naval power of Great Britain are national objects, of equal value to the official credit of Mr. Stanley and the gratifi cation of the ignorant or insincere frequenters of conventicles, then we may confidently say that the conclusive reasoning, the solemn warnings, the earnest remonstrances which proceeded from the meeting of yesterday ought not to be, cannot be, disregarded. We do not dweil upon the rank and social importance of the speakers, or of the crowd who listened, as sented, and confirmed, and we abstain from doing so only because we feel that the importance of the occasion which called the meeting toge ther sis so overwhelming as to admit of no ad ventitious increase. The meeting was composed - of men of probity, who expressed their sincere opinions upon the plan proposed•by Government for the: extinction of negro slavery. It was composed of men who know the West Indies, and possess superior means for forming a judg ment upon that project. No higher claims to attention can be imagined. We fear that the scheme for the extinction of negro slavery will turn out to be only one of the multitudinous blunders of our present illustrious Ministry. The general impression concernin g it, anion, !h o se who are conversant with the actual thatconfili:: tion of the West India Aslands, is, errors of detail will be found so numerous and absurd as to render it wholly impracticable, and to necessitate the concoction of some other plan altogether new in its leading character and pro visions. Yet we have heard men who wish to pass for persons of discernment, give the Whigs credit for establishing the principle that slavery should he abolished, and thus obtain ing a great moral triumph for the commu nity. We shall, therefore, take leave to offer one or two observations upon the principle in question, in connection with the Minis terial plan. First, we observe that if there be any merit in promising a legislative recognition of the principle that slavery ought to be abo lished, that merit belongs, not to the Whigs, but to the Tories. The resolutions carried by Mr. Canning in 1823 first embodied' this principle, and impressed upon it indelibly the sanction of a British House of Commons. From the moment of the passing of those resolutions the extinction of slavery has been merely a question of time and circumstanc es , an d it has been so treated by the West Indi a n b o dy, who have no abstract love for slavery, and only deprecate open or disguised spoliation. Mr. Stanley acted judiciously, therefore, as an advocate, when he placed the resolutions of so distin guished a Minister as Mr. Canning, as well as the recorded sentiments of his great master, Mr. Pitt, in the foreground of his argument in the late debate. But, more than this, we are pre pared to maintain that the principle of Mr. Canning's resolutions is infinitely superior, in a moral point of view, to the principle of the Ministerial scheme. In contemplating the ex tirpation of slavery, Mr. Canning recognised the right of the planter to claim compensation for his loss of property, not from the slave himself; but from the British nation ; whereas, the Ministerial plan proposes to let the mother country go free, and to divide the contingen. loss of emancipation between the slave and the planter. Now we beg to suggest to the worthy members of the Society of Friends, and to the other well-meaning advocates of abolition, that this mode of dealing with the difficulty is little better than swindlii g. Let the existence of slavery be as great a crime and as great a curse as the abolitionists represent, it is still a crime and a curse which has not only been casually recognised, but positively established and rigidly upheld, by this country, for ages together. We, the collective British empire, and not the planters, have been and are the great supporters of slavery. The system has, in point of fact, been fastened upon the necks of the present generation of planters and slaves, without any lank of their own, by the laws and institutions of the State. The planters inherited slaves, and the slaves inherited slavery. Why ? Because the laws of Great Britain enacted that such should be the case, and neither party could escape from the giant power by which the system was created and upheld. If, moreover, the doctrine now put forth by the abolitionists of the absolute supremacy of the British Parliament over the colonies be correct, we are respon sible, not only for our own direct legislation on slavery, but also for all the legislation of the co lonial assemblies, which, it would seem, we had the right to prevent if it were improper, and sanctioned, inasmuch as we did not prevent it. The supreme power of the State, therefore, having, in every possible way, recognised and identified itself with this kind of property, is bound on every principle to indemnify the suf fering parties. be they planters or slaves, for any damage to which they may be subjected from a legislative change. If the legal property of the planter in the slave be an immoral property, be cause opposed to eternal justice, let it cease by all means ; and let it cease too at the earliest moment at which it can cease without inflicting additional injury on the victims of atatecedent injustice ; but the State must be held responsible to the planter for giving him such a property. The State, it seems, is at length smitten with re morse for having dealt in stolen goods. We are glad to hear it, and rejoice that the jurisdiction of conscience extends to States as well as to indivi duals; but the State must not think to get rid of its burden without ample restitution to the parties it has injured—without, in fact, restoring the purchase money. Now Mr. Canning's re solutions, to which Mr. Stanley appeals, and by which all parties are willing to abide, specially provide for this " due regard to the rights of property ;" they declare the fact that slavery should be abolished, and also recognise the prin ciple upon which alone the abolition can honestly take place. We only ask that the Ministerial plan should be compared in the forthcoming discussion with these resolutions upon which it professes to be founded. No loss, no risk, should fall on the planter beyond his fair share as a member of the British community. The estates in Jamaica would not be permitted to suffer by the experiment more than the estates in Yorkshire if the emancipators had any real love for that justice to which they so loudly appeal. We submit, with all deference, that lending a man money is no compensation for a loss actual or possible, immediate or remote. We also suggest that if the same quantity of la bour be not bestowed upon the plantations after the emancipation, as before, without- extra charge, these plantations will be by so much reduced in value; and we find no provision in the plan to make good such not improbable deficiency. If, on the other h an d, t h e same quantity of labour be given, are Ministers quite sure that the negroes will be content with the boasted boon of liberty ? If' a strong police be required to prevent the nurselings of freedom from becoming vagabonds, thieves, and incen diaries, who is to pay for this police ? What ever plan be adopted, justice surely requires that a distinct national pledge should be given that Parliament will hold itself responsible for any unexpected damage that may occur in the pro gress of the experiment to the property of the islands. The responsibility of the whole scheme devolves peculiarly upon the Government at the present period, as time monstrous blundering of the Reform Bill has robbed not only the West Indies, but all our other colonies, of their equitable share in the representatio n of the em pire. Taxation without representation, is the fatal doctrine of " the Bill," to all but ten pounders of the home population. For this, also, Ministers are responsible.----MorningPo,,t. Nearly twelve months have elapsed since Lord Brougham announced his project for divesting the Chancellor of his ordinary ju,licial functions change without which all attempts to im prove our equity tribunals must be abortive and ineffectual. The project excited a good deal of public attention at the time, as it inv o l ve d a sacrifice on the part of the Chancellor, to which it would be vain to seek a parall e l i n t h e pages of legal biography, l beilgnothing l e s s th an t h e moderatereduction sal a ry to one -h a lf o its present amount. But why is not this project embodied in the form of a Bill ? It cannot be that Lord Brougham possesses less disinterested- less than formerly—such a suspicion can exist ill he mind of no one who has attentively marked his brilliant career. It cannot be that he awaits the moment when he shall have subdued the arrears of his Court, for he has already per formed that stupendous work. There can exist no impediment to the development of this scheme but the sluggishness and timidity that have marked so many of the proceedings of the present Ministers, and have been the cause that some of the most beneficial measures of the last two years are regarded as having been slowly and unwillingly extorted from them, and not as having originated in their own notions of justice or sound policy. It is certainly not a little singular, that whilst the toils which our criminal law spread to entrap the life and liberty of the subject, in the reigns of the Tudors and the Stuarts, have long since been detected, and al most entirely destroyed, yet that most of the spots that disfigured our civil judicature remain unchanged, except indeed that they now cover a wider surface, and have assumed a darker hue ; and the darkest and most widely-spreading of these spots is to be found on the body of our great equity tribunal. A political officer, over whelmed with other duties, is still intrusted with the decision of equity suits, although as long since as the days of Wolsey and of Bacon, they were found too numerous for his judicial grasp —and the unavailing effort to master them at a later period cost the lives of a King and a Talbot. This stain, at least, should be removed from our judicial organization, and Lord Brougham will ill discharge his duty, if he longer neglects it. His motive will not be mistaken. He wants no relief. Under him Chancery delay has ceased to be a proverb. But it is not for himself that he is required to legislate. The principle that confounds the judicial with the political office is equally had, although the transcendent qualities of one man may for a time render the evil consequences less per ceptible. We have a right to expect that the Chancellor will redeem the pledge that he gave at the close of the last session of Parliament, or that he should assign smile satisfactory cause for delaying a reform which interests almost every mat, in the kingdom who has or may have any claim to personal or lauded property. — Morning Chronicle. The city meeting of the West India body, a report of which we present to our readers under the proper head, serves to show that the hostility of that body to the Government plan for the abolition of slavery has abated nothing of its force. A meeting of the abolitionists, held on Monday week, at Leeds, but which the crowded state of our columns prevents us from inser ing, shows that the party most opposed in principle and spirit to the %Vest India proprietors agree with them in one thing—an unceasing aversion to the Government plan, which they ate deter mined, if possible, to defeat. One would think that it required some ingenuity to bring about a coalition between two such extreme parties as those we have named. Mi. Stanley, however, or the Ministry with w hi c h h e i s connecte d . has exhibited that ingenuity, by bringing forth a plan which neither party could approve, but which both might, with perfect consistency, unite in oppo s ing. Though prophecy is at all tines a dangerous fun c ii on , espec i a ll y w h en i t i s exer cised upon events so near at hand as to be likely to take place before the prophecy itself is forgotten, we may venture to pronounce that Ministers will never be able to carry their plan through Parliament in its present form, much less to carry it into exe cution, if Parliament should give its sanction to the attempt. Whether we consult the West India or the Anti-Slavery people, we hear ob jections from both sides, but objections to its principles and details, and a total denial of its practicability as an operative measure. The re cent appointment of Mr. Stanley to the Colonial Office is not sufficient to account for so crude and ill-digested a specimen of legislation as his p oject affords ; for 'the subject had been long under the consideration of his predecessor ; and there was no reason why a member of the same Administration, nay, of the same Cabinet, should not adopt the plan of his colleague, rather than break fresh ground for himself at so short a notice, and with so little chance of doing Justice to a subject of such importance. Must we come to the conclusion either that his col league had no plan, or that the plan was so de fective as to justify Mr. Stanley in rejecting it even in favour of an attempt so worthless as his own ? We shall look forward with anxiety to the forthcoming discussion in Parliament. The question is of vast importance, indeed of such importance that no attempt at legislation, how ever paltry, can be attended with other than ex tensive results for good or for evil, on such a subject. It may be an absurd or a foolish scheme, but it cannot be a harmless or an in different one, which all parties concur in depre cating.—Morning Herald. At the risk of any charge of illiberality which it may bring upon us, we do not at alt hesitate to express our regret at the manner in which the legitimate drama of the country is in the act of being driven from the boards of what have been emphatically called the two National Theatres. Even in conquered countries, nothing is so difficult, and generally impossinle, as to supplant the native language, and replace it by that of the invaders ; but in England, at least in the British metropolis, which gives the tone in such matters to the rest of the kingdom, we see that portion of its language which has spoken more than any other to the heart, and has been a main instrument in forming the taste and manners of the people, suddenly driven, as it were, out of existence, to make way for a sub stitute whose real merits we do not mean at all o depreciate when we say— " It is to this, Hyperion to a satyr." [t is not our purpose, no, have we space to afford , 0 it, it it were, to trace the various causes which h a ve led to the decline of the regular drains. Among these might be enumerated the largeness of theatre, the lateness of hours, the " star" system, and the bad taste of polluting the drama itself (not excepting even the sublimest works of Shakspeare) with those very vices (for, misap• plied, we must call them such) which, having thus crept in by degrees, have at length contrived to oust entirely the rightful possessor from the stage. What is the Garrick Club about, that it submits without an effort to see the total disper sion of the art which it professes to espouse ? Or are its members willing to submit to the imputation that their taste for the good timings of t h e kitchen far exceeds any zeal they entertain towards the avowed objects of their association ? and that, in their hands, 4 , Great Shakspeare dies that gourmandists may dine." But, strange to say, this fatal inroad upon the rational and enlightened amusements of the people takes place at the very moment when Parliament is professing to legislate upon the subject; and which, wh il e i t professes to be se curing the dramatic rights of authors, quietly witnesses the arena on which alone those rights can become of any value, handed over to a fo- reign manager, to foreign performers, and to foreign arts. Surely, if such is to be the case, and there be no power to prevent it, it is high time, at least, that monopoly should cease, and that patent rights should no longer exist in mock protection of that which has renounced their guardianship I n th e mean ti me , we wou ld ca ll the sober judgment of the public—especially of those who have hitherto been the warm and in fluential patrons of the drama—to Pltate of things which, if allowed to progress as it is now doing, cannot fail to produce a revolution in the literature and manners of the people. To see " Great Faustus lay the soul of wit" has often been mortifying enough ; but to see the genius of Shakspeare handed over to the professors of sounds and attitudes, is a symptom of retrograding not very flattering to this age of reform. There is still good taste enough left to stem this inroad before it is too late ; and this can only be done by extending patronage to foreign artistes in their proper sphere, and withholding it when called for in that in which they are evidently interlopers.--Morning Herald. A circumstance connected with the late meet ing in Coldbath-fields has come to our know ledge, which we are bound, both from sympathy with the sufferer, and from duty to the public, to lay before our readers. It is the dismissal of a deputy police inspector, by the Commissioners of Police, for having declared his approbation of the conduct of the jury which sat on the body of Cully ! The name of the person so discharged is Dean—his place of public service the neighbourhood of Walworth, where, we are assured, he was as universally respected as he was known—his original station in the police force that of a private, in which capacity he only continued during two mouths—his first promo tiA that of clerk to the division, an office which he filled for a year and a quarter only—and his last, that of deputy inspector, in which he remained for a year and a half. The man who could rise thus rapidly in the estimation of his superiors, must have possessed some qualifications for hi, office ; and if he has been dismissed on the alleged ground of having expressed his satisfaction at the verdict of the jury, we really conceive nothing more truly des potic or tyrannical. The reported charge against Mr. Dean, however, was, as read in the order book, " For boisterous and improper conduct at Camberwell watch-house, on the 21st instant, in condemning the conduct of Secretary Lord Vi.- count Melbourne and the police force generally, and for extolling the jury for their verdict of the man who murdered P. C. Cully ;"—bur Dean has declared to us, and is ready to vouch on his oath for the fact, that he was not guilty of either boisterous or improper conduct— that he never condemned the conduct. of Lord Melbourne, and that his whole offence consisted in having expressed his approbation of the ver dict of the jury. Supposing, however, that he had " condemned the conduct of Lord Mel bourne," ought he not to have been heard—and to hive had a fair trial ? Had he been a private in a regiment, he would under such charges have had the benefit of a courtmartial—had he been a felon, of a trial by an independent and impartial jury; but he was a policeman, and after having been summoned to Scotlana-yard, and waiting for hours to defend himself against the charge, he could obtain no hearing ! A force which is thus dealt with by its superiors—which knows not the day or the hour when it may, or may not, be dismissed by the arbitrary decision of its superiors, is evidently as unfit to be trusted with any important public service, as it is in every respect unconsiittitional. To be dis missed without the commission of any error—of any breach of duty—without a hearing, or an opportunity of self-delence,—is a species of usage which, thank Heaven, is as unknown in this country as it is truly un-English ; and we think that those public meetings which are about to be held, will not do their duty, nor those Members of Parliament who side with the people do theirs, unless they bring this matter more dis tinctly before the public than we have it in our power to do. Lord Melbourne could not, by possibility, have signified any wish in accordance with the despotic decision of the commissioners. —Morning Advertiser. HAMBURG PAPERS. HAMBURG, MAY 23 —The melancholy news has been received here to day from Ludwigalust, that his Highness Duke Charles, ssn of his Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Schwerin, has died of an apopletic fit. He was the third son of the Grand Duke, and in the 51st year of his age. CHRIsTIANA, MAY 13.—The Stockholm Commercial Jo'irnal gives a report from Rio de lineiro, dated January 5, which is not favourable to the trade of the north : it says, " We have a sufficietit stock of Swedish produce for two years. Iron, of which 10,000 ship pounds arrived last year, was sold at 5,400 to 5,000 rein per cwt., which is a loss of 30 per cent., steel at 6,000, planks 10,500, to 9,000, pitch and tar 6,000. On all these articles there is a loss. ODESSA, MAY 3.—Count Orloff arrived here in the night of the 30th of April, and sailed yesterday morning in the imperial corvette Penderaklia, for Constantinople, accompanied by the armed steam-boat Grornonossetz. VIENNA, MAY 17.—The new French Ambassa•lor, Count de St. Aulaire, had yesterday the honour to present his credentials to the Emperor in a private audience. Immediately afterwards the Empress was pleased to re ceive him in her apartments. Five per Cent. Mrtailique., 92 11 16113 s; 4 per Cents., 83 1-16th ; Bank Shares, 1,211. EXCHANGES ON LONDON. HAMBURG, MAY 9.4.—13 1:2% • two months, 13 11. BERLIN, MAY 2l.—Three months. 6 27 3 4. STOCKHOLM, MAY 17.—Ninety days, 14 8. VIENNA, MAY. 15.—Three months, 9 54. PETERSBURGII, MAY io.—Three months, 10 35.64. •Hamburg Papers, May 24. 13ORNEN HALLE, MAY 24, HALF' PAST 2, P M.—Several lots of wheat have been disposed of at the quotations for exportation, as well as for home consumption, anti as several holders have for the present withdrawn, the market is nearly cleared. A very fine lot of Saal wheat was disposed of at 90 rix dollars, as there is at present but li . tle water in the river, fresh supplies are not to be expected from the interior. Fvery otio , r kind of grain is heavy. From the 11th to the 17th instant, 51 cargo-s of corn passed ti rough the Sound ; of these 7 were hound for Great Blittin, 1b fur Holland, 3 for B-Igium, &c. Rlx-dollars, Wheat, Anima, white ----- red 7B to 81 -- Marks BO to 85 -- Mecklenburg -- Holstein --- Lower Rhine 5 ,1 to 60 Rye, Upland 65 to 69 - Holstein - Petersburg!' and Riga 6B to 69 Barley, Anhalt - Mecklenburgh 36 to 38 - Holstein 34 to 40 Oats, Mecklenburg - Lower Elbe 2O to 28 Rapeseed l2O to 130 THE FUNDS. —The market manifested much furnneFa :o-day at the quotations below:— End of May. 71h, A nglo- Danish Loan, three per cent Anilo-Russian Russian Inscription, 5 per cent., 182, 914 Ditto, ditto, 1831 9OX, Ditto, ditto, 18312... Polish Bonds 9O •?4 1154 Prussian Bonds, 1832 Austrian Bank Shares 1. , 05 New Austrian Four per Cents Hamburg Reporter, May 24. In Gloucestershire there is every appearance of there being a very great hit et both apples and pears. If this ehould Ise the case, it will he of immense advan tage to the tanners, as they will sell cider and perry, in— stead of having to buy beer, and as the chance of an apple ...rip is not much considered in the letting of farms in that county, a great hit is nearly all profit to the tenant. EAST INDIES. ) (From the Madras Gazette of Feb. 2 6 . efr CALCUTTA, JAN. 14.—We the undersign" o 4ol tuents of the house of Messrs. Fergusson hereby declare, th a t our con fid e nce in the 'on, • solvency of the firm is unshaken by the recent 0710 and that we firmly believe that if the supe constituents is continued, the house will be In s • great financial and commercial prosperity. *•4 40 • • We pledge ourse l ves to l eave our respective Otte house of Mes srs . F ergtt sson and CompanY• ije j of three 'ears from the Ist of May next, bearing, at t ,e rate of 7 p er cent , per annum , and duriagor period to withdr aw no part o f t h e pr incipal, ha t t rest only; and we d ec l are our fi rm b e li e f, that " t ," piration of that ti me , M essrs. F erizuss on and G off will be in a condition to pay their funds to all if require them. • • • • ' (Signed by seventy-five Coos" tile ool/ The proceeding s i n th e I nso l vent C o urt, in S hu t" re of Alexander and Co. illustrate the happy the law. A numerous body of creditors electe d tiemen as fit as s i gnees . Th e C ourt, ow i n g to S. - eb oir of one of the se t o a p ar t ner o f t h e l ate firult a nd or s( l l pos e d friendship o f t wo ot h ers i n t h e fi rm , chu'e for the pu r p ose o f report i ng and certifying on t " h e uri the firm ; it was intimated that the question al, ultimate appointment of the other three, Wight befell°, at a future sitti ng . T he next d ay t h e po i n t is ° le e Commission er intimate. that two assignee@ b en .g., l tel Y i chosen, until one or b o th di e or res i gn , no ad:lino...if number of assi gnees can b e made. If t hi s dool' t ee ol l founded. we have another instance of the in c°l l; ;II man wot fram e d th e A ct . — H ur k aru . A meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Illackiol: C. was held on the 21 s t o f Janu try, when CAlt)grilt lowly was called to the chair on the motion ° I re ,d," M. Parker. F rom t h e statement w hi c h was fire: would appear th a t th e assets o f t h e house nisi $6," assumed as amounting, under ordinary circuoO ls ing e eight anna s i n th e rupee o f i ts debts. In this c *" - or tse partners had excluded all debts not clearlY re and almost that all might be considered doubtful. b 1 O P It was prop ose d b y D r. C AMPBELL, second,' no olo ECUs, and carried—" That it was the unanintod'o9°, of th e m ee ti ng . t h at under any circumstance@ tbeof of the firm s h ou ld not b e t h rown into the In Court, &c. al to A Commi , tee was th en appointed, cotoP"'"-villliAr frulowiog gentlemen :—.Mr. James Lys)), M r ' Cre" Aim, Captain Richmond, Dr . C a mp be ll, a- M and r' d e Leyburn. Af ter w hi c h provisional trustees ‘‘.- pointed to secure the property of the firm. LONDON MARKETS. PRICE. OF BREAD. A i Isl , the highest price of B rea d i n the hietropol.,.o6v.k 4:b. Loaf. There are o th ers w h o sell from ~. that price. PRICE OF SEEDS.—May 2 7 . finc h* ). ew Englisn Red Cl over S eed (per Cwt.) 055. 485. L neo4 Old Ditto Ditto_ —s. 405. fine _ 6. fin... 6 0 , /, 40s. 56 5 fl e ne •••& —5. " n -e 5O 20 5 . 28 6 . fi —s. —s• 6ne ,96'• 20, , 25k ,. goe s' ~d 74s * 145. p .(per Quarter), 46s. 4 05 ~,'- w 9f..A 25.5. 3115. 365. 445. n e —5. 525. 6Pe atie _, to . 465. 50 3 - dl . anary Seed, —B. 58 'tit } i!to Old 60. 00, • White Mustard Seed—..(per 8u5he1)—...... ion. —5. 0 , - 11 0 1 1 : Brown Ditto --- L'ornip Seeds, 185• - fl oe -A -' Green and Red vc•w Foreign DTI Old Ditto re!v White Clovi ii tto Di %.w Trefoil ;rags Ditto 'oriaiider St. Foin —‘ Rye Grass Linseed, for feeding Ditto, for crushing... Rounds, Ditto IL 400 a 45. 8.18 fine ss. qn e „ol, reign Fares, Old Ditto New , reSeed, Iglish, tine(per Last) rent rock, a , Ok YI3ICEs Hol'S —May rs 5 121 7/ 0 , .54 5s 61 01 to y 01 01 Os. 01 . -- „15 1 to. Fine 0/. Os 12/ 0 0 ..; 11/ 10, - Seconds W. Os 10! 10s :„" ed. ,71 Cs. 71 75 „- ill 0/ Os 0/ OA of .01 Os 01 iv ?sex lii il Liserx Ditto arrham Diti Kent Pap (ussex DI vxsex Ilitt. ---- - _.......--- i PRICE (IF OIL. • jai . Rape Oil, brown , 32/. 61. ...a.. Refined •••".' gi 0 Linseed Oil ....................... 10 0 l.'nseed Oil Cake at the Mill, par thousand ..........*' b/ aai* Cake, per ton ....----"e"—/ frt.: of PO TA roKs 27 tao• Kidneys (York) 01. Os. t ou r os. per Scotch Re,. 1/ lOs. to 21. 1( • c.` Marsh Champions...« Oxnobles and Shaws 4• . .0 41. Os. to 41. IN. ditto.. 01. 04 to 3/. • WHITECHAPEL HAI %IARKKI.—;MaY IS ,e 8) 50s. lid, to 755. Od. "lover 60s lid. . 6 22, id. to 27.. (Id PRICES OF Per lb. dotte, 141 22 Litt°, 14 19 L.I.•A Ett d °lf Per lb. lg 0 English Horse Hides, is tivtritsh Ditto 0 Per dozen. 1 5 0 Calf Skins.,. SO . 0 4 i k h : 1 6 56 Ditto 40 to ..",," 17 10 Ditto 70 to 91- 1b 417 id Small Seals, Greenls" 1 2,/ I,rg, dit Dreshing Hides 12 15 13 15 Ditto, light Gup Nodes, light—. 12 13i tto--....40 to 501 b 12i 151 o.tto IN 17 ek 5 , SHEET -• :0%1 NS. 6t l. tO 9 Best Polled ......-6s. Od. to Bs. Od. D0wn5............... 'IL n 2 Half-bred5..........5 0 6 6 I Lambs...... " . 0. 0 1 . 5, PRICE OF TALLOW, SOAP, Sec. per • /1-211) ~ Coven Tallow .........,,,... 51s. 6d. Yellow 50ap........."7,, 1 " -. 9 , Yellow Russia 475. CU. I Mottled ........-----" - '7 O I :, AC A White........ ...... . 455. 6d. White............ , --••"'":„.,.... l bs. — F Soap Da' —44 s Graves .........---- „..... . 375. Od. 21s. Od. PitlClt, v 1 HAW 1.4% atm—. Melted Stuff'. Ditto !tough. Good Dregs ---- ,r stone 0 1 - 1.0. low (as star PRICE OF CANDLES. fo ll0 1 :10 The price of Stor e C an dl es , i n t h e retail shops, IS Candles. per dos. 7s. Od. to Bs. Od. I Moulds, per doze n 'rice of COAL MAR Per Ton. s. d. Adair's W O 1 4 6 Beaumont ...... 13 u Chester 12 0 East 12 0 Hebburn Main 13 9 Holywell 14 6 Ord s Kedhugh 12 6 Pontop Windsor 15 0 16 0 Cownley l3 3 West Hartley 14 0 Willington . 13 6 Walls End Bell & Brown 13 6 Walls End Bewicke & Co. 15 6 Walls End Boundary.... 12 0 Walls End Campb3ll's 13 0 Watt- End Callerwn 11 6 Walls End Carr and Co. 12 0 Ditto Clarke and C 0....... 12 0 Walls End 14 6 Walls End Hilda 13 3 Walls End Hotspur...—. 13 0 Ditto Killingworth 13 3 Ditto Northumberland . 13 0 Ships arrived since L ET.—May 27. 4 , 6 1 5 Per Ton . r e p , 0 6 0 Walls End Newir , „ 4 ,, 14 9 Walls End Rid( 5 Walls End Walker 9 Eden Main 19 9 Bells Primrose.-- , 0 0 Lambton's e 14 3 Walls end Het 0 g Walls End Lyons .:7,.. l 9 g Walls End Lamp",.../ 14 g Walls End Stewa!,`„,..., 15 Walls End Adelai",4oo l 16 g Walls End Butter 1 0 0 Walls End Tees 15 0 Cowpen lo Howard'sNethert ed W. E. Preston Gr I ,llpe , l. o 0 6 New Flockton, 0 and g Sough Togston-•-• , ,r co, II 5 Silkstone Field anno 11 0 Thorpe's Gawber r._„o Walls End Selby ••' Shipcote Trader last market-day, 131' 0 • d 0 A Mrs. RAMSAY (said Mrs. PiozZle de d,: be I knew to be a m os t ex t raor di nary , s teadra l , ll !" ( j gentle-mannered w oman , tvaa one n i g ht ex trekn ej t e d- 4 called up h er con fid ent i a l ma id- servant to her o dy i t and, whispering in a low tone, said, Jane. I % ,00/ he but make no n o i se , b ecause if y ou d o M r . 11A 1 ' 55/4- r ok eP ,, o o awoke; you know th a t w h en hi s s l um b e rs , c , be , rows nervous and cannot fall asleep again r io vd leave me now, an d come i n at t h e usua l P°"ivill morning ; you will then find me dead, and be I O s ' . had his prop er a ll owance o f s l eep. " Sh e died " ticipated. l'a o a n •ar th ds e , t2 o G l t ' i t i h i e ns 3d t., BIRT HS. of On the 24th inst., at Sunninghill, the lady o ','T II . 13 vg i ci t : 0 , c a ptain te f , , On the 25th inst., at Rvcie, Mrs. J. Johnson, 'cl e JP - A ' a daughter. r ptai a of a daugo.;l $ . , , ,..50, On the 21st inst., at Trematon-hall, the lady of -'l.- Tucker, R.N., of a son, still-born. ' Mrs. Cb a ' -' .Ic , I'' 1 ,4 pc ..11' MARRIED. Pit , , c pqtl , On the 25th inst., at St. Andrew's, Holborn, °c on. b try , Brook, jun., goldsmith, of the Poultry to Sarah, s- castl e. - f tl" ter of Mr. John Brook, timber.mer'chant, 0 flie r Holborn. On the 23il inst., at the British Ainbas.,ador's Cbrijaog , Oscar, eldest son of Baron d'Est, to Frances Sarah, $9, 4 ,:, of Thomas Ribble, Esq., of Green Trees, Hadlow, ,taii,crt,;,,,, On the •45th inst., at Cheltenham, Francis Day C s iarY o il late Major in the 7tl. Dragoon Guards, to Sarah ', 54 ,, ~ only surviving child of the late James Robertson, •I" roy3 Bengal Engineers. _ S. 0_0 „ ,,, On the 25th inst., at St. Martin's Church, Mr. 1) 4 o i e to Julia Anne, eldest daughter ofJ.IIIIC9 Cull, EA. , ' ,{ iO r' ,:/ 1 DIED. „ fa ri, , , °, On the 24th inst., at their house in South-street, 0 1 7; . he ,- p p daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Effingham Wilson, ' ,I'. Exchange. Fra ncl- t; Ad On the 25th inst., at Richmond, Surrey, Mrs. aged 76. BO ° ' St Alban's, John Newball ,c On the 2,3 th inst., at DatraGguoi" Guards' k P °. n of that borough many years an Alderma • _a er ie- ,ri On the 2 , lth inst., at 'lhorpe, Essex, Captain Fre. ~00, late of the loth Regiment of Foot. Smith, a 0 ' i c , On the •44th inst., at Windsor, Mr. Daniel Smith, .4 and Wateiloo-p ace, Loudon, aged 77. ." noragv,, On the 2,th just, Thomas Clark, Esq., of , - 3 9 , , , Caterham, Surrey, aged 54. j,odg e ili• A On the 2ld inst. at • Everton, Mary, wife of Adain,-,,,,e0t 1, and secon.l daughter of the late Res. • Richard ,' c ~. of Rector of RhOSCOlyll, Anglesea. 31„1.P, ,o, On the 21st inst , at Calde-liall, James Hare, ~,,,C der_hall. f gr. v On the 14th inst., Martha, second daughter o optician, New Bond-street. f OO 'RFNTHEI AND PUBLISHED BY MU RDO YOUNO.2. SUN OFFICE, 112, STAND, WPGI.4. F i'et kt th e „ 7" 4 4 , t4 ll N th ° 1 4 4 1 4 1‘041 'l O , I S "41): Auk kl k Jo Fp t:lt ti 'oet''ik:, kq°ll 11 , , 1• It tlt4 i I !ct, 1 4. 1 "" 1 4 t he ."