The Sun. — London, England, 1844-04-11 00:00:00

THE FACTORY OUESTIOiti. IA THE „ s t i ns,. APRIL 9.—List night a very numerous, re -4017.7u1e, and in many respects an important meeting thtue inhabi'ants of the borough of Lceil,e, was heti in te e f,,:„ l a , il y , si r c o - r hall, in Albiou-street, in this town, in order Per farther a restriction on factory labour to ten hours women, pimp - 4 - p , rsons, and children. it On the platform were the Rev. Dr. Hook, Vicar ; the tr• Joseph W ar dl e , t h e R ev . T. B. F err i s , th.! Rev. ) . °ll2 as Nunns, and other clergymen ; Mr. S. Smith, kir " Geltge Balmer, Mr. Francis - Sharpe, and other errand, M several merchants; Mr. °tastier, Mr. Basfei!d V and, M.P. ; Mr. B. Jowett, of London ; Mr. Chas. 41ke r, of Bradford ; and many other friends of the ten %ars' Cause. te ° ll the motion of Mr. Bulmer, secon led by Mr. Sum rTst the Vica r o f L ee d s was i nv i te d to t a k e the chair. The Rev, Dr. HOOK rose amidst loud applause, and . 0 viat arldressed the mee ti n g at some length in favour to the t he Ten H ours ' B i ll , concleded by saying—" I am ai y, In this ri g ht eous cause , to p ress f o rward ith you fri e ,„ l la4 L gasp.—(Applaust.) And I trust that our t itl. y o l n y t i li l in when the queition is put to th ern , ' support the cause of the poor or the h ams . t h party, will fling party to the dogs, and support k n i,t-Y, and go straight forward in that right path 111 Ic so -c w " they now a re . The arguments, I have adduced I kre c i T aa Y b° met by counter argaments, but I have en tll uto them for that reason. There is, at least, you agree, looking at the commercial question, much t Bid: a - 41 90 both sides ; if much is to be sail on both i tito c let us take the side of humanity. Throw humanity Iv, the scale, a nd th en we k no w how to proceed. Will or ge o lher the Bill will pass in this session of Parliament (Lomay be doubtful ; but this I know, and thi3 I u d that pass it must, and pass it will ere long.— p 0, 74 aPplause.) Even Lord Ashley consented to the .e th e o f of this Act for a short time ; and weWe, I trust, are willing to abide our time ; but w e we are to expedite the movements of our friends.— hair r L, iiea r.) I cannot conclude without saying that I tele now nor have lat any other time. uttered a e word of disrespect towards the leading millowners so nle Manufac turers in this town ; on the contrary , I know mostl'f * .t.hem to be amongst the most generous, and th is " oenevolent and most humane of our species; bit to sy :stem We are opposed, and in our opposition to this p: ti En I trust wo shall persevere diligently, ardently, Wh determinately ; affording that fair play to all ing~t Englishman loves, and with Christian feel , • At lbws have.brought it to a successful . issue.” into t h stage of the proceedings Mr. Oastler ascended ereO s tra, and was vociferously cheered. Whi c h J. HARNEY moved the following resolution, op era i.as seconded by Mr. R. POUNDER, a factory sold .- e" That this meeting believes that what is tiO 4 -41 1 understood as the Ten Hours' Factory Ques with. meaning thereby the limitation of factory labour ti ln a day of t we l ve hours, with a proper allowance ited me f or meals and rest—is a reasonable, a hely,. righteous o bj ec t ; and that the blessing of ttf;g, u‘ tY . God will not fail to attend the prosecution thiiY upright an d h onoura bl e means . That while le meeting deeply laments that the attainment of so to g i Plate an object should have been retarded by a ).„ 4 ` 4 4 which has now lasted more than five-and-twenty ,„." 3 , duri ng which tens of thousan d s h ave gone to a w" iraa ture grave, this meeting rejoices with a joy un ~f.table at the progress this question has made t h ai nt the last:month; and more especially at the fact en the 18th of March, in the present year, two 4 1 ,„, 1 9ns were taken in the Commons House Of Parlia hOth virtually in favour of making the factory day enee at six o'clock in the morning and terminate 91 ~.o'clock in the evening, a decision at on._e in ae -oauce with the requirements of justice, policy, huna tr)'t and religion, and one which calls for unbounded .jititude to that Bein g who has the hearts of all in his "I t and gov ernance. " to B USFEILD FERRAND, Esq., UP., came forward agaPport th e reso l ut i on. H e was received wi , h loud f t tas ", which was co n ti nue d f o r s everal minutes. weer er - it h a d subsided, he said, that when, a few s h ort ago, he had th e h onour o f a ddressing a meeting 11, 01 - e_q B , he t o ld t h ose w h om h e t h en a dd res sed, that N a ra Gastler would soon be free ; and now Mr. 4 8 4 + 7 was present to b ea r witness to the truth of that that (Applause.) He (Mr. Ferranfi) told them the -:n.lght that the day was not far distant when Y, would havea Ten Hours' Factories Bi.l.—(Hear.) t rue 7 wanted a p roo f t h at hi s asser tion would come lup;,, h e would wi s h no inure co n v in c ing one than WAS , e , e y' r led . by the numerous meeting before him, presided as It W as , b y the i r vener ible chairman. They had 6 4) tell th e Q ueen ' s Ministers, and to te ll the House th e i r tla ns that justice was their claim and justice was iesti t 'ght ; and as sure as he addressed them that night f or‘i ee sho u ld and would be done to them-4 Applause)— t4e ulere was a spirit awakened abroad in their cause which k_nl)Pressors of the weak'and poor could not gainsay 0.1! degtroy. Sir J. Graham the who declared k t e ri Y 8110Uld not have a Ten Hours' Bill, had been Ito - m i l t he last few weeks dreadfully earwigged at the 11 0 „ -t- cffice by th e oppressors of the poor.—(Hear, His (Mr. Ferrand's> firm conviction , was, d a ' i l ad it not been fur the cold-blooded coolness h ti- :M ed stupidity of Sir James Graham, they would rt it 2; 'ma the G o vernment at this instant sanctioning a th — 'lours' Bill—(Hear, hear)—but he was dead to all g:Ffitter feelings of humanity to think of anything but te o l, -- (Applause.) Sir James Graham, ever since he en : office, had done everything that he could to e i e,sa and grind the poor. He had said that he old not consent to a they Hours' Bill, and that the 0 1 7 6 rib:tent were determined to stand by him. Nut only t ,_t, but he had said that if they were in a minority, tt_t!YouNv.ould resign. Ile (Mr. Ferrand) had no hesi • ; i t o u n al, in saYiug that the declaration was unconstitu weai.)anl teria_oritys tion.an hdei e s i t i l a .y l I t i o aci Sir James as a Minister.— declared the factory ques- Would bo op ae n one ' w hen they ha6l no thought that there In a minor' Y, they against d them ; but when they were bad Wade it a at it was a party question. If they selves in a raj Government question, and found them.. - MeV, hea r. N. 111 ty, they ought to have resigned.— of one ) The Whigs, when there was a majority solved pail.tilat of Mr. Walter—against them, dis- The nt 'Lt, and that led to their resignation. country. ute reratnent ought to do their duty to the dra g t h ' a nd not to .....urreeaprresien call upon the house of Commens to the them through th kennel of apostacy, making tat of the people the tools of a party. be d efe • near). He believed that the Ministry would degrade a ted, and that the House of annex Comons would not fiist. and stultify itself, and sho ample of the feeli a -sset blY in the universe sinking down, without 6f . a ‘p of honesty or consistency, at the mere bidding manistr ,IYeetint„ be hear.) But if they did, was the ba tr i o ,? . to . be told that there were no honesty, no In that House, but that which sat on the ax zv y benches ? There might not be the cunning Gir l of S ir R o b ert Peel, nor the cool e ff rontery o f Itis tv .. "nlea Grah am , amongst the Tories who sat i n that Wag or those who lived in this coum.try ; but there .• kan greater desire on their part to do ju•tice between e64llB.bad , 11 4 man, between master and servant, than he nad in the present Government. The meeting . tto h it occasion io be di s h ear t ene d ; th e y oug ht t o 1 , e4 cou rage, and go on.—(Cheers.) L e t th e Ministry tI T : I, for one , s h ou ld not drop a tear. Sir Ho it -.reel gave the country to understand that he would 1 4 6, 1441 th e obnoxious clauses of the New Poor . th - e „, 13 i 11 ; Instead of doing so, he had stood by „ g -- (Rear, hear.) He had lost his (Mr. Fer , t.„ l ll c i s s) confidence. He placed no faith in him, and he fi 6 i t he meeting that after Sir Robert had made the QZ` c 'rY question an open question in the House of tun teoi ty ° w i ll 's+ and he had a majority against him—a ma t, asserted that ten hours were sufficient fur i n , - ,t'Y labourers to work—if he should, by whipping I,slLue Treasury benches, by Treasury influence, and the i t al i cs of the Government, destroy that vote by unfair, hti,l users and unconititutional means, he (Mr. Fer tilen.,), would withdraw his confidence from the Govern % and place himself in opposition.--(hear, hear.) hi. w ould tell Sir Hobert Peel that he was not to 11 3' the ar e to nine game now as he did in 1829 ; that there side now body of independent men sitting on his to their the Rouse, who are determined to do their duty twelve country. He (Mr. Ferrand ) had for the last first t e a' e ara felt deeply on the factory question. lie Dou r an an active part on the subject at the Odsall tfilitre„eatlneheuitertainvo, which was convened by his friend, astler.—(Hear, hear.) Since that time in its had gained strength; and if those who took par geticatv 541" Ite? might de .s.,,_tiruy,niil-1 that God legally, constitutionally, and ever. Pend 1 ,, Y were sure to succeed, for they on. Member sat and, after they l i d G d ‘ o o d wn w a o m ul i i c l is d t e lo fe u n d d ch th ee e rs r:Oit. The sad ca ll .SUbilded, the resolution was put to the meeting . • res o lution,..wlhitieTlE:a Fs . . The n o , ee Ill eetbr, " That while till, FERRIS R f l o S ll b o r il i , e s fl :_ y proposed the next . Hi rn ct Would, make its chief acknowledgments to AI f u e ls Y whore kings reign and princes decree justice,' • bound to express the deep sense of obligation it enteet • • of aing owards all those Members of Parliament, 1 „ whatever party in the State, who united in the recent ttlelnorable vote in favour of the ten hours' measure ; to o k specially to the noblemen andentlemen who d;seired.B. promine nt part in the debate in g favour of the restriction, and whose names are herein ltwr n umerated, namely—Lord Ashley, Lord John Ix ss ell. Lord Palmerston, Lord John Manners, Lord , ligeli, Lord S andon, Sir George Grey, Sir Robert lisi Mr. Brotherton, Mr. Stuart Wortley, Mr. Muntz, . • eft. glionby, Mr. M'Greachy, Mr. William Beckett, ~,`:.x. Charl es B uller, Mr. W. B. Ferrand; Mr. Fielden, ....Z. Colquhoun, Mr. Hindley, Mr. Borthwick, Mr. es 41 , 11 . 1 . Mr. Hawes, Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Thos. Dun pel4l3,e, and Mr. Hardy and that the noblemen and ' - noted--li tt n.en who irominenily supported, and all those who . . ...,,with Lord Ashley on the occasion above referred until earnestly requested to continue their exertion . s . et9the success of this most sacred measure is tie liiintly secured." • , . Air. GEORGE BULMER, surgeon, seconded the resolution. .4 The ltev. T..NuNN, in an able speech, proposed the • th at reeolutioni—" That this meetiue-, would fain hope . of fit , l l l l Qr Majesty the Queen will be made cognistut f act `,,,.? fact that a large majority of those who work tot. j ii .urles are females, the number often amot to b to two-thirds, and in some instances . trtreefourths of those employed ; and that this meeting • 432,,Ilfidently believes, that her Majesty herself, if the facts 7..,' the case are defy laid before her, by her confidential 'l'lB,ll-sera, will not fail to sympathise with her oppressed • • - tqvuigets, but be anxious to redress their wrongs. What-. pro course, however, her Majesty's Ministers may think . , ?roper to take, warned as they have been by the &fee . i ri of ninety-three of thei h r ordinary supporters, this eting feels th at t h e i nterests involved in this question . IN :e of fur too sacred a character to permit them to be eve r for any party, or temporary considerations what irror ; and it therefore hereby calls upon Lord Ashley • 3 1 :, his P arliamentary supporters to persevere reso: 4 „ .. 1 1 Y in the course to which they in the sight of God, .... "u their country stand pledged, unt il t h e ten h ou rs ., ' .(lUztion is brought to a gl or i ous an d tr i ump h ant i ssue. SiMIIEL SMITH, surgeon, seconded the resolution. 4.r. OASTLER WO next called upon, and on rising he THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDA Y MW TI NG, KPRIL 11, 1344. was greeted with thre,r: hearty cheers. In the course of a lone, and eloquent speech, he said—l am determined never to rest ti.l we have the Ten Hours' Bill, and never to place any confidence in any set of men who may be ap poin:ed to govern us, who refuse it. But when we knock with so loud a voice at the door of the Cabinet, I trust that Sir J. Graham himself will he disposed to yield ; and if not, we must, in the name of that great cause we are met to supocu t, bid him begone.—(Lund cheers.) He also . adverted to the nickname of " Jack Cade," which Sir James Graham had applied to Lord Ashley and his sup porters. Ho (Mr Oastler) had made many prophecies none of which had been falsified ; and when he saw that Sir James Graham had been reduced to the beggarly necessity tf calling nicknames, he exclaimed, " Twelve months hence you are out, Sir James ;" and he intended to mark the time carefully, to see whether he was cor rect or not. Mr. Oastier conclule Iby quoting a beau tiful passage from a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Thomas ohn Ilu:sey, Rector of Hay, s, Kent, and sat down . amidst vociferous ap i danse. The resolution passed unanimously. Mr JoSHUA HOBSON read a long petition, embodying the resolutions, and containing much additional argu ment in favour of a Ten Hoars Factory Bill. He con cluded by moving its adoption, an 1 that it should be sent o Mr. W. Beckett for presentation, and that Mr. Ferrand and Mr. Thomas S. Duncombe should be re quested to support the same. Mr. JOHN SMITHSON seconded the motion. A vote of thanks was passed to the Chairman, and the meeting broke up shortly after eleven o'clock. SHORT OR LONG HOURS OF LABOUR? After three distinct decisions against the twelve heues' clause, Sir James Graham has withdrawn the Ministerial Factory Bill, and introduced another as nearly as possible resembling the one at present in force. Lord Ashley has given his consent to tnis course, promising to " take the discussion on the ten hours' clause after Easter." Lord Ashley, it appears to us, was terrified at his own success last week, and determined to take the first opportunity of retreating—at the same time pre serving, if possible, his reputation for philanthropy and benevolence. As Mr. Bailie Cochrane—one of Lord Ashley's own followers—observed on Friday night, the Ministry were really in earnest in their opposition to the ten hours' clause ; suggesting, at the same time, that Lord Ashley was not in earnest in proposing it. We leave the Noble Lord himself to settle this question with his own followers. In the meantime the country will have time to study the proposal of a Ten Hours' Bill, and to speak out upon the subject. As yet there has been no ex pression of opinion worthy of notice. We-do not yet hear of any public movement either for or against a Ten or a Twelve Hour's Bill. 'We should like to know what the operatives themselves say as to the shortening of the hours of labour for the women and children. It is very easy for Members of the House of Com mons, as well as editors of newspapers, to say—" Oh ! let there be a Ten Hours' Bill by all means." This costs them nothing, and looks very philanthropic. But it is a very different thing to the operative himself, whose weekly income (already too scanty) it may cut down by one-sixth. We should, therefore, wish the working classes now to speak out, and lose no time in declaring their opinions on this important question. We can easily imagine an operative thus arguing : —" You propose a Ten Hours' Labour Bill, and I hail with delight the prospect of working ten instead of twelve hours a day ; but at present ffind that my weekly wage is not more than sufficient—and some times very insufficient—for the maintenance of my family. What with dear sugar, dear tea, dear bread, and everything dear because taxed, I find that my wage is altogether swallowed up in simply subsisting, and that a reduction of my weekly income would only drive me into a lower abyss of pauperism. Now, will you assure me that my wages shall not he lowered by a Ten Hours' Bill—will you guarantee to me that t shall obtain for the short period of labour the same amount of remuneration that I now obtain for the longer ?" Now,. we believe this to be the present dilemma of the operative classes. They feel that their hours of labour are already by far too long ; but they fear that the reduction of the hours of labour would only lead to a proportional reduction of their weekly wages. It is necessity which compels them to work long hours—it is necessity which compels them to send their wives, sons, and daughters, into the factory— and if you take them out, or reduce their hours of labour by one-sixth, there is unquestionably also the immi nent risk of cutting off the sixth of their weekly in come. It is possible, therefore, that in passing a Ten Flours' Bill the Legislature might be acting a philan thropic part at the cost of the suffering operative themselves. Indeed, Lord Ashley himself stated, in the House of Commons, that some workmen had declared to him that they would accept the change with terror. We confess that, much as we desire to see the time of working in factories greatly curtailed, so as to af ford to the operative classes the opportunity of moral and intellectual cultivation, as well as for the enjoy ment of the social and domestic pleasures of life, we do not look upon these compulsory regulations of the hours of labour without considerable apprehension and alarm. We are really reduced to so lamentable a position as a nation—the competition in the race of manufacture has grown so intense, and the commer cial rivalry between nations so keen—that it is quite possible that such a reduction as that contemplated, might inflict a great blow on the manufacturing prosperity of Britain. Sir James Graham and Sir Robert Peel both assert this. Then, our whole social :y stem is so artificial—one part so bangs upon another—the soundness of one portion of the capitalist system is so necessary to the soundness of the whole —that such an injury to manufacturers might prove the immediate forerunner of the most extensive and de structive mischief. " Whilst property," says the Nonconformist, " is distributed as it is, poverty must be the lot of the many ; and so long as the many are close pressed by destitution, the universal scramble for employment will put the workman at the mercy of his employer. In the case of factory labour, master and men will be driven by the same relentless necessity. The first effect of Lord Ashley's interference would be to raise the price of goods—the second, to close against them every neutral market—the third, an incalculable diminution of employment—the last, a permanent de pression of wages beyond their present level. Then come panics in the money market—failures of bank ing establishments —increase of poor-rates--- • general discontent, and, in all probability, social insurrection." Well, then ; and is the fate of these poor women and children of the factories inevitable ? Is there no alternative for them but consuming toil and bondage ? Does the integrity of the empire really depend on their two hours' extra labour per day ? Are our institutions in Church and State all worthless, with out this twelve hours' labour for factory women and children ? Is England, the pride of the world and the envy of surrounding nations,' unable to rescue its overtaeked and helpless poor from consuming toil, without the risk of a general overturn ? Surely, such were not the excuses made, when it was proposed, a few years ago, to rescue 800,000 human beings from slavery! It was decided that justice ought to be done, whatever the consequences.. Is it just, is it fair, on the part of the Legislature to interfere to prevent the physical, moral, and intellec tual deterioration of the people ? If so, it is just and fair, 01 their part, to interfere in the inordinate work ing of women aed children in factories. The principle has been established—it has been already acted upon ; all that is - asked is, that it should be carried out to its legitimate extent. And if it be proved that the consequences of the interference of the Legislature has been to diminish the gains of the factory opera tives, why, they must themselves be prepared to con cede such measures as will amply make up for the loss they may have sustained. The repeal of the corn-laws, the reduction of taeltion on articles of consumption, would far more than repay the working-classes for any diminution in their weekly wages by the enactment of a Ten Hours' Bill. It will not do for the landowners to cast the burden and the blame on the manufac turers ; both must be prepared to make sacrifices to avert the evils of our present social position, but es pecially the former. The manufacturers have already, in numerous instances, been sacrificed and crippled by the Legislature ; heavy taxes have been imposed upon them; their places of production have been subjected to the strict supervision of the Govern meat, and have been repeatedly interfered with by Legislative enactment ; instead of being " protected,' they have been hardened and restricted in ;all conceivable means ; and, though so essen tial to the welfare and prosperity of the country, they have been treated as if they were its greatest enemies. Now, the landowners - have been called upon to make no such sa crifices, to bear no such burdens, to suffer no such restrictions on the employment of their capital or their property. They have possessed the exclusive power in the State, and have done everything for themselves at the expense of others. They may now—and we hope they will (for the sake of our common humanity)— diminish the hours of labour for women and children; but we warn them that they must themselves be pre • pared to make the necessary sacrifices before such a measure can be regarded as "a boon" by the indus trious classes. They must be prepared to give up their bread-tax—to give up the taxes on consumption —and to abolish most of the existing restrictions on the trade and industry of the country. CATCHING AN Own.—On the 26th ult., four young aw n, whilst strolling in Marlborough Forest, espied an owl sitting on her nest in the hollow of an oak tree, and being fully determined to capture the bird, they tried various experiments without success, at last one of them hit upon.the hazardous plan of setting fire to the tree ; this was no sooner proposed than carried into effect, and the parties had the satisfaction of catching the owl, which they afterwards sold for 41, but the tree, valued at 10/., was quickly iu a blaze of fire and totally de , stroyed.—Devizsg TURNPIKE JUGGLES. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Sta,—New turnpike roads are generally projected by parties, whose property will be most materially improved by the new road. I verily believe that no new road ever was made but that if the property a mile right and left of it, on the completion, were submitted to auction, it would obtain a much greater value than the whole line of road cost in the purchase of the land, and all expenses of obtaining the Act of Parliament, and every expense of completing it. Yet, although this is generally the case, the landowners 1: them Selves are the most backward in advancing cash to promote the object; they try to rival each other in their exorbitant demands of price for the small por- • tion of land required, and it is a singular fact that, when the line is laid down that the piece required for the new road is instantly discovered to be the very best hit of land on the estate. Well, Mr. Lando Nner, instead of being paid cash for his bit of land, say worth 201., is very readily ;ranted a, poll deed or mortgage for 50/., and cash is obtained from strangers in the neighbourhood, who have no direct interest in the road itself, but merely look for remuneration from the tolls, in order to afford interest for the money. Now it must be taken into consideration, that although Mr. Landowner does not happen to get any interest whatever for his Fill deed or mortgage, yet his land is increased in value more than the value of the land taken away, so that he is uninjured, if the amount of tolls will not yield him an interest. The road is commenced perhaps when only one-half or two-thirds of the money required is subscribed. Now when this money is expended, how is the road to he completed ? A meeting of the subscribers is called together, and they are told that there will be no pro bability of their ever having their money back again if they do not agree to make some sacrifice ; a propo- • sition is brought before them, that the money re quired shall be borrowed on mortgage, the present subscribers entering into a bond or agreement to forego any claim until the money so borrowed is paid off, together with a certain interest then to be deter mined on. The landowners holding poll deeds, pres sing on this agreement and voting for it. Then there is no difficulty in obtaining the money, and the road is completed, the whole of the tolls going to pay the principal and interest on the latter sum advanced, the original cash sub scribers not having, a penny—many of these parting with their original 100/. claims for 501., 60/., or 70/. I—these are bought up by the wide-awake ones. When the latter sum is nearly paid off, it is disco vered that it would be highly desirable to extend the line on four other new roads in the immediate neigh bourhood. under the same trust. The Act is ob tained, and the new juggle begins. More subscrip tions are entered into for the new line. The party who advanced the money, by way of loan, is com pletely paid off, but this payment of the loan does not lessen the debt. Nay, the cost of the original road was 12,000/., and 4,0001. was borrowed to complete it, and this 4,0001. effectually discharged. Now comes the juggle—the landowners, who have had poll deeds or mortgages granted to them for double the value of the land given up, and whose property has been posi tively increased in value by the new road, and whose real interest would have been to have given the land, and also those who have purchased poll deeds or mortgages at perhaps half price, together with the few original subscribers, are made claimants for the amount of the arrear of interest from the very first commencement of the original. Act, and granted fresh poll deeds or mortgages for the whole amount of interest, so that, if there were ten years' interest due, at 5 per cent., the debt which was originally 12,000/., 4,000/. of which has been paid off, then appears to be only 8,000/. ; but when the new poll deeds are granted for the ten years' arrear of interest, the debt instantly becomes 12,0001. again, the subscribers to the new line of road are not told the rig, so these old parties come in for an additional security by being entitled to share the tolls, not only on the line for which they had advanced their money, but also on the new line of road autho rised by the new Act. From this time, they obtain interest upon interest. In some instances, I believe it may be found that poll deeds have been granted to the amount of compound interest from the advance of money to the date of the new poll deed. Very curious things would come out if Parliament were to appoint a Commission of first-rate accountants, to investigate the proceedings of Turnpike Act trustees. In too many instances , no trustees attend any meeting but i thoseimmediately interested.—l am, Sir, &c., &c., ONE BEHIND THE SCENES. April 2, 1844. THE WELSH CHURCH. " And the poor have the Gospel preached to them." Such was the closing fact appealed to by the great founder of our faith, in testimony of his Divine mission, and the truth of the dispensation he was about to usher in. And this Divine characteristic has been from age to age most devoutly preserved by every ecclesiastical body of people down to these last and degenerate days. Even the Church of Rothe in the plenitude of its despotic power, howsoever high its pride or deep its corruption, never once forsook that grand principle of its original formation. What ever might be its derelictions in other respects, it, never neglected the poor; their temporal wants were attended to in a way that might often shame our so mueh vaunted Reformation improvements ; and as to their spiritual requirements, such as the Church of Rome believed the truth to be, such a Gospel as it acknowledged, it communicated of it to the poor bountifully, assiduously, and with earnestness and good-will ; and it was reserved for the Church of England, or rather for that half-withered branch of it, die Church of Wales, openly and without disguise to discard this great principle, and adopt its opposite. For here, were the message of the Prophet delivered, the answer would often be, " And the rich have the Gospel preached to them." Should any doubt the correctness of this statement, let them at once repair to \Vales, and note the conduct of the Church there ; for, in many parts of that ill-used country, this is the precise principle acted upon. In one valley alone, in a mineral district, in the diocese of Llandaff, con taining a population of 10,000, up to a recent period, there was no place of worship belonging to the Esta blished Church for many miles. About five years ago, in consequence of the repeated remonstrances re specting the neglect of the people by the Church, and the numerous Dissenting chapels continually spring ing up, it was determined to make an effort to erect one place of worship belonging to the Establishment. Accordingly a subscription was set on foot, and urgent were the appeals to the benevolent public, and the friends of religion, &c., and loud was the clamour re specting accommodation for the poor, and every hackneyed canting expression known ,was enlisted on the side of the working-classes and the labouring classes, &c. ; and in order to insure this accommoda tion, it was 'expressly covenanted for, that the service I was to be performed alternately in Welsh and Eng lish, the former being the language of the great bulk of the people. Under these assurances the amount of some thousand pounds was raised, to which the Church Building Society liberally added another thousand, and thus a church was erected, capable of holding two thousand people, and every expectation held out that the shepherdless sheep on the mountains should at last be securely folded. And so they were for some time ; and no doubt would have continued, had the original contract been honestly observed, in which it was stipulated that the Welsh service should be regularly performed every Sunday alternately with the English. But this order was soon laid aside ; and as the iron masters and their families were English, the Welsh service was often entirely dropped, or else partially performed, and that generally only once a fort night, so that the Welsh people gradually deserted the church, and now, where it was intended that two thousand should assemble in worship, it is a rare oc currence to find more than two hundred, exclusive of the school children ; and the Communion service is never performed at all in Welsh. Are the Welsh, then, an irreligious race ? Quite the reverse, when they have their religious services performed in their native language. And, as a proof, there are within almost a stone's throw of this very church, no less than eight Dissenting chapels, in which the 'Welsh is the language of the ministry, with ser vice in each twice at least every Sunday, and often times on other days of the week as well. In one of these chapels alone the average attendance exceeds a thousand, and the communicants amount to five hundred. And what does the Bishop say to all this ? Nothing. He probably knows nothing about it. How should he. And if he did, he would only say that the Welsh are obstinate, and must not be in dulged with Welsh prayers—once in three weeks will do for a Welshman, or once a month. Ts it to be wondered at that the sheep are scattered with such shepherds ? No. But the wonder will be if they are ever recalled; and it is well the world should know how these matters are managed by the Anglo-Welsh Bishops, who fatten on the dioceses of the aboriginal Britain. We are prepared with more facts hereafter of each one, and all of them, which shall be made known, if they cannot be altered. FALMOUTIf, APRIL 7.—An inquest was held to day. at the Temperance Hotel, in this town, on the re mains of-Mrs. Trewarnas, of Penzance, whose husband is owner and in command of the Magic, at present in the port of Dublin, and for which place the deceased had taken her passage on board the Royal William, Dublin steamer. It appeared in evidence that she had left the hotel in apparent perfect health, but that shortly after she got on board the steamer, then in our inner harbour, she exclaimed to the second mate, who was sitting near her, " Oh, how faint I am!" and fell a corpse. A me dical examination was made at the request of the jury, the result of which was that her sudden death was the consequence of apoplexy. ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT SELF-DESTRUCTION AT BLACKYRIARS BRlDGE.—Tuesday night, at about nine, another attempt at self destruction was made at Black- ' friars •bridge. It appears that a middle-aged man, who was standing on the above bridge, said to a person pass ing at the time, " Yes, I. must, and I will do it," and be fore the party in question had time to look round,'the unfortunate man mounted the seat in one of the recesses, ' and instantly plunged head foremost into the river. An immediate alarm was raised, and several persons put off in boats, and after some minutes had elapsed the man was found near Southwark floating-pier. He was re moved to the Trooper public-house at Bankaide, where he in a short time recovered, and was able to state that, he lived in the neighbourhood of St. Giles. He wag afterwards taken to Christchurch Workhouse. A TIGER STORY.—Early on Friday. morning in telligence was brought to town that a tiger had bee caught during the previous night in a pit on a F ambier plantation, about three miles from Singapore. Iwo or three gentlemen repaired to the spot; which is about a quarter of a mile from the public road. The secretary of the Sporting Club was the first in the field, and commenced the proceedings by Tut ting a couple of balls into the tig er's head, one of which struck him - in the forehead, and glancing along the skull came out at the left eye. As a number of sportsmen were expected, the news having been gener ally made known, those who were first upon the spot agreed to wait until their brethren in arms came up, and a considerable interval elapsed before any more balls were fired, during which time some of those present amused themselves by stirring the brute up with a long pole; a proceeding which greatly enraged him, as was testi • fled by the loud growls he uttered, and the fury with which he laid hold of the bamboo with his teeth. He made several desperate attempts to reach the top, but without suc3ess ' partly owing to the bottom of the pit being filled with mud to the depth of one or two feet, by which he was prevented from taking a good spring. After having amused themselves in this manner for about an hour, the party then resolved to give him his coup de grace, and it was arranged that they should fire in the order in which they arrived on the scene of operations, but the first ball fired went true to its aim, producing in stant death, and the tiger sank .beneath the mud without a struggle or dying. groan. A considerable discussion then arose as to whether it would be safe to raise the lid of the trap, but at last it was carried in the affirmative. However, on raising it nothing was to be distinguished in consequence of the thick smoke which filled the pit, and the party then dispersed, highly gratified, with the proceedings of the morning. The tiger was after wards brought to town, when It appeared to be a full-grown animal, though not of the largest size. The Chinese on whose plantation it was caught a Catholic convert, received $lOO from the Tiger Club, and $5O from Government, besides selling the flesh for some $lO or. $l2, so that it was a very remunerative oc currence for him. lie seemed much pleased at having caught the tiger, independent of the prospect of reward, as he had suffered from the ravages of those animals, having lost two men on his plantation, who were de stroyed by them,Singapore Free Press, Jan. 4. DEA.TII FROM STARVATION —An inquest was held at Rothwell, on Monday, before Mr. Jewison, Coroner, and a respectable jury, on view of the body of William Ward, aged 52, when the following . evidence was ad duced :—Charlotte Ward, being sworn, said, " I am own cousin to the deceased William Ward. He resided in Rothwell; is 52 years of age; was formerly a coal miner, but has lately been employed three days a week by the overseers of -Hunslet, at Is. 6d. per day, to which place he went to work at any kind of labour in the morning and returned home at night. He has a wife and.six children, four of whom are unable to work. The other two, when in full work, earn I ls. a week, but they were only partially employed, until the colliers' strike ceased about a month since. The last month de ' ceased's income has been 15s. 6d. a week for eight per sons. I am sure he has sometimes wanted food ; has often left home to go to his work at Hunslet without breakfast, and taken nothing for his day's support but a small piece of bread. He complained on Saturday of pain in his breast, which continued till Sunday morning, and then he was better until night, when the pain be came worse until Monday morning ; then they fetched the doctor, who ordered a mustard plas t er t? his breast, but gave him no medicine, a n d _ d he was unfit to work, and that it was a shame he should be set to work. Deceased had very little use )f his bands when they were c old. He continued to g et worse on Monday, but wa lked about. He eould not bear to lie down for pain. I was sent for between four and five o'clock to his house, when I found him lying up:in the floor behind the door insensible. Some Persons raised him up, but he was dying. lie breathed once or twice, and died. lie has complained of want ing food many a time. I think he would have been living now if he had been better provided with food. There are no marks of violence upon his person. The deceased was a pious man, of ex cellent character, was well known to the jury, by se veral of whom he • had. been occasionally assisted, and they were unanimously of opinion his death had been oaused from want of food. The following verdict was re ' . turned ;—That the said William Ward, on the Ist day o f April, at his own .house in Rothwell, suddenly fell down upon the floor, and then and there instantly • died. That for the_ last twelve months he has suffered .great privations for want of the common necessaries of life, and that he 'died from the efleota caused by ex haustion and vv4ut of food.--Leeds Intelligencer. • PROPOSED CREATION OF NEW VOLUNTARY STOCKS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Sin—Will you be kind enough, during the present mess, to allow the space for the publication of the following crotchets.? I suggest, for consideration, the propriety of Par liament authorising the creation of the following vo luntary Stocks or Funds 1. A Two-and-Three-Quarters per 'Cent. Stock, irredeemable until (say) the ye.ar 1900. 100/. of stock to be open to the acceptance of parties willing to cancel 1001. Three per Cent. stock. 2. A Four per Cent. Stock, irredeernabl4 until (say) the year 1900, open to the acceptance of holders of Three per Cent. Stock willing to cancel 1331.65. Bd. on being assigned 100/. of this stock. 3. A Five per Cent. Stock, irredeemable until (say) the year 1910. 100/. of .this stock to be open to the acceptance of parties willing to cancel 166/. 13s. 4d. Three per Cent. Stock. 4. A Six Per Cent. Stock irredeemable until (say) the year 1920. 100/. of this stock to be open to the acceptance of parties willing to cancel 2001. Three per Cent. Stock. The whole of these stocks Or funds to be free from any future property-tax, and all dividends to be paid free from any future charge or tax whatever—save and except that all original acceptors of any of these stocks shall he at liberty to transfer the same free of all charge, but that on all second and subsequent transfers a charge of one shilling per cent. shall be made, to be accounted for to the Government. That the Government contemplates a redemption of the Three per Cent. Stocks at no very distant period, is most clearly evident by the guarantee given to the holders of the late Three-and-a-Half pr..r Cent. Stock, that their new stock shall not he paid off before the expiration of 30 years. Perhaps within 10 years—nay, rather say less than 5 years, the Three per Cents. may be redeemed ; in fact, the redemption should not be delayed too lafe, so as to allow the Three per Cents. to bear a .high rate of premium. Had France proceeded to redeem her Five per Cent. Rentes, when they were:at or near par, she would have had but little difficulty in doing so, but having de layed until the Five per Cents. are at 120, there is a most violent oppositicn to the paying the holders off l i at 100, being the amount due from that country to her creditors. The creditors grumble at being paid their debts in full ! By the creation of a voluntary Two-and-Three-Quarter per Cent. Stock, parties would rush to I); come acceptors when the Three per Cents. shall belat a premium, so as to lead to a probability of their redemption, especially if the amount of such new stock should be limited. The guarantee from re demption for 56 years, and freedom from future taxes, I feel convinced would induce many long-sighted holders of Three per Cent. Stock to em brace the offer much earlier than many persons would contemplate—the acceptance of this stock would con fer an instant benefit to the country. With regard to the latter propositions for creating stocks of a higher rate of interest, this conversion, it must be obvious, would not cause an immediate re duction of the expenditure of the country, but will enable our grandchildren, at a future period, most materially to benefit themselves by a reduction of the proposed interest at the expiration of the period limited by Parliament. Supposing each new stock, viz. the Four, Five, and Six per Cent., to be limited to 30,000,0001. each, the debt of the country on all the new stocks being com pleted, would be reduced 60,000,000/., it would take 40,000,000/. of Three per Cent. stock to create 30,000,000/. of the new Four per Cent.-50,000,0001. of the Three per Cent. stock to create 30,000,000/. of the new Five per Cent. stock-60,000,000/. of the Three per Cent. stock to create 30,000,0001. of the new Six per Cent. stock. The total reduction of debt would be — On Four per Cent. stock £10,000,000 Five per Cent. stock 20,000,000 Six per Cent. stock 30,000,000 £60,000,000 We ought to avoid the inconsiderateness of our grand fathers in loading us with such an immense amount of debt, and endeavour to help our own grandchildren who will have to work the world in time to come. If our own fathers and grandfathers had only bor rowed money on biddings of interest, instead of bid bings for a certain amount- of stock, our debt even at this present moment would now be very little more than two-thirds of what it is.= To illustrate this point, we will say that the Chancellor of the Exchequer in those days did not obtain more than 66/. 13s. 4d. cash for 100/. Five per Cent. Stock. Thus, for every 100/. cash that went into the Exchequer, 150/. Five per Cent. stock was created; 'so the Government in reality paid 71 per cent. for the cash realised. Had the Chancellor declared that" he wanted 100/. cash, and that he would take the offer of the party willing to lend it at the lowest rate of interest, and he had found he must give 71k per cent. for it, he had better have done so, inasmuch as he would have left the country a debtor of 100!. only, instead of by the manner which was adopted, that left the country a country a debtor of 150/., being 50 per cent. more than the mode I relate in this little digression. The most implicit faith should be shown to parties who should accept any of the offers, but the time for acceptance should be limited wit hin twelve months for the purpose of affording Parliament an oppor tunity to make such future alterations and modifica tions as the state of the money market or other cir cumstances may warraat. These hints are merely thrown out as principles, not as matters of detail to be carried out to the letter ; for perhaps a Two Seven-Eight per Cent. stock may be deemed more preferable than the Two - and - Three-Quarter one, and a greater or lesser amount of Three per Cent. stock for conversion into the new Four, Five, or Six per Cent may be deemed expe dient; or perhaps the whole ' scheme may be but worthy a laugh or a sneer ; but as currency and finance doctors were to he at full liberty to advance the most absurd and ridiculous doctrines and sugges tions without being severely handled by , the critic, I venture on making public my crotchets, in the hopes that, should they be found but worthy oebeing classed with those I have named, they will be passed over , with the like insignificant treatment.—l am, Sir, yours, &e., ROBERT W. DICKINSON. Ilfracombe, April 8, 1844. SURREY QUARTER SESSIONS. REIGATE. Upon the report of the visiting justices to the Brixton House of Correction being made to the Court an Tuesday, it appeared that Mr. Gardiner, the sur geon to the gaol, had expressed his intention to re sign his appointment, and requested the Court to take the necessary measures to appoint a successor. The ground for the resignation, as stated by Mr. Gar diner, was incapacity to fulfil the duties of the office, by reason of bodily infirmity and illness, and a cer tificate to that effect, signed by Sir B. Brodie and Dr. Chambers, was put in to support the statement as to the condition of his health. Mr. KERRIcK, before the report was received. begged to be allowed to say a few words upon the subject with a view to ascertain the real grounds for Mr. Gardiner's r.?sivnation. lie had heard that one of the prisoners who was ordered upon the treadwheel refused to work, and said that he was unable from illness. Mr. Gardiner, however, upon examining him, declared he was able to work, and insisted that he should go on the wheel, and on his still refusing he was flogged ; eventually sonic other medical gentle men were called in, and they at once said that the prisoner was not in a fit state of health to go upon the wheel, and these circumstances led to an intimation being given to Mr. Gardiner that he had better re sign. He mentioned these facts in order that some explanation might be given upon the subject. Mr. GossE said he was very glad Mr. Kerrick had mentioned this saject, because it gave him an oppor tunity, as one of the visiting justices, to contradict the statement referred to. The facts were these : a prisoner had refused to go upon the wheel, stating that he was too ill to do so. Mr. Gardiner was re ferred to, and he, after examining him, declared that he was not ill, and upon the man still refusingt_o go to the wheel, he was ordered a flogging. Be de claredstill. that he was ill, and the m agistrates called di in another medical man, and his report being ou )tful, they called in two others, and thay.concurred in the opinion of Mr. Gardiner, and declared the prisoner was in a fit condition to go upon the treadwheel. The magistrates, under these circumsta nees, felt them se l ves compelled to enfor ce t he regulations of the gaol ; and he assured the Court that the circumstance had no thing to do with the resignation of Mr. Gardiner, w hich was alone caused by his inc a p ac it y , f rom ness,. to perform the duties of hi s o ffi ce. Mr. KEMDLE begged to confirm the statement made by Mr. Goase, and he remarked that the disci pline of the gaol would be completely at an end, if a prisoner was allowed to persist in refusing to work when he was declared to be competent to do so by the medical officer. Mr. PENIIIIIIN remarked, that the surgeon could have no interest in declaring a man to he in a fit state of health to go to work, if he did not believe he really was so. He did not think there was any blame to he attached to Mr. Gardiner in the transaction, and when his opinion was confirmed by two other medical men, he thought he was justified in ordering him to go upon the wheel. The report was then received. Mr. KEMBLE said he thought that there was an other matter of very considerable importance con nected with this proceeding. Mr. Gardiner had de clared himself to be incompetent to perform the duty of surgeon, and two most eminent men had expressed the same opinion in their certificate. Three months must elapse before a fresh surgeon could be appointed, and he really thought they ought to consider whether the prisoners should be left for that period in the charge of a medical man who had represented himself to be in of performing the duty. The CHAIRMAN remarked that it would be very difficult to find a gentleman of competent skill who would he willing to undertake the diity front the present time until a fresh surgeon was appointed. Ile then inquired whether the honourable magistrate intended to make any motion upon the Subject - Mr. KEMvr did not wish to make. any 'notion; but he must repeat that, when their medical offiCfr declared that he was unable to perform his dut:., tq the prisoners under his charge, if anything serious should arise, the Magistrates would be placed in a very painful . position. An Hos. litAcnsTairE -then moved, -that the elec tion of a successor to Mr. Gardiner should take place at the usual period, the general quarter session. Mr. }LEMBLE said that would be . a period of three months, and as some amelioration be 'should move that the election take place on the second $4- journment day. Mr. JOIINFON had no ajeetion to offer to the amendment, but he begged to sav that Mr. Gezdiuer had always performed his duty faithfully, and he was sure that if he felt any inconvenience was likel-y arise from his inability to perform his duty to the priso • ners under his charge, he wunld take care to I obtain competent assistance. 'The amendment was then put and carried. THE DESTITUTE POOR. One of the earliest, and not the least, prominent ef- fects of the corn-laws, was a -Tapid increase .iu the numbers of the permanently indigent, who are, at tho best of times, inseparable from a people exposed to the vicisiitudes of trade and commerce. The continued opera Von of a tai, which opposes obstacles to ititeruA• tioual communication, and professedly augments the difficulty of obtaining subsistence in a dense -popula tion, very soon rendered the additional increase a pro gressive one, with the starting, point and every suc cessive step of the advance ind e libly markediand CQIII. spicuouily visible. We want nothing to complete.the history of the permanently indigent, who, for the Last few months, have painfully arrested public attention. The comparatively few who are to be found while trade was less restricted, and bread to be had at its value. were easily disposed of under the poor-laws ; but after the tax upon bread they became too legian ary to be manageable on the ancient principles of re- • lieving poverty, and a new system of poor -laws be came indispensable. Still the class of permanently indigent continued to increase ; ALA indeed, become so large almost. immediately after the imposition of the bread-tax, as to demand extraordinary measures of relief. They perished in the fields, ditche:=,•• and lanes of the country, and the streets of large towns, under the accumulated miseries of hunger and expo sure to inclement weather. The enactment of the corn-laws was almost immediately followed by the establishment in London and Liverpool of asylums for the reception of houseless wanderers, of which the expenses were defrayed by private subscriptions. From the books of one of tfiese poor-houses extraor dinary, it appears that the vast mass of destitute peo ple received into them are artisans and agricultural labourers belonging to distant parishes. These are the classes who resort to the larger towns on the fail , ure of the means of subsistence at their usual places of abode, and the reason is obvious : they naturally expect to find employment where numbers are con- , gregated, and relief where wealth most _abounds. • They do not expect to be fed and lodged gratuitously; they migrato in search of work, and, failing in that, are plunged into misery and destitution in the very midst: of opulence and luxury. At last, these poor wretches came between the wind and the nobility, and "in the nostril smelled-horrible." A few months back the Times awakened a univer se! sensation, too painful ever to be forgotten, by an nouncing in a powerful article, that it appeared " from the report of the proceedings at Marlborough street Police-office, that there is an average number of fifty human beings ; of all ages, who kiddie toge. ther in the parks every night, having no other shelter than what is supplied by the trees and hollows of the embankments." This was in October, and in the fol lowing month the number of these destitute people in the streets of London alone, had so prodigiously increased, that the asylums for the homeless poor were opened several weeks before their wonted time, and, indeed, in c Dutravention to a standing rule of the com mittee. A curious instance of the faculty possessed by some philosophers, of erecting theories in opposition to fact, and.of employing the evidence for the existence of a certain state of things to establish the contrary, has Just been furnished by Mr. D. W. Harvey, in his "Report of the City Police Force, for the year 1848." This gentleman finds that the number of persons charged with trivial offences is very great, - and largely on the increase ; a fact which he thinks "may be chiefly attributed to the inducements held out to the idle and dissipated to flock to LOndon from re mote parts of the country, under a fallacious sion that food and lodging are easily and gratuitously to be obtained." Inducements of this kind cannot be held out undesignedly, and without an active exertion. The Commissioner of City Police should not make loose and general accusations ; but perhaps the Police Commissioner might bear in mind the design of Mr. Harvey to establish a little speculation in a cheap lodging-house for the almost destitute in the neigh bourhood of Brick-lane, which was abandoned in of the success of Lord Ranelagh and other benevolent gentlemen in founding a gratuitous asylum for the wholly destitute in Ogle-street. The Commissioner of the City Police now discovers what did not occur to Mr. Harvey, that there is an other evil attendant on inducing poor people to flock to London. In the report he condemns generally " the places now open for the relief of the hons.elese and indigent," and observes that " there is something obviously vicious in the system, and extremely ha zardous to the security of persons and property, which inundates our streets every morning with hundreds of persons, who prowl about in every form of affected distress, seeking and seizing whatever may come in their way." It does not occur to the Police Commissiono that the hundreds who inundate the streets in the morning, must also have inundated them during the preceding night, when property was less protected, had it not been for the shelter afforded them by the asylums • and that had it not been for the allowance of food which they receive in them, the propensity to steal, which be assumes them to posses, would have been sharpened by extreme hunger. We do not profess to defend the system on which these charities are con ductcd ; but we cannot forget that the starving have no other resource, a n d th e h ouse l ess no o ther homes than are provided by them. Until abetter system be proposed, and approved by long experience, we hays no right to condemn institutions against which no ob jections are alleged, but such as want the corrobora tion of fact; and that is egregiously the defect under which the strictures of the City Police Commissioner are presented to the public. The destitution which the present asylums par tially relieve is, nearly all of it, the creation of the corn-laws; its amount is kept up, and annually in creased, solely by the legislative protection of artifi cial scarcity of food; and the occasion of destitute people flocking to London and other large towns, is whole independent of the asylums, which the City Commissioner injudiciously arraigns. They had be come a national disgrace, and an eyesore in t he parks, the streets, and all ' places of public resort iu town, long before the asylums were op ened ; , a n d now that, on Monday next, these homes of the ho,use less—thee receptacles of humanity in the last . s l tage of helpless suffering and devouri n g famine-7m be closed for the summer months, a most serious and most distressing reflection arises—what is to become of these friendless wret ches in the interim? We do not apprehend any additional _crimes in consequence, for notoriously depre dators and violators of the peace are not among those to whom a piece of bread and II nightly shelter offer temptations; but we do fear for the desolating- consequences of hundreds of abelterlaike human b e ings roaming about in ever' form of distrese without pity, and enduring every torm Of calamity without a prospect of relief.—Advertiser. . ORTIIONEDIC INSTITUTION.—Tuesday a spina' 1 general meeting of the members of this Institution was held at their house in Bloomsbury-square, the Earl of Arundel and Surrey in the chair, when Surgeon Law rence, of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Wall appointed medical officer, in place of Dr. Little, resigned. The number of English visitors at Paris is at the present moment greater than it has been ever since the peace, not less than 500 passports are daily presented at the English Embassy for visa. AFFLICTING ACCIDENT. —Tuesday, about One 1,12 the afternoon, George Thomas Combder, a sue fellow; the son of R. brazier, residing at No. . 26, Old Gravel-lane, after a s cending sone steps in front of the house, by some accident tumbled into the carriage .waY in Old Gravel-lane. A waggon, belonging to Mr.Charlos, the soap-b Oiler, in Wapping, was passing at the instant, and the poor child rolled right under the vehicle, end between the feet of the shaft horse. 'The animal did not, however, touch it, and the little fellow would have avoided the dreadful fate which just awaited him, bad it not been for the screams of his affrighted mother. The poor wo man, observing the frightfully perilous situation in which her child was placed, and dreading that the horse would trample it to death, screamed rio- I The waggoner, who, up to this time , was per fectly unconscious of what had happened, instantly stopped his horses, but th ,, e .e w ig •a i g i. g b o r n i z e a , s a iv t id tht u n s a t zr ascending ua t s h t e tta r tl is ) ! . i t t o r t ec he eded 12 or 18 inekes, and one of f stoppine the hi nd wheeLs backing over the he of the child pressed it to a mummy. The feelings of the poor mother, who had witnessed the:dreadful scene, and who , was the unintentional cause of the catastrophe, may he imagined. Thomas Willett, the waggoner, wes taken into custody fur having caused the death of the child, Ind brought to the station-house in King David-lane. A gentleman unused Perkins, who had witnessed the acci dent, attendee at the station-house, and declared to the sergeant on duty that not the slightest blame was sr. tachable to him. Oa hearing this, and the father of the deceased refusing to make any charge against him, the sergeant allowed Willett to deingt, on. his promisinf to attend on the inquest, SAFE RETURN TO MALTA OF THE XINTIHAN EXPEDITION. The Xanthian party, after contending with almost insurmountable difficulties, from the destruction, by a deluge of rain, at the very moment they were most wanted, of the newly constructed roads and bridges, finally mustered, with the collected treasures, at the mouth of the river, on the 19th of March, when her Majesty's .ship Medea, Commander Warder, ran over from Macri to take in her valuable cargo. Comman der Warden, for some five weeks previous, 'Tad been indefatigably engaged in personally superintending the packing and removal of the markles from the val ley, where they have lain strewn about and undis turbed fur centuries, save by the hand of time ; but it came on to blow so heavily, that in towing the lighter over the bar, the hawsers parted, and the pinnace and two cutters got swamped and beached. Several of the party got thrown out of the boats by the sea, and Mr. Hore, a mate of the Queen, and three men were, with difficulty, rescued from a watery grave. Un able to proceed with the embarkation, or even to com municate with the shore, the Medea had to retrace her way back, leaVing some thirty officers and men with the ships' boats, besides the explorin g party, on the sands, exposed to the inclemency of the weather without any other shelter than the bushes there abouts (fur all but two small tents hal been already shipped), until the 15th, when the weather lulled sufficiently to enable the steamer to return, and by the 18th every one was snugly housed on board, with twenty cases of marbles and casts, leaving on the ' beach some other seven cases containing the unwieldy portions of the horse and chimera tombs, which must remain u.ptil such time as a larger vessel is sent to hoist them in. It is currently rumoured that the Warspite, 50, has proceeded from Athens' for this purpose; The steamer then"steered for Macri, to water, and on the 20th she hove to off Rhodes, where the Cap tain and Mr. Fellows landed, to return the Paella •of the place the acknowledgments of the British Go vernment, for the facilities and protection he had afforded the expedition, the Xanthus district forming a portion of the p achalic of Rhodes, where also the lighters were left. On the evening of the 20th the steamer again pro ceeded on her voyage, intending to make the best of her way to Malta; but on the 21st, in consequence of a gale of wind from the south and westward, she was forced to put into Suda, in the island of Candia, and did not leave until the 24th. Throughout the 25th, and a part of the 26th, she encountered quite as strong a gale from the northward and eastward, when . she made fair way at the rate of ten miles an hour; but on the 27th and 28th the wind headed her, blow ing excessively hard from the westward, and, although she made Malta soon after noon on the latter day, it was not until ten at night that she came to an anchor, owing to the heavy cargo of marble she had on board. _ _ The vessel has suffered considerably, and will require a thorough overhauling before she proceeds, as it is said it is intended she shall, to England. Hawkins, who has proceeded to Smyrna overland, in hopes of meeting with objects of interest for a future campaign, is the only one of the party, besides two who have died, who has not returned. Great praise is due to Captain Warden and the officers of his vessel, and the expedition under his command, for having so satisfactorily perfornied this arduous service; and it will, no doubt, afford the friends of another zealous officer, Commander Graves, of the Beacon, some satisfaction to know that his plans and suggestions for the carrying the same into effect have tended, in a great measure, to the attain ment of this happy result. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SIR,—As a friend of the Rev. C. J. Scratchley, and an attentive listener to the wk ole of the evidence adduced in the case of suicide in Fleet-street, last week, I feel it right to express my unqualified dissent from your very harsh attack upon that gentleman. Your reasons for this censure may be thus briefly summed up : First,—That Mr. Scratchlev tried to draw from deceased a confession of a misdeed of which no proof was adduced in the evidence. Secondly,—That his language towards deceased (as overheard through a partition-wall) immediately before she destroyed herself, was of a " brutal and callous" character. Thirdly,—That the whole story, as given by Mr. Scratchley himself, confirms his heartlessness and cruelty; and, Fourthly,—That he admitted, " coolly deli berately,'having had connexion wit deceased arid pre vious to his entering the Church. To your first reason I answer, that the words of Mr. S. e‘ If you confess that you have robbed my brother, I will see what I can do for you") were no more than any person would have used, if convinced of the guilt of th 6 party addressed ; that the charge was substantiated by the production of fifteen pawn broker's tickets found on deceased, all of which were obtained on Dr. Scratchley's property; and that there was no intention to • prosecute deceased, since a sove reign was given her the day before for the purpose of redeeming some of the property.—(See the Coroner's notes.) I may add, that no person in his right senses would prosecute, or allow his brother to prosecute, a person who held his reputation in her hands. Your second motive of censure hangs upon a con versation heard through a wall, the witness acknow ledging that the person accused spoke so low that she could not distinctly hear his words. Need I add more on this head ? I will, however, testify that ten years' knowledge of Mr. S. would have made me look narrowly to the evidence of any witness who swore to having heard harsh language from him, even without the intervention of a wall. _ . . _ To the third point I reply that the story was not given by Mr. Scratchley, but by Rebecca Griffiin, sister to the deceased, a respectable person, mistress of the diocesan school at Canterbury, who, when exa mined, and cross-examined, stated that Mr. Scratch ley's conduct towards her sister had been one of uni form kindness and generosity beyond his means ; she moreover, testified tO that gentleman's going down to Canterbury a week previous to her sister s death, and, after mentioning the unfortunate habits she had fallen, into, conferring with her (witness) on the best method of reclaiming her sister, offering at the same time to provide for her maintenance in any respect able house they should fix upon for her residence. Does this look like heartlessness and cruelty? As to the fourth accusation, that Mr. S. " coolly and deliberately" admitted having had connexion with deceased previous to his entering the Church, I contend that such confession was absolutely necessary, that it was incumbent on him to lay the truth, the whole truth, before the public, and thus clear (!) his moral character as a clergyman, even though by so doing he left a stain on his younger days. It is not my purpose to attack the verdict found by the jury, as I understand that Mr. Scratchley is about to publish the whole of the evidence, and then trust to the opinion of the world for removing the odium cast on him by such public censure. Allow me, however, to mention one fact (omitted in the papers), that af ter th e re ading of the verdict one of the jury rose, and protested against " the censure passed on the conduct, of Mr. C. Scratchley;" and I know from subsequent inquiry that he did not stand alone in his dissent. Trusting toyour feelings of justice for the insertion of these remarks, I am, Sir, your obedient servant, London, Aprill ir aa , 4. E. SPENCER. [We publish Mr. Spencer's letter in our usual de sire to act, to the beAt of our judgment, with strict impartiality in all cases where the moral conduct of an individual has been inculpated. Of the letter, as any justification or defence of that conduct in Mr. Scratchley'sealewe can only say " valeat quantu m ." Belotrt umpr . Spencer o must excuse us if we rely much more upon the solemn opinion of the Coroner and the jury, on evidence so rec ently heard by them, than on o f a professed friend o f th e p ar t y re buked and the Coroner's commen tbluie kedby casuistry thefr finding and In these we se but too grave a corroboration w hi c h we felt it to be matter of public duty to of those remarks, --termed •by Mr. Spencer " an at tack,' the report of the inquest.—ED. Suit.] offerta ek, on' FATAL ACCIDENT ON 'TILE DOVER RAILWAY.— On Monday afternoon a fatal accident occurred on the above line to a poor fellow named Nunn, an under guard. The man, it appears, was proceeding with his train from Dover to London, and while passing under one of the arches at the Maidstone stat:on, he got up, and his head came in contact with the brickwork, kill ing him instantly. When the train arrived at Tunbridge, his mate discovered him lying on the carriage where he had previously sat, his head being literally dashed to pieces. lie was married, and was a sober and steady man.—Brighton Guardian. • SINGULAR ESCAPE OF A CIIILD.—WhiIe the up mid day train was passing al ong th e N or th Midl an d Railway, near the Rotherham station, on Saturday last, a little boy suddenly darted from his father's arms over the side of one of the second-class carriages. The train was going at full speed at the time, and it was with difficulty the father could be - restrained from leaping out of the carriage, so great was his anxiety to know the fate of his child. The circumstance having been communicated to the guard, he ordered 'the train to be put back for nearly two miles for that purpose, when, strange to say, the poor little fellow was perceived on the embankment, unhurt. On seeing his parent, he laughed and exclaimed, "Father, father, I am not hurt.' It turned out that he had fallen on the verge, of the line' and fortunately rolled down the embankment, which thus broke the shock that he roust have,.perhaps,,fatally experienced had he come in sudden contact with the level ground.—Leicester Chronicle. There stood in Fryitp, Tway Whitby, the king of that and the sur roun ding dales, rnea - - alis, the pride of suring in eireemferenee 14 yards at the bottom of the trunk ! The age of this monstrous tree isi of course un know% blit it is suppostll to har© responded to the vege tation of spring for about one thousand years ! Forty years ago it gav 1 bloom to its last foli4ge• . BRITISH SETTLEMENT ON BORNEO. ietffefeotruanlochoethckertorethaseoncomthiantiisstiloinatoift piracy, would pro W ve er a e n the establishment of a settlement on Borneo would be an act of the greatest wisdom on the part of the British Government. A steamer might be kept moving backwards and forwards between Singapore and the Borneo settlement, which would afford security to the numerous native traders who, at cer tain seasons, cover the China and Java seas on their way to or from Singapore. Besides the above, there are many other reasons, which render it exceedingly desirable that we should have a settlement on Borneo. One of these reasons is, the opportunity that would be afforded for suppressing the slave trade, which, with all its attendant evils, flourishes so rankly in Borneo, and a very powerful one it ought to be with a Government which has put itself so pro • minently forward as the assertor of the freedom of the human race, which has lavished so much treasure in putting an end to slavery in its own dominions, and which is every now and then on the point of em broiling itself with other Powers, because they will not lend themselves so heartily as every Government calling itself Christian ought, to put down the traffic in slaves by strong means. A large and most inte resting field for missionary labour would•be opened up, by the establishment of an English settle; ment ; and this should not be without its weight, although hitherto with Protestant Powers this has has never been an avowed object, either for colonisation or conquest. A settlement on Borneo would, besides, be important as a resting-place for vessels on their way to from China, and as coal is to be had there, that circumstance in itself ought to be of the utmost weight. But it is also well ascertained that the soil and productions of this coun try are of so rich and varied a nature that, in a com mercial view alone, its occupation would be •of the highest importance; the inhabitants of Borneo would consume an immense quantity of British goods were they to be brought within their reach and offered to them at reasonable prices. The cheapness of English manufactured goods, compared with tho rate at which natives can produce similar articles, invariably leads to the preference of the former. In Province Wellesley where the natives have ascertained that they can pur chase three sarongs of English manufacture for the cost at which they themselves could produce one, nothing is to be found but the former, and there is no doubt that the same result would take place in Borneo. By found ing a settlement in Borneo, it thus appears that the i cause of.humanity and justice would b e served n the highest degree, a people capable of better things would be rescued from the most debasing and bruti fying superstitions and propensities, and raised in the scale of humanity and civilisation, and, what may be of as much importance in these utilitarian times, the commerce of Englatid would be extended to a very great amount. Whether the British Government take the matter in hand, or not, we hope Mr. Brooke will be enabled to persevere, and that success will ultimately crown his noble and philanthropic endea vours, and should he be enabled to achieve this single handed and alone, the greater will be the glory he will merit. —Singapore Free Press. METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS.—TUebtIay morn ing the new street 'leading froro the north-east angle of Leicester-square to St. Martin's-lane, was thrown open to the public as a thoroughfare, but for foot passengers only for the present. Under the belief that Sir Frederick Pollock will accept the ofEc.e of Chief Baron, and that Sir William Follett will be the Attorney-General, the names of three Queen's Counsel have been mentioned as claimants for the post of Solicitor-General—Mr. Kelly, Mr. Godson, and Mr. Thesiger. LONDON AND BEt la lITON R AILWAY.--Holiday tickets having been issued on Easter Monday, entitling the holders to return gratuitously, upwards of 7,500 passengers travelled between Brighton and London. The first down train contained 35 carriages, and was propelled by four engines. It arrived in Brighton at 29 minutes after 12 o'clock, instead of the usual time, 11 o'clock. A REVERSE OF FORTUNE.—We read in the Nor man Times :—" An unhappy man, who had not the means of paying even two sous for his bed, in a wretched quarter of the opulent city of Rouen, was detected in the act of begging, a few days ago, for what would enable him to repose his exhausted frame on a wretched pallet of straw. He was conducted before . the, authori ties, and with difficulty they extracted from him answers to the usual inquiries. The officer whose duty it was to interrogate the poor man soon discovered that he was ' the very Person who had been advertised at the police office as the heir to a large fortune." In consequence of the statement made in the House of Lords on the 4th of March, by the Marquis of Nor manby, respecting the suspension of the funds bequeathed by the late Rev. Wm. Tew, to Ballysax school, in the county Kildare, by the Board of Charitable Donations and Bequests in Dublin, by reason of that school having adopted the system of education prescribed b y the Na tional Board of Education in Ireland, the Right Hon. Lady Kiniaird, sister to his Grace the Duke of Leinster, has given to the Rector of Ballysax parish a donation of 251., in aid of the funds of the school. FIRE AND SMOKE.—A wet silk handke rchief, tied without folding over the face , is, it is sa id, security against suffocation from smoke; it permits free breath-. ing, and at the same time excludes the smoke from • the lungs. The railroad between Brunswick and flanover is to be opened on the Ist of JU4IO ~-- urg e Jglto.• —t •Ilgt sr peal f bf 'oir47 ;9 10, p.bi• 3 foio ; P. e bow, 1 Alice Os of sg Rol ; UO/ f r•;• 4 tot ciedc'e poi' ( 4,11,1 , e0 , !JO I O t t of ° ,ter f