The Sun. — London, England, 1836-01-08 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. The shuffling, pettifogging Times has taken ad vantage of a mere verbal mis-translation in the fifth number of the Portfolio, to charge us with an attempt to pervert the meaning of a passage in Prince Lieven's dispatch to the prejudice of the D u k e o f W e lli ng ton. The French original runs thus :—" Le Duc de Wel lington, a employe l'intervalle qui vient de s'ecouler enter la derniere session et celle qui se prepare, a grossir de tout son pouvoir le nombre de ses adherens, et dans cet interet vital , it a employe plus de soins et d'adresse que toes ses predecesseurs.' The Port folio translation of these words is as follows :—" The Duke of Wellington has employed the interval be tween the last session and the one about to open, in increasing, to the utmost of his power, the number of his adherents, and in this vital interest he has employed more money and address than any of his predecessors." Every school-boy knows that soins literally means " diligence," or " application ;" but the translator in this case turned into plain English the thought really intended by the Prince to have been expressed, for, immediately after this sentence, we find another, concerning the interpretation of which no reasonable doubt can be entertained. " Not being able," says the Prince Lieven, still delineating the then Prime Minister s character, " to conceal from himself the in sufficiency of his talents, as a Statesman and an orator, to draw into the sphere of his opinions the majority of both Houses, he wished to secure, at least, the number of votes by means more simple, and which are not l ess efficacious in this country than in any other." What are the " simple" and the " efficacious" means here alluded to ? Not, perhaps, the actual payment of so many thousand pounds sterling for votes and proxies— that is a mode of corruption which has grown out of fashion since the days of Sir Robert Walpole. No ; the Duke, according to Prince Lieven's informa tion, bartered money's worth for Parliamentary sup port—he gave in exchange for that precious commodity, patronage—civil, ecclesiastical, military, and naval. Younger sons were provided for—the pension list was swelled ; all this was not a bank-note, it is true, but it was something which at the final stage of the process uniformly assumed, by a wonderful metamorphosis, the form and the value of that magic paper. If soins, therefore, be not " money," it is a sort of ingot, capa ble, by due voting, of being very easily converted into the current coin of the realm. By way of repairing the damage which the dispatch in question has in flicted upon the Ministerial character of its Tory patron, the Times reminds us of the great victories achieved by his Grace in the Peninsula. We have no desire to cast a single cloud upon the Duke of Wel lington's fame as a soldier. In that capacity he stands unrivalled. But his Grace is not the only example of the truth, ascertained by historical experience, that a mind educated in the camp, and formed to or ganise and impel vast military machines, has much to forget and more to learn before it can com mand fortune in the council. The talent for ad ministering a great empire, for comprehending its posi tive wants, and its true interests at home and abroad, for forecasting the probabilities of men's wishes, and for directing their actions to a given purpose, may not be of a quality superior to that which planned the lines of Torres Vedras, and won the fields of Sala manca and Vittoria ; but undoubtedly it is a talent perfectly distinct from the other in all its elements, and in that course of thought which can alone mature it to perfection. The whole progress of the leader of our armies has been a path of fight that never can fade from our :rational records. The career of the same man, as the director of our domestic and external policy, has been signalised by the most egregious inconsistencies and blunders. He refused Catholic emancipation until he coerced Ireland to resistance; he then gave her what he had no longer power to deny—be gave it in a manner that produced no gratitude—and he endeavoured to oppose its natural consequences. In that struggle he fell. He acknowledged Donna Maria as Sovereign of Portugal, and yet, such i.vas the flexibility of his mind in the presence of party prejudices and passions, that before he left office he was on the eve of violating the national faith by re cognising Don Miguel. His first act on assuming the premiership was to declare the destruction of the Turkish fleet at Navarino an "untoward" event ; ne vertheless, while our armaments were under his control, he suffered Russia to cross the Balkan, to descend into the plains of Romania, and to approach within two days' march of Constantinople. A battle fought in the time of one Government was, in the Duke's estimation, unfortunate, because it weakened Turkey ; but an invasion of the same State, calculated alto gether to annihilate her independence, which he might have prevented or resisted, he permitted to be success ful ! It will require a century of sound policy in our Councils to redeem this empire from the errors com mitted by the Conqueror of Waterloo, in his capacity of First Lord of the Treasury. He was not long enough Foreign Secretary to accomplish all the mischief he had begun. The Times sneers with its wonted effrontery at the opinions expressed some years ago by Lord Holland upon the subject of Our alliance with Turkey. When that Noble and accomplished person delivered those sentiments, our alliance with Turkey was a connection we had no great reason to be proud of. The Ottoman empire was then under the sway of the Janissaries—the Tories of that region ; neither life nor property was secure ; law and order were trampled upon beneath the hoofs of those armed banditti ; the commerce of our merchants frequently became the prey of their rapacity, and the persons of our Ministers were often endangered by their violence. Superstition, and its offspring, fanaticism, held the capital in perpetual terror—and massacre and con flagration periodically realized its worst forebodings. Lord Holland has nothing to repent of in having de clared that such a country was unworthy of being allied to England. But now, the Janissaries are no more. The abuses of Tory domination and bigotry have yielded in Turkey, as in England, to bold and searching and sagacious reforms. The Sovereign of that empire, though not free from faults, has felt the necessity of adopting European improvements in every department of his Government. Ever since the hour when the destruction of his Tory masters was com pleted, he has applied himself incessantly and effec tively to the extirpation of all abuses, and the - entire regeneration of the national institutions. Life, pro perty, religious and civil liberty, are as inviolable now in Turkey as in England. Our alliance with her has at present nothing in it calculated to repel the lofty, the unchanging, the truly English, the purely Whig principles and feelings of such a Statesman as Lord Holland. Besides, when that nobleman expressed the sentiment alluded to, the daring designs of Russia had not been developed. The Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi had not been concluded. The Warsaw Speech had not been spoken. The Throne of the North was then occupied by a Prince, who felt that he owed a large debt of gratitude to England, for the subsidies which enabled him to save his empire, and for the prostra tion of his irreconcileable foe. But by whom has he i been succeeded? By a Czar who outrages all the decencies of Royal bearing, by the ferocity of his language and the violence of his conduct—by a per son who, having no intellectual superiority of his own to depend upon, has become the willing and degraded instrument of an aristocracy, as fanatical, as igno rant, as base and as ravenous, as the oligarchy which still struggles for ascendancy amongst our selves. If Lord Holland and his colleagues were capable of conceiving the notion that Turkey ought to be surrendered to the mercy of such a Calmuc as this, we should be the first to resist folly and imbe cility so enormous and unpardonable. We should call upon the country to expel such Ministers from the Cabinet, and to set upon their foreheads a brand of in delible disgrace. But we h ave the satisfaction to know that their deliberations are all that we and the country can desire upon this subject—a subject every day beco m i ng of more pressing importance. Their path is marked out. They see clearly the object which they have to attain ; they have declared through their proper representative, that the independence of Turkey can perish only with the existence of England herself. The time of action is not yet arrived ; if it had, the Government is prepared for it. Of this the country cannot long remain ignorant after Parliament shall have assembled.—Morning Chronicle. The appearance of a series, or rather a variety, of documents, asserted to be " State papers," illustrative of the history of our times, which have been published at weekly intervals, commencing with the 28th of last November, under the appropriate title of the Portfolio, excites a good deal of attention. The first document, which in fact constitutes the whole of the Portfolio No. 1., is a memoir of Count Bernstorff to the King of Prussia, dated in January, 1831, and therefore about coeval with the Grey (Reform) Ministry, in which will be found the prospectus and principles, though not the first suggestions, of the Prusso-Ger man commercial league. With that we have nothing to do at present. N 0.2 contains, Ist, a suppressed passage of the Warsaw speech, with observations. The said pas sage is neither more nor less than an avowal that, hence forward, Poland has no rights—that Nicholas has no duties to discharge towards her, except in his quality of " Emperor of Russia,"—that is, the duty of sacri ficing whatever is Polish, absolutely and completely, to the interests or demands of Russia. " On the whole I am satisfied that things have arrived at that point at which I am only Emperor of Russia. It is in that character that you belong to me." He deigns no longer to wear the mask of King of Poland. 2d and 3d, two official papers on the state of Germany, the latter of them drawn up under the direction of a Russian Minister at St. Petersburgh, and distributed (liberally !) amongst several of the German Govern ments. No. 3 is an important number. It offers some striking observations on the Warsaw speech, on the throwing away of all disguise by Nicholas, and on the studied publicity given to that speech by the agents of the Russian Cabinet throughout Europe. It is re marked that " the speech at Warsaw was addressed to the Dardanelles. It announces a new series of mea sures of a far more decided character than those which have preceded."—" The mask was worse than useless ; it is now cast aside. The Muscovite banner is dis played, and feints and ambuscades give place to a forward movement, where rapidity and counte nance are become the means of success." After stating that a little while ago people were flat enough to ask each other " Whether Russia had any " mischievous designs ?" the Portfolio proceeds to say, that it is no longer her designs that are discussed; it is her intentions, which she has herself made known, and that the question for Europe is transferred from a con sideration of the " projects" of Russia, to a calculation of her power. It is manifest from daily occurrences that Austria has begun to open her eyes more clearly to the rapid and determined movements of the Russian Government—to the effect of them upon the position of her own northern and eastern frontier—and to the necessity of being prepared for a course of action speedy and decisive. But it is justly observed in these papers, that the condition of Austria has within these six years changed considerably for the worse. The treaty of Adrianople, which so humbled and enfeebled Turkey ; the treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, whereby the latter was laid utterly prostrate ; the annihilation of Poland, as an obstacle in the path of Russia, and the establish ment of the Prussian league, by which a power es sentially adverse to Austria has been infinitely rein forced and aggrandized in the heart of Germany, have deeply impaired the self-dependency of the Austrian empire, and will compel it, under any crisis, to a more extensive reliance upon the co-operation of friendly Powers in the West, than if the Emperor Francis and Prince Metternich had exercised a little earlier vigilance. Our apprehension is, that whatever animation has been latterly displayed by the press, in its strictures upon Russia, and its appeals to opinion, is scarcely felt by that pertinacious Court as a circum stance upon which it had not already reckoned. The Foreign press may even be regarded by Russia as a safety-val‘i'e, through which national resentments at her • audacity are harmlessly carried off and dispersed. The Russian Government is supported at home in all its most aggressive projects, by a worse than semi barbarous people, who have no sympathies with Europe, and none but antipathies towards the un happy Poles, on whose behalf other nations have felt and spoken, but without the energy to act ; or towards the Turks, who, it is possible, may like wise fall a prey to the same inert and imbecile compas sion of the Western Powers, not capable of being roused into manly effort or effective aid in f tvour of a brave people, galled, trampled on, and tortured by the public enemy of all national independence, all human civilization, and peaceful prosperity. Few things are more clear, from passing events, than that Russia has now flung down the gauntlet : and that as regards Europe, the long-worshipped " equilibrium" —as regards Great Britain more especially, the most pregnant resources of her political and maritime great ness, depend on the gauntlet being promptly and re solutely taken up. How far can we hope for such an honourable result from the existing Whig-Radical Administration ? We have reason to believe that nothing would more effectually disconcert or paralyze the machinations of " the movement," meaning the revolutionary projectors here, than a bold and proud assertion of the rights of England as against Russian rapacity. It cannot be forgotten that Lord Holland, riot many years ago, when the Duke of Wellington called Turkey the natural ally of England, declared on the contrary his own desire that Russia should break up the Turkish empire, and take it into her own keep ing. He—honest man—saw no evil to be anticipated from Russian ambition ! How much of the slowness and hesi tation to act against Russia, which we always thought and said without reserve were exhibited by the Duke of Wellington, when she had her foot upon the neck of Turkey, may have been fairly attributed to such demonstrations as that made by the Whig auxiliary of the Muscovite oppressor ? What an earnest did it not contain of the difficulties and embarrassments which would have been got up by the Whig faction to obstruct the bravest and most generous exertions of this country under the ablest War Minister by whom they had ever been directed ? The illustrious Duke could not have forgotten the agonies inflicted on that faction of which Lord Holland had then for 20 years been among the most prominent leaders, by each suc cessive triumph achieved for the British arms under his command in Spain—he must have remembered, as every Englishman must, who reads the Parliamentary records of the six years from 1809 to 1814 inclusive, the screech-owl clamours with which every despatch from the great soldier announcing a fresh victory over the foreign foe was hailed by this disgraceful faction. Those who were for abandoning Spain to Bonaparte, it is no wonder were, some 16 or 17 years afterwards for surrendering Turkey to the enlightened and merci ful Czar ; nor can we doubt that the manifestation of such a spirit by Lord Holland and the Humes of the other House must have inspired some fears into the Wellington Ministry of the latter period, lest if they should resort to coercive measures in defence of British interests against Russia, the rabble of pedantic dreamers, and twopenny economists, might have withheld the means of all vigorous and successful operation. He re monstrated with Russia, and in some degree restrained her. He did no more. The real estimate made by Rus sia of the Duke of Wellington, and her inward dread of his sagacity and vigour, may be guessed at from some of the documents in the subsequent numbers of the Portfolio. It is not from the words employed that we are disposed to judge, so decidedly as from the temper of the Russian functionaries. There is the ill humour of spite and soreness in every paper wherein they mention the name of our illustrious countryman. They attempt to misdescribe and to undervalue him, and to screen their mortification behind the language of assum e d di sparagement . They knew that such expressions were grateful to the angry Czar. When they talked of his not seeing the consequences of his own acts, they meant only that he had penetrated the Russian purposes. It was not for nothing that an intriguing Ambassadress had the assurance to threaten George IV. with the resentment of Russia, if he should select the Duke of Wellington for his Minister. Was that an indication of contempt or fear, we should like to ask ? So it is stated in the Portfolio, No. 4, that after an " attentive examination of the despatches of Russia during several years, there were, except Prince Metternich, but two men in Europe who had given Russia any trouble—Mr. Canning and the D u k e o f Wellington." That it is t rue " she had overreached the Duke of Wellington, but she had to f ig ht for it, and congratulated herself on the v i c t ory : ' whereas " Lord Grey's Cabinet in the East, and in Greece, had left Russia absolutely nothing to desire. It had the merit of selecting Lord Ponsonby fo r t h e post h e at present occupies." Such are our hopes from Lord Palmerston, the fag-end of Lord Grey's Russia loving Cabinet. Heaven send us a good deliverance. We observe that nothing escapes the rancorous knavery of these low-minded men. In one of their journals within the present week, a long tirade is le velled at the Duke of Wellington, founded on a false translation of a word in the fifth number of the Port folio. It is said, and played upon throughout a whole article, that his Grace had employed more " money" and address than any of his predecessors in increasing the number of his adherents about the beginning of 1829. 11l as M. Matusewic or M.Lieven may have been disposed to speak of the Duke, they did not say a word about money. The French phrase is "II a employe plus de sozns' et d'adresse que tous ses predecesseurs" —more " diligence and skill." But a regard to truth was too much to look for from a Radical, because the Duke of Wellington cannot be injured by it.—Times. Since the preceding remarks were printed, we have received the following letter, and certainly it comes from a source entitled to every respect. Still we are not disposed to agree with the writer that these alleged State papers are all forgeries. We well know that a regular manufactory of literary forgery exists, and has long existed, at Paris, and it is quite possible that these documents have been submitted to the inspection and revision of the degraded crew of fraudulent opera tives who manage this: French " Brummagem." But in the whole catalogue of labourers in that disgraceful smithy, we do not believe that there is one man who has either political knowledge or literary skill sufficient for the composition of these documents. It is very probable that some of the documents are imperfect, and that some of the journeymen-forgers may have been employed to develope obscure expressions, or to fill up occasional " lacunes ;" but this, we suspect, is the full extent of the process performed in that workshop. It is, however, quite as probable that the documents are per fectly genuine; for " Diplomaticus" has not to learn that the portfolios of Statesmen are not always sealed books, and that a confidential person is not always identical with a person worthy of confidence. The internal evidence, except perhaps in the last published letter of Count Pozzo di Borgo, is in favour of the genuineness of the papers. The disparaging and artificial tone which diplomatists adopt, in order to impress an idea of their own superior sagacity, would, we dare say, be found in every private despatch of every Minister in Europe ; for an Ambassador thinks it his duty, ac cording to the " good old rule," so frankly avowed by Sir Henry Wotton, not only " to tell lies to the Court where he is stationed, for the good of his country," but also to tell lies to his own Court for the good of himself. The game is sometimes a dangerous one, and a clumsy or rash player is frequently ruined ; but an adroit and experienced gamester, whatever mischief he may do to others, is pretty sure to escape harmless, if he does not carry off the stakes. We could mention two or three names, but we hate personalities. W e are, however, obliged to " Diplomaticus" for his hint, and shall certainly look over the future Numbers of the Portfolio w:th very scrutinizing care. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir—l have been surprised of late to find your columns, and those of your contemporaries, overflowing with state papers, filled with protocols, crammed with despatches, and even declaring the independence of nations which scarcely exist. It is high time that an end should be put to this buffoonery. The state papers which have appeared in se veral journals, purporting to be the contents of a certain " Portfolio," published by Ridgway, are ingenious and amusing, which, considering their author, is not wonderful, but they are neither more nor lesS than forgeries. The principal performer in these notable inventions is a cer tain Parisian litterafeur, famous for his interesting auto biographical memoirs of sundry brave and fair worthies of a century past, and certain personal and political re velations in the career of a distinguished actor ire the late French empire. Conjoined with this skilful con coctor is a German well known in Paris, and formerly in the Polish Russian service, but who, either from philan tropic feelings, or the awkward circumstance of a pecuniary defalcation in his department, espoused with great fervour the liberal side in the recent convulsions in the Russian empire. This gentleman, who at present makes politics, and especially financial politics, his trade, was resident in London for several years. All the " State papers" pub lished in the Portfolio, and on which several of your co lucubrators have founded so many ingenious speculations, were transm►tted to this country either in French or Ger man ; but the German documents . are only translations from the Parisian manufacture, and they al' emanate from the same source. This hint may be useful to you. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, DIPLOMATICUS. Travellers' Club, Jan. 6, 1836.—Times. The very encouraging aspect of the Revenue, in duces us to consider in what manner any further re duction of taxation can be effected, so as to produce the most beneficial results to the commercial and agri cultural interests of the country. :We are so familiar with taxation in this country, that sufficient attention has not been paid to the principles which should regu late its imposition. It is quite clear that the Revenue should be derived from sources which require the smallest expenditure to collect, and which press most equally—that is, with reference to the ability to bear them—on the different classes of the commu nity. Adam Smith was of opinion that taxes ought to fall as much as possible on luxuries, under which head he classed all the taxes then existing but four, which he considered, taking into account the habits of the people and the climate of the coun try, necessaries of life—viz., salt, leather, soap, and candles. From the date of his Treatise, 1776, to the year 1816, no attention was paid to any principles of taxation. Many taxes were increased to such an ex tent as to lessen the revenue, as well by encouraging frauds as by causing the introduction of untaxed and cheaper substitutes. This was remarkably the case with hair-powder. From 1816 to 1829 and 1830, a very large amount of taxes was repealed. No prin ciple of selection was established—the most clamorous for the repeal of 4 tax were generally the most success ful. The House of Commons at that time consisted of a large majority of agriculturists, and they legis lated almost exclusively for the benefit of their own body. Thus the property-tax, which yielded fourteen millions of revenue, was repealed in 1816. The duty on malt was reduced three shillings per bushel— amounting to nearly four millions. In 1825 the salt duty, producing 1,600,000/. ; 1830, hides, skins, and beer, or nearly four millions more, besides the reduction on spirits. In the Tax department we find a reduction of the house and of part of the window duty, referring principally to small houses ; the tax on farm servants, horses used in husbandry, besides seve ral minor assessed taxes, amounting together to two millions. In the Customs we find the same interest attended to ; for out of four millions of duties reduced or repealed previous to 1830, two millions and a half directly benefited the agricultural interest or landlords, and the commercial body indirectly. Thus the duty on wine was reduced 1,000,000/. ; tobacco, 650,000/. ; export duty on coals, 900,000/. So that, of 32 millions of taxes repealed between 1816 and 1830, 28 millions affected directly the landed and aristo cratical interests of the country in the first degree, whilst only four millions could be considered in the first degree as beneficial to the commercial population. We are far from wishing it to be sup posed that the industrious classes have not benefited by these reductions ; but we are clear, that had the constitution of the House of Commons in 1816 been what it now is, we should not have had a remnant of the excise laws remaining, and we are even now surprised that laws opposed in every way to the liberal spirit of the age, have been tolerated so long. This we will illustrate more clearly, by showing the course which the Reformed Parliament has pursued, and be it remembered, with an essentially agricultural Chancellor of the Exchequer. The extension of the franchise consequent upon the passing of the Refor m Bill, was principally amongst those engaged in commerce—the residents in towns, the 101. household ers ; an d th ere fore a large pro portion of the new Members introduced by that Act represented the feelings and wants of the industrious classes, as they are called, to distinguish them from the agricultural holy. By exa mining the taxes repealed and reduced since that period, the effect on the policy of the country will be clearly seen. In the Tax department, the house tax, paid by towns, has been repealed, as well principally aas tbe tax taxes on servants employed in trade, travellers, clerks, shopmen, and advertisements, amounting toge ther to nearly 1,500,000/. In the Excise, printed ca licoes, 1,500,000/. ; candles, 500,000/. ; soap re duced, 600,000/. ; besides tiles, vinegar, stone bottles, sweets, and reductions on glass. In the Customs, sugar, 500,000/. ; co a l s carried coastways, 900,000/. : cotton wool, 300,000/. ; starch, 70,000/. ; and minor reductions amounting to 150,000/. In fact, before 1830, the reduction of taxation benefitted land and landlords in the first degree ;—subsequent to 1830, the commercial interests were most directly benefited. Every impartial observer must allow that exclu sive legislation of this kind is not best calculated to promote the welfare of the country, and that it is high time the Legislature of this great country should shew, that as the prosperity of each class depends on that of the whole, so, in the alterations henceforth to be intro duced into our fiscal laws, the interests of all will be considered. We believe many alterations are yet to be made which will essentially advance the interests of the agricultural and commercial population ; and we are more anxious to prove this, because, at the last election, many ultra Tories obtained votes, because they assumed, exclusively, the title of " farmers' friends," — an appellation to which they had no right, and one which we hope the present Government will prove that they really deserve. To-morrow we will enter into de tails necessary to elucidate the subject, and shew how the farmer and manufacturer may be assisted, by the introduction and passing of several useful measures.— Morninsz Advertiser. The Committee of the whole Court of Common Council met yesterday, as will be seen by the report in another part of our paper, to consider of the steps which the Corporation itself should take in the con cocting of its own reform. It appears from what transpired on the occasion, that the Government has resolved _to introduce a Bill at an early period of the session to correct the abuses which have long been known to exist in the Corporation of the City of London. But what that Bill is to be, or how far it is likely to fall short of the object, or to push beyond the actual necessity which the state of things re quires, nothing that fell from any of the speakers has put us in possession of. All we can infer from the proceeding is, that there exists among the members of the Corporation a jealousy of each other, as well as a suspicion of the intentions of the Government. This does not augur very favourably for the forthcom ing measure. The old adage suggests a caution against the employment of " too many cooks," and we confess that, in addition to this consideration, we have some doubt of the motives and intentions of parties who are over-anxious to intermeddle with the business of their own purification. It is true there are many flaming patriots in the City of London, but the flame may chalice to blow on one side when their own little privileges and interests are concerned. We say this without caring to what particular party it may chance to apply, and we shall take care lo remember it, and to act upon it, by a careful examination of the measure, when it comes out of the hands of the Government. Whether the whole proceeding was a juggle got up by the Government and their friends in the Corporation, to give a false importance to the production of which they are about to be delivered, or whether it was a bona fide manifestation of differences already in their birth, it would not be easy to determine. But in these times of management and finesse we have a right to doubt the straightforwardness of any proceeding the immediate ob ject of which does not appear very clearly upon the face of it, even after a discussion which pretended to explain its intention, and to substantiate its necessity. We, therefore, say to the public—who, with all submission, is the party most interested in the reform of the Corpo ration—watch narrowly the provisions of the Bill, and take care that it shall not violate the principles of the Constitution—that it shall neither exceed nor fall short of the demands of justice, but, that while it weeds out abuses with a powerful hand, it shall leave all the ad vantages already possessed in a better state than it found them. In furtherance of the same object, we would remark that the charge made by some of the speakers against certain individuals for communicating with the Government without being authorised to do so , implicates the Government as well as the indivi dual or individuals accused. It is not by the whisper ings of busy bodies upon one side or the other that a Government legislating for a nation should be influ enced in its acts. If information be required thete - is a direct way of asking for it, and it cannot be - : sistent with dignity or advantage in public any more than in private life, to encourage those gossipping spi rits, who are in general anxious to intrude their advice in proportion as it is mischievous or worthless. We trust that the forthcoming measure will betray no traces of such interference, or that, at all events, if it do, they will be obliterated before it requires the authority of law.—Morning Herald. Yesterday we surmised that the Municipal Reform Bill would at no distant period be charged, by our Liberalcontemporaries, with not " working well." To day we go further : in the overflowing of our charity we help those consistent Gentlemen to a fair excuse for demanding (the Whig-Radicals always demand) a modification of their once favourite measure : The subjoined extract from the West Kent Guardian, un der the head of " Chatham and Rochester," will pro bably be thought tolerably conclusive as to the practi cal merits of the Bill : " Thursday being the day appointed for the election of Aldermen, all parties were on the qui vive, but were at a loss to conceive how they could act, supposing there was an equality of votes on each side. The eighteen councillors assembled at ten o clock, and shortly afterwards proceeded to business. The first question was the appointment of a Chairman. Mr. G. Essell was nominated by the Conserva tives as havinc , a majority of vote s , and Mr. James Foo r d was started by the Rads for a similar reason. For each of these Gentlemen there was a parity of votes, conse quently they proceeded to business without a chairman— rather a novel way—thanks to Lord John Russell and his satellites for their ingenuity. The next question was the choice of aldermen. Mr. W. Nicholson proposed and Mr. Edward Boys seconded the following list of Conservatives : —Mr. Edward Manclark, Mr. John Gibbs, Mr. Robert Clements, Mr. W. Wildash, Mr. Robert Penn, and Mr. Edwd. Twopeny. " In opposition to these Gentlemen the following persons were started by the Rads, viz., Mr. G. Jeffereys, Mr. Ed ward Ross, Mr. J. C. Dyke, Mr. W. Payne, Mr. James Edwards, and Mr. Samuel Newson. " For each of these lists there was an equality of votes, no Aldermen were consequently elected, and the Court broke up without doing any business." Here we not only have the usual hitch in the " ma emteimhte,tboutthweewfionrkd t e h h a i n t e t r h y e " o m n a t c h h e i hfierrsyt nightitself o i s f a i p c o a n m t p o d r o e he ciuied restgarinadh glance, be done. that , p rtohoeoof aocete i T tsh h si sue susceptible o i eph teeiabtrlheeed of case even,stronger ; ut would at w p e r proof. beenWe a t r a e k t e o n l d that ont h e opinions e t a n high d legal ho thatthaeuyt concur authority have in stating the evil to be without remedy as the Bill now stands. This is rather awkward, to be sure • but there is one comfort in it. When parties, as in the instances before us, are equally divided, if the Reformed Town Councillors can do nothing, of course they can do no mischief ; such negative advantage, how ever, would hardly realize the anticipations of the admirers of Municipal Reform. All the noisy puffing, and boasting, and bragging that we have lately heard about the strength the O'Con neii_lVlelbourne Ministry will derive from the Corporate elections has been thrown away, if the new Town Councils should, to any considerable extent, be found inoperative for mischief ; because it is only by mischief that our most mischievous Ministers can be propped in their places. Were we very wrong in fan cying that a change would soon be thought expedient ? It might indeed be supposed that so immediate a ne cessity for alteration would seem to imply considerable incompetency in the authors of the measure ; but there would be nothing very new in the fact of men—and very cunning men too—attempting that, the perform ance of which they were totally incapable of. In those happy days when there were no Whig Minis ters, Lord Bacon found out that " there be that can pack the cards, and yet cannot play well ; so there are some that are good in canvasses and factions, that are otherwise weak men." And something like this would seem to have been the case with Lord John Russell and his colleagues in their notable scheme for Corporation " Reform."—Morning Post. ANTI-MALTHUSIAN.—The following remarkable i nscr iption is engraved on a tombstone in Conway Church yard, Carnarvonshire :—" Here lieth the body of Nicolas Brooks, of Conway, who was the forty-first child of Wil liam Brooks, Esq., by Alice his wife, and father of twenty seven children ; who died March 20, A.D. 1637." RENCONTRE WITH PIRATES. Captain Thomson, of the ship Troughton, has written to the owners of that vessel, describing the extraordinary escape of himself am.l crew from the perils of the sea, and from an attack of pirates, who boarded them whilst the ship was a wreck. Captain Thomson's letter is dated from Canton, July 11, and it appears that he left Singapore in the Troughton, on the 19th of June. On the 3d of July he encountered a severe gale which carried away the masts of the Troughton, and the men were obliged to keep work ing constantly at the pumps to prevent the vessel from sinking. After being for three days in danger of sinking, he succeeded in reaching the Manderin Cape, where the vessel was boarded by between three and four hundred men, armed with pikes and swords, who came to the Troughton in two large boats from the shore. Captain Thomson then proceeds to say : " On seeing their intention was to murder us, the mate and myself immediately jumped into the cabin and seized our pistols, with which we kept firing through the companion and skylights. The skylight were now torn to pieces and thrown overboard, yet, seeing we were determined, none of them had the courage to enter the cabin. They then hove down fire brands with the intention of burning us. Our hopes of life at this time were but faint, for I had already received two severe wounds in the right side, and had bled considerably. The cabins were now all in flames, and also the berths in which the mate and myself had taken shelter; death, at this time, in two of its most awful forms, presented itself, and we were left to the dreadful alternative of being butchered or burnt alive. It was at this awful crisis that the idea occurred to me of blowing the ship up with all on board rather than submit. We now threw three barrels of gunpowder into the flames, which ex ploded, but, from some unknown cause, did not take the desired effect, only springing one of the beams, and starting the deck planks, and the companion of the cabin. At the moment of the explosion I made my escape into one of the after-cabins ; this the mate could not do, the berth in which he was being on fire, and their spears pointed at him through the door ; how he succeeded after wards, in gaining the after-cabins unhurt is impossible for me to say ; however, he got into the larboard cabin, and myself the starboard. The larboard cabin being on fire, the flames and smoke soon drove him through the stern window into the sea, preferring, as he has since told me, drowning to being burned alive. Here he swam for a con siderable time, and had a great many spears darted at him, but fortunately was not wounded ; at last one, more humane than the rest of the villains, hauled him into the boat, and lashed him tight round the neck to a piece of timber that went across the stern of their boat. After the mate jumped overboard I found another barrel of powder, which I threw into the flames, but it had no effect. At this time I thought the mate had long since perished, and that myself and one of the seamen were the only living persons belonging to the ship. Shortly after I was surprised to hear the second mate call me by name, and beg of me to come upon deck, and my life would be spared ; but, being in an exhausted state, from the loss of so much blood, and the cabin being on fire, I ventured, and on coming up the com panion I received another severe wound in the head ; and I really believe the villain would certainly have killed me, if he had not been prevented by the rest. They then lashed me to the wheel chain, on my back, so tight as almost to stop circulation. Shortly after this they brought the mate from the boat, and lashed him alongside me. They had by this time extinguished the flames, and were breaking and tearing everything to pieces. They soon found the dollars, and after breaking and tearing to pieces a great many va lual►l. packages, and taking everything we had, to make sure that there were no more, by te❑ P.m. they left us. After they were gone, and the mate had recovered, the people were found locked in different parts of the ship, the cook and myself most severely wounded, and also one of the sea men ; the steward were also dreadfully burned from the ex plosion of part of the gunpowder. Fortunately the mate was but slightly wounded, and, after dressing our wounds as well as he could, we got the ship to Macao on Wednesday morning, when the mate immediately went on shore and stated the facts to Sir George Robinson, the superintendent of British trade." SUNDAY IN FRANCE-(PARIS.) In the morning, before breakfast, we walked into the streets, and were surprised to see the shops all open, and business proceeding as usual. If there was any difference from Saturday, it consisted in the great number of coaches, which might be seen hurrying off to Versailles or St. Cloud, and the towns in the neighbourhood of Paris, where recrea tion and amusement are resorted to more on the Sabbath than any other day of the week. Being desirous to ascer tain how the Sabbath was actually spent there, we resolved to repair to Versailles, where the French King goes to worship. Having resolved on this a day or t wo before ,hand, we were obliged to secure a coach, as they would occupied on that day. Having reached Versailles, we found little appearance for a while of his Majesty coming to the church. Shortly we were told he would be likely to come first to inspect the masons who were working ath is palace there, and then go to chapel. We were not a little astonished to find some hundreds of masons and other labourers busy at their work, repairing the palace. Here, too, the shops were all open—women washing in the open air—hay driving to the market—and all sorts of business proceeding as usual. Shortly after the King did arrive ; but we were told that no one could get within a hundred yards of his carriage, he is so closely guarded. We passed on to the Gardens of Ver sailles, which surpass all description for grandeur and ex tent. They were crowded with people promenading in every direction. Here the chief object of attraction was the palace of Buonaparte and the Empress Josephine ; it is open to the public, and servants are placed in it by Go vernment, to exhibit it to strangers for a shilling or two, Sabbath to them is the best day of the week. But this, with all its disregard for the Sabbath, was but a tithe of what we had yet to witness at St. Cloud, another royal residence, about six miles from Paris. It is a lovely spot, situate at the foot of a gentle declivity, beautifully studded with trees and long shady groves, and several very large fountains. Here there is an an nual fete or grand fair, which begins on the 6th of Sep tember, and lasts for three weeks. The 6th of Septem ber happened this year to be a Sabbath, but just so much the better for commencing the fair. Accordingly, on our arrival, about five o'clock in the afternoon, we found at least 8,000 or 10,000 persons collected, some promenading in the avenues, some loitering by the fountains, but the great mass engrossed with some kind of active amusement. Conceive a beautiful wood, with an open space in the centre, with tents and booths of every description—here a ball, and there a concert, shows and exhibitions without number, and an immense concourse of well-dressed people mixing in the dance, or trying their good fortune at some game of chance, amid the noise of shouting or music, and you may have some conception of the grand fair of St. Cloud. It is generally announced by authority to take place at one of the Royal residences, and graciously . countenanced by his Majesty as he returns from chapel in his carriage. The scene was such as we could have enjoyed at any other time, for the people were all sober, orderly, and well-behaved but such was not our idea of the way to spend a Sabbath. We now hastened back to the city, and found the gardens crowded with people, and the shops nearly all shut— most of them, we believe, close about four in the afternoon, for the purpose of getting some recreation. Now, in reality, is all Paris in the streets—the hum of human voices is heard everywhere—the public gardens are crowded with loungers, and the music is more splendid than usual. In the garden of the Palais Royal the fountain is playing, and on both sides of it may be seen crowds rushinc , into the theatres, which reap a rich harvest on Sabbath evenings ; and again, smaller parties of two or three desperate charac ters may be seen passing to and from the legalised gaming house, in one of the principal streets near this spot. Such is the mode of spending a Sabbath in Paris—public amuse ments, theatricals, and gambling 1 We retired to our rooms, sick and wearied with such scenes, having never before in one day witnessed so much of human depravity.—Glasgow Christian Journal. SHOCKING ACClDENT.—Yesterday morning, be tween ten and eleven o'clock, a young woman, between eighteen and nineteen years of age, one of the house maids in the family of John Rannie, Esq., of No. 7, Wilton -street, was sitting on the sill of one of the drawing room windows, cleaning it, when she lost her hold of the frame-work, and, instantly falling backwards, was precipi tated head foremost into the area, a descent of about 26 feet, and sustained very extensive and fearful injury. The poor creature was found to have received, in addition to many other severe injuries, a fracture of the spine of a very serious nature. She is at present considered in a very dan gerous state. ACCIDENT BY FIRE ARMS.--On Wednesday afternoon, between three and four o'clock, a young man, 24 years of age, of the name of James, residing at No. 18, Cleveland-street, Fitzroy-square, having heard that there was to be a grand pigeon match shot for at the shooting grounds, Chalk Farm, proceeded to the tavern with his fowling-piece, and afterwards took up a position in a field adjoining, for the purpose of shooting at birds that had escaped beyond the boundary grounds. Having during the afternoon discharged his fowling-piece several times, a pigeon, a few moments before the close of the match, flew over the boundary mark, and the unfortunate man fired at it, in doing which the barrel o f , his gun burst near the stock, and his left hand was shattered in a shocking manner. It is feared that amputation of the arm must be resorted to. THE MARKETS. COUNTRY CORN MARKETS DURING THE WEEK. Wheat. Barley. j Oats. Beans. Per Qu rtes.s. to S. IS. S. S. to s. S. to s. Blandford36 40 '2B 3:3 I 23 44 Brigg— Cambridge—.-- 35. 21 16 ' 30 Chard !35 38 26 28 16 19 136 33 Huntingdon 4!, 44 24 30 15 19 33 39 Long !28 38 16 20 30 34 Louth !33 38 25 28 15 17 32 35 36 43 128 30 i 22 26 :36 12 Newark ---.... ,31 40 23 32 20 30 33 46 Nottingham 34 29 28 31 19 28 35 42 Peterborough 24 37 22 29 15 M 32 40 Plymouth ,40 50 30 34 20 :231 Pontefract..., ' 67 43 27 43 Sleatbra 65 701 36 38 22 28 41 43 Uppinghain 34 37 24 '29 20 30 33 44 Wisbech 127 39 — 2 O 31 33 Pease. 8. to S 32 - 32 36 32 34 28 30 MARKS V —Jan. 7 Per Quarter. s. d. s. d. Barley.. 25 0 to 33 0 Oats IS 0 25 0 Beans (per sack) l7 0 22 0 Flour (per bag) 27 0 29 0 Bread (per 0 9 DEVIZES CORN Per Sack. s. d. s. d. First Wheat 2l oto 23 0 Second l7 0 20 0 Thirds 0 16 0 1236 Sacks of Wheat sold 18 3 at the average of LEEDS CORN M ARKET.—Jan. 5 Wheat, N'irfolk and Suflidk, 601 b. 255 325 , . t t o o 5 41[ ,. .1 :, York. and Lincoln. 69th. Barley, Norfolk and Suffolk Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Grinding Beans Oats, Potatoc —Alealing, k'or. 12d. to 13d Eng. 10d. to Ild. per stone. Shelling Rapeseed, English, 36/. to 37, LIVERPOOL CORN EXCHANGE.—Jan. 5. WHEAT, English, White, per 701 b. ------. Red Scotch, Welch, and Manx Irish, White 5 3 6 3 Red - Foreign OATS, English, Welsh, and Scotch, per 451 h 2 4 3 2 Irish Foreign BARLEY, English, Malting, per Imp. quarter 33 0 35 0 Scotch and Irish, per 601bs. - Feeding 3 6 3 6 BEANs, English, per Imperial quarter 42 0 45 0 ---- Irish, &c. Foreign '37 0 44 U PEASE, English, per Imperial quarter 4O 0 43 0 Foreign Floua, English, per 2801 b. 34 0 35 0 lrish OATMEAL, English and Irish, per 2401bs 22 0 24 6 INI , IAN CORN, IRA' 4401 b. RYE, per Imperial quarter MALT, per Imperial quarter IMPORT OF GRAIN for the Week ending Jan. 4. Wheat. Oats. I Barley Flour. Oatmeal. Qrs. Ors. Qrs. Foreign, Brls.l lrish,&c. Scks I Loads. 6,003 9;847 . 830 0 1 9,953 7,913 ----- - - SOUTHALL CATTLE MARKET.—Jan. 6. The supply of Beasts, Sheep, Calves, and Porkers, to this day's mar ket was moderately good. There was a moderate attendance of town and country buyers, and the trade was dull, at the following pries); per stone of Slb. to sink the offals Beef 3s. 4d. to 4s. 4d. I Veal N. 4d. to ss. Od. Mutton 3 2 ' 4 4 I Pork 3 2 4 2 Beasts, 177; Sheep, 1,963; Calves, 50; Pigs, SO. A small portion of the supply left the market unsold ROMFORD MARKET,—Jan. 6. s. d.tos. d. s. d. to s. d. Beef 3 0 4 2 Veal Mutton 3 4 4 4 Pork 3 4 4 4 Suckling Calves, Its. to ‘275.; Quarter old Store Pigs, 10s. to 20i. Mitch Cows, with their small Calt; 124 N. to 161. 10s. Supply moderate, and trade rather dull. I.IAILS/lAM MARKET—Jan. 6. Beef '3s. Bd. to 4s. 6d. Veal ' 4s. 4d. to 4s. Bd. I Mutton 3lO " 4 8 Pork 3 4 3 6 Supply good, and trade very dull CHICHESTER MARKET—Jan. 6. Beef I Mutton 3 6 4 4 Pork 3 4 310 Supply of fat stock moderately good, and trade rather dull. MEETINGS OF CREDITORS TO-MORROW. Baugh, draper, Great Russell.street, Bloomsbury 1 at 12 J Sandford, .tationer, Shrewsbur9 1 12 Two mendicants were placed at the bar. Each had a wooden leg, and singular enough, it was the l e ft w hi c h was wanting to each of th poor devils. The first, Gervais De quant, the type, the very prototype of your wallet-beggars, whom we no longer see but in the accounts of Callot—Oh, illustrious Charlet, where art thou to sketch for me this Gervais Dequant.—His immense coat, if submitted to the analytical researches of a connoisseur, would enable him to furnish a history of our progressive industry in cloths. Each patch of which it was composed was of different date, tex ture, and colour. The careful hand during which so many lustruins had repaired this curious garment, had, by its an. nual additions, succeeded in completing a quilted cuirass, bullet-proof. The rest of Gervais Dequant's dress corre sponded with that we have described. The only leg of poor Gervais was covered with a thick leather gaiter, which might well confer on its owner the surname of the famous " brass stocking of the pioneers." On the hoary head of the men dicant was a large cap, which had been velvet before the revolution, but which, by successive additions during a long series of years, partook of the thickce§s and variety which distinguished the rest of his costume. Gervais admitted that he had begged. " Look at me," said he to the magistrates, " and pronounce to what sort of use would you put mer The tribunal condemned him to '24 hours' imprisonment, and afterwards to be transferred to the mendicity depot. To Gervais succeeded Ladre. The latter was a little man, a sort of small edition of the gun-beggar of Gil Blas. It is true he did not actually point his pistol at the breast of' any of the charitable public who passed, but he very signi ficantly threatened those who refused him an alms. One of the city police arrested him in the Place Vendome, on the charge of two persons, to whom, on being refused, he said—" The day of vengeance,will come. Live commotion —terror for me. The rich will become poor in ,their turn, they will stretch forth their hands, and none will help them." Ladre charged the witnest. with an imposture.. " This fellow," said he, " came here tp get his two francs from me, but my skin is not worth so much." The Pre sident—" But you have resisted the party sent to arrest you ?" Ladre—" How could I suppose that I was speak to one of the police ? I saw advance towards me a man in plain clothes wearing a red riband at his button.hole. The cross on the breast of a policeman, and that to in the front of the column ! Sacre nom de"--President.—" Sit down." The Policeman—" My cross was got at Wagram —do you hear ?" Ladre was condemned to three months' imprisonment.—Gazette des Tribunaux. On Wednesday night, the 30th ult., Mrs. Norris, of Shoreham, after putting her two children to bed, placed her husband's woollen jacket before the fire to dry, and went in search of him. While she was absent he returned, and found the jacket singed, and the house filled with smoke. He instantly ran up stairs, when he discovered one of the children, about four years old, quite dead, and the other, a younger one, nearly so ; but, proper means being imme diately used, there are hopes of its recovery.—Brighton Gazette. (ADVERTISEMENT). The NEW FLAT GOLD WATCHES. The price in gold cases, with accurately finished ♦ertical — "movements £7 7 0 Ditto, with well-finished horizontal movements, in double bottomed engine-turned cases, .jewelled in four holes, with silver dial T. COX SAVORY'S Working Silversmith and Jeweiler, 47, Cornhill, London. N.B. A variety of Secmd-hand Silver Watches, may be selected from, all at Two Guineas each. Warranted. BIRTHS. On the 6th inst. at Maidstone, the lady of Sir Keith A. Jackson, Bart., of a son. On the 6th inst., in Greek-street, Soho-square, the lady of S. Lane, Esq., of a son. On the 6th inst., the lady of James King Simpkinson, Esq., of a daughter. On the 4th inst., at Brooklands Park, Hants, the lady of Lieut.- Colonel O'Meara, of a son. On the sth inst., at the GraAge, Oystermouth, near Swansea, the wife of the Rev. S. Davies, of a son. On the 6th inst., at Kennington-common, Surrey, Mrs. Thos. Fillmer of a son. On the 26th ult., the wife of Mr. James Coward, of Sloane street, Chelsea, of a son. MARRIED. On the 7th inst., at Trinity Church, Marylebone, Edward, eldest son of T. Norris, Esq., of Lincoln's Inn, to Jane Catherine, only child of the late P. Davis, Esq. On Thursday, at St, George's Churck, Hanover -square, John Dodd Lydell, Esq., of Henley-upon-Thames, banker, to Elizabeth Mary, only daughter of C. Hawthorne, Esq., of Portland-place, Reading. On the sth inst., at Walcot Church, Bath, Charles Darby, Esq., 52d Regiment Bengal Native Infantry, to Eliza Harriet, eldest' daughter of the late Major Browne, of the 67th Foot. D I E D ------------ ---- On the 6th inst., in Albemarle-street, Francisco Teixiera, Baron de Sampayo. On the sth inst., Frances, fourth daughter of the Rev. Henry Hippisley, of Lamborne-place, Berks. On the 6th inst., at Grove House, Twickenham, Frederick Car michael, Esq., aged 61. On the 6th inst., Mary, wife of J. Williams, Esq., of the Boyd; Dockyard, Woolwich. On the sth inst., at Oak Lodge, Croydon, aged 66, Thomas Us borne, Esq. On the 4th inst., aged 70, Mrs. James Stewart, of Dartmouth street, Westminster. On the 3d inst., Emma Jobson, the wife of Mr. James Strange, Queen's-row, Pimlico. late Atof York, ame ult., 10, Henry, y ounges t son o f Li eut.-Col. Wallace, ~,n the ki's Dr Guards. On th e Ist ult., at agoon the Government House, Prince Edward's Island, his Excellency Lieutenant-Governor Sir A. W. Young. On the 6th inst., at James -street, Buckingham -gate, Newman Knowlys, Esq., late Recorder of London, and a Bencher of Middle Temple, aged 76. O n the 4th inst., in Dorset-square, Henry Rhodes Morgan, Esq., of Manchester, Jamaica. On the sth inst., at Hitchin, Herts, aged 64, John Marshall, Esq. On the sth inst., Mr. G. Goodger, for many years publisher of the Morning Chronicle. He was a man of the strictest integrity, and was much esteemed not only by his employers, but by all who knew him. At Brighton, Louisa, the wife of Richard Marnell, Esq., of Marnells-gro ve , comi t y o f G a l way, Ireland. Mr. W. On the N 7 ton s t., at W an d ssvorth, aged 75, Elisabeth, relict o r e NOorth n the 6th inst., aged 71, F rances, relict of T. Gould, Esq., of aw-place, Herts. On the 3d inst., at Hastings, aged 22, Edward Petre Novella, a young artist of great Promise. London .: Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, at The Sun Office, No. 112, Strand, in the count. of Middlesex. THE SUN, LO►NDON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 1836.