The Sun. — London, England, 1832-01-30 00:00:00

SPMtIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. The public have observed, with some satisfaction, the conduct of the Bishops, who abstained from sup porting Lord Aberdeen's motion; but that satisfac tion would have been infinitely greater had they opposed it, because the inevitable consequence of defeating Ministers would have been general war. On the night in question the Anti-Reformers played their last card, and proceedings in both Houses were simultaneously taken to crush " the Bill," by eject ing the Ministers. Though Europe was to be de luged with blood, they cared not, provided they could continue the corruptions, which would gra tify their ambition and avatice, by allowing them to return again to power. It behoved, however, the Bishops to have taken a more decided part. As Ministers of the religion of peace, they should have acted in a body (as they did against Reform) to prevent, as far as in them lay, the possibility of a renewal of the miseries of war. They may cant for ever in their charges, interfere with the innocent and healthful recreations of the laborious classes on the only day open to them, and act tyrannically to wards their less fortunate brethren (insolently called the inferior clergy), without gaining the respect and esteem necessary to render their order serviceable to the ends of its institution. That they can only do by showing themselves ready, in and out of sea son, to sacrifice their personal aggrandisement and pecuniary advantages to the love of peace and their hatred of corruption. Should their absence on Thursday from the House be the consequence of a determination to withdraw altogether from politics (however it may be lamented that they should have acted upon it in the first instance, when by the presence they might have diminished the chance of lighting up the flames of war), they may he con gratulated as having chosen wisely for themselves. The Spiritual Lords are not necessary to constitute a House. It has been decided by the Judges that the King may hold a Parliament without aey of them. This was exemplified in the two first Par liaments of Charles 11., to which no Bishop was summoned. The Act of Uniformity, in the reign of Elizabeth, was passed without the concurrence of any of the Bishops, and therefore the style of " Lords Spiritual" is omitted throughout the whole. —Morning ( hroniele. The abuses of the Church Establishment are now in a fair way of remedy and correction, the active and intelligent Reformers of Birmingham having been provoked to the task of reformation. We have inserted an abridged report of the proceedings of a public meeting of inhabitant rate-payers of that town on Wednesday last, of a remarkable character —a meeting which, we predict, will involve future questions of no ordinary moment. The singular ignorance of the High Church party of the state of public opinion is constantly placing the hierarchy in unpopular situations, and the infatuated folly of the ultra churchmen in the pursuit of additional in fluence ever occasions a loss of present power. The history and jobbing of the Commission appointed to build new churches, under several snug Acts of Parliament, which some years since appropriated a million sterling for the supposed spiritual wants of the English laity, are well known to our readers. Those Act=, passed by Administrations and Parlia ments of which Englishmen will never see the like Heflin, violated, unperceived by the public, many of the anc ent principles of our popular parochial sys tem. (hider the semblance of a gift, they imposed an eventual burthen, not only on the members of the Established Church, but on the Dissenters of all classes, by means of rates, and entailing on the local districts the cost of repair. How far this appropriation of the public money has contributed to advance the best in terests of religion and the Church, may be estimated by the fact that in all the large towns, particularly in Leeds and Sheffield, the inhabitants have peremp torily and successfully resisted the rates proposed for the maintenance of these new edifices. The churchmen view them with jaundiced eye, 'as a grievous and questionable addition to their local hur thens—as a new channel for jobs and patronage ; and the Dissenters are naturally opposed to coercive contributions in support of churches to which they do not belon g ;. The Acts were notoriously smug gled through the House of Commons, and unfortu nately the odious nature of many enactments was now detected by those Nlerebers who opposed the Bills. The levy of tithe on all classes of the agri cultural comraunity may be borne with temper and fortitude, as an ancient custom protected by awful powers of the law ; but in the nineteenth century it was improbable that the spirited inhabitants of cur large commercial towns should willingly allow the grant of rates unjustly imposed upon all sects and classes of religionists. The facts connected with the recent meeting at Birmingham, as developed in the proceedings, are as follow :—A large church in the centre of the town was erected by the London Board of Commissioners in 1528, and consecrated by tae name of St. Peter. It was destroyed by fire, origi nating in defective flues, in January last, the bare walls and belfry alone remaining. The church was not in sered,and the cost of its re-erection will be about 6,000/. The London and Country Boards of Commission have called on the inhabitants of Birmingham, en der the sanction of divers law opinions, to raise a tare and restore St. Peter at the sole expense of the parishioners, under the last Commission Act, which directs parishes to " repair" commission churches. The rate-payers contend, that they cannot repair what does not exist. They argue that the church was burnt in consequence of defective work ; that the Commissioners did not take sufficient surety for its proper erection ; and have not yet ascertained , the liability of their architects and contractor , .— They further allege, that they did not ask for the church, and that no public investigation of the causes of its destruction has been vouchsafed. The liberal churchmen again urge that they will never burthen their dissenting fellow-townsmen to defray the cost of the places of worship of the Establish ment; and the Dissenters say, whatever the law, they will not, in these days, submit to so odious x ind scandalous a levy on their property. The Rec tor of St, Martin's and the churchwardens convened a public meeting nevertheless, and submitted to the aae-payers the following modest proposal : ' Thet the report be received, and that a rate of ls.3d. in the pound be made by the churchwardens, to be applied by them in repairing and restoring the church, according to the drawings and specifications by which it was built; and that they be further empowered, if possible, to obtain the proposed loan of 5,5001. from the Board for lending Exchequer Bills, upon the terms mentioned by their Se cretary, and, if obtained, that the churchwardens and over seers be authorised to give the securities required." A crowded and tumultuous meeting received the resolution with indignation and contempt. An amendment was proposed by the Low Bailiff, Mr. Wills, ably and numerously supported by men of all classes and sects, and ultimately passed as follows :- 4‘ That it is highly unjust that persons who are not Members of the Church of England, and who are dissen ters from it, should be compelled to contribute towards the support of the churches and inatitutions belonging to that establishment. That a Committee be appointed to in vestigate the circumstances under which Saint Peter's Church was built, to inquire into the legal liability of the architects and builders, to ascertain the liability of the in habitants to repair and restore the said church, and that such Committee do report to a special vestry to be called and advertised for that purpose." The meeting, after other resolutions, o ad• ur ne d t he vestry, and thus concluded this extraordinary ass embly. Many speakers avowed their determr nation to resist any levy, and in a body of several thousand persons, scarcely a dozen individuals supported the original resolution. If the rate is ultimately refused, a mandamus may be granted on the construction of the word " repair :" but the Court of King's Bench cannot extract the needful from the pockets of the Birmingham people, the only remedy being exconzinunica tion. Thus all the congregations of the town ( Birmingham, for parochial purposes, being one parish) may be cast out of the communion of the Church," and ten oA Churches emptied for the device of filling one new one ! When ecclesiastical ex oommunications formerly banished men u from the society and conversation of the faithful," it had ;ti terrors, but the remedy of suspending Birmingham laymen oh ingresses ccelcsi(e may, doubtless, be questioned. This local contest involves principle of the highest moment, and we trust that on that simple and immutable foundation the inhabitants of Birmingham will erect their standard of oppo sition. The spirit of the Acts in question never could contemplate the liabilities of rate-payers to re-erect these churches ; hut, however that may be, it is high time to make a stand against the encroach ments of crafty legislation. " The signs of the times" will not warrant these scandalous attempts to tax men of one religion for the maintenance of another ; and we are amazed at the lack of judg ment in those who at the present juncture gravely attempt such ecclesiastical felony. Anc ently the Bishops had the whole tithes of the diocese, a fourth part of which in every parish was applied to the re pairs of the Church. Custom, that expansive com. mon law, by the cunning devices of the Priests, transferred the burthen of reparation on the pa rishioners. But nevertheless, rates for repairs of churches can only be legally made and levied by virtue of the act of the major part of the parishioners assembled upon public notice. If the Churchwardens are cited in defect of repairs, the parishioners are only liable to spiritual censures; what terror or effect that process will have in Birmingham, we leave to the judgment of those who peruse the re port of the meeting.—Morning Chronicle. A Sunday Paper, which has advocated the Reform Bill with a calmness of tone suited to the importance of the subject, contains the following reflection upon the determination of Ministers to resign, had they been left in a minority in either House on Thursday last :—" This determination," says our contem porary, " plainly proves that there is a sense of fail ing power and influence in some quarter, and that their supporters must have good reason for the ex pression of the opinion that the Government must be strengthened before they can carry the Reform Bill." Our readers are already aware that the questions which put the existence of the Ministry to such imminent peril were those of the Dutch loan and the Dutch and Belgic negotiations. The party Journals upon both sides claim a triumph on the re sult of the divisions ; but we, who have no party views to serve, and no triumphs to participate, ex cept those which the public, and not persons in place, or in expectation of place, derive from the proceedings of the Legislature,—we see nothing in the result of these divisions to give a triumph to either party ;—the Ministers have had a narrow espape, and the Opposition have tried an unsuccess ful manoeuvre. To return, however, to the obser vation of our contemporary, we cannot concur in thinking that, because Ministers, who were not beaten, had made up their minds to go out of office if they had been beaten, we are to infer from thence that they were actuated by " a sense of failing power and influence" with respect to another, and totally different, question of policy, in which they have the people of the United Kingdom at their backs. If we must look to the question of Reform in conjunction with the tssc questions to which allusion has been made, the conclusion, as it strikes us, would be that the strength of the Reform question was precisely what had saved the Ministry. That Ministers took the same view of it themselves —that they depended on it for their deliverance in time of need—is evident from the use which they made of it in extremity. For what was that use ? Knowing that the Dutch loan involved the principle of economy—the most dangerous of all principles for a Government to encounter—they stated their intention to resign if they should be beaten. The statement of that intention was a threat, the force of which depended on the popularity of the great measure in which they are chiefly committed as an Administration. The threat, it is true, did not take effect upon some of the more staunch economists; —but does any man doubt that it had effect upon others, and that it contributed much to embarrass and perplex the conduct of those whom it did not succeed in bringing over ? We are aware that there have been, and still are, reports in circulation unfa vourable to the success of the Reform Bill; but it does not look as if Ministers were afraid of it when they threw themselves on its influence for support; and, a , to making their continuance in office depend upon any other contingency, we do not see how, in justice to themselves, they could remain if they had been beaten upon any of the leading points which affect their character as an Administration.—ellorn ling Herald. We have received a formidable volume of 330 pages, consisting of returns on the population and assessed taxes of 11() of the smaller boroughs, toge ther with Flans of the said boroughs, and of the towns or districts with which they are connected. These returns are made in answer to the instruc tions of the Secretary of Sate for the Home De ' partment, with a reference to Parliamentary rine sentation, end are the same which were so loudly de manded on the proposition that the House should go into a Committee. By fixing in the Bill the number of boroughs of which the disfranchising schedules are to consist, and then taking from a list of 110 boroughs, arrangedi according to their importance, the first 56 for schedule A, and the following 30 for schedule B, Ministers have skilfully narrowed the fighting ground of the opponents of the Bill, and destroyed a fertile source of future cavil and delay. No deceptive attempts to swell the number of its inhabitants can now rescue a borough from the ranks of the condemned, la ithout substituting another in its place. Hence every epithet was employed by the Opposition to stigmatize this proceeding, and every effort made by them to resist going into Corn tnittee till the reports of the Commissioners were laid before the House, although they well knew that the information contained in these reports might affect the arrangement, but could not by possibility affect the number of boroughs to be chosen, and that their reluctance to decide upon this number would neither be modified nor overcome by the production of the information for which they so loudly clamoured. The reports in question have, after some delay arising from their magnitude and the difficulty of preparing and arranging the numerous plans which accompany them, been laid before the House. Having devoted some time to their exami nation, we shall briefly explain the object of these reports. Many of our readers will be surprised to learn, that such is the imperfect and irregular man ner in which a variety of our statistical returns are prep, ared —so unfit the boundaries formed centuries ago for the present state of things, that it is im possible to procure accurate returns of the popula tion, number of houses, and amount of assessed taxes, for a large proportion of the towns of England, without instituting inquiries on the snot. Fewer still seem to have reflected that the word " town" is a vague and undefined ex pression, neither known nor adopted in official re turns, and that while the old borough is marked by a well-known line, the modern town, fre quently of mueh greater importance, has no legal or recognized boundary ; so that any attempt to estimate the comparative importance of the places liable to disfranchisement required, as a pre ' liminary step, that limits should be assigned to the town, and the houses, taxes, and population within these limits ascertained. To the Commissioners employed to report on boundaries for the new boroughs, this additional task was committed, after the late Bill was lost ; and the volume to which we have alluded is the result of their labours. It con tains reports on 120 boroughs, explained and illus trated by 72 lithographed plans, the statistical in formati tri being conveniently arranged in the form of tables. The duty of Commissioners has been one of responsibility and difficulty. By the limits which they have assigned, several places, such as Chippenham, Bridport, and Totness, have been placed beyond the schedules,whil e the claims of others to be associated to their parishes or townships, or to have the limits of jurisdiction substituted for those' of the elective franchise, having been carefully ex amined and discovered to be groundless, such places have been returned to the schedules where they were originally placed, sad from which, by repre sentation alone, they appear to have effected their escape. Complaints will of course be readc, that in some instances limits too extensive, in others too nar row, have bccn adopted—that a practice has been adopted at 011 C place which has not been followed at another. These and similar charges, this volume of reports will enable the Government to meet with confidence, and repel with ease. Referring to these documents, we are now enabled to estimate . the value of the many bold and unblushing assertions made during the discussions on the disfranchising clauses of the late Bill, with a view to patch up a deficient population. We may cite the cases of Ap pleby, Plympton, and Saltash. The limits of these . boroughs were said to be unknown, and undistm guishable from those of their parishes, and the framers of the Bill were vehemently reproached for disregarding their just and lawful claims to consider ation. It will scarcely be credited that, during the discussion on one of these boroughs, it was stated, on the authority of a petition from some of the principal inhabitants, that the boundary of the borough could not be ascertained,—that it was known to extend far into the adjoining parish, but to what extent was unknown. Now what is the commentary on this statement, furnished by the re ports of the Commissioners ? Why, that the boundary is perfectly and accurately known ; that it was perambulated in 1817; that a record of that perambulation is preserved in the office of the town clerk, duly certified by the authorities who were pre sent; and that a copy of the record of this perambu lation has been forwarded to the Home-offiee. A plan accompanied this report, setting out the unknown, undefined boundary in question, for the especial edi fication of those who may be disposed to pursue a similar course when the borough comes again under discussion. Saltash is disposed of in a similar man ner. Many similar instances might be quoted from these reports, which are creditable to the exertions and industry of the Commissioners and to the Go vernment by whom they have been directed. To their opponents they will probably furnish additional food for abuse, in proportion as they may tend to facilitate and promote the great measure with which they are connected. In the execution of their duty the Commissioners of the Government were in structed to procure information on a variety of topics connected with the Reform Bill. As a great deal of wrangling hail occurred on the question of what was the town and what was the borough, these Com missioners were directed to inquire —I, into the amount of population " of the town" beyond the borough ; 2, into the number of houses in the said town beyond the borough ; 3, into the number of houses worth 101. arid upwards in the town; 4, into the number of houses in the borough ; 5, into the number of houses worth 101. and upwards ire the said borough ; and 6, into the amount of assessed taxes paid by the town within the last year. For our own parts, we have never seen any necessity for such minute inquiries. The smaller boroughs, to a greater amount than are made to figure in the two condemned schedules A and B, were either so cor rupt, or so much under extraneous influence, com posing either so inadequate a constituency, or such a burlesque upon a constituency,—that they might have been struck out almost at random from the general mass of " insignificant pl ices." Ten or twenty more disfranchisements ought to have made no difference in the account, and instead of dis cussing the merits of each particular borough below 4,000 or 5,000, the sch e d u l e oug ht to have - been voted at once. It was impossible to go wrong within the limits of 110 or 120 boroughs taken from the lowest part of the scale, by any standard of wealth or population, whether that standard was established by the census and assessments of the last ten years, or by the census arid assessments of the present. Ministers, in answering useless scruples, have undertaken a great deal of ungrateful labour, and lost a great deal of valuable time; and we can scarcely hope that at last this immense volume will be as satisfactory to their enemies as it was unne cessary to their friends.—Tintes. ' The notions of the present Administration as to what is required or admitted in pecuniary matters, by the laws of honour and good faith, are somewhat whimsical. Their first Budget—which fortunately failed, for we had not then a Reforming House of Commons—was signalised by an attempt to impose a tax upon the transfer of funded property, in vio lation of the contract with that portion of the British people, who had trusted their property to the honour and integrity of the Legislature—ofa contract re corded and attested in numerous Acts of Parliament. Let any man of ordinary understanding contrast this fraudulent endeavour to break through the obli gation of an exp ress con t ract, i n which British sub jects were the parties interested, with the vague, unmeaning, and absurd pretences now set tip by the same Ministers, in order to show that good faith required them to continue the payment to the Russian Government of large sums of the public money of Great Britain, and to perpetuate the obli gation of an onerous contract with that Power, from which, in virtue of its express terms, and its plain and obvious meaning, circumstances had set them wholly free. It is scarcely possible to think so meanly of the understandings of any body of men as to suppose it possible for them, with whatever sc 'enmity or vehemence they may assert it, to enter tain the opinion which Ministers profess, that the separation of Holland and Bel; uin leaves in full force a contract, one of the conditions of which was, that it should be void from the moment when those two countries should, by any means whatever, be dissevered from each other. With no disposition to think too well of the capacity of his 31ajcsty's Ministers, we can at least say that we have tried to imagine this mistake pos sible in their case, and have found it impossible. The British Government undertook the payment of her portion of the Russian Dutch Loan because Great Britain had, or supposed itself to haste, an interest in maintaining the union of Belgium and Holland, and undertook it upon a condition which was likely to interest Russia also in the maintenance of that union. If circumstances have, at the same time that they exonerated us from this obligation, created a real or supposed British interest, in respect to the policy and conduct of Russia, opposite to that which at first gave rise to it—if, instead of de siring that Russia should be vigilant and zealous in the maintenance or restoration of the union of the Netherlands, we have become anxious to obtain the ready acquiescence of Russia in the dissolution of that union—this might perhaps have been a reason for offering to Russia some new inducement to con cur in our altered views, but it could be none fur clandestinely and illegally reviving a national obliga tion which circumstances had extinguished; it could be none for appropriating to one purpose the funds which Parliament had voted for a purpose diame trically opposite; it could be none for an attempt to withdraw an important transaction, in which the interests of the nation are deeply concerned, from the revision and controul of Parliament. The only rational view of the transaction seems to be, that the continued payment by Great Britam of the interest of this loan has been intended as a bribe to Russia to keep quiet. The remittance was a kind of protocol dorec, by which it was intimated to Russia that in disregarding her guarantee, as Great Britain and France had determined to disregard theirs, she should lose nothing. " Agree with us to abandon Holland," we can imagine Lord Palmer ston to have simpered, " and we shall pay notwith , standing the terms of the treat:a Have we not so intoxicated the people by our delightful questi on o f Reform that they will be blind to every thing e l se ?" It' the Noble Lord did say this, and it is probable that he may have said something at least to this effect, he must by this time begin to think that he has trusted to the Reform intoxication rather too much. It is a fine thing no doubt to talk of having p re _ served the peace of Europe; and up .n the w h o l e i t is perhaps more favourable to Ministers to s uppose that they have given away a ver y lar g e sum of mo ny t f o r otßussia,disturbed, orde r than to in to prevent the peace of Eu ropept the alterna tive of supposing that they have given it away without motive of any kind. Yet they might as well have ascertained that this gift to Russia would he sufficient inducement to that Power to be as un just as themselves towards Holland, and as accom modating towards France. They might also, if it were only for form'► sake, as well have applied to the House of Commons for its sanction to their be nevolence ; and during the height of the Reform ma nia what is there that the House of Commons would have dared to refuse them? Perhaps, however, they were afraid of the people, and it may, we own, be rea sonably doubted whether the people of England would have tamely endured to be told, even by Reform Ministers, that they had thought it necessary to bribe Russia into peace, and had given away the money of the British nation lest the revolutionists of the Continent should be obstructed in their career. This is plainly what they have done, for, notwithstanding the palaver of the Attorney and So licitor General, nobody can believe that the treaty of 1815 was anything more than the cover of the bribe. Fortunately for the country these incapable and dishonest Ministers visibly approach the termi nation of their course. A decided majority (if the dependents of Ministers be deducted from the divi sions) of both Houses of Parliament have, on the same night, pronounced them to be unfit and un worthy any longer to administer the affairs of the nation. The discovery might, we think, have been made sooner. Happily, however, it is not yet too late. They have had time deeply to injure, but not entirely to ruin, the community.—Morning Post. COURT OF CHANCERY, JAN. 28. MILLER V. TRAVERS. In this cage, which was beard before the Lonn CHAN CELLOR, assisted by the Lord Chief Baron of the Ex. chequer and the Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Coin man Plees, their Lordships came to the Court of Chancery this morning, for the purpose of delivering judgment. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE pronounced the decisio❑ of the Court. The cause was instituted by the plaintiff, who claimed to be entitled under the will of the testator, Sir John Edward Rigges Miller, to oertain estates in the county of Clare, in Ireland. By that will, the testator devised to the plaintiff all his estates in the city and county of Limerick. The Vice-Chancellor had ordered an issue to try whether the testator meant to give the plaintiff his estates in the county of Clare, and whether a paper writ ing which it was said was intended to form one of the sheets of the will, but had been accidentally omitted, did, i❑ fact, constitute a part of the will. The case had conic before this Court on appeal from the decision of his Honour. The main question appeared to be, whether parole evidence was admissible to show what was the in tention of the testator as to his estates in the county of Clare. The facts relating to it were very simple. The testator by his will gave his freehold and leasehold estates in the county and city of Limerick to the plaintiff. He had an estate in the city of Limerick, hut none in the county. It was said that the estate in the city of Limerick was so small and so encumbered, that the testator could not mean to bequeath that alone, because it would be inconsistent with the intention he expressed elsewhere; and it was also alleged, that in the draught of the will the words estates in the counties of Limerick and Clare had been inserted, lut were left out by mistake in the copy, which was afterwards engrossed, and with those omissions the will was sent to the testator for execution. If parole evidence could be at all admissible in such a case, perhaps enough had been shown to incline the Court to its admission here; hut, on consideration, they were of opi nion that as the will did take effect in passing the estate in the city of Limerick, this case did not come within the range of the (I, cisions to which the rule relative to latent ambiguities applied. There was no ambiguity on the face of the will, because it effectually passed, as it purported to pass, an estate i❑ the city of Limerick, and there was none in the county to pass. His Lordship then com mented on the cases cited in the argument, and said, that o❑ the authority of those cases, as well as on reason and principle, it would be useless to try the issue. As to the' second point relating to the last sheet, that was a question merely of fact, and further evidence was desirable : a snore precise investigation might, therefore, he properly granted. It had been contended at the hearing, that the estate i■ Clare would pass under the will as it now stood, but as that question had not been fully argued, it remained for further consideration. The LORD CHANCELLOR fully concurred in the judg ment pronounced, and expressed his thanks to their Lord ships for the assistance they had rendered to him, and for which the parties to the suit were also indebted. The first part of the order of the Vice-Chancellor was dis charged by this decision, and the issue confined to the question whether the omitted sheet had been intended to form a pint of the will. INGRAM V. WYATT. Mr. FOLLETT followed on the same side as S;r Herbert Jenner, and having concluded his argument, the case was ordered to be resumed on Tuesday next. EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE. Early on Saturday morning the inhabitants of Chelmsford were alarmed by the report that a man was lying dead in the church-yard, with his throat dreadfully cut, which, on proceeding to the spot, was found to be but too true. It appeared that the unfortunate man committed the fatal act in the porch, and, from the quantity of blood therein, must have remained there some time before he went into the yard, where he was found by the sexton, quite dead, more than twenty yards distant from the porch, with his head lying on a grave, upon which he had fallen, no doubt, from exhaustion and loss of blood; and it would seem that the act must have been com mitted on the Friday evening, as the porch doors are not open till nine in the morning, long before which the body was found. A gentleman of the registry-office (which is over the porch) heard some person enter it a little after six the previous evenin g , and aft erwar d s stagger out as if i ntox i cate d , b ut he heard no groan or other sound of distress, although itt all probability it was then the deed was done, There was found, at a short distance, a knife with a blood -stained razor blade. He was a stranger at Chelmsford, where he had been begging a day or two previously, and was in distress. He was ad vanced in years, and, from his personal appearance, seemed to have been in better circumstances, but nothing was discovered upon his person, that we have heard of, shelving either his name, calling, or where he came from. Monday morning an inquest was held at the poor-honse,when, amongst other evi dence, the following by John Harold was given:— " I am assistant to Mr..J. Cremer, silversmith. I have seen the body, and recognise it as that of a man who came to Mr. Cremer's shop about eleven or twelve o'clock on Wednesday last. The front part of his head was bald, and he had on a speckled waiscoat. He begged alms. I asked him where he was going. He said to Edinburgh. I asked him where he came from ; he said America, and that he had been living in Canada. He also said that that he had been a Writer to the Signet at Edinburgh, and there saved a considerable sum of money. That he went out to Canada, and speculated largely in the corn and timber trades, and that he had an establishment at Montreal. His address was very good indeed, and he was evidently a person who had had a very supe rior e ducation. He had, he said, lost his money by speculating, and could not work—all he could work at was his pen. He also told me that he had ar rived at Devonport about a month ago. I asked him why, if he was going to Edinburgh, lie came into E cie money,%e him,ari but d dis edncot?k referrednHe o w h i s%a r 'ildi t e o rhe t e h tl e o' a o gd :e n. r o s efleired}iini(di not the churchyard. odue, what torthe ansihi come m he to v I sawelduphishattd r aAirOdmshaaeride of :'''eOntOh ar, him after that. My belief at the time very e good." eased s h o T u h l d be stripped , and his clothes closel y search ed , to see e the manlier of • wa s that he had his bee a n dd a re m ss a , n an o d f r i e r s is pec c t lo al t r h il e it s y , , w f h ro ic m h Coroner y thetl appeared hteorehigtvaevebeoerndeorrsigtii)naatll if anyt hi n g could be discovered respecting, him ; but only a few blank papers were found. The Co roner then remarked upon the evidence ; and, after a short consultation, the Jury returned a verdict that the deceased destroyed himself in a fit of temporary insanity.—Essex Standard. - - Sir RozERT PEEL, has evidently relinquished his former position of leader of the House of commons to 3lr. CHOKER. It must have been very painful to the ex treme modesty of the latter, to find himself the political successor of the Right Hon. Baronet, particularly as Sir CHARLES WETHERELL presented equal claims to the situa tion, as being an inflexible Tory, and a perpetual opposer of the Reform Bill in all its stages.—Morniny Advertiser. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. 90W -STREET. SaturdayUu a youth dressed in a most fashionable style, a la Prince de Cumberland, with the short Hussar jacket, was brought before TrzostAs HALLS, Esq. charged with being one of the !moat expert pickpockets . in the western part of the metropolis, and with cutting open the reticule of a lady (who arrived that morning in a carriage at the entrance of the new Strand Theatre, to take places at the box-office), with intent to steal her purse. According to the statement of the police, a more I.rececious little vil lain does not exist " upon the town." He dressed so re spectably, that he has been able to carry on a thriving trade at the theatres for some time unsuspected ; and the plunder obtained at places of public amusement by regular pickpockets is so considerable, that a thief lately examined at Bow-street-office offered Higgins, a policeman, 201. weekly if he would allow him " the run" of Covent garden Theatre. The policeman swore to the prisoner cutting the lady's reticule. Several officers stated that the prisoner was a reputed thief. Prisoner—l have done nothing. I have robbed nobody, and there is no one here to charge me with robbery. I request that my property, taken by the officer, may be returned to me. Air. HALLS—You attempted to commit a robbery, and you are known to be a common thief. You are on the high road to the gallows ; and the sentence of the Court is that you be confined two moaths in the House of Correction. HATT ON-GARDEN. On Saturday the office was crowded to excess by the in habitant householders of St. Pancras parish, upon whom distress-warrants bad been levied fur poor's rates, &c., to hear the examination of Mr. William Eves, of Somers• town, who was brought up on a warrant, charged by Key, a constable of St. Pancras, with having threatened to do him some bodily harm. The prosecutor stated that in December last a great number of the inhabitant householders were summoned to that office for the poor rates, when, in consequence of the plea of great distress, the Magistrates allowed them until the 15th of January to pay the rates. The great body, however, seemed determined to resist the payment, and on application to them they refused to accede to the demand, in consequence of which distress-warrants were granted against them, and witness we one of the officers sele , :ted to levy. On Tuesday afternoon last be went to the house of the defendant, accompanied by a broker and another individual, and knocked at the door, which was opened by Mrs. Eves, wh• informed witness that her husband was not at borne. He proceeded towards the parlour-door, and Mrs. Eves endeavoured to prevent his entrance, on which he put his foot against the parlour-door, and kept it open. The defendant came out of the parlour and swore that he would break his head if he did not leave the place. He said he would pay the rate, but not the expenses, and at length he became very violent, and was about to strike witness, who was obliged to defend himself with his staff. The money was eventually paid, and on leaving the place the defendant threatened to serve him out when he was without his staff. Mr. LAING asked the defendant what he had to say. Mr. Eves—That the constable over-stepped the bounds of his duty on entering my house. I contend that be had no right to do so. Mfr. LAING—Have you any witnesses? Mr. Eves—l do not deny having opposed the officer ; but at a time of distress like the present, when it is well known that our parish is in an extreme state of excitation, it is necessary that mild measures, and especially mildness on the part of the officers, should be exercised. Mr. LAING—You must put in your own recognisance. Mr. Eves made further observations upcn the ejsiem, and trusted that it would soon be altered. Mr. LAING told him if he was not satisfied, he might put in bail, and he procured two housekeepers upon the spot to become his sureties. Mr. Brown, another inhabitant, was charged by the same officer with an assault. The defendant denied the assault, but he was held to bail. MARLBOROUGH-STREET. The driver of the hackney-chariot, No. 49, was sum• moned for taking one shilling more than allowed by law for a fare. It appeared that a gentleman named Austin engaged the defendant to take himself and three friends from Aldersgate-street to Oxford-street, for which half-a crown was tendered to the coachman, and refused, he de manding an extra shilling for the fourth individual, his chariot being licensed to carry only three persons. Three shillings and sixpence were consequently given to the de fendant, who was now summoned for the overcharge. Mr. CONANT said, that if the defendant had been called upon to take more persons than he was licensed to carry, he had an undoubted right to refuse to do so; but having consented, he could not demand any additional sum. The defendant having pleaded ignorance of the law as it now stood, was fined in the mitigated penalty of 10s. and costs. A young man named Meehan, a native of the " first gem of the ocean," &c., charged a woman named Davis with being accessory to a robbery which bad been com mitted on his person, under the following circumstances:— It appeared that the complainant went to Drury-lane two shilling gallery, accompanied by his wife and brother-in law, and the bottle having been freely handed round, and copiously partaken of by the husband, he droppAl into a " peaceful slumber," with his pretty red head reclining on the bosom of his " dear wife." While in this situation Mrs. Meehan contrived to empty one of his breeches pockets, and the brother-in-law the other—so between them they succeeded very quickly in lightening the repos ing youth of S sovereigns and some loose silver, with which they decamped, leaving the unsuspecting husband " alone in his glory." " The loud and boisterous laugh" which followed the tricks in the pantomime disturbed the nap of the young Irishman—and, half asleep and half awake, he placed his arm round the waist of a woman near him, believing her to be the same whom he had taken " for better, for worse ;" but he soon found out his mis take on receiving a broadsider on his dexter cheek from the shoulder-of-mutton hand of the fair one. On being brought to his senses, he made a thousand apologies for the mistake, and then looked round for his wife and brother-in-law ; but he looked and waited, and waited and looked, in vain, all which time various circumstances passed in rapid succession over his disordered imagination. At length he incautiously put his hands in his pockets, while in a deep study, and the dreadful truth for the first time flashed across his mind. He jumped up as one who had received an electric shock, and, to the astonishment of those near him, made a precipitate rush out of the theatre, to make inquiries after the fugitives. Having a suspicion they had taken refuge in the house of Mrs. Da vis, the complainant had her taken into custody ; but the charge he made against her not being sufficient for her de tention, she was set at liberty. This day the husband again appeared at this office, and made an application to the clerk for a warrant to get back his wife, he having discovered she was at a house near the Regent's-park, where several of the " tall soldiers" frequented. He was refused admittance, but, o❑ applying an eye to the key hole, he perceived a female sitting on the knee of one of the giant red-coats, which female he verily believed to be his wife. On being asked why he wished for " a restitu tion of conjugal rights" when his wife had behaved in so disreputable a manner, he replied, he thought he could reclaim her• by advising with her. The clerk observed, he could not giant a warrant under such circumstances ; and the applicant left the office with a tear starting from his eye. QUEEN- S QUARE. Edward pimii : o T ,wasb s r -e o a u d g a h zeay, oN t upin f ~u( . 28, s ) t,idy b U y pp a e E p r oli b ce ury-set, constable re of the B division, and placed at the bar before Mr. WHITE, charged with setting fire to his own house, under the following mysterious circumstances. John Benton, a police constable of the B division ,No.houra s 10, about three o'clock in the morning, was on duty i n Ebury. street. On passing the prison e r's door, he ob serve d v a e l ry ighstingtlutrioaru,glat s he h p a a d rlo n u e r ve s h r u: e t e e n rs a ; thoughtlliigehtat tthat a i t t was before, and he got upon a wall and looked over the shutters, when he discovered that the room was on fire. He imme diately knocked loudly at the door, and called to the inmates that the house was on fire. The prisoner answered him from up stairs, but befote he could get to open the door, witness had burst it open, and found the prisoner with his three children in the passage. They all got out of the house, and witness seat for the engines. On their arrival, the fire was extinguished in about a quarter of an hour. The fire had originated in the corner of the room next to the door, the wall was of lath and plaster, part of the partition was burnt through, and the fire had extended into the back room. There were four or five mop-sticks in the corner of the room where the fire had commenced, and they were partly burnt. Mr. WHITE—Did you observe any thing near the place that could have caused the fire? Witness—l (lid not ; there were no grates in the room, a few rags lay in a corner, but not near the fire. I afterwards examined up stairs, but there was no furniture or any grates in the house. Mr. WIIITE —Did the prisoner , ;ay any thing about thr fire ? Witness—l asked him if he could account for the fire, and he said that he could not tell how it happened. Mr. WHITE—Do you know any thing of the prisoner Witness-1 have understood that he is a very bad character ; EDINBURGH CORN NIARKET.—Jan. 25. We had a large supply of all kinds of Grain to-day, except Barley, and sales were still brisk. Wheat same top, and up 6d. on the average. Barley 239 quarters ; same top, and up led. on the average. Oats 347 quarters, up Is. 4d. on the top, and Id. on the average. Pease and Beans 40 quarters; up 2s. on the top, and 3s. 10d. on the average. Wheat. \ Barley. Oate. First 6Bs Od 37s 6d I 28s Od Second 'Third s4s Od 29s Od 19s 4d Pease. 37s Od 35s Od 334 Od flea)ts. 37s O 1 358 Od 33s Od PRICES OF PROVISIONS, &c, peer lb. .r Os. 3d. to Os. GI Freshßutter, lb. 5.10,1. to Is 0:1. Nltitton —0 3 0 6 Salt Ditto— —0 10 1 0 Veal 0 8 1 0 Ditto, per ex t. 84 0 94 0 Pork— 0 4 0 6 Eggs, per doz. 0 9 0 0 Lamb, per qr. 2 0 2 6 OatStrawOqi.)ll 6 12 6 Fallow, cwt....3S 0 40 0 Wheat Ditto...lo 0 11 0 Quartern Loaf 0 7 0 8 Barley Ditto 9 0 10 0 Potatoes, 171 lb. 0 3 0 0 Hay, per 1 2 1 6 EDINBURGH MEAL We had a middling supply of which met with a good sale, at if Per Sack of 280Ib. Imp. h'irst Oatmeal Second ditto 1 16 0 Barleymeal 1 10 0 Peaseneeal 1 10 0 Pot Barley—No. 1, per cwt. P2..i MARKET.--Jan. 24. Oatmeal at this day's market, Lst week's prices. Per Stone of 141 b. Imp. First Oatmeal £0 2 0 Second ditto Barleymeal 0 1 8 Peasemeal .-2d, 155.-3 d, 2`..,5. GLASGOW CORN There is a steady business don DI A RKET.—Jan. 25. ig in our Grain market, without any change in price. Wheat, per 2401 b. s. d, 8. 4. Oats, per 2641 b. s. d. 8. d. British, old 250 to 30 0 Irish l6 oto 18 6 IICW Canada, free ..... ... '27 0 '29 0 , Beans, I:2r 2601 b. Irish Barley, per 3201 b. Scottish English — 0 C Pease, Scottish ... 17 0 10 0 Scottish 27 6 28 0 Oatme4l,perl4olb. 15 0 17 0 Irish and my attention has been drawn to the house, as a strong suspicion existed that dead bodies were concealed in the house. Mr. WHITE—Does the prisoner's house adjoin any other ? Witness—Yes ; Nos. 27 and 29 are on each -ide of it. Mr. WHITE-What is your opinion, from the examina tion of the premises, as to the cause of the fire. Do you think it was from accident or design ? Witness—My opinion is that it was set fire to purposely. Prisoner—Do you mean to swear that I set fire to the house? Witness—l did not say that. Louisa Service lived next door to the prisoner. About twelve o'clock at night there was a smell of burning in the house; she searched the house from the top to the bottom, but could not discover any thing. She wr' very much alarmed, particularly 113 the prisoner's children had fre quently called out to her that their father would burn her house down. She lay down on the bed, and between three and four o'clock there was a cry of fire at the prisoner's house. J. Southerwood, the beadle and engine-keeper, made a similar statement es the police constable about the place in the room where the fire happened. Mr. WHITE—Do you know any thing of the prisoner ? Witness—l have known him some years. He formerly kept a china and glass warehouse, and about four years ago I apprehended him for killing his wife, and brought him to this office. He was tried at the Old Bailey for the offence, found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. He has since been brought to the office, for using threats, and bound over to keep the peace. Mr. WHITE—What property is there in the house? Witness—l would not give ss. for every thing in the house. Air. WHITE—What business does the prisoner follow now ? Witness—He makes brushes. Abraham Service resided next door, and we, a builder. He gave the prisoner iii charge to the police constable. For some length of time he suspected that something of the kind would take place. His wife bad told him that the prisoner's children had held lighted whisps of straw out of the window, and called out that their father would put it down his chimney, and set the house on fire. He had ex amined the place where the fire happened, and to hiss it we most extraordinary how it could have happened. Mr. WHITE—Are you of opinion that it was from ac cident or design. Witness--I cannot say. To me it is the most marvellous thing in the world. There was nu cambustible material or any thing near the place. I do not like to form a judgment : perhaps the life of a fellow creature is at stake. I examined the house, and never saw such a deplorable picture of misery in my life. The prisoner's three children were now brought for ward ; the eldest was about thirteen, and the youngest about six; they had scarcely any clothing on, and looked the picture of wretchedness. The youngest boy had nei ther shoes nor stockings, and looked half starved. The boys denied having made ase of any expressions about setting fire to the adjoining house, es detailed by the previous witnesses. - Mr. Caleb Hall, of No. 2, George-street, Montagu square, coal-merchant, stated that himself and partner were the agents for the house where the prisoner lived. The house did belong to Mr. Turner, who died about eight or nine months ago. The prisoner owed about 1201. for rent. Some time ago an execution had been put in the house. They had frequently tried to get the prisoner toleave the house, but he refused to quit; they had even offered him a sum of money to go out, but he refused to give up possession. Mr. WHITE—Do you know whether the premises are insured or not ? Witness—l do not. Mr. WiirrE (to the prisoner)—Do you wish to say any thing in answer to the charge ? Prisoner—l am quite innocent of the charge. I came home about five o'clock in the afternoon, having been out all day selling my goods. How the fire happened I cannot tell, for I knew nothing about it until I was awoke by the police. Mr. WHITE directed a letter to he written to the pari.h officers to take care of the unfortunate children, and ordered the prisoner to be remanded. COUNTRY CORN MARKETS. DURING LAST WEEK. i Wheat. Barley. Oats. Beans. Per Quarter. Carlisle. , 8. to S. 56 58 53 s. to s. 35 32 38 s. to s. 23 21 30 i 0 23 36 -- Hexham Morpeth 59 !3" 33 32 40 Penrith Sheffield 59 36 C) 40 59 64 , 31 37 s.d. s.d. s.d. s.d. 60 69 36 40 70 90; 4 8 54 9 3 9 6 6 0 6 6 70 9 3 3 6 46 9 0 9 3 5 8 6 0 7 3 7 8 4 0 4 4 90 10 01 4 6 50 Winchester —. 21 22 24 s. d. s. d. 18 20 36 40 36 40 33 4 0 36 40 23 28 22 26 40 42 46 s. d. s. d. 00 00 56 60 56 60 56 60 76 80 00 00 73 7 6 Per Bushel. Carmarthen Coventry Newcastle (Staff.) Northallertnn Stone. . Swansea Warwick „ Per 8011. Barnardeastle Durham. _ 17 0 1 16 0 18 6 15 6 90 100 90 100 96 100 96 100 50 60 56 79 50 68 50 70 0 0 11 0 10 0 12 t 3 9 0 10 U 00 0 Richmond Stockton ......„,..., WAKEFIELD CORN MARKET.—Jan. 27. Wheat, Red, Norfolk and Suffblk —s. 535. to 58s. fine 02.5. -- Lin. and Cam. , _s. 525. to 58a. fine file. -- Yorkshire g. 555. to 58s. fine Gls. White —s. 575. to 625. fine 659. Foreign, Red —s. 48s. •to 53s fine 6O'. White 9. —s. to —S. Barley, Norfolk and Suffolk ifs. to 33s ' fine 654. tine 375. Lincolnshire 33s. to 36s fine Val Yorkshire Wold 32s. to 365. Foreign Beans, Small Tick 335. to :365. Oats, Potato • fine 38s. fine —s. fine 425. tine 37s fine 2t;s. --: Poland s. 21s. to 245. fine 259, Friezland and Small . s 18s. to 225. fine 245. Mealing lld. to 1214 d. per Stone. Shelling 355. to 36e. Od. per Load. Malt 3ss. 425. fine 455. per Load. __ _ _.. _ Rapeseed ..., 201. Os. 221. Os. 241, Os..per Last. SCOTCH MARKETS. Wheat. ' Barley Oats. I Beans. Oatmeal. Aberdeen 45 60 27 32 21 32 36 Berwick.-- 40 44 21 23 15 21 26 27 37 40 Coldstream 39 43 20 22 16 18 30 31 Cupar 42 59 29 32 25 26 38 30 Dundee,. 5O 64 21 24 16 17 35 36 Elgin..... 52 52 56 32 35 20 22 20 24 150 56 32 33 20 22 30 34 .48 Kelso 140 45 27 39 25 32 45 48 43 44 Perth CO 65 28 31 20 25 20 25 I* -- - The size of the measure varies throughout the country. CORNWALL MARKETS. Tonto—Wheat (average) `..!3.4. o.l.—Barley, Bs. 9d. Sr. AUSTELL—Wheat, —a. to 23s.—Barley, —a. to t:.'l.—Oats, O. to Bs. bd. BODKIN—Wheat (average) 225. o,l.—Barley, 1:25. Od.—Oats, 7s HELsTON—Wheat, 23a. Od.—Barley, 12s Od. PENZANCE—Wheat, Oa. to 22s.—Barley, —a. to 12s.—Oats, Os. to 7s. 6,l.—Beef and Mutton, sd. to Od.—Pork, 3id. to Od.— Butter, 11d. perlb. , LISKCAltU—Wheat, —s. Od. to 2.ls.—Barley, Si. 6d.-o.tts, Os. to Bs. Ott. LauscEsTos— Wheat (average) t23s. Od.—Barley,lls.6,l—Oats„ 7s. 6d.—l3eef, sd.—Mutton, sd. ST. COLUNIB—Wheat, 225. to 23s.—Barley, I Is. to lai.-13eef, and Mutton, 4d. to sd.—Veal, 4d.—Laiub, sd. MARRIED. On the 18th inst. at the Governor's House, Edinburgh Castle, Capt. James Archibald Campbell, 47th Regiment, eldest son of D. Campbell, Esq., to Sophia Amelia, youngest daughter of Lieut.-Colonel Harvey, Private Secretary to hislate Royal High ness the Duke of Kent. _ . On the .'Sth inst2;iYslington, Mr. It. Dixon, of Furnival't-inn, to Margaret, daughter of Mr. W. Mitchell, of Colebrooke-row, I,lington. DIED. On the 'nth ingt. aged 93, Mrs. Shrimpton, of Bedford square, relict of the late J. Shrimpton, Esq. On the 27th inst. in Berkeley-street, Connaught-square, Mr... Greenacre. On the 14th of October, at St. Helena, Mrs. C. Younge, wife )f Captain A. A. Younge, of the St. Helena Regiment, in the 24th year of her age. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY M U RDO YOUNG, AT SUN OFFICE, IL ) STRAND, LoNno,