The Sun. — London, England, 1832-04-21 00:00:00

SPIRIT UV PUBLIC JOURNALS, Raja Ramtnohun - ROT " Al) Exposition of the Practical Operation of- the Judicial .and Revenue Systems of India ) and of tile General Character and Condition of its Natkve Inhabitants, as submitted in Evidence to the Authorities in England, with Notes and Illtisrrations," &c. A book in nnglish by a flindoo of high caste, published in our own Capital, is assuredly a striking novelty in Lite rature. The Rajah writes with great modera tion and freedom from prejudice, and his opi nions on many points will have much %%Tight. But it is not our intention at present to give an account of the book. We wish merely to notice what he says respecting the physical con dition of the Indian peasantry. In Ml:bunting for the general inferiority of thn natives of India in physical qualities to the Northern natio ns , h e attributes much to the simplicity of the food which they use, chiefly from religious prejudices, observing that the natives of Africa and some parts of Arabia, though subject to the same or a greater intensity of heat, from using animal tor.d, are able to cope with any northern race in physical strength. " If the people of India (he says) were to be inclen.d. to abandon their religious prejudices, and thereh7 become ac watomed to the frequent and common age br a moderate proportion of animal food (a greater proportion of the land being gradually converted to the pasture of cattle), the physical qualities of the people might be very much im proved. For I have observed, with resp -ct t distant cousins (relations?) sprung from the same family, and living, in the sante district, when one branch of the family bad been converted to Mussulmanism, that those of the Mohammedan branch living in a freer manner, were dis tinguished by greater bodily activity and capacity for ezer tions than those of the other branch which had 'tdbered to the Hindoo simple mode of life." According to the Rajah, the cholera moths, which is now creating alarm in Europe, was of great advantage to the Ilindoos. Being asked, does the population increase rapidly ? He observes,— " it does increase considerably from the early marriages of the people, and from the males so seldom leaving the families, and almost never going abroad. But there are occasional strong natural checks to this superabundance. The vast number carried off of late years by cholera mor bus having lately reduced the surplus population, the con-• dition of the labourers has since been much improved in comparison with what it was before the people were thinned by that melancholy scourge." 1-Tow much there is in India to which we can find a parallel in Ireland—a populatiDn beyond the demand for labour, reduced to a low, vege table diet, which ever engenders typhus, as de structive as the Indian cholera, affording an occasional relief from redundancy. But, unfor tunately, the evil in Ireland is not confined to that country ; but from the proximity of the two islands, the potatoe-fed race make inroads into this country, lowering the physical condition of the people wherever they appear. Dr. Kay, of Manchester, whose valuable pamphlet on the moral and physical condition of the working classes we noticed some days ago, attributes the very worst effects on the population to the existence of an Irish Colony in Manchester. We had no idea, before reading this pamphlet, of the extent of pauperism in that city. - " The cases reliev - ed at the Churchwardens' Offices," he says, " are classed as Irish and English cases ; the first consist exclusively of Irish . cases without settlements ; but under the denomination of English cases are included all who have obtained settlements., whither English or Irish ; and this class comprises a very great proportion of Irish." Irish." The observation,. that under the deno mination of English cases are included all who have obtained settlements, whether English or Irish, must be kept in mind in perusing the fol lowing Table : DISTRICTS. Nov. Dec. Jan. and Feb. of 1827-8, 1829-30, 1830-31. Irish. Eng.l Irish. Eng. I Irish. Eng. I Irish. Eng. Newtown andAncoatsi 30411';60 36451239' 6601 16015 ;86918156 Central and Portland-st. 630 14286 1109 14136 1928 18259 2023 17 794 The Newtown and Ancoats districts have always contained a greater portion of Irish than any other portion of the .town ; but the increase of pauperism in the central and Portland Districts must evidently be ascribed to the recent. rapid colonization of Irish in Divisions, 3,7, and 10 ; since, whilst the Irish cases, having no settlements, have increased from 600 to 2,000, or are more than trebled—the eases having settlements, which have been relieved, have oily increased from 14,000 to 17,000, or about two-ninths. In the same period, the rapid relative increase of the Irish cases having no settlements, in the Newtown and Ancoats Districts, renders it extremely pro bable, that the increase of those cases which have ob tained settlements, is in a great measure to be imputed to the Irish ; and that pauperism, therefore, spreads most rapirry in an ignorant and demoralized population. . . . " The population of the township is 144,026 ; and the acts of parochial relief in one year, each continued through indefinite periods of time, were 321,172, of which acts 67,700 concerned Irish who had obtained no settlements." All who are acquainted with Ireland state that dyspepsia prevails to a most extraordinary ex tent among the lower orders in that country, owing to the wretched diet of the people. In Manchester the physical condition of the people has been greatly lowered by the admixture of Irish; and in the following passage Dr. kay furnishes some curious particulars regarding the inferiority of the stamina of the degraded past of the Manchester poor, compared with the de graded part of the Edinburgh poor " More than one-half (he says) of the offspring of the poor (as may be proved by the bills of mortality of the town) die before they biree completed their fifth year. The strongest survive; but the same causes which de stroy the weakest, impair the vigour of the more robust; and hence the children of our manufacturing population are proverbially pale and sallow, though not generally emaciated, nor the subjects of disease. We cannot sub scribe to those exaggerated and unscientific accounts of the physical ailments to which they are liable, which have been lately revived with an eagerness and haste equally un friendly to taste and truth ; but we are convinced that the operation of these ciuses, continuieg unchecked through successive generations, would tend to depress the health of the people ; and that consequent physical ills would accumulate in an unhappy progression. 46 We have avoided alluding to evidence which is faunded on general opinion, or depends merely on matters of per ception ; and have chiefly availed ourselves of such as ad mit of a statistictl classification. We may, however, be permitted to add, that our own experience, confirmed by that of those members of our profession, on whose judgment we can rely with the greatest confidence, induces na to conclude that diseases assume a lower and more chronic type in Manchester than in smaller towns and in agricultural districts; and a residence in the hospitals of }iehoburgh, and practice in the dispensaries amongst the most debased part of its inhabitants, enables us to affirm with confidence, that the diseases occurring here ad mit of less active antiphlogistic or depletory treat. ment than th ose i nc id ent to th degraded population of the Old Town of that city Diseases, we have said, assum e in this town a comparatively chronic type; and general prevalence of suck maladies are com patible._ with. a low rate of mortality. Acute diseases (which are eminently fatal) prevail, on the contrary, in a popula ion where the standard of health is high, and attack the most robust and plethoric. Thus a high rate of mor tality may often be observed in a community, where the number of persona affected with disease is small ; and on the other hand, general physical depression may concur with the prevalence of chronic maladies, and yet be unat tended with a great proportion of deaths. We have else where discussed the origin and shown the great prevalence of dyspepsia, gastralgia, e Meralgia, and chronic bronchitis and phthisis, in Manchester ; and this , reference to the subject may therefore be suflicien t hqre. Wff are disposed to believetbat..4arriparkon, between Manchester w, and other towns of the West of Scotland, in which there are large Irish colonies, would exhibit a eery differ ent result. from that of : the comparison with . Edinburgh. On the east coast-of Scotland there are yet comparati;ely fewArish, andthe vigour of the native population has not been impaired by ' an admixture with a potatoe:red rate. Are we to remain always pastie under evils of this mag nitude ? The institutions of England are, thank Goid, upon - the whole, well adapted to seeu:e the population against the evils of under-feeding. If the English were left to themselves, we should trust to their institutions, and the national ha bits, as a tolerable secuity against physical dete rioration. But while Ireland remains neglected, or rather abandoned to misrule for the sake of a selfish Aristocracy who wring Troth the poor peasants all but the p6tatoes and salt necessary for the lo , ,' . :ett animal existence, there can be no stcurity for the people of England. Manches ter, Glasgow, and Paisley, are as much Irish as British towns, and they will become less and less British every day. How petty those questions with which Ministers have been occupied regard ing Ireland, compared with that to whi c h we are alluding! The - support of a tithe-paid Esta blishment—not for the people, but for the sake of the Aristocracy—is deemed of far more conse quence than the prosperity of the peasantry of the tonntry. When shall we cease to legislate only for landholders ? How long are the people to be sacrificed to their selfishness and preju dices ?-IViornitfg diivnicie. The Mayor of Leeds having refused in his official capacity to call a public meeting, as re quired by several members of the Leeds Reform . . Association and of the Leeds Political Union, to address his Majesty on the subject of a speedy citation of Peers, a meeting was appointed in the legal form, to be held on Thursday last for the above purpose. His Worship the Mayor not only refused, but, like wiser, or at least more eminent personages, he attempted to give his reasons, — a ticklish proceeding for great men and for small. A Noble Duke, we persuade ourselves, would rather at this moment see his famous pro test expunged from the Lords' journals, than have himself and his protest likewise gibbeted and exposed to the wonder of all future tunes, by the light of such arguments as precede his Grace's signature to that ill-omened paper. So the little great autocrat of Leeds has probably received some hints before now that Mayors have no business with political discussion. His worship, fancying himself a statesman, twaddles it away through a whole paragraph about" inde pendence of Parliament," " subversion of un doubted rights," " own judgment," " freedom from control," and other branches of learning, which he has evidently borrowed from the ex- Premier. Now what has any officer of a Corporation to do with such fine words ? Could not he be satisfied with saying, " Ay," or " No," and not plaguing people with his opinions? We are told by this municipal Wellington, that the creation of Peers would be destructive of the independence of Parliament, and we are told this by a man who deems it by no means destructive of that independence, that a certain and weak minority of the Peers should nominate a third of the House of Commons, or that the King and Commons (and nation in the bargain) should be domineered over and robbed of the choicest attributes of liberty by a single faction of the Peers. If this gentleman objects to any control being exercised by one branch of the Legislature over another, how will he dispose of the same argument, when we employ it. against an interference by him or his anti-reform ing party with the King's prerogative of creating as many Peers as may suit the Royal pleasure? The fact is, that Peers will be made so as to meet the emergencies of the Bill. Lord Grey and his colleagues are now convinced, as well as we, or any of our Reforming friends of Leeds, London, or elsewhere, that if the Reform Law should slip through their hands, a halter a-piece would be mercy compared with the moral pu nishment which awaits them. There is no reason, we trust, for assuming (far other wise) that Lord Grey is not actuated by noble and generous motives ; but were he sensible only to the meanest and most vulgar, he would rather resort to a vigorous use of the prerogative than lose the Bill, and irretrievably perish with it. There are sixteen Anti-Reform interrogatories quoted by a respectable Evening Contemporary, comprising in them the multifarious essence of one short leading article put forth bya wo-begone morning Paper. Softest of Conservatives ! how many bright eyes must thy effusions of yesterday have dimmed ?—By how many pallid cheeks of thine own blanching must the labours of the toilette have been multiplied ? If the Reform Bill, this odious Reform Bill, do pass—dread thought !—there is an end of Tory administra tions for ever. That, indeed, is an argument, the argument, the true nail to drive,—it is the logical climax, and therefore, perhaps, by our amiable conservative, of whose education rhetoric as a science made no part, it is put foremost in the throng of dissuasives to their Lordships against the barbarous Bill. Then comes the hail-storm of questions, which the unfortunate Peers are one and all to answer to the best of their several consciences and understandings,—questions be ginning with an adjuration against the love of Popish ascendancy in Ireland, proceeding to an indignant vituperation of the attack by France upon Popish ascendancy in Italy, and finishing by a burst of eloquence in praise of Bishop Phill potts, who (happily, we are sure, for the Church establishment of this : country) is represented by his admirer to stand unrivalled and alone. That the Rev. Prelate may long maintain a solitude of repu lation, resembling in all particulars that ; he at present occupies, must be the wish ofevery friend to church and state. Since. the above, was written, the report o f th e proceedings at.. Leeds on Thursday last has reached us. We have no time to do more than recommend this animated picture of English feeling to the at tention of our readers of all ranks ;. and if there be any doubters upon the reality and depth of the reform spirit, as it pervades the whole king. 'doin, let them read this report, and be satisfied. The meeting was attended by 4,000 persons,. not embodying 'but merely representing a class forming but a sample of that intellectual and moral power which some of our coxcomical con servative Lords affect to despise.—Times. The conduct of the Ultra-Tory, Conserva tive, or by whatever name the party we Aide to I may choose to be designated, is the most ex traordinary and unaccountable that can well be imagined. Not contented with opposing Re- Lform at hothe, and resisting every amelioration of existing institutions, they carry their hatred of public freedom into their view of. all our foreign relations, bestowing all their sympathies on Fer dinand, Miguel, and Nicholas, while the fate of the unhappy Poles raises in them neither a sigh nor a bhish. Yet these persons have lately been Ministers of England, the hitherto proud asylum vx34 . freedom, and are l oo ki ng out f or the lucky 'lli otnenti.,which may reinstate them in their much loved and . .mstahsregretted offices. Th a t m e n may be,lioii . est . ly cippbsted no what they deem in. novapons either in the inetitliiiiihs Of 'their own . i ... or those of foreign - States we can readily un derstand ; but that this, in men aspiring to the character of British Statesmen, should resolve itself into a hatred of liberty every where,. pre sents a species of anomaly which no power .of reasoning which we possess, or which they have hitherto exerted, can lead us to understand. Can they flatter themselves for a moment that there exists the smallest chance of their being able to resist the spirit of freedom which exists at home, or that the Government of a nation of freemen can, by any possibility, become the effectual opponents of free institutions elsewhere? Unhappy Poland, indeed, isolated and hemmed in by the iron hand of oppression, may, for a time, at least, present a scene over which Freedom may mourn, but where Hope may still linger in the pro spect, however remote, of a day of retribution ; but in no other part of Europe can such a scene present itself, or the smallest chance be said to exist that despotism can ultimately triumph aver the active and awakened spirit of the age. And if such be the state of things abroad—if France, if Belgium, if Italy, if Germany, if even Spain and Portugal, present no prospect of the spirit of freedom, however for a moment thwarted, being effectually crushed, what room is there for the crooked policy of the Aberdeen school to hope to worm itself into ? And how less room and possible chance is there at home that even the bugbear of a cry of revolution can make any erectual stand against the ultimate success of a measure which, in fact, has the prevention of re volution as its basis ? We repeat, eien, what can men, aspiring to the character of British Statesmen, look for by their persistence in such a career as this ? They may, by untoward events, force themselves into office—though even that is not very probable ; but had they talents, had they sophistry, had they influence ten times greater than they have hitherto displayed, what the most remote chance is there of their retaining power for one single month, but by becoming Reformers at home, and the friends of liberal institutions in other countries ? —Morn. Herald. The various pretexts upon which the three despotic Powers of the " London Conference" repeatedly evaded their solemn engagements to ratify the Belgic treaty, which they had concur red with England and France in framing, we treated all along as false pretences used to gain time for some unavowed and ulterior purpose. That purpose is now manifest to every person who can reason at all upon public occurrences. It was the expectation, that the second reading of the Reform Bill could not be carried which led to so much shuffling and evasion ; for, with the expectation that the Bill would be rejected, the despotic Powers on the Continent enter tained the sanguine hope that the Duke of Wellington's party would be recalled to office, and, of course, all the "bad examples" which had been of late years given to Europe by the reac tion of tyranny against oppression would be put down ; and, of cours?, revolutionized Belgium, and, perhaps, revolutionized France would be brought under legitimate discipline by mea sures as strong and as effective as had been employed to reduce to " order and tran quillity" the refractory spirit of Poland. No sooner, however, was the second reading of the Reform Bill carried, and, of course, the hope of a return of Tory misrule in England rendered hopeless, than the Governments of Austria and Prussia gave in their reluctant adhesion to that treaty, which, if they had a particle of political honesty, they would have ratified, as origi nally , agreed upon, the 15th of November last, instead of avoiding the fulfiment of their contract for four long months, upon the most flimsy excuses, while they awaited the occurrence of an expected political change in England, which would have enabled them to get rid of the whole Babel of protocols which they had helped to construct, as easily as the Autocrat of Russia has annihilated the treaty of Vienna, without deigning to ask, or care, for the consent of the other parties to the com pact. But, after all the ratifications of Austria and Prussia—if the foreign journals, which are the organs of the despotic, can be be lieved—are by no means of that complete and satisfactory nature which, even if the ratifica tion of Russia were also exchanged, would bring the Belgic question to a settlement. As the Allgemeine Zeitung, in particular, explains the affair, it is to be taken as a ratification that ra tifies nothing, but only marks the opening of a new chapter of negotiattons. For instance, that Journal, speaking of the negotiations, which were commenced with a view to effecting some modification of the Belgic treaty, says—" These modifications are not given up, and, so far as they are founded on indisputable claims, will certainly be brought about ; the only difference is, that they were before considered as preceding, the ratification, and will now be subsequently dis cussed, but without losing any thing of their weight." Thus, upon the showing of the organ of the Holy Alliance, the treaty is only ratified by Austria and Prussia with a view to altering it, which is, in fact, con firming one thing, with a view of presently substituting something else for it. This is as bad as taking an oath with a mental reser vation. As to modifications, founded on indis putable claims, why were they not put forward before ? The articles of the treaty were more than once altered before it was draWn up as final and conclusive in the names of all the Five Powers ; and now, after the shuffling and evasion of many months, the ratification is only to be provisional. The more we see of this matter, the more strongly do we adhere to our original opinion, that our Government ought to have - abstained from their foolish intervention in the aff s airs.of Belgium and Holland, by which we have entangled ourselves in very useless and em barrassing' obligations.--/Iforning Herald. Among the various surmises which have been propagated by the organs of the Tory faction, or rather among .the downright falsehoods which are now their only, resource, as a means of an noyance and irritation to-their-opponents, there is one to which we slightly "adverted a few days ago, and which has since appeared under a different form, which we feel .bound to notice, as a gross hKe a n irn d uam s oa l a uu n rt d ho e or r r o ifz u ael s ds e a h t L t o a o c od k r di u n po Gl u n ree h ; i i s osn M o i t e h s a t t y. e T me months ago to ° create as many Peers as he might deem necessary for insuring the success of the re flection ; th b e u t subject, that u bj e owingct and to t the ? re md advantagea matureesty has a e o s - f better counsel than he then had, his become adverse to such measure, and .determined to let Lord Grey and his Bill sink or swim with the House as at present constit u t e d. Th at his Majesty `is is incapable of such • conduct, it is' almost needless to inform those of his subjects who are either personally acquainted with. his ehari r cie Mho have'bet!irat the trouble, for the purpose of forming cgittieh Ceo O u f tr . h i sr t eo , ni t ei o e. straightforwa r d access ion h st a u s d p y u t r h s e ue m d ain si ly n - c a e n h a is • The truth is,' that the King is •quite).as stanch a Reformer as any of his subjects, and'as deter. mined_ upon a cieation of Peers; and we may mention as an additional and hitherto unpub lished proof of it, the fact, that not only were the,Royal horses ordered to be in readiness at a moment's notice during the last night of the debate in the House of Peers, but that his Ma jesty sat up during the greater part of it, and gave orders to be awakened immediately on the division taking place, in order that, in the event of its being against his Ministers, he might go in person to prorogue Parliament, with a view to the adoption of all those ulterior measures which such a fatal result would have necessi tated. This fact has been mentioned to us upon authority which we deem to be highly satisfactory ; and if it be correct, as we be lieve it to be, there is an end at once to all the lies of the Tory Press—to all charges of dishonesty on the part of the King—and an ample proof that if the Bill do ultimately tail, it will not be from want of zeal on the part of the King, but from the want of patriotism and de cision on the part of his Ministers. There is another point of view also, which appears to us to be almost equally decisive of the falsehood of the rumour to which we have been adverting ; and that is, that it pre-supposes Lord Grey, on the one hand, to be wholly destitute of political virtue, and, on the other, to be as little bur dened with political sagacity—that he is careless of his honour and his pledges to the country, and blind to the fatal consequences which would necessarily result from the defeat of the Re form Bill. On the former topic it was unneces sary to enlarge ; for if a whole life, devoted to the cause of Reform, be not a proof of inte grity, what other, we ask, can either be de manded or given ? Who, also, let us ask, could have lived so long in the political world, and made such a conspicuous figure in it as Lord Grey has done, without being convinced that a deception of the people's hopes, upon a question of such importance as a Reform in the Repre sentation, would not be pregnant with danger to every institution in the country ? Every page of modern history tells us that it is from the prac tice of sush deceptions upon the people—from first buoying them up with hopes, and then dash ing the cup of bliss from the lips—or else, from beginning to resist, where concession ought to have been large and liberal, that almost all revo lutions have originated. Such was the use both with the first and second English Revolutions ; such also was the case with the two French Revo lutions of more recent date; and who will under take to aver that the people of England, if treated as they formerly were by the Charleses and Jameses, or as the people of France have since been, would not adopt the same principles of proceeding ? It must be notorious, in fact, to every one who looks at the signs of the times, that while any further delay in fulfilling their hopes would be fraught with infinite mischief to all the best interests of the country, their annihi lation, even for a moment, would be a signal for a general war upon all those institutions which we have been accustomed to consider as the basis of our Government. In Ireland there is not much sympathy, either with the House of Peers, with the established Church, or any other ele ment of our national fabric. In Scotland a long reign of corruption and non-representation have so wearied the spirit of the people, that no one could safely predict what might not be the consequences of a disappoint ment of their hopes ; while in this country, which may be almost said to form one grand political utdon for the accomplishment of Reform in every department of the State, it is not too much to say, that hundreds of thousands are anxiously waiting, nay, almost desiring, the defeat of the Bill, in order to commence the game of revolu tion. To all these matters, however, the Tory faction and its organs would have us believe that Lord Grey is totally or wilfully blind, and that, consequently, in the teeth of such dangers staring him in the face, either does not choose, or does not see the necessity of adopting the only means of preventing their occurrence ! If they really think so, it is only necessary to observe respect ing them, that there are none so blind as those who will not see ; and if they do not, that their conduct in thin individual instance is another specimen of the lying and corrupt system which they so long and so successfully adopted in matters . of a graver character, and of greater im portance.—Morning Advertiser. Some time before the enactment of that fatal measure which it was vainly imagined would still the angry waters of strife and agitation then raging throughout Ireland, we ventured to call attention to the justice as well as the policy of establishing some compulsory relief for the indi gent classes in that distracted portion of the em pire. The justice of such provision we think was clearly proved from the recognition of the principle in this country, where the institution of poor laws was in a m anner con t em p ora neous with the demolition of those religious societies which had previously succoured the needy and afflicted. But on the destruction of the monasteries and convents in Ireland, when those perennial sources of relief to disease and poverty were cut off, the authors of the Reformation supplied no substitute, but left the wretched natives to roam through the country unbefriended and neglected. It is difficult to account for this ill judged proceeding. The proprietors of land in Ireland hold their estates by precisely the same tenure as that which secures to an Englishman the possession of his. By what strange obliquity then, or rather by what blind injustice, is it that the former should be exempt from those bur dens to which he is so equitably subject ? The impolicy of withholding the benefit of the Poor Laws from the Sister Kingdom is evident from the melancholy fact that four-fifths of the inhabitants have in consequence been driven to a most abject dependence on the Popish Priest hood. It is natural, and assuredly it is com mendable, to yield our most cordial devotion to the hand that gives us our daily bread ; and the miserable pauper being thus originally attracted by the offer of succour, and held by the ties of gratitude, is subsequently bound by the more durable fetters of priestly bondage. His sub mission to the crafty order was at first a volun tary homage for favours bestowed ; it afterwards became a compulsory obedience, founded on the vassalage of the mind. To have instituted a code of Poor Laws, regulated in its machinery by parochial overseers, would not only have re;- cued the depressed pauper from the searching tyranny . of a Popish confessor , b ut wou ld h ave placed in every parish two agents, who must insensibly have become the instru men t s o f at tachingthe `objects of th e i r support to the Government from whe nce it. flowed. Of this Ir. O'Connell is well aware : he knows that Poors Laws could : not exist six months in Ire land without shaking Property to its veryfintn dation ; hence all his opposition, all his " in• lose" eloquence, against the benevolent pro posal, With resp ec t to t h e popu l ar not i on of altoting a' portion of land, by way of garden ground, to each occupant of a cottage, we would, with all deference, submit that such a scheme is at the very best of doubtful policy, and that in its nature it can only be productive of temporary benefit. No doubt the present tenant might, on a given quantity of ground, raise a sufficiency of food to supply himself and family ; but while the productions of the earth increase only in an arithmetic ratio the human species advance in a geometric proportion. Assuming then each family to consist of five individuals, they would in twenty years be multiplied to twenty-five ; and these again, in twenty years more, to one hundred and twenty-five ! Unless, therefore, additional land could be found to satisfy the claims of every member of a society thus forced as it were into existence, might it not be said that the benevolent portions of the garden scheme had from a mistaken feeling of philan thropy, incalculably enlarged the circle of indi gence, and thus created a most fearful accession to the already formidable ranks of disaffection ? —Morning Post. BANKRUPTCY COURT, APRIL 19. MAKING AWAY WITH PROPERTY BY A SAINT. Robert Egdin Halliwell, late in business as an oilman, in Whitechapel-road, nearly opposite the London Hospital, who has frequently exhibited on Sunday mornings as a preacher of the Methodist persuasion, at Mile-end Turnpike, appeared before Mr. Commissioner HoLRovD, pursuant to adjourn ment, for re-examination into his affairs. The bank rupt, and a person named Thomas Williams, who had lived at one time in his service, underwent a strict examination by Mr. Soames, a solicitor, who appeared on behalf of the assignees, in course of which he contradicted most of what the servant, who was a witness in his favour, had stated ; and admitted much of what he had sworn to himself to have been false. Amongst various singular letters of his produced in course of the examination, was one which he had written to his wife since his confine ment in the King's Bench Prison, respecting his property. The following is an abstract of it My DEAR AND BELOVED WIFE—I have just had the broker of the Court, a very civil old gentleman, Mr. Pat terson. He may call on you to-morrow or next day. He took only what I had on. Give him half•a-suvereien the first thing." [The bankrupt here mentions the names of persons whom he wished to claim certain articles of his property, and goes on to say]—" Thomas (alluding to the servant) might dig a hole in the yard by the malt-house, put down a box, and fill it with bottles and some of the best show glasses in the window , take care to cover the hole, make it level, and well trodden down, and throw some ashes out of the dust-hole on it. Be sure that the ground be not higher than usual. After the broker is gone, you must not move a single article more than you sell. Da not take less than 53/. for those mentioned. Take care of my black stick.' Look to the Lord, and trust to him, is the prayer of thy affectionate husband, " R. E. H." [Most of the passages were underlined, to make them appear more emphatic.] It did not appear that the wife followed the above advice. Some property, ho►vever, was discovered by . the assignees concealed in a cupboard in a cocklofr, on the bankrupt's pre mia Thos. Williams examined: Deposed that he bad lived as servant with the bankrupt about eight years ago, and that he had not since been engaged in his service, except on one Saturday, while the bankrupt had been in prison ; that he assisted Mrs. Halliwell in transacting her business, and for this he denied having received any recompense. —The witness hav ing signed these depositions, Mr. Halliwell, the bankrupt, was called, and de posed that Williams had been in his service as lately as two years back, and had frequently been em ployed by him since, to assist him in business, for for which he paid him sometimes is., and some times Is. Gd. The bankrupt was then examined on some bill transactions: He first said a certain bill was ac cepted by his brother; then by a person he did not know, and lastly, by himself. He was examined on some of the details of his schedule, on which he gave most contradictory evidence. It was submitted to the Commissioner that enough had transpired to warrant him in committing the bankrupt to prison. The COMMISSIONER said, that if much more had transpired, and if it appeared to him that the bank, rupt had committed even the greatest acts of in justice towards his creditors, on his admitting them he (the Commissioner) bad no authority to commit him to prison; but if it appeared to him that the bankrupt was concealing anything from his credi tors, and that he should persist in that concealment, he could and should commit him. Enough, how ever, had appeared to warrant him in adjourning the examination sine die.—The Learned Commissioner concluded by cautioning the bankrupt against con cealing one tittle of the truth respecting his property. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. W OR SHIP- STREET. On Thursday Mr. Drake, a respectable trader in Pittfield-street, Shoreditch, attended for a re-hear ing of a case under the Metropolitan highway Act. At the first examination, it was proved by Jack Sheering that a cask lay for several hours on the footway pavement before the shop-door of the de fendant. Sheering on that occasion admitted he was both informer and witness, and expected one half of the reward (the Act makes the informer a competent witness). Mr. Drake then applied for an adjournment, in order to prove that Sheering was unworthy of belief on his oath, which was granted. After Sheering had entered the witness box, he underwent a long and severe cross-examina tion from Mr. Drake. He said he lined in Hoxton, and was a gardener, but forgot the name of his last employer ; he would not tell how often, or that he was ever confined in the House of Correction ; he admitted that he had been accused of being a body snatcher for several years, but would not say he ever lifted bodies out of a grave-yard with others; he dropped that profession for the more honourable one of a public informer. Mr. Drake—And do you call the profession of a pUblic informer honourable ?—I do, for I now call myself a gentleman (Laughter.) Mr. Drake—Under what authority do you claim that title ?—That part of the Act which makes me a competent witness qualifies me to claim the appel lation of a gentleman.--(lncreased laughter.) The magistrate, after some further questions, con sidered there was nothing elicited to invalidate his testimony; and:the Act not leaving him a discretionary power, he was bound to inflict the penalty of 40s. arid costs. The Council of the Birmingham Political Union have declared their sittings permanent till the fate of the Reform Bill is decided. STATISTICS OF CRlNlE.—Within the last 21 years the number of commitments in England and Wales has been, males 224,152 ; females, 46,522 ; total, 270,674. In 1811 the number of commitments was 5,337 ; in 1816, 9,091 ; in 1821, 13,115 ; in 1826, 16,16 t ; and in 1832, 19,647, exhibiting a progressive increase of about the same ratio in each period of five years: between the first year and the last, crime, as evi denced by the commitments, has increased nearly 400 per cent. The number of conviction.; in the seven years end ing in 1817, 35,259 ; acquitted, 11,762 ; no bills found, 9,287 ; total commitments, 56,309 ; of these, 4952 were sentenced to death, executed 584, about one in nine. In the seven years ending 1824, convictions, 62,412 ; acquitted, 17,708 ; no bills found, 12,726 ; total com mitments, 92,848 ; sentenced to death, 7,988 ; executed, 628, one in thirteen. In the seven years ending 1831, convictions, 85,259 ; acquitted, 23,442 ; uo bids, 12,819; total commitments, 121,518 ; sentenced to death, 9,316 ; executed, 410, about one in 23. In the seven years ending 1817, there were executed for forgery, 101 ; the seven years ending in 1826, 55 ; and the seven years ending in 1831, the number was only 17 out of 218 con victions. The convictions for murder have also decreased. In the first period there were 151 ; executed, 182. In the second, 122 ; executed, 104. In the third, 100 ; executed, 87. MARKET INTELLIGENCE. LONDON MARKETS. (From the London New Price Current of yesterday.) SUGAR—The stock of West India Muscovades is reduced to about 5,000 hhds. and trs : and, as a large proportion of the quantity are Sugars not available, the show is too limited to constitute a market currency; the sales do not average 300 hhds. per day ; the prices are nominally the same as last week. No improvement has taken place in the demand for refined, but prices continue nominally the same; the buyers for the Hamburgh market offer 2s. a 3s. less, but no reduction has taken place in the value of raw Sugar; together with the cir cumstance of the Refiners having nearly ceased to work, it is not likely that, for the present, they will be inclined to meet the buyers : a few small parcels of fine crushed have again sold at 33s 6d. for the Mediterranean, but generally the prices asked are from 345. a 365. EAST INDIA SUGARS.-There has been a considerable quantity brought to public sale-viz., 8,642 bags Company's Bengal, 3,939 bags Manilla, 4,257 bags Siam, and 410 bags Java; nearly the whole, except about one half of the Manilla and Siam, found buyers; the Bengal at an advance of about Is. 6d. on the last Company's sale; the rest went at steady prices; few lots of the Bengal were taken for the Mediter. ranean, but the greater part was taken by the home trade. The following are the prices-Bengal, good yellow, 245. a 245. 6d. ; ord. white, 245. 6d. a 255. 6d.; damp, 235. 6d. a 255.; mid. white, 255. 6d. a 275. ; damp, 245. a 265. ; fine white, 28s. 6d. a 295. 6d. ; damp, 275. 6d. a 285.; Manilla, good yellow, 245. a 255.; Siam, good white, sold from 245. 6d. a 255. ; Java, ord. brown washed, sold 17s. a 17s. 6d. The public sales of Mauritius have again been very large, amounting to 14,607 bags, but, notwithstanding this, prices have been advancing 6d. a Is. since last week: this improvement may be attributed to the very small enpply of British Plantation Sugars, also to the value of this article having been 2s. a 3s. below the former; the refiners have given higher proportionate rates than for the grocery sorts, 51s. a 525. having been paid for low strong dingy gray, while good bright yellows are only worth 525. a 535. The following are the prices paid-good brown, 495. a 495. 6d. ; ord. yellow, 51s. a 51s. 6d. ; good yellow, 525. a 535. ; fine yellow, 545. a 555. ; ord. gray, 51s. ; good and fine gray, 525. a 535. 6d. ; very coloury gray or white, 575. a 595. No arrivals this week. FOREIGN SUGARS.-By private contract very little has been done in any description ; the demand, however, for Brown Sugars continues very animated, but we are still without any supply; the public sales consisted of 186 chests 50 brls Brazil, and 50 trcs. Para, which met a brisk demand, and sold from Is. a Is. 6d. higher than previous sales : the same advance has also been offered by private contract. The following are the prices of the public sales-Bahia, good brown, 21s. 6d. ; good yellow, 225. 6d. ; low to good white, not strong, Zs. 6d. a 275.; Rios, fine brown, 20s. 6d. ; good yellow, Zs. a Zs. 6d. ; ord white 245. fxl. a 278. ; good white, strong, 2Ss. a 30s. 6d ; Pernams, tine yellow, 235. ; soft ord. white, 255. 6d. a 265; good white bought in at 295. ; Para, good yellow soft, 225. 6d. a 235. COFFER-There have been no public sales, either of Bri. tish Plantation or Foreign; for the former there is but little inquiry from the home trade, but for the latter and East India there is a renewed demand, and large transactions have taken place by private contract within the last two days, amounting to 5,000 bags, at rather better prices than could have been pre viously obtained, which amendment may be attributed to favour. able accounts received from Holland; 2,400 bags Batavia were advertised, but withdrawn from the market, it being understood that the whole will be shipped for Holland; Brazil, good ord. realised 565.; fine ord. 58s. a 596.; St.. Domingo, pale ord. 575. 6d. ; good ord. 58s. 6d. ; Cheribon, 555. a 565.; Ceylon, 555. a 565. 6d. RUM, BRANDY, and HOLLANDS.—The Rum market is very dull, but there are few holders that will sell at any reduction. Brandy is not so brisk as in the preceding week. Geneva is without alteration. HEMP, FLAX, AND TA LLO W.—The Tallow market continues advancing, the nearest quotation last night was 435. In Hemp or Flax there is little alteration. By public sale yes terday, 165 skins Cape Tallow, 41s. 6d. a 425. ; 24 tons sound St. Petersburgh clean Hemp, 35/. 10s. a 35/. 15s. ; 12 ditto half_ clean Hemp, 27/. 5s a 27/. 15s. ; 130 bales New Zealand Flax (part remarkably fine) 25/. ss. a 251. 155., all sold. IRISH PROVISIONS.—For Butter of all descriptions we continue to have a very limited inquiry, and prices must be altogether considered nominal. For Bacon the demand does not increase, on the contrary (though small the stock at the wharfs now, compared with what it was at this time last year), the cheesemongers show every disinclination to go into purchases; the present prices demanded are much above what they ought to be, considering the general state of trade throughout the country. For every other article under this head we cannot note any alteration in price or demand since our last. COTTON.—The Cotton market is steady in prices; the sales this week are inconsiderable. SILK.—The demand and the prices of Silk are improving. FRUlT.—There is little alteration in Fruit this week. TEA.—The market is dull : Bohea %d. per lb. profit. SALTPETRE.—At public sale Saltpetre went off at 31s. a 345. RICE—In Rice there is little alteration. WOOL.—The late public sales of Wool have gone offfreely, the prices much the same as in February. COCHINEAL.—SeveraI parcels of Cochineal have been brought forward this week; the sales yesterday went off heavily, 2d. a 3d. per lb. lower. PRICE OF SUGAR. The Average Price of on or uscovado uar compu from the Returns made i ßr n w the week ending th g e 17th day s of April, 1832, is 295. Bd. per Hundred Weight, exclusive of the Duties of Customs paid or payable thereon on the Importation thereof into Great Britain. PRICES OF HOPS.—April 20. Kent Pockets - 5' Os. 61. Os. to Syrsex Ditto Beset Ditto 5l. Os. 51. 151. to Farnham Ditto. Fine 9!. Os. 12/. Os. to Seconds . 0/. Os. 71. Os to 4!. 10s. 5/. 15s. to 4/. 4s. 41. 15s. to 15s. 5/. Os. to 81. Os. u. 184. 71. Os. 01. Os. 91. Os. 61. 15s. 5/, ss. 5/. 12s. Kent Ital Sussex Ditto Essex Ditto. PRICE OF OIL. Rape Oil, brown Refined 6 23 0 II 0 5 5 Linseed Oil Cake at the Mill, per thousand Rape Cake, per ton WHII'ECHAPEL HAY MARKET.—ApriI 19. Hay CO3. Od. to 90s. Od. Clover.... 6.51 Od. to 120 s. Od. 31s. Od. to 381. Oct. PRICE OF POTATOES—ApriI 20. Kidneys ....... - - , 3/. Os. to 31. 10s. per ton. Scotch Reds Oxnobles and Shaws —,........ 2/. si. to 2/. 10s. ditto. PRICES 0. Per lb. d. tod. Butte, English 16 21 Ditto, Foreign 14 18 Dressing Hides 13 15i Ditto 16 18 Ditto, light --- Ulop Hides, light 12 13 to 451 b. 131 15 Ditto l5 16j LEATHER. Per lb. cl. to el. English Horse Hides.. 12 15 Spanish Ditto ................ 14 16 Per dozen. Calf Skins... 30 to 441 b. 15 23 Ditto 50 to 701 b. 17 21 Ditto 70 to 801 b. Small Seals, Greenland 181 19 Llrge ditto l2 15 It A W HIDES. Per Stone. Ed. to s. d. Per Stone. e. d. to s. d. Kest Heifers& Steers 2 28 I Ordinary Iti 1 9 Middlings 2 0 2 2 Market 6 0 each. SHEEP SKINS. 5 Od. to 7s. Od. Downs 33. Od. to 48.6 d. Shearlings........— 03.0 d. to Os. 9d. - - PRICE OF CANDLES. The price of Store Candles, in the retail shops, is as follows : Candles, per doz. 7s. Od. togs. Od. I Moulds, per d0zen......95. 6d. Polled PRICE OF TALLOW, SOAP, &c. per 1121 b. Town Tallow 445. Od. Yellow 628. Od. Yellow 435. Od Mottled 68s. Od, White 425. Od. White 74s. Od. Soa Ditto 425. Od. Graves 14 s. Od . Melted Stuff'w 355. Od. Good Graves Od, Ditto Od. PRICE OF RAW FAT, per stone ot 81b. Price of Tallow (as stated by the Tallow Me1ter5)...........a5. 6d. COUNTRY CORN MARKETS DURING IHE WEEK. Wheat. '-.- Batley. 1 Oats. Per Quarter. Ashburn. . Basingstoke Bath Bridgewater Chesterfield Derby .-- Devizes Doncaster Dorchester...—.—. Exeter.----.... HungerfOrd Homey .0.••••••• • •..... Shaftesbury Shepton Mallet Taunton. Yeovil Per Bushel. Shrewsbury 62 72 52 70 45 65 54 70 56 60 64 70 62 65 66 70 57 68 54 64 GI 64 52 66 48 C 6 - 75 48 77 58 64 34 40 28 38 32 40 26 29 34 39 26 34 20 25 24 30 22 26 20 2.1 26 32 24 27 21 28 16 26 20 23 18 20 18 25 20 29 Beans. 38 41 23 42 3 , 2 47 30 35 28 37 26 39 27 36 44 26 as 30 36 "20 32 21 28 52 62 56 62 58 72 54 58 s. d. s. d. 89 93 34 43 32 38 20 21 26 34 40 s. d. 5. d. 56 60 `'2o 24 s. d. s. d. 50 60 40 48 48 44 40 50 28 36 36 42 46 52 38 40 39 43 40 44 36 42 48 34 44 34 44 48 54 42 44 36 46 35 44 38 32 40 d. e.d 00 00 .3LIRRIED. • On the 7th of December, 1831; at Poonah, Bombay, Captitln • • Harcourt Master, of his Majesty's 4th Light Dragoons, to Chris tine, younger daughter of Robert llunter, Esq., late of Kew. DIED. On the 11th inst. in Dublin, t.olonel Charles Handfield, of Hermitage, near Lucan, in the 80th year of his age, 24 years Commissary-General of Ireland, the youngest and last surviving son of the late Lieut.-Colonel John Handfield, who commanded the 40th Regiment of Foot at the siege of Lotiisbourg. Colonel Charles Handfield has left one son, Captain Edward Handfield, MN., and seven d aug h ters. • On the 16th inst., at an advanced age, Miss Wynyard, Park street, Grosvenor-square. On the 17th inst. at Northbrook, near Farnham, Edmund Hambrough, F:sq., aged 41. On the 17th inst. at Bordeau House, Hants ' Grace Caroline, the infant dau g ht er o f M a j or an d L a dy Maria Saunderson. On the 20th i ns t , i n th e 60th year of her age, Mrs. Elizabeth Hughes, for many years a MOS t faith ful servant to Lesley Alex ander, Esq., of Caroline-place, Mecklenburgh-square. Un the 419th inst., Jionh t he 76th 6 t th of y •t ea lb r io o i ra ti-'theirsaegee,, after a few . minutes' ill mess Mr. Stoke New ington, formerly Bartholomew - lane. 011 the 18th inst. Mr. John Clarke Cooke, of Greenwich, in the 71st year of his age. On the 19th inst., aged 21, John, the second sonof Mr. Ratray, Canning-place, Old-street. On the 17th inst., after a long and painful illness, Edward Sneyd, Esq., of Byrkley Lodge, Stafforashire. On the 16th inst., aged 47, in Regent -square, after a long and painful illness, Susan Eliza, widow of the late Henry Maddock, Esq., barrister-at-law. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BS lqU RDO YOUNG, ♦r TES Sys OFFICE, 112, *mum, Lormom-