The Express.
London, England, 1848-02-05 00:00:00

gords

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N0.449.] LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, FEB. 5, 1848. [3d.

LAW INTELLIGENCE—(Tats DAY.)

THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.—We regret
to state that no improvement has taken place in the
health of the venerable prelate since yesterday. The follow-
ing is a copy of the bulletin issued'this morning.
His grace continues in the same condition as yesterday.
(Signed) " ROAIHT FICIGUOON, M.D.
" CHAS. COLLAMBELL, Surgeon.
" L►mbeth Palace, Feb. bth, 11148."

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.
Before Mr. Coounteslooer Goothorn.
THE SALISIH'ILY BANK.—Mr. Roger said he appeared
for Mr. Thos. King, formerly a partner of Mews. Brodie,
whose assignees had made an affidavit that Mr.
King owed them 2,8421.; and the question was,
what amount of security the court would think
reasonable. He was instructed to put into wart a set-off of
1,1001., which was undisputed.—Mr. Squarey, for the
assignees, admitted the validity of the set-off, and agreed to
accept two sureties of 1,0001. each, which were accordingly
given.

COMMERCIAL k MARKETS.

AN ANTI-WAR MEETING was held in Leicester on
Tuesday last: Mr. T. Burgess in the chair. Blihu Barritt
spoke at considerable length. He thus summed up the oat
of war to the people of Great Britain since the oommencement
of the present century :—lf you will look into a large book
called " Porter's Preemie of the Nation," you will find that
the people of Great Britain expended in money on their army,
navy, and ordnance, from 1801 to 1845 inclusive, the sum of
1,137,000,0001.; during the same time they paid in interest
on the natioual debt, 1,211,000,0001. ;—total, 3,281,000,0001.
This is not the total amount paid. Not a farthing of this vast
awn is for the labour of at least 300,000 able-bodied men, for
forty.five rears, who would have earned during the time
200,000,0001. at one shilling a day per heed. Now then, If'
you will turn to another page in that large book, you will find
that the whole amount of produce and manufactures which
the people of Great Britain have sold or bartered to the
rev. of the world, from 1801 to 1945, was 1,910,000,0001., or
471,000,0004 less than the somas of their war `.llls for the
some time! Just turn that fact over in your mind fur a few
minutes, and then say if war hes not been a losing game to
you, as well as to the rest of the world. Let us understand I
it fully. Suppose Great Britain had not bought a pound of
cotton, flax, sugar, or tea of any other country, or a far-
thing's-worth of anything else during these 4e years, but
that she had worked out of her own soil and labour produce
and manufactures to the amount of 1,910,000,0001. over and
above what she needed for her own consumption, and that
she had found a ready cash mark. t for it its other countries,
and had brought its value home in gold sovereigns. Yon
understand this? Well then, this great sum would not pity
her war bills, during the same time, by 471,000,000
of rieunde sterline! But there were terrible wars
during these forty-tve years, you say. Very true; let WI,
then, aunt up the wee hills of the p. ople since the wars were
all ewe—since the peace, in ISIS, or for only thirty years:
Peel interest on war-debt, from 1315 to 1815 inclusive,'
915,1N10.000/. ; paid for army, navy, and ordnance, during
the edne time, 503,000,0001. ; total, 1,418,000,0001. Now, let
us sea what this sum of money would have bought for the
people, and how much labour and produce it cost the people
to raise it for war purposes. The average price of wheat in
Wieland, from 1815 to 1945, was 625. per quarter. The con-
sumption of wheat is reckoned at one quarter per head of
the population. Then the money paid by the people
of England, during the thirty years of peace above-
mentioned, for war, would have bought 457,580,34.:
quarters of wheat: or given Isread to 15,152,848
persons for thirty years. But let us take the war expendi-
tures of the present year, and estOnate their amount in pro-
vi.ions or labour. Paid interest on war dr bt, 2e,015,000/. ;
paid for war preparations, 17,081,0771.; teed, 45,126,0771.
Nine-tenths of this amount come from the labour ng classes
of the kingdom. At the average price of wheat fir the last
thirty year. this slim would buy for the people 11,556,799
quarters ; or give six bushels each to 12,400,065 persons.—
' Mr. Reeve in moving the resolution of the evening said,
I many may deem the views of Elihu Burritt to be Utopian,
I and unfitted for the age, but at least they are only Utopian'
is to the period. We are taught to believe that the time will
come when men shall beat their swords into plough-shares,
their spears into pruning-hooks ; and who can doubt that
that period, when it does arrive, will be fraught with
blessings to mankind ? How should it he otherwise, when
the angelic messengers which announced the birth of
the Saviour of the world had for their song—" Peace ! Peace
upon earth !" Agreed, then, as to the consequences of such
a state of things, the remaining question is, how can we
bring it about ? And here we leave the old-fashioned paths,
and choose a way of our own. The best security for peace
has high, rte been deemed to he the preparation for star, and
the consequence of it has been the inculcation of strange
doctrines, and such as we, with all our regard for the wis-
dom of our ancestors, cannot now agree to. Nelson, in in-
structing the young officers under his command, had two
maxims. One was this, " Young gentlemen, remember that
your first duty is to obey orders, and the next to hate a
Frenchman as you do the devil!" Now, sir, however
right the first part of the command may be, I cannot coin-
cide with the second ; and I am inclined to believe that if
Nelson knew half as much of the Frenchmen as we pur-
pose to do ho would have given no such order. Why,
r, we have a Frenchman in this town; Le is
an honoured and beloved citizen amongst ‘l9, ever
ready to promote the happiness and welfare of the
community. Can we hate him as we do the devil?
Oh, hut it may he said, he is a unique specimen; jif
all the French were like him, the case would be different
altogether. lam inclined to think, sir, that he would ac-
cept no such compliment at the expense of his countrymen,
that he would repudiate the idea that he is so much better
than thereat of them. He would claim to be only a sample
of the bulk, and not a picked sample either; and, there-
fore, supposing that he is right in this respect, I conclude
that Nelson was in the wrong, and that we only hate the
French as we do many other folk when we know nothing at
all about them. Let us believe that Nelson was in error
altogether. Well, many a man errs, and errs grievously,
and yet his last saying atones in some degree for the mistakes
of his earlier life ; the last words of Nelson, or rather his last
signal woe, "England expects every man to do his duty."
Let us remember and cherish this saying, but let us think
fur ourselves what our duty is—let us think what our duty
is, not only as Englishmen, but as men—as Christians—and
then I fancy it will lead us to other exertions than those of
mortal combat, it will place us in other scenes than those of
Trafalgar. It will lead us to combat the principle of evil,
and receive as allies French fellow-workers—all—all, of
whatever clime, whatever race, whatever country, who are
willing to unite with us. Then we shall as cordially agree
with the latter portion of the resolution I hold in my hand
as in the former—that which adopts the recommendation
of our friend, and approves of his suggestion to send a
friendly address to the citizens of Valenciennes. We
have of late years extended our acquaintance, our parties
of pleasure have gone to a sister kingdom, we have frater-
nised with the denizens of Glasgow and Edinburgh ; why-
not go further—why not with those of France ? I hope
that as one of the results of this meeting, as one of the
first fruits of it, we shall tell the citizens of the town I have
named how we long to know and esteem them ; and that in
later days we shall see some of them—aye, on this platform,
in this very hall, and holding out the right hand of fellow-
ship to them, give them a proof of the sincerity of words
in the hearty welcome we accord them. Mr. R. concluded
by reading the resolution, which was carried :
That this meeting, sensible of the blessings which pence (permanent
and universes l;would secure to the human findiy, ii).npathoies in this
and every effort made to promote so desirable an object ; and in ft,-
therance of this design, and adopting the reemr-nendition of our
friend Mho Borritt, approves of the suggestion to present a friendly
addrens to the town of Valenciennes.
A NEW MODE OF SWINDLING.—A farmer went to
Bolton market last week with a cart-load of potatoes,
when a countryman came up, and after a good deal of chaf-
fering, a bargain was struck for the sum of 81. 10s., and the
parties (along with the potatoes) then proceeded to the Bull
and Wharf public-house, where the purchaser stated he was
staying. The potatoes were then unloaded and placed in the
yard belonging to the house, the purchaser having just pre-
viously asked permission of the landlord to place his pur-
chase on the premises. The potatoes being fairly housed,
and the transaction completed, except payment, the par
chaser asked the farmer to " just stop a minute whilst he
went into the house to get change;" and so saying, went into
the house ; but staying rather a considerable time, the seller
went in and made inquiries as to the now missing man. The
landlord informed him that the man he was inquiring for
had, a short time before, been to him, saying, " I am 31. 10s.
short of paying for the potatoes I have just bought, and
would you lend it me ; you know it will be all right,—you
can keep ' pratoes' as security ; " and that he lent him the
required sum, and did not notice where he went to. The
police sought in vain far the adroit rogue.
LAW REPORTS UNFIT FOR PUBLICATION.—Sir,—
I have to thank you, in common, I am sure, with many
other fathers of families, for the reserve with which you
report and remerk upon such trials as that of "tails
c.
Geils" in the Arches Court. I soon found, upon exchanging
the Tinier newspaper for the Daily News, that I was re-
lieved from the constant apprehension I used to be under,
that the disgusting evidence given on such trials, and in
cases before police magistrates, which are often of a very re-
volting character, might be seen by my family and servants;
and though I was sure the former, and might hope the
latter, would discontinue to read as soon as the nature of the
details was perceived, a shock to delicacy would in the
meantime have been given which it is cruel to inflict. The
excuse for publishing in full detail the horrible evidence
given on such trials and cases is, that every publicity should
be given to the proceedings of courts of justice. For this
reason it is that they are and always have teen open courts.
This is the allegation ; but in our criminal courts (1
do not know how it may be in the Arches Court) it
used to be, and I suppose still is, the practice before trials of
the kind—l allude to one called on to order the women and
bops to leave the court—a plain proof that the policy of our
judicial forms lever intended to extend the publicity of their
proceedings beyond the necessity of the case. The possible
mischief of open courts on such trials, before the practice of
reporting their proceedings began, was thus very limited.
But now the newspapers bring the whole public into court ;
nor are youths and females excluded. Under colour of re-
porting judicial proceedings, newspapers now. publish such
details as, were they given in the form of an =apiary nar-
rative, would be liable to prosecution as obscene publica-
tions. Among the reforms projettel in legal matters, meting,
I should hope, might be devised ter preventing thennlimited
publicity now given to indecent evidence. Let all courts be,
as they have ever been, open to the public in all cases what-
ever, lest thee should degenerate into secret tribunals ; but
let that portion of the public who are not present in court
be content with a decent and general statement of the pro-
ceedings. Justice will suffer no loss, and public morals will
experience a great gain.—D.