The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-04-04 00:00:00

SALFORD CHARITIES.

On Tuesday last, being Easter Tuesday, the annual meeting for
the election of parochial officer* for the °muting year was held at
the parkh table, in the collegiate church; the Rev. C. I). AVray,
one of the chaplains, in the chair; when those gentlemen were
elected without opposition or observation. 'Pie hooka containing an
account of the receipt* and disbursements of the Salford Charities
were then submitted to the meeting( which gave rise to sonic dis-
eussion, in the course of which Mr. Pilling asked Mr. Henry Ma-
gna (one of the trustees) whether any disbursements of money
were made by any other persons than the boroughreeve and con-
stables.

Mr. Burgess replied in the negative.
Mr. Pilling said that certainly an impression had prevailed to
the contrary, and he suggested the propriety of publis!ting as an-
nual report of receipts add disbursements, like the published by
the select vestry of Salford. He was perfectly aware that the cha-
rities were now properly administered by the trustees; but every
one was not aware of that. and it would be as well to take away all
pretence for imputations of misconduct.
111 r. Burgess said he thought the trustees would not feel any ob-
jection to the publication of such anaccount • certainly for Ilia part,
he felt not*.

Mr. Brotherten observed that when Mr. Burgess said that none
of the charity money was expended, except by the churchwarden
and overseers, he meant, of course, to confine his observation to the
present time; and, with that limitation it was, no doubt. perfectly
true; but, certainly, some years ago, very great irregularities hud
prevailed in the disbursement of the money. From the year 1794 t :be
year 1007, though the income of the charities amounted to at least
1,1001. a-year, not 300/. a year was ever expended by the church.
warden and constables; and the way in which the 5.-counts were
kept at that time might be judged of front the tact that in one place
in the books, there was an entry on one side, "To rents received,
5,000/.." and on the other side, in one line, " By disbursements,
4,0000 Besides these, there were some leases of property under
very suspicious circumstances. A large plot of land in Oxford-
road was sold to the late Mr. John Gilbert. at 2Ati. per yard, which
was re-let at a greatly advanced rate. About 4,5110 yards of this
land was afterwards let by Mt. Gilbert to the Rochdale Canal Com-
puny, for 1091. Os. per annum during the term of his lease (which
was for ninety-nine yenta) p but the('anal Company being desirous
of purchasing in fee, and having a power to do so under their Act
of Parliament, agreed to give 271. fia. od. a year extra (hiring the
continuance of the lease; making altogether 1361. 12s. lid.; but
instead of paying this amount to the &airy, at the expiration of
31r. G ilbert's lease, they ore only to pay Gs!. 2s. Ilid. for ever; so
that the interests of the charity had evidently been sacrificed in
order to make a good bagain for Mr. Gilbert. There wart another
plot of land, containing upwards of 11,000 yards, which had been
conveyel by the trustees themselves to the Rochdale Canal Com-
pany I yet, somehow, the charity received from it only about MI.
a year, whilst an individual derived from it upwards of 1,0001. per
annum.

These statements gsve rise to some discussion amonTtt
the gentlemen assembled, several of whom expressed a hope that
the Commissioners appointed to investigate public charities would
take care to scrutinize the prc:eediogs which had taken place with
regard to the Salford cksritles.
The Meeting then separated.—Manchester Guardian.

MARRIAGE:3 AND CEIRISTENINGS.-At the Collegiate
Church, in this town, on Sunday and Monday last, the
number of marriages was 35, and of christenings 1.51. On
the same days of the last year there were 63 marriages,
and 198 christenings; making a deficiency in the number
of marriages of 28, and of christenings VT.—Manchester
Guardian.

SOCKING ACCIDENT.—MtI. SWUM WidOW Of the late
Mr. Surtees, of Medomalay, near Durham, surgeon, was
unfortunately burnt to death in the night of Saturday last.
She had gone up stairs to bed some time after her servant,
and it is believed had fallen with a candle in her hand,
which had set her clothes on fire. She was found in her
lodging-room on thefollowing morning in a most shocking
state, ber body being literally burnt to a cinder.

DESTRUCTIVE Fist.—On Sunday evening, as early as
half.patt seven' the inhabitants of Crown..treet. Sun-street, were
thrown into an alarm by the breaking out of a fire at the house of
Mr. Richardson, grocer, nearly opposite Long-alley, but, by the
arrival of i‘everal engines, and the exertions of the firemen, the
flames were confined to Mr. Richardson's house, which, however,
is entirely destroyed.

DLVONPORT.—The Vigilant, 12, Lieut. Mareslith, ar-
rived here on Thursday, with Mr. Tillieote, n King's Messenger,
and despatches from Vera Cruz; she has also brought a small
freight of specie on merchants' account. The Arigilant left Vera!
Cruz on the sth and the Havatinah on the 2341 of Feb. The Pyre.
mus, 42, Captain Gambier, was lying at the former place; and the
Dartmouth, 42, Captain H. Pundits, at the latter; the Ferret, 1(1,
Captain Hobson, sailed from the llavannsh on the 23d of February I
for New Providence and Jamaica. Our squadron lied captured
three Spanish slave vessels bound to Cuba. The Spanish ('ammo.
dore La Borde sailed from the Havannah on the 19th of February,
with a squadron of five frigates, having troops on board, alto were
to be landed on the north side of Cubs, atter which the ships were
to cruise off Carthagena. The Mexicans were collecting a force at
Campeachy, Err the purpose of attacking Cuba, in which the Car.
thaginiana, it was said, had offered to join. A new tariff of duties
had just passed the Mexican Congress, whereby the import duties
were reduced one half. Alvarado was nearly (inserted by its inha:l
bitants, who had returned to Vent Cruz, from whence they hail been
driven by the destructive fire from the Castle of St. Juan d'Ulloa,
previous to its surrender. The Castle bad been repaired by the
Mexicans, and put in a very fartnidable state of defence. Trade
was very brisk, but the speculations of the British Mining Compa.
nies had there a very gloomy appearance ; great quantities of ma-
chinery had been landed, and forwarded to the interior. Mr. Bul.
lock, (of the Egyptian Hall Museum) with his family, had just
arrived at Vera Cruz, as superintendent of the mines; but the
large waggons, &c. he took out with him had become useless, the
badness of the roads preventing them from being conveyed to their
destination. The Vigilant is reported to have brought home the
new treaty concluded between the Mexican Government and the
British Commissioners. The Vigilant left this port on the 11th of
September, with a messenger and despatches for Vern
(2
raiduur :ryiarnnagaa the
is
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her,
galepsahseaa4cAe auk
estate's' evri hereae
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mast:.er t nenaltlP ec'atamaea ha owmeae wither ;
rigged as a ketch.—Dm/epee! Tekrarid.

ON THE PRACTICE OF THE INSOLVEA:
DEBTORS' COURT.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE BRITISH PRESS.
March dl, lbat•
Ste—When i last addressed you on this subject I hati
no intention of again intruding myself on your valuable
columns, discouraged as I have been bi my ill success, and
impressed with the notion that the learned CoMminioners
of this Court had neither time nor inclination to attend to
anything I might suggest ; bat having this day heard the
Chief Commissioner observe that the late attention of the
brokers of the Court " was at all events o',e step tostart,
a reformation of the pract:ce," evhieb, as near as I can re-
collect, were his very words, it occurred to me that he in-
tended, when the Act was made permanent, to throw the
whole of this peculiar practice open to such of the
profession as chose to present their admissions, and
duly register in his Court their certificates as they cob-
tamed them from the Stamp-office, and, where rims-
eery, their re-atlinissions, as well as to require al entry
of the names of their numerous clerks, diet the number
employed by each attorney might be transmitted to the
Commissioners of the ILvenue; that be meant to allow the
attornies to transact their own business without the in.% re
ference of messengers, and to have the tetnie seeurity fee
costs he in the superior Courts, the attorney and the inso)-
vent being alike protected ; that such documente*
be annexed to every schedule. according to my fce'mer sug-
gestions, as must (for I venture to speak with no uncer-
tainty) with perfect ease at once expose and defeat the
present infamous practices, openly carried on by means of
fraudulent and fictitious arrests and surrorders, am!
especially of proceedings conducted in person- that is; b:r
the desperate agents, and, if possible, mote desperate crew,.
who infest the London prisons ; that the mere nearing ap-
parel of the insolvent, his wife, and children, be no longer
embraced in the broker's valuation, which id sufficiently
profitable to them without these articles ; that the present
form of the balance sheet sbothl be rendered more Intel-
ligible, and, where prisoners kept no booki or could
neither read nor write, that some more concise and sim-
ple form be substituted ; and, among other things, tle.t
an opposing creditor should not publicly stave tlie
opportunity, as at present, of receiving 4 greater propor-
tion of his debt and eons than other creditors, contrary to
the very spirit of the Legislature. If the learned Chief
Commissioner contemplates these alterations in the practice
of his Court, which it is to be presumed noth!ig but the
multiplicity of his engagements could have prevented him
from doing long since, respectable men, having ituritioutm ml
the prejudices of going to a prison, and being able to do so
with perfect safety to their persons, will cheerfully attend)
the Fireetice, to the exclusion of the present uncertificateit
attornies, and their well known agents, who are every thing
but eerr,s—his time would no longer be occupied in tracieg
the machinery of schedules, or, as at Ws day, with
applications to seinen(' thtir attornies—the very pos-
sibility of such men conducting business et all being
removed by the bare entry of their names, with the
date of their certificates, and by a similar enfty of their
clerks, those persons also being necessarily conned to the
attorney's office at stated salaries, subject to the regular
duty. These agents, of whom so much has been said, in.
stead of watching the tetiortunate debt& at the sponFing-
house, Judges' Chambers, and prisons, must turn their at
tention to some honest source of livelihood, and thus ren-
,kr the Law Society almost as useless as the one for the
Suppression of Vice, and, what is of no small importance.
render it no longer worth while for certain wen-known
persons to get thetuselve; detained year after year u pri-
soners, to enrich themselves at the expense and upon the
absolute ruin of the unfortunate debtor. When the Chief
Commissioner shall have accomplished this, his Court will
be a refuge for the deaetving objects for whom these hu-
mane Acts of Parliament were passed, and himself 4111
receive not only the thanks of the profession, but of every
wellwisher of his country.
Trusting that my humble efforts will not prove aline-
thee ineffectual, ! am, Sir,
Your obliged and obedient servant,_______

A PRACTITIONER;
Acopy of affidavit of debt—of the Sheriff's >xauaat—d•tbe
bail piece, and its No.—and a copy of the notice of eurrectder—be•
bides those already required.

STATE OF TRADE.

Trade, we SIT happy to state, has somewhat revived in
Leith within these few days. There have been several
arrivals from foreign ports, and considerable bustle en the
quays. The approach of the season for the spring aailinr
will materially contribute to enliven the port.
Malmesbury fair on Tuesday last was attended by the
graziers and (lentos from most parts of the weatesn cow,-
ties. The oxen, of which there was a very large shell .
were chiefly of the Devon breed; there wets also a grew:
number from Glamorganshire, and sonic Herefords. A
more heavy fair with regard to sale, perhaps has not taken
place within the last two or three years. In the morning
lk/. and 191. were demanded for oxen, which, be-
fore the close, would gladly have been sold at 16/. and 17 '.
Many of the leaner kind were obliged to he driven bark A
distance of a hundred miles, for want of purchasers. There
was also a number of sheep, among which were some short
ones ; but for the latter no one seemed disposed to buga;!l.
On the whole it was a very bad fair for the seller: Al-
though all parties connected with agriculture seem to anti-
cipate the approach of a malevolent crisis, as arising out
of the recent infraction of the money-market, or the pro-
bable alteration of the currency, yet it appears that few
are apprehensive of any lasting impression sufficient to de-
preciate the value of landed property ; nor chew any dis-
position on the part of the tenantry to defer the time fez
making new contracts, where their leases are about to ex-
pire, in order that they may witness the event. On the
contrary, applications for farms are made with as much set-
licitude as ever.

We wish that it were in our power t announce the /east
improvement of the state of trade in this town ; but such
is not the case. Every one seems to be looking forward
with anxiety to the eventful sth of July, when, under
various restrictions, and upon payment of certain duties.
silk goods of foreign manufacture may be introduced in„to
England. We fervently hope that the result will not
prove so ruinous as is generally anticipetetl. We believe
that the silk weaver and manufacturer of brood goods will
feel less than the throwster, who, we fear, will be a great
sufferer. In the mean time the state of our mechanics is
truly deplorable, applications for relief daily increase, and,
but for the seasonable supply received this week from noble
and generous donors, the funds raised for their relief would
have been soon exhausted.

We have been at some paha' in endeavouring to form a
correct estimate of the present state of meny of tilt neigh-
bouring districts, from personal observation and inquiry,
and are sorry to say, that the result is by no means satis-
factory. In Congleton, nearly, the whole of the labourink
population is destitute of employment, almost every mill is
at a stand, and their only support is derived from the con•
tributions of the benevolent. Trade, at Leek, which a few
weeks since bore a consoling aspect, is again in a deprrseed
state. As to Sandbach, we may almost go to the extent of
saying, that, with little exception, parochial aid is the only
means by which the silk throwsters, who formerly lived
on their earnings, are now maintained. It is, indeed, high
time that a change for the better should take place.—Mae.
cleffield Herald, April 1.

A number of young English Excise officers are doing
duty in Scotland, being sent down to supply vacancies and
learn distillery service. _

The number of unemployed weavers in Hamilton now
amounts to five hundred. Mr. Brown, factor to his Grace
the Duke of Hamilton, continues to give employment to
numbers in digging and levelling ground in the neigh..
bourhooS.

On Saturday last a basket was sent by one of the Exeter
coaches, directed to a gentleman at Teignmouth, which on
being upacked was found to contain the dead body of a
new-born infant. An inquest has been hell, and the Jury
returned a verdict of " Wilful Murder" against sonic
person or persons unknown. Strong suspicion attach es to
a female in Exeter, and we trust the steps taking will lead
to the discovery and punishment of the unnatural mother.
Claude Seurat, the living skeleton, passel through Dover
on Tuesday, en his way home. to France.

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