The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-04-05 00:00:00

84 rmas BAAKs.

Scarcely x twelvemonth has elapsed since the affairs in this town
and neighbourhood seemed in the heyday of prosperity. The la-
bouring classes were all fully employed (many of them at greatly.
advanced wages, in consequence of the competitton winch existed
fur their labour); and they little expected the terrible reverse which
they were so soon to experience. In consequence, they were gene.
rally far from profiting, as they might and ought to have done,
from the harvest they were then reaping. They derived scarcely
any real benefit from their advanced wages ; they worked lees and
spent more, but they made little or no provision for their future
support. how many are there in this town and neighbourhood,
who, destitute alike of money and of employment whereby to earn
it, are now lamenting—bitterly but uselessly lamenting—the sums
they have wasted in dissipation, and the time they have sacrificed in
idleness!

There are comparatively few—we might indeed fairly say there
are none—of the labouring classes, who have not the means, at
some time or other, of layirg by some money; and with such
excellent deposiLories for what they can accumulate as savings'
Banks afford, they are inexcusable if they do not avail themseires
of them. There their money is safe; far safer than it would he in
their own possession, since it is not only not exposed to the risk of
being stolen, but it is out of the way of those momentary tempts.
lions to extravagance which but teo commonly occur, and which,
if the means of indulging them were absolutely at hand, might not
easily be re.isted. But there is another advantage belonging to
Savings' Banks. Money vested in them, it' not made less by the
depositor, is always making Itself more. There is, combined with
the best possible security, a higher rate of interest than could be
obtained in any other quarter where lodgments could be safely
vested, and speedily reclaimed.
We are anxious to press this snbjcct on the attention of the la-
bouring classes. What a treasnre is a few pounds to a poor man
in the day of adversity! How many are there whom such a sum,
which they could once have easily got together. would new pre-
serve from the necessity of accepting publ:e charity ! And how
I utterly does all that portion now seem to have" been wasted which
was lavished in sensual extravagance! With some at least of our
readers, we hope reflections of this kind will have a permanently
beneficial tendency. Commercial and manufacturing communi-
ties are peculiarly subject to vicissitude. The alternations of
I prosperity and distress are constant and unavoidable; and duty and
prudence unite in requiring that we should take care—as generally
we may—to obtain from the former the means of alleviating, and
rendering tolerable, the pressure which is certain to succeed it.—
Mune/testa Guatiliaa.

ABSTRACTION OF THE ENGLISH MAIL BAG.--On
Thursday night the Irish mail for England, by way of Milord,
was carried off, under the following circumstances:—The
cart from this city to Dunmore, was despatched front the Yost.
office at the usual hour, ten o'clock, P.m., with the mail under
charge of the guard, Thomas Lee. Ora passing the outskirts of
the town it met the mail up, when the guard left the Lin%ta
and returned to town. (There is but one guard on the station )
The mail then proceeded on to Dunmore under charge solely of the
driver, Thomas Bresnahan, who states that he went on without
any interruption, till he came to a public-house at the foot of
Blenheim-hill, about three miles from town, where he stopped
himself m take some refreshment, leaving the mail, the cart, and
the horse on the road, to take care of themselves. %rhen Thomas
came out, on he went to Dunmore, thinking no more about the
matter. However, when he came down to the pier, and
had to deliver his charge, he found out that his charge was gone.
We are much concerned indeed to say that we can add nothing
further to Mr. Breenahan's discovery. That the mail la gene is
indeed tuost certain, but how or where, we cannot inform our
readers. The mail was placed in a locker under Bresnahan's
seat, but there was neither lock nor key to the locker ; ■nd in
short, the whole business was conducted in such nn Irish fashion,
that, being Irish ourselves, we do not feel ourselves competent to
criticise upon the ways of our own country, or the habits of our
countrymen. The mail is gone, bag and baggage, and that is the
sum total of what we have to say at present. Every exertion is
used to discover the perpetrators of the nefarious act, of course.
The police are on the alert, and so forth; and such virtually,
gravely, and literally, is all the account that can be had at present
of the Irish mall-bag of the 30th ult., containing an important and
•aluable portion of the correspondence of the South of Ireland for
England! An investigation took place at our Post-office yester-
day, and Bresnahan has been committed to gaol for further exami-
nation. We ace informed that bills to a large amount from this
city bad been remitted by this mail.—{Vaterfued