The National Register.
London, England, 1821-12-17 00:00:00

ILLICIT DISTILLATION.

SdIOTIMI MERL)
Ou Tuesday evening an illicit still was discovered and
destroyed in Bridgeton, by excise officers from Glasgow.
A man connected with it was taken prisoner, but a inob
of some hundreds rescued him. In the fray one of the
officers was severely hurt: and another, with some
difficulty, escaped into an adjoining house, where he
was forced to remain till the followiog morning. The
audacity with which these proceedings are carried on is
hardly to be credited. We are informed that the labour
in this abomitiable profession is divided. Wash is made,
and can be bought in any quantity, from a gallon up.
wards, and distillation goes on, Irom a tea-kettle to a
large still, producing altogether a quantity of spirits which
few would believe. We have also heard, from authority
on which we can place the firmest reliance, that in the
west end of Glasgow, and a district of some miles around
that quarter, while Mete are only 440 licensed hoof s
hue seilitig spirits, there are 630 unlicensed which sell
apirita, many of the imates of winch are brought up every
three months for fine, and not one of whom, though
constantly carrying on business, can sell one drop of
legal spirits, because, being without licenses, they call
°Maio 'toile by permit : nor have we any rea,on to be-
lieve that matters are better in other places. In London
we observe that the seizure of sti:ls is becoming mote
frequent ; and we have heard as a fact, that having
become too numerous to render the trade profitable, seve-
ral of these pests of society have swarmed MI and lest
Glasgow, and also from about Edinburgh, and are fume
to London, where a 1..), believe they will have a wider,
safer, and more profitable held for Me exercise of their
Ott these points they possess, in general, cor•
rect lamination.

Information having been received of an extensive
illegal distilery being at work in a woml in the parts:i of
&tintalcoin, a party of Custom-lion,. officers at I),,rt
Glasktow proceeded there early no Thursday morning,
and toutni, in a plantitig in the said push, a work of
unexampled extent, conducted by a band of des, Cialloe4
from Doustlartonshire, front whence they no thorn! 1:A1
been driven by the activity o: the reVel.Ue oath. els and
milli:11y its that quarter. fhe officers de-tro}etl she still
on the spot, together h 150 il 1..0f low
1,000 g'lllolla Of wash and- worts: and they al; brotspit
home, and lo,lged in site Cosioni.boitse warehouse, 12
law casks, one ecpper still-brad, two copper ts aaaaa a:;41
about twilve gallons of whiskey. From the present
state of smuggling in this country, a traffic so inutile to
tile morals, lilt health, and e,ospvisty of society, we
think every well-disposed person will congratulate the
revenue officers at every slew IflUllipll they riatain over
Inch bold t iolators of the law.

At IVellington market, on Thursday last, wheat sold
limn 6s. 6d. to Bs. 3.1. per bushel; prone heel, mitto,o,
and pork, ti,ata 3d. to 4itl. per lb.; good potittoer. 40. per
bag or eight seine pound►; and turnips Ss. fog duce
bushels.

THE AfARQUIS No BUCKINGIL4M AND THE
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE CHRONICLE.

Our readers will remember that in consequence
of the Editor of the Buckinghamshire, Belfbrdshire,
and Hertfordshire Chronicle having asserted, (what
was incuntestibly true) that some of the Bucking-
hamshire Yeommry had ridden by the side of the
late Queen's carnage, to escort her on her way to
Brandenburgh House—the Marquis of Buckingham
had, by the impure exercise of his influence, pro-
cured an order to pass the Bench of lagistrates at a
Quarter Sessions, declaring that in future none of
the advertisements, relating to the public County
business, should be sent to the paper in question.—
At a recent meeting of the Magistracy the fidlowing
protest, honourable to every one who signed it, was
entered into:—

THE NATIONAL REGISTER

ton Don :
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17.

On Friday last that infernal crew, which by a
must signal misnomer has ycleped itself the " Con.
stitutional Association," was interrupted in its career
of infamy, by the determination of three Special
Jurymen of their own selection, who declared upon
their oaths, that Mr. Sheriff Garrett was to all in-
tents and purposes a Member of the Society at the
time of returning the list of Jurors, from which fact
the Court deduced, that he was so far contaminated
by such association as to render it doubtful whether
or not he made the return fairly and impartially
The business, as will be seen by our report, stands
over fur the present; we hope the Gang will not
be chop-fallen, for their disappointment in the
present instance is equivocal; and we shall not be
satisfied until they shall have been convinced
by the verdict of their countrymen, that Eng-
lish Jurors will not lend themselves to the
views of a few needy persons, such as bankrupt
linen-drapers and elientless lawyers, who have
duped some persons of property into a belief, that
the dcvution of their wealth to their means, would
really serve their country—that a Commission of
Lunacy ought to issue against such persons cannot
be doubted, far the fact alluded to proves that they
are incompetent to take proper care of their money;
at all events, it is to be regretted that two or three
persons, whose very acquaintance would be a mark
of indelible disgrace, should have been able to in-
duce parties of really honest intentions to open their
purses in furtherance of a plan, which if' successful
must entirely be destructive of what remains to us
of the freedom of the Press. We could not but
lament that Mr. Thelwall, who 30 years ago, nobly
withstood the attempts of a powerful Junta, to
crush him by indictments for High Treason, should
prove his approach to " second childhood" by his
whining about "a prosecution hanging over him,"
and even offer to give up the advantageous ground
he had been placed upon, by Mr. Scarlett's able and
successful appeal to the laws. Mr. T. however, was
to consult his legal adviser, and we have no doubt,
he would remind him that " When you strive with
Rogues, you should take all advantages."

The Marquess of Wellesley has been sworn in
before the King as Viceroy of Ireland. This is an
appointment directly oppt,s,xl, in our estimation, to
the want of the present moment.—The Marquess
during his Governor-Generalship of India added so
exceedingly to his original aristocratical ideas, that
we believe conciliation, which ought to be the very
first means tried, will with him, if tried at all, be
the last experiment. Cannon, musketry, and all
the horrid addenda of war, must at times be used
against an enemy; but far different means should
be first tried to reclaim the misled subjects of an

English King, and we repeat our declaration that
an extent of amelioration of condition which Ire.
land may on simple justice demand, would effect
more towards the restoration of her tranquillity,
than twenty Special Commissions, although each of
those Commissions carried a carte blanche power to
hang every one who might be even charged with a
crime.

Of Mr. Goulbourn, who is appointed the Mar.
guess's Chief Secretary, we need say nothing to
those who have either heard or read his conglomr.
rated appeals to the House of Commons—Speeches
calculated to mystify the plainest questions rather
than to elucidate them.

A Commission is going out to the 'West Indies, to
inquire into the state of the negroes who have been
placed by Government under indentures now about
to expire, and for the purpose of devising means of
disposing of them hereafter.
It is understood that Clerks in the Public Offices
are nut in future to succeed according to seniority,
but that their advancement will be regulated by a
Ministerial sense of their claims to promotion.—
' ruder such a state of things it is nut difficult to
forsee what qualities will prove the best recom-
mendations to the favour and patronage of the
heads of departments ; suppleness, scycophancy,
and servile, blind subserviency will be the grand
requisites, and unfailing roads to preferment. Mi-
nisters are indebted to the malignity of "Joke hail"
for the hint, and we trust that they will have suf.
ficient candour to acknowledge the obligation. it
has recently been discovered that some stubborn
scions of independence have struck root in the very
atmosphere of corruption, and this measure is adopt-
ed in order to eradicate such unwelcome intruders.
But thus it is that weakness, suspicion and injus-
tice are ever inseparably associated !

We have learnt so much of the scale of the redly-
tions, as to be assured that they will full heaviest
on those who can least affiird them; but this was to
be expected from the rulers, who invariably proceed
in an inverse ratio to true policy and humanity.
It is said that Lord Cochrane has realised, by his
nautical exploits in the Pacific Ocean, about sixty
thousand pounds.
The Parish of St. Mark's, Liverpool, has done
itself the honour of publicly subscribing ti,r the pay-
ment of the fine of the Rev. Mr. Blacow, on the
express ground that it has been incurred ' solely by
the conscientious discharge of his duty!" Accord-
ing to the sense of this remarkable parish, who ap-
pear worthy of their minister, the abuse and trust)
which flowed from their pulpit were zealous, evan-
gelical, and justifiable. I-Ld these good people, iu
pity to exceeding weak intellect, and in conse-
quence of acquaintance with the man, snbscribed
privately for his remuneration, the thing might
have passed 1 but this public act of folly, looking at
the gross nonsense as well as rancour which is vin-
dicated, forms one of the strongest instances of
stultification upon record.
IMPROVEMENTS IN WISTMINCTER A sum—The
interior of Westminster Abbe), and the venerable
monuments which it encloses, are now undergoing
a thorough repair, in pursuance of a lute resolution
of the Dean and Chapter of IVestminster Abbey.
On Monday near a hundred workmen, stone masons,
bricklayers, painters, carpenters, sculptors, &c. were
engaged to carry the resolution of the Dean and
Chapter into effect, under the able direction and
superintendance of Mr. Chantrey, Mr. Theckstone,
and other artists of acknowledged talent. Messrs.
Glanville and Radcliflit have the superintendance of
some of the works. The alterations in the choir
will be very considerable, and the cleaning and re-
storing of several of the monuments have been com-
pleted. A number of men are, during the day,
drawn up by pulleys, in Laskets, to the roof of the
Abbey, for the purpose of tleaning, repairing, and
painting the ceiling. Thew lio;e of the iron railings,
which were erected round Lk! various monuments,
have been removed. They were so much decayed
and broken (being made of wrought iron, which so
rapidly decomposes), that they gave a most miserable
appearance to this otherwise grand and beautiful
mausoleum. There will be no ruilingi again erected,
but persons will always attend visitors, and prevent
them from injuring the works. The windows hays
all been cleaned and repaired, and the different wood-
work re-gilt. The grand organ has been repaired
and new varnished, and the pipes have been gilded.
The expence of these improvement will amount to
several thousand pounds, and are to be defrayed out
of the funds of the Dean and Chapter.

The Speaker of the House of Commons has is-
sued his warrant for the election of a member to
serve for the county of Antrim, iu the room of H.
H. J. Seymour, Esq. deceased.

PARISH OF LAMBETH.

FARMING THE POOR.
On Friday a geaeral vestry of this parish was held, for
the purpose of receiving the report of a committee, ap-
pointed to consider the propriety of farming the poor et)
their own workhouses. The subject has been the source
of h controversy in the neighbourhood.
The Rector was in the chair.
The report, after stating the substance of the labours
of the committee, notified, that according lathe evidence
of the most eligible persons with whom they had com-
municated, the cost of farming the pow' would be 45.1i1.
each per week, and that the parish could now support
them at 45.'41. with some trifling additions, and there-
fore reco 11111 l ended that farming should not he resorted to.
Captain Tura: moved an amendment nn the motion
for adopting the rep•trt, and seconded by Mr. Fall, that
the farming system should be resorted w, notwithstand-
ilia the report.
Captain TocK complained of twelve weeks' delay in
preparing a report upon so simple a proposition; and
also, that the committee had restricted their inquiries to
thr:.e persons, after skewing an appalling list of mfirin
paupers and others; who were to be attended to, accord-
tug to ally contract.
Mr. FALL supported the amendment, and ridiculed
the idea that all limiter humanity would be withdrawn
lrom the treatment of the poor if they were farmed nut.
He 'mimed out the necessity of economy in the parochial
expenditure, and the impossibility of their ;mauling it
:.) well un•ler the present system as if the farming plan
were adopted. Ile enforced the difference between a
111311. S m iturging a contract of his own and one for a pa.
rish, and thought the principle of the farming plan w is,
at first view,conclusise in layout. of a trandomaig the pre-
sent mode of inoviditig for paupers, which wes almost
necessarily so sable to abuse. He lamented that the
prevailing system of the country, f - Gine 11111 l ent
downwards, was one which rather encouraged than re-
pressed abuses, and that the criminal was often better
consulted than the industrious subject He admitted
that all the protection which the law conferred should
be secured for the pauper, but that the industrious classes,
who supported the pauper. might also to receive some
consideratioti, and the hest prutectiota which could be
*Horded them agsinst the schemes of baud and idleness.
A long discufsion ensued upon the question ; after
which a division took place, and the numbers were—
For the amendment, 6Y—Against it, 94—Majority for
the repon,32 —which number exactly corresponded with
the number of the select vestry.