The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-30 00:00:00

to walk to obtain shelter, and when arrived at
his destination, faint and weary, will be sent sup-
perless to bed, or, rather, to his straw with-
out a morsel of food, Or drop even of
gruel, to alleviate the pangs of hunger
and thirst. Is this indeed a Christian land,
in which such things are tolerated ? We should
like to know what censure was inflicted on the
master who, it appears, " has not been long in
office," or he would probably not have been guilty
of so high a crime and misdemeanour for this
audacious " excess of his duty." Perhaps the
publicity the matter has obtained may save him
from a severe reprimand for his offence.
The other letter from three neighbouring magis-
trates purports to give the result of a voluntary
investigation which they instituted into the trans-
action. It does not appear that they gave any
notice to Mr. SAMS, or any other person desirous
of eliciting " the truth, the whole truth, and no
thing but the truth," of their intention of holding
this " hole-and-corner" inquiry. They examined
no persons, save those connected with the establish-
ment—the relieving officer, the master of the work-
house, and "the boy who acts as porter at the gate."
That it was rather superficial in its character may
be inferred from the fact that, in regard to the
conduct of Mr. SLADE and the other person whose
name Mr. SAMS does not mention, as they have
not yet had time to examine the circumstances,

actually been entered into with the Great Northern
Railway. According to these arrangements, the
Central Terminus Company will have the exclu-
sive use for " short passengers" (as the queer
phrase is) of the Great Northern Railway as
far as Potter's-bar, for the running of their
trains ; in return for which advantage, the ex-
clusive use of one set of rails is to be accorded
to the Great Northern Railway Company,
together with a station in Farringdon-street, for
their " long passengers"—meaning by another
queer phrase those who may come up to town
from the distant provinces. Epitomising the pur-
pose of his great enterprise, Mr. PEARSON re-
marked, in the course of his very suggestive speech,
delivered in the presence of the special meeting
yesterday, that his object was to have "a railway
that would bring persons into the metropolis in the
morning, and take them out of it in the evening ;"
adding, with. undeniable truth, that " a migratory
population of that kind travelled more than
any other class of the community." Upwards of
200,000 persons come into and go out of town
every day, even as things are at present. Mr.
PEARSON supposes, merely for the sake of
keeping within bounds in his calculation, that
only 10,000 out of these 200,000 take
advantage of the lines leading to the Central Rail-
way Terminus (surely a very moderate estimate)—
in which case these 10,000 persons would, at the
rate already intimated, yield a clear revenue of
six hundred thousand pounds ! Supposing, he
said, that he even struck off one half, there
would. be still left 5 or 6 per cent, on the capital
employed ! Such is the propitious enterprise

'IS DAY)

(Before Mr. Wm. Burchell.)

BROTHERTON V. HOWARD.

they offer no opinion, although they immediately

afterwards state " that they have reason to believe
that, instead of the nine days' 4arvation, which
Mr. SAMS assures us as a fact, the man was beg-
ging about the country from the 4th, when he
left the workhouse, to the 13th, when he was
found in Mr. SLADE'S barn ;" adding, and it is
pretty certain, that one of those intervening days
he was at Northampton, and the others at Stony
Stratford.. Now; this sufficiently shows the spirit
in which the so-called investigation was conducted,
to render it altogether unsatisfactory. Those who
could not wait until they had clearly ascertained
those very important circumstances, must have
taken a rather one-sided view of the sub-

now in rapid and solid course of realisation.
When completed, the benefits resulting from the
scheme, will sufficiently well demonstrate
that PEARION will have done even more
for London than ever GRAINGER did for New-
castle. Instead of like TRAJAN transforming brick
into marble--he will have dissipated much of the
disease of the town by the health of the country—
.

more than could ever be effected by the machinery
of ARCHIMEDES, Or the designs of PALLADIO.

ject one that cannot possibly be . re-
garded as conclusive. No, there must be
a public inquiry, conducted by a public
unbiassed by local associations, and to which the
representatives of the Press are admitted. Every
person having anything to say on the subject—
including Mr. SAMS, must be duly apprised of
the time and place of that inquiry—so that they
may be at liberty to produce any evidence cal-
culated to throw light on the deplorable trans-
action, and Mr. SLADE and the other anonymous
persons should have a full opportunity of ex-
plaining their own conduct in reference thereto.

Lord JOH N RUSSELL or Providence—which
shall we folk w ? His Lordship, from the Reform
Bill era to the present time, has put himself for-
ward as the safer guide ; Providence, at least as
modified or drag-chained by Whiggism, is far
safer than Providence as it is. It has pleased the
SUPREME RCE3POSER of events to connect insepar-
ably, as the general rule, industry and wealth,
wealth and :intelligence, intelligence and power ;
and it has pleased the busy millions of our father-
land to avail themselves of this arrangement, and
by industry to acquire the means of education,
and the means to live as educated and civilised
beings—to become men who could be trusted to
crowd the Crystal Palace and to throng to the
Duke of WELLINGTON'S funeral, and who could
obtain praise for their conduct from all the public
orators, from Premiers downwards. But, unfor-
tunately, the: immense masses of these men, the
thousands of their masters, and the tens of thou-
sands of tra d esmen employed by them, live in the
town, and not in the country. They are not the
serfs of the landlords' serfs, not the ploughmen
and ditcherg of tenant farmers ; but the tolerably
independent workmen of cotton lords and manu-
facturers of every class. This is a sore trouble to
Lord JOHN.. PrOvidence has been guilty of a
little oversight here, which he will do his best to
put right. It should have been arranged that
the numbers and the quality of the population
subject to the landlords had increased equally with
that of the tdwn population. Most inconveniently
for Whig Re ,formers, it has been just the reverse ;
and the lords; of the soil find their retainers now in
a pretty decided minority. Worse still, the raino-
rity is still more deficient in intelligence, educa-
tion, and a2l the natural elements of political
power than it is in numbers.
We are sorry to find Lord. JOHN still in the
same dilemma which made such a mess of his
Reform Bill boroughs—still unable to get beyond
his worn-out finality. He has, indeed, given up
technical finality ; he is willing to extend the
Franchise, but always in the proportions which
shall fill every Cabinet with agents of the aristo-
cracy, and exclude, sheer and clean, the COBDENS
and the BRloirrs. No real patriot can ever for-
get his declaration, that "he intended, in the
Reform Bill, to give the predominance to the
landed interest." This is the essence of his fina-
lity. He cared little how many electoral votes
could be numbered on each side, provided the
House of Commons' votes remained two to one
for the aristocracy. Hence all the disgraceful
schemes to make boroughs out of country dis-
tricts, as well as the division of the counties,
and the doubling of their Members, while
large towns were left unrepresented, or represented
by only a single Member. Hence such anomalies as
one Member to Aberdeen, and two to Thetford ;
and now we have his Lordship again coming for-
ward to do his old work over again—to acknow-
ledge, perhaps for the twentieth time, and this
time to the electors of the first city in the world,
" that the progress of the working classes in know-
ledge and intelligence, ought to be accompanied
by an increased share of political power ; " but,
still reminding them " how 'difficult a task it is to
adjust, in any plan of representation, the respect
due to ancient prescription, with the claims of ad-
vancing trade, increased population, and growing
intelligence." But why does his Lordship under-
take the chivalrous task of effecting this adjust-
ment? Is it not enough to deal equally by all,
and take the consequences ? To give members in
some fair and uniform proportion to the numbers
who choose them ? And to fix the electoral qua-
lification at as uniform a standard as may be, and
then cordially accept the result ? Why should an
honest man attempt more than to include within
his franchise all the class which, whether in town
or in country, Lord JOHN adverts to in the
remarks We have quoted, and then to dis-
tribute members amongst them in propor-
tion to their numbers ? No doubt it will
prove a most difficult task to the authors
of the next Reform Bill, if they make it their
business to increase the number of electors, and
to purge elections of bribery and intimidation, pre-
serving the great party lists in the same relative
proportions. If they lay down as their axiom
that the corn field is to beat the coal field, why,
they had better make an open effort to quadruple
the county Members, and to decimate the Repre-
sentatives of the large boroughs, and hand the
Government over in its entirety to the Sir
ROBERTS and Sir HENRYS. We should be spared
all future needless strife were this but once
achieved. If, however, this cannot be done, and
if, on the other hand, the towns are not to be put
in power at the expense of the country, surely
nothing should be attempted beyond settling an
equal and reasonable franchise, an equal appor-.
tionment of Members, and, of course, taking the
votes by ballot, that a man's vote may be really
his own. We much hope the election will no
pass off without some one putting the questio:

We cannot, however, refrain from referring to
one or two points that appear on the face of the
report. The relieving-officer states, that the
man " said he was foot-sore," and that "he
seemed to be quaking with cold, as if he had slept
out during the night, but did not ,complain of ill-
ness." This humane official, however, " put
ill" upon the order, that the man might have
food, if necessary, in addition to his night's

Lodging, as fcod is not allowed to the able-
iodied vagrants." It was nine o'clock in the
morning, when this miserable outcast, " quaking

with cold, as if he had slept out during the night,"
applied for the order. And yet he would not
have received a single morsel of nourishment until
the• following day, had not the relieving-officer, in
consideration of his manifest destitution, put " ill"
on the order, although no complaint was made.
A further testimony was afforded by the Master
of the Workhouse on the same point. He does
not remember seeing the word "ill" on the order,

which, unfortunately, is not forthcoming to decide
the question,—but gave the " vagrant," in " ex-
cess of his duty," as it appears, " some bread and
porridge for supper"—" departing from the rules
_ _

through a feeling of kindness." Surely after this
evidence of the state of the wretched victim—
every statement of Mr. SAMS is more than
justified, and measures must be taken to corn-

pel a better, treatment of destitute travellers,
not only at Stratford, but at every Union Work-
house throughout the length and breadth of the
land.

A Central Railway Terminus in the capital of
England appears to be at length regarded as an
enterprise capable of realisation. Mr. CHARLES
PEARSON has not laboured in vain. His project,
after being long neglected as little else than an
extravagance, may be considered as now in a fair
way of development. A special meeting of the
Shareholders of the Company, held yesterday at
the London Tavern, entirely removed every
doubt that might hitherto have been enter-
tained as to the probability of the scheme
being ultimately brought to a completion. From
the resolutions there passed it cannot but be
manifest that the ex-Member for Lambeth is not
the only individual impressed with a conviction
that the whole of the various trunk lines of the
United Kingdom will before long be concentrated
at a single terminus in the heart of the, British
Metropolis. And those resolutions, let it be re-
membered, were passed unanimously. Every-
body engaged in any conspicuous manner in the
preliminary toils of the undertaking came in,
moreover, for the fullest and warmest acknow-
ledgments. Thanks were, in this , way, re-
turned to Sheriff Cnonr, for acting as Chair:-
man yesterday, to Mr. MASTERMAN, to Sir
JAMES DuKE, and to the Baron LIONEL
ROTHSCHILD for having consented to become Trus-
tees, to Mr. PEARSON for having demonstrated
" time and again, " the feasibility of the entire
speculation, and collectively to the Directors for
the unwearied zeal and energy with which they
have fostered the growth of the whole enterprise.
When things arrive at this stage of complacency
in the way of widely and ungrudgingly distributed
compliments, we may reasonably conclude that
matters are going well with all the various par-
ties concerned. It is encouraging to think so
at the present moment and under existing
circumstances--conscious as we are, and as we
have been all along, of the really enormous impor-

tance to the community at large, but more espe-
cially to the inhabitants of London and West-
minster, of good fortune proving attendant upon
the project to which we have so repeatedly and
earnestly before now called, and to which we are
here again recalling, the notice of the general
population.

Upon the ulterior realisation of this great enter-
prise of a Central Railway Terminus in the
capital of Great Britain, how many are the
advantages dependent ! Already we have enu-
merated the majority of them in these columns at
considerable length, and sometimes even, we fear,
with almost tedious particularity. We have de-
monstrated, by an unanswerable array of facts,
that, whatever may be the expenditure required
in the first instance, the ultimate economy will be
something remarkable, if not altogether unexam-
pled. Economy, too, not merely in money, but in
a still more valuable commodity--in a commercial
country like England—Time. It is proposed now,
that when the whole of the projected arrangements
are completed, when the entire system, sketched
out by Mr. CHARLES PEARSON, is at length
brought into actual operation—trains are to run
every quarter of an hour " both ways," namely,
to and fro, making in all sixty trains daily !
And—at what cost ? Why—we are not talking
of travelling in fairyland, but of journeyings in
our matter-of-fact, smoke-dried, dusty, roaring
City of London—at the rate of one penny per mile
for first-class, and of one half-penny per mile for
second class passengers ! And this, more-
over, only to begin with. A little while
longer and the charge will be cheapened.
Let the shareholders once pay up 10 per cent.,
and then the rate will be fixed at exactly half of
the previous
amount, namely, one halfpenny per
mile for first-class, and one farthing per mile for
second-class
passengers —a fact scarcely credible
even in these days of wonders—in these days of
the steam-engine and the electric telegraph. No
marvel that the originator of the whole of this
magnificent enterprise should
with this part of the
scheme before him,
be sanguine that the company
will be enabled to attract to their Central Te • MMUS
"an extraordinary amount of passengers." As
earnest that the undertaking is no longer in
nubibus, we find that definitive arrangements have

distinctly to Lord JOHN, whether he considers

himself raised up to preserve the balance of parties;

or to make the representation proportionate wi

the population and intelligence of the country, by
giving Members in proportion to the numbers of
the enlarged constituencies.
There is another question which we hope will
be put to him also, i: e., what he will do—what,
at least, he thinks ought to be done—with the
Taxes on Knowledge ? 'He will have received the-
Address from the meeting of electors held on Fri-
day at the Guildhall Coffee-house. He has, of
course, been long acquainted with the subject, has

always been a patron, and, we believe, a sincere

friend of education.

It will be an utter disgrace

to him if he cannot at once give a definite answer
in favour of the immediate repeal of these odious
taxes. It is most intimately connected with the
extension of the Franchise and the freedom of

Trade, since nothing is more desirable for an intel-
ligent constituency than that every elector should
have a respectable newspaper, and a daily one too,
in his own house ; and nothing more desirable

for the expansion and activity of trade, than that
- --

every family should have habitual access to the
advertisements of every tradesman,. On this last
subject we dwelt but a few days ago, and we are
persuaded that its importance to trade cannot be
easily overrated.

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER so 1852.

MONEY AN

;VAL NEWS.

CITY, Two O'CLOCK.
The sales of Cotton at Liverpool yesterday were
estimated at 4,000 bales, all to the trade. The
market was heavy, and prices of all kinds in favour
of buyers, but not to the extent oft per lb. The
sales comprised 3,000 American ; 20 Pernam and
Maranham, at 7d. to 7/d. ; 20 Bahia, at 6d. ; 200
Egyptian, at 6p. to 10d. ; and 500 Surat, at 3gd.
to 4id. per lb. Railway Shares were firm at pre-
vious quotations.
The six weeks' average price of wheat is 425. 3d.
per quarter.
The public sales of Colonial wool will be held
here shortly, and there is much interest attached
to them, owing to the state of affairs in Australia.
The following remarks on the subject were re-
ceived by the last mail from Melbourne :
" Our own belief is, that the shearing will be effected
without much unusual delay or inconvenience. High
wages will have to be given, probably ; but with that
drawback, most male labour is attainable, even despite
the exaggerated prosperity of the colony. There is a
large class of men here, who have been so accustomed
to look for a little employment in shearing at its par-
ticular season, that it has become a sort of second nature
with them, and between them and the Squatters, an-
xious to get their sheep shorn at all hazards, there is
little fear but an arrangement will be made. The rate
of wages will probably be high, but we fear that we do
not over-estimate the usual selfishness of trade, in be-
lieving that the English manufacturers will not take the
heavy charges of the Squatters very seriously to heart,
provided only they eventually get the wool.
"As the season advances, the roads will mend, and
the rate of carriage will eventually decline, and in a
matter in which our settlers are so seriously and per-
sonally interested as that of the conveyance of the wool
to the market, we feel every assurance that somehow or
other all difficulties will be overcome, and that the clip
will be eventually shipped ; not perhaps with perfect
promptitude, or in the very highest condition, but the
great bulk of it will be shipped at last.
"The effect of the gold discoveries of Australia upon
the future production of wool is a matter of very serious
consideration. The country is capable of producing a
far larger quantity, if the land was divided and manag,
in a more intelligent and efficient manner. But there is
little doubt that wages will rule high upon the average.
They may reach a rate which the settlers cannot very
well afford to pay. We do not think this likely, be-
cause in all large collections of men great numbers are
found who prefer an easy life with smaller remuneration
to severe labour well paid; and we think that a
sufficient number of such men will be included in
the very extensive immigration now setting in
upon our shores, to supply a competent number of
shepherds and hutkeepers for our settlers. But the very
extensive desertion of these pursuits for the more pro-
fitable employment at the mines, is even already pro-
ducing a very serious effect in the propagation of disease :
the scab now spreading with great rapidity in many
districts, and its virulence being sadly aided by the neces-
sity of running the sheep in very large flocks, and not
paying proper attention to their folding grounds."
The accounts from Portugal as to the intended
curtailment of the interest upon the whole of the
debt, have necessarily occasioned much comment,
and there is a full measure of blame thrown upon
the Government of that mismanaged country. For
years past the finances have been wretchedly ad-
ministered,—and what with conversions, deduc-
tions for decinia tax, and finally, the total suspen-
sion of dividends, the creditors have been cruelly
mulcted, and will receive this fresh blow with no very
satisfactory feelings. The question really begins to
present itself " Will a national bankruptcy occur ?"
for as the civil employes are unpaid and poverty
everywhere exists, no one can fortell what is to
happen. The whole history of Portuguese finance,
affords an instructive lesson as to the necessity of
throwing off antiquated notions. • If Portugal were
to amend its tariff and encourage foreign trade, her
revenue might yet increase.

The last week's Railway receipts, ascertained up
to this day, are in round figures as under :
1852. 1851.
Great Western 20,918 15,820
North Western 49,544 41,679
South Western 11,992 9,054
Midl
Brighton
South Eastern
North Stafford
•
Caledonian 5,324 4,735
Great Northern
11,833
Lancashire and Yorkshire
York and North Midland 8,334 7,765
Newcastle and Berwick 14,749 14,867
The English Funds are dull, and there is no
feature observable in the market. Consols for
Account realise 1001, and the New 3 Per Cents.
1041 to The 3 Per Cent. Annuities bring
1014 to Bank Stock is firm at 223 i to 2241.
Exchequer Bills of March are 695. to 725, and India Bonds 83s. premium.
Fdreign Securities have been depressed. The
notice about a cancelment of some amount of Peru-
vian Bonds has improved the value of the De-
ferred, which are now 654 for Account, although
done at only 64k for money. Grenada Deferred
Stock brings 12i. to 13k. Equador Bonds are at
si. Portuguese 4 per Cents. have been marked 39
to 40, a decline of about 1 per cent. Spanish 3
per Cents, realise 51k, and the New Deferred 24
being steady. Venezuela Bonds have been at 41.
The Turkish Loan is at liar. Dutch 2i per Cents.
have been quoted 98k.
In Railway Shares the dealings are not large, but
prices generally are steady. South We stern are
higher; Caledonian are flat ; Eastern Counties good,
and South Eastern duller ; York and North Mid-
land are supported ; French Shares are neglected ;
the prices come low from Paris.
The Gold Mines are quiet, but mostly at steady
prices.

In Australian Agricultural not a bargain is offi-
cially marked ; South, Australian are quoted ex
div. The Banks are quiet.

BRITISH FUNDS AT ONE O'CLOCK THIS DAY,
(From the Official List.)
Business clone
Bank Stock
224 j
3 per Cent. Reduced Annuities.........• lol# 3
j
3 per Cent. Consols Annuities
shut
New 31 per Cent. Annuities......,. . .
Long Annuities....
, Expire sth Jan., 1860 -16
India Bonds, £lOOO
Ditto, under £lO3O
Consols Acc0unt........
Exchequer Bills Ijd.
£lOOO.
£5OO
Small

83
......
**********
1008
....
June,
*********
-Mara.
69 72
69 72
*********
69 72
*********

PRICE OF FOREIGN FUNDS AT ONE' O'CLOCK,
Equador Bonds
54.
Grenada Bonds, Deferred,
Peruvian 6 per Cert. .... ... .
Peruvian Deferred 3 per Cent.. .... 64,1
Ditto for the Account
Portuguese 4 per Cent.
39
Ditto for the Account 4O
Spanish Bonds, 3 per Cent 514
Ditto New Deferred, 3 per Cent 24
Turkish Loan, 6 per Cent., 1852
Venezuela Bonds 3i per Cent:
par
Dutch Exchange 2ri per Cent
Ditto 4 per Cent. Certificates.

HALF-PAST TWO.
Consols for Opening 18th January lOOl ex d.

MARKET NEWS-(THIS DAY.)

CENETtAL AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITTSII CORN
For the Week ended Dec. 30, 1855, made up from the Returns of the
1n• pectors in the different Cities and Towns in England and Wales.
per Imperial Quarter.
WHEAT. IBABLEY.I f
OATS. BYE. BEANS. I PEAS.
•• 455 Ild 29s 9d 18s 61 29s 4dl I 34s 115 32s 4d
DUTIES ON FOREIGN CORN.
WHEAT. BARLEY, I OATS. lis Od Is Od RTE. I BEANS. I PEAS.
Is Od Is 05 Is Od Is Od
QUANTITIES OF GRAIN SOLD LAST WEEK,
Wheat, 114,032 ; Barley, 106 531 ; Oats, 25,096; Rye, 158 ; Beant,
_5.154; Peas, 2,933 quarters.

HAY MARKETS.
SMITHFIELD.—Meadow hay, 2/ 153 to 41 Os ; clover
ditto, 3/ 150 to 4/ 18s ; and straw, 1/ 4s to 11 lls per load.
A moderate supply, and a steady demand.
CUMBERLAND.—Meadow hay, 2/ 16s to 4/ 2s; clover
ditto, 3/ 15s to 4/ 15s ; and straw, 1/ 6s to 1/ 13s per load.
Trade steady, at our quotations.
WHITECHAPEL. —Meadow. hay, 2/ 15s to 3/ 18s ; clover
ditto, 3/ 15s to 5/ Os ; and straw, 1/ 42 to 1/ lOs per load.
Supply good, and trade dull.

MEAT MARKETS.
NEWGATE AND LEADENHALL.—The general demand
ruled steady to-day, and prices were well supported.
Beef, 2s 4d to 3s 6d ; Mutton, 2s 10d to 4s 6d ; Veal, 2s 8d
to 4s Od ; Pork, 2s 6d to 4s per 81bs, by the carcase.
SOUTHALL, DEC. 29.—Beasts and sheep commanded a
steady sale at fully last week's prices. In other stock
very little done. Beef, from 2s 10d to 4s Od ; Mutton,
3s 6d to 5s Od ; Veal, 3s to 4s Od ; Pork 3s Od to 3s 8d
per 81bs, to sink the offal.
ROMFORD, DEC. 29.—We had a very steady market
to-day, and the quotations were very freely supported.
Beef, from 2s 10d. to 4s Od. ; Mutton, 4s Od to 5s Od ;
Veal, 2s 10d to 4s Od ; Pork, 3s Od to 3s 8d per 81bs.
Quarter old Store Pigs, 18s to 22s each.
lIAILSHAM, DEC. 29.—The general demand to-day is
firm, as follows : Beef, from 3s 4d to 4s 2d ; Mutton, 4s
to 5s 2d ; Veal, 3s to 3s 8d ; Pork, 3s Od to 3s 8d per 81bs.
ARUNDEL, Dec. 28.—The general demand is steady, at
our, quotations. Beef, from 3s 4d to 4s 2d ; Mutton, 3s 10d
to 5s Od ; Veal, 3s Od to 3s 10d ; Pork, 38 2d to 3s 8d per
Elbs.