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

TILEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET,

ritrewell Version ef Mr. Benjamin Webster as Lessee and Manager
TLIIS EVENING

1111 be riiitranti tte Ovular and highly attractive Comedy of
141,AS1LS AND EACBA; or, Before and Behind the Curtain—by
Messrs. Benjamin Webster, Leigh Murray, Stuart, and Parseße:
Stirlimr, Mrs. Leigh Murray, Mies Rosa Bennett, and Miss
Ferny Maskell.
After which, an entirely new Christmas Extravaganza, entitled
LEO THE TERRIBLE.
To conclude with the Farce of BOX and COX MARRIED and
SETTIaIt D.

ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE.
Under the Management of Madame Vestris,

THIS EVENING, Dec. 30, will be performed the Comic Drama
called A PHENOMENON IN A SMOCK-FROCK, C=acters by
Messrs. C. Mathews, F. Matthews, and liorncastle ; F. Baker
and Miss C. Mitchell. _ .

After which (4th time). a new and original Fairy Extravaganza.
ea Bled THE GOOD WOMAN IN THE WOOD, in which Messrs.
F. Matthews, Suter, Horncastle, and Templeton; Madame Vestris.
31 ess Julia tt. George, Mis., Robertson (her 4th appearance at this
Thmtre), Miss Martindale, 3l•ss Ellis, M'ss Wyndham. Mi.s F.glin-
ton (her 4th appearance at this Theatre), and Miss Rosina Wright
wiU appear.
To conclude with LITTLE TODDLEKINS.
Sole Agent for the Private Boxes, Mr. W. Alleroft, 15, New
Rot woo reet.

THEATRE ROYXL ADELPIII.
oP'en for the Season.
Proprietor, Mr. B. Webster. —Directress, Madame Celeste.
THIS EVENING, Dec. 30, the already popular Drama of SLAVE
LIFE ; or, Uncle Tom's Cabin—by Messrs. Allred Wigan, Cullen-
ford, 0. Smith, and Emery ; Madame Celeste, Miss Woolgar, Miss
Harding, and Mrs. Keeley.
After which (4th time), a new Grand Christmas Pantomime,
caned NELL GWYNNE ; or, flarlecuin Merrie Monarch. Principal
Dauseusa Mdlle. Auriol, and the inimitable Clown, Flexmore.

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET.
Under the Management of Mr. C. Kean.
THIS EVENING
Will be performed Shakespere'e Comedy of MUCH ADO ABOUT
NOTHING. Principal characters by Messrs. Charles Keau, liar-
ity, Meadows, .1. Vining, Addison, Ryder, and Graham ; Miss
Heath and Mrs. C. Kean.
Tb conclude with the new and criginal Grand Comic Christ-
Inas Pantomime, entitled HARLEQUIN CHERRY AND FAIR
STAR; or, The Green Bird, the Dancing Waters, and the
Singing Tree. Hailequin, Mr. Cormack ; Clown, Mr. Hu'ine (4th
appearance hefe),; Pantaloon, Mr. Paulo ; Columbine, Miss Cir.
lotta Leclercq.

ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. Parren.

TINS F.VEN'INU, Dec. 30, will be presented ABELARD AND
lIELOISE _ . .

After which, a new Grand Comic Christmas Pantomime, en-
titled ROMEO AND JULIET; or, Harlequin Queen Mab and the
World of Dreams. Harlequin. Mr. Forest; Columbine, Miss Marie
Charles; Sprite, Ittr. G. Thompson; Pantaloon, Mr. Tanner ;
Clown, Mr. Edwatcl. Edwards, who will introduce his wonderful
dogs.

Boa-office open from Eleven till Five, under the superintendence
of Mr. Edward Chatterton.

ASTLErS ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.
Proprietor and Manager, Mr. W. Batty.

Immense attraction of the Christmas Holidays. Fourth Night of the
rilaw Grand Equestrian Comic Pantomime.. 34th Night of Uncle

Tom's Cabin

Entire change of Scenes in the Arena.

THIS EVENING, December 33, and during the week, the Enter-
tainments will commence with the highly successful Equestrian
Drama of UNCLE TOM'S CABIN, with all its original effects.
To be followed by unusually brilliant and novel Scenes in the
Circle, by the most eminent Artistes of the day.
To conclude with, for the Fourth Time, the New Grand Equestrian
Christmas Comic Pantomime, entitled PORTUNIO AND lIIS
HORSE COMRADE ; or, Harlequin and his Seven Gifted Men.
Produced on an unequalled scale of splendour, and in which the
following talented Pantomimists Will appear for the 4th time here.
Harlequin, Mr. Melbourne Ellar ; Columb ne, Mdlle. Christine
Clown. Mr. Gardner Boleno ; Pantaloon, Mr. Priorson ; Sprite, Mr.
R. Hemming.
Doors open at Half-past Six o'clock. To commence at Seven.
80-I
-office open daily from Eleven to Four. Stage Manager, Mr.
W. West.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tins Div' —"Kerning 12 ntin. after 4 I Evening 31 min.aft. 4
o-Moaaow—Morning 52 min. after 4 Evening 14 min.aft. 5

THE WEATHER.—Sus OFFIGT, Dec. 30.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
47 hi ghe st since noon yesterday.
44—lowest this morning and daring the night.
48—this day, at noon.

BAROMETER, 29'98—rising.
WIND, S.W.-Light breeze, and fine, sunshiny weather,

DAILY WEATHER TABLE.

THURSDAY, DEC. 30, 1852.

State of the wind and weather at each of the following
places at nine o'clock yesterday morning. The stations
are arranged in order of latitude.
SOUTHAMPTON—S., strong breeze—partially cloudy.
FOLKESTONE—S.., fresh breeze—overcast.
TUNBRIDGE—S., calm—partially cloudy.
BASINGSTOKE-N.E., gentle breeze—overcast.
GIZEENIVICH—S.E.2 gentle breeze—partially cloudy.
STROOD—S.W. calm—partially cloudy.
SWINDON—S,NP., strong breeze—overcast.
LEIGHTON—S., gentle breeze—partially cloudy.
CQLCHESTER—S.W., gentle breeze—partially cloudy.
CAMBRIDGE—S., gentle breeze—cloudy.
The returns from the following placeLinclicate the state
of the weather on Tuesday morning at nine o'clock :
LEIGHTON—W. calm—partially cloudy.
HOLYHEAD-5.W., gentle breeze—fine.
WHITBY-S.W., gentle bseeze—cloudleis.
DARLINGTON—S. by W., gentle breeze—partially cloudy.
SHAP—S.W., gentle ki:eeze—partially cloudy.

eAN
I ' LZ4'.,
(Cr_ 44 7,
,„

LONDON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1852.

The Poor-law officials of Stony Stratford are
desirous of relieving themselves from the imputa-
tions to which the melancholy death of poor
/HENRY MORGAN or NEWTON (as it now appears
the wretched outcast should have been designated)
has rendered them liable. It is a good symptom
when " parochial" guardians, as Mrs. BUMBLE
would saY, think it possible that economy may be
carried a little tco far, or that they are at all called
upon to apologise for the death of an " obstinate

pauper," who died of " starvation" just to spite
the guardians, and bring discredit on the Union ;
4and that, moreover, a casual, who had no
legal settlement in the district. The matter
might not, it is true, have been thought so much
of, had it not been for the extensive notoriety
it atained, through the iniserference of one of
their own officers. That was " the unkindest cut
of all"—the Chaplain of the Union workhouse,
where the tragedy commenced and termi-
nated. Had it been some meddling stranger,
or prying philanthropist, that circulated the re-
port, they might possibly have treated it with
silent contempt. Unfortunately, however, it
rested on no anonymous or doubtful authority.
The Rev. BARWICK J. SAMS, Rector of Grafton
Regis, and Chaplain of the Union Workhouse of
Yardley Gobion, had, disregarding all, personal
considerations, and with a chivalry deserving the
highest praise, afforded powerful evidence of its
authenticity, by affixing his name to the heart-
rending statement, and. publicly declaring that be
" aid so in the hope that it might be useful in com-
pelling a better treatment of destitute paupers at
Stratford, and generally in condemnation of such
unfeeling conduct towards a fellow-creature, to
the dishonour of our humanity." Here was a

trustworthy witness a gentleman of um
_ _

impeachable character, whose position as Chap-
. lain of the workhouse not only gave him
facilities peculiar for ascertaining accurately
the facts and circumstances of the horrid trans-
actions, but who was actually present when the
unfortunate man was brought in, and who
exerted himself with a humanity and enthusiasm
befitting a Minister of the Gospel, to save the life
of his afflicted brother. An accusation from such
a quarter could not be slighted or despised. It
has accordingly elicited two letters—the one from
certain Guardians of the Poor, and Churchwar-
dens of the parish of Stony Stratford—the other
Iron). three neighbouring Justices of the Peace.
The first of these epistles does not in any de-
gree controvert the matters so truthfully and im-
pressively
put forward by the Rev. Gentleman.
It merely comments upon his statement, at the
same time givinghim credit for " the best inten-
tion," and deprecates the indignation that might be
excited, by stating " that the town in reality knew
nothing of the man, or never heard of him " until
the appearance of Mr. Sales letter : adding, " by
which it appears that the man had every kind
attention shown to him by the master of the
Workhouse, even to an excess of his duty." This
last paragraph, however,
a, "
leetle" too much for ifti,e true, proves
--
make SO strong a parade of
their gentry who „
humanity.
'What, is it indeed "am excess of duty" the
of the master to give a morsel of food to a star
ing and exhausted pauper ? The humane regub,
Lions of the establishment, it appear 4, only sane_
ton what in Ireland is termed " dry lodging ;" or,
in other words, the mere shelter of a roof for the
miscreant guilty of the atrocious crime of:poverty.
A judicious test of destitution is applied in the
first instance, by the residence of the relieving (!!!)
officer being situated three miles from the place
where the relief is to be administered ; so that the
'vagrant who has the audacity to seek employment
where alone it can be obtained, in his trade, will
*Ave at least three, and probably five or six, miles

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
end 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-comer" 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,
they offer no opinion, although they immediately
afterwards state " that they have reason to believe
that, instead of the nine days' starvation, 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-
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.
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-
bodied 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 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 com-
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 CROLL 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.,
the previous_cass 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
beeenft.e h
enterprise
1a 1i
be
should,sanguineW thatt h thisthe
o f the
willany
, na beeeintraaoblerarydaitnoattract to their Central Terminus
earnest that the undertaking
inogf passengers.. As
is no longer in
nubibus; we find. that definitive arrangements have

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
now in rapid and solid course of realisation.
When completed, the benefits resulting from the
scheme, will sufficiently well demonstrate
that PEARSON 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.

Lord Jourr RUSSELL or Providencewhich
shall we follow 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 DISPOSER 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 tradesmen 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 ditchers 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 town population. Most inconveniently
for Whig Reformers, it has been just the reverse;
and the lords of the soil find their retainers now in
a pretty decided minority. Worse still, the mino-
rity is still more deficient in intelligence, educa-
tion, and all 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, 4nd exclude, sheer and clean, the COBDENS
and the BRIGHTS. 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 not
pass off without some one putting the question
distinctly to Lord JOHN, whether he considers
himself raised up to preserve the balance of parties,
or to make the representation proportionate with
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 be 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.