The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-05 00:00:00

1849.

Reck Mils day .
Price of Y. e. • • •
Delivery last week
Litt() from June 1....
Arrivals last week
Ditto frord June I ...
Price of Tows .. • •

1848.

6,865
52s Oct
Ito 52s 6d
1,161
90,795
1,378
88,181
54501

1850.

28,049 j 30,558
39s 6,1 368 ud
to 080 d 03780,1
1.93 1 1,623
87,716 83,180
1,470 73
108,182 88,267
41561 i 381 Od

1851.

G,281
40s Od to
Os Ni
1,296
84,063
1,29,
91,1.;
41s 61

42,582
35s 6d
Ito 35s 9,1
1 1,198
94,724

276
, 101,072

38s Od

RIMINAL COURT.-(THIS DAY.)

OLD COURT.The April sessions of the Central Criminal Court
i,,were opened this morning by the Right ion. the Lord
"'Mier. Mr. Alderman Moon, the Recorder, the Sheri&
and Under. Sheriffs, and other civic functionaries.
The eelend
The . ar contains a list of 145 prisoners for trial.
said, asititcoßDE • . .
the i a, in his address to the grand jury,
sent sessions hitilealsll between the last and the pre-
fer trial Were rather longer than usual, the prisoners
appy to
excess of the ordinary number;
but he Was h
calendar were numero::Y, that though the casesaes in the
f:trid would occupy nsider-
able time in investigati„
there was not one charge of
murder, and thatof the
orhvegyrez
niizsass of the cases were
comparatively,
ttaracter. There were
only ,two cases to which he slit it necessary to
make special reference. The
y6orustatuinvolved a charge of
manslaughter against a
%einem He was
death of a
appeared
indicted for having caused
had struck her aw:tmoutsheed
herdo
woman; and it undoubtedly
LositlOns that be
~The question for the jury to decide was violent blow.
she g.,l,:en.
cluenzble
"OIL She died shortly after the blow was
on examination afterwards it was found but
to death from very slight causes in cense
diseases, end that the state of her health contributed of
the fatal result, b the law there was s ~,, .to
yet ysufficient
olidenee to support an indictment if the violence cons_
'flitted, though not of itself sufficient to cause
death, accelerated death, and was the proximate
cause of it. The next case was a charge or
Misdemeanour against a young woman for concealing
the birth of her child. In order to establish that charge
of the
hey must be satisfied that something was dune by her
fur the purpose of burying or otherwise disposing
dead body of the child in order to conceal its birth.
It appeared from the depositions that she was delivered
taon ter circumstances which rendered her hardly able to
QM ii()w what passed. If the child was merely left with-
assistance at the time, owing to her want of know-
ledge,OT to her not giving information,
that would not
be kkuttiment 0 makeßecorder
then out the charge. The
remitted the jury
to the discharge of their duties_

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.
(THIS DAY.)
(Before the ASSISTANT-JUDGE.)
After a short re
'sittings this ni e9ss, the Court resumed its ordinary
oreteg, at Cleikenw 11 when the April
Quarter Sessions were opened.
named in the calendar b • Theere'are 72 prisoners
%tides several who aro at
large upon bail.
William M'Gowan, a respeetablo-looltin man, aged
43, being convicted of embezzling the
se
sums of
two shillings and three htlillings, reetived by him for
and on account of his master and elopleyer, Mr. James
R. J. Whittowe, of No. 4, Liverpool-co
was sentenced to nine months' iraprisonment
all, bookseller,

MARLBRO'-STREET._(Tuis DAY.)
OBTAINING GOODS BY FALSE PRETENCES. j0,c,..h
Lawrence, a well-dressed young man, reaidit,g No:14
Buckinghana-street, Fiizroy-square, 1 p,,Aced
the
bar charged with having bocu concerned with his bo-
ther, not in custody, in obtaining from Mr. John Bad.
tilet, watchmaker, Greek-street, Soho, six gold watches,
value 501., by false and fraudulent pretences, R,.,
Fisher, from the office of Mr. Ded, solicitor to the
London Association for the Protection of Trade,
John-street, Oxford-street, appeared for the prosecution.
The prosecutor stated that on the 20th of Match last
the prisoner, who said his name was Lawrence, called at
his house ard said he wanted some watches to show to a
Customer. Witness asked him where he was to send
them,. The defendant said to No, 14, Dociford-streetp Co"

! vent-garden. Knowing that a Mr. Isavvrence, u dealer in
watches, resided there, and that ho was a highly re'pect.
able tradesman, witness sent a dem gold watches by
his clerk for inspection. Six of the watches were re-
turned, but witness had not seen the ctlitrs sled,
William Owen, clerk to the prosecutor, said-00 the
20th of March he was sent to 11, Betlferd-etreet, Co.
vent-garden, with 12 watches, and :•%:w the prisoner
there in the passage. Witness told him he had brougl-3
the watches from Mr. Baddelet, when he said," Oh its
all right," and held out his baud for them. Wittites
said he had brought 12 for him to select from, and he
believed he (defendant) only wanted four. The pri-
soner replied he did not knor, what the customer re-
quired, but if he (witness) would come with him to his
brother he would know what would suit the party. Wit-
ness then accompanied the prisoner to the corner of
where he saw a person, whom the pri-
Ryder's-court,
saner said was- his brother, and to whom he told
the nature of his errand. The prisoner's brother
sa:(1, "It is no use going Lek again, come
into my auctioneer's, and I wilt look at the
WatChf:69" They then went into the counting-house, end
the prisoner's brother selected, by the advice of the pri-
soner, stx gold watches, and said ho would call upon
ir. Baddclet either that evcating or the fol!o.ving Men-
day morning. Nei:hcr thczt Calkj, and on the 22a
about the watches,
of the same month ho called at Bedford-strait to_inquire
hut got no answer.
Coffee, 31 E, said in consequence of information he
received he went yesterday afternoon to No. 14, Buck-
inghatn-street, Fitzroy-square, where he had ascer-
, tattled the prisoner and hiss brother were lodg-
ing. On going upatairs into the first-nor room
he saw the prisoner, and at once told him
the nature of his errand, and took him
into custody. On their way to the station, the prisoner
said witness was labouring under a mistake. Witness
subsequently went and searched the ptiwner's apart-
ment, and found twelve duplicates referring to gold
watches and plate. One of the watches was pledged on
the 20th of March for 41. 10s., and; another on the 22d
for a similar amount, and two others on the 22d for 111.
These watches had been identified by the prosecutor as
his property. •
Mr. Wolff having addressed the court for the prisoner,
the latter was remanded till Thursday next.

THE BOOK SELLING QUESTION.:

TO THE' EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—Semewhat more than a year since I published a
work of which the advertised price is 129. I have now
before me an account up to Christmas last, wherein
I find myself crcdited f with the copies sold at
the rate of Ss. 6d. each. The trade custom of
giving 25 for the trice of 24 reduces this to some-
what less than 83. 2d, Further, my publisher deducts
ten per cent. commission for all sales he makes in
my behalf; 'so that ultimately the net sum per copy
payable to me becomes 7s. 4d. Out of this 7s. 4d. per
copy I have to pay for the composition, printing, paper,
and binding; for the advertising, which threatens to
reaoh 50/.; and for the 30 odd copies sent to the na•
tional libraries, newspapers, and reviews. The result is
that, though of its kind the book has been a very suc-
cessful one, my account up to Christmas last shows a
balance of 801. against me. Possibly in eighteen
months hence the work will have paid its expenses, and
I am even not without hope that it will leave me some
101. in pocket as. a reward for my two years' toil.
Should it do so, however, I shall be unusually fortu-
nat,,; for my publisher tells me that the great majority
of works having, like mine, a philosophic.' character,
entail loss,

Now, with all their skill in mystification, the Book-
sellers' Association will find it difficulk to show that cut
of a saing price of 12s. the proportiZ set aside to pay
for printing, paper, binding, advertising, gratuitous
copies, and author, should be 7s. 4d., while 4s. Bd. may
reasonably be charged for conveyance to the reader. lo
these (lays of cheap carriage 60 per ce;it. for cost of
production, and 40 per cent. fur porterage, is a some-
what anomalous

Mr. Murray says it is in great measure an authors'
question. Lid is right, and authors will prove much
less intelligent than I take them to be if they do not
sec how immensely their own interests, as well as
those of the public, would be served by a diminution of
these exorbitant trade profits. Let any one refer to
" Porter's Progress of the Nation," and there note
the many cases in which a small reduction of price
has been followed by a great increase of consumption,
and ho cannot avoid the inference that a2O per cent.
decrease in the vendor's charge for a book would cause
a much more than proportionate increase in its sale;
and as this decrease would be in the cost of agency, end
not in the author's price, the extra sale would be so
much clear profit to him. Books that now entail loss
would pay their expenses, and books that now only pay
their expenses would bring something like a reasonable
remuneration. .

Should the publishers and booksellers persist in their
restrictive policy, which is injurious, not only to authors
and the public, but, I believe, in the long run, oxen to
themselves, I think that as a matter of tusiness authors
will be jnstified in Ilecinino•b to publish with any who
belong to the combination.—l um, &c.,
AN AUTHOR,

TILE AUSTRALIAN GOLD MINES.
We have received letters and papers front Sydney
down to the 18th of December. The following is an
extract from a letter received by this arrival:—
" The precious metal arrives in daily increasing quan-
tities, and the estimated export has risen from 1,000,000/.
to 3,000,000/. per annum. There is no end to the gold;
and, as far as I have been able to ascertain from personal
communication with diggers of various dtgrce, the
labour is by •no means so tremendous us time would
make it out.'

" Commercial Affairs arc going on easily. The har-
vest is magnificent. Wages are not extravagantly high,
and I do not see any prospect of famine for some time
to come.

" I do not venture to prognosticate the probable state
of the markets. Wo are completely in the dark. I
have it, however, from good authority, that hi the early
part of.the year the probable heavy shipments of goods
on speculation will have the effect of creating a glut;
and it would be well if a large degree of caution wire
exorcised in making consignments.
" The Vimiera brought us the first return wave' of
the gold news from you; and we are looking out with in-
tense curiosity for the first Times' leader on the subject
of our great discovery."
in reference to the Victoria Gold Fields, the Sydney
Morning. Herald, of December 18th, says
vv., have received, by the Emma, Melbourne papers
to the 10th instant. The Melbourne Morning Herald of
that date says—' Letters were received in town yester-
day from the Police Magistrate at Gipps Land, stating
that the whole dividing racge between Sydney and Vic-
toria, and known as the Snowy Mountains, for 200
miles in extent, is one vest gold field. There was up-
wards of a ton and a half of gold in Mr. Commissioner
Powlett's tent, waiting for the escort, up to Saturday
last, and it is expected that to-day's escort from the
Mount will not be able to brin, down one half the
quantity (dared. It is intended to increase the military
force here to 100 men.'"