The Sun.
London, England, 1839-01-10 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 1839.

• ir
:11P\
etyt
- tlf
cLi . cif 4e works must devolve. The importance at this
Pik,Ki.li'vlaiinVof the entire devotion of the time and faculties of
"73..?.?; of the Company cannot be overstated, and the
-::littv:(rs would ill discharge their duty if they did not most
y urge upon every individual to leave them unem-
r:if, ;"' aed in the execution of their arduous duties. The
, ;rectors pledge themselves that no personal exertion on
their part shall be wanting to promote the interests of the
. Proprietary, and that they will superintend and control the
r expenditure of the Company with the utmost vigilance,
adhering to practical economy in every department as alike
essential to the stability of the undertaking, and to the
. pecuniary benefit of every individual Proprietor.
4. W. SIMS, Chairman."

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY

MEETING-(THIS DAY.)

The balloting was resumed this morning at ten o'clock,
end, shortly after twelve o'clock,
The Chairman, Mr. Sims, came forward, and stated that
the ballot had closed, and the Scrutineers would proceed
to examine the votes and declare the result.
At this time there were about 290 Shareholders and IT-
rectors present.

At. half-past one o'clock the Chairman and Directors
entered the room, and the Scrutineers, Messrs. Ward and
Swift, having gone over the votes, and male their report,
The CHAIRMAN rose, and having read the amendment
which had been yesterday moved by Mr. Hayworth, and
seconded by Mr. Hoyes, said that the votes recorded for
that amendment were—

176
5,969
—.6,145
Against it—present
Proxies

Present .
Proxies .

7,792

Majority 1.647
Ile accordingly declared the amendment negatived, by a
jittajority of I,647.—(Much cheering.)
1" • The original motion was then put and carried, no hand
`:-being held up agoinst it.
t';„. Mr. Hawns, IMP., felt it right to state, in justice to
Mr. Hayworth, Mr. Roves, Mr. Crossley, Mr. Swift, and
the other gentlemen from Lancashire, that an arrangement
had been come to with them yesterday evening as to the
- course of proceeding to be adopted that day. It was un-
derstood that if the amendment on a division was negatived,
the original motion would be put, and no vote would be taken
against it. But the gentlemen opposed to the original mo-
tion, reserved to themselves the right of acting in that
way, although it was to be understood that they did not
coincide in the principle, yet they did not deem it necessary
poively to vote against it. Therefore, although the reso-
lution bad been apparently carried unanimously, he (Mr
Hawes) was bound in honour to make this statement to
the meeting, to protect these gentlemen from any apparent
inconsisteney.—( Hear.)
The CHAIRMAN—Then we had better say the resolution
-is carried neat. con.—( A laugh.)
Mr. SWIFT, who had previously attempted to addres:
the meeting, but had been called to order by it, said,
he hoped he was now in order. After the very
lengthened investigation the affairs and proceedings of the
Company bad undergone yesterday, and after the very pa-
tient hearing that had been given by their Chairman to
every gentleman who bad addressed them, he felt grew
pleasure in moving the best thanks of the meeting to their

Chairman.
Mr. Caossr.Y seconded the motion.
Mr. HAWES presented himself again to the meeting very
reluctantly. Nothing was so desirable as that a good feel-
ing should exist among the Proprietors, but he was bound
in duty to state, that there was another which ought to take
precedence of the one now before them. He believed
it was usual before they proceeded to the last stage of any
public proceedings, to take into consideration the question
of the character and conduct of the Court of Directors.—
( Hear, hear.) It was absolutely necessary that there
should be no compromise or • misunderstanding on that
point ; and if the Hon. Gentlemen -who made the
present motion would consent to the one he was
about to submit, it would be all very well,
and woul I prevent his (Mr. Hawes's) advancing it
by way of amendment. His motion was a vote of thanks to
the Court of Directors for the manner in which they
had conducted the affairs of the Company. He felt
that this was a subject on which there could be no essen-
tial difference of opinion, because if the Honourable
Gentleman had taken a particular course yesterday they had
done it. upon principle, and there could be no inconsistency
in their sanctioning the present proposition. These gen-
tlemen could have no object in achieving a small triumph,
and after the time and labour that had been employed, and
-the ample discussion the subject had undergone yesterday,
• if a division again took place, the result would be the same,
and, therefore, no practical object could be obtained by
voting against it. He hoped he should be permitted, as he
was anxious that there should exist a kindly feeling at the
close of the present inquiry (and he was glad to see Mr.
Hayworth present) to allude to what had passed yesterday.
Ho believed that not a single word or expression had fallen
from any speaker to which the slightest reference could
be made ; but a near and dear relative of his,
Mr. Brunel, had made some remarks which might
have been misunderstood, and have occasioned pain, which
no man was less willing to give. He begged to state, there-
fore, that if anything had fallen from Mr. Brunel, calcu-
lated to cause, in the slightest degree, any unpleasant feel-
ing, the expression had no personal application. It arose
out of certain passages in the report, which being very
strongly in opposition to Mr. Brunel's views, had in the
heat of the moment irritated and vexed him, hut his
observations had reference rather to passages in the report
than to any single individual. He hoped, therefore, Mr.
Hayworth would accept the explanation he had given,
for not one word uttered by Mr. Brunel was intended to
.give pain to any one. Mr. Brunel's anxious hope
now was to devote himself wholly and entirely to the
service of the Company, which he hoped, through the
aid of the united Proprietary, would be again placed in the
position of being one of the best of similar undertakings.
lie would conclude, by moving " That the warm and cor-
dial thanks of the meeting be given to the Court of Di-
rectors, for the- zealous attention they had uniformly
paid to the interests of the Company."
Mr. SWIFT said, that although all parties should be de-
sirous of unanimity, yet there were certain points of dif-
ference upon which he and his friends could not be expected
to change their opinions. He had no hesitation in stating
that the motion was one which they could not concur in.
If they were asked whether individually the Directors
possessed their confidence, they would have no hesitation
in saying so ; but when the question was put as a
vote at a public meeting, they could not concur
in it, more especially as five or six thousand
votes had been recorded against the course pursued by the
Directors. Not one of the Gentlemen with whom he acted
would be capable of imputing anything improper to the
Directors. They thought this plan was not the best, and,
therefore, that the course pursued by the Directors was not
judicious. On these grounds they did not feel called upon to
concur in any general vote of thanks to the Directors, but
after the vote of yesterday, although they would not be
parties to it, they would not give it any opposition.
Mr. lIEGGINs, of Liverpool, seconded the amendment,
and entered into some statements relative to the speed at
which he bad come up by the Great Western Railway
that morning-, which, he said, satisfied him that for the
greater part of the distance they were going at the rate of
forty miles an hour.—(Hear, hear.)
A PROPRIETOR thought the Company were very much
indebted to the gentlemen from Lancashire for the course
taken by them in bringing about the present investigation.
The CHAIRMAN was then about to put the question,
:when one of the Lancashire Proprietors observed that the
gentlemen from the North did not concur in that vote.
The CHAIRMAN-It appears to me that the only way of
expressing that is to vote against it.
The question was then put and carried nem. con.
Mr. BRIGHT the Deputy Chairman then took the chair,
and the resolution of Mr. Swift, of a vote of thanks to the
Chairman was put and carried unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN briefly returned thanks, expressing the
anxiety of himself and the Board of Directors to promote
the best interests of the Company by every means in their
power, and the meeting broke up.

PICTURES OF THE WORLD.—This mew work
by the accomplished author of " Tremainelt.,?onsists of
three distinct tales, each occupying one valme, in this
particular recurring to the good old plan of gßing no more
space to a subject than its natural developitient demands.
The first tale is entitled " Sterling?' In pdint of real and
exact observation of life, in happy, easy,- and spirited pour-
tray-al of character, it may rank with the best of Mr.
.Ward's previous productions, and in.one respect—its moral
tendency—it surpasses them all. 'l:4e, second story is called
" Penruddock ; or, the High-mindt4; and nobly does the
tale answer to the lofty demands orits title. Penruddcck
is one of the most pure and pe4i, and at the same time
one of the most natural delineattens that are to be found in
prose fiction. The third story
.turns on the political aspect
and tendency of the times ; yeethe chief incidents and cha-
racters arc invested with a tick of high romance, -and it
presents altogether one of the most stirring and exciting
narratives that we have anywhere tint with. It is called
" The Enthusiasts ;'' and is introduced by an admirable
essay on enthutsictini, which will be looked upon by many
readcronot the least enlightened among the various classes
to Mr. Ward's writings appeal— as the most en-
during gem,.thecrowning feature of the whole work.—New
Monthly.

LO LOT. :
THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 10, 1839.

The corn returns to-day must, we presume, convince
the Scotsman and refute the licra/d. The former
announced three weeks ago that the markets had at-
tained their highest point and would decline ; the latter
would, yesterday, have persuaded the metropolis that
apprehension and distress were at an end. The weekly
averages, however, published to-day, are 80s. 2d. for
all kinds of wheat, good and bad, which is 2s. higher
than last week, while the average of the six weeks is
775. 3d., or Is. 2d. higher than the average published
last Thursday. But now, unfortunately, accompany-
ing the still increasing price, the weather, which has
hitherto been mild and open, has become cold ; the
earth is bound up wick frost ; field labour must be
impeded or suspended ; employment and wages will
be lessened, and distress will be augmented. 'We dpre
not say that Providence has hitherto blessed the
suffering poor with a mild winter, lest we should be
immediately driven to the conclusion that the frost is
a curse inflicted by Providence on them, and that
would drive us to doubt, despair, and atheism. But
we cannot doubt that severe winters, which come in
the order of the seasons, are benevolently and wisely
contrived, perhaps to knit men more closely together
by mutual service and social kindness ; and we can only
conclude that the circumstances which make a severe
winter an almost deadly evil to large, suffering, and
helpless classes, arise, like the Devil's laws, and the
coal monopoly, and the restrictions and taxes on the
coal trade, from the selfish legislation of short-sighted
legislators. Out of the present sufferings of the poor,
some important consideration concerning the Poor-
laws themselves arise. The Chronicle tells us--
" The new Poor-law is calculated for ordinary times, and
not for seasons like the present. If the rate-payers agree to
subscribe for the amcunt necessary for the support of the
labourers beyond their wages, it may be possible to weather
the period of difficulty, but not qtherwise.
" It seems that in the Tisbury Union, on the refusal of out-
door-relief, some of the labourers, with their wives and
families, went into the workhouse, and the disposition to go
in was getting pretty general among them ; that the Guar-
dians were naturally alarmed at this, and proposed to the rate-
payers that a subscription should be made by them, and that
the money so collected should be placed in the hands of the
Board of Guardians ; but that this proposition was indig-
nantly rejected by the rate-payers.
" The upshot of the business is, that the parishes of the
Tisbury Union have been forced to return to the old allow-
ance system of setting to work on the roads all m'rried la-
bourers who cannot get employment elsewhere, and of paying
them as formerly, according to the size of their families."
One of the wise landlord's laws, therefore, defeats
the other. But it will be remembered that destitution is,
by the present system, the actual test for obtaining
relief ; and, in consequence of the high price of corn,
and the low rate of wages in the agricultural districts,
the inmates of work-houses, poorly and lowly as they
are necessarily fed, are far better off than the labourers.
The privations to which the latter are driven are there-
fore necessarily made the rule for feeding the poor. It is
impossible, with any sense of propriety, for the
Guardians to continue to feed those who earn nothing,
more sufficiently than those can feed themselves, who
earn by six day's hard toil 7s. or Bs. For example,
the labourers are in some districts driven to eat barley-
bread ; and in those neighbourhoods the Guardians
contemplate giving barley-bread to the inhabitants of
the workhouses. If the labourers are forced down to
lumpers—lumpers, and lumpers only, must of neces-
sity he the only food of the workhouse poor. Thus
destitution being the test of relief, and the Corn-
laws making destitution greater and greater, or the
test o relief being an increase in the scale of
misery, palpably and plainly degrade the condition of
the labithrer, ankl;' by misery and destitution, slowly
and gradually starve him and his family, and starve
the poor, out of existence.
We have lately, and so have, to our knowledge, a
number of intelligent, wise, enlightened, and reflecting
men, expressed deep abhorrence at the theory of pain-
less extinction, by which it is proposed to limit the
number of human beings in the land; but surely it is
far more humane—far less guilty to nip the bud of life
ere it has expanded into feeling and consciousness,
than slowly,.by cold, hunger, and destitution, to starve
grown men and., women, and lively children, out of ex-:
istence. That greater crime than infanticide is,
however, committed by those who support what
we ha've every day more reason to name the
Devil's laws. Hundreds and thousands of full-
grown sentient human beings are slowly and
painfully starved out of existence by those demoniac
enactments. We should have been much astonished
had the Poor-law Commissioners not shown a laud-
able alacrity to shake themselves clear of Mr. STE-
PHENs' calumny, and we shall be equally_ astonished
if the landlords do not hasten to put an end, by volun-
tarily repealing the Corn-laws, to the thrilling horror
which their vile conduct, for the sake of a little despi-
cable pelf, is exciting throughout the length and
breadth of the land. On them our charge is
no ca-
lumny. If one of them, or some one of their satellites,
was not the actual author of the modern scheme of
wholesale infanticide, as the logical and least painful
completion of their abominable system, which is probably
the case, they will never be able to shake themselves
clear of the heavier and more horrible charge of starv-

ing, to enrich themselves, thousands of industrious fa-
thers, pains-taking mothers, and hopeful children, out
of existence.

---
The following paragraph is worthy of a place here,
as an evidence that the Priests of the Established
Church mean, by aid of the law which gives them the
power over tomb-stones, to defeat the law which
tolerates people praying•for their departed friends :
We understand that in consequence of Sir Herbert Jenner's
recent extraordinary decision in the case of " Breeks v.
Woolfrey," by which he has affirmed that praying for the dead
is not inconsistent with the doctrines of the Church of Eng-
land many of the Clergy have determined to exercise a rigid
scrutiny into every inscription intended to be placed on a
tombstone. In some instances the excellent plan of giving
a public notice has been adopted, the Clergyman announcing
to his congregation that he will not permit any monument to
be erected without his written authority, and requiring to see
a copy of the inscription proposed to be engraved.—Berhs
Chronicle. . _ _

The Priests are resolved, therefore, to prevent the
people from putting on the tombstones of their fami-
lies and friends such inscriptions as they think proper.
What further aggressions the Papist Priests of the Esta-
blished Church mean to make on the liberties of the nation
is in the womb of time, but, if we may judge by the state-
ments of their organs, they have a gigantic scheme of
oppression in view which will certainly not stop short
of a complete revival in England, under another name,
of the whole power of the Papal Priesthood. In fact,
the idea which our Clergy have of an efficient Church
is measured by that of the Romish Church in the days
of its greatest magnificence, and they will never be con-
tented, if they are allowed to have their own way, till they
have obtained for the English State-paid Pricsthocql
all the power and wealth that was ever possessed by
the Romish Priesthood. They would make us as
much the slaves of Priestcraft as we now arc of the
Aristocracy ; and they would begin by dooming dgain
to political slavery all but the members of their own
Church. They demand the re-enactment of the Test
Acts and of the Catholic Penal Laws.

The grand question, whether we shall have any
further improvement in Railways, or stand still, for
the exclusive benefit cf monopolists, has been decithd
this day, by a large and triumphant majority, in favour
of improvement. The stand still jockies from the
❑orth have been beaten by a majority of 1,647. Yes-
terday the feeling of the meeting was decidedly in favour
of that eminent engineer, Mr. BRUNEL ; but the gentle-
men from the north, some of whom carried a thousand
proxies in their pockets, thought the battle was not alto-
gether lost, and resolved on demanding a ballot. Well,
the ballot was proceeded, with, and this clay terminated to
the utter confusion of the would-be monopolists in the
Great Western Railway ! To show the bold presumption
of the party,' and their weight of purse as compered
with their relative numbers, we shall give the state of
the ballot :

For the Amendment to oust Mr. BItUNEL, and
destroy the Great Western Railway—

There vero present only
Proxies

For Mr. Brunel and against the amendment

.6,145

there were present
Proxies

Majority .

• • • . 1,647

One would suppose this was conclusive. But,
no. The gentlemen monopolists are hard fighters,
and endeavoured to recover the ground they had lost
by indirectly passing a vote of censure on the Direc-
tors of the Great Western Railway.

" The force of folly could no further go,"
and the monopolists were brought to a third stand
still—the vote of censure was turned into a vote of
approbation ; and we conclude by wishing all parties
much joy of their respective labours.

Great is the rejoicing in Paris on account of the
capture of San Juan d'Ulloa, by the French fleet, in
the Gulf of Mexico. The Ministerial prints are in
extacies. They even challenge the Opposition to pro-
voke the indignation of France by attacking a Cabinet
capable of thus covering the nation with glory at a
moment's warning. The Commerce, on the other
hand, contends that Ministers have nothing to do with
the matter. " The Ministry," argues this journal,
" is in too great a hurry to appropriate to itself
what it has no claim to. In this affair there are two
widely distinct things—the direction and the execution.
The taking of the fort is a matter of execution, and
the honour of the achievement exclusively belongs to
our skilful Admiral and brave seamen. The credit
claimed by the Cabinet can only be founded on the
direction it imparted, during the last year, to the affair
itself, and to the preparations necessary for its success-
ful termination. Our humiliation would indeed be
at its height if our fleet was not certain to reduce a
Mexican fort defended by Mexican soldiers. Before our
Ministry ascends to the Capitol it should begin by proving
that it was impossible for it to bring this quarrel to a
close in less time, with inferior means, and without
subjecting our seamen to less fatigue and our com-
merce to fewer sacrifices." Now we are seldom among
the advocates of the French Ministry, but on this
occasion a sense of justice will not suffer us to unite
with the Commerce in robbing them of the glory of
capturing the strongest fortress of South America.
In this instance the Ministry both planned
and executed. Admiral BAum rr, it is true,
attacked the fortress with shot and shells ;
but Count MOLE had so sapped its founda-
tions with gold and diplomatic pledges of the
realization of individual ambition, that the fire
of a gun-boat would have laid it in ruins. We hare
no very high opinion of Mexican valour ; but brave
as are the French, they could not have taken Vera
Cruz, and still less a bomb-proof fortress, mounting
an hundred and sixty guns, and a sufficient garrison of
disciplined troops, with three frigates, a corvette, and
two bomb-ketches, had there not been treachery
within the walls. Besides the comparative loss of
men on both sides is of itself sufficient to settle this
point. The Iphigenie frigate alone is said to have
received 160 shots in her hull ; and yet the French had
in all only five men killed ; whereas the Mexicans lost
600. We will not stop to remark upon the coinci-
dence of this vessel receiving as many shot as there
were mounted guns on the fortress ; but we are confi-
dent that there are few military engineers ac-
quainted with the situation of the castle of San
Juan d'Ulloa, and with the weight of metal
which the guns were capable of carrying, who will
believe that half this number of shot, taking effect in
the hull of a vessel, from such an eminence, would fail
to send any ship in the French fleet to the bottom.
These remarks are not intended to operate as a wet
blanket upon the glowing enthusiasm of our glory-
loving neighbours on the other side of the Channel.
They are merely intended as an act of justice to a
Cabinet trembling on the verge of dissolution ; and
which finds itself in danger of -being stripped of the
reputation—such as it is—of its own acts.
We must do justice to the peculiar talent of Count
MOLE in the art of taking fortresses. A charge of
spears, displaying on their points the leaves of the
Koran, robbed ALI of his life, and his dynasty of the
Khalifat of the Faithful. The genius which suggested
such a mode of attack has been justly celebrated as
exhibiting a perfect knowledge of the superstitious
weakness of the enemy. Count MOLE has recourse
to doubloons ; and so long as his attacks are confined
to South American states, France may depend upon
1 the most brilliant success.

We have this morning received Papers from New
South Wales to the 14th of August, from which we

learn that our Australian settlements were mostly all
in a flourishing condition, with the exception of that
of South. Australia, which was in the most wretched
state imaginable--no funds whatever in the treasury—
the salaries of the whole of the public servants remain-
ing unpaid—the Survey Department in an embarassed
state—and a population exceeding 4,000 persons, after
the departure of her Majesty's ship Alligator, aban-
doned to the protection of eighteen policemen.

The Patis papers of Monday, the whole of which
we have received, bring the opening of the debate in
the Chamber of Deputies on the Address, a summary
of which, up to the hour of post, will be found in ano-
ther part of The Sun. For the first time for many
years M. GuizoT spoke without producing any
effect. The reason to us is quite obvious. M.
GuizoT could not attack the Cabinet with
the fervour requiSite to make an impression
without censuring acis sanctioned by himself
when in office. M. Gulzoir's political character
is tainted, and so forcibly did he seem to feel
this that he rather defended himself from a charge of
inconsistency than boldly assailed the outposts of the
Ministry. He was answered by Count MOLE, who
had only ascended the tribune when the mails left for
London.
The Queen of the BELGIANS has arrived in Paris,
to prepare her Royal mother , for the death of
the Duchess of WURTEMBURG, which, we regret
to state, is no longer regarded as doubtful. The
following paragraph, from a French Journal, leaves
us no hope that this melancholy event has not
already taken place. We can fully appreciate the sad
feelings with which the death of this amiable and ac-
complished Princess, in the very flower of her age,
must inspire all who have had the happiness to ap-
proach her :

" It is with the greatest regret we learn that a letter ad-
dressed by the Duke de Nemours, on the Ist inst., to the Duke
of Orleans, and received yesterday morning by dispatch, has re-
moved almost all hopes of the life of the Duchess Marie of Wur-
temberg being preserved. The Princess has received the sa-
craments of the church with the most exemplary and touch-
ing piety ; and the reports of the physicians, joined to the dis-
patch, have predicted her Royal Highness's speedy dissolu-
tion. The Princess had preserved all her calmness and self-
possession. This melancholy intelligence has produced not
the mournful effects in the Royal family which every body
will riehtly appreciate, but had excited the most painful feel:
ings among all ranks and partis of the capital."
General BERNARD is resolved that his last offi-,ial
act, as War Minister, shall be a popular one. His
new Bill, already drawn up, proposes the augmentation
of the pay of every grade of officers and men in the
French service.

Madrid Papers of the 31st ult.—one day later than
previously received—have arrived this morning. The
Chamber of Deputies was then inquiring into the
alleged participation of M. ALVAREZ, a Deputy, in
the insurrection of SeviIIe—ESPARTERO having in-
sisted that the Government should bring him to trial.
The affair excited no interest cut of doors. Tran-
quillity reigned in the capital.

By the arrival at Falmouth of her Majesty's Packet,
Sheldrake, we have received advices from Vera CI uz,
of the 10th, and Tampico, of the 26th of November.
There was then but little prospect of an early
settlement of the quarrel between France and
Mexico ; consequently it was supposed that Vera Cruz
would remain for a considerable time in the hands of
the French. On the Ist of November a violent hurri-
cane took place off Vera Cruz, during the continu-
ance of which three United States vessels were lost,
including most of the crews of two of them. The
United States Consul behaved with the most praise-
worthy humanity to such of the seamen as escaped the
wrecks.

The Sheldrake has brought on freight about
100,000 dollars in specie. But for the coast blockade,
she would have brought double that sum.

PRIVY COUNCIL.-(THIS DAY.)

broken.

SERJEANTS AT LAW.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council sat to-day,
for the purpose of considering the petition of the Serjeants-at-
Law, which had been presented to her Majesty, praying that
her Majesty would order a restoration of the ancient rights
held by them, of exclusive audience in the Court of
Common Pleas, during term, of which they had been de-
prived since the year 1834, by a mandate under the
sign manual of his late Majesty William the Fourth, trans-
mitted to the Lord Chancellor, and by him communicated to
the Lord Chief Justice, and the other judges of the Court
of Common Pleas. Upon the petition being presented,
her Majesty referred its consideration to the Judi-
cial Committee of the Privy Council, of which a
far greater number than usual attended to-day. Among
the Lords present were the Lord Chancellor, Lord Brougham,
Lord Denman, Lord Langdale, Lord Abinger, Lord Wyn-
ford, the Vice-Chancellor, Mr. Baron Parke, Mr. Justice
Vaughan, Mr. Justice Bosanquct, Mr. Justice Erskine, and
the Judge of the I-Fgh Court of Admiralty.
Sir W. Follett and Mr. Austin appeared on behalf of the
Sergeants-at- Law, and theiAttorney and Solicitor-Generals
who sat in the Council Chamber, and not at the bar, watched
the proceedings on behalf of the Crown.
Sir W. FOLLETT, on behalf of the petitioners, submitted
that the mandate opening the Court of Common Pleas to
all barristers during Term time was illegal, because it purported
to alter the constitution and practice of one of the Superior
Courts of Justice, by the authority of the Crown alone ; that
on that account, as well as from the mandate not being coun-
tersigned by any responsible officer, there was reason to be-
lieve that his late Majesty was surprised into giving his signature
to it—that the prescriptive p:ivileges of the Serjeants-at- Law
could be abrogated only by an Act of Parliament, and in ad-
dition it was to be remembered that his clients had had no
opportunity of being heard before the mandate was
acted upon, and he had only been prevented bring-
ing its validity under discussion out of deference to
the authority by which it was put forth. From the
length of time that had elapsed since the mandate was issued
an opportunity had been afforded of judging whether any be-
nefit had accrued to the public from the alteration that had
been made, and expenses had shown that the benefit expected
of the greater dispatch of public business had not been
realised bylhe alteration. The demise of the late King rendered
it necessary that the validity of the mandate should be consi-
dered; and one of the questions for the decision of their Lord-
ships would be, whether that demise had not rendered the
mandate totally inoperative. It was true that, as a compensa-
tion for opening the Court, several of the then Segeants
had been protuoted to the rank of Queen's Sergeants, but that
di unity had not been _conferred upon any of the petitioners,
who were all the Sergeants-at-Law that had not taken rank
under that mandate. The power exercised by the mandate,
the Learned Counsel submitted, was unknown to the law—i t
was not received for any object of Royal dignity or public
benefit, while in its principles•it was inconsistent with the sta-
bility of institutions deemed essential to the Constitution of the
country. If anything in England could be considered as
standing upon prescription, it was the Court of Common
P!eas, and in connection with it the order of men holding the
degree of Sergeants-at-Law.

The Learne—cl Counsel was proceeding when our reporter left

SHERIFFS' COURT.-(THIS DAY.)

IMPORTANT TO PUBLICANS, AND WORKMEN,

SEDDON V. GOLDSMITH.

This was an action to recover the sum of 31. I Is. for goods
sold and delivered. The defendant pleaded, first, that he
never was indebted, and, secondly, that the claim was in re-
spect of divers quantities of liquors at various times supplied
to him—their values being less than 20s. On those pleas,
which wre denied by plaintiff, issue was joined.
The plaintiff was a licensed victualler, who lately kept the
Low !ides Arms, New-road. The defendant was the foreman
of Messrs. Cubitts (the well known builders), to whom
the plaintiff had supplied for upwards of a year different kinds
of refreshment, bread and cheese, ale, porter, and on some
occasions a little rum or gin and milk. A long score was thus
run up, of items varying from one to two or three shillings per
day. When the amount reached 31. the plaintiff said he would
not trust the defendant longer, and that he must pay regular
instalments. This was done, till at last the plaintiff removing,
defendant discontinued dealing with him, and refused to pay
the balance, to recover which the present action was brought.
Mr. THOMAS stated the above case for the plaintiff, and called
the pot-boy and the brother of plaintiff, who proved the de-
livery of the refreshments charged for, which he said consisted
of bread and cheese, ale, porter, &c.
On cross-examination by Mr. KNOWLES, who was Counsel
for the defendant, the witnesses admitted that very often de-
fendant had spirits of a morning, gin or rum and milk.
Mr. KNOWLES submitted that the claim of plaintiff clearly
came under the statute which prohibited licensed victuallers
from giving credit fur spirits in quantities under 20s. This
statute was a very salutary and beneficial one. It tended, as ,
it was designed, to prevent tippling on the part of workmen ;
and to do away with the pernicious practice, which has so long
prevailed, of workmen running up heavy scores every week
for spirits, that absorbed the whole wages of their labour, which
ought to go to the support of their wives and families. The

publican could claim no sympathy from the jury on this account
for he sinned with his eyes open ; and the defendant had a
perfect right to plead the law which plaintiff had knowingly

The Learned Counsel called three fellow-workmen of de-
fendant, who swore that on many occasions he had spirits at
plaintiff's, for which credit was given.
On cross-examination they said that they had subscribed
small sums-6d., Is., and 2s.—towards the expences of the
defence, and that most of them had scores at plaintiff's unpaid.
Mr. THOMAS, in reply, urged that the defence which had
been set up was most dishonest—to seek to get rid of an
admitted debt, for it was not attempted to be disproved. On
a legal quibble he contended that the plaintiff had a right to
set off the amount for which he had given credit, as having
been received against the spirits, which he was not entitled
to recover.

The Learned Under-Sheriff BURCIIELI„ in summing up,
told the jury the question for them was whether
the articles supplied to defendant, for which credit had
been given were spirits. If not the plaintiff must have a ver-
dict. On the other hand, the verdict must he for the de-
fendant, if the demand was wholly in respect of spirits ; and
if the demand was only partially in respect of spirits, their
verdict must be for the plaintiff, deducting the amaunt which
they considered was for spirits.
The Jury found for the plaintiff to the full amount claimed.
The verdict entered was—Debt, 31. I Is. ; costs, 40e.

CORN LAWS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

„ --
SlR,—Your steady and persevering exposure of the ini
quities of the Corn-law does you great credit, and I have no
doubt but you will meet with a just reward from a grateful
public, whose battles regarding this subject you have so man-
fully fought, when almost all the Liberal press were com-
paratively silent ; but it is gratifying now to see, as
the day of battle approaches, they are preparing the
public for the awful struggle that mustasoon take place
bewteen the landed aristocracy and the great mass
of the people, who have been- starved and plundered
to a degree unknown in any civilized nation under the sun. It
is not my intention to enter into all the hardships inflicted on
the poor, or the great and irreparable loss our commerce and
manufactures have suffered and are suffering from the time
this iniquitous law was passed (by a legislature composed al-
together of landed proprietors), against the wishes of the
people, and, I may say, forced down our throats at the point
of the bayonet, my chief object at present is, through the me-
dium of your Paper, to have the great bcdy of the people, who
are now alive to the subject, properly set to work upon a plan
that will carry fear into the camps of their oppressors, and se-
cure success to their endeavours—to shake off twenty-four
years' cruel bondage we have had imposed upon us. The
war the nation is about embarking in is no common
war, therefore the better we plan the campaign the
more certain our success. That the whole bulk of the
people are ready to come forward, there can be no doubt, but
it would be all the better for some master minds to come for-
ward and lay down the plan of the campaign ; it strikes me you
have plenty such people in London, where should be formed the
head Association, with whom all the Associations throughout
the empire should keep up a regular correspondence, that all
may know what is going on. When I talk of Associations,
I mean the bringing together all, both rich and poor, who are
resolved upon seeing justice done the nation in respect to
this bread tax ; and that at all meetings nothing shall be
taken up but that subject, and none allowed to enter who are
not regular members, and who agree to what forms may be
laid down ; and as money is the sinew of war, each member
to subscribe—say, a poor man Is. to Is. 6d., as he can spare
it, and people in better circumstances what they choose—in
every town of any importance small subscriptions will raise
money, to defray the expense of correspondence, and people
to go about for names to petitions, &c. ; and above all to be
able to send up a delegate to the head Association in London.
Delegates from all the towns in the empire would have an
imposing effect, and tend to strengthen the hands of the
Ministry, if disposed to do justly, and, if otherwise, warn
them of what will be the result ; for I may venture to assert,
without the fear of contradiction, that not one representative
of a Scotch Burgh would be returned again were he to go
against the people in this struggle, and I suppose it would be
pretty much the same in England.
As I have already said, we are all ready to move in the
great conflict, but we should move more to the purpose, were
we to find some patriotic individuals about London to lead
the way at once, and lay the foundation for a regular
system of warfare ; there is still plenty of time, though I
think we cannot too soon begin to concoct our plans; and I
know you can do much to promote what I have in view, and
have no fears of your best endavours being used to rouse your
countrymen, and suggest such plans as will enable them to strike
a final blow at a tax at once a disgrace to our nation, and an
indelible stain on those for whose selfish and avaricious views
it was, in the face of all justice and reason, enacted.
When, at the return of peace, after a twenty years' war,
wherein we had spent eight hundred millions, and spilt oceans
of blood, and during all the time paying for bread and the ne-
cessaries of life, three prices, after all these sufferings and
privations one would have thought the most selfish and hard-
hearted beings in the world would have given us a little breath-
ing time; but no, our landed aristocrats and our landed law-
makers showed themselves heartless beings, and as a reward
for all the sacrifices the people were called upon to make dur-
ing that extraordinary war, they were immediately saddled
with a Bill to keep up corn and animal food at the war price,
that the landed gentry might continue to live in the same
state of affluence they did during the war, when they were
getting three rents for their land. • Yes, this was all the
thanks the people got fur the most unparalleled sacrifices any
people were ever called upon to make, for ail this wickedness
inflicted on a brave and industrious people. I sometimes
think the day of retribution is at hand ; time will soon deter-
mine. In the meantime, Mr. Editor, let us be up and doing,
and believe me, yours sincerely,
A FOUR YEARS' CONSTANT READER OF
YOUR PATRIOTIC AND VALUABLE PAPER.
Leith, sth Jan., 1839.