The Sun.
London, England, 1839-08-10 00:00:00

NDON, SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1839

. .
acme time pre4ionsly resided In the borough, and that they
should never be armed with ani mortal weapon. 'J.&
That an address be presented by this Council to the ge-
cretary of State for the Home Department, praying him
forthwith to withdraw the London Police from the Bo-
rough of, .ilirmingham, Id. That a Committee of this
Council
moving
ibe appointed to investigthe the tautie of the late
riots, and that the result of such investigation ptiblished.
in
the ,Prst resUlution, Mr. Stange said he
never brought forward a Moiioti of the stiuridnesss in
principle as well as the policy of which he felt
more convinced than the present one. He considered it
inconsistent with Christianity to take away human life
under any circumstances, but he could nut expect the
Council, on that ground alone, to adopt the propositiGn
before thOrn. When he voted for the establishment of a
new police force in iiirthingharti, it was with the object
that the property of the poor Might be protected as well
as that of the rich, and not that they should be used for
dispersing large assemblages of the people by physical
force. They had already a standing army which, even in
a time of peace, cost the country eight or ten millions per
annum. To that or any other such force he objected,
altogether on principle, and the only pretence for keeping
up a standing army in time of peace, which cost the coun-
try several millions per annum, was that they should be
used under circumstances where the civil force were found

insufficient. We held it to be a matter of the utmost im-
portance that the police of a town should be composed of
men of good moral characters who were known to the in-
habitants of all classes, as men in whom, under every circum-
stance, they could place reliance, and who would have the
sympathy and sup ort in the execution of the duties of
their olliCe. "Ihe members of that Council were

placed there as the repreSeiitativee of the rate-payers,
and the question which they were now called upon to de-
cide was whether the police should be armed with mortal
weapons or not. On this depended much more than many
thought; for in hitt opinion it involved the question whe-
ther the people of this country %retie itl be governed as ra-
tional beings or by brutal force.—(Cheers.) Most 01'.
tainly he (Mr. Sturge) would rather in point of safety go
at the head of an unarmed body to silence disturbances of
the public peace, because there would be less hostility and
resistance excited ; while, if they went armed in case of
any collision, the probability was that the innocent would
suffer instead of the guilty. He did, however, conceive,
apart from all this, that they were come to that point when
they must take their stand upon the question, whe-
ther they were to have a second armed force
in the country or not. Upon this question depended the
liberties of the people, and he would say, Woe to that Go-
vernment, be they whomsoever they might, who attempted
to govern the people of England by physical force alone.
—( Cheers.) He knew that some had thrown the blame
of the violence that had recently occurred in their town
on the Political Union formed in 1e:32. Now he (Mr.
Sturge) was not ashamed to confess that he felt it to be
his duty to unite on that occasion with his fellow-townsmen
in an endeavour to carry the great measure which he hoped
would ultimately have secured to the poorest man in the
country every political privilege possessed by the rich ;
and, however he might regret some things which had been
done by members of that body, he would say that in the
great principles upon which it was founded he could
entirely unite. Take for instance the following :
" To obey the laws of the land • and, where they cease to
protect the rights, liberties, and interests of the commu-
nity, to endeavour to get them changed by just, legal, and
peaceful means only."—" That the basis of this Union
being a strict and dutiful obedience to the laws, any act or
proceeding of any person or persons, which may not be
in strict conformity with the laws, is altogether disowned,
and rejected by this Union, and declared to be utterly void
as to all persons, save such as personally and individually
take part in such act or proceeding, and every such person
is hereby declared to cease to be a member of this Union,
and his expulsion is hereby declared accordingly." Mr.
Sturge then proceeded to observe that it was these
principles which then made this Union irresistible—
( Hear, hear)--and it was to a departure from them
that they had to attribute the present unhappy position in
which they stood • and he thought it too bad that the
whole of the working classes of Birmingham should be
like a political
involved in one indiscriminate censure, because a few in-
fatuated individuals had committed such disgraceful out-
rages. He confessed that he would sooner leave his
struggle,country
fb et h
ere involvedwas ainnyp
anythingresponsibility resting any
where it was upon those who refused and not upon those
who demanded justice for the people.—
(Loud cheers.)
He wished to take that opportunity of stating that some
members of the Religious Society to which he belonged
had thought it right to act as special constables
but they had not carried. any arms, nor would they
consent to go on duty with those who did. He
confessed that he carried his opinion on this point
further than many. Had he been called upon to act before
the local police and military had been called out, he should
cheerfully have done so; but now that both had been called
out he could no longer act in that capacity until both were
withdrawn from the town.—(Loud cheers.) He wished
it to be publicly known that he could not allow his property
to be defended by the use of any mortal weapons, and he
would freely relinquish all he possessed rather than that
the life of one human being should be sacrificed.—(Hear.)
He thought it right that the Council should let it
be known to the public that it never was their intention,
in endeavouring to establish an efficient police for the
borough, that that force should be an armed one ; they
had already, as he had stated, a standing army, kept up at
an expense of several millions per annum, and he trusted
they would never submit to have a second armed force es-
tablished in the country.—( Loud cheers.)
Mr. MIDDLEMORE seconded the motion.
Mr. Alderman HARROLD objected to the motion on the
ground that in the present state of society they could not
dispense with the use of mortal weapons for the preserva-
tion of life and property.
Mr. Alderman MtJNTZ considered that they were net
then in a condition to discuss the question, as the Council
was about to be deprived by the Bill before Parliament, of
all power over the appointment of the police. If he
thought any good would result at the present time from
the adoption of the resolution, he would support it.
Mr. STURGE replied that he thought good would result
from their declaration going forth to the country.
The motion was then put to the meeting, and carried
unanimously.
Mr. Alderman STURGE again rose and said that he had
now a memorial to present relative to the withdrawal of the
London police. In bringing it forward he wished dis-
tinctly to state that he did not intend to cast any reflection
upon the persons in authority who had brought that body
to Birmingham. Those gentlemen had done all in their
power, and as they believed for the best, and hsd he been
in their situation under the circumstances he might proba-
bly have acted as they had done. It was, however, a no-
vel experiment—they had seen the results, and he trusted
they would gather wisdom from experience. He knew
that it was easy for himself and others to find fault with
Magistrates of the town, but they had had an arduous duty
to perform, and he was quite willing to make every allow-
ance ; but at the same time they must see that the whole
affair and its consequences had been turned against the
corporation, and hence it was that he thought that the real
state of the case ought to be made known.—(Hear,:bear.)
He was free to confess that he felt most indignant at the
way in which certain parties had attempted to revile
them, and he thought it was their duty to make
the public acquainted with the real facts of the
case.—( Hear, hear, hear.) In the first place the Cor-
poration had nothing whatever to do with the introduction
of the London police ; and secondly, the Magistrates could
not be considered as selected by them.—(Hear, hear.)
Lord John Russell, had struck three names out of the
list recommended by the Council and substituted seven
new ones. Amongst those gentlemen omitted by the
ff, heeanse he madereu refused
tom
take certain
theM
Home Secretary in the Commission of the Peace, Captain
hi had beenm e, on
struck representations
aetai vr
.e) to r the.
s t
nCr
gheu Church
concludedin
byt Townmovin
moving
theou n cil .
adop-
tion of the following memorial :
" To the Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners of
her Majesty's Treasury, the humble Memorial of the
Town Council of the borough of Birmingham.
" That this Council, while giving full credit to those
who were instrumental in bringing the London Police to
Birmingham for being actuated solely by motives of hu-
manity, and by a desire of preserving the peace and good
order of the town without the interference of the military,
and without in any degree condemning the Police them-
selves as not having endeavoured to discharge the duty re-
quired of them to the best of their ability, are of opinion
they should be forthwith withdrawn from the town for the
following reasons :
" 1. That withholding any opinion as to the course the
Police adopted, this Council assert, that until their arrival
the people had abstained from any personal violence, not-
withstanding the inflammatory language which had been
oath
er, ra quarters, irsr,e e n s name,
addressed to them.
" 2. That immediately after the arrival of the Police the
measures pursued to disperse the meeting in the Bull-ring
produced such an exasperation of feeling as in the opinion
of this Council to render their continued presence in this
town not only useless but dangerous.
" That this Council have come to this conclusion because
when a comparatively small number of misguided people
attacked the Police-office, where the whole of the Police
were assembled, and also the houses of those who the
people supposed had promoted the bringing this force into
the town, the destruction of property and the burning of
houses proceeded unchecked till the arrival of the military.
" That it would, perhaps be impossible to give a more
striking proof of the lamentable effect of their presence
upon the feelings of the people than the fact that notwith-
standing the outrages which were committed took place by
day-light, and in sight of hundreds of the inhabitants, who
had hitherto been conspicuous for their orderly and peace-
able conduct, and for their obedience to the laws, not even
the large reward which has been offered has yet produced
the conviction of one of those who set fire to the buildings.
"3. That the circumstance of the Police being now
armed with mortal weapons exasperates the feelings of the
people towards them to a still greater extent, and though
hitherto the loss of human life has providentially being al
most entirely prevented, yet in the opinion of this Council
their remaining in the town increases the danger of fresh
acts of violence when any contest between this force, as
now armed, and the people, must produce far more fatal
consequences than any collision with the military.
"4. That, therefore, this Council having been no party
to the introduction, of this Police into the town, deeply
lamenting the disastrous events which followed it, and
dreading still more fearful consequences from their remain.
ing, earnestly request their immediate withdrawal, as the
best measure of personal safety to the Police themselves,
and the only hope of restoring permanent tranquillity to
the town."

Mr. JENNINGS rose, to second the resolution, and re-
ferred to the gross and scandalous manner in which
the magistrates of the town had been libelled by the Duke
of Wellington, and from what he knew of the character of
the working men of the town, he felt convinced, so opposed
were they to the distruction of property, that ninety-nine
out of every one hundred would be ready to turn out for
its protection.
The MAYOR, before putting the resolution to the meet-
ing, said that as it referred to the withdrawal of the Lon-
don police, ar,ld as anme blamo r&qht oeem to attach to

the Magistrates for having introduced them, he might
state its a fact that on the evening of the 15th July, one
hilt' of the London police were to have returned, and the
remainder on the following day, so that were it not for the
violence that had been committed, a single Londcn police-
man would not have been left in Bitinitigharn after that

The Resolution was carried unanimously.
141 r. Sturm, in moving that a Committee of the Council
be appointed to investigate the cause of the late riots, and
that the results of such investigation should be published,
said whether the inquiry promised by Lord John Russell
took place or not, (and he had sufficient experience of the
manner in which Parliamentary inquiries were conducted)
he thought it was the duty of the Town Council, as the
representatives of the rate-payers, to appoint a Committee
to inquire into the facts, throwing the investigation open
to the press, and report the result to the town.
The resolution having been seconded was carried una-
nimously, when Mr. Stuige announced that he would
name the Committee at the next meeting of the Council,
as he presumed that one would be called on an early day.
The Council then adjourned.

EXTENSIVE AND DESTRUCTIVE

VLOODg.

(From the York Courant.)
The rain was accompanied by a high and chill wind,
blowing in sudden gusts from the north-east, and moan-
ing through the crevices of doors and windows, as
though it were the middle of a bleak November. Much
of the corn, particularly the strong wheat and barley,
is so laid that it can never rise again, and it is probable
that in many instances mildew will prevail. But it is
along the lines of the rivers where the greatest damage
will be sustained, the hay harvest being not wholly se-
cured, and several thot;iands of acres having been com-

pletely laid under water.
The Donl receiving its tributary, and swollen, and
rapid streams, from the hills of Derbyshire, and the
district embraced between Sheffield and Doncaster,
began to rise on Tuesday morning, and continued to do
so until Wednesday morning, spreading itself over the
country to an immeasurable extent. Crimpsall, where
some of the grass had not been cut, presented one un-
broken sheet of water, with light boats gliding upon its
surface ; and the same aspect was observable over
Newton and Bentley Ings, and the whole line of the
left hank of the rivet to beyond Thorne.
In Frenchgate, Doncaster, the water reached as far as
the Brown Cow Inn, and several houses in Marshgate
were completely flooded. The flood beyond the Mill
Bridge on the Bentley side of the river, was higher by
two feet than has ever been remembered, in consequence
probably, of some embankment or obstruction in the
vicinity. The water rushed over the new line of road
to Selby with great rapidity ; and the mail horses dashed
through the stream knee deep. One field of grass con-
taining eleven acres, which was cut on Tuesday,—the
heaviest crop we, understand, in the neighbourhood,—
the property of Mr. Thomas Ward, has been swum
away by the flood. Mr. Ward, indeed, is a sufferer by this
inundation, on the whole, to the amount of nearly 2001.
But every occupier in the districts where the flood has
reached has, more or less, sustained loss, especially
in those cases where the crops of corn are embraced
in the visitation. The greater degree of damage will pro-
bably be sustained in the district of the river from Don-
caster to Thorne. The embankment connected with
the " Dun Floods Drainage" below Wheatley, the seat
of Sir W. Bryan Cooke, Bart., burst in several places
by the extraordinary pressure of the current. We
also understand that Mr. Best, of Thorpe, as well as
Mr. Nathan Workman, of Almholme, have each nearly
five hundred acres of land of various descriptions of
produce, including corn and hay crops, &c., under water.
The loss must, in this instance, be very considerable.
Mr. Burton, of Walt House, who had a considerable
breadth of ground under an excellent and a superior state
of cultivation, is a sufferer to the amount of 500/.
Not only has the inundation been thus destructive
to vegetable productions, but the animal creation
has also felt its disastrous effects. Many a brood

of young partridges, scarcely yet strong upon the
wing, have been sacrificed ; and many a hare has
lost its life. Several of these were observed swimming
for their lives without any apparent point of security,
and one was caught by a man of the name of " Hare !"
The flood was at its highest point at twelve o'clock

on Thursday. From that time, when the turn took
place, it subsided very slowly ; and the general opinion
was that the larger portion of water had already passed.
In the course of the afternoon, a rather singular sight
was presented near the Friar's Bridge, for even amid
scenes of devastation, some sources of enjoyment are
discovered and seized. A whale boat, which had been
out on the broad waters of the Artic Regions, crossed
Crimpsall, and proceeding with the flood, was steered
to the landing place at the Bridge nearly as high as
the Brown Cow. After the crew had refreshed them-
selves, they again pushed into the flood and proceeded
on their fresh water way.
'At Rotherham, similar scenes to the above took
place. The overflowing of the waters extended hi f way
up Bridge-gate, and was in some parts several feet in
depth. The turnpike-road from Rotherham to Atter-
cfiffe was almost impassable, and the coaches had to go
by the way of Canklow. About one hundred tons of
timber, the property of Messrs. Buxton, railway con-
tractors, was washed away from Iccless, and struck with
great violence against the timber bridge over the Don,
but by great exertion it was prevented from going fur-
ther, or doing more injury. The body of a woman was
discovered near Kilnhurst, floating on the water ; it was
in a decomposed state, and is thought to be the remains
of a woman who drowned herself about three months
ago, near the railway station, in consequence of some
disagreement with her husband. The body of a man,
we are also informed, was found in the neighbourhood.
Towards evening the waters began to subside, and in
the morning of Thursday, a more cheering aspect was
presented, the state of the weather was mere favour-
able, and the flood in many places had disappeared.
At past Retford, many hundred acres are under
water ; and on Thursday morning, at eleven o'clock,
the waters were still rising, and great fears were en-
tertained that if they should get six inches higher they
would inevitably get into the Market-place, and conse-
quently into many of the shops. The newly enclosed
ears present a very singular appearance, the whole
being completely under water, in many places to the
depth of four or five feet ; and we may safely assert
that such a flood has not been experienced here since the
memorable one of the llth of February, 1795.
At Whitby, about one o'clock on Wednesday week,
the fresh water from the becks above Whitby, came
down the river with such fearful velocity, that it
broke from their moorings a fishing yawl called the
Spring, or Scarborough, belonging to Mr. James
Wyrill, also a Dutch galliot, and a raft of timber be-
longing to Mr. George Vasey, of the value of 401., and
part of the cargo of the Larpool, which is now being
discharged for that gentleman. Fortunately, by great
exertions, the whole of the latter were saved, but not
before it readied the harbour mouth. The galliot was
driven against the bridge ; and, fortunately for her, her
mast was sufficiently strong to retard her progress,
otherwise she must have been driven to sea, and, in all
probability, would have become a wreck, and might have
drowned the crew, as the sea was running very high at the
time. All the crew, however, were saved ; but not so with
the yawl Spring, which was taunted by the warp of the
brig Larpool, and partly filled. She righted, however, but
on reaching the bridge again capsized, close to the stern
of the galliot, where an awful spectacle presented itself,
by two of the crew being seen entangled in the yard and
sails, and partly buried in the water. Assistance was
soon called for, but such was the force of the fresh, that
it became dangerous for any one approaching 'to save
them. At length a coble, manned by a crew from
Filey, reached the spot, and succeeded in rescuing one
of the men, named Wash, whilst the other, after strug-
ling a while, sunk to rise no more—his name was John
Ryall, of Haresbro', son of Mr. Ryall, publican, of
that place. Robert Jenkinson of Filey, had a narrow
escape with his life—being, in the generous attempt at
saving the lives of his fellow men, thrown from his coble
by the warp of the Larpool, but being an expert swim-
mer, he managed to reach the shore in a very fatigued
state, being incumbered with sea boots and two heavy
jackets. Sometimes he could be seen by the crowds who
had by this time assembled, and sometimes the rapid
eddies took him quite under water. The fresh con-
tinued to make the whole of the afternoon ; and, about
five o'clock, a small schooner, coal laden, which was at
anchor below the bridge, was sunk, and, in the course
of the- evening, was dashed to pieces. The yawl also
suffered the same fate ; but the galliot was saved with
but little damage. It is anticipated that considerable
damage has been done to the lands and property adjoin-
ing the river, by the overflowing of the becks, and there
was but too evident signs of this at Whitby, for stumps
of trees, rails, posts, and even trees themselves, were
seen floating to sea ; as also quantities of hays and a
fine young beast, which appeared to be about two years
old. It is supposed that Mr. Beeforth has lost eleven
sheep in the same way ; and, it is to be feared, that a
few days will disclose a still greater loss of life
and property. It commenced raininr, about three in
the morning, at Whitby, and continued throughout the
day until nine in the evening, without any cessation.
The flood came on very rapidly—and, in the course
of half an hour, it had risen upwards of three perpendi-
cular feet in the harbour, although it was low water at
the time.

MR. DARWIN'S JOURNAL.—The lovers of
natural history and geology will be glad to hear that Mr.
Darwin (the Secretary of the Geological Society), who
accompanied the expedition under the command of Cap-
tains King and Fitzroy, as Naturalist to the Beagle, in her
voyage round the world, is about to publish his account of
the geology and natural history of the various countries
visited, in a separate volume. The Rev. Mr. Whewell,
in his address to the Geological Society, it will be recol-
lected, pronounced Mr. Darwin's voyage round the world
" one of the most important events for geology that has
occurred for many years."
A VORACIOUS DUCK.—Some time ago, Mr.
John Auburn, of Lipwood Well, near Haydon Bridge,
ost a gold seal from his watch chain. The identical seal
was last week found deposited in the stomach of a duck
lwhich had been tempted to swallow the glittering prize.