The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-27 00:00:00

'avour.

line is extensive enough to employ fishermen in
plenty, while the supply of fish is large and various.
It might be well if our legislators would next ses-
sion extend their care to the fisheries on the coast,
as well as in the rivers and estuaries. At all events
a great deal is gained by the passing of this mea-
sure, and we are surprised that its opponents do
not perceive the advantages it will confer on all
parties. It has been proved by repeated trials that
in streams which have left free egress and ingress
to the fish, the number naught has been three times
as great as in those parts where the old, mistaken
I , system is followed. The vexed question is now at

last decided, and the Bill, which has been playing
the part of a fish out of water, sent from Commons
to Lords, and tossed back flora Lords to Commons,
will have the glory of being the closing question,
and in some respects the most conspicuous measure,
of the uneventful Session of 1863.

attleie ntioß'n atori of 8
the employment
on Friday called
lord made a very instr:cteinvteoafnedhiinidtererens.tinghsepneeoebble.
He commenced by pointing the moral of his remarks
in stating that he did not wish to stand between the
House and the debate on Poland ; but, said he, the
facts which I am about to state are veryreluir I
from the lust
muconeh
akinto those which we Nvitneshsicinh
Posaultd
in-
stance we see the evils .w
of money, and, in another, those which
aria® from
the lust of power; and not even General mouRA.
TOFF, in the plenitude of his power at Bieff, could
have inflicted more misery upon Poland, and the
children of that unhappy place, than the commercial
spirit has caused to tens of thousands of children in
England:" Doubtless many might consider this

exaggerated, but the noble lord made good his case,
and before he concluded his remarks fully proved
the force of the statement. Perhaps one of the most
cruel cases is that of the poor victims of the chim-
ney sweeps. In London it seems that very few of
these are to be found ; but in the country the num-
ber is on the increase, and the tortures that they
have to endure are dreadful to contemplate. In
order to harden the flesh their elbows and knees are
rubbed with the strongest brine beside a hot fire.
thememployers d sutra;
thed over
pain, h
we mn
ewn i
eh aag
aciann er
et o.
forc Theire
newed until the flesh becomes inured to the process.
Lord SHAFTESBURY exclaimed in virtuous indigna-
tion—" Is this a state of things, my Lords, which
is permitted to go on. Are we to call ourselves a
free and Christian Country, knowing that 2,000 of
our fellow creatures, just as good as ourselves, are
doomed to the most excruciating and intolerable
agony, because some gentlemen say they will have
sweeping boys, and will not use machines, and be-
cause magistrates refuse to act upon the clearest and
most indisputable breaches of the law being proved
before them." Well may the noble lord animadvert
upon such conduct; it is a scandal to
the generation that we live in, and those
who sanction its continuance, or even tacitly
allow it, are almost as culpable as the chief
actors themselves. As there exists a mode of
sweeping chimneys quite as efficacious as this
heartless method, there is not even the excuse of
business to urge as a plea for the continuance of
the barbarity. Lord SHAFTESBURY quoted the
opinions of Lord CAMPBELL and Lord COCKBURN,
both strongly condemnatory of this detestable
practice. The latter observed that if the trade
were once put down it would be looked upon with
so much horror that it would be very difficult to
persuade the next generation that it had ever
existed. A master sweep has declared that he
has hired boys for a pound a year, and has bought
lads, giving their parents so much a year.
Farther, the lucifer match making is proved
to be most hurtful. It has been declared to be
one of the most dangerous and unwholesome
of all industrial pursuits. It gives rise to a
peculiar disease of the jaw which occasions the
most dreadful sufferings. So many as 1,800 child
ren and young persons between 6 and 18 years of
age are employed in this trade, and the hours of
labour often occupy a great portion of the night.
Only 14 out of 48 of these places that have been
visited are at all safe ; the others are decidedly the
reverse. Lord SHAFTESBURY adduced examples of
the fearful results that such incessant toil at so
unhealthy a vocation occasioned. The disease is
said to be one of the most terrible that can afflict
humanity, and the agony arising from it is into-
lerable until the jaw be quite dead. Percussion-
cap manufactures are also very deleterious in their
effects. Young girls are chiefly employed in them
Paper-staining is not so bad in itself, but is ren-
dered hurtful by being prolonged late into the night.
The same complaint is made against fustian cut-
ting, in which 1,563 under 18 years of age are
employed, these working 14 hours per diem, an"
" to bring up arrears" being kept at it 18 or 20 hours.
One thousand children are employed in lace-making •
in regard to these the state of ventilation being
dreadful. Pillow lace-making engages very young
children, even those under five years of age. They
suffer considerably in health from closeness of con-
finement and bad air, as well as in their eyesight,
from the mode of working. Lord SHAFTESBURY
concluded his statement by saying that he wished
we would follow in the wake of foreign countries
in this matter. We set the example by our Factory
Bill, but they have gone further on the good road,
no less thin twelve of them having made regula-
tions that curtail the hours of labour and " suppress
the cruelty practised towards these little and help-
less children." The noble lord said he trusted next
session he might be spared to remove this great
abomination, and that the Government, whose duty
it was, would undertake it. This first report in-
cludes six trades, and extends to 27,000 children,
but other reports, it may be remarked, will bring
up the number to 100,000. This is an awful
picture that Lord SHAFTESBURY has laid before
their lordships, and through them before the
country. As he truly said, the welfare of many
future citizens is concerned in its right appreciation.
How shortsighted on the part of the Legislature,
moreover, is it not, to permit such traffic with chil-
dren of tender years ! It is degrading to human
nature to think that parents can barter the health,
happiness, and lives of their children for money,
Few crimes can be more despicable in the eyes of
men, few more detestable in the eight of God.
These little pilgrims on life's rough highway are,
in trutb, sorely to be pitied ; they are, indeed,
nameless martyrs; too often realising the descrip-
tion of those who—

" By the wayside fell and perished,
Weary of the march of life."

The E irl and Countess of Aylesford have arrived
from Vichy at the Hotel Mirabeau en route for London, as
also Sir John and Lady Harrington from Schlangen-bad,
also on their way to London.

A letter from Rhodes states that three strong
shocks of earthquake were felt in that island a fortnight
since, and the inhabitants are apprehensive of others. The
shocks were also felt in the isle of Stanchio.

AN ABORIGINAL FIGHT.--The spirit of the age,
in these days of war and rumours of war, has mani-
fested itself in the case of the blacks of the neighbourhood
' of Brisbane on the one part, and of Bribie Island on the
other. Some breach of international law provoked dispute
in consequence of the labra-catching propensities of an ad-
venturous youth, and hostilities were provoked. On Wed-
nesday, according to the appointment of the leaders of the
respective armies, the Bribie Island blacks encountered
their Brisbane enemies at Breakfast Creek, and a fierce
fray ensued, As usual in such fights, many were wounded,
but few slain ; for, after a hand to hand encounter of con-
siderable daring, in whtch upwards of three hundred war-
riors were engaged, three only bit the dust in mortal
agony. The death of one of the three occurred in this
wise. Two men agreed to engage in single combat, to
exhibit in the presence of their assembled friends their
individual prowess. Selecting a log, they agreed
to fight over it, each party being permitted to rest
his right foot upon it, £he combat waged
fiercely for a consider rble time, and the braves
assembled in tumultuous order to witness the result.
Great courage and dexterity were displayed on either side,
and the result was doubtful. Blows fell thick and loud
upon the shield from the murderous waddy—thrust followed
thrust, and blood on one side was avenged by blood on the
other. The fight thickened as the blows fell faster, and the
anxiety of the spectators was deepened in proportion. A
catastrophe occurred, however, which gave victory to the
one and death to the other. A lubra, from some cause or
other unknown, had taken a special interest in the contest,
and before it was near its conclusion, seized a tomahawk,
and rushing from the midst of the spectators behind one of
the combatants, she struck the weapon deep into his thick
skull end killed him on the spot. What became of the
three dead bodies we have been unable to learn, though we
have no doubt they have been disposed of according to
national custom in the usual way by roasting and eating,
—.Moreton Bay Courier.
STRIKE AT TROWBRIDGE.—A large number of
the power-loom weavers at Trowbridge are on
strike. They were in the employ of Messrs. Brown and
Palacer, a firm in a very large way of business, and the
dispute has arisen as to the relative price to be paid for
plain and fancy weaving. The operatives complained of
being paid the same sum for work which required four
shuttles as work which only required two. The firm readily
consented to an advance of ls. the piece, if a corresponding
reduction was agreed to on the plain work. This proposal,
though advantageous to themselves, the fancy weavers de-
clined to accede to, on the ground that it was unfair to the
Plain weavers. The firm insisting on their terms, boll
branches struck work, and have been out some days. Funds
are being collected for their assistance, and a distribution
but " made' Hitherto there has been no disturbance,
great tnanirait s
exist' among the operatives, who help
"02 other Teri cordially,