The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-31 00:00:00

THE SUN. LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMTER 31, 1863

most conspicuous of her warriors, Field-Marshal
Lord CLYDE and General Sir JAMES OUTRAM ! One
of the very greatest of her national painters, WIL-
LIAM MULLEADY, R.A,, not forgetting that
great artist's younger and accomplished brother
academician, AUGUSTUS EGG! Fina ly—passing
over a throng of eminent men and women, also gone
from the midst of us in 1863, a novelist like Mrs.
TRoLLOPE, a religious poet like Dr. FABER, an
engraver like Mr. WILLMORE, an architect like
Professor COCKERELL—has not England had bitter
reason to mourn the loss this year of an inimitable
writer like WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY,
with whose great name, as one of the latest, as it is
also one of the very noblest on the list, we close the
melancholy catalogue.

The winter mrnths are usually regarded as a

me of trial for the poor. The long nights en-

ailing the use of artificial light, the bitter weather

necessitating warmer clothing and frequent fires,

and the increased price of provisions are all matters

of regret and causes of uneasiness to the anxious

head of the little household who finds it quite

enough to do to keep the mouths fed and the feet

shod in the glowing summer days. Cold and
hunger are formidable foes when the cupboard is
empty and the hearth cheerless; but winter too
often adds to all these troubles by bringing in its
train a scarcity of work. Many trades can only

be advantageously carried on by daylight, and what.

is called in London the dull season is generally
dull in commercial as well as in fashionable circles.

At the present time a good many complaints are
being made of the badness of the Beason, and the

crowds who beset our workhouse doors to obtain a

night's lodging painfully confirm the truth of such

amentations. It is therefore with great regret that

we see an honest and profitable means of obtaining a
livelihood about to be taken from the poor at a season
so unfriendly to them. We allude to the printed
notices now placarded throughout the district of
arylebone, which inform the public that all street

obstructions are to be forthwith removed from the

neighbourhood, and that after this week all goods
exposed for sale outside shops, and all barrows'
trucks, and stalls, found infringing the notice, will

be seized, and legal penalties enforced. This notice,
which, it seems, has taken the locality in question
by surprise, has excited a good deal of angry feel-
ing, and several of the placards have been defaced
and torn down as victims to popular indignation.
It is not astonishing that the inhabitants of the sur-
rounding parts are somewhat excited on the subject,
since it will not only occasion considerable incon-
venience to humble householders, but throw a large
number of destitute persons entirely out of employ-
ment, probably bringing them to the parish as bur-
dens on the ratepayers. It will be remembered
that some time ago a similar attempt was made in
Westminster, and the street stalls in Broadway,
Strutton-ground, and other places, were removed,
and their owners dispersed. Some influential per-
sons of the vicinity, sympathising in the distress
occasioned by this proceeding, endeavoured to pro-
cure a reversion of the sentence. They succeeded
so far as to obtain from the Local Board the cancel-
ling of the original motion which had occa-
sioned the interference of Sir RICHARD
MAYNE, but that functionary persistently
refused to withdraw his orders. Several
public meetings on the subject were held in the
locality, and the cause of the stallkeepers and bar-
row-holders was supported by most of the respect-
able tradesmen belonging to those parts. It seemed
to be unanimously admitted that the stallkeepers
were there by right of ancient custom, some of the
stalls having been held by the same family for fifty
years, and that no fault was to be found with their
conduct, which was orderly and respectable, while
the wives of artisans and other poor people found
these irregular shops afford them great convenience.
Notwithstanding the unanimous feeling of the
neighbourhood, however, Sir RICHARD MAYNE de-
clined to suffer the stalls and barrows to return to
their old quarters, although the anxiety and excite-
ment among the lower classes was said to be very
great, and many of the aged stallkeepers, who were
fit for no other occupation, declared they must go
to the workhouse if their unly means of support
were taken from them. The matter, we believe,
still remains in abeyance, and most probably many
of these poor people have been compelled to throw
themselves on the parish since winter set in.
Whether the younger and more ablebodied of their
fellows have followed their example, or whether
they have taken to darker and more dangerous
courses, we may not tell, but we know
the terrible temptations that await friendless
poverty, soured by disappointment, and irri-
tated by a sense of harsh treatment and
injustice. Whatever hardships they may have
been reduced to, it seems that such considerations
hare little or no weight with the authorities of
"Marylebone, who have chosen the heart of the
winter for suddenly discovering that the stalls
and barrows, which have been in their streets for
years, are obstructions and incumbrances. It is a
serious thing to deprive men and women of the
means of honestly earning their daily bread; it
should not be lightly done without thinking of the
evil and misery which it may entail. The class
who suffer from these arbitrary proceedings are not
in a position to make themselves heard. Unless
some more fortunately-situated persons take up
their cause there is not much chance of its being
known. They cannot make speeches, write letters,
or bring their grievances in any way prominently
forward, but they can feel nevertheless. They slip
quietly out of sight, sinking lower and lower in
the scale, reaching the depths of poverty, perhaps
of crime, and without the effect being traced back
to the cause by the indifferent and careless lookers-
on. If the inhabitants of a district do not complain
of inconvenience or obstruction, there seems to be
little reason for official interference ; but if such a
change must be made this is surely not the season
to select for it. We shall hope to hear that the re-
formers have reconsidered their proceedings, and
the fulfilment of their threat, if not altogether
abandoned, has at least been considerably delayed.

Sir JOHN PAKINGTON'S remarks on Education
are always well worthy of perusal, and we are sure
to glean therefrom a correct idea of the state of
affairs in that department, and some good general
opinions on the progress and influence of these
Societies and Institutions that have of late years
sprung up in various forms in so many places, and
been productive of a new era in the intellectual
development of the age. In nothing, indeed, has
the social history of our community been more dis-
tinguished than in the formation of these societies.
In this instance Sir JOHN PAKINGTON delivered an
address at the Kidderminster Mutual Improvement
Society. The right hon. baronet entered at some
length into the chief points that were suggested by
the subjects before him, and very truly declared
that all
these institutions were most important in
fostering the moral and intellectual improvement
of the people. .
Thle 15 quite correct, and it is im-
possible-ge
et
greatest cat te
national
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eofintflhui
to over
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apsopaulation, it
s
gurantau'uraellty innsufursveidve, imeayneyt
eernun orcve ni
mn the
pt rted, and of a
y
more startling changes and more strong demons-
trations. Sir JOHN PAKINotox also referred to