The Sun.
London, England, 1837-04-26 00:00:00

WIGAN MEMORIAL.

The following Memorial to Lord Melbourne, from the in.
habitants of Wigan, was presented on Monday by R. Potter,
Esq., M.P. for that borough :

TO THE RIGHT HON. LORD VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.

The inhabitants of the borough of Wigan and its vicinity,
in public meeting assembled, at the Commercial Hall, in the
said borough, on Monday, April 10, approach you, as the re-
presentative of his Majesty's Government, with the following
Memorial :---Your Memorialists arc of opinion it is impolitic
and unjust to tax the members of one religious community ft)r
the support of another, and hail with satisfaction and delight
the proposed plan of his Majesty's Ministers for the abolition of
the Church-rate impost. Your Memorialists also feel it a duty
to tender their unfeigned acknowledgments of obligation to your
Lordship, and the other members of his Majesty's Government,
for devising and preparing a measure so conciliatory and equit-
able.—Signed in behalf of the meeting, _ _

R. BEVAN, Mayor.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, APRIL 24.
The Pilot of this day contains a letter addressed to the
Editor of that journal by Mr. O'Connell, who feels it ne-
cessary to state, that although he had at an early period of
his life been a mason, be many years ago unequivocally re-
nounced freemasonry. The ecclesiastical censure of the
Roman Catholic Church of Ireland prohibiting the taking
of masonic oaths, determined his secession from masonry.
The letter contains a compliment:to Temperance Societies
—institutions which Mr. O'Connell says are deserving of
every encouragement.

POPERY IN THE ASCENDANT.—The evening organ of
the Irish Orangemen confers the above title on a creation
of its own fancy, the high and rational aim of which is to
prove that " Popery is on the rise. Dictating terms, to
Kings and Princes abroad—it is cherished, courted, and
served at home by Ministers and their subordinates."
The ingenious writer relies for making out his assertion
on the following paragraph, which he arrested whilst going
its rounds, and also conjointly on a circular containing
damning evidence of the horrible fact. Wo give both
parag' a7h and circular, and if they are of no other use, they
may perhaps show how weak is the cause whose sup porters
are compelled to have recourse to such means for propping
up their party. Than the order of Lord Mulgrave for the
provision of religious consolation to convicts nothing can be
wiser or more humane. Will our readers join with the
Mail in its censure of the following document :
" Dublin Castle, April, 1837.
" Sir—l am commanded by the Lord Lieutenant to de-
sire that you will, without loss of time, communicate any
order which you may receive for the removal of convicts to
the Roman Catholic Chaplain of the gaol, in order that he
may have an opportunity of administering the rites of their
religion to the convicts of his own persuasion.—l am, Sir,
your obedient servant,

" The Governor of

" T. DRUMMOND.

Gaol."

We really can see nothing in this circular of which any
Lord Lieutenant ought to be ashamed. The paragraph
picked up by the Mail is curious certainly, but proves any-
thing but the ascendancy of Popery. The permission
given by the Pope is a concession to Protestantism, and a
relaxation of religious rigidity in favour of the Church of
England. But here is the paragraph—let our readers judge
whether our Contemporary has not entirely failed, and be
not put out of court :
" In the permission which the Pope has just granted for
the marriage of the Duke of Orleans with the Princess of
Mecklenburg, a Protestant, is the following proviso :—' On
the express condition that our well-beloved son, the Duke
of Orleans, &c., shall every day pray and exhort the woman
who is about to be united to him, and shall endeavour to
bring her back into the flock of the Church ; on condition,
also, that all the children born of this marriage, whether
male or female, shall be brought up in the Catholic, Apos-
tolic, and Roman religion.'"
IMPORTANT DEClSlON.—Yesterday, in the Court of
Exchequer, in the cause of the Rev. Martiford Longfield
against Daniel O'Connell, Esq., M.P., Mr. Dickson, K.C.,
applied to the Court to have the answer of the defendant,
already filed in the proper office, taken as received upon the
terms mentioned in the defendant's notice of Feb. 28 and
March 11' last, whereby the defendant's attorney offered
and undertook to pay the costs of process, rejoin gratis, and
appear for the defendant at the hearing of the cause, with-
out service of subpoena, so as that the defendant's answer,
filed on the 23d February last, might stand received. The
Learned Counsel then proceeded to state, that the Bill in the
cause was filed on the 7th of June, 1836, for recovery of
tithe composition claimed to be due by the defendant to the
plaintiff. The time for answering having expired on the
17th of January, the plaintiff served notice that the bill
was amended, and refused defendant's copy, in order that it
might be made conformable to the bill as amended. On
the 21st of the same month the defendant served notice of
a motion for a week's time to answer, and in one week af-
terwards the order to set the cause down upon sequestra-
tion was obtained by the plaintiff, and notice served in the
usual way. On the 7th of February the plaintiff obtained
a conditional order for a receiver over the defendant's pro-
perty. On the 23d of the same month the defendant
pleaded his answer, and, by notice, offered to pay the
plaintiff the cost of process, and to enter into the terms of
appearing at the hearing without service of subpoena, and
to rejoin gratis, which were the usual terms imposed by the
Court, and to which the plaintiff did not accede. The
Learned Counsel thereupon called on the Court that the
defendant's answer, filed in the proper office, might stand
received, upon the terms offered.
Mr. Sproule, for the plaintiff, opposed the motion, on
the grounds that no affidavits of merits had been made to
support it, and that the consequence of complying with the
defendant's motion would be, throwing delay upon the
plaintiff, which was evidently the object of the defendant.
The Learned 'Counsel then referred to an affidavit made
by the plaintiff's attorney, and cited authorities to show
that the application of the defendant ought not to be com-
plied with.

Mr. Dickson replied, when the Court, after having
observed generally upon the case, made the following de-

cision :

" In this case an affidavit of merits is not necessary, and
the delay complained of has been occasioned by the plaintiff
not accepting the terms offered by the defendant, which
terms were fair and equitable, and we are of opinion that
the defendant's answer should stand received, without pay-
ment of costs."

No final hearing can take place now for nearly "twelve
months ; besides, both in point of law and of fact, this de-
cision is of great importance—first, as relates to the prac-
tice of the Court in such cases, as the same course has bean
invariably followed by Reverend tithe plaintiffs, where
their object was to harass and ruin defendants by costs :
and, secondly, it is a triumph that the law has been set
right in the person of Mr. O'Connell, and that his kind-
hearted pastor is left to pay the enormous costs which be
thought to saddle upon his parishioner for the good of
his soul.

Mr. Buckingham, M.P., requests us to state that
there is not the slightest foundation for the announcement
made in the public prints, of the American President having
offered him a secretaryship; Mr. Buckingham never having
entertained any wish or intention either to seek or to accept
of any office or employment in the United States. His in-
tended visit to that country is wholly unconnected with any
such object or expectation.
MONEY MARKET.—The American Bank Bonds,
respecting which so much interest was excited in the City
yesterday ( Monday), have to-day commanded comparatively
little attention, and what sales have been made of them have
proved at the less favourable quotation of 61- to 6 per cent.
discount. The supply of money is by no means scanty ; but
as farther quantities of this description of paper will find their
way into the market upon the arrival of each succeeding packet
for some time to come, and as, in the event of the offer of the
Bank of England to open a credit in favour of the United
States Bank for two millions sterling being accepted, remit-
tances of a more negotiable character will follow, capitalists do
not, for the present, care to extend their investments in them.
Another reason may be assigned for their indisposition to pur-
chase beyond a certain limit. The produce markets are now
at a low ebb, and it is thought that many are reserving their
available funds with the intention of speculating in merchan-
dize the moment they discover symptoms of improvement.,
Morning Post.
The deer are suffering severely from the length of
the winter, and the great scarcity of food. In Whittlebury
forest they have barked nearly all the young trees, and this
last resource failing them, numbers are daily found in the
riding starved to death..—Northam on Mercury,

FRANCE.

COURT OF PEERS.
(Continuation of Sitting of 23:1.)
TRIAL OF MEUNIER.

The President now called on Madame La‘aux. She
was accordingly brought in. She is very young and very
pretty, and was elegantly dressed. On passing before her
husband, hasty looks were exchanged between them, but
neither betrayed the least emotion. She replied in a firm
and intelligible voice to the questions put to her.
President--You have been called on by your husband's
counsel.

What is your name 2—Cecile Heloise Lavaux.
Your age 2=-Twenty-two.
Your profession ?—I have none.

•
Your residence ?—No. 30, Rue Montmartre.
Did you tell your mother-in-law, Madame Barre, that
Meunier, Lavaux, and Lacazo, had drawn lots between
them as to which of them should kill the King ?—I did not ;
I could not tell Madame Barre a circumstance that never
occurred, and of which I consequently could have no
knowledge.
This witness then retired, and the counsel of Meunier
was next called on.

M. Delangle—Gentlemen, when appointed to defend
Meunier, I had not reflected on the means of defence, nor
whether his flagrant guilt and arrogance admitted a word in
his favour. But it became my duty to examine the accusa-
tion, and seek some grounds of favour for him. I have done
so. Folly may be offered as an excuse for crime, but to prove
the folly by the crime itself, would be enervating the law.
In the prior life of the prisoner I shall seek proofs that he
had long been deranged, and that he was not conscious of
the evil he intended. (The advocate here analyses the depo-
sitions, which exhibit Meunier as void of reason, a buffoon
capable of any extravagance, and then proceeded.) If Meu-
nier before the crime was as he is depicted, there is nothing
in the crime that can alter an opinion of him. The evidence
leads to but this conclusion—Meunier is a madman.
The Procureur-General himself admits him to be incapable
of plotting a crime. Where is then the directing hand that
instilled into his soul the germ of evil passions ?—who has
abused his weakness, and urged him he knew not whither?
Meunier has declared it. Oh ! if this declaration is a plot
to betray the innocent, to betray Lavaux his relation, La-
caze his friend, he has committed a greater crime than he
stands accused of—l abandon him ; let him be pronounced
guilty. But if his evidence be proved true, if he has been
a tool, let allowance be made—let not the most irrevocable
of all condemnations fall on his head. In the first case, let
him die—in the second, let his punishment be proportioned
to his previous conception of *the crime.
M. Ledru Rollin commenced his defence of Lavaux
with a brilliant and powerful appeal to the Court not to
suffer their minds to be prejudiced by the first pretended
revelations of Meunier, who, in imitation of Fieschi, had
attempted to create a belief that he had been urged to the
attempt by a perfidious instigator. Lavaux, he said, was
never known to engage in politics, and was without any pre-
vious stain upon his character. He was at the height of
his happiness, at the head of a lucrative business, and on
the eve of marriage with a lady to whom he had been at-
tached for two years. Could it, therefore, be believed that
he would have entered into a conspiracy which would
involve him in the terrible fare of a regicide, and that
within a few days after he was married to the woman of
his heart ? Unfortunately connected with a man who had
nothing to lose, and who, finding himself at the very foot
of the scaffold, this man, Meunier, hoped io save his own
head by throwing the innocent into prison. The Learned
Advocate called the recollection of the Court to the expres-
sion of Meunier, " Lacaze will, speak, because he will be
desirous of saving himself, as I am ;"—words which the
counsel insisted were full of explanation, and completely un-
masked the whole of Meunier's accusations and hopes. M.
Ledru Rollin next proceeded to examine the point of the
drawing of lots, which he maintained never took place at
all. If any doubts remain, gentlemen, you must place it to
the account of the insufficiency of the defence. The defence
cannot, like the prosecution, draw evidence from all parts
of France in support of their cause ; it is impossible for us,
on the eve of a trial, to know who will depose in favour of
the prisoners.

M. Chaix d'Est Ange rose in defence of Lacaze, which
he said he should found entirely on his previous character
and political opinions. As to the first, he stated that his
client was industrions, and free from all bad habits ; was
one of a respectable family, and received a good name
from all his employers. The only reproach that could be
cast upon him was his having formed an intimacy with
Meunier. How then does it happen that he stands
accused of having taken part in this plot ? Because,
one evening, after working at Barre's, and while drink-
ing wine with Meunier and Lavaux, he is said to have
drawn lots which of them should kill the King. As a
proof, however, of the non-existence of this fact, the Coun-
sel reminded the Court of the contradictions between the
written depositions of Meunier and his statements in Court,
which clearly showed that he uttered innumerable false-
hoods.

The Procureur-General replied briefly to the arguments
of the prisoners' Counsel, and insisted upon the culpability
of all the three.

The Advocates for the prisoners stated to the Court that
they were prepared to reply, and requested that they might
be heard to-morrow (this day.)
The Court assented, and adjourned accordingly.
SITTING OF 24TH.

M. Ledru Rollin, Counsel for Lavaux, demanded the
examination of a witness named Donzery.
Called in ; Donzery said he was usher at Timenet's
school when Meunier was there in 1832 ; Meunier was ar-
ranging books once, these little history books for the use of
schools ; one of them was open at the reign of Henry IV.
Meunier spoke of Ravaillac's crime, and blamed it, Henry
IV. having been a good King ; had he been a bad King,
he would think otherwise ; he then spoke of Philip Egalite,
father of the present King ; why was he guillotined ? Be-
cause he vtas false to the equality and the principles which
he professed ; he deserved his fall, and his son takes after
him. Louvel, who killed the Duke of Berry, would have
done much better to keep his poniard for Louis Philippe :
Meunier spoke and did every thing by fits and starts ; he
said he would like to be one thing one time, another ano-
ther, and he talked of being a soldier ; witness observed he
was not fit ;"Ah !" said Meunier, " let me alone—l could
kill any man."
The Procureur-General then stated his conclusion. He
demanded against Meunier as guilty of a capital crime ;
capital penalty against Lavaux, who aided in the prepara-
tions of the crime ; and against Lacaze, who, though igno-
rant of what immediately preceded it, was still privy to it,
the penalty set down in Articles 86, 87, and 88, of the
Penal Code.

M. Ladru Rollin insisted on the complete innocence of
Lavaux. Meunier had evidently accomplices—accomplices
whom he screened—and he threw the blame upon Lavaux
to screen these real accomplices. Meunier admitted that
he had forty accompliceA that he was No. 2, and that he
was impelled by a secret society. His name was found on
the lists of these secret societies. He was recognised by a
witness as belonging to them. He confesses his wish to
belong to them. For many years, long before he knew
Lavaux, it is proved that Meunier spoke of and meditated
regicide. Meunier was evidently more cunning, had more
power of mind, and had received more education than La-
vaux, who could not write his name. The advocate re-
ferred to the past life of Lavaux, avowedly unconnected
with political connections or societies, regular in his pe-
cuniary affairs, as the evidence proves, in despite of all the
attempts of the family of his father-in-law to ruin him.
M. Chaix d'Est Ange rose for Lacaze, and said that
the sole plot with which he was charged was. a supposed
plot, preceding the drawing of lots. The true origin of
the crime. of Meunier is evidently in hearing and reading of
Fieschi's crime, and of all its dramatic circumstances, when
he owns that he first spoke and dreamed of it. Meunier's
was precisely the stubborn, odd, and disgraced spirit to be
struck with the itch of imitation. M. Chaix d'Est Ange
concluded by saying, if these men were condemned merely
on the testimony of Meunier, the conscience of the mem-
bers of the Court could never find repose.
The President, after asking the prisoners had they any
thing to add to their defence, declared the sitting sus-
pended.
The Court retired to deliberate at twenty minutes after
two. The accused were also withdrawn.
The Court, not hiving been able to come to any decision
respecting Lavaux, adjourned, at about a quarter to five, to
ten o'clock on the following morning of Tuesday.

I stood in Oxford-street, Manchester (says Mr.
Mackrale, of Leeds), and observed the stream of operatives, as
they left the mills at 12 o'clock. The children were almost
universally ill-looking, barefoot, and ill-clad. Many ap-
peared to be no older than seven. The men, generally from
16 to 24, and none aged, were almost as pallid and thin as the
children. The women were the most respectable in appear-
ance ; but I saw no fresh fine looking individuals amongst
them.' Here I saw, or thought I saw, a degenerate race—
human beings stunted, enfeebled, and depraved.
It is the intention of the Commander-in-Chief to
order six horses per troop of the 3d Light Dragoons now
under orders for the East Indies, to relieve the 11th Light
Dragoons to be given up to the latter regiment, the recruit-
ing troop of which, now, at Maidstone, will march to Canter-
bury, and remain there, still under the command of the com-
mandant of the cavalry depot in charge of the horses.
A whale of the largest dimensions was seen in the
channel on the 11th instant, by some fishermen of Cherbourg.
The unseasonable severity of the weather only can account for
the appearance in our latitudes of this monster of the Polar
deep,
'The medical officers of the Lunatic Asylum have
given a decided opinion that Greensmith, the wretched man
who strangled his four childrek4 at Basfordf is iosane
• - •
Ol'effin