The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-23 00:00:00

ILLINOIS CENTRAL.

The financial statement of this company for the month of
February shows that in the land department 18,310 acres
of land during the month were sold for 196,019 dols, and
from the commencement 1,231,223 acres had been sold for
15,474,515 dole. The construction bonds cancelled previous
to the 31st Jan. last amounted to 2,300,500 dole, and the
cash collected in February to 100,256 dole. In the traffic de-
partment the receipts in the month of February amounted
on the railway to 265,198 dole, and for February, 1862, to
236,637 dole, showing an increase of 32,561 dole.

SERIOUS RIOTS AT STALYBRIDGE.

STALYBRIDGE, SATURDAY.

Yesterday afternoon some very serious rioting,
the first during this period of distress, took place in
the borough of Stalybridge, or, rather, in that por-
tion of it which stands in the county of Chester. A
great deal of damage has been done to property,
especially the clothes store of the relief committee.
The facts which I have been able to collect from
various sources may be relied on as strictly accu-
rate, and they are as follow :

At the last monthly meeting of the Stalybridge
relief committee, held a week ago, they decided to
pay all attending the various schools, excepting the
girls who sew, by tickets on shopkeepers, instead of
in money. The reasons adduced in favour of the
proposed alteration were,that a considerable amount
of money given as relief was spent in drink, and
there had lately been so much drunkenness on Fri-
day nights, which is the pay time of the classes,
that it had become actual necessity to take some en-
ergetic means to put a stop to it. It appeared to the
committee that one of the best means to accomplish
their object would be to pay sixpenny and shilling
tickets on shopkeepers, which tickets wouldspecify
that the shopkeeper was to let the bearer have the
amount in groceries:or butcher meat. Simultaneous
with this change from money to tickets it was de-
cided that a reduction in wages should take place—
from 3s. 4d. to 3s. We presume this reduction was
owing to the Manchester Central Committee deal-
ing out their funds so miserly, with an account at
the bankers of nearly half a million of money. In
addition, however, to the reduction of wages and
payment by ticket, the committee have resolved to
keep a day in hand. The introduction of these three
changes has created a vast amount of excitement
amongst those affected by them, and during the
week several meetings have been held, and a depu-
tation waited upon the general committee on Mon-
day and Tuesday, but with no definite result. On
Thursday evening a meeting of those attending the
I schools was held on the Plantation Ground, when
several hundred persons were present. For a long
time there was only one speaker in the cart, and
who in his own plain and unvarnished way put
three questions to the meeting, and requested a vote
on each. The first was, were they prepared to sub-
mit to have a day in hand deducted from their
wages ? (Cries of No, no.) The next question was,
were they prepared to have their scanty wages re-
duced 4d per week ? (No, no.) Then let them sig-
nify that in the usual way, by holding up their
hands. (The meeting, as it had done before, unani-
mously responded.) The next question was, would
they receive their wages in tickets ? (Shouts of " no,
no.") That was all he wished to ask them; but
perhaps some other person would come forward and
say something. He trusted there was no cowardice
amongst them, and that they would follow up the
resolutions on the following evening, and he was
confident that they would gain a great moral
victory.

After the speaker sat down, an apparently young
man, who said he had been a soldier, mounted the
cart, and characterised the conduct of some of the
schools as shameful. Each school should have had
elected two delegates, and they ought to be then in
the cart. It was cowardice, of which a true soldier
would be ashamed, and he trusted it would never
occur again.

At this period Mr, J. F. C)ieetham appeared in
sight, and he was received with much derision.
Soon after the meeting terminated.

On Friday morning ono of the officers of the cen-
tral committee visited the Independent School, for
the purpose of paying them with tickets, but the
scholars would not have them. At the Working
Men's School, in Melbourne-street, the offer was
more successful, some of the men taking the tickets
under the impression that Mr. Occleshaw would
change them. When this was found out to be a
mistake, several scholars visited the Castle-street
school, and told the scholars what the committee
were doing. Shortly afterwards Mr. Bates and
Mr. Kirk were riding in a cab through the streets,
visiting the different schools, when the windows
of the cab were smashed. It was reported,
that after this time Dr. Hopwood, the mayor,
proposed to the men that they should be paid
this week in money, and Mr. Bates said they
should not. Although this report was un-
true it was generally believed, and serves
to explain the strong animus shown against Mr.
Bates. The men waited in the schools until
about four o'clock, when they received word at
different schools that if they were willing to receive
tickets they would be paid.
At about four o'clock, when all the schools break
up, a vast crowd had congregat( d around Castle-
street Mills, which belong to Mr. Bates, and at which
place there is a large educational class numbering
376. Early in the afternoon many of the men at-
tending the class had themselves become very riot-
ous, and had broken portions of machinery, windows,
and other things within the building. A body of
constabulary, under the superintendence of Mr.
Chadwick, chief constable, was sent for, but seeing
their inability to cope with the mob outside, pro-
ceeded up Castle-street towards Caroline-street.
The mob had by this time become very excited, and
stones and other missiles were hurled at the win-
dows of the mill, and soon one or two entire window
frames were completely smashed. Amidst a yell of
hootingas
s and shouting, the mob followed the police,
andiibNvas yagivensignal
a volley
of stones
oand
brickbats suddenlyhees. Onehlurled at twhaesmb.le le'dilienog fffircemrs
at once took to their
a cut near the eye, having been hit just previously
with a heavy stone. They ran over the river bridge
and proceeded in different directions, some taking
up Water-street, into Market-street, followed rapidly
by the mob, which carried on a running fire of
every kind of missile, and numbered many hundreds.
One of the officers entered the shop of Mr. Brierley,
druggist, and being perceived by some of the crowd,