The Sun.
London, England, 1837-02-16 00:00:00

self a large landed proprietor. To this we reply, that at
the Ministerial side of the House of Commons we find the
Treasury benches filled with Lords of one sort or other,
yet who occupy those seats under favour of a person
whose plitical war-cry is " Down with the Fe .rs !" Sir
William Molcsworth's character as a country gentleman is
merged in his character of a whole-hoFt Radiral, anti, in
consistency, he should have &churl his Radicalism with»
out the mystification of talent in penury, stupithty jn
riches, and integrity among the humblest, clams Oi our
ftllow-eountrymen. Sir William himself stated that;tythe-
exclusion caused by the qualification was merely nommel,
for that t he matter was managed for lOW., by what witecolled
fictitious qualification---a qualification in %kite of which he
mentioned that Burke, Pitt, Pox, and Sheridan had
nil had seats in the House 'of Commons, under an
Act which Mr. Charles Buller called " a very
great he indeed." Be it so. We have no Wish
to defend fictitious qualification, still less to defend fittitioue
motions, If Sir W. MQlesworth's motion is to bet onsl.
dered as what the Member for Nord:timberland calls ' •
point of honour," why did he not rest it upon that ? B'ut'
no ; all he wished for, in the true spirit of Radicalism was
to make a stir, and he thus ooencd. out to the RadicalMern.
her for Finsbury the path of advocating that artisans should
be withdrawn from their industrious pursuits to assist in
tinkering the State. We suspect that Sir W. Molesworth
himself would hardly look for the return of a Burke, a
Pitt, a Fox, or a Sheridan, from such a class of can-
didates. The motion of the Hon. Baronet went to the
objects which we have indicated at the outset, and all the
rest of his speech was inexplicable show. And bow did
Lord John Russell meet this motion ? He talked learnedly
of the j-alousy between the landed and trading interests
-in the reign of Queen Anne, and he said that landed
qualifications were introduced to check the increase
of the trading influence. But what has all this to do
with the present state of the House of Commons ? If
qualifications were abolished to-morrow, could the commer-
cial interests be better represented than they are now ?
And if they could be so, why did not Lord John Russell
accede to the motion at once, instead of the Whig subter-
fuge of asking for a Bill to amend the law of qualification
in the same breath that he stated his opinion that no evil
would ensue if that law were entirely abolished ? In truth,
he dared neither support the one side nor the other, but,
as usual, was between two stools, unable to rest on either.
Lord Ebrington was, if possible, still more singularly placed ;
he was all for the Home Secretary's suggestion, yet quite
prepared to vote for Sir William Molesworth's proposition
—a course which Mr. Wakley distinctly told the Whig
Lor,ls could never conciliate enemies, and was greatly cal-
culated to shake the confidence of friends. On the ques-
tion of personal demeanour, we shall only say, that Mr.
O'Connell and Mr. Charles Buller unintentionally sup-
ported the proposition in favour of universal ' .
in no assembly of which we have ever heard in England, „,'
save and except one constitutionally privileged, will stick
language as we arc about to quote be tolerated without, - •
disgrace. Mr. O'Connell, speaking of Mr. A. Trevor,
exclaiined, " What Englishman is, or can be, lower than
the. Hon. Member for Durham ?" Yet in reading Mr.
Trevor's explanation we can account for Mr. O'Connell's • •
wrath. Mr. Trevor said, that one of the evils likely to
accrue from the introduction of the present measure was
this—that a-mendicant might be sent into the
_House to le-
gislate for those who had millions of property. Mr. Chas.
Buller followed up the Irish GeOtleman, by saying that
" some of the richest men in Peril orient had been the dirtiest
and shabbiest fellows in politics he had ever known." a eta e-
ment which was honoured by -loud
.cries of " -Hear'. from
the Ministerial benches. And Mr. Buller continued by
giving Lord John Russell's memory a fillip in the shape of
declaring himself to be " a poor man." We must say that
the Member for Liskeard is entitled to Ministerial relief' at
the hands of the Whig-Radical guardians.—Times.

---
On Wednesday a shed and other buildings on the
Withers Farm, in the parish of Ledhury, were set on tire by
some scoundrel as yet undiscovered, and totally destroyed.—
Gloucester Journal.

On Monday morning, between five and six o'clock,"
a shocking accident occurred to James Itichardson,.a young
man 19 years of age, footman in the service of Mr. Coxhead,
Harley-street : he was unfortunately impaled on the iron spikes
of the area railing. He had been out all night, and returned
to his master's much inebriated. Not having the key of the
street door, in order to gain admission unnoticed, he endea-
voured to get over the area rails; when on thq top his foot
slipped, and two of the spikes entered his abdomen. ' Being
unable to move, he was released by some carpenters- going to
work. Ha was immediately conveyed to the hospital.
Every author must be at first unknown, and every
author must write a first work—unless, indeed, he could adopt
the course proposed by an Irish gentleman who wished to learn
German. "The first halt dozen lessons, Sir," said the mas-
ter, " are tedious, difficult, and disagreoable ; but, after that,
you will begin to appreciate the beauties of the language."
" Then, Sir," said Mr. O'Brallaghan, " hadn't we better begirt
with the seventh ? "—New Monthly.

The Dundee Chronicle having made upon the Rev.
James Thomson some s rictures which were disrelished by his
family, his son, Mr. J. T. Thomson, merchant, sent a peremp-
tory message in writing, enjoining the editor, Mr. George
Milne, to make an unqualified apology in his paper, on pe-
nalty, i i case of refusal, of a " whipping not by implication,"
in other words of a real substantial drubbing. Mr. Milne de-
tiied that any apology was due, and declined of consequence:
to make any. On Wednesday Mr. Thomson followed up his
menace. He made no secret of the matter, for towards after-
noon the High-street was thickly studded with small but
anxious groups, waiting for the appearance of Mr. Milne. Mr.
Thomson was in readiness, and beguiled the time by walking
about on the pavement. Mr. Milne, in the course of the day, bad
been seen with the rather unusual appendage of a stick. About
three o'clock Mr. Milne appeared on the High-street, and Mr.
Thomson made towards him. After a few words had beets
uttered, Mr. Thomson made a movement with his hand
wards his pocket, which Mr. Milne observing, he laid hold of
him by the collar. Mr. Thomson having extricated a ship
from his pocket, proceeded to apply it vigorously—Mr. Milne, •
on the other hand, inflicting some severe blows with his stick.
The police then interfered, and both parties were-conveyed to •
the police-office, where next day they were amerced in los. 6d.
each for breaking the peace.— Glasgow _Herald.
WITCHCRAFT IN THE 19TH CENTURY.—
Louis D'Orleans, a native of Carantan, in France, was in-
dicted before the Royal Court of Guernsey on seven indict-
ments, charging him with defrauding the inhabitants of va-
rious sums of money to a large amount, under pretence of
curing them of different diseases by supernatural agency.
The prisoner was interrocated by the Court. He said he was
a veterinary-surgeon. Had never sought any of his prose-
cutors, some of whom he denied attending. lie denied all
the charges of using spells and charms to unwitch persons said
to be bewitched, or that he had ever pretended to raise the
Devil. Mr. Richard said his wife was ill. He sent for
D'Orleans, who said his wife was bewitched. He called all his
family up into one room, and the prisoner put some combus-
tibles into a dish and lighted them, until they were almost
smothered by the smoke. He then pretended to draw a small
phial from the flames, and made him drink half the contents,
and his wife the other. He then produced two dolls, and,
said the persons represented by them had bewitched his wife
whom he asked if she recognized them. He obtained 30s.
for this mummery. The son of the above witness said that
the prisoner had received 71. in all for unwitching his modest.
and father. He was told by him that if he was from home, or
told anybody of what was done by him, witness would be
spell-bound and die. Judith Guildert, the servant, was so
frightened at the supposed power of the prisoner, that the
Attorney- General could not induce her to say a word for a
long time ; at last she reluctantly confirmed the above state-
ment. Mrs. Rihoy, in addition to a similar statement as to
the prisoner's conduct to her husband, said that lie told her
she must remove her cow, as it was possessed of an evil
spirit, as also.some pigs. On the following morning the cow
and the pigs died, which D'Orleans said was by w itchcraft.
He obtained 61. from her to unwitch her husband. Peter
David, a veterinary-surgeon, examined the cow and pigs,
which had been poisoned. Witness proved his having pre-
tended to raise the Devil, and that some animal of a black
colour, dragging chains after it, had been seen to come down
the chimney. (This was a confederate of the prisoner's.)
Mr. D'Ogier said that the prisoner had raised the ghost of
the late Mr. Robin, and had attended his wife, receiving 87.
for expelling a devil from her. For the defence, a vast
quantity of the prisoner's dupes came forward to speak to the
number of devils he had cast out and witches he had dis-
covered. Several infatuated beings most reverentially and
solemnly told the Court that D'Orleans had released them
and their cattle from spells cast on them by malignant spirits
and witches. Miss Judith Lane said she had been bewitched
under a spell of jealousy—( Laughter)—and had beener
eau
nredde
by the prisoner ; he assisted to cure her by
vie, purgative. A great number of personsofcgtaihineglorrd,
ex_
to testify to the supernatural power_s. prisoner, _
hibitingttiohne
emvoesrtbeexhteraldo.rdinAadryroaeundtedevaandammgasdeeeTmofosmt oindgeren
..
superset
nious defence for the prisoner, to which the Attorney-General
replied, demanding his condemnation. He deplored that, in
ti
present, and in a place where education was
universal, es like the
rsal,asc scene so painful as the base superstition of the:
witnesses should have been shown to the world, to the discre-
dit of the community, and his regret was heightened by the
respectable station of these misguided people. The Bailiff
(Chief Judge), in summing up, reprobated the credulity of the
inhabitants. The Jurats found the prisoner guilty, and he was
sentenced to six years' transportation, and to be exposed for
one hour in the cage.— Comet.

ST. VALENTINE'S DAY, FEB. 14.—The origins{
this day being so called was in honour of St. Valentiae, a
p►'iest in Rome, who assisted the martyrs in the persecution
wider Claudius 11. Ile was apprehended and con',ucted to
the prefect of. Rome, who, finding all his attempts t;, make him
renounce his faith ineffectual, commanded him to be beat with
clubs, and aftet-vvards beheaded on the 14th of February, 270.
To a!Jol;;;► the remains of a heathen superstitious custom, by
youth, in the time of paganism %ere wont to send a.
kind of love letter to their favourites, in honour of their god—
dess, Febru.to Juno, on the 15th of this month, several zealous
pastors substituted the names of saints in such billets, and
hence the origin of valentines. In the church of Romo the
devout, on this day, choose their patron saint for the yea; en—
, suing. _