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 dole, and
from the commencement 1,2',1,223 acres had been sold for
15,474,515 dols. The construction bonds cancelled previous
to the 31st Jaa. 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 dols.

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 Staly bridge, 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 pat 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. Ou

Thursday evening a meeting of those attending the
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 la 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. Cheetham appeared in
sight, and he was received with much derision.
Soon after the meeting terminated.

On Friday morning one 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 I
up, a vast crowd had congregate 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
das if by hootinga and shouting, the mob followed the police,
an
given signal a volley of stones and
brickbats was suddenly hurled at them. The officers
at once took to their heels. One was bleeding from
been hit just previously
aw
ictuht
an nearheavy
eateoynee,.havgTihney
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,

the building was stoned and many of the win-
dows were immediately smashed. The ring-
leaders evidently desired the mob to spare Mr.
Brierly's property, and on several hands being held
up in different parts the throwing was at once
discontinued, and a cry raised, "Now for Dyson's."
Mr. Dyson keeps an eating-house opposite Mr.
Brierley's and next the Post-office, and is a
prominent employe of the committee, and from
this fact much prejudice exists against him. The
mob at once turned on Dyson's shop, and in two or
three minutes every visible pane of glass was
smashed. They then repaired to the police•office,
en route to the residence of Mr. Ralph Bates, hono-
rary secretary of the relief committee. The shop•
keepers in Market-street were now busily engaged
in putting up their shutters, everybody being afraid
that the infuriated mob wuuld next turn on their
premises. Bat the whole of the animus was directed
at the more prominent members of the relief coru-
mittee, who seemed to be regarded by them as their
more than arch enemies. At the police-office and
adjoining offices many windows were smashed, but
the appearance of the mayor (R. Hopwood, Esq.),
D►. Harrison, Esq., deputy lieutenant, A. Halt, Esq.,
and George Taylor, Esq., town clerk, who came
forth from the town hall into the street, seemed to
have some effect in subduing the violence of the
mob, but the greet bulk immediately rushed up
Cockerhill to Mr. Bates's house. Here the mob got
fresh supplies of stones, and a complete shower of
such missiles was hurled at the capacious windows.
Lasses in their blue Garibaldi jackets cheered on
the wild Irish lads who took the most prominent
part in this most disgraceful proceeding, and often
the young women aimed a stone at the windows
with telling effect. They spoke of the wanton de-
struction in high glee, and declared often enough,
amidst the loudest jeering and laughter, what a rare
thing it would be for the glaziers. Many valuable
pieces of furniture weredestroyed in addition to the
windows at Mr. Bates's residence, and the interior
afterwards presented the appearance of a signal
wreck of malicious destruction. An empty mouse
fronting Cockerhill Chapel, which is said to be-
long to Mr. Bates, was also stoned and most
of the windows smashed. Having completed
the work of destruction on Cockerhill, the
mob again turned their faces to the town,
and proceeded, some along Market-street, others by
Melbourne-street end Castle-street, and Caroline-
street. Many of the youths could not resist having
a last throw at the police ocffie windows as they
passed, and they did, of course, without molesta-
tion. From the outbreak of this popular indigna-
tion, to the arrival of the military, mob-law may be
said to have reigned supreme, and the town was in
the hands of this most disgraceful mob of excited
beings. A vast concourse assembled opposite the
Central Committee Rooms in Melbourne-street, and
smashed every window about the place. Mr.
Emmett's, the photographer, whose shop is next
door, did not escape unscathed, many windows
being broken on his premises. Some of the young
fellows, from a mere wanton desire, hurled stones
through windows as they passed along the street,
without any fear of molestation. The town was in
their hands, and they did what they liked. In
Caroline-street they proceeded to the shop of Mr•
Ashton, another gentleman of the relief committee,
and the precaution of closing up the shop, which
other people had by this time followed, was not
taken here. The large plate-glass windows were
smashed in a moment, and bottles of pickles, canis-
ters, packages, and groceries of every description,
were thrown about and destroyed in a savage man-
ner. They_also commenced an onslaught on the
co-operative stores, seemingly at first believing that
it was Mr. Ashton's shop, but on finding out their
mistake they desisted. Two of the adjoining shops
are used as stores for men's and women's clothing,
and on these stores the mob now turned their atten-
tion. Both shops were quickly broken open, and now
commenced a proceeding even more disgraceful and
barbarous than any we have yet recounted. It was
now about five o'clock. In these stores were piled
up heaps of moleskin jackets, trousers, waistcoats,
stockings, calico and linen under-clothing for
females, besides large quantities of moleskin and

other clothes for making up into garments. As
fast as u score of lads and lassies could pick the
goods up were these useful things burled out
of the upper windows to the people in the
street. Complete showers of jackets would fall on
the uniifted hands of hundreds of people in the street,
followed by bundles of stockings, or waistcoats, or
flannel, or skirts, or chemises. People kept con-
tinually leaving the crowd with armfulls of all kinds
of clothing amidst the jeers of many, but there were
❑ot a few who expressed their utter abhorrence of
such plunder, but who were at the same time care-
ful to express themselves with a prudent reticence.
One man told a youth who came up with a bundle
of clothing which he could scarcely carry, to convey
them into a house near at hand by the back way,
and to return as quickly as possible. The young
fellow did as he was told, and was on the spot again
immediately afterwards, eager for further plunder.
Women concealed things about them in the street,
and many left with bundles of every description of
wearing appdrel. The young fellows who were
throwing the goods into the street continued with
unabated energy at their work for at least half an
hour, end we noticed the sweat rolling down their
cheeks pretty freely. A cry was got up that the
soldiers were coming, but amidst much laughter the
mob declared it was only a woman in a red cloak,
and no further notice was taken of it. In the store
where the linen goods had been kept several things
were wantonly set on fire, but it did not extend to
any dangerous point. This work of destruction
continued until a little after half-past five o'clock,
when a company of the 14th Hussars from the
Ashton Barracks, under the command of Captain
Chapman, appeared in sight. A loud cry of "the sol-
diers are coming" was raised from one end of the
street to the other, and the hussars galloped along.
Every one now looked after his or her personal
safety, and fled from off the street immediately.
Those in the stores prepared to beat a hasty retreat,
but just at the entrance several fell, and those be-
hind were thrown down, and we should say they
were at least five or six deep, male and female,
in the doorway when the soldiers galloped up, The
police were almost as soon as the hussars on the
spot, and some of those who had created much havoc
in the clothing stores were easily captured. The
troops were preceded on horseback by the mayor
and Mr. Harrison. The whole of them were re-
ceived by the mob with hooting and yelling, and
amidst such discordant noises Mr. H,rrisun read
the Riot Act to the populace. No missiles, how-
ever, of any description were thrown either at the
police or the troops. After the Riot Act had been
read the troops commenced to clear the streets, and
proceeded up and down driving the people before
them, The police were now engaged in capturing
those who had stolen things from the stores, great
quantities having been conveyed into the Irish
people's dwellings contiguous to the spot. In some

of the houses the people commenced burning the
clothing in order to escape detection ; others threw

it into the canal, and various articles of wearing

apparel might be seen floating on the water for some
time. One large bundle of moleskin could only
have been carried away by a very strong person,
and bundles of stockings and other clothing were
continually turning up at some unexpected corner,
and conveyed to the stores. Vast quantities, how-
ever, are missing. From the arrival of the military
there was no other riotous proceedings further than
vast crowds perambulating the streets. Most of

those who had been prominent in hurling stones
and creating the sad havoc we have above detailed,
were chiefly young men and lads, the great bulk

being low Irish lads, who appeared to be exceed-

ingly excited and irritated, though these were fol-
lowed by mobs of older people of both sexes. Many

girls mixed in the crowds, and hooted and shouted
and threw stones with as much gusto as the lads

themselves.

In the evening the following magistrates met
and swore in special constables—Messrs. Hopwood
(Mayor), J. Cheetham, W. Milburn, J. Pearson, and

•
J. Marsland, Mr. Little, deputy chief constable of
the Cheshire county constabulary, had just arrived,

_ .. .
having made arrangements for the calling in of 50
of the Cheshire police force, should their services be
required. As the military paraded the streots they
were followed by large crowds of men, women, and
children, and it was consequently judged.advisable