The Sun.
London, England, 1839-09-28 00:00:00

EVENIN ED

TS AT BIRMINGHAM. I S ION
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23.
"D
The examination of witnesses, by the Committee of i THE FUN.OS.—( CLOSIN G PRIC 42.00
the Town Council was resumed this morning. Mr.
narrisi4soi Li'UNDS
Alderman Sturge in the chair. rank Stock lndia 5t0ck..............
Thomas Bedtern, of Birmingham, merchant, examired lied•—• ;Ditto Bonds .........
5401;,, Ditto Old Annuitie5............
—1 was in New-street, on Monday, the Bth of July.„Gen C(l.;.eisa
, Ditto Sew Annuities ......
about nine o'clock in the evening, when I saw the London /4' i.tr-3y;, per Cent 1Ex.1,0001....... pm.
police beating people, in my opinion, in a perfectly un- •
Ncw 5 per Cent
Long Annuities to expire
justifiable manner, who were passing peaceably along Jan. IS6ii
India `4tock for
the street. saw no acts of violence on the part Oct. I;e9
Consols for Act ...... 90%
of the persons so beaten. I did not even see a single Jan 160
1731tEll'i N FUN DS
l':),•tagacse :ends, Spec cent, SSA
act of violence on the part of the people. My observe- Austrian;,sg;ecnetni
IDitto N,w Ditto
I tion in passing to and fro, would occupy a space of half bonds' il'rus.:ian, 5 per cent
an hour. The street was more than usually busy, , Du,lo, AYri per e"••••• r_uitiailipto:lidi;,. per cent —l7_ll
3034
but there was no disorder. I.* saw two men walking `, (i'',,lliniane;e6e7icce•rne .......
Ditto h, 5 per cent
. 3l!,lDitto, Deferred
quickly along, close together, though not in company. 1ett0,1823
. FrencC,s per cent. ...... —f. C.
One had the appearance of a respectable mechanic, the i rirlenii,.sc.hi33orrig,eZs, 5 pe; ct. Exchango —c
Fiend), :3per cent —r. —c.
other seemed to be a very respectable man, wearing a;3 Vff
per cent.
good broadcloth coat. I saw the mechanic struck by 1 Igexticrl 5 Pccernt.cenl
Peltrioiliar,rlSs,6.per Ditto, 5 per cent. .......
one of the policemen with his staff upon the shoulder ; SHARES
Eastern Counties Railway
the blow evidently hurt him very much. The other ~real Western Railway
person of whom I have spoken, I saw rubbing his London and Brighillm Railray
London and Birmingham Railway
shoulder, and writhing from pain. I spoke to them, Ditto New Stares
and asked them if' they had offered any provocation, as London and Southampton liailway
London and Ciooon Railway (Trull )
it appeared to me that they had not done so. They Ditto Scrip
most positively said they had done nothing to Manchester and Birmingham hallway ..........
provoke the police, but were quietly walking home.
The better dressed one said he had been but a few days
before sworn in a special constable ; that he was
well known to Mr. Alston and Mr. Clark,
the Magistrates, and that he should certainly lay
a complaint before them on the following day.
The other man I recommended to complaia to the Ma-
gistrates on the subject. I asked for their names and
addresses, which they immediately gave me, but which I
have since forgotten. I saw nothing like disorderly
conduct on the part of these individuals, and was
strongly impressed with the opinion that they were
most. abominably treated. I wrote to the Mayor the
next day, to acquaint him with what I had observed,
and to express my disgust at the conduct of the police.
I received for reply, that he had received similar com-
plaints from other quarters, and that measures had been
taken to put a stop to such proceedings for the future,
and I have seen nothing of the kind since.
John Rathbone, of 4 court, 3 house, Sherlock-street,
coach harness plater, examined :—On the evening of
the Bth of July, about a quarter past ten, I was going
along Allison-street, anti when near to the end of Co-
ventry-street, I was knocked down by several blows from
the staffs of three or four of the London police, and
when down, was much beaten upon my, left side, and
was disabled from work for five or six weeks. I was
not attended by a surgeon. There was no crowd in
the street at the -time I was struck, and but very few
people about, and these were generally standing at their
doors. I said nothing to the police, nor did I even see
them, before I xas struck ; they came behind me.
After beating me they left me on the ground, and im-
mediately after a party of dragoons passed me. 1 said
to one, " This is pretty usage," to which he replied,
" Make the best of your road home, my man." I told
him, " That was my direct road home," which was the
truth. I had been into Nova Scotia-street, and on my
return came along by the new burial-ground, down
Bordesley-street, and so into Allison-street. I had been
guilty of no breach of the peace. The police made no
charge against me ; had they done so, and required me
to surrender, I would have done so. I believe there
was a meeting at Holloway Head on the Bth inst., but
I was not there.
John Wild, of No. 10, Thomas-street, grocer, exa-
mined. On the evening of the 15th July, I went to
the meeting at Holloway Head. I got there about
half-past seven. The last speaker had almost done.
When the meeting was about to break up, a man ad-
dressed them, and said that they must walk in
procession on to the Warwick road, to meet Col-
lins and another man, whose name I forget, who
were coming from Warwick that night. I followed
them down Holloway Head. They were linked
arm in arm, and walked in ranks. They were not
armed, and had no sticks. They went along Edg-
baston-street, and all that I saw went along St. Mar-
tin's-lane, and turned into Digbeth. I followed all
the way, as far as Trinity Chapel. When near the
chapel, two men came up from the direction of the
Bud-ring. One of them said, " I could wish you to turn
back, for Collins will not be home before eleven o'clock,
,nd the police, when they found the mob had left the
Bull-ring, had been cutting and slaughtering all before
item." The people then turnvd round, and several of
hem shook down some wooden palisades near. Some,
also, broke up some light iron hurdles, and the mob
generally armed themselves with these weapons. One
anung them, a man with only one leg, and who walked
. a a crutch and stick, picked up a piece of the wooden
rails, and held it iii the same
,band as his walking stick.
I said to him, " Now, my good man, be persuaded
by a fool, and throw that doWn." He,laid,",No, I will
not ; if any one touches me I will put it in their guts."
He walked by the side of the mob, which returned in
the direction of the Bull-ring. I went by the side of
this man, and several times tried to persuade him to
throw away his weapon, but to no purpose. Many of
the weapons were thrown away in the course of the
progress. When they got to the corner of Moor-street,
the mob turned up towards the Public-office, and I went
up High street, and along Dale-end, home. As I went
along Dale-end I heard St. Martin's clock strike nine.
I saw nothing of the riot or the fires.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24. -
Mr. Alderman Sturge in the chair.
James Gill, of 10 court, 2 house, Holloway Head,
brush maker, examined—l have not been in the habit
of attending the Chartist meetings, but I was in the
Buil-ring on the right of the 4th of July. I was going
to Mr. Arnold's, pork butcher, to make a purchase ; it
wanted ten minutes to nine by St. Martin's clock. There
were about 300 or 400 people assembled at the usual
meeting round the monument. Having made my pur-
chase at Mr. Arnold's, I crossed from his shop to
the monument, as a matter of curiosity, to hear
what they had to say, not having been present
at any of these meetings previously. A man had
just done reading a speech of Mr. Francis Lloyd's, at
the Commissioners' meeting. When he had done,
another man addressed the meeting, saying, If there
is a horse, gig, or any vehicle comes this way, come
close together ; don't let them say we obstruct the
road." They were perfectly peaceable. I then turned
to go away home down Spiceal-strcet, saying to a man
near me " If this is the way they conduct business, I
don't see much the matter." It now wanted five mi-
nutes to nine. I came away conversing with the man
to whom I had made this observation, and saw and
heard nothing more.
Thomas Powers, of 3 court, Thorp-street, bricklayer,
examined—l am 73 years of age, and am very asth.
matic, and have not been in regular employment for some
time. On Monday, the Bth of July, I had been a walk
with my wife and daughter, and was quietly returning
home along Edgbaston-street, about half-past eight
in the evening, arm in arm with my wife. Several
London policemen ran after us, and, on overtaking us,
struck me several blows upon the head, and knocked me
down. I got up, and they knocked me down again.
I got up a second time, and again they knocked
me down, and as I lay on the ground, they said they'd
take me to the dungeon. They then took me to the
dungeon, and my person was examined by Mr. •Redfern.
They found nothing upon me but my tobacco box.
I was put into the prison yard, my head bleeding all
night. The following morning I was taken before the
Magistrates. One of the policemen, who had been
beating me, said I had drawn his dagger half way out.
This was all he said, and I said it was a lie. He did
not state whether the alleged attempt to draw his
dagger was before or after he struck me, or under what
circumstance it took place. The Magistrate, in one
minute, said I was released. I was under medical
advice at the time I was ill-treated, and have been ever
since. I had said nothing to the police nor to any one
else, before they struck me, nor had my wife or
daughter. I bad not. even seen the police. 'There was
no crowd in the street, and scarcely anybody about.
[The witness's appearance was that of a very feeble
old man, evidently labouring under a bad asthma, and
utterly incapable of offering any resistance.]
The Committee adjourned until Friday next.

..... 5%

METROPOLITAN PO a.ITICAL

SUMMARY.

HAMBURG, SEPT. 24.—NOTICE TO THOSE
WHO NAVIGATE THE ELSE.—In order to give to Captains
of ships sailing up and down the Elbe, at those places
where the navigation is the most difficult, a more accurate
direction than can be done by the ordinary buoys, it is re-
solved that from and after the Ist of October next, a vessel
with a light shall be anchored at the Schulauer Sand, to the
North of the White Buoy, No. 4, and as near to it as possible.
This vessel will display a red light twenty-four feet abov-
the surface of the water, so long as the ice shall :not make
it impracticable, every night, without interruption, till the
end of March ; and in foggy weather, when the light may
not be distinguishable, the crew will likewise ring a bell.
Should this vessel be obliged, by the breaking up of the
ice, to leave its station, the crew is to renew its post as
speedily as possible.—Hamburg, 24th Sept., 1839.—The
Navigation and Harbour COmmittec.
Mr. Newman, the City solicitor, has resigned
his situation, being rendered unable from over work to
continue the discharge of his duties. Mr. Charles Pear-
son is named as a
probable candidate. If he does come
forward his success may be considered almost certain ; as
few persons can be better acquainted with the rights and
privileges of the citizens of London, or have done more for
the great interests entrusted to the eontroul of the Com-
mon Council.
COVENT GARDEN THEATRE.—We under-
stand that their Iklajcsties the Queen and the Queen-Dow-
ager have each taken a box at Covent Garden for the en-
suing season. This is as it should be; and with such
patronage to commence with Madame Vestris will no doubt
have a successful season at her new house. Her theatrichl
career has hitherto been eminently prosperous, and we hope
that the same good fortune will cheer her present spirited
enterprise.

AT LUCKY THIFF.—On Tuesday, in an assault
case, at the Thames Police-office, the complainant was a
prostitute, who has been committed seven times from that
office for trial at the Old Bailey Sessions for dari❑g rob-
beries, but by extraordinary good luck has always managed
to escape conviction.

The Courier of this evening mikes the following
comment on the Duke of Buckingham's speech at the
late Nerth Bucks Conservative Dinner :—" The powerful
speech of the Duke of Buckingham at the Bucks
Conservative Dinner' on Thursday, which appears in
another column, will be perused by our readers,
we do not doubt, with particular satisfaction.
It is evident from the whole complexion of this
speech that his Grace telt he was on strong ground. His
theme was Cons rvatisre. His audience were the staple
strength of the country, the cultivators of the soil ;
those on whose welfare the strength of the coun-
try chiefly depends ; from whom and through whom
its wealth takes rise ; in whose bold and honest
natures the character of the English people is to be sought ;
the manly yeomanry of England. With such hearers
and such a theme, the Duke felt at home."
The Globe gives the following character of the Tory
faction :—" But though the Tories yielded the Reform
Bill, they never forgave it. To this hour they are as
bitterly opposed to the principles it embodies as they
were when they first denounced its introduction es
fraught with destruction to the country. It supplied a
principle of popular control over the Administration, and
thus checked, if it did not wholly destroy, the operation
of corruption. This constituted its excellency. To de-
feat its design, by crippling its operation, is the deter-
mined effort of every Tory. Hence the evil practices
employed to corrupt and intimidate the exercise of the
franchise at home ; and hence the bitterness of disap-
pointment with which the progress of constitutional
government in other countries is regarded by them.
England under a Reform Administration has aided in
consolidating and establishing a constitutional govern-
ment in Spain. The Tories united with the despots of
the Continent to prevent the accomplishment of an
object so injurious to their common cause ; but without
success."
The Standard makes the following allusions to Mr.
O'Connell's late Letter on the subject of Repeal :
" The admission of the Irish mendicant, that all
parties in England are alike opposed to repeal;
whether Whig, Tory, or Chartist,' would lead to
the inference that there is something more meant
than meets the ear in his late frantic howl in its
behalf ; and we should certainly have conceived, but for
the cunningly qualified clause of his address which we
quoted yesterday, that ail hopes of his eleven and accom-
plices being able to retain office were dying within him,
and that his sole motive now was to make hot work for
their successors."
The Times of this morning thus speaks of Lord
Abinger's address to the Grand Jury at the late Lei-
cester Assizes :—" This opportune discourse which his
Lordship addressed to the Leicestershire Grand Jury
is in no sense a party one. Indeed, the known discre-
tion and good taste of that eminent Judge are a suffi-
cient guarantee for his perfect impartiality in the dis
charge of his high functions : and although there is
scarcely anything which the hirelings of the Whig Press
will scruple to misrepresent in order to gratify their
masters, we confidently expect that the greater proPeT"
tion, even of the Liberal party, will not merely acquit
Lord Abinger of any political biasses in what he has
advanced, but concur with us in thinking that his Lor
ship has rendered an essential service to the common
interests of the country."
The Morning Chronicle, in the course of a leading
article on the subject of the Duke of Buckingham's
speech at a late Conservative and Agricultural dinner
in North Bucks, remarks as follows :—" As his Grace
is a burning and a shining light among the Tories, the
people of England may see from this exhibition, that if
the present Ministers are not all that they could wish,
they might go further and fare worse. The Whigs
may not have done all the good that they expected from
them ; but how much mischief might the Tories do, if
in power, before they should be overwhelmed by
the outbreaking of popular indignation. His Grace's
arguments for the continuance of the Corn-laws
were addressed chiefly to the agricultural labourers.
He seems to have his misgivings that they are
not altogether, etzamoured of the small loaf, and well
he may. It would, hot'ielit.,lreettn insult to our readers
to waste arguments on the assumptitYnk- of his
The millions of starving- manufacturers welt know
how
to deal with the facts or.the reasonings of the Noble
Duke. There may be wisdom in his concluding endea-
yours to excite in the Protestants a hatred towards Ro-
man Catholics ; but we cannot discover it, and we doubt
if Sir Robert Peel can." Gracev;
The Morning Herald, commenting on the political
character of the Melbourne Cabinet, says—" All the
recent appointments have indicated a tendency on the,
part of Ministers to farther " organic changes. The
appointment of Mr. Poulett Thontson, to the Governor-
ship of Canaclii,iriclicates approval of principles, which,
if brought fairlY into operation, must involve
the severance of all our colonies from the
mother country. The appointment of Mr. Sheil is
fitted to encourage the enemies of the Church ; and to
lend fresh zeal to the faction, which is plotting the
dismembrrment of the British empire. The appoint-
ment of Mr. Macaulay is a compliment to the cham-
pions of extended Suffrage and the Billet, as well as to
religious Dissenter t* all their varieties. The country
has witnesied withisgust, during the last Session of
Parliament, that miserable arrangement as to open
questions,' to which the weakness of the Whigs drove
them. That weakness has, however, increased now, in
a ten-fold ratio ; and, henceforward,—so long, that is
to say, as the Melbourne Cabinet shall be permitted to
exist—all questions of moment must be open' ones to
its members."
The Morning Post draws the following complimen-
tary portrait of O'Connell. The painting is a sad daub,
substituting mere coarse exaggeration for vigour of
colouring :—" Mr. O'Connell's fresh edict of sedition,
which we yesterday published, awakens 'in us little sur-
prise, because unmitigated atrocity coming from that
quarter has long ceased to be a subject of astonishment.
The language of invective would fail to paint the Agi-
tator half so bad as he really is, and no common defi-
nition of crime and infamy can be expected to reach
the measure of his iniquity, who always seems to make.
his wickedness the most revolting precisely at the period
when a show of gratitude, for a given favour, might be
reasonably looked for from one who was less a desperade„
in guilt. But O'Connell always out-darkens darkness.

Died, on Thursday evening last, the 26th jost"
in tEe 76th year of his age, at his resi,lence, on Rich-
mond-hill, after a short iline.ss, the Right Hon. Richard
Earl of Mount Edgeurnbe, Lord Li uteriant of the
county of Cornwall, and one of her Majesty's Most
Honourable Privy Council. He is suceeoded in his
titles and estates by his eldest son Ernet Augn3tus
Viscount Valletort.
We feel great pleasure in recording, in our co'
!twins of this week, the re-appointment of our excellent
fellow-townsman, Mr. Thu:toil,
to active service, as
Lieutenant of her Majesty's ship San Josef. This 513"
,ointment we regard as nothing more than a tardy act
of justice to one of the most highly meritorious offieers
of the British Navy, who, in our opinion (an opirnen
founded on facts), ought to have received his promotion
andeighteen
which
not
soTehxetefnacsityseltyo
deserve to be, even among the members of his own
profession, relate to several very important and effieit
services, which he rendered to our ally, the 1,'1"
of Naples in the year 1890,in d of the
when comma')
Racer. facilitating
. These services, which b reatly fact
an accommodation between the two hostile factious known,whieli we refer,
as they
the Neapolitan States, very materially aided the pre-
vention of tumult and massacre, were so highly
justly appreciated by the Sovereign of those States as
to induce him to apply to the British Government fc".
Mr. T.'s promotion. But not only did this gentlemans
conduct, on the occcasion referred to, entitle him t°
the distinguished gratitude and esteem of a
monarch in alliance with Great Britain, but to those
of the British residents at Palermo ; to whose Pl 7
a ert.eol.;
sons and properties he secured protections at
when both were exposed to the most imminent risk ao.icli
peril. A letter from these gentlemen lies before us, 2
which they express their deep sense of obligation for
the promptitude, exertions, and zeal which he displayed
on their behalf, in language equally honourable to
writers, and to the party to whom it is addressed.
have only to add the expressions of our confident hope'
that the Admiralty will speedily raise Lieutenant
to a higher grade in his profession, an act which, We 01..
persuaded, would at once do honour to themselves,`d
stimulate the junior officers of her Majesty's Na
aspire vy 1",
to promotion, as the reward of able, skilful, and
highly meritorious services.—Devonport Independent.
Count Pozzo di Borgo will nor, it is said, re'
turn to England in a diplomatic charact,,,..
the
The Dutch steamers are again allowed by
Prussian Giwverinnent to navigate the Riiiire.