The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-03 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, IHURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 3, 1863.

LAW INTELLIGENCE-(TIES DAY).

SHERIFF'S COURT.
(Before Mr. Kerr.)
SITUATIONS FOR SHIP-BOYS-CAUTION TO THE PUBLIC-

SPRINGER V. FELLOW ES.

This was an action to recover £lO money had and re-
ceived. Mr. George Brown represented plaintiff, who de-
posed as follows—l have two sons. On August 24th last,
one of them saw defendant, who is a shipbroker of Fen-
church-street. From what my son told me, I was intro-
duced to defendant on the 25th. He told me that that the
under-steward's situation was vacant on the Clifton, which
was about to sail for Bombay, and if I gave him (de-
fendant) £lO, he would get the situation for my son at a
salary of £1 pc,r month. I refused to give this money unless
I saw the ship, and defendant sent down his clerk with
me. I saw the ship, and, being satisfied, paid the money.
Three weeks afterwards I heard that the ship was about
to leave the docks, and I sent my son, who saw the
captain. He was informed that the situation was that of a
cuddy boy, and that the salary was only ls. per month. I
reused to let him go by the ship and went to see defendant,
telling him what the captain had said. He declared that
there must be some error, and as he was going to dine with
the captain he would see and put it to rights. I next saw
defendant two days atter this, and he said he had not seen
the captain, but if the agreement was not carried out he
would return the money. My son did not go by the vessel,
but at length defendant said he had handed
.the £lO to the
captain, less the commission.
His Honour—You have made out a prima facie case,
does any one appear for defendant ?
No answer being returned, his Honour found for the
plaintiff with full costs.
Yeidict for plaintiff.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

SPRINGING A SHOP SHUTTER BAR AND ATTEMPT TO
BREAK INTO A SHOP.—Henry Lee, a young man, described
as a tailor, was charged before Mr. Knox with feloniously
taking down a shutter by means of springing the shutter
bar, and breaking a pane of glass at the shop of Mr. Alfred
John Spooner, dealer in miscellaneous articles, 36, Great
St. Andrew. street.

Mr. Spooner said a little before one o'clock this morning
he was awoke by a person being in his house, who informed
him that his shop was open. On going down stairs he
found that one of the shutters had teen slipped, the bar
having been sprung and pane of glass broken so as to effect
an entrance into the shop. Fortunately the persons had
been interrupted, and he believed none of his property had
been taken away.
Henry Bull, 80 F, said that at a quarter to one this
morning he was called from his beat by a disturbance, and
on returning he heard the noise of glass falling. On getting
near the place he saw the prisoner and another man cross
over, and then run away. He pursued them as far as
King-street, Covent-garden, when be lost sight of them,
but the prisoner was sopped by Bland, 105 F.
Prisoner said he went to see the cause of the disturbance,
and then when he saw the police coming he ran away, for
fear he might get in trouble.
Mr. Knox observed that prisoner's running away looked
very suspicious, and asked him if he could call any wit-
nesses to character.

Prisoner said his fathsr lived in Castle-street.
Sergeant Thompson, 8 F, said he understood the prisoner
had been convicted, but he was not prepared to prove it at
present.
Mr. Knox said he would remand the prisoner, so that it
might be seen whether he had been convicted or not.
The prisoner was remanded.
A SOLDIER CHARGED WITH WILFUL DAMAGE.—James
Bruce, a private of the Coldstream Guards, was charged
before Mr. Knox with wilfully smashing a pane of glass of
the value of £5, the property of Mr. Charles Trokes, pro•
prietor of the City of Quebec Tavern, Oxford•street.
The prisoner went into the house of Mr. Trokes about 11
o'clock at night with five companions, and became very
noisy, making use of the vilest language. On being put
out of the house the prisoner smashed a pane of glass of
the value of £5, and then made off with his companions.
A comrade of the prisoner's said he was with him all the
time, and swore that the prisoner did not break the window.
Mr. Trokes said he could procure another witness to prove
it was the prisoner, and t respectable female attended and
said she saw the prisoner strike the window with his fist.

Mr. Knox said the wcrst feature of the case was that of
prisoner's corning forward to swear to that which he knew
to be false. He should order the prisoner to pay £4 10s, for
the damage, and a fine of 10s. or a month.

CRIMINAL COURT—(This Day,)

OLD COURT.
(Before Mr. Baron Channell.)
CHARGE OF CUTTING •AND WOUNDING.

Andrew Godlow, a sailor, was indicted for feloniously
wounding Mary Ann Butt, with intent to do her some
grievously bodily harm.
The quarrel took place in the neighbourhood of Ratcliff,
when the prosecutor received a very severe cut on the aide
of her neck from a knife which the prisoner held in his
hand. On the prosecutrix being called on it was found she
was not in attendance, and the prisoner was accordingly
acquitted of the charge.

THIRD COURT.
(Before the Common Sergeant.)
ROBBERY FROM THE PERSON.

Catherine Andrews was indicted for stealing a watoh and
chain, the property of William Thomas.
The jury found the prisoner guilty, and a former convic-
tion having been proved against the prisoner, she was sen-
tenced to five years' penal servitude.

The English Coal Trade to France,

It appears that, notwithstanding the great exertions
which French capitalists and politicians have been making
of late years to extend the indigenous coal production of
France, to substitute French for English coal in the Impe-
rial Marine, and, in a word, to free France from the
" tribute" which they consider she pays to England in the
matter of coal, this year's deliveries of English " black
diamonds" into the French empire promise to attain a very
considerable total. Do what they will, our neighbours evi-
dently cannot get rid of our coal, the Pas de Calais and the
Nord notwithstanding. The importation of English coal
into France first acquired importance about 1840, when
France began to make industrial and roanufbcuring
progress in common with the rest of Europe. In 1840
the total imports of our coal into France were 381,000
tons ; five years later this total had risen to 566,000 tons;
in 1850 a further advance was made to 602,000 tons, and in
1855, notwithstanding some difficulties Ftrising from the ab-
sorption of shipping in the transport of troops and stores to
the Crimea, to 881,003. The next four years presented a
period of continuous progress, until in 1859 the imports
reached an aggregate of 1,369,000 tons, while Belgium, in
the same period, delivered to Franco 3,340,000 ton, Al-
though the indigenous coal production had risen from
3,003,000 tons in 1810 to 7,480,000 tons in 1859, and, al-
though Belgium sent far more coal to France than England,
lingering national prejudices were aroused, a great outcry
was raised against the employment of English coal in the
imperial marine, and the upshot of the hubbub was that in
1862 the deliveries of English coal at the French ports
declined to 758,000 tons, showing a falling off of 638,000
tons, as compared with 1859, while the product of French
coal workings rose in 1862 to 9,400,000 tons. But this
year, although the yield of these mines is expected to attain
a clear 10,000,000 tons, the demand for English coal has
been reviving, and the total imports from Jan. 1 to Sept.
30 amounted to 996,189 tons, being at the rate of 1,231,918
tons per annum. Belgium sent France at the same time
1,927,490 tons, being at the rate of 2,569,986 tons per
annum, and from other sources 477,632 tons have been
received, or at the rate of 636,869 tons per annum. Com-
paring, then, matters as they will probably turn out in
1863, with the actual course of affairs in 1853, we arrive
at toe following results :

18b3.

1563.

Indigenous French

production Tons 5,938,000 ....Tons 10,000,000
English supplies
Belgian supplies
Other supplies 432,000

Total .. 9,461,060 14,442,000
In our expression "other supplies" are included the re-
ceipts from tne Zollvercin. It results from the figures given
—which of course, as regards 1863, arc, to some slight ex-
tent, conjectural, although they will not be found very wide
of the mark—that while in 1853 France had to import 3,530,000
tons of coal to supply her wants,she will require, probably, in
1863, 4,441,000 tons of foreign combustible to meet her in •
dustrial requirements, although in the current year her in-
digenous production will be at least 4,000,000 tons more than
in 1853. It is rather amusing that ten years of great exer-
tions in the development of an industry for which they have
no special forte, should thus have left the French further
removed than ever from the abolition of " the tribute" to
which they have so great an aversion. It is, of course,
undesirable that we should lose any outlets for our pro-
ducts ; but, alter all, our export of coal to France is not a
matter of vital national importance. Thus, while in 1862
the total production of coal in England was estimated at
81,638,000 tons, the exports to France amounted to 758,000
tons, and to all countries to 7,671,670 tons, less than
10 per cent. of the quantity made available by the labours
of our miners. In 1858, the coal production of Great Bri-
tain amounted to 6.5,058,000 tons : in 1869, to 81,638,003
tons, showing an increase of 15,630,000 tone in four years,
or more than twice the whole of the exports, and more than
the whole consumption of France from all sources, home
and foreign. Yet, in the face of these stupendous facts—
of this mighty progress—we found a French writer the
other day seizing upon Sir William Armstrong's speech at
the meeting of the British Association at Newcastle, and
arguing that the Pas-de-Calai, (which has new an annual
production of about 1,000,000 tons) would soon have to
make good in France and the Continent the supplies
which poor, decrepid, tottering old England would no
longer be able to afford. In one breath French writers
declare that England cannot supply France with coal, and
its the next they vow that she shall not, Yet somehow
England does deliver large quantities of the black diamonds
still to French purchasers; and, although we cannot blame
the French for endeavouring to turn their own mineral
it seems probable that a good resources to better account,
deal of French money will yet be offered as a tribute to
English coalowners for many years to come.--.lfining
Joarizal.