The Sun.
London, England, 1837-08-25 00:00:00

LEGALITY OF IMPRISONMENT FOR

DEB I.

The following (lit-respondence has taken place in reference
to a letter' frni the prisoners in the Queen's Bench prison,
to the Lord chief Justice. It appears that this application
to the Lc•ed Chief Justice was returned through the Dead
Letter Office on the 17th of August, having been refuse,'
bccallse it was overweight. The subscribers to that docu-
ment then addressed the following note to his Lordship, and
sent it with the document

" Queen's Bench, Aug. 17, 1837.
" My Lord,—This morning the letter addressed to your
Lordship on July IS, by the prisoners in the Queen'sßench,
was returned, having been refused on account of the
postage. We conclude that the refusal of it has been acci-
dental, and by some official who was not aware that any
letter on which private' is written, is never refused by a
Privy Councillor. We now remit the letter to your pri-
vate residence, and solicit your earnest and immediate at-
tention to it.—We are, your Lordship's most obedient
humble servants, &c."

To this letter Lord Denman sent the following reply :
" Portland-place, Aug. 17, 1837.
Sir,—Your letter has been brought to me this evening,
accompanying an address, under date of the 28th of July,
which bears your own signature and that of several others,
who describe themselves as having been inmates of the
Queen's Bench prison for different periods, some indeed
near twenty years, before my appointment to my present
office.

4' I beg leave to assure you that I had no previous know-
ledge of such an address having been sent to me.
•' The object of it is to express at some length the opi-
nion of the subscribers, and to require mine, on the legality
of imprisonment for debt.

" My answer must be, that I decline altogether to enter
'upon the discussion. I must say to you, and to those whom
you represent, what I am obliged to say almost daily to
some applicant, that I can hold no private communication
on judicial matters. It is in my judicial capacity alone that
I could afford redress to any one complaining of an un-
lawfrl restraint of his liberty ; but, these functions can only
be exercised in court, after a full hearing has been allowed
to all parties interested.—l am, Sir, your obedient servant,
" To the Rev. J. Gould, B. I)., &c. " DENMAN."

LATE GUNPOWDER EXPLOSION

The cause of this appalling calamity is involved in great
obscurity. It was at first supposed that lightning had
struck the boat which contained the gunpowder, but the
crews of the vessels in the immediate vicinity, and the
people ashore, declare that no thunder was heard, nor did
they witness any lightning when the explosion took place.
It has been rumoured that the crew of the ill-fated Maltese
brig, the Guiseppe (for that is her name, and not the Jose,
as was at first stated) were smoking tobacco and cigars, and
shook the lighted ashes over the boat ; but the survivors
have all solemnly declared that no person was smoking on
deck at the time, and it does not appear that any ignitable
substance could reach the boat. Mr. Cersan, the gunpowder
lighterman, who is employed by two magazines, was to deliver
a small barrel of powder of 24Ibs. weight on board the Gui-
seppe, and after making fast his boat (which contained about
9 cwt. of powder in barrels) he took that quantity on deck,
and demanded payment for the same. The mate refused to
pay the sum, 155., but offered to sign a receipt that the
powder had been delivered, and referred Mr. Corsan to the
broker or captain in London for payment. Mr. Corsan de-
clined leaving the powder without the money, and the mate
ordered the boat to go away, apprehending danger from its
remaining along side. Mr. Corsan handed the small barrel
of powder to John Matthews, his apprentice, who was in the
boat, and it was immediately placed under the hatches, or
wooden roof, with the remainder of the powder. Mr. Corsan
was about to descend the gangway ladder when the Dreadful
explosion took place, and the boy and boat, with its contents,
were blown to atoms. Mr. Corsan states that be had one
foot on the gangway, and was about to leave the ship, when
the powder skiff blew up, and forced hint to the other side
of the vessel. He was stunned and fell on the deck, where
he laid until the water reached him, which brought him to a
state of consciousness, and he mr.naged, just as the vessel
was sinking, to climb up the rigging, where he remained
until Lieutenant Simpson, of the revenue cutter, took him
off and put him into the Thames Police-boat. He had no
further recollection of what occurred until be reached the
Dreadnought hospital-ship. He is much scorched ; his
head is cut in several places ; and his face is quite black,
and in a mutilated state, so that his own family can scarcely
recognise him. The boatswain, and a lad belonging to the
ship, were looking over the ship's side toward the gun-
powder skiff when it blew up—the former was killed, and
blown a considerable distance into the water. His body
lies not been recovered. The lad escaped with his life,
but be is greatly disfigured ; the gunpowder has seared his
bosom, face, and head, and deprived him of one of his
eyes. 'rhe mate had just reached the cabin, when he
was thrown down by the explosion, and severely cut
by the glass and frame of the cabin sky-light falling upon
Ihn. He rushed upon deck with his wounds bleeding
profusely. He is now in the hospital ship with the lad,
and both are going on favourably. There were four other
seamen, and a female named Papolardo, the wife of a
foreigner, on deck, and they all escaped without any ma-
terial bruises, but it was some time after they were taken
•ut of the rigging that they recovered from the shock ; in-
deed, for some time they were bereft of sense, and stared
about wildly. We understand that Mrs. Papolardo, wh•
is en Englishwoman, is now labouring, under severe illness
from the effects of the fright. Constamino Coneozlio, the
master of the Guiscppc, was in London when the explosion
occurred, and knew nothing of the loss of his ship until he
reached East Greenwich next morning. Her masts only
arc visible above the water within a short distance of Mr.
Partrick's mill, which was shaken to its foundation by the ex-
plosion, while the windows in his dwelling-house were broken.
The concussion of the air also shook the Pilot public..
house in New East Greenwich, and the private h.,,uses
forming Ceylon-place adjoining, the inmates of
awhith
r ushed into the fields in a state of great terror, inquiri .g
of each other what had happened. Th shock was sen,i.
h'y felt in Woolwich, Greenwich, an'' Blackwall ; and the
explosion was distinctly heard es: en in Westminster and at
Purfleet and Faith, where there are extensive powder ma-
gazines. Many of the inhab;:Lants at each place for some
time were labouring under great apprehension that the ex-
plosion had tal-,en plats:: at the other.
The shin was laden, besides her ballast, with 43 or LO
tons of '.;nain cables, and her starboard side was blown right
out of her.

This day is the anniversary of the death of three
distinguishe-d individuals—the unfortunate Chatterton, the
Peet, in 1770 ; David llume, the celebrated historian, in
1776 ; and the ingenious James Watt, in 1810, whose life
way. one of continued use2ulness to his country.
via Mrs. Gore's new and admirable novel, " Stokeshill
panzt,, otor
idle
Man of Business " forms an excellent corn-
' ksirs. Armytege," that haughty gentlewoman hav-
ing been 'avery inch of h
dant, :Mr. Barnsley, theehr "a woman of businesrs.", 11:.•?7pe..
. who
has
wriggledero of the. present ti.11,-, is an attor-
ney
himselfentiet into tho
position of a country g \more aristocratic
la estate belonging to a dci ,411...-becume the purchaser of
vt. .aged "old ancient family" (as
the country folks haye
ain)ibeen the guardian of a Peer
during his minority.:
Ils a seat in Parliament, &c. &c.,
with the view;,?
~ exidtit
ttet furtir, his
the story,own. consequence ; but wo shall
varietyare included a vast
tr figures, all of which are awrenedhashed in with Mrs.
Gorel6 usual smartness. Every one who covets a new novel'
nlllit reed " Stokeshill Place."
CAPTURE OF A GRAMPUS OUTSIDE THE PORT
op Livritroot.—Yesterday morning some fishermen, who
were entering the port, saw a large grampus floundering
Amongst the banks at the mouth of the harbour. After
some trouble they succeeded in killing it, when they made
it fast to their smack, and towed it into the Prince's Dock
Berlin, where it remained the whole of yesterday. The
fishermen admitted the public on board the smack at a
tinny a head, whereby they realized abundance of coin.
e creature is about fourteen to sixteen feet in length,
and proportionately thick. It is supposed that he had en-
tered the channel in search. of herrings, and was left by
the tide bewildered amongst the sand banks.—Liverpool
Albion.