The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-24 00:00:00

vitt SUN, LONDON, -rinmv EVENING, MARCH 94 1P54,

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET.
Under the llanagena ,nt of Mr. CHARLES KEAX.
THIS EVENING, MARCH 24,
Will be performed RICHARD THE THIRD. Principal charac-
ter by Mr. C. Kean.
To be followed by A STORM IN A TEA-CUP. Priact)al cha-
racters by Mr. and Mrs. W. Lacy.

protect the weak, and to repel the spoliator, and
by establishing upon a more solid basis the peace
of Christendom, to secure the future safety and
progressive development of civilisation.

been erroneously mentioned in the first instance.
We willingly gave insertion to the letter of Mr.
STURGES repudiating the charge. He has since
been justified in Parliament. The Duke of NEW-
CASTLE last night declared that the -name was not
" STURGES," but "STURGEON," and that the in-
dividuals who supplied the hay which contained
the filth and rubbish were " THOMAS STURGEON
AND SONS, OF GRAYS, ESSEX." It will be for
these persons to exonerate themselves, if pos-
sible, from the grave accusa'ion.

A very gross and infamous fraud was brought
under the consideration of both Houses of Parlia-
ment, on Tuesday evening—in the Lords by the
Earl of ELLENBOROUGII, and in the Commons by
Colonel BLAIR. It appeared that a supply of hay
being required for the use of the expedition now
proceeding to the East, advertisements were pub-
lished, inviting .6euders to be sent in, according
to the usual course of Government contracts.
These invitations were not, however, responded to,
one tender only being sent in, and that for but a
small quantity. Under such circumstances, the
parties charged with the duty were obliged to de-
part from the ordinary routine, and to apply to
several eminent forage contractors to know upon
what terms and to what extent they would be
willing to provide the required stores. Four
firms responded to this latter application, and
returned answers stating the quantity, quality,
and the price of the hay they were prepared to
deliver. It may be assumed that, under such
circumstances, the bonds, with solvent security for
the clue fulfilment of the contracts, which are
generally taken, were dispensed with. As the Go-
vernment sought the contractors, it was of course
impossible to insist on the conditions generally
enforced when there was an eager competition for
the engagement. This failure would not take away
the civil action for any breach of agreement, but
it would limit the remedy to the individual by
whom it was violated. The hay was sent in, and
very fortunately an examination took place, which
brought to light one of the most flagrant acts of
iniquity ever attempted. While there was yet
time to remedy the evil, and to avert the fearful
consequences that might have resulted therefrom
had it passed without detection, it was found
that many of the trusses, which appeared to be
perfectly sound and of good quality, were in the
interior filled with filth of the most disgusting
description—shavings, straw, litter, and even a
dead lamb, were used to fill up the trusses, and
the hay itself was damped so as to add to the
weight, but to the total destruction of its quality
as fodder, or fitness as food for the animals en-
gaged in the public service. The hay was, of
course, at once rejected, 'and the required quan-
tity obtained from other and more trust-worthy
dealers.

ASTLEY'S EUROPE'S NATIONAL An? RIT HEATRE.

Lessee and Manager, Mr. William Cooke.
THIS EVENING, MAucn 21,

And daring the week, will be presented the new, grand, and
romantic spectacle entitled THE WOOD 1(A "'S HORSE; or, The
False Knight—the Woodman's Horse by the pet steed, Beauty,
expressly trained by Mr. William Cooke.
After which, the into nparable 'cones of the ARENA.
To conclude with BESS OF THE BELL.

Box-office open from Eleven tia Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W
West.

111011 WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tai; DAY ---11ornin1 50 :nin.af ter ill Evening 41 min.aft. 10
10.110aRow:g1oruing 27 min.after 11 Evening 0 min.aft. 0

THE WEATHER.—Sufi °Friers, MARCH 24.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
52—highest since noon yesterday.
39—lowest this morning and during the night.
50—this day at noon.
BAROMETER, 30'37.
WIND, N.E.—Fresh and cold, with cloudy weather.

I , ,c, 4. \
tiit --$5 -''
; f -
, /6,, ;= E -r.". - '''' • !
, ,i- ir-Zr,,`):^',4l *". ; S Ailli
~~ •,- ~:,' .. ..,...:".„v , p

It is impossible to over-estimate the atrocity of
this horrible crime. It has already produced
serious consequences, for, as the noble Secretary
for the Colonies informed the House of Lords,
" great inconvenience had arisen in consequence of
the loss of time which had necessarily taken place
in obtaining fresh supplies." That delay may
have been productive of very formidable results,
for the absence of the artillery from the seat of
war, even for a single day, might have placed iu
jeopardy the lives of the troops to whose bands
are confided the honour and interests of the
nation. The first operations might be defeated
and a protracted war rendered inevitable, and all
because a fraudulent contractor desired to enhance
his profits. These results are, as we have stated,
yet possible ; and we cannot at this moment tell
the amount of damage occasioned by the mis-
creants who participated in the infamous fraud.

But how much greater and more certain might
;rave been the damage, but for the providential
and unexpected discovery ? The damp hay would
probably have ignited on the voyage, and the in-
evitable destruction of the vessels in which the
troops were embarked, with all on board—sea-
men, artillerymen, horses, and all the munitions
of war—would necessarily have followed. Not a
single individual might have been saved to tell
the history of the awful transaction, or to reveal
the guilt of the would-be " MURDERERS." We
say murdi rers ; for inasmuch as a general destruc-
tion such as we have indicated would be the only
way in which detection could be avoided, the
parties implicated must have coolly and deli-
berately contemplated the death of every
pers)a who could give information as to the
circumstances, for by sue means only eluld
the "damning evidences" of their unparalleled
guilt be suppressed. Even had the spontaneous
' combustion of the article been averted, and the
men, and horses, and stores landed in safety, the
results would be but little le,s prejudicial to the
nation. As the Duke of NEWCASTLE truly stated,
"it would in all probability have entailed the
loss of all the horses, and the consequent ineffici-
ency of the artillery on the eve of great military
operations, and might possibly have been of the
greatest consequence to the lives of her MAJESTY'S
troops."
Such might have been the natural results of the
" auri sacra fames," this " greed of gain," and
unholy thirst for dishonest, profits. What punish-
ment, then, should be inflicted on the wretches
concerned in this vile attempt to grin a few paltry
pounds in addition to the legitimate profits which
would have been obtained from the contracts, for
which, be it observed, they named their prices ?
As to the moral guilt, there could be no doubt ;
and we believe that there is no disinterested per-
son who would not say that "hanging would
be too good" for such criminals. Thera seems,
however, to be a doubt as to whether they can be
punished in any way save by recovering damages
for the breach of contract.

The Duke of NEWCASTLE, on behalf of the Go.
vernment, declared that " the case should be most
strictly investigated, and the parties treated with
the utmost severity." But what will that amount
to ? The mere publication of a name would be a
very inadequate punishment for such monstrous
turpitude, which, if unprovided for by law, shows
a deficiency in our Criminal Code that should be
forthwith provided for. There may be no express
enactment on the point. Parliament might never
have deemed such atrocity possible. The Romans
had no law respecting parricide for a similar rea-
son. We cannot, however, believe that .it al:1y
not be brought within some of the provisions,
either of the Statutes or the Common Law. Lord
BROUGHAM declared that " if more than one were
engaged there could be no doubt that the Crimi-
nal Law would at once touch them, for they would
be engaged in a conspiracy of a grave nature,
mingled with the grossest fraud !" Surely a
single person could not have packed the various
trusses so carefully that there should be no ex-
terior appearance to indicate the filthy contents.
Not merely one or two, but many persons must
have been not merely cognisant of, but actually
concerned in, the infamous fraud. Some of these
parties may surely be got at by a little activity
and energy on the part of the authorities.
Again the chief offender—the man for whose
pecuniary profit the vile attempt was made—was
to be paid the supposed value. What, then, was
this but an attempt to obtain money under false
pretences ? The pretence being that the trusses
consisted entirely of sound wholesome hay of the
quality specified in the contract, the total false-
hood whereof could easily be proved. Here,
then, a certain, though very inadequate, punish-
ment might be inflicted on the miscreant. Even
a higher penalty might be inflicted without strain-
ing the law. The damping the hay, so as to
render it liable to spontaneous combustion, was
calculated to endanger the lives of the seamen
and others on board the vessels in which it was
embarked. If a single life had been lost, the
parties would unquestionably be guilty of " mur-
der," for they must be supposed to have intended
the natural consequences of their acts. Are they
to be exempted from exemplary punishment
because the attempt failed ? Surely it was as
tikcly to prove f ital as laying poiso i with the
intent of its being taken, and, if so, the same law
would be applicable to its punishment.
Lord CAMPBELL instanced the case of the par-
ties concerned in the fraud respecting the NELSON
Monument to show that there is a law to meet
the offence ; so that, under any circumstances,
they will not get off Scot free. We trust, how-
ever, that the Attorney-General will be enabled
to show that an offence of a much more serious
nature than a mere fraud has been committed.
We feel quite assured that in his hands the ma-
jesty of the law will be fully vindicated.
It is to be regretted that the name of a gentle-
man of unimpeachable character §hould have