The Sun.
London, England, 1838-03-26 00:00:00

TO THE LORDS SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL IN PARLIAMENT

ASSEMBLED.

The humble Petition of the Guardians of Camberwell, in the
County of Surrey.
Showeth—That the period of one year, for which your
petitioners were elected to administer the New Poor Law,
having now expired, they feel it due to the measure to state
the result of their experience, and to pray your Right Honour-
able House accordingly.
That the said law has been in operation in the extensive
parish of Camberwell during the space of two years and a
half ; that previous to that time a considerable number of able-
bodied poor were maintained out of the parish funds, they not
caring to work, and the overseer having no power to withhold
relief; that these persons having under the authority of the
new law been refused their old allowances, betook themselves
to their own resources, and are now, most of them, still in
this parish, supporting themselves and their families by their
own honest industry, and presenting the most marked contrast
between what they used to be and what they are, both as to
morals and to comfort.

That in the two years preceding the introduction of the
measure into the parish, 46 illegitimate children became
chargeable ; in the two succeeding years 10.
That through the facilities afforded by the new law for clas-
sifying the inmates of the workhouse, and separatieg the aged,
who are past labour, from those who are able to contribiite
towards their own maintenance, the comfort of the former, as
ell as order among all, are more effectually provided for. It
is true, in the general classification which includes the sexes,
husband and wife are kept apart ; but this is no new feature
in the present law, it having been 4s unavoidable under the
old as it is under the new system ; and for this plain reasor4.
that decency requiring that the same room should have no
ther occupants but the man and his wife, there would be no
limits to the size of a workhouse affording separate apart-
ments to every married couple ; and in fact the only difficulty
which your petitioners have had to contend with on this
point, is the unwillingness of married parties to go into
the workhouse together--men and women constantly desir-
ing to be admitted or discharged one without the other.
That the reduction in the rates has been in proportion to the
moral good effected ; a diminution of more than one-half
having taken place. That, however, it appears to your peti-
tioners tha the law intended this consideration to be quite
secondary to the moral improvement of the poor; and acting
upon this principle, your petitioners have found the financial
benefit to follow as a matter of course. _ _ _

That, upon the whole, since this introduction of the new
Poor-law into the parish of Camberwell, the state of the
neighbouring poor has in every sense greatly improved ;
hich circumstance, coupled with the financial results, induces
your petitioners to approach your Right Honourable House,
end to pray that your Lordships will not consent to any altera-
tions affecting the principles of a measure which, at a greatly
lessened cost to the rate-payer, affords on the one hand to the
n2cessitous poor such ample protection as under the old de.
foctive system they could not be sure of, and tends, on the
other, to reform habits of idleness in the able-bodied, and to
restore such persons to the condition and character of inde-
pendence.

And your petitioners will ever pray, &c. &e. &e.

THE GREAT WESTERN STEAM-

SHIP.

On Saturday the first experimental excursion of this magni-
ficent vessel was made on the river with the most complete
success. The engineers were engaged during the whole of
the week in getting ready her stupendous machinery and
paddle-wheels, and the fires were lighted and the steam got
up on Thursday and Friday while the vessel was at her moor-
ings. The working of the engines and the revolutions of the
wheels having more than answered the- expectations of the
owners, on Saturday moi ning at eleven o'clock she got under
weigh, and started from Black wall on her first steam trip. The
greatest interest was excited on the river, and the shores on
both sides were crowded with spectators, who, when the
wheels got fairly into motion, cheered loudly. Our readers
have only to fancy a large man-of-war of 80 guns, without her
usual warlike appearance, moved by the power of steam, and
they will form some idea of the size of the " Great Wes-
tern," the largest vessel propelled by steam which has yet
made her appearance on the waters in Europe, her regis-
tered admeasurement being 1,604 tons ; length, 234 feet ;
breadth from out to out of the paddle-boxes, 58 feet, and with
engines and machinery of 450-horse power. She began
to steer rather wildly at first, but the river pilot, Mr.
Grundy, an able man, soon found out that the steersman was
insufficient, and another man being placed at the wheel, she
answered her helm as well as any steam ship in her Majesty's
service, and soon began to cut through the waters at a spank-
ing rate. All that could be wished either by her engineers or
by the Directors, was fully accomplished. She was accompanied
by the Comet, a favourite Gravesend steamer, which was on
her way down at the same time. The Comet, which appeared
a mere pigmy as compared with tho Great Western, has been
always considered a very fast going vessel, but, notwithstanding
all the disadvantages attendant on the first trial of new ma-
chinery and engines, the Great Western beat the Cornet,
although the latter vessel was obliged to cheat (to use a river
phrase) by getting in shore, which the Great Western was
unable to do, owing to her large draught of water, and also by
shaving the points. The Comet nut only did not gain upon
the Great Western, but as she ran down from Blackwell to
Gravesend the latter had increased her distance about half a
mile. This is no bad criterion of the speed of the ship which
is about to make the bold experiment of steaming across the
Atlantic Ocean. On her arrival off Gravesend, the town quay,
terrace-hill, and every spot commanding a view of the river
was crowded with people, who received the Great Western
with loud cheers as she pa'Ssed this favourite watering-place.
The engines made 19 strokes per minute, which is equal to
more than 17 miles per hour. The steam-ship went some-
times 12 knots, and generally 111- knots per hour, which is
equal to 14 statute miles. The Great Western proceeded
three miles below Gravesend, and here an opportunity was
afforded of ascertaining how she could be turned round. The
order being given to turn her, and direct her head towards
London, it was accomplished without difficulty, and the pilot
expressed his satisfaction in warm terms, and said there was
not a long steamer on the Thames which could have done
it better. The Great Western reached her moorings at
Blackwell shortly before four o'clock, and her re-appear-
ance was hailed by the assembled multitudes in the same
manner as at her departure. A number of engineers, ship-
builders, and scientific persons accompanied the Great
Western on her trial, and all expressed their perfect satisfac-
tion at the result. On her arrival at Blackwell she was
visited by a great number of' noblemen and gentlemen, and
among the first who stepped on board to ascertain the success
of the experimental trip was Lord Sandon, M. P. for Liverpool,
who went over the vessel, and expressed himself highly pleased
at the splendid decorations of the saloon, the beautiful com-
paintings by E. T. Parris, R. A., and the engines
partment
and machinery of the ship. The visitors soon began to arrive
in such large numbers, that a clerk who was deputed to
theirin-
sert
names in a book (which already contains the names
of half the Lords and Commoners in Parliament, as well as all
the principal merchants) gave up the task, and inserted " the
people began to flock to the vessel in shoals, and four men,
with as many books, would be unable to take down their names
and addresses." The Great Western, as far as the ornamen-
tal decorations of her cabins and berths are concerned, is still
unfinished, and there are more than 100 artificers on board
completing the work, who had some difficulty in pursuing
their labours in consequence of the number of visitors.
The most remarkable thing about the Great Western is
her four masts, which, when rigged, will supersede the use
of steam when the wind is favourable; and, as they are
somewhat lower than the masts of other vessels of similar di-
mensions, will offer less resistance to the winds when they are
adverse. There are four boilers, and the space below is so
great, that passages are formed in which persons can walk be-
tween them without inconvenience, and many availed them-
selves of the offer made by Captain Hoskins, R.N., the com-
mander; Mr. Patterson, the builder; and C. Claxton, Esq.,
R.N., the Managing Director of the Company, to visit the
engine-room, in which there is ample space to walk between
the boilers, although the heat was insufferable, the novelty of
the thing supersding all other considerations. The boilers
weigh about 96 tons, and hold 80 tons of water. Notwith-
standing the large space devoted to the engines, boilers, and
machinery of the vessel, the number of passengers' berths,
making up 150 beds, besides cabins and sleeping places for
officers and crew, there is room on board for 200 tons of cargo.
The Great Western will remain in the River for another
week, to complete her fittings-up and take in part of her coals,
and she will then proceed to her native place, Bristol. She
leaves Bristol for New York on the 7th of April, and from the
success which attended the first experimental excursion yester-
day, we anticipate a favourable voyage across the Atlantic.
The Williams, a coal brig, with 470 tons of coals, 'is lying
alongside the Great Western, and will discharge her cargo
into the coal-bankers of the steam-ship to-morrow. She will
take in another ship-load, 400 tons, at Bristol. The coal tanks
ore so disposed, that as fast as they are emptied during the
voyage they will be filled with' sea water, the fuel and water
alternately supplying the place of ballast.
The Great Western met with one accident. In going down
the River a large sailing barge crossed her bows, and to pre-
vent the barge being run down, in which case three men in
her must inevitably have perished, the engines were stopped
and reversed, when she ran foul of a ship lying at anchor on
her larboard side, and carried away the starboard quarter of
the vessel, besides doing other damage. The Great Western
sustained no injury.

REFORM.—NORTII DEVON.—A meeting of the
Reformers of Devon was held at Exeter last Thursday, hav-
ing for object the establishment of a general union of the Re-
f-irm interest in Devon. The Western Times, a Liberal and
well conducted journal, informs us that several of the most in-
fluential Reformers of North Devon attended, a fact which
proves that the cause of good government is not asleep there.
A revival may, perhaps, be anticipated, which will Surprise
those good easy men the Tories.

(From the Morning Papers of this day, Monday. )
TIMES.-The speculations for the rise in Dutch Stock are
evidently suspended, and the price is giving way, but there
seems no disposition at present to reverse the operation,
which would be the signal, in the present state of the mar-
ket, of a general alarm among the holders. The leaders still
cling to the hope that the political question is about to be set-
tled, and that Holland will be relieved from that portion of
the debt which is assigned to Belgium. An opinion was ad-
venced yesterday, that were the political differences now ac-
tually disposed of, another ground of dispute would be created
in the adjustment of the debt itself, and this is borne out by
the letters received from Paris this morning, which anticipate
that Belgium will either repudiate the debt altogether, or allow
it to take effect only from the period of the final settlement of
the differences, instead of from the separation of the two
countries. Everything relating to this question is in the most
perplexed and uncertain state.
There is an obvious falling off in the demand for American
Securities, and Mr. Jaudon finds that the bills and bonds of
the United States Bank do not go off near so readily as at
first. Indeed, there are circumstances connected with the
concoction of this latter description of paper which have in-
duced many of our capitalists, independently of the mere
credit they are entitled to, to refuse to have anything to do
with them. They are made payable, it seems, at dates vary-
ing from 6 to 18 months, not by any individual specially
named in the instrument, but merely at " the agency of the
United States Bank in London." They have no other as-
signed place of payment on the face of them, either in Europe
or America. Now, it is by no means a well-ascertained fact
_wbc';:e this agency is placed, for none has been "Officially an-
nounced, since it was removed from the mercantile house which
held it before the appointment of Mr. Jaudon to his mission ;
and supposing this agency to be suddenly broken up, which
may be the case at any time, and war to arise between the
two countries, the monied people naturally ask how these bills
are to be paid, and where they are to present them for pay-
ment. Nor do they fail to remark what a prodigious power is
placed in the hands of one man, in the appointment of Mr.
Jaudon, who literally has at his command nearly all the re-
sources of this Bank. It is not that any one expresses a doubt
of his honour and integrity, but that such an extensive trust,
so entirely without control, and in a foreign country, is con-
trary to all the sound principles on which such business is
regulated.
There are some statements in circulation which can only
have come from himself, that a deadly quarrel has sprung up
between the Bank of England and Riddle's Bank, from the
refusal to open an account with him on his first arrival in Eng-
land. We thought the Bank wrong on that occasion, and
that it was a piece of petty hostility which never should have
entered into the conduct of a great institution ; but the quarrel
can have no great terrors for them. The only point in which
the Bank are vulnerable is the ill-judged traffic in gold to
New York, the mere profit of which, leaving all other con-
siderations out of the question, is now held- to be a very
doubtful matter.

MORNING POST.—A report has found its way into
the Newspapers of a hostile letter having been re-
ceived by the Bank of England from Mr. Biddle,
the principal manager of the the United States Bank
at Philadelphia, and, as it is given with considerable eir-
cumstantiality, there has been a disposition to attach some
credit to the statement, the cause assigned for the alleged dis-
pleasure of Mr. Biddle being, the refusal of the Bank autho-
rities to discount the Bills of the agent here, Mr. Jaudon.
We have made inquiry into this matter, feeling that the rumour,
if unfounded, could not be too speedily contradicted, and we
are glad to learn that it is so. The information we have re-
ceived upon the subject is, that there is not a word of truth in it.
The Dutch and Columbian Bonds commanded the chief at-
tention of the dealers in the foreign house. Active negotia-
tions are supposed to be still in progress with a view to the
adjustment of the differences of the Dutch and Belgian Go-
vernnawits, but a favourable result does not seem to be quite so
confidently anticipated as was th© case in the first instance,
and the Bonds have become a little heavy in consequence.
We have no opinion to offer as to the probable issue of the
diplomatic conferences alluded to, but we see no just ground
in the meanwhile for disputing the solidity of the public secu-
rities of the Dutch Government. The dividends have here-
tofore been paid with the utmost punctuality, and although
the robberies which have been committed on British capitalists
by Spain and Portugal, and the Republics of South America,
may well render them suspicious, we will venture to say no
similar breach of faith will be practised towards them by Hol-
land. The Dutch are proverbial for the scrupulous exactness
with which they fulfil their financial obligations.

MORNING CurioNiom—lt appears that our exposition of
the existing state of affairs between the Bank of England and
the Bank of the United States has caused quite a panic among
the Directors of the first-named establishment, and the greatest
curiosity is evinced to find out how we obtained our informa-
tion, whsle some, we understand, accuse Mr. Jaudon of making
the communication. We obtained a hint in a very unusual
manner; but our statement was the result of inquiry. Mr.
Jaudon, however, had nothing whatever to do with the busi-
ness, but, on the contrary, positively refused to enlighten us
upon the subjoct, while, moreover, he did all he could to pre-
vent us saying anything about the affair. The curious Direc-
tors are quite upon a wrong tack. In speaking of the dis-
courtesy of the Directors of the Bank of England to Mr.
Jaudon, we of course allude to them eollectively—to their
acts as a body, and not them individually, as some persons
suppose ; for we are well aware that many were personally ac-
quainted, and on intimate terms with that gentleman. There
are unquestionably some worthy and most intelligent men
amongst the Directors, but they are in the minority, and
therefore compelled to participate in the disapprobation which
is shown to the measures and proCeedings of the majority.

MORNING HERALD.—An impresion has further obtained
amongst our men of business that, in the course of the next
two months we shall experience a considerable pressure for
money. This feeling has been created by the knowledge that
bullion to the amount of nearly three millions has been ex-
ported to the United States, and the circumstances of the
continental exchanges having shown symptoms of turning
against this country ;tit is, therefore, anticipated that the Bank
of England, after the opening, will put the screw upon the
Money Market, by restricting their issues.
The impression which prevails amongst the mercantile
classes at present, has had but very little influence upon the
Stock Exchange.
The statement which appeared in the Morning Chronicle of
this day, that the Bank of England had received,a letter from
the Bank of the United States, " containing," as it is ridicu-
lously observed, " a decided declaration of was between the
Bank of England the Bank of the United States," has
created rio small degree of amusement amongst our monetary
interests of the " higher order," as well as amongst the
minor fry of Jews and Gentiles, who kick their heels all
day in Capel-court, the Rotunda, and other places of re-
tort, for those who live by the doctrine of chances. This
declaration of war on the part of the United States Bank, or
rather of Mr. Biddle against the Bank of England, for so we
must construe the meaning of this paragraph, is said to be
founded on the ill-treatment that Mr. Jaudon has received at
the hands of the Bank of England.
It is not our purpose to criticise the ridiculous twaddle and
argument which follows this sapient announcement, which
would disgrace any first form tyro at Merchant Tailors' School,
and, after all, is but launched by some overweening member of
one of the late suspended firms, as a gratsfuiphillippic against
the Bank, through the medium of that journal, but it is our
duty to do away with false impressions. Mr. Jaudon was
courteously received in the bank parlour, though his over-
tures on the part of the bank of the United States were re-
jected, as they were at Messrs. Jones Lloyd's, though probably
they might not have been at Messrs. Smith's, if the repulse in
Bartholemew-lane had not deterred Mr. Jaudon, who had a
difficult and most delicate task on hand, from making the ap-
plication. The bank, however, did permit Mr. Jaudon to
open a deposit account, and the firm of Joseph Denison and
Co. granted to him a deposit and drawing account ; but we
believe the ultra schemes of Mr. Biddle, however clever a
financier he may prove for the interests of the United States
Bank, were not adopted by the Governor and Company of the
Bank of England, because they were incompatible with the
terms of their charter, which they have found out that they
have stretched to its extremity. We believe that no such silly
correspondence as that referred to has existed between the two
pretended national banks, however jealous each may be of the
other's movements in their respective countries.

The weather for the last few days has heen of the
most wintry kind—thc ground is again partially covered with
snow.—Gateshead Observer.

A NOBLE AND REV. PLURALIST.--TIIC fol-
lowing is an extract from the evidence given at the late trial of
the Rev. Earl of Guildford v. Boys :—Mr. Knocker, late
Solicitor to the plaintiff, proved the execution of the lease.
He had never known the Down by any other name than
Malmains till this dispute arose. Cross-examined by Mr.
Law.—Has there not been an entire change of tenantry on
the estate ? Witness—An entire change. Mr. Law—Yes ;
all gone but one ? Certainly not. Arc there any other left
but Mr. Boys ? Oh, yes. Do you mean to say my Lord did
not get rid of nearly all his tenants soon after coming to the
estate ? Some of them. He brought a surveyor out of
another country, did he not? A surveyor came. And the
tenants went ? Some of them. Do you happen to know
that Lord Guildford and Mr. Boys had a dispute about game
prior to this ? Yes. His Lordship is in the Church ? He
is reputed to be. Don't you know that he holds a large
living ? No. You never heard him preach ? Never. Mr.
Law—That I believe.— (A laugh.)—Kent Herald.
An address to tile Queen is now in course of signa-
ture in this neighbourhood, by the wives and daughters of
clergy of the Established Church, entreating her Majesty's
compassion for the negro apprentices in our colonies, and
especially claiming her commiseration for the suffering females
and infants of that oppressed race.—Doncaster Gazette.