The Sun.
London, England, 1838-08-07 00:00:00

+
L,

WITH WHICH
THE " TRUE SUN " IS NOW
INCORPORATED.

_
LON 00N :
TUESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 7, 1838.

Lord BROUGHAM gave notice in the House of Lords last
night, that he should feel it his duty to oppose the third
reading of Mr. POULETT THoMSoN'S Trading Companies
Bill, which—thanks to Ministerial dexterity—all but
passed through Parliament without so much as eliciting a
syllable of comment or inquiry. Fortunately, however,
for those affected by the provisions of this new Board of
Trade nostrum, no dexterity on the part of the most
thorough-paced juggler in the mechanical art of Legisla-
tion, can escape the sleepless vigilance of Lord BROUGHAM.
A glance revealed to the Noble and Learned Lord the
whole aim and object of the PRESIDENT of the BOARD of
TRADE'S quiet manmuvering ; and we need not take the
trouble to inform the people of England, that his Lord-
ship is not a person silently to suffer the infliction of a
public wrong rather than run the risk of ruffling the
temper of even a Member of the Cabinet. We
ourselves have not been wanting in efforts to expose
the absurdity of the Trading, Compa&es Bill, but
our efforts were too late to be very successful. The
PRESIDENT Of the BOARD Of TRADE eluded oar utmo-t
vigilancr in the House of Commons. We heard nothing of his
Bill before we heard it announced for a first reading in the
House cf Lords. In vain did we address ourselves to
several popular Members of the House of Commons upon
the subject ; they were not even aware that such a Bill was
at any time tinder their consideration. 'File Directors of
several trading Companies with whom we communicated
were equally in the dark with re .far.l to it. They all knew, to
their cost, that Mr. POULETT THOMSON had inflicted one
absurd Act upon them in the course of last year, and they
also remembered that he had promised to amend that Act
during the present Session ; hut none of them bad seen,
much less sanctioned the Amendment Abortion of the
Right lion. Gentleman. Now we say thzt the very
si:encc which has been ely3ervel respecting the pregrcss of
this Bill, is one of the strongest arguments that could be
employed against suffering it to become the law of the
land. is the trade of this country of so little importance—
are the commerc'al relations of the wealthiest Companies
in Great Britain of such trifling moment, as safely to admit
rf iteiog tan-q) red n ith to suit the caprie.ous views of any
:Minister? All secret legslation is bed, but none is so
iiestructive as that which tappers with the recognized re-
sponsibilities of g rcat commerci iI institutions.

A huge part of our Paper is occupied to-day by an ac•
count of a very great Meting of the inhabitants of the
Midland District of England, at the foot cf Holloway
Head, close to Birmingham, yesterday. • Whether we con_
sider the great number of persons assembled, which the
concurrent accou,:ts estimate at 200,000, the great order
observed throughout, the result of a species of military
orqanization—the Deptrtics fram Glasgow, Liverpool,
Leeds, and London, mokin; it almost a national meet-
ing—the object to be accomplished a great thorough
and sweeping- change in the Constitution,—the com-
mencement of the proceedings by prayer, the stron•
acid solemn language used by the several spe :kers,
some of them men not at all prone to violence,--the conse-
quences which may possibly ensue fram it—whether we
consider only some of these thiega, or take them all tog
.-
tiler, we must pronounce this one of the most remarkable
meetings which has ever Leen witnessed in England. We
had occasion to praise the good behaviour of our po-
pulation when they were assembled in still greater masses
at the Cornnafor. The love of order and quiet is, we
trust, therefore, now become a confirmed habit of the
people, which as they have obviously attained a full con-
viction of their power, may be regarded as a blessing both
for themselves and the whole nation. Coeval with the
growth of that conviction of their strength, there has
happily arisen amongst us sundry institutions for promot-
ing knowledge arnonzst them, and we may therefore
lope that this conviction has not taken deep root
in their minds till they are acquainted with the
means, by which, while they adhere to their love of order
they may accomplish their object.
Passing by many of the thins which they demand, and
as to which we do not agree with them ; considering them
to be in error on the questions of the New Poor-law and
the Currency—questions about which the most dispas-
sionate and most enlightened men differ—ilte are struck by
the Sterling and comprehensive good sense which is to be
found in this paragraph of their petition : •
" That we, your petitioners, dwell in a land whose mer,h,nts
noted for enterprise—whose manufacturers are very skilful—and witeire
workmen are proverbial for their industry.
" The land itself is goodly, the soil rich, and the temperature Whole..
some; it is abundantly furnished with the matetials of commerce and
trade;. it has numerous and convenient harbours; in facility Of internal
communication it exceeds all others.
" For threc.and.twenty years we have erjomi a profound I,fted.
Yet, with all these elements of national prosperity, and with every
di ition and capacity to take advantage of thew, we Sod ourselves
overwhelmed with public and private suffering."
There is nothing here but what every man must admit ;
and as the Government is always held up as the great
means~ and instrument of promoting public welfare, it is
extremely natural that they should follow out this combi-
nation of experience and theory, and demand a great altera-
tion in the system of Government. Nat will it do to tell
the Biru)inglam men, on any system of either theology or
philosophy, that their distress is the result of natural laws,
as those of population, or the decrees of the Creator of
the world, who has doomed some men to be the servanis
of others, becauso the theory of Government, which they
are required .on account of its wility to obey, is, that
Government is capable of ameliorating the condition of

mankind, and so of amending or improving theie natural.
laws. If it be not capable of ameliorating their con-
dition, of proportioning numbers to food, and seeing
justice demi to all, then dces it require obedien -e
on false grounds. But such an opinion is not pre-
valent, and as leng- as Government is regarded as the
instrument of promoting the public welfare, so long will
emit of the existing ; suffering be ascribed to it, and so long
will those who suffer largely, while Providence is bountiful,
and their industry and ingenuity great, be justified in de-
manding great alterations in that which ought to be the
instrument of good, and appears to them only the
instrument of evil. Whatever, therefore, may be
the probable results of Universal Suffrage, Vote by
Ballot, Short Parliaments, paying the Members of the
House of Commons, setting aside the House of Lords,
&c., &c., we cannot feel at all surprised at the disap-
pointed masses being desirous, and being resolved, to bring
about those changes.
And when we are told of the ignorance of tire masses,
and are conjured to place our trust in certain
hereditary and ecclesiastical leaders and lawgivers,
we can but turn to these very masses as a proof that those
who ask us to confide in their knowledge and wisdom are,
in a public point of view—for they take care enough of
themselves individually--amongst the most ignorant and
improvident of mankind. They suffered these masses to
grow into existence, without pi oviding them with teachers,
or establishing amongst them leaders, who might both be
linked with the Aristocracy, and gain their confidence. They
took no care, politically, to organise these new societies in
our manufacturing and commercial towns. So far did they
carry their ignorance and their negligence, that they left
for many years the greater num;aer of these growing
masses without even the ordinary forms and provisions
of Municipal Government, and without a single representa-
tive to take care of their interests in Parliament, and con-
nect them with the general Government. Nay ! the Aris-
tocracy was deaf to their prayers when they asked such
things, and only gave way at length to their threats. Then,
too, they gave way but partially, and with a great concession
on the part of the people. Nevertheless the masses were
submissive, and we have Lord GREY'S authority for stating
that they returned to quietness and order ; and as they re-
turned to quietness and order, the Aristocracy returned to
their pride and their negligence ; they conceded nothing
further ; they endeavoured covertly again to usurp what
had been extorted from them ; they persisted in maintain-
ing all the abuses of the Church and the State ; they
would not yield one iota of the Corn Laws ; they nourished
the Pension List ; and now, after six years' more disap-
pointment, again the masses are in motion, and again so
organised, as to bring into active operation—certain too,
ultimately, of success—the same principle as extorted
Catholic Emancipation, and forced the lay and ecclesias-
tical Peers to concede Parliamentary Reform.
We cannot tell with what sinking or with what bold hearts
our lawgivers lay and ecclesiastical—particularly the latter
—may look on these mighty gatherings, and see the
people put forth as the first ground of their mis-
trust in the Aristocracy, the hated Corn-laws, by
which idle Peers and brawling Bishops are enriched at
the expense of the starving people; but we feel that in de-
scribing those iniquitous laws as the very first of their
grievancies, they have a just cause, against which the landed
Aristocracy will strive in vain. Those laws arc a mighty
two-edged sword, which the land-owners and the tithe-
owners have put into the hands of the masses now
to be turned against the Aristocracy. Concentrated
as the manufacturing population is in masses, and being as
it is, in fact, the great majority, and having, as it now obvi-
ously has, a species of warlike organization—for Mr. ATT..
WOOD speaks of his battalions, and they march in order—
and being in close communication one part with another,
its power in the State must of necessity overrule
that of the landed Aristocracy. Not only, therefore,
has that Aristocracy, both lay and clerical, neglected to take
precautions to connect themselves, and duly to connect the
Government, with these new masses, but it has, by its
gross and profligate injustice, insulted and injured those
who are, in the course of things, destined to give law to it.
Yet we shall be told by those scribblers who are perpetually
deriding the bulk of the people as ignorant anti as incapable
of self-government,- and who will very likely call on the
Ministers to vindicate the Aristocracy against the men of
the Midland District, that we ought humbly and submissively
to rely on the wiAom of the Lords. The masses in their
ignorance and :.heir strength may trespass on the rights of
others, and may do a great deal of mischief; but we defy
them to surpass, in violations of right and in the infliction
of evil, the authors and supprteri of the Corn Laws.

In the House of LorJs last night there was not much
business done, their Lordships having adjourned at half-

past six o'clock.
Lord BROUGHAM'S Copyright Bill was to have been
read a third time, but at the suggestion of the Marquis
of LANSDOWNE, who stated that he was not aware that
the Bill bad reached so advanced a stage, and that, too,
without having undergone any discussion, its further
progress was delayed—we believe indefinitely. The
object of the Bill is to place copyrights on the same
footing with patents, leaving it at the discretion of the
Priv y Council to extend the term if good cause for so
doing can be shiwn. We suppose the Noble
and Learned Lord does not intend that this
Bill should supersede the necessity of such a measure as
that wl ich Serktant TALrounn introduced, and aft( rwards
withdre..v on aecunt of the late period of the Session, and
the consequent impossNiity of getting the necessary at-
tention bestowed upon it ; but rather thinks that as some
protection to authors ,is better than none, such a Bill as
this may be of use as a temporary expedient. There is no
doubt that it would give the owners of all copyrights, expiring
before the passing of any more complete measure, a change
of having the term prolonged ; but it may be fairly doubted
whether it would ultimately prove beneficial to the inter( sts
which it is intended to serve. awe give the Privy Council
jurisliction, and there it is probable the matter will rest. When
Mr. TALFouan next year brings forward his matured Bill,
h. will b.: met with the old pretext, which is ever new to
the reluctant, and the indifferent, and the indolent, that
" the law works well enough a's it ii." Such being our opi-.
nion, we should not be sorry if the Noble and Learned
rd, whose sytnr athy with -the literary class cannot be
quesfoned, should drop the Bill altogether.
0:( the presentation, by the Duke of' WELLINGTON, of
a petition complaining that an alteration had been made in
the time at which the Imprisonmer.t for Debt Bill is to
coma into operation, since the Bill. was last before the
House, Lord BaoucitAm expressed his great surprise

that ',itch an alteration should have been made in the
Bill. It appears the only reason that. can, be given
for continuing the imprisonment of a great number
of unfor)unate pgrions for three whole months logger is,
that it does not quite suit the convenience of the Judges to
make cod iin regulations presumed to be necessary before
effect can be given to the new law ! We really cannot be-
lieve that this is the fact. It is utterly impossible the
Judges of the I.ind can be so insensible to. the sufferings of
their fellow-creatures, or so careless of their own charac-
ters, as to Vazon that insensibility before the public eye.
There is another matter connected with this Bill to

which we trust the Noble—oTnd Learned Lord wil

draw the attention of Parliament. A clause, it seems,
has been clandestinely introduced, rendering it impera-
tive on
.newspape? to insert every ad% ertisement
officialtErrt to them relating to the execution of the
now la; t a charge not exceeding three shillings
must have been the work of some pettifogger who,
provided be can fleece an insolvent estate himself,
has no objection that the damage should be made up by a
similar operation upon others. A more absurd or iniquit-
ous enactment can hardly be imagined.

Mr. SHARMAN CRAWFORD has forwarded to us a copy
of a long letter addressed by him to Mr. O'CoNNELL on the
subject of the Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin's last
appeal to the people of Ireland. Were it part of our duty
to intimate how a gentleman should act under circum-
stances personal to himself, we might express our Surprise
at the pertinacity of the late Member for Dundalk in con-
tinuing to address letters to a public man, who has publicly
disclaimed the idea of ever holding any correspondence with
him. If, in the opinion of Mr. SHARMAN CRAWFORD, the
policy of Mr. O'CONNELL be erroneous, and if, moreover,
he regard it as a duty on his part to make Ireland ac-
quainted with %that he conbiders the tergiversations of the
Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin, let him by all
means address himself directly to the Irish people. These
considerations have great weight with us, but independently

TFIE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 1638.

- ,
of them we have neither space nor time at present to enter
fully into en examinit:on of all the points touched upon In
Mr. CRAwFones e must, however, give insertion
to his comments upon Mr. O'CoNNELL's repudiation of
the Irish Poor-law Bill, as not only happy in themselves,
but as resting upon a foundation of fact which no eloquence
can shake—no inquiry prove to be exaggerated :
But, is it possible for any man who knows the condition of the poor
of Ireland, to read, with common patience, your praise of that condi-
tion, as at present existing—dependent on voluntary charity; as the
first item of your praise, you say, " that the poor.•are not well supplied
with food, yet the instances are rare, exceedingly rare, of any human
being actually perishing for want of rood." Is this ycur praise ? They
may not perish in your sense of the word, but they perish in hundreds
and thousands, from the continual operation on the constitution of the
want of sufficient and wholesome food; children perish from that cause,
premature old age is produced from that cause, and old age sinks, from
the want of necessary sustenance to support exhausted nature.
Again, you say, "But, on the other hand, they enjoy the natural
pleasures of the open air, the sound of rushing waters, the
gleams of sunshine, in spots sheltered from the wind—the perfect free.
Corn of motion, and the tencontreTed exercise and use of their facul.
ties." Are you, S':r, mocking the poor man's miseries ? Do you call
it pleasures of the open air, and of the rushing waters, either to be
without the shelter of a habitation to cover them—or with such a one
as admits the blasts and the water of the winter storm through the dry
stone wall, and the leaky roof, the apertures of which are partially
closed with a covering of potato stalks or chaff? What do you mean
by the gleams of sunshine, in spots sheltered from the wind ? What
else, except it be a poetic description of a family, lying at the back of a
ditch, under the canopy of heaven, as is the lot of the poor wandering
distressed Irish family ? What do you mean by the perfect freedom of
motion, and use of their faculties ? Go and visit the poor man's hut, in
some parts of Ireland; you will then be taught that he has not the free.
dom of motion; you will learn that the families cannot go out of their
houses, from a respect for decency, in consequence of the want of
clothing—that they cannot go out to work in the fields even—that they
cannot go to their chapel, except by interchange of clothing between
neighbours. is this the enjoyment of freedom of motion, and use of
faculties ? Is this such a condition as you would wish to preclude the
State from interfering to remedy?

Mr. ROEBUCK has addressed a very long letter to Mr
O'CONNELL, which finds an appropriate place in the Time
of this morning. Into the merits of this querulous, vin
dictive epistle we shall not enter, nor have we room to in-
sert it, but we cannot avoid expressing our opinion that
Mr. ROEBUCK might be better employed than in fur-
nishing arms to the enemies of freedom, with which to
attack the great Patriot of Ireland. Whatever may be
Mr. O'CONNELL'S mistakes and faults (and undoubtedly
he has committed not a few), it scarcely becomes any men
pretending to struggle for political improvement, to
forget the immense service he has rendered to that
good cause. Whatever Mr. O'CONNELL, too, may
at any time have said in the heat of oratory against
the conduct of the Government as to Canada, it is a
pl&n and a palpable fact that Canada never had half so
good a grievance for rising into rebellion as Ireland. The
latter, however, is in a fair way of achieving its ob-
ject without violence ; the former had recourse to vio-
lence, and has failed. Mr. O'CONNELL is the hero of
the Irish revolution, whatever Mr. ROEBUCK may
be of the Canadian rebellion. We do not wish to
aggravate mental affliction by harsh language, but if
Mr. ROEBUCK would not be thought to attack Mr.
O'CONNELL more from envy and disappointment at his
success, than from a wish to serve his country, he must
not send any more such lucubrations to the Times. Mr.
O'CONNELL has succeeded—has Mr. ROEBUCK failed?
Great men should bear feral:on:Ty disappointment with
patience, being assured that their cause, if good and not
mismanaged by them, must ultimately triumph.

A case of great hardship, the consequence of Magisteriai
caprice, was for the tenth time brought under the notice o
the Common Council yesterday. A publican of the name
of WALLIS, who was for more than twelve years a licensed
victualler in the borough of Southwark, and who lost his
license in consequence of the house in which he carried on
business being removed for the re-building of London-
bridge, applied to the Corporation for redress. It appears
that Mr. WALLIS, who is a man of unblemished character,
'had taken a site of ground near the spot where the former
house stood, and erected new premises, at considerable ex-
pense, on the faith that his license would he renewed. The
Magistrates of Surrey, however, without assigning any
reason, refused the license, though petitions had been signed
in, his favour by 2,000 inhabitants and not less than 100
Overseers and Churchwardens, and his application had been
s ipperted by several of the Aldermen, who have a concurrent
juri,diction with the Surrey Magistrates. These worthies
some time since readily granted a license for a house on
the opposite side of the street, belonging to Mr. Alderman
HUMPIIEItY, thereby transferring to another a privilege to
which Mr. WALLIS was fully entitled in justice and equity,
and depriving him of the only means left to obtain a live-
hi:ood for himself and a numerous family. The unfortu-
nate man has sustained a loss of 5,0001. since the license
a as taken away, he is broken down by disappointment and
disease, and even if the license were obtanled to-morrow,
he would find but small consolation. lie is already fore-
stalled by a richer rival, who had more interest with the Surrey
Magistrates. All the freaks of these great Unpaid have not
exhibited any instance of such unaccountable treatment,
or shown so strongly the danger of entrusting such exten-
sive power to men who can be actuated by low and per.lonal
prejudices. It is a fit subject for the Home Secretary,
who has a right to call on these Magistrates to give a
reason why they deprive this man of his bread.

We have this morning received Cape of Good Hope
Papers to the bednning of June, from which we extract
the follow'ng very distressing intelligence r.lative to the
emigrant Dutch farmers and tie young se•tlement of Port
Natal :-

Camara's TOWN, MAY 17.—Accounts have just arrived from
the total defeat of Natal Settlers by the Zoola trootr. '['here were,
Natal, by way of Catferland, which Lring the distressing intelligence °I.
it is sold, fi;urteen Europeans who marched with the force dispatched
from Natal, and the intelligence states that thirteen of these have bee::
killed, together with ALL the natives, with the exception of four who
had returned, accompanied by one European, the latter badly wounded,
to the Port, bringing the disastrous intelligence.
The cause of ti is force marching again,t the ZaJlas is ex-
Wainer! • in a communication frim Natal, now before us, as fol
kw; On the confirmation of the treacherous murder of
poor fialstcad, w.th Retief and party, the whole cf the
-Nt hi'e settlers assembled,- and Mr. J. Stubbs was elected com-
mand int of Port Yalu]. After several days' consultation it was decided,
that open war on our part was far preferable to risking the murderous
treacht ry of the Zoo'a Chief, to which all around were hourly exposed.
Messengers were accordingly di,patched to inform Or boors (emigrent
farmers) of our determination and readiness to take the field, but the
rise of the intervening rivers prevented this reaching them."
This thews the origin of this movement on the part of the Natal set-
tlers, which has, it would seem, tertninated so fatally. appears by the
accounts that this unTortunate expedition was commanded by Mr. R.
Biggar, a fine, intelligent, yetin: 'man of about 24 yea,-s of age.
We are informed that the Rev. W. Shaw has forwarded a c.rcular to
all the Wesleyan Nlis,ionary stations in Catferland, and in the Tambookie
end Ann pan !a cmii; ries requesting them to aflbrd the fugitives from
Natal, should they arrive. in their respective neighbourhoods, every aid
which they may require, and every assis•ance in their route towards the

colony.
.GRAAFF REINETT, MAY 17.—A few days ago, two Italians arrived
here, named Anthonie Isais and Pizalta, with the wif of the fist named,
who brought us some intelligence from the emigrant farmers. They
state that the camp of Mari:z is surrounded by Dingaan's people, di-
vido.l in six divisions, each consisting, according to their calculation,
of 12,000 men, and that he can, moreover, call seven other nations to
his assistance Provisions arc vc ry scarce in the camp of Maritz. 4 44'4
Many inhabitants of this vilbge and district intend to go and assist
their friends. God only knows whether any of them are still alive in
the camp.
The above account, which is an extract of a private:
letter, is supposed to he rather exaggerated.

" GUA%FF REINET, May 04.—The report of Uys' delth is confirmed.
It is said that Sincoyella NLAsitikatz have united with Dingaan, and
should Marocco join, the farmers will have hard work. From a letter
from the camp, which I have seen, urging the farmers within the colony
to migrate, it appears that the farmers have taken fourteen of Dingaan's
spies, who assure them, that, from the number of Zoolas who fell in the
engagement when Uys was killed, Dingaan would not venture again to
attack them. The fanners have still 1,000 men able to bear arms."

The Paris papers of Sunday have been r.:ecived,
together with letters and papers f,om Madrid of the 29th
ult. The contents of the Frenekjournals‘are of no politi-
cal interest. According to the accounts from Madrid,
ESPARTERO formally insists upon the dismissal from the
Cabinet of the Ministers of Justice and Finance, whom he
denounces as his personal enemies. The QUEEN had come'
to no resolution upon the subject when the mails left for
London.

The Sentinelle des Pyrenees relates a new violation of the French
territory by the partisans of Don Carlos. In the night of the 24th,
six armed Carlists passed the Bidassoa, and came to rob and ill use two
Spanish landholders, who have settle.i in the French territory, near
Vera. These proceedings are so frequently repeated, that they will be-
come matters of course, if the Government persists in tolerating them.
Captain Bletayer, corntnandlng the ship Noveau Perseveront, which
has just arrived at Bordeaux, left Monte Video on
ade of the port, hitt it was hoped
May 20. He declares
part Monteof ,Vv
hi cilcehoi
political°A situation of Monte Video was
that at the time of his departure there were in the road o f
wort'l4 or
whitingls Fre French ships,
hisr,aaisnidng6ooorrthieo
bolfocoktioheer
onfatßiounesn,o.
Ayres. The
tFhraetniethwsoquuladd
srwenncbecartianisueded. thTchhel
not satisfactory; the civil dissensions continued.—Le Commerce.

Mr. Justice Parke, who was much annoyed the
e ther day in Court by the ringing of bells, gave a judicious lecture on the
subject, and even went so far as to order the arrest of the bell.ringer,
who, heweypr, contrived to make his escape. We only wish all other
persons engaged in lalYt:4l occupations had the same authority as this
venerable Judge. To persons in good health the nuisance ii alms: in
sufil,rable, and on persons on a sick.bed it often has the most dangerous
effects. The tolling for the dead
is a remnant of Popery.
which was
instituted by our Catholic forefathers, to remind the living to pray for
the souls of the departed ; but like most other remnanto connected with
fees, it has been retained. lt hastens the death of persons broken down
~by disease, and can be regarded now only as a positive mischief,