The Sun.
London, England, 1849-06-27 00:00:00

etioniug

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 1849.

Scarcely has one company of comic players departed
from the boards of Drury-lane Theatre than another
makes its appearance—the humorous company of
Protectionists. Taik as tine may about the decline
of the British drama, it is impossible to deny that
yesterday's performance was a thoroughly national
one, inasmuch as the like of it could not by any
chance be seen beyond the boundaries of England.
Every one appears to have learnt his part to admira-
tion ; and certainly, as far as the antique and obsolete
nature of their sentiments was concerned, may, with
some show of truth, be described as dead-letter per-
fect. Besides, without wishing in any manner to de-
preciate the odd drollery of Mr. BUCKSTONE, or the
unctious stupidity of Mr. KEELEY, or the
volatile fun of Mr. CHARLES MATHEWS, we
cannot but give the palm to the political
actors who were yesterday morning crowded to-
gether before the footlights. Tragic in their allusions
to our impending ruin—pastoral in their reference
to our native agriculture—historic in the perversion
of the great truths contained in our annals—comic,
indescribably and superlatively comic, in their anti-
cipation of the restoration of the laws which have
been abrogated in regard to food and naviga-
tion—they seem to us to be more than any
other performers entitled to the panegr,i,,
of POLONIUS :—" The best actors in the
world, either for tragedy, comedy, history, pas-
toral, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, tragical-
historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral, scene
individable, or poem unlimited : SENECA cannot be
too heavy, nor PLAUTUS too light : for the law of
writ, and the liberty, these are the only men." Cer-
tainly they are, and the only men, too, for the salva-
tion of the country from destruction, if we might take
them at their own valuation. Such orators, too ! with
the lungs of STENTOR ! and the fury of EAGLE ! and
long-winded and facete garrulity of FADDLEDEEN !
In one of their organs, an abbreviated report of their
proceedings extending over upwards of fourteen closely
printed columns of brevier !

In spite of the pomp of the whole exhibition, in spite
of the grandiose eloquence of the speakers, and of the up-
roarious cheering of the two thousand " Britishers"
assembled in the theatre, it was quite imposssible not to
recognise from one very significant circumstance—the
absence of the Leaders !—that the whole was an ex-
travagant sham, that it was net ilfiching
that it did net signify Mischief, but that it was a so-
lemn farce, got up for the assuagement of the
wounded vanity of a minority, and delivered in
terms as inflated as those of BOMBASTES FIIRIOSO, or
of CIIRONONHOTONTHOLOGOS ! The Duke of RICH-
MOND, it is true, was chairman ; and the Earl of
MALMESBURY was the mover of the first resolution ;
and there, were Peers and Farmers, and Miners (see
DooKEtt) and Majors (see BERESFORD), and there were
Members of the Houie of Lords and Members of the
House of Commons—but there was no Lord
STANLEY, and there was no Mr. DISRAELI. It was
the play of Hamlet not only without the character of
11.1341..F.T, but even without that of HORATIO. Such as

the meeting was, however, the gentlemen on the
platform, or rather on the stage, endeavoured to
make the most of it; and the mobocracy in the pit,
after the fashion of the Greek Chorus, interpolated be-
tween the harangues their explanatory acclamations.
By their noise, as much as by their unanimity, they
reminded one, while plodding on the path of Protec-
tion (a path, by the way, lately posted up "No
Thoroughfare")—of the Cavaliers renowned in the
verse of ROBERT BROWNING :

"Marching along, fifty score strong,
" Great. hearted gentlemen singing one song."

And certainly they do sing one song with a ven-
geance, each successive speech being a mere repetition of
its predecessor. PAGANINI'S performance on one string
was nothing to it. Here are fifty political PAGANINIS
with one, string for them all ! As for anything in
the shape of argument, you might as well hope
to find logic in the chaunt of a dancing Dervish, as
argument in the vituperations of a Protectionist. One
nobleman yesterday talked of " the hell-broth mixed
for them by the late Premier," and one of the com-
moners, in a similar strain of eloquence, declaring
that " the British lion is a loyal lion, but he is a
bold one ; and when you do set him on his legs he may
be easy to put up, but he is an awkward animal to deal
with when he is awake." We should rather surmise
that this said British lion is just now awake, and
pretty wide awake too, if only from sheer
astonishment at being spoken of in such
irreverent terms. Mr. BOSANQUET, to whom
the glory of this allegorical metaphor is
wholly due, was not, however, the only orator of
the class to enlighten the public yesterday as to the
policy requisite for good legislation. There were
" enough of them and," certainly, "to spare."
If we might attempt to extricate out of the absur-
dity of this farce, and out of the verbosity of this decla-
mation, the precise purport of the assemblage yester.
day in Drury-lane Theatre, we should say that that
purpose was as follows :—To maintain that with free
trade the British empire was fast going to the dogs,
especially now that the navigation-laws have been re-
pealed, and that our only chance of redemption is in
an immediate return to the blessed and time-honoured
prieciplee of Protection. Why the Young-Englanders
were nothing to this ! A game of skittles between
Viscount MARMADUKE PLANTAGENET and GAFFER
CHAWDACON would be weak in comparison ! A pas
de deux between landlord and tenant en costume a la
mode Charles IL, a mere event of every• day occur-
rence ! Yet wild and impossible as is the notion of
the return of the Legislature to the dear, old, hum-
drum doctrines of Monopoly, these good souls are san
guise enough to imagine, and not only to imagine,
but actually to believe in, ies feasibility. They have
drunk of its intoxicating draughts as those from
the effects of which the tinker SLY woke up to find
himself arrayed in the illusive magnificence of a
Prince. They have imbibed the inebriating eloquence
of the two great masters of rhetoric who have
condescended to become their leaders, and they wake
up to fancy themselves the arbiters of the destinies of
England.
The most amusing part of the joke is, however, the
circumstance that the speakers yester lay laid it down
as an incontrovertible fact that with free trade things
have been all going wrong, and that but for free
trade things would have been all going right.
Not a word about bad harvests ! Not
a syllable about the potato disease ! Not
a whisper as to the agitation of public feeling in
Ireland ! Not a sentence about the revolutions which
have convulsed Europe, and of the wars which
have followed those revolutions, among all
the great nations of the European continent !
although those bad harvests have led. to scarcity
in England—although that disease of the po-
tatoes has produced famine in Ireland
although that proximity of rebellion has distracted
the attention of the Legislature—although those wars
and revolutions have resulted of course in the dimi-
nution of the number of our customers, and have con.
sequently conduced to the partial cessation of labour
in our manufacturing districts ! So much for the
honesty, the logic, the veracity, and the rational
consistency of the Protectionists.

It is much to be regretted that the inquiry

asked

for by I..otei IQVGIEMT on Eridi—ty evening was in
conceded by the House of Commons. The sum to
be provided for the maintenance and relief of the
poor, and the other charges incidental thereto, amount
in round terms to no less than 8,000,0004 sterling
per annum, and it is unfortunately but too notorious
that the burden presses most heavily on the poorer

districts, while the wealthier districts pay compara.

tively trifling sums in proportion to their resources.
Those who are themselves but little removed from a
state of pauperism—the inhabitants of cheap and
humble abodes in the most crowded and unwholesome
localities, are crushed by the enormous sums which
they are compelled to contribute towards the support
of those who are still more distressed than themselves,
often amounting to ss. or even 10s. in the pound on the
value of their holdings ; while the possessors of
lordly palaces or wide-spread domains, in the enjoy-

i meat of every comfort and luxury that wealth can
I afford, escape comparatively scatheless, and the for-
itunate inhabitants of " extra parochial " places are
exempted from any liability whatsoever. If it could
be asserted that the lower assessments were owing to
the care and attention bestowed on the poor, that their
condition had been ameliorated and remunerative
employment provided for them, there would, at least,
be something to allege in favour of a system that had
produced such results. But such is unfortunately
not the case. The comparative exemption is not
ascribable to any such meritorious and praise-
worthy exertions. It is not because the labouring
poor are encouraged in these wealthy unions,
or because there is an anxious desire to in-
crease their comforts, and to enable them to earn
their own support by their own toil, and to eat
the bread of honest industry ; but because they are
driven from the districts where suitable houses can-
not be obtained, and where the erection of a
labourer's cottage is regarded as a crime of the
highest magnitude. "Procul, 0 procul este profani 1"
appears to be the motto of those vigilant guardians
of their own purses. They do not seek to eradicate
distress and destitution from the land, but merely
endeavour to banish it from their own parishes, and
they claim credit for the admirable management that
enables them to transfer the burdens from their own
shoulders to others less capable of sustaining it.
Even the labourers who cultivate the lands of these
parties, who expend health and strength in their service,
have in many instances no claim for assistance in the
hour of distress, but must be supported in sickness or
old age by the less prosperous unions in which, by a
forced migration, they were obliged to reside.
From the last Parliamentary return on the subject
[ (No. 375), it appears that there are at present, in
zugland and Wales, 1,650 parishes and townships
rated. for
the relief of the poor, at sums varying from
is. 4d. to 6.1. 1,,,,, the pound, 3,372 from 6d. to Is.,
8,380 from ls. to 4e , ,had2B2 from 4s. to 14s. There
are also no less than 538 exte,...o,rochial places, which
are not subject to any liability whoever. It will
afford but little comfort to those compelled to pay
from 60 to 70 per cent. on the value of their holding,
to be told that many others contribute from one-
eighth to one-fourth per cent. only on similar pro-
perty. Surely the existence of a state of facts so
inequitable and unjust imperatively demands a
searching investigation into the causes that have
led to such strange anomalies, and would have more
than justified the House of Commons in assenting to
a motion for a "Committee to inquire info the prac-
ticability of better providing for the maintenance of
the indigent poor of England and Wales, by an equal
and general apportionment of the burden of the
same."

But it is not merely the correction of this glaring
inequality that is required, the oppressive and tyran-
nical I.Aw of settlement should also be repealed—a law
which operates so injuriously to the humbler classes,
who are thereby prevented from carrying their only
capital—their labour—into the best and most eligible
markets. Under the- present system a labourer is
debarred from seeking employment where it might
easily be obtained, and where his services would be
really useful to the owners and occupiers of land.
However high his character and meritorious his con-
duct, he will not be allowed to obtain a footing in a
different parish if there is any possibility of his sub•
sequently becoming a burden on its resources. Lie
is regarded with suspicion and distrust from the very
moment of his arrival, and woe to the farmer who has
the hardihood to afford him a single day's employ-

ment. He is driven from place to place, and perhaps
ultimately passed, at a heavy expense, to his original
place of settlement, there to become a permanent
charge upon the rates, in place of being
allowed to earn a livelihood by his own ex-
ertions. ADAM SMITH has doubted " whether
any poor man has ever reached the age of
forty without experiencing hardship and injustice
from the law of settlement," and adds, "that it is
monstrous for a poor man to be confined as to his
residence, his labour, or his rights, within the narrow
limits of a parish or a township." The great Phi-
losopher was perfectly right, but unfortunately the
injury is inflicted on those who do not possess the
elective franchise, who are wholly unrepresented in
Parliament, and who consequently have no means of
bringing their grievances prominently before the
Legislature. These grievances, however, will not be
forgotten, but will sink deep into the minds of those
who have no legitimate mode of giving expression to
their desires. A timely concession, a due attention
to the wants and wishes of "the many," may avert
evils the full extent of which it is impossible to
calculate.

NEW WRIT FOR THE CITY Of LONDON.—It will
be observed in our Parliamentary report this day that,
on the motion of Mr. John Abel Smith, a new writ
has been directed to issue for the election of a Mem-
ber for the city of London, in the stead of Baron
Rothschild, who has accepted the Stewardship of the
Chiltern Hundreds. This would seem to be the ne-
cessary and unavoidable result of the di►ision in the
House of Lords last night on the Parliamentary Oaths
Bill ; and at this late period of the session the citi-
MS of London will be again involved in the turmoil
of an election. Whether it be a contested one, and
who shall be the competitors for the vacant seat, the next
twelve hours will determine. It would appear highly
improbable that Baron Rothschild will again offer
himself as a candidate at present, seeing that if he
were re-elected he would be precluded from taking
his seat in the House of Commons ; in the absence of
all positive information, however, on this point, we
can at present but speculate upon it. Should the
Baron present himself again to the electors, it can
scarcely admit cf doubt that his return would be
certain, unless the partiality of the citizens of London
towards him were over•ridden by the consideration
of his inability to sit in the House in the event of his
reelection.

MONEY and COMMERCIAL NEWS.
CITY, QUARTER TO THREE.

The sales of Cotton at Liverpool yesterday were esti-
mated at 8,000 bales, nearly one-half being taken on
speculation. The market was firm at fully previous
rates.—ln Railway Shares a fair business was done at
rather higher prices.
The continental news is favourable again to-day, in
❑early all that concerns monetary and mercantile affairs.
At Amsterdam, on the 25th instant, the Dutch Two-
and-a-Half per Cents. did not quite support the pre-
vious rise, but a fair business was done. Spanish Bonds
were firm. Very little was done in Russian, Austrian,
or French securities, but Brazilian were rising.
At Berlin, on the 23d instant, the funds
were rising, and business was becoming more
.active every day. Rsilway and other shares were iu
request at Vienna on the 22d instant. The funds were
in request. There was also a demand for foreign bills,
principally on London, Paris, and Amsterdam.
Port Philip accounts to the 6th of March, and Sydney
to the 3d have been received this morning.
The new Constitution was expected to be in operation
within a short time, and even the basis was said to be
agreed upon. One measure was expected to be adapted
to all the colonies. There is, it is stated, to be one
mixed Legislature, the district councils are to be con-
tinued, and municipal institutions for all the cities and
towns are likely to be granted.
The Sydney accounts state that the want of rain was
much felt in the interior, although there had been a
slight fall in the town. At a small wool sale, fleece
realised 10d., and fair samples 9d. per lb. A number
of the pre-emptive claims made under the 16th clause of
the regulations of March 29, had been approved by the
Governor, and several of the Port Philip settlers had
applied to purchase portions of their runs.
In consequence of the rejection of the Jews' Bill by
the House of Lords, a notice has been very promptly
issued this morning by the Central and District Com-
mittees of the Liberal electors of the City of London,
convening a meeting to take place to-morrow evening
at the Hall of Commerce, to receive and consider
a communication from Baron Lionel Rothschild, M.P.,
with reference to the Parliamentary Oaths Bill. It has
been jestingly observed by a member of the Hebrew

although his co-religionists have done many a large bill
for members of the aristocracy, they cannot now get a
small one done in return.

The Corn Trade in Mark-lane is not quite so active
this morning, but prices are about the same.
There is a very quiet, but at the same time an ex-
tremely firm market for Public Securities. Consols are
92 to and New Three-and-a-Quarter per Cents. 92i
at which rates they have remained • all the morning.
Bank Stock has been steady at 194. Exchequer-bills
have been rather better, viz., 425. to 465. premium, and
India Bonds 693. to 71s. premium.
The Foreign Securities are still buoyant. Spanish
Three per Cents. are 341, and the Five per Cents. 17-1-
to k. Brazil Bonds are 80i; Buenos Ayres, 43 to 44;
Grenada, 16; and Peruvian, 52. Mexican Stock has
been at 304 with, and at 28 'sithout the coupons. Rus-
sian Bonds have been 1031. French Five per Cents.
have been quoted 86 25, with the exchange at 25 45.
Dutch Two-and-a-Half per Cents. are 51i
Railway Shares are very well supported generally,
though the rise in North-Western has brought forward
a few sellers. Great Western are again higher, and
South-Ea•tern look well.

ONE CLOSING
PRICES OF BRITISH FUNDS O'CLOCK. PRICES
Bank Stock 194 194
3 der Cent. Reduced Arms ......
Year 314 per Cent. Ann5....
Long Anna. to expire Jan.lß6o
Ditto, 30 years, Oct. 10, 1859
India Bond*, 1,0001. -
Ditto under 1,000/... ......
Consols for Account 92 921/B
Exchequer Bills. I%d. & 2d.
1,0001. June 42 46 p 46 p
' 500/. June
Small. June 42 46 p 46 p
rnicEs OF FOREIGN FUNDS ONE CLOSING
O'CLOCK. PRICES.
Brazilian Bonds
Buenos Ayres Bonds, 6 ner Cent. 43 44 44
Grenada Boads, 1 per Cent. l6 153/4
Mexican, 5 per Cent.lB46, with Coupons 30;4 3014
Ditto, Ex Coupons
Peruvian Bonds, 6 per Cents — -
Ditto, 4 per Cont. Active 52
Ditto Deferred 14%3A
Portuguese 5 per Cents... --
Ditto, 4 per Cent —
Russian Bonds ..... 10314
Spanish 5 per Cont. 18.0..... l7l/21A
Ditto, Passive
Ditto, 3 per Cent .. 34%
Dividends on the above payable in London.
French Rentes, 5 per Cent.
Exchange 2sf. 45c. 25f. 45c.
Dutch 21,4, per Cent., 12 Guild 51% % 51%
Ditto. 4 per Cent. Certificates 77% 78 78
PRICES OF PAID. BUSINESS DONE 'CLOSING
RAILWAY SHARES. AT ONE O'CLOCK. PRICES.
Aberdeen 5O —
Do. Preference
Birmingham and Ox-
ford Junct., calls duly
paid, or with a guaran. 20
Caledonian ..
Chester and Holyhead... 50
Eastern Counties... ..... 20 ...... 81/2
Ditto, Extension, 5 per
Cent., No. 1 61.135. 4d....
Ditto ditto, No. 2...61. 13s. 4d... % p
Do. North. & Eastern,
6 per Cent.
Ditto. 5 per Cent.... 50
Ditto, 1A Shares
Eastern Union, Class A
(late E. U. Shares) 25
..... _... .. _. .

71 p
9248

62
14%

2814
1031 A
174
33/4
34:y4

-
VA

25
27

1714
814

-
% P

Ditto, Class C, ditto..-. 22%....•
East Lincolnshire ...... 25
Exeter,Yeovil, & Dorch. 2% l%
Garrptisaao:ttitoNSE:oxi,:titthheensw.erna:iindi
West. 2:04%
...
......
.... .1304 ll4
10U
%
(Ireland)
.. •
......... ...... .
.. .. 81411/2
Great North of England.loo ..
Great weatern
Ditto IA 5f,.,...
Ditto,,/ Sha-ic.
12 ... ...... 11
Ditto, New 171.. 4171634:31................ 481_7063:
Hull and Selby
Ditto, Half Shares ... 25 ..7 : :—... ' • 9B
Lancashire & Yorkshire 93 — ' 49
Do. Fifths.... ....... .... 10
London &Blackwall l2l/2 4l/2
London, Brighton, and 41,i
South C0a5t....... 50 ...... 37% 3714
LondonandGreenwich 12/15s 4d... 9%...
London and N. Western 100 ......133% 132% 132 133
Ditto, New Quarters.. 7
Ditto,Fifthi ..... .. .. 2 •••••• 7% .. 7%
Load. &S. Western ..... 50
Manchester,Buston,and
Matlock.... 4%,,.• 3/1
Manchester, Sheffield,
and Lincolnshire...loo ......
Do. New 101. Pref..... 10 ..... --11%
Midland 10:1 ...••• 69M4 70 7O
Do., do., 501. Shares 25 ... .. .. ....... • •••• 13%
Norfolk ...,. . 100 - ...........-
Do. Guaranteed 5 p ct. 20
North British ........ ... 25
Ditto Preference
gorth Staffordshire l7l/2
Reading, Guildford, and
Reigate 1.5
Shrewsbury and Birm... 11
Ditto ditto. Class B. 7

16,4

974
2Oth

Ditto, New Guaranteed 8
South Ea9terl. .. 333k 2l. 2056
South Wales 3B ....„
York, Newcastle, and
Berwick. .... ...
Do. Newcastle Exten. 20 ...... 14% 14%
Do. G.N.E.Preference 8 ..... 4th %%...
York and North. Midland 50 33% Ti ..