The Sun.
London, England, 1814-01-28 00:00:00

DISTRESSES IN GERMANY:

Yesterday, a General Meeting *as helti at the
'City of Lfondon'Tavern, for the purpose of afford,
relief to the Sufferers in "Germany; .whose
Aeotintry had beet lately the theatre of tr.
About a quarter befok two o'clock, Mr. 1.. H.
MaaTrta' informed the Meeting, that his Royal
Ilig;.rieSs the Duke of Sussex was prevented from
taking tl!e Chair by indisposition ; and moved,
that At. H. THORNTON should take the chair,
which was carried nuaninionsly.
. Titotistotv then proceeded to read a letter
from his" Royal
_Highness, stating, that, in con-
sequence of an• attack of his old complaint, by
which he had•beeriltept out of bed all night, jsc
• was unable to attend the -meeting that.day, but
had enclosed a draft on his banker for:so guineas,
and would be most happy to make every exertion
in his' power to promote the truly. benevolent'
object for which the meeting. was -assembled—•
(Applanse).
The CHAIRMAN then proceeded fp:sttite the ob-
ject of rise meeting to be, to afford' sych relief'to.
the sufferers of Germany as British benevolence
might afford. The Committee hail already 'of
themselves sent the sum of 4,000/. to those dis-
tricts where the distress was . most pressing 7--
where- famine and epidemical diseases had already
begun t•o appear, as would be evident from a me-
Moiled that would' be read by the Secretary. The
memorial having been read,
Mr: WILBERFORCE rose, and said, It would be
wasting. the time of the Meeting fOr him to ad.
dress them,_ if be were riot persuaded that all pre-
sent' were disposed to co-operate in the benevo-
lent purpcises for which it had been called. Ire
felt the most sincere regret for the absence of his
°Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, who, .ele4
vaCed as he was in rank and station, would Nave
done the meeting the honour of presiding there
:that day, and at the same time would have done
honour to himself. He bad, indeed, stated, that
nothing but indisposition would hove occasioned
his absence. The distresses of the Germans had
been great indeed, and called loudly for the accus-
tomed exertion of British benevolence. To such
sufferings in this happyland we werestrangers; and,
therefore, were enabled to relieve the sufferings
of others : but what must have been our state at
present, had we been visited by similar salami-
ties,? 'As men and As Christians we were bound
to assist all who stood in need of our aid; but in
a-more particular manner,- we were bound to as-
sise'those who .suffered with us in a common
cause, who had achieved our security at their own
expense, and for which they bad paid so high a
price. They were our allies, . who bad no more
interest than ourselves' in the common quarrel : to
aid, whom' -we should esteem it a privilege and
an honour to be called upon by them in the hour
Of sorrow. To maintain that the. prosperity of
one:country would be increased by the misery of
another (as shallow politicians had sometimes as-
serted) ,Was repugnant alike to true policy and sound
morality. Happiness could not be bought at such a
price; and the prosperity of our own country would
necessarily increase by the prosperity of others. In
this country all were 'ready to contribute to the re-
lief of all; and to maintain that our prosperity
should make us indifferent to the sufferings of
others, would be a principle net snore unfeeling
than absurd. Let it not he said, that because we
had not tasted adversity, we should therefore
be callous to the sufferings of others. In other
less favoared countries, it was matter of won-
der that our condition should be what .it is,
at the close 3f a period of 20 years war. It
was, indeed, a subject for heartfelt thankfulness,
that 'our lot should have been fixed in a land,
where religion and liberty diffused their blessings
oa all around, and where their own interest made
others feel interested in our welfare,- He had been
present at meetings, when the object had been to
minister to the :spiritual wants of others ; this was
meant to minister to their temporal wants ; and
be trusted, that all who had contributed to the
former, would, with equal alacrity, give their aid
to_ the latter. Mr. W. concluded by moving,
f` that it is the opinion of this meeting, that the
distress in Germany is inconceivably great, and
calls loudly On the British nation for the exer-
cise of ,its accustomed henevolence ; that we ought
to feel' grateful that -we had the means in our
power ; and that the meeting bad no doubt, that
all would teel it to be their 'duty to contribute ac-
cording to their means to so laudable an object:.
The motion was seconded. by'Mr: SIMEON, who
entered into. Some statements with respect to , the
sums that had been disbniied, -and mentioned that
many whose principles did not 'permit- them to
subscribe for. any purpose purely warlike,, had
come forward most.liberally upon the-present oc-
casion. Mr. Wilberforce's motion was carried
unanimously.

Mr. J. THOENTON moved a resolution, " that
the Meeting approire of the conduct of the.Corn-
mittee,in sending prompt relief to. those places
where it bad-been most wanted." At a former
period, _lie had felt doubts as to the practicability
of collecting adequate. lunds, and of applying
them in such a manner as to answer the end in-
tended ; but those doubts had now vanished.
The same Committee had, in 1805, conducted a
similar business; and it was consistent with his
own knowledge,' that in tire neighbourhood of
Austerlitz, the British name was never mention-
ed unaccompanied by benedictions. His-Honour-
itble Friend, had spdlien th,:appeal made to our
feelings ; what would'onricelings be, should such
ten appeal be made in vain •

- The motion was carried-unanimously. -
Mr. R. THORTON observed, that the, persons
whom it was the object, of the meeting to relieve
bad suffered for our benefit, .and that we had. par-
ticipated in the benefit, without any share.in.the
rri (Appjaus.c.) The conduct of the Com-
e liad been laudable, and worthy of the Bri-
* ter. .1 t_Ayas but fair that this 'country
lie. auspicious change. that had
orld ; and all, -in proportion
ibticss be-ready to• con-
,:neluded movinm,
;ikeri to xeplace the
d,- and to affoid fur-

..,~ :c

be t

(red

:i~u Cat»,

gra% *a a %Mt? fartigii &Iva tiltlat ti°;,
lie ilimseit had received 2 or 300 let-
ters from the different places where the money had
been distributed. About eight yeits back, a small
subscription to the aanilint of MO,. bad been set
on toot in A private tootti, which, On,being made
public, had hi a short tittle increased to 30,000/.
In one of the letters he had received, it was said,
i 1 Let England sympathise with us, for we have
suffered in her stead." before the invasion of the
French, the country was like the garden of Eden,
and no* it !veil:Ned the desnlate Wilderness. Ne-
Ver.lpad atey country been mai-ray oppressed.—
A ititmr of hiss When travelling thrOugh East
Suabia., Wished to pay his respects to the Queen
,:trf,-Wir:ternherg, formerly Princess Royal ofEng-
- hnt was. requested, by a message froin the
Queen, (to omit• waiting upon her, lestit should
-:oilend; the French Ambassador. 'The Society of
'-:‘,tri-ends had made great exertions. Three of them
Itst'sitici! gbrie :to their reward, but a son of one
of them (Mr Luke Howard) .was worthily tread-
ing in his fatlier.ssteps.' - •
After afew observations from Alderman ATKINS,
Mr. It. THORNTON'S motion was agreed to.
The Rev. Dr.; SCnwanz next addressed the
Meeting, acknowledging, in high► terms, the ge- .
nerosity of the British Ration.
Mfr. LUKE HOWARD said, that the Socictty "of
."4'riends would join-in the okject of the meeting,
because its basis tvas'Christian compassion and
benevolence. This waithe-ground of his accept-
, ing the office of Assist Ant Seceetary.' Me trusted
they would feel and act'iike:tlke Wood Samaritan,
Who.stiid to the. host of the wounded traveller,
take care of him till I come again. lie moved
(which was seconded and carried), that it he re-
commended,to the Committee; to observe the
strictest impartiality in the -distribntioti'of the
funds. ,

. .
The Rev.,Mr. CLAYTON, Mr. KvEpEn, andMr?,
STEINKOPFf, severallY'addressed the meeting.
The Rev'. RowLatsaf, HILL was of opinion, that
the sword had never been taken up in a more ne-
cessary cause, than against that wanton.cruelty,
by whicb mankind had been harassed fur the last
20 years. It might even be termed a righteous
cause : but for the battle of Leipsic, instead of
10 per cent. we must have paid 20, -1-I.e had a
worthy nephew, equally distinguished for huma-
nity and courage, who was now fighting .for an
insulted ration, and against a kidnapping of roy-
alty, which ntuschave been sug-geste.4
parte' by the devil (Loth/ applause).
Buonaparte might now • squeak for mercy as
much as he pleated; but he had shewn none
himself when he bad the power. His nephew
had received a sword, worth a hundred gui-
neas, from the city of London, and he trusted
they Would give another hundred guineas to the
present fund, The Quakers, as they were called,
gave no money to kill, but were 'always ready to
give money to cure (Applause). He thought that
in every episcopal diocese the Dean and Chapter
should be called upon to assist the fund; and were
he as high the church as his nephew was in
the army, be Would set the example. As it was,
he hoped they wonld soon hear something from
Surrey Chapel ; for,
" No woe gbonlcl reach the far,
" That did not also touch the heart."

The Rev. Gentleman concluded by moving--;
" '!'hat all the Corporate Bodies be invited to
give their assistance to the Fund of the Meeting."
The motion *as seconded by Mr. BRUNNMARX.
and carried unanimonsly.
Mr. R. H. MARTEN then proposed a vote of
thanks to his Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex,
for his intended condescension to take the chair,
expressing also their regret `for the cause of his
absence ; and to the Chairman for his conduct in
the chair, that day. Both were carried unanimous-
ly, and the Meeting then broke up.

SWINDLER TAKEN.

For a length of titne a person has been prac-
tising various frauds in the -country, and lately he
has been.doing the same in town, but fortunately
he has been detected, .end is now in Horsemonger
Gaol. He was examined before the Magistrates
yesterday,
,when several charges were: brought
against him for frauds committed last summer, in
the Isle of Wight and-Portsinouth. Some mouths
back he was at Ryde, where be passed himself off
as Colonel Verity, run up accounts with must of
the tradespeople there, and, on his leaVing,, be
gave them bills on Esdailes, Gosling, aofF otbvr
bankers, all of which were refused payment, as be
never kept cash at those ,houSes. Each of the
tradespeople had given him cash out of their bills.
lie is now detained on account of a bill given to
Messrs. Williams and Collier, of the Library, at
Ryde. lie obtained a curricle and horses at Ports-
mouth, giving a bill (which, of course, was lira
paid), with them he dro.e.to Oxford, where he
was taken before the Mayor but, by some in-
formality, he again got at liberty, and the owner
ofthe-curriele and horses again got them back
lle has lately tricked two aged ladies, at
W4oSelhouse lie lodged, , in the Edgeware-roady
out of about eighty ritincts, 'beingTttelt-Wiole
savings of many years: Ile says his mime is John
Verity, and-that his relations, live at Bristol.and•
Cowbridge,-in South Wales. Ile is a good look-
ing man, with large red whiskers. He was taken
tip on suspicion of having' two or three wives
alive.- Another hearing is_appointed fur to-mor-
row, 'before the Magistrates, at Union-Hall' in
the Borough.

Mr. Ebenezer Lillycrap,• purser of the Briseis
(and late Clerk in Lord Keith's Office), was un.-
fortunately drowned; togethcr with the master, a
midshipman, and four seamen, in the. night of the
10th instant-, by the upsetting of the boat. in
which they were retttrning from the shote to their
ship in the Down's. • • : '
Aiemale of very singularappearancei, made her
entrance -urtheWcst-steet,Chicllester, -oh Thurs-
day 'afternoon; The whole •of he' dress was a
flannel iitticbat, • fastened- round her neck,
handkerchief tied rtintid her head, and a pair' f
stockings. She was taken to the Swan Inn, and
7has•since been-planed under the care of the Guar-
diaiissof the Poor. The account she gives of her-.
self is incnherent,-and many doubts are entertain-
ed of imposition. She is, or affects to be, insane.
Her accentiS Scottish, 'and her person rather
•