The Sun.
London, England, 1825-05-05 00:00:00

[THE PUBLIC' LEDGER.]

end of the year, which is not an extravagant idea, 1
considering the perfeet security the country.
would enjoy at home and abroad. Union at
home would .be .the signal of increased considera-
tion and power abroad, and both would quicken
the national resources to an extent, of which no
adequate conception can be formet.Lat the present
moment. his proper here to observe, that the Em-
pire' has arrived at its present 'towering state of
prosperity, with Ireland attached to it, either as
a dead weight, or, by her convulsions, impeding
i!s march. When the Sister Country is tranquil-
lized and invigorated—when she contributes, by
her industry and wealth, to increase. the general
impulse that will be given to 'the re-
ss
ot Mock--the cr ke
e- -sbe easily, imagined,
tohfettie Empire may

[MORNING HERALD.]
The King and the Kingdom of Spain are in a
state, not only of extreme wretchedness, but of
singular humiliation. It is of little importanCe,
and by no Means matter of sympathy. or regret,
as affecting the individual. ' He is said not to
care, provided, not. ,that he can' reign—for even
this be could abandon—but provided he can
eat, and drink, and smoke, and sleep. There
are two enemies with interfere with these enjoy-
ments—the-gout,' -and- his especial friends, the
Serviles. To check the latter, he has ad-
dressed to one .of his Ministers the letter
which we have given from the French l'a-
pers.The principal point in this letter is a
proof that. they who
.reckon as an essential attri-
bute of man, a certain' instinct of self,debasement
and slavery, are not Wholly in the wrong. The
Royalist party' has
.on all occasions, when uncon-
troulled by the French, exercised the grossest
insolence and outrage. Now, in. order to quiet
'their fears 'and ceittent their minds, Ferdinand
assures them he will permit no limitation of his
-absolute power-,-and they shall have the ,felicity
of continuing slaves to the end of the chapter.—
Rumours had, it seems been spread that some of
his'allies meant to require or advise the establish-
ment of two Legislative Chambers. The ally
alluded to is England—and the.. rumour
.ori-
ginated in the supposed existence of • a de-
sign to establish,' under. British influence,
a constitution in Portugal, which would be
followed by a similar experiment in Spain.
Undoubtedly, no
.such design, with respect to
Spain, can be' entertained. The Spanish -Mu--
narcby; if it deserve' the name, rests at . present
on a small, and the least. valuable, fraction of the
people. - The Executive Government and whole
admittistratiliesysteni should be neWIY organized,
before 'any material change in 'the frame and
Constitution of the State could be
.effected. :The
Spanish nation is at present in abeyance. Nothing
exists but a dominant faction and weak Govern-
ment. It is said thatTerdinand himself was favor-
able to the scheme of granting some phantom
of a Constitution,Th the hope that it would
re-
place him in credit.the want of
which is that
which p'resses most severely' on him. At no
period has the Stianhh_ Government- been in
. greater necessity;-and even Ferdinand must know
that the want of money 'is the most fatal want
of a Government—the most efficient -cause
of its downfall. It was the- want of money
that caused the late King and his family
to fall into the hands of Buonapnrte on the
first invasion. There was not money in the
treasury sufficient to defray the expences of
their escape from the French. It was the want
of money to pay the Civil and Military Esta-
blishments that caused the revolution of 1820.
At present the Goverment is more destitute
than ever. The civil servants subsist on pro-
miies and peculation—the military on pro-
rrtises and plunder. It is no wonder that the
Royalist troops commit violence and crime when
they subsist by rapacity and forced Constitutions.
If any proof were wanting of the deplorable con-
dition of the- kingdnm, it is to be found in the
'act that the departure of the Trench, a foreign
nvading force, is regretted in the garrison towns.

We have received the Paris Papers of Mon-
(lay, with the Etoile of Tuesday. The ltentes,
from sympathy with our own Funds, fell on
the former day, and will descend much lower,
as soon as the quotations of yesterday and
the day before are known in the French
market. The latter, ever since the peace, has
been considered as the political barometer
of Europe ; and the idea never entered into
the imagination of the most exaggerated poli-
tician, that the general anxiety would be divert-
ed from the internal affairs of France to those
of the British Empire. Yet this unexpected con-
tingency has actually arrived ; and whether it is
to be of long or short duration will depend upon
the wisdom of Parliament. should the crisis in
which we are placed lie unfortunately prolonged,
the present alarm would afford only a faint outline
of what is in reserve. In a few months the Funds
would sink far below their present level,and every
species of property would deteriorate in an equal
degree. Instead of a further reduction of the public
burthens, a very considerable augmentation might
he expected, particularly as the Revenue would
feet the violence of the shock imparted to all the
other interests or the country. It is therefore
-needless to say with what intense anxiety they
await the decision of the Legislature upon a
question which we are almost afraid to name
from the portentous aspect under which it pre-
sents itself. But as Parliament has very seldom
disappointed the hopes of the moral and en-
lightened portion of the Public, we would
think it wrong were we to anticipate,_ an issue
that; to a Moral certainty, would lead to the
consequences we faintly traced above.. Let
us therefore hope that the spirit of the age
`will triumph over obsolete prejudices ; and,
in this case, the Ponds; instead, Q f
.falling
tett per cent. viOitl,l soon rise in that proportion.
Consols would. probably reach par before the

the parties. But the law cannot reach this
tyranny. It is clear that if the men were
not to be at liberty to combine, to regulate'
their wages, their hours of work, &c., their
masters would have a great advantage over them.
The masters might lower wages, increase the
hours of working, and impose all manner of in-
convenient arrangements on the men, through- the
intluence of the proscription exercised against
those workmen who might stand out. .We repeat
it, this is a very delicate subject,—and we think
the less the Legislature meddle with it the
better. It is •a great satisfaction to think that
the removal of the old tyranny has-been attended
with so little violence, and if the Legislature let
the parties alone they will soon come to an un-
derstanding with each other. There are laws in
' abundance to punish violence of all sorts, and-the
first attempt at violence ought to be instantly
taken cognizance of. Sir John Newport observed,
that " nothing could be more clear, than that- if
any number of men might fix -a, ,rate of wages,
the whole branch of a manufacture would
be permanently ruined for a benefit merely
temporary." But this is assuming . that ,the
workmen .can succeed in an attempt of this kind.
It is the increased demand for workmen, incon-
sequence of increased profits, which
.can..alone
inspire the workmen with the notion of standing
out for 'higher wages;- •for a diminished de-
.mand for labour leads uniformly. to a fall of
wages.- But the demand for, laheur is cre.
cited tij the rise of profits and the wages,
therefore, cannot possibly exceed that which alone
causes the demand. The wages in any one branch
of ourmanufac,tures must always, therefore, have
a relation to the profits in that branch,.otherwise
there could be no demand for- labotir, and the,
wages'would fall instead of rising..
.In.a country
like. this, in• which labour is free,.it is impossible
to conceive a demand for a rise in any particular
town, or from atiy particularhOuse,. much be-
yond the average rate;- because an influx
of .workmen from other plaCes would soon cure
the evil. 'We observe the Lawyers in the House
were
.84 eager to have the matter left to the
Common Law.. This is saying in so many words,
let there be no law whatever on •the subject, but
give to us a complete contronr:over the parties.
The Common Lewis of too stretching a quality
to be relied on as a protection by.the working
people. If ever there was occasion for-a Clear
and definite-law, is in this" case. If it was
deemed necessary to define that crime by which
the existence-of the State is endangered,- surely
we have a definition of the offences of work-
men .against their employers against workmen
which—shall, subject tile parties to punishment.
Under the common law., the workmen would
be like .travellers. benighted in a forest, uncer-
tain whether they were about to tread on-firm
ground,--or into a pitfall. We would strenuous-
ly, therefore, recommend, above all things, the
placing- the law, on-this subject, on a clear and
distinct . fiftoting....7le
.cqinmon law may be the
perfection of reason, but, unfortunately, diffe-
rent men may have.different motions with respect
,to perfection.": One Judge will consider that rea-
sonable which another will. consider the-reverse.

Sortie fellows, who blacken their faces and pre.
tend to be chimney-sweepers; are in the. habit of going
.abou
town and comMittingrobbeties, which they easily accomplish
on account of the facilities of admission given to those whoa
they resemble. Several robberies have been lately commit-
ted in the city by sturdy vagabonds of this description.
The other day, two stout fellows, dressed and "daubed like
sweeps, knocked at the house of- a gentleman in Broad-street,
at an early hour in the -morning, told-the servant girl that
they were sent by.,some -respectable master chimney-sweeper
to clear away the soot, and when she e*pressed surprise at not
having heard of the intention before, said they must go to
work. She supposed that the men were authorized, and showed
them to the kitchen, where they began to make what she
supposed to be preparations. They were not long employed,
when a knock was given at the door. The girl ran up stairs,:
and was rather surprised at seeing another chimney-sweeper,
who asked her whether his comrades were ' there ? She-
replied that there were two men belOw, but that they could not
leave their'work until it was completed. " Oh, they must come
to the East India House," said he; " master has ordered them
there at once." The girl, upon going to tell the two chimney-
sweepers, met them coming up stairs with their bags as if they'
had heard all that.pikssed. They went,offin ahurrY;litit:Wilen,
[MORNING CIIRONICI,Pg • the poor girl looked round her kitchen, she found that a cup-
The subject of the Combination Laws was beard or safe had been broken open; and that some articles of
plate were stolen. This is a sample of : the practice of a- great'
again brought before the House' last night. The number of plunderers in the city. Sortie'Master 'chimney
-
great problem to be solved by Legislation in this sweepers went the other day, to inform the Lord Mayor of the:
case is, to leave masters and workmen equally at ftteat t
tahnedetrlilneiye. at-the
,ofthis same
-f
formidable Very
esosfecltheir 'ppreliension
.thieves awould be at-
liberty to agree together as to what each shall tributed to the respectablecleaners of chimnies, • . .
give and take, for, the sake of prornoting their Aecric LAND EXPEDITION.—(Frotit the .A 4.7
respective interests, while at the same time nei- bony Argus of the 4th of'April.)—" The Officers
tiler party shall carry that liberty so far as of" the. British Land Arctic Expedition, consisting
to restrain the free agency of the other. Work.- of captain . Franklin, Commander; Lieutenant
men, for instance, ought to be allowed to say,' we Kendall, astronomer ; Dr. Richardson, surgeon
have agreed not to work under such or such a and naturalist ; Lieutenant Bark, surveyor; and
Isurn ; but then they ought notio be allowed to Mr. Drummond, botanist, passed throne' this
say to their employers, you shall not supply our city last "week, on their way to York, bppei Ca-
places with persons willing to work for a, less nada. The whole 'party will assemble at -Bear
sum. But this is, no doubt, a problem of very Lake, and in. the Spring of 1826 will descend
difficult solution. There are various ways by M'Kenzie's River,embar4 on the Polar SeaioJnly
w.hich. worktrbon, 'without having recourse to vio- of the same year, and sail westwardly towards
fence, - can influence those who refuse to submit Icy Cape. Should they not there. meet with
Ito a general arrangement. We have art instance Captain Parry, the Blossom of 28 guns, which
in Dr. Franklin's Memoirs, who, having refused, has lately sailed, from England to the South Seas,
to comply with -the general usage; found.his will be found waiting at Beliring's Straits in the
work thrown into confusion whenever his back event of the expedition reaching that poiht. It
was turned; and, no one could tell who did the is intended, on reaching M'Kenzie's River, that
mischief. Every society exercises more or less the a party shall proceed eastward, and explore the
power of sending its members to Coventry for of- line of coast bety‘Tett that , and Coppermine,
fences against•coneenieuce orinterest. Mr. Hume .River. A detachment of the same expedition
reminded the lawyers of the manner in which they has gone on by way of Hudson's Bay."
persecuted those brethren who took lower than PROBERT'S HORSE.—There is no, truth in the
the usual fees. 4‘ When some of the witnesses statement, which was copied into the, London
Papers from the I.,ercfo,:cl Journal, averring that
(said Mr. Baring) were examined before the Pa
:
Committee, they denied they ever attempted to the horse stolen by Probert was detained for its
compel workmen to take less wages • than the keep,and that Mr. Meredith, its owner,was likely
general body agreed to take ; but being pressed -to lose the animal altogether, from inability
'upon the subject, they confessed that they to pay the demand of the stable-keeper. The
used to make the situation of such persons fact is, that when the final examination of Pro-
very uncomfortable." Their situation might be bert took place at Bow-street, Mr. Minshull, sup-
made very uncomfortable by the mere circum- posing, very reasonably, that as the parties were
stance of excommunicating them, that is, re- related there might besorneattemptat compromise,
fusing to speak to, or associate with them. But resolved to have the hersedetaitted, in order toen-
, we really do not see how the exercise of this sure the forthcoming of Meredith upon the trial.
sort of moral influence Can be prevented_.--' When that had taken place, Mr. Minshtill de-
Neither are we sure that it ought to be prevent.; sired Ellis, the Officer. who apprehended Probert,
any thing
ed or that the law ought to take cognizance of to tell Mr. rAmes, of the Angel Inn, who, it will
purchased the horse at Dixon's,:
violence.
Great hardship .is .in like manner and at whose stables it remained, to giVe it up to
beyond direct acts of compulsion and be recollected,,
often suffered by workmen, in times when em- Meredith, arid:be.(Mr..Minpliull) would see that
ployment is not plentiful, from the understand, the pric-N, of the, keg was paid. The horse was
. hug of masters not to employ persons who 'have delivered to Meredith,
and a bill for time keep
taken at,'active part in any disputes between sell! to Mr. illiii.tliull. '
, .

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF CHANCERY,',MAx 4.
GORDON V. GORDON.

In this case, which has been under consideration in the dif-
ferent branches of this Court for some years,' and in which the
defendant, Mr. James. Gordon, is a gentleman at' the bar, his
Lordship gave judgment at considerable length. It came•be-
fore the Court on a rthearing, after ,a decree had been given.
The principal points were the question of legitimacy of the
plaintiff, which involved the property of estates in the West
Indies, •(and which - had been established by the verdict of a
Jury, upon an issue directed by Sir Wm. Grant), and whether
the defendant was cognizant of that fact previous to certain
agreements with the plaintiff, who was his brother. His Lord-
ship affirmed his own decree. Mr. James Gordon appeared on
his own decree.

VICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT, ALAI' 4.
COLOMBIA-lIIISII LEGION.

I ,
MACIs'AMARA V. DEVEREUX.
This was a demurrer to a bill filed by the plaintiff, which
bill stated that the defendant Devereux was a General of
Division, commanding' the Irish Legion in the service of
the Colombian 'Republic, to which the plaintiff acted as.
Commissary.:General, in which capacity he sent out various
recruits, stores, and provisions to Colombia, for the use of
the legion, in 1819, by the defendant's directions, on account
of which he (the defendant) was indebted to him in a consi-
derable sum of money. In August, 1823, an agreement was en-
tered into in South America between the parties, by which the
plaintiff undertook to have all his accounts regularly made out
and submitted within a year from that time, and
"the defendant
engaged to pay him the 'amount; as a security for Which he
lodged' cash to the'amount of 16,672 dollars, and bonds to the
amount of 150,000 dollars, in the hands of Hurtatlo, the Co-
lombian Minister. The plaintiff being unable, through appre-
hension of being arrested for debts incurred by sending out the
provisions, to appear in the country at the peribd specified by the
agreement, the defendanrwas insisting upon Hurtado returning
to him the securities lodged in his hands for the Tull-Ho-tent of the
agreement, and threatened him with an action of trover. After
stating some other particulars of the transactions between the
parties,the bill concluded by praying that the Court would refer it
to the Master to inquire what sum was due from the defendant
to the plaintiff on account of the said stores, provisions, &c., SQ
'furnished as before stated for the use of the Irish Legion, en.
Devereux demurred to the bill on the ground of want of equity,
the transactions on accountof which the alleged debt was claimed
being against public policy, tending to endanger the safety of
the kingdom, and being contrary to the express provisions of
several Acts of Parliament.
Mr. HEALD, in supporting the demurrer, contended, that
the whole of these transactions were illegal. Colombia could
only be recognised by the Court at that-time (1819), as a co,
lony engaged in hostility with-the parent state, which was in
amity with Great Britain. He referred to the statute 9 Geo.
11., chap. 30, which made it a capital felony to enlist, or pro-
cure the enlistment of, any of the King's subjects as soldiers in
the service of any foreign power ; and next, to the 59th Geo.
111. chap. 69, which repeated the former, but still made such
conduct a misdemeanour, punishable with fine or iMpri-
sonment.
The VICE-CHANCELLOR observed, that that Act was ex-,
pressly made on account of these very provinces.
Mr. HEALD said, that the only argument that could be at-
tempted to be used by the opposite side *as, that although it
was illegal to procure the enlistment of recruits, yet it might
not be so to furnish them with stores and provisions. But if it
was illegal to enlist them, it was quite absurd to say that it was
not also illegal, and contrary to public policy, to aid in equip-
ping them for the occasion. On these grounds, therefore, he
was sure his Honour would decide that the defendant was right
in demurring to the bill.
Mr. SUGDEN, on the other side, said, he heard the objec-
tion with astonishment, in consequence of the dangerous situa-
don in which this demurrer placed General Devereux (who was
now living at 49. Southampton,row, Bloomsbury,) by admit-
ting the truth of all the allegations contained in the bill, which
proved, according to Mr. Ileald's argument that he (Devereux)
had been guilty of a serious offence against various Acts of
Parliament, in having raise 4 troops in this country for a fo-
reign power. He was also astonished at it, after the declara-
tion made by Devereux, that he would be- always ready to
settle any debt incurred on account of the Irish Legion, or in-
curred by him on any other account, or in any country. The
objection here urged, however, would not stand, because the
bill did net state that the Irish Legion, was composed of natural-
born subjects of this realm. A body of troops in any country
might be termeA the Irish Legion, and yet not be composed of
'lrishmen. The Court, therefore. would not infer that they'
were natural-born subjects of this country unless they were so,
described.
yr.t.cloeaar wasto sohfowop
-subjects of this realm.
theTbhiellVwleCreE-sCuffillAcrenCtEl that the words of
Mr. SUGDEN would yield that point, but asked if his Ho-
nour thought that furnishing the stores was illegal ?
The VICE-CHANCEELOIL was also clear upon that point.
Mr. SuODEre admitted the difficulty, and therefore woulii
not waste the time of the Court by attempting to argue the ease
further. But he wished the public to know the way in which
this General Devereux, who -lived at 49; Southampton-row,
opinion,
natural-born
Bloomsbury, chose to pay his dehts. After deluding a great
many of the King's subjects, he then came into Court- and
proved he had violated several Acts of Parliament, in order
to screen himself from,being compelled to fulfil his solemn ea-
gagements.
Mr. HEALD said, that his client lived abroad at the time the
troops were raised. But be would not have had recourse to thi*
demurrer had he not satisfied every dedand upon him WI
Ayo. Wien pressed to state this, 14 (Mr. Heald) said he roil'
not say any thing for or against anysman, where it was mere)/
Isis business to argue pleadings ; and lie had only broken throve
this rule now, because his friend had so frequently, during 113 y
argument, delivered General Devereux's card.—Demurrer
allowed. •