The Sun.
London, England, 1831-05-26 00:00:00

ANOTHER RIOT AT WIGAN.

On Monday a riot took place at Wigan, which
was not less illustrative of total imbecility on the
part of the civil authorities, than of lawless violence
on the part of the mob. It will be recollected that
at the election the shop of a Mr. Smalley, a grocer,
was attacked, and his stock thrown into the street.
A brush, supposed to have formed part of that
stock, having been seen in the possession of a man
I,vho lived at Hollins, a few miles from Wigan, he
a as taken into custody, and on Monday was brought
before the Mayor, and on identification of the
article
_was committed to take his trial at the Ses-
sions. The man, on hearing that he was to be
committed, said, " Then you mean to commit me,
do you ? I shall be liberated in half an hour, if
you do." He was then sent to the place which is
dignified by the name of the prison, and placed in
the custody of the female who, in the ancient bo•
rough of Wigan, exercises the office of gaoler. His
committal and his declaration were soon made
public, and in little more than the time he had
allowed for his liberation, it became obvious, that
unless there was a prompt exertion of authority his
prediction would be verified. But no such•exertion
was made to prevent the crowd which had assembled,
from breaking into the prison and liberating thepri-
boner. The prisoner being liberated, and there being
no appearance of opposition, the mob naturally con-
cluded that they might now do what seemed right
in their own eyes, and from that time, three o'clock,
till nine o'clock, the town was left to their undiss
torbed controul. They hoisted the prisoner on their
shoulders, and he was carried in triumph through
the streets, die crowd huzzaing as they would do in
chairing a popular Member of Parliament. The pro-
cession having reached the Scholes, a pait of the
town principally inhabited by working people, re-
ceived there a great accession to its number. The
cry was then raised "To Kearsley's," and to the
house of Kearsley, the Anti-Reform Member, lately
elected as the representative of the corporation, the
crowd immediately went. Mr. Kearsley's windows
had been broken at the election, and still remained
unrepaired. The mob seemed almost satisfied with
witnessing the desolate appearance of the house, and
here again a dozen constables might have dispersed
the crowd; but, emboldened by the impunity which
they had hitherto experienced, a few furious black-
guard looking Men, and a number of lads from four-
teen to sixteen years of age, who were emulous
of mischief, broke into the house, and in a few
minutes the business of destruction was commenced;
chairs and tables were thrown out of the window,
and knocked to pieces in their fall, and beds, book-
cases, chests of drawers, and every fixture that could
be pulled down, with all their contents, soon fol-
lowed, and the street was strewed with books,
papers, deeds, and bed-clothing, and expensive and
massive silver plate, consisting of salvers, cups, tea-
pots, &c. was taken to an iron railing on the other
side of the street, and deliberately broken to pieces,
and the fragments tossed amongst the crowd.-- Still
there was no interruption on the part of any peace
officers 1 and so confident had the actors in the de-
structive scene become, that they actually set out a
table in the cellar, and had a regular jollificatiort
upon the choice wines and spirits they found these.
Drinking regularly round, however, was too tedious
for some of the rioters, and dozens of them seizing
each a bottle knocked off the neck, drank the con-
tents, fell dead drunk on the floor, and lay there un-
disturbed for hours. The house remained a com-
plete thoroughfare for hours. At length about nine
o'clock some soldiers who had been stationed at
Newton arrived, but there was no Magistrate to
direct them, and there they remained not knowing
what to do. By this time the rioters having com-
pletely gutted the house and attempted to unroof it,
set it on fire, and the soldiers then went and sur-
rounded the premises, and the fire engines being
brOught, the flames were soon extinguished, the mob
now tired of their violent doings offering no ob
tion. By eleven o'clock the town was as
Ta res
have
s quiet as
e amount
has been done in Mr. Kearsley's
,hons_ag.stre to t
t
of 1,5004 or 2,0001. Ihe County IVI
nc;jtirisdietion in Wigan, strsuc-
r i
nothing had occurred. It is supposed

Ic

LI

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

FRENCH PAPERS.
\s, (From the Aressager des Chambres of Tuesday, May 24.
Extract of a Frivate letter, dated Bayonne,May 17,
—Private letters from Madrid of the 10th instant,
T., announce that some persons are daily hanged there,
but that they are merely robbers. As for persons
accused of political transgressions, the Military
Commission is in no haste to try them, but rather
endeavours to make them forgotten, and to save
them, because they belong to families whose power-
ful interest has succeeded in softening the Judges.
Nevertheless, the police, always threatening, watches
day end night, and this represses every manifesta-
tion of opinion; every body trembles for him-
self and his connections. Three days ago some-
thing occurred on our frontiers which made the de-
parture of some troops of the garrison of Bayonne ne-
cessary. The facts are variously stated, but the fol-
ing is the account which is the most generally cre-
dited :—The monks of Spanish Navarre, after the
insurrection of Valdez and Mina, raised and clothed,
at their own expense, two regiments of volunteers,
taken from the dregs of the people. These two regi-
ments have been brought near to our frontiers,
doubtless to observe them. A certain number of
these men, but without arms, are said to have come
close to the French frontiers, near. the village of
Urdach, and insulted some Frenchmen, likewise
without arms, whom curiosity had attracted to the
spot, telling them that they were rogues, and that
war would soon be declared against them; that they
would come and pillage this country of scoundrels,
&c. Foolish boastings in the mouth of this pack of
idlers, but which have made some impression on the
minds of our population. It is said, that two com-
panies of Voltigeurs have been sent to occupy that
village and the environs.
On the other hand, it is affirmed that the pea-
sants of the valley of Bastan have made an incur-
sion into the territory of the village of the Aludes,
near St. .Tean de Port, and that they attempted to
carry off some cattle, but that our shepherds (who
are all friends) fired, and killed some of them, which
might give occasion to reprisals. Our people remain
on the alert.
Lastly, it is asserted that 100 Biscayans of the
same district, taking advantage of their being armed
as National Guard, carry on contraband trade with
open violence, and have killed some of the custom-
hortse officers.

:b. I

All these accounts, though only reports, seem to
deserve some credit, for they are generally believed.
TURIN, MAY 15.—The following is the text of
the decree of the new King of Sardinia :
" Charles Albert, by the grace of God, King of
Sardinia, Cyprus, and *Jerusalem, Duke of Saxony,
Genoa, &c. Desiring, as has always been practised
by our august ancestors, to mark the commencement
of our reign by an act of clemency towards persons
guilty of less serious offences, we have thought we
could do no better than renew the general pardon on
his accession by our immediate and beloved prede-
cessor, Charles Felix, of glorious memory. Accord.
ingly, by these presents, by our royal authority and
with the advice of our Privy Council, renewing all
the clauses of the Royal edict of the 30th of Sep-
tember, 1821, granting an ordinary general pardon,
we grant fu'l and entire forgiveness to the authors
of crimes committed previously to the date of these
presents, and which are not excepted in the above-
mentioned edict, on the conditions there specified.
" However, the remittance of the pi cuniary pe-
nalties and confiscations granted by the same must
be understood only of those belonging to our trea-
sin y, according to the Royal letters patent of the
23d of November, of the same year, and shall ex-
tend also to pecuniary penalties and confiscations al-
ready decreed, if not yet paid.
(Signed: " CHARLES ALBERT.
" LANGOSCO, Keeper of the Seals.
" Turin, May 19.. " RAGGI, PENZA."
Such is the decree of amnesty of the new King.
He had a fine part to act, but monarchical routine
and fear of Austria have predominated. The mul-
titude of proscribed persons in whose crime the
King partook, if they have committed a crime, will
remain in exile. They are preparing to pay the
debt of gratitude by offering their arms to a Prince
who would have been the monarch of the Piedrnons
tese, and not the vassal of Austria. An address
full of expressions of attachment was sent to him
from Macon by Colonel Joseph Fordo, in his own
name, and that of several of his companions in exile.
But these unfortunate men have been disappointed,
—they have not recovered a country.— Prectirseur.
(From the Journal des Debuts.)
Until the affairs of Belgium shall be definitively
arranged so as not to be injurious to France ; until
Poland shall be independent; and until the States

of Italy shall not be exposed to the caprice of
Austria,-there will be no solid and durable peace
or Europe. On these three great points the French
3overnroent will not, we are sure, fail in its duty ;
nd it depends on the rest of Europe to labour with
s to procure as speedily as possible the repose of
:urope on the only bases on which it can be founded.
FRENCH FUNDS.-PARIS, MAY 23.-Five per Cents., 90f. SOc.
tc. 80c. 75c. 65c. 80c. 90c. 95c. 91f. 91f. 10c. 20c. 10c. ; Loan of
31, 91f. 91f. 40c. ; Four per Cents., 75f. 74f. 75c. 15f1 ; Three
Cents., 641. 75c. 70c. 75c. 70c. 60c. 65f. 10c. sc. 15c. 65f. 20c.
e. 35c. 50c. ; Bank Stock, 1,635 f. ; Rente de Naples, 7211 40c.
c. 40c. 60c. ; Rents d'Espagne, 13N 3y ; Royal Spanish Loan,
67 67q % a 4 ; Rente Perpetuelle d'Espagne, 54 5414 54 537
• al% 54 5414 54 54k. Exchange on London, one month,
per, 25f. 15c. money, 25f. 15c. ; three months, paper, 25f;
mey, 251.-Cours Authentique.

The merits of Wexford, in the recent struggle,
mot be too highly applauded ; it has added three to the
I of Reformers, putting in LAMBERT in place of VA-
NTIA, WALKER in place of DEERING, and TOTTENHAM
place of LESLIE. Mr. TOTTENHAM 14 son to the pro-
etor of the borough of New Ross. That borough was
outoriously sold to Colonel LESLIE on the last occasion.
A large sum was in the present instance offered for it ; but
the proprietor has had the virtue to refuse the money, and
secure a voter for the good cause.—Dublin Morn. Register.
POLITICAL REFUGEES IN TANGIER.—
Tangier from its vicinity to Sp tin, forms a ready asylum
to those who are so frequently obliged to seek their safety
from tyranny and oppression by self-banishment. Many
of these unfortunate exiles take refuge here, and linger
out their existence, in the hope of better times, in sight
of their native shores. It is only just to say that the
Sultan of Morocco, in their regard, has acted with a hu-
manity worthy of a more civilised State; and, when
pressed, as he has been at different times by the Spanish
Government, to give up these unhappy persons, backed by
an offer the most tempting in the present crippled state of
the Moorish navy—namely, the present of a frigate—he
has uniformly refused to deliver them up, and, rejecting
the proffered bribe, has observed that be would not sell
their blood.—Sketches in Spain and Morocco.
We are gratified to learn from various parts
that clubs are in the course of formation for the purpose
of securing the return of independent and free Members,
and of guarding against the dictation of the Aristocrats of
the country on future occasions. We invite voters in
every rape, district, city, and borough, to strengthen
themselves against the assaults of the oppressor. Formed
into a club, they acquire the strength of a bundle of
sticks, which, while in adhesion, resist that violence, which
being brought to bear on each stick individually would spee-
dily reduce it to splinters. It matters not how few the
members of each club are at its first formation. Any half-
dozenmen- actuated by honest intentions and calling to
their aid a moderate share of prudence and perseverance,
may form a
focus, towards ',Th.
ich all the rays ofindepen-
dent feeling of the district will lea attracted and dazzle
forth brilliantly- These clubs, in the day of battle,
would form a citadel,:,7t7ll,lich the conscientious voters
might assemble in safety, councilc in discussions, and
acquire strength by union and ration. That, which
proceeding front an individual Z"uPl,Cly.
be sneered at, will
secure attention and even respect emanating from
county the members of a club. The voters, f:z:
them communication
thet'on*etr'i'anltile
atteolcknow
par-
ticularly are so dispersed, that a e
is required to be kept up, in order
each other's sentiments and to acquire an accurate
ledge of the numerical strength of those who are really
independent men ; and we do not at this moment recal
single instance in which a greater public service could be
rendered than by some active, intelligent men setting about
the formation of a county club for the protection of full
liberty in the exercise of the elective franchise, with the
view of keeping it entirely free front Aristocratical dicta-
tion. One thing only is to be avoided in the formation of
these clubs; let them be as free foam restraints and ques-
tionable rules as possible.—Beighton Guardian.

'