The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-31 00:00:00

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4
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,25

FEMALE EIWGRATIO N.

PAROCIIIIIL MOVEMENTS IN AID OF MR.
SIDNEY HERBERT'S PLAN.

At the meeting of the vestry of the parish of St.
Marylebone, on Saturday, the Rev. Dr. Spry, the
rector, in the chair, the initiative steps were taken for
forming a parochial association in aid of the committee
recently established for enabling distressed needle-
women to emigrate. The importance of the subject
attracted a very numerous attendance of vestrymen.
Mr. HENRY CHARLES WILSON introduced the
subject in moving a resolution (founded upon a re-
quisition signed by 42 vestrymen) to the effect that
the use of the board room be granted for tho pur
pose of forming a parochial association. He had no
doubt that every member of the vestry had heard, or
read, of the scheme recently propounded by Mr.
Sidney Herbert, for carrying out an extensive system
of female emigration, more especially among the class
denominated needlewomen. It was impossible for a
more important question to engage the attention of
that or any other board. Mr. Herbert's plan had been
forced upon the attention of the public by the condi
tion of the poor ; and from the subscriptions which
had already been announced in the public press,
it appeared that there was every disposition on the
part of the public to aid this great and must desirable
object. Having been no idle observer of past events,
he (Mr. Wilson) had no hesitation in saying that he
believed this movement on behalf of female emigre
tion would be productive, not only of the most hene
ficial consequences to the emigrants themselves, but
to the country at large, and to the parishes of the
metropolis in particular. Hitherto, it appeared that
the subscriptions in aid of this great project had been
confined to the upper classes of society, and the
object which he, and those who had entrusted him
with the resolution he was about to propose had in
view, was to take measures by which the middle
classes might be enabled to put their shoulders to the
wheel in aid of this movement, and that by meeting in
their parishes, and establishing branch, or parochial
associa'ions, they might render a vast amount of
assistance to this truly iztional object.—(Hear, hear.)
There were several parties deeply interested in thi.
question. First, there was the large body of virtuous
and well-intentioned young women with which thi,
country abounded, but" who, unfortunately, wanted
employment, or who were employed at such rate of
wages as to be plunged into the lowest depths o'
misery—a class whose ,sufferings the energetic aid of
the press, the imagination of the. poet, the ingenuity of
the novelist, and the wit .of the satirist, had recently
exposed to the world, in all, their naked deformity
and horrible realitY. Their sufferings had created
e deep impression upon the public mind ; and there
was no class of society which was not interested in
the important question of how to afford adequate re-
lief. The vestry were well aware of the disparity
which existed between the sexes in this country ; and
lie would ask how there could be other than such dis-
tress as had recently been published, when it was
known that there were from five hundred thousand to
one million in excess of females over males here.
was utterly impossible Abut such an excess could he
employed profitably, whilst those who were employed
were paid such an amount of wages for their labour
that it did not deserve the appellation of remuneration.
This class, then, in the first place, would be not only
interested, hut benefitted, by this plan of emigration.
It stooei to reason if there were twenty thousand in
employment and insufficiently paid, that if you re-
moved four thousand or six thousand out of that
number, it would afford the most effectual means of
giving greater employment and of bettering the con-
dition of those who remained.—(Hear, hear.) If they
turned to the colonies, there they found that there
was a diminution of the female sex in a greater de-
gree than there was an excess here.—(Heats) He
alluded to the Australian colonies in particular. There
it was a well-known fact that the greatest of the social
evils which existed was the vast discrepancy be-
tween the number of males and females. Thus,
secondly, there could be no doubt but the colonies
themselves were deeply interested in this matter, and
that by the emigration of a large number of virtuous
and well -disposed females from the mother country,
they would be going a great way to advance their best
interests, both in a social and moral point of view, as
well as the interests of this country.—(Hear, hear.)
lie believed there was no movement which had ever
come before the public under more favourable
auspices, for, if they looked at the subscriptions, they
found at the head of that list the name of her Most
Gracious Majesty and that of her Royal Consort. They
also found in that list the name of the present head of
her Majesty's Government, Lord John Russell, and
that of Mr. Hume—names which were guarantees that
the object was a good one, for such men would be the
last to lend themselves to any object which was not
calculated to be useful to society at large.—(Hear,
hear.) It was true that emigration with regard to
females had been carried on for some considerable
length of time, but then it had been carried out in
such a way that the principle was in a great measure
calculated to defeat its own object. In this move- I
ment he (Mr. Wilson) apprehended that a different
course would be adopted, and that before females were
sent out a rigid inquiry would be instituted into the
character and qualifications of persons desirous
of being assisted.—(Hear, hear.) He apprehended
also, as the name of the Premier of this
country was appended conspicuously to the list of
subscribers, that in this movement they might count
upon the aid and countenance of the Government of
this country,: and of the colonial Governments, and
that they would adopt such measures, not only here
but in the colonies, as would be useful and beneficial
to the emigrants on their arrival at their destinations.
It was an important question, affecting them all, and
he hoped that the middle and even the working
classes would not be behind those who could afford
their one hundred pounds in their endeavours to aid
this great movement.--(Hear, hear.) One of the
important objects to be achieved by this committee,
which had been founded under the presidency of Mr.
Sidney Herbert, was female emigration on an exten-
sive scale to the Australian colonies, where, by care
and discrimination, the seed might be sown for a
great, healthy, moral, and religious community.—
(Hear, hear.) When he (Mr. Wilson) traced back
the prosperity of the United States of America, he
could only attribute it to the great moral and re-
ligious doctrines carried there from this country in
the times of our James and our Charles, and which
subsequently produced men of such high moral cha-
racter and position as Washington. If they were to
have religion, morality, and industry in Australia
hereafter, the same principle must be applied there
as was applied by our forefathers with respect to
America. He (Mr. Wilson) looked upon the
Australian colonies in relation to this country as
the safety valve might be looked upon in regard to
the steam-engine.—(Hear, hear.) The Australian
colonies would prove, he firmly believed, the safety
valve of this country if the principle of emigration
was properly carried out. They must have better
women sent to those colonies than the sweepings of
our convict-ships, or the offshoots of our workhouses.
—(Hear, hear.) They must be the honest, indus-
trious, and virtuous women, who he was sorry to say
obtained so scanty and miserable a living in their
mother country. The object therefore of himself and
his co-requisitionists was to aid this design by a
parochial movement, and he was about to ask the use
of that room for the purposes of a meeting to form
an association to aid the central committee formed
for carrying out Mr. Sidney Herbert's object.—
(Hear, hear.) He believed the city of London were
about to move in the matter, but it had devolved on

Marylebone to be the first parish to move in the
formation of a parochial branch association. If the
vestry adopted his proposal, in which he was proud
to say he had the concurrence of their reverend
chairman, he (Mr. Wilson) had no doubt that other
parishes would follow their example.—(Hear, hear )
Ile concluded by moving—" That the use of the
board room be allowed to the undersigned parishioners
for the purpose of enabling them to form a paroAi ii
association in aid of the committee recently :appointed
to carry out an effective system of female emigration."
Sir JAMES Hamturos, Hart., said, he had great
pleasure in seconding the motion. It was one strictly
in accordance with his own feelings, arid he was sure
that of all the proceedings which had ever come under
the notice of that vestry since he had the honour of
being a merribtr of it, this was the most import.int
(llear, hear) It was. a question which, insca.l of
being of a political character, or at all tainted by
party, was one of perfect philanthropy and humanity.
—(llean) It was for the amelioration of the condi
tion of one of the most wretched, ill• paid, and deserv-
ing classes of the community ; and when he looked
at the list of names which had been published, they
were a guarantee that there was no party or political
object in view.—(Hear, hear.) They were the names
of distinguished men of every class and denomina-
tion, and he trusted that the motion of Mr. Wilson
would be received with that unanimity of feeling to
which it was so eminently entitled.—( Hear.)
Mr. MicuiE had no wish to oppose the motion, but
he could not forbear saying that needlewomen were
hardly the sort of persons to be sent out to
our colonies. The colonies wanted women of
a different description, women fit to be the wives
of agricultural labourers. If they sent out one-half
of the unemployed needlewomen in the metropolis,
who was-to employ them upena their arrival ? Ele rather
thought that what the colonies wanted was good ser-
vants—persons calculated to undertake'the charge of
farms, and those trained to domestic service.

Mr. JOSEPH did not very clearly understand the
objection, unless it meant that needlewomen were not
fit persons for the wives of agriculturists. But that
was a very narrow-minded view. It was not to be
supposed that because there were so many thousands
of needlewomen in the metropolis, that they were all
brought up to be needlewomen from their infancy.
They had adopted it as a dernier resort, not being
able to procure employment as domestic 'servants, or
in any other way.—(Hear, hear.) It was high time
that some steps should be tiken with the surplus
population of this country, which increased in the
ratio•of one thousand per day; whilst it was equally
certain that the broad acres did not increase in the
;lightest degree to support them. It is not so much,
therefore, the great discrepancy between the numbers
of the female' sex as compared with the male, that had
forced this subject upon the attention of the country,
as it was from the urgency of the case arising from
the circumstances he had just referred to. Irwas the
way in which the labour market of this country was
yverstocked which rendered some step of the kind
necessary ; and whilst that was the case here,
let them look t* New Zealand, were there were
.thotsands upon thousands of acres of land without
cultivation, of the very finest description, for want
of the hands to sow and the hands to reap.—(Hear,
hear.) He eared not whether this scheme had
-manated, or was said to emanate, from Mr. Sidney
Herbert, or any one else, it was a good one, and
ought to be universally supported —(Hear. hear.)
His (Mr. Joseph's) opinion, however, was that if
credit was due to one more than another, it was
especially due to the proprietors of the forning
Chronicle, whose columns for the last three months
had called attention to the misery and distress of the
needlewomen in a series of articles of great ability,
wherein the facts having been industriously collected,
were plainly laid before the. werld.-4(Uear, hear.)
T. those gentlemen, therefori, was mainly due the
iistinguished honour, of -having first originated the
movement to which Mr.. Sidney Herbert had given
the sanction of his name. He,aP ts add that he was
oasen
aiuch gratified to find that:Ma Xone was the first
parish to rove in aid of the object, and he hoped that
eve f. 7 other parish in London would also form asso-
ciations togive aid to the Great Central Association.
The CHAIRMAN, in reference to the question whether
needlewomen would be an acceptable class of persons
to send-out as emigrants, begged to remark that he
had recently had a conversation on the subject with
a gentleman from Sydney, who stated that they were
a class of persons 'which werexanted very much, and
that if they were virtuous, morally inclined, and
industrious, they would be a most acceptable class of
persons...--(Hear, hear.) How the poor creatures
could live upon what they were paid for their needle-
work here was wonderful. He was shown a shirt the
Aber day which a friend of his told him he had paid
Out 3i. 611. for, and it was more beautifully worked
than any shirt he believed, which he (the Itiv. Rector)
gad ever worn in his life.—(Rear, hear.) How these
poor creatures could live was astonishing.—(Herr,
hear.) It was, therefore, a great act of humanity to
induce these poor women to emigrate.—(Hear.) _

Mr. SWAINE stated that he had seen letters from
Australia which stated that two respectable young
women who went out from Islington were engaged
immediately upon their arrival. One was now in a
situation at 301. a year, and the other in another at
201. No one, he was sure, could venture to state
that such a change in life would not be most beneficial
for the poor women who, to the number of about
20,000 in this metropolis, were obliged to live upon
making shirts at the rate of l d. a piece.
Mr. SODEN observed that the question of female
emigration had long been a favourite question with
the guardians of the poor of that parish, and it was
with no small degree of delight that they had witnessed
a cargo shipped off from the workhouse, with the
knowledge that they were going to a place where they
would be well fed, clad, and provided for. It was
true, however, they were not of the very first class of
persons. This movement, however, appeared chiefly
for the needlewomen, but, if they meant to do any
good, it was a farce to talk of making selections and
distinctions, and because a poor woman might have
committed herself once to set her down as a character
unworthy of the boon of emigration. It was his
belief that in most cases these poor women had been
creatures of circumstance, and that they would, if
they had the opportunity afforded them, become again
virtuous and useful members of society.—(Hear,
hear.) He thought that much of the expense attend-
ing emigration might be saved if her Majesty's Go-
vernment would employ some of the vessels of war in
the service.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. HAKES supported the motion, but his observa-
tions were inaudible.

Mr. J. BRIJ. observed that workhouse emigration
had not baen so successful as might have been wished,
because the females were generally corrupted by the
influences of the workhouse before they were sent,
whereas the present plan was to send out females
before they were so degraded. He thought those
who had the management of the affair should be ex-
ceedingly careful as to the character of the ships in
which the emigrants were sent out, for they had too
many instances on record where the captain and crew
were guilty of gross immorality. He (Mr. Bell)
thought, therefore, that exceeding care should be
taken not only with regard to the vessels, but with
regard to those selected to have the command of them.
Mr. GLASIER, in supporting the motion, thought
the vestry was about to take one of the most impor-
tant measures they had ever yet-been engaged in. He
wished the movement every success.—(Hear, hear.)
The motion was then put from the chair. and una-
nimously carried.
On the motion of Mr. GARNETT, seconded by Sir
JAMES HAMILTON, it was unanimously resolved that
the Reverend the Rector of Marylebone be requested
to act as chairman of the Parochial Association.

The Rev. Dr. SPRY, amidst much applause, inti-
mated that he should have much pleasure in accepting
the office.
It was next resolved on the motion of Mr. BRTDG-
MAN, seconded by Mr. EDWARDS, that ➢lr. Henry
Charles Wilson be requested to act as honorary
secretary to the " Marylebone Parochial Association
for Promoting Female Emigration."
Mr. WILSON said he should be happy to aid the
movement by all the means in his power, and that
his services in relation to it were entirely at the dis•
posal of his fellow-parishioners.—(Hear, hear.)
The remaining business was then disposed of, and
the vestry adjourned.
A public meeting in aid of the Parochial Associa-
tion is contemplated.

FATAL ACCIDENT IN RICHMOND -PARK.-011
Saturday a fatal accident occurred at Penn's Ponds, two
large and deep pieces of water situated half-way on the
road leading from Richmond to Ham. It appears that
the two ponds, the larger of which is about half as
broad as the Serpentine, and nearly a quarter of a
mile long, were thickly coated with ice. About eleven
o'clock some ten or twelve men were employed by Mr.
J. Ellis, of tho Star and Garter Hotel, Richmond, to
,htain him a supply for his ice cellar; and three men,
named Willimn Powell, James Powell (brothers), and
Thomas Gudden, who were on the pond, some yards
from the side, were in the act of pushing a large piece
of ice towards the breach, when the ice on which they
stood br,,ke with a loud crash, and they were all in-
stantly immersed in deep water. James Powell and
Thomas Godden were rescued in a half-drowned state,
William Powell disappeared under the ice, and his
body was not recovered until au hour and a half atter-
wards.

IRELAND.
(FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.)
DUBLIN, SATURDAY EVENING, DEC. 29.—The
letter of Sir Robert Peel to " his farmers," has fallen
amongst the Protectionists here like a thunderbolt.
The weekly papers here all published it in second
edkions ; the Landon papers of yesterday morning
not having arrived, owing to contrary winds, and thus
depriving the two morning papers here of an opportunity
of publishing that simple but imprtant document.
The fiercest Protectionists now give up the ghost of
a h'pe that they will succeed; for the tables have
hren completely turood upon them in their own
domestic circle, and Sir Robert's manifesto has cut
them off from all out-of-door aid. Ano-her signifi •
cant disappointment has occurred to the landlord
clique from the reception their circu'ar has met Kick
from Richard Maxwell Fox, Member for Longford—
an exclusively agricultural county —and nephew of
Lord Farnham, of Exeter Hall ar.d old Tory fame.
Invited to attend a meeting on tha sth of January
next, to form a Protection society, the Honourable
Member published a long and able reply in the Long-
ford .Journal of this morning, in which, after declaring
hjs determination not to attend, he says—
" This call for protection is in my mind a gross delu-
sion upon the unwary tenantry of Ireland. The re-
imposition of a tax upon the food of the great bulk of
the people will not be tolerated for a moment by the
powerful manufacturing interest of the United Kingdom;
and the idea of any benefit to be derived from it by the
farmers and labourers is also rejected by great numbers
of the agricultural body in England and Ireland, and
especially in Scotland."

In other portions of his letter Mr. Fox writes very
unlike an Irish landlord. He recommends security
of tenure, reduction of rents, reduction in the area
and other alterations of poar- law unions and electoral
divisions; and, lastly, a recognition by law of the
tenant's right to sell his interest (providing that the
rent should be paid, and sub-division of the farm
avoided). The value of Mr. Fox's opinion is enhanced
by the fact that all his own intereats are involved in
the lartd, everything he p9ssesses in the county being
fee simple landed property. He concludes by
saying . . _ . . .

Icannot hesitate, in conclusion, to record my decided
conviction that in the even prices which must arise from
free trade, the profits of your_indastry will be far more
continuous, and your calculations more certain, and
consequently your steadiness of purpose and ease of
mind tar greater than if you were again subjected to the
influence of a gambling *spirit, caused by a fluctuating
trade,-and a ruinous competition, for land, under the old'
protective system."
The Nation to day has air obituary of Mr. fames
Fenton Lalor, a well-known• writer—in the United
Irishman and Felon newspapers. sir. Lalor was the
son of Patrick Lalor, Esq., of Tinnakill, formerly
Member of Parliament for the Queen's County, and
was remarkable both in his personal appearance and
for the vigour of his mental acquirements. He was
of a very delicate frame, was hunabacked outing
to a hurt when young, and had a peculiar cast of
countenance, indicative of habitual suffering. He
was decidedly the most profound and original thinker
of the entire Young Ireland school; and his letters
on the land question—although levelling in the
extreme—were fraught with natural eloquence and
that homely intelligible vigour so potent with the
masses. Mr. Lalor, whose health has been delicate
since his imprisonment in 1848, expired on Thursday,
at his lodgings in Great Britain-street, in his twenty-
eighth year.
The country papers to-day contain the obituary of
another man, remarkable in a different sphere. It is
the death of the Very Rev. Farrell Sheridan, P.P. of
Granard, Longford, one of the best Irishmen at d
priests that have for many years adorned the Roman
Catholic Church. I knew the reverend gentleman
well; and he was as free from all bigotry and preju-
dice towards those who differed from him in religion
as he was bound up by every tie-of Christian charity
to the flock who loved him. He died of typhus fever, ,
caught in the discharge of his sacred duties to the
most bereaved portion of his fltick. The Anglo. Celt, a
Cavan paper of this morning's date, publishes an
interesting sketch of the deceased and his family, from
which I extract the following :

" The Rev. Farrell Sherid.oi was of the ancient family
of that name in the county of Cavan—one of n h m was
the tutor, and afterwards the companion of the un •
fortunate Charles Edward, iu his descent upon
Scotland, in 1745; after the defeat of the latter at Cut-
loden, and his subsequent romantic adventures in the
Iliglands, all the energies of Great Britain w‘re
exerted to have him taken, dead or alive; 10 000/.
reward was put upon his head; his intention was
supposed to be to endeavour to escape to France;
and he was for several weeks mis,ing, but it was
known to be impossible tor him to have made his any
through the British cruisers, on the look out for him
along the entire coast. It is a tradition sinougst the
Jacobite families of this country, that the Prince, ac
cotupanied by Sheridan, lauded ou the north- western
coast of Ireland, whence in the disguise of a pedlar, he
made his way to the neighbourhood of Kilnaleck in this
county, where he was concealed until the first heat of
pursuit abated. Upon one occasion he was ntarly taken;
information was given at C.svan, that a person answering
his description lurked in the neighbourhood; he was
made aware of this in sufficient time to make his escape,
and was eventually conducted back into France. Ap•
preaching nearer to our own time, Doctor Edward She-
ridan, a member of the same family, and au eminent
M.D., in Dublin, was amongst the most active in his ex-
ertions to remove the civil disabilities of his countrymen.
During the Duke of Richmond's administration, he was
indicted by Mr. Ssurin, ex-officio, and found guilty of
a violation of the Convention Act, in taking the chair
at a meeting of the Catholic Board."
The Kilkenny Moderator of this morning states
that a petition for protection is in course of signature
throughout that county, under the auspices of the
Earl of Desart, High Sheriff, and a " considerable
number of the magistrates, clergy, and landed gentry."
Too late, gentlemen
I am glad to perceive by the Wexford and Donegal
papers that vast shoals of fish have visitel their re-
spective coasts. Fish, also, is exceedingly plentiful
here. A gentleman told me to day he purchased two
splendid plaice here yesterday for the sum of five-
pence ! The Ballyshannan Herald of this morning
has the following paragraph :
" IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONDITION OF TOE PEOPLE.
—lt affords us great pleasure to state that, during the
entire season there has been a most abundant supply of
fish along the coast of Donegal, so much so, that it ex-
ceeds anything heard of for the last ten years. We
have lately been informed that the potato disease has
scarcely affected a tuber in many parts of the country,
and that owing to these circumstances a great change for
the better is taking place in the social condition of the
people."
THs WEATHER.--The weather still continues ex-
tremely severe, with hard frost and a strong north-
western breeze. The " high tide," which was expected
this morning, has not yet " come off ;" and although
they now say it is to take place to-morrow morning,
or next, I am inclined to think the appearance of the
threatened diluvies is indefinitely postponed. The
wind is now blowing off shore, and the weather
frosty ; so that high tide or low, there is no immediate
danger of submersion.

Great discontent is felt here at the monopoly of
the bakers and butchers. According to the market
rates, these gentry must be pocketing profits to the
tune of seventy to eighty per cent. on their outlay.
The butchers of Dublin were always noted for their
combination to keep up prices ; and since the retire-
ment of the great firm of Handers, the bakers have
reverted to the old system, and emulate the butchers
in their peculations on an impoverished community.
THE MURDER or Ms. PIIELAN.—It will be recol-
lected that it was stated in this paper that five men,
charged with the murder of Mr. John Phelan, at
Carrickbeg, in October last, had been committed for
trial on the information of James Cleary, a crown
witness. It has created some surpris? that on Christ-
mas eve the parties were removed from this to Carrick-
on.Suir, and bailed on that night before J. B. Graves,
Esq., in the small sum of 201. each, and two sureties
in the sum of 101. to appear at next assizes.— Water-
ford Mail.
DUBLIN STOCK AND SHAME MARKET.—SaIes yester•
day at the Commercial Exchange:—Three per Cent.
Consols, 961; ditto, for opening, 96i 1; Three•and-a-
Quarter per Cent. Stock, 968, 97; Hibernian Bank, 25};
Patriotic Insurance, 7; Mining Company of Ireland,
4i; Wicklow Copper Mines, 10. it, f.—Railway: Mid-
land Great Western and Royal Canal Company,
Royal Exchange: Dublin Consumers' Gas Company, 51.

IMPORTATION OF SPONGE.—An importation having
taken plats of a quantity of sponge by a vessel from
Rotterdam, and entered as being free or duty, the
of: Beers of the revenue considering that it was the pro-
duce of Turkey and having been imported from Europo
was inadmissible to entry, detained the sponge as having
been imported contrary to law. On consideration of
the matter it appeared that there was not sufficient
proof that the sponge was inadmissible to entry for
home use, and that according to the best authority,
sponges occur attached to stones at the bottom of the
sea, and abound particularly upon the shores of the
islands in the Grecian Archipelago. If the sponge were
the produce of Asiatic Turkey it would be inadmis-
sible, but it appearing to have been ruled on a former
occasion that the laws of navigation were applicable
solely to the produce of the land, and that therefore
this article was not affected by those laws, permission
was granted for the delivery of the sponge and free of
duty for home use.
Hum. PENNY BANK.—Collected in pence from
4.364 depositors between August 1, 1849, and Dec. 27,
7571. 6s. ld.-134 days.—Hull Packet,