The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-04 00:00:00

THE PENINSULAR MAIL.

SOUTUAMPTON, DEC. 3.—The Peninsular and
Oriental Company's steam-ship Pacha, Capt. Weeks,
arrived here at elven P.M.

The freight of the Pacha consbds of 11 packages
of specie, 556 boxes of oranges, 16 ditto tangirenes,
and cargo comprising 69 boxes of eggs, and 12
packages sundries.
lien dates of sailing were—Gibraltar, Nov. 25 ;
Lisbon, 29; Vigo, Dec. 1 ; Oporto, Nor. 30 ; Ca-
diz, 26, &c.

Stations of her Majesty's steam ships—At Lisbon,
screw steamers Arrogant, 46, I logue,. 56, Encounter,
14, Conflict, Scourge, steamer, and Leander, frigate.
The quarantine is reduced to three days from the
south, and should the packet of the 7th produce a
clean billl of health, she will be admitted to free
pratique at Lisbon.
Ships Spoken with on the Voyage—Exchanged
signals with Company's ship Sultan, Dec. 1, lat. 45
deg. 20 min. N., long. 7 deg. 30 min. W. Off Cape
St. Vincent, November 27, passed a screw-steamer,
supposed to be the Earl of Auckland.

CALEDONIAN AS LIJM,-COR-

PORAL PUNISHMENTS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—At a meeting of the guardians of the Cale-
donian Asylum, which was held on Thursday last,
the 29th ult., a resolution was moved by Captain
Lamont, that corporal punishment ought to be
utterly abolished in the institution. The Gallant
Captain stated that, from his long experience in the
navy, as well as from his intimate knowledge of the
charitable institutions of the country, he well knew
the evils resulting from flogging.
Mr. Strickland seconded the resolution, "upon the
broad principle of promoting a lore of justice among
men, and of assisting that glorious consummation,
when an appeal to the better feelings and to the
judgments of young persons should be deemed pre-
ferable to a resort to physical suffering."
Mr. Hector Rose, a magistrate for Middlesex,
strenuously opposed the motion. " Whipping," said
he, " in cases of tender age was authorised by the law
of the land as a mode of punishment." I attended the
meeting, and heard and saw Mr. Hector Rose, and I
venture to state that I am at a loss to characterise the
speech which he made in support of corporal punish.
ment and the remarks which he thought proper to
make on the conduct of the parents of the children.
Mr. Rose, from his remarks and attitude, seemed
prepared to " whip universal nature." I pray that I,
or any little boys or little girls, be preserved from
coming before him in his magisterial capacity, or, if
we do—woe betide us I

Dr. Cumming opposed the motion, and asked " what
was it proposed to substi.ute, supposing corporal
punishment to be abolished ?"
Captain Lamont named several, such as " depriva-
tion of indulgence, confinement, and, finally, expul-
sion."

Dr. Cumming—" A good whipping would be better
than all put together."
The Hon. Fox Maule " wished it to be distinctly
understood that the question on this motion regarded
the punishment with a rod for ycung children, and
was totally different from the question of flogging
adults. He might advocate, as regarded young chil-
dren, following out the authority of he who spareth
the rod spoileth the child.'"
Here, then, we have Mr. Rose, a magistrate, re-
presenting justice; Dr. Cumming, representing reli-
gion ; and the Hon. Fox Maule, one of the Ministers
of the Crown, and Secretary-at- War—a most powerful
and formidable combination of what may be termed
"justice, religion, and the' force of arms,"----strenu-
ously upholding a system which is coeval with our
history. Hence it may be considered that the lash is
part and parcel of our common nature ; but every in-
telligent being and every well-regulated mind must
be aware that the torture of the lash is associated with
despotism and tyranny; and because, as it is said, the
custom is as ancient as the hills, and as universal as
the sand of the sea shore, it ought not to be abolished.
I differ in opinion with any man or class of men who
thinks that corporal punishment ought not to be abo-
lished, because, as Captain Rose says, " if they went
to Eton and Harrow they would find that the chil-
dren of the highest nobility got a monstrous great
flogging when they deserved it. He knew he did when
he was at school.—(Laughter.)" This observation
reminds me of what Colonel NVhite, of the Hussars,
in the notorious Hounslow flogging, said. I will
place in juxta•position what the Secretary of the
Ragged Schools says —" Our Ragged School system
is one of love, kindness, and affection, and anything
like corporal punishment would ill-accord with these."
So that the poor little ragged bays of London can
be trained by " love, kindness, and affection ;" and,
according to Mr. Rose, the sons of our nobility
" get a monstrous good flogging when they deserve
it." We are told that God is love—but Dr. Gumming
is for " a good whipping."
I am afraid that I have already trespassed too much
on your valuable space, but as one of your readers who
has read:from time to timeinthe articles which appeared
in the columns of yourjoUrnal, the horrid, brutal, and
inhuman description of what Haynau has been doing
with that noble but unfortunate people, the Hunga-
rians, as you raised your voice in exposing cruelties
which were perpetrated in Eastern Europe, I hope
that I am not asking too much for the assistance of
your powerful aid in endeavouring to remove from
the statute-book of this country one of the last relics
of barbarism—namely, the torture of the lash, or cor-
poral punishment.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
A. GUARDIAN.

THE GUARDS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
trust that the pithy letter in this day's
Times, on the subject of the Guards, will not escape
your notice, and that you will comment on the
scandalous system which sends a lieutenant-colonel
of fourteen years' service in St. James's to command
a regiment of the line in Ceylon, where the other
lieutenant-colonels are officers of 30 and 40 years'
hard service.
LOOK UPON THIS PICTURE AND THAT.
lith Regt. S Col. Drought,
136 years service

37th Rwgt.
Co!. Skelly,
23 years.
Cu 1. Braybrooke,

Col. Milman,
From the Guards to
the 37th Regt.
14 years' service I 1 !

37 years:
Ceylon Col. Cockrano,
Rifles. 42 years.
1
Col. Simmonds,
44 years.
Surely no captain of the Guards under 20 years'
service ought to be permitted to receive a lieutenant-
coloaelcy in the line, or, better still, let the officers of
the Guards be colonels or generals, or field-marshals
if they like, but " let them," as the late Lord Erskine
proposed, "be a distinct body from the line of the
marching army, and as their services are totally dif-
ferent, let not their rewards clash with each other.
Let not the safe silken service of a Court, however
honourable, supersede the hazardous and laborious
duties of the camp."

What can a young man reared in the Guards, with
only fourteen years' service, know about the com
mend of a regiment of the line • and must it net be
mortifying to the veterans of the army to see a mere
youth thus brought among them on a par?
Eventually all the elevated posts in the army must
be filled by Guardsmen, owing to the rapidity with
which, in the first instance, they obtain the rank of
lieutenant•colonel, and in the second, that of colonel
regimentally; and except the Line look to it in time,
they will find boy Guardsmen brought to command
them, thereby utterly destroying all their prospects
of promotion.
Trusting that the Commission now sitting will not
allow the unfair advantages enjoy€d over the Line to
escape their notice,
1 remain, Sir, your obedient servant,
A MAJOR OF FORTY YEARS' SERVICE.
December 3, 1849.

DEATI/ OF EBENEZER ELLIOTT.—Died, on the
Ist inst., Ebenezer Elliott, the " Corn-law Rhymer,"
at his residence, Argilt-hill, near Barnsley. His
illness has continued, more or less severe, for many
months; yet up to the last few weeks his powers of
mind were active and clear, so much so, that he was
engaged in correcting for the press an enlarged
edition of his works, now publishing by Mr. Fox.
Some of his sweetest lyrical effusions have been the
production of this period of bodily affliction. He
has left a wife, five sons and two daughters.—From
a Correspondent.
One to-day is worth two tomorrows.—Eliza
Cook's Journal.

LONDON COFFEE AND EATINGHOUSE-ILEEFERS'
ASSOCIATION.—Yesterday evening a meeting of the
members and committee of management of the above
society, Mr. French in the chair, was held at the Free-
masons' Tavern, for general business. The report
stated that the society was making fair progress amongst
the members of the trade. The capital fund invested
amounting to nearly 2,3001, the amount of pensionary
reliet distributed to the male and female pensioners has
during the past year kept pace with the income deriv-
able from invested stock. The usual routine business
having been concluded, thy meeting adjourned.