The Sun.
London, England, 1822-01-18 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MANSION-HOlCSE..—Yesterday several Gentlemen waited
upon the Lon» Mavoit for the purpose of malting inquiries
into the case of Poole, the unfortunate person whose family
was stated, a few days ago, to be suffering very great priva-
tions.
Poole was present at the time, the Lord Mayor having sent
for him, in order to give him directions as to the application of
a sum of money which has been raised for the relief of those de-
pendent upon him.
It was mentioned by Poole, that the day after* was ex-
amined at the Mansion-ll.Ouse, a number of ladies% d gentle-
men, led by the public statement in the Newspapers, called at
his lodgings, and relieved all the necessities of his unfortunate
family. An abundance of bed clothes and necessaries of all
kinds were supplied by the humanity of those benefactors; and
bank notes to the amount of C5l. were given to him, by which
he should be enabled to get into some business, for he support
of his wife and children. His intention was to set up a shop in
the fruit line..
The Loan Mayan. having advised Poole to be very careful
in the management of the money, mentioned, that he under-
stood that a subscription had been made at the Stock Exchange
for the family, and that the sum of 601. had been raised ; his
Lordship, in the course of a Conversation with the gentle- I
. men who waited upon hiM, stated, that a great number
of cases of disixess were frequently detailed to Mai
in the
Justice Room, of a degree very nearly approaching that of
Poole, by the sufferers. In most of these cases he waS
obl-
ed to afford the applicants relief from his private funds,
to prevent them from perishing, and he remained, ignorant of
the extent to which their parishes went in assisting them, after
he had dismissed them. Parishes, however, were not liberal to
a proverb, and he believed there were multitudes of objects
most deserving of the attention of the affluent, in the habit of
receiving parochial relief. He had, besides, a great many ap-
plications from persons who had no parishes to claim upon.
He had; upon such occasions, given to fathers and. mothers,
with crowds of young children, a little temporary` relief, and
those unfortunate individuals set out, perhaps, upon along jour-
ney, without any additional means of support.
WORSHIP-STREET.—POLYGA3tv—..John Mztekcali Col-
lins was brought before WILLIAM -ELINETT, Esq.; (the pre-
siding Magistrate), and charged with marrying two women, his
first wife being still alive. It appeared that the prisoner had
married sEvEar WOMEN, all of whom arc now living. His
first wife, to whom he , was married in the year 1808,. ap-
peared at the office, and would have given her evidence
against him, had it been admissible before the Magistrate.—
Elizabeth Mason stated, that she was married to the prisoner in
December, 1818, at Bethnal-green church. From this woman
he received 6001. at the time of the, marriage. Jane Blanks
stated, that she was married to the prisoner in June, 1821, at
Little Baidow; is EsSex. These marriages were duly proved
from the parish registers, and Mr. BysETT ordered.- the
prisoner to be renanded, that the parties might have time to
adduce further evidence of the first marriage, which was
solemnized at Exeter.

Of the REDUCTION of NATIONAL DEBT.

N- quid nimis"—
" The Vice is i' th' excess."

In ancient and more barbarous periods; the
transition from war to peace was hailed as a
blessing, and the Gods were thanked-and praised
for the bounty of the earth's abundance. There
were then no steam-engines, or gas lights, and
very few, and perhaps more natural political.econo-
mists ; professors of the " New Science," which
would be 'better termed 64 La Trista Glenda," a
knowledge, with all its crudities and quiddities,
little dreamt of by the Troubadours of Spain,
when " la bays ciencia," or " la devoCion," were
the only studies, or affectations, of the age. In
1815, the termination of a long struggle of most
sanguinary and harassing warfare, proved to be
file commencement, with us, 'of a new era of,
difficulty and suffering. First, the labourer was
not worthy of his hire ; then the manufacturer could
find no market for the productions of Machines, or
forges, looms, or anvil; the merchant no sale for his
foreign commodities. Then, cheapness prompted
enterprise, and aided by capital, credit, and eon&
dence,once more set the languid w heels of commerce
into a brisker, (almost too rapid) motion ; these
were soon checked by a contraction of the cur-
rency, and by the legal enactment of a new me-
tallic standard, which soon completed the degra-,
dation of all property, and exagf,),Trated the bur-:
then of all nominal money obligations, public and
private alike. In this manner five sinking and
struggling years were torn away ; while three
successive fine seasons conspired, with two or:
three unnecessary importations of foreign grain,.
add the action on; or contraction and alteration'
of the currency, to change all the relations be-
tween rent, wages, taxes, and the value, or price
of the harvests, the cattle and other produce of
the farmers. This now brings on an alarm for
landlords, and the lower clerks- of office,
and while it has relieved the labourer much,
leaves only the public annuitant, the man of
office; and the monied capitalist at their ease ;
in a condition of almost doubled means, 4y these
sudden, violent, and unlooked-for revulsions.

After the great spur to all productions and ac-
tivities, which had been given by the effort and
expence in the Peninsula ;, by the short and
sharp struggle with America, and by the cam-
paign of Waterloo; the sudden check to all con-
sumptiOtA and employments ; the torpidity of
commerce into which all the continent of Europe
had fallen ; the cessation of speculation, and.of
the habit of storing all merchandise, together
with the contraction' of credit, and of the legal
currency, all together conspired to reduce-all
prices, and to change the relation between mawy
productions and consumptions ; and, when is add-
ed to this, the effect of the importations of foreign
grain, with successive fine harvests on ,a most ex-:
tended breadth of highly-forced cultivation at
home, we perceive some of the principal causes
of the-altered conditions and ill ease, of whicli
the complaints are now so general, and the sue=
fering-so severe. The comparison of the mort--
gage obligation of the estate of an individual with
its rent and production, is the same for the total
product of the soil, industry, and commerce of a
nation, with its liabilities of debt or expence.--
When all the annual products of a country stand
' in the estimate of its money, or legal currency,
at 400 millions ; an obligation of debt, of con-
tributions to some classes,.and of national ex-
:pence of 100 millions, may be
,borne ; but if some
accidents, or politic. contrivances, reduce this
value to 200 millions, it will not be easy to draw
the same 100 millions of money value, from the
Samequantity, reduced_ in its denomination, so
that one-half must be surrendered instead of a
fourth ;• the debt and claims retaining all their
nominal power, while the fund of national pro-
perty still remaining the same, or even increased
in number and quantity, has lost one-half in
the nominal estimate of monetary value, by a
contracted currency, or an altered standard.—
But even if these things be so actually at this
hour, the course of remedy, or th,e means of alle-
viation, are become More important than the
history of the chain of causes, or an idle retros-
pect of speculation on- the different results which
some other course of conduct would have. Pro-
cured for us. The weight of debt and taxation,
the disproportion between the annuity obligation
of the State, the cglins of pauperism, and the
expence of the Government, and the Church, all'
demanded in a currency highly enhanced in its
standard and comparison with the whole products
and properties of the community, are felt to be the
grievance, or misfortune, of our actual condition.
There appear .to be some strong but wholesome
and equitable courses,which still may, and should,
be adopted to relieve this difficulty. The vice
of system which has fixed the public debt in per-
petual annuities, defies all relief from the
,opera-
Lion of the slow and uncertain. contrivance, called
the Sinking Fund ; a mechanism, which, what-
ever other purpose it may have served, has, to this
time, had the effect of increasing the debt which
it is its professed purpose to reduce and extin"-
knish. Stronger and more effective means are
called for, by the urgency and extremity of the
condition ; and are justified by the EQUITY of
the case between all the parties it affects. Of
such means, the following are offered to the
consideration of those who can judge of them :

The public revenue should be carried above all demands, so
far as to leave at least six to eight millions of num. surplus,
to apply to the reduction of the debt.,
The whole power, and the EFFECTIVX NANWER of liqui-
dating with this surplus turd, is the next consideration.
The reduction of the legal or customary interest to four per
cent. would much assist in this and other operations, .to reduce
the deb: by converting five and four per cent Stock into three
per cent. Annuities ; and three- per cent. perpetual Annuity
should be converted, as far as possible, into annuities for 49
and ct 9 years.
An equitable and well-regulated Property
.Tax, to produce
10 or 12 millions, should be substituted for some of the =it
Objectionable of the indirect taxation. '
If the emancipation of South America, and the
free and extended commerce of the globe, in
peace, for a few years, reduce the value of the
precious .metals, or have the natural ,Ofoct to in-
crease the comparative value of harvests, manu-
factures, merchandize, and labour, the obligation
of nationaldebt, or annuity, is pro (unto, lighten-
ed and relieved. ; and this, with the increase of
numbers, and -of the wealth of extended industry,
tagriculture, navigation, commerce„ and science, is
the best alleviation, as it is the surest guarantee of

national Obligations. The fall of til,? Value of
the precious metals, or of gold only—that is,:as
now regulated—of the value of money, 0r4114.;,
rise of the value of property and commodity,
are. convertible terms, at all times, though dif-
ferent causes may produce the- same effect,
Money may not fall in .valner and cornmodkty;
may advance, or commodity may not rise, and
money, that is, the metals, may depreciate ; t-he'
good effect will he the same on national Property;
and on national tnoney.obligation.
The reduction of-the legal or customary inte-
rest of money, :a well adjusted property-tax, and
the conversion of annuities, should together be
capable of reducing the present scale and manner
of taxation nearly sixteen' millions:per annnm.--:
The advance of values, and the increase of num-
bers, and of riches, relieve taxation and defit iir
directly, but absolutely, in the best manner, aud
are the surest.guarantee of the national faith, by
the security of power to-ke;epit..
The, application of a Sinking Fund in an ell
fective manner, and the recurrence, by -ever
rneans.possible, on equitable.,ternisoo a. sygte.r4
of terminable instead of perpetuAlammities,shonld
crown the . endeavour to reduce the appallin4
alarm 'of a debt of so great magnitude as the pre,.
sent; a condition for Which there is!no eOtnple
in the ancient :world, no parallel. in the moderni
no equal among the nations at this, time, and no
hope of relief,, but from the most energetic 'ex-
ertions, on 'sound principles., and a determined
prosecution of their dictates.
January, 1822.