The Sun.
London, England, 1849-11-13 00:00:00

DARING ROBBERY.—Thomas -Haycock, a we

known thief, was charged with committing the
following daring robbery, attended with violence to
the person :
At about ten o'clock on Saturday night James
Bolt, a country lad, was accosted by two women of
loose character, near Westminster Abbey, and in-
n theot
beenneighbourhood
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o than ofa
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minute when the prisoner knocked at the door, and,
having been admitted by one of the women, asked
the youth for some money. The latter replied, he
had none, when the prisoner took out a knife, and
declared with an oath that he would have his money
or his life. The lad repeated he had none, when the
prisoner knocked him down, and another fellow who
had entered the room held him on the floor while the
prisoner robbed him of 2s. 7d., which he had in his
trousers' pocket; the lad fortunately escaping from the
house with a much larger sum in his fob, which they
turned aside to examine the purse which contained
the 2s. 7d., no doubt in anticipation of finding from
its weight—there being some halfpence in it—a
much greater booty. The lad gave information to
Knowland, B 50, who took the prisoner into custody
on Sunday night.
The prisoner, who denied the charge, was remanded
for a week.
A respectable looking woman, apparently upwards
of 60 years of age, attired in deep mourning, who gave
her name Eliza Howard Billington, was placed at
the bar, charged with stealing a small drinking-glass.
Charles Frederick Clarke, barman at Mr. Spence.
ley's, the Swan Tavern, Sloane-street, stated that in
consequence of having of late lost a great number of
dram glasses, and suspecting the prisoner, who some-
times took a little refreshment and looked at fie news-
papers, he watched' her upon the occasion of a visit
that morning, and he saw her put the glass in a
reticule basket she had on her arm, immediately after
which she walked out. lie followed and brought her
back, and then took the glass from her basket, when
she drew it out of his hand and let it fall upon the
floor, by which it was broken.
Serjeant M'Cloud, 18 B, proved having, since she
had been in custody, searched her lodgings, and found
three other drinking.glasses, one of which was identi-
fied as Mr. Spenceley s, and a second as Mr. Hallifax's
of the Two Brewers, Queen's Buildings, Knights-
bridge. He also discovered a great number of beg-
ging letters and duplicates.
The accused, upon being called upon for her de-
fence, said—l had been reading the paper, and I have
not the least doubt I put the glass into my basket
with my spectacles by mistake.
The police having intimated that they should be in
a condition to prove a former conviction against the
prisoner, who is a well known begging-letter writer,
for felony,
Mr. BRODERIP remanded her till Monday next.
LAMBETH.

THE ATTEMPTED MURDER IN DULWICH WOOD.
—The young woman Ewins, on whose life the despe-
rate attempt had been made by the young fellow
Jordan, in Dulwich-wood, on the night of the 19th
of September last, and for which the latter had been
left for execution, yesterday waited on Mr. Elliott,
accompanied by her grandmother, an aged but decent
looking woman.
In reply to the questions of the Magistrate, she
said she expected to be confined in the month of
January next, and that as soon as she got over that it
was her intention, if her health and strength permitted
her, to get into service again.
Mr. ELLIOTT informed her that a short ire before
Mr. Cope, the Governor of Newgate, had called with
two guineas from the Sheriffs of London for her use.
He also said that it was likely other sums would be
sent for her, and if so he should be happy to take
charge of it, and that it was properly applied to
her use. He then directed that 20s. of the money
in hand should be given to her and her grandmother
for her immediate use, and expressed a hope that they
would not go about with a petition.
This they promised, and having expressed their
gratitude, left the court.

THE MURDER AT THE MILLBANK

PENITENTIARY.

Yesterday appliQionWis-Macfe to Sir George
Grey, at the Home-office, to grant an order to remove
the convict John Francis, who now stands charged by a
coroner's jury with having brutally murdered Thos.
Hall, the warder, from Millbank Prison to Newgate,
to await his trial at the ensuing sessions. After the
return of the verdict, at the inquest on Saturday last,
the wretched culprit was conveyed back to the refrac-
tory cell, but wag soon afterwards placed in a large
room, called " a day work room," by himself. His
arms and legs were heavily manacled, and two warders
are stationed in the room with him to guard him.
He has displayed no remorse for having committed
such an atrocious deed, nor even alludes to the occur-

1849,

rence. He was allowed to communicate with his
friends, who are of the Jewish persuasion, residing
in the neighbourhood of Houndsditch. His relatives
are highly respectable, but he has been discarded by
them for some considerable time, in consequence of
his depraved and incorrigible habits. In consequence
of Francis being a Jew, he did not attend chapel
on Sunday morning with the other prisoners, and he
applied to the Rev. Mr. T. Penny, the chaplain, for a
Hebrew bible, which was most readily given him.
He remained very quiet all day on Sunday and yes-
terday, and was constantly reading the bible. The
wretched murderer was tried some time since for
robbery, and sentenced to ten years' transportation.
While at the hulks he complained of the diet, and
asked Mr. Dabbs, the surgeon, for an extra allowance,
Mr. Dabbs, not thinking it necessary, refused to give
it him, and while he was walking away from him,
Francis suddenly struck Mr. Dabbs a most violent
blow upon the back of his neck, with a heavy mallet,
with which he had been working. The un-
fortunate gentleman was knocked down, and Francis
would have repeated the blow, but was fortunately
prevented by several of the officers, who rushed to
Mr. Dabb's assistance, and safely secured the mis-
creant. Mr. Dabba was confined to his room for
upwards of four months, from the effects of the
injuries, and he now frequently complains of his neck.
Francis was severely punished, after which he was
again sent hack to Millbank prison as a most incorri-
gible convict. On his way from the hulks he re-
peatedly threatened that on his arrival at the prison
"he would be one with the officers, and that he
would not be treated as he had been." After Francis
had inflicted the fatal violence upon the unfortunate
deceased warder Hall, he was secured, and when the
two points of a pair of scissors were discovered in his
jacket pocket, he exclaimed " that he had carried
them about him for the purpose of stabbing Dr. Baly
on the first opportunity." He had endeavoured to
obtain an alteration in his diet at Millbank, and no
other cause can be assigned for his committing this
atrocious murder than that of revenge for his not
obtaining the alteration. Hall was universally
esteemed by his brother officers for his general ur-
banity and mild demeanour. He has left a wife and
six young children, who were totally depending upon
him for support. The sum of 501. has been given to
the distressed widow, froln a fund, which entirely
belongs to the officers attached to the prison. This
fund is raised by weekly subscriptions, and the fines
inflicted upon the officers for dereliction of duty are
added to it.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS
FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.
CHRONICLE.—We proceed to consider the
question which we opened in our financial article en
Friday last, viz , what relief it may be practicable to
afford to the country from that pressure of taxation
which is unquestionably one of the heaviest clogs
upon its prosperity, and one of the greatest drawbacks
to the comfort and well-being of its productive classes.
It must by no means be supposed that in turning our
attention, in the first instance, to this branch of the
subject, we are overlooking or disparaging the im-
portance of retrenchments in the national expendi-
ture. Whether it be in the affairs of states or of
individuals, we appreciate at its full value the
" magnum vectigal" of a vigilant and penetrating
economy. Our incessant solicitude for this object is
qualified by no other consideration than a regard to
public faith, to efficient service, and to the just remune-
ration of labour. Those who have seen the result
of the army-clothing system, as described by our
Metropolitan Correspondent in his seventh letter,
will be at no loss to understand what we mean by the
last-mentioned condition. It is impossible, however,
to glance over the Finance Accounts without a lively
conviction that many of those who now serve the
public are too highly paid, that the services of some
might he dispensed with altogether, and that too many
are paid who do not serve the public at all. These
things must be amended, but the reform can only
operate by degrees. In regard to pensions and sine-
cure, we are waiting the expiration of a vicious
system which is soon to become obsolete. Time
alone can set us free from compacts into
which the State never should have entered, and
the like of which it is not possible for it to enter
into again. The consolidation of offices, and the
revision of salaries again, have already commenced,
and they will infallibly be carried on. The in-
tense pressure for employment, and the general
reduction of profits, will not suffer the recipients of
Government salaries to enjoy both a higher scale of
income, and at the same time that exemption from
reverse and uncertainty which official station affords.
We are firmly opposed, indeed, to the short-sighted
policy of underpaying public functionaries ; but
justice demands for those who have to struggle un-
aided fur subsistence, that ability and industry should
not find a more lucrative provision in a public than
they would meet with in a private career. It is upon
the high ground of justice to the community that we
a.sert the paramount duty of economy in the dispen-
sation of the public income. Extravagance is injus-
tice : the endowment of sinecurhts, the over-payment
of those whom the State maintains, are frauds upon
those who, by their labour, maintain the State. The dis-
content which is roused by the spectacle of such abuses is
deep-seated ; it is well-founded ; and it is dangerous.
In considerations such as these we find ample motives
for desiring and advocating economy. In those, on
the other hand, which have been put forward by
some classes of financial reformeas we find little or
no force. So far as the condition of individual tax-
payers is concerned, the effect of such retrenchments
in the public departments as can be made consistently
with national security and with good faith must be
almost insignificant. The utmost rigour of the
pruning-knife could do comparatively nothing to
alleviate the pressure upon the millions who are
suffering the hardships of poverty or ill-remunerated
labour. If, indeed, it were possible to effect a saving
of several millions at a stroke, there might be some
reality in the prospect of relief, but whoever
has had the temerity to advance such a position
has shrunk from the proof of it. It is the opinion
of one of the ablest and best informed of our modern
writers on taxation, that, " so long as we make ade-
quate provision for the security and good govern-
ment of the different parts of the empire, there is not
so much as the shadow of a ground for supposing
that our expenditure can be sensibly reduced. On
the contrary, the probability is that it will have to be
enlarged." The experience of the past certainly goes
far to confirm Mr. M‘Culloch's view. If we carry
our eve back over the finance returns of the last
fifteen years, we shall observe an unmistakeable ten-
dency towards increase in the expenditure of the
nation. Whatever may be said of extravagance in
the public departments, it can hardly be asserted that
Government are comparatively more profuse now-
a-days than they used to be. The inference remains,
that the necessary -cost of governing the country has
increased with the increase of population, territory,
and civilization. As the area is extended, and
the machinery of Government becomes more compli-
cat d, the cost of working it becomes greater. In
1838 the total payments out of the Exchequer were
47,678,6881.—in 1848 they amounted to 55,175,0421.
Allow a very wide margin for reducible items, there
still remains a large substantial advance in the de-
mands of the public expenditure. It is plain to any
one who reflects on the tendencies of the times, that
the wants of society, which Government is called
upon to satisfy, have increased of late years in a still
more rapid ratio than its numbers. Concurrently
with the progressive increase in the expenditure of
the State, there are some other financial features
which it affords us more comfort to dwell upon.
We may observe, pari passu with the increase of
outlay, a proportionate increase of revenue,
accompanied by a progressive decrease in the
sources from whence that revenue is derived. A very
large amount of taxation has been remitted, while
the total receipts of the Exchequer have been
augmented. The poor and the industrious classes
have been relieved from some of their most oppressive
burdens. Look over the items of Customs and Excise;
and observe how vast is the advantage which they
have gained by recent fiscal alterations. Bread,beer,
coffee, candles, salt, sugar, leather, starch, vinegar,
printed goods, and many more articles of prime ne-
cessity to the humbler classes, are now either tax-free
or are taxed at a much lower rate than they were a
few years ago. Existence is thereby rendered much
easier to these classes than before. The amount of taxes
paid per head is considerably less. The pressure of
population upon the resoures of the country is miti-
gated. We may well be thankful to those statesmen
who have guided the course of our recent legislation,
that the fiscal policy of the country has taken such
a turn. It would have gone bard with the labour-
ing classes if it had been otherwise. Let
any one who is acquainted with the condition of the
labourers refl ct for a moment upon the consequences
of attempting to re-impose upon them the catalogue
of taxes which we have just enumerated. No states-
man, let him be called either Free-trader or Protec-
tionist, would venture on such an experiment. Yet,
though these once heavy imposts on the subsistence
and comforts of the population are irrevocably gone,
the country, notwithstanding, pays its way, and bears
up against its increasing obligations. How is this to
be accounted for? The fact is, that there are two
ways of replenishing
the Exchequer : one by in-
creasing the weight of taxation, the other by di-
minishing it. The older and coarser method
has in bygone days been carried far enough,
and experience has
i shown that its limits are
easily reached—for, n the arithmetic of finance,
, two and two do not invariably make four. A more
enlightened public economy has taught us the art of
increasing the product by lowering the rate of our
taxation, of drawing our supplies from a wider sur-
face and an ex tended range of constimie ion, and of
opening new sluices for revenue to flow in by
removing the barriers of prohibition. Instead of a
fiscal system which was oppressive, we have endea-
voured to substitute one which should be elastic. By

such a policy we have relieved, reanimated, perhaps
saved from utter prostration and decay, the industrial
energies of the country. But is there no further
room left for the development of such prolific relaxa-
tions ? Is the work of fiscal reformation even now
fioi!hed and complete—or is it not possible, by
further experiments in the same direction, to lighten
still more the weight that yet presses down our
heavily-taxed population in the keen race of compe-
tition, and in the arduous struggle for subsistence?
Let us see.

HERALD.—Of all the marvellous aspects in which
that marvellous animal man is to be regarded, there
is not one more marvellous than that which presents
him to us in the concrete military state of an army,
or a regiment of soldiers. We think nothing of it, it
is true—we think nothing of the most wonderful
things in existence, because we see them or read about
them every day, and take everything for granted that
does not startle us by its novelty, or astound us by
its noise. We wonder at any departure from fixed
laws, physical or moral, but the most wonderful phe-
nomena are not these erratic exhibitions, but the
regular methodical goings on of the world, upon
which we rarely bestow a passing reflection. Fami-
liarity breeds contempt. We do not marvel at the
discipline of the army which we see every day,
though there be no greater marvel in the world
than that we do see it every day. We
only wonder at any slight deviation from
it—at any transient symptom of irregu-
larity that may manifest itself, after a long
interval of monotonous repose. Then we lift up our
hands and our voices. It is discovered that the army
is in a most unsatisfactory condition—that the reins
of discipline are loosened ; that authority is being
openly set at defiance ; that our soldiers are insub-
ordinate, and our officers incompetent; and that our
towns are being overrun by a stream of military
licentiousness, which, if its current be not speedily
checked, will disorganize society and desolate the
laud. All this it is, on some accounts, satisfactory to
contemplate. There can be no higher tribute paid
to the general discipline of the army than the ex-
citement occasioned by any temporary infraction of
it. There are countries in which military disorga-
nization is the rule and not the exception. There
the revolt of a regiment, or a score of regiments, is
too ordinary an event to create any excitement in the
country. The attention which is bestowed upon any
erratic social manifestation is the truest standard of
the regularity from which that manifestation is a
departure. It is so rare a thing to witness anything
remotely assembling insubordination in a British

regiment, that we are incontinently astonished at the
unwonte.d exhibition, and magnify all its unseemly
features until a very trifling affair expands into
gigantic proportions, and bristles with incalculable
terrors. It is on this account that the disturb-

ante in the 3d Dragoons at Nottingham has as-
sumed an importance that does not bslong to it. It
is seldom that we are called upon to chronicle
such events , but the wonder is not that they occur
sometimes, but that they occur so rarely. When
we think of the constitution of a regiment—the classes
from which it is recruited—the slender tie that binds
the soldier to his officer—the numerous inducements
to excess—the contagious effects of bad example—
the absence of all domestic comfort in barracks,—the
almost entire forfeiture, indeed, of the domestic cha-
racter, with all its subduing and restraining influ-
ences, we cannot but wonder that the many are kept
in subjection so easily by the few—that the magic
of authority is so potent to keep the rude elements of
military society in subordination to any fixed laws.
But so it is. A sentence written in the order-books
or a word spoken on parade, and eight hundred men
are as obedient to one as though they were
little children under the eye and the rod of the
pedagogue. Nobody wonders at this—nobody won-
ders at the orderly conduct of soldiers in our gar-
rison towns, at their steadiness in barracks, at the
ready obedience they yield to their commanding
officers, at the almost infantine docility of these hands
of sturdy, vigorous men. Few even admire the
beautiful system which presents an almost unbroken
succession of these phenomena. But many pour out
noisy abuse when any rare departure from the re'
gularity of the system is presented to their under-
standings, upon soldiers and all soldierly things, oe
though the adjective military were entirely synony'
mous with l:centious. And this is called liberality'.
Liberal writers are always great upon the subject of
military licentiousness. On the wonderful subordi'
nation which is the rule of the British army they
condescend not to bestow a thought, or if the unwe!'
come thought should force itself upon them it 10
speedily enveloped in a cloak of silence, and busked
in its very infancy. There has been a great deal of fuss
made, and a great deal of stuff written, about the recent
disturbance in the 3d Dragoons. The importance
of the affair has been greatly exaggerated—partly
because at this dull season of the year a very little
matter may be advantageously elongated into many
sheets of attenuated " copy ;" and, secondly, because
the peccadilloes of the military are nuts to a certain
class of journalists. A number of men, anxious, it
would seem, to enjoy a little convivial intercourse
with some friends who had come to visit them, and
not being able to entertain their visitors respectably
in barracks, determined to disobey a restrictive order
which had been issued as a punishment to the regl"
ment for bad grooming, and to sally into the tovvn•
They had hoped that the order for their retention In
barracks, after being some time in effect, would have
been rescinded sufficiently soon to have enabled then'
to break their confinement, without breaking the orders
of their commanding officers, but the anticipated rein)„
not coming opportunely, they quitted the prescribed
bounds, and committed thereby a grave militari.
offence. There was doubtless a double indiscretion
the order was an indiscreet one, because it tried the
forbearance of the soldiers too severely; its infraction
was still more indiscreet, for no provocation justifies
such acts of military lawlessness. The offence,
committed, a third mistake was made. Inefficient
measures were adopted for the suppression of It°
irregularity so discreditable to the corps. A party
was sent out under a non-commissioned instee
of under a commissioned officer, and the first
offence was greatly aggravated by resistance
to authority. The consequence is, that there have
,
been several courts-martial, and the criminals
have been sentenced to expiate their offence in prison'
and to learn better manners for the future. Tb
officers, too, will not improbably profit by the lesso.n,',
and learn to exercise their authority henceforth Wit"
better judgment. Such accidents as these seldore
happen unless there has been something or other O
generate them in high places ; some want of temPer
—some want of judgment—some want of consistenoit'
We are sorry for this business at Nottingham;
after all, it is only one of those unfortunate excess s
Lions that prove the fortunate rule.' It has made ,„
stir in the world because, happily, such acts of insn'4
ordination are rare in the British army. If to l
army had not been the best disciplined in the svor'
we should not have heard so much of the affray.

To;
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BY HOLLOWAY'S Pird.s.—Extraet of a letter from 0"-
APLean Ferguson, Esq., dated Melbourne, Port Phil
May 9, 18.19 :—" To Professor Holloway. Sir, I had be„
afflicted nearly two years with the liver complaint, accomPli
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difficulty of breathing. After expending upwards of tvvea 0
pounds in medicine without finding any relief, I was itlac,a
the
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sad
afflicted may have recourse to your invaluable medicine, anj
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at Professor Holloway's establishment, 244, Strand, London.

BIRTHS. C)
On the 9th inst., at Abingdon Rectory. Mrs. Fredart
Thursby, of a daughter. 0
On the 9th inst., at Wimbledon-common, Mrs. Hemery .1)
Breton, of a son.
On the 9th inst., in Hyde-park-square, Mrs. John Betbelh
of a son.
On the 9th inst., in Green-street, Grosvenor-rquare,
P. P. Bouverie, of a daughter.
On the 9th inst., in Bedford- square, Mrs. William 13°'
of a daughter. de
On the Bth inst., at Bolton-hall, the wife of W. 11. Or
Powlett, Esq., of a son.
On the 9th inst., in Manchester-street, Manchester-sell
the wife of E. Boodle, Esq., of a daughter. wire
On the 9th inst., at Gower-street, Bedford-square, the -
of G. Whidborne, Esq., of a daughter.

MARRIED. hfer
On the 7th inst., at the Synagogue, Eliza, eldest clang .4,
of the late Mr. Emanuel. of Wigmore-street, Cavendl-e$
square, and granddaughter of M. Emanuel, Esq., of PortS
to L. Leon, Esq., late of Antwerp.
On the Bth inst. at Kingston Church, Portsea, Mr. Frahnier
Farrant Chinn, of 'Liverpool, to Susan Jane, second clang"
of the late Mr. James Walker, of Portsea.

DIED.
wife Of
On the 10th inst., at Newbury, Berko, Emily, the
the Rev.
th inst.,Phili p.on d/
On theW 1 1 at the residence of her son- in"i;et,
Lieutenant-General Sir John Macdonald, in Bruton-str4es
Berkeley-square, Mrs. Graham, widow of the late Cll4.
Graham, Esq., of Williatusfield, Jamaica, aged 82. , fop
On the 12th inst.. in Upper Harley- 3:rect, Lady 13°'
W 1
fe of
On Sir William Horne.
the 7th ir.st., at Clayton-cottage, Woburn, Bucks, jol
Morris Esq., late of Great Marlow. "or
On the Sth inst., at Camden-cottages, Camden NeW-0"
J. Everineham, Esq., aged 7I .
'7- the Rev. lir•

On the Bth inst., at the Vicarage, aged 67, the tor
Slatter, for many years vicar of Cumner, Berks, and ree
of Hethe Oxon. leaf
On the, 9th inst , at Milton. on-Thames, Emma, the w 1;.- of
John Cow, jun., and daughter of I'. B. Monk, Esq., 13'''
the R-yal Arsenal, Woolwich. banker,
Oit the 10th inst., Samuel Lloyd, of Bitmingham,
in his 82d year.
On the 10th inst., Andrew Clark, Esq., of the Bear-garden'
Southwark, aged 66.
At Ramsgate, aged 81, Mr. George Gwyn, for upward
50
O years an officer of the Royal Harbour.
On the 4th inst., at the family residence, Keynsharn-us„o,
Sophia Elizabeth, relict of the late John Samuel 13ar-ot.
Esq., of St. Petersburgh, and Kevnsham-bank,
CheltenDA

London: Printed and Published by MURDO
'—
No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sus OfaCer,tc Of
Strand, in the Precinct f the Stivov. in the -*
111iddlesez, Tuesday, November 13, 1849.

,-