The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-10 00:00:00

TO THE INHABITANTh OVLONDON.

Fellow-Citizens,—l entreat your special attention
to the following circular :
" City of London Gas Company's Works, Dorset-
street, Salisbury-square, Dec. 4, 1849.
" The Committee of Management of the City of
London Gas Light and Coke Company hereby give
notice that, from and after Chrisinas-day next, the
price of gas supplied by this company to consumers
by meter will be reduced to 4s. per 1,000 cubic feet.
" DANIEL BENHAM, Sec."
The Great Central Gas Consumers' Company was
established at a considerable expense, to relieve you
of the exactions of an unjust, oppressive, and grievous
monopoly. They found you taxed 6s. for gas, with
which the above quoted circular proves you could
have been supplied foe 4s. The difference has been
wrung from 3 ou by immunity from fair competition.
To the new company you are solely indebted for the
successive reductions from Gs. to 59., and from ss. to
4s. Four thousand six hundred and eighty of
you consumers of gas have bound yourselves to take for
five years your supply from the new company,
and I venture fairly to test your public spirit, your
intelligence as men of business, your fidelity to your
honourable obligations, and the foresight of your
self-interest, by the answer which you will give to the
following appeal.
Are you prepared to accept of the bind bargain
and the totally inadequate overture which has been
offered to mere short-sighted cupidity, to desert those
by whom the apparent advantage, such as it is, has
been alone extracted with tardy reluctance from the
old companies, and to seek by quiescence tacitly to
evade the contracts to which you have affixed your
signatures ?
8.-ad the circular attentively. What remedy does
it afford for your grievances ? A committece of
management is anonymous—its members may die—
they may be changed. It may wind up its business
—its plant may be seized by creditors, or sold by
shareholders—where is your relief then ? How long
is the reduction to last? No longer depend upon it,
than the duration of the urgency by which it was
compelled. Is_it ever to go further—to 3s. 6d. or to
35.? Who can enforce it ? Not the consumers, who
are not parties to the mere understanding to which
you aro asked to attribute the power of a binding
contract. Can the Court of Sewers—will they?
they will, how can they do it, but by calling a compe-
titor into the field ; and who will ever compete, if
you desert the new company now ?
But even ilthe reduction were permanently secure,
does it,offer any of the advantages you would derive
from competition ? The old companies divide you
between them and conquer you. Nothing but com-
petition always at hand to offer you relief of
grievances, can protect you from the invasion of ap-
parently the most stringent conditions. Consider the
abuses to which you may still be subjected, even if
the old companies adhere to their proposed reduction.
Ist. Tenants and landlords of all tenements re-
quiring or using gas, must still guarantee absolutely
all the debts of the old companies. If any consumer
leaves a house in debt to them, his successor must
pay the whole arrears which the producers were lax
enough to leave uncollected. If he refuses, his supply
is cut off, and if he applies to the accomplice company
it refuses to poach upon the ground of its associate.
2d. You have no offer of any improvement in the
very inferior quality of the gas with which you have
been supplied, and which has practically compelled
you to accept of little more than half the illuminating
power which was ostensibly supplied to you, and for
which you were exorbitanly charged.
3d. You have still to defray the whole cost of
service pipes and meters.
4th. You have no security against exorbitant charges
for meters, and against an attempt, what has already
been successfully practised, to compensate a reductioa
in the nominal price of gas, by raising the rent of
your meters.

- sth. You have no guarantee against the continuance
of an abuse of which you have repeatedly and justly
complained, of being inflicted with meters so imperfect
in their register that you have frequently been com-
pelled to pay for a much larger quantity of gas than
has ever been supplied to you. What is sour
remedy if yourefuse to pay ? You may be compelled
by action to liquidate a debt you never incurred.
Your supply may be cut off, and when you apply to
the alternate company, they will reject your custom.
You may ask the Court of Sewers to enforce the
pledge of the circular, and will be told they have
neither the power, the funds, nor the will to compel
performance of a mere bubble promise.
Contrast these loose conditions with the stringent
obligations to which the new company pledges itself
to be bound by deed, under seal to the Court of
Sewers, and by Act of Parliament.
Ist. They will give and lay for you service pipes
gratuitously.
2d. They will supply you with meters without
charge.
Bd. They will give you gas of a minimum illumi-
nating power, equal to the maximum at present
supplied.
4th. They will apply their whole profits above a
dividend of 10 per cent. to the reduction of the charge
for gas to 33. per 1,000 feet, and lower if increased
consumption and profits will then admit of it.
sth They will secure to you fulfilment of these
conditions by bond to the Court of Sewers, and by
ample provisions in their Act for surveyors of meters
and chemical inspectors of the quality of their gas, to
be appointed by the magistrates, the Corporation of
London, or the Beard of Trade.
If you fail now to stand by those who have stood
by you, never hope that you will have another oppor-
tunity of doing yourselves justice. To this point

1-NG, DECEMBER lo 1849

your cause has been crowned by a prosperous issue ;
it is in your power by union, activity, and public
spirit, to carry it to a triumphant conclusion. 9,856
of you have preferred your demands to your represen-
tatives. Will you suffer your signatures to go for
waste paper ? The struggling tradesman, the toil-worn
mechanic, the poor sempstress, ask you to help them
to cheap light, to see to trade, and labour, and work
by. if now you fail to answer their appeal, there
will only remain the conm'ation that this will be t:-
,e
first time that the claims of humanity were ever made
to the citizens of London in vain.* You have set
your hands to the plough, and I have too much re-
liance upon your firmness and intrepidity to.believe
that you will ever look back until the success of your
labours enables you to review them with entire satis-
faction.

I remain, fellow-citizens,
Your faithful servant,
WALBROOK.

* " With good gas at 3s. the 1,000 cubic feet, the
smallest shopkeeper, the humb'est mechanic, and the poorest
housekeeper, will be supplied with as much LIGHT for
THREE FARTHINGS as can be obtained from a pound of
DIP CANDLES costing sixpence."

LITERATURE.
ALISON'S HISTORY OF EUROPE.
IX. Illustrated Edition.

VuL

Another volume of this splendid republication
gives us three beautifully engraved portraits from
original paintings—representing his late Majesty
King George 111., the celebrated diplomatist and
statesman Castlereagh, and the good and amiable
Josephine, the first Empress of Napoleon. Each of
these embellishments is isingularly expressive of the
personage represented, the King, the Statesman, and
the Empress. Meanwhile, the narrative of the elo-
quent historian deepens more and more in interest on
every additional perusal, especially in this division of
his great work, where events are crowding rapidly on
one another towards the last tremendous catastrophe
of the imperial fortunes of Napoleon. Year by year,
as we advance in his luminous pages towards the final
scene in this memorable and miraculous career—this
career of pomp and victory—we observe the
auguries of misfortune thickening round Napo-
leon even at the moment when his destinies
reached their apogee of success—misfortunes arising
from the jealousies of his lieutenants, the treachery of
those in whom his magnanimous nature reposed the
fullest confidence, and the ingratitude of those
wretched time-servers upon whom he had squandered
so many titles, rewards, and benefactions. At the
very period when his sway extended from "the
fishermen on the Baltic to the shepherds on the
Italian Alps," from the shores of the German Ocean
to those of the Adriatic; when his colossal system
appeared to have become consolidated on a broad and
unassailable basis ; when his greatest captains were
installed as the Ducal Governors of the principal
feofs of his empire ; when thirteen diadems had been
secured either to himself or to his representatives;
when, seated himself upon the imperial throne of
France, and on the regal throne of Italy, Protector
of the Rhine, and Mediator of Switzerland,
he had awarded the sceptres of Spain to
Joseph, of Holland to Louis, of Westphalia to
Jerome, of Naples to Joachim, besides elevating
divers electorates into kingdoms, appointing Junot
the ruler of Portugal, nominating Eugene to the
Viceroyalty of Lombardy, and permitting Berna-
dotte to assume the crown of Sweden : at the very
time when, espoused to a princess of the ancient
dynasty of Hapsburgh, he witnessed the birth of an
heir to all his gigantic possessions, and with a pride
expressive of his arrogance as the Lord of Europe,
christened him by the name of the King of Rome, a
title which had not been assumed since the days of
the Superb Tarquin ; at the very time when his in.
fluence had acquired this predominance it is impossible
not to recognise the portents of his approachiag
downfal. Those portents, as the student of history
proceeds, very soon become visible in the adverse
consequences of the peninsular campaigns, in
the conflagration of Moscow, and the terrific
retreat of the grand army from Russia.
Ultimately the story closes with the last and most
wonderful of all the campaigns of Napoleon, prior to
his departure from Fontainbleau, the campaign of
1814, when inch by inch he defended France from the
allied forces of the invaders, multiplying his army by
the rapidity of his movements, and falling at last only
because at the desertion of his Marshals. As re-
counted by Alison the story, at all times enthralling,
acquires a new fascination, and hence, although we
may be familiar with his noble narrative, we antici-
pate its continuation in its present form with unabated
curiosity.

PRESCOTT'S HISTORICAL WORKS.

roi. 111.

In pursuance of the arrangements sketched out in
his recent prospectus, Mr. Bentley is here continuing
in a monthly volume an admirable republication of
the noble historical writings of William IL Prescott.
Being the fifth edition of his famous " history of the
Reign of Ferdinand rnd Isabella," the third volume
now before up, co:npieting that splendid composition,
is enabled to be reproduced in a state of singular
completeness—namely, with the latest annotations
and the most copious catalogue. It was the saying of
a cdebrated critic, that some of the best books ever
writtenj haves failed to secure for themselves a
popularity otherwise inevitable, from the circumstance
of their being devoid of a good index cr
catalogue of particulars. And assuredly a mo-
ment's consideration will be sufficient to assure us that,
as a good index strikingly facilitates reference, a book
of any merit possessing one may secure a more fre-
quent quotation. Hence the addition of the present
admirable index to the masterpiece of the American
annalist cannot fail, in a large degree, to enhance
hid already widely-known reputation. The table of
contents will enable other writers to adduce him more
repeatedly as an authority. Further acquaintance
with the re-issue here adventured upon by Mr.
Bentley, the enterprising publisher, only satisfies us the
more that the work is, in its present form, eminently
deserving the attention of the reading public. Com-
pact, complete, and substantial, the volumes would
prove an invaluable addition even to the most fas-
tidiously selected library, and we doubt not will aid
the English, to a large extent, in becoming more
intimately acquainted with the age of the great Isa-
bella. Our own military glories are too intimately
associated with the Spanish peninsula to render any
portion of its history a matter of comparative indiffe-
rence, more especially a portion fraught with so
many moving and memorable vicissitudes. We cor-
dially commend the volumes to every student of
either Spanish or European history.

MISS CLARA SEYTON'S ENTERTAINMENT ON TUB
MINSTRELSY OF HUNGARY.—This entertainment had
been originally fixed for Tuesday, at the Western Lite-
rary Institution, Leicester-square. In consequence of •
the announcement that Tuesday had been fixed for the
funeral of the Queen Dowager, the entertainment was I
postponed to Wednesday ; but as the funeral will not I
take place until. Thursday, we understand that Miss •
Clara Seyton intends giving her entertainment ( n
Tuesday, as originally fixed, and on Wednesday also,
an arrangement rendered necessary in consequence of the
very great demand for tickets.
Beware of hating men for their opinions, or of
adopting their doctrines becalm you lore and venerate
their virtues.—Eliza Cook's Journal.
THE ROCHDALE SAVINGS BANK DEFALCATIONS.—
Great excitement prevails in Rochdale in consequence of
the increased amount of defalcation which the close in-
vestigation of the last few days has brought to light.
The deficiencies now extend to 50,0001. Jobn lidd
Pratt, Elq., arrived in tha town on Thursday night, and
OD the following day gut D such advice to the trustees
and managers as the nature of the care required. He
recommends the appointment of a committee, formed ,
jointly of depositors and trustees, to continue the exa-
mination of the accounts until the whole deficiencies
can be fairly estimated; and until this time all pro-
ceedings of a legal nature will be postponed. At the
meeting of depositors, called by Mr. Hunt, solicitor, of
Rochdale, and held on Saturday morning, the recommen-
dations of Mr. Pratt being stated, the meeting acqui-
esced in the propriety of the step, and a resolution nas
passed to adjourn for a month.
ARRIVALS or SrEcte.—The following arrivals of
specie have just taken place from the ports mentioned:—
The ve.eel Free Trade, from Oporto, bas brought 3 cases
of bullion, addressed, and 2 cases of bullion, consigned
to order; the Blue Bell, from Port Eheabeth, 2 cases of
specie, addressed; the line of packet ship Independence,
from New York, 3 packages of specie, consigned to a
firm in the metropolis; the Thomas Snook, from Cape-
coast Castle, 2 pack ages of copper coin, similarly con-
signed; the Niagara, from Valparaiso, 156 bars of
copper, consigned in a similar manner; the Mountain
Maid, from Port Beaufort, 20 packages of copper, con-
signed; the Caledonia, from Hamburgh, 3 casks of
copper, addressed; the Isabella, from Bombay, 7 boxes
of silver, consigned to order; the Dryad, from Valpa-
raiso, 973 bars of copper, consigned to a firm in the me-
tropolis; the Fortitude, from Wharnpoa, has brought 2
boxes of treasure, consigned to order, and also 29 boxes
of treasure, addressed to the Oriental Bank; the Killoe,
from Cronstadt, 1,078 ingots of copper; and the Cap.ain,
from the same pert, 1,800 ingots of copper, consigned;
the Phcenix, from St. Petersburgh, 2,810 ingots of cop-
per, consigned; the Flower of Ugie, inom St. Peters-
bnrgh, 1,213 ingots of copper, to order; and the vessel
Queen, from Callao, 18 packages of specie, consigned to
a firm of eminence in the metropolis.
PRIVATE BILLs.—A return obtained by Mr. Greene,
M.P., shows that the total number of private Bills intro-
duced in 1849, amounted to 146, of which 24 were
brought down from the Lords. The number which
received the Royal assent amounted to 132.
OFFICIAL APPOINTMENTS. --Sir Christopher Raw-
linson is appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
of Madras, in the room of Sir James E. Gambier, who
retires, after a very long service on the bench in India.
William Jeffcott, Esq., succeeds Sir Christopher Raw-
linson as Recorder of Pule Penang and Chief Judge iu
the High Court of Criminal Judicature for that island,
and Singapore. James K. O'Dowd, Esq., is appointed
Solicitor-General for the island of Tobago. Mr. Francis
Ellis is appointed a stipendiary magistrate at the Baha-
mas. Mr. John Lawless is appointed her Britannic
Majesty's Coral for the Wand of Martinique.