The Sun.
London, England, 1838-12-29 00:00:00

EXHIBITIONAT THE MANCHESTI ;

MECHANICS' INSTITUTION

THE CORN LAWS-MANCHESTEgi

Great as has been the impression made throughout the
country, in consequence of the meeting of the Manchester
Chamber of Commerce, for the repeal of the Corn-laws"
it would appear also to have given an astonishing impetus
to the Corn-law Association here, to whom belongs',
to give all parties their due, the singular merit or
having prompted, perhaps goaded would be better,
the sluggish Directors of the Chamber to put forth their
energies on this vital question. A vast accession of emu'
hers to both the Association and the body which so ably
discussed the question, will, no doubt, be the consequence'
It is well known here, particularly to those who are at
all acquainted with the sinuous political chairman on tbst
occasion, Mr. G. W. Wood, M.P., for Kendal, that o°
proceedings, which it may be in his power to influence,
will ever have his hearty concurrence when those proceed-
ings are at all likely to embarrass the present Ministry%
although the salvation of the country might almost de'
pend on the adoption of a contrary course. The foil halt
however, been nobly wrested from his hands, so that both
his active and covert attacks will for the future be harmless-
That this question of questions was discussed in the Chsw
ber with an ability which would have done credit to tl?'"
House of Commons, or any other deliberative assembly 'l3
the world, seems on all hands to be admitted ; to saY nc.
thing of the invaluable facts brought to bear on the srlb-a
ject, and which in reality gives every atom of weight zur
importance to the proceedings. For what can the Chandases
and the Knatchbulls do with facts like those broached g'
the meeting ? The fact is, that facts, in spite of the
Squirearchy, will remain facts—aye, remain facts. Thetb
then, must be dealt with by Statesmen, and not by tue
Blue-Coat, Top-Boot, and Ash-plant men, as Cobbett
significantly called the country gentlemen. The Corr
law Association here, backed by the Repeal Mew
bers of the Chamber of Commerce, are 134:°„.
seeding most vigorously. It is contemplated, or renal'
it is an arranged affair, that there shall be a Corn-law Ir"
peal Dinner in Manchester, to be held some time in
.r
nuary, to which Mr. Villiers and every well-known 81
public advocate of the measure is to be invited. It vilh
doubtless be the most numerous meeting ever held for such
a purpose. The only difficulty which presents itself to tb.
Committee, is the obtaining any one place capable of eater"
taming the numbers likely to attend. The Corn Exchstig°
is at present thought of ; but then, it will not dine swots
than 600 at the most. There is the theatre too, but esrotr
this will not accommodate more than 700 or 800, and whisk
would require a large expenditure to make it at all conve-
nient. Recourse at last will, it is probable, be had to some
temporaryerection,and the expense .clefrayed by subscription'
Various members of the Chamber of Commerce have ex-
pressed themselves to the writer, in terms most flattering,
of the proprietor of The Sun, for his very pertinent rei
marks on the subject of the Manchester meeting, 80,
through which medium the country at large was first aroused
from its lethargy on this too long dormant subjeete

LABOURER'S WAGES.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sin,—Although the farmers are no favourites with your
nor the Radicals with me, I feel assured, from your usuali
courtesy, that you *ill, in justice to the former, allow me*
short space in The Sun for the insertion of a few observa-
tions and home truths, to screen the agriculturists of this
part of the country from the heavy censures of inhumanity
and selfishness so lavishly heaped upon them by itinerant,
patriots, and as severely commented upon by the press. 1`
it be genuine patriotism to magnify the miseries and priva-
tions, and thereby to promote discontent amongst the
labouring population—to keep out of sight the advantages
and comforts enjoyed by the working classes of the pre"
sent day, and which were unknown to them fifty Year,B
ago, we are, I think, fast approaching to a climax of enviable
perfection. The readers of the daily press are told ovar
and over again, with increasing indignation at the assumedfact, that, maugre the high price of grain, the hard-hearten:
farmers are only paying their starving labourers 6s• or a!
most Ss. a-week I I assure you, Sir, for this part of thu
country, " It's all a lie and false as hell !" and your sYra::
pathising readers will be pleased to be undeceived. 11.1!
parish is one of the largest in the kingdom ; and, after aid;
gent inquiry, I found but one faimer who is Paying
labourers 13s. a-week--all the rest from 14s. to 175., as
in some instances a little more ; besides which, many of
labourers have sons from eight to thirteen years of age, 'sue
regularly earn 3s. 6d. a week. It is true the farmers bays
not generally advanced wages, though some have ; but
#,.1
ought to be remembered that it is quite customary to low;
them during the short days of winter, which, believ
has not been the case this winter in a single instanne•44
have also extended my inquiries to other parishes, and "-
that the same ratio of wages is paid in them as at this Piale:
and also that there are no able-bodied men out of weir'rs
If there are unrighteous farmers who pay their lab°u,reto.
only Bs. a-week, I fearlessly assert the monsters are not
he found in this district, and I hope and think in nn
,!"..n
as I understand all able-bodied men can procure woo'
are wanted, upon railways, at 15s. a-week and UpWar".
Wishing you, Mr. Editor, a jovial new year, and Frasr
e
city to my country,

_
I am, Sir,
Worksop, Dee. 2B. AN ENGLISHMAN.

JACK SHEPHARD BY THE AUTHOR
,icift
fir
`°RooKwoon."—The opening of this Romance is so worth
of the hand which gave us the famous Dick Turpia, "•-tri
his ride to York and other adventures, that we feel mange
to step out of our usual way to bid it welcome. Four ell;
ter
jsacfkormshetplipearidn,t,r,owduhciotohryspptehairrtyinptheagefisrsotfnutb.eVon4,°rte;,...
andmos
most
s popularto run
le) 's Miscellany" forthe new year. It succeeds " Oliver Twisra"o
plalrriitperas:slainwithhon"oußrar
as it appears to us from what we have seen', likreeslt
to prove well deserved ; for there is much 1nf,,,e,11,
in the characters brought upon the scene • the scene its onfabynoßsuldigghet,"by the atilt,
" the Old Borough Mint," is admirablypainted,'and the "-f
•• br ,}„s se
dents and catastrophe to one of the actors, even within .5-finale
compass, are most promising samples of the conduct an''s-hap-
we are to expect from the whole. The mother of Jack
the
pard, and his friend, Carpenter Wood, are living portraits ins
hopeful sbn is presented to us in a striking manner
,oral,
scene ; where is anadmirable mixture of the graPhic' r' locale
and pathetic. The rising of
the Minters, and
nature, h i
t"Scoteg
itself, reminds us, and not unfavourably, 'of Sir Walter
" Alsatia," the slang and behaviour of the a lii who
be pert-, c.• one
-, of these is the notorious Jonatl to ':l' 0
touched with a lively pencil. We ought not to draw more !ipos
a paper no longer than the one before us, but we were destrone
todirect our readers' attention to anew and very orginallesotuT
of amusement; the two illustrations by George Cruikshanke
sri, almost superior to his well known and highly relished
style. The variety of matter be has depicted in the (3'l'
where Wood offers to adopt Jack, is really wonderful ; and lo
..
inmates seem to
the other, Wild discovering Darrel in the loft, with the dark'
puss and lantern light, is quite a gem of art.—Literary Gazette.
An inquest was held yesterday in Rotherhithe on
the body of a little girl, who in looking for some plaything
had fallen into a ditch in which there was a considerabl.e
quantity of water. She was rescued by a passenger, to all
appearance in sufficient time to have saved her life, but
acting on a popular, but very mistaken notion, he had held
the unfortunate child up by the heels with a view to lot
the water run out of her mouth. A verdict of" Accidental
death" was returned. Some conversation took place rela-
tive to a more extended dissemination of the rules recom-
mended by the Humane Society to be observed for the
recovery of persons a
censure
strongly ed to.
The the adoption of the plan above referred
pparently drowned. The Society
two celebrated tenors, De Candia and Duprezt
performed at the Academie Royale on Friday night, for
the benefit of the widow of Lafont, a tenor of the same
theatre. The receipts amounted to 19,000 f. Ds Cando,
as Robert, in Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable, drew forth Oa'
bounded applause in the fine duet, " Des Chevaliers de ma
Patrie." Duprez, as Arnold, in Rossini's Guillaume Telly
was still more rapturously cheered in the beautiful duet,

" Il est done sorti de son ame
Ce secret qu'ont trahi ses yeux."

What may now be called the annual exhibition at ' the
above institution was opened to the donor; on Wednes4
Jay
last, and to the public for the small charge of 6d. on Mull-
day. Great as were the attractions last year, in almost
every branch of art and science, the Directors hay
on this
occasion catered for the public taste much more success-
fully. The gallery of paintings contains the chef urala're
of many eminent artists. The mechanical display is PI:
ing rich, and displays the singular good taste of that hi ran;
of the direction to whom this department was intru steu'
In a few days an artificial lake, formed in the pit of the
Mechanics' Theatre, will he completed, on which wilt' PA°
exhibited a steam-beat at work. The geologist may alPell'
ninny days in pondering over the rich and varied pro due'
tions of nature without ennui. If, however, there is an)"
one department more than another calculated to excite
greater pleasure acd surprise, it is the entomological. Thula
is the more gratifying, too, inasmuch as this part of the cO.lO
luction is the property of the institution. There
short, something calculated to please the most fastidious,
connoisseur. The amount collected last year exceeded
1,0001., and it cannot, with such management as is
shown at the present exhibition, be less duri'xig the
present one : indeed it would be a libel on public t aste to
suppose that it would not greatly exceed it. The object
of these displays of art and science are three—first, to en-
large and create a taste of a higher order among thy! ope-
retires ; secondly, to pay off a certain portion of debt;
and, thirdly, to greatly extend the present accommod:ati°°.
It is not saying too much, perhaps, to assert, that tilers
is no mechanic's establishment in the kingdom to be sou'"
pared with the Manchester, whether it regards the numbers
enrolled, or the vigour with which its operations are cote
ducted.