The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-28 00:00:00

PITMLIC OPINION.

The Morning Post is full of righteous indignation at the
tone adopted by the Opposition Journals, observing :
This is the time they take fur shouting in the ears of the
populace, that the landlords desire to starve them—that
the landlords are deliberate plunderers, murderers, and
worse than murderers ! This is the time that, for the
furtherance of a mere party purpose, they aggravate
every bad symptom of the times, and endeavour to en-
graft public ferocity upon private distress ! Such con-
nect, deserves stronger reprobation than words can ex-
press. It is in the highest degree criminal, and though
it may not be so in such a sense as to be touched by the
law, every man 7vho detests moral crime as well as legal
crime ought to give Lis aid towards abating the nuisance,
of so vile an opposition t(3 common justice and the com-
mon safety."—lf a vile opposicl,,n to common justice and
the common safety be manifested an7where, it is among
the Tories who, though perfectly aware cf the existing
state et' the country, refuse to trouble their heads about
a remedy, but coolly rest content with letting things take
their own course. As for the Opposition Journals, they
but adhere strictly to their duty in speaking of things
as they are ; and declining to shut their eyes to the des-
titution of the working-classes, in order to further the
party interests of the Monopolists: •The rage of the Post
at their free-spoken truths is the best proof that they are
acting rightly.
Speaking of the state of affairs in Canada, the Herald
says :—" Until Canada—now within a shorter distance
of England than Edinburgh was from London a century
ago—be thus made an integral portion, or constituted
into outlaying eounties of the United Kingdom, it is in
vain to anticipate any great advancement of its prospe-
rity. The commercial greatness of Canada and the con-
version of its physical conformation into the means of
increasing the defence of the British empire, can only be
established by the completion and construction of such
enormous public works as are quite beyond the grasp of
a mere dependency. The improvement of the naviga-
dm) of tte St. Lawrence, and the navigable communica-
tions of the great inland seas, must be regarded as great
national works, essential to the; prosperity and safety of
, the'umpire."
' The Times has an article on the subject of the prover-
bial delays in Chancery, in the course of which it ob.'
serves :—" It is curious to look back at the antiquity
and continuity of the evil. It was the fashion of the
Liberals, in the latter period of Lord Eldon's Chancel-
lorship, to lay the fault upon his habits of hesitation: and
for two or three years, while the agitation of the suhjort
could be made to answer a political purpose, and to annoy
the Ministry through the sides of the Chancellor, the
patriots took up the grievance ; not, indeed, with any
view to relieve the pressure of the evil, but for the pur-
pose of inculpating their political opponents—just as the
manufacturers of distress in the north of England have
lately been getting up their statistics of poverty and pri-
vation, without contributing a fraction to assist the suf-
ferers : so much more ready are their sympathies than
their sixpenc6s. But the grievance a the Court of
Chancery was vastly more ancient than the days of Lord
Eldon."---No one doubts that the delays in Chancery
were a subject of complaint long before the days of Lord
Eldon ; but he did nothing to reform the evil, notwith-
standing that at one period of his career, he possessed as
much, and perhaps more power to do so, than any Chan-
cellor whether before or shine. To all proposals for in-
quiry he invariabty -turned a deaf ear ; and it was not
merely to " answer a political purpose," as the Times
hints, but-to promote a great public good, that he was
so often urged by the Opposition to take the matter into
his serious consideration.
The Chronicle says:—" The Times of yesterday com-
pliments Sir Robert Peel, for the interest he feels on the
subject of popular education. The time is happily
chosen. Such praise is like vitriol in a green wound.
But the education required for bettering the moral and
intellectual condition of the poor is not likely to be ob-
tained in schools where a corrupt vote is payment from
the parent, and to sign a petition procures a boy's expul-
sion. By the Leeds report it appears that in that town
alone there are upwards of 15,000 children who do not
go to school at all, besides allowing 10,000 for such as
are too young, or are unavoidably prevented. The fact
is a frightful one. It could not happen, were the poor
properly cared for by the Legislature. It is a horrible
disgrace on a country, possessing millions per annum for
'educational purposes."—Were the Tories to endeavour
to correct this state of things, and propose some scheme
of national eductetion, we should have little faith in ha
efficacy, for it would be sure to be conceived in a nar-
row, sectarian spirit, and-be productive of far more harm
than good. It is not by a Tory Ministry, such as we now
see at the helm, that a really useful and enlarged system
of national education will ever be carried into practice.
The York Courant observes, with reference to the re:
cent spread of incendiarism•:—" This is what we ask
for, and what we think the signs of the times require,
and that which it is the immediate and solemn duty of
the Government to attend to—that they should make an
inquiry into those things—that they should not shut their
eyes to the alarming indications of discontent to which
we have alluded, but that with all diligence and since-
rity they should set themselves upon the work of seeking
out the cause, and devising a remedy."
The Worcester Chronicle contains the following re-
marks:—" Despite the remonstrances of starving mul-
titudes, the Tories prorogued Parliament without show-
ing the slightest indication of compassion for the pre-
valent- distress, -or of an intention to devise, at an
early period, measures for its relief. It would seem that
this Tory neglect of the prayers of a long-enduring
people has stung them into madness. The counsels
of rage have superseded the calm dictates of reason and
reflection. Swing went out with the Tories ;he returns
to welcome their advent to power withhonfires raised of
homesteads and corn-ricks. While it gives us unfeigned
sorrow to notice these atrocities, we cannot conceal our
belief that they are owing in no-small degree to the cold
neglect with which the popular cry of distress has been
met by the Tories."
MONEY—TRADE—CODSATEILCE.

At the" adjourned meeting of ,the masons lately em-
ployed at the new Houses of Parliament, held last night
at the Craven Head,•Drury-lane, the sums sent in by
different Societies for their support, consisted of 501.
from a Society' of Carpenters ; 10/. from the Pimlico
Carpenters'; 50/." from the Carpenters of Grosvenor-
square ; 751. from a Masons' Society of London ; 30/.
from a Soeiety of Tailors ; lO/. from a Painters' Society;
20/. from the Hope Friendly Society; 101. from Captain
Ackerley ; making a total, up to the present moment, of
256/.; with a number of weekly subscrißtions ft= soy"-
ral Societies and Bodies.
Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, and his late *distin-
guished visitors recently subscribed 480/. to al!eviate the
distresses of the unemployed miners in Ruabon and
Wrexham.
At Tort Natal, Cape of Good Hope, about 4,000 Bri-
tish subjects occupy a large tract of country, on which
three towns have been founded, and a regular Go-
vernment organized. The Cape colony would greatly
improve, if means were provided by Government
for the gradual influx of 2,000 or 3,000 emigrants an-
nually, by which capital would follow, and the revenue
of the colony increase.

STATISTICS.
From the results of the Census just concluded, it ap-
pears that the population of Great Britain and Ireland,
in the present year, amounts to upwards_of 27,000,000 of
souls, which is an increase of about 2,000,000 since 1831.
If the population of the Colonies be. added to this, her
preseut Majesty is the Sovereign of one hundred millions
of subjects.
From a return to the House of Commons it appears
that the total number of persons confined in lunatic
asylums] within the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan

cbmmissipiatr,;.ciating last year, amounts to 2,498:—
or these, 1,289 were pauper patients, confined in four
houses, three of ' which are of great magnitude; the other,
1,209 were private patients, distributed among licensed
asylums. •
LAW AND POLICE.
At Hatton-gkarden yesterday a young man of the name
of Wilcox, said to be a student at Trinity College,„Cam-,
brirge."7,. viCS"Coramittid to take his trial for stealing books
froththe Ilrrtish Museum.

John jtobinson, a valet in the service of Mr. Smart,
rarkiplace, Chelsea; was fully committed to Newgate,
. .
by the siittang Magistrate at Queen-square, for making
two de4tetate efforts to Stab a fellow-servant with a
table-knife:— '

SIPOILIIMM •
An osprey was shot a few days ago in the neighbour-
hood of Clun by a gamekeeper of the Earl of Powis.
A superior specimen of the preregine falcon, a rare and
valuable bird to the fowler, was also netted on. Monday
last at Acton.
COIIRT—PASHIONABLE. • _ _

Lord Monteagle had a interview with the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer yesterday morning in Downing-
stree t.

.lord Stanley, we are happy to hear, is nearly re-
covered, and has resumed his official duties.

The Duke of Norfolk has,arrived in town from Farn-
ham Hall, Suffolk.

The Duchess of Hamilton arrived on Saturday at Bath,
on h, visit to Mr. Beckford.

:Lord Palmerston and hii Lady atrived in Sligo at eight
o'clock on Wednesday night.
MISCELLANEOUS:

The aurora borealis, as seen from Wick on Saturday
last, was extremely brilliant.
A mountain flood carried away several houses in the
neighbourhood of. Doonbeg, Cuunty Clare, on Sunday
last, with the loss of two lives.

DARLEVINIOOREI.—There was a heavy fall of snow on
Parley Moors, near Matlock, on Thursday morning last,
with ice of a considerable thickness ; it had a singular
appearance among the sheaves of corn set up in the fields
of that neighbourhootl.
A letter from Milan mentions the death-of the Duke
of Cannizaro, well known in the 'London fashionable
circles. He died almost suddenly, in consequence of
taking three pills,—Frorn the fatal effects of these pills,
one would almost be tempted to suppose that they had
been prescribed by the Tawworth quack-doctor.
A 7 cannon, cast in the foundry of M. Poucet, at Liege,
measuring eight feet in length, and weighing 2,486 Eng-
lish pounds, was lately proved with 61 discharges, at the
last of which it burst. No cast-iron cannon at Liege
ever sustained more than 59 discharges. The grain of
the metal Was very fine and close.
We understand there is no truth in the rumour that
an eminent M.P. (late of the. Surrey theatre), whose
name, from motives of delicacy, we refrain from men-
tioning, has been engaged by Macready to play Othello
at Drury-lane, during the Christmas holidays.
A Morning Contemporary, speaking of the late Ban-
bury Conservative dinner, says, that it is' a proof that the'
Conservatives of that borough have at length roused
themselves from their "lethargic stupor."—lf a good
dinner will not rouse a Tory from his " lethargic stupor,"
we know not what will, especially when we learn that,
in the present instance, " the viands were excellent and
the wines splendid." In these few words we have the
whole secret of the Banbury Tories' activity. The pros-
pect of a good dinner stimulated them to unwonted action.
Alexander M'Leod, whose trial at Utica excites so
much public interest, is a native of Forfarshire, Scotland.
In a street leading from the Whitechapel-road are to
be found eight shopkeepers who rejoice in the following
tames : Slaughter, Death; Angel, Demon, Black,
White, Green, and Gray.
Mr. Catlin, in his entertaining work on the American
Indians, observes "The son of a chief, a youth only
eighteen years old, distinguished himself in a singular
manner the day before our steamer reached the village,
by taking to himself four wives in one day I"—This is as
bad as taking four doses of physic in one day, when one
would have been more than sufficient. Had the rash
youth been living in England, his friends would instantly
have issued a commission De Lunatic° Inquirendo
against him !
One of the Brighton railway trains, on Monday, con-
veyed 160 passengers, a proof of the confidence of the
public in the safety of the line.
Mr. Forester, fte experimental chemist of William-
street, Islingten, who has been committed to take his trial
for shooting at a policeman, according to the evidence of
Dr. Munro labouredlor some time past under strange
delusions. i He fancied that head was turned round,
his face behind, and the hind part of his head was in
front. -

The gross sum received from visitors to the armoury
in the Tower during the year ending February 1, 1841,
was 2,2971.. and the receipts of the. Jewel House, from
the Ist of February to the 31st December, 1840, amounted
to 1,5471.

The Dublin Orangemen- must indeed be reduced to a
low ebb in the Corporation, when they boast that, though
not able to return one of their own party, they have suc-
ceeded in some instances in securing the return of the
least objectionable Radicals.
The strike of the journeymen paper-stainers of Paris
has now continued since the Ist instant, and prosecutions
for a coalition have been instituted against them by
several of the masters of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine
and the Quartier de Popincourt. " The number who
havii thus thrown themselves out of employ," says the
Droit,," is said to be 845, and they demand an additional
pay of 50 centimes a-day, stating that, since they are
obliged to take for assistants young men 16 or 18 years
of age, instead of children as they did formerly, They
would not be better paid at this rate than when the re-
ceived only 4f. a-day. '

MONEY and COMMERCIAL NEWS
CITY, TWELVE O'CLOCK.

LIVERPOOL COTTON MARKET, OCT. 27.—The busi
tress done in the Clotton Market to-day is to a moderate
extent, the sales amounting to 2,500 bales, all of which
are taken- by the trade. The market closes in favour of
the buyer.
LIVERPOOL SHARE MARKET, OCT. 27.—The fol-
l Owing are the transactions at the close of the Stock Ex 7
change :—Eastern Counties Debentures, 74 ; Glasgow,
Paisley, and Greenock, 23k; Great Western, 20/. Shares,
fi; London and Birminghani New Shares, 23i; Midland
Counties, 304.
MANCHESTER STOCK EXCHANGE, :OCT. 27. Our
market to-day presents no new feature, very little busi-
ness has been transacted. The sales are London and
South Western, 514 ; Manchester and Leeds, Quarter
Shares, 21 ; Northern and Central Bank, 41. Bs. 9d.;
Manchester Assurance, 9k.
By the arrival of H.M. schooner Spider papers from
Rio de Janeiro to the Ist of April have been received.
On the 27th of August the Minister of Finance presented
his estimates to the Chambers. According to the various
tables presented. by his Excellency, the total deficit
amounts to 8,817,693,191 Teals (1,100,000 sterling). Of
this sum 3,425,713,517 reels is for expences not contem-
plated, incurred and. to be incurred in 1840-1841 and
18411-1842, and for which sum a supplementary credit
is asked, and 5,391,976,674 reels is the estimated excess
of expenditure over the revenue in 1840, 1841, and 1842.
His Excellency, after submitting his estimate, left to
the judgment of the Chambers to determine the manner
in which the deficit is to bo provided, and we sincerely
trust that the decision will be such as will support the
honour and reputation of the country.
Exchange upon England on the 31st August, was
301 4 ; •and the 6 per Cent. Local Stock, 704.
By the same arrival papers from Buenos Ayres to the
14th August have been received, but they do not con-
tain any news of importance.
Exchange upon England, 24d. .
The total number of vessels in port on the 6th was 107.

TRIAL OF BLAKESLEY

FOR THE

MURDER OF MR. BURDON.

CRIMINAL COURT—(THIS. DAY.)
This being the day appointed for the trial of Robert
Blakesley, charged with the wilful murder of Mr, James
Burden, the Court was crowded to excess at a very
early hour.
Mr. Sergeant ARABIN took his seat upon the Bench at
nine o'clock, when
Robert 131akesley was placed at the bar to plead to the
indictment, charging him with stabbing Sarah Blakesley,
with intent to murder her. The prisoner, who was
dressed in mourning, pleaded not guilty. His demeanour
was firm and decorous, without the blightest appearance
of levity. He was then removed: •
(Before Lord ANGER and Mr. Baron GURNEY.) -
Ori the arrival of the Judges, the prisoner was again
placed at the bar, fdr the purpose of taking his trial on
the indictment for the murder of James Burdon, to
which he pleaded Not Guilty yesterday.
Mr. PAYNE, in stating the. case for the prosecution be-
sought the Jury to clAsiniss from their minds all they_ .
might. have heard-cm the subject,and to come to the de-
cision as to the guilt or innocence of the prisoner with-
out prejudice. The Learned Counsel hazing_ stated the
faCtss6f the case, Ailed the following witn6ses..
Edward Beeston---I am a policeman in the Cky police.
The prisoner came to me on the morning of the 21st of
September. I first saw him about three o'cloek. I was
on my beat. He said his wife Was detained frem him by
Mr. Burdon, at the King's Head, Etatcheip. He said
he would get a summons fora Burdon from the
Lord Mayor. I offered- to go with him -to be
his witness, when he went to claim .his wife;
we went to the King's Head at seven o'clock, and saw
Mr. Burden in the bar. When Blakesley claimed his
wife, Mr. Burdon said, " I know 'nothing of go out of
my house." I said to Mr. Burdon that I was come as his
witness, as he intended to go before the Lord Mayor.
Mr. Burden said, " I know nothing whatever of
him." I said, am I to take that as an answer ?
He .said " Yes," and ,Blakesley and I left. Blakes-
ley said he had been unfortunate in business,
and on that account his, wife had been kept there.
Cross-examined by Mr. saw him first at
three, and the last time at seven. I had seen him be-
tween five and six ; he bore the appearance of having
been up all night.
George Allen, hair-dresser, Lime-street—The pri-
soner came to my shop on the morning in, question, and
saidthat his wife and his property had been kept from
him by. Mr. Burden, of the King's Head, Eastcheap.
He said he had been unfortunate in business at Seven-
oaks, and that was the reason Mr. and Mrs. Burdon
were against. him. He said he had demanded
his wife of Mr.. Burden . that yearning, and had
been refused ; that it was enough to- drive any man
mad ; and if he had had a pistol he would have shot him.
He showed me- a letter he had from, his wife, beginning
" Dear Bob," and appointing to meet at the same place.
Cross-examined by Mr. BODKIN—He came to be
Shaved. He did appear in an uncomfortable state of
mind. He spoke rationally.
William Blacker—l am a City policeman. I saw the
prisoner at half-past nine in the morning of the 21st
of September. He said he had been to demand his wife,
and that they were going to turn him out the house.
We were passing a butcher's shop at the time, and he
pointed to a knife and said—lf I had had that in my
hilnd I should have made use of it. I said, Nonsense.;
and he said—By God I think I !should. He said he had
not been in bed all night. I saw him again, at six in the
evening. He came up, and asked me if I was going to
stand half a pint Of porter. I gave him some, and he
said he was going to see his old woman by and bye. I
was with him for two hours. He said that he would meet
me in the morning. Nothing more passed relating to
his wife.
By the Connr—He seemed in good spirits.
John Charles Davis—l am a cutler living in Aldgate.
A person, I believe to be the prisoner, came into my
father's shop at about one o'clock on the 21st September.
Mr. C. PHILLIPS objected to this evidence being gone
into, as the witness could not swear to the prisoner.
Lord ABINGER supposed all he could say was that a
person had purchased a knife.
Mr. PAYNE would not press the point.
The witness then withdrew.
Thomas Quinlan—l am -a private watchman in East-
cheap. On the night of the 21st of September I met the
prisoner at about five minutes before ten; his hands were
in his pockets, he said Good night. At ten I saw him
again, and he asked me if I should be back in
five minutes. I said, I hope so; and in about two minutes
after .I was called to the King's Head by a potboy. I saw
a man lying at the front of the bar. He was not dead
then. I saw two ladies in the bar.
JaineS Jarvis—l am a porter in Fenchurch-street. I
was in the parlour of the King's Head on the night
of the 21st of September. I heard a -scream, went
into the bar, and saw Mr. Burdon staggering. I un-
derstood him to call for a doctor. I remained' with
him until one came. I saw deceased fall.
Eliza Burdon—l am the widow of the deceased James
Burdon. He was 38 years of age. lie kept the'
King's Head, Eastcheap. I saw the prisoner there on
the night of Tuesday, 21st September. I was sitting-in
the bar with my sister. I know the prisoner, that inur-
derer.—(Here the witness became much affected, and the
prisoner sobbed audibly.) My husband was sitting
asleep. A table was near him. I heard a 'step coming,
and saw Blakesley. He sprang to my sister, and saying,
"My wife or my life," stabbed her in the right side. My
sister was his wife. He then turned round and stabbed
my husband 'when he was asleep in hia chair. He had, a
„knife in his hand. He then attempted to stab me, but my
sister prevented him. He then went out of the bar with the
knife in his hand streaming with blood. My sister and
my husband run,s,va-1.;...-...v-es.- AS ,rie Dar .1„r, .nd my
husband reeled against a dresser, and I heard him auy,
What is the matter. The prisoner turned round with the
knife in his hand and looked at them; he came back
half way across the passage, threw the knife down,_ and
went out of the house. fnever saw the prisoner after.
My husband fell down, and we sent for Mr. Smith, the
surgeon. .Aly husband died shortly after. He had a silk
pocket handkerchief over his face when he was asleep.
Cross-examined by .Mr. BODKIN—We were sitting
inside the counter. A person coming in would have-to
walk the length of the counter to get to us. He had
passed round the counter when I first saw him. I was
sitting on one side of the table and my husband on the
other. I hack:spoken to my husband about five minutes
before he was awake. Not half a minute elapsed after
he came in before he stabbed my sister. My attention
was directed to the prisoner. I can swear my husband
did not rise up before he was stabbed. The knife was
thrown away by the prisoner outside the counter, but
my sister went and picked it up and threw it in the in-
side. I never mentioned this before, for I was never
asked. I think he held it in the left hand. I did not
see him attempt to inflict any wound upon himself.
Daniel O'Connell—l live in Fenchurch-street. I was in
the parlour of the King's Head on the evening in ques-
tion. Shortly after 10' o clock I heard a shriek in the bar.
I went into the bar and saw two females standing, one
lying over the bar, and Mrs. Burden was coming out
after her husband. Mr. Burdon was standing just out-
side the bar, he fell against me, and that broke his fall.
The police came directly. Jarvis was there by nay side.
. James Croft—l was pot-boy at the King's Head. I
heard a scream On the night in question, and ran to the
bar from the tap-room. I saw prisoner going to the door
with a knife in his hand, he came back and tossed the
knife outside the bar. I fetched the doctor. Mr. Burdon
was standing outside the bar.
Cornelius Smith, surgeon, in Gracechurch-street, saw
deceased lying on his back on the night in question in
the bar; he died in about a minute after I arrived. I
found a;iwound in his abdomen one inch and a half in
length, ;and half an inch in breadth ; it was a gaping
wound. The intestines were protruding, the instrument
had penetrated five inches into the cavity of the abdo-
men ; a knife might have inflicted it.
James Bradley—l am Sergeant in the City Police. I
was called in to the King's Head,Easteheap, on the night
in question. I found the knife produced in the bar ;
this was at ten minutes past ten. There was blood on
it. I went in search of the prisoner, but did not find him.
Mr. Smith recalled—such a knife as that produced
would inflict the wound.
Mr. Davis recalled—This is the knife I sold on the
morning in question. I sharpened the knife at the back
as well as at the front at the request of the prisoner,
who purchased it. No one was in the shop when pri-
soner purchased the knife, but two men passed through
while he was there.
Thomas Dunn—l am a policeman of the Hertfordshire
constabulary ; I apprehended the prisoner at Hitchin.
Pilgate, a policeman, and mySelf saw him loitering
about the market-place. I said, "It's a fine night ;"
he said, "I am almost mad." I asked if we could ren-
der him any assistance ;he said, I suppose you have
heard of the dreadful circumstance in London. I said,
" Murdering the landlord and your wife ?" He said,
" Yes." I took him to the station ;he went to sleep, and
frequently awoke, exclaiming " That . scream that
scream !" He said, " I did not intend to murder Mr. Bur-
don. If he had not _got. between my wife and myself,
he would not have been hurt. I intended to kill my wife
first, and then myself." I frequently cautioned him.
Mr. PAYNE said this was the case for the prosecution.
Mr. C. PHILLIPS, for the defence, said that as the cir-
cumstances of the case would be likely to become the
matter of investigation, he had no discretion as to the
facts he should lay before the Jury. The facts were too
clear, for him to attempt to deny what had been set
forth in evidence. It appeared that his wife had been
detained from him by Burdon, why did not appear. He did
not attempt to argue that this detention of his wife was
justification for the crime ; but let them look at the
effects of that detention. The prisoner was attached to
his wife. This detention was sufficient to drive the
prisoner mad according to his own statement, and
he would put it to the jury, whether his con-
duct' throughout was not that of a madman.
His telling the police that he could have shot Burden ;
his whole Conduct showed that he was goaded to mad-
ness; and like all madmen, the first object which he
attacked was the woman he most dearly loved. Did not
his whole conduct prove that he was not in his proper
mind ? He should show that the prisoner's mind was
naturally one which being excited would be driven to
madness ; and then he would ask if some interposition
ought not to take place to prevent this dreadful occur-
rence being consummated by one still more dreadful ?
Ile should show that he wandered from his home for days
without being able to give the slightest reason for his
conduct. It would be shown that he had set up a breW-
ing.business without any knowledge Of the business, -and
without connection. The Learned Counsel then went
on to give some particulars, which he stated he
should prove in -evidence. All these were marks of an
intellect so feeble, that cruelty would be likely to drive
it to madness. On another occasion, he had
attempted to enter into an agreement to set up as a ,