The Sun.
London, England, 1840-06-26 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

you have ever proved yourself the friend
of the oppressed and the determined foe to the oppres-
sor, no matter what might be his party, be it Whig,
Tory, or Radical, I with confidence beg to call your
attention to the treatment to which a fellow-citizen has
been lately subjected. If is in the recollection of your
readers that Mr. John Cleave, of Shoe•lane, was tried
convicted, and sentenced to find and imprisonment for
selling Haslam's Letters. Shortlx after the sentence of
Mr. Cleave, Mr. Heywood, of Manchester, the printer
and publisher of the offensive letters, was also indicted and
found guilty of the same offence. But he (Mr. Hey-
wood) was not sentenced. He was merely required to
give bail for his appearance to receive sentence when
oal:ed up for judgment. How different the treatment
of Mr. Cleave, who, in comparison to Mr. Heywood,
was an ignorant accessory, for a page of the work be
never read, as he declared upon his solemn oath.

Mr. Cleave was sentenced to three months' im-
prisonment, and a fine of twenty pounds. Part of the
imprisonment he has suffered. At length Government
yielding to the remonstrance of a memorial against such
a partial administration of justice as was evinced in Mr.
Cleave's case, remitted a portion of his time for imprison-
ment, but enforced the fine, and compelled Mr. Cleave
to put in bail to the amount of 2001., to keep the peace,
&c. This, while Mr. Heywood, the principal in the
crime (if crime it can be called), escapes harmless.
Exclusive of the fine, Mr. Cleave has incurred a debt of
upwards of 601. in law expenses, and lost upwards of
50 guineas in his trade by his absence. Surely Go-
vernment, as an act of justice, is bound to return the
penalty, and a grateful country, in order to signify its
sense of the gross injustice practised against Mr. Cleave,
should indemnify him for the losses he sustained in law
expenses, and in his business by his absence. There
is little doubt that the gravamen of Mr. Cleave's
crime was his having been a member of the different
National Conventions. The country is now aware of
the circumstances in which Mr. Cleave is placed for
having advocated its cause ; and if he is allowed to
sustain a farthing loss, it will only prove the ingrati-
tude of the men whose representative he was in the
National Convention.

JUSTICE.

MORE PROSECUTIONS FOR BLASFIIEMT.—On Friday
" True Bills" were found by the Grand Jury at the Old
Bailey against several of the wealthy booksellers for selling
the polished Atheism of Shelley, contained in Momin's
edition of the Poet's works. Warrants are issued against
Messrs. Simpkin and Marshall, Sanders and Ottley,
Fraser, and Mr. Moxon, the proprietor of the book pro-
secuted.—Dispatch.

The following extract, relative to the release of Mr.
Cle4ve, is copied from the Dispatch

" RELEASE• OF MR. JOHN CLEAVE FROM THE COMPTER.

—This ill-used man, after an imprisonment of about four
weeks, has been released from confinement in the Comp-
eer, by an order from Lord Normanby. Sonic time since
a memorial, numerously and respectably signed, praying
for a mitigation of punishment, was presented to his Lord
ship by Mr. Grote. Mr. Grote was attended by Mr. Pat-
tison and Mr. Lowe. The former gentleman fully stated the
case, and urged the Marquis to remit that portion of the
sentence which related to imprisonment. Mr. Grote
also pointed out to the Marquis of Normanby the fact,
that Mr. Heywood, of Manchester, the printer and pub-
lisher of Haslam's .Lctiers on the Bible, had altogether
escaped punishment, the Government being satisfied with
calling upon Mr. Heywood, to enter into his own security
to appear, when called upon, for judgment ; whereas Mr.
Cleave, who had merely sold the letters in the way of
business, and who was entirely ignorant of their contents, was
sentenced to fine and imprisonment ! The Marquis of Nor-
manby received the deputation with great courtesy ; pro-
nsi xd to communicate with the Judge who tried Mr.
Cle,ve ; and, moreover, to acquaint Mr. Grote with the
result of the interview. This Lord Normanby has done ;
and Mr. Cleave is now at large ; but he had to discharge
the fine of 201., and lie is still held in sureties for his good
behaviour for two years ; and this while another indivi-
dual, who not only published the Letters, but printed
them, has escaped scot-free. It would seem that Mr.
Cleave has not been punished for the offence of selling
a book, disputing the truth of Holy Writ, but fur
having taken a prominent part in the proceedings of
the late Convention. The fact, therefore, that Mr. Cleave
is still held to bail ; that he has expended 70/. in this affair,
and has been under the necessity of quitting his business,
are matters sufficiently grievous, and betray a great want
of feeling on the part of the Whigs. A remission of a
portion of Mr. Cleave's sentence implies that he has been
hardly dealt with, and which is acknowledged by the
Judge liberating him ; and the sooner the restrictions now
placed upon his conduct are removed and the fine paid
back to him, the greater will be the credit due to Govern-
ment. We may take an opportunity some day of showing
that the Jury who tried this case were totally unfit to en-
tertain its merits. Indeed, the fact that they decided upon
patches of evidence, is convincing proof that they were
guided in opinion solely by the observation of the Counsel
for the prosecution."

THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN

ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

beg you will take the earliest opportunity
of correcting the following errors in the report of the
observations addressed by me to the Meeting at
Exeter Hall yesterday. I did not state that slave
trade had increased in our colonies, but I stated it had
increased in the Spanish colonies since the abolition of
the trade on the part of Great Britain two-fold, and
since the abolition of the slavery in our colonies about
20 per cent.
In the next place, there is an error at the conclu-
sion of my observations. What I said was this—" the
principles of this Society, sanction the adoption of no
other means for the abolition of slavery than the em-
ployment of moral, religious, and pacific measures.
These, I take it, are to be carried into operation, and
to be looked to for success, by a steady perseverance
in two great practical objects pursued by all legitimate
means-- namely, the depreciation of the interests of the
slave-trade, and the exposure, and denunciation of the
true character of slavery.
I am, Sir, your very obedient servant,
It. It. MADDEN.
June 25, 1840.

THE CASES OF MESSRS. VIN-
CENT, SIIELLARD, EDWARDS, AND OTHERS

TO THE EDITOR OF TILE SUN.

Sir,—l request permission, through the columns
of The Sun, to lay before the public the case of Mr.
Henry Vincent, now removed from the Peniten•
tiary, London, to Oakham Gaol, Itutlandshire. Much
misapprehen,ion exists on the subject. It is generally
believed that the nature of his imprisonment is now
such as was usually inflicted on persons convicted of
political offences. This is not the case.
Being, as I am proud to avow myself, a personal
friend of this virtuous and intelligent man, I have re-
ceived from him, in answer to my inquiries, an account
o! his present condition, which being more likely to ar-
rest the public attention than anything I could say, I
give in his own words:—
" I thank you for your congratulations on my resto-
ration to bunion society.' The change is certainly a
pleasing one, albeit I am still labouring under cruel
privations. You desire to know my situation : I wear
my own clothes—am permitted to write to my friends—
but otherwise I am subject to the diet and regulations
of convicted felons. My food consists of gruel,
potatoes, bread, and one pound and a half of
meat per week! I am not allowed a knife to
cut it with, but have to tear it with my fin-
gers ! I applied to the Magistrates for the
use of a knife ;it was refused ! I applied for permis-
sion to purchase a little food for ourselves—my request
was refused ! I assure you, that after so long con-
finement, 1 feel the want of more nutritious food. I
open feel gnawing pains in the inside and weakness.
Edwards and Shellard have been very poorly, and She'.
Ilan], in particular, weak and ;

must not omit to tell you that we hare no books but a
few trashy things lent us by the parson."
it must force itself upon the minds of
alt, even the most indifferent to the sufferings of
those who are persecuted for opinion's sake—that
there is much that is degrading, and, there-
fore, unjust—crud, and, therefore, criminal and
disgraceful on the part of those who inflict it, in thus
subjecting a virtuous and disinterested man, whose cha-
racter is an honour to his specks, to privations mental
and bodily such as are described in the simple state-
ment of my friend Vincent. That statement relates
insults and indignities which ought not to be inflicted
on any but hardened criminals ; and "gnawing pains in
the inside and weakness," arising from insufficient food,
are sufferings to which no MAN would sulajcct even a
brute.

Now, Sir, remembering and deeply regretting the
fact that there are many poor victims of political per-
secution whose ill usage is still more severe than Mr.
Vincent's, I think, that if Feargus O'Connor, barrister
at-law, and the Rev. Joseph Rayner Stephens receive
better food and other indulgences, the treatment of Mr.
Vincent. and of the poorer and less influential political
prisoners ought to be the same.
Relying on the impartiality and public spirit which I
am in the habit of observing in the management of The
Sun newspaper, not only for the publidation of this
letter, but for the powerful aid of the editor's pen in
removing the inequalities complained of,
I am, with great respect,
ARTHUR DYSON.
Kingsland-road, June 24, 1840.

ABORIGINES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sia,—l know too well the extreme difficulty to
which the reporters at public meetings are subject, not
to make every allowance for mistakes and inaccuracies
that must at times unavoidably occur ; and I should not
feel disposed generally t request a correction of any
thing which fell from me on that account. But really,
in the report of the Aborigines' Society's meeting, I am
made to state what is so palpab!y wrong and absurd,
that I respectfully solicit the favour of correction. In
speaking of the noble conduct of the Indians in Canada,
during the troubles existing in the two provinces, I
stated that in Upper Canada they assembled in num-
bers to defend the authority of the Crown, and that not
one act of violence or bloodshed was committed by them
during the whole struggle ; they confined themselves to
the capture of the rebels, proving that they were cc
humane as they were loyal. Thank God, they ALL
returned alive. In Lower Canada they captured the
rebels at Caughuawaga, disarmed then, and brought
them in prisoners to Montreal. With reference also
to their treatment in the United States, I spoke of their
driving the Cherckces from the lands of their Chiefs
and fathers at the point of the bayonet—of the base
violation of all honour and humanity in the capture of
Osceola, whilst protected by a flag of truce—the re-
cent massacre of the Camanche Indians by the Texian
pirates—and, lastly, the bloodhound war in Florida ;
I also spoke of their improvement in Canada, at
the Rice Lake, Moravian Town. Bay of Quinte, and
on the Grand River, where the Rev. Mr. Nelles, one
of the most godly and apostolic missionaries amongst
them, had recently received the present of a carriage at
their hands, of their own entire manufacture.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
THOS. ROLPH.