The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-02 00:00:00

INFIRMARY for the CURE of STRIC-
I. TURES of the URETHRA, SYPHILIS, GONOR-
RIIOEA, GLEETS, and all DISEASES of the GENERA.
TIVE and URINARY ORGANS.

Notwithstanding the above Institution is dosed, Patients way
continue to receive the GRATUITOUS ADVICE of the Sur-
geon (Mr. Courtenay, 42, Great Marlborough-street,) by ap-
plying at his own hcase instead of the Charity.
Hours of Attendance, from Eight to Ten in the Mornings
and from Seven to Nine in the Evenings. On Sundays in the
Horning. but not in the Evening.

DEATH OF A VETERAN.—For these last
twenty years an old man has stood at the gate of Green-
wich-park, which opens on to Maize-hill, opposite
Vanburgh-fields. This venerable centenarian, whose
name was William Lucas, expired on Friday morn-
ing, at a house in Greenwich, at the advanced age
of 106 years. Till within these last foir years
he occupied his old station at the Park -gate, where
he was well known. Ho was one of the crew of the
Royal George, and sank in her at Spithead, but, accord-
ing to his own statement, was washad up through the
main hatchway, and saved by one of the numerous boats
attending on the melancholy occasion. The deceased
had resided upwards of eighty years in Greenwich, and
was much respacted by the " College men."

THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.
(FROM .1 mcstps;ii.)
mt '''rrtfritrAsrs .t' ) ' held- L. D.F.ToFea..?; "Aux 2t-ks.-,. r's'. •• -.. eta it n
'1 'first meeting ld-day, and although the attendance. of
members is not great, the must eminent men in each
department of science are here. The sectional meetings
i,
are very thinly attended, the geological section alone is
attractive ; and even this department, spangled with the
bright stones of Buckland, Sedgewick, Conybreare, and
1)e la Bech, is very far from being crowded. The
most interesting and important communication to this
section was the paper of Mr. Walker's, the engineer of
the Breakwater, who showed that limestone is a very
unfit material for the construction of any work lying
beneath the low water-mark, as a crustaceous animal
(the plius) perforates the stone, and within a short
time renders it liable to be washed away by the tidal
water. Plymouth Breakwater, a noble work, which has
cost the country so much money, is unfortunately con-
structed of the limestone rock, and Mr. Walker expressed
his fears that this great national work, upon which
this destructive animal had already committed
.its ra-
vages, must, in the course of 200 years,' be in a great
degree destroyed, unless a large sum is annually ex-
pended in replacing the destroyed stones ; this is an in-
stance of penny-wise and pound-foolish economy, as the
Dartmoor quarries would have supplied ever-enduring
granite for this national undertaking. The operations of
this little animal has produced Very striking results
upon all coasts of a limestone formation, in the deep
water which is found in these localities, was stated byllr.
Walker to be produced in a great degree by the plius,
who, boring into the limestone, honeycombs it, renders it
friable, and the tidal action carrying the debris out to
sea, the water is considerably deepened, and large inlets
formed. The Physical Section, a very.interesting paper,
was read upon the action of 414 waves, but the details
would not interest your readers. The general meeting
of the Association was heldin the evening at the Town-
hall, which was tastefully fitted up with flags, and every
part or the room densely crowded. Professor Whewell
presided, and delivered the introductory address. Tlie
Marquis of Northampton, Mr. Conybeare, Sir Thomas
Dyke Ackland, and Mr. Snow Harris addressed the
meeting, but as these so-called philosophers are very
fond of praising each other, their speeches are not worth
reporting to you. Our business is scarcely begun, but I
will write to you each day a sketch of our proceedings.
Your obedient servant,
A MEMBER.
INTERVIEVtirITH THE POPE.
FLORENCE, APRIL 211841.—Of our introduction to
the Pope, when at Rom I believe I have never written.
At our request, the American Consul, who is our highest
official character at the Court of Rome, transmitted to
the Cardinal of State a note, expressing our desire of a
presentation to his Holiness, if the interview would be
agreeable. In a few days a reply was received, grant-
ing the request, and appointing a day for the presenta-
tion. We were given to understand that it was indis-
pensably necessary that the ladies of the party should
be veiled, and dressed in black, and_they.habited them-
selves accordingly. A black idreAs coat and shoes are
required as ,part of the dresS of'.gentlemen ; and in
our proper —oostuine, at 4sl)4Mit•-.44Efa, .o'clock of - the
appointed day, we . repaired to the Vatican, which
adjoins the Church Of St. Peter. We were received
at the door of an ante-chamber by one of the guards in
the uniform of the papal court, a unique dress, with
black, red, and yellow stripes, which is said to have been
designed by Mir'sael Angelo. The guard wore a sword,
and loose in his hand a shaft, surmounted with an iron
spear and half-moon, the latter somewhat resembling the
halbert with inverted edge, Passing into this room, we
were met by the Pope's servant in waiting, dressed in
black; and here having disposed of our over clothes, we
were led by him throug the reception-room into a small
apartment beyond, hung round with the portraits
of the Popes including that of his present Holiness,
Gregory XVI. Here we were to wait until the Pope
should be in readiness to receive us, and were re-
quested to be seated. The whole suite of rooms
was plainly and scantily furnished ; the sole furni-
ture in the reception-room was an ordinary wooden
table, standing near the centre of the apartment, upon a
carpet about six feet square. The rest of the floor;
which was of brick, the usual floor of Italian houSes,
was uncovered. In about half an hour after our en-
trance, the servantreturned;and led the way to the recep-
tion-room, where we found the Pope standing by the
table and partly resting against it. He was clothed in a
robe and cassock of white cassimere, the dress of the
Cameldulian friars, to which order he formerly belonged.
The robe was plain, and buttons down before. The top
of his head was covered with a cap of the sau e material
with the robe. His dress was evidently not a ftv, and
the cap considerably soiled.
We were received upon ( ur approach wlth great gra-
ciousness, and were put at our case by the affability of
his manner. Our names and country were made known,
and we remained standing directly in front of him. His
inquiries indicated. that he was well acquainted with
passing events ; he spoke with knowledge of our coun-
try and its institutions, of the disagreement subsisting
between our Government and Great Britain, and the ap-
parent prospect of a rupture. He inquired in relation
to ourselves, of our travels and future destination, and
whether we intended' to visit Mount Etna as well as
Vesuvius, expressing at the same time a wish that
our residence in Rome might prove agreeable,
and our anticipations of pleasure be realisedd.
I observed that he seldom permitted his eyes to fall uppn
the ladies of our party. He related humorous anecdotes
of the Carnival that had just passed, and gave us an ac-
count, in a very lively manner, how the Grand Duke of
Austria, at a previous carnival, was pelted on the Corso
with confetti, and how with great glee he had retaliated
in throwins• great quantities of confetti at his antagonist.
We were (retained about twenty minutes, when the Ripe
bowed, and we, bowing in return, left the apartment
through the door we had entered. During the interview,
he continued to hold a gold snuff-box in his left hand, of
the contents of which lie made a very liberal use.
When animated with agreeable conversation, the coun-
tenance of the Pope is expressive of great amiableness,
but, ordinarily, and particularly in the-service of the cha-
pel, has a cast of deep solemnity, bordering on melan-
choly. At such times I have seen tears coursing down
the old luau's cheeks. Since our introduction we have
met him accidentally in a retired part of Rome' where,'
followed by two servants, he was taking a walk. His car-
riage, from which he had descended, was standing at a
short distance. He had been ill, and I thought bore him-
self with feebleness. He recognised and kindly
saluted us. I have subsequently seen him performing
his arduous duties in the interesting ceremonies%f holy
week, with a strong and full voice, and a firm step. The
Pope must be over seventy, and there are many of the
Cardinals whom I should think older than himself ;
these of course are without hope of the succession. I
have never seen a more intelligent, well-looking body
of men, and doubt whether there is a council in Europe
which embraces more - intellect.—Correspondent New
York American.

Of the many useful articles exhibited in
the Show-yard of the Royal English Agricultural
Society, none attracted more attention, or were
more generally admired, than two beautiful models
exhibited by Benjamin Edginton, 2, _ Duke-street,
Southwark, and 208, Piccadilly, London ; one a
model of a splendid marquee, which had been more than
once honoured by the presence of royalty, and the'other
that very useful article a rick-clot , which completely
protected' a rick of hay, with poles and tackle complete.
The farmers of Lancashire, with all their natural shrewd-
ness, have too much neglected the use of this most ne-
cessary article ; in fact, from its great utility and rea-
son Able cost, we should say that no man calling himself
a farmer should be without a rick cloth. There were
also two beautiful little silk flags—a royal standard and
union jack, and a circular tent, which we were surprised
to find cost so little as Si. Bs., quite an ornament to, any
gentleman's lawn.—Liverpool Chronicle, July 24, 1841.
The wheat crops on the Wok's from Caistor to
Barton, Grimbsy, Lonth, and Hornca.stle, look exceed-
ingly well, and to all appearance will be very productive.
REWARDS TO DESERVING LABOURERS,
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester ho-
noured with her presence the first distribution of prizes,
which took place a few days since, of the Chertsey Union
Association, for rewarding deserving labourers in agri-
culture. The Board-room at the Union Workhouse,
where the numerous prizes were distributed, was crowded
by the principal inhabitants in the neighbourhood. In
the course of the day the Duchess was conducted over
the house; previously to taking her departure, her lióyal
Highness was pleased to intimate her intention of 'be-
coming the ratrouess of the Institution.

COUNTRY.
(Abridged from a long, gloomy article in the Spectator.)
" Distress" is a word often and easily used without
evidence of its existence ; nor can evidence readily be
adduced, since no individual has sufficient knowledge of
facts to pronounce upon national distress. But on this
occasion we have the strongest reasons for believing that
very great and general distress does exist in the country ;
that millions are subjected to hardships and privations,
the nature of which many of our readers cannot even
imagine ; and that numbers of persons throughout the
entire trading body cannot live upon their income, but
must encroach upon their capital, if they have any, and
if not, must run into debt. Nor is this surprising. Not
to mention the high price of the secondary necessaries,
sugar, &c., we have had for some years past a succession
of bad harvests, almost doubling the price of corn, com-
pelling the poor to do without many things, and to stint
themselves in all to procure bread, without being always
able to obtain even it in sufficient quantity. This
limitation of the general means of purchasing among the
millions, to almost one article, must have affected- the
dealers in every other commodity they usually consume,
and distressed those trades : the exportation 'of gold fur-
ther deranged the whole commercial system, and brought
many to bankruptcy : the " little wars" that have been
waged, or are waging in Canada, South America, Syria,
and China, lessened, as Sir Robert Peel truly observed,
the demand for our goods in those markets : at home,
the unsettled state of politics, coupled with the operation
of the other causes, limited the luxurious expenditure of
the upper classes ; and from the action and reaction of
all these circumstances, the existence of distress might
be theoretically pronounced.
The deficiency in the revenue is a direct difficulty,
Which:must be grappled with ; for it is the point which
brought on the battle with the Whigs, and it is in
reality the ground on which they intend to base their
future operations. If Sir Robert Peel would resort to
temporary evasions, they will not permit him ; and the
deficiency he has to deal with may be rated at nearly
three millions—it may posSibly approach four millions.
This the Whigs may point-blank deny ; the Tories will
hope against pe : here are the data. Mr. Baring in
his Budget estimated the actual deficiency at 2,400,000/. :
but part of his statement was founded on a confessedly
conjectural account of the East India Company as to the
expenses of the China war ; the actual cost of which, at
the time spoken of, would probably raise the deficiency
nearer to three millions than to any other figure, besides
the additional expenses which may yet become necessary.
Since then the:revenue has gone on declining : sugar,
whose consumption the Tories in the Budget debate
reckoned would increase, exhibits a decline of 580,000/.
on the year ending in July. Should the harvest be plen-
tiful, the pressure of the public distress will be lessened,
and some stimulus will be given to consumption : on the
other hand, corn, which last year yielded nearly
1,200,000/., will produce much less. Should the harvest
fail, the general prospect will be lowering enough ; but
the importations may still not yield as much revenue as
last year. The Corn-law averages would be " worked,"
and the bulk of the imports pushed in at the shilling-
duty. Sir Robert Peel may therefore, we repeat, make
up his mind to deal with a deficiency of some three mil-
lions, which a series of unlucky circumstances may carry
on towards four millions.

How can he meet it ? The chatterers of his party
went about saying he would reimpose the postage duties;
the Whigs could desire nothing better. The attempt
would excite one-half of the country and unite the Op-
position to a man. The Tory Members for London,
Liverpool, and Leeds, with someother commercial towns,
must gather under their banner ; other Members would
probably absent themselves ; and it is possible the Con-
servative Premier would be defeated. But if he
managed to force the odious measure through the
House, what would it give him ? One million; nay,
not that, for the expenses of the Post-office have increased
by nearly 200,000/., and could not immediately be re-
duced. If he try to reimpose the House-duty, there is
the same risk of defeat, and the same deficiency in the
results ; for dear postage and the eld house duty both
together would yield little more than two millions, being
short by one-third of the suns he requires ; and every
Opposition speech would contain the assertion that the
Whig Free Trade Budget would have rendered ne v
taxes needless. What fiscal ingenuity may devise to
take money pleasantly out of people's pockets, we do not
know ; we can see but two modes of supplying the defi-
ciency of the revenue,—a property-tax, with the revision
of the Tariff; a revision of the Tariff, broad, bold, but
well-considered in itself, and considerate towards exist-
ing interests, with the reserve of a property-tax should
it not succeed in making up the deficiency after a few
years' trial. For, pledged as Sir Robert Peel is to
protection and the sliding-scale, he cannot deal with
many duties• as matters of revenue only ; and the criti-
cal state of our West Indian colonies, with the nascent
speculations in India, called into existence by an act of
tardy justice in equalising the duties on their commo, •
dities, prevent him from realising all the revenue that
could be•reised if we threw our colonies and India over-
board, and admitted every article from every place at one
uniform rate. To effect a masterly reform of our tariff,
with a due regard to fair dealing and the interest of all
parties, is a matter requiring great practical information,
and much consideration on each item ; but there are cer-
tain broad principles to be steadily kept in view. There
' should be—

1. Duties for revenue, not for mere taxing—none of
those petty taxes which cause useless expense in the col-
lection, great trouble and inconvenience to the importers,
very often enhancing the price of materials to the ma-
nufacturer, and taking money from the trading classes
without any public gain.' According to Mr. Porter's
evidence before the Committee on Import Duties, 46 ar-
ticles produced 22,598,0001. out of a revenue of
22,960,0001., the other 362,0001. being drawn from 1,100
articles, some yielding nothing, and 147 yielding, so to
speak, a loss ; 5,398/. of drawback being repaid over and
above the duty they produced. All these minor articles
should be subject to a careful revision, to abolish the
duty on all but those which cogent circumstances re-
quire to be retained.
2. No prohibitions and no encouragement to anything but
the general industry of the country. Many agricultural
productions are now prohibited by express law—they are
forfeited if imported, whilst corn till at nearly famine
prices is subjected to a prohibitive duty : many foreign
colonial commodities, and some manufactures, are sub-
ject to so high a tax as to be practically prohibited. All
articles of this class must be revised, and a fair rate of
duty imposed.
3. Raw materials should be admitted duty-free wherever
it is possible without a considerable sacrifice of revenue.
4. The Colonial trade should be placed upon the footing
of a coasting trade, and all articles admitted duty-free, so
far as our financial necessities will permit.
5. A bold and well-considered reduction of duties
should be effected where there is a well-grounded proba-
bility of an equal or an increased revenue—as in wine,
brandy, sugar, timber, &c.
6. If, after two or three years' trial and the practice Of
a rigid economy, the income should still continue below
the expenditure, recourse must be had to a Property-tax.
In dealing with these financial questions, we believe the
country—that is, the majority of all classes apart froni
mere partisans—are prepared to accept of a fair offer,
and do not expect impossibilities. They do not expect Sir
Robert Peel to come forward with a proposal for a per-.
fectly free trade in corn ; or that the revenue is• to rise
to the required amount the moment his measures are
propounded. Mere party excitement, or agitation for
political changes, has been so prostituted to factious uses,
that the thing is worn out. What the country really de-
sires, is a Government that knows its business and will set
about doing it—a Government that will attend to our
economical condition, and give free play to the industry
of the people and the enterprise of the capitalist. If Sir
Robert Peel shall grapple thoroughly and fairly with the
great question of Import-duties, the country will not
contend for trifles, and will be perfectly willing to give
hinitime to await the result of his measures. If, howevei,
he shall attempt to evade the subject of Tariff-revision,
or be so ill-advised as to peddle with it—to pro-
duce a measure which fails to satisfy by the breadth
of its general plan and by the considerate skill of its de-
tails—he and his party are lost. We do not say that he
will be immediately driven from office ; his numbers. are
too strong, and the leaders of the party opposed to him
are too much distrusted for that. But his Government
will become a weak Government ; the country will shrink
from him with disappointment ; his followers will have
no confidence in him even whilst he deems that he is
lending himself to their purposes ; and his opponents
will be emboldened to attack him with pertinacity and
lower him by contempt.
We are not alarmists, or prone to panic terrors ; but
we see that the country is verging to a critical state,
when much depends upon treatment whether it shall fall
into a financial decline or recover for an indefinite period,
Many taxes cannot be imposed, and many, if imposed,
would share the fate of Mr. Baring's per centages, and
yield about half of their estimated amount. It cannot
be too often repeated, that the only measures which pro-
mise to meet the difficulty are a property-tax or a revision
of the imports. Votes of credit, loans, petty schemes of
this' and that, with all the arts of brokering financiers,
will be useless, whether they be tried by Sir Robert Peel
or by his successors some years hence—for if he will not
grant those measures now, we see no chance, for some
years, of a Ministry strong enough in numerical force
and popular sympathies to overcome the Lords. In
the mean time, discredit propagates itself ; capital
wings its way from the country, leaving behind.
it the artisans it had called into being and
congregated together in large masses ; with every
decline of our economical well-being there will come a
further decline in our revenue, together with a growing
financial embarrassment. And whether it be that finan-
cial embarrasSment is by itself a sufficient cause 'of na-
tional decline, or as we apprehend, financial embarrass-
ment is merely a symptom of oppressive exaction, or of
national old age—indicating excess of luxury, the ex-
tremes of great wealth and suffering poverty, with all out-
lets for enterprise or industry blocked up—pecuniary dis-
order, whateVer its shape, has been the forerunner of na-
tionil decay or national convulsion. The " Les alienum
per °lnnis terras ingens" was one of the three reliances of
Cataline. The " usura vorax, avidunique in ternpore
teems, et concussa tides," are noted by Lucan among the
seeds" of the civil war between Caesar and Ponip
Financial pressure brought on the decay of Venice,-ane) d
the decline of Dutch greatness; the pecuniary difficulties
of Charles.the First was a proximate cause of the' Great
: Rebellion; Louis the Sixteenth and the noblesse of the