The Sun.
London, England, 1823-01-22 00:00:00

CITY, TUESDAY EVENING.

In the Duckery the principal operations have
been again in Spanish Bonds, on which a farther decline of
fay 2 per cent, must be this day rated. It was reported, that
private bargains had been done last Sunday in Paris so low as 39.
The French Rentes are.also lower, and' scarcely any business can
be done in them. Every other description of European .Public
Securities is also lower. The' Bonds of the Czar of Muscovy
are very dull, and lower in proportion than those of his Prussian
Majesty. Sonie ask how the two Monarchs are to pay for the
necessary expences attendant on a state of warfare? Turkey,
is a present pretty well plucked by the barbarians who now
possess that fine country, and it is not likely that the pillage
there will be very valuable. France, however, is getting rich,
and it will be only such justice as the cause requires, to levy
such contributions in that country as will indemnify the High
Allies fur their assistance, should it be found necessary for the
maintenance of the present Monarchical system of Europe.
Colombian Bonds are again lower.
On the Royal Exchange, business continues very inanimate,
and the frequenters of that former mart of wealth, prOsperity,,
and liberality, are muffering fully' as much as the agriculturists,
though they do not make any noise. The restrictions on trade,
occasioned by protecting laws at home, and prohibitory re-
gulations in almost every European nation, have been severe-
ly felt amongst the merchants; and the. ship-owners, after
the loss of half their invested capital, still find it difficult to,
draw the current expences of their 'ships out of the. very
!OW freight* which their employers can afford' to pay. The
Agriculturists have at present a just -claim to expect from'
Legislature a reduction of those taxes which peculiarly affect
them. For instance, the Assessed Taxes might be repealed,
and their amount might WI replaced in the .Treasury by the
Sinking Fund without injuring any individual., The Beer
Duty, amounting to 2,609,901)1. Aught also be repealed, and
with an open beer trade an additiOnal consumption of nearly two
millions'of quitters of barlerrnighi,be created, without injur-
ing the Revenue, farther than what could easily he supplied by
encouraging the distillation of British Spirits, at the expence
of smuggling. The Coal Duty is also an' unequal tax, for it
is not levied elecept on those'. who are obliged to pay a heavy
sea-freight, in addition to the arig_inal expence. Ten or twelve
millions of taxes could be reduced without-any material injury
to the revenue, and an additional market for nearly two millions
and a half of quarters of grain could be created without any
greatly increased expence to the consumers.—(4llorniag Chro.
f)ick.)
. .

Pligsktfex Al; itorr.—lt. has been
much queetioned amongst the, learned, whether there be such
things. (or nothings), as ghosts; but whether or not, and leay.
lug Lids argument to the curious,.the folloWing may be relied
upon as an instance of extrabrdinary. presence of mind in an
apparition. In the year 1421, the widow of Ralph Gran-
bourne, of Airtime .End, in the
.parish
.gandlittrst, Berk*,
was one midnight alarmed by 4, now in her. bed-chaffiber, and
looking up, she saw at her bed foot the appearance of a skeleton
(which she vailly believed was her husband) nodding and talk.
lng to her upon his fingers, or finger-bones; after the manner of
01 dumb person. Whereupon site was no terrified, that 'after striv.,
ingto iierenni aloud .which she could not, for her tongue chive to
her. month, she fell backward as in a swoon ; ye: not so iusenii-
ble withal but she wild see that at this the figure became greatly
agitated awl distressed, and *would have clasped her, but upon
her appearance, of loathing' it desisted, only, moving its jaw up.
•ward and downward, as if it Would cry for beiii,-bot could not
for want ofits At ParN. Biwa' slangti,sh:ecgtriTsiunilneniltryt:
and More faint, and likely "tn die of ,fear,
and as if Jit,a.thought, began to swing r9utiditi hand, which.
Was loose at the wrist, with a brisk motion,,ind the finger bones
being long and hard, and striking sharply ngainst each other,
.fliimie a 10144 the aptifigitig of a .-watchman's rattle:
'At which idarni; the neighbours running in, stoutly armed, as
against thieves or murderers, the spectre suddenly departed."_
Hitt. Berk:, vol. xxv. p. 976.)

DECREASE of CRIME in the METROPOLIS.

A very
,useful document has for- the last two
or three years appeared in the public prints about this period
under the title of " State of Crime in the Metropolis," which
consisted of various statements made up by Mr. Brown, the
late Governor of Newgate, shewing the number of persons of
both tieices, distinguishing their ages and crimes, committed to
that giol in the previous year, and the manner in which they
had been disposed of.

By these statements, it appeared that the number of -crimi-
nals committed to Newgate had decreased in the year 1821,
compared to the previous year, by 236; the number committed
in 11120 being 2,360, and in 1821 only 2,124.
In considering the sum of crime, it must also be kept in view
that these were not all new offenders, one in six of the whole
number, in both years, having been in custody upon charges in
the gaol before.
No similar statement for the year 1022 will, it is understood,
make its appearance. The prevent Governor of Newgate, Mr.
Wontner, amidst his various occupations in entering upon his
new situation, has omitted to collect together the necessary
materials from time to time, and the opportunity is now most
probably gone by.
As Newgate is the goal of the county as well as the city, the
numbers above quoted included the Middlesex, in addition to
the London committals. The want therefore of a return for
the year 1022, prevents further inquiry in this line for the pre-
sent. The activity and intelligence of his own mind,. now he
is settled in his office, will no doubt stimulate the new Gover-
nor to a regular continuation of those statements for future
years, without the necessity of any direct instructions upon
that subject from the Court of Aldermen.
Although in the absence of this document, no further light
can be thrown upon the question, as far as respects the county
and city conjointly, the inquiry may be pursued with regard to
the city of London alone, from the information contained in
the accounts annually made up by Mr. Teague, the Governor
of the Oiltspur-street tompter i • the sum total of whose returns
for the last three years is as follows

PRISONERS CHAAGED AT THE MAgSION HOUSE.
In the years 1820 1821 1822
Felony - 560 413 362
Assault - 189 184 146
Disorderly - 453 454 558
Vagrants - 809 596 219

Total . 2,011 1,847
AT THE GUILDHALL JUSTICE 110011.
Felony - 621 633 526
Assault - 462 517 629
Disorderly - 1,125 1,422 1,431
Vagrants - 176 101 134

1486

2,386 2,673 2.720
Mansion-bonse 2,01) 1,647 ' 1,286

Grand Total 4,397 4,220 4,006
From these statements, then, it will be observed that there
has been upon the average of the last two years a decrease an-
nually in the number of persons charged with offences in the
city of London, of about 200 ; the number in the year 1820 ex-
ceeding that of 1822 by 391 persons ; and, secondly, that this
decrease has taken place principally. in the capital offences ; the
timber of persons charged with felonies being in 1820, 1181 ;
and in 1822, only 8894 a decrease in the two years of nearly
300.
It should also be remarked that the total number of offenders
within these periods has been more than ordinarily increased
from particular temporary circumstances. The unusual large
number of persons charged as vagrants in the year 1820 and
IP2} was occasioned by the great influx. of distressed objects into
the city from all quarters of London, inconsequence of the esta-
blishment of the Refuge for the Houseless, &c., then in full
'operation.