The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-18 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1841;

only consented to come to the gates of Madrid, where
Leon was to put himself at its head, and march on the
barracks of Soldado and Posilo, in which were the Royal
Guards. These would follow. Leon also. At the signal,
Don Manuel de la Concha, brother of the Concha who
has declared for Espartero at Caffalla, having married
his sister-in-law, was to make the same attempt in the
barracks of the regiment of the Princesa. The adhesion
of the reginient of Soria was also reckoned on, but Espar-
tero changed its Colonel. The squadron, too, that was
to meet Leon at the gate of Madrid, was ordered sud-
denly: to the capital, and placed where it was surrounded
by regiments of hussars faithful to Espartero. But Leon
persisted in his plans.
Such was the state of things before night- fall. But
two hours before Espartero had dismissed eighty-five
officers of the two battalions of the guard, and sent to
the quarter of Soldado a new colonel, charged by him
with the command of the regiment, and with full powers
to announce to the. sergeants that they were to replace
their officers. The announcement of their dismissal so.
exasperated the officers, that, only consulting their in-
dignation, and without giving the least notice of the step
they were taking, they went in a crowd to the quarter
del Soldado, hoping to gain the soldiers they had so
often led to victory. But the new Colonel (Brigadier
Velarde)-was there already, and had ordered the regi-
ment under arms in the. Court. When the officers pre-
sented themselves lie declared to • the sergeants
that now they were in possession of their new com-
missions ; he exhorted them to
,earn them by an act
of devotion, and at the same time ordered the batta-
lion to fire. Some sergeants alone fired at the officers,
who would have all fallen had the regiment obeyed
and really fired before them. There was but one
killed and one wounded. The otherS withdrew. Gen.
Concha, hearing the discharge of musketry, took it for
the signal, and although the hour Was not that agreed
upon for the signal, he imagined that something had oc-
curred to hasten it. and he instantly hurried to the quar-
ters of the Princesa regiment. He was well received, as
he expected, and dragging along with him the soldiers,
he entered the Royal Palace, after being joined by the
troops on guard without it. He then took up a position,
and defended himself against the attacks of the remain-
ing troops' faithful to the Government. After what had
passed at the Soldado bairack, Leon and Pezuela, could
no longer present them Selves there alone. The Posilo
barracks, where the other battalion of the Guard was,
are close to Espartero's hotel, which was kept by the
chasseurs of Luchana, devoted to the Regent. Espartero
had also summoned to him the Regiment of Soria, under
its new officers and Colonel, so that there remained no
longer a resource for Concha and Pezuela. The latter, in
despair, exchanged his military hat for a common one,
covered his uniform with a cloak, traversed the Esparterist
soldiers blockading the Palace, and penetrated to the inner
court, where he found Concha, and informed him of the
state of things. Pezuela told him that there was no
hope•of succour, but he would do all that could be done,
viz., come back with Leon, that they might all die fight-
ing. Pezuela, for this purpose. got out of the Palace
again, and joined Leon. Both then disguised their uni-
forms, and penetrated to Concha, in the interior court of the'
Palace. The details of the struggle which took place
need not 6e given here. All known with certainty is,'
that Leon, Concha, and Pezuela succeeded in getting
out of Madrid by the gate of St.-Vincent, with 300 in-
fantry and 70 horse, and were soon out of the reach of
pursuit. It is not known whether Leon and the others
were of the party that carried the attack into the stair-
case and the Royal apartments, which were filled with
dead and wounded, or whether they approved this. All
certain is, that Espartero is triumphant. But will he be
long so ? • He has against him the Carlists, who have
rallied to Christina,. and those who did not.

Extract of a letter from Saragossa, 7th inst.:—
" The Captain-General of the province of Saragossa
has written as follows to the Government:--' The 2d
regiment of, the Royal Guard, which had declared against
the Government, has made its submission. Many sol-
diers are returned, and the remainder have treated for
terms without effusion of Spanish blood. General Espe-
leta is going to fetch the only battalton that is missing.
General Borso de Carminati, who had placed himself at
the head of the revolt, has been arrested by the National
Guards, and conducted from Malten to Borja. The po-
litical chief has addressed a short proclamation to the
inhabitants, announcing the suppression of the revolt at
Saragossa, and assuring them that the law will be en-
forced with energy. The provincial deputation, the Ayun-
tamiento, and the National Guard, have addressed a Ines-
sage to the Regent, in which, after expressing their con-
fidence in him, and assuring him of their attachment,
they add, Be deaf to the voice of the Syrens, who have
too long lulled you into a fatal sleep. Resume your war-
like ardour, and again grasping the sword, which has
endowed the country with so much glory, swear not to
sheath it until you have exterminated all Its enemies.
The province of Saragossa and the whole of Arra-
gon, await your first steps with anxiety. Rely on
the bravery of its sons. One blow, a single blow, struck
with your arm, can stifle for ever the volcano of our poli-
tical convulsions. Otherwise learn that the Arragonese
will never stop in the career of liberty and independence,
and that, rather than submit to a tyrannical yoke, they
will plunge into all the horrors of a new revolution.
Avoid a future of blood and tears, and have constantly
present to your mind the truth, that there is no choice
between despotism and anarchy, when a nation is resolved
to obtain at any price their liberty." •
The following from Bayonne, of the 10th, is given br
the Constitutionnel

" We learn from an English courier that M. Isturitz
is deeply involved in the attempt at Madrid, and .that in
case of success in proclaiming a provisional government,
he was to have been its chief, with full powers from the
committee in Paris. M. Isturitz is under arrest. Three
military chiefs have already been condemned to death by.
a Court-martial. One of them is a younger brother of,
Cordova. Great forbearance will be used toWards the ,
private soldiers who were seduced into it, but the officers
will be made to pay dearly for du ir mutiny. On the Bth Sir
A. Aston had a conference with the Regent at the Palace,
and the resident representatives of other nations have done
the same. Our accounts from Pampelun a come up to the
10th. O'Donnell cannot leave the citadel. All his communi-
cations with the other points in insurrection have been
cut off by Ribiero. It was impossible for O'Donnell to
hold out much longer, as he had provisions for only
three days. The whole of the line between Jaca, Brota,
Ainsa, Saint Liesta, Barbastro, Saragossa, and other
points, was entirely anti-Christino up to the 9th. The
Reactionaries are therefore confined to but very few por-
tions of the Basque provinces and Navarre. Their posi-
tion even at Bilbao, as well as all the points they have
gained possession of on the borders of the Bay of Bis-
cay, has been rendered untenable, by orders sent from
Madrid by Sir Arthur Aston, on the Bth, to the English
Consul at St. Sebastian, to declare openly and energetic-
ally against the insurrection in the name of England,
and not to suffer any English trading vessels to supply
the insurgents with arms, ammunition, provisions, or
stores of any kind. The accounts from Catalonia are
entirely unfavourable to the cause of O'Donnell. On the
Bth, Barcelona, without being able to have had any news of
the state of Madrid, showed a disposition altogether
hostile to Queen Christina. The Government must have
received detailed reports from its Consul, through
Figueras and Perpignan."
The France confirms the statement of M. Isturitz hav-
ing been arrested.
The Indicateur of Bordeaux says :—" Two proclama-
tions, addressed by O'Donnell to the troops and inhabi-
tants of the Basque provinces, which have been pub-
lished, were composed at the Hotel de Courcelles, and
said to be the work of Messrs. Martinez de la Rosa, To-
reno, and Oca. O'Donnell took them with him when he
left Paris to organise the insurrection.
The Temps, in its intelligence from the frontier, states
that on the 6th General Ribeiro sent out of' Pampeluna
all the old men, women, and children, under fourteen
years of age, retaining only such men as were capable of
bearing.arms. Ever since the 2d, it adds, the troops,
have been constantly under arms, bivouacking In the
streets and squares. General O'Donnell had contrived
to get in some provisions by the gate which opens to the
country. He keeps up a communication with Ortigosa,
who is in possession of a village on the road to Puente la
Reyha, where he has about 300 men. _ _

Considering the nature of the machinery which these
bulls set to work, they must be regarded as fearful brands
of discord thrown out to sever families and nations, and
which require to be met with all the energies of civi-
lized communities, and the prudence of enlightened Go-
vernments.

The Indicateur of Bordeaux, in mentioning the depar-
ture of the Infante Don Francisco for Spain, gives the
following colour to the motives of his journey. It says:
The Infante, devoted to the national cause of Spain,
on hearing the first news of the insurrection of Pampe-
lima, set out for Madrid, to unite his endeavours with
those of the Queen's Government and the Regent, to
maintain the welfare of the nation, and the constitutional
throne of his august niece Isabella II." This journal
publishes the subjoined letter from one of the Prince's
suite, which contains some curious details. It is dated
Pau, 10th instant:—
" We arrived here at eleven o'clock last night, with the
intention of continuing our journey, ar.d getting over the
frontier in the course of to-day. M. de Hoyos went to the
Prefecture with our passports. The Prefect, ad interim, in-
formed hire that the persons who accompanied the Prince
would meet with no difficulties, but that Don Francisco
could not be permitted to leave France till after the arri-
val of instructions, which here expected in the morning.
At half-past nine this morning the Prefect came to his
Royal Highness and endeavoured to dissuade him from
continuing his journey, but was met with a dignity and
a firmness of resolution he no doubt did not expect. The
Prince told him that his mind was decidedly made up,
even if they should attempt to arrest him, and therefore
he should immediately order the horses to be put to his
carriage. The Prefect replied that he had no orders to
use any violence opon the Prince's person, but was
prohibited from allowing him to have post-horses.
Enough,' said the Prince, We will go on foot !'
The Prefect retired making protestations of respect and
dSameepar
thuorrer,
ist
bh
eailuegbheaelnf iarsetde,
lae
eduw; are on
consideration, and M. de Hoyos immediately withdrew the
pthaesspopoirnlts.of

.. ,
! ! danger to which the Catholic parent is exposed of being TO THE MEMBERS AND MINIS-
: led to renounce his creed, as well as of the bad educa- ,
I Lion with !which the children are threatened. The oldest TERIAL APPROVERS OF THE OBJECT OF
es, as do also THE LATE MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
, decrees of the Church kept the same dancers in view, . ;HELD ON THE CORN-LAWS IN MAN-
?and strictly prohibited such int'ormarria ,
CHESTER.
I .the more recent edicts of various Pope; I'vbich it is un- DEAn Sias—Though one of the Secretaries of the Mi-
necessary here 16 -particularise, inasmuch as the cele- !
; nisterial Conference recently held in this town on the
..
i brated Pope Benedict XIV., in his brief to the Polish ! Corn and Provision-Jews of the country, Ido not feel that
Bishops, and in his famous work on the Diocesan
• I.
the apostolic_ see, occasionally departing from the strict- 1
; .sufficiently solution which appointed "a standing committee" to at-
explicit on this head. If ,
I or any other members would be warranted, by the re-
Synods, has been su
tend to any business left in an unfinished state, or arising
Llness• of this apostolic.
Sanctioned at times such mixed'
marriage::,marriage::,'it has done so upon important grounds, and out a the proceedings of the Conference, to initiate any
independent or separate measure in the name of that
:Most unwillingly, and only upon the ' conditions of
• Convention. But, from my knowledge of the opinions
; :the parents' giVing that no back'
sufficient - security of many, and in virtue of the confidence reposed in me,
sliding should take place on the part of the Ca- ; I take the liberty of addressing this communication to,
tholic' thus. married. On the contrary, the Catholic the members of the Conference, and to all such ministe-
party ' was • bound to consider himself "or • herself '
obliged to bring •the Protestant party back as far as ' rial friends as have signified their approval of the object
for which it was convened.
possible from his errors, while it was positively stipu- The mass of wretchedness, and the extent to which
. sated that the children proceeding from such marriages
seeheetuirlidtiebseareedduecamteatnldeidn
altihkee, Chyaththoeliclalryeoli,inOaiti.areTahsehse extreme poverty and destitution prevail among the in-
should
God, against which every one who heedlessly ex-'
Y ference unveiled, far exceeded our previous apprehen-
dustriuus classes, which the details submitted to the Con-
n-
sions; and from the brief period to which the meetings himself or his children to the danger of tempta- were limited, the varied and urgent accumulations of e
tion grievously sins. His Holiness our present Pope, dente presented from so many districts, could only be
Gregory XVI., has latey been' 'informed that in the partially known to the ministers assembled—on account
dioceses of Austria which firm part of the German of their voluminous extent we have been unable to pub-
Confederation the abuse of celebrating marriages be- lish one-third of the details in the official report ; while,
tween Catholics and Protestants without any dispensa- from the scattered and remote residences of the members,
tion, and without the exaction of guarantees, has be- we fear the report itself has been accessible to compara-
come general, and that Catholic priests have solemnly tively only a few. Moreover, events have occurred since,
hh oe se
Pope boast
l
celebrated such, and given their benediction theretO. It and disclosures have been made, which would have
may well be iniagine what grief the Pope• must ' feel greatly aggravated the impreSsion produced on the minds
large
rg
church. ureh. State
"T'
at seeing this toleration of mixed marriages so gene- of the ministers, had they been the subjects of authentic
rally introduc.ed, and thus a religious indifference en- detail.
ct
oo u
thera g ed
Catholicin a
is its
tiattachment Ido not allege that a just Government and wise
assuredlylegis-
,lation should in themselves be to us matters of indiffer-
not have delayed the interposition of his holy influence ence, or that we should fail to •desiderate such laws and
if this intelligence had reached' him sooner. That this . such an executive administration as would secure to all
was the.sole reason of his silence is evident fi.Oin the''' the people the equal rights of citizenship, and the equal
fact, that of late no dispensation for a niised-tharriage enjoyment of the benefits of a constitutional common-
- in those parts has been granted. by him otherwise than - wealth. The poor should not be debarred by his poverty,
under the prescribed conditions, and with a strict recom- or the conscientious man by his scruplous deference to the
mendation of the measures which the Holy See, in the 'paramount authority of principle, from the immunities
performance of its functions, is accustomed to employ. and rewards of loyal fealty to the Sovereign power, and
Under these circumstances it afforded his Holiness great of conformity with the demands necessary to maintain
consolation to see that the greater number of the pre- the equitable supreme control of civil rule. An electo-
lates in those dioceses, moved by the instructions ral franchise regulated by an exclusive and capriciously
issued for neighbouring districts, directed their pa- discriminating qualification, class legislation for the.pro-
triarchal care to the abolition of these customs, as tection of favoured interests, and monopolies which - se-
being contrary to the principles . and laws of the • cure pecuniary gains or secular distinctions to the advan-
Church. His Holiness, in bestowing upon their zeal tage of a few and the injury of the many, may be justly
the praise which it deserves, does not omit to commend regarded as violations of a righteous equality; and might
to them, and to demand of them, that they continue legitimately draw down on them the hostility of the de-
with constant zeal to hold upright the doctrines and the vout theologian as well as of the political moralist. They
dicipline of the Catholic Church, and as far as is in their conform not to the law of perfect and universal love.
power to counteract and to exterminate the last roots But the question is no longer a subject of speculation
of such abuses, where they show symptoms of renewal. or theoretic justice—it becomes one of humanity and
His Holiness has, however, felt himself obliged to take mercy when the operation of any or all of these vicious
into mature consideration the great difficulties and lain- principles is seen in the moral and physical deterioration
drances with which the said prelates and their clergy, of millions of men, every one of them struggling with
according to the letter addressed by the. Archbishops to vision or blindness, with a spark of Divinity called an
the Pope, have to contend, and for which they pray for immortal soul in him, when, as a consequence, these
the aid and support of the Apostolic See. In order, millions gaunt in figure, or with shrivelled forms, their
therefore, to alleviate the difficulties of these dioceses, as faces pale and haggard, and ready in squalid misery to
far as the inviolable principles of the Catholic Church start, as in forest roarings, With ferocity .and appetite,
permit, and to lighten the task of the said prelates, they and With, strength grounded on hunger, demanding of
are desired, by virtue of the, authority delegated by the those reputed their superiors—" How have ye treated
Apostles, to follow the path of toleration and prudence us? How have ye taught us, fed us, and led us, while
pointed out in the following instructions, according to the we have toiled for you? This is the feeding and leading
manner in which the Holy. See is wont to show indul- we have had of you—emptiness, of pocket, of stomach,
gence to such evils as.cannot entirely be cured, or which, of head, and of heart. Behold there is nothing in us—
if cured, would only open a door to greater abuses. Should, nothing but what nature gives the wild children of the
therefore, cases occur within the before-mentioned dioceses . desert." It is a perilous adventure and will require not
of parties wbo, after all the due remonstrances on the part a bold and generous but a cruel and desperate courage to
of their spiritual advisers, persist in contracting mixed remain quiescent or unconcerned, when we follow these
marriages without giving the required guarantees, and millions as victim-suffiirers, "dreary, languid, struggling,
the matter cannot be settled without a greater disad- to their obscure retreats, their hearth cheerless, their
vantage and scandal to religion—when especially it ap- diet thin : while for them in this world rises no dawn of
pears that it would be to the advantage of the Church hope—and for the world to come almost no expectation,
and for the public good to have such marriages cele- if it be not hope in the gloomy rest of death ; since now
boated rather by the Catholic priest than by the Protes- even their faith or their superstition begins to fail : un-
tant minister, to whom such parties generally,liave re- taught, uncomforted, unfed : a dumb generation, their
course, the parish priest,. or any other in his place, is in voice only an inarticulate cry : spokesman in the nation's
such cases to assist at the completion of such marriages council, in the world's forum, they have none that finds
by his presence only, but without the performance of any credence." What then may be their refuge ? Let the
Church ceremony, in the capacity of a mere witness, infidelity and sanguinary deluges of revolutionary France
in such manner, that after hearing the affirmation answer, and let every patriotic Christian seek to avert so
of the parties, he may then enter them as married in his fearful a catastrophe.
register. Under such circumstances, however, the pre- Long time had ministers of religion been represented
fates and priests have to labour with equal, nay, with in- or believed to be careless about the people's temporal ne-
creased zeal, to prevent the falling off of the Catholic cessities or physical sufferings, while they were regarded
party, to provide as far as possible for the education of as only ostensibly, in pretence, and for selfish ends seek-
the children of both sexes in the Catholic religion, and ing spiritual and far distant objects. A better estimate
• earnestly to warn the Catholic party to use every exer- began to be cherished, and a gleam of hope appeared to
tion for the conversion of the Protestant, as the best break on the popular mind when "the Conference" as-
means of obtaining the pardon of God for the crimes sembled ; and the expectation seemed warranted that the
that he or she has committed. Full of heartfelt grief priest and the Levite would take a lesson-from the good
that such a degree of toleration is required to be shown Samaritan. Patience and endurance were prolonged for
in a State which is so distinguished by its fidelity a season : the destitute and famished hailed, even though ,
to the Catholic creed, his Holiness conjures the but too probably visionary, the promise that some change
Bishops, by the mercy of Jesus Christ, whose would follow the confederate expression of ministerial
representatives they are on earth, from the present sympathy. Must this too fond hope be proved deceptive
moment to employ with all the force of their and a delusion, and this returning confidence be dispelled?
minds, and under the invocation of the Holy Ghost, all Must the dream of the hungry man, who sleepeth and 1
the means which they may think suitable to effect the behold he eateth—but he awaeth and his soul is empty, I
object, in order to prevent the indulgence thus shown be ' followed by despair ; and the ferocity and strength 1
to those who contract these mixed marriages from cans- which appetite and hunger create be substituted for pa-
ing any indifference amongst their flocks to the canons tient endurance and prostrate pauperism ?
of the church, which reject such, or any-relaxation in If I a little more minutely enter into the condition of
the care with which the holy mother church endeavours • the country will you pardon my prolixity, and impute it
to keep her children from those contr cts which -threaten to an anxious solicitude to avert the appalling and immi-
perdition to their souls. - The bishops and priests are,' nent dangers which impend over our beloved fatherland?
therefore, bound in public and private instruction to in- There is but too painful evidence in this -vicinity that
culcate with the most ardent zeal to their flocks the doc- there are thousands of Unemployed mechanics whose re-
trines and laws of the church with regard to such mar- sources are exhausted and whose families are famished,
riages, and to require the most faithful observance of not knowing whence the nourishment of to-day is to
them. His Holiness confidently expects this from their come; and ninny of them not tasting food during twenty-
piety, steadiness, and devotion to the See of St. Peter. four hours, or till they have begged it from their trem-
" Cardinal •LAMBRUSCHINL bling neighbours. I have been assured from the personal
" Rome, May 22, 1841." inspection of parties worthy of credit, that in the towns
The imperial phritunt is granted to this strange docu- of Manchester and Salford there are ten thousands who,
ment in the following terms : though the able-bodied among them be employed, have
" Dear Count Mittrowski—The annexed ' Instructio not more than sixpence-halfpenny per week fur the sus-
ad Archiepiscopos Austrim ditionis in firioratis Germs- tenance, rent, and clothing of each person ; while the
nice partibus ' contains the measures which his Holiness streets and lanes are haunted by the wretched and gaunt
the Pope has ordained in compliance with the prayer of figUres—the unemployed, pauperised, and squalid forms
the Archbishops of those provinces of my empire, and of fellow-subjects, begging for bread.
according to - which - - the Catholic parish clergy This, I grieve to say, is not all—but we daily appre-
have
to act in the contraction of mixed marriages hend ie reduction of others, heretofore in comfort as 1
in these provinces. The chief point is the passive small traders. shopkeepers, &c., to the same level of ab-
assistance which they have to lend in cases where ject wretchedness and helpless poverty. We hear of like
an education according to the Catholic religion is misery and woe from surrounding towns—from Bolton,
not promised for all the children of such marriages. As Ashton, Stockport, Rochdale, and many other districts.
this kind of assistance is not in contravention of the or- Nor is this suffering confined to Lancashire, Yorkshire,
dinances of the civil code respecting marriage, it is my I Staffordshire, or Wales. But the cry of despair resounds
will that the placitum regiuni be granted to this Papal throughout the country. From Scotland we hear of me- j
decree, and the Archbishops and Bishops whom it con-. thers mixing the dust of wood with the food of their
ceras be empowered to make the necessary use of it. - children, or attempting to silence the gnawings of hunger
" Vienna, Aug. 24, 1841." " F3RDINAND." 1 with the miserable shadow of aliment instead of the sub-

stance, by which the craving appetite of their offspring
is mocked rather than satiated ; while in one town
(Paisley), with a population of sixty thousand, eight hun-
dred and four families have been for weeks subsisting on
the eleemosynary assistance of their impoverished neigh-
bours. Thus besides. the ordinary helpless poor, one

family in every seventeen is deriving pauper support from
the casual subscription of benevolence. Is it strange if
death find an easy prey among such a population, and
produce fearful havoc soon? But what can stop his
ravages during winter amidst such destitution, should
the famished victims remain in quiescent helplessness
and tame submission till then? The unemployed, who
are pining in utter destitution, and have appealed to the
benevolence of the affluent and of Government for the
means to expatriate themselves and their families to the
farthest foreign shores, where they may obtain labour
and reward for their industry, have repeatedly assured
me that it has been with difficulty they have restrained
their younger companions from pillaging the provision
warehouses around them, and they have broken up bands
of young men associated to take by force rather than
die by starvation, over whom they had parental control.
If five full-grown millions of such should break-loose
from the terrors of law in the darkness of winter, where-
will be the rights and restraints of property ?
There are silent sufferers throughout the country,
among whom are many who would die of hunger rather
than complain, whose household furniture has been gra-
dually disappearing in exchange for food—who, during
the last twelve months, have not enjoyed one comfort-
able meal, but whose whole families have subsisted on
the earnings of some juvenile member, as his parents
stay. For days and almost weeks together numbers
of such lived without fire during the depth of last
winter, while the starved and shivering infants sought
.refuge in the dwelling of their neighbours, leaving
their father and mother to express their parental
anguish in unavailing and bitter tears. The chill
and heartbreaking penury of these children of want
has sought momentary relief by pawning the shirt
from the back of the father, the cap Or ,he handker-
chief from. the head and shoulders of the mother, or by
the sale of vessels no longer required for culinary pur-
poses. But so limited has been the supply of sustenance
thus procured, that the younger children, by the
piercing cries of want, have supplicated food from their
neighbours, and the only child at work has gone forth
to his labour in the morning fasting, his mother, with
tears, complaining she had not bread to give him; while
the only alleviation of the father's hunger. was found, in
the influence of tobacco on his stomach, a morsel of
which had been obtained in charity ; and when relierel
by death from the pangs of famine, only a drop of cold
water could be found in the house to refresh or soothe
the agonies of expiring nature. The tears of a mother
and widow might well then be many and bitter when
standing over a deceased husband, she sent forth her
working; child to his daily toils, saying—" good morning,
love, I hav'nt a bit of bread to give thee." It is thus that
we trace the unnatural process which ends in the exulta-
tion of a child who shall be seen dancing in joy, and
exclaiming " we have plenty of bread and butter, too,
now, since my father died:" in consequence of benevolent
contributions then received.
There is a generous philanthropy among the poor :
their sympathy and charity for their neighbours in. dis-
tress prevent the worst consequences of destitution.
Their contributions, though small when compared with
the sums given by the wealthy, are large when contrasted
with their own means, and generous as the display of
feeling and the expression of principle : nor will their
cup of cold water be forgotten by the Judge of all. Thus,
indeed, is life' often preserved, and the bonds. of society
are kept from dissolution. But we must not too confi-
dently rely on such principle of conservation : when
want extensively prevails, its demands the more speedily
and universally exhaust the community, and the sym-
pathetic vibrations of discontent more widely pervade
the _masses, and call forth a response in feeling and
action.. It is but too probable that there are many thou-
sands of .families suffering privation, and rapidly tend-
ing to. the condition I have represented..
11thy should it be so ? are" the people slothful, or do
they capriciously refuse to work ? It is far otherwise.
They eagerly plead for liberty to toil, that by the sweat
of their brow they may eat bread all their days, but
their former employers can give no work, since their
Capital is bankrupt, and 'their energies prostrate ; or
their warehouses are filled with unsaleable goods, and

their markets glutted with a supply larger than foreign
merchants can purchase ; because our fellow-subjects
dare not take in exchange the produce of those foreign
lands.

The scarcity of home-grown produce and the conse-
quent high price of provisions, have it is to be feared,
tempted the dealers in grain to mix deleterious ingredi-
ents in the food of the people, and thus those who can
procure nothing but a scanty supply of bread may have
not only been defrauded and plundered, but their un-
wholesome diet may be hurrying them to an untimely
grave, thus adding to the cruelties of unjust legislation.
In Staffordshire the alarm was given that such deleterious
mixtures were sold as food for the people. But there has
been cause to echo the same complaint in other quarters.
Such foul wickedness has been detected in this town;
and flour mixed with plaster of Paris and other sub-
stances, in large quantities, has been bought from the
regular dealer. One case I could name where eighty
sacks were bought as the finest flour, which by chemical
analysis was found so adulterated as to be unfit even for
manufacturing purposes. What the appalling issue
might he of persisting in practices so nefarious and
calamitous, if they should come to be generally known, I
fear to anticipate. But they clearly enough indicate the
operation of the fiscal restrictions on our provision trade;
while the prevalent distress among the trading classes
proves the vicious tendency of the whole commercial
tariff, and especially that policy which excludes the
grain of foreign countries from our regular market.
The present occupants of Government offices are not
ignorant of this state of the country. A few short
months ago, indeed, they boldly denied the existence of
distress, but gradually they have come to admit that for
some time it has prevailed in the manufacturing districts.
It is, however, but too probable that they have dissembled
the facts to the Queen or kept them back from her cogni-
zance. Memorials adopted at large assemblies of the suffer-
ing people, signed by the highest civic functionaries, by
Magistrates of the most populous towns of the empire; or
by ministers of religion of every name, have been accu-
mulated in the Government offices ; and, though in some
instances, assurance was given that such memorials had
been presented, yet it was afterwards acknowledged by
the highest Minister of the Crown they had not been
laid before the Queen ; but, while they were stored in
the Home-office, that Minister of tke Crown did advise her
Majesty to prorogue Parliament, in opposition to the pray-
ers of many thousands of her loyal and peaceful subjects.
Thus it appears that men, who have been conversant
with the state of the country, and must have known the
starving condition of myriads—who strained every power
and unscrupulously exerted every influence to acquire a
dominant ascendancy in the nominal House of Commons,
and who succeeded in the overthrow of their political
antagonists, by delusion and artifice, hare assumed office
with a resolution to contemn the people's sufferings and
prayers, as well as to contravene the expression of the
Queen's desires, and her patriotic recommendation, that
some means might be devised by which the national ex-
penditure might be sustained without any increase to the
existing burdensome taxation, and by which the dis-
tresses of the poor might be permanently mitigated. Not
only did they know the wants and distress of the people
from the depression of commerce, and the benevolent
and enlightened solicitude of our justly-beloved Mo-
narch; but for six months they were conversant with the
project of commercial reform, favourably advocated and
entertained by other financiers ; they also knew that the
principle of free trade in every branch of commerce,
and especially in the provision of the people, had been
approved by millions of petitioners, and was regarded
by thousands of religious teachers of the people as a
righteous means of improving the country and ame-
liorating the condition of myriads ready to perish.
Yet they fOrmed a Government of men pledged to op-
pose these principles. They refused to take into consi-
deration the state of the nation ; they slighted the
prayers of millions ; they intercepted the memorials
on behalf of famishing multitudes : the fearful and
wretched state of the country was vainly exhi-
bited to them, and their solemn obligation with its
hazardous responsibility was urged on their attention in
eloquent and fervid pleadings in the House of Commons ;
earnest entreaties were made that they would not suffer
this season to pass and winter to approach till some re-
medy might be adopted,—but, with a supercilious perti-
nacity and an appalling hardihood, they have shut up
the national council and dismissed the senators of the
laud to their pleasures or to pursue their selfish inte-
rests, while the nation reels on the brink of ruin, and
men's hearts are failing them for fear in observing the
signs of the times. The summer is past and the harvest
is ended ; but the people, instead of preparing for win-
ter, have bean exhausting their resources, or eking out
their existence by the wild vegetables of the field. Their
clothes, their bedding, their furniture haVe been sold or
pledged ; and they have no hope of employment for the
reward of which they may be able to redeem their
pledges. How then can they meet cold, dreary winter,
without a stock of food, fuel, or clothing, or any pro-
spect of remunerative employment ? How can they
resist fevers, contagion, or pestilence ? and should the
seditious and treasonable plot convulsion and civil war,
how can we assure ourselves that the faithful subjects
will be able to resist the temptation, or successfully to
repress revolt ?_

In despite of all remonstrances or representations,
then, the Legislature has separated, probably, till another
year, leaving the people to such direful calamities as
want of employment and extreme poverty may occasion,
while no provision has been made to mitigate or soothe
exasperated feeling. The consequences may, indeed,
recoil on the counsellors who advised, or the obstinate
and daring partisans who, for political or selfish purposes,
have incurred the fatal responsibility of such a measure.
But who among them will be able to relume the light of
the eye once dimmed, by the shades of death, or give the
cold heart to beat again ? And who can calculate the
result among the myriads which may be called to hear
the wail of funeral obsequies, when mothers, in worn
raiment, yet with living hearts under it, shall fill the
public places with their wild Rachael cries ? Will the
wretched counsellors of such infatuated policy be able to
encounter a whole people wearing a pain-stricken look—
a look past complaint ; as if the oppression of the great
had been like the hail and the thunder; but was no
longer a thing irremediable or beyond their power of
resistance and revenge ? Were they not bound to re-
member and act in consideration of the tact that, even
should wise measures be promptly adopted when Parlia-
ment again assembles, it will be long ere their beneficial
operations will be experienced by the people ? It is
with trembling I look forward.
_ _

Pardon, dear Sirs, this lengthened statement. Some-
thing may be gained by a sympathy and communion of
sentiment in such a crisis. But I propose to do more.
If the suffering people shall see that a movement is in
progress in their behalf among friends in whom they
have confidence, they may renew their patience, and
submit to protracted suffering for a season, in hope
of relief. I should wish, then, to prove to them that
not a few, but that thousands of their pastors sympa-
thise in their sorrows and share in their sufferings,
and have resolved to act with and for them at such
a time. May Ibe permitted to recommend that
immediate measures be taken to ascertain both the
conditions and sentiments of your people and neigh-
bours, and that memorials and a petition be pre-
pared on the basis of such inquiry—that memorials
to the Queen, one by the males and another by the
females, and a petition to the Legislature, severally com-
plaining of the neglect and insult perpetrated by the
Ministers of the Crown ir. the present prorogation of
Parliament. and also declaring that the present Rouse of
Commons does not represent the people. Such docu•
ment may bear the signature of every adult male and
female willing to subscribe them, with their designation.
I should wish to see such memorials and petitions from
as many separate congregations as may be brought to
feel and co-operate in this movement. The documents I
should recommend to be collected in London, at a time
and place to be hereafter specified, the time to be coin-
cident with the opening of Parliament. To give effect
to them, it will remain for consideration whether simul-
taneously another conference ought to be held in London.
If so, .I should recommend that the members be chosen
by every separate congregation, the number and charac-
ter, whether lay or cerical, being determined by'the
people themselves. But the arrangement, as well as de-
termination for holding such a conference, will most be-
neficially proceed from London, and to the friends there'
I commit the matter. The memorials being collected,
should be presented to her Majesty at one time, if pos-
sible, by deputies, as many as can be admitted to the
Royal presence, and escorted to the Palace by the whole
delegation. The petitions, in like manner, should be
presented at the bar of the Legislature, with a prayer
that the petitioners be heard in support of their cause by
counsel, or otherwise.

In the interim, correspondence will be extensively re-
quired—the
Anti-Corn-law League, too, will have to put
forth its fullest energies by lectures and the co-operation
of its affiliated associations. In their efficient Vroceedure
I have full confidence. For each congregation, there-
fore, a small Committee will be required, say two or
three, whether in conjunction with, or independent of the
minister, as circumstances may render expedient. I
would further respectfully suggest that each Congrega—
tion should take immediate measures to raise a fund for
the expenses to be incurred, and resolve, say by the Ist
of December, to transmit to the treasurer of the Anti-
Corn-law League at least 1/. sterling, and also to secure
whatever sum may be needed to bear the expenses of
the deputation to the London. Conference.
I would ask you, dear Sirs, to ascertain whether other
ministers in your vicinity than those whom I have ad-
dressed, be favourable to such an effort, and communicate
with them, so thoi they may, be included in this general
and national movement against an odious system of taxa-
tion and injustice, by which the poor are robbed and
the energies of the nation are repressed and prostrated.
I am, dear Sirs, your obedient servant,
Manchester, Oct. 15, 1841. J. W. MASSIE.

A few days ago a poor man in Leith was most
agreeably surprised at receiving a letter from his son in
Canada,
,whom he considered for some time had been
n
and • for whom he had gone into mourning.
The particulars of the case are briefly these:—The
young man in question had gone out in the capacity
of baker, in the ill-fated vessel the President ; however,
a few days before she sailed from New York, having
had some misunderstanding with the captain, he signi-
fied his determination not to return in her, but the cap-
tain, ;.1)t being able to supply his place to his mind,
expressed his determination to compel him, and to avoid
which the young man, only two days before she sailed,
left the vessel clandestinely, and was thus saved from
the melancholy fate which otherwise would have awaited
him.
GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.—An accident'
took `plate yesterday morning with the mail train ; the
efiginc ran against a truck full of sheep at Southall,
killed twelve of them, and injured several others. It is
said (but we have not been able to inquire at the
the office).
y lippe .
that it arose from a combination among men,
e of many of them having had their pa
No injury was clone to the mail passengers, nor incen-
yenience caused,'beyond a delay of two .hours.—Railway
Magazine. - •