The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-08 00:00:00

FLANDERS MAIL.

BRUSSELS, JAN. s.—On Monday morning, at eleven
o'clock, a number of persons, and especially a crowd of
artists, attended the funeral of Mr. Lombard Nieuwen-
huys, at Laacken. Mr. Nieuwenhuys has left a fortune
of above a million, which he acquired by dealing in
pictures. He resided at Paris, and was very well known
in England. His two brothers, his partners, live, ore in
London, and the other at Brussels.

A meeting of the ironmasters of the province of Liege
and of the province of Hainault took place two or three
days ago, at Brussels. The two opinions which divide
this branch of manufactures, viz., whether the import-
duty of foreign cast iron should be reduced or main-
tained, had their representatives at this meeting, which
was held in the presence of the Minister for Foreign
Affairs. If we are righly informed, the result of this
conference was such that the project of changing the
tariff of customs with respect to foreign cast iron, may
be considered as wholly abandoned.
Their Majesties the King and Queen came from
Laacken to the palace at Brussels yesterday, about
noon. Her Majesty was visited in the afternoon by
Monsigneur de Saint Marzan, the Apostolic Nuncio,
and by Lady Seymour, wife of the English Ambassador.
The Bishop of Ghent has just made an appeal to
the charity of East and West Flanders. He has
established a relief committee at Ghent. " Food, clothes,
fuel," says that respectable prelate, "everything is want-
ing by more than 150,000 poor in the villages of East
Flenders alone, and the last winter has exhausted every
resource. The more wealthy inhabitants of the rural
districts have imposed enormous sacrifices on themselves
for the relief of the unfortunate, and many of them are
in a state of embarrassment in consequence of their
liberality and their bounties to their poor and perishing
neighbours. The resources of the benevolent societies
are exhausted, and the grants which the Legislative
Chambers have allowed them are scarcely sufficient to
afford even a rye loaf daily to each family for some
weeks." The parish priests and pastors state that even
hope now abandons them, unless aid more powerful than
there is comes to their immediate relief. The rich, say
they, who pass the fine season in the country have now
returned to town ; if we call upon them to advocate the
cause of the poor, we are received the first time they
give us something, but the second time we meet with
refusals from some, who allege the distress in the city ;
others say that they are not at home. What we are able
to collect from the few is utterly insufficient, we must
necessarily seek for some other means to meet the
general distress." Let us say, to the honour of our
reverend fellow:labourers, they have done their duty,
and surely deserve at our hands that we should support
them by every means in our power.
For this purpose we have prayed for the blessing of
God upon our efforts; we have established a relief com-
mittee for the poor of the country districts of East
Flanders.

On tha 4th of January a list of subscriptions will be
I opened. We subscribe at the head of it the sum of
1,200 francs, and we even engage to double this sum
if some generous persons will advance us the money,
without interest, for the term of one year.
Count Felix de Merode has just written to the
Bishcp of Ghent that he promises to remit to the
relief committee the sum of 250 francs per month for
the months of February. March, and April.
The marriage of the Count Trapani with the daughter
of the Archduke Charles of Austria is spoken of.
This event is connected with the presence of Prince
Felix de Schwartzenberg, the Austrian Minister at
Naples.
The Nurenburg Correspondent affirms that the rela-
tions of the Court of Naples with the Cabinet of the
Tuilleries are much impaired since the Spanish mar-
riages.

BELGIAN FUNDS.—Baussne, JAN. 4.
Actual Debt, 2% per Cent ... •
Rothschild'a Loan, Five per Cent ........
Loan of Thirty Millions, Four per Cent. •• •
Ditto Three per Cent. .....
Ditto Thirty-seven Millions, ditto • .....
Ditto, ditto,lB4o • ...... • • •• . 100
Ditto, ditto, 1842 ..
Ditto, 1844.... ..... • • •
Ditto, 1836.. • • •• •
Ditto, 1838 .... • • •••• •
Ditto of the City, 1832 .• • ...... .....
Ditto, 1843 .• •••.•• • • • • • ....... ••• • • • 97%
Bank ofßelgiUrn.. •• • • ••••••••• • • • • • • • • 885
—Brussels PAWS, Jan. 6.

DESTITUTION IN THE HIGHLANDS.—We are glad to
find that the inhabitants of St. Clement Danes, St.
Martin-in-the. Fields, St. Mary-le-Strand, and the ad-
joining parishes have commenced a penny subscription,
to aid the destitute peasantry in the Western Highlands,
more especially in the district of Lochaber. Mr. V. G.
Dowling, 4, Norfolk-street, Strand, Mr. F. Stokes, 175,
Strand, Mr. Burfield, 180, Strand, and Mr. S. Sainsbury,
177, Strand, guarantee the proper application of the
funds without delay. Mr. E. Sainsbury, the brother of
Mr. S. Sainsbury, is calling upon the inhabitants for
their subscriptions, and already several pounds have
been collected. We hope other parishes will follow this
good example.
THE NEW DISCOVERY IN SURGERY.—The public
will have seen with considerable interest that means
have been discovered for performing the most difficult
operations without giving pain to the party upon whom
it is necessary to operate. A man may, it seems, have
his legs cut from under him without his knowing it, by
the new process, while the drawing out of his teeth be-
comes an agreeable excitement, which is so delightful
that a boy having been mulcted of a molar, clamoured
loudly to have another extracted, and only held his jaw
when the dentist consented to oblige him. However
desirable this invention may be in a surgical point of
view, we have every hope that it will soon be applied to
the more delicate operations of politics. How useful
would it have been during the last session, when the
Conservative body had to undergo the painful process of
the cutting off of so many of its members I Had the
new process been known, the political amputations might
have taken place without any of that pain, amounting in
some cases to direct mortification, which ensued in
several instances. Considering the frequent severings
that Sir Robert Peel has been obliged to undergo, and
the numerous occasions upon which he will again most
probably feel it necessary to submit to amputations, the
new process must be almost invaluable to the Right
Hon. Baronet. As the plan is calculated to prevent
pain in all cases of removal, we should recommend its
being tried on the next occasion of a removal from office
by her Majesty's Ministers. This has always been a
most distressing operation, from the suffering it bas in-
flicted on the parties concerned ; and all the friends of
humanity must be delighted at the prospect there is of
its becoming an entirely painless proceeding.—Punch.
DEATH OF MAJOR FRASER, GOVERNOR OF FORT
GEORGE.—We record, in our obituary of to day, the
death of this respected officer, and estimable country
gentleman. His amiability of disposition, hospitality,
and kindness, during a period of thirty-six years, in
connexion with that garrison, will long be remembered,
id his memory cherished by a wide and general as-
qu tintance. In him the poor have lost a generous friend.
The funeral took place on Saturday last, with the mili-
tary honours due to his rank and station; and in addi-
tion to the strength of the garrison, his remains were
fAlowed to the tomb by many of the gentlemen of the
surrounding country, ana by a large concourse of pople.
—Ross Advertiser.