The Sun.
London, England, 1841-06-21 00:00:00

perhaps partially blinded by self-interest to the bad ef-
fects of its own monopoly, is well aware of the mischief
done by the others, and would be glad to see them abo-
lished ; but for the sake of a small gain to itself, it wil-
lingly concurs in imposing an enormous and ruinous
burden on the country. It is an unholy league, the
parties to which are committing injustice with their eyes
open. The annual tax laid on the community may mo-
derately be estimated as follows :
By the Corn-laws £12,000,000
By the Sugar Duties
Byte Timber Duties 1,500,000
By the duty on Coffee 600,000

£18,100,000

Of this er.ormous sum one-fourth part perhaps may go
into the packets of the monopolists, and the other three-
fourths are pure loss. But, to the tax, imposed we must
add the privations endured, by the tens of thousands who
are denied the use of tea, coffee, and sugar, in conse-
quence of these barbarous laws, and the vast number of
others to whom a bellyful of anything better than pota-
toes is a rarity.
We hope the agricUltural labourers will keep in mind,
that those who profess to take a deep interest in their
welfare, and to be the advocates of their interests, have
done their best to deprive them of the use of sugar.
They have not yet had the impudence to say that cheap
sugar makes low wages, though they assert that cheap
corn does. The one is just as true as the other. Earl
Fitzwilliam has disposed of the latter fallacy in the
most satisfactory manner :
" Let us examine the case of the labourer in husbandry.
Look at his habits and circumstances. Consider how large
a proportion of his slender income is expended in the pur-
chase of bread and flour—and can any of you arrive at the
conclusion that he is benefited by enhancing the price
of corn. So far is this from being the case, that pro-
bably there is hardly a class of labourers more interested
in having cheap corn than those who are engaged in
husbandry ; because there is none that spends so much
comparatively upon the necessaries, and so little on the
comforts or luxuries of lik"

His Lordship states, as the results of his own re-
searches, that " the boasted period of agricultural prospe-
rity, which reached its highest pitch in 1810, was to the
labourer a season of distress." The fallacy arose from
the money rate of wages being taken without com-
paring it with the price of corn. This could only de-
ceive the most careless inquirer ; but the principle upon
which his Lordship makes his calculation is as follows :
" The weekly consumption of wheat in a labourer's fa-
mily, consisting of himself, his wife, and three children, may
b 3 stated at about two thirds of a bushel. The amount of their
enjoyments will consequently depend, creteris parlous,
upOn the excess of the weekly wages above the price of
two-thirds of a bushel of wheat. Now, that excess was

the greatest in 1814, v 17., 7s, Ild., and the least in 1810,

viz.,-Is. 2d. It will, however, be safer to draw our con-
clusions from periods of a moderate length, than from
single years. Five years are probably as fair a period
as can be chosen, and the year 1810 (as the point of the
highest alleged agricultural prosperity) will not
improperly be taken as the centre year of one of those
periods." His Lordship inserts tables of the wages given
in Northamptonshire, and the average prices of wheat
for all England, and compares the wages with the price
two-thirds of a bushel. We have not room for the.
tables, which are long, but the abs•ract stands thus—
Price of 2-3ds of Surplus rapresent-
Five years a bushel of ing labourer's
ending Wages. Wheat. comforts.
1807, ..... 10s. Od. ... ss. I ld.
1812, ..... I Is. 2d. ... Bs. 4d.
1817, ..... 12s. 7d.... 6s. lld

1822, ..... 1 ls. 2d. ... ss. 4d.
1827, ..... 10s. 4d.... ss. Od.

It is plain that the labourer's command over the
comforts of life, his power to purchase flesh, tea,
sugar, clothes, and fuel, is measured by the sur-
plus which remains, after he has provided his
family with bread, the staff of life. His Lord-
ship's method of calculation is therefore the only

fair one • and those who take the labourer's money-wages
as the sole criterion of his condition, are guilty of a gross
deception. Now, it appears from this abstract, that the
bourer was worst off in what is called the period of the high-
est agricultural prosperity. In the five years ending with
1812, the sum representing his comforts was just half as
great as in the five years ending with 1817, and less
than half as great as in the five years ending 1822.
His situation was therefore incomparably better when
wheat was Bs. a bushel than when it was 12s. 6d. !
But, to estimate correctly the labourer's !Command
over the comforts, conveniences, or it May be the
luxuries of life, we must - take into account the
variations in the price of manufactured gOods. The
reduction in the price. of every article of dress
since 1810 has been prodigious. The inferior class
of woollens have fallen one-half in these thirty years.
In cottons, which constitute nearly the whole
of the clothing of women and children, one shil-
ling will now gi.) as far as three, perhaps we
might say four; in 1810 ; in silks, which enter
into the dress even of the humblest class of fe-
males, in some proportion, two shillings will go as far
as five did at the former period ; coarse shoes are
one-half cheaper • and household furniture, including
iron-ware, has been reduced nearly as much. We
may safely say, then, that in the last ten years,
when wheat averaged seven shillings a bushel,
the labourer, with wages varying from 9s. to 10s., was
incomparably better off than in the five years ending
1812, when wheat sold at 12s. 6d. So much for the au-
dacious assertion that cheap corn is injurious to the la-
bourer!
It would be Unjust to charge these reckless as-
sertions and fallacies upon the whole agricultural
body. Trlany of the great landholders of Britain
rise proudly superior to the narrow, selfish preju-
dices of their brethren. We may name Earl Fitz-
william, the Duke of Devonshire, the Earl of
Radnor, in England • the Duke of Hamilton, the
Marquis of Breadalbane, and Lord Panmure, in
; Scotland and, with a little inquiry, it would be
easy to add many dozens to the list. These Noble-
men, who understand their own interest quite as
well as Lords Ripon and Winchilsea, look at the
proposed measure of Ministers without the least
dismay. There are not a few farmers, too, whose
eyes have been opened to the evil effects of
the present Corn-law upon their class. , They know
that it has deluded them with false expecta-
tions, stripped many of them of their whole
capital, and that it constantly exposes theni to
extreme uncertainty and ruinous fluctuations. As
'these opinions are based on truth, they must continue
to gain ground ; and we have little doubt that, were'the
measure of Ministers carried, and care taken not to in-
troduce it too suddenly, its beneficial influence would be
universally acknowledged by the farmers in a very few
years.

• ' First, second, and third Address to the Landowners of
England on the Corn-laws.

We find in the Courriei:de Lyon the follow-
ing remarkable instance of the re-appearance of a man
believed to have been murdered, and whose death by
violence was established by every proof, except the pro-
duction of the, body. On the 26th October, 1839, Bes-
son, an inhabitant of Aranc, in the Ain, toot his depar-
ture from that place with 1,500£ in his pocket for Alsace.
Some time afterwerds, Savey, a blacksmith of Belley,
was accused of haying murdered and robbed him, and
brought to trial before the Court of Assizes for the Ain,
at which one man swore positively that he saw Savey two
hours after the departure of Besson kill him by cutting
his throat with a knife, and afterwards, being assisted by
another man, throw the body into a cart and drive to-
wards a piece of land, held by Niavey, at some distance
from the spot. Traces of blood and other strong cir-
cumstances of corroboration were given in evidence, and
amoral conviction of the fact seemed inevitable. However,
through the great tact and eloquence of Savey's counsel,
he was acquitted. To add to the strangeness of this af-
fair, other persons have come forward declaring them-
selves to have been eye-witnesses of the murder, and Savey
was again arrested and committed to be tried for the
robbery, and other men were involved in this new pro-
secution as being his accomplices. Every search and in-
quiry had been made during 18 months for the person of
Besson, dead or alive, but without success. At length
persons arrived at Aranc from Dijon and declared that
they had not many days before seen Besson there in
good health and spirits. Two of his relations immedi-
ately set oft' for Dijon, and Found him. On being told
of all that had taken place, he expressed his ignorance
of it and his great surprise. He came hack to Aranc,
and has given this account of all that occurred to him
during his absence. On leaving Aranc, he did not take
the direct road to Alsace, but went to Sainte-Agnes,
near Lons-le-Saulnier, where having taken too much
liquor at a public-house, and shown that he was possessed
of money, he was followed by two men, who attacked him,
wounded him in the throat, and robbed him of I,loof. His
remaining money, being in gold, was concealed in a dif-
ferent part of his person, and escaped the search of his
assailants. The Lyons journal does not state the nature
or gravity of the wound, or how he recovered' from it,
but goes on to relate that the incident induced him to
change his plan, and go to Chalons with the intention
of apprenticing himself to a baker, but not finding such a
situation there, he went on to Dijon, where he served as
an apprentice for thirteen months, and afterwards worked
as a journeyman. He has since his return appeared
before the Procureur du Roi and examining Magistrate
at Belley, but the depositions he has made as to the men
in custody have not transpired. What is positive, how-
ever, is that the man believed to have been assassinated
is still alive.

CAUTION TO PARENTS —A distressing oc-
currence took place at Upwell, Norfolk, on Saturday last.
It appeared that the children of William May, labourer,
had, in the absence of their mother, without her permis-
sion, been accustomed to drink water out of a tea-kettle,
when cold. ,'practice so dangerous, amongst children,
cannot be too carefully guarded against, as the sequel
will show. About six o'clock on Saturday evening, May
was sitting with his children, in his cottage, reading, the
table being set for tea, and the kettle boiling on the
grate, when one of them, named Ann, three years of age,
unobserved by her father, approached the fire and drank
out of the kettle-spout, before he could prevent her. It
appeared he snatched her away, but it was too late. The
child was immediately carried to its mother, who was at
work at a relation's not far off; and medical aid was pro-
cured, but the poor creature, after suffering the most in-
tense agonies, expired on Monday morning about six
o'clock. An inquest was held on the body- the same
day, when the jury returned a verdict to the effect that
the deceased died in consequence of drinking boiling
water from a tea-kettle.—Cambridge Chronicle.
Thursday night, between nine and ten o'clock,
an interesting youna- female named Ann Carter, aged 19
rtvcr
d'' a l'•)1!1.
which were another female and three young men, in a fit
of jealousy. The body has not yet been found. She
was the principal support of' an aged mother,

THE SUN, LONDON, MOND Y JUNE 21, 1841

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
BAIL COURT, June 19
Doi: v. 'WESTON.
This was an action of ejectment to recover possession
of two houses in Vine-street, one of them being the Ship
public-house.
The lessor of the. plaintiff' la this case . sought to re-
cover posettsion of the premises in question under a
,alp of re-entry, contained in defendant's lease, on
the ground of forfeiture ; and the forfeiture was alleged
to have been incurred by breach of two covenants in the
lease, one a covenant to repair, and the other a covenant
to use due diligence in procuring annually a license for
the Ship public-house, and not to do or be a party to the
doing of any thing which could endanger the procuring
of that license. °lt appeared from the evidence. that the
defendant had broken down the party wall between the
two houses and caused a door to be placed there, thus
opening an internal communication between the two
houses ; but that when objection was made by the land-
lord to that proceeding the dour had been taken away
and the wall rebuilt. Further, it appeared that the de-
fendant had on two several occasions had persons drink-
ing in his house at illegal hours ; once at half-past ten
on Sunday morning, and once at half-past twelve at
night ; that on one of these occasions he wai fined 10s..
and on the other 405., and that at the licensing day the
Magistrates refused his licence.
The JUDGE, in summing up, told the jury that he did
not consider the breaking down the wall and putting a
door a substantial breach of the covenant to repair,
though it might have been of a covenant not to commit
waste. He was inclined to think that the keeping open
at illegal hours was a substantial breach of the other
covenant, but he left the question to them,—Verdict fot
the plaintiff _ .

303/. odd. There were many other writs. The Learned
Counsel said he would call witnesses to establish that
fact, and having done so should then be entitled to a
verdict.
George Briggs; elerk to the landlords, Messrs. Smith
and Son, produced a lease from :Merriman to Radcliffe
and others, dated 11th May, 1840, at a rent of 1,250/.
per annum, payable in weekly sums of 231. In January,
1841, the rent due was 1.60/.'; a notice was served upon
he man in possession ou the 16th of January to that

effect.
Cross-examined—Was not present when the lease was
surrendered by Radcliffe.
Thomas Peach, Clerk in the Office of the Sheriff for
Surrey, produced various writs; had one of Nicols's,
which had not been returned, for 3031., and there was a
warrant upon that, dated January 7, 1841. There was
another writ at the suit of Emmett; that was returned
nulla bona ;it was issued Gth January. There was one of
Temple's, dated 19th January; returned 28th January,
nulla bona. The amount of these was 3031. Nicols;
Emmett, 251. 12s. 4d.; and Temple, 53/. 10s.
Jos. Miller valued the goods which had been sold to
Osbaldiston. The full and fair value was 699/. That value
was much above the " hammer" value. _ _

Cross-examined—Nieols pointed out part of the things;
he valued everything that was Radcliffe 's property.
Joseph Jobling had been employed by Cox in this mat-
ter; went into the theatre last summer; while in posses-
sion there were two warrants came at one time; he pointed
out some of the goois to the valuer, but he did not know
all of them.
Cross-examined—Went to the theatre as a sheriff's
officer, and then took a situation under the management ;
he had acted in the pantomime.
Lord Anixcimt—lie tumbled down once or twice.

Examination resumed—Could not say when he re-
ceived the warrant. Nicols was managing the theatre.
Ratcliffe was not on the premises. Cox came to levy,
MIA left the warrant with him.
J. Edgar—Was well acquainted with the properties
of the theatre ; he and the carpenter pointed out the
things which were not fixtures to the appraiser. lie
did not point out some things which Nicols had said be-
longed to him.
Roe, carpenter of the theatre—The " Wizard of the
"Wave" was done with when he jo?ned the theatre. The
" Wizard of the Wave" was a showy piece. It con-
sumed 54/. worth of timber, and IS/. worth of rope.
Mr. JFIRVIS replied,
Lord ABINGEn summed up. The question was, whe-
ther, at the time of the delivery of the writ to the She-
riff, there were- sufficient goods to satisfy it. There Was

no evidence to show that -Cox had not g-one in as soon as

he had received it. Then, on the 16th of January no-
tice was served on the Sheriff that there was au arrear
of rent amounting to 1631., and there had previously
been an execution put into the theatre by for
303/. Was there, then, on the 20th of January, the
day on which the plaintiff's writ was sent, more than
sufficient goods to satisfy those two sums of 1601. and
3030 If not, the return would be correct.--A verdict
for the defendant.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

OLD COURT.

Mary Hemman, aged sixty-two, was charged with
throwing her husband, Peter Hemman, on the stairs
while in a state of intoxication, and thereby causing his
death. It appeared, from the evidence of a lodger, that
the husband came home to his house in Fell-street while
drunk, and endeavoured to get into his bed-room, but the
prisoner caught hold of him by the collar and threw him
on his back, and after striking him once or twice on the
head, she allowed him to rise. In about an hour the de-
ceased was observed standing at the door of the room,
when the prisoner came behind him and pushed him,
from the effects of which he fell with his head on the stairs.
He lay there a few minutes, and when Mr. Garrard, a sur-
geon, came. with Inspector Norton, he was found dead.
Mr. Garrard stated, that, on examining the body, he
found the vertebral bones of the neck were broken, which
caused immediate death.

Inspector Norton said, that, on telling the prisoner
that her husband was dead, she replied, •` Thank God
for it ; I did it myself."
The prisoner said, in defence, that it was quite acci-
dental ; that she was trying to restrain him from
going to quarrel with some lodgers, when he burst from
her,—in so doing, he fell in the manner described.
Mr. Garrard, being recalled, stated that the deceased
was a very obstinate man, and he had no doubt that the
occurrence might have taken place in the manner de-
scribed.

The Jury, after a short consultation, returned a ver-
dict of Not Guilty.
Charles Pawls, aged 25, a policeman of the V divi-
sion, was indicted for burglariously breaking open and
entering the premises of Mary Ann Stewart, and steal-
ing one flitch of bacon, 28Ibs. of sugar, and other arti-
cles, valued at 21. 125., her property. It appears that
Mrs. Stewart, who lives at Clapham, and is a general
dealer, left her premises carefully locked up on Satur-
day, the 12th instant, and on the Monday following she
found that the articles in question had been stolen. She
never saw the nrisoner before.

Sergeant Einerson, V 9, stated that the prisoner was
in the same division of police with him. He (the pri-
soner) was on duty near Mrs. Stewart's house from nine
in the evenini, until six in the morning, when he re-
ported himself at the station-house. From information
he received he went to the prisoner's lodgings, where
he found a sack containing the bacon, which weighed
fifty-six pounds.
The Jury found the prisoner Guilty, and he was sen-
tenced to he transported for fifteen years.
Isaac Prior, described in the calendar as a milkman,
was-then placed at the bar on an indictment charging
him with stealing a brown mare, valued at 71., the pro-
perty of John Clanricard.
The prisoner was found Guilty, and as he had pre-
viously been convicted, he was sentenced to be trans-
ported for fifteen years.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HOUSE.

On• Saturday a German Jew, named Schmelcalden,
was charged before Sir Peter Laurie with having stolen
jewels to the amount of between 300/. and 400/.

The complainant, Mr. Samuels, also a Jew and a
foreigner, stated that the prisoner, whom he had em-
ployed to sell jewels on commission, called upon him one
day, and said that he wanted some stones to show to
Messrs. Knott and Williams, of Frith-street, Soho,
jewellers, who wished to purchase a quantity. After
some conversation, in which the complainant impressed
upon the prisoner several cautions as to the disposal of
the jewels, the complainant gave thirty-five diamonds into
the hands of the prisoner, in the firm belief that they were
to be forthwith taken to the firm above mentioned. The
prisoner, however, never rourned to settle the account.
In the afternoon of the following day a boy brought a
letter to the complainant, and upon the delivery of it ran
away. The letter was from the defendant, and it stated
that he had lost the diamonds, an excuse which had all
the evidence of falsehood about it. As the complainant
was firmly persuaded that the prisoner had misappropri-
ated the diamonds, an officer was employed to take him
into custody.

Sir. P. LAURIE asked the complainant in what way
the prisoner carried the diamonds about him.
The complainant replied that the prisoner, as was
usual with persons.selling diamonds on commission, was
in the habit of keeping a tin box tied round him, in
which he kept the diamonds, and on no account ever
parted with it, even at night, but slept with it under his
pillow. Messrs. Knott and Williams, to whom the pri-
soner said he was about to sell the diamonds, upon being
questioned on the sulkject, declared that they had given
no directions to the prisoner relative to articles of the
kind; and their clerk upon hearing the statements as to
the loss said to the complainant " You are done, Mr.
Samuels." The complainant then went to the prisoner's
wife, who told him that she knew nothing of her hus-
band. but that he had left the tin case to be repaired at
a shop. Upon applying at the shop complainant learned
th4t the prisoner had left the tin case there, and that he
had put the diamonds very carefully in his waistcoat
pocket, saying " I should not like to lose them, for they
are very valuable."
Sir. P. LAURIE—Did he vary in his statement as to
the loss ? • Complainant—He said, upon being taken
into custody, that he wanted the diamonds for a Mr.
Keyser, and he persisted in saying that he had lost them.
The prisoner declared to his God that he was a per-
fectly honest man, and was, frequently entrusted with
4,0001. or 5,000/. worth of precious stones.
Sir P. LAURIE—What made you say that Messrs.
Knott and Williams were first to he the dealers for the
diitintindsi and afterwards mention Mr. Keyser ? The
prisoner denied that he had used the names of' Messrs.
Knott and Williams.
Sir r, LAURIE said that he had no doubt as to the
nature dr this case, and supposed that the complainant
have his dianionds returned to him.
prisond vowed that he had lost the diamonds out
of his tide pocket; but how he could not tell.
Bif. instead of writing the letter the
clay after to the complainant, ~.4yl you not at once call upon
him to communicate to him the foss, thai might make
sonae'attempts fur its recovery ?
Conipliiiiiant—z4yel that's the question. Thank you,
Sir. I see you know how to pat questions that he
never can Answer. . . .

The iifistilief riled ely iepeatcd that he had sustained
the loss, and that he was the most honest of merij to which
Mr. Keyser could bear evidence.

Mr. fieyser stepped forward and assured Sir P. Laurie
that the prisoner had never committed an ill action, and
that he might be trusted to any amount.
Sir P. LAttat—Pray, did the prisoner receive direc-
tions from you to get these diamonds ? Mr. Keyser—
He had sold me some diamonds, and I told him if he
could get me others I should be able to s-. 11 them.
Sir PETEn LAURIE—The prosecutor swears that the
prisoner told him that the dianionds were to be taken
to Messrs. Knott and Williams, and the prisoner now
says that he got them for you. Which of them do you
believe ? - Mr. KeySer—l know the prisoner long to be
a man of integrity, and I have no doubt he lost the
diamonds.
The complainant said that Mr. Keyser himself had
lost a box of diamonds of much greater value some time
arm One of the statements made by the prisoner was,
that Messrs. Knott and Williams required credit for
three months and he (complainant) expressed that he
had no objection at all to give the accommodation, as the
firm was so respectable.
The prisoner said that it was all a mistake.
Sir PETER LAURIE—Very well. if you do not I
re-
store this man's' property to him before Tuesday next,
shall commit you to Ncwgate for the robbery, which you
have certainly committed.
The prisoner was then remanded. _

BOW S T BEET.
The INlaejstrates sat at this office. for the last time,
'm De-
,
•.
lj""1" "Thig given. .ii: eetiuns that the house and
ofk:e adjoining shall be pulled down, and a more com-
modious edifice erected on the site of the present court.
Iu the mewl time the butintss of the (ace Will be carried