The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-01 00:00:00

the number of the foes of France ; and if Russia should
remair neutral—or should aid France—the war party
in that country might risk less by hostilities, than, at the
(From the Globe.)
The Herald is in agonies at the bare idea of the new
Poor-law's defects being shown to be administrative,
and not organic ; and Mr. Pewtress's observations,
thrown into the form of a Report to the Civic Authori-
ties, on the provisions aad administration of the measure,
in which it is proved that the imputations upon the law
refer properly to the illegality of the mode in which its
enactments have been carried into effect by those en-
trusted witli its administration, rather than to the obvious
intention of the Act, have drawn down upon that gentle-
man the feeble force of the Herald's garrulous capabili-
ties. A more wretched farago has seldom been printed,
even in the columns of the Herald, than that which as-
sumes to be a confutation of Mr. Pewtress's Report,
and a vindication of the policy which is set forth in its
own columns. The public subscription raised and dis-
t' ibuted by the Inquests of the several City wards and,
we believe, generally in the parishes of the metropolis,
and also in the to Nns and villages of the country, at
this season of the year—and which acts of benevo-
lence are urged upon the affluent by the necessarily great
amount of suffering to which the poor arc subjected
by the earliness and severity with which the win-
ter set in—these expressions of considerate sympathy,
which, if administered with discretion, bless the givers
and the recipients, are appealed to as proofs of the
inefficiency and intolerance of the new law—as
though these were new anti unheard-of efforts of
the richer parts of the community to add to the
insufficient resources of the poor, and thus enable
them to procure an addition to the scanty food, fuel,
and clothing they are able to obtain, in order to
preserve them from the inclemency of the season. At
the Mansion Rause yesterday, Alderman Wilson, who
sat for the Lord Mayor, alluding to Mr. Pewtress's
report, said—
'• lie acquiesced in the propriety of many of the obser.
cations with respect to the administration of the law. ll-
was quite prepared to say that the relieving officer was
compellable to give shelter and covering, as well as
bread, to the destitute, and that all those things
were comprehended in the word " relief," which some
people frittered away into a very small and inade-
q„„,„ „„„„,—;"„- Tr, th..roftwo, this City r'n-
lice
Commissioner thought it right to give orders
ti his • men to take any destitute persons who should
be in the streets to the relieving officers, and to insist
that such destitute persons should be supplied with shelter,
us well as what was called the necessaries of life, and it
the relieving officers should refuse to comply, he (Alder-
man Wilson), upon being applied to, would grant sum-
monses to such relieving officers, and upon proof of their
non-compliance, levy the heavy penalties named in the
Act."

If the Magistrates were fo be thus vigilant in watch
in the administration, and firm in enforcing upon the
relieving, officers the provisions; of the Act, we feel per-
suaded that the poor would be vastly benefited by the
change of system, and the confessedly vast aggregate of
human wretchedness, which must, under any circum-
stances, be always large, would be greatly diminished.
(From the Courier.)
We are concerned to find Mr. Pewtress, a respect-
able Common Councilman of this ancient metropolis,
stepping out of the particular line in which he had de-
servedly attained to some eminence, and to his vocation
of paper•maker adding that of paper-stainer also. In
the Courier of yesterday will be found the striking
proof and first sampe, so far as we know, of his new
undertaking, consisting of a 11.,!port replete tvith
litudation usque ad nauseam on the new Poor-law, as
presented by him to the Police Committee, said to be
in session and aggression upon the subject, at Guild-
hall. Now if Mr. Pewtress had limited his staining
paper process to the exhibition of the New Poor-
law excellences in his own ward or parish, and
the specially stated facts of his own experience, we
should have nothing to do but leave him to the quiet
enjoyment of his own Poor-law vagaries. But when,
on the contrary, he favours the world with a new year's
carmen triumphate on the saving graces of the law,
whilst to his ward he vouchsafes not one word of evi-
dence in illustration of the fact, he wantonly presumes
to cross our path, and must therefore übide the conse-
quences. Mr. Pewtress sets out on his paper-staining
travels with a sample bag of assertions, which are re-
tailed, as truisms unquestioned, with an air as self-
satisfied and solemnly complacent as ever Mr. Clay
himself exhibits when rising with looks of mysterious
import in the Commons' House to enunciate his com-
mon-places. But here is the commencing batch, so
that of the whole sack the reader may be enabled to
judge for himself :
" Whatever may be the opinion entertained with te-
spect to various parts of the New Poor-law, the full and
complete system of relief provided fur the destitute poor is
secured by the Legislation of this country. The ancient
mode of giving relief to the out-door poor (a right which
they so long possessed) is taken away, and the law now
enacts that no person in this country shall be left to perish
in a state of destitution. 'lf a person under any circumstances
is reduced to poverty. and has no money, fora, nr lodging,
lie is by law entitled to instant relief, and also to continued
support ; and so remarkable is the prompt provision by
which it enforces relicf,that it declares the applicant shall in
all cases of need be provided with food and medicinea neces-
sary, before any investigation is instituted into his case, and
accumulated penalties of increasing severity are enacted,and
may be enforced against any relieving officer or master of the
workhouse who shall refuse instantly to relieve any appli-
cant in a state of destitution. Such is the comprehensive
nature of this law that it does not limit relief to natives,
hat extends to foreigners; nor to the virtuous only, for it
dos s not regard character, but only destitution."
Now disclaiming any intention of offence to Mr.
Pewtress, whose testimony on a matter of fact we should
accept with faith as implicit as that of any honourable
man, we must take leave to deal with this sort of whole-
sale and unsupported averment or opinion, in the only
•way in which it can be met ; and therefore we are cont-
:pelted to say of this vague description of the New Poor-
'law, that in downright, however coarse language, almost
every line of allegation is a lie.
(From the Standard.)
We have said so much to justify our contentment
with the present state of the Government, that we have
little room to advert to the foreign policy of the
Administration during the last year. It were unjust,
Loa ever, to deny that it has been generally (we hate
making exceptions in such a case) prudent, honour-
able, and prosperous. Lord Palmerston (the merit
we believe to have been all, or at least princi-
pally, his) has fallen back upon old Conservative
principles and old Conservative alliances, and his success
has corresponded to the improvement. His Lordship has
sho,vn himself within the last year the best Foreign Se-
eretary since the time of the late Marquis of London-
derry. This is an add;tional reason for our content-
ment with things as they are ; for a Ministry kept con-
stantly in check at home by a powerful opposition,
'and showing no disposition to act ill abroad, but the
contrary, may very well be borne with for a while.
Show us. however, a chance for a Conservative Ministry
corning into office upon sound, intelligible, and fixed
principles, and we shall be as anxious for a change
as any one can be (who has not marked out an
office and salary for himself). Let us know that
we are to have Sir Robert Peel with a Cabinet
of his own making—not with one made for him before
he knew that he was in office ; let us know this, and we
shall lend our hands as heartily as any to remove Lord
Melbourne, and even, though not without regret, Lord
l'anterston. But we see no prospect of anything of
the kind at the moment in which we write.

THE LATE FIRES ON WOOLWICH

COMMON AND AT RATCLIFF.

URTIILR d
. ,
„,,, F
inappeneon the morning of Christmas
Day at Woolwich, a notice of which appeared in The Sun
on the following day) was of far greater magnitude than
was at fist represented. In fact it was the laigest fire
that has happened in the town of Woolwich for many
years pa,t. An inquiry has been gone into by the Insu-
rance Companies to ascertain the total loss,
The following is the result:-13uildings destroyed on
Clarence-terrace—No, 2, tenanted by Mrs. Stafford and
several officers belonging to the Royal Artillery, totally
destroyed ; furniture, &c, partially saved ; building
inured ; Mrs. Stafford not insured. No. I, occu-
pied by Lady Maclean, burned down ; furniture
siaTod ; insured in the Phoenix and Guardian Fire
Oakes. No. 3, belonging to Captain Barnaby,
and occupied by Major Chalmer and family, burned
down
insured in the Sun and Guardian Fire Offices.
;
No. 4, occupied by Mr. Pattison, who is not insured ;
house destroyed ; furniture, &c., saved ; building insured
in the Kent Fire Office. No. 5, occupied by Mrs.
Winter, not insured ; house greatly damaged ; insured in
the Kent Fire Office. No, 6, tenanted by Mrs. Mac-
Coombe, insured in the Guardian Fire Office ; similarly
dainaryed. The White Cottage (unoccupied), damaged ;
insured in the Guardian Fire Office. The total loss is
reported to be 10,0001.
The loss of the sugar house of Messrs. J. Goodhart and
Sons, in Rateliff-highway, which was totally destroyed by
fire on Saturday last, is estimated at 16,0001. Messrs.
Goodhart are insured to the extent of 10,0001., namely,
6.000/. in the Imperial Fire Office, and 4,0001. in the
Scottish Union Fire Office. The cause of the fire is in-
voiced in are.tt mystery. The firemen who were injured
by the falliag of the eastern wall of the sugar-house are
recoverinv, except Loader, of Watling streets ation.

TILE LATE CAPTAIN HEWITT, OF TIIE
FAlvr. Mr. Editor,—There is a paragraph going the
rvuni. of the papers, stating that all the valuable charts,
• drawites, Sze., taken within the last ten years by Captain
W. Hewitt, in her Majesty's ship Fairy, were ail lost with
him in the Fairy, and that the Admiralty had taken no
means to secure those valuable w.gks, which cost the
country 40,0001- I beg to say that the writer of that para-
graph is Itlterfering with that which he knows nothing
about, as the whole of Captain W. Hewitt's valuable and
laborious work is now on copper at the Admiralty, and no
charts or drawings of any great value are lost. I am, Sir,
your obedient. servant, FREEDRICK HEWITT, (Brother t•
Capt. W. Hewitt).
TRIESTE, DEC. 19.—The roads are again pass-
able, and the nails from France aad Germany, which were
delayed, have arrived to-clay. The Crown Prince of Ba.
varia is expected every moment. The Duke of Boor_
deaux is gone t 3 Venice, where, as we hear, he intends to
make a considerable stay to study practical navigation.