The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-19 00:00:00

PORTUGAL.

LISBON, OCT. 11. —7 The senators are proceeding,
though somewhat slowly, with the dismission of the
finance projects. The alterations in the tariff, and the
tax on the Portuguese colonial produce, have-passed this
week. The duty on woollen cloths, which was 360 reis
per pound weight before, has been increased to 600 reis,
but not to 1,200, as Senhor Brandao proposed, and which,
by the reports of three of the papers, appeared to have
been adopted by the Deputies. The tax on the dividends
here has met with great opposition; it isiloubted whether
it will pas.i, as the Duke of Palatella, although originally
one of its proposers, is now said to concur with the
Finance Committee of the Senate in rejecting it
The vacancy in the situation of ' Lord Chatnhe.rlain of
the Queen's Household, " Mordomo Nor," occasioned by
the death of Marquis Sampayo, has led to the usual in-
trigues. The person who had the best claim was the
Marquis Saldanha, but ._several other candidates have
been spoken of. It is reported that the Duke of Pal-.
mella had asked for it, and offered to serve without salary.
The wish of M. Dietz is said to be to get the Duke of
Terceira to relinquish his present office of Master of the
Horse, and become the Lord Chamberlain, which, how-
ever, he is loth to do, and to promote the Marquis of
Santa Iria to the Mastership of the Horse. ' -
Great complaints are made of the quantity of Spanish
corn that is introduced into'Portugal by contraband. The
Revoluctio -of the 6th contains a letter from Campo Maier,
dated Sept.. 28, which says that in the two previous
months 1,500 moos (4,500 quarters) of wheat, barley,
and beans had been introduced from Badajos, Talavera,
and PONOS by way of St. Pedro, notwithstanding there
was a regular customs station there, with a director and.
seven clerks, and a guard'of the 26th Cacadores. ,

Sortie sensation was excited here on Friday by the
report that a Spanish vessel employed in the slave trade
had been captured by the Portuguese, and was entering
the Tagus ; and it was 'reported also that the Spanish
Minister-had demanded that she should be given up,
and.due compensation made.. I understand that this
vessel, which bore the name .of " General Marinho," the
Portuguese Governor of Mosambique, was, in fact,
owned by Spaniards, and regularly traded in_ slaves be-
tween Mosambique and Cuba. She had been chased by
our cruisers, and ran into Mosambique „under Portu-
guese.colofirs: • Being extunined by the authorities, both
SPanish lull Portuguese papers werefound on board, the
latter having been supplied her by M..Plumer, the
acting Portuguese Consul at Ilava.nnah. The news of
her capture arrived here some time since, and she has
been claimed :by Senhor Aguilar, a claim which the
Portuguese Government is not inclined to comply with.
She is a large ship, and was out 165 days from Mosam-
bique, and 55 from Angola.
. The Baron de Monte Pedial, a deputy, has resigned
his seat,
.because a motion of his respecting the abolition
of flogging in the army was rejected by the Chamber
without discussion.:.

Large lots of nation-al property are dailyputting up for
sale, and in consequence of the old paper money being
admitted for a large proportion of the purchase money,
and also for the debts cue to the extinct convents, the
price of the. latter has risen considerably.. It was down
at one time as low as 32, and is now quoted at 46 to 50.
145 contos of Government papers of different kinds, in-
cluding paper money, titulos on national property, and
those called of " The Tree Operations," &c., were burnt
last week by the Board of Public Credit.
. lam informed.that the plan of conversion which Baron'
Lagos is now endeavouring to induce the Portuguese
Government to sanction is as follows :—The principal of
the foreign loans to be converted into a four per cent.
stock, the dividends being payable at. Lisbon ; the
three years and a half of interest in arrear to be given up
altogether, a commission of two and a half per cent. to
be paid to the agent and other partieszengaged in effect-.
ing. the conversion. .Comparing
.I.llis. plan with. the one
now carrying into effect in England, the superiority. of
Baron Lagos's plan, as regards the pernianent_interests
of the mass of the bondholders, is by no means appa-
rent. The agent and a few great houses would 'divide'
200,000/. (two hundred thousand pounds !) of coinmis-
sidn among them; bitt the Bondholders, Wile, tinder the
Government plan, as passed last year, receive 2f percent.
interest •on the principal -and arrears, say 2f- per cent.
on - 1.171. 10s., which is equal- to, three per cent.. on the
principal alone; and . have the - engagennent <of the
Government, and- Cortes to-increase that interest pros,
pectively, would „fer the sake of ,a temporary addi-
tional interest of one per .cent.. give up advantages
that,
.considering. the circumstances of Portugal, ought
to be 'Viewed as. of no 'little importance. In
the'first place; the independent and separate eha-
racter
of the' Present' stock, by -Which, as-. 'English
bondholders; they can 'call On their.own TovernMent .to
support their claims—a consideration not to be despised.
Then again, by the Act decreeing the conversion-in.pro—
gress, the Coupons, if not. advertised a month in "advance,
to be
.paid in .due season in London, are, ipso facto, receiv-.
able at .the Custom-houses here in. payment
,of uties,. and
the inconvenience tbat would arise fronithis to any Ge-
V-eminent here will ever .be a stimulus to it to discharge
its obligations ; or, if We . can sUppose any future Go-'
vernarent reckless enough to -break faith and comply
with neither -alternati*e;"-the creditors are entitled- 'to
look fir the whole bid if identifi4'With the stock-of
this country, they must. expect- to share its,fate, withoht -
the same means of protecting themselves in case. further
sacrifices are called for. Add- to- these.. considerations,
that, by.. receiving the money at Lisbon, they lose the
difference of exchaneo between Lisbon and Loudon, .and
are exposed to the risk and trouble of remittances:
The Connnissary-in-chief, L. J. Ribeiro, • has 'been
dismissed, and his place has heel: given to Senor F.ll.
P. Ferran, the late Finance Minister, permission having
been given by the Deputies for hiS leaving the Chamber
for that purpose. It is believed that the post of Lord
Chamberlain will not be tilled up at present. Marquis
Saldanha .is expected to . leave by the next packet to .
Cadiz. The Duchess of Victoria was at Gibraltar by
the last accounts ; and it is believed that General Nar-
vaez was either there or in the neighbourhood. The
.Revolucao to-day reports a ministerial crisis to be at
hand, and alludes to Smiler Avila as about to retire.
I trust the rumour may be unfounded. Senhor Avila
has risen greatly in general estimation, and even his ad-
versaries praise hisintegrity, and another'change in that
department would be another evil. The board of health
has received strict orders to admit Newfoundland vessels
on the same footing as formerly. Previous to this order
reaching the board a Newfoundland vessel had entered,
and was put into quarantine, but was immediately re-
leased on the arrival of the order front the Foreign,
office. The Custom-house Director, M. Carneiro, took
it into his head to refuse a clearance to the City of Dub-
lin steamer, which left yesterday for Madeira and Bar-
badoes, because she took a passenger from. Lisbon to
Madeira. Our Consul, Mr. Smith, however, procured
an order from-Senhor R. F. Magalhaes, which brought
M. Carneiro t) reason.

WOOL W ICH, OCT. 18.
NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

The Columbia steam-vessel, Master Commander B.
W. Robinson, arrived at Woolwich on Saturday from
'Antigua, the West Indies,: vhich she left on.the 13th
of September. She brought a number of invalids home,
and is ordered to be paid off. •
The Devastation steam frigate, one of the vessels
lannched this season from Woolwich dockyard, and com-
missioned by Commander Hastings Reginald Henry,
was taken out of tile basin on Saturday, being nearly
ready for sea' and will be tried down the river to-morrow
(Tuesday). She is fitted with Maudslay and Field's
patent double cylinder engines of four hundred horse
power, and appears a handsome and substantially built
vessel. Her gallant commander has invited a Lumber of his
friends and others to accompany him to-morrow to:witness
the superiority and capabilities of her Majesty's first class
war-steamers of the present day. : The Comet steam-
vessel,. Lieutenant Commander F. C. Syer, was the first
steam vessel employed in her Majesty's service, and her
appearance alongside the Devastation is similar to a
sparrowhawk beside an eagle, the bold prow and entire
build of the latter combining every appearance of power,
and "Of being irresistible when; in pursuit of the object it
is intended to vanquish.
STRIKE ,OF THE MASONS AT WOOLWICH
• DOCKYARD.

On Monday last the masons employed under Messrs.
Grissell and Peto's contract upon the new west dock at
the Royal Dockyard, Woolwich, struck work. Messrs.
Grissell and. Peto, in the expectation that the men, 130
in number, would, on reconsidering the matter, return to
their work, continued to keep in operation the poWerful
steam-engine erected for carrying off the water from the
dock Where the masons were working ; but on Saturday
evening, finding there did not appear any immediate
probability of such being the case, the engine was
stopped, and at 3 o'clock this afternoon the water had
risen in the dock fully eighteen inches above what it
was at the same hour yesterday, and the place presents a
melancholy aspect, not one single person being at work
connected with it, while all is in activity in the other
parts of the yard.
On making inquiries, we have ascertained that Mr.
Allen, the head 'foreman, against whom the men have
taken such a hatred, acted as foreman at the Woolwich
Dockyard fur a period of,about two years ; and his most
decided opponents admit, that as a workman or judge of
Work, he is not 1,6 be excelled by any other artisan in.
the kingdom, and this May account for the desire of
Messrs. Grissell and Peto to retain in their service a
possessing such qualifications. It is also worthy
persond re
m
a
r
k
,
that during the two years ho superintended
the workmen at the Woolwich Dockyard, no complaints
were made against hint.

17kIE DEER SLAYER,—Such. has been the ex-
cessive popularity of the new romance, by the author of
" The -Pilot," "Last of the MOhicans," &c., that the
whole .of the first edition was ablorbed •in a week or
two. And no wonder, considering the excitement and
grandeur inherent, not only in the •plot itself, but in its
accessories ; as., for example,Alie unrivalled descriptions
of the lake and its surrounding forests, which are made
the scenes of the incidents—the vigorous delineations of
the characters, from the reckless Hurry Harry to the
l)eerslayer himself (our old acquaintance Leather-Stock-
ing, under another name),. and the pictures of savage
Indiap, life, and of the adventurous existence of the
settlers in the Back-woods. In all this Cooper is in hi
element
the ; and "The Deer Slayer" is, acaordingly, equal
to
best of his works. A new edition has just been
published.

The disposal of a highly-valuable property at
Tredegar Iron Works, Monmouthshire, is announced,
and the mode proposed is a species of lottery, the price
of each share being fixed at tel. The property is
divided into lots. One prize, is no less Value than 4.000
guineas, this being the Tredegar Arms Inn, Trodegar.—
Cambrian.

ADDRESS OF THE LEEDS PAR-
LIAMENTARY REFORM ASSOCIATION,
TO THE MERCHANTS,
• MANUFA or HIRER 8,
AND OPERATIVES OF THE WEST-RIDING
OF YORKSHIRE :
FELLOW COUNTRYMEN AND FELLOW SUFFERERS,—
The alarming position in which your 'nearest and dearest
interests are placed by the accession to alinn4-absoliete
power of the aristocracy, a class recently. described by Mr.
Byng, the Member for Middlesex, and one of their own
body, " as having less feelings than any other class,- as
heing distinguished for their love of power, their indul-
gence in luxury, and their not caring for the sufferings
of others," demands imperatively your immediate and
unceasing attention, and should convince you of the
necessity and policy of seeking the only true remedy, in
a further reform of the Commons House of Parliament.
Your condition borders on the desperate already ; for
four successive years the difficulties of the merchant and
manufacturer, and the. distress of the operatives, have
gone on increasing , in severity, and spreading. wider and
wider. A large proportion of the manufacturing capital
of the kingdom has been annihilated, and-as a natural
consequence, an equally large proportion of the working
class have either been thrown entirely out of employment
or have • had . their hours of work reduced. A more
gloomy prospect is that or the future. The unpa-
ralleled energy and buoyancy of British industry that has
carried us, in spite of all obstacles, through-former periods
of distress, now appears to be -overmatched .by insupe-
rable difficulties. Every year's additional experience,
the report of every traveller who visits the seats of
manufactures in Europe and Arnerica, .proves, with
greater distinctness, that the selfish class legislation of
our rulers is rapidiy destroying the sources of our ma-
nufacturing and commercial prosperity, and transferring
them to other countries; and if -allowed to go On un-
checked, must eventually plunge 'us into a depth of disc
tress,-greater even than that we now endure, and the
consequence of which it is frightful to contemplate.
We refer; among other proofs, to the following resolu.
teen, passed unanimously at a meeting of 2,000 persons,
held recently in this town, as a testimony to the correct-
ness of their melancholy statement:—.
" That great and increasing distress has been expert.-
enhed during the heat four years, by the mercantile and
manufacturing- elasses of the woollen district, of which
Leeds is the centre. That the condition of the .workneen
engaged in the various branches of its staple trade, has
been 'gradually deteriorated from the combined opera-
tion of a lessened employment for labour—a lower rate
of remuneration for it—and the high price of all the ne-
cessaries of life, and more especially of flour and meat ;
that the merchants have experienced unparalleled, and,
in many cases, ruinous lasses, from the frequent and
large fluctuations in the value of manufactured goods,
and the frightful amount of insolvency which has taken
place amongst the retail traders of the nation ; and that
the manufacturers have suffered in a still greater degree
than the merchants, because they have had to bear the
loss arising from the partial employment of their machi-
nery, and- the consequent inadequate return upon their
sunk Capital, in addition to those arising from extreme
variations in the price of the raw material and the bank-
ruptcy of their customers." -
We refer to Mr. Alderman Bateson's letter to the two
Members for this borough, describing the rapid "progress
made by the woollen manufaatureS of Belgium and
Prussia; whilst the exports of British woollens has de-
creased.
Add -to these the results of the inquiries of the Unem-
ployed Operative Enumeration Committee, from which
we.learn the appalling fact that in Leeds alone there are
4,752 families, consisting of 19,937 individuals, whose
average subsiStence is no more than 1 lid. per week.
' Such being your condition, what are your prospects of
relief ? Your present rulers, the corn-law aristocracy,
with the Dillies of Buckingham and Richmond at their
head, already fiercely threaten to turn out the Conserva-
tive Government of -Peel and Wellington with as -little
ceremony as they have done the late Reform Ministry,
should they venture-to' legislate for the whole people,.
and- not for the-exclusive interests of their own order.
They not only treat with indifference themselves the
misery and destitution of so many of their fellow-coun-
trymen,; but with a tyrannic jealousy they stifle the
cries for help, and the demands for inquiry, that a suffer-
ing peOple Would carry to the foot of the Throne, and to
the bar of the House of Commons.
.The worst is yet to botold. It plainly appears from
various symptoms that's large and influential portion of .
the dominant' class; are deliberately bent on reducing your
numbers. and -influence' by increasing your distress. A
scheme of policy more atrocious and insane never dis-
graced an educated and civilised community. - The
charge is, too. serious and awful to. be lightly made.: we
shall state .the indications that, joined to the acts of our
rulers,
.appear .to us conclusive. evidence that such inten-
tions me really entertained,
• *We addithe as proofs -
• First=e:The admission 'of our friends. amongst .the aris-
tocracy, and thank heaven we still have many, that their ,
Conservative brethren in -private conversation fearlessly .
assert what-they dare not in public; that. the Manufac-
wring. interest As. already - too powerful, and must be •
diminishede--the population too -great, and -must-- be- re-
dueed.a . . •..
• Senondly-,That the words which fell from Sir James
Graham, the presenteHoine .Secretary, in the interview
whiefi the Anti-Corn-law deputation had with him some
time ago, left the same impression on their minds.
thirdlThe following sentiments as expressed in
the QUartelly Review, the Conservative Journal :
" Before emigration is tried, let:us endeavour to occupy
our waetti liinde. Millions Of acres are still nnreelaimed,
both in -Great Britain. and Ireland: Stop
.the gambling
specuptions of- the manufacturers, -and drain off the sur-
plus populatiou from the towns into the country: Let
landlords plant colonies on their commons, and bogs,
and mountains, plant them under their Own eye, upon
right principles of colonization, in organic bodies, with
powers of self-government; with social privileges ; NN itil
the germs of village institutions; especially with that
first principle of life and organization, an efficient eccle-
siastical establishment in the centre. Restore something
of the feudal spirit into our tenure of land. Raze, if
you:like, to the groundi'h4four overgrown metropolis,"
Here their design of reducing the manufacturing and
increasing the agricultural population is to be effected
by the apparently benevolent process of transplanting
the distressed to their commons, bogs, and mountains—
but to make this scheme answer previous distress must
be created, and this is to be brought about by stopping
the "gambling speculations of the manufacturers—in
other words, closing the mills. Again, their intentions
are expressed in still plainer, language in the following
quotation from the Rev.. Baptist Noel's tract of " The
Plea for the Poor :"—" One other remedy has been pro-
posed. A distinguished opponent of the repeal of the pre-
sent Corn-laws, after describing the present sufferings of the
manufacturers, their lowered wages, and their increasing
numbers, ends, 'I confess it is frightful to contemplate
such a state of things and of society, but it can no
longer be concealed; and yet the only remedy seems to be,
to diminish the sources of employment, in order to produce
future- or permanent good.' inadequate employment
has stripped their dwellings hare, driven them to 'dark
cellars, loaded the pawnbroker's shop with their pledged
property, taken the clothes from their backs, crowded the
hospitals, withered their limbs, and broken their spirits;
and when it is utterly impossible that they should emi-
grate, and would be fatal to them if they could, the
only means suggested for the alleviation of their misery
is, that there should be a further diminution of their
sources'of employment.' "
Is not our case made out? Do not the aristocracy
contemplate the reducing the manufacturing influence
and population by increasing the distress? But the eon-.
elusive sentence is yet to come.—What says - their daily
organ of the press, the Standard?—" England would be
as great and- powerful, and all
.useful Englishmen would
be as rich as they are, though one ruin shouki engulph
all the manufacturing towns and districts of Great Bri-
tain." According to this, the whole manufacturing po-
pulation are useless, and would not be missed were they
engulphed in one common ruin.
These sentiments have not merely emanated from the
editors of the Standard : that they speak but too plainly
she secret wishes and intentions of an influential portion
of the aristocracy, is too well proved by the unbending
tenor of their actions, For had there been an honest in-
tention of doing justice to the industrious" classes, no op-
position, but, on the contrary, every facility would have
been offered for the fullest, and freest, and most search-
ing inquiry into the whole subject of the condition of the
people, and the causes of their distress. How can the
people- attribute any but sinister motives to the dogged
refusal to institute an inquiry, that their plainest duties
as statesmen, as men, as Christians, made imperative
upon them ? No disclaimers, no shuffling explanations
will suffice to remove from the Corn-law aristocracy the
charge we have brought against them out of their own
mouths; unless accompanied by acts also ; by the offer,
at least, of a full; fair, and free inquiry into the distress
of their countrymen.
We cannot pass on without soliciting the deep attention
of the merchants; manufacturers, and tradesmen, and •
middle classes generally, to the comparative conduct of
the working class and the landlord class, so far as a just
respect for the property of others is concerned. Are
you not often told that the ignorant demoralized working
class have no respect for property, and are ready to plun-
der the rich whenever they have the opportunity, or
when a strong temptation offers ? Consider, we entreat-
you, how—in periods of the deepest distress of the ope-
ratives, when -thousands have been wandering in the
streets and roads, famished with hunger, asking is vain
for work—you and your families have lived in peace and
security to person and property in the midst of them ; wit,
nessing, in innumerable instances, their admirable
patience, their orderly conduct, and respect for
the property of others, and gratitude for any
acts of real kindness or charity. Contrast this
with the conduct of the Corn-law aristocracy. They
who, snore than any other class, live and prosper not
upon their own labours, but on those of others. They,
the wealthiest, most powerful, and splendid aristocracy
in the world, and who are indebted for by far the largest
aju working
tune.
see,ce odt
ta,hebe; ss ,dee
deny-.
andnrycoh.f
portion of those advantages to the labours of yourselves,
y
their industrious fellow-countrymen, the inhabitants of
pshorpusl,ousc
commerce,i theanmdoveionlgoniforcese
s o f oltghlea:nedv e. r kTs hhoepys
who
talk most loudly of maintaining inviolable the principle
ooE tradesmen ftnhtgehile.asils;dec,
out
foroi
fwt)y.holoot;nat;
gptltrahioin,ep,
they
property, t:coe,n,rsfyciai4n3i.:odi6netiiita,rsor,i
ftedhtt3tzneh:
01, themselves the most
daring and wholesale 'plunderers of the property of
yourselves
dur(
xda aenrndtgi
all
oe danger s andyaorue
ing the means of earning it by your labour. Awake,
then, fellow-countrymen,
deeply the causestahkee deliverance
Nay:eteerula,renre distress,e socfof your
weakness, and summon up courage to meet those dan-
goeorose,ssaanrdy tfooim
hold most dear, before it is too late.
And now we invite you to the serious ecnsideration,
of how far the evils that oppress the industrious classes
are owing to their own faults or remissness. Whilst we
fearlessly denounce that which is wrong in the conduct
- of others, let us have the, manliness to avow our own
faults by whatever means we learn thttu. ipw 15 it,