The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-15 00:00:00

MALT TAX.

At the January meeting of the General Committee
of the Central Agricultural Society, held on Tuesday, at
No. 17, Old Bond-street, the following resolutions were
unanimously adopted :
" 1. That this society entertains a strong sense of the
irnpolicy and injustice of the malt•tax—interfering as it
does most mischievously with the profitable cultivation
of the soil—and is of opinion that it is alike injurious to
the morals and comfort of the labouring classes. This
society, therefore, pledges itself to use all constitutional
means within its power to obtain, as soon as shall ap-
pear practicable, the total repeal of the malt• tax.
"S. That a deputation be appointed to wait upon
Lord John Russell to express the opinion of this society,
as conveyed is the foregoing resolution.
" 3. That His Grace the Duke of Richmond be re-
quested to communicate with Lord John Russell for the
purpose of ascertaining an early day on which it will be
convenient that his Lordship should receive the depu-
tation."

WITHDRAWAL OF SIR CULLING SMITH, AND Dus-
IturrioN OF HIS COMMITTER.—SUNDAY TRAINS.—Some
time since we disinterred an extract from a speech made
by Sir Culling Smith after the late election, in which he
Ir p essed manly and liberal sentiments in opposition to
expressed
doctrines and practices as those of the four directors
and their abettors. We also attempted to show the
leading members of his committee the indecency they
were committing in denouncing with so much violence
the principles of their own candidate ; and pointed out
that Sir Culling was too good for them, and that they
must forthwith proceed to look out for somebody worse,
and more suitable. This advice has been acted upon
sooner than could have been anticipated. The commit-
tee took up the question some time since, and had, we
hear, many meetings on the subject, a great difference of
opinion being found to exist. At last it was proposed,
as a compromise, that the question should be made matter
of forbearance—a proposition -which would have been
carried, had not the party opposed to Sir Culling's
views asked and obtained a delay. At the next
meeting of the committee there was a large
muster of members not formerly in the habit of
attending, by whose votes a motion to the effect that
Sir Culling Smith should be pressed to retract
his opinion regarding Sunday trains was carried by a
considerable majority. The majority, we believe, then
proceeded to put it to Sir Culling whether he would
" legislate aainst railways being permitted to run trains
on Sunday," making an affirmative answer the condition
of their support. Sir Culling, to his honour, positively
and firmly refused to give the pledge demanded ; and a
long correspondence has now ended in his committee's
dissolving their connexion with him, and also, we
believe, dissolving themselves. The whole correspond-
ence is about to be published (at Sir Culling's request,
wo understand), when we shall be better able to see the
whole extent of this curious " calamity." Really, it is
painful to think that Sir Culling should have only one
good article in his creed--one intelligible and well de-
fined principle—and that it should have proved one too
rnany for the majority of his Edinburgh committee. As
to the minority who approved of Sir Culling's views on
the point in dispute, we believe that although the others
are exerting themselves to conceal the names, we may
safely say that it included all, or nearly all, of those
w hos, c temporary secession from the Liberal ranks caused
either surprise or regret.—Scotsman.
BLACK MAN'S DREAM.—A number of years by-
gone a man named Peter Cooper happened to marry one
of our fair townswomen, who did not use bim with that
tenderness that he conceived himself entitled to. Having

tried all other arts to retrieve her lost affections in vain,
Peter at last resolved to work upon her fears of punish-
ment in another world for her conduct in this. Pretend-
ing, therefore, to awake, one ' morning extravagantly
alarmed, his helpmate was full of anxiety- to know what
was the matter ; and having sufficiently, as he thought,
whetted her curiosity by mysteriously hinting that " he
could a tale unfold, at length Peter proceeded as fol-
lows :—" 11-11 of a dream last night. I dream Igo to
hebben and rap at the doa, and a gent'man came to de
doa wid black coat and powda hair. Whoa dere ? Peeta
Coopa ! Whoa Peeta Coopa Am not know you.
Not knowa Peeta Coopa ! Look de book sa. He take
de book, an he look de book, and he couldna find Peeta
Coopa. Den I say, Oh ! lad oh ! look again, finda
Peeta Coopa in a corna. He took de book, an he look
de book, an at last he finda Peeta Coops in lilly, lilly
(little) coma. Peeta Coopa cook ob de Royal Char-
lotte, ob Greenock.' Walk in sa. Den I walk in, and
there was every ting, all kind of vittal, collyflower too,
and I eat, and I drink, and I dant, and I ting, and I neva
be done ; segar, too, by gum. Den I say, Oh ! lad, oh !
look for Peeta Coops wife. a take de book, and he
look all oba de book, many, mHany, many a time, coma
an all, and he couldna find recta Coopa wife. Den I
say, Oh ! lad, oh ! look de black book. He took de
black book, and he findna Peeta Coopa wife first page,
Peeta Coopa wife, buckramoman, bad to her husband !' "
BUTCHER'S CHAR ITA BLE INSTITUTION.—Last even- ,
ing, the 18th annual general meeting of the members of the
above institution was held at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great
Queen-street, John Sharp, Esq. (the president), in the chair.
The report read by Mr. Ness (the secretary) announced that
the society now had 1,10 subscribers. Since the last mee
n-
t-
ing eight new pensioneors had been elected on the funds, i
creasing the number to 123. The committee had invested
4031. more in the Three per Cent. Consols, making the pre-
sent amount of stock 9,8271. The total receipts during the
past year amounted to 2,0621., and the expenditure, of which
929/. went for the support of pensioners, left a balance in the
hands of the treasurer of 4941. The report having been una-
nimously adopted, and the officers for the ensuing year
elected, the meeting separated.