The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-31 00:00:00

FRENCH RAILWAYS.

We have procured the Ministerial Report, or pream-
ble to the project of law, about to be presented to the
French Chambers respecting railways.
The document commences by a comparison, showing
the inferiority of France in these great enterprises.
" Belgium," it says, " has 82 leagues of railroad exe-
cuted and open, out of 141 leagues projected ; Eng-
land has 1,398 miles out of 2,187 projected ; Germany
has 180 leagues out of 1,800 ; whilst France, out of
540 leagues of railway necessary, has but a few leagues,
not worth noting."
It is only the Royal roads and great lines of com-
munication that are at the charge of Government. Go-
vernment, therefore, need only turn its attention to the
railways that are to run in the line of Royal roads, con-
necting north and south, east and west, the ocean and
the Mediterranean. These are the great lines, and the
system of the Government is limited to them, leaving all
cmbranchment lines to private speculation. Paris must
be the centre of the great system, which comprehends
the followingc, lines :
1. From Paris to Belgium and the Channel, by
Lille or Valenciennes, Calais or Boulogne.
2. From Paris to the Mediterranean, by Lions and
Marseilles.
3. Paris to the ocean, by Tours And Nantes.
4. Paris to the ocean, by Bordeaux and Bayonne.
5. Paris to the German frontier, by Strasburg.
The sixth great line from Paris to Havre need not
be mentioned, as a Company is already executing it.*
Three of the above lines exist merely in an inchoate
state, and it would be impossible to estimate their cost ;
they must therefore be deferred.
The Anglo-Belgian line comes first. The surveys
and studies for it can be finished before the end of
1842, as they are already completed as far as Creal. It
is the most important in a political and commercial
sense, and therefore ought to be the first railroad un-
dertaken.
The line from Paris to Marseilles is surveyed merely
from Paris to Dijon, by Chalons-sur-Saone, and from
Marseilles to the Rhone. Until the resources of the
Treasury permit the execution of the whole line, these
portions of it may be first executed, they moreover
being connected together by the steamers which
gate the Rhone and Saone. The difficulty of. finding
a sufficient number of skilful engineers is ?',so a reason
for not commencing five great lines at bnce.
Government, therefore, conticlOS its demands to
credits for the following lines :-
1. For the Anglo-Belgian lines
2. For the line between Marseilles and the Rhone.
3. For the line from Paris to Chalons-sur-Saone, by
Dijon.

A million of francs, over and above, will be de-
manded, in order to compkie, before the end of 1843,
the surveys of the throe other lines.
The report ae::, preamble then proceeds to consider
the best nao,',,e of execution, and the legislative measures
ne,CC".:try for the realization of the gratuitous cession
et the land required.
In 1837 the Government proposed to cede several
railway lines to Companies. The Chamber decided
that, for moral and political reasons, these great ways
of communication ought not to be entrusted to private
Companies. Accordingly, in 1838, the Government
brought forward a vast project, by which the State was
to execute the principal lines ; but the Chamber had
changed its mind. As many objections were now found
against the tardiness and prodigality of the Adminis-
tration undertaking these lines, as the year before
against the insecurity of private Companies ; and the
result was, the cession of two great lines to two Com-
panies, formed part of the financial notabilities of the ca-
pital. The first of these Companies was forced to
abandon its task ; the second had recourse three times
to the Chambers, and even when supported by the
credit of the State, it has not been able to keep its
shares up to par.
Bearing these facts in mind, the present Minister
of Public Works now proposes a mixed system, to ob-
viate, first, the evil of entrusting such vast operations to
Companies and individuals not equal to the task ; and,
secondly, the evil of overburdening the Treasury with
an expenditure so much'exceeding its nominal limits.
The Gov:rnment will itself undertake to execute,
or get executed, the great lines, abandoning embranch-
ments to private industry, without now examining in
what proportion private industry may be aided.
The localities interested must furnish the value of
the ground required. The State will execute the em-
bankments, excavations, works of art, bridges, stations,
&c. ; and then private Companies will be called to
undertake the laying down of rails and preparing the
roads for the duties of public conveyance, according
to a certain tariff.

According to calculation, this plan will divide the
expense into two equal parts, the State getting rid of
one-half of it, and thus meeting the objeetion of over-
burdening the Treasury.
Tho basis for the repartition between the depart-
meets of the land to be furnished, or its value, must
be the length of the line. But for communes, or pa-
rishes, their interest in the line is to be considered ; for
poor and merely agricultural localities cannot derive the
same benefit from it as rich and commercial ones. The
proprietors of ground are not to be treated with iso-
latedly. This would open the door to arbitrary deci-
sions. The departmental association must bargain and
decide on these points.
The plan of each line throughout the whole depart-
ment will be subjected to the procedure laid down in
the law of March, 1541. A judgment of expropria-
tion will be demanded for the whole line, and a jury in
each district convoked to fix the quota of indemnity.
All cession or purchase of lands shall be effected judi-
cially, and some by private bargain. Mortgages are to
be met in the usual way.
The total of the sums awarded by the juries of each
district will be levied on the whole department. The
Consul-General of the department will partition out the
sums between the districts, and each Consul of district
between the communes or parishes.
The sums will be levied on the four branches of di-
rect contributions.

The great project of Railroads presented by the
French Government in 18:38 mentioned nine great lines,
of which Paris to Toulouse by Orleans was one, Bor-
deaux to Marseilles another.

DEAFNESS.—Sound Magnifiers, and Invisible
Operative Voice Conductors, to enable persons at an advanced
age, and of old standing extreme deafness, to join in general
conversation, and to catch the sound of a distant low speaker
at a publie assembly; they are the size of a very small gold
seven shilling piece, and when in the cavity of the ears, they
are not in the least perceptible nor more uncomfortable than
having a small piece of fine wool in its place ; they are composed
of a metal to collect sound, peculiar to the Messrs. S. and B.
Solomons themselves ; and although they are so extremely senal;
yet they enable those afflicted with extreme deafness, and
those who arc only slightly dull of hearing t• hear i❑ every
respect equal to those of most acute hearing. Messrs. S. and
B. Solomons, 39, Albemarle-street, Piccadilly, opposite the
York Hotel, and 76, King William-street, City. Newly-Invented
Spectacles, immediately they are placed before imperfect vision,
either by day or candlelight, that mist and dullness whjch
appears before the eyes is at once removed, every object beccreing
clear and distinct, so that the most aged defective eye-sight be-
comes bright and brilliant, and is brought to its youthful, natural
and original state. These ♦aluable inventions have gained the
patrenage of the Royal Family, and the unqualified approbation of
above 400 of the principal members of the medical profession, and
numerous individuals of high distinction, who have been greatly
benefited by their use. 39, Mbemarle.street, Piccadilly, apposite
the York Hotel, and 7fl, Xing William.street, City.—No connexion
with persons of the same name.

THE DISTRESS IN SPITALFIELDS
AND THE VICINITY.
Wednesday a deputation from the weavers of Spital-
fields, Bethnal-green, and other places adjacent, ap-
peared at the Mansion-house, for the purpose of apply-
ing to the Lord Mayor for his immediate interference
to procure a distribution of the funds already subscribed
for the relief of the industrious unemployed poor
weavers and their families, consisting (altogether) of
24,000 individuals.
Alderman WILSON received the deputation in the
absence of the Lord Mayor, with whom he had com-
municated upon the subject.
One of the members of the deputation,which consisted
of twelve respectable well-conducted men, stated that
by the desire of the meeting which had been held at
the Crown and Anchor, Waterloo Town, and at which
upwards of two hundred distressed weavers were pre-
sent, they waited upon the Lord Mayor for the pur-
pose of calling his Lordship's attention to certain reso-
lutions which had been passed upon the subject of the ex-
isting distress, which was extreme, and entreating that
his Lordship would exercise his great influence to alle-
viate it. The following are the resolutions to which
they adverted That this meeting with coeirdence
assert that distress aloes exist in Bethnal-green and its
vicinity to an alarming extent, equal to, if not exceed-
ing, any former period at this time of the year. That
the trade having appointed a Committee of operatives,
in whom they repose unbounded confidence, to solicit
gentlemen to form a local Committee for the distribu-
tion of the funds in the hands of the Lord Mayor, &c.,
and having succeeded in forming a Committee of thir-
teen highly respectable Gentlemen of the districts, who
are well acquainted with the habits and wants of the
people, this meeting, therefore, cannot but regret
that several select and private meetings have been
held by various parties, who have not deigned to
consult, advise, or invite to their meetings, either
the local Committee, or the Committee of opera-
tives of our trade ; and we do more especially
complain of the last meeting held at the Brew-
house, Brick-lane, Spitalfields, an understanding
being previously entered into that the operatives ought
to be consulted on these occasions. That this meeting
lament to hear that a Committee had been formed
without receiving the sanction of a public district meet-
ing, which would have prevented any undue or sectarian
influence being used; this meeting, therefore, authorise
their Committee to endeavour to obtain the names of
this self-elected Committee, and report the same at our
next meeting. That the resolutions of this meeting be
transmitted to It. Hanbury, Esq., and the Right Hon,
the Lord Mayor, at the same time soliciting an iro.er.
view with his Lordship, in the presence of 14'.. Han-
bury, Esq., or any part of the Committee that may be
appointed to attend." The deputatto.`a declared that
since those resolutions had been pv7sed, the distress had
most frightfully increased, and that if the public
bounty was not distributed, deaths from starvation must
inevitably take place. Multitudes had been without
work for weeks and months, numbers had only occa-
sional employment, and the manufacturers were them-
selves in such circumstances as not to be able to give
employment to their perishing fellow-creatures, to whom
one shilling of their own earnings would be sweeter and
more acceptable than two collected from public charity.
By and bye a thousand more weavers would be out of
employment, and it was impossible to conjecture what
might be the injury to which society might be subjected
if the dreadful sufferings to which these destitute people
were exposed were not alleviated.
Here several members detailed the privations which
they and their large farnil;es were undergoing, and
handed a card to the Alderman, showing their mode of
distribution when QP.een Adelaide stepped forward a
few years ago to f_'aeir relief.
Aldermen `;WILSON said that had been but a short
time• ri.rie statement was made in communication
with, the Lord Mayor, who felt most deeply for the
multitudes who were reduced by inevitable circum-
stances to such a deplorable condition. His Lordship
was, however, in a sort of difficulty with regard to the
distribution of the funds at his disposal. Several depu-
tations had waited upon him from different parts, all of
whom were anxious to get hold of the tnoncy, but his
Lordship could not think of parting with any of the
contributions without the co-operation of Mr. Han-
bury and the other influential friends of the poor in the
extensive districts in which the distress unfortunately
prevailed. He (Alderman Wilson), would read the
communications with which Mr. Hanbury had favoured
the Lord Mayor, and he would afterwards state to
them the substance of later information which his Lord
ship had received, and which no doubt would not fai
to give satisfaction.

" Brewery, 18th December, 1841.
"My Lord,—l have the honour to enclose to your
Lordship a copy of the resolutions, which were unani-
mously agreed to at the meeting held last evening,
which was attended by about thirty of the most respect-
able and influential inhabitants of the district. I shall
have much pleasure in waiting upon your Lordship, at
any time you may appoint, except on Monday, when I
am engaged to attend the consecration of the new
church in Bethnal-green, which will detain me until
three o'clock.--I have the honour to remain,
" Your Lordship's most obedient servant,
" ROBERT HANBURY."
At a meeting of the under-mentioned gentlemen, re-
sident in and connected with the district of Spitalfields,
convened to consider an application from the Lord
Mayor, as to the best means of appropriating the funds
now in his hands for the relief of the Spitalfields weavers,
held at the brewery of Messrs. Truman, Hanbury, Bux-
ton, and Co., the 17th of December, 1841, Robert
Hanbury, Esq., in the chair ;
Also present, Messrs. bridges, C. Brall, Brushfield,
Bennett ; Rev. V. K. Child, Rev. J. Coghlan, Rev.
J. B. Cartwright ; Messrs. Clabon, Duthort ; Rev.
John Garwood ; Messrs. Gregory, Gammon, Gold,
Gilkes ; Rev. James Harris ; Messrs. Harrison, Hall,
Johnston, Kemp ; Rev. Bryan King Lawson ; Messrs.
Miller, Tibbatts, Tovey, Vander, Whittaker, and Rev.
Mr. Woodward ;
It was moved by the Rev. V. K. CHILD, seconded by
It. GAMMON, Esq., and resolved unanimously—" That
the gentlemen present, together with Sir Thomas F.
Buxton, Bart., Edward N. Buxton, Esq., and the Rev.
Mr. Lewis, be a Provisional Committee, to make such
arrangements as may be necessary ; that R. Hanbury,
Esq., be Chairman of the Committee, with power to
nomitate other gentlemen as members, and to commu-
nicate with the Lord Mayor."
Moved by the Rev. BRYAN KING, seconded by the
Rev. JOHN GARWOOD, and carried unanimously :
" That in the opinion of this Committee the existing
distress amongst the silk-weavers is not so urgent as to
call for an immediate distribution of the funds now in
the bands of the Lord Mayor, especially as the distress
may be expected to increase as the season advances.
That the Chairman be empowered to call another meet-
ing of this Committee on receiving a requisition to that
effect signed by any six of its members. That the
Chairman be requested to solicit from the Spitalfields
Soup Society the use of their committee-room for the
purposes of this Committee."
The Deputation here declared that starvation was at
work.
Alderman WILSON stated that on Christmas-day the
Lord Mayor received the following letter, in answer to
another communication on the subject from his Lord-
ship :7-

‘-` My Lord—l have the honour to acknowledge
your Lordship's note. I much regret that I have
made an engagement to leave town early on Monday
morning, for about ten days. A deputation of the
operative weavers waited upon me on Thursday fast,
and entered most fully into their grievances, and were
very importunate in their desire that I should recom-
mend to your Lordship the necessity of an
distribution of the funds in your Lordship's hands. I
explained to them my reason for coming to
4 different
.fied to
conclusion, and they left me apparently more satisfied
wait a week or two, whe❑ the distressprobably be
immediate
more urgent. Under all the circumstances
and with
with
inclined to think something ought to be
'cn done,
Com-
mittee together on Friday, the
your Lordship's sanction I propose
ftojaa
will
lanow
calluar . to
iven instructions
con-
sider the best means of relief. I have
brewery, to gain in
to the Secretary Mr. Miller, of t.heiis
amongst
the meantime every informeartisoanatinlviln
powerthe subject, so
those who are
that he may be 7th o
much for my poor suffering neigh-
bours,mpraesptareeodawv-ith a plan to lay before the
meetink 11. feel dso -our Lordship consider an earlier
that should
to attend it, or will make such
Liom)mittee desirable, I will either come
be necessary, so that the business
arrangements as may
with .
I have the
proceeded in my absence.
meeting
up f r om the country the
" It. lIANBURY.
may
youbre to remain your Lordship's faithful servant,
.. Stamford-hill, 2.5 th Dec., 1841."
Alderman WILSON then said that the Lord Mayor
had bad on that day a communication with Mr. Miller,
the Secretary, on the subject, and he was convinced
from what had been stated, that immediate measures
would be adopted to distribute the funds already
in hand, and that a public meeting would be called in
consequence of the increasing distress. The deputation

THE ROYAL EXCHANGE.
The Gresham Committee met on Friday last, for the
purpose of receiving the Report of the Sub-Committee
appointed to make the requisite arrangement for the
grand ceremony of layinc, the first stone of the New
Royal Exchange ; Mr. R. Lambert Jones in the Chair.
We believe the foliemitig particulars to be correct :
The ceremony is to take place on Monday, the 17th
of January, that day having been appointed by his
Royal highness Prince Albert, who, upon being ap-
plied to, graciously, and without hesitation, consented
to lay the first stone of the building.
The site appointed by the Committee is the founds.
tion of one of the columns of the merchants' area on
the north side of the ambulatory, the particular column
being the one which is to be west of the centre opening
or interval. This spot has been fixed upon, as being
relatively the same as that adopted when Charles the
Second laid the first stone of the old Exchange, and is,
in point of fact, very near the actual site.

Round the stone the architect has constructed an
amphitheatre which will contain seats for 1,200 visitors.
These seats will rise from a platform, 40 feet diameter,
of a circular form, t,) increase by ten concentric rows of
sittingi to the diameter of 100 feet. The whole of this
large space will be roofed and decorated, so as to ap-
pear like an enormous tent, the roof being supported by
a pillar in the centre.

The access to the arena will be from Cornhill, by a
covered way, descending gradually from the level of
the street to the level of the platform.
The company are to asernble between the bus of
twelve and two.

Prince Albert, it is expected, will hrrive at two
o'clock, at the Guildhall, where his Royal Highness
will be met by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, and
will thence proceed with the Gresham Committee in
procession to at building, which he will enter at
Cornhill.

The Lord Mayor will give a splendid banquet in the
evening, at the Mansion-house, in honour of the occa-
sion ; 400 cards of invitation have been already issued
and there will he present, besides Prince Albert, all bet
Majesty's Ministers, the Judges, Officers of State, and
others.

The card of admission to the ceremony of laying the
first stope of the Royal Exchange, is elegant as a work
of art. It contains at the head of the usual words of
introduction a view of the New Exchange, suiround.ed
by a bold embossed border, haling at the top tho arms
of Prince Albert, Sir Thomas Gresham, and tiae shield
of the Corporation of London, and the 111err,er;' Company,
Prince Albert is to use a silver gilt
to be manufactured by Deputy nr"*.rowel, which is
—,"jk, of the Poultry,
and will, it is expected, be a spl
and workmanship. P".idid specimen of chasing

THE '
HIM( MURDER.
APPREHF:'VSION AND EXAMINATION OF
,TI-I:. MURDERERS AT SHRE%VSBUy.
oIiREWSBURY, DEC. 29.—The murderers were taken
at Coventry on Christmas-day, and were brought
into Shrewsbury yesterday evening, in a post-chaise,
and lodged in the gaol. The greatest praise is eine
to the county police-force, under the direction of the
Deputy Chief Constable M'Michael, for their exer-
tions in tracing out the suspected villains. The
Viscount Dungannon has been unceasing in urging
a rigid investigation into all the circumstances con-
nected with this inhuman and bloody deed. The
Magistrates of the county offered a reward of 20/. for
the apprehension of the perpetrators of this atrocious
murder, and, through Lord Dungannon's intercession,
a further reward of 100/. was immediately offered
by the Secretary of State, and strong hopes were
entertained of their being soon taken, especially as
they were such well. known characters. Their names,
as has already been stated, are Williams and Slawson.
The general opinion, both from report and a close and
vigilant look out on the part of the police, led the au-
thorities into a belief that the fellows lay concealed
either in the town or immediate neighbourhood of Wrex-
ham, and the efforts of the constables were directed ac-
cordingly, but without avail. Up to Monday no doubt
was entertained as to their being still harboured about
their native place, on which day a letter was received at
the Chief Constable's Office, in Shrewsbury, with in-
formation that two men answering the description given
of the suspected murderers were taken by the Coventry
ponce, in which city it appears that they had offered for
sale at a silversmith's 11 silver spoons, marked E. E.,
and he, having heard of the murder and robbery at
lironygarth, gave information to the police.
Mr. M•Michael left Shrewsbury on Monday in order
to convey them here. The prisoners came to Wolver-
hampton by railway, and from thence to Atcham by the
Salopian coach. At nine o'clock yesterday evening
they arrived in this town, a chaise having been pre-
viously sent to meet them at the village of Atcham,
three miles distant.

John Williams is a stout young man, aged 22 years,
a native of Cornwall, but has resided at Wrexham
from his infancy. He had been in custody three years
ago, at Rathin, under the Vagrant Act, and was in the
same prison a year ago for an assault, where he under-
went nine months' confinement. The other prisoner,
Slawson, is about 21 years of age, has rather a boyish
look, and far from a ferocious appearance. When at
Coventry, Williams assumed the name of Jones, and
Slawson that of Halley. They reached Coventry on
' Wednesday evening, on their way from the scene of the
murder. Slawson, who is a tailor: worked at his trade
in that city, and earned from Wednesday to the Friday
Ss. 4d. The examination took place this day in the
Guildhall, before the Hon. Thos. Kenyon (Chairman
of the Quarter Sessions), the Hon. and Rev. R. H.
Hill, T. C. Eyton, Esq., Sir B. Leighton, Bart., H. Jus-
tice, Esq., E. Jeffreys, Esq., Major Bayley, and other
Magistrates. The witnesses examined were T. S.
M'Michael, Superintendent of the Shropshire Rural Po-
lice ; Thomas Henry Prosser, chief constable of Co-
ventry ; and Mr. Moss Fridland, watchmaker and sil-
versmith, of Fleet-street, in the same city, to whom
the spoons were offered for sale by the prisoner Wil-
liams. Mr. Prosser, on searching Williams, discovered
in his inner pocket in his waistcoat a half sheet of paper,
with the following directions written upon it by some
companion in crime :7

"You must make the best of your way through South
Wales to the Bristol Channel, and cross over to Corn-
wall, and inquire at 'l'regonna for some of the Beares
if you are lucky enough to get there." ,

The Court was crowded to excess, and the examina-
tion created the most intense interest ; but the late hour
at which it concluded renders it impossible for us to send
any part of it by post. Both prisoners were remanded
till Friday next, when they will be committed.

THEM
(FromU RtllheElißTorcaetstSciEllyir
eEcß,hrNonicSieTo OKE.
The adjourned inquest on view of the body of the
fated Richard Kecton, was held on Thursday, on suspi-
cion of murdering whom, W. Tippin (the man who was
in custody) has been committed on the Coroner's warrant,
to take his trial. hlre
only fresh circumstance of import-
ance which transpired at the adjourned inquest was the
fact that two peculiarly
situated nails had disappeared
from one of the prisoner's bjots,
but which he positively
denied having drawn. Contrary to what has been pub-
licly stated, Tippin has invariably denied all knowledge
of the crime, declaring again and again, that he knew
nothing of poor Kenton 's death till he arose on the
Sunday morning. His conduct in the inquest-room
was certaioly far from decorous, and his levity continued
after the inquiry closed, for on his way to Upton, the
police cart passed an Italian carrying a board of images on
his head, upon which he burst out into a loud laugh
was serving the masons once, and as such
arinfdellsoawid:;l
that passed under me, I pitched a brick-end
upon
his board, and broke half of them !" Being re-
monstrated with upon his ill-timed merriment, he be-
came more quiet during the rest of his journey. He
remained at Upton till about three o'clock on Friday,
shortly before which time Superintendent Craig re-
ceived a warrant (which he had been anxiously
expecting) directing his removal to the county
gaol. After receiving this authority, the Superin-
tendent lost no time in starting with his prisoner,
and as several policemen were in attendance, the
order of the town was not in the least disturbed on
removal from the lock-up. Before Tippin left Upton
he conferred with a gentleman of the legal profession,
with a view of preparing for his defence. Since he has
been in the county gaol his conduct has been very be-
coming, but so far from admitting his guilt, or any par-
ticipation in the crime with which he is charged, he
strenuously asserts his innocence. Stanton, Powell,
and Andrews, the other men in custody, were liberated.

A new system of paving has been invented by
M. Palonceau, and will no doubt be tried in Paris. It
consists of a kind of artificial stone formed of clay, sand,
cement, and pulverised charcoal. This mixture is baked,
and forms an exceedingly hard substance with a rough
surface ; and the stones are so formed, as not only to be
placed with symmetrical order, but also to give a hold to
the feet of horses.

HAMILTON.—Some influential persons in Ha-
milton and the neighbourhood have subscribed to build
an Episcopal chapel in that town. We have been in-
formed that all the requisite arrangements have been
made for carrying the views of the subscribers into effect.
This is one effect of the conduct of the rebellious ma-
jority of the General Assembly. Many of those now
friendly to the scheme never dreamed of espousing Epis-
copacy, till they have been driven in disgust from the
Church of their fathers. Who would have believed,
some years ago, that " Black Prelacy" was about to be
established within sight of Bothwell Brig ?—Scotsman.

THE WEATHER.-NOON, DECEMBER 30.
ROYAL GALLERY OF SCIENCE, ADELAIDE-STREET.
Thermometer_ 38 Highest__ 43 Lowest 38
Barometer 29'.88.—Wihd S.—Freezing Point 22 Deg.

---
HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE THIS DAY.
Morning ..... .51 minute* after 3. I Evening 14 minutes after 4.