The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-18 00:00:00

THE SION,

'sr yer, Bettina: re ; Laura, and L'uise, Mareks, vidual members of the Convccation, in drawing up the
Guayra, bt,th tor Is'ahnouth. Articles they had wickedly departed from the univeraaliy
Ylainorrrt, DEC 17.—51(1. Komee., Valparaiso. The known opinions of the Church. Suppose Cranmer, or
lipt•ta It es been g .t oil shore. I any other individual member of the Convocation, had
KraxwaLL, Dec. 13.—The'winicontinues to blow hard held ht tredox opinions, it could not he allowed that any
at S E., and the sea is inuoh up. The vessel on shore individual member had controlled the whole body of
at Copettahay has b,on taken into Deer Sound. A convocation, any more than a single Member of Perlis-
moltsurement certificate, dated Hartlepool, has been went could control the whole Legislature in parsing a
picked up relating to the Farsogt-1 of Gothenburg. A statute. Then, in the first Prayer-book of Edward IV. the
piece of wreck has c.:rne on -gore at Shapenshop, marked doctrine of spiritual regent ration was clearly expressed.
" Sylph of Blyth." 14. A sealed bottle has been picked The Articles 011552 were precisely the same us those which
up at Doerness, in which is a Icrer from F. C. Pooch to were originally published in 1536, and Lot one word that
his wife at M tnel, dated sth December, tttking leave prevenient grace" was necessary was to ho found in
of her, stating that his vessel is disabled, and on the them. Were they now to alter those Articles to nem:it--
coast of the Orkneys. This vessel may possibly be the modate a section, and certainly not a majority of the
oae driven on Copenshay, with part of cargo, Memel Church ? If such tampering was to be allowed, where
t nab r, on hoard. were they to stop ? When the last edition of the Prayer-
OFF LIVERPOOL, DEC, 18.—Caledonia steamt r, baok was settled in 1661, the commissioners employed
Ruston, in settling it had full power giveii them to examine, revise,
CLYDE.—Acrd, Favourite, Wylie, Montreal; Cash- and correct, without let or hindrance, the Articles, I uhries,
Mere, Paton, ditto. Ski. Ronachan, Mobile. and formularies. What was the result? The Articles were
SUNDERLAND, DEc. 17.—Wind W.—Arrd. John An- left unaltered, and the Player-Look was revis,d and
derson, Bushell, Demerara. setth d Ls they now found it. That was the pros nt
HULL, DEC. 17.—Wind S.W., fresh.—Sld. Ludvig Prayer-b ok, which was thou completely s tried and
Chise, Valparaiso. finally ratifici by an Act or Parliament. Whatt ver

opinions might fra‘e been entet tait ed heron-, that i ;13;
was now nothing to the purpose, because the whole
thing required a new fore e and a now impub.e, which
was given to it by the Act of Parliament of Charles 11.
Thenceforth the doctrine was so fully and clearly ex-
pressed that he who runs may read.
(The case was proceeding when our report left.)

CHANCERY.-(THIS DAY.)
The further arguments in tEe part-heard appeal of
Beckham v. Sicilia occupied the Lord Chancellor the
whole morning.

The Master of the Rolls and the Vice-Chancellor
Knight Bruce did not sit to-day, in consequence of
having to attend the Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council, and nothing of any interest occurred except to
the parties concerned in the Courts of the Vice. Chan-
cellor of England and the Vice- Chancellor Wigram.

LONDON,

see; that glite alters the case. Ile's a regular smasher.
When a man's hungry, it is sometimes excusable if he
helps himmir.
The officer said he bad as many as ten pots about him.
The COMMON SERGEANT—Oh, oh! Ah, al; ! that is
another affair; regular system here—no hungry man
this.—(lioars of Inughter.) Is he known? Officer—
No, my Lord.
The COMMON SERGIZANT —lt is a rule with me to
transport fellows who make a regular trade of thieving,
and have no other profession or calling; but there is one
favourable point in this case that induces me to break
through that rule—the pots were in the street, where
they ought not to have been. The sentence therefore
upon you is, that you be imprisoned and kept to hard
labour for six months.
James Thatcher, aged 52, described as a porter, was
' convicted of stealing 451bg. weight of sugar, value 205.,
the property of Henry Hutton.
The police-officer who had him in charge informed the
Court that the prisoner had been 20 years in the employ
of Slaer*oods, the carriers, and had always home ar.
excellent character. Ills wife, however, was a most
profligate woman, and her conduct had latterly brought
him into trouble.
The prisoner himself said he committed the robbery
through distress, brought on by his wile's intemperance;
and under these circumstances he was only sentenced to
three mouths' imprisonment.
NE WV COURT.
The Court was occupied the whole morning with the
trial of Mint cases.

- - - MAIILBRO -STREET-(THIS DAY.)
1 EXTENSIVE ROBBERY By AN ERRAND BOY.—Robert
' Swift, a youth about fourteen years of age, in the em-
ploy of Mr. Ed wd. Grayson, jeweller, &c., No. 16, Brewer-
street, was brought before Mr. Bilighare, charged with
having stolen a quantity of gold filings, the property of
his master.
The prosecutor deposed that the prisoner had been in
his employ as errand boy for about eighteen months, and
the greatest confidence was placed in him. Latterly,
in consequence of gold and gold filings being con-
tinually missed from the drawers of the workmen,
to which the prisoner had excess, the latter was sus-
pected as the thief, and information was accordingly
given to the police, who kept a sharp eye upon
the prisoner's motions, and succeeded in taking
him into custody on the previous evening as he was
leaving his work. On being searchei at the
station, gold filings worth 2/. were found upon him. On
being taxed with the theft, the prisoner admitted having
stolen the gold, which he was in the habit of selling to a
refiner on Clerkene ell-green for la. per pennyweight,
the same being wet th at least 3s. The prosecutor added
that he had been robbed to the extent of 100/.
Police-constable Gregory, C division, proved taking
the prisoner into cuttody last night. Oa searching him
be found 1/. 11s. 6d. in gold and silver, a watch and
chain, and a quantity of gold filings. He subsequently
searched the part of the workshop to which the prisoner
had access, and found a sovereign and a half secreted
under one of the boards.
The prisoner, who did not deny the charge, was fully
committed for trial.

THE LONDON CLERKS.
TO THE E.IOITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR,—The social evils of the city of London, and
the many crimes and distresses which arise from
them, have lately much engrossed the public mind,
and there is one to which I would particularly direct
your attention, as I am confident it has a very great
influence on the rising generation.
You are, no doubt, aware, that in many of the large
mercantile houses in town the clerks, assistants, &c.,
live on the premises. These young men are hard at
work from morning till eight or nine o'clock at night,
when they are then allowed to go out till ten or
eleven.

This is the only boon they have conferred upon them,
as far as regards relaxation from business; but this ind ul-
gence instead of having any good effect has in many in-
stances the very opposite tendency. They club
club together and spend their leisure hours in
taverns, gaming-houses, &c., &c., spending the small
salaries many of them are allowed for the mere
gratification of the moment, that they may net be
behind their companions in (miscalled) generosity,
and that they may be considered " of the right sort."
These malpractices go on every night, and when their
scanty salaries are all spent they must find money
somewhere, and sometimes I fear by no very creditable
means. lam far from imputing this to the whole
community of clerks, but it must be allowed it goes
on to an incredible extent.
As a remedy for this, I would suggest that a fund
should be raised by public subscription sufficiently
large to establish libraries and reading-rooms in various
localities of London, so that the really well-disposed
of the thousands of young men who are now being led
astray from the golden path of duty, might read and
amuse themselves in a rational manner, and free of all
expense. This, I think, would have a tendency to put
a stop to that particular species of demoralization which
I have mentioned ; and might I venture to hint to
the many merchant princes of the city of London
that 201. expended is, purchasing a small library for
their assistants, would not only be an act which would
call forth the grateful thanks of many a young man
whose natural disposition is averse to scenes of riot
and debauchery, but it would be positively for
their own interest. A few merchants have got such
libraries for their clerks, but they are very few.
The "Early Closing Association" may do their
utmost to abolish the long-hour system, and there is
every probability that in a very short time their
efforts will be successful, but unless they also do some-
thing to provide a rational amusement for the many
additional men who will be early relieved from
business, their success will do infinitely more harm
than gocd. Let them, therefore, not think that they
have finished the work they have taken in hand until
they have public libraries and reading-rooms
established all over London. If such rooms could
not be entirely free, let there be a small charge of
Id. or 2d. per evening exacted of every one who
goes there to read. Many would eagerly avail
themselves of such an opportunity of improving
their mental faculties and usefully employing their
leizure time, who could very ill afford to spend two
or three pounds as a yearly subscription to a club. I
have no doubt that if a spirited committee were
formed to raise a fund for such a purpose the mer-
chants of London would, with very few exceptions,
soon swell up the subscription list to a handsome sum,
and in so doing they would be tendering a graceful
acknowledgment of their appreciation of the services
of a class of men through whose industry and business
capabilities they have themselves in a measure been
enabled to rise to their present proud position.
The young men of London may think me a mi-
santhrope, and that I wish to represent them in false
colours. There are many good, sober, honest, indus-
trious and persevering clerks in London, I am well
aware; but it must also be admitted there are many
bad ones, and many of the cases of embezzlement and
petty larceny seen in the police reports could be
traced to the practices I have mentioned. I can be
actuated by no ill feeling towards any of them—l am
one of them myself, and have known from experience
that what I have said is correct.
Craving your indulgence for thus intruding upon
you, and trusting you will have the kindness to insert
this letter in a corner of your very liberal and widely
circulated paper, should you think it worthy of such
notice

I remain, Sir, your most obedient servant,
A CLERK.

-
RESISTANCE :OF FROST BY
GUT TA PERCHA TUBING.
The following notes of an experiment with gutta
percha tubing filled with water, and inserted in a low
temperature, during the recent frost, have been fur-
nished by a scientific gentleman of Birmingham. The
object of the experimentalist was to learn how far the
non-conducting property of gutta percha would
protect water from frost, as compared with lead :
A vessel made of gutta percha was provided,
which was 6 inches deep and 4 inches diameter.
A piece of 3.Bths gutta percha tube 7 inches long,
with one end cloned, the material less than 1-16th of
an inch thick. This was called No. I.
A piece / lead pipe 8 inches long, closed as above,
the metal 3-16ths of an inch thick. This was called
No. 2.

Another piece of gutta percha tube 7 inches long,
the sides inch thick. This was called No. 3.
The three tubes Nos. 1,2, and 3, were filled with
ice c.old water, and were placed in the first-named
vessel. The tubes were separated so as not to touch
each other, or the sides, and all round was packed with
pounded ice.
On the ice was poured a quantity of hydrochloric
acid, which in a short time melted it, and reduced the
temperature 2 degrees of Fahrenheit below zero.
In five minutes the lead pipe No. 2 was frozen half-
way up, commencing at the bottom ; no ice at the time
in No. 1.
At the end of 10 minutes No. 1 was frozen about
1 3d of its length, No. 2 up to the top, and No. 8 no
ice in it.

In 15 minutes No. 1 was full of ice, and No. 3 just
comt,,encing to freeze at the bottom.
in 20 minutes the No. 3 was nearly full of ice, and
the, temperature of the liquid had risen 4 degrees, or 2
above zero.
As the tube of gutta percha took a quarter of an
hour to freeze, while the lead was frozen as much in
five minutes, it showed, as far as one trial goes, that
gutta percha will protect water from frost at least 3 to
1 against lead.

We were prepared, in the first instance, to see
what would be the effect of freezing water in a tube
of gutta percha, closed firmly at each end, but a thaw
having come on, and having used all the ice prepared,
this is necessarily put off till the frost comes on.
Birmingham, 9th Dec. 1849.

NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE RAILWAY.--A committee
of shareholders in this company has been appointed
for the purpose of, if possible, reducing the number of
directors, to cultivate a friendly feeling with the
London and North-Western Railway, to economize
the working expenses, and to postpone sine dine the
construction of all branch lines for which powers are
now possessed.