The Sun.
London, England, 1847-07-10 00:00:00

TilE SUN, LONDON,'"

COLONEL THOMPSON'S COMMITTEE TO THE
LIBERAL LLECTORS OF BRADFORD.
Gentlemen,—We congratulate you upon the improved
position of the liberal cause in this borough. An election
committee has been formed, which numbers more than
three hundred and sixty electors, pledged to secure the
return of a ‘,„entieman whose name and character are a
watchword in all places where the principles of corn-
merci.l freedom and of general liberty are understood
and appreciated. This number is a guarantee of success;
but to render assurance doubly sure, the numbers will
yet be increased; and electors who wish to see the
borough represented by a gentleman whose writings have
powerfully contributed to unshackle that commerce by
which it lives and prospers, are respectfully invited to
tak, part iu the work and the honour, that they may
share in the reward.

We not only congratulate you, but the inhabitants
generally, on the prospect of returning Colonel Thomp-
son to Parliament as the representative of this eminently
commercial community. He is not a merchant or a
manufacturer ; but he has demonstrated to the world
that he thoroughly understands the principles upon
which alone merchants and manufacturers can conduct
their operations so as to promote " the greatest happi-
ness of the greatest number." Our own Legislature has
at last admitted the soundness of these principles, by
repealing the great monopolies of corn and sugar. The
man who taught Legislatures and statesmen to under-
stand and appreciate the true principles of commerce,
is put forth as a candidate for the suffrages of men
whose hopes and interests are inseparably connected
with commercial principles, in their practical operation.
The result cannot be doubtful.

We congratulate not only you, not only the inhabi-
tants of Bradford, but the nation generally, in the
prospect of your returning Colonel Thompson to the
British Parliament for though the hon-ur will be
s ours, the gain will be the nations. That Colonel
Thompson would zealously attend to the local business
and interests of the borough, there cannot be a doubt ;
but while he would be your special representative in all
local matters, he would, in all imperial questions, be the
able representative of the new truths, principles, and
policy which mast henceforth guide British legislation.
In returning him to Parliament, therefore, you will not
unly secure a good local representative, but you will
have the proud satisfaction of sa)ing that your repre-
sentative is, not only in courtesy, but in truth and
reality, the representative of the truths and opinions
which are uppermost in the minds of the people of
1 England.

Think of these things. Give them your calm atten-
tion. Think upon the commercial struggle in which
you were engaged for seven long years. Think of the
benefits you reasonably expect to reap as the reward of
your labour and the fruit of your victory. Think of
him who waa the pioneer of the little band of commer-
cdal reformers. And when you think of difficulties en-
cou❑tered and triumphs won—think of gratitude, and
chink of Colonel Thompson ! Gentlemen, we will no t
add another word. We have full confidence that yuu
will do your duty.
ROBERT MILLIGAN, Chairman.
Here follow 369 names.

LAW of SETTLEMENT and RATING.

That a vast amount of legalised injustice is inflicted
on the industrial portion of British Society, by the pre-
sent Law of Settlement and Rating, for the relief of the
necessitous poor, must, we think, be apparent to every
one from statements we have already advanced, showing
so clearly the huge disproportion between the amount
levied on property in one locality, for the maintenance
of the poor, and that which is levied in another for this
olsj ect.
Could it be shown that the inhabitants of those
districts peculiarly burdened with the relief and main
tenance of the indigent poor of the land, whether en-
gaged in agriculture, manufactures, mining, or any
other industrial pursuit, were exclusively, or,, even prin-
cipally, benefited by the labour so directed, why then
there might be some show of justice, at least. in compel-
ling a provision to be made by the property of such
districts exclusively for the support of the aged, the
maimed, the imbecile, the destitute, the orphan, and the
widow residing among them.
But such it is well known is not the case. The labour
of the country—whether employed by sea or land—
whether engaged in agriculture, in manufactures, or how
else, is a mighty portion of the general property of the
country : is that, indeed, which gives value to all the
rest ; and exerted in any way, eventually confers a
benefit upon all, whether situated proximately or re-
motelyfrom its own immediate sphere of action.

- ,
The labourer then, we say, in tne outset, ought to be
well taken care of; his wants ought to be sufficiently
provided tor; and the widest field possible opened to
him, in which to exert his skill and industry; first for
his own benefit and that of his family, and next, for that
of society in general. Should disease, however, or
accident, or any of those other casualties to which his
station in life so peculiarly renders him liable, overtake
him, he ought to be legally entitled to prompt and sue-
ci,.nt relief, on the spot where his necessities arise, from
funds levied on the property of the nation at large for
that specific purpose.
The " Law of Settlement," then, by restraining the
spirit of enterprise and free exertion, on the part of
the labourer, condemns him to a species of serfdom
which is alike debasing to his mind and injurious to his
circumstances—whilst the system of Parochial Assess
meat, ostensibly established for his benefit, is made to
work—through the temptation it presents to the great
territorial proprietary of the country to promote their
own selfish objects by ejecting him from their estates,
or preventing his residence thereon—injury alike to him
and the holders and occupiers of property in other parts
of the country,
We have, in two recent numbers of our publication,
shown how extensively this principle is at work, and
has been for a number of years, in certain parishes and
townships in the northern part of the country, and shall
now proceed to furnish our readers with a few more
instances. This we do from a conviction that no por
tion of our domestic policy requires a more thorough
and speedy reform than the laws relating to " Paro-
chial Settlement" and " Assessment for the Relief of
the Poor."

The first parish, or lordship, for we scarcely know
how to distinguish it in this respect by name, to which
we beg leave to draw attention, is Rufford ; the seat
of the Earl of Scarborough, the Lord-Lieutenant of the
county.
This lordship comprises nearly 10,000 acres of land—
a princely mansion, which has in ancient times enter-
tained royalty itself—and about 80 dwellings, principally
good farmsteads, with a few cottages. The whole pro-
perty of this magnificent lordship, including the Abbey
and its appurtenances, along with the farm-houses and
9,820 acres of land, contributed to the fund legally esta-
blished fur the relief of destitution in this country, on
the average of six years, 1835 to 1840 inclusive, 223/.
per annum.
There is not on this vast property either church,
school, or public-house. But though there are no public
facilities for religious, intellectual, or social improvement,
or enjoyment, there is a fruitful source of social evil
and rcoral depravity, existing in every part of it, in the
shape of a game preserve, which cannot but prove of
the most injurious nature both to the occupiers of the
land and the peasantry of the adjoining hamlets. We
have heard it stated, on what we cannot but deem satis-
factory authority, that the destruction of grain on this
estate by the game amounts to, at least, 500 quarters an-
nually; and that the damage done to the green crops by
the hares and rabbits is fully equal in value to that of
the grain consumed ; for which loss and damage the te-
nancy receive no compensation whatever.
We heartily wish that it was in our power to ascer-
tain with any dgree of accuracy, what expense this
mighty game preserve has entailed on the county during
the last twenty years, in informations, prosecutions,
maintenance of poachers in prisons, and their families
in workhouses ; but it is not. Whatever it may have
been, however, has mattered little to the great feudal
proprietor of the estate. But it is stated that his
Lordship himself, though by no means a wasteful
or extravagant man in his general habits, expends
little less than 2,0001. a year out of his own pocket
in the preservation of this game. So that here is
an annual expenditure on one estate, by the joint
operation of damage sustained by the tenantry and
payments made by the proprietors, to the extent of
nearly five thousand pounds, in the rearing and pre-
serving of game. Now, we will venture to say, that
were even the half of this sum of money laid out ,
yearly in additional labour on the farms, in irrigating
that portion of the estate which is capable of being
brought under such process of management, and in en-
closing the parts most susceptible of cultivation, not
only would the noble proprietor himself derive consi-
derable benefit from the outlay, but his tenantry would
be richer and happier, and the country at large consider-
ably advantaged, by an increase in its stuck of agricul-
tural produce.
We hope, therefore, that the Noble Earl. whom we
believe at heart to be a liberal and patriotic man, will
be led, ere long, not only to see the impolicy and injus
tice of "game preserving," in the sense in which that
phrase is generally undet stood, but that he will likewise
be induced, as a Member of the Imperial Legislature, to
lend his aid to a thorough amendment of the laws at pre-
sent in force in reference to parochial settlement and
rating for the relief of the poor.
We will not insult the patriotic feelings of the
honest yeomanry who occupy the lands on the RuffOrd
estate by asking whether they would not willingly
take their chance with the rest of their countrymen in
an equable national rate, for the maintenance or relief
of the aged, the widow, the orphan, the maimed and the
destitute among the labouring populatio❑ of the land, in
preference to being charged with the support of! the
myriads of hares, and rabbits, and pheasants, and part-
ridges, by which their farms are at present overrun, be-
cause we are certain that, as Christian men and English-
men, they would take the alternative with pleasure *'ere
it offered to them. Indeed, were no higher motive than
self-interest present to their minds, they could have uu
hesitation which evil to prefer—the relief of the poor, or
the maintenance of the Earl of Scarborough's game.'
Supposing a national poor-rate established, and even
confined as now to real property, the average annual
charge on land would, in all probability, not exceedi for
England and Wales, more than ls. 6d. per acre. ißut
we would ask the tenants of " preserved" estates, !and
more especially where they are preserved with the
rigour which marks the Raiford system, how muchness
than 10s. an acre the maintenance of the game costs
them ; saying nothing of the mortification of mind
which every industrious man must endure, at witnessing
a promising crop of grain, or early succulent herbage
needed for his sheep and lambs, entirely destroyed
before his eyes by a host of vermin, without even
being allowed the privilege of fraying them from his
grounds. The poor-rates may occasionally be ft-lt
to be a burden by the farmer, but we are certain
they neither entail the expense upon him, nor awaken
in his bosom a tithe of those angry or resentful feelings
which arise from the loss he incurs by the maintenance
of game for the amusement of his landlord, and a host
of lionourables and Right Honourables, who are in-
vited to the Hall during the shooting season to seek
amusement mostly at his expense.
The length to which we have run these remarks on
the Rufford estates, precludes us from entering upon
an examination into the condition of any other of the
virtually extra-parochial parishes, with which this
county abounds ; we shall however, resume our work
in our next publication.—Nottingham Mercury. i
[Nottinghamshire may be justly called "` a game
hot-bed." j

EXTRAORDINARY COURAGB.—On Saturday morn-
ing, a youth about 18 years of age, son of a gentleman
well known in this town, was proceeding along Bury
New-road, when he was either met or overtaken by a
dog which bit the little finger off his left hand. He im-
mediately made after the dog, which bore every appear.
ance of being in a rabid state, and killed it ; then, re:
membering the fatal consequence from the bite of a mad
dog, and thinking he might have imbibed the hydro-
phobic poison, he deliberately took out a penknife and
I cut off the finger by the first joint. After this he went
to the office without taking further notice of the matter,
and went about his usual business without giving inti-
mation to any one of what had happened. At last,
however, a quantity of blood which oozed from the
wound led to detection, when he was sent to Mr. Jor
den, surgeon, of Bridge•street, who, on examining the
extremity, found it necessary to amputate the finger
at the second joint. This the youth bore with the
same indifference as he did the pain which he must
have caused himself whilst practising the surgical art
upon his own person ; the operator in the latter case
,:eclaring he had never before met with a patient who
showed such great indifference to pain. After the opera-
tion was over he went to business as usual, and told us
yesterday that his finger was again " all right."—Man-
thesfer Courier.

AMERICAN PROVISIONS. An American line of
packet ship, arrived in the London Docks from New
York, has brought 195 barrels of pork ; 549 barrels, 1
bags, and 23 tierces of peas ; 333 barrels 1 7 tierces
of ant tierces
of beans ; 11,100 bushels of wheat ; 307 bnrrels of
flour ; 168 barrels and 240 bags of corn meal : 554
bags of oats ; and 80 bales of bacon ; with a variety of
other articles, the production of the United States of
America. The American line of packet ships trading
between London and New York toruterly brought no
mfrtenanrntsso,tfnceahleul
itiantnstadetrFasltei
on
grain of any kind, being principally laden, in addition
to the usual descriptions of merchandise, with salted
it forms, as in the instance under notice, by far the
position it is
cheese, other articles. Now it will be seen
greater proportion of the entire cargo. There is an
aadndditvioknilt:dtt,:pei
l.vast supplies of grain and provi
stuns of
ineludin
gto.eot.nkcdeslsu:nssion deducible from this fact—viz.,
iuhtnar
numerous
tcti
ehemrs
,a,pourontergl
yAa intoarmrrliedvr aieclfxsha
t7eanpwt
soi i
ttrvhhtei
isoy f
pco,which,nr tn
efcfrrt
o,o,Liverpoolidmn,
instrumental a n
ce'tiunidrendering assistance for the introduc-
tionthis country. la every, available means of con-
meal food from the United States into i
g passenger packet ships, are made
or grain