The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-03 00:00:00

SIORNING SUN.

.

teffesenee," that they have seen very many
to
lately employed on the-vvorks, before whom and to whom
the same individual most freely indulged init.
5. The undersigned come now to the extraordinary
declaration made or tendered upon oath by George
Allen, denying the circumstance and the language al-
leged to have been used in the dismissal of.T. Hickey.
The undersigned read over the statement of T. Hickey
in his presence, and closely questioned him as to the
circumstances stated, and the language used, when he
reiterated every particular. Before doing so the under-
signed requested himto relate what really did _take place
on the occasion, when they fuund the same things related
by him with minute particulars of detail, which it would
have been impossible for him to suggest, if his statement
had net been true. In opposition to Allen's denial,
therefore, they confidently place T. Hickey's reiteration.
It is impossible not to be struck with the manner in
which this charge from the first has been met by-Allen.
First, he evaded all knowledge of it, affecting to believe
it to refer to .the case of Patrick Whelan,
while it is impossible litims he could for a mo-
ment have imagined it to relate to him. Nor
iis it possible he could have forgotten it ; his two
friends, Wardle and Baker, who so " perfectly well re•
collect" all aboatrutOknler this supposition also impos-
sible. If, then, he 14tiltl'not have forgotten it, and could
not for a moment have supposed the masons alluded to
Patrick Wheelan—for this supposition is unutterably
absurd—what could have prompted the evasion—an eva-
sion now, since the publication of Wheelan's statement,
so gross and palpable ? The undersigned are compelled
to reply--a guilty knowledge of the whole transaction,
and a wish to prevent all knowledge of it going to the
public. The following are the testimonies of those who
saw and heard the whole transaction :
" I remember Thomas Hickey being discharged, I
was close to Allen and him at the time he was dis-
charged ; and I beard AillW make use of language simi-
lar to that which is mentioned in Hickey's letter. I saw
T. Hickey the next day after he was discharged, and he
told me he had got employment in the firm of Mr. Cubitt.
" THOMAS REID, Mason.
"24, Tufton-street, Westminster."
" I remember Thomas Hickey being discharged. I
was close to the p "ere Allen discharged him ; was
aware that Hickey had his leg broken. I 'heard
Allen swearing at Hickey, and make use of 'language
similar to that which is stated in Hickey's letter. The
, last words I heard was Allen's telling' him to be off the
works altogether.

" THOMAS CHARNOCK, Mason.
" New Cross, Kent."
But what circumstances does this man deny ? Does
he deny the accident ? No ; then of course he cannot
deny the subsequent weakness and inability of Hickey.
He is now compelled to admit that he discharged him.
What did he discharge him for ? If all alleged were
false, what could be more easy than to state the reasonable
and proper grounds of his discharge, and what more im-
perative for his own vindication ? Was he discharged
for not doing work enough ? If so, then he must have
been discharged for his weakness in consequence of the
accident, for he was not, nor is he now able to do a full
day's: work. Was he discharged for being insolent ?
Allen has not pretended that he was insolent. Was he
dishonest ? certainly not ; for they who could so readily
notice the discrepancies explained above, would eagerly
have made known every particular. If then, he were
neither insolent nor dishonest. he could only have been
discharged for not doing work enough. A valid reason
certainly, if the man had been lazy, but a most cruel pro-
cedure, when the man was weak, through injuries re-
ceived in the serviceof his employers. Was this the
" good and sufficient cause,' which he ," firmly"
swears to, for the discharge of Thomas Hickey ?
6. Allen also states on oath that he is not in the habit of
discharging men without good and sufficient cause. This
is no reply to the statement of Hickey. Hickey does
not accuse Allen of being in the habit of discharging
men without cause ; he makes a specific charge of his
being discharged himself without cause and with cir-
cumstances of peculiar cruelty ; and it can be no reply
to this charge for Allen to say, that he is not in the
habit of discharging men without cause. ' If all the cir-
cumstances and the language imputed be false, this state-
ment is superfluous ; if true, it is no reply to them. The
masons certainly accused Allen
of being in the habit of dis-
charging men without sufficient reason, and offered to
prove thir charge before any fair arbitration. On which
occasion Grissell and Peto publicly announced that they
would not allow any agent of their's " further to com-
municate with the men because they had fully satisfied
their minds on the subject;" that is, as the undersigned
supposed, that the charges against Allen were false ;
which reason, if true, was sufficient at least for them.
They have now destroyed this reason. It now appears,
that so far from " being satisfied," except of the truth
of the charges, the moment a wrong date is mentioned,
or an error in naming the different departments of their
establishment is committed, which may serve as a peg
on which to hang a general denial, they are again in the
field by their agents, eager not to let such an oppor-
tunity pass without taking advantage of it; clinging
with convulsive tenacity to the hope, that these mistakes,
which make not the slightest difference to the main
charges, may implicate the whole.
7. As the letter of Patrick Wheelan has nothing to do
with T. Hickey, the undersigned do not feel called upon
to make any remark upon it, further than to state that
they are glad to find, if true, there appears to be one in-
stance in which Grissell and Peto behaved well to those
injured in their employ. They can only say that it con-
trasts well with their treatment of T.-Hickey ; for while
his friends of his aim class collected what their scanty
means would allow for him, while in the hospital, Messrs.
Grissell and Pao rendered him no assistance whatever.
The undersigned, with regret, are compelled to state,
that it appears to have been quite an unusual thing for
Grissell and Peto to render any assistance to those in-
jured in their employ. We give two instances, out of
many that might be adduced :
Thomas Wade fell with the dam when it gave way
during the summer, and was most severely injured.
Messrs. Grissell and Peto sent to him, while in the hos-
pital, to say that neither he nor his family should want
for anything. They however gave him nothing, but
stopped his time up to the very half hour of the accident.
He got 11. from the box kept on the works to receive
charitable donations ; but this he did not receive until
after he had recovered and been at work some time, and
then not until dissatisfaction had been expressed by the
men to Allen at his not having given him a portion of
the money from the donation-box. He was supported
while in the hospital by a voluntary subscription among
the men, amounting to 6l 3s.
Watson Ellis, by an accident last winter had his arm
broken, by which he was unable to work 14 weeks. He
received nothing from Messrs. Grissell and Peto—no-
thing out of the box.

M. Baker appears not to be content with " perfectly
e s aaa
well recollecting" upon oath the return of Hickey to his
work, upon
rlht
, volunlehi
volunteers
then
dundersignedffirit
to
thehatvruetbh of
before remarked,
opinionremarked I,
He swears, or was ready to swear, that in his opinion
George Allen was justified in discharging T. Hickey !
The undersigned have no doubt but that here, at least,
he might safely be believed; but they would remind him
that an affidavit is not the way to prove the truth of an
opinion. The truth of an opinion can only, be proved
by substantial reasons, which reasons must be, supported
by facts. It would have been to the purpose if he had
stated the reasons and facts which supported his opinion;
but for him to make oath to its truth implies most surely
that he knew his reasons and his facts would not bear
investigation, and that therefore he substituted his oath
in their stead, giving the singular, and withal ludicrous'
instance of a man making his testimony valueless by the
very act of swearing to its truth.
From the whole, it appears that T. Hickey has ma 4
two mistakes, first, in believing the accident ‘*‘
happened on the 13th of February, whilac.m ent to have
the 25th ; and second, in confodi while it happened on
with the pay-clerk ; a fact which
invalidates nothing in
his statement concerning Allen,
and, in the position of
one discharged instanter from the works, very easily
made. In all the rest the undersigned believe him to
have been perfectly correct. It appears to the under-
signed that the statements tendered War-
dle and Baker were, by • upon oath by _
dates, and by pointing implicating the correctness of
to, intended to throw out the mistake above referred
of Hickey a doubt over the whole statement
; a statement which, in the opinion of the un-
dersigned, these dedisbelieve ;
which inability also to
_ nents were unable , •
appears to have been shared in by
the exuberantly grateful Patrick
swears concerning himself to what did not hap-
pen in his presence—and here he is careful
not to mention his friend George Allen—
and to
dates. Baker to dates and to the truth of an opinion !
But neither hint their disbelief of Allen's language,
or his cruelty, as specifically detailed by Hickey. Patrick
Wheelan, thotigh overflowmg with gratitude, does
the
even mention Allen, nor hint, directly or indirectly,
het
existence of such a person. Although he bis
hisconfirmtps-
vious statement that he (obtained hislac
his application toY
bricks," because he " recommendedlighter
berth:' It is not
Messrs. Grissell and Peto fora
.ssions,
but here, where
always fair to argue from
omissions
I necessary, ry, and is what
the wanting testimony is
would so instantly suggest itself, the undersigned can-
not but consider its omission as evidence that
the cruelty and language of the man was so no-
torious that
it became a thing of which it was
impossible, even for his friends, to express their
dis-
belief. The undersigned, in giving the result of their
investigation, beg to say that they have endeavoured
most sedulously to discover the truth. They also have
endeavoured to express their opinions with calmness.
They now leave it to the public to judge how far Allen
has been successful in clearing himself from the
charges of cruelty and swearing, and how far Mr.
Wardle, the pay-clerk, and Mr. Baker, the deputy fore-
man, have been successful in defending tbeirfriend George
Allen. THOS. JOSEPH DUNNING, Bookbinder.
JOHN BAKER, Plasterer.

FREDERICK THE GREAT AND HIS TIKES.._.
The new work, under the above title, edited by Thomas
Campbell, Esq., is at length before the public ; and
rarely have we seen a more important or interesting his-
torical production. The volumes are full of characteristic
details concerning all the most eminent men forming the
habitual society of Frederick. Here we have sketches not only of persons belonging to his own family, but
likewise of his intimate friends, his literary associates,
and the most distinguished of his military officer& The
picture of Frederick's mode of life, his habits, tastes,
and pursuits, is not less attractive than full of instruc-
tion ; and a great additional interest is given to the
volumes by thir containing many original letters of that
renowned
and his monarch, not on public affairs, but relating to
himself circumstances, which are quite new to
the Englllustishrat reader,
the an
m d which abound in various parti-
cu
of the Prussian Court.lars illustrative of anners, habits, and occupations
ROBBERY ON THE RIVER.--On Tuesday
night, or early on Wednesday morning, a barge, con-
taining 24 tons of second best coals, was stolen from the
wharf of Messrs. Dalglaise
Great Scotland-yard. and Taylor, coal merchants,

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE THIS DAY.
minutes attar 4 1 Evening ......I2 minutes after 5.

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