The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-04 00:00:00

TROOPS FOR CHINA.

PORTSMOUTH, DEC. I.—This afternoon the remaining
portion of the troops ordered to embark at this port for
China, consisting of 420 men of the 26th, and 110 of the
55th Regiments of Foot, arrived here. They left Win-
chester at a few minutes before eleven o'clock in a special
train of twenty-four carriages, drawn by the Atlas en-
gine. At the railway terminus they were met by the
Commander-in-Chief of the district, Major-General Sir
11. Pakenham, attended by some of his staff, and by the
Brigade-Major, Colonel Daly, Colonel Love, of the 73d,
and several other officers. Immediately upon forming they
marched, headed by the band of the 73d, to the Royal
Clarence yard, whence they were conveyed by a steamer on
board her Majesty's ship Apollo. A great number of per-
sons were assembled to witness their arrival and embarca-
tion. The whole of the the troops intended to be con-
veyed from this port by the Sapphire and Apollo are now
on board, 800 strong, consisting of detachments of the
18t, 26th, 49th, and 55th. Most of them are quite
young men, and will prove a valuable acquisition to the
service companies of their respective regiments now in
China. The officers who command them are Lieutenant
Colonel Bartley, 49th Regiment ; Captain Rose, 55th ;
Lieutenant Herriot, 55th ; Ensigns Piper, Dickens, De
Quincy, and Skinner, of the 26th ; and Staff-Surgeons
Ford and Fennell. These officers go out in the Apollo,
and the following in the Sapphire :—Major Pasley,
49th ; Lieutenant Duff, 26th ; Lieutenant Magrath.
55th ; Ensigns Glasbrick, 49th ; Elliot, 18th ; rind Hay-
man, 18th ; and Staff Assistant-Surgeon Marshall.
They will sail to-morrow, and will go round to Ply-
mouth, where they will join her Majesty's ship Bel-
leisle, which carries out Lord baltou,n, and the 98th Re-
giment, and some of the Artillery. Ihe three ships will
then proceed in company on their voyage to China, car-
rying out together an effective force of about 2,000
men. Many women and children have also embarked.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
PLYMOUTIL—The Minden, 74, Captain Michael Quin,
is to have a complement of 280 men. Her masts, yards,
&c., are to be similar to those of the Bell isle.
The
North Star, 26, Captain Sir J. E. Home, was to have
been paid advance on Wednesday. The Malabar, 72, Capt.
Sir G. Sartorius, Knt. • the Madagascar, 46, Captain J.
Foot ; and Harlequin,'l6, Commander the Hon. G. F.
Hastings, which ships sailed from this port within the
last eight days for their respective destinations, came
into the sound on the night of Tuesday, having put back
from stress of weather.° The Harlequin is reported to
have lost some of her boats. They saluted the new flag
of the Port Admiral, Sir Graham Moore, Bart., G.C.8.,
G.C.M.G., who has been promoted since their departure.
APPOINTMENTS.—Capt. Michael Quin to the Minden;
Commander W. Neville to the Serpent ; Surgeon John
Stewart (b), additional, to the Cornwallis ; Assistant-
Surgeons, Sidney Burnard to the Caledoia, Edward
Heath (acting) to the I3elleisle.

GENERAL DISTRESS.
A NEW WAY OF ItAISING VIE WIND.
(From the Morning Herald.)

Thursday a very notable scheme for gulling the work-
ing classes, under the pretence .of relieving their dis-
tresses and asserting their rights, was developed at the
well-known " assembling " rooms in Theobald's-road.
A scheme more offensively yet ludicrously characteristic
of the present age of humbug has not yet seen the light.
The most lucid introduction that can possibly be given
to the proceedings, is the circular by which the meeting
was convened. It is as follows :
" General Distress.—The working classes and the pub-
lic generally are requested to attend a public meeting, to
be held on Thursday next, December 2, 1841, at six
o'clock in the evening precisely, at the Bloomsbury- As-
sembly-rooms, No. 8, Theobald's-road, Red Lion-square,
to have submitted to them propositions for their perma-
nent relief, by the means of a. general fund to meet the
general distress. This meeting is called by the proprie-
tor of the Planet, London weekly newspaper, for the
purpose of promoting a general fund for the working
classes, ; and as this is the sole object of the meeting,
politics of all kinds will be imperatively excluded. Se-
veral iMluential public characters will attend and address
the meeting. A full report of the meeting will be given
in the Planet, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday next."
At half-post seven precisely some 150 persons had as-
sembled, and after they had frequently manifested their
impatience by stamping on the floor and whistling
snatches of various popular airs, an elderly gentleman,
surrounded by a number of half-fi)ppish half men- about-
town looking young fellows, and accompanied by that
well-known unpaid Sunday evening orator, Mr. .'Con-
nell, unceremoniously walked into the chair. The plea
was, that lie had paid for the room, and was printer,
proprietor, and editor, of the said luminous paper, the
Maud.

" What's your name, old fellow ?" inquired one of
O'Connor's " fustian-coated" adherents ; " for though,
you ain't, asked our leave to take that 'ere cheer, we may
as well know who it is as persides over us."—(Cheers.)
One of the men-about-town said the elderly gentle-
man's name was Bell.
" Wery good," observed FUSTIAN JACKET, "if so be
as we don't like him we'll very soon pull him down. So
now go to business, and let's know what it is us we're
called here for."

The CHAIRMAN hammered upon the table pretty
lustily for silence, and took up a bundle of papers,
and said that as the speech he was about to make
was of great importance to the community at
large, and as he was most desirous it should not be
improperly sent forth to the world, he had written
it out, and would, with the permission of the
meeting, read it. He then read a long address upon the
distresses of the working classes, and dogmatically laid
down his opinions as to the remedy to be applied, con-
cluding his harangue by informing the meeting that all
he had said, and all that everybody else said, would be
faithfully and fully reported in the Planet, by " one of
the first-rate short-hand writers in the kingdom;" and
that when the working classes raised the circulation of
that present unknown journal to 7,000 per week, he
would give them-10CL per annum—that is, so long as
they bought the 7,000 Planets per week.
By the time the elderly gentleman had completed his
modest and disinterested address, the room was well
filled, and from the jocular remarks that had, towards
close of it, been generally indulged in, it was evident that
Mr. Bel planetary system would be forthwith annihilated.
Mr. Sunday-evening-orator M'CoxNELL followed in a
long speech, and moved a resolution relative to the exist-
ing distress of the operative classes.
The meeting had now become impatient, and the men-
about-town said, "Make haste and pass the resolutions."
The resolution was, therefore, formally seconded, and
the Chairman was about to put it, when
Captain ACKERLEY jumped upon the wooden seat that
runs round the walls of the building, and called upon
his " unshorn and dusty-jacketed, but real good, hearty,
honest friends, not to be humbugged by any astrologer,
though he might hive one of the planets at his disposal."
A'Fustian jacket—Take the chair, Atcherly, and then
we'll
Captain ACKERLEY—So I will my boy !—(Cheers.)

Fustian Jacket—l moves as Atcherlytake 'the cheer.
An Irish Chartist (he had his mortar-shovel in his
nand)—And here's me two hands (holding them above
his head) to second that same, be the hookey.
Captain AcxEru.Ev—All you gentlemen who are of
opinion that I should take the chair signify the same in
the usual way.—Cries of " all," and loud cheers.) Car-
ried unanimously.—(Loud cheers.) Nuw then, down
with the Planet—let's have no astrology.
The Millet Chairman—Order, order.
Captain ACKERLEY—Chair, chair. Pray, attend to
me, Gentlemen.

From this moment and till the breaking up of the
meeting the proceedings were one scene of the most aw-
ful confusion. The self-appointed Chairman battered the
table with his hammer, his opponent shouted for the
proper distribution of " the three million of charities ; "
the men-about-town shouted ; the supporters of Captain
Ackerley whistled through their fingers ; some howled,
others hooted, and boo-booed; here one screamed, there
another "chow-chowed ;" on the platform the satellites
of the Planet danced ; on the wooden form the fustian •
jackets stamped ; on the floor they jumped, as long as
lungs and legs could stand it ; all this was sans inter-
mission. An entire tribe of Choctaws could not have
screamed a more delightful hubbub or danced with a
more persevering energy ; and when both sides were
fairly worn out, Ackerley's voice was still heard calling
for " the three millions !" lie appeared t--) be omnipotent
in the riot. No exertion seemed to have any effect upon
him ; and when he had quite worn out " the three
millions," he called for a resolution in favour of "uni-
versal sujj'rage." This was carried. Vote by baTht
followed, and then were appended the other points
of the Charter. It was in vain that the men-
about-town screamed "No polities !" Ackerlev met
them with the cry of "No astrology !" and having
spoken very learnedly upon the " system" which
they wished to establish, he called for a vote of censure

upon the gross attempt which had been made to carry
out a private speculation under the pretence of benefiting
the poor. This resolution was carried by acclamation.
The Planet and its friends, the men-about-town, were
fairly beaten, but they determined to have something for
their trouble. They put a series of resolutions, in favour
of which about half a dozen hands in the body of the
meeting were held up. The men-about-town declared
the resolutions to be carried. The elderly Chairman
was understood to share in the declaration, and, taking
up his document, he hastened from the meeting, amidst
the jeers and contempt of the unwashed. A general cry
then arose for Ackerley to go on the platform and take
the chair—a rush towards the platform followed—but
the " proprietor" of the rooms reduced the gas to " dark-
ness visible;" the rush was immediately directed towards
the door, and in a few minutes "the people" had dispersed

CHANTREY'S BUST OF SIR W.
SCOTT.

Chantrey never excelled this bust—it is his very best.
The best, perhaps, in either ancient or modern art.
The man, and the genius of the man, are both there.
It appears that he had sought at first, like Lawrence,
for a poetic expression, and had modelled the head as
looking upwards gravely and solemnly. " This," he
said to Mr. Allen Cunningham, when Scott bad left
after his second sitting, " this will never do—l shall
never be able to please myself with a perfectly serene
expression. I must try his conversational look—take
him when about to break into some sly funny old story."
As he said this he took a string, cut off the head of thy
bust, put it into its present position, and produced, be
a few happy touches, that bust which alone preserves
for posterity the cast of Scott's expression—the most
fondly remembered by all who ever mingled in his do-
mnstic circles.

The history of this admirable bust is contained in the
"ollowing very interesting letter :

" TO THE RIGHT HON. SIR ROBERT PEEL, BART.

" algrave-place, Jan. 26. 1838.
" Dear Sir Robert—l have much pleasure in cont.
ply ing with your request to note down such facts as
remain on my memory concerning the bust of Sir
Walter Scott, which you have done me the honour to
place in your collection at Drayton Manor.
" My admiration of Scott, as a poet and a man,
induced me in the year 1820 to ask him to sit to
me for his bust, the only time I ever recollect
having asked a similar favour from any one. He
agreed, and I stipulated that he should breakfast with
me always before his sittings, and never come
a'one, nor bring more than three friends at once, and
that they should all be good talkers. That he fulfilled
the latter condition you may guess, when I tell you
that on one occasion be came with Mr. Croker, Mr.
Heber, and the lite Lord Lyttleton. The marble bust
produced from these sittings was moulded, and about
forty-five casts were disposed of among the poet's most
ardent admirers. This was all I had to do with the
plaster casts. The bust was pirated by Italians, and
England and Scotland, and even the colunies, were sup-
plied with unpermitted and bad casts to the extent of
thousands, in spite of the terror of an Act of Parliament.
" I made a copy in marble from this bust for the Duke
of Wellington ; it was sent to Apsley House in 1827,
and it is the only duplicate of my bust of Sir Walter
Scott that I ever executed in marble.

I now come to your bust of Scott. In the year
1828, I proposed to the poet to present the original
marble as an heir-loom to Abbotsford, on condition
that he would allow me sittings sufficient to finish
another marble from the life for my own studio. To this
proposal he acceded, and the bust was sent to Abbots-
ford accordingly, with the following words inscribed on
the back This bust of Sir Walter Scott was made
in 1820 by Francis Chantrey, and presented by the
sculptor to the poet, as a token of esteem, in 1828:
" In the months of May and June, in the same year,
1828, Sir Walter fulfilled his promise ; and I finished,
from his face, the marble bust now at Drayton Manor
—a better sanctuary than my studio--else I had not
parted with it. The expression is more serious than in
the two former busts, and the marks of age more than
eight years deeper.
" I have now, I think, stated all that is worthy of
remembering about the bust, except that there need be
no fear of pirkey, for it has never been moulded.
" I have the honour to be, dear Sir, your very sin.
cere and faithful servant, ' F. CHANTREY."

THE ROYAL CHRISTENING.—The baptism
of the infant, Prince, it is rumoured in circles likely to
be well informal, will not take place until February,
immediately after Parliament assembles. In confirma-
tion of this rumour we have reason to believe the in-
structions received at the Earl Marshal's office, where
all such State ceremonials are arranged, are not of that
urgent nature as if the ceremonial were to take place this
IA oath. The ceremony will be performed in town.