The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-03 00:00:00

LABOUR.

Experience has now amply proved that streets can be
better, cheaper, more efficiently, and more conveniently
cleansed by machine than by labour. In Manchester,
the contractors sweep the streets three times as often by
machine as they used to be swept by hand for the same
cost, and everybody must be convinced that the work is
incomparably better performed. Besides the greater
cleanliness, the greater inconvenience is most remark-
able; there is now no splashing while throwing the mud
into the carts, no obstruction by carts standing to be
loaded, and no heaps of dirt, or collections of mud swept
to the road sides to await removal. These advantages
alone should secure the universal adoption of machine
cleansing. Experience in the adjoining borough of
Salford establishes the same points. There the streets
are cleansed by the servants of the corporation, and
there, as here, it is found that the streets may
be cleansed three times as often by machine as
by hand sweeping, though paupers are employed,
some of them partially supported by the poor's-rate.
It seems strange that in the face of such experience
hand sweepers should still be retained at all, except,
indeed, for sweeping footpaths and courts inaccessible
to the machine, and yet they are employed in competi-
tion with the machine, and the expediency of employing
them is strongly asserted.
One argument principally relied upon by those who
oppose street sweeping by machinery
intro-
duction would throw men out of work. is,
that its
This is an old
stock argument against all new machinery. In the pre-
sent instance, if the existing degree of cleanliness is to
be preserved, (and to diminish that would be any li
-
thing but economicall), we must spend three times
as much if the: machines are to be discontinued ; and
that, it is asserted, would increase the demand for
labour. Instead of, say 6,000/. for machines, we
mast spend 18,000/. for hand-sweepers ; and, there-
fore, say our " labourers' friends," 12,0001. more
will be spent in paying for labour. But what
would be the real effect of the change? Why, first,
12,0001. a-year more would be spent on scavenging ex-
penses, and 12,000/. less would be.spent by the ratepayers.
The demand for labour in supplying the private wants
of individual ratepayers would be diminished exactly as
much as the demand for labour was increased by the in-
crease of scavenging expenses. The same amount would
be expended, as at present, but 18.0001. would be spent
in doing tliat which is better and more conveni-
ently done for 6,000/, and the ratepayers would be im-
poverished by the amount of the article of comfort or
convenience which they might have obtained for the
12,0001. of which they would be uselessly deprived. With
respect to the working classes, as receivers of wages,
they would be in precisely their present condition, the
increase of wages for scavenging being balanced by
an equal decrease of wages paid for other em-
ployments ; as ratepayers, they would be injured by the
bad economy of paying three times its value for the
article, street cleansing. Any one will at once see the
absurdity if a more familiar instance be taken; for
example, weaving. No one, we presume, is now so
simple as to suppose that the working classes would be
benefited were we to employ three men to weave three
pieces of cloth with hand-looms, instead of one man to
weave three pieces with a power-loom. If the hand-
woven cloth were sold at the same price as power-
woven, only the same sum could be afforded for weaving
which would have to be divided amongst three weavers
instead of given to one; if the price were enhanced by
suppressing the cheaper process, the consumer is de-
prived of the power of employing other labour by the
amount of the artificial enhancement of price. The effect
of suppressing the cheaper mode of street cleansing is
just the same.
But it will he said the sweepers employed are paupers,
and if they • have not this employment, they must be
maintained in idleness. We answer that, by asking, is
there no other employment as suitable, the loss attend-
ing which does not exceed, as the loss attending street
sweeping does, sixty-six per cent. ? It would not be
easy to select any likely employment for paupers in
which the proportion of loss would be greater, And it
is not to be expected that, in any employment, loss
will be altogether avoided ; for, if the men earned
as much as maintained them, they would not be paupers.
But even if street sweeping by hand were no t more
wasteful than other employments, we should obje(!t to it
as work for paupers upon other grounds. A large pro-
portion of these unfortunate men are aged or wealdly; but
scavenging peculiarly exposes them to wet and cold, and
is an unfit employment for any not in strong 3 health.
To set rheumatic old men or weakly men, accustomed
to in-door occupation, to such work, is positively
cruel, as it cannot fail to be a source of pai n and
danger. A still stronger objection to thus employing
paupers, especially those reduced by temporary diffi
culty, is, that by exposing them to the public g' sue, it
both lessens their self-respect, and de grades them in the
eyes of others. This is evidently involitic, as it w(takens
the feeling inducing them to stuuggle to escape from the
pauper class, and there is a great, chance of their be-
coming paupers for life.
We should strongly object to the employment of
paupers even for that portion of cleansing for whic is the
machine is inapplicable—namly, the footpaths and nar-
row courts. These, we contend, ought to be clef wised
much mere efficiently than they now are,
but by able-
bodied labourers. Such men, though they are of course
paid more, do more than a proportionately grunter
quantity of work, besides performing it better ; and
there is nothing disgraceful in this sort of work, except
what attaches to it by association. Let free labourers be
alone employed, and the degradation vanishes. r. Che
true economy with respect to street cleansing, which so
closely affects our comfort, is to do it well. It is a gri at
fallacy to suppose that low priced and cheap labour e ire
synonymous. The dearest of all service is bad service:
Manchester Guardian.

INDISPOSITION OF THE DUKE OF PORTLAND;•OLI
in London, requir, ing
Sunday evening a servant arrived at the Chesterfield
station with a message, to be conveyed, per electric to Ile-
gthraatphg,enttolemSan,s
Benjaminirirain
edßrodie,iateatattendance don his Grace in
consequence of sudden and serious indisposition. gOir
Benjamin arrived at Chesterfield in consequence the fol-
lowing morning about eleven, proceeded to Welbeck,
and departed again for London yesterday, tb e Noble
Duke being much better.—Derhyshire Courier of yes./
Orday. ,
-

IRELAND.
CULTIVATION OF THE LAND.
DUBLIN, APRIL 1.-It will be learned with gratifica-
tion that there is considerable improvement in the re-
ports respecting the progress of spring work. Many of
the landlords are bestirring themselves, and taking
active measures to procure supplies of the necessary
seeds for their tenants; and if the conduct of Lords
Kilmaine and Ormordo be but generally imitated, much
of the danger which now menaces the country, in the
shape of a deficient harvest, will undoubtedly be averted.
Of the first-named nobleman the Ca.stlebar Telegraph
says:—

" It affords us much gratification to be enabled to state,
on the authority of.the Rev. Thomas Costello, that Lord
Kilmaine has ordered to be suppled to his tenantry suffi-
cient potato, and white Holland oats and barley, to crop
all the lands capable of tillage on his extensive pro-
perty ; and has also ordered to be employed competent
persons to assist in the tillage and shaking of the seed ;
and his Lordship has further directed, that his te-
nantry, while employed in the tillage of their own land,
shall be supplied with sufficient oatmeal to support them."
With respect to the Marquis of Ormonde and some
other landlords of Kilkenny, the Moderator observes:—
"We had an opportunity of seeing Mr. Bradley's re-
port to the Board of Works for the week ending the
27th of March, by which it appears that several of the
landlords in this neighbourhood have procured seed oats
for such of their tenants as deserved encouragement.
Lord ()monde supplied 500 barrels of oats, and 3361b5.
of parsnip seed, together with a large quantity of peas
and beans, to his numerous tenantry. His uncle, the
Hon. Mr. Wandesforde, has acted in a similar manner.
The report further states, that the farmers here were
generally very busy, and much of that apathy which
heretofore existed was removed, and that potatoes were
in many, nstances planted, and that food of all kinds
had fallen in price fully twenty per cent. This is cheer-
ing news indeed."

GOOD FRIDAY IN THE SIERRA.
Good Friday is solemnized in a manner the effect of
which, to the unprejudiced foreigner, is partly burlesque
and partly seriously impressive. From the early dawn
of morning the church is thronged with Indians, who
spend the day in fasting and prayer. At two in the
afternoon a large image of the Saviour is brought from
the sacristy and laid down in front of the altar. Imme-
diately all the persons in the church rush forward with
pieces of cotton to touch the wounds. This gives rise to
a struggle, in which angry words and blows are inter-
changed ; in short, there ensues a disgraceful scene of
uproar, which is only checked by the interposition of
one of the priests. Order being restored, the sacred
image is fixed on the cross by three very large silver
nails, and the head is encircled by a rich silver crown.
On each side are the crosses of the two thieves. Having
gaped at this spectacle to their hearts' content, the
cholos retire from the church. At eight in the even-
ing they re• assemble to witness the solemn ceremony of
taking down the Saviour from the cross. The church is
then brilliantly lighted up. At the foot of the cross
stand four white-robed priests, called " Los Santos
Varones" (the holy men), whose office it is to take
down the image. At a little distance from them, on a
sort of stage or platform, stands a figure representing
the Virgin Mary. This figure is dressed in black,
with a white cap on its head. A priest, in a long dis-
course, explains the scene to the assembled people, and
at the close of the address, turning to the Santos Varones,
be says, "Ye holy men, ascend the ladders of the
cross, and bring down the body of the Redeemer !"
Two of the Santos Varones mount with hammers in
their hands, and the priest then says, " Ye holy man,
on the right of the Saviour, strike the first blow on the
nail of the hand, and take it out !" The command is
obeyed, and no sooner is the stroke of the hammer
heard, than deep groans and sounds of anguish sound
through the church ; whilst the cry of "Misericordia !
misericordia !" repeated by a thousand imploring voices,
produces an indescribable sensation of awe and melan-
choly. The nail is handed to one of the priests stand-
ing at the foot of the altar, who transfers it to another,
and this one in his turn presents it to the figure of the
Virgin. To that figure the priest then turns and ad-
dresses himself, saying :—" Thou afflicted mother, ap-
proach and receive the nail which pierced the right hand
of thy holy Son I" The priest steps forward a few paces,
and the figure by some concealed mechanism, advances
to meet him, receives the nail with both hands, lays it on
a silver plate, dries its eyes, and then returns to its
place in the middle of the platform. The same cere.
mony is repeated when the two other nails are taken
out. Throughout the whole performance, of these so-
lemnities, an uninterupted groaning and howling is kept
up by the Indians, who at every stroke of the hammer
raise their cries of Misericordia I These sounds reach
their climax when the priest consigns the body of the
Saviour to the charge of the Virgin. The image is laid
in a coffin tastefully adorned with flowers, which, together
with the figure of the Virgin Mary, is paraded through
the streets. While this nocturnal procession, lighted by
thousands of wax tapers, is making the circuit of the
town, a party of Indians busy themselves in erecting be-
fore the church door twelve arches decorated with
flowers. Between every two of the arches they lay
flowers on the ground, arranging them in various figures
and designs. These flower-carpets are singularly inge-
nious and pretty. Each one is the work of two cholos,
neither of whom seem to bestow any attention to what
his comrade is doing, and yet, with a wonderful harmony
of operation, they create the most tasteful designs—ara-
besques, animals and landscapes, which grow as it were
by magic, under their hands.—Travels in Peru.

IMPRISONMENT EXTRA-
ORDINARY.

Joseph Hayes, a man about 40 years of age, was on
Monday placed at the bar of the Manchester Borough
Court, on a rather singular charge. Mrs. Callender,
whose husband keeps a small shop in Broughton-street,
Red-bank, was sitting by the fire, about half-past ten on
Saturday night week, when she heard in the house a
strange noise, by which she was alarmed, and, her
husband being out, she went to a neighbour, and.
implored him to go in with her, as there was some-
thing making a noise so unearthly that it curdled
tho blood in her veins. The stout-hearted neighbour
went with the trembling woman, and, having pro-
cured a candle, he examined the place, but nothing
could be see, either natural or supernatural, to account
for the terror of Mrs. Callender. The mysterious sounds,
however, continued ; but whence they came no one
could say, and the search continued, without effect,
until the clock struck the midnight hour. Still
the voice was heard complaining of pain ; and its
moaning and groaning were audible when Mr. and Mrs.
Callender retired to rest. On the following morning
they were surprised to hear a continuous repetition
of the same noise, and, on listening attentively, they
could distinguish the words " Murder," " Oh, dear,"
and others, indicative of suffering ; but still they
were at a loss to tell from what quarter the voice ema-
nated. At last, a rigid search of the premises was made,
and, after some time, the leg of a man was seen in the
flue of the kitchen chimney. The owner of the dangling
leg was subjected to an examination as to his identity,
the period of his imprisonment, and other circumstances,
before any attempt was made to liberate him. He re-
plied that his name was Joseph Hayes, and that he had
been in the flue since Saturday night. The assistant,
who knew Joseph, then attempted to set him free from
his extraordinary prison ; but so firmly was his body
wedged in the higher part of the flue, at which point
there was an angle, that their labour was in vain. Mr.
Callender then called in a bricksetter, who set to work
to pull down part of the chimney, and when be had
nearly pulled the whole to pieces, the soot-begrimed
Joseph was extricated. He was so much exhatiated with
his long imprisonment, the want of fresh air, and his
vain struggles to ascend or descend the chimney, that
he could not stand, and he had only strength to ask for
a drink of water. This was given to him. The police
were called in, and having got a pair of slings, they
carried him to the infirmary, where he remained
for eight days, or until his appearance before
the magistrates yesterday.—Mr. Callender said that
the prisoner was a wheeler in the market, and had been
occasionally employed by him. He had never heard any
good of the man, and had no doubt that bis intention
was to rob the house.

The Magistrate having told the prisoner that he had
had a very narrow escape of his life, asked him what he
had to say. His reply was that it was no use saying
anything, as it was sure to be put down as false. The
fact was, however, that he was on the housetop after
some pigeons, and, a brick having given way, down he
went, and shouted out ten thousand murders.
Mr. Maude sent him to gaol for two months. Man
chester Express.

The following interesting anecdote is related of the
deceased General Drouot, in a letter from Nancy:—
About a month ago, during the severe cold, a person went
to him to demand assistance. ' I have got nothing,' said
the General, but after a pause he added, Ah, yes, I have
still my grand uniform!' And, a few hours after, he sold
his epaulettes of Waterloo and the gold embroidery of
the imperial uniform to purchase bread for the poor of
Nancy!"
SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL
IN FOREIGN Pe ItTS.—The annual report of this society
has just been issued. It appears that the total amount
of receipts from subscriptions, donations, and collections
for the year 1846 was 55,2831. 10s. 2d., exceeding the
total amount of the receipts from the same sources for
the year 1845 by 6,5751. 19s. 9d., the increase in the
general fund being 5,4961. 6s. 10d. ; in the appropriated
funds, 1,0791. 12s. Ild. It appears also that the general
expenditure of the society has been 65,5961. 9s. 5d.,
being a decrease of 3,9651. 1 ls. 11d., as compared with
the similar expenditure during the preceding year. The
total available balance which remains is invested in Ex-
chequer-bills, and amounts to little more than 17,0004,
nearly, if not quite, all of which will be required for the
service of the current year. The reductions alluded to
have been effected without causing the withdrawal of any
missionary on the society's list, partly by the cessation
of grants, which had been made for a limited period, but
chiefly by the discontinuance of the assistanse hitherto
afforded to schools and schoolmasters in the West
Indies. The first parochial association in aid of the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign
Parts was established in the year 1819. Up to the year
1838 the number was only 313 ; since that year they
increased (at the average rate of 200 a year), and the
total number of associations at the beginning of 1846
was 1,700, being still but one for every six parishes in
England. In the beginning of 1836 the total number of
missionaries on the society's list in seven dioceses was
54 ; in the beginnin? of 1846 it was 385 in 15 dioceses.
The increase in ten years was 221. The Lord Bishop of
Worcester has consented to preach before the society at
its anniversary meeting at St. Paul's in June.
THE ARMY.—We have much pleasure in stating
that the venerable Field-Marshal Nugent, who was in-
disposed a short time since, is much better, and hopes
are entertained that he will be Once more restored to
hVath. The gallant officer is now in his 90th year.