The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-30 00:00:00

PRICES OF FOOD AT HOME AND

ABROAD.

Many thousands of the industrious inhabitants of cur
metropolis arc now prevented, by the artificial enhance-
ment of the price of food, from par taking in the festivi•
ties of Christmas. When, to gratify the selfish and short-
sighted policy of the wealthiest class of the community,
every poor man is made to pay B,'-rd. for a loaf that
ought not to cost him more than 4Ad. ; when, for the
same purpose, every poor man is made to pay
Bd. for a pound of beef, which, if the importa-
tion of foreign cattle were not prohibited, would not
cost more than thl.; when, in short, every article of
general consumption is extravagantly taxed, while pro-
perty is allowed to escape taxation altogether, or nearly
so, it is not matter for wonder that famine and disease
should be the inmates of thousands and thousands of
humble dwellings where festivity would now have been
presiding at the board, had the councils of this country
been guided by wiser and less partial maxims.
Not only the two most necessary articles of food,
bread and meat, are thus extravagantly taxed, to swell
the revenues, not of the state, but of a class, but every
article that may be counted among the luxuries of the
poor is dealt with in a similar manner. 'fea, coffee,
sugar, wine, and tobacco are all of them articles of
which the prime cost is comparatively trifling, and from
which even the humblest of our mechanics would not be
obliged to abstain, if the cost were not so extravagantly
enhanced by exorbitant duties.

Ordinary hyson tea, in bond, may be bought at less
than 2s. u pound, and the best bohea at Is. Bd. a
pound ; but before they can be offered for sale to
the consumer, a duty of 2s. Id. a pound must be
paid on them, making a charge of 125 per cent.
upon the one description, and 104 per cent. upon
the other. To the poor consumer, however, the
charge is, in reality, much greater ; for the dealer
must have an extra profit to indemnify him for the
advance of his capital. On the finer descrip-
tions of tea Oho duty is the same ; the finest
young hyson, which costs ss. 3d. a pound, being only
liable to the same duty as the commonest bohea. The
working of this system, however, is attended by great
injustice to the poor man, who pays a duty of 125 per
cent. on the tea which he consumes, while the rich man
pays a duty of only 39 per cent. on the superior article.
The best Java coffee may be bought, in bond, at
58s per cwt. The duty upon this is 84s. per cwt., or
144 per cent. The best St. Domingo coffee may be
bought in bond at 42s per cwt. Upon this the duty
is 140 s per cat. or 333 per cent. These enormous
duties are charged with a view to the protection of
our own colonies; but without stopping to discuss
the propriety of such a protection, may we not ask
whether the duty of 56s per cwt. upon the coffee
grown in English colonies is not already a
most extravagant tax upon the Brit;sh consumer ? At
all events, the manner of imposing the duty operates in
the same unfair manner as with respect to tea, for while
the duty on ordinary Jamaica coffee amounts to more
than 100 per cent., the superior descriptions, which
run up to 144 e. per cwt., are liable only to a duty of 33
per cent.

A hundred gallons of good Teneriffe wine may be
bought in the London Docks for 141. or 151. Upon
this the duty amounts to 271. 10s., or 183 per cent.
Teneriffe wine, if subject to a duty of only 25 per cent.,
might be retailed in London at twelve-pence a bottle,
but it is true, if our workmen were to accustom them-
selves to drink wine, as workmen do in most other
countries, there would be a great falling off in the con-
sumption of gin, from which so large a revenue is now
derived.

Of tobacco, there are few descriptions that cost more
in the London links than 6d. a pound. The duty is
35., or 600 per cent. on the cost of the article, added to
the expense of conveying it to this country.—Chronicle.

EVENING SUN

" TOWER HAMLETS.
(PROM A CORRESPONDENT.)
A requisition, very numerously end most respectably
sig•ned, was, on 'l'hursiay last, the 23d instant, pre-
sented to the Commissioners of the Court of Requests,
then in agent:a:leo at the Court-house, Osborn•street,
Whitechapel, for the use of the Court-house to hold a
meeting for the purpose of publicly congratulating her
Majesty on the birth of a son—tha Prince of Wales,
&c. The Commissioners promptly refused to anew
such meeting to be held in the Court-house, and be-
haved with the greatest rudeness to the gentlemen
who presented the requisition. The requisition con-
tained the signature of one, if not more, of the Magill'
trates of Middimx, together with some of the
most resi,ectahle inhabitant householders of the Tower
Hamlets : yet they refused the Court-house, although
a great number of their brother Commissioners signed
the ri quisition to them for the use of the large Nom.
Will those. respectal:le Commissioners neglect to be
present on the first day the Court will be holden after
the holidays, when the same requisition will be agate
presented to the Commissioners ; or will they put OP
with such insults to their Quern, their neighbours, and
themselves?

Ile signature© to the'requisition, on various sheet',
number more than 256 ; and will, when prosePted
again, have many more attached, though men of onn"
mon sense can require no more on such a subject, un-
der existing circumstances.

FROM THE FRENCH PAPERS' n
On the 28th ult , says the Journal de Valogne, a al°°f
with a crew of four men went ashore, near Saint Araas"
but got off again without a rudder, and almost withou-
sails, and attempted to reach the }longue. SOOll ate%
wards the wind changed, and the sea ran dreadfully' Vghho
The crew threw out an anchor, but it gave way, ar%aa
sloop was driven at the mercy of the waves. She
perceived by a vessel from Harfleur, and an atteraPt, "'as
made to reach her, but as no men were seen on board
attempt was abandoned, as it could only be continued, a
the risk of life. Nothing more was heard of the silt
until a few days ago, and it was consequently supP°.
that the crew had perished. A letter, however, has been
received from New Haven in England, stating that
aftrc;
being beaten about for some days the sloop had arriiii
safely in an English port. The crew, having only If
single loaf and a bottle of brandy on board, were bs
dead with hunger when they arrived.
The Journal de Maine-et-Loire gives the folleacili
extraordinary account of the perilous situations %
escape, a few days ago, of two sportsmen, whose boa
upset in the meadows of Briollay, which were overflow
to a depth of from twelve to fifteen feet, on their mints
from duck-shooting in the evening. Only one Of the'.,„,
being able to swim, he caught hold of his comps both
and struggled with him for some time, until, as ueof
were nearly exhausted, the former perceived the top,_
a tree, which was a short distance out of the
climbed up and dragged his companion, but even in this
position, position, although they had a resting-place for their reir
in the trunk of the tree, they were nearly I.IP t° tt
shoulders in water. The most exhausted of th° -vbt
~„d no
must have been drowned, if his companion
,„„ pert
tied him to the branches of the tree with his '"" *dl
water,
.},i'ius
a 1,21
chief. Their dog also was taken into the tree asile'd the
on the branches. In this horrible state they Pas 'clock
whole night, and were not perceived until eight '`)
in the mornin, when a boat came and took them °lo
As a lady and so
her son were returning bone bons
nights ago in a carriage from a party in the neigh. th,
hood, to their residence at St. Andre sur which
Seine Inferieure, they came to the ferry at Lore}, sf the
they must necesaarily pass, the river in that part 0 oil
Valley of the Eure being still without a bridg,efused
account of the river being flooded the ferrymenl the
to Lake in the carriage, and the lady, her son, a)
with
footman embarked, leaving the coachman behind boat
the carriage. When in the middle of the stream the J.'
d drive'
was carried away by the force of the current, an t the
with such violence against the trunk of a tree that
lady was thrown overboard, and must have been dr°,iiene
but for the exertions of her son, who was an exeu or
swimmer, and saved not only his mother but the 10°0.1'°- -t
an old and faithful servant, who, without reflecting
he could not swim at all, had plunged in after his mytaiterrre,.
The Rouen papers state that three men of St• the
en-Pert, on the coast of Normandy, went down
tUurer
shore a few days ago, to collect sea- weed for In:"
but a storm coming on, they took shelter in a coassing
lowed out by the waves. While waiting for thelfell iii
of the gale the whole of the superincumbent sot or
upon them, and covered theta with an immense °I: the.
chalk and flints. The accident being made knew '
and
inhabitants of the commune laboured for two
daoYfatheir
nights in the hope of recovering the bodies moss
friends. At the end of the above time anotheerdoyed
in
in, and seriously injured three of the men emyred by an-
the charitable work. This being shortly
other fall, the people became so alarmed
teraain buried:
to r
sisted, and left the unfortunate men
was
where they were. ed man
Two days ago the body of a well-dretshsere being "
taken out of the Canal St. Martin,
and'
identified, was
papers about him whereby he could .
b ted to in-
carried to the Morgue. His death is attri
ne• and in
toxication, as in his right hand was a clay Pi.r 16ofr.
the pocket of his pantaloons a purse containing nd
About two hours afterwards another body ,was
near the same spot, and soon recognised to be that Of w
young journeyman, who had been married just 1011
they de-
enough to become a father. For some time the you*
couple, it appears, follat
had lived happily, nor, indeed, was the
tranquillity of the wife disturbed until the lifeless corpse
of her husband was brought home, when the shock wO
so sudden and unexpected that her reason has been
placed in danger. Two months ago the husband 'aas
.
thrown out of work, and. being unable to procur?
then
lived ploymeet, first exhausted all his former savings, add t,l„.
lived upon credit until he could obtain no more. puny;
the whole of this time he concealed his distress fronmdlhte
wife, till at last it grew too heavy for him to bear, a
committed suicide.
1, fore the
Another case of a deserted orphan came a
.112_0p
Correctional Tribunal a few days ago. Emilie Killer
or
a child scarcely ten years old, without either fatLaug_,
mother, was under the care of a woman named t
of e
her
but, in a fit of anger, she either turned her oi.l
tie girl
house, or so ill-treated her, that the poor little
was
absconded, was found starving in the streets, a,. the
taken up as a vagabond. On being broughtber,ed
Tribunal, the woman Lange, who had been cited, Mrt',.n
that she had never ill-treated the child, but that she
tr:
away because she was about to be put apprentiee
the
maker of artificial flowers. She stated further that
_A
•
father of Emilie, when a widower, lodged in her house, and
there died, leaving his child upon her hands-
Doubts a
to the truth of her representations being entertilaro_l,
upwards of sixty persons, some of them ladieset_rt's" o
and wealth, came forward on learning the partiFtof
the case from the papers, and offered to take ehaTte 000,
the girl,*.insuring her an ample provision. AnaonFiidiatis
was one in behalf of the here Superieure of the raec:pd,
and charitable institution in the Rue de ti
resident
called Le Bon Pasteur, to whose care theou/wing
deijprmined to commit the child. On his sned
this decision, a man named Lambert, who tlec'iar he said
self to be the maternal uncle of Emilie, of whotouffered
to
he was very fond, made his appearance, and he was
tako her home, but the President informed him life (he
too late in his application, and from his station "...ie.
is a journeyman baker) could not render her any se"

[ADvERTIsEmENT.]—NEwYEAR's GirT!"'
The present season is hallowed by one of the most de-
lightful offices of friendship and affection ; the intei
change of gifts, as remembrances of the donors,
tokens of their esteem for the receivers. While large 0°1:
are expended upon the most costly baubles and elegan"
trifles, we would remind our readers that no more arllls°:.
priate present can be made at this season of the YcL.
than a package of Rowland's Macassar Oil, or Nalydor,
combining, as both these articles do, the most sterling
utility with elegance and luxury.
The non-arrival of the Montrose Peninsular
mail steamer with the mails due last week is now ec"
counted By letters received overland from Gibraltaf:
dated the 15th instant, it appears that the Great Lira
pool steamer, with the Indian mail and passencrerstAileta,
leaving Gibraltar bay, on the 10th instant,'for inery
and Alexandria, met with an accident to her mac which
which compelled her to return. The Montrose,:vcd
td
was then at Gibraltar, was therefore despte"
Malta and Alexandria with the mails and Passengeb„t
As the Montrose is a vessel of 250-horse
pow e
orf e
t
little delay may be apprehended in the course
outward or homeward India mail.
, h

•
SILVER TEA SERVICES.—A. B. ',A—, 1,0
and Suns, Alanufacturing Silversmith, No. 14, Cora& f the
(lon, opposite the Bank of England. submit the prices °,The
following SILVER TEA and COFFEE sERVICSS:eisod
Cottage Pattern is plain, standing on shell feet, the `,tirg's
coffee-pots with a flower ornament on the lids. Tb°Q snipe
Pattern is richly embossed with flowers and scrolls.
of either is new and elegant :
CO'II'AGU PATTERN.
XING'S PATTERN' y.
s. 0
Strong Silver Tea-p0t.....12 0 Strong Silver Teapot ...... i; ic,
Ditto Sugar Basin 616 Ditto Sogarßasin blO
Ditto Milk Ewer. 410 Ditto CreaolEpter. 0
Ditto Coffee-pot. 15 0 Ditto Coffee-pot
0
Complete ......... —£3B 6 Complete ... . ..... £4O
es _wr
A variety of upwards of flay Tea and Coffee Services
be seen in the Show-rooms, where may be selected every p
ablate
of Silver requisite for the sideboard or plate .chest. Pa
of prices, illustrated with sketches of the various article:-IPtiA!
and forwarded postage free to any part of the kingdom'
os'
te
11. SAVORY and SONS, No. 9 Coruhill, London, ()pr
the Bank of England.

On the 23d indsatu. ,
itiltteer
pca,orbodurfol,
On theE:. .5)
(6 I nasgtd.
a, wßifleßefTWllilSliarn Henry Cara, ES+ 01
Russell-square,
us'
On t 28th • in ll.
einst., Meeklenburgh.square, the lady 0
Weston, Esq., of a son. ell-square, the lady of George
On the 29th inst., in Upper GI t lace, the lady of
Gloucester-place, er-p
Captain Thornton, RN • ~ of a son.

MARRIED.
On the 28th inst., at Kegworth, Leicestershire, Henry
James Wallace, of Weston-street, Pentonville London, t°
Frances, second (laughter of Mr. John Roper, of 'Kegworth.
On the 29th inst., at St. Pancras Church, William Thacker,
s Charlesq,, otE
Parbury,uston-sg Esq., o
Euston-square,
seleeynm,
oyuoru.npgste. daughter
late of the
F

D
On the 26th of July last,lE
at D.
Sydney, New South Wol'
Eliza Jane, (laughter of F. Parbury, Esq., aged .ct of the late
On the 25th inst., at Northampton, 3li
Mary,
re
W. Kerr, M. D., aged 88.
On the 26th inst., Mary Ann, the wife of Mr. J. E. Killiek*

- - - - ---
London: Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNU!
No. 112. Strand. at The Sum. Office, No. 112. Strand, in
the County of Aliddlesex, Thursday, December 30,1841•