The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-11 00:00:00

THE -SUN, LUNDO N, MONDAY 1110 r N

MARYLEBONE VESTRY.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR AND TEE SMALL

DEBTS BILL.

On Saturday a very numerous meeting of the Mary-
lebone Vestry took place ; Mr. John Williams in the
chair.

Messrs. Belton, Ratbbone, Cooke, Temple, and several
other gentlemen, waited upon the vestry as a deputation
from a meeting of the St. Marylebone Parochial Com-
mittee, held on Thursday last, for the purpose of present-
ing a memorial calling on the vestry to take immediate
steps for preventing, if possible, the plan hid down by
her Majesty's Privy Council for dividing the parish of
Marylebone' with other parishes, for the formation of
local courts districts.

Mr. BELTON said that the meeting, of which the depu-
tation were the representatives, felt exceedingly disap-
ponted, after the struggle which the ratepayers of
Marylebone had made for many years past for a Local
Courts Bill, that the parish of Marylebone had not been
formed into a district by itself. Under the plan laid
down by the Privy Council the parish was divided in the
following manner :—The division proposed was at Glou-
cester-place, and westward it extended a circuit of ten
or twelve miles, taking in Paddington, Willesden, and
Twyford. The eastern division of the parish was to be
joined with St. Pancras and Bloomsbury, extending from
Gloucester-place to Gray's Inn-road.
Mr. SODEN wished to know what communication had
taken place with the Lord Chancellor ?
Mr. FLOOD, the vestry clerk, said he first communi-
cated with the Lord Chancellor by forwarding to his
Lordship the resolution of the vestry on the Ist of Sep-
tember last. To this he received no answer, and fear-
ing his letter had miscarried he went to his Lordship's
house. The Lord Chancellor was out of town ; and he,
in consequence, again wrote to his Lordship, but up to
that moment had received no reply.—(Shame.)
Mr. NICHOLLY was much surprised at the uncourte•
ous behaviour which had been exhibited by so high a
functionary as the Lord Chancellor to the vestry. In
common civility he ought to have answered the commu-
nication.

Mr. Wlmole then moved that the following memorial
be forthwith presented to her Majesty's Privy Council:
" To the Right Honourable the Privy Council
,of her
Most Gracious Majesty.
" The humble memorial of the representative vestry of
St. Marylebone in vestry assembled,
" Showeth—That your memorialists most respectfully
express the regret with which they have found that it is
intended to divide the parish of St. Marylebone, and
unite it with other parishes for the erection of a local
court. They therefore do most earnestly beg that the
Right Hon. her Majesty's Privy Council will reconsider
such their intention, and give to the parish of St. Mary-
lebone a local court of its own, which the number of its
inhabitants (150,000) and its rental of 850,0002 so justly
entitles it to.

After a few observations from Mr. VANHEI3IS, in
opposition, the resolution was carried with one dis-
sentient.

DEFICIENCY IN THE PAROCHIAL FUNDS TO

MEET THE DISTRESS OF THE POOR.
Mr. DANIELL brought forward a motion relative to
the financial state of the parish. He said he had been
induced to bring forward the subject owing to the parish
having overdrawn to the amount of 50/. on the poor-
rate account. This he considered had arisen from the
board of directors and guardians having asked for a sum
less by 3,0001. than the estimate, which amounted to
4,5001.

It was moved that a resolution embodying this state-
ment be forwarded to the directors of the poor.
Sir J. llAminTort said, he thought that the circum-
stances which led to so large an increase in the expendi-
ture were such as no human foresight could have antici-
pated. The prices of provisions had risen in a most un-
expected degree. In 1846 flour was but 41s. 6d. per
sack, now it was 535. 3d. ; cheese in 1846 was 575. per
hundred weight, in 1847 it was 625.; oatmeal per cwt.
was lls. 6(1., now it is 16s. 9,1.; barley was 13s. 6d.,and
now 14i. 3d.; peas, per bushel, were 7s. 6d., now they
wars Bs. 6d.; and with regard to potatoes, whilst itilBl6
they were obtained for 755. per ton, they had gradually
risen to 1205., and now they were 190 s. per ton.—(Hear,
hear.) All this, c( upled with the fact that they had
given 9.819 meals to the casual and houseless, and that
there was an increase of nearly 3,000 as compared
with last year ; or nearly 9,000 in all, he thought
showed that the board of directors and guardians were
not blameable in the matter.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. WALPOLE EYRE said, the fact was that the
workhouse was now so full that they could not let an-
other person in.

After some further observations the resolution was
adopted.

THE REGENT'S CANAL RAILWAY.
Sir P. LAURIE expressed to the vestry his gratification
at the course they had ado?ted on the previous Saturday.
with respect to the projected Regent's Canal Railway
He had communicated with the Secretary of State on the
matter, and had received a letter from Mr. Phillips, in-
forming him that the views of the inhabitants of the
Regent's Park were accorded in.—(Hear, hear.) Ho had
also received a communication from Mr. Jardine, the
mag,is rate, stating that if the railway was carried he
must leave the park ; and from the owner of twenty
houses, stating if the Regent's Canal Company ob-
tained their Bill his property would be ruined.—
(Hear, hear.) The Royal Botanic Society, as well as
the Zyolo,gical Society, had also intimated their inten•
tion of offs ring the most determined opposition.
The vestry then adjourned.

COMPOSITION OF THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES,—
The Chamber of Deputies is composed of 459 members,
contains sixty-six lawyers or notaries, seven physicians,
I forty-four officers of the army, either on half pay or in
active service ; two officers of the navy, in active ser-
vice ; eighty-two magistrates, fifty-two administrators,
thirteen civil engineers, twenty-seven merchants or
bankers, eight manufacturers, eight iron-masters, nine
ministers, fifteen members of the institute, fifteen
matists, and six. literary men, three of whom are chief
editors of daily newspapers. The remaining 115 depu-
ties are mostly landed proprietors.
SURRENDER WITHOUT FIGHTING.—M. Marin, a
lieutenant in the 15th Regiment of Light Infantry, was
lately tried by a court-martial at Oran for having capitu-
lated in the open country without fighting, an offence
punishable with death by the Ist and 2d articles of the
Imperial decree of the Ist of May, 1812. M. Marin was
sent on the 27th of September, 1843, to conduct from
Tlemcen to Ain Temouchen a detachment of 200 men,
escorting a convoy of 20,000 ball cartridges; all those
men had been discharged from the hospital, and not
more than fifty were sufficiently recovered to perform
active duty. They were suddenly surrounded by a large
body of Arabs, under the command of Abd-el-Bader,
and Lieutenant Marin, finding it useless to resist, capitu-
lated. The accused having been brought to the bar,
questioned the competency of the Court, and refused to
reply to the questions addressed to him by Colonel
Gachot, its president. M. Lebon, his counsel, contended
that the charter of 1830 had abolished military commis-
sions and extraordinary tribunals, and that the decree of
1812, not having been sanctioned by the Legislature, was
unconstitutional. The Court having retired to delibe-
rate, soon afterwards returned, and pronounced itself
competent, in virtue of the said decree, and of a decision
of the Court of Cassation of the 9th of December, 1829
It accordingly proceeded to examine the witnesses, and
the prisoner having persisted in his system of defence,
was condemned to death. The sentence was immediately
afterwards read to him in presence of the assembhd
guard, and Colonel Gachot, moreover, notified to him
that he had ceased to be a member of the Legion of
Honour. He was then removed to the military prison,
where he was to await the decision of the Supreme
Court.

ALMSHOUSES FOR PRINTERS.—We are gratified to
learn that the executors of the late Praed, Esq., have
devoted the sum of 50/, from a large sum left by this
benevolent individual for charitable purposes, to the
objects contemplated by the originators of this institu-
tion. We are also informed that the committee enter-
tain the most sanguine expectation of being in a position
to lay the foundation-stone of the asylum in a few
months; and we can but wish them success in so prah e-
worthy a design as securing a home for the declining
days of their aged fellow-workmen.
RISE OF THE THAMES.—I have noticed, for nearly
half a century, the gradual and regular rise of the waters
of the river Thames. My attention was first drawn to it
by finding that extreme high tides were not preceded,
nor succeeded, by similar tides. These were recorded
by the watermen of the Westminster Ilorselerry, by
notches cut by them on a post there, ere the post was re
h moved when the street was raised. I now observe, that
professional men in reporting on some localities, such as
Westminster, say that the sewers there ware originally
too low. But it appears that the said sewers were high
enough when they were first made, but are not so now,
owing to the rise of the river. It appears that lam the
first person who has noticed a circumstance so univer-
sally, continuously evident. The architects of modern,
as well as ancient buildings, were not aware of it, as will
be too plainly seen by referring to the floor of West-
minster Hall, the upper line of the starlings of old
London-bridge, the gate of Lambeth Palaee, the York
Water-gate, Adelphi, the level of the wharfs there, &c.
The ground line or plinth of the palatial houses of Par-
liament is already below the level of extreme high tides.
The difference of the rise of the highest tide before the
Parliament Houses were burnt down, to the last highest
tide, viz., in December, 1845, is but ten inches. The
preceding highest tide was in October, 1841. These
two tides were very carefully noticed at the "Fox under
the Hill," Adelphi, the people there being up at the late
hours both these tides occurred at ; the difference was

exactly one inch ; the lines of elevation are painted in
the tap room there.—Correspondent of the Builder.
A IVIFE 31111MDERED BY HER HUSBAND.—The
secluded village of Caldbeck was thrown into a state of
great excitement and alarm on Wednesday last, by the

—rumour that ►Villiam Stalker had murdered his wife

aged about fifty years, on the preceding
rvmeneie at
Willie Stall ,e • has been for many years a respectable
Willie Riddings, where he brought up a largo family,
and was about to quit the farm, and keep a grocer's shop
in Caldbeck. On Tuesday evening last, he and his
wife
went to the farm to milk the cows, and on their not rc;
turning at the usual time, about two hours afterwards
one of the sons repaired to the farm to look after his
father and mother, and on entering the house, fell over
something lying on the floor, when he fainted. On re-
covering, he returned tolCaldbeekand other persons went
back to the farm-hou=e, who found poor Mrs. Stalker
lying Murdered on the floor. From the black marks
which were discovered on both sides of her neck, it was
presumed that she had been strangled. Her dy
then removed to Caldbeek, to her disconsolatebo famil
Search was then made for the murderer, who was founds
the next morning sitting under a hedge in one of his
own fields, and confessed that be had murdered his wife
by strangulation. Stalker has been in a state of mental
debility for some time past. The family is one of the
most respectable in the locality. An inquest was held,
and a verdict of Wilful Murder returned. Stalker was
immediately committed for trial.—Shetfield Iris.