The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-11 00:00:00

CORN-LAW CRISIS.
(From the Liverpool Albion.)
The debate on the issue of which, in till probability,
depends whether the Whigs or the Tories shall govern,
commenced on Friday evening, in the Hour of Commons.
Lord John Russell expounded the Mimsterial policy
in a very able and statesman-like speech, and moved
the resolution which will be found in our ad-
stract of the debate. Lord Sandon met the resolu-
tion by an amendment, which will also be found in
its proper place. The representative of this great
commercial town, the inhabitants of which are more
deeply concerned than those of any other town
in the kingdom in the utmost freedom of trade,
stood forth the opponent of the greatest mea-
sure proposed in our time for the establishment of
the principle, and the champion of the West India and
other oppressive monopolies. We have, in another
article, remarked on his Lordship's conduct, which
we leave to be dealt with as it ought by those of
his supporters whose enlightened and strenuous efforts to
promote the principles of free trade he has done his ut-
most to frustrate. The debate was adjourned until this
evening. It is not expected to close before Wednesday
morning, when the division will take place.
The division, according to the prevalent opinion, will
be adverse to Ministers, though the majority against
them will not, it is calculated, be large. The Tories to a
man will vote for Lord Sandon's amendment, reckless of
the consequences which the rejection of the budget may
cause to the finances of the country, and merely
intent on the acquisition of office for their party. While
their assailants are compact and united, the Ministers
are doomed to meet them with a weakened force. The
proposal to admit sugar the produce of slave labour
has frightened from their ranks the party called
" saints," headed by Dr. Lushington ; while the
project for modifying the Corn-law, by admitting fo-
reign corn at a fixed duty, has driven away the agricul-
turists, at the head of whom is Mr. Handley. Both Dr.
Lushington and Mr. Handley attempted, on Friday night,
to justify their desertion of the Government "at its
utmost need," and they were, of course, vocifer-
ously cheered by the Tories for conduct which
is very natural, but not very creditable to their
patriotism. Under such circumstances, a miracle
will be required to prevent a defeat on the
division ; and there is no reason to expect a
political miracle on behalf of Ministers at the
present moment. Whether, if defeated, they will resign,
remains to be seen. Reports differ on the subject. The
opinion most prevalent in the political circles is, that they
will resign instanter, and give the Tories the long and
anxiously desired opportunity of undertaking the direc-
tion of affairs.
Whatever turn things may take,—whether the Govern-
ment may continue in the hands of the Whigs, or be trans-
ferred to those of the Tories, the present agitation has
made one thing certain,—monopoly is doomed. Like
leviathan, when pierced and made desperate by
the harpoons of its assailants, it may flounder and
plunge, and even,--in—tEe --iiolence of its agony, excite
temporary alarm in the breasts of its enemies ; but its
fate is sealed : die it must, and that right soon. Should,
therefore, Lord Sandon's amendment be carried, the mo-
nopolists, whether home or colonial, will have little
cause to rejoice at his Lordship's success. It will merely
give them a brief respite. Against the monopolies of
sugar, and timber, and corn, the decree has gone forth,
and they will, ere long, share the fate of the once formid-
able and almost impregnable monopoly of the trade to
the East. The Tories, once more in office, could no
more save the former from destruction than they could
revive the latter. They cannot, any more than the
Whigs, resist the force of public opinion, which is
decidedly hostile to every system which taxes
the many for the benefit of the few ; while the financial
necessities of the State, which have their foundation in
" the monumental debt of England," the work of
Tory hands, will compel them to make altera-
tions in our fiscal system which shall, without
increasing the load of taxation under which the country
now staggers, suffice to meet the wants of the times.
Soon will the Tories be made to feel the truth of Dry-
den's couplet—
"'Tis easy conduct when exchequers flow,
But hard the task to manage well the low."
The prospect now presented to the foes of monopoly is
encouraging. Their course must continue to be " Agita-
tion—agitation—agitation." Amidst the strifes and the
struggles of party, the good cause is certain to prosper.
For our part, we shall not be surprised to see the Tories
carrying into effect the very measures of free trade for
proposing which they are, according to every appearance,
about to turn out the Whigs.
(From the Wexford Independent.)
The reduction of the sugar duty is such a boon to the
poor—a novelty in legislation that almost compels us to
deny credence to the evidence of our senses, whilst we
read the expose of the Chancellor—that it recommends
itself to the support of every wise and benevolent indi-
vidual in the empire ; and the repeal of the Corn-laws—
the great crowning question of all—we cannot designate
otherwise than a mighty revolution whose effects on the
destinies of these countries time only can develope.
(From the Northern Whig.)
We think it by no means unlikely, but, on the con-
trary, exceedingly probable, that the question of the
Corn-laws will be the matter chiefly to be decided by a
general election, at no remote day ; for we consider it
very doubtful whether any wise change will be conceded
by the existing Parliament. It, therefore, becomes the
more necessary that the public mind should be familiarised
with the subject ; and that it should be prepared, as well
may be, for coming to a right determination. Men o f
Ireland, and especially those of you—the vast mass—who
have to toil for your bread, let the fact sink deep into
your souls, let it remain there as the goading reply to all
the imposition that may be attempted upon you—that
the object—ay, and the declared object—of the Corn-laws
is, to make your bread dear, thus affording you little to
eat, and leaving you little to spare for clothing and other
necessaries of life. We call, most earnestly and most
solemnly, upon every industrious man, from the mer-
chant to the daily labourer, to consider this state of
things. The carpenter, the mason, the shoemaker, in
short, every tradesman would have something more to
spend upon his wife and children, or for his own com-
fort, if this cruel law did not step in and snatch a part
of his earnings from his hand, by compelling him to pay
too much for his daily bread

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE DAILY PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.

GLOBE.—The period has now arrived for the people
of England to show that they can be true to themselves ;
for, by a prompt and powerful expression of their senti-
ments, they have now an opportunity of facilitating the
execution of the Ministerial plan for placing on a new
foundation the commercial prosperity of the country,
and materially ameliorating the condition of the great
mass of the community. The proposition of the Go-
vernment to revise the Corn-laws—even when uncon-
nected with any other portion of their financial scheme
—may be regarded as one of the most important benefits
that have occurred from the passing of the Reform Bill.
When it is remembered with what anxious energy the
adoption of that Bill was demanded and obtained, it
may be conceived with what determination the people
will insist on securing one of the most desirable of the
many advantages that have been expected to result from
it. After so much pains to sow the seed, it is not likely
that the great body of the nation will feel indifferent
about the harvest, and the revision of the Corn-laws will
henceforth be the object that will be pursued with the
perseverance and energy which no people—least of all
the people of this country—can for any length of time
unsuccessfully exercise. The wish of a community is
one thing ; its determination that the wish shall be ac-
complished is quite another. While an alteration in
the Corn-laws was merely desired, there was no certainty
of any change ; but public opinion once being decided
that a revision of the law shall take place, it becomes from
that moment a matter of imperative necessity. Whatever,
therefore, may be the game of the Tories, though they
may snatch a temporary advantage from one of those
side-moves in which they are so eminently expert, they
will encounter ultimate defeat in their tactics on the
question of the Corn-laws.

STANDARD. THE MINISTERIAL CRISIS.
The following is a later view of the crisis than we have
given elsewhere. Sir Robert Peel's determination may be
relied on :—Ministers are understood to be desirous of
protracting the debate upon Lord Sandon's motion, and
do not expect a division, it is said, before Wednes-
day: Why they should prefer this seems odd, unless they
desire to provoke a few more speeches like Dr. Lush-
ington's and Mr. Handley's. The amount of the
majority seems uncertain, as it is impossible
to tell how many of the Ministerial men will
vote against them, and how many, in shame
and sorrow, may absent themselves. The precise extent
is however indifferent, and whether it be fifteen or
fifty the one effect will be the same. It is 'likely to
be somewhere between these points, probably twenty-
five. The inclination of opinion fluctuates as to the
probability of dissolution, or resignation without dis-
solving. In favour of the former there is no one
argument beyond the desperate character of Minis-
ters, and their likelihood to take any plunge
that holds out even a shadow of hope. It is
possible that, calculating on their power to dis-
pose of the troops in Ireland so as to
give all the scope to the violence of the priests and
their mobs, and thus to buy the returns by blood-
shed, and hoping also to embarrass the in-com-
ing Ministry by forcing them to a second dissolution,
they may advise the Queen to that course. There
are, however two reasons against `this. In the first
place, it is well understood that Sir R. Peel, on suc-
ceding to office, will instantly dissolve a second time,
and thus annihilate any gains that the Government may
hope to get by bribery, influence, or violence. He
must have the power of doing so as a matter of
course, and do it he will. Thus the Whig gentry will
have two general elections within the summer instead of
one; the operation being to give the Conservatives the
full development of their legitimate force by the second,
of which the Ministers think to defraud them by the first.
The other reason is, that an instant dissolution by
the Whigs will in one way serve the Conservatives iiia-
terially—it will put them in an instant majority, and
thus prevent all chamber plots and back-stairs after-
trickery. The sooner a general election comes, the
sooner will the real strength of constitutional Conserva-
tism be exhibited, and their tenure of power confirmed.

At Bow-street yesterday, Jones, the father of the
boy who was committed for three months. for being found
in Buckingham Palace, was charged with stealing some
lilac from one of the plantations in the enclosure of St.
James's Park on Sunday. One of the constables proved
seeing him come out of the plantation with the lilac, and
then took him into custody. In his defence he said he
was very sorry for what he had done. Mr. Hall asked
him if he had any money ? He said he had not. Mr.
Hall said I know you have a large family to support, and
that you are poor, and under all the circumstances you
may be discharged, but mind you never do it again. The
old man promised lie would not, and WAS liberated.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF QUEENS BENCH, May 10.
THE QUEEN V. THE BRISTOL DOCK COMPANY.

The COURT gave judgment in this case. It was an
appeal by the defendants from a rate made for the relief
of the poor in the parish of Clifton, in which the Com-
pany were assessed for a certain sum in respect of Cum-
berland-basin, with the docks, gates, wharfs, quays, &c.
It appeared that the Company had been formed under
the provisions of an Act 43 George the Third, for
theimprovement of the port of Bristol. The Company
purchased eleven acres of land in the parish of Clifton,
on which they had erected Cumberland-basin. The
queltion the Court had to consider was, whether the ap-
pellants were to be rated in respect of their property in
that parish in the same proportion as other land in the
vicinity, at its value as pasture or meadow-land, or whe-
ther they should, in addition, pay the increased
value which the land was worth in respect of certain
tolls and dues levied by the appellants. The question
turned a good deal upon the construction of the 64th
section of the Act, which referred to the manner in
which the Company were to pay their land and other
taxes. After citing the provisions of the section, the
Court said that, on the whole, they were of opinion
that the assessment should be reduced to the sum of
31. 7s. 6d., being at the rate of ls. in the pound upon 67/.
10s., the value of the Company's property in that parish
as pasture or meadow land.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, May 10.
TRIAL AT BAR.

Before the LORD CHIEF JUSTICE, Mr. Justice BOSANQUET,
Mr. Justice COLTMAN, Mr. Justice ERSKINE, and a Mid-
dlesex Special Jury.
PADDOCK V. FORRESTER AND OTHERS.

This action was brought to recover damages for injury
done to the plaintiff's property by the defendants pushing a
mine and extracting coal from beds lying under the land near
Newcastle-under-Lyne, of which the plaintiff is copyholder—
the defendants being the agents of the Earl of Granville who
holds under the Duchy of Lancaster.
The case for the plaintiff is conducted by Mr. Sergeant
Talfourd, Mr. Sergeant Channell, Mr. Sergeant Wrangham,
and Mr. Sergeant Glove. The defendants' Counsel were the
Solicitor-General, Mr. Sergeant Bompas, and Mr. Ellis, who
appeared on the part of the Duchy of Lancaster, of which he is
Attorney-General. _ _

The Case having occupied the whole of the day was adjourned
to this day.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

OLD COURT.

Henry Allshorne, 20, was indicted for stealing a quan-
tity of saddles, value 601., the property of his employer,
Mr. Buist, a saddler, in Moorfields, and James Edward
Allshorne, 49, the father of the first-mentioned prisoner,
was indicted for feloniously receiving the property,
knowing it to have been stolen.
A lengthened investigation took place, and, at the
:close of the evidence Mr. CHARNOCH took an objection,
that the charge of receiving was not made out, inasmuch
as the elder prisoner had never, except in one instance
only, been in possession of the property itself, but merely
of the duplicates referring to it.
The RECORDER thought the objection valid, and di-
rected the Jury to acquit the elder prisoner.
The Jury found Henry Allshorne Guilty.
The prisoner, Henry Allshorne, was then indicted for
stealing, one saddle, the property of his employer, and
the elder prisoner with feloniously receiving the same
saddle, knowing it to have been stolen.
The facts of this case were the same as the last, with
the exception that Mr. Tollett proved that he purchased
a saddle of the elder prisoner for 1/., and he told him
that his son had made the saddle while he was out of
work. This saddle was identified by the prosecutor,
but upon his being cross-examined, he was unable to
state positively that it had not been sold, and the Court
directed an acquittal as regarded both prisoners.
The prisoner, Henry Allshorne, was then brought up
to receive judgment upon the indictment upon which he
had been found guilty, and the RECORDER sentenced
him to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for two
years ; and at the same time observed that but for a be-
lief entertained by the Court that he had been induced
to commit the offence by his father, he would most cer-
tainly have been transported for the full term. The
Recorder at the same time observed that he had no hesi-
tation in saying that if the father had been convicted, he
should have felt it to be his duty to order him to be
transported.

Joseph Osborn surrendered to take his trial upon an
indictment charging him with unlawfully driving three
pigs, infected with a contagious disease, into Smithfield
market, whereby the safety of the other cattle in the
market was endaigered.
Mr. PAYNE appeared for the defence.

The prosecutCi; was a butcher, named Townsend, and
it appeared that he had purchased the pigs in question
of the defendant at Smithfield market, and when he got
them home he found they were in a very diseased state,
and one of them died soon afterwards and the other
two were destroyed. The witnesses caused some merri-
ment by their description of the character of the malady
„with which the pigs were attacked.. One of them said
`that they were "broken winded" and had the black
fever, and another said that they were " measely," and
they expressed their opinion that the disorder was de-
cidedly an " affectionate" one. There was no actual
proof in support of the allegation that the disease was
contagious, and upon this ground the defendant was
acquitted.

The RECORDER took occasion to observe that although
according to the form of the present indictment, the de-
fendant could not be convicted, yet it must be dearly
understood that if parties drove diseased animals into a
public market they committed a serious offence, and if
this indictment had been framed in a different manner
the present defendant might have been subjected to both
fine and imprisonment.
POLICE INTELLIGENCE.