The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-18 00:00:00

EVEN IN G. MAY 18, 1847.

Baron of Besborough, in the Peerage of Ireland;
and as Baron Ponsonby, of Sysonby and Duncannon,
in the Peerage of Great Britain. His Lordship was
closely allied to the most distinguished families of the
Liberal aristocracy, through his mother, Lady
HENRIETTA FRANCES, daughter of the first Earl
SPENCER, and his grandmother, Lady CAROLINE,
eldest daughter of WILLIAM, third Duke of DEVON -
SIIIRE. The loss of this eminent servant of the
Crown will very long be lamented, and his recent
labours in Ireland cannot speedily be forgotten.

We had hoped that, severe as have been, and
doubtless still are, the privations of the lower
classes, consequent upon the excessive prices to which
the necessaries of life, more especially bread, have
been raised, we should have passed over the present
crisis without the exhibition of such painful and dis-
graceful scenes as occurred in Exeter on Friday last.
We derived our hope, first, from the conviction that
the distressed condition of the humbler orders would
not be much longer protracted ; next, from the feel-
ing of gratitude on the part of our poorer country-
men towards the affluent for the munificent benevo-
lence they have displayed in all directions, and in
every shape, ever since the evil of scarcity
has threatened the land, and, lastly, from the
known love of order and loyalty for which Englishmen
from the highest to the lowest are peculiarly charac-
terised beyond any other civilised race. We regret
that our hope has been partially dispelled, and the
more so because, since the law is sure to be promptly
and efficaciously vindicated, it frequently happens, in
the prosecution of rioters, that ignorant and mis-
guided persons are made to feel the severe penalties
of justice in common with the worst principled and
most infuriated of their illegal coadjutors. For up-
wards of three hours on Friday afternoon the city of
Exeter was exposed to the unbridled license of a nu-
merous and clamorous mob. The potato merchant,
the corn merchant, and the baker were severally at-
tacked in different parts of the town. Severe injuries
were inflicted both on their persons and properties.
Whilst some bakers saved their windows by pitching
out their loaves among the excited multitude, others,
who did the very same thing, could not succeed in
preserving their premises from injury. The most
lamentable feature ,throughout this flagrant breach
of the law is, that it commenced with some
frenzied women, who had determined upon adopt-
ing the most violent means for furnishing food to
their famishing children. Every one must sympa-
thise with the desperate condition of those unfortu-
nate creatures, at the same time that all must condemn
the insane folly of their proceedings. Withdrawing our
mind from this disgraceful outbreak, we turn to
the agreeable duty of informing our readers, that the
intelligence we are daily receiving confirms our pre-
vious impression that our social condition will soon
be improved. The bullion is increasing in the Bank ;
money matters are conducted with less stringency
than they were three weeks since ; every twenty-
four hours enhance the quantity of our imports in
grain ; from the Baltic, Egypt, and America, we
shall soon be receiving immense supplies already
contracted for; and, what is still more important and
cheerful, the appearances of the coming harvest
throughout Europe at large, are represented as of
the most promising kind. In a short time, therefore,
the country will have securely passed the goal of in
quietude.