The Sun.
London, England, 1846-11-20 00:00:00

CIVIC CRITICISM.

Previous to the election of Mr. Prigg to be Mayor of
Bury St. Edmund's, on Monday, the usual compliments
were paid by his proposer and seconder as to his quali-
fications for the office. Captain Hubbard, however,
.truck a discordant note, expressing himself as follows:
He should he sorry (he said) to cast any reflection upon
the Mayor proposed, whose private character was be-
yond reproach ; yet he felt bound to pass his.opinion on
a person who was not capable of fulfilling the duties of
the office with efficiency. He did not refer to the edu-
, cation of the gentleman proposed, but bis objection ap-
plied to his impediment of speegh.
A Voice—" Wretched taste."
They had heard the magistrates of the town men-
tioned—a body of the most respectable and honourable
men in the town—and he would ask if any of those ma-
gistrates could sit under a man who, in speaking, either
rendered himself ridiculous or inflicted pain. He him-
self could say it must be a most painful thing to hear
that gentleman deliver a judgment in any case. He
offered no opposition to Mr. Prigg, because of his abili-
ties, because he had understood that Mr. Prigg had
himself asked, " Why a tailor should not possess abili-
ties as well as any one else?"—(Laughter.)—But he
(Captain Hubbard) would ask in return, if possessed of
abilities equal to taking the duties of first magistrate of
the borough, why .a tailor?—(Laughter and interrup-
tion).—He opposed Mr. Prigg because of his natural
defect. It was very true, perhaps, Mr. Prigg was a good
tradesman, but a man of dignity was required, with
merits not only reflecting upon himself, but upon the
town also. If he had been asked the last man of the
council he should choose for Mayor, he should have an-
swered Mr. Prigg, in consequence of his defect of speech.
A Voice—" Horrid, horrid."

Mr. PRIG., in returning thanks for his election, re-
marked that he was sorry in some respects that he had
been put forward, since it had caused some observation
to fall which could not be pleasurable. Some remarks
had fallen from one who would never be satisfied unless
he had the entire control. With respect to what had
fallen from Captain Hubbard about his (the Mayor's)
opinion of the abilities of tailors, he might simply ob-
serve that he had never said any thing of the kind; and
Captain Hubbard had never heard it, and he would defy
him to produce any witnesses who ever heard such words
fall from his lips. It was a story of Captain Hubbard's
own m ake.— (Lang h ter.)

TUE EVERY .014E•roa-mmsELF PRINCIPLE.—No,
certainly, it was not to attain the ignoble and immoral,
every one for himself, that so many great men, holy
martyrs of thought, have shed from epoch to epoch,
from century to century, their souls' tears, the sweat
and blood of their bodies. Beings of devotedness
and love, they laboured and suffered for something
higher than the individual, for that humanity which
ought to be the object of all our efforts, and to
which we are all responsible. Before a generation
which scorned or persecuted them, they calmly
uttered their prophetic thoughts ; with an eye
fixed on the horizon of future times, speaking to
that collective being which ever lives, which
ever learns, and in which the divine idea is pro-
gressively
realised, for that city of the human race, which
alone, by the association of all intellects, of all loves, of
all forces, can accomplish the providential design that
presided over our birth here below. We are all pledged
to one another. We all live for others ; the individual
for his family, the family for its country, the country for
humanity. We all seek the law of our life, and with us
(as in all that exists), the law of the individual is found
only in the species. We are all climbing a pyramid,
whose base embraces the earth, and whose point rises
towards God : the ascent is slow and painful, and we can
accomplish it only by entwining all our hands, by aiding
ourselves with our united strength, by closing our ranks,
like the Macedonian phalanx, when any of us fall
exhausted by fatigue.—People's Journal
TRICKS OF A JACKDAW. A few days ago, a
carriage arrived at Gilstrap's Hotel, Newark, for the
night. On the following morning, prior to starting, a
jackdaw belonging to the hotel resolved to convert the
same into an observatory. He was driven off, but John
having taken a liking to the carriage, or bent upon
having an excursion, found a hiding-place on the under-
works of the carriage; he remained unobserved, and on
arriving the following morning at the Red Lion Hotel,
Worksop, was recognised by the servant accompanying
the carriage, and by him and the hostler at the Red Lion
was driven off. He immediately mounted a " fly" in the
yard, and in a very amusing and commanding manner
called out for the " Boots." He was packed up in a
hamper and sent back to his old quarters at Newark, and
appeared to be much gratified on his return.—Derby
shire Courier.

Foil.— he Highland and west coast fishers seem
to have roused themselves up this season, as a greater
quantity of all kinds of fish is sent into market this
season than for many years by past. The herring fish-
ing has sprung up again at Tarbert, in Lochfine. The
fish are taken by the trawl net, and they weigh about
half-a-pound each, and are very fine in quality. The
fishing is very properous, and they are selling at three
for twopence, and two for three half-pence.—Greenock
Advertiser.

- -
[ADVERTISEMENT.]---ANOTHER EXTRAORDINARY
COSH OF ASTHMA BY HOLLOWAY'S PlLLS.—PatriCk Casey, resid-
ing at Compton-place, Brunswick-square, had suffer, d from a
chronic asthma for more than three years. This poor man was so
great a sufferer that 120 did not dare to go to bed for fear of the
phlegm choking hm ; indeed he could not even lay his head upon the
table for half an hour lest he should be suffocated; nevertheless this
person is now labouring from morning till night, sleeps as well as
ever he did in his life, and, In fact, is completely cured by the use of
Holloway's M 9. Sold (also Holloway's Ointment) at Professor Hol-
loway's Establishment, 244, Strand, and by almost all r•Spectable
vendors of medicine throughout the civilised world.

NEWPORT PAGNEL STEEPLE CHACE.
4 to 1 agst Mr. Lambden's Discount—taken. ,
6 to 1 eget Mr. Power's Saucepan—taken.
No others mentioned.
DERBY.
15 to 2 agst Lord Eglinton's Van Tromp—taken to 50/.
18 to 1 agst Mr. Mostyn's Planet—offered.
28 to 1 agst Mr. Payne's Sister to Cobweb colt—t to 1004
4,000 to 10 agst Sir R.-Pigot'a Conyngliam—taken.
NEWPORT PAGNEL STEEPLE CHASES.
YESTERDAY.

A Free Handicap Hurdle Race of o sous. each, with 50 added
The second to save his stake. Gentlemen riding, qualified
as for the Aristocrat Steeple Chase, allowed 51bs. Two
miles.
Captain Gambier's The Red Lancer, list 61b (Capt. Little) 1
Mr. Oakey's Valeria, lOst 71b .....
Mr Evans's Red Streak, lOst 131 b ,
The following also started, but were not placed :—Mr.
Smith's Miriam, Mr. Mare's Spectator, Mr. Elmore's Everton
Lord Strathmore's Secundus, Mr. Hall's Trafalgar, Mr.
Hawkin's Teresa, Sir H. Bruce's Evergreen, Mr. Borill nd
Tomboy, Mr. H. Smith nd Elimea, Mr. Battam's Sir Harry
Smith. Won by a neck.
The Aristocrat Steeple Chase of 20 soya. each, 10 ft, 12st
each ; winners extra. Gentlemen riders.

Mr. Cooper's Little John (Capt. Broadley)
Captain W, Peel nd The Return
Captain Gambier's Resolution
The following also started, but were not placed :—Lon
Strathmore's Eugene Sue, and Captain Boyd's Mahomet
Won in a canter.

•• • ••• 2

Latest betting on the Annual Steeple Chase:-4 to 1 ags
Lord Strathmore's Switcher-5 to 1 agst Mr. Lambden's Dis,
count. No others mentioned.

JOHN BULL'S TWO DIFFICULTIES.
(From Punch.)
Oh ! my name it is John Bull, with my waistcoat all so
full,
And my pockets all so heavy with the rhino ;
With my cattle and my crops, and my merchandise and
shops,
I am better off than any man that I know.
Yes; I'm better off than any man that I know,
Much better off than any man that I know;
Though I say it, that should not, such possessions I
have got,
That I'm better off than any man that I know.
I have warehouses and docks, I have bridges, I have
locks,
Quite unrivall'd in their plan and execution;
And I build the very best of private dwellings 'tis confest,
But I cannot build a public institution.
No ; I fail at a public institution,
Always stick at a public institution ;
My invention is so dull, that I always make a mull,
When I build any public institution.

If with me you fain would try, Oh ye foreigners ! to vie
At a tunnel er a steam-engine—have at you!
To construct a man-of-war I'm the best of hands, by far,
But hang me if I can make a statue !
No, drat it ! I can't make a statue !
Confound it ! I can't make a statue !
Though I try with all my might, I can never do it
right—
Botheration ! I can't make a statue I

IMPORTANT DECISION.

EFFECT OF THE POTATO-ROT ON THE OBLIGATIONS OF

TENANTS.

A most important decision has just been given in the
Justice of Peace Court, Dundee, in respect to the liability
of tenants for rent in case of their possessions being
ravaged by the potato-rot. It has long been an under
stood point in the law of Scotland, that where a farm is
reduced to utter sterility by a storm, inundation, or other
extraordinary calamity, no rent can be exacted. It also
appears to be firmly settled, that although the damage
be only partial, yet, if it be permanent, the tenant is en
titled to renounce the lease, unless a deduction is allowed
from the tack•duty. But in a case more likely to occur
than either of these, where the damage, though great, is
neither total nor permanent, there has been considerable
dubiety among authorities. Erskine lays it down, that
the rule of the Roman law is adopted in our own, by
which no rent is due " if inundation, the calamity ot
war, the corruption of the air, or the inclemency of the
weather, by earthquakes, lightnings, &c., hath brought
upon the crop, damages plusquam talerabile ;" that is t(
say, more than can be borne. The same high authority
states, that though it is not exactly defined what will
amount to such damage, it is the common opinion that
rent is due if the produce of the crop exceed the expense
of the seed and tillage. Mr. Bell, however, states gene-
rally, that if the damage be not permanent, but only
temporary or occasional, it will not entitle the tenant to
relief. But he allows that the decisions go further thar
this, and adds that, as the tenant takes the risk of the
seasons, it must at least be some extraordinary event
that will justify such a decision." The case to which
we now refer, has, to the extent of its authority, settled
the point according to Erskine, and we are inclined t,•
think that it is quite in accordance with the tenor of the
law of Scot)and, and will be followed in other courts. It
will be fond under our Forfarshire bead. The defenders
whose cases depended on it, were sub-tenants holding
potato patches from farmers, and about fifty in number.
The Justice, on the authority of the dictum laid down in
Erskine, allowed a proof of the almost total failure of the
crop ; and on evidences being led to that effect, assoil
zied all the defenders, with the exception of one whose
crop had been taken up early and in good condition.
We are disposed to think that this decision is not only
according to law, but also according to equity ; and w,
may be allowed to express a hope that landlords will
neither incur nor cause legal expenses, by having identi-
cal cases tried in other courts. It is, of course, hard
that they should lose their rent ; but as it is simply a
portion of the produce, it cannot be exacted where then
is no produce to divide. It is one of the worst features
of Irish landlordism, that it is attempted to direct the ma-
chinery of law upon poor squatters who had not a potato
to eat, and whose lives have been preserved only by
British charity.—Edinburgh Weekly Register.