The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-10 00:00:00

,
OCTOBER 10, 1846.
.iter

such dangerous destinies that they are the persons whe,
by themselves, furnish by their daily toil no inconsider-
able portion of the stupendous processes of our English
manufactures—that they must be the wives and com-
panions of the great mass of the English workmen—that
they must be the mothers of the coming generations of
those. Who are to succeed their fathers in the vrst inhe-
ritance of English labour—that they, by a law the ne-
cessity of which they' cannot escape, must stamp the
character and habits of the rising ra:ce of our country s
artisans and labourers ; wben they are invested
with. such mighty responsibility, both for good and
for evil, I trust that you, my friends, will not al-
togetbdr refuse your assent, your exertions, your
contributions to this unostentatious and well-considered
plan to avert a 3 much as possible of the evil which is ac-
tually impending, and to secure as much as possible of
the good which, if you fail us not, may be attained. (At
the conclusion of his Lordship's eloquent address he was
greeted with hearty applause.)
W. BUSFEILD, Esq., M.P., in a few remarks expres-
sive of his decided sympathy in the cause of the meeting,
seconded the resolution, which was put and adopted
unanimously.
The Rev. WALTER ScoTT, President of the Airedsile
College, then moved a resolution embracing the plans
suggested by the committee for carrying out the objects
of the meeting. These were-1. The provision of
boarding-houses in different parts of the town, conducted
under economical arrangements. 2. By the register of
other lodging-houses kept by private: parties; and certi-
fied as clean and well-conducted places' of abode; 3.
The establishment of evening schools for instruction in
general. 4. The organisation of a general sick society
on sound financial principles, and the encouragement
and facilitation' of depositing money in savings' banks.
Subsequently a committee . was formed to carry out
these various objects, consisting of the clergy, dissenting
ministers, and the leading gentry of the district. - Other
resolutions were
.passed calling upon all classes in the

Esq , J. L. tt oster,ll7q., the Rev. IL Dawson, William
Rand, Esq , the Rev. J. Glyde, the Rev. R. Ingham, the
Rev. Mr. Ryland, William Lythall, Esq., and Robert
Baker, Esq. The last-named gentleman, who is the fac-
tory-inspector of the district, pourtrayed in feeling
terms the apparently uncared-for condition of our female
factory operatives, and expressed his cordial approval of
a movement at once so necessary and philanthropic as
that which they had now originated.
All the resolutions were passed unanimously, and the
proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks given by
acclamation to the Rev. Dr. Scoresby.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE MORNING PIPERS OF YESTERDAY.

TIMES.—The position of the Minister whom the
progress of events, the struggles of party, the workings
of public opinion, and even the vicissitudes of the sky,
have conspired to place at the, head of this realm, is one
which a moralist might select to cure the most insatiable
and most daring ambition. In the approaches of a fil-
m*, aggravated by a social disorder which centuries
have been nursing, it is his tremendous responsibility to
hold the key of the national store. A few years—al-
most a few months—since, it was pointed out to the ad-
miration of England that the manufacturing masses of
Lancashire, deprived of employment, sat down to die in
the sight of warehouses full to ovei flsvving with food.
That was a noble spectacle, and it has told. Resigna
tion has wrought a miracle such as the boldest agitators
did not venture to expect. Would that either
the case were as simple, the remedy as obvious, the peo-
ple as resigned, in the present instance. An island, a
social state, a race is to be changed. The Surface of
the land, its divisions, its culture, its proprietors, its oc-
cupiers, its habitations, iteainanners, its law, its lan-
guage, and the heart of a peop'e who for two thousand
years have remained unalterable within the compass of
those mighty changes which have given us European
civilisation, are all to be created anew. .That is only
part of the task which a destiny that seems to mock
alike the aspirations of benevolence and of an bition, im-
poses on the Minister of this State. Ile has not only to
feed the people out of an insufficient store, but change
their very nature meantime. Should he fail both to
meet the crisis and improve the opportunity, he sill be
reproached not only with the horrors of instant famine,
but with helping to perpetuate' a national degradation:
There is a melancholy concurrence in the opinions of
most Irishmen that five years at least must elapse before
in any part of Ireland the peasantry will be able to raise
a new species of food. And even this hypothesis is
made on grounds more favourable than a minute con,
temptation of the case warrants us in assuming. Five
years must elapse before even the more docile and trac-
table portion of the peasantry will be able to cultivate a
new and different species of food. But how long a
period must intervene before the more intractable, the
more imputient, and the mere despondent part of
them habituate themselves to the idea—much more
-to the study—of "a novel and unwonted agriculture?
A length of time—greater than we like to re-
volVe in our minds—Must pass over ere the tillage be
changed and the subsistence of the people created afresh.
What is to be done in the interval? Already the coin-
plaint is that the baronies have overtaxed themselves;
that they are assessed to the labour-fund far above their
actual value. This by itself would be found to be a se-
rious inconvenience, were the calamity which it is pro-
posed to obviate of a temporary nature. But this is not
so. The most sanguine dare not hope that one year will
bound the sweep and severity of our affliction. The re-
medy, therefore, which applied to the first year's evil
' would be inconvenient is, when proposed for the second,
impossible or ruinous. To repeat the process of super-
taxation—to renew the great promissory note to Go-
vernment—would be simply to beggar the landowners
without conferring a permanent benefit on the people,
or—what is equally important—a permanent improve-
ment on the land. The landlords would fly from—
whilst their tenants would perish on a soil ex-
hausted by mortgages and crowded with a famished
and reckless population. Frightful as such a
state of things would be, it is no vague picture
of the imagination. It is just the very state to
which Ireland must inevitably be reduced, if the sums
now collected, and about to be collected, are flung
away on works which will add nothing to the national
wealth, and supply nothing to the national want. The
first object of Government, after doing the best, as we
admit Lord Besborough seems to be doing, for the ins
mediate exigency, should be to provide against its cer-
tain recurrence ; to devise means for making the famine
of the next year less oppressive than that of the present,
and that of the following easier than that of the next ;
so that the weight of suffering may be diminished season
by season, instil Providence has blessed the industry of
the people and the energy of their advisers by new
modes and new fruits of husbandry. This can only be
effected by taking such measures as shall insure the cul-
tivation—the renewed, the general, and the indefatigable
cultivation—either of such grain as may itself feed
the people, or be exported as the medium of procuring
for them a proper food. To this object the
attention both of Government and of lauded
proprietors should be directed. In this, as in every
other emergency which demands vigour of design and
promptness of execution, the plans of the landlord will
be thwarted and his directions contravened by the inex-
tricable perplexities which beset the Irish question.
That we must expect. There will be difficulty beyond
what Englishmen find it easy to conceive in inducing the
Irish peasant to till acres for the reception of other crops
than the potato. Will the difficulty be too great for the
landlord to overcome ? Will it be great enough to shift
upon the Government ? This problem must sooner or
later be solved. Government has become a large
money-lender. It may have to become so again even on
a more comprehensive scale, -But it hardly appears as
yet that Government has succeeded in getting that
which ordinary money-lenders never fail to obtain—
scurity. Suppose the landowners find themselves un-
able to repay what has been advanced them by Par-
liament—and this is no extravagant supposition—what
then ? What remedy will the Government have ?
None that we can see ; at least, none that would be
worth a moment's effort, or a farthing's outlay. But,
if the money now advanced by the Treasury be sacri-
ficed to projects of lavish but useless expenditure--to
the conastuction of trafficless roads and shipless harbours
—or to the mere equipment of private luxury and com-
fort—then indeed will the stewards of the Imperial
purse have complicated a great temerity with a great in-
justice' by lavishing away loans without a guarantee
either for their discharge, or their safe and profitable in-
vestment. It has, therefore, been suggested that the
Government should constitute itself a mortgagee on a
large scale, and should itself enter on the lands which it
has relieved by its advances, leaving, of course, to the
proprietor his equity of redemption. That such a
scheme should have been thought of for one moment only
proves the desperate character of the emergency. No-
thing, in fact, could be more contrary to the
genius of a constitutional Government, which aims
to be an impartial arbiter between all classes,
and never descends from the council-room to occupy
the place of any subordinate vocation. A British
Premier will probably feel as great a scruple to play
the part of a national landlord as to intrude into
the office of judge. Such a scheme would, in fact, only
be. adding new elements of disorder to a chaos which
already confesses the presence of too many. Henceforth
the national landlord, the national tenant, the national
agent, national leases, national processes of distress,
would be added to the dramatis persona that already so
uncomfortably crowd the stage. If so much is now ex-
pected from the worth, the ability, and forbearance of
the private landowner, what extravagant expectations
would usher in the reign of the national proprietor! But
it is easier to raise objections to such a scheme than to
refute them. The Scriptural character of the precedent
claims for it at least a decorous reception. But it would
be difficult to establish a parallel between the patient
children of Ham, the Pharaohs, and the Delta of the
Nile, on the one hand, and the Celt, the British Govern-
like the
impracticable as they may be ir!themsdeevaest
least
classm e nt ,
the
ed theseh
scheme
Emerald
with Ile
those o n the
dram fir.
p
mysterious gleams of morning twilight, pre-
pare oljWe ce, se a wn hoincihy
indeed be blind
ion of rich and
wprecede ()Teat revolution in
poor in • Ireland must some .
the tenure of landed property.
011RONICLE.—The fate of Sir Robert Peers ever-
memorable" purpose of the Ist, of No' ember is really one
pahroe
duesf or g rneeatt
I of the oddest and most anomalous mishaps Qn record in

PRICE SD.

, - -
the obituary of good intentions. Never was there a
more extraordinary instance of the unfortunate casual-
ties to which' even a strong man's strongest Purpoies are
liable on coming in collision with the world of action.
That Sir Robert Peel was right when he proposed to his
Cabinet to open the ports to the duty-free admission of
foreign grain has lone. since been acknowledged, both by
the Legislature and by public opinion, with as.near an
approach to absolute unanimity as can ever be expected
in a free country, whose constitutional liberties include
the privilege of individual indulgence in all kinds and
degrees of mental eccentricity. He was right in his
data of fact and probability; right in his practical con-
clusion; right according to precedent; right according to
reason; right according to the free-traders ; right accord-
ing to the protectionists ; right in every conceivable '
way inavhich a man can be right ; and now more than
ever shown to have been right by recent events. Even
the one solitary difficulty Which stood in.his way—the
reluctance of some of his colleagues, or the presumed
reluctance of Parliament, to accept the avowed ulterior
consequences of the proposed move—has been subse-
quently obviated, by the Legislature's. formal renunci-
ation of the whole scheme of policy which " open ports"
threatened to be put in peril. Yet somehow, by a fata-
lity which will look very strange in history, this so pal-
pably right and wise purpose has never, to this hour,
been carried into effect. Everything else that Sir Robert
Peel recommended for the emergency has been done-
but not this, which was the first, simplest, and most
easily-executable of his recommendations. Everybody
heartily approved it—and nearly everybody acquiesced
in a " settlement" that was understood as a three years'
adjournment of its execution. The Ist of Novem-
ber is now coming round again—bringing with it an
emergency immeasurably more frightful than that
of last year ; yet last year's universally ap-
proved resolution still stands over unperformed.
As we are a " practical people," and make no
pretensions to justify our acts or omissions at the bar of
new emergency to recal our attention to the old coun-
sels, we should, one and all, have resented, as a piece of
fantastic crotchettiness, any troublesome inquiry as to
what has become of the only part of the Peel policy
which everybody approved, but which everybody has
allowed to drop into oblivion. The return, however, in
a fearfully aggravated form, of the,calamity which, last
year, imposed on a reluctant Premier the decision to un-
tax the people's food, has at once given a practical cha-
racter to a question that would else have been too ab-
stract for our national tastes. Judging front the promp-
titude with which our first mention of this subject, a few
days since, has been responded to by several of our Con
temporaries, and from what we believe to be the feeling
of the public,. we do not believe that the approaching
Ist of November will find us still waiting for the reali-
sation of the late Premier's long-dated alai almost for-
gotten intent. That ieteresting anniversary will, we
quite hope and expect, be signalised, or anticipated, by
the adoption of the counsels that have given its prede-
cesser a name in history.

_ .
lIERALD.--If safety were to be found in a number
of organs- and a multitude of cornsellots, the present
Government would certainly be beyond the teach of
danger. But in.Cubinets, as in culinary concerns: it is
sometimes found that too many cooks spa the broth,
and that a multitude of counsellors sometimes darken
knowledge. It was announced yesirday, in -the Chro-
nicle, Deity Nein, and Times, in precisely the same
words, or near;y so, " that Mr. Justice Erie will go to
the Qacen's Bench, and Mr. Vaughan Williams to the
Common Pleas," though the appointatent of the latter
has not yet been gazetted, and though many well in-
Thrtn:!ti persons in the profession stilt think that Mr.
DAvid Dundss will be the new puisre judge of the

Queen's Bench. But, notwithstanding the strong inte-
rest cf the Duke of Sutherland, and the r:eneral and de-
served popularity of Mr. Dun(las itssan :Annible and ac-
complished gentleman, we believe Lord Cottenhani will
insist on the appointment of Mr. Vaughan Williams,
calainly one or the safest and ,most learned
lawyers in Wes; minstdi
.llall, and the greatest kcal
writer living, with the exception o Sir Edward Sagden,
Mr. St,rgeant Stephvii, find Mr. Starkii.,. We could
ourtelves wish to • ECO the laticr gentleman placcd in
a po.iition ennmonsurate with his abilities and attain-
tneiits us a seientiti,.; lawyer; and if he were not atn 63
years of age, we should gladly have s, cn him elevated
to the judicial bench. But at that • advanced period of
. .

life to fax the faculties of man with laborious and onerous
duties is neither wise nor politic in reference to the in-
terests
of the state, nor is it quite fair to the honest
fame or professional renown of the individual on whom
honours, his earlier due, are too late conferred. That it
was the intention of Lord Brougham to have made Mr.
Starkie the very next judge, previously to his resignation
of the Great Seal on the 21st November, 1834, is pretty
well known, and was applauded by the profession. But
Mr. Starkie had then scarcely passed his fiftieth year,
and twelve years after the passing of the grand climac-
teric make a strange change in the constitution of
a man whose hopes have been so sorely and severely
crossed. The promise of Lord Brougham, indicative
of his discrimination •and perception of merit,
Lord Lyndhurst—for the honour of the Uni-
versity to which he belonged, and of which
the ex-Chancellor and the present Downing Pro-
fessor, Mr. Starkie, were both such distinguished
alumni—ought to have fulfilled : but the laissez-
all,r, lassiez-faire habits of that uncontrollably slothful
and heartless, but eminently and able gifted man, have
ever prevented him from doing what he ought to have
done for others, or even for himself. We trust, how-
ever, that model of judges, Lord Cottenham, will see fit,
on the first vacancy, to remove Mr. Sergeant Stephen,
who has not passed his fifty-seventh year, from Bristol
to a seat on the judicial bench of the metropolis, and
confer the vacant commissionership of bankrupts on Mr.
Starkie, one of the greatest of our legal authors, as cer-
tainly one of the most scientific of our lawyers. ' In
America such a man had taken the rank and been ho-
noured and rewarded as the Kents, the Story, and the
Marshal's; and as it is, his name is as well known and
more appreciated in America than in England. Mr.
Starkie has ever avowed himself a constitutional Whig,
and this ought to be no impediment in his way with so
strong a politician as Lord Cottenham. But we firmly
believe, apart froin fitness, political opinions will weigh
not—nor ought they to weigh—a feather in the scale.
To return, however, to the actual vacancy. This night's
Gazette will probably dispel all illusions, and prove, to
the credit of Lord Cottenham, the judicious selection of
Mr. Vaughan Williams.

TROTTING MATCH AGAINST TIME.-A trotting
match against time came off on Tuesday, at Cheltenham,
and excited an unusual interest in the sporting circles.
The affair has been looked forward to anxiously in cer-
tain quarters for some time past, partly owing to the
known capabilities of the horse which was matched, and
partly owing to the prowess of the backer, Mr. Alexan-
, der Burke, of trotting notoriety. The following is the
agreement entered into between Mr. Alexander Burke
and Mr. W. Hurlstone (of the King's Head Inn):—
"Mr. Burke backs Mr. Loves)'s black horse (purchased
of Mr. Harris) to trot twelve and three-quarters in 45
minutes, for 504 aside, the match to come off within six
weeks, on the road leading from Cheltenham to Tewkes-
bury. The horSe to trot under saddle or in harness; the
winner to pay for two dozen of wine." Finally the day
was fixed i'orTuesday, October 6, between the hours of
eleven and three. Accordingly, at two o'clock, yester•
day, Mr. Burk', attended by numerous friends, re-
paired to the Worcester Arms, Tew kesbUry-road, the
place fixed for the start; and shortly after that hour he
set ofl•', having chosen to drive the horse in harness in
his light gig. Numerous bets were made pro et con, some
choosing the horse, and others backing time. The road
was florin a very good condition, a great quantity of
rain having fallen during the morning. The horse
seemed, however, in excellent condition, and went all
the distance at a " slashing " pace, several of those who
rode along on first-rate horses having been put to their
mettle to keep up (at a gallop) with the trotter. Mr.
Burke went half the distance out, then turned and came
in again, winning the match easily in 42 minutes. The
horse seemed not in the least distressed at the close of

this splendid performance. Of course there was a large
concourse of spectators to witness the exciting scene.—
Cheltenham Chronicle.

THE :WIUTTINGTON CLUB.—A very large and
respectable meeting was held on Thursday evening, in the
Hall of Commerce, Threadneedle-street, of those inte-
rested in getting up a club under the above title, the objects
of which were to make up a literary and scientific club,
somewhat upon the plan of the Manchester Athenaeum
and Birmingham Athenic Institute. Mr. Traice having
been called to the chair, the report of the committee was
read. The proposed terms of subscription were 10
guineas to constitute a life member persons; living within
seven miles of the General Post Office to pay 103. 6d.
entrance fee, and an annual subscription of 11. Is.;
ladies, 10s. 6d..annually, without any entrance fee; and
persons living beyond the distance of seven miles to pay
half of the above. The Chairman then addressed the
meeting at considerable length, upon the nature and
objects of this institution, upon the usefulness of which
he dwelt for some time, and pointed out how much such
an institution was wanted for the use of not only the
vast class of persons in the employment of the gigantic
merchants of the City, but also for the admission o
ladies, whose society in such places they had hitherto,
by absurd coaventionalisms, been deprived of. Some
resolutions were proposed, founded upon the report, and
which were spoken to at some length by the proposers
and seconders. The committee and treasurer were then
appointed, the customary votes of thanks passed, and thy
meeting separated.
Tun IRON TRADE.—BIRMINGHAM, THURSDAY
EVENING.—The quarterly meeting of the iron and Coal,
masters of South Staffordshire, held to•day at the Town
Ball, was very numerously attended. There were pre-
' sent the principals or representatives of nearly all the
large houses in the district, and many large buyers. The
general announcement on all sides was that trade was
good, an abundance of orders on the books, and a pros-
pect of daily increase. Under such circumstances a re-
duction was out of the question, and the only consider-
ation was whether there might not be a little advance.
Some were disposed for a rise, but it was eventually
settled that no advance upon the prices of the past
quarter should take place. The masters will meet to-
morrow at Stourbridge, and on Saturday at Dudley.
There rolls lac.t much business done to-day.