The Sun.
London, England, 1846-05-14 00:00:00

DRAGONETTI.

The following graphic description of the character and
personal peculiarities of the unrivalled contra-bassist is ex-
tracted from a memoir of his life, written by one of his old
and intimate friends, which has appeared in the Scotsman
"In person Dragonetti was of middle height; in-kneed;
of a pale and grave countenance. We never saw him laugh,
and his marble features seldom relaxed into a smile. When
he became interested in the music he was playing, his eye
became animated, and shed a strange brassy gleam, remind-
ing one of Dante's Charon around whose eye glared wheel-
ing flames.' He generally spoke in a low tone, and with
hesitation, for his vocabulary was a strange mixture of three
or four languages and several dialects, se that it was not
easy to understand him. Indeed, his hearers might suppose
they heard Rabelais' 6 Ouydire' with seven tongues and lan-
guages, or (as in Hudibras) Cerberus himself pronounce a
leash of languages at once.' His voice was guttural, and he
used to fill up the pauses in his speech by a deep Ha!'
and a significant nodding of his head. When in good hu-
mour, he used to tell droll stories, which, to those who
could follow him, became doubly diverting from the imper-
turbable gravity with which he narrated them. They were
sometimes of the La Fontaine order. His manner was un-
polished, but sincere; and he never disguised his likings or
dislikings. He had great kindness of heart, and was a true
and steady friend. He had no vicious habits; and even in
the most convivial parties we never saw him intoxicated.
Though in the main attentive to economy, be was by no
means parsimonious. When he gave a dinner party, as he
occasionally did to brother artists, and noble and gentle
amateurs, he did so in a princely style. He was liberal in
his aid to many of his distressed countrymen ; but privately
and unostentatiously. The rooms he generally occupied pre-
sented a perfect chaos of music, musical instruments, books,
prints, pictures, snuff-boxes, &c. On calling upon him one
day some years ago, we saw a number of large dressed dolls
seated upon a sofa in his room; one of them a negro doll.
He said to us, 'these are my children; they are just come
from school, and you see they are very quiet.' He used to
call his favourite double-bass his wffe.' Of his merits as
an artist it is impossible to speak too highly, as every one who
heard him and is capable of judging will freely confess. He
was one of the older school of thoroughly-trained Italian ar-
tists—a school of which few vestiges now remain."

THE LATE OUTRAGE IN WEST-

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.
HOUSE OF COMMONS, May 13.
The SPEAKER took the Chair at Twelve o'clock.
ROYAL ASYLUM OF ST. ANN'S.

Mr. BROTIIERTON moved the Lords' amendments to this Bill,
which were agreed to.
WieUtWICKSIIIRE AND LONDON RAILWAY—WORCESTER

AND WEEDON LINE

This Bill was read a second time and ordered to be committed, as
was also the Bill for the Hampton and Ashchurch line.
ATTENDANCE OF MEMBERS.

Mr. GISBORNE wished to know whether he was to attend the
Committee of which he was appointed a member, or whether he
was to be present at the impertant debate which was about to take
place. If he did not attend the Committee of which he was a
member, the effect of his non-attendance would be to I>reak up the
Committee. He should move that the House adopt measures for
laying down rules for the guidance of Members who were similarly
situated with himself. He was persuaded that until some distinct
rule was laid down, there would be a repetition every Wednesday
while the session lasted of the present difficulties.
Sir GEORGE GREY thought that, looking at the great import-
ance of the question which would shortly be brought before the
House, the Hon. Member would be properly exercising his discre-
tion it he remained during the debate, and neglected the duties of
the Committee for to-day. He was, however, afraid that the Hon.
Gentleman had placed himself in a position from which the House
could not extricate him.

Mr. BERNAL was of opinion that the responsibility of attendance
on Committees should not rest on individual Members, but on the
House. He hoped the House would take into their consideration to
adopt some rule for the guidance of Members.

TEN HOURS BILL.

Lord MORPETH presented petitions from the manufacturers of
Bradfcrd, against the limitation of the hours of labour, as proposed in
the Factories Bill.

Mr. ALI)AM presented a petition from the manufacturers of Leeds,
of a similar nature with the foregoing.

THE FACTORIES BILL. J

On the order of the day for the adjourneddebate on the second
reading of this Bill being read,

Mr. COLQUHOUN said, on a former occasion his Right lion.
Friend, the Secretary of State had stated; that the Ten Hours Bill
would very seriously affect the great staple manufactures of the
country. On tile contrary, he believed, that their manufactures
would be greatly benefited by it, and all the benevolent manufac-
turers, and they formed the great majority, were of opinion, that the
restrictions of labou r,as proposed, were advantageous, and not injerious
to their interests. 'What was the evil to be apprehended from restriction?
It had been said that injury would result to the carpet manufacturers
because the hours of labour on'. lie continent, in France, Austria, and
Prussia, were longer and therefore the English manufacturers would
he unable to compete with the foreigner. It was his be:ief that the
French labourer working fourteen hou-s a day did not produce so
much workmanship as the English labourer who worked only ten
hours a day. He could not conceive, then, that injury would result
to trade from competition with foreign countries because the
hours of labour were diminished at home. If advantages had
been given to the manufacturers which were more than equivalent to
any tax that you were going to impose, ought not, he would ask,
that to be a reason why some alteration in the hours of labour should
take place ? Great competition on the part of capital and labour
tended to reduce the wages of labour. It was therefore the duty of
Government to interfere, and restore the equilibrium which should
exist between the employer and the employed. lie believed the ma-
nufacturers to be as humane and intelligent a class of men as any in
the empire.— (Cheers.) Let them he sincere—let them be perfectly
sincere—let the operative see that they wished to obtain advantage
for him as well as for themselves. Messrs. Holdsworth and Gregg
had stated that the reduction of wages would be about 7% per cent.
upon the amount of 10s. 3d. But he would prefer the evidence of
Mr. Leonard Homer, the factory commissioner, which was upon a
wider basis. According to his evidence the weekly wages was 1I s. 7d.;
so that on the yearly earnings of 311., the reduction would be 21.45.,
leaving him 281. its. The operatives said they were quite ready
to assent to this reduction. But what was the effect of the compe-
tition? Why, according to Mr. Horner, from 1528 to 1841 the fall
had not been 7 or 7% per cent., but from Bs. to 7s. per week, and
from 4s. to 3s. 6d. ; and in one mill in Manchester the fall had abso-
lutely been as much as 17 per cent. He did not think that high
wages were always advantageous to the operative, or by any means
a criterion of the benefits of his position at any time ; for he believed
that moderate wages, with moderate labour, was far
better, both for his moral and his social advantage ;
and when they were called upon to secure him
against that undue imposition of labour tinder which he now suffered,
there was a case made out which imperatively called for the pro-
tection which the operative sought.
Mr. LABOUCHEIZE was quite happy to agree with the last
speaker in several points, but these were matters which required much
consideration, and although he had before given his thoughts upon
the subject to the House, he felt it necessary not to suffer
this debate to close without stating his sentiments. This
was neither more nor less than an attempt to reduce the productive
power of this manufacturing country by one-sixth. In stating this
fact, however, he was not insensible of the claims of the great and
numerous and important class to which this Bill referred. They
were in the eyes of the Great Creator of all men the most important
of all classes, because he viewed all his creatures alike and with the
same favour, and this was the most important because it was the
most numerous.—(Cheers.) He had supported his Noble Friend
Lord Ashley in his Bill for preventing the working of women in coal-
mines underground, but it was allowed on all hands that it was one
of the most delicate of all matters to interfere between the
employer and the employed, and they might go too far. He recol-
lected, from the report of the Factory Commissioners with regard to
Manchester, where there were three distinct manufactures carried
on—that of the common cotton article, that for fustians, and that for
pins— and it was the custom, when children were too young to be sent
into the cotton factories, to send them to the fustian cutters, and if
too young for that they were sent to the pin-makers, so
that there was no avoidance of the evil. The Right
Honourable Gentleman here quoted the report of the Fac-
tory Commissioners to prove his assertion, and then proceeded
to say, that 4' the House were to adopt the principle of interference
with labour they would have to turn two-thirds of the whole popu-
lation into commissioners.—(Hear, hear.) This was contrary to the
whole principle of the constitution, and such as could never be used
with anything like effect. They were, in fact, attempting an impos-
sibility, and he must say that he did not think that the Hon. Mem-
ber for Oldham (Mr. Fielden) had acted with entire fair-
ness and ' candour on this occasion. That Honourable Mem-
ber, wino from his high standing as a manufacturer and as a
man, was deservedly entitled to the very highest consideration
among the operatives, had stated, on the moving of the second
reading of this Bill, that there was to be no reduction of profits, no
reduction of wages, no reduction of produce. Why, how could he
reconcile the whole of this evident anomaly? Were the manufac-
turers to give twelve hours' wages for ten hours' work,
and yet be losers neither in profit or produce? lie confessed
that he could not conceive how such a result was to he obtained.
He understood that in numerous instances families were at the pre-
sent moment leaving those mills ; short time was worked to obtain
employment in those that worked the usual time.—(Hear, hear.)
But there was no such thing upon record as workmen leaving mills
that worked twelve hours to go to those that worked but ten or
eleven. And if those facts did not carry conviction to the minds of
Honourable Gentlemen as to the feeling entertained by the working
classes with regard to this measure, he really knew not what would.
—(Hear, hear.) While he was upon the subject he would venture
to read to the House an extract from a letter which he had lately
received from a gentleman who had permitted him to make the
communication to the House, and which, both from its nature and
the high authority of the writer, was well worthy of attention. He
was sure that it contained arguments much more conclusive than
any which he (Mr. Labouchere) could introduce. It was a letter
from Mr. William Greg, brother of Mr. IL 11. Greg, manufacturer,
Manchester, who had introduced the eleven hour system into his
mill. He said that they had tried the reduction of the hours of
labour from twelve to eleven hours, and that when Mr. Greg found
that the loss in the amount of production was so serious that he
could not continue the short hour system unless they divided the
difference between him, and they unanimously said that they would
prefer the twelve hour system to a reduction of wages.—(Hear.)
An Ilonourable MEMBER—This is the party that wrote in favour
of the ten hour system.—(Hear, and laughter.)
eat
Mr. LABOUCHERE—From the calculation which he had made a
Legislature care and consideration that ought to
before they suddenly passed suchegislature
ten hours Bill would reduce the wages of the working classes about
25 per cent., and an eleven hours Bill 13 per cent. He only men-
tionedb emadteh touisee esf bhow
7ttbhee
a measure as this.—(Hear, hear.) He believed that Hon. Members
if passed, would at no
who said that this Bill would not lower the wages of the manu-
facturing classes laboured under a very great delusion.—(Hear.)
hatsttrtegeme w
message,
the capitalists of this
country and those who are the employed. And the fearful conse-
quenceswasfearful that
of that struggle would eventually recoil upon the heads of
the working classes, for whose benefit this Bill professed to be.—
(Hear, hear.) lie did not say that that struggle would come imme-
diately. If they passed this Bill they would reduce the productive
power of the manufacturing population of this country one-sixth
at least. The foreign manufacturers, who in some places worked at
the present time upwards of twelve hours per day—(Hear, hear)—
would then be fearful and certainly successful rivals of the English
manufactures. The foreign capitalist, with unrestrained hours of
labour, would be able to fill up the gap which this Bill would pro-
duce, lie should deeply regret if this session, which would witness
the unshackling of commerce, would also witness the restriction of
that commerce for the benefit of which the other great measure was
expressly brought forward.—(Hear, hear.) This was indeed a deli-
cate subject to encounter. It was true that this measure did not, in
so many words, seek to limit the hours of the adult population
of the manufacturing district, but it would have that effect. The
deputies of manufacturing classes admitted that it would have that
tendency ; and he therefore thought that it was most unfair to
argue in support of the Bill that it would only limit the hours of
young persons. It was undoubtedly true, and he observed with
great pleasure, that there did exist among the working classes of
this country an increased desire for leisure, and for the improvement
of their moral and intellectual faculties. That desire was at the
present time being largely carried into effect in the metropolis and
other large towns, but it was a voluntary arrangement between the
masters and their workmen.—(Hear, hear.) 110th desired to do so,
and it was a movement to which every one must wish success. But
there was a wide difference between arrangements of that kind and
a compulsory enactment of the Legislature. He must decline the
responsibility of making those experiments with the labour of his
fellow-countrymen, which was the most important interest in this
couatry. He was opposed to an eleven as well as a Ten Hours' Bill,
but of the two evils he should certainly prefer the Eleven Hours'
Bill.—(Hear. hear.)
Mr. COWPER said that the Right Hon. Gentleman, who
had just addressed the House, had entirely abandoned that
which had been hitherto considered a strong ground against
this Bill, viz. that it was an abolition of principle. Now,
with respect to the opinions of the operatives in the manufac-
turing districts, they were decidedly in favour of this measure;
he knew that from having personally attended, in company
with Lord Ashley, a meeting of the manufacturing operatives,
which had been called for the purpose of ascertaining their
feelings with regard to this measure. Let them look also to
the petitions that had been presented to the House in 1844.
s Then it was said that the working classes, by their repeated
strikes, would compel their employers to accede to the passing
of a ten hours' Bill. Now this was the most dangerous ex-
pression that had been uttered during the last few years. Be-
sides, the operatives always knew that strikes seldom turned out
for their ultimate advantage—(Hear)—bucause they invariably
entailed injuries upon themselves and their employers. But
there was another reason—those who had taken the head of the '
movement held a deep responsibility, and he did not speak of
those who had advocated the rights of the working classes in
that House, but of the operatives themselves, who more gene-
rally consisted of men who knew that they would best serve the
cause of the children by not resorting to such ulterior measure.,
and consequently by inducing their masters and the country
to look favourably on the course they advocated. In many
cases they had been successful in this course of proceeding.
With respect to voluntary agreements, which he considered the
best way of settling the question. However desirable these
agreements might be in the abstract, he feared that they could
not be generally entered into, because it was difficult to get
masters to agree, and where one master assented, it was pos-
sible another manufacturer in his immediate vicinity might not.
With respect to foreign competition, which he might say
was one great obstacle thrown in the way of the
settlement of this question, the ground formerly taken
was not the same as taken now. The ground formerly taken
was this—that the expense of an operative's subsistence was so
great, owing to the tax upon eorn, that we could not compete
with foreign countries, if, in addition to the reduction of the
hours of labour, the price of food was enhanced. In the letter
of Mr. Marshall, which he considered gave him great credit,
as he was anxious to uphold the commerce of the country, he
stated that the repeal of the corn-laws, and other restrictive
duties—and which might now be considered certain ; and free
trade generally, would produce better markets and more con-
stant employment, a better supply of the necessaries of life, and
would facilitate the reduction of the hours of labour without
reducing wages or profits. But it has always been said, when-
ever any reduction of the hours of labour was proposed, that the
manufacturers would be severely injured. But who were
ruined? Were master manufacturers ruined? Clearly trot
He considered that the great and permanent benefit the work-
ing classes would receive from the repeal of the corn-laws was
the reduction of their hours of labour. He was not quite pre-
pared to admit that this measure would not cause a diminution
of produce. It was true that there might be a diminution of
daily produce, but it did not follow that the diminution of days
would diminish the produce of the entire year. He did not
think that there was any market which our manntacturers
could not glut in a given time, so that the operative who
wished twelve hours would necessarily not be constantly em-
ployed. With regard to any reduction of wages, he could
show that the great majority of the operatives would be willing
to run the risk of having their wages lowered. The late Sir
R. Peel was in favour of such a system. The additional
leisure of such a measure would give young persons a good
opportunity of completing or obtaining an education to fit
them for the social duties of the world upon which they were
about to enter.
Mr. DENNISTOUN stated, that the Hon. Member for
Newcastle, in the commencement of his speech had stated that
if he thought that this measure would effect what he called the
four staple commodities of manfacture, viz,, cotton, wool,
silk, and linen, he could not vote for it. He (Mr. Dennistoun)
would endeavour to show that this measure had been attended
with very serious consequences to all our manufactures. He
would take the case of one mill, in which there was 25,000
spindles, and the gross produce of which was 22,0001. per
annum. If this measure were to pass, it would take 1-Bth from
that or a sum of 1,7001. The wages paid amounted to 7,0001.

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY MORNING, MAY 14, 1846,

and would be 30 per cent on that amount. Even as it was,
the owner of the mill of which he spoke lost 1,0001. per
annum, and what would be his chance of improving his con-
dition if this measure were passed. Besides, when experiments
had been made, the people themselves did not seem anxious to
reduce their labour. In one case, where permission was
given to the operatives to absent themselves from the mill for
a day at a time, an extra hand being found to work for them,
who of course received their wages for the time, they at first
availed themselves of the permission, but in a few weeks no ap-
plications at all were made.

Lord JOHN MANNERS said, that instead of giving
effect to the wishes of the working people, they were compelled
to listen to the speeches of the Hon. Secretary, and lately to
that of the Hon. Gentleman who had just sat down. Was it
a great principle and everlasting truth, or a merely temporary
difficulty, which prevented the settlement of this question ? A
preliminary difficulty therefore met, him in the opening, and
he should, therefore, confine himself to a reply to the speech
of the Hon. Gentleman who had just set down.—( Hear. )
That Hnn. Gentleman had said, that if the working people
would consent to an agreement not to agitate for any further
alteration, he would assent to a compromise for an eleven
hours Bill. But what was the case ? On the one side, they
had the unanimous voice of the people in favour of this Bill.
the majority of the subordinates all the dissenting ministers, and
a great portion of the nation in favour of the principle. On the
other there were only those opponents who among the master
manufacturers were the most remarkable for their ten-
dency to political agitation.—(Cheers.) Then again the Hon.
Member had said that this Bill was confined to an advantage
for the young persons employed in factories. Then an argument
had been used in order to slum that the repeal of the corn-
laws would throw off protection from the artisans in the manu-
facturing districts. But who was it that agitated for the repeal
of the corn-laws? Certainly not the operatives of Manchester
or Huddersfield, hut those parties who were now desirous of
throwing out the Bill.—( Cheers. ) He would take the Right
Honourable Gentleman's remark to show that the operatives
would have to pay two hours labour per day for the advantage
of cheap bread—(Cheers)—and he would make the offer to the
leaguers that if they would assent to this reduction of labour,
he (Lord J. Manners) would consent to the same duty on corn
as it existed at the beginning of the year. The Noble Lord
(Ashley) had, it might be remembered, on the introduction of
this measure in 1844, carefully gone through the circum-
stances of every country, and had shown how impossible it was
for any parties to compete with this country. The Right Hon.
Gentleman, who was so bold in March in ridiculing the idea of
competition, was now the most ready to adopt the idea of pro-
tection. How was it that this fear was so soon abolished?
He feared that the Right Hon Baronets in the Home Depart-
ment and at the head of the Government, were advocates for
the retention of the Eleven Hours' Bill, and they had stated
that reduction was equivalent to 16 per cent., both on the pro-
duction and the wages. At what rate, then, did they estimate
the change now ? In 1829 the manufacturers of Nottingham
had agreed to a restriction of the hours of labour, and some
years afterwards had returned to the system of unrestricted
exertion ; and what was the consequence? Did wages rise or
did they fall ? Why, that labour which had formerly obtained
6d., was reduced to 3d.—(Cheers. )—and he could not think
that that which had been obtained in Nottinghamshire would
equally hold in the large districts of Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Did the Right Hon. Baronet (Sir R. Peel) mean to say that
the lower classes of the community were no longer to look to
the Government as the harbinger of their happiness or of their
welfare, or whether they were merely to be considered as the
tax-gatherers, and the policemen of the state, and that so
long as they got the taxes, it mattered not to them whether
the people were rich and happy or poor and miserable ? He
trusted they would accept this as an earnest of the kindly
manner in which the working men of this country were to be
treated, and that by the adoption of it they would induce that
class to look up to the House of Commons as the great pre-
server of their rights and privileges, and that they, by passing
this Bill, proved that they were:prepared to listen to their prayers
and their wishes. He trusted, in conclusion, that the House
would unite in passing this measure, as it was calculated to
promote the comforts, elevate the condition, and promote the
social and spiritual well-being of the industrious, the gallant,
and the long-suffering working people of this country.
Mr. TRELAWNEY said, they had been told that the
manufacturing pear were in favour of this Bill, and that was
one great reason why it should receive the sanction of the
Legislature. He should like to know when Hon. Gentlemen
on the opposite benches first began to legislate in accordance
with the wishes of the working classes ? It was not very long
ago since.the working classes presented a petition to the House
signed by upwards of 3,000,000 individuals, praying the House
to adopt universal suffrage, which the petitioners believed was
the great panacea for all the political evils under which they
laboured. had that petition any weight upon those Hon.
Gentlemen who now adopted the argument, that because the
working people asked the House to pass this measure, it should
therefore be sanctioned, without any further delay ? He was
opposed to this Bill, because its immediate and direct object
was a most unjust interference with the rights of private pro.
perty. It would, in the first place, interfere with the
rights of the manufacturers who had invested large sums
in the erection of mills ; and in the next place, it
would interfere with the rights of the working man, by cur-
tailing his only capital, his wages.—( Hear, hear.) Hon.
Gentlemen who had spoken in favour of this measure had
talked largely of humanity, and yet they did nut think it very
inhumane to givestheir labourers 7s. per week. After some
further remarks, which were not distinctly heard in the re-
porters' gallery, the Hon. Member concluded by stating that
he felt bound to give the measure his most decided opposition.
Sir R. H. INGLIS wished to allude to a statement which
had been made by the Hon. Member who had just sat down
in the opening part of his address. The Hon. Member had
spoken about a petition signed by 3,000,000 of the working-
classes, but the House must bear in mind that
there was a great difference between the measure for which
they sought and the object contemplated by this Bill.
Who was the person who first advanced a Ten Hours' Bill?
It was the late Sir Robert Peel, but the Right lion. Baronet,
the secretary of State for the Home Department, in happy
forgetfulness, stated that the late Sir Robert Peel did not sup-
port such a Bill. But the Right lion. Baronet (the late Sir
Robert Peel), on the sth of June, 1815, stated " that the
duration of their labour should be limited to twelve hours and
a-half per diem, including the time for education and meals,
which would be ten hours of laborious employ ment."—( Hear,
hear.) And there was no man who attained a higher cha-
racter for consistency, and an earnest desire for the welfare of
manufacturers themselves than the late Sir Robert Peel. And
who was the individual who brought forward the Bill now.
It was brought in by an individual, of whom it had been said
in that House, that he worked up one-hundredth part of all the
cotton imported into this country (Mr. Fielden). Thus they
had not the enthusiasm of the last generation in favour of the
Bill, but eminent manufacturers and others who were solely
the example. It might be said, why did they not trust to
the benevolence of individuals ; but they' should not leave it to
the conscience of masters, but frame a general law. His Right
Hon. Friend the Secretary for the Nome Department had
said that they were wrong in stating that the late Sir Robert
Peel ever contemplated, or introduced any measure to reduce
the hours of labour within the limit of twelve hours. On a
former division on this subject, the House had virtually affirmed
the principle of a reduction within the limits of twelve hours,
by declaring that the clause, containing the words twelve
hours, should not remain part of the Bill. The Bill was,
therefore, brought forward at present in order to obtain a re-
election to ten hours—which the House, by its former decision,
had virtually sanctioned.
Sir J. GRAHAM said, that when he made the suggestion
wcaimt he rteos phei cmt twoi
tSih
trhße
B. i
IPI
pe 1,
0p
otsheed Hb
yo
the
elkilaet me
sb
ierrtf.opr OldhamPeel
on the,
iitnhtienndt
hteo den
limits
y
of twelve hours, but such a measure was not proposed. With
that subject,s Sir R.
Ra
.n leslo
did
ds speech
contemplateof h i
a rs. lledeudcitdionnowt
respect to the statement of the Right Hon. Baronet, that the
House had virtually sanctioned the principle, he would remem-
ber that on the 18th of March, 1844, a Bill for the limita-
tion of labour was then under discussion, and to that Bill
Lord Ashley proposed an amendment, that the time in which
the mills should not work, should not he from six in the morn-
ing to eight at night as proposed in the Bill, but from six in
the morning to six at night. That amendment was carried by
a very small majority, but on a subsequent division of the
House on the same subject, the question was put whether the
period of twelve hours should be allowed, and it was negatived.
The question was then put, whether the period of labour
should be ten hours, and that was also negatived, so that the
House could not have virtually affirmed any period within the
twelve hours.

Mr. S. CRAWFORD intended very briefly to address the
House, and he believed that if ever there was unanimity on any
public question, that unanimity existed in the borough of
Rochdale. He (Mr. S. Crawford) had presented a petition,
signed by upwards of 9,000 inhabitants ; he had also presented
a petition from a public meeting, signed by the high constable.
He had also presented a petition, signed by upwards of 7,000
of the inhabitants of Belfast. He was the last man in the
world to interfere with the liberty of any subject, but he was
compelled to do so on this occasion. He wratid assert that the
operatives had no opportunity of choosing their hours of work.
If the manufacturers required the females and children of the
operatives to work that number of hours, what protection had
they? The average of life in Lancashire, compared with the
general towns of England, was nineteen years shorter than the
general average. They had the evidence to show that, after
nearly twelve years experience of the Factory Act, that in
respect to children there could be no substantial improvement
in a class of people who were engaged for fourteen hours
and a half a day in active exertion. These statements made a
strong ground for the result at which he wished the House to
arrive. Ho would not insist on the argument, that. an equal
quantity of work could be done in a small quantity of hours as
in a large, but he would contend that the price of labour de-
pended on supply and demand, and not on the hours in which
artisans were employed. He was one of those that had con-
tended that the people should be protected against the tyranny
of the proprietors of the land, and he was ready to say now,
that the people should be likewise protected against the pro-
prietors of money.—( Hear, hear.) He maintained that the
great evil of the present day was, that there was too great an
accumulation of money in the hands of a few, to the injury of
the many.—( Hear, hear.) He contended that it was neces-
sary to protect the labouring classes from the evil results of that
state of things; the working people were absolutely, the slaves of
their employers.

.
Mr. DUNCAN said he had always opposed, and was still
determined to oppose this measure. In his opinion, it would
tend to the utter ruin of the trade of this country. He had
been at some pains to arrive at the truth of the matter, and he
had come to the conclusion that this Bill, which would inter-
fere most seriously with the rights of private property, was a
most unjust one. But for occupying the time of the House,
he would quote the opinions of many persons, well qualified to
judge, that any legislative interference with the hours of labour
was wholly uncalled for.—( Hear.)
Sir G. GREY said, before he gave his vote in favour of the
Bill, he wished to state that he should do so with less confidence
than when he voted for the measure of Lord Ashley in 1844.
Benevolent persons, in their anxiety for the welfare of the in-
dustrious classes, were apt to overlook the commercial interests
of the country, and that if they injured those classes they would
injure the operatives themselves.—( Hear.) These considera-
tions were frequently lost sight of in the discussion of questions
relating to the moral and social condition of the industrious
classes ; but the arguments used against the Bill were the same
as those urged against the present law before it was proposed.
—( Hear, hear.) But from the reports of the inspectors of
factories, it appeared that the anticipations formed with respect
to the inefficiency of the present law had been realised. The
arguments against this Bill were to the effect that there ought
to be no interference with the rights of labour; but that
was not the question then before them, as the question of
interference had been settled, but it was this, whether they
could say they had advanced to the precise limit at which they
should either stop or proceed; and whether, by proceeding
further, they would, or would not, injure the commercial in-
terests of the country. His opinion was, that they ought not,
to proceed further than the part they had now attained, until
they had further experience that a step beyond that limit
might be safely taken. But he thought with other Hon. Mem-
bers, that it would be better that the regulation of the hours of
labour should be effected by mutual arrangement between the
employer and the employed—(Cheers)—and he thought, if
they consulted the manufacturers, an arrangement might be
come to which would be satisfactory to both.—( Hear, hear.)
He thought the natural tendency of the measure would be to
reduce wages; but this would be made up by the increased
vigour which the labouring classes would be enabled to throw
into their work in consequence of working short time. They
would work with more spirit, and, consequently, accomplish
more than if they were working long hours. With those feel-
ings, be should support the Bill.
Mr. BROTHERTON rose amidst loud cries for a division.

He considered that a reduction in the hours of labour ought
not to be arranged between the masters and their workpeople.
The Hon. Member was here interrupted by loud expressions
of impatience on the part of the House. He declared, some-
what emphatically, that if these interruptions were continued,
he should move the adjournment of the House. It had been
said that if they interfered with the labour of the factory
trade they would have to interfere with every other kind of
labour. He denied this. As well might they say that if they
took off one tax they would have to remove all taxes. He
contended that the interference which had taken place had been
attended with the most beneficial results. On the score of
humanity it was politic to interfere for the purpose of limiting
the hours of labour. It was said that if they reduced the hours
of labour they must reduce the amount of manufactures pro-
duced in this country. All experience was against this suppo-
sition, for whilst they had been reducing the hours, the
amount of manufactures produced had increased. For these
reasons, and believing that the Bill would tend to ameliorate
the condition of the working-classes, he should give the Mea-
sure his warmest support.
Mr. CARDWELL did not contend for an abstract principle
of non-interference with labour. In the interference which had
already taken place they had been guided by general practic
with respect to the length of the hours of labour. That was the
principle of the interference which had hitherto taken place,
and it was that principle upon which the Government in-
tended to continue to act with respect to this subject. While
on the continent the hours of labour had ranged from seventy-
nine bouts a-week to ninety-two hours, they had limited the
hours of labour in this country to sixty-nine hours a week. To
place a less limit now would be to incur a great and
imminent risk. Were they aware of the interests they were
about to jeopardise? Did they consider that 800,000 of the
population were affected by this measure, nod were they aware
that one-half of our total exports were produced by one
branch of those operatives? the Hon. Gentleman proceeded
to notice the occasions on which legi:lative interference with
respect to the hours of labour had taken place, and to enume-
rate the various Acts which had been sanctioned by the Legis-
lature for the purpose of limiting the hours of labour ; and he
contended that the interference had proceeded to the utmost
limit consistent with safety, and beyond which it would be dan-
gerous to go. This Bill would have the practical effect of pre-
venting the working man benefiting by his own industry. It
must have the effect of reducing wages. It would cut off one-
sixth of the manufacturing productive power of the country,
and the effect of that would be most disastrous to the cperative
population, and the country tenerally.
Mr. WARD, amidst much confusion, moved that the de-
bate be adjourned.
Mr. BANKES also moved that the debate be adjourned,
intimating his intention to follow that up by moving that the
debate be resumed on Monday neat. He attributed their not
coming to a division at once to the manoeuvres of the Minis-
terial Members.

After a scene of much confusion,
Sir R. PEEL said it was of the utmost importance that the
tariff should be proceeded with on Monday.
Mr. BANKES persisted in his motion, and a noisy dis-
cussion ensued, in the midst of which the clock struck six, and
the House was adjourned, without, as we could understand, any
day being fixed for resuming the debate.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

OLD COURT.
TRIAL OF THE RICIIARDSONS.

(Before Lord Chief Justice DENMAN and Mr. Baron ALDERSON.)
Wiilianz Richardson, aged 49, lately au astronomer in the Royal
Observatory, Greenwich, and Ann Maria Richardson, aged 22, his
daughter, were charged with the wilful murder of Theodore Horatio
Richardson, an infant child, the result of an incentuous intercourse
between them.

The indictment contained no less than five counts, varied in terms,
but all in effect charging the prisoners with wilful murder.
Mr. Bodkin, Mr. Huddlestone, and Mr. Clerk were engaged for the
prosecution; Mr. Clarkson, with Mr. Ballantine were retained for the
defence.

Mr. BODKIN opened the case, and in a long address, entered mi-
nutely into the particulars connected with this truly disgusting
case; but, as these have already been so often before the public, we
are spared the painful duty of recapitulating them.
The following witnesses were called :

Charles l'earce, a bricklayer's labourer—Was employed on Thurs-
day, the 22d of January, in a garden near the Grove, Greenwich.
WAs digging for a cesspool, when he came upon a small coffin. He
forced it open, and observed the body of a child therein. Ile re-
placed the coffin in the hole, covered it up, and went for his master.
John Easthope—ls a bricklayer in Greenwich, and master of the
last witness. The house in the yard of which the coffin was dis-
covered belonged to the prisoner at the bar. The coffin was taken
out, placed in the kitchen, and witness locked the door taking the
key with him. He gave information to the beadle, and the con-
stable next day removed it.
John Errington, beanie of Greenwich, confirmed the fact of the
removal of the coffin.

Thomas Larking—Assisted last witness in taking the coffin to the
Morden Arms, where the coroner's court was held.
James Thomas Walker, landlord of the Morden Arms, said the
coffin was in his custody, and no one had access to it until it was
taken to the surgeons.
IDr. Mitchell—Was called to see the body of the child at the
Mordern Arms, and on the 24th of January he examined the child,
and seeing the body so decomposed, he removed part of the intes-
tines for the purpose of undergoing chemical analysis. He put the
contents of the abdomen into a new earthenware vessel, and re-
moved them to his house, where Dr. Hatch and himself applied dif-
ferent tests to ascertain the presence of poison. The result led him
to conjecture that arsenic was present, and the body was delivered
to Dr. Leesom, of St. Thomas's. That portion which he had ex-
amined was subjected to no further examination.
Cross-examined by Mr.CLARKSON—The witness entered into an ex-
planation of the different tests applied to the contents cf the sto-
mach.

Mr. Heuich, assistant to Dr, Leesom, in St. Thomas's Hos-
pital, received the portions of a child's body in a jar on the
31st Janu ry, and on the following day it was opened by Dr. Leesom
and himself. Experiments were subsequently made upon the con-
tents of the jar, from which they were enabled to ascertain, beyond
a doubt, that arsenic was present. They discovered four grains and
a tenth of that poison.

Cross-examined by Mr. CLARKSON—It was asserted by some che-
mists that the bones of animals contained arsenic. He balieved that
a cembination of earths would produce this poison.
Dr. Leesom had made additional experiments, which fully con-
firmed him in the belief that arsenic was present. The quantity of
arsenic re-produced, four grains and one-tenth, would be quite suffi-
cient to cause death. The child would, after poison had been ad-
ministered to it experience great pains in the stomach, the throat
would probably get red, which would extend to the interior of the
mouth ; small postules would gather about the tongue, and all the
symptoms of inflammation of the stomach would be induced.
Charles May had brought a certain portion of earth from Mr.
Richardson's garden, which lie gave to Dr. Leesom.
Dr. Leesom was called, and lie stated that he might be asked the
question whether arsenic did exist in this earth. He entertained no
doubt that the idea that it could contain arsenic was quite fallacious.
Various other witnesses were examined. The evidence they gave
was the same in substance as the evidence which they had pre-
viously given before the magistrates, and which has already been
published.
Mr. CLARKSON addressed the Court at considerable length for the
prisoners.
The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE summed up, and the Jury, after deliber-
ating for an hour and a half, returned a verdict of " Not Gui.ty."

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
BOW-STREET.
THE ASSASSINATION IN DRURY-LANE,

HISTORY OF A RAZED VILLAG-E.
(Abriged from the Dublin Freeman.)
Newton-Gerard, formerly called Newbridge, was at
one period a populous place ; but the hand of the
spoiler came, and the evidence of his progress is unmis-
takeable. To compensate for this destruction, Mrs. Ger-
rard has erected a market.house, which is without mer-
chandise, neither buyer nor seller ever appearing there,
and the rusty Iron Triangle, with mouldering beam
and scales attached, speak eloquently of the neglected
state of this deserted village. The lady also erected
a large house, which she, in her wisdom, deemed
fit fur the accommodation of twelve policemen ;
but, after repeated applications to Government she was
refused, and the building stands new a mere
monument of the lady's munificence of intention.
Mr.s. Gerrard also erected here a half inn,
half public-house. In view of this place there is a v« ry
elegant ledge, raised for the reception of Mrs. Gerrard
whenever she visits that portion of her estates. And
here I may remark that her " broad lands " cover a
large tract of country, and are valued at the value of
over 5,000/. a year. Mrs. Gerrard possesses this
property in her own right, it having fallen to her on
the death of three brothers many years since. The
maiden name of this lady was Netterville, and as
she herself has had no family, her heirs pre-
sumptive are, I am given to understand. Mr. Corbally,
the Member for Meath, and Lord Killeen, son of
Lord Fingal, whose mother is half-sister to Mrs. Ger-
rard, Mr. and Mrs. Gerrard reside at a place called
Gibbstown, in the county of Meath; the former is said
to be in his 80th year, and the latter some ten years
his junior. On the road to Mount Bellew, and about a
mile from that little town, the first sight of the recent
scene of desolation presents itself to view. The village
of Ballinglass, parish of Kalasobe, was situate here,
and was built on the confines of a hog, which, in a
great measure, had been reclaimed by the tenants;
the land, particularly at the rear where the houses
once stood, presenting an appearance of high cul-
tivation, which was produced by the patient and
hard industry of the tenants. The approach to the vil-
lage was by a kind of togher, as it is called, along the
left of which were heret fore a few scattered houses.
About a quarter of a mile from the main road the houses
were clustered together in groups of three or four, and
so continued at short distances apart ; they were in num-
ber 61. Not one of those habitations is now standing
save one. I went through, or, I should rather say ,
walked over, the ruins of all, and, from what I saw and
heard, I concluded that. the; were all comfortable, clean,
and neatly kept habitations. On approaching the en-
trance to the village, the first thing that met ray eye
was some manure or dung. which hd been carried away
by the wretched people from their houses, and thrown
on the side of the road, in order to prevent it from be-
coming the properrty of the landlady after the
tenants were evicted. Mr. Donovan, who wit-
nessed the scene which took place on Friday, the
13th March, 1846, describes it as the most appal-
ing he had ever witnessed—women, young and old,
running wildly to and fro with small portions of their
property, in order to save it from the wreck—the
screaming of the children, and wild wailings of the
mothers driven from home and shelter—their peace-
ful homes, hallowed by a thousand fond recollec-
tions—all combined to form a picture of human mi-
sery, such as the darkest imagination alone could re-
alise. At an early hour on the morning of Friday,
the 13th instant, the sheriff, accompanied by a large
force of the 49th regiment, commanded by Captain
Brown, and also by a heavy body of police, under the
command of Mr. Cummings, proceeded to the place
marked out for destruction. The people were then,
according to the process of law, called on to render
possession, and forthwith the bailiffs of Mrs. Gerrard
commenced the work of demolition. In the first
instance the roofs and portions of the walls were only
thrown down, the former in most instances lie on the
side of the road, on the manure already alluded to. A
roan and woman, who lay ill of fever, were permitted
to remain in a house into which they were carried, after
aossession of it had been taken, and this is the solitary
house remaining, but they have since been served with
notate to leave the place within fifteen days, or the house
would be tumbled on top of them ! Great pains must
have been taken to demolish the houses, is the walla
were very thick and composed of an umber clay, and
when the inside turned up good plaster and whitewash
always appeared. Not content with throwing down the
roofs and walls, the very foundations have been turned
up ; and here I must explain what a moment ago I
stated, namely, that only a portion of the walls were
pulled down in the first instance. That is true, but
on the night of Friday the wretched creatures pitched
a few poles slantwise against the walls, covering them
with the thatch in order to procure shelter for the
eight; but when this was perceived next day, the bailiffs
were dispatched with orders to pull down all the walls
and root up the founda ions, in order to prevent the
" wretches" (this, it appears, is a favourite term ap-
plied to these poor people) from daring to take shelter
amid the ruins. When this last act had been perpe-
trated, the "wretches" took to the ditches on the
high road, where they slept in parties of from ten to fif-
teen each, huddled together before a fire for the two suc-
ceeding nights. I saw the marks of the fires in the
ditches ; everybody can see them, and the temporary
shelter. It was a melancholy sight—but more particu-
larly so amongst the ruins. Here a broken chair, there a
smashed pot, crockery ware, remnants of old dressers,
boxes and tables, together with broken farming imple-
ments, and a hundred other articles belonging to hus-
bandry and household purposes, lay about the gardens of
the houses (that had been), or the fields adjoining. The
whole extent of ground connected with the village is
over 400 acres.

Mr. and Mrs. Gerard, the great actors in this modern
drama are, the one aged eighty, the latter some ten
years his junior. The Freeman gives the names and
numbers of each family evicted. We cannot quote them
in full. Here is the toal

Total families evicted, 61 : Total persons, 270.

RAILWAY SHARE MARKETS.

The prisoner Graham, it will be remembered, was remanded till
yesterday on Saturday last, it being thought probable that the grand
jury, meeting ott Monday, would be discharged to-day, and
Mr. Henry being anxious that the case should come on before their
discharge. The opinion of the medical man on Saturday was, that
lilewitt, though in a very weak state, might yet recover. 'Unhap-
pily the faint hopes entertained have been vain, as the injured man
died on Monday.
The prisoner was placed at the bar this day at 12 o'clock before
Mr. Henry. There was a remarkable change in his appearance and
demeanour from what they presented on his former examinations.
He was flushed and agitated, and trembled much, his lips quivering,
and the tears running down his cheeks.

MANCHESTER, MAY 12.
STOCK EXCRANQE.—The sales are—Birkenhead, Lancashire, and
Cheshire, 23s p.—Blackburn, Chorley, &c., 1% dis.—Blackburn,
Clitheroe, and North Wales, 114 dis.—Boston, Stamford, and Bir-
mingham, I4s. dis.—Caledonian Extension, % clic —Chester and
Manchester Direct, 295. dis.—Derby and Crewe, 3% p.—Derby,
Stafford, and Worcester Junction, dis. —Eastern Counties, 24
Ditto, York Extension, 1% p.—East Lancashire, No. 1,4% p.—
Fleetwood, Preston, and West Riding, % dis.—Goole, Doncaster,
Sheffield, &c., p.—Grand Union, 14s. dis.—Great Grimsby and
Sheffield, Quarters, % dis.—Huddersfield, Halifax, &c., p.—
Huddersfield and Manchester Railway and Canal, % die.—Hudders-
field and Sheffield Junction, 6 p.- Kendal and Windermere, IA p.—
Leeds and Thirsk, 4 dls.—Leeds, Dewsbury, and Manchester, 23( p.
—Leicester and Bedford, ss. dis.—Liverpool and l3nry, 101 c. p.—
Liverpool, Ormskirk, and Preston, 1% p.—Manchester, Buxton,
and Matlock, 7-16 p.—Manchester and Birmingham, Quarters (0), p.—Manchester and Birmingham Continuation and Welsh
Junction, % dis. —Manchester and Bury Atmospheric, Ss. 9d. die.—
Manchester and Hyde, % p.—Manchester and Leeds Extension,
3 p.—Manchester and Southampton, 3s. 9d. p.—Northumberland
and Lancashire 19s. dis.—North Staffordshire, 4 9-16 p.—North
Wales, 1% dis.—North Western, p.—Oldham, Birkenhead, &e,,
16s. dis.—Preston and Wyre, 311i—Ditto, Halves (A), 3 p.—Ditto,
ditto (B), 12s. p.—Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction, p.—Shef-
field and Manchester, 116—Ditto, Quarters, No. 3,20 s. 9d. p.—
Shrewsbury and Birmingham, % p.—Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton,
and South Stafford, par— Shrewsbury and Herefordshire, 36 dis.—
Shropshire Union Railway and Canal, I Is. 6d. c. dis.—South Mid-
land, 2 1-16 p.—South Eastern and Dover, No. 1, 8 p.—Ditto,
Halves (No. 4), 9-16 p.—West Riding Union, 334 p.—York and
North Midland, 104.

Mr. HENRY, addressing Mr. Humphreys, said—l suppose you
know that the unfortunate man Blewitt has died. It would now be
unadvisable to send the case to the present sessions, as the altered
character of the case will require longer time to prepare the briefs
for you as well as for the prosecution. Besides a very important
witness, Mrs. Cook, has been taken ill, and is confined in the infir-
mary of St. Giles's. I understand that she will not be able to attend
to-day, and I must remand the prisoner until she is able to come here.
Mr. Humphreys said, that he was in such a position, that it would
be his duty to acquiesce in any course which Mr. Henry should think
proper to adopt.
Mr. Joseph Burgess, senior medical officer of the infirmary, stated
that Mrs. Cook had been three or four days confined there through
severe dysentery, and it was not likely that she would be able to
attend here to give evidence for some days.
Mr. HENRY ultimately remanded the prisoner to this day fortnight,
the 27th of May.

Mr. Humphreys mentioned that a person, who gave the name of
Kinder, called on him and said that he could give evidence in this case,
as he saw the transaction. He (Mr. Humphreys) would not call that
person here as a witness. But he mentioned the circumstance, in
order that the magistrate might examine him if he thought proper.
Mr. HENRY said that, considering the quarter from which the evi-
dence came, he certainly would not call the man.
Mr. Humphreys said that he thought it right to inform Mr. Henry
of the circumstance ; and if he should hereafter think ft necessary to
call Kinder as a witness, it could not be said that he had kept any-
thing back. 4.
The prisoner was then removed from the bar.
ANOTHER INTRUDER INTO BUCKINGHAM PALACE.--Previoll9 to
the case of Graham coming on, a rough, weather-beaten, sailor-like
young man, was brought before Mr. Henry, charged with being
found under suspicious circumstances in the garden at the rear of
Buckingham Palace.
The policeman, A 119, who detected the prisoner, stated that, being
on duty in the royal garden, about one o'clock this morning, he was
attracted to a tent, which was erected near the porch of the Palace.
On going into the tent he found the prisoner lying on the sofa,
asleep. On being roused, and asked what brought him there, he
said that he had no money to pay for a bed, and that he had got
over the wall from the park, thinking he would And a place to sleep
there unmolested. He further said that his name was Alexander
Reid, and that he was a sailor belonging to her Majesty's frigate
the Rowley, now lying off Spithead, from which he had run
away. The constable added that the prisoner could not have got
over the wall in the manner or at the part which he had described
to him, and he must have managed very cunningly to get into the
tent without being observed by the soldier who was on guard at the
entrance.

The prisoner, in answer to Mr. Henry, said that he only went
into the garden for the purpose of seeing the Queen, and being
sleepy and without money, he was tempted to lie down on her Ma-
jesty's sofa.

Mr. HENRY was not satisfied with the prisoner's account of him-
self, and remanded him till Saturday, for the purpose of having in-
quiries made.

To THE SPoZTING WORLD.—The sale of Bell's Life
in London exceeds twenty four thousand. Bell's Life is published at
170, Strand, every Saturday, in time for the afternoon railways.
Bell's Life, May 17, will contain a full report of the pugilistic contest
between Gill and Norley.
POST-OFFICE NOTICE.—DEPARTURE oF THE INDIAN
AND FOREIGN Maits.—The following notice relative to the departure
of the Indian and foreign mails, was yesterday posted at the chief
office, St. Martin's-le-Grand :—" Mails to India, China, :&c.—The
next malls for India, Chlss, &c., via Marseilles, will be dispatched
from hence on the morning of the 25th inst. Peninsular mails.—The
next mails for Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon, Spain, Gibraltar, andMaditerra-
nean, &c., will be dispatched from hence on the 18th inst. The Pacha,
to the Peninsular mails of the 18th, will sail from Southampton.
Mails for the West Indies, &c.—The British colonies (except
Honduras), Bermuda; the foreign colonies (except Havannah).
San Juan, Nicaragua, New Granada, Venezuela, and Madeira. will
be dispatched on the 18th instant by the Dee, from Southampton.
India and China, rid Southampton. —The next mails dispatched on
the 20th instant, by the Achilles. Mails for America.—The next
mails for British North America, Bermuda, and the United States,
will be dispatched by the Hibernia, from Liverpool, on the 18th inst.
The Caledonia, due at Liverpool on the 15th instant. Mails for Syd-
ney, New South Wales.—The next mails dispatched on the 31st inst.
Holland and Hamburgh.— The Giraffe, for the Holland mails, dis-
patched this morning. The John Bull, with the Hambyuregshtemrdaailys,
sailed yesterday. Mails for Rotterdam.— A mall bag for Rotterdam
will be dispatched by the Batavia on Saturday next, the 16th inst.
DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT PLYMOUTH. _
(Friday) morning, between one and two o'clocudzkisc,:avnliedrreetdwoobayrs,oonc ee-oidisco-
veredf. to have broken out in the house Noe.r4n,
neighbours, and
itayndlliolln,
occupied by several tenants. Theshfiroeroemwoa
sl,intghiety, wfohoenraeothne
oidlatmheedadl
adjoining
ns awokeyt firsthh
ne
houses were immedwiaittehl
tghoei
going
inmatesdown
ynarreo.useTdh ;e
inmatespled by
oaf
family
thisss tnaiear: yg,hel'oul
but the progress of the lire being very rapid, they were compelled to
leave their houses with so much precipitation,l
were not able to clothe themselves, b that many of them
safety into the street almost in a ustatte were compelled to rush for
the spread of the alarm, the Citadel
eng:ne,of nudity. Immediately on
body of soldiers, directed by several officers, attended by a large
and after some delay in obtaining wate arrived on the spot,
the devouring element. The house, No. commenced playing upon
de-
stroyed, and the adjoining houses we • 4, was completely re
presented was of the most painful serioasly damaged. The scene
were the whole of and distressing character —:here
the inmates of the
number, including Infests, andhouses (upwards of twenty in
several
of along-continued affliction) who have been the subjects
naked in the streets
almost in a state of
ness, compelled to see the d
the world. The names of th destruction of all they possessed in
'amity are—Harvey, e families who have suffered by the ca-
lamity
anti Gover. We a Hodge, Marker, Owens, Davis, Hooper, An-
drews,re happy to observe,
already been that a subscription has
entered into for the of relief
the sufferers, and most cor-
dially do we wish that
to the Claims it may be carried out with a liberality equal
aims of the sufferers. A painful circumstance transpired
during the fire—the remains of an aged female, whose death had
taken place a day or two preceding, lay in fll a co n preparatory f i. r
Interment, In the house adjoining where the fire took place, and
when it became necessary to remove the furniture, the shell was
brought out and laid on the green sward in front of the ruins, giving
the appearance of still greater misery to the already distressing
sceae--the naked and the dead lying side by aide.—Plymot(li ipurnol.

LEEDS, Mir 12.
STOCK ExCHANGE.-The sales are-East Lancashire, No. 2 (late
Accrington), 3 p. c.-Great Grimsby and Sheffield, Quarter Shares,
7s. 6d. dis.-Huddersfield and Manchester, 65. p.-Leeds and Brad-
ford, 28 p.-Leeds and Dewsbury, 29g p. c.-Ditto, Branches, ss. p.
-Ditto, Extensions, ss. p.- Leeds and Thirsk, 4 dis.- Manchester
and Leeds Extensions, 3/. 38. 6d. p.-Newcastle and Berwick, 16s.
p. c -York and North Midland Extension, 20 p.-Ditto, East and
West Riding, 10% p.-Ambergate, Nottingham, and Boston, 13s. 6d.
dis.-Bradford, Wakefield, and Midland, 225. dis -Buckinghamshire,
15s. dis.-Grand Union, 12s. 6d. dis. -Gla,sgow and Dumfries, 7s. 6d.
dis.-Lancashire Yorkshire, and North Eastern 335. dis.-Leeds
and York, % dis.-Leeds, Wakefield, and Midland, % dis.-Leices-
tor and Bedford, 6s. dis. -Liverpool, Ormskirk, and Preston, 275. 6d.
p.-London and York, ss. dis.-Manchester, Buxton, Matlocic, and
Midland, 1% p.-Northumberland and Lancashire Junction, 18s. dis.
-North Statlbrdshire, 4/. 16s. 6d. p.- North Western, I is. p.-
Shrewsbury and Hereford, 21s. dis.-Shropshire Union, % dis.-
South Midland, 395. p.-Welsh Midlands, 225. 6d. dis.-West
Riding Union, 5.