The Sun.
London, England, 1846-11-13 00:00:00

SIR ROBERT PEEL-THE RISE

REVIEW OF THE BRITISH CORN
TRADE DURING THE PAST WEEK.
A great change has lately taken plat in public opi-
nion respecting the probable range o prices of pro-
visions in this country during the app oaching wiuter.
The leading articles published day after day in the
principal journals last month, predictin famine and all
its attendant miseries, were not without influence; and
extravagant notions as to the probable value of bread
istuffs were generally entertained. Only a few weeks
ago the daily papers maintained that if the grain were
actually ready for shipment in America and elsewhere,
the scarcity of vessels would preclude the possibility of
its being transported to Great Britain in sufficient
time to prevent want being felt. Suddenly all these
evil prognostics have vanished, and we are now told
that there never existed cause for, apprehen-
sion, that the potato. failure was a delusion, that
there is food enough in the country, and that there
are quantities on passage from abroad of sufficient mag-
nitude to- depress prices considerably. How the writers
can reconcile these opposing declarations we are at a loss
to conceive. For ourselves, we never viewed the potato
crop as a total failure, nor did we at any time talk of
famine. What we stated on previous occasions we now
maintain, that, with a deficiency of at least one-half of
the crop of one of the most important articles of food, a
short yield of all kinds of spring corn, and at most a bare
average produce of wheat, low prices could not be calcu-
lated on. Great stress has been laid on the quantity of
foreign corn liberated when the present corn-laws came
into operation ; but it appears to have been wholly over-
looked that the stocks of old English wheat at the time of
harvest were much less than usual, in proof of which we
would remind our readers that last year a large proportion
of the farmers' supplies consisted of old till nearly up to
Christmas, whereas in the present year old Wheat had
almost disappeared from the different Markets within
the space of a month after harvest. The new crop was
immediately commenced upon, and its consumption was
begun at least a month earlier than in ordinary seasons.
These considerations lead us to believe that there is at
the present moment less wheat in the country (taking
that of home and foreign growth together) than there
was at this period of last season; and as it cannot be
for a moment questioned that an enormous extra con-
sumption of bread must take place in consequence of
the deficiency and inferior quality of potatoes, we can
discover no reason to think differently to what we
did two months ago, viz., that all the foreign grain we
may be able to procure is likely to be wanted. With
regard to the extent of the importations from abroad
very exaggerated accounts have lately been published ;
at all events there is little prospect of really large
arrivals till the spring of next year. We may, and
probably will, receive a few hundred thousand barrels of
flour from America before winter sets in, and some
quantity of wheat and other grain from the Baltic
and Black Seas, bat nothing compared to the supplies
spoken of. The corn trade has since our last re-
mained in a quiet state, millers and dealers being ap-
parently satisfied with what they still hold ; the daily
drain upon their stocks is, however, very great, and
we question whether business will long remain in its
present state.
There is no change for the better in the tone of the
advices from Ireland ; the distress is described as fully
as severe as at any previous period, whilst the utmost
uneasiness is said to be felt by all classes of the com-
munity as to the effects of the increased want likely
to be experienced during the approaching winter.
Prices of the coarser sorts of food had, we are in-
formed, not only been maintained, but had steadily
advanced ; and oatmeal is as dear, weight for weight,
in many parts of Ireland, as flour is on this side of the
Channel.
The concession made by the millers on Monday has
not been followed by a more active demand for Flour ;
indeed, the bakers have acted even more cautiously this
week than before, and the contracts closed have been
comparatively unimportant. The operations in-Ameri-
can flour have likewise been on a retail scale, though
sellers have shown a disposition to facilitate business by
accepting rather reduced rates. On the 10th of last month
there were 18,441 cwt. of flour in bond in London, and
229,548 cwt. in the kingdom.
THE FOREIGN CORN TRADE.
We have no further arrivals from America this week ;
and as the steamer was not to sail before the end of Oc-
tober, we can scarcely expect her arrival till the middle
of the month. The accounts from that quarter are
looked for with great interest, as it is certain that beyond
what may reach us from the other side of the Atlantic,
the imports of foreign grain into Britain are likely to be
comparatively unimportant till the spring of next year.
By the adrices from the principal Baltic ports it
appears that there was but little wheat in progress of
shipment, the scarcity of vessels and the high freights
demanded having acted as a great hindrance to business.
The most recent reports from Dantzic are of the 31st of
October. During the week only 7,000 quarters of
wheat had changed hands, partly on speculation and
partly for export; and to induce buyers to purchase, it
had been necessary to submit to a reduction of ls. per
quarter. The best high-mixed qualities were, however,
then still worth 565. to 575. per qr. free on board, whilst
freight to England varied from 6s. 6d. to 7s. per quarter.
To the cost and freight 2s. 6d. per quarter must be added
for insurance, the premiums having lately risen very
materially. Taking these items together, the total
cost will be found to amount to more than the article
would fetch in the London market, a state of things
which must deter British merchants from buying st that
port. The greater part of 7,000 quarters sold during
the week had consisted of inferior and secondary quali-
ties; and for 591bs. to 601bs. new, and 601bs. to 611bs.
old, 50s. to 535. per quarter had been realised. In
spring corn nothing of interest had transpired, owing to
the want of supplies.
At Konigsberg business appears to have been quiet ;
for though orders for wheat, barley, and peas bad been
received, the high pretensions of holders, and the diffi-
culty of obtaining ships, had prevented much business
being done.
The case seems to have been the same at Stettin. A
letter from thence, of the 28th ult., informs us that the
supplies of barley had fallen materially short of the de-
mand, and that 355. per quarter had been readily paid
for fine qualities for immediate shipment. Merchants
had, it appears, been cautious in entering into contracts
for forward delivery ; still a few bargains to ship Pome-
ranian barley in spring had been closed at 325. per quar-
ter free on board. New wheat had come slowly to hand,
and of old there were hardly any stocks ; hence little had
been done in the article.
At Hamburg, on Tuesday, the Wheat trade was de-
cidedly quiet, and the rates offered by consumes
(545. 6d, to 555. 6d. per qr. for good qualities of red)
being higher than the limits of the few foreign orders
on hand, the business done had been of quite a local
character. Barley had, notwithstanding the dull ac-
counts from hence, continued in much request, and 40s.
to 40s. 6d. per qr. had been paid for 481bs. sale on the
spot. Oats had sold at 21s. to 225. per qr. free on
board.
In the Dutch markets the value of all sorts of grain
had, according to the latest accounts, been very firmly
maintained, notwithstanding the somewhat dull English
advices ; whilst in France quotations of Wheat and
Flour had, according to the most recent advices, under-
gone a further rise.
At Marseilles, on the 28th of October, there were
buyers of fine Polish Odessa at equal to 535. 9d., and of
Marianopoli at 498. per qr.
From Ancona we learn that purchases of Indian corn
had been made for spring delivery at 265. 6d. to 275. per
qr. free on board ; the stock of the article remaining
was estimated at 15,600 to 20,000 qrs., and it was cal.
culated that there were not more than 20,000 qrs. of
vilest in warehouse, taking old and new together.
From Odessa we learn that serious inconvenience was
felt there for want of ships. Wheat had, nevertheless,
continued to excite attention, and during the wetk end-
ing 16th of October, 60,000 chets. had been bought at
prices varying from 275. to 375. per qr. free on board.-
Mark-lane Express.

EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY.
A special general meeting of the shareholders in the
Eastern Counties Railway Company was held yesterday
afternoon, for the purpose of considering and determining
on the conversion of all the 14/. 16s. shares of thecompany
into shares of 201. each, by the payment of 1/. 4s. and
addition of 41., bonus, to take dividends from the 4th
January next; and also for considering and determining
on the granting of equivalent advantages to the Northern
and Eastern Railway Company; and the meeting was also
made special for the purposes of granting to the holders
of Eastern Counties York Extension shares the right to
subscribe all further capital now required, or hereafter
to be required, for the purposes of the company, until
the same be paid up in full.
Mr. GEORGE HUDSON, Chairman of the Board of Di-
rectors, occupied the chair.
The CHAIRMAN said the advertisement fully stated
the objects which had called them together, but it was
proposed, to meet the wishes of a large number of pro-
prietors, to make some alteration in the plan to be sub-
mitted to the meeting. It was proposed that instead of
issuing a 20/. share, they should call up 11. 4s. on the
14/. 16s. shares, and issue in return a 151. share, and the
bonus would be distributed in the shape of a 51. share.—
(No, no.) When he last addressed them, he was in an
ticipacion that, before he met them again, the line from
Ely to Peterborough would have been opened, but, for
reasons which bad already been stated in the public
prints, they had been unable to accomplish that object.
He could state, however, that about the Ist of Decem-
ber the line would be opened for goods.—(Bear, hear.)
When het stimated at the last meeting the probable re-
ceipts for the present half-year, of course he fully ex-
pected that the Peterborough line would have come into
successful operation during that period, but, as it had
not, his estimate would be reduced. The receipts of the
half year would be 250,0001, showing the largest in-
crease ever known upon any railway in a single half-
year, during which no additional lines had been opened.
The increase was 501. per cent., but in fairness he ought
to state that they had had the advantage of the eighteen
miles of the Eastern Union line, from Colchester to
Ipswich. At the last meeting he stated that the interest
on loans would probably be 44,0001., but as the Ely and
Peterborough line had not come into operation the in-
terest would be reduced to 40,000/. The expenses of the
half-year, he believed, would be 90,0004 and those two
sums deducted from the 250,0001., would leave a
balance of 120,0001., applicable to a dividend, which
would, this half-year, be equal to 71. per cent., or, in the
aggregate, 114,0001. The result could not fail to be
satisfactory to the shareholders, while it bore out the
anticipations he indulged in at the last meeting.—
(Cheers.) The reason why they called the shareholders
together was to place the undertaking upon a solid foot-
ing, and the proposition the directors were prepared to
make them was, in his opinion; equitable and just to both
parties. The new 5/. share could not be called a bonus,
because it must be borne in mind the length of time the
proprietors received no return whatever from the under-
taking.—(Hear, hear.) Considered in that light, it was
no bonus at all. He stated at the last meeting the
number of lines that had been then obtained in Parlia-
ment—and it had since been determined that these, as
well as others, should be constructed with the York
Extension stock—and until all the money upon that
stock had been called up and exhausted it was not pro-
posed to create any new shares.—(Hear, bear.) It was
only intended originally to use that stock for lines north
of Cambridge, but hereafter it would be used as he had
mentioned. Five pounds had already been called upon
it, and in the course of July next the lines to which it
would be applied would come into operation, and the
York Extension would participate in the dividends to the
extent of their money expended. Another 5/. it was
proposed to:call, and this would yield sufficient for the
lines granted last session. Now, when the 11.45. should
be paid up, the capital of the Company would be
7,300,0004 while the length of line opened would be 176
miles, giving an average cost of about 41,000/. per mile.
When the new line for which Acts were obtained were
constructed there would be additional mileage of 66 miles,
reducing the average cost to 37,4004 per mile, and making
the total mileage 242 miles of Eastern Counties proper.
The lines they intended to apply for next session he
would now briefly mention. Last session they got an
Act, enabling them to get to Wisbeach, and from there
they proposed to extend the line to Spalding, where
they will construct some large and important docks.
From Spalding they would proceed to Newark, from
Newark to Lincoln, from Peterborough to Boston, con-
necting them with the Ambergate line. From Cambridge
they proposed to go to Wear and to Bedford, giving them
access to the proposed South Midland. From
Bedford they would proceed to Hitching. There would
be a line in connexion :with a West-end terminus from
Tottenham to Guildfurd ; another from London to
Southend ; another from Stratford to Victoria Park,
and another from Braintree to Halstead, making in all a
total of 225 miles. That added to the lines he had before
mentioned, would make the mileage of the Eastern
Counties 437 miles, at an average cost of 27,5161. per
mile.--(Hear, hear.) Now, if they only obtained half
of those lines, there would be enough to consume the
whole of the York Extension stock. He came now to the
revenue part of the question.—(Hear, hear.) He had
made a calculation of the probable returns. When the
28 miles of new railway came into operation in Decem-
ber, they estimated that the weekly returns would
average 12,0001. per week, at present they were net-
ting 9,5421: per week, and with that increase he
calculated they would be able to divide 71. per
cent. at the next half-yearly meeting, and
71. per cent. in July following.—(Hear, hear.) He
thought, therefore, they were in a very prosperous state,
and, without further preface, he would proceed at once to
move a resolution authorising the directors to act in the
manner he had stated.—(Hear.)
A PROPRIETOR wished to know if York Extensions
would participate in future creations.
The CHAIRMAN was understood to reply that they
would when they had been paid up.
A number of proprietors suggested that the easiest
and shortest plan would :be to adhere to the original
proposal, and instead of issuing two sets of stock, one
for 15/. and the other for 54 make the 151. into a 201.
share at once.
The CHAIRMAN said he would put the question to the
meeting, and let the result decide it.
The question was accordingly put, and carried by an
immense majority.
Mr. ARLETT asked if the holders of the 141. I6s. shares
were not entitled to the two hundred and seventy thou-
sandth part of the whole profits according to their Act?
The CHAIRMAN said they were.
Mr. ARLETT—WeII then, suppose it is not convenient
for a shareholder to pay up the 11.45. till next July,
have you the power to compel him to do otherwise?
The CHAIRMAN replied, certainly not ; but then
those who paid up the 11. 4s. would be receiving divi-
dends on 20/., while those who did not pay till July
would only receive dividends upon 14/. 16s.
Mr. ARLETT—And yet you admit that the 14/. 16s.
shares are entitled to a certaia proportion of the whole
profits ?
The CHAIRMAN—It is purely a matter of internal
arrangement which the Act sanctions, and if you do
not choose to come into it you will be a loser.—(Hear.)
The resolution, as amended by the meeting, was then
put and carried unanimously. The shares will carry
dividends from the 4th of December.
Some discussion then arose as to the expediency of re-
pudiating the connexion with the Harwich Steam
Packet Company, but the CHAIRMAN stated that it wonld
be a subject for the consideration of a future meeting,
and the matter, dropped.
Thanks were then voted to the chairman, and the
eting, which was densely crowded, broke up.

OF HIS FAMILY.
In stating, as I did, in a former communication on this
subject, that the law Sir Robert Peel in the last genera-
tion, and Mr. Cobden in this, were the greatest improvers
of the calico printing trade, it may have appeared as if I
gave to them the credit of the discoveries in the me-
chanical and chemical sciences which have so greatly ad-
vanced that trade. lam not aware that either of those
distinguished calico-printers were inventors or disco-
verers; bat both succeeded by rewarding inventors libe-
rally, and securing the best operative talent by paying
the hest juices for its operation.
When the first Mr. Peel put his hands to the trade he
was a farmer at Cross, near Blackburn; but he had tried
his skill at carding cotton by a cylinder before that, and
had thus proved that he was of an enterprising mind.
The use of the cylinder whereby cotton is carded in a
continuous roll is one of the most effective improvements
in the cotton factories. It enables the spinning ma-
chinery to do finer work, and adds to the healthfulness
and cleanliness of the operatives.. This cylinder (there
is every reason to believe, save positive proof itself) was
the invention of the farmer of Cross, grandfather of the
present Sir Robert Peel. But he dropped the practice of
it to take up something more profitable and not less in-
teresting to his genius.
He engraved blocks of wood with his own hands, and
with such tools as he could command. The first design
is said to have been a pirsley-leaf. The blocks were of
sycamore, about ten inches long by five broad; the figure
of the parsley-leaf was raised, as wood-engraving is still
practised, by the other parts being cut down. A handle
was put to the back of the block to hold it by. The
colour to be used was put in a vessel covered with
woollen cloth, the cloth touching the colour so as to
absorb it. The block was put on this saturated cloth,
and then transferred to the piece of white calico, which
was stretched on a table. Pieces of wire at each corner
of the block enabled the operator to fit it to its exact
place. The block was then struck by a mallet, and the
impression was fixed on the calico. The use of a calen-
der was not then known for smoothing the calico after
it was thus printed, and the females of the family,
therefore, ironed the pieces with the usual flat irons.
While these experiments were going on, the house was
kept closed against all prying neighbours. And thus
did the ingenious farmer of Cross, grandfather of the
great statesman who so recently ruled this great empire,
begin the fortunes of his family.
His mechanical genius soon discovered the use of the
calender (vulgarly the mangle, and this superseded the
labour with the flat iron as regarded calicoes. The
mangle has not superseded the flat iron in the "getting
up " department with the laundress; but its introduction
has enabled many a poor woman to earn a livelihood.
Peihaps few who keep a mangle, and work with this
humble machine, know that it was invented by the grand-
'ether of Sir Robert Peel. _

If more colours were required to complete the pattern
than one, blocks had to be applied more than once,
and each time a different block. Calicoes are made in
pieces of 28 yards each. One piece required the block
448 times.
Subsequent to this the block-printers in:the-neighbour-
hood of London had engravings done in copper, and fixed
upon the wooden blocks. But the first great advance-
ment was in the use of a cylinder. The invention of
this has been variously attributed; but as no single indi-
vidual has made out a good claim to it, and as Mr. Peel
of Cross, was known to have used a cylinder in carding
before he took to printing ; also as he kept all kis inven-
tions very quiet, I see many reasons to believe, and few
to doubt, that he was the inventor of cylinder printing.
A roller of copper so long as to correspond with the
breadth of the cloth which is to be printed, which roller
is three orlour inches thick, is engraved with a design
all round its circumference. It is laid in a box, and re-
volves upon its axis by the force of a wheel at one end
of the box. Colouring matter fills the box partly up, so
that the roller wets itself with it in turning. A blade of
soft steel shaves off the colour from its surface, save in
the hollow lines made by the engraver. The cloth to be
printed passes round a cylinder, and is pressed in contact
with the engraved roller on the side where the blade has
shaved the colour away, and by this pressure the colour
left in the hollow lines of the engraving is fixed instan-
taneously to the cloth as it passes. The cloth as printed
passes between other cylinders (to common readers I
may say a cylinder is a barrel—in this case it is of iron,
about 16 inches in diameter) filled with steam. They
are hot, and dry the cloth in two minutes or less. In
that short time a piece 28 yards long is printed, which to
be printed with a block would require 448 applications
of the block. But as many'as three, four, or five rollers
can be applied with different patterns and different co-
lours to the one piece of cloth while it revolves around
the cylinders ; and thus complicated patterns, which
would have required the application of blocks by hand
896, or 1344, or 1792, or 2240 times are printed in the
same brief period.
Mr. Peel, of Cross, having removed with his humble
workshop, for the sake of water, to Brookside, two miles
from Blackburn, he, by the aid of his sons, extended his
business there very considerably. The eldest son, Ro-
bert, distinguished above them all for his acuteness and
vigorous adherence to business, quitted his father's con-
cern in 1773, and going into partnership with his uncle,
Mr. Haworth, and a Mr. Yates, entered upon the busi-
ness on, a more extended scale at Bury. He subse-
quently married the daughter of his partner, Mr. Yates,
and she became the mother of the present Sir Robert
Peel. This establishment carried on cotton-spinning as
well as printing, and both with success. The other sons
of old Mr. Peel, of Cross, removed to a place called
Church, and set up print-works. They were also suc-
cessful; but, like their elder brother, who became Sir
Robert Peel, they succeeded in a greet measure by the
application of cylinder printing.
' But another discovery was made. The expense and
delay of engraving the copper rollers was prodigious ;
they were also soon worn out. It was, therefore, greatly
to the advantage of the printers to find that a very small
steel roller, two or threeinches long, could be engraved,
while decarbonized or softened. This done, it was har-
dened, and worked by machinery, against another piece
of steel, of its own size, also softened. This received the
impression of the hollow lines of the other, and showed
them raised. This one was hardened in its turn, and
worked with a heavy steady pressure against the large
copper roller, which in its turn was engraved with the
hollow lines desired. Other methods are used. That
now described is the one used now or recently for en-
graving the plates from which the notes are printed in
the Bank of England.
It would not come within the compass of this brief
sketch to describe the other mechanical inventions which
the Peels and other printers discovered or appropriated
for the extension of their trade and the advancement of
their individual fortunes. I shall now turn to the che-
mical discoveries.
A substance called chlorine was discovered, which,
with the magic of nature, exceeding all the magic of
fable, bleached a fabric whiter and purer in a few hours
than the old methods of bleaching had done in weeks
and months upon the grass. To print the richest pat-
terns, the purest bleaching was requisite before begin-
ning to print. The discovery of chlorine gave this
purity. Again, the colours could not be fastened in the
cloth without some other chemical matters, known by
the general name of mordants (from the French mordre.
to bite). Different colours required a different mordant,
and these the science of chemistry afforded. Again, the
whole globe was ransacked, and not in vain, for dye-stuffs
to make colours. Chemistry compounded those colours,
and taught the artistic designer how to use them ; their
proper use was a leading element in the rise of the Peel
family. One process often used in printing is to use the
mordant which may be colourless in the boxes with the
copper rollers. Those rollers print the mordant upon
the cloth, instead of the colour. The piece of cloth is
then put into a vat, and dyed all one colour. When taken
out it is washed, and then the colour washes out of it,
leaving it white save the lines or figures which had been,
printed by the mordant; these retain the colour in beau-
tiful integrity.
Another method, called discharge work, which origi •
nated in Scotland, is to print those parts which are to be
white, with an acid, which resists the power of the mor-
dant. The piece is then steeped in the mordant, quickly
dried, and then dyed in the vat. It is then taken out and
washed, and the spots which had been printed with acid
(lemon juice) are found to yield the colour, and
submit to become a pure white. This last system
though originating in Scotland, did not thrive there;
the Peels introduced it to England, and by this method
form the imitation of Indian patterns, which it enabled
them to produce in elegance and fastness of colour ; it
gave their goods of that kind, a character which never
was lost. •
A discovery which led to a process more common now
than any yet named, was made by a man named Grouse,
of London, who had no chemical or other scientific know-
ledge, strictly so called, but who, it is said, was fond of
trying fireside experiments. This is called Resist work.
It consists of the cloth being printed with a kind of paste
where it is to be kept white, the remainder having the
mordant applied. The cloth is then dipped in indigo for
a few seconds. The paste is found to have resisted the
blue dye; it is washed off, and those parts are white.
Without this paste, indigo would not wash out, as the
colours used in discharge work do ; and it is, therefore,
to this discovery that we owe so many patterns of blue
ground with white spots, the blue being a fast coheir,
the material cheap, and the process speedy in execution.
Grouse, who was a commercial traveller, sold the right
to use his discovery to Sir Robert Peel for five pounds.
It required a year or two to bring it to perfection; but
when it was perfected it raised the reputation of Sir
Robert-Peel for producing cheap and fast colours very
greatly; and added to his wealth as to the wealth of
every printer since, more than any other single discovery
of colours. Its cheapness has been its popular quality.
The dyeing of Turkey red, and the discharging of
parts of it by a chemical process, so as to leave the pat-
terns white, is a discovery belonging to the year 1810,
but not perfected until some years after. It does not
properly belong to the art of printing, nor, so far as I
can ascertain, did the discovery in any way affect the
fortunes of the Peels.
The colour of bronze, which we now see so much in
common prints, was discovered in 1822. It is a metallic
colour, is cheap, adds to the beauty of pattern, and does
not fade; was not known when the Peels were in the trade.
A Mr. Mercer has improved on this bronze colour by
a process only known to himself, from which bronze he
has made much gold; but I cannot go farther into the
subject. The most recent improvements have been not
in the chemistry of colours, but in the artistic elegance
of design. It is in this last respect that Mr. Cobden has
advanced the trade so much.—Advertiser.

NORFOLK ESTUARY,
A general meeting of the shareholders of this Com-
pany was held yesterday, at the British Coffee-house,
Cockspur street, Lord George Bentinck in the chair,
to consider the advisability of continuing the
project, which his Lordship considered to be a most
discouraging one. By the report, it appeared that
the land to be reclaimed from the sea, under the
power of the Act of Parliament, is 30,000
acres, the first ten thousand of which are likely to be
brought under culture in 1860, yielding a bonus of
28,0001.; the second portion, in 1870, yielding a profit
on sale of 214,0001.; and the third in 1870, giving a fur-
ther profit of 83,0001. ; the capital paying four per cent.
inter est in the meantime.

MASTER i..ND SERVANT—FAMILY WORSHIP.—A
case of some interest, involving a master's power over a
servant, came before Sheriff Watson on Thursday. A
farm servant, of the name of Jane Watt, raised an action
against her master, Mr. George Alexander, Clyne,
Straloch, for wages and board wages, on the ground of
improper dismissal.. The facts of the case were—that
Alexander and his family and servants were engaged at
prayers one morning in the kitchen ; the pursuer came
into the kitchen in the meantime, and when the family
were so engaged, proceeded with her work, cleaning the
milk dishes, and making a noise. The master had to
stop, and addressing the servant said, "I dare say I need
not bid you join the worship, for forced prayers are no
devotion ; but if you will not join in bowing your knee
to God, you must stop work while we are doing so ; go
somewhere else." The servant took her leave, but offered
herself back again before two witnesses the next day.
The master agreed to receive her ; but she would only
agree to return, on condition that neither should she be
asked to join in prayers, nor the master assemble his
family in the kitchen for prayers. The master replied,
that as regarded the first—her joining in prayers—she
could please herself ; but as regarded the second, as long
as he had a house, he would erect an altar to the Lord in
any part of it. The Sheriff found, that a master's power
to require a servant to sop working in the apartment in
which he and his family were engaging in worship was
most unquestionable and proper, and that the condition
annexed by the girl to her offer back of her service was
quite untenable.—Aberdeen Paper.
GRANDEUR OF TUE DUKE'S STATUE.—Whatever
the arch in itself may be, and whatever may be the
grandeur of the idea of placing the statue on that proud
seat, the arch is not a good pedestal for that statue, since
it spoils the effect which the statue might produce. The
character to be carried out in this subject is grandeur,
and the grandeur must be the grandeur of magnitude.
The effect of the statue must chiefly consist
iin the deve-
lopment of its own mighty mass, and n this case it may
be laid down very decidedly that the base of the sculp-
ture should not be placed so far above the eye, as ordi-
nary precedent ideas of proportion may probably advise.
—The Builder.
ST. PAUL'S ANTWERP.—The church of St. Paul
will well repay the stranger for a lengthened visit ; it
contains two fine rows of confessionah, each one sur-
mounted by a good picture. In the inclosure around
this church is what is called a representation of Calvary;
it is reared against the walls of the church. There are
more than sixty figures, of the size of life, representing
patriarchs, prophets, and apostles , some of the groups
have a bold and graceful outline. The entire area is
converted into a sort of Pantheon of saints, statues of
halt the calender being stuck about in all directions.—
The Builder.

Sir JOHN RENNIE, the engineer, estimated the cost of
warping and reclaiming the land, including the sea-wall,
at 151. an acre for the first portion, 171. for the second,
and 201. for the third.
After much discussion, the Shareholders present
decided on proceeding with the undertaking, by a divi-
teon of thirty- two to eighteen.
Thanks were then voted to the chairman, and the di-
rectors were re-elected for the ensuing year.

FALL IN THE Paws OF CORN.—Corn has fallen
in Dublin fully 2s. per quarter. In Limerick, on Satur-
day, fine quality flour fell 2s. in the price of the cwt.,
but there was no general proportional fall in inferior
" bread stuffs." The Limerick Examiner, however, says
that the firm of C. Nash and Son, of that city, had re-
duced the price of oatmeal 4d., and whole flour 4d. per
stone on Saturday. This is, indeed, says the Examiner,
good news for the poor, toswhom the food is retailing in
the smallest quantities at the same price that sales are
made by the ton. In Cork " bread stuffs " ranged on
Saturday as follows i—Wheat has declined 2s. to 2.. 61,
and oats 6d. to ls., since this day week. In barley no
change, but the trade is not lively. There is no-change
in the value of flour ; coarse qualities continue very
scarce. Oatmeal as last noticed. Within the last ten
days six or seven vessels with Indian corn have arrived
at Cove for orders ; the large ones from the Mediterra-
nean have gone to other ports to discharge ; two or
three small ones from Portugal remain here, which has
cmaeuasle dv
ea declineine, a
npdr i
icne
do
ef
maabnodu t
at l 0.
Isn.per o Indian
p ert
on.
The prepared market is fiat, but stocks are very low.
PENAL DISCIPLINE OF CONVICTS.—We believe
that this interesting subject is at present under the se-
rious consideration of the Government, with a view to
relieve New South Wales from its redundant convict
population. It is proposed that the transportation of
males to the colonies should cease, but that the depor-
tation of women should be carried to its fullest extent,
in order to diminish the existing disproportion between
the sexes. It is also under consideration to establish a
convict home colony in the Isle of Portland, where a
proportion of the prisoners sentenced to transportation
should be submitted to a combined moral and physical
discipline, and employed in hewing and preparing stone.
Literary Gazette.
ANOTHER FALL IN BREAD.--.The majority of the
bakers in the metropolis yesterday again lowered the
price of bread one halfpenny in- each 41bs. loaf. The
lowest price now charged on the Surrey side of the
water, Whitechapel, &c., is 7d per loaf of 4lbs., while
the best bread is 9d., ascharged by the full-priced bakers.
FRENCH OPERA.—Berlioz has just completed a
new opera in four acts, entitled the Damnation of Faust,
founded on Goethe's tragedy of, Faust. It is to be pro-
duced at the Opera Comique, Paris, in a few weeks.

MUSICAL CLIABACTERISTICS.-Mr. George Buck-
land delivered a lecture last night (Thursday) on the
above subject, at the Westminster Literary and Scien-
tific Institution. He canvassed the peculiarities of the,
German and Italian composers, and' the styles of Lover
and other popular ballad writers. He elicited a warm
encore in Russell's song of " The Gambler's Wife," John
Parry's " Young England," and he also sung Lover's
" Sally, Sally," and the " Standard Bearer," and other
justly admired pieces, with much applause.

A slate quarry is announced in our columns for
sale by George Robins, which he states will prove a
mine of wealth. The quality and size of the blocks.
produced from this quarry far surpass any of its contem-
poraries of the district, and the general employment of
slate has increased the demand to an enormous extent,
which must render the employment of capital in its pro-
duction for the market highly lucrative.

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, NOVVMBER, 132 1846.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
ROLLS' COURT, Nov. 12.

After disposing of the motions, the cause of
PERRY V. MEADOWCROFT,
which commenced yesterday, was resumed.
Mr. WALPOLE proceeded with his statement. It was
found that the marriage had been solemnized, and it was
also found that that marriage had been nullified. It was
further found that the said William Meadowcroft, the
younger, entered into a marriage with Harriet Davis,
and that she died on the 11th of March, 1830, when he
intermarried with Elizabeth Hammond, now the de-
fendant, • Elizabeth Meadowcroft. It was further
found by the Master that there had been no
issue whatever resulting from this last marriage.
To this report Mr. Meadowcroft, alias Gregory, objected,
which objections were overruled, and having obtained an
order for that purpose on the 20th of February, 1846,
he, on the 23d of the following month, filed certain ex-
ceptions to that report. These exceptions set forth that,
the Master had received as evidence against the except-
ant a certain decree of the Consistory Court of the Bishop
of London, dated the 12th day of July, 1816, pro,-,
nounced in a suit entitled " Meadowcrott v. Gregory,
and that the Master had found that there was no male
lineal descendant of William Meadowcroft, the younger.
In the report of July, 1846, it was further set forth by the
exceptant that such was an erroneous finding, he standing
in said retail, ei to William Meadowcroft the younger.
The Learned Counsel cited the opinion of Chief Justice
Grey as to judgments in the Ecclesiastical Court, and the
reversal of Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce's decree by
Lord Lyndhurst in the case of " Barnes v. Jackson," to
show that the decrees of the Eccle.iastical Court were
not considered binding in civil courts when anything
like collusion or fraud, or in the words of the Court,
sententim pro non sententim per collusione. From the
etymology of the words, covenant and collusion (con
and venio, and con and ludo), it was evident their im-
port was much the same, which opinion was entertained
by Lord Coke, by Lord Tenterden in the case of the
Duchess of, Kingston, &c. Now, from these authorities
he would define collusion as a secret agreement, or
understanding between two or more parties in an action
or suit, whereby the proceedings are so conducted that
the promoter or plaintiff is allowed to succeed to the
prejudice or detriment of an absent party. He would
now call his Lordship's attention to certain facts in this
most extraordinary case. When the dec To was made
there were several persons residing at Liverpool, who
repeatedly said that they had heard the father of
William Meadowcroft, the younger, frequently state
that he would not interfere with the suit that had been
instituted by his brother, the testator, to effect et divorce
between his son, William Meaclowcroft, the younger,
and Mrs. Gregory, the widow of an officer to
whom he had been married. Mrs. Grego."' was
then under marital influence, and induced to
consent to the decree for the nullity of the mar-
riage being proceeded with, notwithstanding the injury
it might, inflict on herself and her child. Mrs. Mary
Gregory made certain statements which he would take
the liberty to mention. They were dated July 11th,
1844, and were to the effect that in the letto:•s which
had passed she stated that her husband, Mr. Meadow-
croft, the younger, was in the office of the testator. and
that she was enceinte, which she represented to Messrs.
Nicholls and Bishop, her agents, and stated that if she
consented to the proceedings then pending Mr. Mea-
dowcroft, her husband, promised to re marry her, and
that she believed that the nominal promoter of the suit,
the father of Mr. Meadowcroft, the younger, was no
party to it whatever, but that it was originated, pro-
secuted, and the expense of it defrayed by the
testator. It was perfectly evident, there ore, that there
was no defence of this suit. This statement was con-
firmed by the evidence of John Webster,.Wm. Jordan,
Joseph Pontington, Field and his wife, and Pott, the
proctor. The Learned Counsel then went through the
evidence in detail, from which it appeared that the father
of W. Meadowcroft, the younger, had repeated to the
first witness (Webster) the statements he had already
made with reference to his son, Mrs. Mary Gregory, and
his brother, the testator. The evidence of Win. Jordan,
the nephew of Mary Gregory, who was hiS maternal
aunt, was to the effect that he had been living
in the house with his aunt and W. Meadowcroft,
the younger, while the suit to nullify the marriage
was pending; that they were living together as man and
wife, and that he had heard several converations take
place between the parties respecting the suit, which
Meadowcroft asserted was instituted entirely by
his uncle, and that he would marry her as soon as the
proceedings should terminate.
The remaining evidence was entirely corroborative,
and the Learned Counsel dwelt at length upon the evi-
dence of Mr. Pett, the proctor, who stated in his affi-
davit, dated the 22d of December, 1844, that Mrs. Gre-
gory had made similar statements to him, and that he
believed from .her manner that her story was correct.
The Learned Counsel having quoted the case of Sulli-
van v. Sullivan, and several other cases' to show the view
entertained by several eminent authorities as to what
constituted collusion and fraud, concluded this part of
the cause, which excites considerable interest from its
novel character, and the intricate legal points involved.
The Court rose at Came o'clock.

VICE-CHANCERY COURT, Nom 12.
(Before Vice-Chancellor Sir J. K. BRUCE.
PASCOE V. SAUNDERS.

This was a cause in which two mortgagees sought to
enforce the fulfilment of a contract or settlement, to
which the third mortgagee refused to assent.
Mr. Bacon appeared for the defendant, and Mr.
Moxon for the plaintiff.
His HONOUR, at the conclusion of the arguments of
the Counsel, said, it appeared that one of the tenants in
common had possession of a certain deed, which he
agreed, with two others, one of whom was the
defendant, to place in the hands of a solici-
tor ; that while in the act of doing so
defendant seized it, either by catching hold of it,
or in some other gross way. It appeared that the de-
fendant had been given into custody for the act, and
though acquitted by a jury, opinion as to the act must
remain unaltered. It was alleged on the part of the de-
fendant that he was as much entitled to the deed in
question, and that he wished to make no ill use of it
whatever, but merely to prevent the common property
being squandered in law. However, the act was such a
one as should not be permitted in civilized society, and
to prevent which, indeed, was one of the great uses of
civilization.

Mr. Becori offered a few observations exculpatory of
his client, who did not deny the right of the plaintiffs.
His HONOUR decreed that Saunders should pay the
costs, and that an account should be taken of the rents
and profits of the property coining to Saunders, and that
the property he sold.
The Court rose,at three.
(Before Vice-Chancellor Sir J. WIGRAM.)
GIBSON V. HOPPER.

This was a motion on behalf of the defendants to
second an amended bill, which had been so amended by
an order of the Court, and praying for the costs. This
case, it appeared, had formerly come on for hearing, but
a difficulty arising in consequence of the absence of one
of the parties, liberty was given either that the matter
should stand over, or that the plaintiffs might file an
amended bill. The plaintiffs had adopted the latter
course, but had raised a question which was not at
issue in the original bill, making certain parties
not named therein as defendants, and drawing into the
question a matter quite beyond the due limits of the
original subject of litigation. The matter had reference
to the sale of a ship, which had been sold to Mr. Hopper,
the defendant, who had been mide a party to the suit
that was pending between claimants to the vessel in
question prior to the sale.
His HONOUR said the proper order would be to ex-
punge the charge, and therefore he would make a decree
to that effect. The order had reference to the costs.
The other questions would be decided, when the pre-
cise question at issue in the cause came before the Court
for trial.

COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Nov. 12.
GRAHAM V. STRADANLEN.
Mr. CRAMPTON moved in this case for a new rule to
show cause why the defeadant, who was at present under
arrest, should not be discharged out of custody. -
It appeared that the defendant was a trader and sub-
ject of Austria, and that ho carried on business, in
conjunction„ with several others, as a merchant at
Smyrna. In the course of his speculations defendant
was unfortunate, and was eventually made a bankrupt,
and the whole of his property was in conse-
quence seized by the Austrian Consul under the
945th section of the penal code of Austria.
It was now contended by Mr. Crampton that these pro-
ceedings were illegal. The defendant arrived in this
country in order to take refuge from the persecutions to
which he was subjected. In the month of August in
the present year, an advertisement appeared in the
Times newspaper calling upon defendant to appear be
fore the Austrian Consul, and also authorising his
apprehension ; he was accordingly arrested, and
had since that period been held in custody. De-
fendant made application to Mr. Baron Platt at chambers
for his release upon the ground that he was under the
protection of the laws of this country. On the other
side it was contended that the defendant intended to
leave the country in order to evade his creditors. In
consequence of this conflicting evidence Mr. Baron Platt
the
country
and
to
he
declined to interfere in the matter, and recommended
an application to the full Court. Mr. Crampton was
now prepared with affidavits, which stated that the de-
fendant left this couory a short time since, after having
tosubsequently
remain
in returned, ande e t
ry h alived in it for a period of six wee&s, that
h
now bad no intention whatever of leaving England again,
thate his had
object w a
obtain a situation in a mercantile house in the city of
London, and that he had a great number of friends iu
this country who were exerting themselves to further
the objects ho had in view, and further, that as the
Austrian Government had seized the whole of his pro-
perty at Smyrna, there was no power in the law of
England to hold his person in custody.
Mr. Baron PARKE—Is the defendant still in cus-
tody?
Mr. CRAMPTON—He is, my Lord.
LORD CHIEF BARON—Take a rule nisi.
(Sittings at Nisi Prius, before Mr. Baron PLATT
and
Common Juries.)
BANKS V. WHITWELL.

This was an action brought to recover the sum of
1251., being the balance of an account for engraving the
plans and sections of the Bristol and Dover Railway, and
also the Leeds and Newcastle Railway. The de-
fendant was the engineer to both of these lines
The defence set up was that the work was so badly
done as to be entirely useless for the purpose
of Parliamentary deposit, and several wi:nesse,;
were called, who stated that the proofs, as sent home by
the plaintiff, were not correct, and that they required
the additional lal)our of upwards of twenty hands to cor-
rect and prepare them, and that in some of the proofs
neither the line of railway rur the deviation lines were
shown. There was no evidence, however, to show that
the original copy or tracings sent to the engraver for the