The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-16 00:00:00

THE CORN-LAWS. ____,
TO MR. COBDEN.
Stn,—As I know you only through the public press, and
as your constant labours in the service of humanity allow
you (it would seem) no long settled residence in any one
place, I know not where I can find you, or how better I can
address you than through the same public medium, and I do
so merely to suggest one idea, and which I believe I may
call an argument against the existing cora-laws. Though '
I have often read, and with admiration, your addresses, I do
not remember that you have touched on the point to which
I am about to refer; but so numberless have been your argu-
ments that I may have forgotten. But wherever a great
evil exists, be it moral, physical, or political, it is felt as well
as seen in such varied forms in real life, that it is almost
impossible that any one individual should be aware, or even
able to collect from others, all the bad consequences of such
evil, for if not corrected its generatious stud relations become
infinite.
Now, Sir, I am no politician, and no theorist; I am a man
in business, and by practically feeling the evil to which I am
about to allude have been lea to form the fallowing maxim,
viz., that in society no body of men should be invested by
Government with an artificial influence over the political
freedom of their fellow-subjects. If this principle be pure
and true the corn laws are foul and false.
As things are where is the political freedom of any poor
tradesman and shopkeeper in a country town? Are they
not very much deuendent on the farmers, and are not:the
farmers (by the corn-laws) invested with an artificial in-
terest in supporting one set of Parliamentary representatives?
Then where is political freedom? The farmer (we in trade
n-ell know and feel) has a public market for his goods, and we
have no influence over him, neither do we wish to have, but
we do wish, and we feel that justice demands, that he should
not be invested by an artificial interest created by the corn-
laws to exercise a cruel and selfish influence over us. As
things are, if we not do support his views, or vote for his man,
he goes and deals at another parish. All we say then, Sir, is,
take away his reasons for such cruel caprice, and he and we
shall live as brethren, all enjoying equal rights and equal in-
fluence, and shall be alike interested in supporting such mea-
sures, and such only, as promote the well-being of the uni-
versal family. You will be pleased to understand, Sir, that
it is only to artificially created influences that we object, and
not to the
wealth, or wisdom individualoral influences of superior worth, or
.—I am, Sir, yours
A MAN IN BUSINESS.

Cheltenham, Jan, 15, 1846.

THE PROJECTED RAILIVAYS.
(From the Times.)
We are requested to state, with reference to the list of
" Defunct Schemes" published in our paper of the 14th
inst., that--

The Cirect Birmingham and Leicester, and the North-
ampton and Bedford Companies declare that they have duly
deposited plans.
The Camerons, Coalbrook, Swansea, and Loughor Com-
pany is the same as Swansea and Leughor, for which plans
are lodged.
The Essex and Suffolk Company say they have amal-
gamated with the Chelmsford and Bury, fer which plans are
lodged.
The Lincoln, Louth, and Great Grimsby Railway Com-
pany is the same as the Great Grimsby, Louth, &c., for
which plans are lodged.
The Manchester, Oldham, Liverpool, and Birkenhead, is
the same as o,dham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Birken-
head, for which plans are lodged.
The Portsmouth and Langston Railway and Dock Com-
pany have lodged their plans. (This does not appear in the
list of the Private Bill-office.)
The Saundersfoot Railway and Harbour is the same as the
Tenby, Saundersfoot, and South Wales Railway, for which
plans are lodged.
The South Midland, Leicester, Northampton, Bedford, and
Cambridge, is the same as the South Midland, for which
plans are lodged.
The Bristol, Poole Harbour, and Lymington Junction
Railway Company say they have deposited their plans.

READFUL EXPLOSION OF
FIRE-DAMP.
NEWPORT, MoxstountsninE, JAN. 14.—This morning it fearful explosion occurred seven miles from this town, at the
works of Mr. John Russell, by which a sacrifice of thirty-five
lives has taken place.
So far as we have been able to discover, the disaster oc-
curred through the injudicious use of Davy's lamp.
(ANOTHER ACCOUNT.)
There happened this morning, about half-past seven o'clodr,
a tremendous explosion of fire-damp, at the colliery of Messrs.
John Russell and Co., of Risca, in this neighbourhood, accom-
panied with a frightful loss of life. It appears that a great
number of the workmen have been keeping holiday, and that
only about 140 men were working in the pit at the time of
the explosion. The accident occurred in the big vein, where
about thirty-five men were working, which is - the number
missing on their being mustered at the mouth of the pit.
.Fourteen bodies have been already brought up, the state of
the pit being such as to prevent searching for the remainder.
It was expected that about four o'clock to-day there would be
sufficient air in the workings to enable the search to be con-
tinued. There can, however, be little doubt that the remaining
number are dead.