The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-03 00:00:00

168 15 0

Net Rental .......................................... £6Bl 5 0
Or equal to Si per cent.

The foregoing statement shows a considerably
higher return than on the Morpeth buildings, solely
in consequence of these cottages not being liable to
the window tax. This is an exceedingly hard case as
regards Mr. Laird, for although the dwellings in
Morpeth buildings have the same number of win-
dows as Mr. Hughes's cottages, they are taxed, whilst
Mr. Hughes's are not.
This is the great objection to dwellings being
built in flats, as the law has determined, that in any
building with a door opeaing into the street, all
within that door are as liable to the window tax as if
they were one house; consequently, as there are in
each block in Morpeth buildings eight dwellings,
each dwelling having five windows, besides three in
the staircase, forty-three windows are taxed, making
141. Bs. 9d. per block, or 1571. on the whole te-
nement.
As to the convenience, comfort, and healthfulness
of such houses, there cannot, I think, be a doubt ;
and now that Birkenhead has shown such a praise-
worthy example in contributing so largely towards
the health, comfort, and enjoyment of the labouring
classes,
I trust it may ere long be universally followed
throughout the kingdom ; for it is a well-ascertained
fact, that no means can be more effectual, not only
for rendering a man a better member of society, but
also a better labourer than that of increasing the
comforts of his home.
40, Hamilton. square, Birkenhead, Dec. 13, 1847.

SERIOUS ACCIDENT AND COLLISION.—On Monday
morning, the 20th instant, about seven o'clock, as the
sloop Flora, of Inverness, belonging to Mr. Hugh Mac-
kintosh of this place, was lying at anchor on the other
side of Corran Ferry, the mate (who was on the watch)
observed, at about a mile distant, a steamer, the Dun-
Castle, coming
,in the direction of the vessel. As
she approached nearer, and still kept direct towards the
sloop, the mate called out to those on board to change
their course; but, from whatever cause, his advice was
not attended to, and the steamer bore down upon the
vessel, and struck her near the stern. On the sloop being
struck, the captain, who was sleeping, instantly awoke,
and, jumping
out
of bed on the cabin floor, found him-
self up to his waist in water. With great difficulty he
made his way to the deck, and, on arriving there, the
men on board all cried to the steamer—she being at this
time about a hundred yards off—to turn and save them,
as they were in a sinking state. No notice, they say,
was taken of their cries. They then betook themselves
to the small boat, the how-rope of (which, fortunately,
was loose; and no sooner were they in than the vessel
immediately went down in about six fathoms of water,
not more than three or four minutes having elapsed from
the time she was struck by the steamer to the time she
went down. The men saved nothing but the clothes that
were then.—lnverness Courier.
ROYAL ARTILLBRY.—Forty-five young men en-
listed by the recruiting party under Lieutenant James
Clarke at Lisburne in Ireland, joite.d head quarters on
Friday last, making with sixty previously, 105 recruits
sent by that veteran officer in the month of December
last. Captain Knox, recruiting at Coleraine, sent about
twenty young men during the same month, and there
are now so many recruits in the garrison, in the various
stages of drill, that they would be sufficient to form
Another battalion.