The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-29 00:00:00

First heat.

ds at Fontley, Fareham, and Gosport, valued, with
td e stock and good-will of a lucrative trade, at 39,0001.,
;era handed over to the son of a public defaulter in
' ,hat Treasurer's-office."

Henry Corby Gree❑ 1

No account of these proceedings against Cort was ever
clstained either before his death in 1800 or afterwards.
Two or three years elapsed from the time that Henry
Cort had disypeared from the scene, and Parliament
appointed a Commission of Naval Inquiry to examine
into the charges against the financial department of the
navy. It appears, then, that the Treasurer and his con-
fidential deputy a few weeks before the sitting of the
Commission indemnified each other by a juint release,
and agreed to burn their accounts for something ap-
proaching a million and a half of the public money which
had passed through their hands. In this general confla-
gration all the evidence by which Henry Cort's case
could have been established perished, and the culprits
refused to answer any questions which would have cri-
minated themselves. As far as we can make out the
'story, Henry Cort was involved in the ruin of a public
defaulter with whose crimes he was not in any degree
concerned. He, as the only solvent person connected
with any transactions in which this person was involved,
was made to pay to the extent of his last shilling. It is
probable, indeed, that from his royalties, and receipts
under his patents, Cort or his representatives could have
satisfied all claims. Time, however, was denied him,
and the simpler plan adopted of ruining him and his
descendants outright, ai)d at once. The influence of
the culprits and the exigencies of political life forbade all
hope of raising the question in Parliament at any subse•
quent period.
Such is a brief outline of this remarkable case,
and thus much we will venture to say :—lf the
statements of Henry Cort's son turn out on in-
vestigation to be true, he and his sisters are well
entitled to some mark of the public gratitude. We can-
not pretend to encumber our columns with the calcula-
tions which are inserted in the petition as to the amount
to which the national wealth has been increased by
Con's processes in the manufacture of iron. Let any
one think of our iron fleet, iron gun-boats, iron mercan-
tile marine, iron railways, iron engines, iron cotton
mills, iron suspension and tubular bridges, iron batteries,
iron palaces, &c., and then ask himself what should be
the measure of public gratitude to the descendants of a
man who endowed his country with such an amount of
wealth and power. While others have, upon the strength
of Henry Cort's discoveries, been raised to the position
of millionnaires, his children are almost starving. We
should be ashamed for the honour of England to men-
tion the amount of the pension which has been conceded
to them by the Crown and Parliament. It is about
equal in amount to the wages of a domestic servant of
the humblest description, and even this has been made
subject to deductions. For the sake of our national
credit, it behoves all persons of influence in the country
to give the case of Henry Cort's children their immediate
consideration. In bringing the subject under their no-
tice our duty is discharged.— Times.

Haffell Coy Purple 0
Charles Brown Red 0
The heat extended the whole front of the town, twice
round, finishing at the Town Pier. Green took the lead
at starting, and kept it all the way. Purple and Red
made a good race of it first time up and down, but after
that Purple went away from the other.
Second Heat.

John Barker
John Dixen
William Hollingum Blue 0
A fine start was succeeded by an extraordinary race,
in which they were all together up and down; after that
Yellow drew in front, and kept it all the way, winning
by two lengths.

Third Heat.

This consisted of the second and third man of the
second heat, and second and third man of the first. Pur-
ple took the lead, and maintained it all the way, hard
pressed by Palk. Won by two two boats' length.
Fourth Heat.

This was with the winner of the first heat and winner
of the second with the two best of the third heat. It
was a good rase—all off well together, but Green with
a slight lead, Purple just up to him; and they came in :
—Green, first; Purple, second.
:Grand Heat.
In starting Green took the lead, and maintained it all
the way, winning easily. There were but two in the
heat, consequently Purple was second. lle rowed very
hard, but his opponent was much too good for him.

MR. HF;NRY CURT, THE IRON

quently was enabled to give a description of both the
la Is to Deeble, a detective of the H division, who, after
much inquiry, was enabled on Monday to obtain a clue
to the hiding place of Arnold, and consequently repaired
to a notorious lodging house at the rear of Shoreditch
Church, where he demanded admission ; but it was an
hour before the door was opened to him. After maki g
a careful search through the sleeping apartments in vain,
he was o❑ the point of leaving the premises when his
attention was directed to a hatf•concealed closet. This
he insisted on having opened, and found Arnold there
concealed in an immense bundle of wet linen. The
officer asked what he was, and he impudently replied,
" Why, don't you see I—l'm a mummy ; I always sleep
here."

Bennett was taken at his father's lodging the same
evening ; and the prosecutrix now identifying both the
thieves, they were committed for trial at the Clerkenwell
sessions.

SOUTHWARK.—CharIes Thomson, a well-dressed
young man, with large black moustachios, who stated
that he was a native of Poughkeepsie, in the state of
New York, was brought before Mr. Combe, charged
with uttering a forged 51. Bank of England note at the
shop of Mr. Fillmer, pawnbroker, Old Kent-road.
The note was shown to the magistrate. It appeared
to have been printed from a coarse wood block. The
female figure and the lettering were extremely coarse.
The prisoner, who spoke in a strong German accent,
said he had just come from New York, and he received
the note there in change for American money. He had
told Mr. liner's shoprnan he got it on the continent.
A. gentleman connected with the Bank of England,
who was in attendance, said he suspected that a large
number of such notes were manufactured on the con-

tinent, and extensively issued among the middle classes
who were not well acquainted with tke genuine Bank of
England note. However, it was folly to attempt to
utter such a note in this country or to any foreign mer-
chant, as it was nothing like a Bank of England note.
Mr. Combo said he understood that there were other
parties to be brought up for passing forged notes on Wed-
nesday, therefore he should remand the prisoner until
that day.

LAMBETH.—Elizabeth, Wood, a middle•aged female,
was charged with having intermarried with John Riley,
her husband, John Wood, being still alive.
John Riley, residing in Mill•street, Camberwell, said
he was married to the prisoner on the 2d of June, at the
parish chureh of St. Giles, Camber well. She was married
as a single woman, in the name of Elizabeth Simmonds.
Police constable A 464 said that the prisoner was given
into his custody by Riley, who directed him to No. 26,
Smyrk's-road, Old Kent-road, where he was informed
she was living. She had gone back to her husband. He
went there and took her into custody on a charge of
bigamy. On her way there she admitted that she had
been married to Riley. She said she was very foolish at
the timer and did not know what she was doing.
Inspector Morels, P division, stated that on the charge
of bigamy being read over to her she observed that her
husband, who was a sailor, had been abroad about a
twelvemonth, and that she thought he was dead. She
met Riley about the beginning of May in the Old Kent-
road, when be spoke to her. An acquaintance immedi•
ately took place between them. The banns were put up
directly, and they were married in less than three weeks
afterwards. The inspector produced the certificates of
both marriages, that of the first having been solemnised
at the church of St. Mary, Newington, on the 14th of
October, 1851.

Mr. Elliott—ls there any proof that the husband is
alive ?

Inspector—He is here your worship.
The prisoner was remanded for the attendance of the
several attesting witnesses.

THAMES.—Robert Buckle, a police constable, No.
44 H, who has been three years in the force, was charged
with stealing a quartern of brandy, the property of the
London Dock Company.
It appeared that the prisoner was on Sunday stationed
on duty on the south quay of the London Docks, where
he was detected by Sergeant Egerton ailing a battle of
brandy from one of the casks. He offered the sergeant
some money to " look over " the offence.
The prisoner said what the sergeant said was true ; he
had no defence to make.

Mr. Yardley—Do you wish me to decide this
The prisoner—Yes, sir, by all means.
Mr. Yardley—Then I sentence you to one mouth's
,inprisonment and bard labour.

MANUFACTURER.

It is somewhat a departure from our usual course to
make the leading columns of this journal the medium
for laying before the British public the claims and griev-
exces of individuals. To persons in the situation sug-
gested the deors of our law-courts are open ; there is
the remedy to petition Parliament ; finally, there is the
public press. The conductors of any res?ectable journal
are at all times ready to give insertion in the-form of a
letter to any well-authenticated complaint ; indeed, no
inconsiderable share of our own daily labour consists in
considering and disposing of applications of this descrip-
tion. When an aggrieved person is admitted to make
his own story known in this firm, of course he, and be
alone, is held answerable for the substantial truth of his
statement. It is quite another matter when a case is
"taken up," as the ordinary phrase runs, in the leading
columns of a public journal, for such a step would no
doubt imply, without special notice to the contrary, that
the facts had been carefully investigated, the alleged
grievances duly considered, and that the credit and cha-
racter of the journal were to a certain extent involved io
the truth of the story. Now with reference to the case
which we are about to bring under the notice of our rea-
ders, and which is the subject of an advertisement in our
columns to-day, we would begin by disclaincing the
faintest shadow of responsibility. We have not investi-
gated the truth of the allegations to which we are about
to advert; nor, indeed, as they refer to scientific mat-
ters, end to secret passages of the scandalous history of
England sixty years ago, do we esteem ourselves com-
petent to conduct an inquiry of that description. We
wish merely that others should know, as we know, the
story of Henry Curt, the father of the British iron trade
—that is, that they should cast a glance over this brief
abstract of a petition which his destitute family have
presented to the House of Commons. This petition has
been forwarded to us, and the allegations it contains are
so completely of a national character, that, for once, we
violate a general and necessary rule, and have deter-
mined to give them all the publicity in our power.
Time was, some seventy years ago, that England was
dependent upon Sweden and Russia for her supply of
wrought iron. Henry .Cort, of Gosport, in the county
of Southampton, an iron manufacturer, invented, and
secured by patent, in the years 1783.1784, two procesies
which relieved us from this commercial servitude, and
liberated for the use of the English manufacturer the
supplies of iron which are stored up so profusely under
the surface of these islands. " The first process effected
the cheap manufacture of wrought iron by the flame of
pit coal in the puddling furnace ; the second process,
which was rolling this cheap wrought iron through
GROOVED ROLLERS, enabled the manufacturer to produce
twenty tons of bar iron in the same time and with the
same labour previously required to manipulate one
ton of inferior quality by the tedious operation
of forging under the hammer." This allegation
is given in the words of the petition. Before the
year 1785, when iron was, comparatively speak-
ing, but slightly used for commercial, maritime, or social
purposes, we paid annually to Sweden something like
1,500,00/. for wrought iron. Then came the war, came
commercial embarrassments, depreciated paper, foreign
prohibitions, and an overpowering and increasing de-
mand for more and more iron. The inventions of Henry
Cort carried us easily through this period of sharp trial,
and, as his descendants allege, were the principal cause
of our succese. It would indeed be impossible to exag-
gerate the advantages resultinz from an unlimited sup-
ply of " the precious metal." The only points for con-
sideration in this case are whether, first, to Henry Curt,
and to biro alone, the credit is due of enabling us to
draw bills upon Vulcan at sight ; and secondly, whether
he did not obtain all the remuneration to which he was
fairly entitled by Teceipts from his patents, and so forth.
Now, upon the first point, we are bound to declare that
Mr. Cort's son has succeeded in obtaining the signatures
of the most eminent engineers and ironmasters in Eng-
land to the petition in which he sets forth his father's
claims to be considered as the exclusive author of the
improvements in the manufacture of iron, The point is
oce upon which hostile criticism is very desirable, but
until such very powerful attestation as we see incorpo
rated in this petition is disproved, there is no doubt a
very violent presumption that Henry Cort, of Gosport,
is entitled to be considered as the Tubal Cain of our
century and of our country. The history of Henry Cort's
ruin we cannot altogether disentangle form the allega-
tions of the petition. The most condensed account of
it is to be found in the 58th paragraph, page 19, of the
petition :
" That for these unparalleled services Henry Cort
derived no remuneration. He expended a private for-
tune exceeding 20,0001. in bringing his patent processes
to complete perfection. When that was achieved, and
the leading iron-masters of the kingdom had, as related,
signed contracts to pay him 10s. per ton for their use,
his patents were seized by a high officer of the Crown,
holding the responsible and lucrative posts of Treasurer
obtained
taitheeeNdahvy h
Navy
the
ed Secretary at War, and under an extent
a
perjury of a confidential deputy his frees

rI3.E SUN, LONDON, PrESDA t VEk .r4tit UL , 1856.

S BARE MARKETS.

.mcglS PAY.

--u•---

Yr.„

gl2s,

:i.ArLv;Ars.

Closing Prices
this day

Irlustness done
this day

COi I
17i

18

97} 81 7i 8
801 80 1

116 j
62j i i

ri i

71 if
110 ; 9i
107 W

9t.
50
P+.
St.

1083 i

341 I 1

831 4

$7 i

TBl i
6212

13 1