The Sun.
London, England, 1833-10-10 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF DEATH

I their sanction to a repeal of the Belie law.
The occurrence of the French revolution,
and the birth of other sons, made th s
solemn act of less consequence during the
lifetime of Charles IV., and it was therefore
never formally promulgated. Matters remained
in this state till the summer of 1830, when,
during the pregnancy of the present Queen
Regent, Ferdinand thought it right to secure
the succession to the future infant, though it
might be a female. He, therefore, in terms of
his father's decree, promulgated the abolition of
the salic law. The documents recDrding the
transactions of 1789, and kept in the Royal
archives ever since that period, were published
last summer, when Ferdinand, by way of ren-
dering the deed more solemn, again summoned
a body of notables, in the form of the Cortes, to
ratify the act, and to swear allegiance to his
daughter. Thus the act of the repeal of the
imported salic law was at least as solemn, and
as authoritative, as its establishment. It ema-
nated as much from the Sovereign will, and was
clothed with as many State formalities. In fact,
it could not spring from a higher or a better
source, in a country where the power of the
Monarch is absolute, and where he requires no
consent of no legislative body to sanction his
acts. The repeal of the salic law is therefore
the annulling by one Bourbon of an Act passed
by another. The repeal has been executed with
the same formalities as the restriction. So far
from being an innovation, it is the restoration of
the ancient Spanish law, which Philip V. had
no right to change—a law derived from the ear-
liest periods of the monarchy—a law acted upon
in the neighbouring country of Portugal, in Eng-
land, in Russia, and in European states. In
short, so far from being a sudden change, it
had been determined upon forty years ago by the
grandfather of the present infant Queen, for whose
lbenefit it has first operated. But, for our own
parts, we must confess that the question of dy-
nasty would appear to be of little importance,
unless it were connected with a question of good
government. Unless the two rivals had opposite
devices on their banners, it would scarcely be
worth while to examine into the legitimacy of
their titles ; but when we see that in Carlos is
to be personified the reign of arbitrary power,
and of ecclesiastical intolerance,—when we see
that he is pledged to prolong or enlarge the
dominion of darkness and superstition, and to
yoke Spain to the car of the Holy Alliance,—
and when, on the other hand, we can anticipate
the chances of reform, and the establishment of
freedom, a new constitution, and liberal alliances
under the minority of his neice, we feel grateful
for once to Ferdinand that he dug out of the
archives of his father the act for enabling him to
give the succession to his daughter.—Times.

The sycophants of Lord Palmerston are now
compelled to acknowledge that, after nearly
three years of protocolling, the Belgico-Dutch
question is as unsettled as ever. Our readers
must recollect how often we met the pompous
announcements of " speedy settlement," by the
Treasury journals, with scepticism or denial.
We saw that our Foreign Minister was either
playing into the hands of the Holy Alliance, or
had lent himself an unsuspecting victim to the
deception practised by diplomatists, who made
a sport of his incapacity. The wretched and
distracted condition of Belgium, with its mock
independence, broken spirit, and failing re-
sources, presents a picture of the results of our
interference of which our Statesmen have no
reason to he proud. The Spaniard who prayed
to Heaven to deliver him from his friends, did
not more poignantly suffer from the consequences
of a pernicious and fatal advocacy than the
unhappy Belgian, who has been encum-
bered with the destructive protection of
the genius of Lord Palmerston! The Trea-
sury journals, however, can derive consolation
from the present state of things, although the
Bebiians cannot. They have all at once disco-
vered, since the utter failure of British diplomacy,
that the Belgians are really in a better condition
by being refused a treaty with Holland than if it
were granted. This reminds one of the old fable
of the baffled fox and the " sour grapes." The
treaty cannot be olatained, and therefore it is not
worth having ! This should have been thought
of beFire we entered into the foolish A nglo-
Gallic Convention—before we became a party to
the unavailing carnage at Antwerp, and before
we sent out a fleet to the coast of Holland, to
incur expense and disgrace, in pursuit of an
object which, it now turns out, would have
been prejudicial rather than advantageous to
Belgium, in whose favour we had made those
hostile demonstrations. If Ministers had taken
the advice which we gave them from the begin-
ning, to leave Belgium and Holland to fight
out their own battle, the question would have
been long ago decided, the general peace of Eu-
rope would have been preserved, and our Mi-
nisters would have escaped the disgrace of
violating, to no good purpose, their own doc-
trine of non-interference.—Morning Herald.
Speaking of the reappointment by the Queen
Regent of the late King Ferdinand's Ministers,
more particularly that of M. de Zea Bermudez,
a Morning Contemporary remarks, " that the
only question to be solved, as far as this Mi-
nister is concerned, is, whether he will avail
himself of his position to favour the pretensions
of Don Carlos, or whether he will support the
throne of the Infant Queen, in consequence of
an understanding between the Regent and him-
self that the new reign shall be conducted as
nearly as possible like the old; that is, upon
absolute principles." It is a great misfortune
that we judge of the affairs of Spain and Portu-
gal from mere analogy ; but it is a still greater
one that we only know and appreciate the poli-
tical characters most prominent in both coun!ries
from the descriptions given of them by the re-
fugees who have so long resided among us, and
whose opinions ought to have been received with
the greatest caution. M. de Zea Bermudez is
not the only Spanish public functionary respect-
ing whom erroneous ideas prevail in this country.
" That lie is," says our Morning Contemporary,
" a decided enemy to liberal opinions, and a
stanch supporter of the system of Metternich
and the Northern Autocrat, none but a super-
ficial observer of political character can doubt."
This portrait is perfectly' untrue. M. Zea is not a
man to receive his notions of the best mode
of governing Spain from either St. Petersburg!)
or Paris; neither would lie bargain for the re-
tention of place with either of the competitors
for the Castilian throne. By a long residence
abroad he acquired those ideas which, when ap-
plied to his own country, he thought best calcu-
lated to promote its prosperity; and, as far as
o
we have been enabled to judge of his conduct
n the
at the of the
occasions
in
Spanishwhiclt heA d nihasAdministra-
tion, ibs
terean
placed .
tion, his leading principles have been—repose at
home, avoidance of all quarrels, or onerous en
gagements with Foreign Powers, and, above all,
not to allow any extieme party to gain the

ascendancy, in the full conviction that if any
thing of this kind were to happen, Spain would
inevitably become the theatre of civil war, which
would lead to a repetition of the 1820 scenes,
under an aggravated form. Inflexibility of cha-
racter and firmness of design are the strong
features of his public conduct, and, perhaps,
sometimes he.: has carried them too far ;
but few can, :imagine the great difficulties
which he has had to contend with during
the few months he has been in office. The
perplexities into which he was plunged by
contending factions, a disputed succession,
a financial emergency, and the return of
many disappointed persons, after a long and
painful absence abroad, may easily be imagined.
If he has not done all that he could, at least he
is entitled to credit for what has been the work
of his own hands, and if only he has kept Spain
from hurrying herself into the vortex of a revolu-
tion, he has served his country well. No one more
than M. de Zea can regret that any seeds of dis-
union should exist between the members of the
royal family of Spain ; but they existed before he
came into power. The only course, therefore,
left open for him was to prevent those seeds
from springing up, ripening, and produc-
ing the bitter fruits of anarchy. His only
care was to prevent his sovereign's pillow
from being disturbed during an ominous
and protracted illness; and in both these endea•
yours he was completely successful. More than
this, he combated foreign interference in the
affairs of Porsugal, and thus not only consulted
the welfare of the Peninsula but also the general
interests of Europe. .If, under the recent
change, he remains in office, it will not be by a
compromise of his former principles. M. de
Zea is essentially a Spaniard, fond of his country,
jealous of its honour, and anxious for its pro-
sperity. He has, blended in his policy, many
of the old punctilios of the Castilian character,
for ages venerated in Europe, in which truth
and frankness are prominent features ; and, if he
is retained by the Queen, those who know him
best are decidedly of opinion that he will endea-
vour to reconcile the contending parties by in-
ducing each to sacrifice something on the altar
of their common country. At all events, he
will object to the interference of Louis Philip in
a domestic question, in like manner as he would
to that of Russia or England ; and if he has to
appeal to the Allied Sovereigns in any emer-
gency in which Spain may hereafter be placed,
it will not be to strengthen his own power, but
rather with a view to support a principle, or
contend for a right, common to all nations, and
as agreed upon at the general settlement of
peace. He will guard against the sophisms of
Doctrinaire Cabinets, in like manner as he
will take care that his restless neighbours on the
other side of the Pyrenees do not overreach
him in their diplomatic intercourse, nor overawe
him by the threat of assembling an army of ob-
servation near the Spanish frontiers. It is not
for us even to guess at what the destinies of
Spain are likely to be, our knowledge of the
contending parties and the extent of their
views being yet imperfect. The Spaniards,
however, do nothing with precipitation, and
what effect the King's death has had upon the
people at large has not been ascertained. Whe-
ther they will wish the great question to be
revived ab initio, or whether they will consider
what has been done for the settlement of the
succession as valid and binding, no one here
can tell ; but the real lover of his country will,
by all the means in his power, endeavour to
prevent an open collision between the Queenites
and Carlists, which, we acknowledge, will be
difficult, as we the other day stated, if there is
any foreign interference. That the claims and
position of the Infante Don Carlos have been
misrepresented is a fact, and that a large portion
of the Spanish population are not satisfied with
what has been done for the settlement of the
crown, is equally undeniable ; but these are
matters which regard Spaniards alone, and in
their discussion no foreign state has a right to
interpose. The friend of his country will
seek to arrange conflicting claims, without an
appeal to arms. This, it is generally thought,
M. de Zea will endeavour to do. The task
is arduous, we are well aware. It is difficult
to act with such a basis as the population
of Spain, unhappily divided into extreme parties,
disagreeing besides on many other essential
points of great national importance, and still
retaining prejudices of various hues, and excited
in the effervescence of the moment, which have
not been removed by the agency of the Press,
or by the other means existing in countries dif-
ferently organized, and further advanced in in-
tellectual acquirements. We must, therefore,
wait for further information before we offer any
decided opinion on the affairs cf Spain, or pre-
dict the turn they are now likely to take. In
the meanwhile we repeat, on the authority of
those in this country who know him best, that
M. de Zea will avoid being involved in the ex-
tremes of either party. Should the Queen
throw herself into the arms of the anarchists, or,
as our Morning Contemporary surmises, make
any compromise with her competitor, involving
engagements to revive the days of terror (an idea
which we deem purely imaginary), we think
that M. de Zea is not her man.—Morning Post.

The Reverend divine who refused Christian
burial to a poor coal-heaver, can have, it is clear, no re-
spect for dust and ashes.

Alluding to the Oporto wines, a recent writer
upon the subject says:.--" Five-eighths of the wine brought
to England is so coarse, and is such a medley of ill
flavoured heterogeneous vine produce, had Portuguese
brandy, and other matters, that any ingenious person may
increase one pipe to three by the addition of unexciseable
articles, without any fresh injury to the stomach of the
consumer, or to the appearance of the wine."

NEW MODE OF SIIAVING; OR, BARBERS,
WE CAN no WITHOUT YE.-A truly ludicrous scene was
exhibited some days ago at the mill of Messrs. Hirst and
Bramley, in Leeds. A weaver, who had seen a paragraph
in the newspapers descriptive of the efficacy of gas lime in
removing all unnecessary hair from the backs of animals
and the chins of men, determined to render the discovery
a practical benefit to himself. He filet tried the experiment
on his arm, and found that the application succeeded to
admiration. lie immediately developed his secret to his
companions, who, to the number of 24 or upwards, agreed
to save the penny which had hitherto been the perquisite of
the poor barbers. They covered their chins with a com-
plete plaster of the lime, anticipating the wonderful results
which were to follow. The effect was tremendous; the
unfortunate countenances began to swell and blister—the
pain became excruciating—some were convulsively washing
the parts affected" with cold water—some were literally
covering their faces with oil—and some were seen running
for turpentine. All application, however, was in vain,
until the usual process of healing was completed. One
man was absent front his work three days, under medical
tr,atinent ; all the others were more or less sufferers, and
many of them have swum that they would rather give the
barber six times his fee than suffer the same agony again.
Seriously, however ; the Scotebman who originally pub-
fished the paragraph which has been the source of all this
mischief ought to be severely reprehended. The paragraph
has gone the round of al.-nost all the newspapers in the
kingdom, and has repeatedly produced effects like those
we have just recorded. The skin of our Englishmen can-
not bear what is harmless to the bide of a stern moun•
Express.

FROM STARVATION.

CORONER'S INQUEST.

Yesterday afternoon an inquest was held at the
Crown and Sceptre, Douglas-street, Vauxhall-road,
before Mr. HIGGS, on the body of John Bickerton,
.aged 77, who died in a wretched hovel, and in a
state of squalid destitution.
The circumstances of the case were very extra-
ordinary. The deceased was stated to have been
educated at Hertford College, Oxford, but had for
years lived in a ruinous building, one of five, in
'l'othill-fields, and known as the " Five Chimneys."
To two of these buildings, and a small plot of
ground in the rear, together with a small house near
by, he claimed a freehold title, alleging that he had
given 380/. for them. No papers or deeds were
found in his possession at his death, and every
thing around him indicated extreme distress, yet he
had always pertinaciously refused going to the
hospital. Mr. Higgs, the Deputy Coroner, who,
from his connexion with the Dean and Chapter of
Westminster, and his long residence in the neigh-
bourhood, is well acquainted with the localities,
stated that the " Five Chimneys" is traditionally
reported to occupy the site of the pest-houses,
erected at the time of the great plague, in 1665,
and inhabited by the men employed in burying the
dead, which are reported to be buried in large num-
bers in Tothill-fields. The buildings were after-
wards deserted, and the neighbourhood, such was
the terror of pernicious exhalations, became a wide
waste. Some at last were found bold enough to
take possession of the " Five Chimneys," and a
right of property is alleged to have been acquired
by a co.itinuous descent of uninterrupted possession.
Much other property in 'Westminster is known to
have been acquired in the same way. The deceased,
notwithstanding his possession, appears to have
accumulated no property—neither furniture nor
money has been found. His mode of living was
wretched in the extreme : he would eat offal of fish
and other animals ; he lived alone till the last fort-
night of his life, when a young man named David
Friend, of 4, Bleeding Hart-yard, Hatton-garden,
was in the habit of visiting him night and morning.
The following is a brief abstract of the more inte-
resting parts of the evidence.
Charles Rice occupied the tenement next to the
deceased's. On Sunday afternoon, hearing ha was
dead, he entered the house, the door of which was
merely on the latch, and found the deceased lying
in a kind of upper room, stretched on a kind of
straw mattress, which Mr. M'Carthy had given
him. He was alive, but very faint. He had no
shirt on. He had, in fact, not worn one for years.
A mat, two blankets, and his clothes were spread
over him. Witness asked him how he was, and he
replied—" As bad as could be to be alive." Wit-
ness asked him if he would have some tea, and he
replied, " Tea! no, I am too far gone for tea or any-
thing else." Witness brought him some, and told
him he must take it. He tried, but got down
scarcely two drops, and that came up again, and he
then said, " You see I can't now." Mr. Hastings,
the surgeon, was sent for, and attended him. On
the Sunday afternoon he desired witness to write,
immediately after his death, to Mrs. Wood, of Wem,
Salop, and inform her he left her " sole successoress
of all that he was possessed of." The deceased died
the following afternoon, and witness immediately
wrote as requested.
Mr. Hastings, surgeon, of the Vauxhall-road, de-
posed to having been sent for to attend the de-
ceased, whom he found in a state of great exhaus-
tion and dying; he could discover no symptoms of
disease or poison ; witness heard him direct the
young man to write to Mrs. Wood ; witness met
him about a fortnight previously, and he bad then a
crust of bread, which he said a lady was going to
give a dog, but that on his applying she kindly gave
it him instead ; he said it would last him 24 hours;
he was a sober m,,n, and, in the opinion of witness,
might have lived longer if supplied with the com-
mon necessaries arid comforts of life.

David Friend had occasionally visited the de-
ceased during the last fourteen days; the deceased
claimed the freehold of a house in Edward-street,
Vincent-square, besides two houses in " Five
Chimneys."
- -

Richard Palen Bickerton, of No. 4, Addaide-
street, St. Martin's, claimed to be related to the de-
ceased, and to be his next of kin; he had not seen
the deceased for years, but believes he is related to
him, by the deceased being the brother of witness's
grandfather; witness did riot know where the de-
ceased lived, or that he was in want ; he was willing
to be at the expense of the funeral, on condition
that he was reimbursed, if he failed of establishing
his relationship.
The CORONER could say nothing on that subject.
The Jury returned a verdict—" That the de-
ceased died from the want of the common necessaries
of life."

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MARYLEBONE.

A WOMAN HATER.—Yesterday, a middle-aged
man of respectable appearance, named Win. Nairne,
an ornamental painter by trade, was charged under
the following circumstances:—
A young female, named Anderson, on Saturday
evening last, was passing along Osnaburgh-street,
when the defendant seized her by the shoulders, and
having given her a violent kick in the back, ran
away. He was, however, pursued by a policeman,
and apprehended. She had given no provocation
to the defendant, and could only account for it by
his general antipathy to females, for which reason
he went by the name of the " woman-hater."
A respectable married woman, named Surry, said
that she had been frequently kicked in a similar way
by the defendant. He always displayed an unac-
countable aversion to the fair sex when he met an
unprotected female.
Several unfortunate females gave similar evidence.

~
The defendant, who declared he had neverkicked a
respectable woman, was fined 51., and held to bail.

B 0 IV- STREET.

PLYING FOR HIRE WITHOUT A LICENSE.—TV.
Shepherd and Daniel Kettle were charged with
plying for hire with a lly, on the preceding evening,
without having the neees,ary Stamp-office and other
plates affixed to the carriage.
Shepherd was fined in the full penalty of 101.;
and, in default of payment, was committed to the
House of Correction for two months. The other
defendant was discharged.
UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A CAB.--A man
named Boxer, charged, on Tuesday last, by Mr.
Folkard, the cabriolet proprietor, with being found
in possession of a cab and horse, his property, of the
value of 1001., without being able to give a good
account of the manlier in which he obtained such
possession, was again brought up; but, still refus-
ing to give any further account of himself or the
horse and cab, he was remanded for a week.
ONE OF THE VICTIMS ON BOARD THE AMPHI-
TRITE —A young man, named William Hoskins,
who still showed the remains of former respectab!.
lity, attended on a summons obtained by the parish
officers of St. Martin's-in-the•fields, to answer to a
complaint that he had neglected to pay the sum
of 311. 4.i. 3d., advanced towards the support of
his wife Mary, whom he was alleged to have de-
serted.

It appeared from the statement of Earle, one of
the parish officers, that on the 19th of September,
1832, the wife and child of the defendant had be-
come chargeable to the parish, and that since that
time he (defendant) had advanced nothing towards
their maintenance or support. The wife was some
time since convicted of a petty felony, and sen-
tenced to be transported to Botany Bay for seven
years, and she was on her way out to that colony,
together with her child, aged five years, for whom
she had obtained permission to accompany her, in
the Amphitrite transport, when that vessel was
wrecked, and they both petished. The sum of
311. 4s. 3d. was now due from the defendant to the
parish for the maintenance of his wife.
The defendant was unable to pay the money; he

was Very poor, and out of work. H• bad been
apprenticed to an oilman in the Strand, with whom
he had regularly served his time.
Sir F. ROB said that the defendant appeared to
be too poor to pay so large an amnunt as that due,
and he thought it better that the vestry clerk should
be consulted before further steps were taken in the
matter.

Mr. Hall, one of the overseers, expressed his
willingness to follow the suggestion of the worthy
Magistrate, and the young man was suffered to de-
part.
The deceased wife of the unfortunate young man,
it would appear, was of a very bad disposition, and
being a woman of superior strength and size to the
defendant, was in the habit of beating him severely,
and not unfrequently of throwing him down stairs.
The defendant, it appears, was sincerely attached to
the child, who, with its unfortunate mother, was
lost in the Amphitrite, which circumstance has
thrown him into the deepest affliction.