The Sun.
London, England, 1834-01-14 00:00:00

MARLBOROUGHISTREET.

STREET FRUIT SELLERS.-It has been usual, for
some length of time, each Monday morning, for the
police to bring up a number of men and women, all
Irish, for the offence of selling fruit in the public
streets during divine service. Yesterday, whe❑ the
batch was disposed of, Mr. CONANT took occasion
to ask Inspector Baker under whose authority the
police acted, in seizing the baskets of the fruit people.
Inspector Baker said the men acted on orders
from their superintendent, and he believed the
orders had been given in consequence of the com-
plaints. of the inhabitants in those neighbourhoods
where the fruit-sellers mostly congregated. It was
only during divine service that the men had orders
to stop the street traffic.
Mr. CONANT said he did not think the police
ought to take indiscriminately all those who might
be found in the streets with baskets of fruit. It
appeared from the evidence, the fruit-sellers did not
put their baskets on the pavement, and thus create
an obstruction, and he cculd not think there was
much harm in the desire to sell fruit on the
Sunday, provided it was done in an orderly
way. He thought the police %should have in-
structions not to molest those who conducted
themselves quietly ; but in those cases where they
were noisy, so as to interrupt Divine Service, drunk,
or annoying and obstructing foot passengers, the
police ought to take the offenders into custody.
He wished this distinction to be represented to the
quarter from whence the directions to the police
emanated.

Inspector Baker promised to lay the Magistrate's
suggestion before the Superintendent, and the sub•
ject dropped.

THE NIGER EXPEDITION.

Richard Lander was at Atta on the 21st of July; and,
we rejoice to say, in vigorous health. He was making
preparations to ascend the river in the Alburka, accom.
panied by Lieutenant Allen, and a medical man. His
voyage from the coast in a canoe (as mentioned in our
preceding notice of the expedition), occupied him thirty.
two days. In a letter to his brother, of the date stated,
with a delightful extract from which we are favoured, he
says--

" You know that when we were here together, Abucco,
chief of Damuggoo, had been at variance for several years
with his brother, the ruler of Atta. On arriving at the
former place from the coast, I was sorry to find the lirJ-
there, with their respective subjects, still engaged in that
petty but obstina'e and ferocious warfare which had
distinguished the quarrel at the commencement. De-
termined, if possible, to effect a reconciliation between
them, I prevailed upon my old friend Abucco to ac-
company me to Atta, promising to introduce him to his
brother, and pledging my life for his safety. The meet-
ing teok place on the 22d of November, and a highly in.
teresting one it was, I assure you. Our party, preceded
by Jowdie and a few drummers, were introduced into a
large square enclosure. The chief, seated on a kind of
throne, was surrounded by all his mallams, and a multi-
tude of his attendants. Ills wives were seated un ter a
veranda, from which were suspended several handsome
Turkey carpets, which served them for a screen. Abucco
instinctively drew back as he approached the throne, but,
taking him by the hand, I led, or rather pulled, him to-
wards his brother. At this moment his confidence seemed
to have forsaken him entirely; his head hung down on
his breast, and I could feel him tremble violently. Whilst
I was displaying my presents to the chief of Atta, I per-
ceived him several times bestow a hasty and displeased
Iduk on his brother, who had disengaged himself from my
hand, and was sitting on the ground. Though seven
years had elapsed since their last meeting, neither of the
rulers uttered a word. The curiosity of the chief of
Atta having in some measure been gratified, I im-
mediately introduced his brother to his notice, by
paying him a high compliment, which Abucco
had certainly deserved. I then expressed the re-
gret I felt on witnessing the bad effects of the
misunderstanding which bad existed between them
for so many years ; insisted on the necessity of brothers
living together in harmony ; and said, I was determined
not to quit the spot until I bad established a perfect
reconciliation between them. The chief was extremely
disconcerted, but be made no reply. I then desired
Abucco to rise, and leading him to his brother, I took the
right hand of each, and, pressing both hands together,
made them shake hands heartily, observing—' You are
now friends, and may God keep you so.' Th© brothers
were deeply affected, and neither of them could utter a
syllable for several seconds afterwards. Every countenance
beamed with delight at the happy termination of the in-
terview, and the multitude gave vent to their feelings in a
loud, long, and general shout. For my part, I need not
say, I cannot tell the heartfelt gratification I felt at that
moment. But this is not the most important good that I
have been the bumble means of effecting at this place.
From time immemorial it has been a custom with the rulers
of Atta to sacrifice human beings on rejoicing days,
and o❑ all public occasions. At the interview which 1
have just described to you, two poor creatures were
brought before us to be slain, in order that their blo id
might be sprinkled about the yard. I shuddered at the
proposal, and begged with earnestness that nothing of the
kind might be done. I assured the chief lie would one
day have to give an account to God of every life he might
wantonly destroy : and also made him sensible that though
after death his body would moulder into dust, his soul
would live for ever, and that it would be happy or
miserable in proportion to the good or bad actions he had
performed, or might yet perform in this world. The
Chief was evidently much affected at my words, and
desired his followers to unbind the intended victims, and
remove them from the yard. He then made a solemn
promise to put an end to the custom of sacrificing human
beings. As soon as this declaration was made known to
the mallams, and the crowd of attendants in the yard,
they all held up their hands in token of approbation, and
shouted for joy. It is now seven or eight months since
this promise was made, and I am happy to say it has been
religiously kept.—Literary Gazette.

We are glad to learn that the Iron Masters
who have been latterly a little elevated, are not disposed to
carry their prices to an unnatural and imprudent extreme.
At the quarterly meeting of the Staffordshire and Shrop-
shire Iron Manufacturers, on Tuesday, it was considered
expedient to maintain the prices of last quarter. A
further advance was talked of, but we understand it is not
likely to take effect. It was hinted by pretty competent
judges, that but for a scarcity of coal, iron must have
fallen in price, the market for ore being by no means so
brisk as at the commencement of last quarter. A slight
advance in pigs is not altogether improbable. We observe
that some of the Journalists, whose readers are chiefly
concerned in the iron trade, have discovered a capital
reason for advancing prices, viz., that when iron was high
in price the country was happy and prosperous—ergo the
way to make the country both prosperous and happy, is to
raise the price of that staple, and the higher the price the
happier the people. This beats Mr. Attwood'a paper
currency mono-mama—Sheffield Mercury.
LORDS AND FARM SERVANTS.-HARES
AND CATS.-A shooting party, consisting of sundry of
our Tory nobility and gentry, passed a farm-steading, not
a hundred miles west from Perth, the other day. A
favourite house cat, belonging to a farm-servant resident
there, happened to be amusing itself at the door. One of
the party, a Noble Lord and M.P., fired his gun at poor
puss, at a distance of only five yards, and blew the un-
offending animal to atoms. We have not heard that the
noble Sportsman has been brought to task for his heartless
conduct. A few days after this event, at a faros a little
further to the westward, one of the servants had, by em.
ployment of his master, placed a snare for destroying rab-
bits. The son of a Noble Lord, the proprietor of the
farm, and the Noble Lord's gamekeeper, found, or alleged
they found, a hare in the snare. The farm servant was
in consequence convicted of an offence against the game
laws, and committed to prison. So much for house cats,
and so much for hares I—Perthshire Advertiser.