The Sun.
London, England, 1851-10-20 00:00:00

BLOOMERISK IN SOUTHWARK

Bloomerism made an irruption on the Surrey side ri
of the Thames on Friday night, awl the people of S ,uth-
wark had an opportunity of being delectated with a
lecture in which the subject was " philosophically and
intellectually considered" by Miss Atkins, a most
enthusiastic, a very pretty, and therefore not unpleas-
ing advocate of the " new costume," and of course a
not less determined enemy of " that tyrant, fashion."
The lecture-room was crowded to the ceiling, though
the price of admission was sixpence, and to
the reserved seats one shilling, and the fair
debutante on making her appearance, was
welcomed in a hearty manner. Removing from
her shoulders the light cloak in which her
form was enveloped, and turning to the audience,
whose cheers she appropriated with much self-satis-
faction, she curtsied and bowed with all the grace she
could command, whether natural or assumed, and a
full-blown Bloomer stood revealed. Some of the
rougher sex cheered, others roared with laughter,
whilst the ladies joined in the general burst of
hilarity. Miss Atkins had on her head a felt hat, of
the shape commonly known as the "wide awake,"
ornamented with a feather and trimmed with
light blue riband. This she wore rather
jauntily on one side, and a plentiful dis-
play of curls dangled beneath it. The boddice
of her dress was open at the breast, displaying a
neatly worked ehemisette, and with the skirt, and the
article which shall be nameless, was composed of
black satin. A thin lace-edging round the ankles,
and brown boots, completed the attire. Without an
instant's delay Miss Atkins entered upon her task, by
commencing a terrific onslaught upon " that tyrant
fashion," and ridiculing in a volley of explosive sen-
tences the costumes of former and present times. The
patch once so generally worn by ladies in the days
of Addison and Steele was introduced by a court
lady who had a scar on her cheek ; and the cumber-
some hoop was the invention of another court
lady who had a crooked leg. The practice of tight
lacing next came in for a severe castigation, as one of
the superinducing causes of consumption in this
country. It was not alone the climate that was to
blame. That any one might see who would but take
the trouble of looking into a ball-room. It was the_
tightly-laced waist, the bare neck and chest, the naked
arms, and the thin shoes. Why, a tight-laced woman,
exclaimed Miss A., is an absolute deformity.—(Loud
cheers from the gentlemen, the ladies looked indig-
nant.);Yes, ladies, it is so. Go to the British Museum.
There you will see the most splendid models of
what the ladies of Greece and Rome were ; but
not one specimen of tight-lacing will you discover
among them.—(Cheers and l'oud laughter.) In ad-
dition to its other disadvantages, the present cos-
tume for ladies is too long. The dress is " always
in the way."—(Laughter.) And the ladies are con-
stantly in fear lest, in passing through the streets in
wet weather, they should drag it through the dirt, or
else raise it indelicately high.—(Roars of laughter.)
It has been urged, continued Miss A., that the
proposed costume is an immodest one. But—(Here
she extended her arms and advanced a foot, and
looked appealingly to the gentle occupants of the
benches round her) —is it so, ladies ?—(Shouts of
laughter, accompanied by cries of " Yes, it is," and
" No, it isnt.") I am sure, by the kind manner
in which you have spoken, that you do not think
it is.—(More cheers.) And, again I say,
that we must and we will have a reform.—(Cheers
and laughter.) The question is, shall we or shall we
not be allowed to judge for ourselves in the matter of
dress, or consent to be held up to posterity as mag •
pies, peacocks, and jackdaws ?—(Great laughter.)
Advocating, as I do, the rights of woman to judge for
themselves what dress they shall wear, I would not
have them even to adopt the new costume merely on
account of its becoming a fashion. Try it, dear ladies
—test it, and if you do not find it alike easy and
graceful, in the words of the immortal bard—
" Let it down the wind to prey at fortune."

Don't condemn the dress I wear (here again she ex-
tended her arms, advanced a foot, and assumed a de-
cidedly theatrical attitude). See its superiority to
the one in use, and be assured that it will add immea-
surably to your ease, your comfort, and convenience.
Try it, then, ladies, if it is only in-doors—but do try
it.—(Much cheering, and renewed laughter.) I
deny that it is " unfeminine," or that the wearing
of it shows that we are envious of the coat and
trousers of the opposite sex.—(Roars of laughter.)
Again, I would like to know what right the
male sex have to interfere with us ? If any
gentleman :here wishes that the long dress should
continue to be worn, I would say wear it yourself for a
week, with the weather cold and the streets wet and
dirty, and your hands tied behind you so that you
cannot hold it up. We never interfere with the
length or shape of their attire—why should they in-
terfere with ours ? Unfortunately, the lesson that
has been taught us is, that we are made to be the
slaves of fashion and of man. But I repudiate the
doctrine with disdain—l contend (with a toss of the
head) that man was born to wait on woman.—(Cries
of " Oh, oh," from the gentlemen; waving of hand-
kerchiefs by the ladies.) The costume I now appear
in is calculated to preserve health and lengthen
our days ; and I say we will live as long as
we can, if it is only to plague the men.—(Roars
of laughter for several minutes, some of :the
ladies deeply affected, and seemingly quite over-
powered by the excitement which the eloquence of
the fair lecturer bad imparted to their feelings.) Take
my word for it, said Miss Atkins, in conclusion, before
six months are over your heads the Bloomer costume
will be the costume of England.—(Cheers, derisive
laughter, and cries of " Oh, oh," and " No, no.") Tell
your fathers and husbands, ladies, of its convenience ;
and if that is not enough, tell them of the " saving in
expense ;" and when you have done that they will be
sure to say " Bloomerism for ever !"—(Loud cheers
and laughter, which were renewed vociferously when
Miss Atkins, bowing, and thanking the company for
her reception, withdrew.)

IXTURES.

BRIX.
Northallerton • 23
Newmarket Houghton 27
Copenhagen
St. Helena

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
GurLDH A Lt.

:r. Coles Child, coal merchant, o, Kiag's•cross,
Mr. Mowatt, the secretary to the Great Northern
Railway Company, and George Wright, the oarman,
were summoned before Alderman Wilson, for de-
livering three tons of coal with four unjust 561 b.
weights; one was 6oz. short, another 15oz , a third
:11b., and the other as much as lib. 3ioz. deficient, and
:none of them were stamped.
M. Child, in answer to the summons, stated that the
'Great Northern Railway Company found carts and
•weights, and put in a contract between them and a
lir. Williams to the following effect :
" The contractor to provide proper weighing machines
and weights (as required by the Act 1 and 2 Victoria,
cap. 104) for transmission with the coal waggons and
carts—viz., four weights of 561bs. each and sufficient
small weights to weigh the sack, to adjust and keep the
same in a correct state, and to be responsible for any
fines or legal expenses which may arise from their not
being so."
So that if the weights were deficient he would plead
guilty, and whatever fine the alderman imposed he
would look to Mr. Williams (the party with whom
the above contract was entered into by the company)
for. He; was informed that owing to the increased
pace at which the carts now travelled the weights
had lost by continually rubbing together, so that the
deficiency could only be attributed to fair wear and
tear. _ _ _ _ _

The inspector produced the weights. In two of
them the adjusting lead was all gone, and none of
them were stamped.
Mr. Child said the weights were all new in June
last, and bore the Guildhall stamp.
Alderman WILSON said be could not believe that a
561 b. weight could fairly hue llb. 3oz. in a few
months' wear. He did not suppose that Mr. Child
was cognizant of the deficiency, but the law had very
properly made the seller together with the owner of
the cart and the carman equally answerable, in order
that the public should have honest weight in' their
coals. He could only presume that the lead had
been stolen, but that did not signify, for there was no
excuse for false weight. This was the worst case of
the kind he had seen for a long while, and considered
the carman as much to blame as any one in taking
out such weights. It was true that the secretary's
name was on the cart, but that, so far from excusing
him, only rendered him legally liable with the rest.
It may be supposed he had trusted to others to see
that proper weights were sent out, still it would be
necessary to inflict a small fine upon him, to let every-
body know that the great companies must comply with
the full provisions of the law. Mr. Child had been
fined on a former occasion 204., and he (Alderman
Wilson) would have thought that ought to have made
him extra careful. It did not matter if the weights
were new in June; if they were found short they
should be replaced, daily if necessary, but certainly
they should have a daily inspection, if the wear and
tear could be anything like what Mr. Child had stated
it to be.

Mr. Child said he would make the contractor pay
the fine, according to the conditions of the bond ; but,
at the same time, he would take care it should not
occur again.
The carman was then called, who said he had no-
thing to do with the weights.
Alderman WILSON said he (defendant) should be
taught that he had everything to do with them, and
that he was liable to 101. penalty for taking out false
weights. He would fine Nr. Child 203., the carman
203., and the secretary as., as a caution or warning
to look to the weights in future. The Alderman said
he had not done this to throw any obstacle in the way
of the sale of inland coals. Fie thought they were a
great public benefit; but be must take care that the
buyers had their proper weight.
Mr. Child said the demand was so great that he
had more orders on his hands than the pits could
supply for the next six weeks, and that the company
would be unable.to meet the demand for some time.
Alderman WILSON said he was not at all surprised
to hear it. The Silkstone coals were the coals he
brought into public notice in the year 1839, when he
was Lord Mayor, and they were then only known as
" Lord Mayor's coals," and only failed because the
demand was a thousand times treater than the supply.
During the year he was in the Mansion-house he paid
but 225. per ton for these cosh, while the public were
paying the enormeus price of 12s. and 38s. for Lord
Londonderry's. That nobleman addressed a letter to
him (Alderman Wilson), endeavouring to show that
no Wall's-end coals could be brought into the mar-
ket to pay the owner at less flan 335. per ton. Yet
he had since that had his Lordship's coals delivered at
his house in St. Paul's Churciyard at 223. per ton.
He believed the Yorkshire (Sikstone) coals equal to
any Newcastle coals that came to the market, but ha
would caution those who wishei to buy them to make
sure they were " Silkstone," os it would be just what
it was in 1839. Ile took credit to himself in having
broken up the combination first amongst the coal-
factors, and next between the pitowners, and hence
the reduction in the price of coals. He would also
tell the public that all Yorkshire coals were not
equally good; but let them encourage the inland
coals (there were many excellent coals besides the
Yorkshire), and they would stil continue to have a
gradual reduction.
WORSHIP-STREET.

John Argent, a tall portly nan, was charged with
the following scandalous outrage ;
It appeared from the statemeat of the complainant,
a little girl named Anne Humphreys, only 12 years
of age, that having been sent out by her parents upon
an errand at seven o'clock on tte preceding evening,
she was returning to their house in Garden-row,
Bethnal-green, when, upon reaching the corner of a
street called Pollard's-row, sht was stopped by the
prisoner, who asked her if she would carry a small
parcel for him to a house in t%e neighbourhood, and
he promised to give her a shilling for her trouble. She
consented to do so, and, after taking her a short dis-
tance, the prisoner led her into s public-house or beer-
shop, where he called for something to drink, aid
pressed her to take part of it; she, however, refused
to do so, and the prisoner then walked on with her
until she found herself in the London Fields, Hack-
ney, across the greater portion of which he took
her, until they came to a part which was very lonely,
when, upon her objecting to go any further, be
took her up in his arms, and carried her
a short distance; but she was so terrified,
that she began to scream loudly, and the pri-
soner to stop her cries thrust something like a pitch
plaister all over her mouth and face. He then flung
her down upon the ground, and was proceeding to
acts of the grossest description when she contrived to
push the plaister off her mouth, and again screamed
as loud 59 she could. The prisoner, notwithstanding
persisted in his infamous conduct, and, after threat-
ening her with a knife which he told her he had in
his pocket, pulled out some instrument and swore
that be would job out her eyes with it if she did not
keep quiet. This, however, only had the effect of
increasing the girl's fears, and she screamed so
loudly that the prisoner, upon hearing footsteps ad-
vancing rapidly towards them, became alarmed for
his own safety, relinquished his grasp of her, and hur-
ried off in en opposite direction.
Mr. Frederick Ricketts, a clerk in a mercantile
house in the City, sbated that while crossing the
fields at the time in question to reach his own resi-
dence, he heard loud shrieks in a child's voice, and
while hastening off in the direction in which they ap-
peared to proceed, the little girl rushed towards him
in a state of extreme terror, and asked him to save
her from some man who bad grossly ill used her.
He questioned the child as to the conduct that had
been pursued towards her, and on learning the par-
ticulars hurried with her across the fields in pursuit
of the prisoner, whom they at length caught sight of,
and, the little girl having at once identified him as the
man who had so assailed her, he followed behind him,
and kept him in sight until a constable made his ap-
pearance, when he immediately apprised the officer of
what the prisoner had been guilty of, and gave him
into custody.
The prisoner earnestly declared that the whole of
the girl's story was a pure fabrication ; but
Mr. D'EYNCOURT ordered him to be committed
until that day week for the completion of the deposi-
tions:

LAMBETH.