The Sun.
London, England, 1851-03-12 00:00:00

N,

LONDON,

totnnlated, it was hoped th. erect ca which would be
,;•:, ; ,',4:sent
and economical prosecutions on behalf of the public.
The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to
be committed this day week.
The Salmon Brood (Ireland) Bill was withdrawn.
APPRENTICES AND SERVANTS BILL.
Mr. BAINES, in moving the second reading of this
Bill, recalled the attention of the House to the Sloanes'
case, and other similar cases, which had recently oc-
curred, and said this Bill had been introduced with the
view of preventing a recurrence of such offences. The
law was defective in this respect. If a a master or a
mistress neglected to provide a servant or an
apprentice with sufficient food and sustenance,
the criminal law could take ao cognizance of the matter
if the apprentice or the servant were not an infant of
tender years, and although in the recent case Jane Wil-
bred could have sustained a civil action against the
Sloanes for the recovery of damages, the judges held
that the offenders could not be indicted for a criminal
offence, inasmuch as Jana Wilbred was upwards of 16
years of age. Now that was an unjust law, and one
of the objects of this Bill was to remedy that defect.
Another defect in the existing law was this—no persons
ill-using a servact or apprentice who might be in their
employ could be prosecuted for an assault unless it were
shown that in inflicting that ill treatment they were ac-
tuated by a criminal intent. The offence of such per-
sons was only considered by the existing law as
amounting to a misdemeanour, and could only
be prosecuted accordingly. A third defect
he had yet to state, which, perhaps, was not of less im-
portance than either of the other two. As the law now
stood, no provision was made for the cost of prosecu-
tions in cases like those he had just specified, and in the
event of no benevolently-disposed parsons taking up
the cause of any poor and much injured creature like
Jane Wilbred, and undertaking to defray the ex-
penses of bringing her persecutors to justice, they ran
the risk of altogether escaping the punishment which
such conduct merited. Now he could not help think-
ing that such a defect in the law was incompatible with
a due regard for the interest and well-being of society,
and while, therefore, this Bill provide that all indivi-
duals neglecting to supply young persons under 18
years of age, who might be in their service,
with sufficient and proper food and sustenance, or who
should assault or ill-treat them, should be liable to be
criminally prosecuted, and punished with imprisonment
and hard labour; it would also provide for paying the
costs which would attend the effectual prosecution of such
offenders. :There was another defetc in the law which he
thought ought to be deal; with. When a young person was
hired out of a workhouse, at present there was scarcely
any means of providing against his illtreatment. Now,
ise proposed that it should be the duty of
the guardians to appoint some officer to make
periodical visits to an apprentice, at least four
times in the year, after he left the workhouse, and to re-
port to the guardians on all occasions when he bad rea-
son to believe the apprentice was cruelly or
improperly treated. In several Unions this prac-
tice had been voluntarily and spontaneously adopted
There was also another uefect in the law. At present
the duty of the guardians to prosecute parties far tha ill
treatment of apprentices was extremely doubtful in
point of law. The Guardians of the West London Union
entertained serious doubts whether they could legally
expend the poor rates for prosecuting the Sloanes in the
case of Jane Wilbred, and they were obliged to refee the
matter to the poor law board. To remedy this defect
in the law he proposed to give power to the guardians of
the poor to institute such prosecutions, and to defray the
cost out of the poor rates. The Right Hon. Gentleman
concluded by moving the second reading of the Bill.
Mr. HENLEY entirely agreed with every word which
had fallen from the Right Hon. Gentleman, but he
thought the Bill might be improved, and rendered more
easy of operation, by making its provisions a little more
general. He meant that the same punishment and pe-
nalties should be awarded to the different offences men-
tioned in the Bill.
Colonel RAWDON regretted that the Bill was not to
be extended to Ireland.
Sir JOHN DUCKWORTH supported the Bill.
The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to
be committed on Friday next.

The others orders of the day having been disposed of,
the House adjourned.

TO MR. VANDENHOFF,
On his grand and pathetic impersonation of Reuben, in
the new and magnificent Drama of Azael, the Prodigal,
now in the course of nightly performance at the
Theatre Royal, Drury-lane.
Welcome, thou Rembrandt,* moving o'er the scene;
High Patriarch of Judah's royal strain;
Speaking, in old-world tones, the thoughts serene
That breathe of Israel's faith—nor breathe in vain,
For, when thy Prodigal, thine only Son,
Who leaves thine age, and all but breaks thy heart,
By Memphis, from his ancient creed were won,
Those anxious tones across his conscience start,
And 10l amid false sorceries and wiles,
Gorgeous as earth's dominions can unite,
He tow'rs—reclaim'd—heroical—and smiles

At martyrdom, and bids the Smiters, smite.
No, not for life, will he abjure the truth
His Fathers' Fathers held, and thou did'st teachbis youth.
The Priests of Isis hurl him to the Nile,
But Reuben's God preserves him from the wave—
He crawls the Desert, humbled to a Slave—
And, now he's left to perish—and, awhile,
Hope fails his breast—till, looming in a dream,
The lost familiar scenes before him beam—
He wakes, and staggers forth to seek his Sire:—
The good old man, amidst his harvest-h3me,
Musing in anguish where his Son may roam,
Now, weeps for joy to clasp his soul's desire.
Consummate artist, matchless to combine
Majestic pathos, eloquence divine!
The Drama, still, shall boast a Sov'ran
While Creon's grandeur lives, in thee, and Reuben's
grief.
THE AUTHOR OF "RURAL SONNETS."
Inner Temple, March I.

• Mr. Vandenhoff's make-up as Reuben is a perfect gem
from the Antique, calling to life, as it were, the most cele-
brated portraits of Patriarchs, and Kings in Israel, from the
pencils of Rembrandt and the other great masters.

STATE OF TRADE.
(From the Manchester Guardian of this day.)
MANCHESTER, TUESDAY .—Advices were received
yesterday, by the Africa, statin that a fall in cotton had
taken place at New York of Ray lie. per lb. This pro-
duced an impression that a greater decline must ensue in
our market than has actually been experienced to-day.
Yarns, whether for exportation or for home consumption,
have been purchasable at a reduction of *l. to id. per
lb. below the rates of this day week; but all producers
are nut disposed to yield so much, and some hold
to their prei.ious terms. They see that the reported
state of things on the otber side, though partly occa-
sioned by an excess of 100,000 bales in the receipts at
the ports, is yet, in a great measure, the result of the
prior depression in Manchester, and has therefore been,
in a great degree, anticipated—a view of the subject
which was shown by the telegraphic account received on
'Change, at noon, to be entertained at Liverpool also.
Looking at the matter in much the same light, the buy-
ers have been less affected than, from the amount of
the decline, in the States, taken by itself, they
might have been expected to be. Both the home con-
sumers and the shippers have ,made limited purchases,
where they could do so at some such reduction as is
named above. Goods have suffered relatively more than
yarns. Some manufacturers have, however, met the
buyers, and so succeded in effecting sales, though, for
the most part, within narrow limits. The worst
effect of a change like this is that which is pro-
duced on our foreign customers. It appears
from the German letters, received this morning, that
confidence in the maintenance of prices, in this market,
was beginning to rexive, so as to induce the manufactu-
rers to venture upon increased purchases—a step towards
improvement which will be rather checked by the next
advices hence. So bad has the manufacture of some de-
scriptions of cloth become, particularly 7-8 printers, that
many looms have bee❑ of late, and are still being, either
wholly or partially stopped. .

MACCLESFIELD, TUESDAY.--We are glad to report
that a slightly improved demand for manufactured goodie
has sprung up since our last; at the same time, it must
be observed that this is not general, but may be taken as
an indication that a resumption of active business
will take place shortly. The market for throwns
remains very flit, and the long continuance of this state
of things is inducing some holders to accept slightly re-
duced rates. The raw silk market miy be quoted much
in the same state as reported of late, with this excep-
tion, that Bengals of middling, and from that to first-
class quality, are said to be easier of purchase,
with some actual business done, at lower than previous
rates.

ROCHDALE, MONDAY.—The flannel market to-day has
been extremely flat; there has been a very thin attnd-
ance of buyers, and these few have pucchrsed very
sparingly, at rather reduced prices. In wool there has
been very little doing, and prices have still a downward
tendency.

UUDDERSFIELD, TUESDAY.—We have only had an
average business doing to-day in the Cloth Hall; it
being what is termed 13;4 ween " seasons." The delive-
ries to ordar have not been very large; but there is
every hope of a good spring trade being done. The
Continental hones have been pretty busy during the
we. with spring go ds. A little more has been done
in the wool maket thi4 week.

HALIFAX, SATURDAY.—There has not been a large
atteudaoce in our Piece Hall to-day; but there is still a
good demand for darnask, chiefly for the London mar-
ket, and probably occasioned by the unusual extent of
furnishing arising out of preparations for the forth-
comitig d-xhibition. Low lastings are still freely in•
quired tor; but other descriptions of worsted goods are
not much in request. A better ton© of feeling seems to
prevail iu iha yarn and wo,,llen markets, though we
cannot rep- rt any material iac,ease of actual business.
LEEDS, TUESDAY.—We have had a flat market to-day
at the Cloth Halls, but on Saturday last more business
v./to, done. Prices continue firm, and stocks are not
larger than usual at this seosQn of the year.