The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-31 00:00:00

THE SUM LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 31, 1856.

treat the see as to all intents and purposes void."
Thus only, in the Dean's words, can the just de-
mands and interests of the Crown and Church be
duly, honestly, and effectively met.

PROVIDENT CLERKS' ASSOCIATION.

LATEST NEWS.

Yesterday the 13th election of annuitants on the bene-
volent fund of this association took place at the offices,
No. 15, Moorgate-street, City ; J. A. Smith, Esq.,
M.P., the treasurer, in the chair, supported by W. G.

BERLIN, SATURDAY, MAY 31.

An Imperial ukase places the educational esta-
blishments of Russia under the Emperor's special

Prescott, Lq, &c.
It affords us much pleasure to notice the steady pro-
press of this association. We have watched that progress
narrowly from its commencement, and from the trouble

superintendence.

A draught for constituting a Board of Educa-

we have taken to make ourselves conversant with the

cation, with the assistance of a committee of

principles of the association, and the manner in which
it is conducted, we can confidently recommend it to the

,earned men, has been submitted to the Emperor.

notice of the public as an association worthy of their
confidence ; and, if a further proof be wanting, it is to be
found in the fact of so many of the trustees, who are

CONSTANTINOPLE, MAY 23.

The Princes Vogorides and Virtaledes, the
Armenians Dadian and Mihram Bey, the Pro-
testant Stephen Bey, and the Hebrew Hatom

men of the highest eminence in the commercial world,
devoting so much timo to the personal inspection and

conduct of the business of the association. But one

thing appears to us to be wanting to complete its suc-

have for the time being a seat and voice in the

cess, viz., greater publicity amongst the class for
whose especial benefit it was established. Already the
association has been enabled to confer considerable
benefit on the relatives of those who availed them-
selves of the opportunity of becoming members of the
Benevolent Fund. Since the estahlshment of that fund
50 annuitants have been elected, at an aggregate

Medjlis Council.

The excitement at Serajewo, the capital of
Bosnia, in consequence of the building of a church

•
steeple, has been suppressed.
Kurschid Pasha took energetic measures.
Advices from Athens of the 24th of May say—
" The French Minister has received leave of ab-
sence, and is gone to Paris."

MADRID, MAY 29.

A naval force, consisting of two ships of the

line, three frigates, two corvettes, and four steam-
boats, is destined to proceed to the Gulf of Mexicc.

TEE BALTIC.
HAMBURG, MAY 28.

Our city has recently, and since the re-opening
of the navigation between the German ports and
those of the Baltic and Gulf of Finland, been
somewhat enlivened by the presence of a number
of Russian visitors, who, on account of the num-
ber of " golden Imperials" they \usually bring
with them, and the liberal way in which they
spend them, are much cherished by the hotel and
shop keepers of the place, who seldom fail to reap
rich harvests at such seasons. Many more are
successively expected, as, from what some of them
report, above 50,000 persons of all grades have ap-
plied for permission and passports to travel abroad.
Most of them, after refreshing themselves with the
good things that are placed before them here, and
especially having fitted themselves out from head
to foot with all that is fashionable in point of dress,
pass on to Paris and southern Germany to spend
the remainder of the time allowed them on leave
of absence from their homes and families. _

It is truly astonishing to witness the great
anxiety and avidity displayed by the various
tradesmen, aided by the commissioners of the
hotels, in looking after these travelling Russians,
and the manner in which they are fleeced. Not-
withstanding these drawbacks, they all appear,
however, to feel extremely grateful to their Em-
peror for allowing them to enjoy the fresh air of
the places in which they sojourn for the time being
and especiaily glad that the war is at an end.
We learn from Warsaw, up to the 24th inst., that,
notwithstanding the rejoicings on the visit of the
Emperor have been great and general, some dis-
satisfaction is mingled therewith in the minds of
the people, on learning the notice that six Polish
patriots, who had not availed themselves of the
amnesty granted them to return to their country,
and who have been absent sincethe year 1831, have
been punished by the confiscation of their property.

AUSTRIA.
VIENNA, MAY 27.

The statement of the Frankfort Post Zeitung,
that numerous members of a "mysterious religious
society" have been arrested in this city, is cerrect.
The following is some detailed information ou a sub-
j ect of which nothing is known to the Vienna public.
About a year ago the police received information
that the habits and manners of some of the workmen
in the suburbs had undergone a very great change.
As the phenomenon was observed in several suburbs
the police suspected that some central club had
been formed with branch establishments. The
movements of spine of the men were closely watched,
but up to ;Whit-Sunday last nothing More was
discovered-than that, instead of going to church,
they read ttieir Bibles diligently at, home, " and
wore so greatly averse to any kind of ceremony,
that if one :)f their friends died they abstained from
following the corpse to the grave." As there is not
any law in Austria which makes reading the Bible a
punishable offence, the authorities had no reason for
interfering with the workmen,'until, on Wh i t-S uuday
last, they held a conventicle, and were surprised by
the police. It is probable that some papers were seized
as it is known that the persons arrested (between
60 and 70) call themselves" Brethren of St. John,"
and belong to a new religious sect. Although it is
not believed that the Brethren of St. John have
anything to do with politics, they are suspected of
being in connection:with the Hungarian Protestants,
and it is therefore probable some time will
elapse before they are set at liberty. Tile Ultra-
montanists have, during the last five or six years,
fostered and cherished the St. Severinus Verein,
which is a union of workmen under the direction
of some influential members of the High Catholic
party, until it has become quite a power in the
capital, and it is not unlikely that the new sect is
a kind of opposition union formed by those work-
men who have no taste for cant and Jesuitism.

PRUSSIA. -
BERLIN, MAY 29.

The day before yesterday the Qrieen went to
meet her sister, the Queen of Saxony, at the
frontier.
In addition to 66 members of the Imperial
family of Russia, the Emperor, the Empress Mother,
and the Grand Dak,.., Michael, there are visiting
here now the Queen of Saxony, the Grand Duchess
of Alecklenbur4-Schwerin, Princes of the Nether-
lands, Prince William of Mecklenburg, the Crown
Prince of Wurtemberg and his consort the
Grand Duchess Olga, the Grand Duke of Olden-
but..., the Duke of Nassau, Prince Wilhelm of
Baden, Prince Moritz of Sachsen-Altenburg,
Prince of Hohenzollern Prince Solins, Prince
Windischratz,. 45c. Further there are innu-
merable RuF.Evan nobles and State officials attached
to the suites of the Emperor and the Empress-
Mother, of whom Count Nesselrode, Baron Mey-
endorff, Prince Gortschakoff, and Prince Woronz-
off, need only be mentioned. Many members of
the two suites had to be accommodated in hotels
here. On the 26th inst. alone 102 Russian fami-
lies arrived here and took up their quarters in V-:e
hotels. Every place of public entertainment in
and about our west end is perfectly invaded and
taken possession of by the Russians.
General ley has returned from his mission to
St. Petersburg, and left Berlin this morning on
his way back to Paris.

WEST COAST OF AFRICA.
PL-nrou'rn,- Friday Even i n g.-1-ler Majesty's
steam sloop Salamander, Commander G. F. Mee-
chan, arrived hero this evening. She exchanged
crews with the Scourge at Sierra Leone on the 28th
of April, and left for England on the 30th. 'th©
colony in general was healthy, but some fever pre-
vaileu among the Europeans, caused by previous
rains. Several heavy typhoons had been expe-
rienced. Her Majesty's brig Philomel was ex-
pected to leave for England on the 2d of May; she
is leaky. Outside Sierra Leone the Salamander
met the French frigate Zelie, going in with a com-
plimentary message from the newly-appointed
Commodore at Goree.
On the 9th of May, off Cape yerd, the Salaman-
der was nearly run into at midnight by a large
screw-steamer, ship rigged, white funnel and black
top, going down the north-east trades, as if bound
for Australia. In the Channel to-day she observed
two Dutch frigates, homeward bound, apparently
from a long voyage. The French Vice-Consul at
Sierra Leone comes home passenger in the Sala-
mander.

Me. BARON PLATT.--' o are happy to learn that the
health of this learned and estimable judge is such as to
admit of his resuming his seat.
The di,o )unt houses have given notice that their rate
for money at call will be 41 per cent., being a reduction
of per cent.
TH,E CHILD IS FATHER 017' VIE MAN."—This die
boa, of Wordso. orth was never more aptly illustrated
than by the following anecdote of f.fenry BrotiA
schcol.bny, which we find in a delicious vo
lame of the ren.iniscences of the late Lord
Cockburn, just published by. Adam and Charles
Black, with the title " Memorials of his Time, by
Henry Cockburn." "Brougham made his first ex-
plosion while in Fraser's class (at the High School of
Edinburgh). He dared to differ !from Fraser,. a hot
but good-natured old fellow, on some small tit of
Latiniv. The mister, like other men in power, main.
tamed his own infallibility, punished the rebel, and flat-
tered himself that the affa r was over. But Brougharn
r .appealed the next day, loaded with books, returned
t ) the charge before the whole clas,, and compelled
behest Luke to c infei s that he had been
w ong. This made Frougharn famous throughout the
o hole school. I r.2merecier, as well as if it had been
yesterday, having bad him pointed out to me as ' the
fellow who hail boat the master. It was then that I
fist saw him."

amount of upwards of 1,0001. a year, and 8801. is
now payable, and which timely aid has been of
the greatest benefit to the recipients, from its being
the sole provision which the scanty means of their rela-
tives, when living, could make for them. Upwards of
12,0001. have also been distributed in gratuities, to
members suffering from sickness and distress. Orphan
children have also received aid, and assistance has been
granted to many in procuring them situations, and
thereby the means of supporting themselves, and many
a clerk has bad cause to rejoice at his having become a
member of this association.
The CHAIRMAN said that he attended there that day
for the purpose of going through the necessary formality
of opening the poll for the election of annuitants% and at
the same time he expressed the greatest satisfaction it
afforded him, and he had no doubt it did others, also
that the association had been able to affect so much
within so short a time towards alleviating the distress of
those who had fallen into misfortune, in many cases
through no fault of their own. He also hoped it would
stimulate the clerks of the United Kingdom to unite in
spreading 'the advantages of the association, and
still more that it would be an inducement to them to
cultivate those habits of frugality which it was
the especial object of the association to foster, and on
which it so much had to depend for success.
The lion. gentleman then declared the poll open, and
the election commenced with great spirit, which was
kept up throughout the period allotted for taking the
votes. At its conclusion the books were made up,
when R. H. Jones, Esq., chairman of the board of di-
rectors, attended to declare the result.
The CHAIRMAN, after apologising for delaying the
meeting arising from the length of time it necessarily
occupied the scrutineers in examining and making up
the numbers, said it afforded him much pleasure to meet
them on that occasion, as, indeed, is did on all occasions
which afforded them the opportunity of relieving the
distressed, for whose especial benefit the association was
established. He, however, deeply regretted to see such
an array of candidates before him —(hear, hear)—parti-
cularly as but few, comparatively speaking, could re-
ceive the assistance of the association. It was to him a
subject of much annoyance and vexation that so many
of them should be disappointed ; but he expressed a
hope that the board at their next meeting would con-
sider the state and condition of many of the unsuccessful
candidates, and, if practicable, afford them some little
remuneration. (Hear, hear.) The sum to be awarded
that day was 851., which appeared at first sight to be
a small sum ; but when it was considered how small
were the contributions received for that purpose it would
be found to be a very large sum. If they could induce
the higher class of clerks to come for wael and support
the institution, he could safely say the board would
never have to turn away a candidate empty handed,
(Hear, hear.) It was to that class of clerks the assn.
elation at its commencement looked for support, and
as the persons who would come provided and make up
any deficiencies for the benefit of their less fortunate
brethren ; but such had not hitherto been the case.
It was therefore the duty of the Board to be careful
of the funds of the association, and not grant more
annuities than they felt confident they could pay,
so
,that the recipients may always rely with certainty
on receiving the amount of their pensions for life. (Hear,
hear.) There were some connected with the association
who considered the board went too fast in granting
money, and others, that they did not go fast enough ;
but the board had the best means of j udging what could
be done. They were at all times desirous of going too
fast rather than too slow—but at tho same time it must
be consistent with the safety and resources of the asso-
ciation. (Hear, hear.) He then read the state of the
poll, as follows :—J. Porch, 305 ; A. Ady, 966 ; J.
Bowles, 348 ; E. Crabbe, 837 ; M. Ha.merton, 186 ; B.
Reynolds, 1,657; M. J. Drower, 581 ; M. A. Forting-
ton, 653 ; M. Groves, 1,557 ; A. Ilsrris, 1,237 ; M. J.
Morley, 3,614 ; H. Stanbank, 2,052 ; E. Summerhays,
2,531 ;J. Trethowan, 372. He had much pleasure in
declaring J. Porch (clerk), B. Reynolds, M. J. Morley,
H. Stanbank, E. Summerhays (widows) elected annui-
tants.

Mr. J. W. WELCH said he should not be doing justice
to his own feelings if he left the meeting without making
a few observations. He quite agreed in all that had
been raid by the chairman with regard to the great body
of clerks rot supporting the association as they ought,
especially those holding the higher appointments in
commercial houses of eminence, and who had ample
means of supporting an institution founded for the bene-
fit of their poorer brethren. As one of the oldest
members of the association, he regretted and deplored
their being obliged to turn away so many respectable
widows, from their inability to grant so many annui-
ties as he had hoped from the first they would have
been able to do, and as they could have done had they
been properly supported. Ile had studied the question
very closely, many of the clerks he seriously condemned
fn- not having supported the association, whilst there
ware others whom he praised for becoming members,
and who, he thought, might do more, but at the same
time he was led to believe that taking the clerks as a
body, their not supporting it arose from their being
badly paid--(hear, hear)—and who, consequently, had
not got it in their power to subscribe towards the
association, after providing for the requirements of the
tax collector. (Hear, hear.) Ile found there was,
from the present mode of doing business, a tendency
on the part of many employers rather to cut down
the salaries of their clerks than otherwise, and
with every a rnsideratioa and respect towards them he
could not refrain from expressing the above opinion, as
some excuse why a much larger number of clerks bad
not joined the association. (Hear, hear.) The Board
had done everything in their power to accomplish, to
the fullest extent, the object they all had in view at the
commencement of the association ; but as yet they had
not been so successful as they had hoped. They must
not, however, be disheartened by that, but ap-
peal to the principal establishments to come for-
ward and support it as an additional com-
pensation for that intelligent and respectable body of
men through whom they conduct successfully their great
undertakings. (Hear, hear.) He thought the board
had a right to claim front the principals a share of their
charitable benevolence towards the benevolent fund of
this association, which would place it in a position equal
to that of either of the charitable institutions in London.
(Hear, hear.) He also called on the higher class clerks
to support the association, and to endeavour to induce
their friends to join them. (Hear, hear.)
Thanks were then voted to the chairman, and the meet-
ing separated.

GOVEILNIIENT DITGRATION.—Her Majesty's Commis-
sinners of Emigration will desaa.tch a vessel to Adelaide,
South Australia, between the 7th and 14th of July next.
A. NEW PLANET.—Another planet was discovered on
Thursday morning at the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford,
by Mr. Pogson, the first assistant. It is a little brighter
than a tenth magnitude. Mr. Pogson saw the planet
about midnight on the 23d, but the sky clouded over
before he could obtain a satisfactory observation.
Letters from persons very well-informed at Naples say
that his Majesty King Ferdinand had invited Poerio to
ask for his pardon, but without effect, as his victim dis-
dained to sue for mercy from the man who be knew
would only relax his persecution under fear from with-
M. DE BIZENCOURT'S BOOK.—The Moniteur yesterday
repudiates any official character for this book ; but how
came it that M. de Bazencourt was officially accredited,
by his own statement, to the marshal commanding the
French army, who, we must hope, will recoil from in-
dorsing the misstatements of this civilian, who talks of
setting squadrons in the field as learnedly as a spinster,
and gives his opinion on military matters as dogmati-
cally as if he bad the military experience of Napoleon
the Third himself. —Morning Advertiser.
MINING INTELLIGENCE.—As money. becomes mote
abundant, and the rr.tes for obtaining it easier, we ob
serve more inquiries for dividend mines, and a greater
disposition to speculates in those of a more progressiv
character. We cannot, -however, report a very larr:..e
amount of business transactions, the occurrence of two
partial' • holidays during the week having greatly inter-
. fered with them.—Mining Journal of this day.: