The Sun.
London, England, 1851-08-20 00:00:00

LONDON,

suffers such a state of things to remain as the Regis-
trar• General reports is at this moment existing in
Taylor's-place, 'William -street, Borough, we cannot
be entirely without apprehension. Mr. ELLIOTT, the
registrar of the district, thus describes the present
state of Taclor's-place, in his remarks on the case of
a child who died there of scarlatina maligna :
" Taylor's-place comprises three small houses in a
yard, the entrance to which is in William-street, but
there is no thoroughfare. A boy aged 7 years,
brother of the deceased, died in the same house on the
23 August of remittent fever and pneumonia. The
statement of the mother, when giving information on
Friday regarding nuisances by which the occupiers
have repeatedly been annoyed, appeared so extraor-
dinary that I requested that it should be made in
writing, and have accordingly received the accom-
panying letter from her husband:—

• About six or seven weeks ago a watercloset to our
yard was open,-cl for the purp,se, as was said, of making
a drain. It was found full; and ins ead of being emp-
tied properly by a nightman, a considerable quantity of
the soil was removed in open tiny past cur door, and de-
posited in a watercloset common to ant three houses
composing Taylor's-place, in one of which I reside. A
few days afterwards a part of our yard was taken up,
and a further quantity of the soil depositkl two or three
feet below the surface (in spite of remonstrance) and
covered over; and bad not the police interfered, a much
larger quantity would have been laid there, although
oppusite and within two or three yards of my win-
dow. On the sth of Augurt, in a remarkably short
iime, during the temporary absence of my wife, the
ground under my door was opened in search of a drain,
aUh ugh my son was at that time lying dead; but
on rtturning from my employment, finding the
place in such a sate, I immediately filled it up. Two
days afterwards it was opened again (as also a further
portion of the yard) and kept open, to no purpose, for
two days; when, through the interfer&nce of some one,
it WAS filled up. I have had the whole of my four chil-
dren dangerously ill almost at the same time, and two
of them have died. My son was carried off two or
three weeks ago, after an illness of less than 24 hours;
his sister is lying dead, and the eldest boy is now ill. I
firmly believe this calamity has happened inconsequence
of what I have stated above; and I should be glad, fur
the sake of others, if some friend would take the trouble
of putting the case in train for inquiry. Since writing
the above I am informed that the medical gentleman
who attended my children has confirmed my suspicion
regarding the true cause of their illness.'

I have visited the spot, and been informed that a woman
living in another house has been ill ever since the occur-
renct4 to which the statement ref-rs."

What shall we say of the vigilance of the Earl of
SHAFTESBURT and his Board if they were ignorant of
the state of Taylor's-place ? What of that activity
and zealous attention to the performance of their du-
ties, of which the Noble Earl made such boast the
other day in the Howl, of Peers, it, knowing the ex-
istence of this foul officina of pestilence, they supinely
suffered it to remain ? At all events. here is such a
strong prima facie case against the Board as to render
it the duty of the Government to authoritatively call
upon them for an explanation, and should that
explanation be unsatisfactory, or should the Board
continue its present do-nothing course, we hope the
Minister will infuse a little new blood into it by
placing at its head a thorough practical man of busi-
ness, who will enforce upon his colleagues the neces-
sity of reporting a great deal less and doing a great
deal more. It is time that the philanthropic talker
made way for the active worker.

Some time since we directed the public attention
to the proceedings of the Bears of the Stock Ez•
change with reference to railway property. Shares
in the most eligible companies were depressed to little
more than one-half of their real value. Sinister ru-
mours were industriously circulated for the purpose
of terrifying bond fide holders, end inducing them to
send their stock into the market to be diTosed of at
any price that the not very tender consciences of the
ursine fraternity might deem it right to offer. Mean-
while persons, who were not perhaps the owners of a
single share, were selling thousands of pounds' worth
with the most reckless indifference as to the mode in
which they could perform their portions of the con •
tracts if their speculations should prove unprofitable,
and the purchasers should demand the actual de-
livery and transfer of the stock. They trusted, in
fact, to bringing the property still lower, and being
enabled to pocket considerable differences, utterly
careless of the ruin they might bring on many fami-
lies, who, it induced by fear or necessity to part with
their shares, would be deprived of at least half their
fortunes.

They succeeded but too well for some time. There
was a market constantly falling—prices sitiking. day
after day, until at length they succeeded in depreciating
the quotations in the leading trunk lines to an almost
ridiculous extent. A panic was excited, and nothing
appeared too absurd ; the good shared the fate of the
bad, and North-Westerns, Great Westerns, South-
Westerns, South-Easterns were alike peppered by
the indefatigable Bears. We exerted ourselves to the
utmost to resist their machinations, and we are
happy to say that our efforts were not altogether un-
successful. We explained the nature of the trans-
actions, showed that more than nine-tenths of the
sales were merely nominal, and emphatically cautioned
all bonti fide holders against allowing their fears to
obtain the mastery of their reason, so as to induce
them to submit to such serious sacrifices as a transfer
of stock at that time would have rendered inevitable.

The prudence of this advice soon became apparent.
Timid sellers no longer rushed madly forward to sell
at any price that could be obtained, while capitalists
became anxious to make investments on the very
favourable terms that could be obtained. The Bears
were caught in their own traps, and were compelled
to disgorge a consilerable portion of their ill-gotten
gains before they could succeed in extricating them-
selves from the untoward positions in which they
were placed. The shares of the London and North-
Western Company, which had been quoted in April,
1850, at and below par, rapidjy rose to 127 or 123. The
improvement in Great Westerns was even more re-
markable. That was the line especially favoured by
the " speculators for a fall," and they actually suc-
ceeded in bringing down prices to 47 or 48, indeed,
we believe the quotation was one day 46, although it
had never paid less than 4 per cent., and there was
not the slightest probability of any further reduction
taking place. We need scarcely remind our readers
that these very snares were within less than twelve
months worth 90, although every step was resisted
by their inveterate opponents, who sustained heavy
kisses in their unavailing attempts.
They have now, however, recovered their courage,
and are once more endeavouring to play a similar
game to that of the winter and spring of 1849-50.
We trust, however, that the proprietors will not
again be misled, or suffer themselves to be made in-
struments in the hands of their mischievous adver
caries. We would earnestly desire, for their own
sakes, that they should despise the unfounded rumours
that have been or may be circulated, that they should
decide for themselves the real value of their property,
and not part with it at a lower rate, under any pos-
sible circumstances. We would also warn them
against lending their stock on any inducement, as the
practical effect of such loans is to enable the Bears to
carry on their projects, and to depreciate the pro-
perty of the person, to whom they are apply-
ing for the accommodation. " Accommodation,"
forsooth! As well might a burglar apply to the master
of a house for the " accommodation'' of a crowbar,
offering to pay very liberally for its use, or a high-
wayman borrow from a traveller the arms which he
had for his own protection.
What just cause, we ask, is there for the sudden
fall that has taken place in the shares ? The London
and North-Western have been done at 118, and yet,
perhaps, the accounts and the entire state of affairs
have never been more encouraging, as Mr. Wax
justly remarked at the half-yearly meeting, held on
Friday last. The usual dividend, after the rate of
6i per cent. per annum, has been fully maintained,
and there is still an available balance of no less than
124,0771. 7s. sd. in the hands of the bankers, to be
carried to the next half-year's accounts. "Oh I but,"
say the alarmists, " that dividend was not actually
earned. It was necessary to take 8,0001. from the
reserve fund in order to pay it." Granted ! But a si-
milar demand is made on that fund, at this period
every year, and fur a like purpose, and generally to a
greater extent. It was, in fact, with that object
that the reserve fund was instituted to meet such
claims, and keep the dividends equal. The net profits
of the autumn half-year are generally much
greater than those of the first six mon hs; a portion
of the excess is, consequently, set aide at the
February tneeting to provide tor the anticipated de-
ficiency at the August meeting, and the proprietors
may well be congratulated on having the amount re-
quired so very
"Oh but,' OB4iII mfttt tha.croakets)" much more