The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-02 00:00:00

The following report was read by Mr. Linford

Ti. board have much pleasure in presenting their 19th
annual report to the members and friends of the Provident
Clerkli Benevolent Fus.d. The income for the year 1859 has
been as follows, viz.:—
Donations
Annual subscriptions
Life do.
Subscriptions of ss. and
upwards from assurers,
being clerks
Interest, dividends, :cc

£1,440 4 0
799 7 3

£2,239 11 3

Gratuities to members in distress, and to the widows of
members, have been awarded to the extent of £139 15s.
Loans amounting to £1,826 10s. have been granted. The
balance-sheet, duly audited, has been submitted to the
trustees.
In pursuance of the resolution of the annual general
meeting, held on the 2d February last, an election of anniu-
tants toc.k place on the 31st May, when the following were
elected, viz. :—One clerk to an annuity of £3O ; one widow
to an annuity of £2O ; four widows to annuities of £l5 each
—amor luting together to £llO per annum. One widow has
married during the past year, and her annuity conseglien ly
ceases. There are now on the fund 10 dmclerkn 3 widows,
who are receiving a total sum of £945 per s a
annu.
The, now recommend that six additional annuities be
grantod, viz., to one clerk and five widows of cler s, a
effect
t the
discretion of the board. A resolution to the above
will bi 3 submitted to the meeting.
In. their last report the board had to announce with much
regret the retirement from the auditership of James
W.
Gilbert, Esq., F.R.S. Although, however, his official con-
nect ion with the fund has terminated, Dir. Gilbert has
evinced his continued, k ndly interest in its welfare,
haviing on his retirement from his
presented
which, i
t theis fimopeddw willith thehe
important
position by which he had been so long and closely
hcon-
nected with the body of clerks,
libera:l sum of £lOO, an example
follow Ted by many to whom the well-being of a fund at
blishl .d for the relief of a class so intimately connected with

the commercial interests of this country should be an object
of the deepest interest and importance.
(Signed) JOHN ALBERT SMITH.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving its adoption, con.
gratulated the meeting on the remarkable and
gratifying improvement of their position. Their
income this year as compared with the average
of former years had increased £5OO. They had
now an additional permanent, income of £lOO,
and the board suggested that they should extend
the annuities to the amount of £110; and ho Lad
long wished that they should increase the annui-
ties when they could do so from safe and fixed
airces. If, indeed, this institution had been si p.
p )rted as it ought to have been, instead of relieving
53 orphans and clerks, they would have what he
wished to see-106. The hon. gentleman concluded
by moving that the report be adopted, and printed
and circulated at the discretion of the committee.

The motion, having been seconded, was put to
the meeting and carried unanimously.
Mr. WELCH moved a resolution that one clerk
and five widows of clerks be admitted on the 31st
of May next, which was carried unanimously.
In reply to Mr. H. PARR,
The CHAIRMAN said that the directors would
anxiously consider the possibility of establishing
an orphan school in connection with this society.
Thanks were voted to Mr. Thomas 131 ring, M.P.,
Mr. Thomson Hankey, M.P., and the other trus-
tees of the benevolent fund, and the vote was re-
sponded to by Mr. Hankey, on behalf of himself
and the other trustees.

The officers for the ensuing year were elected,
and the meeting concluded with a vote of thanks
to the chairman.

.71 U N G A .7? I'.

A letter from Pesth, dated Jan. 26, says :
" A deputation of the most distinguished Protes-
tants of Hungary has gone to Vienna to represent
to the Emperor the danger he will incur if heFer-
sists in forcing his hated patent on the Protestants.
From, however, the scant intelligence and the no-
torious obstinacy of the Emperor, and from the
stupidity of his counsellors, the members of the
deputation have not the slightest hope that he will
attend to their representations ; and their only ob-
ject in making them is to prove to Hungary and to
Europe that they have done all that in them lies to
preserve peace with the Viennese Government, and
that, in consequence, they will be in nowise respon-
sible for the events that may follow from its wicked.
and reckless policy.
"I informed you iu my preceding letter that the
Austrian Government was resolved, in spite of tbe,
universal and indignant remonstrances of all Pro-
testant Hungary, to carry out the aforesaid patent.
It has begun doing so in the county of Arva, which
is peopled by Slovacks • and the reason why it se-
lects that county in preference to any other is that
for local circumstances it possesses some influenee
there, and that the Slovacks not being of the same
race as the Hungarians have hitherto not been quite
so hosdle to the Hapsburg family. But even in
Arva it has encountered energetic resistance.
Under the able direction of M. Kubinyi, president
of the superintending commission of the district, the
Protestants of the county have refused to take part
in the election of elders, or to do any other act
whatsoever towards the carrying out of the patent.
I have received a letter from a Protestant clergy-
man in the county, which says, We are surprised
that the agents of the Hapsburgs should presume
to think that we are more disposed than
our Protestant brethren in other parts of
the kingdom to submit to the odious pa-
tent. We are determined, on the contrary, as
they are, to oppose it by every means in our power
short of actual violence. We will do so with the
calm that becomes Christians. but at the same time
with the resolution that becomes men.' When such
is the language and such the conduct of the Pro-
testants whom the Viennese Government flatters
itself are the faithful among the faithless found,'
judge what the people of the rest of Hungary will
say and do.
"In the great crisis into which the Protestant
religion of Hungary is plunged, the eyes of all sin-
cere defenders of the faith are turned towards Eng-
land. The Hungarians feel certain that she looks
with interest on their sufferings, and with sym-
pathy for their efforts, and they are not without
hope that her Parliament will in imitation of her
noble press, raise its voice in their behalf. On this
last point I have reason to believe that they will
not be mistaken. I know that more than one mem-
ber of each of the two Houses has put himself in
communication with the leaders of the Protestants
in this country, in order to obtain a detailed state-
ment of the grievances of the Protestant churches
and of the oppression of the Hungarian people, and
I know that a political personage of England, who
is familiar with the situation of Hungary, has
written that if the English Government did its
duty it would send some such message to the
Vies n se Cabinet aithat which Cromwell sent to a
Pope—namely, that if he dared to oppress the
people of God, English cannon should thunder at
San Angelo.'
" The Augsburg Gazette publishes in its letter
of the 24th another long article on the Pesth cor-
respondence in the Times. Of course the cor-
respondence is described as lies, calumnits,
and so forth ; but of course, also not the slightest
serious attempt is made to give proof that it
is false and calumnious. In fact, what the Gazette
chiefly does is to make copious extracts from
these letters, and to cry, What falsehood !
What impudence !"rime was when the Austrian
Government used to reply in that way to all the
observations made on it by the press ; and time
was when the Austrian people were stupid enough
to accept such a reply as sufficient. But times are
changed ' • and certainly now nobody in Europe, not
even the dullest of dull Austrians, will suppose that
an exclamation of What a lie! why effrontery I'
from such a journal as the Augsburg Gazette, is an
answer. The articles in this paper are' inspired'
by the Press Bureau at Vienna, which is a recent
creation of the Austrian Government."