The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-13 00:00:00

RAISING OF " BIG BEN."

The delicate and difficult task of raising the
Great Bell (Big Ben) to the summit of the clock-
tower of the Palace at Westminster was commenced
at 6 o'clock a.m., under the able direction of Mr.
Thomas Quorn.

We have so fully, on a former occasion, given a
description of the position that the Great Bell
occupied within the tower previous to its removal,
that there is no need of a recapitulation.

At a very early hour this morning, Mr. Quorn
was to be seen at the base of the tower inspecting
with scrupulous attention the various massive•
chains and other gear with which Big Ben was
surrounded, as he quietly laid in his large cradle,
a structure of immense strength and proportions.
and at a few minutes to six o'clock, everything
being ready, Mr. Quorn gave directions to every
person connected with the operation to take his
post, an order which was obeyed with the greatest
alacrity. As St. Margaret's Church clock was
chiming six, Mr. Quorn gave the word " Hoist
away"—a direction that elicited a loud cheer from
the men, each of whom seemed to feel that
he was engaged in an undertaking which in years
to come he could relate with pride, and in an
instant the chains began to tighten.
After the windlass had been at work for a
few minutes Ben seemed inclined to offer a resist-
ance to being awoke from his balmy slumbers,
and several small and unimportant chains
snapped one after the other, but in a short time it
was observable that he had quitted terra firma,
and was " in suspeßsion."

In an hour or two after the bell had left the
ground we ascended the Clock-tower to witness the
progress from above. There we saw Mr. Quarn in
high spirits, as everything had gone on as smoothly
and successfully as could be desired. The windlass
worked with the greatest regularity, and so exac t
did the ratchet-wheel of the ponderous " crab" act,
for the hours we were present, that it might have
been thought that the sound was occasioned by the
pendulum of some gigantic piece of clockwork that
gave a beat every two seconds. _ _

In addition to the tremendous chains used for
the occasion, a beautiful little machine called a
" stopper" had been invented for the purpose
of preventing the bell from falling in
the event of either of the principal chains breaking ;
and from this simple contrivance, wonderful to re-
late, Big Ben and his cradle, a weight of 19 tons,
frequently depended.

At two o'clock it was found that the bell had
been raised upwards of 35 feet, so that, if all goes
well, it will be lodged in its permanent home about
two o'clock to-morrow afternoon.

The work will go on continuously throughout
the night by means of relays of men, and the first
announcement of the success of the operation will
be communicated to the metropolis by Big Ben
himself, in his own " sweet dulcet tones."

During the morning Palace•yard was visited by
a number of persons, who evidently expected to see
the bell ascending outside the building, but nothing
connected with the operation was visible from the
exterior.

COLLISION BETWEEN THE BAR AND
THE RECORDER OF NEWCASTLE
SESSION&

For a considerable period a misunderstanding
has existed between the Recorder of Newcastle,
Mr. W. D. Seymour, and those barristers of the
Northern Circuit who attend Newcastle Sessions,
arising from Mr. Seymour, almost immediately
after his elevation, changing the day on which the
sessions had usually been held. Complaints of the
inconvenience to which they were subjected were
made by the solicitors practising at the sessions, and
by the tradesmen called upon as witnesses, and the
matter was ultimately brought before the Town
Council, who caused a formal representation to be
made to the Recorder. No steps, however, were
taken to remedy the defect, and on Monday morn-
ing, when the Newcastle Sessions commenced, in
accordance, it was said, with a resolution arrived at
on the previous night, the bar dispersed without
robing or entering the court. When the Recorder
had delivered his charge to the grand jury, Mr.
Lewers alone, to the surprise of every one present,
was the only barrister who took his seat. As a
matter of necessity the brief for the prosecution,
when the first, true bill had been found, was
Minded to that gentleman. Whilst the case was pro-
gressing two members of the bar entered the court
unrobed, and took their seats, and after remaining
for a few minutes left, the whole of the briefs for the
prosecution, with one exception, thus falling to Mr-
Lewers. In one case the learned Recorder had to
conduct the prosecution himself, Mr. Lewers having
been previously retained for the defence. The Re-
corded intimated that, under the peculiar circum-
stances, the prisoner's solicitors might be allowed
to act for the defence, which suggestion they at
once acted upon. Taking advantage of the oppor,-
tunity afforded by the grand jury returning with
the last bill, the learned Recorder dwelt at some
length on the course which had been pursued by
the bar. He had, he said, a perfect right to fix the
sessions to suit his own convenience, and justified
himself in making the change he had. The con-
duct of the bar on that occasion was most unpro-
fessional and uncourteous, and was both a scandal
and an outrage to public justice and decency, He
had always been animated by a desire to consult
the convenience of the inhabitants of the town, and
whatever course his professional brethren might
take towards him he trusted always to administer
even and impartial justice.

PRICE OF GOLD.—The quotation of gold at Paris
is about at par, and the short exchange on London is 25-15
per £1 sterling. On comparing these rates with the Eng-
lish Mint price of £3 17s. lOid per ounce for standardgold,
it appears that gold is 1-10th per cent. dearer in Paris than
in London. By advices from Hamburg the price of gold is
427 per mark, and the,short exchange on London is 13-6 i
per £1 sterling. Standard gold at the English Mint price
is therefore about 2-10ths per cent. dearer in London than
in Hamburg. The course of exchange at New %York on
London for bills at 60 days' sight is about 110 per cent.,
which when compared with the Mint par between the two
countries, shows that the exchange is slightly in favour of
England ; and, after making allowance for charges of trans-
port and difference of interest, the present rate leaves a
small profit on the importation of gold from the United
States.
CITY COMMISSION OF SEWERS.—Yesterday a
court, at which Mr. Deputy Christie presided, was held for
the despatch of public business. The following is an extract
from the report of the medical officer of health :—" The in-
spectors' returns relate to 143 houses that have been in-
spected during the week, of which 46 wean common lodging-
houses ; and I beg to submit a list of 25 places that require
the orders of the court for their sanitary improvement in
various particulars. I also submit a list of places that require
further proceedings on account of orders already issued but
not yet complied with. I append the mortality table for the
Week, and have to, report that the number of deaths is about
the average for this season of the year. The number of re-
turns for the week is 56, of which 23 were deaths among
children of less than 5 years of age, and 14 of parsons of 60
years of age and upwards. The chief causes of death were
as follows ;—Phthisis, 8 ; measles and hooping-cough, 4 ;
fever, 3 ; hydrocephalus and convulsions of children, 4 ;
and scarlet fever, 2; but there were no deaths from cliar-
rhcea." A good deal of routine business was transacted,
after which the court adjourned.
Tit WEST YORKSHIRE COLLIERS.—The meeting
of colliers out of work in the Leeds district, held yesterday
(Monday) on Woodhouse-moor, in the outskirts of Leeds,
passed off quietly. There were nearly 1,000 persons present,
The speakers counselled perseverance against the attempt
of the masters to reduce the wages of the men 15 per cent.,
and that no unlawful act should be done by the men, who
did not want an advance of wages, but only to be paid at
the same rate as they had been for some years. A greater
-meeting of the men thrown out. of employment by the
' elm ,on closing of the pits will be held in the neighbourhood of
nothwell, midway between Leeds and Wakefield,
Wed-
nesday next.
THE Porot AND THE CARDINAL.—The Weekly
that at the recent Consistory at
t s did uot deliver afo al rm allo-
a
-Mien on the occasion, he addressed few words full of
1111 eogmisel,e I‘°-f
althoughSa
tur
mdasyHstioylisn,
es
friterest and consolation to 'the' august assembly, particu-
larly alluding to the visit of his Eminence the Cardinal
Archbishop of West'm'inster to Ireland. His Holiness ex-
pressed hi s Feat gratification that he had added to the
P.aered College such an illustrious and worthy member.
The enthusiasm of the Catholics of Ireland his Holiness
considered to be equally a triumph for the Church, as well
as an open and striking protest against the futility of the
tenlptations of the Protestant propaganda.
FitoGuEss OF HARTLEPOOL AS A SHIPPING
poßT.—The progress of the port of Hartlepool (East and
Vey) is strikingly shown by the following returns, which
already place it at the head of all the north-eastern ports in
foreign exports. These returns are extracted from
" Brown's Export List" (published under the authority of
the Queen's letters patent), for the month of September,
and they include the value of all goods, except coal and
coke, exported foreign :
Sept., 1858. 1857. Increase. Decrease.
Newcastle
Blyth and Amble., Nil. •
Shields 755 1,069 314 -
Sunderland 15,479 7,01 8,442
Seaham . 92 23 69 --
Stockton 529
Middlesbro'
East and West } 259,049 216,615 42,437
Hartlepool
From further tables published on the same authority, it
appears that Hartlepool stands at the head of all the n
well
eastern ports in the export of coal and coke (fo_rieign as.
as to London and other ports of the -United K njdo m)_ex-
cept Newcastle and Sunderland. During September,
58,414 tons of coal, and 2,564 tons of .
, coke were exported
(foreign) in 114 British and 207 foreign vessels ,
• and to
London and other British Porto, 106,769 0 t ut of coal were
exported in .540 y0w1.%