The Sun.
London, England, 1832-01-12 00:00:00

THE SINKING FUND.

The following notice has been published officially, in
the manner prescribed by the Act of Parliament far re-
gulating the expenditure for the reductio❑ of the national
debt. It appears there is no longer any fund disposable
for that purpose :
" The Lords Commissioners of his Majesty's Treasury
having certified to the Commissioners for the Reduction
of the National Debt, in pursuance of the Act 10th George
IV., c. 27, s. 1, that the actual expenditure of the united
kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland exceeded the actual
revenue thereof for the year ended the 10th day of October,
1831, by the sum of twenty thousand five hundred and
thirty-seven pounds, eighteen shillings, and eleven pence ;
" The Commissioners for the Reduction of the National
Debt hereby give notice, that no sum will be applied by
them on account of the Sinking Fund, under the provi-
sions of the said Act, between the sth day of January,
1832, and the sth day of April, 1832.
" S. HIGHAM, Comptroller-General.
" National Debt-office, January 10, 1832."

BREWERS' MONOPOLY.

GRIEVANCES OF LICENSED VICTUALLERS.

The Lord Mayor was waited upon at the Mansion-house
by a licensed victualler, who had been once in exten►ive
business, but now felt the severity of the times. His oh •
ject was, through the Lord Mayor, who had distinguished
himself eminently by advocating the cause of the op-
pressed, to bring distinctly to the view of those who framed
the laws a number of facts, calculated to chew that those
individuals who kept public-houses were treated with un-
due severity.
The substance of the communication made by the appli-
cant to his Lordship was to the following effet :
Public•house property had of late become very much
depreciated. It had been raised to a price far beyond its
real value by the competition of the brewers, who, to se-
cure trade, advanced sums to those who took their houses,
the interest of which sums was quite sufficient to para-
lyse the utmost exertions of the borrowers. A man with
a fair character, possessing one hundred pounos, could, a
few years ago, have procured the tenancy of a house va-
lued at four thousand ponnds ; but now that the deprecia-
tion existed to the extent of fifty per cent., the brewer
pushed for his money, and the publican, unable to pay,
became careless, dropped into the Gazette or the Bench,
or appeared in the obituary as a suicide.
The publican paid sixteen guineas a year for his licence
at the same time that his house was partly converted into
barrack for the support and comfort of soldiers; and lie was
not only obliged to pay the draymen for laying down the
beer at the rate of one shilling per butt, but was also
called upon to pay for the finings by which the brewer's
commodity was made fit for consumption. If the publican
hesitated to discharge the drayman's demand, and fill his
belly, and perform other orders, the warrant of attorney,
with which the brewer always took care to be armed, was
ready in the hands of the brewer's solicitor,who was anxious
to pounce upon the insolvent as a sure perquisite to him-
self. A teat had been compounded or invented by Pro-
fessor Faraday, professing to discover adulteration in beer,
and it was generally admitted, that amongst the publicans
there had been many unprincipled men who had carried
adulteration to a very frightful extent; but, in the majority
of cases, the publicans had been convicted for offences
committed by the brewers, as, up to last October twelve-
months, the finings would not stand the test, but the
brewers escaped according to the old maxim.

It was well known that a publican, in drawing large
quantities of porter, was liable to cause waste beer, which
flowed into a waste butt in the cellar. Formerly the
brewer used to take back the waste at full price ; but now,
if the publican be under any pecuni'ry obligation to the
brewer, not more than two-thirds are al►owed of the full
price ; and if the returned porter will not stand the test,
nothing is allowed. The wealthy publican could easily
have other conditions, or would change his brewer. The
monopoly of some of the porter brewers had been greatly
aggravated ; for since the passing of the new beer
not a few of them had compelled the needy publicans, who
dragged their trade, to sell ale as well as porter, on pain of
ejectment.
The LORD MAYOR said the grievance was, like many
ethers which were stated to him, without hie being able
to apply a remedy, a very heavy one. He was aware that
publicans laboured under very serious disabilities, and that
the profits of the trade were generally much exaggerated:
but he certainly had no idea that they were subject to such
vexatious expenses.
The applicant observed, that the city was the only place
in which a Magistrate could be found to li,ten to his com-
plaint. With all the respect in the world foe the bench
of county Magistrates, although he ►ived in the county, he
would as soon think of asking one of them to lend him
500/., as to hear one word from him against the dignity
and honour of the porter brewers of London.

A mercantile bankruptcy took place in Glas-
gow twenty years ago, the affairs of which were only
finally wound up last week, when certain of the creditors,
none of whom had ever received one farthing of dividend,
were obliged to pay above nine shillings in the pound on
adwe csioeintz
awmai sgeovweirnagl
otfo t
hnen m
l‘olnagi meson t esTtehde
rt fi
ous rst
ori-
ginal creditors having themselves became insolvent during
the prctracted period of the trust, the loss of course be-
came heavier on the remaiuder.—Edinburgh Advertiser.,
NATIONAL CONVENTION.—We have tile
pleasure to find that the Huddersfield operatives, of the
ultra-radical class, have taken the good advice offered to
them, and have abandoned the " National Convention."
An opinion gains ground very generally that the Anti-Re.
formers, and not the Reformers, were at the bottom of
this mischievous advice.—Leeds Mercury.

HORRIBLE SUICIDE.—This morning, about
nine o'clock, the family of Mr. GREEN, baker, of No.
103, Fetter-lane, was thrown into great alarm in conse-
quence of their servant maid, a young woman 21 years of
E couldlie various sums
f, ofwhich money,h
and never eage, having destroyed herself. It appears, that for some
time past M
till
lately
N had m
v ea
rr viu
the s
thief,
at length effect-d by marking some five-shilling papers of
halfpence. This morning he challenged the unfortunate
Oil with the robbery, and threatened to punish her. She
became dreadfully affected, cried bitterly, and adinitb,d
having stolen three packets of copper, containing five
shillings each, within a fortnight, and begged hard for
mercy. Mr. GREEN sent for an officer, into whose cus-
tody he gave her. She was allowed to go up stairs to
fetch her bonnet to accompany the officer to the Ciao
Some few minutes having elapsed, and she not returning,
the constable went up for her, when, on passing. return 26.
GREEN'S bed-room, he was horror-stricken at behidding
the unfortunate girl lying on the Hour, welt, ring in herr
blood, she having cut her throat with a razor fr.modnewea
id
severed fro
to the other, and being quite dead. Si, cet.rion
it
the act that her head wa+ nearlypter.
m her body.
Her name was SARAH SYKES, and si e hari,lately come
inti a.
from Yorkshire, and, up to this ortune 'ecuirence,
this evening.
bore an irreproachable character. An inquest will be bold