The Sun.
London, England, 1832-12-29 00:00:00

Q UEEN-S Q UARE.

A LAMPLIGHTER'S METHOD OF OBTAINING A
CHRISTMAS-BOX.—Yesterday a Westminster lamp-
lighter named Luke, and Sarah, his wife, were
brought up in custody, charged with refusing to
pay their reckoning, and abusing and insulting Mrs.
Peddle, the lamiladrof the Hoop and Grapes pub-
lic-house in Queen-square, opposite to the Police-
office. It appeared that about 11 o'clock in the
mornTng, the lamplighter and his wife, and a friend,
walked into the complainant's house, and called at
the bar for a quartern of gin and a glass of rum,
which were served them ; as soon as the glasses
were emptied, the lamplighter put his glass down,
but, instead of paying for his liquor, he said,
" There now, this will do very well for a Christmas-
box;" and was about to walk off. The complainant,
however, demanded payment, as the lamplighter and
his friends were total strangers to her, when he
commenced a volley of the lowest abuse, swore that
he was the lamplighter of the parish, and that he
would he if the gas lamp opposite her house
should be lighted if she or any other person dared
to demand payment of him for liquor in the Christ-
mas week, as he had the power to keep the whole
parish in darkness if he pleased. His wife and
friend also joined in the abuse. The complainant
endeavoured to persuade the boxing trio to go away;
bet the lamplighter refused, and was backed by his
wife, who commenced abusing every person in the
house. It was at length found necessary to send for
a police constable, upon which the lamplighter's
friend bolted, and the lamplighter and his wife were
taken to the police-office. The lamplighter now
began to think that he had carried matters too far,
and all his courage oozed, for there was a total
change in his conduct. He, however, neither be-
haved with the gallantry of a man nor a lamplighter,
for by some means, while in the outer office with a
number of other Christmas disorderlies, he contrived
to make his escape, leaving his better half to an-
swer for his misdeeds as well as her own.
Mr. WHITE asked her what she had to say for
such impudent and disorderly conduct ? Mrs. Luke
now became very smooth-spoken, and no person-
would have supposed that such a demure lady
could have made use of such Billingsgate language
as that imputed to her. She admitted that she had
gone to the house with her husband, and when pay-
ment was demanded for the gin and ram they drank,
all she called the landlady was a stingy woman.
Mr. WHITE—A stingy woman ! What for, pray ?
Defendant—For demanding money for the liquor
we drank, seeing it was Christmas time, and my
husband the man wot lights the lamps in the square.
Mr. WRITE—And as you think you have a right
to go into tradesmen's houses and order what you
please to car and drink without payment, you must
find sureties for your future good conduct. No bail
was at hand, and the lamplighter's wife was sent to
Tothill-fields prison to finish her Christmas holydays,
and to relLct on her Dando propensities.
ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.—Au elderly man, named
Jonathan Nichols, re-iding at No. 6, South-street,
Laml'eth, was charched with attempting to drown
himself near Vauxhall-bridge.
Mr. Bond, the inspector, said that the defendant
had attempted to hang or drown himself four or five
times, and had been frequently charged at the
station-house.
Mr. WHITE ordered him to be detained until his
friends could be sent for.

Nearly on the spot now occupied by Apsley-
Louse, formerly stood a suburb-in inn called the Hercules'
Pillar, where " Squire WEsTERN" put up, on his arrival
in town in quest of his daughter.
_ _

FRENCH CLERGY.—The expenses of the
Catholic clergy of France, amounting to 4,214 individuals,
granted in the budget of 1630, were 26,796,000 francs
(somewhat more than 1,000,0001.) for the Protestant
clergy, 547 individuals, '720,000 francs (nearly 30,0001.).
The whole expense of this vote in the Public Instruc •
tion department, was 39,072,800 francs (more than
1,500,6001.) This includes the seminaries, colleges,
schools of primary instruction, and the ecclesiastical esta-
blishments.

SINECURES.—The recent number of the
Quarterly Review, in discussing Lord HENLEY'S plan of
Church Reform, alludes to his Lordship's charge against
some of the Clergy, as being sinecui ists, in the following
caustic vein:—" Sinecures !—what does this word mean ?
nL ! a sinecure means a large sum paid to an idle gentle-
man, either for doing absolutely nothing, or for amusing
himself in doing something else which has no reference to
Lis official duty or pay. As, for instance, if a law-officer,
with an income more than sufficient to repay ten times
over all the time and energy he has at his disposal, should
busy himself in party, in politics, in theological disputa-
tions, and Church Reform, such a man might be called a
sinecurist, and his own extra-official labours would prove
him to be such."

. By the statute 2 George 11., caps 24, made
" for py'eventing bribery and corruption in elections," it
,is enacted as follows:—" Sec. 7. That if any person
shall receive any money or other reward, to give or to
f!irtlcar to give his vote, or shall by any gift or reward pro-
cure any person to give or to forbear to give his vote, such
person so offending shall for every such offence forfeit
5001. to any person that shall sue for the same ; to be re-
covered, t.gether with full costs of suit, by action of debt,
pl tint, or information. Sec. 8. That if any person
offending against that Act shall, within twelve months,
discover any other person offending against that Act, so
that such.person so discovered be convicted, such person
BO discovering shall be indemnified and discharged from al
penalties and disabilities which he shall then have incurred
by any offence against that Act."
JOSEPH II
EMPEROR OF GERMANY.—
In one of those excursions which this Emperor frequently
took incog. he proceeded to Trieste. On his arrival he
went into an inn, and asked if he could be accommodated
with a good room ? He was told that a German Bishop
had just engaged the last, and that there were only two
small room, without chimneys, unoecupied. He desired
a supper to be prepared. He was told there was nothing
left but some eggs and vegetables, the Bishop and suite
having engaged all the poultry. The Emperor requested
that the Bishop might be asked if he would allow a
stranger to sup with him. The Bishop refused, and the
Emperor supped with one of the Bishop's almoners,
was not admitted to his master's table. The Emperor
asked him what they were going to do at Rome ? " My
Lord," replied the almoner, " is going to solicit a benefice
of 50,000 livrqy before the Emperor is informed of its
being vacant." They changed the conversation. The
Emperor' wrote a letter to the Chancellor of Rome, and
another to his Ambassador there. He made the almoner
promise to deliver both letters, agreeably to their address,
en his arrival at Rome. He kept his promise—the Chan-
cellor presented the patent for the benefice to the asto-
niehed almoner !