The Sun.
London, England, 1832-03-28 00:00:00

PENNY PERIODICALS.

In consequence of the recent prosecutions of some of the
street vendors of several of the penny weekly periodicals, a
meeting of their proprietors and editors, &c., was held yester-
day evening (Monday) at the Literary Saloon, in Ilolywell-
street, Strand, to consider what measures should be adopted at
such a crisis. A petition (drawn up with much ability by Mr.
Carpenter) was unanimously adopted to both Houses of Par.
liament, praying to have repealed the 38 Geo. 111., and 60 Geo.
111., at least so much of them as is shown in the petition, to be
of that comprehensive nature as to render amenable to prose-
cution all periodical publications, published weekly, contain-
ing any intelligence or remarks whatever on any matters of
Church or State, and to be so oppressive as to prevent the diffu-
sion of knowledge in a cheap and useful form among those
classes of society who are unable to purchase works at a high
price, and unwilling to remain devoid of informatien. Subse-
quent to the adoption of this petition, a resolution was passed
to the effect that it was very extraordinary that prosecutions
should he instituted against the penny periodicals pre-
cisely at the time when a society established for the
diffusion of useful knowledge having for its chairman the Lord
Chancellor of England, and ranking among its most distin-
guished members several of the Cabinet Ministers and the
Law Advisers of the Crown, has announced a similar publica-
tion, penny and weekly, obviously proving the necessity and
demand for such publications ; at the same time the monopo-
lizing spirit of that society in its endeavour to oust from the
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penny periodicals, at the moment they are aiding and support-
ing a publication of a similar tendency and nature.
The meeting adjourned preparatory to a general meeting;
but the Members seemed resolved to prosecute the vendors of
the announced publication, arid of all other weekly periodicals,
of whatever price or nature, not stamped as newspapers—not
for the purpose of a petulant gratification or piquant rivalry,
but to bring into odium those oppressive laws, and to gain the
co-operation of those whose publications may be similarly
amenable to the odious Acts—if the pending prosecutions be-
fore the police Magistrates are continued.

To prevent the ravages of arts in places'•where
they sometimes abound, and do mischief, it is only necessary to
place tobacco-leaves in their way; the smell is fatal to them,
as is also that of the greater part ofstrong-scented plants.
HORRID DEPRAVITY.—At the Bedford
Assizes, last week, the new Judge, Mr. Baron Gurney, was
speedily called upon for an exercise of his judicial equanimity
and good temper. A fellow named Colgrave was tried before
him on two indictments, on both of which he was convicted.
After the verdict in the last case had been declared, the
Learned Judge said, he entertained no doubt the prisoner
was a common thief, and sentenced him for the first offence to
seven years's transportation, and to seven further years for the
second. Prisoner—" That is, fourteen years in all?" The
Judge—" Yes, you are perfectly right in your arithmetic."
Prisoner—" Then I wish you may have fourteen years in hell."
The Judge (mildly;—" Thank TOW "—Chester Chronicle.