The Sun.
London, England, 1850-07-01 00:00:00

[BEE.

THE KOH-I-NOOR, OR MOUNTAIN SUNDAY TRADING PREVENTION within seven days next after the commission of the
OF LIGHT. BILL. 1 offence, and not afterwards.

Her Majesty's steam-sloop Medea has just arrived
at Portsmouth, with a freight more precious, in nomi-
nal value, than was ever carried from Peru to Cadiz.
Major Mackeson, one of her passengers, a meritorious
and distinguished officer, brings with him that famous
diamond of the East called, in the fondness of Asiatic
hyperbole,:the Koh• i-noor,orPfountain ofLight,whieb,
after symbolizing the revolutions of ten generations
by its passage from one conqueror to another, comes
now, in the third centenary of its discovery, as
the forfeit of Oriental faithlessness and the prize of
Saxon valour, to the distant shores of England. It
was in the year 1550, before the Mogul dynasty had
been established by the prowess of the great Akbar,
that this marvellous atone was first brought to light
in the celebrated mines of Golconda. Tne kingdom
of this name constituted one of the five Mahometan
States which towards the close of the 15th century
had been formed in the Deccan. The diamond
mines which have rendered it so famous
in story were situated at some distance to the east
of the capital city, near the present station of
Condapilly, and are now in our possession, though
they have long ceased to reward or invite the la-
bours of treasure-seekers. When the Mogul Princes
extended their pretensions to the sovereignty of the
Deccan, Kootub Shah, then King of Golconda, was
brought into collision with Shah Jehaun, the reign-
ing Emperor, and father of the great Aurungzebe.
Kootub Shah's Prime Minister at this period was
the famous Meer Jumla, a statesman who to political
abilities of unusual excellence added a singular
knowledge of precious stones. He had, in fact, been
at one time a diamond merchant, and was therefore
peculiarly competent to appreciate the treasures of
Golconda. It happened, too, that Shah Jehaun him
self was a connoisseur of scarcely less skill, inso-
much that when at a later period he had
been dethroned and imprisoned by his father,
and a doubt had been created respecting
the value of a certain ruby in the Im-
perial Treasury, the gem was actually trans-
mitted to the deposed Prince for his inspection and
decision. Two such characters were well fitted fur
the transaction which ensued. Shah Jehaun took up
the cause of Meer Jumla against his Sovereign, and
the Koh-i-noor passed from Golconda to Delhi.
While the kingdoms of the Deccan were suc-
cessively absorbed in the culminating dominion of
the Moguls, the Koh-i-noor rested among the
treasures of Imperial Delhi, where, on the
2d of November, 1665, it was seen by the
French traveller Tavernier, who, by the ex-
traordinary indulgence of Aurungzebe, was permitted
to handle, examine, and weigh it, being the first, and
till now, probably, the last European who had ever
enjoyed such a privilege. The Great Mogul sate on
his throne of State, while the chief keeper of the
jewels produced his treasures for inspection on two
golden dishes. The magnificence of the collection
was indescribable, but conspicuous in lustre, es-
teem, and value was the Koh-i-noor. Sometimes
worn on the person of the Moguls, sometimes
adorning the famous peacock throne, this in-
estimable gem was safely preserved at Delhi
until, in 1739, the empire received the fatal blow
from the invasion of Nadir Shah. Among the spoils
of conquest which. the Persian warrior carried back
with him in triumph to Khorassan, and which have
been variously estimated as worth from 30 to 90
millions sterling, the Koh-i-noor was the most
precious trophy but it was destined to pass from
Persia as quickly as that ephemeral supremacy in
virtue of which it had been acquired. Nadir Shah
had entertained in his service a body of Affghans
of the Abdalee tribe under the leadership of
Ahmed Shah, who also served his master in the
capacity of treasurer, and when the Persian conqueror
was assassinated by his subjects, the Affghans, after
vainly endeavouring to rescue or avenge him, fought
their way to their own frontiers, though only 4,000
strong, through the hosts of the Persian army. In
conducting this intrepid retreat Ahmed Shah carried
off with him the treasures in his possession, and was
probably aided by these means, as well as by
his own valour in consolidating the new State
which, under the now frmiliar title of :the Doorannee
Empire, he speedily created in Cabul. It seemed as
if the Koh noor carried with it the sovereignty of
Hindustan, for the conquests of Ahmed were as de-
cisive as those of Nadir, and it was by his nomination
andpatronage that the last Emperor ascended the throne
of the Moguls. At the beginning of the present cen-
tury the treasures and power of Ahuseed were vested
in the person of Zemaun Shah, subject to the inces-
sant assaults of his kinsmen. One of these at length
proved successful, and in the year 1800 Zemaun
Shah found himself a prisoner at the disposal of his
brother Shah Shuja, the identical puppet, 40 years
later, of our famous Caubul expedition, so that we are
now brought down to modern times and characters.
Shah Shuja presently ascended the throne of his
brother, but the treasury of Caubul was wanting in
its most precious ornament, till at length, ingeniously
secreted in the wall of Zemaun Shah's prison, was
discovered the Koh-i-noor. It was eight years
after this, while the Doorannee monarchy was for-
midable enough to inspire the powers of the East
with uneasiness, that Mr. Elphinstone, accredited
by Lord Minto to the Affghan Prince, betook
himself to what was then the remote and unknown
town of Peshawur, where, at his state reception,
the Koh-i-noor again flashed, after an interval
of so many years, upon the dazzled eyes of a
European. Shah Shuja, aiterwards the client and
pensioner of the East India Company, was
dressed on this occasion in a green velvet
tunic, fitting. closely to his body, and seamed with
gold and precious stones. On his breast was a cuirass
of diamonds shaped like two flattened fleurs-de-lis,
and in a bracelet on his right arm blazed the price-
less jewel of Golconda. The Prince gave a gracious
audience to the Ambassador, and Mr. Elphinstone
retired,
but the Koh-i-noor was not fated long
to continue in the divided and tottering family
of the once powerful Abdallees. The embassy
had scarcely recrossed the Indus when Shah Shuja
was expelled from Caubul, though he con-
trived to make this far-famed diamond the com-
panion of his flight. After many vicissitudes of exile
and contest he at length found an equivocal refuge
under the protection of that powerful chieftain who
bad now consolidated the dominions df the Sikbs into
a royal inheritance for his own family. Runjeet Singh
was fully competent either to the defence or the
restoration of the fugitive, but he knew or
suspected the treasure in his possession, and
his mind was bent upon acquiring it. He
put the Shah under strict surveillance, and made a
formal demand for the jewel. The Doorannee Prince
hesitated, prevaricated, temporized, and employed all
the artifices of Orintal diplomacy, but in vain. Run-
jeet redoubled the stringency of his measures, and at
length the Ist of June, 1813, was fixed at the day when
the great diamond of the Moguls should be surren-
dered .by the Abdallee Chief to the ascendant
dynasty of the Singhs. The two Princes met in a
room appointed for the purpose, and took their seats
on the ground. A solemn silence then ensued which
continued unbroken for an hour. At length
Runjeet's impatience overcame the suggestions
of Asiatic decorum, and he whispered to an attend-
ant to quicken the memory of the Shah. The
exiled Prince spoke not a word in reply, but gave
a signal with his eyes to a eunuch in attendance,
who, retiring for a moment, returned with a small roll
which he set down upon the carpet midway between the
two chiefs. Again a pause followed, when at a sign
from Runjeet the roll was unfold d, and there in its
mrtchless and unspeakable brilliancy glittered the Koh-
i-noor. In this waydid the " Mountain of light" pass
in the train of conquest and as the emblem of dominion,
from Golconda to Delhi, from Delhi to Mushed,
from Mushed to Caubul, and from Caubul to Lahore,
verifying by the esteem which itj everywhere com-
manded the perspicacity and egmen.t of Meer
i.ehu
rsirrai °ln. Exc
a ofTatsiavpernsg theer some-
what d
'stravels)
janurtlhae(ouPrinceclaims s 1
theShaimh T
s of the Brazilian stone among
jewels
diamond
Ponodrtuignalt,hethAe.olrilodh. -ie‘nvohoernis
first the
it
ahrea
eCsrto rkat
on
given to Shah Jehaun it was still uncut, weighing,
it is said, in that rough state, nearly 800 carats,
which were reduced by the unskilfulness of the
artist to 279, its present weight. It was cut
.by
Hortensiu B,rgis,
a Venetian, who, instead of receiv-
ing a remuneration for his labour, was fined 10,000
rupees for bis wastefulness by the enraged 11 legul.
In form it is "rose cut"—that is to say, it is cu,t,
to a point in a series of small faces, or " facets,
without any tubular
idea may be formed of .surface. A good general
its shape and size by conceiv-
ing it as the pointed half of a small hen's egg, though
it is said not to have risen more than half an inch from
the gold setting in which it was worn by Runjeet.
Its value is scarcely computable, though two
mil-
sterling has been mentioned as a justifiable
price if calculated by . the scale employed in
the trade. The Pitt diamond brought over from
Madras by the grandfather of Lord Chatham, and
sold to the Regent Orleans in 1717 for
125,0001., weighs scarcely 130 carats; nor
does the great diamond which supports the
;sit
200.f0. the. Russian sceptre
Such is the ex -
in virtue of conquest. and
theh o reposrsreesass possession f
atErtigh:
tiEaglea,an odr. weigh
d ni on
nrs
wasit muchehjewel
prudently
ulsdu
whicher
ly
secured among the few re •
sovereigntym ainiflg valuables
asos
;cithientLo
even its nominal value would be an inadequate coin
cammencement of the last insurrection,. and although
peseta:sr' for the cost of the Sikh wars, w e may look
treicy which we have fairly won.—Threes.
i upon its a. quisition as a fitting eymb,:l of that supre-
lip I

---
The late Dr. Gabbett has left the munificent sum
of 2,00 Y. to the public charities of Limerick. Dr. Gabbett
was remarkable through life for the most amiable disposition,
and his exertions on behalf of the poor were constant and un-
remitting.—Corp Examiner.

The following is a oopy of the Bill intituled " An
Act to prevent unnecessary trading on Sunday within
the Metropolitan Police District and City of London
and Liberties thereof."
Whereas the practice of Sunday trading is carried
on to a great extent within the metropolitan police dis-
trict arid the city of London and liberties thereof, and it
is expedient that further provision should be made for
restraining and preventing the same : be it therefore
enacted by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and
temporal, and Commons in this present Parliament as-
sembled, and by the authority of the same, that if any
person shall on Sunday, within the metropolitan police
district, or within the city of London or liberties thereof,
sell, vend, hawk, cry, or offer or expose for sale, or
eau se to be sold, vended, hawked, cried, or offered or
exposed for sale, any goods, chattels, effects, matters,
or things whatsoever ; or if any dealer in meat,
fish, poultry, game, or wild fowl, shall, on
Sunday after the hour of nine of the clock in the
morning deliver or cause to be delivered any meat,
fish, poultry, game, or wild fowl, at the residence of
or at any other place for the purchaser thereof; every
such person, being convicted thereof before a justice of
the peece, shall forfeit and pay the sum of 55.; and if
any person, having been so convicted, shill afterwards
be guilty of any of the offences be;ore-itientienecl, and
shalt be convicted thereof in like manner, every ?men te -
fender shall for such second offence forfeit ant pee. any
sum not exceeding twenty shillings nor less than five
shillings, as to such justice shall seem meet ; and if
any person, having been so twice convicted, shall
afterwards be guilty of any of the offences before-
mentioned, and shall be thereof convicted in like
manner, every such offender shall for such subse-
quent ffence forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding
forty shillings nor less than twenty shillings, as to
such justice shall seem meet.
2. Provided always, and be it enacted, that the pro-
visions of this Act shall not extend or apply—To any
person selling or vending or offering or exposing for
sale, or causing to be sold or vended or offered or ex-
po-ed for sale, any medicine, drug, or other article for
medicinal purposes : nor to any person selling, vend-
ing, hawking, crying, or offering or exposing for sale,
or causing to be sold, vended, hawked, cried, or of-
fered or exposed for sale, any milk or cream, before
the heur of nine of the clock in the morning, or after
the hour of one of the clock in the afternoon ; nor to
any person selling or vending or offering or exposing
for sale, or causing to be sold or vended or offered or
exposed for sale, any fruit or pastry, or any cooked
or prepared victuals, or any beverage, not being wine,
spirits, beer, or other fermented or distilled liquors,
or any newspaper or other periodical paper stamped
with the proper newspaper stamp, before the hour
of ten of the clock in the morning and after
the hour of one of the clock in the afternoon : nor to
any person selling or vending or offering or exposing
for sale, or causing to be sold or vended or offered or
exposed for sale, tobacco after the hour of one of the
clock in the afternoon : nor to any person selling or
vending or offering or exposing for sale, or causing to
be sold or vended or offered or exposed for sale, for hu-
man food, any meat, poultry, or fish, before the hour of
nine of the clock in the morning from the 31st day of
May to the Ist day of October in every year : nor to any
person selling or vending or offering to sell or vend in
his dwelling-house to any lodger, or to any person in
and on board of any steam-vessel or other vessel what-
soever, any ready-dressed provisions, liquors, or re-.
freshment.
3. And be it enacted, that the provisions herein-
before contained shall not extend or apply to any
licensed victualler, or the keeper of any inn, tavern,
hotel, public-house, or other house licensed for the sale
of exciseable, fermented, or distilled liquors, exercising
his ordinary trade as such licensed victualler, or keeper
of such inn, tavern, hotel, public-house, or other
licensed house.
4. And be it enacted, that if any barber or hair-
dresser shall, within the metropolitan police district,
or the city of London or the liberties thereof, after
the hour of ten of the clock in the morning on
Sunday, open shop, or do or exercise the work of
his ordinary calling, every such person, being con-
victed thereof before a justice of the peace, shall for
the first offence forfeit and pay the sum of five shil-
lings ; and if any such person, having been so convicted,
shall afterwards be guilty of like offence, and shall
be thereof convicted in like manner, every such person
shall for such second offence forfeit and pay any
sum not exceeding ten shillings nor less than five
shillings; and it any such person, having been so
twice convicted, shall afterwards be guilty of the like
offence, and shall be thereof convicted in like manner,
every such offender shall for such last-mentioned or
any subsequent offence forfeit and pay any sum not
exceeding 20s. nor less than 108.; provided always,
that any barber or hairdresser who shall be so con-
victed shall not be liable to any further penalty
under this Act for opening shop or carrying on the
work of his ordinary calling upon one and the same
day.
5. And he it enacted, that no person who shall be
convicted for the first time of having offended against
any of the provisions of this Act shall be liable to
any penalty under this Act for any other offence com-
mitted upon the same day ; and no person shall for
any offences against this Act upon one and the same
day (for which cumulative penalties may be
awarded) be liable to penalties under this Act
amounting in the whole to a larger sum than ten
pounds.
6. And be it enacted, that no servant who shall act
in violation of this Act by or under the authority or
direction of his employer (the proof whereof shall lie
upon such servant) shall be liable to any penalty
under the Act, but in every such case the person by
or under whose authority or direction such servant
shall so have acted shall be deemed to have himself
offended against this Act, and be punishable accord-
ingy.
7. And be it enacted, that it shall and may be
lawful to and for every police-constable acting
within the metropolitan police district, or city
of London or liberties thereof, without warrant
to seize all goods, chattels, effects, matters, and
things whatsoever which shall or may be
1, hawked, cried, offered or exposed for sale, in
any market, highway, public or other place, or on
any open ground whatsoever apart from the resi-
dence of the person offending, contrary to the pro-
visions of this Act, and to convey the same to
the nearest police station or other convenient place,
and there detain such goods, chattels, effects,
matters, or things until application shall be
made for the same, by or on behalf of the owner
thereof, to one of her Majesty's justices of the
peace, and thereupon such goods, chattels, effects,
matters, or things so seized shall be restored to such
owner upon such terms as to such justices shall
seem meet ; provided always, that if such owner
shall be proved to the satisfaction of such justice to
have been before convicted of any offence against the
provisions of this Act, or in case such owner shall
make no such application for the restoration to
him of the goods, chattels, effects, matters, or things
so seized and detained before the hour of twelve on
either of the three days next following such seizure,
it shall and may be lawful for such justice to direct
the same or any part thereof to be sold or disposed of
as he shell think fit, and the proceeds thereof to be
applied to the purpose to which the penalty by this
Act imposed for such hawking, crying, offering, or
exposing for sale would be applicable.
8. And be it enacted, that in all cases in which it
shall be necessary to prove any previous conviction
against any person under this Act, a certificate
containing the substance and effect only (omitting
the formal part) of the record of the convic-
tion of the previous offence, purporting to be
signed by the proper officer having the cus-
tody of such record of conviction, or a certifi-
cate of such previous conviction purporting to be
signed by the person who shall have acted as clerk to
the justice before whom such previous conviction
shall have taken place, shall, upon proof of the
identity of the person of the offender, be suffi-
cient evidence of the previous conviction, with-
' out proof of the signature or official character
of the person appearing to have signed the same;
and if any person whatsoever shall wilfully and
knowingly utter a false certificate of a conviction
for a previous offence against this Act, or if any per-
son other than such proper officer or person acting as
such clerk shall sign such certificate as such proper
officer or person acting as clerk, every person so of-
fending shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and being
convicted thereof shall be liable to imprisonment,
with or without hard labour, for any period not ex-
ceeding two years.
9. And be it enacted, that it shall and may be lawful
for all police-constables acting within the metopoli-
tan police district, or the city of London and liberties
thereof, and they are hereby required to enforce the
provisions of this Act ; and that all penalties and sums
of money imposed or ordered to be paid under the au-
thority of this Act shall, for offences committed within
the metropolitan police district, be adjudged to be paid
to and shall be recoverable by the receiver of the
metropolitan police district, and that all penalties and
sums of money imposed or ordered to be paid under
the authority of this Act shall, fur offences committed
within the city of London, be adjudged to be paid to
and shall be recoverable by the Chamberlain of the
city
London,
oft
be ftsatorwta the
enei
of
df
shall
thenaelyl,h
nut ber
ettl
paid,
case any
ar itwith
then it
Mayor, cs o
rn-
monalty, and citizens of that city ; and inu
ch
warrant
i‘ under
r his
his
csuoscth penalty or m
costs
as
shall be lawful for any justice of the peace acting
within the metropolitan police district, or city of
thereof,sLotinmedecnomonriolnibgeratollesorhouse
of by
correction
hand, to commit the party making such default to
jurisdiction, there to remain fur any
time not exceed-
ing fourteen days.
10. And be it enacted, that all prosecutions for of-
fences punishable by this Act shall be cvmmenced

11. And be it enacted, that this Act shall take effect
and come into operation on the first day of November
next after the passing thereof.
12. And be it enacted, that no information, con-
viction, or other proceeding had or taken under the
provisions of this Act shall be quashed or set aside
or adjudged void or insufficient for want of form, or
be removed by certiorari into her MPjesty's Court of
Queen's Bench.
13. And be it enacted, that in the construction of
this Act, unless there be anything in the context re-
pugnant thereto, any word denoting the singular
number or the male sex shall be taken to extend to
and signify any number of persons or things, and to
both sexes.
14. And be it enacted, that this Act may be
amended or repealed by any Act to be passed in the
present session of Parliament.

FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE

OF FIiIDAY.
DIVIDENDS.
At the C ,urt, Basitlghall,treet.

ca. Barnard, Por:sea, flasophtre, eual-merchant. July
19. at half-psit ore—R. Jelicoo, Turnwheel-brie, Dow-
gate-hill, raerebatA, July 22, at elve—R. Miller,
Prirxes-4treer, Spitalfields, oihn.in, Jury 19, at half-
pas,. one.