The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-30 00:00:00

LIGENCE

THE LONDON ASSOCIATION FOR
THE PROTECTION OF TRADE.
The annual general meeting of the members of this
association was held at Exeter Hall last night. The
meeting was rather thinly attended. George Cot-
tam, Esq., the president of the association, took the
chair.
Mr. BLAKEMAN, the secretary, read the report of
the committee of management fur the year ending the
31st of March last. The report congratulated the
association on the increasing number of its members,
and the extended confidence reposed in it by the
trading community of the metropolis, and of many of
the manufacturing and other provincial towns • as
by this means they increased the facilities for render-
lug that assistance and protection to the members
for which the association had been established. Since
November, 1848, subscriptions had been received
from 1,248 traders, and 23 honorary members had
been elected. There had been also a great increase
in the collection of debts for members. During the
year 1849, and up to the 29th of March, 5,330
persons had been written to for payments of debts
due to members, and though the large majority of
debts sent in for collection were deemed to be bad or
doubtful, payments had been obtained amounting in
the entire to 8,0131. 95.. 9d., in addition to which a
considerable sum had, no doubt, been paid per-
sonally, which, through inadvertence, had not been
notified at the office. The results of all applications for
debts had been registered, thus supplying a timely
caution and valuable information to subscribers in all
cases where credit was required from them by the same
parties. The committee had petitioned in favour of
the Bill for the improvement of the bankruptcy law,
and the Bill for the extension of the jurisdiction of
county courts. They had established communica-
tions and continued in friendly correspondence with
nearly every Trade Protection Society in the United
Kingdom, through the medium of which much useful
information had been interchanged, and the practices
and connexions of swindlers were more fully and
promptly exposed. Traders, both in the metropolis
anal in the provincial towns, received the earliest inti-
mation of all fraudulent attempts, and thus by means
of mutual co-operation mnch of the important informa-
tion possessed by each society was made available for
the general good of all traders who became their
supporters.
The statements of accounts was then read, from
which it appeared that up to the 25th of March, 1850,
the total receipts were 1,419/. Os. 7d., and that the
balance in the banker's bands and in the bands of
the committee was 45/. 18s. 10d.
The PRESIDENT, in moving the adoption of the re-
port, congratulated the association on the rapid pro-
gress which they had made, and expressed himself
strongly as to the necessity of union and co-open I-
tion among the traders of the West-end. They bad
enrolled upwards of 1,200 members during the past
year, but be hoped that in the ensuing year each
member would bring at least one additional sub-
scriber, because the greater their number the greater
would necessarily be the amount of information
which they received and interchanged.
Mr. HEAL seconded the motion. He said that their
money had been expended with the strictest economy,
and in a manner which was best calculated to benefit
the subscribers. They had collected upwards of
8,0001. of bad debts for members within the year; and
in addition to that, 3,000 inquiries had been made at
the office, averaging ten a day, and in all cases useful
information had been obtained. He expressed his
belief that the retail traders of London suffered more
by means of bad debts than by all the taxes united for
which they were liable, and any society which wou!
enable them to get rid of this great evil must be of
the greatest utility.—(Hear, hear.) In conclusion, he
mentioned a case in which be would himself have
been victimized by a reverend gentleman, who had
given him a reference to a person in the Bank of Eng-
land, were it not for the information received through
the society.
Mr. GREENE bore evidence to the successful nature
of the labours of the association for the past year, and
said that no less than .16,000 letters had been fo:
warded to members from the office.
The motion was carried unanimously.
Mr. ROGERS moved the next resolution, to the effect
tbat the progress of the association was highly credit-
able to the committee of management, and that it was
a highly gratifying fact that 1,272 traders had become
members during the past year.
The motion was carried unanimously.
A. vote of thanks was then passed to the auditors,
after which, on the motion of Mr. Jeffreys, a vote of
thanks was given to the committee of management,
and their re-appointment for the ensuing year was
confirmed.
Mr. MITCHELL moved that the future annual meet-
ings of the society be held in the month of February
in each year.
Mr. CIIURTON seconded the motion, which was
agreed to.
Mr. HEAL moved the thanks of the meeting to Mr.
Blakeman, the secretary, and the other officers of the
association, for the zeal and industry shown by them

THE LINE.
"Louis, surnamed the Saint, King of France, having
taken the cross, sailed with a splendid retinue of knights,
nobles, and soldiers, bent on the delivery of Jerusalem
from the profanation of the Moslem; and, landing in
the East, laid siege to Damietta (in Lower Eg) pt),
which be triumphantly won by storm. But after enduring
innumerable hardships and disasters by the sword and by
pestilence from the fcetid waters of the marshy Nile and
the Lake of Menzaleh, he was overthrown in battle at
Mansoura, and made captive by the Soldan. This was
about the year 1254, when Alexander 111. was King
of Scotland. In these Eastern wars, St. Louis was
twice saved from death by the valour of a small band
of auxiliary Scotch crusaders, commanded by the
Earls of March and Dunbar, Walter Stewart, Lord of
Dundonald, and Sir David Lindsay of Glenesk. These
brave adventurers had the good fortune to rescue the
French monarch, first from the scimitars of the followers
of the King of the Arsacides, a Mahommedan despot,
and afterwards from the emissaries of the Comtesse de
la Marche.
" Our good King Alexander sent ambassadors to con-
gratulate St. Louis on his delivery from these double
peril., and on his return from this first crusade, the two
monarchs agreed, that in remembrance of these deeds of
fidelity and valour, there should remain in France, in all
time coming, a standing company or guard of Scots-
men, recommended by their own sovereign,' and who
should in future form the Garde du Corps of
the most Christian King. Such was the origin
of the bravest body guard that Europe ever saw,
thus established by
though our ancient historians are fond of dating its
tformationhe Great forfo and Gregory
Cguhaarrdlemtha
St. Louis marched with him to the second crusade in
the year 1720. It was then led by the Earls of Carrick
Scotland.m th e da
days of
and Atholl, Sir J. Stuart, Sir W. Gordon, and other
brave knights, most of whom perished with Louis of a
deadly pestilence before the walls of Tunis, and under
the towers of Abu Zaccheria.
" This noble band of Scottish archers remained con-
stantly in France, and were the only military corps in
that country until King Charles VII. added a few
French companies to increase his guards, still giving
the Scots their old pre-eminence and post of honour
next the royal person. The leader was styled Premier
Capitaine of the Guards, and, as such, took precedence
of all military officers in France. When the French
Sovereign was annointed, he stood beside him ;
and when the ceremony was over, obtained the royal
robes, with all their embroidery and jewels, as his per.
quisite. When a city was to be stormed, the Scottish
archers led the way; when it surrendered, tlee keys were
received by their captain from the hands of the King.
Twenty-five of them, in testimony of their unspotted
fidelity,' wore over their magnificent armour white bo-
quetons of a peculiar fashion, richly laced and embossed
with silver. Six of them in rotation were ever beside
the royal person—by night as well as by day—at the re-
ception of fereign ambassadors—in the secret debates in
the Cabinet—in the rejoicings of the tournament, the
revels of the banquet, the solemnities of the Church, and
the glories of the battle-field. The Scottish hearts
formed a zone around the monarchs of France; and at
the close of the scene, the chosen twenty-five had the
privilege of bearing the royal remains to the regal se-
pulchre of St. Denis.
"It would require volumes, instead of a chapter, to
recount all the honours paid to the Scottish Guard, and
the glory acquired by them in the wars of five centuries.
Led by Alexander Earl of Buchan, Great Constable of
France, they performed good service in that great battle
at Banje-en-Anjou, where the English were completely
routed ; and at Verneuil, where Buchan died sword in
hand, like a brave knight, and covered with renown, at
the same moment that Swinton, the gallant Laird of
Delswinton, slew the boasting Clarence with one thrust
of his border spear. In 157 P, the guard consisted of a
hundred cuirassiers, or hommes-des.armes, a hundred
archers of the corps, and twenty-five 'keepers of the
king's body,' all Scottish gentlemen of noble descent
and coat-armour. They , saved the life of the
tyrant Louis XI. at Liege, and Pavia fought
around the gallant Francis in a circle.-until four only
were left akivep and thern,and not WI then, the King
fell into the hands of the foe. In gratitude for their
long-tried faith and unmatched valour, they were
vested with all the honour and confidence the King of
France could bestow on his nearest and dearest friends;'
and thus in a little band of Scottish archers originated
the fashion of standing armies, and the nucleus of the
great permanent forces of France. 'By this means,.
says an old Jacobite author, our gentry were at once
taught the rules of civility and art of war; and we were
possessed of an inexhaustible stock of brave officers, fit
to discipline and to command our armies at home, and
ever sure to keep up that respect which was deservedly
paid to the Scots name and nation abroad.'
" As Sir James Hepburn's regiment of Pikemen they
returned to Scotland in 1633, being sent over by Louis
XII., to attend the coronation of Charles I. t
adhered
Edin-
burgh. On the commencement of the great and disastrous civil war, eight years after, they loyally
to the King, and were then by the Cavalier army first
styled the Royal Scots. On the reverse of Charles's
fortune and subversion of all order, they went back to
France, and, under Louis of Bourbon, Duc d'Enghien,
shared in all the dangers and glories of that campaign I
on the frontiers of Flanders, so famous for ending
in the utter destruction of the Spanish host, the death
of the brave Conde Fuentes, the fall of Thionville,
Philipsburg, Mentz, Werms, and Oppenheim, till the
waters of the Rhine reflected the flash of their armour ;
and there fell the vetern Hepburn, with his helmet
on his brow, and the Rag of St. Andrew over him.
Returning in 1678, they re-entered the Scottish army
as the Earl of Dumbarton's foot; and eight years after
served against the ill-fated Monmouth, and suffered
severely, being attacked at Sedgemoor by his cavalry in
the night, their position being discerned through the
darkness by the glow of their lighted matches.
" At the union in 1707, on the incorporation of the
forces as the British establishment, and when Scottish
blood and Scottish treasure were more than ever re-
quired to further the grasping aims and useless wars of
that age, the ReYals, in consequence of their high
standing in arms and venerable antiquity, were num-
bered as the Ist, or Royal Scots Regiment of Foot—a
title they have since maintained with honour, and on a
hundred fields have upborne victoriously the same silver
cross which the brave archers of Atholl and the spear-
men of Buchan unfurled so gloriously on the plains of
Anjou, and at Veruuil, on the banks of Aure."
Walter Fenton, the " Scottish Cavalier," is one of
this gallant band and among the heroic and perilous
adventures recorded in this volume, is an account of
that famous instance of Scottish gallantry which gave
a name to an island of the Rhine—an incident beauti-
fully commemorated by Aytoun in "the Island of the
Scots," one of the " Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers."
Some of the characters of this historical romance are
necessarily historical. Among these are Annie Laurie
and the Poet-soldier, Douglas of Finland, the writer of
the still favourite ballad which bears the name of his
faithless mistress, " Annie Laurie." If that only is
" well" which" ends well," then indeed the story of the
" Scottish Cavalier" can have no claim to that qualifica-
tion. It might with propriety have for its motto the
mournful lines of Coleridge—
" Constancy lives in realms above,
And life is thorny, and youth is vain ;"
for, interesting as it is at the commencement, the
conclusion will be found most repugnant to the taste
of all lovers of romance. Mr. Grant will hardly find
favour with his lady-readers, we should imagine,
after thus selecting as the-heroines of both his truth
ful and fictitious narratives the fickle Annie Laurie
and the inconstant Lilian Napier. The punishment
which awaits the latter is a kind of poetical justice
which is so far satisfactory; but to our thinking the
• I conclusion of the tale is somewhat revolting.

COURT CIRCULAR.
OSBORNE, MAY 29.
The Queen and Prince walked, at an early hour
this morning, in Osborne park and grounds.
His Royal Highness the Prince of WaleF, and
younger members of the Royal Family, walked and
rode as usual.
. There was no addition yesterday to the royal dinner
r- I party.

The Bishop of Toronto had an interview with Earl
Grey yesterday at the Colonial-office.
The Chevalier Bunsen,, Prussian Minister, had an
interview with Sir George Grey yesterday. The
Bishop of Rochester had also an interview with the
Right Hon. Baronet, at the Home-office.
Earl Grey gave a grand dinner to the Cabinet
Ministers last evening, at his residence on Carlton -
terrac2,

EPSOM RACES.—WEDNESDAY.
For the first time since 1798 the Epsom programme
announced a race to precede the two great events of the
meeting, in the shape of a Free Plate of 501., an addi-
tion to the ordinary quantum of sport acceptable to the
visitors, and cf editable to the management. Apart from
this, the arrangement of the stakes, and of the business
of the course, was in every respect as of old—the same
officers, the same preliminary routine of saddling, can-
t,- ring, &c., and with the same satisfactory results to the
public and the parties engaged in the actual business of
the meeting. It is almost superfluous to state that, with
a race for its staple "feature," on which speculation
reached an unprecedented amount, and on which the
quotations have shown the most extraordinary fluctua-
tions, a vast concourse of people were attracted to the
Dowrs. From the London-bridge terminus trains were
started from an early hour, at as short intervals as was
consistent with safety, not without some confusion—ren-
dered unavoidable by the ruAl for the carriages—but
happily without accident. So continuous was the pres-
sure at this station, that it was found impracticable to
forward many of the later applicants in time for the first
race; fortunately for them the alteration in the order of
running threw the Des by back full half an hour be-
yond the time at which it has usually been run, and
thus none were disappointed of their anticipated treat.
The Epsom line did not engross the whole of the trade,
a considerable number of " quiet, easy-going" people,
having no relish for a squeers, preferring the route from
Waterloo-bridge to Kingston, and thence by road to
the Downs, the difference of time and expense being so
trifling, that we are almost inclined to think that those
who adopted it bad the best of it.
By mid-day Epsom was so completely blocked up
that although the betting fraternity assembled, as of
old, opposite the Eagle, the transaction of business to
any extent, was out of the question. In the din which
prevailed during the short time the attempt was perse-
vered in, we could make out that the four favourites
were in great favour, and Pitaford on the decline, but the
actual prices of the favourites all our industry failed to
elicit. We will therefore, change the venue to the
Downs. There the crowd was prodigious, extending
from the commencement of the rails to and some dis-
tance round, Tattenham Corner, filling up the course
itself, and the space between the running ground and the
carriage enclosure .on both sides. We canuut say
that the bill was so well covered with equi-
pages, or that the assemblage was so fashionable,
as we have seen on many Derby days, but we
can safely affirm that numerically it has never been ex-
ceeded. The task of keeping this enormous and motley
assemblage in order, and of clearing the course, was as-
signed to the police, under Superintendent Hughes and
Inspector Beckerson and May, and it is due to them to
state that it was most admirably performed. The
Grand Stand was literally crammed, anti so dense was
the crowd in the betting enclosure that it was almost as
difficult to ascertain the movements there as it was in

the town.
The struggle for the premiershiplaidbetwecn Clincher,
Bolingbroke, and Mildew, and for some time was so
close, that it would not have been easy to decide which
had the call ; 9 to 2 was taken about each; ultimately
Clincher settled down as first favourite, Mildew second
and Bolingbroke third, the Nigger, who was backed for
an immense strike, closing at six to one. Pitsford de-
clined to 12 to 1, and Voltigeur, after being a long time
almost on the shelf, came into favour, the last quota-
tion against hint being 16 to 1. Nothing else was in
much request.
For the Handicap Plate, which was fixed for two
o'clock, sixteen horses out of an entry of twenty-three
started, Joc o'Sut winning by a neck. The Der by
came next, and so little time was occupied in weighing,
and other preliminaries, that by half-past two the tele-
graph was hoisted; it indicated 24 runners, two more
than ae anticipated would be found at the pest. We
should state here that, shortly before the commence-
ment of the races, the trainer of Bolingbroke objected to
Deletion's being allowed to start until his mouth had un-
(invite an examination; this was ordered, but no veteri-
nary surgeon being forthcoming he was permitted to run
under protest. (From what took place at Bath there can
he no doubt his ago is right). The course having been
cleared, the flag was hoisted on the stand as a signal for
the competitors to be conducted to the front of the Grand
Stand. Faddling, centering, mad the customary parade
succeeded, and shortly after three o'clock the horses
were conducted to the paddock, and having been
formed by Mr. Hibburd into order for starting, appeared
at the poly, without any delay the flag was lowircd, and
in the short space of 2 minutes and 50 seconds, the time
occupied in running the race, the cares and speculations
of a year were closed by Voltigeur, "one of the safest
horses in the race," as many consider, d him the day
before, passing the chair a very easy winner; next to
him came all the favorites, a ith the exception of Boling-
broke, who never showed in the race, and was " nowhere"
at the finish. Mayors, who ran forward to the turn,
broke clown near the road, aid was pulled up. Lord
Zetland and his friends are understood to be eery large
winners, some of them, we suspect, netting more than
they would have done had their horse been at a hedging
price. The " ring" loses almost to a man, and the set-
tling, we fear, will be a very heavy one.
Two races of small value followed the Derby, and
kept the mass of the company on the ground until be-
tween five and Nix o'clock. We have only to add that
the weather was remarkably fine throughout; and that
the day passed off, as far as we are enabled to speak from
personal observation, without a single drawback.
The Town Plate of 50 Rfbitil_ (handicap), for all ages
One mile.