The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-13 00:00:00

4int.

LONDON, MONDAY, MAY 13, 1844.

No man holds a more enviable position in society
at the- present day, than Lord ASHLEY. He has
sacrificed office, and pensions, and political power for
the good of those who had none to help them. He is
called a visionary and enthusiast, but these are mere
-words, and have been applied to all reformers. The
greatest of reformers and the best friend, too, of the
poor had to submit to the same obloquy. Lord
,ASIILEY, when his party came into power, might
have had almost any situation that he could have
named, but when he found the Government hostile
to the great object he had in view, he rejected any
offer, he stood firm in his integrity, he followed the
path which conscience dictated, and to his honour he
now stands forward as the protector and advocate of
~the poor. And who are these poorP—The labouring
cLisses, the operatives, the men thatperform every
woe .k of drudgery, the sailors and
the soldiers
wlco _have defended our country, and
rendered her
name i:Justrious in every quarter of the globe. NEL-
SON and WELLINGTON are entitled to every praise, but
what fame would they have acquired without
d the
bravery of that class for which Lord AsELE,r now
pleads ? When NELSON gave his lastsignal, Eng-
land expects every man try do his duty," was there
any aristocrat, any Lord, or Baronet, or Knight, or
any man whose promotion awaited the result, who
fought.more manfully for his country than the com-
mon sailor ? When NAPOLEON, for eight hours, at
the battle of Waterloo, made the mast furious and
vigoroui'attacks ever made against any afmy, who
crowned the heights between Huguemont and La
Haye Sainte ?—who stood immoveable against the
showers of bullets, and the attacks of the finest
.cavalry ,and:..artillery in the world ?—who formed
Mat impenetrable line. which General FOY, an
e !xielny, .cbscribed as fixed in the earth, till at
thvp°Per time they moved forward as one man, and

achieved the greatest victory of this or any other age ?
The men who belonged to that class whom Lord
ASHLEY wishes to protect. It is needless to advert to
the tens of thousands engaged in our manufactories, or
to their skill and perseverance, and patient endurance,
because these are known to the world, and to them
the country owes much of its wealth and power.
That class has never been treated as rational beings.
The Legislature has taxed them and oppressed them,
and has laid all the heavy burdens on their shoulders;
it has made them pay a duty of 100 per cent. on tea
and sugar, and many other necessaries of life; it has
taxed the very sta.ffoflife for the benefit of the legislators
only, and when they assemble to complain or pray for re-
lief, they are put down by guns and bayonets. There
is no sympathy between the high and low classes.
Those who have power use that power with a high
hand, and instead of consulting for the good of men,
and women, and children, who contribute to their
wealth, their only object seems to be to keep them
under ; to pass laws for protecting the rich, and to
oppose those which are intended for the relief of that
class who have no voice in the Legislature. Lord
ASHLEY, to his honour, has taken up this cause, and
we trust he will live to reap the reward. If some
of his plans are not the best that can be devised, he
has one great and lasting merit—he has awakened
public attention to the subject—he has secured one
half of the House of Commons in his favour—
he is getting up meetings every week on the
subject, and he may rest assured he will soon find
many followers. In another part of the paper
will be found an account of an interesting
meeting held on Saturday, at which he presided.
Several noblemen, one bishop, many clergymen, and
Members of Parliament were present, and lent their
aid in a forming a plan for the benefit of the lower
classes. A committee was appointed, and to
the honour of the higher classes, at least fifteen
noblemen were appointed members. The sub-
scriptions, too, were large. Lord EL.Dois,
sprung from the lower classes, subscribed
2001., Sir THOMAS BARING, 1001., Mr. R. B. SHE-
SUDAN, a name celebrated in the annals of the county,
1001., and a large number besides subscribed accord-
ing to their means. This is a good beginning, and
holds out bright prospects. This is a triumph for
Lord ASHLEY, greater than the most splendid vic-
tories ; and we fervently pray that he may have firm-
ness and health to persevere in his Roble purpose till
he earns the greatest and most consolatory of all re-
wards, the blessings of those " who are ready to
perish."

On Sir James GRAHAM moving the Order of the
Day in the House of Commons on Friday, for the
third reading of the Factories Bill, Lord ASHLEY
brought forward his clause respecting the limitation
of the hours of labour for women and children, which
led to an interesting debate, in which his Lordship
and the Home Secretary were the chief speakers.
The former, after a brief but impressive exordium,
wherein he insisted that " what was morally wrong,
could not be politically right "—a noble sentiment,
which we recommend to the Premier's special con-
sideration—went on to adduce a variety of docu-
mentary evidence, with a view to show that
the proposed reduction in the hours of factory la-
bour would not be attended with the slightest injury
to trade ; but on the contrary—and here the Noble
Lord quoted the authority of one of the most exten-
sive mill-owners in Europe—" that the workers
would be so improved in their physical condition, that
they would do very nearly as much work in ten and
t half, as in twelve hours." On the subject of the antici-
pated fall in wages, on which the opponents of the mea-
sure lay such stress, his Lordshipobserved—"the opera-
tives, in contemplation of the great advantages which
would otherwise accrue, were ready to accept this reduc-
tion of wages. They say that by working fewer hours they
would enjoy greater health and vigour of body; they
would obtain increased social enjoyment, for they
would have first to learn, and afterwards to practise,
lomestic thrift and home economy. But the greatest
advantage they would obtain, and the one which,they
wanted to press more particularly on the country was,
that they would have conferred on them two or three,
or, may be, four or five years' prolongation of
their working lives, which they could devote
to the support of their families." These forcible
reasons made, as might have been anticipated, not the
slightest impression on Sir JAMES GRAHAM, who
opposed the measure with more pertinacity than ever;
and hinted, in no very ambiguous terms, that if it
should he carried against him, he should feel it his
duty to r.,tire from public life, and cultivate a modest
privacy among the classic shades of Netherby. This
threat, which, to our thinking, is anything but an
ilarming one, was nevertheless not without its effect
en the minds of some of the more sensitive Members,
and so excited the apprehensions of Mr. LIDDELL,
that he announced his intention of voting with Go-
vernment, though he declared that his " feelings were
with Lord ASHLEY." And he made this announce-
ment, notwithstanding—according to his own state-
ment—" Ministers had not acted on this question
with their usual ability, consideration, and foresight!"
Who, after this naive confession, will ever again
dream of placing confidence in a man who, for
mere party purposes, votes against his own
feelings; and the impulses of his better nature,
in favour of a Government which has
shown itself deficient in " ability, consideration, and
Foresight," and which, as such, is unworthy of the
support of a considerate and conscientious Member ?
But Mr. LIDDELL'S was riot the only instance of
apostacy exhibited last night. Mr. GALLY KNIGHT,
too, evinced a strong desire to recant the heresy of his
iate vote on the factory question. When he gave that
rote, he was drunk, as he told the House—metapho-
rically speaking, of course—but since then he had
had time to grow sober, and the consequence of his
Irestoration to unclouded sense was, that he was re-
solved to throw the poor factory operatives overboard,
and stick to the Government ! Truly a most cre-
ditable and benevolent determination, and one that
will be pretty sure to be followed by many other
Members, who will, no doubt, plead the same " un-
toward" state of mental eclipse as an apology for their
tormer vote, and urge, like Mr. KNIGHT, their
restored sobriety as a reason for their now siding
with Ministers! What a humiliating confession for
public men to make—that they were wholly in the
wrong when they advocated the cause of humanity,
and are in the right only when they declare against
it ! Mr. ROEBUCK, who, with his usual success, at-
tempted to reply to an admirable speech of Lord
do \vie le, quoted, in allusion to what he
was pleased to call his Lordship's " rash
and meddling legislation," POPE'S well-known
line, that " fools rush in where angels fear to
tread." The point—the delicacy—the gentlemanlike
propriety of the word " fools," applied to an indivi-
lual with whom the pert, pragmatical Member for
Bath cannot bear an instant's comparison in point
,f intellect, is worthy of all praise ; and not
lees commendable is the spirit of modesty which
induced Mr. ROEBUCK to omit that portion
lof the line which refers to " angels, " for
is he himself is one of the non-interference gentle-
men, who " fear" to touch the factory question, the
House, had he quoted the whole line, could not have
failed to apply the word " angel" to himself, notwith-
standing that he has as little of the angelic character
about him as any man we ever remember to have seen,
not excepting even Mr. MUNTZ. At a late hour the
debate was adjourned, but we fear that there is little
doubt that Ministers will carry the day, and that
the cause of the oppressed factory women and chil-
dren will, for this session at least, sustain a humili-
ating defeat.

Before entering upon an examination of the resolu-
tions submitted to the House of Commons, by Sir
ROBERT PEEL, in connexion with the terms on which
he will propose the renewal of the Bank Charter, and
of the speech with which
desirous heatgaeiintroducedntoa
cnadll thetheamt
significantt
atten-
tion tßiloonn dofayoulrasrte,
adweersarto some
are
e important
facts in the present aspect of h
the Right Hon. Baronet observedouantry, on which
very guarded
ciumarrne,
silence. It did not consist, we can readily
imagine,
with his purpose of exalting the merits of a
y
measured by a gold standard of value, to notice the
facts to which we are about to recur. They were
too palpably indications of its immediate and disas-
trous effects, under and with the aid of the enact-
ments of a statute like the Currency Act of 1819, to
have been introduced upon the canvas which he spread
before the eyes of the House, and tricked out with
such showy but unsubstantial tints. Nevertheless, to
enable the public at large more accurately to ap-
preciate the fixed and baleful shadows which the

existence of these facts throws over the actual face of
affairs, we shall briefly recapitulate these phenomena.
The first and most important of them is—the
anomalous state of a vast majority of our industrial
population. This community, as we lately remarked,
is composed of two great sections; the one, in em-
ploy, at wages generally inadequate to the demands
of mere physical subsistence for the toiling artisan or
labourer and his family ; the other, out of present
employ, and with little or no prospect of soon ob-
taining any in the districts wherein they have been
reared, or the factories and mills in which they have
worked. The second fact is the confirmation of this
deplorable aggregate of pauperism, coupled with that
of its progressive aggravation, which is afforded by
an inspection of the Returns of Poor-rate Assess-
ments levied in England and Wales in the successive
years 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842. The third part
consists in the result of a comparison between the
accumulating amount of those assessments, and that
of our manufacturing production within the same
interval. The fourth is suggested by the evidence
which this pauperism and disorganisation afford that
there is no principle of corresponding distribution at
work to diffuse this enlarged amount of manufacturing
production among those classes of the community
who are suffering so grievously from the want of
them. The fifth is the fact, undisputed by the bul-
lionists themselves, that between thirty and forty mil-
lions of taxes are paid by the producing and indus-
trial labourers of this country, which should, on every
principle of common sense and common fairness, and
according to the contemplation and meaning of the
Legislature itself in imposing that taxation, be borne
by the consumer.
It may seem sufficient apology for our re-stating
these points, that they were wholly omitted by Sir
ROBERT PEEL in his laborious but very ineffective
statement the other evening. No man knows better
than he, that the facts in question are all explicable
solely, upon grounds which are conclusive against the
folly, the dishonesty, and the mischief inherent in his
monster blunder of 1819. That blunder either he has
not the manliness to acknowledge, or he lacks the
spirit to retrieve. He is either the self-complacent,
egotistical dupe of his own mistakes, which are now
patent and palpable to half the world ; or he is the
political slave of that Ministerial embarrassment which
compels him to wear the trammels of Bank assistance
—conceded on exorbitant terms, but perhaps neces-
sary to keep fast in his seat the man who drives the
" strong Government" of May, 1844.
Now, this vast proportion of industrial labour, thus
under-paid or unemployed, is one of the most signal
consequences of a monetary system which has been so
tampered with by the empirical nostrum of a fixed
gold standard, as to leave to the manufacturers no
prices but gold or natural prices for his goods, and no
wages, therefore, to the operative but those which can,
be afforded out of such reduced prices. Then the
progressive aggravation of this pauperism is shown by
the Parliamentary Return (No. 63, RC., of the pre-
sent session), which gives the following summaries of
the " Total Amount of Money levied for Poor-rate
for the Year ending Lady-day" in each of the follow-
ing series : viz., for all England and Wales—

In 1839
1840
1841..
1842..

£5,613,939
6,014,605
6,351,828
6,552,890

Such has been the increase of poor-rate in a period
in the last term of which the first product of the new
income-tax was received ; in the whole course of which
manufacturing production was so largely increased
as compared with the preceding years ; and which
introduced at its close a progressive improvement of
the public revenue, which has, in the year ended sth
April last, resulted in a surplus of income over expen-
diture of more than 4,000,0001. This increased
burden of pauper charge, then, has been coincident,
with an increase in the capital of the country, so far
as that is measured by the amount and yield of its
taxation. The charge of pauperism has advanced
after the following rate in the pound of money levied
on annual value of real property in 1841, for each of
the following years, ending Lady-day, viz. (for
England and Wales) :—ln 1839, one shilling and
tenpence in the pound ; in 1840, one shilling and
elevenpence ; in 1841, two shillings ; in 1842, two
shillings and a penny. This difference of threepence
in the pound between 1839 and 1842, calculated on
the total annual value of real property assessed to the
poor-rate at Lady-day, 1841 (namely, 62,540,0001.),
exhibits an aggregate increase of charge of no less
than 781,750/. ; and this infers an enormous increase
of industrial distress, both in the agricultural and
manufacturing classes. But how much is the in-
tensity of that distress aggravated by the reflection
that if there had existed a currency equal in amount
and facility to represent the exchangeable value of
floating and fixed property, the increased production
of manufactures, instead of lumbering up our home
warehouses, or stopping our home factories, or glut-
ting foreign markets, would have been distributed
to an enormous and a meritorious body of agricultural
and manufacturing producers, whose wages would,
under the same better system of currency, have enabled
them to become the purchasers of such necessaries
and conveniencies of life, in the shape of manufac-
tured goods, &c., and at prices remunerating to the
manufacturing employer. If, with a paper currency,
it is evident that the manufacturer would have
been thus benefited, it is equally certain that the
thirty or forty millions of taxes now paid by the poor
producers in various forms, and especially on the
Custom and Excise duties charged on various articles
indispensable to their subsistence, would not have
been, as now, NOT reimbursed or replaced to them
on the starving minimum wages of their maximum
labour, but added to these, and included in the
charge of the manufacturer as an element of the cost
of production to the consumer, the party in right
and equity liable to its payment.
These points were adverse to the Premier's
theories of a " standard of value," " convertibility,"
" sound currency," and the twenty other crotchetty
necessities flowing from his rash and ill-digested
scheme of 1819, and therefore,
,we presume, were
omitted out of his speech of Monday last. We are
desirous that they should not be forgotten, and have
thus disposed of them before we approach the con-
sideration of that splch and the resolutions it in-
troduced.

The Madrid Gazette of the 4th publishes a list of
the new Ministry, and it will be seen from a tele-
graphic dispatch received at Paris on Thursday, that
the state of siege was raised on the same day.
On the 3d the Three per Cents, were done at 29
for cash, and 31 at 60 days, and the Five per Cents.
at 21.

The Journal des Debuts states that the Committee,
appointed to examine the proposed line of railway
from Paris to Belgium and the English Channel,
had resolved, by a small majority, that it was their
opinion the line Eould be completed by the State,
and that it should also conduct the working and
traffic, as well as the formation of the railroad. This
announcement has caused some sensation in Paris, as
it was feared other Committees would follow the
example, and either compel the Government to call
out the two remaining instalments of the loan, or
put a stop to the construction of railroads for many
years. The Government journal, therefore, expresses
great alarm as to the consequences of this resolution,
and says, " If it be persevered in to its full ex-
tent, and formally carried to the Chambers, it is
of a gravity which we shall not attempt to con-
ceal. In the present state of affairs, it amounts,
in fact, to a proposition for the adjournment of
all the railroads, without exception ; and at
the end of a few years France would find herself
behind all the rest of Europe. It is not at all pro-
bable, however, that the Chamber will accede to the
recommendation of the Committee. The discussion
on the Education Bill was proceeding in the Chamber
of Peers, when, on the introduction of a clause
evidently directed against the Jesuits, the Count DE
MONTALEMBERT and the Duke D'HARCOURT de-
fended that body, and opposed the clause. M. PASSY
and M. DUPIN supported it, and the debate was ad-
journed.

The state of affairs in Italy and Sicily appears
to be very unsettled. The Augsburgh Gazette of
the sth publishes a letter from Palermo, announcing
that serious disturbances had taken place in Catania,
and that the country was also suffering from the
effects of destructive fever, which had carried off
many of the inhabitants. The following letter from
Leghorn is also very unfavourable :
" LEGHORN, MAY 4.—The news which we have just re-
ceived from the legations is very serious. On the evening of

the 2d, several: persons were arrested at Bologna, among
whom are M. Galleti (doctor of laws, and one of the most dis-
tinguished lawyers of Italy), and his first clerk, MM.
Orsina, father and son, who are furnishers of military stores
to the Government, a student of medicine, and two or three
others. These arrests make the greatest impression, as it
was expected that after the numerous condemnations by the
military commission, the Government would have reixecl
in its rigour. With regard to the condemned prisoners, it is
expected that they will be shot within the soldiers' barracks,
and not publicly. At Ancona, M. Giannini and two others
had been committed to prison, and at Rimini, M. Lerpiri and
several others have been arrested, and are to be tried before
the military commission. The . Maria Christina, which has
just arrived from Naples, says that at Rome also, several per-
sons were arrested, and in Calabria a great number have
been shot."

The French Funds continued firm. On Thursday
the Three per Cents, closed at 84f. 40c., and the
Fives at 122 f. 60c.

The following telegraphic dispatch was received by
the French Government on Thursday :

"MADRID, MAY 4,

" The state of siege was this day ordered to be raised. By
two decrees of the same date M. Mazaredo was appointed
Captain-General of Madrid, and General Shelley, Captain-
General of Seville."

THE BOURSE—TuuxsDAY, MAY 9.

First Highest Lowest Last

Price. Price. Price. Price.
French Five per Cents ••• • • • 122 35 .. 122 35 .. 121 30 .. 122 35
Fear per Cents. • • • • 106 90 .. 106 90 •• 106 90 .. 106 90
Three per Cents.• •• • 84 40 .. 84 40 .. 84 25 84 25
Bank of France...• • • • •• .• .3105 .. 3105 . 3105 .. 3105
Lallitte Bank. I,ooof. Sharesll7o —ll7O .. 1170 .. 1170
Belgian Bank..• • • ..... • 687 50 .. 687 50 . • 687 50 •• 687 50
Belgian Fives, 1831.• ••.• • • • 1031 • • 103 k .. 10S .. 1031
1840 ..
1842 ..•••••• 1081 • • 1081 .. 1081 ~ 1081
Spanish Active •••••• • • • • • • 321 • . 321 .. 321 .. 321
Threes 35 • • 351 .. 35f .. 351
Passive .• •.•••• • • • • 6 • • 61 .. 6 .. 61
Portuguese Five per Cents • • 464 .. .. 461 .. 461
Neapolitan.••••••.••••• •• 102 20 .. 102 30 .. 102 20 102 30
Roman, ex div• ••••••• • • • • • 104 .. 104 .. 104 .. 104

RAILWAY SHARES.
Versailles, R. 8.• . ...... • 380 .. 380 .. 380 .. 380
258 75 .. 258 75 .. 255 50 .. 257 50
Rouen •• .............• 970 • • 970 .. 970 .. 970
Rotten to Havre• • • • • • • • • • • • 732 50 •• 732 50 .. 732 50 .. 732 50
Orleans •• • • • ..... . . • .. 977 50 . • 977 50 .. 977 50 .. 977 SO

Strasburg to Bale•••.•••••• 272 50 .. 271
Aviooa to • •
RAILWAY SHARES, FOR TILE ACCOUNT.
St. Germain ............ • . 825 .. 825 .. 812 .. 615
257 50 .. 258 75 .. 257 50 .. 258 75
Rouen •••• 973 75 .. 975 975 . 975

Rouen to Hayro•.
Orleans ..................• 978 75 .. 97S 75 .. 977 50 .• 977 50

Strasburg to 8a1e...
Iviguost to Marseilles...... 767 50 .. 767 50 . 767 50 .. 767 50

FLANDERS AND DUTCH MAIL.
BRUSSELS, MAY 9.—The Gordon, an English schooner,
which had got aground on the Zuidergat, and respecting
which some apprehension was felt, having been suffi-
ciently lightened, arrived at Antwerp yesterday after-
noon, thanks to the assistance given by Dutch seamen.
AMSTERDAM, MAY 3.—A sudden fire, the origin of
which is not yet known, broke out this morning between
five and six o'clock in the Royal dockyard at Amster-
dam. It was first discovered in the carpenters' shops ;
the whole of the building containing them was entirely
destroyed, and also part of the forge. The fire spread
so rapidly, that the whole of the buildings would have
been destroyed, but by great exertions the fire was got
under without extending beyond the buildings first
mentioned.

MONTE VIDEO AND BUENOS
AYRES.

Extract of a letter dated, Monte Video, Feb. 19,1844
Tho 16th inst. completed the first year of the siege
of this city by the Buenos Ayrean army; and we do not
sea the slightest prospect of its being brought to a close
ere the expiration of another, unless it be by foreign in-
terference. Notwithstanding this, our minister still per-
sists in holding out to our Government at home the cer-
tainty of ultimate success to the partisans of Rosas,whose
interest he has so much at heart, and whose obstinacy is
hourly tending to extirpate commerce, and to involve all
connected with it in universal difficulty—for the ruinous
consequences of the prolongation of the war which is now
ravaging these fine countries must be obvious to all re-
flecting men. Stocks lying dead to the amount of
eight millions of dollars, deteriorating in value, and
upon which the loss of interest alone will be a very
heavy item, without taking into consideration the out-
standing debts; these cannot be estimated at less than
three millions of dollars, and upon them we can hare no
possible security. It is generally admitted that half
the amount is irrecoverably lost, in consequence of the
dealers having been so severely pillaged by the bellige-
gerent parties. In this estimate of universal ruin
we have not included the great loss sustained by
shipowners, which has been equally severe in pro-
portion. Any person who has been engaged in the
River Plate trade during the last two years will
bear out our statement. Not only in Monte Video,
but in Buenos Ayres also, has commerce received a
severe check. Our last advises thence are to the 16 inst.,
and our correspondents write, that business there • con-
tinues paralyzed, confidence being eompletly shaken in
consequence of recent failures; the average amount of
collections do not exceed one per cent. on the outstand-
ing debts, freights, 30s. ; salt, 13$ ; with a downward
tendency ; exchange 3i, and money scarce. Such is a
true picture of the present state of the countries where,
but for the heartless and grasping ambition of one man,
commerce would rapidly flourish and extend—countries
where the emigrant would reap abundant harvest for his
toil, and which would afford a ready market for our
manufactures; but these prospects, easily attainable as
they are, can never be realised, so long as Roses is per-
mitted to carry out his projected American system—a
system which can only tend to force these fine countries
back to a state of semi-barbarism.

" Rosas continues to give assurances that foreign pro-
perty shall be respected ; but in what manner does he
carry out these promises ? Why, by doing all in his
power to ruin that property, and we know his predis-
position against foreigners too well to be deceived
by mere words; that they are so we do not want in•
stances to prove, they occur but too frequently. No
later than the 15th instant, a shepherd and attend-
ants of a British subject were peremptorily ordered
to leave the estate in three days' notice, an order which
amounts to nothing less than the total destruction of his
fine sheep Estancia. What should we think, in England,
of such flagrant outrages being committed with impunity,
and without the remotest prospect of the sufferer obtain-
ing redress ? The populace would spurn such tremendous
tyranny of power with just indignation. That such
oppressive measures should be passed over unnoticed
and unrequited by ministers especially appointed to see
that the property of subjects is held sacred, is a matter
of such vital import as surely demands the serious and
immediate attention of ,the governments which they re-
spectively represent. Our Minister has done us irrepa-
rable injury ; he has deceived those whom he ought to
have advised, and has involved us in difficulties we
should never have known but fur him. He has also
caused the name of Britain, hitherto respected, to become
almost a bye-word in these waters, for which kindness
we shall have eternal cause to remember the name of
Mandeville—which will stand forward, with that Of White-
lock, for manifest ignorance and total want of principle.
As foreigners, we are united to trade in these countries;
we bring with us talent, money, energy, and civilisation,
and we have every right to claim that protection which
the national treaty of commerce fully entitled us
to expect. So long as we remain in passive obedience
to the existing laws, we know the respect we owe to a
Government, we practice what we know ; were We
equally respected in return, we should not have to com-
plain of the atrocities committed against all, indiscri-
minately, at the will and fancy of the Dictator."

Lord Brougham, who has not presided at any
public meeting in Exeter Hall since 1838, is to take the
chair at the anniversary meeting of the British and Foreign
Anti-Slavery Society, on Friday the 17th instant. Many
well-known and old fiiends of the cause are likely to be pre-
sent, and among the rest Daniel O'Connell, Esq., M.P., has
signified his intention to attend.
DRURY-LANE THEATRE.—Miss Clara 'Webster, who
is one of the most popoular danseuses of the day, takes
her benefit at this theatre to-night, and offers to her pa-
trons the never-tiring opera of the Bohemian Girl, the
grand scena from Lucia di Lammermoor, by Signor
Salvi, the finale of La Sonnambula, by Madame Castel-
lan, who made a great impression in it last Thursday,
evening, and the Revolt of the Harem, with Meddle. Lu-
cile Grahn. The private boxes and dress circle are al-
ready most fashionably taken.
EXTRAORDINARY SCENE IN A POLICE COURT.— -
On Friday a female named Sheptow was summoned at
Union-hall by another female named Evans, for assaulting
her in the public streets. The defendant, who was far ad-
vanced in pregnancy, exhibited during the examination
symptoms of approaching labour, and her groans led Mr.
Traill to believe she was about giving birth to a child. He
ordered Kent, the officer, to convey her home in a cab to
No. 10, Park-street, in the vicinity of the Court, and send
her husband to become bound for her future conduct. On
her arrival home the officer assisted her up stairs, where she
was put to bed, and having seen that everything was pro-
vided for her comfort, he left her. About an hour after-
wards the complainant came into the Court and informed
the magistrate that on her arrival home she was assailed
by the defendant, who was laughing at the deception she
had played upon the magistrate. Mr. Traill thereupon or-
dered a warrant to be issued for her apprehension.
CRIMINAL LUNATICS.—The Hon. and Gallant
Member for the city of Lincoln has moved for, and obtained,
a return of the number of criminal lunatics now under con-
finement, specifying the name, age, and sex of each person,
the place of confinement, the nature of the offence committed,
and the period at which such confinement commenced. The
following appear to be the results :—The number of criminal
lunatics at present immured within the various gaols of Great
Britain amounts altogether to 118, the crimes committed by
whom, whilst labouring, we suppose, under "morbid delu-
sions," comprise all sorts of offences, both against the per-
son and against property, including murder, arson, burglary,
rape, cutting and maiming, assaults, &e. One man, named
David Davis, is confined in consequence of having fired at
Viscount Palmerston, M.P., in the year 1818. The number
of criminal lunatics now confined in lunatic asylums in the
different counties of England and Wales, amounts—in Bed-
ford to 3, in Chester to 11, in Cornwall to 8, in Devon to 6,
in Dorset to 2, in Durham to 6, in Gloucester to 10, in Hants
to 4, in Hells to 1, in Kent to 7, in Lancaster to 17, in
Leicester to 4, in the licensed asylums of this metropolis to
22, in Norfolk to 1, in Norwich to 2, in Notts to 4, in Oxford
to 2, in Salop to 3, in Somerset to 4, in Stafford to 2, in
Suffolk to 6, in Sussex to 1, in Warwick to 2, in Wilts to 8,
in Worcester to 3, in York (west riding) to 3, and in York
(east riding) to 2. The return does not give any particulars
respecting \Vales.
TEMPERANCE SIIIPS.—The Board of Customs has
just issued a general order, by which masters of vessels, who
have adopted temperance principles, are allowed, upon their
waving all right to any allowance of spirits, to ship brandy
for medicinal purposes, duty free, iu the proportion of one-
tenth of the total quantity of brandy and other spirits to
which they would be entitled as stores, according to the com-
plement of the crew, and the duration of the voyage; and
also to ship such brandy in stone jars, provided the whole
quantity required be contained in one package.

MONE Y AND COMMERCIAL NEWS.
(From The Sun of Saturday Evening.)
A moderate business was done yesterday in the Liverpool
Cotton,Market, at previous rates; sales 4,000 bales.—Shares
remained firm, without much activity : Birmingham and
Gloucester, 92 ; Caledonian, 4-1 ; Birmingham, 231; Brighton,
441 ; South-Western, Eighths, 4 ; Midland Counties, 90i ;
Paris and Lyons, 3 ; Ditto and Orleans, 38k ; Ditto and
Rouen, 37a ; South-Eastern, Scrip, 114.
Accounts from Port Phillip of the 21st and 26th of De-
cember have been received to-day, by separate arrivals. The
colony was rather more thriving, and the new system of
melting down tallow and salting meats for exportation to
Europe, had been of sensible advantage to the flock masters.
There had also been arrivals of a few parties from England
possessed of moderate capital, and which were very oppor-
tune, after so long a cessation of beneficial immigration.
There are accounts in the Port Phillip papers of the 15th De •
cember from Van Diemen's Land, and these, from their general
tenor can scarcely be looked upon as much more favourable
than those previously come to hand. The Directors of the
local bank (the Colonial) had convened a meeting of the
proprietors to consider the propriety of winding up. The
Western Australian papers to Jan 10, show that the colony
is rising.
The Toronto, from New York, furnishes advices to the 11th
ultimo. After some flatness, stocks had become in better re-
quest, and were held for higher rates; while, on the other
hand the symptoms of returning speculation in cotton had
not become more developed.
In the Consol Market not much business was transacted
to-day. The prices remain at about the same as they were
yesterday, viz., at 99a for Money and for the Account. The
premium upon Exchequer Bills has advanced to 775. 795.
India Bonds have been done at 945. premium ; and Bank
Stock for the Account at 1951.
A slight improvement has taken place in the Spanish
Bonds this morning, the Three per Cents. having touched
36 ; and the Active Bonds, 244 to 25i. The variations in
the other foreign stocks have been trifling.
A good deal of business has been done in the Railway
Shares, but the prices have not changed much. The Com-
mercial Bank of London Shares have been bought at 160, or
40 discount.

MANCHESTER STOCK EXCHANGE, MAY 10.—The market
to-day has been rather inanimate, and stock has been more
freely offered.—Hull and Selby, Quarters, 11i ; Manchester
and Birmingham, 60 ; South-Eastern, 38 ; Preston and
Wyre, 204 ; Blackburn and Preston, 51 ; Manchester
and Liyerpool District Bank, 10i : Union Bank of Man-
chester, 9 1-10. _ _

CLOSING PRICES.
BRITISH FUNDS.

Bank Stock
3 per Cent. Red.... .......
.3 per Cent. Cons.
3% per Cent. Bei ......
New 3% per Cent
New 5 per Cent
Long Annuities to expire Ditto Small 75 pm.
Jan. 1860 123 'Bank Stock for Acct.... 195%
Oct. 1859 Consols for Acct ...... ... 99
Jan. 1860 12% ;India Stock for Acct....

FOREIGN FUNDS.
Austrian, 5 per Cent .... ..... Portuguese, 5 per Cent —
Belgian, 5 per Cent 102% Ditto, New Ditto —
Brazilian Bonds — Prussian, 5 per Cent
Buenos Ayres, 6 per Cent... Russian, 5 per Cent 117%
Chllian, El per Cent — Ditto, Metallic
Colombian, 6 per Cent ...... 14% Spanish, 5 per Cent 2l A
Ditto, 1824 — Ditto, 3 per Cent 36
Cuba Bonds, 6 per Cent.... Ditto, Deferred
Danish, 3 per Cent ............ IFtench, 5 per Cent....... —f —c.
Greek, 18-5, 5 per Cent — Exchange ............... —f. —c.
Mexican, 5 per Cent ...
Ditto. 6 per Cent., 1837. — Dutch, 2% per Cent.... 61
Peruvian, 1825, 6 per Cent 29% Ditto, 5 per Cent .........100%

SHARES.
Birmingham and Gloucester (100 paid)... ........ .... 903
Bristol and Exeter (70 paid) 7B
Caledonian, 5 paid
Chester and Holyhead ( 5 paid)... ..... .. ......... .... 7
Eastern Counties ( paid)
Ditto Registered (816 s Sri paid)
Ditto Perpetual, 5 per Cent., 13s. 4d. paid
Edinburgh and Glasgow, 50 paid
Great Western (75 paid)
Ditto Half Shares (50 paid)
Ditto Fifths, 12 paid 2l
Harwich (Braithwaite), 2 paid 2%
Hull and Selby, 50 paid (0
Lancaster and Carlisle, 5 paid rig
Leeds and Bradford, 5 paid
London and Birmingham (Stock)
London and Blackwall (16/. 13s. 4dl) 74
London and Brighton (50 paid)
London and Greenwich (IQ/. 15s. 4d. paid) 6
Ditto, Preference or Privilege, £lB 17s 2d paid 17
Londe, and South Western (411. 6s. 10d. paid)
Ditto Eighths (Iss. paid)
London and Croydon (Trunk) 17%
Midland Counties (100 paid) 9O
Newcastle and Darlington Jnnctiou, 18 paid 4l
Northern and Eastern (45 paid)
North Midland (100 paid)
Ditto Half Shares, 40 paid
Norwich and Brandon ( 2 paid) 94
South Eastern and Dover (3312 a 4d paid)
Ditto View Shares ( 4 paid)
Paris and Orleans (20 paid)
Rouen and Havre, S paid

SOUTH LANCASHIRE ELECTION.
MANCHESTER, THURSDAY, EIGIIT O'CLOCK.—Expectation
is on the tiptoe here as to who are to be the candidates,
neither party up to this hour having launched their man. So
much anxiety and excitement on a question of the kind
was never known to exist here before. A great many names
on both sides have been mentioned, but rumour is but little
to be depended on. The Tories at their county meeting held
yesterday, at Newton, are said to have seriously named but
three men—Mr. Pemberton Leigh, of Wigan, a retired bar.
Hater, holding the office of Chancellor of the Duchy of
Cornwall, and at one time a Member for Ripon ; Colonel
Wilbraham (brother of the deceased Member) ; and Mr.
Egerton, third son of Mr. Egerton, of Tatton. Of these
gentlemen, all belonging to well known aristocratic families,
it is said that Mr. Pemberton Leigh was decidedly the
favourite, but it is now currently reported that all of them
have been waited upon, and declined the contest. On the
Liberal side equal uncertainty prevails. At a meeting last
night, it is said, a deputation was appointed to wait upon
Mr. Charles Townley, Mr. S. J. Lloyd, and Mr. Pascoe
Grenfell, which left town by a late train on its mission ;
but that letters from Loadon this morning had brought in-
formation to the effect of a proposition having been made
to the gentlemen mentioned, anticipating the deputation,
and all of them had positively declined to come forward.
In the meantime the League, who, it is expected, will no-
minate a candidate in the event of a free trader not being
started 11 either of the political parties, is looked to with
something like impatience ; and Mr. Cobden's name is on
almost every tongue, not only in Mianchester, but in Liver-
pool, Ashton, Bury, and other large towns ; and he is spoken
of both by Tories and Liberals in a manner that implies the
confident belief that he would carry everything before him if
put forward, and that such an opportunity of showing the
progress of free-trade principles in this great county, ought
not to be lost. The only explanation we can give on this
point at present is, that the time for the League to step for-
ward with a candidate is not yet arrived.
TEN O'CLOCK.—Since writing the above, a report has been
generally prevalent in Manchester, that the. Tories having
failed in all other quarters, have waited upon Mr. W. En-
twistle, a retired manufacturer, and have prevailed on him to
stand. In the face of this a placard has appeared on the walls,
calling a meeting of the Conservative electors for four o'clock
to-morrow evening, " when a candidate will be announced,"
and it does not seem probable that if they had already fixed
upon a man they would wait till to-morrow evening before
they announced him. The greater probability is, that the
are " yet at sea" for a man, but expect by that time, through
some of their deputations now sent out, to have been more
successful.

(FROM ♦ CORRESPONDENT.)
M♦NCHESTER, FRIDAY MORNING.—The free-traders have
fairly got the start of the monopolists in bringing out a can-
didate for the suffrages of the electors of this division of Lan-
cashire, and this evening the address of the candidate will be
circulated throughout the country.
The gentleman who has thus manfully come forward to
fight the battle of free trade is William Brown, Esq., of
Liverpool, the head of the extensive house of William and
James Brown and Co., who are well known for their immense
mercantile transactions.
The Tories, it is expected, will not settle upon their can-
didate until Monday next, when they hold another meeting
at Newton-in-the-Willows. Sir George Murray and William
Garnett, Esq., are spoken of.
Sir George Gerrard has been unceremoniously thrown over-
board, because he is a Roman Catholic, rather too much of
a dose for some of the Liverpool and Manchester Tories to
swallow.
This morning George Wilson, Esq., Chairman of the League,
with Alderman Brooks and John Whittaker, Esq., of the
council of the League, went to Liverpool as a deputation to
assist Mr. Brown. It is expected that he will be in Man-
chester, and will publish his address, this evening.
The most sanguine expectations exist that the monopo-
lists will be defeated. During the last three years the Free
Traders and Liberals have paid great attention to the state
of the register, and they are in the highest spirits as to
the result.

LIVERPOOL, FRIDAY EVENING.—About twelve o'clock
to-day, William Brown, Esq., of Richmond-hill, of the
eminent house of Brown, Shipley, and Co., American
merchants, of this town, acceded to the solicitation
of a most influential free-trade deputation from Man-
chester and Liverpool, to be put in _ nomination as a
candidate for the representation of the southern division
of the county. Mr. Brown is in every respect an unex-
ceptionable representative of the principles and party
he advocates. He is considerably advanced in life; pos-
sesses a most intimate knowledge of commercial legisla-
tion in all its bearings ; is a gentleman of unobtrusive
deportment, and by no means of violent political feel-
ing ; an extensive landed proprietor, and, in short, one
in every way calculated to justify the choice of a great
commercial community. On recent occasions, when lie
departed from the usual privacy of his life, to attend the
meetings of the Anti-Monopoly Association, he evinced
ability in his mode of treating public subjects, turning
the results of his long experience to account, in the
elucidation of the topics under notice. He has not,
however, any pretensions to oratory.: The name
of the Conservative candidate is expected to
be made known to-night or to-morrow morning.
This afternoon, o meeting of influential free-traders was
held at Eastwood's Royal Hotel, Dale-street, Mr. R. E.
Harvey in the chair, at which committees were ap-
pointed and Various arrangements made. A public
meeting of the electors was appointed to be_ held in
Liverpool on Wednesday next, at Eastwood's, at twelve
o'clock at noon ; a meeting at Prescot-on Tuesday; and
a meeting at Ormskirk on Thursday. Great enthusiasm
prevailed at the meeting to-day; and it was stated by the
chairman that the deputation from Manchester were
unanimously of opinion that Mr. Brown was one of the
most excellent candidates that could be put forward.

IRISH SOCIETY.—The supporters of the above As-
sociation, established for promoting the edticatiOn of the Irish
peasantry through the mediuni of the vernacular language of
the country, held their twenty-second annual meeting yester-
day afternoon, at Hanover-square. George Finch, Esq.,
presided, and called upon the Rev. Secretary for the report of
the Society's operations during the past year. The report
famished a detailed account of the proceedings of the Society
in the sister country, and stated that in the King's County
district, notwithstanding the hostility of the priests, the pro-
gress of the Society, and consequently of Scriptural instruc-
tion, had much advanced during the past year. In that dis-
trict alone were no fewer than 8,000 scholars, not one of
whom had been found in possession of a repeal card, to attend
a repeal meeting, or to be in any way favourable to the move-
mant. A favourable report was also made of the state of
affairs in Donegal, where against threats of violence and
punishment the teachers were resolved to proceed. The
Society's schools in Drumclair, Cork, Kerry, and other parts
of the country, were also in a satisfactory condition. The
schools in Ireland numbered altogether 797, containing
17,301 scholars, of whom 1,235 were adults. The total in-
come of the Society during the past year amounted to
4,107/. 13s. 6d., a sum exceediv the expenditure by
121/. 6s. lid. On the motion of isommt Bernard,
the report was adopted, and the meeting, after hearing.
spekhes from several reverend gentlemen, and easing reso-
lutions favourable to the cause in which the Society was en- ;
gaged, separated, ' •