The Sun.
London, England, 1844-06-24 00:00:00

trt ans

LONDON, MONDAY, JUNE 24, 1844.

answer to the ghostly Bishop's indignant denial of the
charge brought against the Dean and Chapter of
Westminster, we direct our reader's particular atten-
tion to the following facts, which we quote from a
letter in a Morning Contemporary, and which is
signed " A Friend to Truth :"—" Not a single
house in the Almonry has been taken down,
except some which were unoccupied on account
of their ruinous condition.—Nearly, if not quite
every house in the Almonry is one of ill-fame
at this moment, where scenes of the most dis-
gusting character are perpetrated at noon-day. The
Dean and Chapter, and it is said, more especially the
Bishop of GLOUCESTER, did everything in their power
to prevent this property being improved some years
ago. Within the last month the Dean and Chapter
have declared they would oppose any Bill for- the
improvement of this pestilential district." The writer
of this letter adds that he engages to prove every one
of the above facts, whenever, and wherever, called
upon. A correspondent of the Patriot, and who is
also a parishioner of Westminster, writing on the same
delicate subject, expressly says :—" There is not one
word of truth in the Bishop of GLOUCESTER'S statement.
Four of the bad houses are certainly closed, but the
other twenty are fully and actively employed, as they
have been to my certain knowledge for the last forty
years. I have just returned from a personal inspec-
tion of these Almonry nuisances, it being eight
o'clock on Saturday evening, the 15th of June, 1844,
and I have counted twenty of them occupied in a way
that public decency prevents my further describing."
The Westminster parishioner then goes on to state,
that during the forty years in which these houses
have been in use the leases of most of them
have been renewed over and over again ;
and 'that as the application for renewal is
made every fourteen years, his Lordship and his
colleagues, or their predecessors or representatives,
could not have inspected any of the houses, in order
to settle the renewal fines, without seeing the im-
moral purposes to which the whole are devoted. Now,
if these two statements be true, and we see no reason
to doubt their truth, seeing that the writers both
speak from their own personal knowledge of facts,
what becomes of the Bishop of GLOUCESTER'S virtuous
denial of Earl FITZUARDINGE'S charge ? The matter
cannot possibly be suffered to rest where it is, and we
do hope that some public-spirited individual either in
the Lords or Commons, will direct attention to the
case, in order that this disgusting nuisance—per-
petrated under the very nose of the Apostolic
Dean and Chapter of Westminster, and almost, as ia
would appear, with their connivance may be
promptly put an end to. It is perfectly absurd for
the Bishop of LONDON, in his zeal for the spread of
religion and morality, to advocate the building of
new churches throughout his diocese, when not less
than twenty houses—anything but clerical in their
character—are in full and active employment within
half a mile from the Bishop's own mansion in St.
James's-square, and almost within a stone's throw of
that august spot where the episcopal bench dis-
charge their senatorial functions ! To advocate the
erection of new churches in the metropolis, and yel
at the same time to permit the continuance of not
less than twenty houses of ill-fame in Westminster,
what is this but the most sickening cant and by

pocrisy ! The Bishop of LONDON would be far more
usefully and religiously employed in endeavouring to
put down these intolerable nuisances, than in count-

ing the wherrys which may happen to be gliding
over the broad bosom of the Thames on Sundays.

The debate on the Sugar Dutiea in the House of
Commons, elicited explanatory statements from her
MAJESTY'S Ministers on the subject of the machinery
devised by them for discriminating between foreign
sugars raised by free labour, and similar produce
grown by slave labour, on importation into this
country, which were exceedingly important. These
explanations must have satisfied the hitherto most scep-
tical on the subject that the machinery in question can
no more be depended on for the certain attainment of
the ends it is created to accomplish, than the votes of
a majority, only recorded on Friday, can be reckoned
upon in a division on one and the same question on the
Monday following. On the clause giving "power
to her MAJESTY, by order in Council, to declare the
sugars of other countries to be admissible as not being
the produce of slave labour," the question naturally
arose as to the possibility of obtaining certificates
under these terms which could be safely re-
lied upon ? It is abundantly clear that the admis-
sion of foreign sugars, at the very reduced rate
per cwt. settled by the new plan of Government,
must have a natural tendency to defeat the great ob •
jects of our magnificent emancipation experiment in
1833, by giving a fresh stimulus to the employment
of slave labour in foreign colonies, where the con-
dition of slavery is not yet abolished. The
only course which Government have to pro-
pose for counteracting this tendency, is to re-
quire proof of the fact of the produce having been
raised, bona fide, by free labour. If we may
judge from the simplicity with which Mr. GLAD-
stone talks of the "guarantees" that will be afforded
by these certificates, we must suppose that the Right
Hon. Gentleman never heard of those redoubtable and
notorious forgeries of ships' papers, passes, &c., used by
none of our mercantile houses with so little scruple or
such signal success as those of Liverpool, in the late
war. They were known by the dilated designation of
" Simulated papers ;" are well remembered at
Lloyd's and on the Royal Exchange of London to
this day, and were composed, prepared, and fabri-
cated by responsible firms, which absolutely addressed
" Circulars" to the principal commercial establish-
ments of the United Kingdom, apprising the parties
addressed of the terms on which the writers sup-
plied them ; with " satisfactory" references to
those who had largely profited by employing their
"papers."—Of course no such agency would be again
invoked in order to pass off slave-grown for free-
labour sugars in the foreign ports of shipment. Of
course, we might anticipate that the certificates from
sugar growing states of the American Union, would
never justify Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S admitted appre-
hensions of their deficiency in genuineness. Of
course, on this side of the water, fraud or collusion in
passing such defective instruments can never be rea-
sonably dreaded—whilst the detected portion of our
Custom-House frauds still supplies our courts of law
with cases for the visitation of their penal justice.
The objection thus taken in limine to the efficacy
of the Ministerial plan, was met by Sir ROBERT
PEEL with one of his official platitudes. The Pre-
mier considered " that the Right Hon. Gentleman had
asked what the Government would do in certain
hypothetical cases ?" How they could be other than
hypothetical ones before they had actually occurred,
it is not very easy, Sir ROBERT, to understand. "If
any such cases should occur, which was highly im-
probable, there would be time enough to deal with

them next year." Let the slave cultivator be ground
by unnaturally excited labour, into the thirsty
soil, watered by the sweat of his brow, or
tinged with the blood that has followed the
infliction of the whip upon his back,—in the mean-
time, our benevolent Government will make it right
in another year ! But that deferred remedy cannot be
applied for two years—because the operation of this

Bill is to be for one. Now Mr. VERNON SMITH re

marked with much point and force on the limited and

very erroneous views the Board of Trade had adopted

as to the extent to which a condition of domestic sla

very fosters and extends the practice of slavery and the
traffic in slaves. In China this state of domestic slavery
exists to an enormous extent. We all know from

It may be remembered that, in the House of Lords
slfTw- nights' .ago, Earl F/TZIIARDINGE having stated
that in- the Almonry there were twenty-four notori-
ous houses of ill-fame, all the property of the Dean
and Chapter.of Westminster, the Bishop of GLOU-
CESTER. denied the statement with much virtuous in.
:dignation, observing;—f` Two years ago the subject
was brought before the Chapter, when they were in-
ft‘rmed that no steps could be taken, because the pro.
petty was under lease, but as the' :leases ran out they
refttsed to renew, and thus abated the nuisance. But
they had determined to take a still stronk,"er step, and
out.4lf their own funds to purchase the rem‘-{ inder of
the --.leases. They had done so, and from
their
.own ,xesources they had purchased the remainder
•thie leases, and the houses of bad reptte
ai Peen, pulled down and destroyed." Here we
%SqEN lain Hive and distinct statement made by a gra-oe
,d 7nitarv, apparently on his own personal
.'fe.tkete of the facts. There .is nothing evasive, or
-s :1;41) .034 hypothetical, in his reply to Earl FlTZ-
charge ; it is a flat denial, put forth with
tvtjAA-77k.Le
' air of a man who feels conscious that what 1
admit of no contradiction. Now, iq

how many quarters in the East the supply of foreign
slaves in China is from time to time re-

Board of TYraedtethhaedßnoigohbtjecitli:l7.to
neNved.
Parlsniidte
the of the
of China. How did this consist with the rejection
of the sugars of Brazil and Cuba But the sugars of
Java and Siam were also to be admitted. Both of these
are slave countries! Lord PALMERSTON also showed
that domestic slavery was fed by the slave trade, and
instanced the Ottoman dominions as a salient example
of the fact. The Noble Viscount, indeed, in his
felicitous and off-hand manner at once exposed what
we must call the cant and the mistake of the system
now upheld by Government on this point.
" Then, again, he said the mere fact of opening the
British market to sugar which was, in their opinion, the pro-
duce of free labour, or which was really and truly the pro-
duce of free labour, did virtually give as great encourage-
ment to the produce of slave labour, as if they directly ad-
mitted it into our market. He would not call it hypocrisy,
because that implied some purpose to deceive those to whom
it was addressed; but he would say a more barefaced delu-
sion--(Cheers)—one more open-sighted, clear as noon-day,
obvious to the meanest capacity, never was propounded
to Parliament, than to pretend that they were continuing the
oiscouragennut to slave-grown sugar when they were with-

THE SUN, LONDON MONDAY EVENING, JUNE 24, 1844.

Spanish Active ..
Threes .......• •• 35 -.. 35 35 .. 35
New Deferred....• • 121 .. 12. f .. 121 .. 12f
Portuguese Five per Cents • • 46f .. 47 .. 461 .. 47
Neapolitan • 99 70 .. 99 75 .. 99 70 .. 99 75
Roman .
RAILWAY SHARES.
Versailles, R.B . 3BO .. 392 50 .. 380 .. 392 50
L. 8........ ..... 247 50 .• 247 50 .. 245 .. 246 25
Rouen... . . 990 .. 990 .. 990 .. 990
Rouen to Havre. ••• • • 765 .. 767 50 765 - • 766 25
Orleans ...................1002 50 ..1005 ..1002 50 ..1005
Strasburg to Bale.. ..... 235 .. 237 50 .. 235 .. 237 50
Avignon to Marseilles— •• •• 768 75 .. 768 75 .. 768 75 . 768 75
RAILWAY SHARES FOR 30rn JUNE.
St. Germain
Versailles, R.B ...... 380 .. 392 50 •• 380 .. 392 50
L. 8...... • • • • •• 245 .. 247 50 .. 245 .. 247 50
Rouen .......... •• •• •• •• •• 993 75 .. 993 75 . 992 50 .. 992 50
Rouen to Havre.
Orleans
Strasburg to Bale— .••• •• 235 .. 237 50 .. 235 .. 237 50
Avignon to Marseilles•• •• • • 770 .. 770 .. 767 50 .. 768 75

THIS DAY S NEWS.
QUEEN'S BENCH...-(THIS DAY.)
(Trial at Bar.)
THE BARON DE BODE V. THE QUEEN, ON A PETITION 07
The SoLicrTou-GENERAL, this morning, opened the case,
in opposition to the Baron's claim. He denied that the Go-
vernment had ever received funds to liquidate the Baron
de Bode's claim. The convention for the payment of
a certain sum by France for the claim, was entered
into in 1818, while the Baron did not make his claim until
1819. It was perfectly competent for the Commissioners to
have refused to entertain this claim at all, inasmuch as he
had not put in his claim in time • but instead of that they
admitted his claim and investigated it ; they had no interest
whatever in dociding against his claim. They, however, felt
bound to decide against it. The Court of Appeal, the Com-
mittee of the Privy Council, at which sat Lord Stowell and
Sir W. Grant, also decided against the claim. So that, ad-
mitting every fact as stated by Baron de Bode, his claim had
been adjudicated on according to Act of Parliament and re-
jected, and he had no locus standi in the Court, and had no
right to come forward under this obsolete form of proceeding.
Besides, how was it possible he could say that her present Ma-
jesty had received a sum of money for his use ? She had no con-
trol over this fund. Her Royal predecessor had no control over
it. It had been paid into the Bank under the provisions of an
Act of Parliament, and Gea. 4, in whose reign it had been so
paid, and had no authority over it. Therefore, they might re-
turn a general verdict that her Majesty had no such pro-
perty in her possession ; but he apprehended that they
would hardly be satisfied that the cession of the property was
legal, or that the Baron was a British subject. He was most
anxious that it should be thoroughly understood that every
facility had been given to the Baron de Bode to prove his
claim, and that the observations which had been made el
the hardness with which he had been treated were utterly
unfounded.
Lord DENROT then proceeded to sum up, and, after briefly
alluding to the unusual mode of proceeding by petition of
right, and explaining the various steps taken under its
authority, from the time of its presentation to the Lord
Chancellor to the present moment, his Lordship went on to
offer some observations on-the evidence. There could be no
doubt but that the petitioner was born in England, and of an
English mother. Neither could there be any doubt but that
by the treaty of Westphalia, by which Alsace was trans-
ferred to France the feudal rights of the seigneurs were pre-
served; but these matters of foreign law must be:considered
by the jury themselves as though they were matters of fact.
It was proved that Baron Charles received the investiture of
the fiefs, and the claimant received it as his heir. But the
National Assembly of France in 1790, by a decree, abolished
feudal rights, and if that decree affected the laws of succession,
then this feudal property became allodial property, and it
wouldie-for the jury to say how far that decree affected the
cession made in 1791, and whether or not that decree affected
the right of succession in Alsace. Then with regard to the
cession itself, they would recollect the evidence of one of the
learned persons from Strasburg, as to the law of Alsace, by
which it appeared that the result, in the event of the death
of the minor during the time the father held the fiefs, would
have been, that the property would revert to the Elector, and
not go to the claimant's brother; that had been used on the
part of the Crown as an are-anent to show that the cession
was merely colourable. If the cession were merely colourable
the Baron Charles still continued in possession ; if they were
satisfied that it was a perfect cession the claimant was the
owner. Then they came to the question of confiscation.
There was no evidence to show that the claimant was illegally
or unduly condemned for emigration, and it would be for the
jury to say how far they were satisfied on that point. He
would not allude to the award of the Commissioners, because
if their award was a final bar to the Baron's claim, that bar
ought to have been pleaded by the Crown; but, not
having been so pleaded, the Baron de Bode was
not called upon to enter into any discussion on that
point. The first question the jury would have to decide was,
whether the Baron Charles made a valid renunciation to his
son in 1791. The second question was, whether the pro-
perty in question, being the property,kf the claimant, was
illegally and unduly confiscated. WifE regard to the value
of the property it did not appear that there was any question.
A juryman _What is the total amount of the claim, my
Lord.

Lord DEXALIN—The amount given by the former inquisi-
tion is 364,2661., and if you are of opinion that the claim
is made out, they claim something additional for interest.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL submitted that there was no
evidence to go to the jury on the allegation in the petition,
that the sum paid by France was augmented for the purpose
of liquidating the Baron's claim.
Mr. HILL contended that there was evidence to that point.
Lord DENMAN could only understand by that allegation
that the name of Baron de Bode, as claiming for the pro-
perty of Soultz, was expressly brought under the notice of
the French Government, and some express agreement come
to on the subject. That certainly did not appear by the
evidence. There were also two other points which they
would find for the Crown, viz., that the claim did not accrue
within six years, nor during the reign of her present Majesty;
so that, in fact, the only question they would really have to
determine was, whether or not, at the time of the confisca-
tion, the property of Soultz was the property of the late Baron
Charles de Bode, or of the present claimant Baron Clement de
Bode.
The jury then retired to consider their verdict, which they
had not returned when we went to press.

COMMON PLEAS.-(THIS DAY.)
(Before Mr. Justice CRESWELL.)
MAUGUAN EADE AND OTHIRS.
This was the only case which came before the Court this
morning. It possessed no interest except to the parties im-
mediately concerned, being a dispute with regard to the
making and repairing of a private road.

CLERKENWELL.-(THIS DAY.)
Timothy Reddy was charged with assaulting police-consta•
ble, E 24. •
The policeman had a prisoner in custody, and was going
up Compton-passage, when the prisoner attacked him ; he
kicked the constable very severely on the shins, without:hay-
ing received any provocation whatever.—Fined ss.
A ruffianly-looking fellow, a carpenter by trade, was
charged with assaulting Sarah Wilcox.
It appeared from the evidence, that the complainant is a
married woman living apart from her husband—and the
prisoner has been for long time living idly on her hard earn-
ings. On Satuiday night, he came home drunk ; and upon
some trivial provocation, beat the poor woman so severely,
that her face was much contused and swollen. Tho woman
complhined bitterly of the general brutality of the prisoner's
conduct.
The prisoner was fined 21. or 21 days' imprisonment.

THIS DAY.)
Cook, placed before Mr. Bond,
chAaQrgdatjedmEwEithN iaS3v..oiQnugnljgvrniAolaeltnn'tmy.;as".:saulted Ann Clements, a
young married woman, and also with having robbed her of a
purse, containing four shillings.
Mrs. Clements stated that whilst she was standing opposite
to the Castle public-house, in Little Chapel .street, Westmin-
ster, a mob of persons came out and conducted themselves in
the most violent manner, some fighting, and others assault-
ing persons who were passing in that direction. The pri-
soner, who was one of the party, struck complainant's
brother, who was standing by, and when she attempted to
release him from the prisoner's hold, he (the prisoner) gave
her a violent blow, and knocked her down ; and whilst
in that position she was severely kicked by him
She then felt the prisoner put his hand into her pocket, and
when she got away she found herself minus the purse.
Mrs. Johnson, who witnessed the assault, corroborated the
above. She stated that, after seeing the assault, she fol-
lowed the prisoner, and gave him into custody; and on doing
so she was herselfseverely struck by him.
Mr. BOND inquired how it was the complainant was
abroad at that hour at night?
Complainant stated that she was an artificial flower
maker, and that she, was waiting for her brother who was
then trying to dispose of a few of those articles.
The prisoner's father, an old man, here stepped forward, and
wished to show that his son had to work very hard for his
living; he was never a thief, nor had he ever committed an
assault.

Mr. BOND said his working hard had nothing to do with
the case. If he-spent his money in a public-house that would
be of little service tokira ; but he should give the prisoner an
opportunity of bringing forward witnesses for his defence, by
remanding him till to-morrow.
The pnserfer was then remanded. No money was found
in his possession.

UNION HALL.—(THIS DAY.)
Edward Harrison was charged with threatening to murder
a woman named Matthews, who appeared as a witness
against him a few days previously.
The complainant stated that she gave evidence against the
prisoner on an alleged charge of felony, on the 18th instant,
at this Court. That on the preceding day he met her in the
street, and swore he would " do for her," and that before three
days were expired, he would have her house about her ears.
He used other language of a threatening nature, and she was
apprehensive he would do her some serious injury.
The MAGISTRATE said, that threatening a witness was an
offence of a most serious nature, and that he should make
the prisoner find good bail to keep the peace.
Catherine Day was charged with committing a violent
assault on a woman named Green, whose countenance, which
was bruised and swollen, exhibited the severity of the attack.
It appeared the parties were acquainted, and that on the
preceding day the defendant, who was walking with a man,
exclaimed, Now I have caught you, I'll serve you out ;"
and immediately tore the bonnet off her head, and beat her
on the face. The man encouraged the defendant, saying, that
if she did not "settle" the complainant, he would give her
( the defendant) a good hiding. Defendant, encouraged by
such language, renewed the attack on complainant, and beat
her in the manner she then appeared.
The MAGISTRATE held the defendant to bail, and directed
that the fellow who encouraged her in the attack should be
takeninto custody.

VISIT OP PRINCE ALBERT TO THE OLD SAVOY
CHURCH IN THE STRAND.—This afternoon, shortly after one
o'clock, His Royal Highness Prince Albert, attended by Sir
Edward Bowater, arrived at the Old Savoy Church, in a
private carriage, for the purpose of inspecting the interior,
which has been redecorated in a splendid style at the ex-
pense of her Majesty, the Queen. His Royal Highness was
received by the Chancellor of the Duchy, Lord Granville
Somerset; the Rev. Mr. Edwards, the evening lecturer, and
Mr. Palmer, the chapel-warden, who conducted him through
the chapel. His Royal highness remained there about half,
an hour, when he returned to Buckingham Palace.
SUGAR DUTIES.—On Saturday the Bill on which
the recent division took place, which has been amended in
Committee and on Report, was printed. The duties imposed
by 6 and 7 Will. 1V.,, c. 26, and 3 and 4 Vic, c. 17, are to
be continued till the sth July, 1845, with the Custom Duties,
and an additional duty of five per cent. Her Majesty by
order in council to declare the sugars of other countries to
be admissible as not being the produce of slave labour. By
the seventh provision, power is given to her Majesty by order
in council to declare, that the sugars of countries with which
her Majesty has treaties of reciprocity as to duties, be ad-
missible at 345. per cwt., and five per cent., additional. Her
Majesty may allow the importation of sugar, the growth of
certain British possessions, at the lower rate of duty. There
are 25 sections in the Bill,