The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-29 00:00:00

No. 17,007. LONDON, FRIDAY

MARC Ii 29, 1844.

THE rSUN is Published .EVERY MORNING at FIVE 0 CLOCK, in Ti

r _ J It it

v4iployed- in factories
:work . so little as the Standard
.a.iserts,.it is ille to legislate fqr the purpose of giving
them additional leisure.; for they roost have morethan
enou,gh of it. But -everybody 'conversant With factory
-labour knows that it is the, most regular-arid constant
-enitiloyment in existence, and that-the' Standard': al—
legations, are mere inventions. Yet upon, these rand
similar inventions ate the yotes'• of Members of-Par-
liatn ent Mainly founded and honourable gentlemen!
set about endangering-the prosperity,_and -almost: the
existence, of mostimportant hranches.of national; in-
destry-,,in the most ignorance, of the facts
with TeSpeet to which they are 'legislating. What
will be the result of these things time only can deter
Mine.—Manchester qugrdian, ••• •

The Ministry having sustained . mare than .one de-
feat in Committee on the Fact-ones .Regulation Bill,
have, it seer*, made up their minds to abandon it,
a course they have been compelled to 'adopt-by the
heterogeneous and successful- :opposition which-has
encountered therii. In-the propriety: of that course,.
though ';ridely differing 'from them on most' other:
'natter* We' eritirolyooneur. • • Holding: the opinions
they so well expressed. in the course, of the debate,
Sir James Graham and Sirlobert Peel would have
been traitors-to their. Sovereign and to the- nation
had ;they consented . further •to pursue a measure,
into--.whieh • a regulation,- .had been : introduced,
Which they , considered would he productive of
disaster, if not ruin, to the, eire'atest: manufacturing
interests of the country. " We are fully aware that
We are about to take up the Unpopular *side -Of the
question, but no consideration Of that kind 'ought, to
deter itt,*-Shall. deter from pointing • out -What
We considerto be an error, and an error fraught with.
fatal 'consequences to the - very class which Lord
Ashley, byliis' short=sighted legislation, hopes to
benefit. We :are aware that the limitation to ten
hours'. has the support of large bodies of the. opera-
tives employed in the manufactures to which it would
apply, but upon what ground, arid in what expecta-
tion ? A placard posted at Manchester by -torch-
light, and alluded to by- Mr. 'Cardwell in his
pithy and well-reasoned speech- 'on Friday,
'will serve 'for answer to the queStion. "Less work,
Wages,—sign for the Ten Hourellill !" - It is,
against this expectation, as dangerous- as it is delusive,
'that we feel 'called upon to warn the operative classes.
Would the. manufacturers,: who- have the labour
market at 'command,
,owing to . the redundancy of
supply, pay the same wages for :ten hours' work as
for twelve'? We will leave more wages out of the
question, and ask could they afford to pay an equal
amount; of ? If they did pay the same .wages
for less labour, or its equivalent, a. less amount of
production, 'they or,
be content with less profit, or
they must increase the price of their goods ; and then,.
closely pressed as' they'are on 'all' sides; how could
they compete with theforeigner ? And if they cannot
compete with fereiri manufacturers, what is to become,
of the trade by which the operatives :have-been accus-
tomed: to get-their -living ? is worthy of notice,
that 35,000,000/.. of our whole exports belong to the
manufactures which would be affected . by. Lord
Ashley's amendment. Reduce the demand for goods,
by, impeding; the power of the manufacturers to &Ml-
pete with foreign rivals, and you reduce the demandfor labour, and; by a natural 'conseqttence; wages ;'
thus inflicting injuiT on the very persons you' desire
to benefit. The- evidence -given before the. Import
DutieSCOMmittee clearltptoved' the intense com-
petition' which the English man-ufacturer had to
encounter from foreign rivals. . It showed
that he.' had been entirely driven out Of. many
market's,. and 'partially excluded' froth others,
by • the force of that. competition.. The danger,,
therefore; of placing him at further disad-
vantage, or, as one of the speakers in the late debate
expressed it, of giving him more weight to
.carry in
the hard race he has to run, must be too apparent to
need further exposition. And if circumstances will
not, permit the manufacturers to increase the price of,
their goods, so as to enable them to pay the same
wages for a less -civantity produced, can. they : afford
to payincreasedivages by a corresponding diminution;
of their prAtq 1 Not if we may indite from thecae
of .besprs., Fielder!, which has recently been nuiz,„,,
the This firm, one of the most unPortarit in '
Lancashire, when required to return their profits on an!
average -of three years, for the. income-tax, returned I
,---nothingr and- so firmly did they -adhere to. this
declaration; that they .submitted to have a portion of
their effects seized and sold .by auction, to defray the
surcharge-imposed On. them by the Commissioners,
rather than give the slightest ground for suspicion,
by voluntary payment, that they had stated what
-was .untrue., The Messrs. 'Fielder'. then; have no
profits out of which to pay an hid** of wag, and:
if, their case . bears any affinity to. that of others,
which We may ie4onably:siippose it does; the menu-.
fadttirers -in the North' generally, are not in a
Condition to submit .t 9 any -reduction of- their profits,
Even supposing that the were, is it likely,
in the present • state' of the labour market,
where the difficulty is' not :to procure hands
hilt to obtain employMent; that the manu-;
facturers, who by this .circumstance • have all the
power -on their. side, would consent to
.suffer any such
deduction for the purpose of paying the same wagei
for less :work, or which is the, same thing, an adVance
of wages. _Would not the workmen' be the first to
suffer?. Would not the loss first fall upon-thein ?. Do
we not alwaya find it thus in the social settle, that the
burden is shifted from those above to those.below,-to
long as it can be shifted ;. that distress' alWays begink
at the bottom and makes 'its 'way upward; or that,
familiar phrase the weakest goes to the wall ?.. As-
suming that it were possible by legislation to rediice the.
hours-of labouri.and'yet keep wages at their present
rate, •it follows as a . natural corollary, that it is
equally within the power of legislatiou torraisa wages
without increasing. the 'hours of labour,!•or, the quan-
tity to be performed. The • very Iplief in such a
power_ is fraught .with infinite misclig. It must lead
to expectations never. destined to realised create
dissatisfaction at, an
.assumed. preference shown to
partieuai classes of workmen; lead to .Parlia-
ment , being Perpetually called' upon to legislate for •
the regUlatiOn Of matters, that are in reality governed
bY'laws which it may thwart but cannot control... If.
Lord Ashley believes that Parliament can, curtail..
the hours of laboUr without effecting a corresponding
'diminution- of wages, ho must believe _that it, can
increase wages Without. a, Corresponding ~increase of
labour. ..Why not turn. his attention then ti:! procuring
this much-wanted increase for the .wretched agrienl-
tural,pgptilation in his own county of Dorset, where one-
seventh of thelabourers are paupers, and the rest even
..vAerse off than they? What need for him to lOok far
away to find objects on which to expend the .fulness
'Of his beneVolent 'heart; when they are thronging al-
taoskaround his ewn ,door? Lord Ashley. knows that
it is' net in the power of Pailiarnent to raise wages by
direct legislation, and therefore -he .attempts nothing.
Buthis legislation can only benefit the.
operatives by a. "similar protess; by giving oiem the
same amount - of wages for a less quantity of work.
If it reduce- their. wages, as it assuredly would do, 'so
itiarom being a benefit, it would be a hatdship to
them.:l' On this Account we ;regard, his, efforts as .the
offspring aTartiai, and mistaken Humanity huanity which
overlooks consequences,: pays no' attention 'to reaults,-
aild might produce transient good-at the cost of wide-
:Spread and, lasting evil.- Worcestershire .Chronicle.
Since our inirried 'remarks 'were written last week,
we have seen no argument te. induce us to alter out
-tor • we do not deny for a. moment the desirable-
1. lower rate .9f labour heing accorded to the
9pe•
.14 all classes.. ;-bat.we.- are. convinced that the
tsciinpuisrlt!• to this,by legis2at. en actrn.. ent will only
defeat its owii nose ser,by torcing.tne !master to lower
the rate of wages.: the• simplest way to put
labour would
the effect Prciduced by thii
.uter, employing 600
;lie the rolloWingi:•—A..
'hinds (iS enabled to inake# certain 51iir!tity of goods in
It Week, Uhler) he Sari in' the 'market price
as will barely enable . hiM to.. pay..hi1.n0r...7?n.--aon3
'get a living: :profit. • Under -the - operation M
Aahley!s clause, the hours taken?: 'Nona 'be redae..
One.sixth ; :his 600 men would only nOW. do' the work.
of "6QO before;; they Would take .seven -clays-now to do
what would have been a weeri :work ' fOrnierlyi in .
fact, the PrOductiveness- of his factory is reduced one-
and hif retntnt:are diminished in' proportion
and as of course it' is imPeisible:"lo::ge.t
.* same
i amount of profit out ef.five-Sixtbs•in amount of work;
it :evident that some one and it is aISO
evident that 'some one will. be the workman him;
self, for the master must either reduce the gross-
of.,:his wages,. or, increase, the' gross number
,of his hands, and in,-either case at reduCtion of
:the wages:.-ol . individual workinen: As 'Wit' -said
`before, j,lie:,:euestion is one et. BC; the cense-
Anence must follow; despite of all legislative interfe-
:rence , Without indeed, the, flegislaturo ii. prepared, not
-only to adopt a standard ofiabenr,
.but a standard of
.Iwageswith it.: The question is One over and beside
ell conalderations:4 philentirroPY;; .there are .teriS of
thousands of person's who must weikot Starve.; theY.-
only get work' at. sugh;:priceS, as the tinaSter Can
Eaffeird to give, and if thnK*ll9,are, in work at pre-
mint-.are dissatisfied. 4.4_,Any -Teductien.. of wages,
;.thatit,doeslnektelitihathe bare starvation p 4,, there
nazi la ecodullo e::: 11J 7 caw

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f ZVZ:-/(-I<'%
landlords. Are the gentlemen, who take credit for
peculiar humanity prepared to do this? If they ,!e
11°4-IP-t-theni—ceasciasffend by their attacks upost
manufacturen,:tif the condition of...the apeßltive
nufaetiireillwillJuitify'this attack upon the property
of the mill-owners, a case, not less strong, can be
made out to warrant' ~nterfeircuce with the, br4ad
'acres. The deepi misery which prevAiii agri-
cultural, cowify• of, Mn-set, represented ,IrJliord Ash-
ley, and 'to which we ;may .refer.4.*diher. tithe,
ought to, touch ~the sympathies,,of the. Noble Liird,
,upon.hii-ownighiciple,:and induce bim to call for a
confiscation of a portion_ of the land, for the benefit of
the poor labour,er_str,--7/yorthern Whig.

~~-~/

I .112

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'OWN, -COTTXTRY. 01ROLA-TION, at ON E-,CHARGEs

cr c,‘

FA.CrORY •QUESTION.
-21077:1t#A49.9,-F

are plenty...a others. /wilt, Atilling,itkskp in
and iakdtntheit I:places4-: rlPledz nis:l)R•qt' by.
' ten, hour', elauses 44 gactpry_,
'in,g the field of lahlur,,,by,4lc.r, .
easing
labour ; and then, witin vie'rliMk?poPtizr
ration is employed, the hours of labour,.:atieLfitlie:
.„wages of labour,, may be safely. -left to adjust them-
selves. As a proof of 'the qUeStionable results 'of'-thi's
interferenCe remember'
that,' Sbnie time since, a'n Act was pulsed, :forbidding!.
„the eniploYrnent of female's ; mines ._ and .001lieries, •
We own-it is a. disgraCe:to..:a Christian c9untryithat
women should be so ~empl9yed; but ~,YYS)-: 9bjected to
the measure at the time, And_ our reason was that
women would uat work, in
,collieries if thei could get
any more-;pleasant- and, profitable employment, 'and
that, therefore,:the best preventative would be to find
them that better eMployinent: Well, the result of
that enactment 'has . that the 'emidition of the
women has been mader'woise, and they are now
'petitioning Parliament that' they May be allowed to
resume their:underground labours to save themselvei
from Starvation. We', instanced; last week, the case
of the LohdOn Seinpstreises ; no 'one...will deny that
their ease . is equally deplorable with_tbQfuinales of the
mines and factories, and yet-no .9ue talks of legis-
lating for 'them; and, why ? Why; .simply because
the only. alternative is between Alife of intense•
cation, and: the -worklmuset -or, prostitution. If the.
Legislature could _indeed:4l4j .remedy for the 'dis-
tresses and privatiOn of the lkbonrii.lg. classes-if they,-
could at any sierifiee.`of individual mjury, or class in,
jury, ensure the -Vernianetit improvement of the
moral and Ocial'Condition"..-of therliard4biling) Mil-
lioni, we should be 'disposed 'to consent tea partial
evil for a general- good ; but whew. well-intentioned
but • meddling. philanthropy attempts •by bit-by-bit
legislation to allotone set of hours- toene class, leav-
ing,
others -equally *ufferixv, untouched, and. doing
but.a doubtful goodrna.y,., a positive injury; to those
whom litrprofesses to assist—we repeat, it is far better'
to let the,whole'social machine go on as it does, Until
from its very..cxcess of diSorgainsation it commands
relief.---Vhettenham Examiner:

Six,-'Mere is riOthingtilil e resolbing. all- irepor-
tant quesgen-Wirilbc,-theivisimplest elements.- Let us
consider'thellohctoryl3lll= on this- plan: We haVe
-first to. deuith the2Legislature_have the right
to interfere between the employers and the eniployed.
gecondly,:_ife„Wfbe-ei-Wient to do so: Thirdly, in
'what manner. rthink 'the-reply to the first inquiry '
is, that the Legilignrelitis Such right-in an extreme
case, but in rio other.
_lf the crew and passengers of
a vessel are wreeked on a desert shore, the paramount
necessity of.FOorAing.laliman life justifies the divi-
sion of the private stores of food belonging to the
passengera unichig'ihe 'Whole body, after the general
stock is exhausted, not oth-erWise. • Secondly, legis-
lation. is expedient if it can remove the evil—not,
if no such poWrei-ekisti. Thircll, -the manner-,—this -
must be by tt general action of the law, ild'a 14114
one. _lf it is necessary ?to divide any portion of the-4
stores of the passengers, the abstraction• for general
purposes, must, be_ol tala from all ; it is not just to-:
take all the propext:y. of A.; of 8., and of C., and leave
untouched that of E., of F., and of G. Let us apply.
Beginning with "the'first branch of inquiry :
the general condition. of factory labourers so ,bad as
tajr.tify pyirarne measures and violations of general
principles ? 'This point should be settled by eaten
save inquipies, , eilndition .of a part must not be
assumed au tbiltof&tiii whole.

On the second branch, of .the inefairy—Can tha
LegislatatiS.ahforce afialteratiOu in.the ratio of re-
muneration to the laboitter ?" • "'s

First—Can itit prevent the eMployer reducing tho
wages of the employed ? If not, the result of legis-
lation will be, that. A,II (the labourer), now obtaining
twelve loaVes. by, ,twelve hours' labour, and finding
the quantity intiaequate to his or her subsistence,
will obtaii_uz Gni& teli loaves, but will have two unem-
ployed'hours!fii 'lest - .
Secouclr7ls,. or .not, the profit of the master-
manufacturer :sufficient: 6.11116i,0f the abStractiOn of
that portion of it which is pkorluced..by the last two.
houri of the laboureiss exertions ?

This, agatp, should be ascertained by extensive and
searching inquiTy LassUMPtions are mere froth and
Wind. If the"profrt bf the manufacturer is wholly
produeed—by-414e—two—hoursi_ labour proposed to be
withdrawn, dlear • that the. Legislature, cannot
enforce its deciees.' 'No Act of Parliament can force
a man to Corntiniib' a trade by which he loses.
The third,Point is,:'Whether the House' of Commons
be disposed to, act with.impartiality, and pass a Ten
Hours' pili,for agriculdtial,,laboureFS, as well as
factory people? . The former are said to be even
worse than the latter. ,

. , ..
Miniateri-. might) no ,doubt, :liferercisirig their'
!Official inflUence, beat dovin the small majority 'of
three by which they were 'outvoted; but this ' Would'
assuredly 'not be advisable on a; question-- affecting
labour—nor indeed upon any other, regarding which
Members haVe recorded their ; opinion so indepen-
dently. 'lt is at all times bad policy to ine;st on the
House rescinding its resolutions. Such, .a course
tends' greatly to lower the Government . as well
as. the Legislature, in the. estimation of the Coun-
try. The :.subject: involved in .Lord .4shley's
amendment is altogether a difficult . one for
a Ministry to grapple with. On - the ' one
hand the arguments of the philanthrOpiat
are overwhelming; nor was - the picture of the utter
wreck of society, occasioned by the ' employment of
women and children in factories„ at all overdrawn.
Something, unquestionably; should be done to stop
the current of debasement which, by :destroying the
physical as well as moral stamina of the female sex,
is rapidly undermining the strength and worth of the
population. But ~what .that something to .be
done. is --what , .will
~ best counteract - the
evil-'---that , is the difficulty. Ministers were
of opinion - that the restriction of..labour from
twelve to ten . hintra' would have the effect of
increasing it : wages"would be loWeredriachinery
multiplied—and - consequently the 'sufferings of the ,
labouring ;poor augmented. It -was -upon this ,
practical view of the subject that they took-their
'stand : and, filling the -responsible offices which they
hold, we are not surprised that they should have re-
sisted the amendment; though we do think that
now, after the House has so plainly expressed 'its'
judgment, they should not farther oppose it, especially,
in the modified form to which Lord Ashley signified.
his willingness to agree, Interference with the
labour market, it maybe true, is abstractly iniproper;
and the principle"; once adopted; lea& to a Wide field of
operation. But the principle, it should 'be remem-'
bered; was not propounded for the first time ; it formed,
the very baais of the Bill. Thedifference between the;
Ullgllllo Lail UOG 6110. 2.4. i a A.olikv.i.o ft 111V1 La Lil.al 4.• .111...1.,a,
simply to a qUestion of time, -not to' the principle of
restriction itself. And considering that the state of
society. in' this. country' is altogether artificial, we
really do not see why . the Legislature should, boggle
at the use of artificial means in endeavouring to pre,
vent, if possible; the downward progess of the masses
True, the Factories Bill,embraced only a particular
range of industry, When, in justice, the same law
should extend to , all branches, ' But it must, at the
same time, be adthitted, that, in prOposing to experi-
ment liilbn the factories • the worst, description of
labogr was selected.' - If the experiMent proved sue»
ceSsful, then might the' provisions of the Bill be reri-
&red gerierel.—Ayr Observer. J-'• ••-•,:
' Upon what a miserably lew.footing does her Ma-
jesty's Home ‘ Secretary place . our manufacturing
ascendancy! . Is it really a fact; .that we cannot allow
our Operatives the needffil time for rest. and recrea-
tion without causing " the downfal of our domestic
manufactures ?" Can it be that all our manu-
facturing greatness is the product of two addi-
tional hours. in the day of. infantile labour ?
Who is there, With . any spark of generosity in
his breast; who -would not say, perish the-great,
ness - that "can ' only be ' so preserVed ?:' But
it is a complete hallucination, . and the argu-
ment tefute's itself. -' For by the law as -it now
stands; infantiledabOur is-limited -to twelve hours a
day. Why, then, do not foreigners, who work their
children fourteen hours ;Way,. now undersell' and ruin
us? If there be anything in the argument, it ought
'to be carried further,,and we should go back to four-
teeo hours, as in Austria, or to an unlimited number
of hours, as in America. Could it be Clearly shown,
indeed; that our inaiinfacttireS stand upon so preca-
rious "a foundation that they 'are liable to be' under-
mined by any nation that shall choose to work longer
time than ourselves; it would behove even those who
are most clamorous for the repeal of the corn-laws do
beware he*, by curtailing the ability of the English
farnier-to buy, they injure that which may so speedily
'become the only market for their goods. Sir James
Graham'a speech, though a lame defence for the ma-
nufacturers, is an able, one for the corn-laws. And
could we he so far charitable as • to suppose them sin-
cere, we should still believe them in error. How is
a shortening of the time of labour to bring about a
reduction of wages ? All our notions of political
economy would lead us to . anticipate precisely
an Opposite effect. For how is the rate of wages
mainly affected ? At the extreme point, doubtless,
by the cost of subsistence; but at every' part of the
scale above the extreme point, by the .propOrtion
between the supply of labour and the demand for it:
Curtail the hours of labour, and it) must require: more .
hands-toed the same work: Nor do we suspect that
.profits would suffer more than wages. On the con-
' rary we ,believe that profit and aumanity are here
quite identified. Who should be the bestjUdgeS upon 1
this point, but the manufacturers theMselves ? 'And
what is .thetestirriony
,of two of their 'bodY-Who went*
up toLOndon as a deputation on this very bill? "'That
,they could get more work perfornied in 11 hours'
' than in '13." This' we have on the 'authority Of
Mr. Beckett, one- of the Members for Leeds, who,
'tells us moreover; that. " he had consulted 'seventy-
eight manufacturing firms in :Leeds, .and that,. out of
-these,. forty-seven: were. in, favour of.ra Tea Hours'.
.BHlrand thirty-one were divided between a. Ten and
Bleven .Hours Bill ; but not one was in favour of
twelve hours.'.' Surely this should gO far
_Sothething
against the merely interested doOiatisingsprife'verish
forebedings Of those who have instructed. Sir Janies-
Graham to say, that unless they are all Owed to treat
"her Majesty's .subjects as if they' 'had neither souls
tier senses; prsonal-
.responsilnlities. - Mir domestic
-duties, the -marinfacturera of England must 'be (to
'Thomas Moore,.welbelieVe, has-it) : ~ , ,
.:1 . , "Clean' done -up and spiftlicated.” _ 2 % -
•--..iiiierpool: Courier.
. The: merits of the short-hour question are so appa-
rent that it requires a considerable. stretch of charity
*osuppOse any one
_capable of the error. of mistaking
the, n.. It is :prOposed, that :one-sixth of the:present
world,.-i$ hours An factories shall be cut Off=that work
shall, bi
.done 'during only ten hours, instead of twelve,
'i'at present. --This amounts to a 'proposal,
• A4e41337.,:r" • -Veil weeks; • anti upwards; sof the year, all
tlitAt.filqing !s!''',, *he -United ,Kingdom shall - stand
the nulls in 'k..
stilly becoine i:nproducfive-- that, during.
paralysed,that-
_and the mighty
.thrie, ilichistry, shall Irs
~en and useless. Now„
capital embarked remain' 'L.'''. • -
soberly, to stand-
..
if any one be prepared, serious, B.n! ,
ratives of the na-
bythis,TOr the sake of the toiling 6P-'
with their
tion (and would that we:could, consists.,
benefit and the public good; send tbo-se;
pperittives_ t_t
. indulge in freedom from. ' labeur for douta or trebtei:
e _
opose
[the: time!). Jet , him; come forward and ..pk.. ~,,4
that: one-sixthof the land throughout the Unn...."
;Kingdom shall lie taken out of the hands of the great.
landed proprietßrs, ' and applied to the benefit of the
poorer. lasses. o
,stop-the factories' for two hours
oalt',pr::.,l,l,*-]s practically to alienate or destroy-.
1
One-)'_'six - of the'capital Of the naann.fieturets ; and„-,
.
' ifptrilithe seine principle, we wouldbe justified in la3r-
liv, our handie-Upon one-sixth of the Capital of :the'
~ -..; ,r, ::: i 90., ~ ' 1t.11,.. i ..1 J . i
.cr.varl .sooi•rns e`biuditml 'IA ,10 : . ; .: ,:' . ' : '.L

Finally If such a Bill be passed, and the farmer
requires a higher 'price for his loaf, on account of the
greater-expense of cultivation (employing twelve
men for' ten hours, instead of ten men for twelve
hours, and,paying per head as much in one case as
the other),' whether the consumer be prepared for the
enhancement ?`, FOPLICOLA.

THE' SWORD OF ADIVIIRAL
DUPETIT THOUARS.

• - - - - - --- - --
Public subscriptions, as every one knows, are being
raised in France for a sword to be given to the French
Admiral, who exhibited his Gallic valour by a victory
over Queen Pomare—a feat which Mr. T. P. Cooke, the
only recognised British seaman, would very properly
describe as an act " unworthy the name of a Tar, who
would rather see all his timbers irrevocably shivered
than run down a.craft with a helpless female at the
figure-head, when he ought to be piping all hands for
the protection of lonely, defenceless, and, of course, vir-
tuous woman." .
Punch, 'ever anxious to combat against humbug of
every description, and to rush into the thickest of the
fight, has -called upon one of his artists to draw the
sword, which has been accordingly drawn ; and it is
hoped that our cut of this sword is more to the purpose
than any cut the sword will ever give in the hands of its
intended owner. The hilt represents Queen Pomare,
whom the French Admiral endeavoured to make a handle
of. On the blade is another representation of her
Tahitian Majesty, kneeling before Thouars, who,
with a littleness that quite justifies his preanomen
of Petit, is waving insultingly over her that most
obtrusive bit of rag, which was formerly respected
as the tricolour, but which is sadly soiled and de-
graded by some of the hands it has since fallen into.
covered with various emblematical de-
signs, headed by a itttie mong-
Young France who; if both " old enoughltralsl*
enough" to take care of. itself, certainly possesses the
latter of these two requisites for self-protection. The
other devices are emblainatical of the object for which
the sword is given ; but- the Admiral himself is typified
by the inside, whicli, as .the sword is out of the scabbard,
conveys the idea of absolute emptiness.—Punch.

THE COMFORT .OF «KNOWING
THE WORST."

At the-:Huntingdon Assizes, Gifford White, aged 10,
IN as sentenced .to transportation for life for sending a
letter to a farmei,-threatening to burn 'his farm, and
the farina of others. Lord Abinger passed sentence, and
said, "The,sending of letters threatening to burn the
property of the .parties to_whom they were addressed
was worse than the putting the threat itself into execu-
tion, for when a man.lost his property by fire he at least
knew the worst ; but he to whom such threats were
made was made to live in a state of continual
terror and alarM." Renee, instructed by Lord
Abingei, let • future Gifford Whites spare their
pens- and' Ink, and at once make use of Inciter
matches, For, as it is a-lighter offence to destroy pro-
perty than merely to threaten its destruction, the Gifford
White, who actually burns the farm may get off with
transportation for fourteen years; whilstif, with greater
villainy; he merely makes a threat, he is very properly
condemueda slave for life..
In our lait number, we reported the result of a trial of
the Rev. 'Mr. Day, WbO plunged a knifb in the thigks of
seven sheep that trespassed in his close. Lord Abinger
feelingly put.it to the jury, whether the Rev. Gentleman
did not. torturethe animals out of pure ignorance of the
law; beink a elergyman, he of eouTse had no' time to
study the statutes ? lie wits acquitted.' We 'do
not plead for an acquittal Of Gifford White, for
of course his education and - position in society
must have made him intimately acquainted with
the statutes,- which he knew he was infringing.
However, according to the judge, he has one comfort in
his misery-.--at least he" knows the worst ;" and that me
think may possibly consist in the fact of his having been
tried by LOrd Abinger.Punch.

FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE NEW
. BAILEY BRIDGE.

From the Second Edition of the Munchoter Guardian

of Wednesday.)
About 1.1 O'clock this Morning; considerable alarm
was created by 'a rumour that the scaffolding in connec-
tion with -the ..building of the-bridge, now in pi-ogress
of erection, over the river Irwell, at New Bailey-street,
had given way, 'precipitating a number of workmen
into• the water. On making inquiries, -we - found
the report to -be too_ well founded, and the-follow-
ing . appear W be the particulars
,of r the accident:—
Across the river extend two large beams, running
parallel to each other, 'covered with rails, for the purpose
of bearing a travelling- crane. This crane consists of two
wheels_ placed on the rails of, the beams running
across the river, and a strong plank passing
from one wheel to the other, on which is placed the
apparatus, for. 'raising stones- and other articles ; and i
appears thrit;--at the time- of the accident, a numbert
' _lnert:were. engaged in raising : one of the centres ,for
the arch
.of tb,e bridge, by means of the crane. From
some unknown cause, the beam-nearest the-temporary
bridge over 'the river gave way, and, with a tremendous
crash,, the travelling crane fell into the river, break-
' ing down a. quantity of -wooden framework .in
its way.; arid, seven
,men, who were upon it
at the time,' Were precipitated,' into the water.
An .alartn ivaa • immediately given in the stone-yard
adjoining-then bridge; and a .number of the workmen,
asisoon as the momentary consternation had subsided, ran
to lend their aid in extricating the unfortunate men,
Severat'Of whOm-were observed- straggling in. the water.
Three of tlie'mengot out, ,with no other injury 'than :the
fright occasioned" by the fall, and: the wetting whieh they
receivedr,bat we are sorry to state that the
_four others
were not-salbitunate;Threaof them were brought mit of
the river mtidli bruised, and immediately conveyed to-the
Manchester Infirmary. - ;The body of the other man was
soonafterwande found, shocisingly disfigured, .and per-
fectly-lifeless. It was taken to au adjoining- inn, when
it was identified as that Or a man- named Samuel Kirk,
the son of a shoemaker (Wei, have heard) residing in
MancbeSter, and who had been employed at the bridge
for some.timg.. •

. r.
What renderS•the accident More particularly distress-
ing isthe-fadt that two of the men who were so severely
bruised are brothers (one elder and the other younger)
of the, unfortunateperson who is killed.
We:understand that no 'previous symptoms of giving
way 'hid 'been obServed in any of the beams. The
Weight of the eentro they were raising is stated to be
..ten. tons;. and it was supposed that it might have caught
on some projecting piece,of the framework, and the ad-
ditional force, required for.raising it have caused:the
accident. Perhaps it is quite as probable that the beam
was insufficientlo bear the weight.
On melting inquiries at the infirmary, we learn that
the two brothers (Kirk), are doing well; together with
another Man, named Kelly, who had also been taken to
.theinfirmary; but the injuries he received are compara-
tively trifling. • r• • •

..e2are.gratified to be able to:state that the s'ub-
.• dn for the widow and children of the late Chief Office
3cliPt'•
of Pollee •is going on Well. The amount up to last nightwa
abb1a,,64[70„ ~i independently, of a sum of 500 L, which tli
voted at a special meeting last night. 'Th.
dopunlolonoo
the late assizes contlibuted nearly 40/.
-
tltoartriliseti.feunrs 1.2,,5414 4
;ht et n Gazette.

m\.-1 og;

.~ ~I . i