The Sun.
London, England, 1850-10-21 00:00:00

the use intended by him," what judgment would be
pronounced on himself if adjudicating on the case.
The "mote in the eye of the sempstress" was clearly
discerned, but we suppose " no beam" obstructed the
magisterial vision.

We cannot conclude our observations on this
deeply distressing case without imploring those who
sent in contributions not to be diverted from their
original intentions. Let them reclaim their money
within the time specified and hand it over for the use
of ROSINA HERBERT, her unfortunate husband, and
sickly children. Let them render the wretched
woman independent of slopsellers' work, no longer
compelled to make shirts at seven farthings each, re-
ceiving them from second or third persons. They
will find no difficulty in procuring competent
persons to undertake the due distribution o
their benefactions according to their own desires and
wishes. Although less scrupulous than the Thames
Police magistrates, they may not consider " a yield-
ing to temptation," under the most trying and heart-
rending eircumstrinca, as for ever placing the sinner
beyond the pale of hope. Let those who consider
themselves spo'less, and without fault, hurl stones
at the miserable woman who worked patiently and
unrepiningly at nv.king shirts at seven farthings each,
until driven by the cries of her sickly and famishing
children, one aged six years, the other fifteen
months, she unfortunately pawned the articles she
had just completed. But let those who feel that they
themselves have need of forgiveness, that they must
trust to the compassion of an all- merciful REDEEMER,
never indifferent to the cries of the poor and needy,
regard with a lenient eye the errors, and endeavour
to alleviate the sufferings, of ROSINA HERBERT, the
modern illustration to the thrilling and pathetic " Song
of the Shirt.'

To those who may wish to judge for themselves the
condition of the wretched family, and their general
character and conduct, against which nothing has
been alleged except the illegal pawning of articles on
two occasions, at an interval of fourteen months, we
announce that their residence is at No. 9, Foster-
street, Bethnal-green. We trust that the intimation
may not be thrown away.

It might have been imagined that an individual
who should teach our West Indian planters, with
even the scanty supply of free labour at present at
their command, to compete advantageously in the
production of sugar with the slave owners of Cuba,
Louisiana, and the Brazils, and not only to compete,
but to drive them out of the market, and thus to
overthrow slavery by the only means by which it can
ever be overthrown, viz., by making it unprofitable,
would have been hailed as a benefactor to his species,
by the Anti-Slavery party ; and by all connected with
the colonies as their best friend and deliverer from

impending ruin. At least it might have been imagined
that he would have obtained a patient hearing for his
proposals, and that when he should have demonstrated
their practicability, the authorities of the State
would have afforded him every facility for carrying
them out, or at all events have secured to him a fair
field by abstaining from everything like active oppo-
sition. Such, no doubt, were the ideas of Dr.
SCOFFERN, when he, in 1847, propounded his dis-
covery with regard to the refining of sugar by che-
mical means, by which he enabled the sugar manu-
facturer to obtain 3 cwt.. of sugar from the same
quantity of material from which under the old pro-
cess he obtained but one ; and he would have been
perfectly justified in entertaining these ideas had the
seals of the Colonial-office been held by any other
Minister save Earl GREY, who seems, since the mo-
ment he entered the Colonial-office, to have endea-
voured te "leave undone those things which he ought
to have done, and to have done those things which he
ought not to have done"—witness New ZAdand, Cey-
lon, Vancouver's Island, &c., &c. Dr. SCOFFERN having
patented his process, and made his discovery known
to several sugar refiners, who practised it on a large
scale, and found it to answer most satisfactorily, pro-
ceeded to send agents to the West Indies to explain
theiprocess to the planters ; but, to his great surprise,
instead of being hailed as a benefactor, he was de-
nounced as a poisoner, and his agents were pretty
generally refused even a hearing. Oa making in-
quiry into the cause of this strange state of affairs, he
discovered that Earl GREY had, without inquiry,
without giving the inventor any intimation of his in-
tention, sent out dispatches to the various colonial
Governments, desiring them to warn the planters
against the use of the process as highly dangerous,
because the sugar produced contained lead-1 not-
able discovery, seeing that all sugar manufactured
under the old process contains lead, of which fact
probably our learned and chemical Colonial Secre-
tiry was not aware at the time he entered the field
against the new process.

Complaints were made to the Government, and,
after a lapse of ten months, a chemical inquiry was
sit on foot, and the result was, as stated by our cor-
respondent HUMANITAS, in another column of our
journal, " that no more lead was found in the
samples by the new process than in those of the
old. The experimenters add, moreover," continues
HUMANITAS, " that in no case, in any quantity,
that they could pronounce dangerous. But an-
other body of medical men, adjudicating on this
very report, considered that the consumption of sugar
with lead in it was dangerous. This applies, how-
ever, with equal force to both processes, since both,
according to the chemical investigators, contain lead'
Dr. SCOFFERS replies, and subsequent:investigations by
chemists of great eminence go to establish his state-
ment, that assuming the existence of lead in the pro-
duce of both processes, that his is the safer; since the
lead therein is in an insoluble and innocuous form,
whilst that in the sugar by the old process is and
must be poisoncus. But he maintains, and a number
of chemical certificates substantiate the position, that
the sugar manufactured and refined by perfect ma-
chinery under his process, and sold in large quan-
tities, is destitute of any, even the slightest trace of
lead, so that the most delicate tests of the laboratory
have failed to discover it. It is a fact that the sugar
has been used to the exclusion of all other at the
tables of many familes for two years past without any
evil result." It surely would have been advisable
that all these experiments should have been instituted
and all these inquiries made before the issuing of the
denunciation of the Colonial Secretary, rather than
after it, which they would have been had Earl GREY
condescended to intimate his intention to Dr. Scot--
FERN; and had such been the case in all probability
the denunciation would never have been issued at all.
The whole history is succinctly told by our corre-
spondent HUMANITAS, to whose letter we refer our
readers, as furnishing a characteristic additional
chapter to the history of the colonial administration I
of Earl GREY.

ROYAL NAVAL BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.— (Tins
DAY.)—The quarterly general court of this society, estat-
lished 1739, for affording relief to the officers of the royal
navy, and to their widows and families, was held this day,
at the Thatched House Tavern, St James's-street; Sir
John Malcolm, vice-president, occupying the chair. After
the disposal of some preliminary business, Commander
Dickson, the secretary, proceeded with the balance-sheet,
from which it appeared that the total receipts during the
quarter had been, including the previous balance, 1,832/.
13s. 5d., and the expenditure 4931., leaving a balance of
1,337/. &s. Bd. The subscriptions had decreased by
the deaths of the members, but, on the other
hand, the donations had been more numerous than
for many previous quarters. qThe report being una-
nimously received, a long discussion ensued upon a
motion, which was to the effect that under no circumstances
whatever should the widow, orphan, or family expect relief
at the death of any member, unless such member's subscrip-
tion be paid up from the commencement till the death. The,
resolution was carried by a large majority; and after the
transaction of some routine matters, the meeting separated
in passing a vote of thanks to the hon. and gallant chairman.
MONETARY REFORM.—At a meeting of the Wal-
tham Agricultural Society, held on Friday at Leicester, Mr.
Harrison, of 13agworth, Leicestershire, responded to a toast,
and took the opportunity of saying that in his part of the
country they looked upon protection as dead, and that they
must bury it —(A Voice, " Good," and murmurs.) He did
not deny that the agriculturists had a right to be protected,
bat he believed that they would never regain the protection
which they had lost; and the only remedy he could devise
was an alteration of the monetary system.
FREE EIHIBITIONE.—THE NATIONAL AND VER-
NON GALLERIES. The public generally and the lovers of the
fine arts will tea pleased to hear that these exhibitions of
pictures are opened this day.

SERIOUS ACCIDENT.— On Friday morning a serious
accident occurred to Mr. J. P. Oliver. son of Mr. Oliver, of
the firm of _Messrs. Grieve and Oliver, hat-merchants,
Prince's-street. It appears that while ri.:ing a horse along
Clerk-street, the animal suddenly shied, and set off at a
furious pace. Dashing down Preston-street, it ran with great
force against the wall at the corner of East Sciennes-street,
by which it was killed on the spot, and Mr. Oliver flung with
considerable .Volence upon the ground. Mr. Oliver was im-
mediately conveyed to the Royal Infirmary, when it wad
ascertained that he had received a slight concussion of the
brain. We understand that " confident hopes are entertained
of his recovery.—Scotsman.