The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-24 00:00:00

restriction upon the poor.—(Hear, hear.) He did not,
at the same time, mean to cast a doubt upon the motive
of the proposer.—(Hear.) Now, in consequence of the
severe restrictions in the country, a number of the rural
inhabitants travelled into the more genial atmosphere of
the metropolis. The City magistrates were elective—not
a band of briefless barristers, but independent and gene-
rous men, who would deal with the poor as men—
(Cheers)—and it was on account of that well-known
character of the City of London magistrates, that those
who had nothing but humanity to look to crowded the
streets.—(Hear, hear.) Now he would ask the Court
whether they were to interfere with such a feeling, and
advise the Aldermen to substitute harshness for the kind
and benevolent conduct for which they were remarkable,
although their conduct produced inconvenience ?
(Cheers.) They knew the deplorable, the dreadful con-
dition of the poor ; but to do the people justice was the
way to do them good, and justice was all they wanted.
Sir PETER LAURIE said that if the subject was re-
ferred to a Committee a great deal of information would
be most undoubtedly received. The Committee would
be told what he knew to be fact, that crowds of paupers
were every day smashing the windows of the Mansion-
house for the purpose of obtaining the asylum of a
prison, and why did they wish to be locked up in prison?
Because they preferred prisons to the unions established
by the new poor-law.—(Hear.) They could not be pre-
vailed upon to accept the refage of the unions, but they
broke windows and tore their poor-house clothes to
pieces in order to be punished with the less disagree-
able alternative of a gaol. He considered that the
house of nightly shelter in the City contributed
in no slight degree to increase the influx of
mendicants, who came and went away, and re-
turned again and again, thus introducing, as it were,
a new condition of pauperism from which there appeared
to be no redemption. Now, if through a Committee
punishment could be made a consequence of such repeti-
tion, some advantage might be expected to this commu-
nity.
Alderman THOMA.B WOOD supported the previous
question, and agreed with Mr. Lawrence that It was
quite impossible for the Court to deal with a question
which belonged not to the Corporation, but to the pub-
lic at large.—(Hear, hear.) The great nuisance in this
city was the nightly refuge to which the idle and the in.
digent crowded from all parts of the country, and to re-
sort to which they were recommended by the authorities
in the various districts from which they came. Thither
came also the masses of Irish paupers, who wanted to be
removed to their home, and continued to become
chargeable in order to accomplish that object.
The very mention of nightly shelter in the City
of London congregated immense multitudes, and
daily exhibitions were now made of the
result. The members of the Court ought to have
seen, as he had seen on the preceding day,
ten vagrant females at the Mansion-house convicted of
the most rebellious conduct. These women did not
come from any precise locality, but got together in a
union from a variety of places. It was, in tact, impos-
sible to isolate London from the rest of the metropolis,
in the endeavour to obtain a remedy for an evil which
spread far and wide over the whole of London.—(Hear,
hear.) The average of those who came for relief were
not of the industrious, but of the idle and dissolute
classes. How then were the physical ills of such masses
to be remedied ? It must be only by some general
measure.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. PEWTRESS spoke in favour of the motion of Mr.
Corney. Ho was, he said, sure that the Court would
allow there was an overwhelming mass of poverty. The
newspapers teemed with deplorable evidences of the
fact, and showed that the City was afflicted with
the evil to such a dreadful extent as must afflict
every person of ordinary humanity.—(Hear, hear.)
Now, he believed there was no evil for which a remedy
could not be foand ; and, as a matter of course, he
thought the evil of which complaint had been so strongly
made was capable of being removed. The New Poor-law
had been some time ago framed to meet the existing evil,
and in that law it was stated that relief was to be afforded
to those in necessity without examination or question of
any kind previously to the administering of relief. If
that had been carried out in spirit, all the poverty, which
now appeared to be overwhelming, would have been re-
lieved ; but let the Court look at the application of the
law. There was no penalty consequent upon the refusal
of the officers to administer immediate assistance, and the
law was actually not operative in that respect without
some tremendous process. In numerous unions in the
country the relief administered was desperately econo-
mical, and the rules were so stringent, that the poor
were required to work a certain number of hours
before they received any food, and a certain number
of hours after. Here was a cruel and disgusting
violation of the law.—(Hear, hear.) Persons convicted
of crime were entitled to have two hot meals a day with-
out working far each supply. while those who had com-
mitted no offence were denied a morsel of bread until
they performed the task allotted to them by the men
by whom relief ought to be administered) without in-
quiry or question of any kind.—(Hear, hear.) Was it
not degrading to the poor to deny them so large an
amount of food as was willingly granted to those who
came under the other denomination?—(Hear, hear.)
He was sure the evil was capable of a remedy ; but it
was necessary that all the unions should co-operate in
carrying out the law. There was another evil connected
with th administration of the law. The magistrates
were guardians of the poor, so that they were placed in
a double capacity, which rendered their acts as guar-
dians liable to be appealed against to themselves as
magistrates.—(Hear, hear.) But the paramout evil was
want of employment. That was the great cause
of the prevalent distress; but that could also be, in his
opinion, remedied.—(Cries of" Free trade," and laughter.)
He regretted to utter his suspicion, that the wealthy
would rather pay enormous rates than yield to the
poor the power of relieving themselves from the mise-
ries which surrounded them. He hoped the motion of
Mr. Corney would be agreed to, and he would pledge
himself to state before the Committee such matters as
would probably lead to an application for certain amend-
ments in the law.

Mr. IlicuAßD WILLIAMs advocated the proposition of
Deputy Corney, to whom, he said, great credit was due
for having introduced to the Court the subject of so
monstrous an evil as that with which the population of
London were beset. He lamented the defective state of
the law which permitted the existence of such a condi-
tion of things as had been just represented, and sug-
gested that a power should be given in the amended Act
to inflict punishment upon those vagrants who, having
been once passed to their settlements, should return as
mendicants to the metropolis. He at the same time
could not help expressing his dissent from the opinions
of those who spoke in general condemnation of the poor
for not finding employment.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. W. H. HALL was for the previou4 question, and
contended that the Corporation of London had nothing
to do with the quer tion. As to the extent of poverty,
they all agreed on that subject, and they all knew that a
prisoner lived better than a pauper, and a patiper lived
better than an industrous working man.—(Hear, hear.)
After some observations from other members,
Deputy CoRNEY replied, and the amendment was car-
ried by a large majority.--Adjourned.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS

FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
GLOBE.—Previously to a newly-appointed Governor-
General of India leaving England for the scene of his
delegated duties, a dinner on a scale of princely magni-
ficence is invariably given by the Directors to the indi-
vidual on whom the honours and advantages of the post
have been conferred. To this banquet the members of
the Cabinet, and other distinguished personages, are in-
vited. In conformity with this time-honoured custom,
Sir Henry Hardinge was feasted and toasted yesterday.
But for the recent misunderstanding between her Ma-
jesty's. Ministers and the Honourable Court, the
proceedings of the day would have commanded no pecu-
liar interest. The recal of Lord Ellenborough
by the magnates of Leadenhall-street, despite of the
wishes of the Cabinet, and in the teeth of the refusal of
her Majesty's Ministers to concur in the removal of the
" Brummagem Buonaparte," invested the proceedings
of yesterday with unprecedented interest. Would the
Duke of Wellington be present? If present, would
his Grace make a speech? If the Noble Duke deigned
to address himself to the proceedings of the day, how
would he deal with the cause of the new appointment;
seeing the recal of Lord Ellenborough had induced
him to apply to the Court of Directors a series of appel-
lations more expressive of strong disapprobation of the
act, than regardful of the rules of courtesy ? Then,
again, how would the administration of the great de-
posed be treated by the. Chairman ?—by the Premier, if
present ?—or by the newly-appointed Governor-Gene-
ral ? These, and many other inquiries as to the parts
whichwould be played by the great personages so recently
at loggerheads, on an occasion that was immediately
connected with the cause of their disagreement, were
uppermost in the public mind. The possibility of some-
thing being said by some one, which, would afford 'a clue
to the cause of Lord Ellenborough's recal, induced us to
scan the speeches with searching attention. We hoped
to be able to assist the inquiry, which we knew would
be instituted ; and to satisfy public curiosity, so strongly
stimulated to penetrate, if possible, the veil of secresy
which her Majesty's Ministers seem determined to
cast over the transactions that have led to that re-
cal. Tho leading personages present on the festive occa-
sion seem to have laid an embargo on their powers of
speech, lest a -phrase should escape their lips which
might be interpreted into a meaning of either commen-
dation or blame of Lord Ellenborough's general
policy, or individual conduct. His Lordship's name was
not even mentioned ; nor was an allusion made to him,
personally or . officially, by one of the speakers. Lord
Ellenladrough might as well have been born before
the Flood, or never been born at all, so completely was
his Lordship kept out of view during the proceedings
of the banquet given in honour of his successor ! Good
taste induced the Chairman of the Court of Directors
to refrain from touching on the painful and dangerous
_theme. The extreme course which the Hon. Court had
been compelled to take had stopped the mischievous
freaks of the Noble Lord whom her Majesty's Ministers
would still have kept in India, to the peril of the em-
pire, and the rapid deterioration of the Company's reve-
nue; and there was no use in provoking a return to an
ungrateful topic, and scarcely cooled cauldron of atrife.The
newly-appointed Governor-Generalhwi as, of course,
of
con-
fined to general expressions firm, daentedrmien.
tion to govern India upon a pols.le calculated to 1
secure the penee; preservethe integrity
pro-
mote the interests of our Eastern empire. There
runs, however, throughout Sir 11. Hardinge's speech,
a promise of pacific p?licy, as that which it will be
his earnest wish and aim to maintain in his admistra-
don, which we can hardly conceive would have been
iterated, and reiterated, without some meaning. Re_
membering that Lord Ellenborough's Indian admi-
nistration has been marked by military expeditions ;
that blood and conquest have been the distinguishing
and almost exclusive characteristics of his government ;
the emphatic pledges given by Sir H. Hardinge, that
" Peace" should be the aim of his policy and the -par-

pose of his heart, may—without any forced construction,
at least so it appears to us—be taken as intended to
indicate that, in this particular, he would cautiously ab-
stain from followingin the wake
Duke seemed to be in excellent humour. His friend
and companion, both in the field and in the Cabinet, had
been appointed to the highly honourable and im-
portant post from which Lord Ellenborough was re-
called. This had apparently obliterated from his feelings,
if not from his memory, all trace of the " monstrous in-
discretion" he had so recently denounced. Whatever
his Grace had thought, and said, respecting the Court
of Directors, and the necessity of putting a curb on
them—that no more such " indiscretions " as that they
had been guilty of in recalling a Governor-General,
without leave and license from the Ministers, might be
committed—it was obvious that the Duke was now satis-
fied that they knew how to use their power with discre-
tion ; seeing they had appointed his Gallant and Right
Honourable Friend to the honourable and lucrative post.
The Premier was hoarse—from the effects of a severe
cold. His speech was therefore short ; but his words
were also well chosen. One uninterrupted flow of
smooth compliment to the inimitably-qualified indi-
vidual, whom the discernment of the Court of Directors
had led them to select for the high honour and great
responsibility pertaining to the government of an empire
so vast, constituted the staple of Sir Robert Peel's ora-
tion. The last occasion, until Lord Ellenborough's return
—which will not take place until after the prorogation
—has- passed, without any direct, or indirect, intima-
tion of the cause which required such an extraordinary
exercise of the power vested in the Court of Directors ;
by which, in the teeth of the Cabinet, they have re-
called the Noble Lord from his important post. One
of the earliest motions to which the attention of
Parliament will be called in the next session, will in-
volve an inquiry into Lord Ellenborough's adminis-
tration. His Lordship and the Cabinet which suggested
his fitness for the office, and obtained his appointment
to it, will be then put upon their defence. The Go-
vernment array be desirous of suppressing the inquiry.
It may again refuse to produce the correspondence
that has passed between the Court of Directors and the
Board of Control upon the subject. But, we apprehend,
Lord Ellenborough will not remain quiescent. The blow
which- his Lordship has received, in his most sensitive
part, from the Hon. Company, and the marked silence
which her Majesty's Ministers have preserved on the
subject, leaving the public to infer the worst against his
fame, will, we apprehend, induce the Noble Lord to sup-
ply that which, if withheld by him, will be taken as an
unequivocal admission against himself.
STANDARD.—The petition of Sir Augustus D'Este,
now before the House of Lords, recalls public attention
to the Royal Marriage Act of 1772. Sir Augustus
D'Este, it is known, claims to succeed to his late
father as Duke of Sussex, grounding his claim
upon a marriage celebrated between his pa-
rents, at Romo, in April, 1792. There was a second
marriage celebrated between the same parties, the
late Duke of Sussex and Lady Augusta Mur-
ray, in December, 1793, at St. George's, Hanover-
square : but as this second marriage has been long
since pronounced to be ab initio void, the first marriage
is the only marriage relied upon by Sir Augustus. This
first marriage was, as we learn, celebrated at Rome, not
according to the lex loci, but by a clergyman of the Church
of England, the Duke being at 'the time a minor, circum-
stances that, in our opinion, would invalidate the marriage
even had the Royal Marriage Act never passed, or were
the parties wholly unconnected with the Royal Family.
Even supposing that the English form of contract, had
been sufficient to give validity to the marriage, it is plain
that the English conditions in the substance of the con-
tract (one of which is consent of parents in the
case of a minor) were requisite ; but in this case
the alleged husband was a minor. Supposing this
general objection, however, got over, there will remain
the Royal Marriage Act of 1772, which provides " that
no descendant of his late Majesty George 11. shall be
capable of contracting matrimony without the previous
consent of his Majesty, his heirs or successors, signified
under the Great Seal ; and that every marriage or
matrimonial contract of any such descendant, without
such consent first had and obtained, shall be null and
void to all intents and purposes whatsoever." The
only question that can be raised against the invalidity
of the Duke of Sussex's marriage upon this statute, re-
spects the power of the Legislature to extend the au-
thority of British law, even in the case of British sub-
jects, beyond the limits of the British dominions. Now,
much as we may regret the effect of the decision
upon the interests of Sir Augustus D'Este,
we have no doubt whatever that it must be
decided that the Legislatnre does possess this power.
We think that we see clear evidences of the ex-
istence of such a power from the public law of
Christendom, and from the common and statute law
of this country. The right to protection and the
obligation to allegiance are reciprocal, and in public
law we see admitted the right of a Government
to protect its subjects, to reclaim its subjects from
foreigners, whether voluntary or involuntary absentees,
except this right is qualified by treaty ; and in the
every day administration of justice we hear the common
law and statute law doctrine, that wrongs committed
abroad may be righted at home, and that crimes
committed against Englishmen, though beyond the
Queen's dominions, may be punished by her Majesty's
Courts. It is impossible to doubt, in the face of so
many proofs, that the authority of a law personally dis-
qualifying any individual or any family from the
indi-
vidual of any particular act, must attend the
or family wheresoever he should go. That this was
the conviction of the framers of the Act of 1772 is quite
clear ; for if they had regarded the authority of the Legis-
lature as merely local, they would have spared them-
selves the trouble of a law which any couple could evade
at any moment by merely crossing the Channel. We
fear, therefore that Sir Augustus D'Este has little to
expect from his petition; and we certainly regret the
individual case, because we believe that the individual
hardship falls upon an amiable and honourable man.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
HOUSE OF LORDS, May 23.
TILE DIALED= OF SUSSEX.

(Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday,)
Sir THOMAS WILDE concluded his opening speech at
half-past three o'clock, by submitting to their Lordships that
Sir Augustus D'Este had made out his claim to the dukedom
of Sussex. As soon as the Learned Counsel had finished his
speech the further consideration of the case was adjourned
sine die.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
(YESTERDAY.)
CLERKEIV IVELL.

Three Italian boys, named Angel, Sarti, Andrea Tam-
burini, and Guiseppe Con.Farini, were brought before the
Magistrate, under the following circumstances.
The ages of the boys were 17, 15, and 14. Ndhing
could exceed the squalid misery of their appearance.
Sarti seemed very unwell.
Mr. E. Ford, landlord of the Old Mark's Head, Cross-
street, Islington, came forward and stated, that on the
previous day he saw Sarti lying on the footway in Cross-
street, with his organ beside him. The poor lad was so
ill that it was feared he would die there. Ho had him

removed to his own house. Mrs. Ford administered

some cordials to him, and after a little time he became
considerably better, and police-constable, 107 N, removed
him to the Islington Workhouse. The attendance of
Dr. Temple, the parochial physician, was instantly ob-
tained, and he, after a careful examination, gave it as his
opinion, that want of food was the cause of the boy's de-
bilitated condition. The boy himself, on being interro-
gated, stated that he had not eaten a morsel of food for
the preceding two days, except a dry crust which his
master gave him on that morning when going out with
the organ.
Lu2iori, an Italian, acted as interpreter.
Mr. GREENWOOD elicited from Sarti, that his master,
Francis Ragahi, lived at 37, Saffron-hill, and kept
twelve other Italian boys, whom he sent out with organs.
Ragahi had brought Lam from Italy, through France,
into this country, about three weeks ago. He was a na-
tive of Parma, whence Ragahi had taken him, with a
number of others. The doctor at the workhouse had or-
dered him beef tea, and he now felt better.
The two other boys, who were acquaintances of
Sara's, when questioned said they earned a livelihood
in the street—the one boy exhibiting a hedge-hog, and
the other by grinding a wretched barrel organ—one of
them was a native of Genoa, the other of Vicenza.
Mr. Ford inquired if this system of entrapping those
poor little Italian boys could not be put down. He would
be most anxious to lend all his humble aid to suppress it.
Mr. GREENWOOD said the miseries which the system
entailed were lamentable, but there were great and pecu-
liar difficulties to be contended with in putting it down.
Mr. Ford said he understood that a society had been
established for the protection of these poor Italian chil-
dren, and he should certainly lay this case before it, and
call a meeting for the purpose.
Mr. GREENWOOD observed that Mr. Ford's conduct on
this occasion entitled him to tho gratitude of the public.
The'Magistrate then directed the boy to be brought be-
fore him on the following morning, when some of the
parochial authorities of Islington would be in attend-
ance. Meantime the boy might remain at the work-
house. The parties then left the court.
QUEEN-SQUARE.

Harriet Eleanor Pelham, an elderly female, and Nel-
son Pelham, her son, were placed at the bar before Mr.
Burrell for further examination, on the charge of con-
fining Nelson Pelham' a lunatic. The case, which was
fully reported in The Sun of Monday, has created con-
siderable sensation in Chelsea.

I The Court was crowded by respectable-looking per-
sons, who evinced considerable interest in the proceed-
ings. Several of the parochial authorities of Chelsea,
and Mr. Loveland, a solicitor, attended to conduct the
case on the part of the parish. Mr. Steele, a solicitor,
appeared on behalf of the accused parties.
Mr. Loveland said the parish authorities had taken up
the matter on public grounds.
Several policemen were examined, who gave nearly a
repetition of the evidence taken on Saturday, as to the
filthy state of the room in which the poor creature was
immured. •

Further evidence was adduced, which merely corro-
borated the statements of the policemen. One witness
said the room was like a pigeon-house which had not
been cleaned out for }'ears. Another witness, whose
garden is at the back of the house, said that he had for
many years past heard the most discordant noises issuing
from the room in question, such aslaughing and singing;
at other- times, an unmeaning kind of noise, as if some
person were calling after another ; and sometimes as if
the unfortunate inmate were suffering severe bodily pain.
Some time ago a light had been placed at night on the
outside of the window, the glass of which was so dis-
coloured that no one could see through it, but after a
while it was discontinued. Having children of his own,
he had often been awoke in the night, when he had
sometimes heard the cries of the unfortunate lunatic.
His conduct
rin
.the workhouse had been cleanly.
Henry Tankes, a barber; deposed to cutting the lunatic's