The Sun.
London, England, 1826-07-28 00:00:00

LiTERATURE.

MECHANICS' MAGAZINE.—I have the
pleasure of informing my Readers and Correspondents that
on the heariAg of this day of the application at the instance of
the Assignees of Knight and Lacey, to restrain me from cantina-
lag the genuine series of this Work, His Honour the Vice CHAN-
CTI.LOII was pleased to refuse the same, and to express his strong
disapprobation of the attempt of these Assignees to infringe my
copyright, and impose a spurious rival work under a similar title
on the Public. The publication of the genuine Eerier is therefore
resumed by ➢iessrs. Huwx and etattxx, 38, Tavistock-street,
and will be continued regularly without any farther interruption.
27th. July, 18116. J. C. ROBERTSON.

All the numbers of the genuine series since No. 145, u also
the genuine Preface, Titles, and Index to vol. V. are on sale at
Messrs. Hunt and Clarke's.

No. 152, for last week, and No. 158, for this week, are like-
wise now ready.

CORNWALL AND DEVONSHIRE MINING

COMPANY.

Yesterday a meeting of the shareholders in this com-
pany took place at the -King's Head 'Tavern, in the. Poul-
try, for the purpose of resolving upon some course in the
desperate state of their affairs.
Roe, Esq. in the chair.
Mr. William Clark addressed r the meeting. He had,
he said, ascertained the correctness of what he had men-
tioned on Thursday last, with respect to the conduct of
Mr. Wilks' jun., in regard to this company.
A Shareholder.—ls that Mr. John Wilke, to whom you
allude, the member for Sudbury ? (Cries df "Yes, yes ')
Mr. Clark stated, that the company had merely to do
with Mr. Wilke as its solicitor. If he were to take the
statement which had been made upon the, former occa-1
sions for his guide, he would contend that there were suf-
fieient grounds to warrant the conclusion that the whole
scheme was one system of fraud and delusion from the be-
ginning, but he had come to the knowledge of facts that
would astonish the , meeting. It had been asked at the
former meeting, how much had been given by Mr, Wilke
for the mines which he purchased, which question Mr.
Wilke refused to answer. He (Mr. Clark) would now
read to them the sums agreed to be given by Mr. Wilke
for each.
Promised by Mr Wilke to the Pro- Charged by Mr. Willi
prietors of the Mines. to the Company at
Wheal. Abraham and Drymm ..11'8,0110
Wheal Boulton - - 17,500 - 25,000
Wheal Nancy - - - 4,500 - 8,000
Wheal Fanny - - 9,500 - 12,500
Whealqranver,Oatfield,&Chanca 20,000
Wheal Wellington - - 4,000
Grist Wheal Fortune - 6,500
Wheal Barnard - - 7,000
West Wheal Vor - -

£79,500 £121,000
making in the whole the sum of 79,5001., or thereabout,
for which Mr. Wilks had charged 121,0001., thus putting
at once into his pocket, or into the pockets of those with
whom he acted, and himself, no less a sum thin 41,500/,
and which mines, if sold now, would not fetch more than
35,0001., although upWards of '16,0004 bad since been ex-
pended upon them beyond the produce of the mines. The
scheme had been perfected at a meeting of Mr. Wilks and
some of his friends at the Albion Tavern, when the plan
of the company was Concocted. A self-elected deputation
of six gentlemen. then proceeded down to Corn Wall, at a
great expence, to the company, to inspect the mines,
namely, Mr. Peter Moore, Mr. W. Kershaw, Mr. John
Wilk:, jun., Mr. Wtn. Came, jun., Mr. Wm. Reynolds,
and Mr. Thornas Teague; and in the month of July a
printed report of their proceedings was published, and
sent round to each of the shareholders. It was curious to
observe that some of the names attached to the report
were the proprietors of the, mines who sold them to Mr.
Wilks; for instance, Mr. Teague and Captain A. Vivian
sold 5-7tha of the whole; Mr. Came was part proprietor
of one mine, and is a director of the company as
well u Mr. Teague; and Mr. John Hewitt sold another.
Even the subordinate agents, whose names and opinions
are introduced into the report, are the immediate depend-1
ents of Mr. Teague and the other parties intrusted.
Mr. Clark assured the meeting that the whole of his in-
formation was derived from sources that could be relied
upon, and had the meeting been so , constituted that they
could have bad the advantage of the noble Lord (Palmer-
ston) in the Chair, and the attendance of Mr. Wilks and
those connected with him, he (Mr. Clark) would have
called for such documents as would have proved the facts
as it were from their own mouths. To show the accuracy
of his information, he would read to them the heads of the
agreement for one of the properties as an example of the
whole.—(The agreement was here read.)—The agree-
ments, therefore, are for leases instead of 'freeholds, and
are dated the 26th of April, although the prospectus
stated the mines to have been purchased prior to the 7th
Of April.
Mr. Clark next adverted to the manner in which the
shires had been issued to the public. Upon their first com-
ing nut, Which was on the 16th of April, only 200 had
been paid upon, as appears by the banker's book. Mr.
Wilks, on the same day, gave orders for the purchase of
80 shares in the market, and afterwards 920 other shares,
to be delivered on the 20th Of the month ; thus pur-
chasing what he lmew could not possibly be delivered by
the sellers; and by that and such like means was enabled
to force upon_, the public 5,383 of the 10,000 shares of
which the company 'ti stock was to consist, to the great
injury of those who were thus entrapped. The. purchase-
money and loss upon these shares Mr. Wilks charged to
the company, amounting to 0,198/. 155., diminishing the
shares out to 4,383. Mr. Wilks was not content with up.
propriatiug so vast a sum, the property of the company; he
made further calls, and then threatened to render forfeit all
the shares of those who refused to sign the deed of settlement.
The formidable conduct of this sentleman was still further
manifested, in the fact. of his having brought actions
against Mr. Kershaw and the Directors, ft* the enormous
sum of 67,0001., under the pretence of completing the
purchase money. Mr... Clarke then entered into a detail
to show that Mr. Wilke, and those who co-operated with
ham, mines, and determined to
imut ,akfincetwitiothues rvitealluevaulupoen- othf tehme,
and
to
deceive
the
share-
holders who placed con4dence in the respectable names to
be found in the list of Directors. Mr, Wilks possessed at
One time no less than two thousand shares,
Prospectus stated that no person although the
200. V b • one occasion,
port being_ reminded of this upon ,
should hold more am
when h
're' spoke of the immense stake he had in the Com-
pany by holding .
very well, then, . 200 shares let it be if you choose, either
2,000 shares, he said carelessly, Oh,
200 or 2,000.” It was palpable that he determined to
act upon this system
of abominable deception as long as
he could.
The Chairman
observe ()) that Mr. Wilke held the deed
and all the papers which referred to. the mines, and if
things were to go on
the mines would revert to to
as they, had proceeded for some time,
o
Mr. Clark said that Lord Palms°rnal -AHon. Mr.
ho had becomerston dpi id the
been signed, were wholly blameless.
proprieors.
Sullivan,,o)ireetors since the deed had
be '
The were
now to come to a determiruttion, whether meeting
they were to b-
mit to the robbery, or whether they. should proceed to re-
cover what they had lost by legal means , an a
endeavour to

have the satisfaction of seeing the guilty parties brought to
the Old Bailey.—(Great applause.)
Mr. Newman (a Director) said he attended the meeting
for the purpose of declaring that be had nothing to do with
the transactions referred to. He certainly had allowed his
name to be used in the direction, because he had the
utmost reliance upon the honour of those whose names
had been already in the list.--(Applause.)
Mr. Kershaw (one of the Directors) at this moment en-
tered the room, and
Mr. Clark called upon him to state what had taken
place between him and Mr. Wilke.
Mr. Kershaw, who appeared to be in great agitation,
and shed tears during his address, declared that he consi-
dered his acquaintance, with Mr. \Vilks the greatest curse
of his life; but. he had been deceived by seeing that per-
son in company with Lord Palmerston and other men of
character. He considered that the manner in which the
company was conducted was the most foul and disgrace-
ful. He was one of those who had met at the Albion
Tavern, and he lamented to say that he got money there.
Upon one occasion he received 400/., and upon another
between 400/, and 5004 He told Mr. Wilks that he
could not keep the money, as he did not consider himself
entitled to it; mid the reply was that he might hold it as
a loan. He went round, after .having narrowly watched
the conduct of Mr. Wilke, and cautioned the Directors
about him.

The Chairman—Did you retain the 400/. %
Mr. Kershaw.—l do retain it and the other sum; and I
am ready to hand over every farthing I have received to
you.—(Loud applituipa
Mr. Clark.-Tplt is lamotable that robbery should be
made a stepping-stone to a seat in Parliament ; but we will
endeavour to purge Parliament of the disgrace.—(Loud
cheers.).

Mr. Kershaw.--I have acted wrong, but not intention-
ally. lam willing to make all the reparation in my power.
The money I received is at your command. Every mo-
ment of my life has been imbittered since I received it,
but that man exercised an uncontrollable influence over me.
A Committee was then formed to determine on the best
mode of proceeding for the recovery of the property of the
shareholders, and the punishment of the parties accused of
the conspiracy.

A few days since a number of respectable inhabi-
tants met for the purpose of "cousidering the practicability of open-
ing a new road from St. Margaret's-hill, in the Borough, to the
Southwark Bridge-road. A view was taken of the ground, when
it appeared that by taking down one or two houses at the end of
Castle-street, an opening might be made close upon the Town-
hall, and an excellent line of communication be formed to the
Southwark Bridge-road. This would, from many points!, occa-
sion a saving of more than a quarter of a milts in distance, and
greatly relieve St. Margaret's-hill, and some other crowdsj tho-
roughfares. This, it was estimated, might he done at an expence
not exceeding 5,000!., and the rental in the line of improvement
he increased by double that amount. The plan, appeared to be
adopted with great spirit, and as it does not appear likely to need
any great advance of money, it will probablyjie carried into ef-
feet. It is intended to take measures for bringing a Bill into
Parliament on the subject next session. All thmV. ':who are ob-
liged to pass through some parts of the Boroughaelincrwledge that
the greatest and most desirable improvement would be, to make
some of thelargi.furnaces there, which vomit forth soot in such
abundance on all around, consume their own smoke. St. Saviour's
church the presents a curious spectacle—a portion of it is beau-
tifully restofed, whilst the great body of it is still allowed to re-
main in a state of ruin and rapid *ay, The ancient spiritual
court is without windows, and exposed to ti:e effects of wind
and rain.

MEETING AT KENDAL 'FOIL THE RELIEF OF THE
POOR.—In consequence of the exhausted state of the funds some
time ago raised for the relief of the neceasitdus poor of this town,
a public meeting was held on Friday, in the Town-hall, for the
purpose of considering the best means of giving support or em-
ployment to those now out of work. The meeting was but very
thinly, though most respectably attended ; the Mayor in the chair.
It was stated by the Secretary appointed at the last meeting, that
there had been expended for the relief of the poor 632/. 163. ;
of which sum 4821. had been laid out in oatmeal and potatoes ;
1501. in wages for breaking stones, and 10/. is. for hemmers ;
that 4911. had been received in subscriptions; and that conse-
quently there was a balance due to the committee of 151/. Ss. ;
to cover which, however, they bad the whole of the stones that
had been broken. The committee, it was stated, had found great
difficulty in disposing of the stones ; they had applied to some
persons in Lancashire accustomed to purchase such things, but
the answer was, they would rather buy them unbrokeni for they
were wanted to employ their own poor upon. Until within the
last month, relief had been given in oatmeal and potatoes, but
since that time the money had been expended by giving the poor
employment in breaking stones ; and it was mentioned by one of,
the gentlemen of the committee, as a fact highly creditable to the
poor, that though unaccustomed to such labour, they had moat
cheerfully undertaken it. There are now about 150 persons em-
ployed in breaking stones, who cannot find any other labour.
Two plans of givieg relief were proposed to the meeting t the
first was to enter into a subscxiption to purchase provisions and
other necessaries for them ; the other was, to collect subscrip-
tions, which should be considered in the nature of a loan, to be
laid out in giving employment in breaking stones, and returned
when the stones should be sold—the subscribers bearing their
share of any loss that might be sustained. The second proposition
was adopted ; and a resolution was moved and carried, to the ef-
fect that subscriptions should be immediately entered into, for the
purpose of employing the poor in breaking stones, the atones to
he afterwards sold for the repayment of the subscriptions. A
very liberal subscription was entered into in the room. Mr. W.
Wilson, of Netherfiehl, stated, that a gentleman had told him on
the preceding day, that he would advance 50/., subject to the
profit or loss upon the breakage of stones, and he had no doubt
the gentleman would be as good as his word. It was generally
agreed, that it would be necessary to call another meeting soon,
for that the present measure could only be considered as tempo-
rary.—Kendal Chronicle.

UORONER's INQUEST.—On Monday afternoon a
Coroner's Inquest was held at the Artichoke, William-street, on
view of the body of John Reason, many years a vender of periodi-
cal' publications in this town. It appeared from the evidence
that the deceased had hung himself on the preceding morning
with a silk handkerchief, fastened to a ring in the back-doer of
his own house, 1, Woburn-place. On Sunday morning, about
nine o'clock, the deceased's wife ran into a neighbour's house, and
asked for a knife, but the people not instantly understanding what
she meant, she caught up a knife from the tea table, and ran back
into her own house, crying for help. A young man followed
her to the place where the body WU hanging, and held it while
she cut it down, when they found that the body was not quite
cold in all parts. Medial assistance was immediately 1„.„1„.4
but it was too late to be of ass, life being totally extinct. The
deceased was seen standing at his own door about seven o'clock
On Sunday morning, and then appeared perfectly in his senses,
and returned the nod a person gave him. On the preceding Fri-
day morning the deceased and Mr. Isted, covekeeper, went into
the yard of the latter, where there *as a carpenter at work, to
whom Isted said, jestingly, " My friend Reason wants you to
make him a suit," (meaning a coffin) and the deceased agreeing
to it, the eolpenter, also in rye, said he Would measure him,
which he actually Sid. The deceased then went away, but re-
turned again the same afternoon, and called the carpenter from
his worlc, saying, "You will soon have the job." The deceased
complained of severe pains in the back part of his head, and ap-
peared then to be very much dejected. It was reported, we know
not how truly, that the deceased had attempted to destroy him-
self before while labouring under a temporary derangement._
.Brighton Gazette.

11
El PERVESCINGPOWDERS.---A Clergyman calling
to enquire after a fanner in his pariah, who was very
ill, was told by his wife and nurse, 44 that he was as
bad as a man could be, for his powders were given to
him boiling hot I"