The Sun.
London, England, 1844-12-10 00:00:00

same time giving him half-a-crown for that purpose.
The prisoner. mounted the animal and role oil', but
never returnfd•with it, an 1 Mr. Ladd ascertained he
had never been to the farrier at all, and that his horse
had been disposed of on the same afternoon in Smith-
field market. Yesterday morning a City policeman,
named Harrild, was accosted by the pri-oner, who
said he had committed something very wicked, and
on Harrild inquiring the nature of his transgression,
he said he had stolen his master's horse, and sold it
in Smithfield for 1/. 195., which he had since spent.
The prisoner; who appeared labouring under much
agitation and grief, said he was a guilty man, and
that he was driven by want and a series of misfor-
tunes to commit the felony. His father had recently
died, and his business was ruined. His wife and
children fell ill, and he could not obtain work until
Mr. Ladd employed him, and gave him a bit of
victuals, but no money to purchase bread for his chil-
dren. He was guilty, but his character was good,
anti witnesses were in attendance to speak in his be-
half.--Remanded.

ALARMING FIRE IN GLASGOW.
On Friday morning, about four o'clock, a fire broke
out in the Gsllowgate, to the rear of a thatch house
adjoining Dovehill. The flames, issuing from a byre
and stable, speedily coinmunicated with the front
building, and, in a few moments, the entire premises
were enveloped in fla nes—the inmates of the gar-
rets barely escaping with their lives. A cow, in
the byre, was burned to a cinder, and the poor
people in the whole of the upper part of the
tenement—numbering four families —had nearly
every article more or less destroyed. One of the
ejected is an old man, about ninety years of age. Mr.
Robertson and the fire brigade happily prevented the
fire from communicating to the other buildings, be-
sides saving the under flats.of the front house. About
eight o'clock the same morning,.an alarm of fire arose
concerning a shop !situated in Argyle-street, near
Mitchell-street, but it was extinguished without the
assistance of the engines.— Scoteh Reformer's Gazette.

ALARMING AND DESTRUCTIVE

FIRE.

(From a Correspondent of the Limerick Reporter.)
KILKUSH, DEc. 4.—on Monday night, between
the hours of eight and nine o'clock, an alarming fire,
which threatened the most disastrous results, broke
out in the:premises of Mr. P. M'Mahon, of this town,
woollendraper, supposed to haveoriginated in the snuff
of a candle causing some papers to ignite in the shop.
The proprietor, who had retired to his family after
the business of the day, alarmed by loud-knocking at
the door, and the cry of " Fire" from the street, where
it was first perceived by a young gentleman passing
by, attempted to effect an entrance to the scene of
conflagration by a door leading from the parlour to
the shop, but was unable to do so, his beautiful stock
being enveloped in flames.
The front door was then broken open, and such
was the violence of the devouring element, that many
supposed it could not possibly be got under ; how-
ever, much to the credit of those present, no effort
which, under the circumstances, could be resorted to,
was spared by any one, and after much vigorous
exertion it was completely reduced, not though, I
regret much to add, until upwards of 7001. of unin-
sured property was destroyed.
It is to be hoped the inhabitants, who have so much
property at stake, will no longer defer taking proper
steps for being better provided against such contin-
gencies than at present. had this fire broken out a
few hours later, the consequences would have been
frightful, there being neither watchman nor fire en-
gine in the town, nor even water, the very pumps,
even the river, being inaccessible, padlocks guarding
the former. stone walls the latter—what was used on
the occasion having been got out of the different
houses throughout the neighhotirhood.
Those most interested would do well to convene
their fellow-townsmen and take into their most serious
consideration the necessity of not leaving an entire
town in such an unprovided state.

LOVESUIT TRAGEDY.
(From the Preston Guardian.)
On last Sunday. evening a very melancholy and
unfortunate fatal accident occurred to a young
woman, belonging to this town, under circumstances so
peculiar
sgo as to
Thehave
screated f
tn quitee t r
aa sen-
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am
andong aafflc
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was at the canal, almost immediately beneath the
Maudland-bridge. The young woman was the
daughter of James Brown, a labouring man, residing
in Bolton-street, and had been brought up at one of
the factories in town. She was scarcely eighteen
years of age. During the last few months her com-
pany and affections were courted by a factory lad,
named Richard Talbot, and the most unblemished
terms of intercourse and attachment existed between
them. Talbot resides in a lodging-house kept by
Mrs. Rigby, of No. 9, Mount Pleasant ; and on the
Sunday evenings the two young persons were in the
habit of meeting together in that house, and she was
escorted home afterwards by her lover. Last Sunday
evening they met at Mrs. Rigby's as usual, where
they remained together about two hours, or until
eight o'clock, and during this time the best terms of
attachment and affection were manifested. After ex-
changing some frolicsome words, the young persons
left the house on their way to Bolton-street, the re-
sidence of her father. The most secluded way to the
young woman's home from Mount Pleasant is along
the towing-path of the canal. The night was un-
usually dark, so much so that people could scarcely
discern one another. In consequence of wet weather
many parts of the towing path are very dirty and
slippery; and in proceeding along it the young
woman, to evade these muddy places, occasionally
walked upon the narrow ledge of stone at the edge
of the water. Talbot went along on the opposite
side of the towing-path. When they were a few
yards beyond the bridge he heard a plunge—
her foot had slipped on the stones, and she was strug-
gling in the water. Talbot's presence of mind seemed
to have fled from him instantaneously, as he merely
stood gazing upon the catastrophe, and crying for as-
sistance. The first person who reached the spot was
a weaver named Sumner, who' had been alarmed by
the cry of " Help!" Talbot was at this time in the
greatest agony, and, after a short consultation with
Sumner, who also declined going into the water, he
ran 'off to acquaint her parents with the circumstance,
and bring other people to assist in rescuing her.
After the lapse of some minute:, a number of
people arrived, but a striking indifference or cow-
ardice seemed to prevail. Sumner declared he saw
the body of the female in the canal ; and another
weaver, named Walsh (who might, in some mea-
sure, he excused on account of his advanced
years), acknowledges that he stayed on the bridge
asking questions until a light was procured; and
even the father of the young woman, when he arrived,
lost his self-resolution, and merely commenced
accusing Talbot of being the cause of his daughter's
death. One attempt was made by an individual to
rescue her by wading in the canal, but this failed ;
and at last, after the lapse of about three-quarters of
an hour, grappling irons were procured, two police
officers having reached the place, and the body was
taken out. And so, the girl was suffered to drown in
about six feet of water ! Talbot was immediately
apprehended by one of the officers on account of the
accusation of the father of the deceased. It was
found, on the body being taken home, that life was
totally extinct. A medical gentleman was sent for
and means were taken to restore life, but to no
effect.
Next day, various calumnious rumours were cir-
culated by idle people respecting the conduct of
Talbot, and it was also noised abroad that the unfor-
tunate girl was pregnant. All these turned out to
be totally unfounded. The deceased was a young
woman of excellent character, and belonged to the
Roman Catholic communion ; and Talbot is a very
harmless and inoffensive lad, and bears a good cha-
racter also. In the course of the day, the street op-
posite the Town-hall was crowded by people anxious
to know the result of an examination of Talbot. To-
ward& evening, in consequence of an inquisition upon
the body of the deceased taking place, the crowd in-
creased, and the doors of the Town-hall being thrown
open, it was speedily filled to excess.
It is rather a singular coincidence that a brother
of the deceased young woman was drowned at the
same place on the 28th of October, 1838. He was
only six years of age, and had accidentally over-
balanced himself. It is believed that this accident oc-
curred at precisely the same spot, by those who can
recollect the circumstance.
R. Palmer, Esq., our respected coroner, held the
inquest on the ody, at the Town-hall, at four
o clock in the afternoon. The jury having been
sworn, they proceeded to view the body at the house,
and, after hearing the evidence, returned a verdict of
"Accidentally drowned."
The remains of the young woman were quietly and
decently interred in the burying-ground belonging to
St. Wilfrid's Church, on Tuesday. A number of
people, principally acquaintances and relatives of the
deceased, were present on the occasion. Her lament-
ing suitor formed one of the mourners.

THB WEATHER.—A decided change has taken place
in the weather since Tuesday last. Previous to that we
had a succession of fine mild days, but on Wednesday a
keen frost set in, which still continues with unabated
severity. The thermometer has been ranging from 25
to 30 degrees. The hills and fields are covered with
hoar frost as with a mantle of snow, and all the shallow
brooks and ponds are, of course, completely frozen over.
It is almost needless to say that in such weather the
condition of the ill-fed and poorly clad portion of our
population cannot be otherwise than miserable.-Bcots-
man of Saturday.

Taa BAPTISTB.—Last evening the Right Hon.
Lord Tcynhant preached at the Baptist's Chapel, Myr-
tle-street, to a numerous and respectable congregation.
His Lordship has been some months in Ireland, and is
Low on his way from Dublin to London.—Liverpool Al-
bion of Monday.

SIR R. PEEL AriD HIS FRIENDS.

The following ie an extract from Mr. Ferraod's
speech, made a few days since to his constituents at
Knaresborough. No Whig was ever so violent
ag4inst a Tory, 5s the Tory Ferranti is against Peel
arid Graham. Our readers, however, will see that
Mr. Ferrand occasionally draws a long bow :
"It is now my duty to give you a slight sketch of
the proceedings of the present Government dur-
ing the three years in which they have held
office. They commenced by passing an income-
tax In time of peace, which tax was to last
for three years. I, for one, at that time, and under
the pledge from Sir Robert Peel that it should only
last for three years—under the peculiar circumstances
and the dangerous state of the financial affairs of the
country, gave his proposition my hearty support.
After they had obtained sufficient ballast to right the
vessel of state by the aid of this tax, Sir R. Peel
proceeded to bring forward his great measures which
were to restore the nation once more to prosperity.
lie first of all brought forward his new corn-law,
and in so doing he made speeches by the hour, in
which he quoted figures and made calculations
to convince the ;agricultural interest in the
Commons that his new sliding-scale would
give a protection to agriculture to the ex-
tent of keeping wheat at the average price of 58s.
per quarter. When I appeared before you at the last
general election, I told you that I would not pledge
my support to the then existing corn-law, but that if
any measure were brought forward by Sir R. Peel
which would give more satisfaction to the country,
and at the same time secure that protection to the
agricultural interest which they had a right to de-
mand, I would give that measure my support. Sir
R. Peel, having declared in the most solemn manner
that his corn-law would give that protection, I con-
sidered he had a right to require my support, and I
therefore voted for it.—(Hear.) But he had scarcely
got rid of his corn-law, when he introduced into the
House what he called his tariff—a measure, in my
opinion, which could only have been brought forward
by either a lunatic or a traitor.—(Laughter.) What
was the next mad step of which they have been
guilty ? They have legalised the exportation of
machinery. England, which possessed the best
and the most perfect machinery in the world,
has in this, the hour of peril, given it to foreigners
for the purpose of destroying us.—(Loud cheers.)
Their next step was to enforce the new poor-law with
greater tyranny, oppression, and cold-blooded cruelty
than ever the Whigs were guilty of. In their reign
of office, the daily papers were never filled with
such details of cruelty and oppression of the poor as
is daily the case now. No; although they carried
the measure, and attempted to enforce it, they did it
with justice tempered with mercy in comparison with
the rule of the present Government.—(Cheers.) I
have told you, gentlemen, how the Government
robbed the factory-workers of the Ten Hours' Bill,
after a majority of the House of Commons had voted
for it. Sir R. Peel is the most unconstitutional
Minister that ever held the reins of Government in
England.—(Cheers.) Twice in one year has: he
made the House of Commons eat its own solemnly
recorded opinions; twice in one session, at his
bidding, have the representatives of the people
forsaken their duty to their constituents and the
country. It rests with the constituencies of Eng-
land to drag these men to the bar of public
opinion, to make them appear before them—to drag
them into their presence, and make them prove the
rectitude of their conduct; or, if they prove the de-
linquency, to compel them to resign their seats.—
(Loud applause.) Had I been guilty of such con-
duct I never would have shown my face here again ;
had I been the base tool of a degraded Minister, who
held the reins of Government, I should not have been
before you this day. But, gentlemen, believe me
when I tell you that I would sooner have forfeited
my head than have thus sold the rights of my country-
men.—(Great cheering.) From the hour that the
House of Commons thus degraded itself, it lost its
hold of public opinion—it lost its dignity amongst the
nations of the earth.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.)
Gentlemen, Sir R. Peel, when out of office, promised
to the colonies to continue that protection which they
had in justice received. But what has been his conduct
with regard to the 'West India colonies ? He has
withdrawn the protection of Government from them,
and by doing so has encouraged the production of
slave-grown sugar. England paid 20,000,000/. for
the emancipation of the slaves ; Sir R. Peel has
now, by carrying out his free trade measures, once
more given encouragement to the slaveowners of
sugar-producing countries. (Hear, hear.) But
what has been his conduct to the agricultural inte-
rest ? When he brought forward his Corn-law Bill
he gave the House of Commons to understand that it
was to be a final measure; not one word was then
whispered of the Canada Corn Bill, although the
Government had at that moment determined, after
having clinched the agricultural interest under the
Corn-law Bill, to cram the second measure down
their throats. Lord Stanley brought forward the
measure, and his speech contained such a tissue of
misstatements as were scarcely ever made by a Mi-
nister of the Crown in one speech. I need not give
the statistical accounts of the results of his Canada
Corn Bill ; suffice it, that these two measures have
chiefly aided in producing the following results :
Yesterday, in Knaresborough market wheat sold at
403. per quarter, the weight being 36 stone 41b., or 18
stone 21b. to the sack. That is the result of Sir Ro-
bert Peel's protection to agriculture ! I say, gentle-
men, they have sacrificed the British farmer for one
year of reckless competition in trade ; for what do we
find in Bradford ? Why, that there are no fewer than
10,000 power-looms standing idle, which a month ago
were in full work ; many mills have commenced run-
ning four days a-week, and others are not fully em-
ployed; hundreds of combers are either out of
employment altogether, or have only half work,
the unmarried men being sent without work,
whilst those who are married have work given
them according to the extent of their family ;
and these poor men can earn no snore than
ss. or 6s. a-week. This is the melancholy pro-
spect which is staring them in the face for the ensu•
ing winter, and this is the certain result which will
continue to follow Sir Robert Peel's mad career of
legislation. But more fatal still will be its conse-
quences, and as sure as I have the honour of address-
ing you to-day we may look forward with dismay as
to the future events which will happen to our country.
—(Hear, hear.) But, gentlemen, reverting to Ire-
land, what has been Sir Robert Peel's policy ? tie
has allowed Mr. O'Connell to gather vast assemblages
in public meetings; he allowed him to parade the is-
land from one end to another like a triumphant con-
queror, setting the laws of the land and the Govern-

menti of the country at defiance.—(Cries of • No,'
from the Roman Catholic priest.) He did this ; and
O'Connell was allowed to go on until he was on the
point of attending the last public meeting which he had
convened, when the Government, at the eleventh hour,
interfered ; the prosecution of O'Connell followed;
he was convicted of conspiring against the Govern-
ment; and what was the treatment which he did re-
ceive compared with what he ought to have received ?
The laws of our country know no distinction between
the peasant and the peer in cases of violation of those
laws. But how was O'Connell treated ? He was sent
to what is called a prison, where he lived at his ease in
the style of a country gentleman, holding daily levees,
his whole time being spent in feasting instead of fast-
ing.—(Laughter and cheers.) Instead of having prison
fare dealt out to him, as he ought to have had, he was
treated in such a manner as convicted conspirator
never was before. He happens to be the head of a
strong party, and has numerous friends in the
House of Commons, and the Conservative Govern-
ment quailed before him and them, and failed to do
their duty. But how was Mr. O'Connor treated in
York Castle?—(hear, and cheers.) Was he a
worse convicted conspirator than O'Connell ? No. He
never attempted to set the laws at defiance to the extent
of a one hundredth part so far as O'Connell had done ;
and was any mercy shown to him ? No. He had
the cell of a conspirator ; he went through all the
prison hardships and fare, and it was a disgrace to the
Conservative Government thus to deal with a man
who had been convicted as O'Connell had been. Until
O'Connor and O'Connell are punished alike, let us
not talk about equal justice. Now, then, gentlemen,
in closing my address, I will just allude to your pro-
spects ; and I do not hesitate to tell you it is my firm
conviction that there is nothing but ruin for the pre-
sent race of British farmers.—(A Voice, Landlords,
you mean.' Mr. Ferrand, If you will stop, I will
tell you all about the landlords.') If the farmers will
take my advice they will well weigh the prospects
which are before them; they will meet their land-
lords, and tell them that up to the last dissolu-
tion of Parliament th^v had sailed with them in the
same boat, that the farmers had stood their true

friends, and had returned them a majority to the
House of Commons; but that when they had got
there they had sold their interests, and now, being
brought to the brink of ruin, they called on the land-
lords, as their professed friends, to prove the sincerity
of their pledge; for as sure, gentlemen, as we stand
here to-day, the present race of farmers will be
ruined, and one-half the land in England will in ten
years change hands, unless Sir Robert Peel is driven
from office, and that protection to agriculture is re-
stored which it has ever received since England bci-

came a mighty nation.—(Hear, and cheers.) lam
glad to find that Sir Robert Peel has a slight
particle of conscience left. During the last autumn
ke attended the Tamworth agricultural dinner,
of which society he is the president; he certainly
hung his ears and looked foolish. He could not
tell what to say, under the peculiar circumstances
and difficulties in which he was placed, but
having mumbled out a higgling and haggling'
speech of ten minutes, he gave the farmers
a Consolation, and showed his desire to support agri-
culture by promising to keep for them a bull.—
(Laughter.) This year Sir Robert Peel did not dare