The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-01 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE.

The genera! condition of business is satisfactory,
and if restricted during the past week, it may be
fairly attributed to the many internal engagements
which merchants and dealers find to withdraw their
attention at the close of the year from business out of
doors.

The accounts from India are not considered of that
favourable character that we could have wished; there
is, indeed, no cause for actual discouragement, but
it is evident that shipments from England more
than keep pace with the demands of the Indian
population, and stocks of British goods were
consequently accumulating. The English manu-
facturers must, therefore, tease to extend their opera-
tions as they have done latterly, or it is absolutely
necessary that new markets shduld be opened to take
off their productions ; for amongst the English
e4;looies there can Le none more capable of having
their commerce extended, and 'their consumption—of
cotton goods especially—increased, than the thickly-
peopled districts of India. One gratifying fact is
established by those accounts, and that is, the cer-
tainty of an immense production, and consequent low
price ind;go. This i 4 an important matter, and
cannot fail to be of great advantage to the manufac-
turing interest, especially in the woollen districts.
From America we have no news of importance.
The President's Message is looked upon with seem-
ing indifference. As usual, it says but little that can
influence commerce, and no mention whatever is
made of the repudiation of state debts ; and this omis-
sion is causing increased clamour and dissatisfaction
amongst-English creditors.
There has been a lively demand for cotton, at very
full, and, in some cases, rather better prices, specu-
lators continuing to support the market, whilst the
import at present is so light that the wants of the;
trade are thrown altogether on the old stock, of which
a considerable portion is in the hands of different
speculators, many of whom are now realising large
profits on purchases made three or four months ago.
—Liverpool Mercury.

MORTALITY i►► the METROPOLIS
The following are the results of " A Table of Mortality in
the Metropolis, showing the Number of Deaths from all Causes
Registered in the week ending Dec. 23, 1843." The Table is
issued from the Office of the Registrar-General:—

Total. ti
Five I Five
Autumn.
Epidemic, Endemic, & Contagious Diseases 192 183 182
Diseases of the Brain, Nerves, and Senses 140 140 148
Diseases of the Lungs, and other Organs of
Respiration ...
Diseases of the Hea-t and Blood-vessels
Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other

Weekly
Average
I 635-9-40- -2

CAUSES OF DEATH.

Organs of Digestion
Diseases of the Kidneys, &c 6 5 5
Childbed, Diseases of the Uterus, &c l5 10 9
Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles 4 6 6
Diseases of the Skin, &c 1 1 1
Diseases of Uncertain Seat 92 106 105
Ot.d Age, or Natural Decay 55 69 68
Deaths by Violence, Privation, or Intern- _

perance
Causes not specified
Deaths from all causes. 968 -- -
Average Weekly Deaths 9OB 903
Population Average Death
en u- Weekly in
meratcd Deaths the
lea 15.33-9-,W-1-2. Week,
r--"-----1
Five Five
Ye .rs.ll Autumps.

MSIIIII-I's.

Wed—Kensington, St. George
( Hanover-square), Westmin-
ster,St. Martin in the Fields,

St. James .

300,705 135 130 126
_

North—St. Mary-le-bone, St.
Pancras, Islington, Hackney 365,66 G 162 162 185
Central—Saint Giles and Saint
George, Strand, Clerkenwell,
Holborn, St. Luke, East Lou-

don, Wilt London, City of
London 373,805 184 183 194

East--Shorediteh,Whitechape ,
Bethnal Green, St. George
in the East, Stepney, Poplar 392,49; 203 206 224
South—St. Saviour, St. Olave,
St. George( Southwark ),Ber-

mon(hei, Newington. Lam-
beth, Camberwell, Bother-
hithe, Greenwich .... —438,060 219 227 239

Total 1,870,727 903 . 908 938
It is stated that under the term Metropolis are comprised the
32 districts herein mentioned, which include the City of Lon-
don with and without the walls, the City and Liberties of
Westminster, the out-parishes within the Bills *f Mortality—
and the parishes of St. Itlarylebone, St. Pancras, Kensington,
Fulham, Hammersmith( Chapelry), St. Luke (Chelsea), Pad-
dington, St. Mary (Stoke Newington), St. Leonard ( Brom-
ley), St. Mary-le-bow, Camberwell, Greenwich, St. Nicholas
and St. Paul (Deptford), and Woolwich. The population, as
enumerated in 1831, was 1,594,890, and in June 1841, was
1,870,727. The weekly average for 1838, 1839, 1840, and
1841, was obtained by dividing the deaths in the four years by
208, and the deaths in the four winters by 52.
General Register Office, Dec. 28, 1813.

WILL OF THE LATE SIR MATTHEW WOOD, BART.,
M.P.—Shortly after the death of Sir Matthew Wood a
statement purporting to be the particulars of his will
met with general circulation ; but the details presented
so anomalous an appeeranee that in Gloucester, at least,
in the neighbourhood in which he died, the opinion pre-
vailed that there must be some mistake, the apportion-
ments not being in keeping with the character of the
deceased, or with the good terms on which he stood
with every member of his family. For example, five
hundred pounds a year was said to be the allowance
of Lady Wood, a sum by no means in keeping with
what followed about the carriages, horses, Sm,
having been bequeathed to her Ladyship also. Neither
was there any mention made of the manner in which Sir
Matthew's large amount of personal property was to be
divided. The following is a correct statement of the
provisions contained in the will of the deceased, and' its
publication is due to his memory :—To Lady Wood he
bequeaths an annuity of 1,5001., with the carnages,
horses, plate, furniture, wines, and pictures ; 20,000/. he
directs to be invested, and the yearly revenue to be tit•
ienrd ear fewo f hlegacies
e rat rye,
Cached to
the
he baronetcydireet the
ndrema fat
provided for,
real and personal, to be equally divided amongst Ins five
children.

- !1 -L^ !

./i~

-

LONDON:
MONDAY MORNING, JANUARY 1, 1844.

In the discussions which are now being carried on
by the Press, with reference to the affairs of Ireland
one point has been raised which appears to have ex-
cited a remarkable swell in the already turbid waters
of Irish controversy. It has been proposed to endow
the Irish Roman Catholic clergy out of the funds pro-
vided by the State. This proposition, whatever may
be its merits, is certainly no new one, it having been
mooted as long back as the time of the Union. But,
.as might be supposed, the proposition has excited a
spirit of energetic resistance on the part of manyieven
at the present premature stage of its reception. M
over, the opponents to the scheme are actuated by
various and totally distinct principles. Some, for
iastance, regard the project with displeasure, because
it appears to them to sanction Popery. Others, less
.lisposed to interfere with the religious sentiments of
5,000,000 of their fellow-subjects, object to the plan,
simply because it :recognises an Established Church,
and is, in fact, a violntion of that independence of
religious opinion which they deem best for the general
good.

We shall refrain at the present time from discussing
this branch of the question. But, in the meantime,
we would throw out for consideration, a plan for en-
dowing the Roman Catholic priesthood, which may
be effected, we think, without compromising a por-
tion of that conscientious feeling, which is likely to
be invaded by any other mode of payment, We be-.
lieve the scheme has never yet been broached. •

Any traveller who has visited Ireland, and who
has employed his opportunities to any P'arpose, must
have remarked one obvious fact, and ',hat is the ge-
nerally inferior condition of the ',ands belonging to
the Church. Ou no estates is 'cultivation at a lower
mark than those in question, now does it arise ? The
cause is chiefly this—the te.,nure upon which these
'ands
are let is of a kind r culiarly unfavourable to
the interests of agricul' Ure The Bishops' lands
which comprise,
acres, produciny 4;5,25. 31.
Webel'ieve, 'about 669,000 statute
body of men called u per annum, are let to a
zdertakers, who take them on
:.'.,aces of twenty-one, ?rears' dpration, subject to fine

~,

for renewal, which is paid annually. The lands are
again re-leased to under-tenants, and the process of
under-letting seldom ends there. 'I he fines
paid for the renewal of the leases amount
to yearly 83,6301. It will be seen that the
effect of this tenure is to leave the Middleman in per-
manent possession of a lease of twenty-one years'
duration, so long as the yearly fine is paid. It has
sometimes happened that a strong, healthy, and
moderate aged Bishop has chosen to " run his life
against the lease," that is, he has preferred refusing
the yearly payrlent upon the chance of his surviving
the term, in which case he has received a very large
sum at once in the shape of a permanent renewal fine.
The late Bishop of DERBY made such a bargain. -
But now what is the effect of this peculiar kind of
tenure ? Does it not clearly throw impediments in
the way of the improvement of the soil. Is it the
Bishop's interest to fertilise, at some considerable
cost, an estate which will descend, with all his im-
provements, to a stranger ? Is it the Middleman's
interest to lay out funds on the property ? Clearly
not, for, immediately he has done so, there is'a chance
of the Bishop's declining the annual renewal fee, and
then, at,the expiration of the term, the rental is raised
just in proportion to the amount the tenant has in-
vested in its improvement. To suppose that it is the
lower tenant's interest to do anything, is to suppose
an absurdity, and therefore it follows conclusively, that
no party is interested in the beneficial cultivation of the
land.

Can a tenure of such a kind be advantageous either
for individuals or for the Church ? Is it desirable
that 669,000 acres of good pasture and arable land
should be left to itself, with no means, no efficient
means, employed to develope its latent resources, and
this in a country where labour is cheap, and where there
is the greatest dearth of employment ? Is it not desir-
able that some: alteration should be speedily devised
whose effect may be, at the same time that it provides
employment for a now starving and ill-clad peasantry,
to furnish funds also for other useful purposes. It
shall be our purpose shortly to prove how this may be
effected.

A more careful perusal of the American PRESI-
DENT'S Message than we were on Thursday able to
spare to that document, has not only confirmed the
impressions which it originally produced in our
minds, but has satisfied us that it is as reckless an appeal
to party spirit, for the most sordid purposes of elec-
tioneering intrigue, as ever was promulgated even in
the United States. The approaching term of the
natural dissolution of Mr. TYLER'S chief magis-
tracy, and the activity of the canvass carrying on by
the friends of the more popular candidates for the va-
cant chair, seem to have inspired the PRESIDENT with
a determination to "go the whole hog" in administer-
ing to the worst passions and the blindest follies of
the Loco-foco, and other anti-British factions of the
Republic, whatever may serve to influence the one, or
gratify the other. It is really an instructive lesson,
to all who would study the grand problem of the form of
government best:adaptedto the wants and the interests
of civilised communities in the present diffusion of
moral and political intelligence—to note the ten-
dencies of electoral responsibility—a principle of un-
doubted abstract excellence,—to defeat occasionally
the great end of securing a vigorous and unbiassed
executive, which should seem to be the first and most
natural end of its application. In the "Message" be-
fore us, we have Mr. President TYLER enlisting into
the service of his own political views every topic of
national irritation that preoccupies the public mind
throughout a vast proportion of the Union, against
the rights and the authority, the character, dignity,
and power, the prosperity and influence of Great Bri-
tain. The most offensive strain of that sort of am-
gance which is best designated by the name of
" bragging," is resorted to in the allusions to Mexico;
and the ultimate "pleasure" of the United States in
regard to Texas, is intimated in a tone of menacing
assurance, which well accords with the easy-going
lawless insolence that has marked, for so many years,
the unauthorised locations of American citizens on its
territories. But there is no act, out of those many
outrages on national faith and territorial rights and
international law, which have been perpetrated within
the last seven or eight years by citizens of the United
States, which does not find, either by specific mention,
or inevitable implication, with a whole class of ana-
logous offences, an apology, a vindication, or an en-
couragement in this Message of President TYLER.
This is strong language ; but it is easy to justify it.
We have marked the several passages which bear us
out in each of these charges against it.
That part of the Message which we may designate
as the monetary portion, is the longest. In addition
to the deficiencies of revenue and income, which we
noticed on Thursday, there appears to be a deficit on
the close of the present fiscal year of other 2,000,000
dollars, arising out of appropriations already made by
Congress. What is said of the condition of the States'
currency, and of the expedients proper to be resorted
to, or already adopted, to meet the emergencies arising
out of that condition, is very clearly stated, and
evinces abundant good sense. But the inconsistent
obliviousness with which the PRESIDENT affects to
talk in lofty language of the duties of a government
in enforcing the punctual discharge of the public
debts, with its nefarious acquiescence in, and unre-
buking cognizance, of the fraudulent swindle of the
repudiating States, we have already remarked upon.
So have we, likewise, on the reiterated adjurations of
the 44 SUPREME BEING," and the invocations of
DIVINE PROVIDENCE—not in a strain of Christian
humility and pious faith, but, we are constrained to
say, in a strain of downright cant. When the late
GEORGE ROSE, Treasurer of the Navy, and one of
the most unscrupulous Tory officials that ever became
the ready tool of a Minister in this country, ventured
to make some startling averments with a boldness
which for the time silenced the incredulity of the
Opposition, GEORGE THE THIRD was accustomed to
ask his Ministers whether ROSE " had called GoD to
witness" the truth of what he had stated ? If
answered in the affirmative, the good-natured Mo-
narch would remark with an amusing air of mingled
uneasiness and shrewdness, "Then I know its a lie !"
We feel just the same suspicions of what lurks
beneath the puritanical phraseology of JOHN TYLER.
Perhaps he was striving to produce the same personal
impressions of his moral probity, among other quali-
fications for high authority, as OLIVER CROMWELL.
When OLIVER gave an account of his advancement,
he said, " I am a person that from my first employ-
ment was suddenly preferred and lifted up from lower
trusts to greater, from my first being a captain of a
troop of horse, and I did labour as well as I could to
discharge my trust, and GOD blessed me as it pleased
him." In one of the passages relative to commercial
negotiations, the PRESIDENT says, "From its origin,
the importance of the German Union has never been
lost sight of by the United States. The industry,
morality, and other valuable qualities of the German
nation have always been well known and appreciated."
Why, the " force of canting can no further go." As
if the morality of their customers formed one
millioneth of a cent in the considerations that would
weigh with a federal government which justifies
the maintenance of negro slavery in its most cruel
forms in Alabama, or Georgia, or Carolina, on the
plea that it is necessary to be retained, in order to
enable its planters—among the worst slave masters in
the world—to raise tobacco and cotton on terms suffi-
ciently cheap to command a market. Again, we find
the " CREATOR" invoked in a paragraph of maudlin
sensibility about the guilt of Mexico in continuing at
war with Texas, and turning nature's solitudes into
scenes of desolation. This from the heroes of Pen-
sicola—the exterminators of Florida—the unrelenting
destroyers of the red men, in all the countries to the west
and north-west of their own ample dominions, where-
ever they can find them. A further complaint against
Mexico is, that she has made predatory incursions,
the result of which has been to carry off certain
Texian authorities, " thus leaving crime to go un-
punished, and immorality to pass unreproved." Is
President TYLER aware of the moral condition and
social Government of the Illinois district—that
vaunted United States' Paradise—at this moment ?
What immorality is there there which is reproved ?
—what crime which is punished ? Does he know
what is at this moment the condition, civil, social, and
moral, of those vast hordes of emigrants, European
and American—British, Scotch, Irish, French, Ger-
man, Dutch,. who are "settled "—in the most mourn-
ful sense of the term—along a vast line of the banks of
the Mississippi ? We doubt whether any territory of
the whole world, inhabited by civilized men, or their
descendants, can produce the parallel of .u•h A eon-