The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-03 00:00:00

d

- LONDON, FRIDAY, MAY 3,•18i4,

•
In. the Lora', Bill was intro luco.l Lord
the m-Jre reCov...,ry of debts
In Trelend. . _
The Earl:FrrpricmAsi gave 'notice that on Tues.'
diy, he would -Move for a Commission to inquire
• what points of the country required railways.
The Duke .of WELLINGTON said, the appointment
of such a Commission, would be like-shutting the
Etal;4 door when the horse ha.:l been s.
Noasiariby presented a petition
The AUPTIIis .of
4 from the; working men of Edinburgh, praying the
Legialature• to establish better sanatory regulations
With respect to the dwellings of the poor.
• Lord CAMPBELL. supported the prayer of the pea-
' fiontand said Edinburgh was justly entitled to the
epithet of the " M:odern Athens.."
BaOy6.llAu *.l
id the inhabitants considered
thSa epithet as an insult;
and
• been still representative of had his Noble Friend
that city,
. would not
have had the support ofili3 CODSatnen in what he
. itatei.
Lord CAMPBELL then described Lord .13ii0VGIIA1t
as an Alcibiades, a Pericles, and a Demosthenes,
and the conversation (in, the Parliamentary phrase)
dropped.
Lori CAMPTInI.I. moved the committal of the Writ
of Error* Bill.
Loun CIAANCELLOII opposed it, and said, he
verily believed the Bill had been introduced solely
.. in reference to the- trials pending in Ireland.
Agri, C....9,T_Tn1104
,4uPPQrted Abe
nothing could be mota,prepostaeousigtart tittni-tiatty
should be undergoing a punishment while a Court of
Appeal was deliberating whether that punishment
ought to be inflicted. We believe every man in the
kingdom concurs with Lord COTTENIIAM, yet the
Bill was rejected without a division,

The House aijourned a.t Ilalf.intst Eight o'Clock.

In the House of Co:ornons, after a variety of pro-
c:erlings which cannot be abridged more than they
are in the Parliamentary report, Mr. WYsis asked
Sir: R. Pent, whether there would be any cibjection to
by on the table the oi_dnions of- Counsel delivered to
the Treasury relative to Arts. Union ?
Sir R. PEEL ans;Verei in the negative, and added
,that the Government had no intention of prodding
against thoze societies. The matter rested with com-
mon informers.

In answer to questions from Mr. GISDOR NE and
Lord SANDON, Mr. GLADSTON E said that in the course
of three weeks at the utmost, the resolutions proposed
by the CHANCELLOR of the ExcnEctunn fur the re-
duction of duties on certain articles would probably
be adopted by the Legislature.
In answer to a question from a Member relative
to the communication with Ireland, Sir R. PEEL
said the great object of the Government was to have
a speedy conannmication, and, taking into aecount
the reports of professional men., he preferred the line
by Holyhead.
Leave was given to bring in Bills for the reduction
of duties on glass, vinegar, and marine insurances.

The CHANCELLOR of the Excaagung obtained
leave to bring in a Bill to amend the laws relating to
savings' banks, the principal provisions of which are
to reduce the rate of interest from 21d. to 2d. per
day, to reduce the amount which any person could
invest in one year from 301. to 201., and that, when-
ever the capital and interest, should amount to 1.501-,
the interest should cease.

The House adjourned at a Quarter-past Six.

The debate in the House of Commons, on Wednesday
,night, on the motion for going into Committee on the
" Masters and Servants Bill," terminated in another
defeat of Sir R. PESCS very " powerful" Govern-
ment. By the rejection of this motion, the Bill it-
self was lost. A majority of 43, in a House of 15t
Members (exclusive of the tellers), concurred in

kicking out a measure which, in the "alter-ed shape"
or "form," as Sir JAMES GRAHAM modestly desig-
nates the reconstructive process through which it had
passed under Government manipulation, certainly
embodied the most stringent and outrageous penal
legislation:which-in sour; time been-ever pro-
ptised-te. visit silip,st.'tfie": iscitide‘a is.p.r-iiiTliipyi".l dens,
cOnseie'ntiou'slyslaelevitisatatissare is ne
imember of abt Administration,Lexcept Agir James
;irotild; h folktitea*4 4,e;*kasi'rrio.l
leinity of go ..nollotts an expeiinient On the Tights asidt
the, feelings of labourer; and servants. But in the
face of all the storm of indigestion which Mr.
THOMAS DtINCOMBE'S powerful exposition of its
enactments conjured up from all sides of the House
at so unconstitutional and ill-omened a piece of work,
Sir JAMBS persevered in pressing the House for
judgment, with that graceful pertinacity which is
sure to provide some disgrace' or disaster for
his -party once, at least, in a month. He was, as
usual, didactic and sarcastic ; rebuked opposition
Members in aTiTierrla f forbearing, half patronising;
and invoked the support of the friends of Govern-
, ment with a haughty confidence that, in spite of the
invincible affectation of his manner, was sufficiently
transparent to indicate his own assurance of succees.
Truly the ship, of which Sir RoBEIT PIM. is helms-
man, has got, in Sir JAMES, as unlucky a JoNAH as
ever was thrown overboard by those who had had
enough of his company. In her next venture amidst
breakers we may anticipate for her, one of these days,
that destiny to which the Lord of Netberby has se
marvellous a genius for conducting his friends. He is
like Captain MARYATT'S Peter Scluifter—he never
sails but a storm overtakes him, and never takes up
his berth in a craft which does not founder with all
who have been silly enough to embank with him.
The whole affair of Wednesday was an instructive
commentary on the Right Hon. Secretary of State's
mode of "doing." business. Mr. THOMAS Dos-
COSIns, in a speech meritorious alike for its clever-
ness and its temperate expression, followed np the
presentation of more than 150 petitions against the
Bill, from various parts of the country and many dis-
tricts of the metropolis, by stating the objections he
had to urge on behalf of the 2,000,000 of petitioners
whom he represented. He said that those petitioners
had truly designated the Bill as " one of the most
mtaastrous, oppressive, arbitrary, iniquitous, and
tyrannical attempts to oppress the working classes

that had ever been made." What is remarkable—

and very characteristic, looking to the subsequent in-
• terposition of .Sir JAmEs—Mr. DLINCOSIBE said that
in its. original shape the' Bill was a very good one;
that is, as Mr. MILES had brought it in, " its object
was humane and proper. If it sonthWhat in-
creased the power of the justiees, it did so fur the
purpose, of facilitating the recovery, by workmen, of.
their. wages. The 'House bad therefore passed the
Bill through-its first- stages; but it had been imposed
on by false colours and pretences." . When Mr.
Hawse, in a later stage of the.session, had asked the'
Right Hon. Secretary for some explanation as to the
alterations introduced': that functionary had replied
thit Mr. -Mum was responsible for them. Mr.
11.111..n.s stated that the Bill had been drawn up by de-
sire of the Government. Bat on Wednesday night Mr..
MI4Es .went" & far.as to say that his Bill had keen so
changedt;yGovernment that lie birnselfdid not know
his own-bantling I This is more intelligible and pre-
cis& than'J Sir JAMES GtAusit's eonfession to its pa-
ternity 'as t,o "form" only. what were the,
grounds on which Mr. Dmacesinn•ioduced the House
to, diseatd this ill-conditioned illegitiMte, whom one
• putative father -could not recognizi "and the other
shrank from ?, - . .
•
Mr. buNcoirtz. .gsye an:: oncellent summary of,
.forwer enactments on Abe points at' issue, to be found
in the sth Elizabeth, c. 4.; 20th. Gea". IL, c: ; 22d.
22 ;
.6th Geo, III.; 4th Geo. IY., c. 34;
tkqeo,lY;, c. 18 ;_ ends tit Geo. IV., 0.196 :—;
"The only legislation .hitherto had been in 'respect to
petsous hired (Or a certain term .......as to whom magistrates
were, empowered to fine' or imprison persona who:did not
&did their contract, and there had certainly been nistancaa
'of persons Who had been iinplisoned ander these cirentn-•
stances. Bat there was no instance of power having been
glien to the magistrates to send persOns to the 'House of
Correction for riegtea'-or ci..felictiOn of -duty in job or pieces
work. Now, under the present Bill, whetli*tho contract be
In writitteornbt,' when 'a malt_ engaged to make a hat or a'
pair of shoes, and did not fulfil hie work in the time agreed
upon„hemight 6e taken before a magistrate and seat to the
House of correcting for two months upon the single oath of
the employer. The' !lon. Gentleman intended that the Bill
should only affect labotirers employed in, husbandry. But as
it stbod now it would affect tli;se 'employed in facteries.
They might be itnprisoaed for two months upon the oath of.
the76)reraaa or overseer, it' they were only five minutes too.
late."

Mr. }lrate forcibly remarked that "this Bill wag
altogether ft new I?ill'from thltt which wits originally
introdneed by the Hop. Mentber for 9ornersetshire.
Several elausei in the original print of thig
whieli would hitvegiven relief-to the working classes,
were -now ornitled froin it." •

.• Sir J./.1%1p G.2ANA3iti defence of Bill amoant.ed
•
The present law appeared' to him to operate against the
it-oximeni and tuadury 'and unfairly in favour of the masters.
Ily the law now in force any emfiloye; might Curia-plain
against a Servant or labourer for allegod misderuezmour, nris-
carriage, ill-behaviour,:or "misconduct before one justice, who
*might forthwith issge, not a summons, but a warrant, to rip-
Piaci-id the perrien of the labourer, and.might imprisoahirn
With hard labour .for three months. Rut if, on. ;the other
hand, A servaut labnurer complained against his master,
he had no Warrant to'apprehend.the master, but a summons
only issued.against, the master."
This.certainly was an. oppressive state of the law.
• . <
But,las Mr. Iluigs had shown, Mr. Mu.nt's Bill, in
its. original shape, hall rectified it. What answer
does all•thi4 special pleading of Sir 'JAMBS .G.SAIiAII
to the grave offence of patronising.' such
in-
tolerable enactments as Mr. T. DUNCOMBE, in the
passages we have given above, so forcibly denounced?
None! .Thus thoaght the_ noits'e, and the Bill was
summarily extinguished I •

Total and immediate rep?al of one branch.oingri-
cultural protection forms an itemin the Chancellor's
Budget ; the duties on cool, which wire desCribed
as the Magna Charta and liill'of Rights of Britiish
sheep'lly
disc}
ptring fromolisheclnd w; have not yet
heard
ders are
of,
shee
Ourou r
backsourfields,
a:rt andare to
tns
ohacepbh -:
herds sinking in deiperation,
dependent on foreigners for clothing, but
are still-to be restricted to British-4
d;foreign wool
may come in freely Without danger to Church or
State,. but foreign !nutton Ls still held to be subver-
sive of the altar and. the throne: • The skin of the
,
one
sheep is tlie 'frontier • between "safety, on side and
.
Ai'lgOr 91,A1..R4FF541..t110 , 404,.P.P.1.1.4,i,i vfe
and innocent, but the perils centred in the flesh;ithin
can only be warded off by discriminating duties.
Assuredly the brains of cur rulers have gone wool-
gathering -with a vengeance! Two exquisite rea-
sons have been assigned by Mr. GOULBusx for

making such a distinction between wool and
other agricultural produce. lle says that " wool
is the raw material of an important
_branch of the
national -manufactures;" no free trader could assign a
bettZ4 reivon for the removal of monopoliit restric-
tions and discriminating duties; but can any man tell
why the application of this principle should be con-
fined to the sheep-walk and not extended to the corn-
field? Wheat is one of the most important of taw
materials in every branch of manufactures ; the
weaver must have food as well as yarn ere he can
use his loom ; the smith must have bread as well as
iron ere he can exercise his hammer. We say no-
thing of the many manufactures in which flour is used
in various shapes ; this though not unimportant
scarcely strengthens a case, in which every possible
form of industry has a direct
.and obvious claim.
Unless man eat they cannot work, and unless they
work they can produce no manufactures. Wool and
corn stand precisely in the same position, and Mr.
GOULBURN'S principle (yvould, that we could add
his practice), are just as applicable to the one as to
the other. •

The sapient Duke of RICILMOND, who has been
placed at the head of the land-monopolists vine
BUCKISGIUM Seponeded or sequestrated, has taken
alarm at the Chancellor's new profession of faith in
free trade, and has given notioe of a motion which
will afford him an opportunity of reading a homily
to his creatures, the Ministers, on these symptoms of
rejecting the infallible decrees of the snuggery at
Goodwood. The bleatings of the sheep on tha downs

of Sussex will not be more pathetic or more pastoral
than his promised oration. We seem already to hear
his Pandean pipes attuned to notes of woe, and his
title established to the name of " Gentle Shepherd,"
_which has remained unappropriated since the days of
'IVIIATIIANt. We can fancy his melodious sorrowings
over deserted sheep-walks, exiled shepherds, absent
shoulders of muttnn, unattainable trotters, and lamb
disappearing to the MA nifest danger of the mint.

"How fluent nonsense trickles from his tongue,
How sweet the periods neither said nor sung."
But his Grace's sympathetic bleatings will be of no
avail. The West Riding of Yorkshire has triumphed
over Sussex ; wool has won a victory over mutton;
and henceforth the total and immediate repeal of
the agricultural protection is an established precedent
and recoguisecl principle. in legislation. f, !

• GoutnuaU "tedibeisted the repeal of ',the wool
clittie `oil ite6Ourit 'of the 'stimulus 'that ull.,thus
',Oren to znanufactufts.... Thus early, has the senseless
f~rllße3 of vior-produ'etiaii beeri'''abandeited by' those
who took it up for a party purpose. Instead of pre-
tending to fear any surplus of production, the Minis-
ters plainly declare that it is the ditty of statesmen to
stimulate production, and to remove the restrictions
by which it is fettered. It is to be regretted that
those converts to the true faith are not yet so tho-
roughly fixed in their new creed as to be perfectly
' consistent. The protection accorded to cern is a
greater blight on industry than that which was
granted to wool, and we hope that the defiance given
to the monopolists in we item will inspire courage to
attack their citadel.

We quote the followingpessege from an interesting
document which has been issued from the Metropoli-
tan Police-office in Whitehall, and which contains n
account of the number of persons taken into custody
by the police authorities, and the results, in the year

1843 :—" Respecting the degree of instruction of the
persons taken into custody, it appears that oat of
62,447 individuals taken p, 11,336 males and 5,682
finales—in all 16,918—could neither read nor write;
that 2.5,897 males and 13,170 females—in all 39,067
—could read only, or read and write but imperfectly ;
that 4,918 males aril 905 females—in all 5,323—
could read and write well, and that 654 males and
15 females were of superior instruction. Of the
number summarily convicted or bailed, 7,053 per-
sons could neither rood nor write ; 15,924 but
imperfectly ; 2,874 well ; and 320 had had
superior instruction. Of those tried and convicted,
1,214 could neither read nor write ; 2,088 but im-
perfectly ; 172 well; and 31 had received a good
education." These criminal statistics are exceed-
ingly curious and important, and show—what we
have often taken occasion to remark—hew sloasty,
we might almost add, how inseparably, connected
with each other are crime and ignorance. We here
find that by far the greater raajonity of persons taken
into custody by the metropolitan police consists of
those who can neither read nor write, and that the
numbers are few, comparatively speaking, of those
who have received the benefits of education. Surely
facts like these—facts given on unimpeachable evi •
deuce—should speak trumpet-tongued in favour of
a system of general instruction fur the lower classe3l
Of what use is it to build new churches'in the metro-
polis, when there are so many thousand people resi-
dent in London and its suburbs, who aro unable to
avail themselves of, such a spiritual advantage, by
reason of their utter inability to read the word of
GOD? To our thinking, the Bishop of LONDON, hold-
ing the high—the solemn—the responsible office that
he does, would be far more serviceably employed in
endeavouring to provide the means of education for
the neglected poor of his vast diocese, than in building
new religious structures, front which those only can
expect to derive spiritual benefit, who have received
some sort of instruction. It is idle to hope to
engraft a sound religious feeling on the minds of the
utterly ignorant. The soil must first be cultivated
so as to fitit to receive the wholesome seed, otherwise

it will never-bring forth fruit in, duo seasen. Religion
should-not-precede, but fallow in the train of edtica
tion. Churchmen, however, can never he brought to
see this, even though the prods of the dreadful immo-
rality and impiety-that are the almost invariable con-
comitants of ignorance, are constantly before their
eyes. ileally our men in authority, whether lay or
clerical, have much to answer for, in not at once
straining every nerve in order tie supply the benighted
lower .classes of their fellow-countrymen with the
blessings of a sound, }lamely, practical education.
The evil is one that ought to be immediately grappled
with, fta it yearly assumes a more dangerous charac-
ter, such as cannot fail to excite a feeling of deep
anxiety- in the minds of all thinking people. Pro-
vide .the . ignorant poor with competent instructors;
elevate-their nature by providing them with at least
the rudiments-of knowledge, and you will hear no
more of servile insurrections, of the excesses of
Swing, or the mad, mischievous pranks of Rebecca
.and her accomplished daughters; but leave the lower
classes in their present state of crass—to use Lord
BrouGnms's - favourite expression—igtiorance, and in
periods of difficulty and effervescence, you will not be
able to guarantee the tranquillity
,of the country from
'one weeles end to ancther,

Madrid journals of the 25th have been received,
I)at they are barren of intelligence. Very little btisi-
ness was done on the- 13ourse on that day, and the
Ftinds remained nearly stationary. The quotations
were—Three per. Cents.. 361 oph, 37i .at 60 days;
and Fives 22i at GO days.

The Paris papers bring- no intelligence of im-
portance. yelneiday was observed as a strict
holiday at the Bourse, and tha Post-office closed at
'&0o-o'clock; so that the accounts .of the receptions at
the Tuileries are very meagre. Indeed, the only
notice of the ceromonhis is in fist Unieers, which
states that: the Archbishop of Pants presented himself
on Wednesday, to congratulate the Krao on the occa-
sion of his fete. "We have. been assured," adds that
journal, "that the reply of the chief of the State to
the good wishes of the venerable Archbishop did not
breathe the benevolence usual on such 'occasions. It
appears that the word ‘libtrty' had been introduced
by- the-Archbishop ants the
.harangue, and that his
MAJESTY did not relish the expression."
The general debate on the Education Bill in the
Chamber of Peers was brought to a conclusion on
Tuesday, 'when the Bill went into Committee.
The Deputies were engaged in .discussing the
Bill for the improvement of prison discipline. The
following are the averkle prices of wheat in the
different markets of Prance for the month of April.
The price at Toulouse, Lyens, and Marseilles was .
23f. 32c. the hectolitre (equal to two bushels three
quarters Imperial measure); at Marans and Bordeaux,
at 21f..84c.; at St. Laurent: and Le Grand. Lemps,
at_2or„vlsi; ..404-At
at -21f..59c. ; at Bergtice,. Arras, Roye, Soissons,
Paris., and Rouen, at 191.3-4 c. ;at Saumur. and Nantes,
Met t. Veal a n4spet, ville,
it 16f. 79c.- ---

At Towroxfs, on Wednesday; the Three per Cents.
were quoted at 84f.

IMPORTANT INTELLIGENCE.-Mr. 'Tenn concluded
fds speech on. -Tuesday. Mr. Fitzgibbon, who had