The Sun.
London, England, 1826-05-04 00:00:00

[MORNING HERALD.]

The Meeting at the City of Lordon Tavern, on
Tuesday, furnishes a curious specimen of the sort of
humbug which is sometimes suffered to prevail on
such occasions. What must foreign countries think
of the real situation of this, or of our boasted free-
dom, when they see a meeting convened and attended
by a large assemblage of all ranks, but at which scarcely
one word upon the subject, on which they are broug,ht
together is allowed tO be uttered ? " Melancholy, in-
deed,"
they will say, oc must be the facts which will
not bear investigation, and wretched, indeed, the state
of a countrywhich cannot allow its state to be known!"
This, we say, will be the natural inference, though
it is far from being a true one. The real history
of the silence which is enjoined upon such occasions
(for this not the only one when the same summary
mode of dispatch has been exhibited) we take to be,
the annoyance which would be sustained by Noble,
Honourable, and Reverend Lords and Gentlemen
were they to hear unpleasant truths sounded in their
ears in such places, and were they to find themselves
involved in argument with, and perhaps out-talked by
orators of a grade with which they are unaccus-
tomed, and would not deign to compete. Even
some of the home-truths which are scarcely bear-
able from Lord King and Mr. 1-lume in their
places elsewhere would sound quite out of place
at a tavern ; or were Mr. James to arraign the
Treasury Picture-dealers at such a place, the blow
might be as difficult to parry as to return. But per-
haps it will be said that the Meeting was held for
the purpose of acting, not of specifying, and that dif-
ference of opinion might only have tended to defeat
its charitable object. But if that 'be the case, why
hold any meeting at all ? The facts being known to
the public, and the example set by the Sovereign
himself, the subscription might as well have gone on
without any meeting : but, being called, • every Man
had a right to be heard at it ; and the stifling of dis-
cussion, while it admits, as we have pointed out, of a
wrong interpretation, is calculated to, injure the cause
it professes to serve. That cause, however; will not,
we trust, suffer from the indiscretion or the squeamish-
ness of its advocates.

A consequential chapgoing through a turnpike the
other day, which did not fly open immediately on
making his appearance, reproached the collector as a
lazy fellow, cast a shilling on the ground, and taunt-
ingly bade bim pick it up, and fetch change. The
collector picked up the shilling instanter, and count-
ed ninepence, which he placed •where the shilling had
laid, and with a significant leer said, pointing to the
spot, " There's your change, Sir." The Corinthian
in vain abused and commanded : the toll-keeper
stood, as Shakespeare says, " master o' th' Tiger ;"
and Mr. Consequence was under the necessity of
condescending to bend his noddle to mother earth,
and, taking up the change, drove off in a bang-up
style, with cheers from many persons who witnessed
the affair.—Count, Chronicle.

MELANCHOLY Loss OF A FISHING BOAT.—
On Monday forenoon, as one of the Ferryden (Mon-
trose) fishing boats, with a crew of six men was pass-
ing through Lunen Bay for the former place, with a
heavy sea running, and the wind blowing fresh from
the N. W.: she was struck by a' sea on the broadside
and swamped, when five of her crew were instantly
droWned.. The situation of the boat being observed
by the crew of the preventive coast guard stationed at
lied Castle, they, with a praiseworthy alacrity, man-
ned their boat and proceeded to render assistance. Qn,
reaching the fishing boat, they found her bottom up,.
and one man in a state of insensibility clinging with
the grasp of death to the keel (all the other five
having disappeared). They took him into their
boat,,but.by the time they reached the shore the vital
spark had fled, and all attempts to restore animation
totally failed.-Glasgote Courier.

On Sunday last, the sloop William, of Dunbar,
ttruck on that dangerous reef of rocks in the Moray
Frith, called Stotfield Skerries. The vessel floated
ofr next tide, and sunk in deep water, a few feet of her
topmast only being above the surface. She is about a
mile and a half from the shore, and directly in the
track of vessels going up and down the Moray Frith,
so that if she does not soon break up, she may do
much damage. A light erected on the Stotfield Sker-
ries would tic attended with great advantage, as few
seasons pass without the melancholy loss of valuable
lives and much property.--Edinburgh Courant.

Captain Maitland, who commanded his Ma-
jesty's ship, the Bellerophon, when Buonaparte our-
rendered himself, kept a journal of the events which
transpired during Napoleon's residence on b0m..1 that
vessel, between the 24th of May, and. the Bth of Au-
gust, 1815,- which, from various causes, it has not
hitherto been deemed advisable' to give to the world.
Sir Walter Scott, to whom this.' extremely curi-
ous and inteteeting . document
,has recently.. been
shown, has strongly-urged the necessity of its publi-
cation, as a memoir of great importance ; and Cap-
tain Maitland having previously obtained the sanc-
tion of his Majesty's government, intendi laying this
extraordinary Journal before the public.