The Sun.
London, England, 1844-06-03 00:00:00

UNION HALL.

Mr. Sidney Fostei of the Surrey Zoological Gardens,
attended to request the Magistrate's advice under the follow-
ing circumstances. _ _ _

The applicant stated that he applied on the behalf of
the individual who furnishes the fire-works to the Zoological
Gardens, and who fir that purpose had. recently purchased
an acre of ground in the vicinity of the gardens for the pur-
pose of carrying on his business. Within the last few weeks
a person has lately, erected a shed close to the spot where
the fire-work business is going on, and this shed
he has converted into a kind of factory in which
he is carrying on a most dangerous trade, that of
varnish making. A few nights ago, owing to the negligence
of the man in charge of the shed, a fire occurred there, and
Dearly consumed it, and had not the wind been in the east,
there was every reason to believe that the flames might have
extended to the place where the fireworks were, and that an
explosion of the most serious nature would have been the
result. The object of the present application was to ascertain
if the person against whom the complaint was made could be
restrained from carrying on his trade so close to the fire-
work manufactory.
Mr. CorriNnmtm said, that if the fire was caused by the
negligence of the parties carrying on the varnish-manufac-
tory the applicant had better serve him with a notice, and if
after that any accident should occur, lie would be civilly as
well as criminally liable for the damage sustained.
The applicant, having thanked the Magistrate, withdrew.

THE RIOTS IN PHILADELPHIA,
We gi‘'e, in our present number, some details of the
riots in Philadelphia, to which we could' only make a
passing allusion on Wednesday, but which will be found
to have been very formidable, and very destructive,
both of life and property ; the number of persons
killed and seriously wounded being from thirty to forty,
and the property destr.yed by fir?, including two
Catholic churches, being valued at upwards of 300,000
dollars.

Since these riots became known in this country, we
have been favoured with many speculations intended
to elucidate their origin, none of which, as it seems to
us, have gone to the root of the matter. For some
months past, it has been tolerably obvious that an
unfriendly feeling towards the Irish immigrants was
springing up in most of the large. cities of the United
States, and more particularly in New York and Phila-
delphia, where the Irish residents are most numerous.
In those cities, bodies calling themselves "Native Ame-
rican Associations," consisting principally of persons in
the working classes, have held frequent and large
meetings, the proceedings of which manifested strong
hostility towards the Irish. The ostensible causes
of this hostility,' so far as we have been able
to collect them, are various—such as the improper
interference of Irishmen in elections, the denun-
ciations of the people of the •United States by
Mr. O'Connell, and various other matters ; none of
which, nor all of which, however, appear sufficient to
account for the organisation of the " native Americans;"
but it is nut difficult to collect from the proceedings
that there is another cause at work much more likely
to furnish the real ground of hostility. It is found
that the Irish are, in many branches of industry,
formidable competitors for employment, which they
are frequently disposed to accept on terms which
" native Americans" are inclined to consider inade-
quate ; and hence a feeling has sprung up between
the two parties not very unlike that which prevails here
between bodies of combined workmen, and parties who
are alleged to work under the usual rate of wages. That
the ill feeling arising from this soaree has been aggra-
vated by the turbulent and lawless habits which Irish-
men have been taught by the misgovernment and the
defective social state of their own country, and which
they unfortunately carry with them wherever they go
—is highly probable ; and possibly, too, the denuncia-
tions of,O'Connell may not have been altogether without
their effect: hut we believe that the great cause of the
outbreak is the ore we have named, and which is cer-
tainly not likely to be very speedily removed, but rather
to increase in intensity.

We see that some of the English newspapers dwell
upon the disturbances at Philadelphia, as proof of•the
evils of democratic institutions! We are certainly no
admirers of the system of government which prevails in
the United States, but, at the same time, consider it
rather unwise for Englishmen, who have had abundance
of untoward events at home, to he hasty in drawing un-
favourable conclusions from similar occurrences in other
countries. If the value of our institutions was to be
tested by the No-Popery riots, the Church-and-King
outrages in flirmingham, or the fires of Bristol and
Nottingham, they would not be very highly. estimated
by the rest of the world.— Manchester Guardian.

PRESERVATION OF LIFE AT SEA.
A too great disregard of buman life at sea prevails
amongst the shipping interest, in so far as regards the
necessary precaution which it may be supposed a person
would naturally take to provide means of escape from
the manifold and fearful dangers which beset the ma.-
river's life; and those who, either from pleasure or ne-
' cessity, trust themselves upon the ocean. With regard
to seamen, they have no sense of danger until it ap-
pears before them, and not until then do they devise
means of escape. This want of fear is noble, and, to a
certain extent, to be commended, but there is a limit to
everything. Nevertheless " Jack," whatever may be
said or done, will still be the same careless, fearless,
danger-seeking, and generous fellow as ever. The
blame alluded to, however, does not attach itself to the
foremast men, but to those who certainly should
give the mariner every chance which ingenuity has de-
vised for preserving life under the straits to which
the seaman is exposed. The commander of a vessel is
likewise not to blame, for, for him to talk of danger, is
a reflection upon himself, and it is one of the greatest
and most laudable boasts of a British seaman, that what-
ever the emergency-7-however great the peril and the
demand upon his courage in danger, and fortitude in
trial, he has ever yet been (and ever will be) found ready
to meet it with the besl energies of his nature. Expense
is ever—and naturally so—looked to by the owner, and
whilst neither captain nor men complain, he may be
considered, as innocent of debarring his men from a
means of safety in times of peril to life—for no refusal
has been given. Still, notwithstanding the fearless na-
ture of the ono, and the seeming apathy of the other, there
is unquestionably too great a disregard in, providing a
means of safety in times of certain peril, and which a
practical experience of some years has fully exemplified.
However, be this as it may, the subject has become one
of very general observation, from the numberless losses
of human life lately ; and there have been certain sug-
gestions thrown: out, and inventions submitted to those
interested, which deserve attention. Foremost amongst
the lattei, ranks a simple but saleable piece of cabin fur-
niture, the merits of which, it is believed, have been
tested publicly at Plymouth—viz., . a cabin-stool, which
forms itself into a buoy, capable of holding a person in a
sitting posture in the water. There is also an in-
vention of equal value, of more recent introduction,
which has within the last two days been exhibited at
Lloyd'S—the grand emporium for shipping intelligence
—and deserves the attention of all interested in maritime
affairs, as well as those who proceed to sea under
circumstances of a -different nature to the seaman. It
has -occasioned much. curiosity, and is well deserving of
inspection and adoption. .The invention is simple, but
effective, for the purpose intended, and consists merely
of a chest made of cork; yet made so strong, without
being cumbersome, as considerably to surpass the
wooden ones, now so long in use, in that respect. It is
perfectly water-tight, and of extreme buoyancy, capable
of sustaining from six to thirty grown persons in the
water, even when filled with clothes, or provisions, &c.
They are evidently not so easily stove in as those at pre-
sent in use, being capable of resisting very severe usage,
whilst, from their buoyancy,_ they are not so likely to
meet with injury in a case of shipwreck. Their
buoyancy, again, does not depend upon any pre-
paration, such as inflation,- &c., but is natural
to the material of which they are composed.
They are perfectly water-tight, and will preserve
valuable documents and papers from water, when
immersed overboard, for an almost indefinite period.
Those who, unfortunately, have experienced the horrors
lof shipwrecks, and been compelled to resort to either
perceive w
itl
lh eatv a
oncelue apnrde s e irivnep opr
rt ao nv
icsei on
sf eats'
boats or a raft, as the means of
.preservation, will
iant v eonnt ci
oen
well as clothes from the destructive qualities of the sea-
water. Chests of this description could be fitted with a
small portable caboose, which; to a shipwrecked party upon
'a raft, would be invaluable. They will also contain fresh
,water, and are at all times impervious to salt-water or
damp, and well adapted for letters and specie. In a few
words, it may be mentioned that the chief property of
this valuable trunk (and the principle is also applied to
carpet-bags, &c.) consists in its extraordinary buoyancy
when filled with clothes, and its capability of sustaining
,in the water from six to thirty grown persons, attached
Iby grummets, or loops, conveniently fixed for the pur-
!pose. Its buoyant property requires no arrangement,
but it is always ready for use. Lieut. T. J. Irvine, R.N.,
to whom the public are indebted for the invention, has
named it the Arcasalus. Every one about to make a
sea voyage would do well to inspect it before completing
their arrangements, as but one chest of this description
may be considered necessary for a family, or traveller.
A public test of its capabilities is shortly intended to be
made upon the Thames.

Meetings were held on Friday in several parts of
the metropolis for the purpose of making arrangements for a
great general meeting, to be held in the Crown and • Anchor,
to protest against the sentence passed on Mr O'Connell
RAILWAY FROM INVERNESS TO PERTH,' BY
BADENOCIL-At a very numerous meeting of the gentlemen
and inhabitants of Badenoch, held last week, Major Mac-
pherson, Glentrum, through whose•estate the projected line
of rairway must pass for several miles, publicly announced
that, provided the other proprietors in the Highland districts
along the line will agree to do so, he will be ready to give the
requisite ground on his property without making any charge.
This is truly the spirit in which we trust to see the enterprise
taken up, not only by the proprietors along the whole line,
but by the noblemen, landed proprietors, and gentry, and by
southern
all classes of people in the Highlands, as a matter of
common concern in which the whole north country is deeply
capitalist
tlwveismel
see it to be his interest cordially to join in extending the
interested. According to the expressive national motto for
doubtth ern
that pub
thelpublic
e beo utthrueern to strenuous co-operation, "Highlanders,-shoulder to shoulder,"
we need not fear the triumphant accomplishment of this
agreatnd t
there
ek cannot. e t thebe a nor
benefits of this remarkable feature of our times—railway
communication—even into the recesses of the hilly north.—
Inventors Courier.