The Sun.
London, England, 1826-01-05 00:00:00

TO TUE EDITOR OF TIIE SUN.

Sin-- Your Correspondent A nous, in his Letter
4M:the " COAL. TrtAus," published in Mit Sum,
of the Itith ult., is pleased to commence his
strictures by observing, immediately after mo-
ti,ing the :difference betneen the London and
the Newcastle chaldrou, that " the Pit Owners
ace divided into two classes, rich and poor; the
former are such as are bona jids proprietors of
she pits; and have ships of their own, to take
sthatever quantity of coals they think proper to
'send to the London Market ; the latter are such
as are held together by paper, and are wholly
governed by the Ship Fitter."
Now, Sir, I fearlessly tell your Correspon-
dent Ancus (whoever he may be), that he has
Adventured upon describing that which he does
not underlitathlSorghe does know better—though
'I confess I am seeptien greater is his moral
delinquency in laying before the public such a
mendacious statement. "Ne rotor ultra ere-
pidam" is an excellent ' proverb, and should he
adopted as a sort of axiom by all critics.—
Ito far from the " Pit Owners," or rather Coal
Owners, as they are- generally called its the
north, criOstitiiting two such classes as are
mentioned, the facts speak' directly otherwise :
with very few exceptions indeed, all the Coal
owners are LesseeS; and not proprietors, or lords
of the soil, beneath 'Which the great Coal Mining
concerns are carried on. The celebrated Wall-
send colliery, for 'instance, which has been so
advantageously wrought by the RUSSELL family
,(of BranCeptith'Castle), is held under the Dealt
and Chapter of Durham. As to the assertion,
that they, (the Coal Owners) " have ships of
their own," to carry the Coals to the London
nierket, this is the most gratuitous piece of inven-
tion I ever read. So far from this being the
case,-
with the exception of one solitary instance,
there is not a Colliery on the river Tyne—und
believe the same remark applies to the ‘Veir—
that has'any thing to do with shipping. It is,
on the other hand, matter of notoriety,Ahat the
currying trade between the ports of the Tyne
end the Weir to London, furnishes to that re-
- qiectoble body of men, the Ship Owneis of New-
castle,. Shields, and Sunderland, constant cm-
ployment for their ships. Really, Mr. Editor,
I must say, I never recollect seeing any professed
writer on a given subject shoot so wide of his
Mark, as does your Correspondent Anal's, in his
attempted Analysis of the Northern Coal Trade.
And, then, with respect to the concluding part
•of the extract, that one part of the Coal Owners
" are held together by paper, and are wholly
xoverned by the Ship fitter," the thing is so pre-
.posterously false, that 1 am lost in amazement
lit the temerity—the unblushing effrontery, I
iriay call it, of the writer. Taken as a whole,
there is not, perhaps, a more efficient body of
• individuals engaged in business in any part of the
.British Empire : most assuredly here in the
North, they are ‘vhat 1 not describing,---and
will further acid, no body of men can be more
highly distinguished for honourable and upright
conduct, in every sense, than those very persona
whom Anous so shamefully misrepresents.—
'Equally remote from the truth is the insinuation
that any of the Coal Owners are " wholly go.
vented by the Ship Fitter." The Fitter* in
reality have nothing to do in regulating the
market price of coals. The Coal Owner fixes
hie selling currency ; and where 'u Fitter is
employed, such fitter is constrained to sell
at the Coal Owner's stipulated price, and
no other. Fitters, however, according to
114 e old definition of the term, are hardly
known any more, as most of the great Coal
proprietors have a special agent, who is remuner-
ated by a fixed salary, in lieu of the commission
dist formerly used to be paid to the F'itter's
office. The next curious assertion buzarded by
Attoos is, that—" By inspecting the custom-
house books at Newcastle, it will be perceived
that the shares of some of the Coal ships are di-
sided as follows:

The Fitter, •
The Captain,
The Factor, and
The London Wharfinger."
ARGUS goes on to state, that " the facilities this
comfortable and convenient arrangement of the'
'Ownership of vesselogives to the Newcastle Coal
Dealers for cheating their customers in London,
will now be lihewn, and thence some little idea
formed of the immense sums thus illegally ob-
tained from the public." Here, again, we have
an assertion made evidently with an intent to
create prejudice against the Ship Owner. That
there may be a solitary case or two of the Fitter;
the Factor, and the Captain, owning a ship con-
jointiy, I will not take upon me to deny. But
who is meant by the London Wharlinger ? Is it
the Coal Merchant who buys of the Factor, and
to whose wharf the cargo ultimately goes ? I must
vonfess, however, that to me the whole of this
particular charge, and what immediately follows,
about ° tire power of ruling the London Coal
WlJrket," k absolutely unintelligible. Accord-
ing to the old Boman adage, Nihil eel ab ornm
_pude Manus ; nor can it reasonably be supposed
that the Coal Trade, extensive as it is, in its ra-
milleationt, should not present en'exception.
Another remark of A HOU3 is, that the Fitter,
when sole owner of the ship, permits his Captain
to freight at 14s. per chaldron, when, if the price
,or freight were left to its real value, it would not
lie more than 11s. or 112 s. per chaldron. A little
further on it is said—" A return is made through
Custom-house to the Clerk of the Market, of
the coal being sold at 14s per chaldron, when
they do nut pay. above Ms.. The effect of this
Arrangement between the Fitterand the Freighter
is to keep up the price in the London Market,
for immediately the contract is concluded 14s. is
returned to the Custom-house as the wholesale
price, and thus the London coal-dealer and coal
4;ousumer are deceived." Here is another jum•
tling up of things, the meaning of which it is im-
pussible to understand. It is well known that the
Coal Factui makes a return on each market
Arty, through the Clerk of the Market, of
.the price at which he sells the several
descriptions of coots ; this is in conformity

with a specific Act of Parliament; and it is done
to enable the coal-merchant to fix his price, by
the authority it gives him of laying on so much
per chahlron, to cover all fair charges and ex-
peaces, prior to his commencing the retail trade
with the consumer. But nothing, certainly, is
known of any return through the Custom-house,
or how the juggle alluded to by Anous is prac-
ticable. With respect to the charge, that certain
coals bear two or more different names in the
market, that may be accounted for, without in-
volving any one in fraud, upon the plinciple of
time cods being assorted—just as a West India
merchant woulu in describing the quality of
Jamaica Coffee, designate it us—

-Pine,
A I Willing, and
Triage;
so just upon a similar principle, the owners of a
colliery might. wiih perfect fairness, distinguish
their three ditTerent sorts of coal, by three varied
designations.'

It. was impossible, Mr. Editor, to suffer such a
writer as Attous to prefer his unfounded charges
against the coal trade, without some attempt to-
wards correcting the absurd statements he is the
author of. A large portion of your Northern
Readers, I know, are highly conversant with the
subject immediately under discussion : let them
then say, ‘thether the writer of this article is not
a friend to THE SUN, by forwarding you this
epistle.
Banks of the Tyne, Jan. 2, 1826. CORRECTOR.

- - - - ---
HOWARD AND GIBBS' BANKRUPTCY.

A Meeting of the Creditors under this Com-
mission was held, yesterday, at the Bankrupts' Court, Basing.
hall-street. From the publicity which the affairs of this con-
cern have already received, our readers are aware that Lord
Alvanley has been represented as a debtor to the firm to the ex.
tent of 53,0001. For 25,000/. of this sum judgment has been
obtained against his estates, but the remaindet of the claim is
dependent on his Lordship's personal security.—The estates, it
appears, are burdened with several large annuitten,thejudgements
on which are all stated to be prior to that of Messrs. Howard and
Gibbs, though from some proceedings taken by a solicitor in
his Lordship's affairs, a supposition was entertained that this
priority was accidentally set aside. This explanation, since
given, proves, however, that such an opinion WAS unfounded,—
The trustees of Lord Alvanley's afliairs, desirous of getting rid
of the large claim of the creditors of Howard and Gibbs, and
aware of the difficulty which the creditors would have in esta-
blishing those claims, not only on account of the nature of their
securities, but of the very equivocal complexion of the trans.
actions between the bankrupts and his Lordship, proposed at
first to pay the sum of 20,000!. as a full satisfaction of all de-
mands, but the creditors thought proper to refuse it. A se-
cond offer of 30,000!. was then made, which the creditors also
rejected, and it was stated by several of them that not less than
40,00 W. would be accepted. The meeting of yesterday was
therefore called in consequence of the rejection of both these
offers for the creditors to determine the propriety of en.
forcing their claims against Lord Alvanley by equity or by
law. Soon after twelve o'clock a numerous body of credi-
tors assembled, many of them persons of consideration and
wealth, but the appearance of a great proportion showed
into what various ranks of life the rage of annuity-hunting
had spread. Mixed up with farmers and tradesmen were
several poor old women, retired housekeepers, or upper
servants, with panic-struck countenances, eagerly listening
to the debates, but incapable of comprehending them and
only occasionally interfering by pettish exclamations of dis-
approbation, when the interference of the Court of Chancery
was recommended. The Assignees presided. Mr. Shaw, as
the senior, was placed in the chair. Previous to the coin.
meacement of business an attempt was made to exclude news-
paper reporters, on the ground that none but creditors were en-
titled to be present, as well as on consideration for Lord Alvan-
ley's feelings. This, however, was successfully opposed by a
Ilrfr. Spading, who was understood to be a creditor for 3,0001,
and on the question being formally put from the Chair, whether
reporters should be excluded or not, with the exception of three
hands, which were held up ngainst them, the Meeting was
unanimous in permitting their attendance. Admiral Dun.
dos read a letter from Captain Bathurst, a creditor, then at
Plymouth, regretting his inability to attend, and recommend.
ing the accepting of whatever offer Lord Alvanley's trustees
made, as he was satisfied that if recourse wits had to Chancery,
the youngest person among them would not see a termination to
the rout. This letter scented to make a great impression on the
Meeting, and the subsequent proceedings of the day showed
the opinions of the creditors to be, that the alternative of
a Chancery Court was the great evil to be avoided. The trans.
actions between Messrs. Howard and Gibbs and Lord Alvanley
have been so often before the public, that it is unnecessary
to go through the statement made yesterday by Mr. Stevens,
the solicitor to the assignees. This Gentleman detailed the
nature of the account, and the relative value of the securities,
and concluded his observations by recommending the creditors
not to accept of the proposed 30,0001., us lie was decidedly of
opinion that justice would not be done to the estate if a shil-
ling lest than 40,000!. was taken. This statement was re-
plied to by 31r. Vowel, solicitor to the trustees of Lord Alvan.
ley, who first undertook to prove how enormous the expecta-
tions were of realizing within n moderate space any part of the
sum claimed upon his Lordship's estates .and then insinuated
how little the Court of Chancery would relieve the concern,
when nn inquiry into the nature of the transactions between
Howard and Gibbs and his Lordship would chew how very
questionable the greater part of the debt was. Fur instance,
hills charged against Lord Alvanley were discounted at 5, 10,
or 20 per Lent. " yes," said a voice in the crowd " and 50
and 100 per cent." " No doubt," continued Air. Vowel ;
" and the suit actually received was carried to the credit of
Lord Alvanley'e account, while the whole amount of the
acceptance was charged against him. And what made the
case more doubtful was, that a great part or the bills were
drawn, not for the account of Lott! Alvanley alone, but for the
joint accommodation of floward and hilts. The nature of the
transactions might be well understtmd, from the fact, that on
120,0001. raitt.tl by annuity fur his Lordship, the charge wits
12 per cent., making a total for agency of 12,0001., though
the tumid commission for such business was from five to ten
per 12,01101., cent." "'!'hat is very true," interrupted Mr. Stevens,
3,11001. was for 'stamps anti the
expence of drawing deeds." " The fact, even as thus cor-
rected, will be quite sufficient," continued Mr. Towel, "
convince the Meeting how tar a Court of Chancery will be
likely to enforce the claim against his Lordship's estates with-
out inquiry into the fotnulation and progress of the ac.
count. '1 hese observations of Mr. t'owel's seemed to meet
the concurrence of the Meeting, and their effect was much
strengthened by the declaration of a Mr. Maitland, a ere-
ditor, who said, if die concern was thrown into Chancery,
he never expected to see the end of it. Neither would his
son, who stood near him, see tin cod of it, though his great.
grandchildren might. " Very true," also put in an old weakly.
lioor woman, wrapped in a homely alum), and an old Idea silk
onnet, who had forced her way near the table—" very true;
die Limn preserve us front the Chancellor!" Mr. Maitland
then begged permission to recommend the appointment of a re-
ference to investigate between tie creditors and Lord A Iva»ley 's
trustees, as one benefit to be &rived therefrom worthd be the ap-
pointment of a gentled an who must decide fur another within a
given tinny." Why not," said Mr. 31., " elect a Chancellor tar
yourselves, front whom you can get? judgment Y As to the alterna.

••••••
tire of going into an equity NIS, 1 ;rota rather take 4s. lbr my
debt than accept it." Several creditors having expressed them-
selves to the ante effect, the question was put from the chair, when
the question watt unanimously carried against any proceedings
in equity. A conversation tookplace between 31r. Powell and
several of the creditors, ftnm winch it appears likely that a pro-
position from Lord Alranley to pay 30,5001. will be accepted
at a future meeting. Thanks were voted to the assignees.—
(Morning Ilerald4

Tim \Yuavriten.--The guards of the mails and
night coaches, who arrived this morning, declare
that they had experienced a most inclement
night, and (ruin the excessive heaviness of the
roads, the arrival of some of the coaches was

protracted some hours beyond the usual time :
the cold was most intense, and from the occasional
showers of sleet the coaches were covered with
one complete sheet of ice; it was so great that
four outside passengers upon the Harwich coach
left it in the midst of the journey, and preferred
stopping at an inn, imagining, had they proceed.
et') that they would be frozen to death.