The Sun.
London, England, 1821-06-14 00:00:00

POOR LAWS-

EDITOR.—The great question in Political
Economy at present is, how to relieve the- Country
from the pressure of the Poor Rates ? All seem toac-
knowledge that the evil is great, while but few are
prepared to say in %hat manner it ought to be
remedied. It is not a little extraordinary that
the present system of our Poor Laws should have
been founded in a reign which has generally been
considered as the most glorious in the history of
this Country ; for though some have dated the
commencement of the Poor Rates from the de-
struction of Monasteries, yet no permanent system
seems to have been established till towards
the conclusion of the reign of ELIZABETH, so
that the increase of Poor which led to the En-
glish Poor Rates was not owing to the dissolution
of Monasteries, but to some cause of more general
operation.

At the present period, however, unlike that
at which the system took its rise, there is a ge-
neral and universal distress bearing down all
classes and conditions of Society. The Mer-
chant and Agriculturist, the Mechanic and Ma-
nufacturer, all alike complain of the combination
of unfortunate circumstances which led to depress
and harrass the unhappy mind. Much attention
has been excited by the Bill brought into Parlia-
ment by Mr. SCAP.LETT, which at least possesses
the merit of being very short, but which at the
same time embraces principles much too general
and comprehensive to stand alone in the present
complicated state of things in this Country. In
short, in this, as in most other measures for the re-
lief of general distress, we begin at the wrong end.
The Bill in question has three objects :—the
maximum, that no larger sum than a certain
amount of Poor Rates shall be raised in any one
year ;—that no relief shall be afforded to single
men except in cases of infirmity or sickness, and
that every pauper shall be settled where he may
happen to fall chargeable. Mr. SCAitLETT cha-
racterises the measure as being friendly to the
Poor, and that every friend to their real interests
ought to support it ; but how the Learned Gen-
tleman will ultimately make that appear is not
easily to be foreseen ; for every part of the mea-
sure seems open to the most serious objections,
as the whole appears but ill suited to the present
state and 'circumstances of the times. Nothing
but some general plan for reviving the energies
of the nation can have any beneficial effect. The
general complaint amongst the poor is a want of
employment, and any _attempt to remedy the evil
without removing the cause must be attended
with the most mischievous consequences.
The general system of our Poor Laws is gene-
rally lost sight of in attacking particular parts.
Their principal leading objects as a code are to
provide for the aged, the infirm, and the unfortu-
nate, and to punish the idle and dissolute. By
a rigorous application of the latter part, much
might be done ; but until there is some allevia-
tion from the great burthens that at present op-
press the country, it is in vain to expect any very
general or permanent relief.

A. B.

Anecdote and Character of the Duke of WEL-
LINGTON.—The Rev. Mr. Dinonsi, in his late
Continental tour, relates the following anecdote,
in his route from Ratisbon to Nuremberg :----We
reached Neumarkt about night-fall, and got into
very excellent quarters. The rooms .of the inn
which we occupied had been filled by the Duke
of Wellington and Lord and Lady Castlereagh, on
their journey to Congress, in the winter of 1814.
The master of the inn related to us a sin-
gular anecdote respecting the Duke. On
hearing of his arrival, the inhabitants of the
place flocked round the inn, and the next
morninff, the Duke found the tops of his
boots Half cut away, from the desire which
the people expressed of having some memorial of
the ' Great Captain of the Age ;' so I heard him
called every where in Austria and Bavaria, by men
of every degree and rank in society, and by pro-
fessional. men, as frequently as by others.. I re-
collect when at Landshut, standing at the door
of the -hotel, and conversing with two gallant-
looking Bavarian officers, who had, spent half
their lives in the service, one of them declar-
ing, that ' he should , like to have been op-
posed to WELLINGTON—tO have died even in
such opposition, if he could not have vanquished
him. I asked him, why ?" Because (said he)
there is glory in such a contest ; for he-is doubt-
less the First Captain of the Age.' No other or
more feasible
.plan presented itself than that of
making interest with. his Grace's groom, when
the boots were taken down to be cleaned on the
morning following his arrival. Perhaps the
Duke's coat, had it been seen, might haVe shared
the same fate."

WICKLOW lIoTEL.--We have heard of. a most
extraordinary FRACAS which took place at this
Hotel a few days ago. The story is rather of a
romantic character, and must have proceeded
from an. ardent .impulse of the blind god over the
more prudent suggestions of cool reflection. It
would appear that a Mr. 13, , having formed
a strong attachment for a Miss R , found
means to•secret himself in the bedchamber of the
young lady at the above Hotel, not with any
dis-
honourable view, we are satisfied, but with the
intention of repeating his vows of constancv, all
other means of doing so having been denied him
by the lady's father. Wholly unconscious of any
such circumstances, the young lady entered her
bedchamber at the usual hour of'repOse,• attended
by her.maid-servant, who, while in the act of un-
dressing her mistress, perceived a boot under the
bed, upon which, with great presence of mind,
she beckoned to the lady to quit the room, and
followed as quickly herself. They,immediately
locked up the intruder, and alarmed the house,
upon which the father and brother of the young
lady flew to her assistance, and upon the door
being opened, a violent scuffle ensued between the•
parties, in the course of which shots were fired
by the loveri we are happy to say, without taking
effect. His added that Mr. B has entered
into bail to a large amount for his appearance.--
(Hibernian Journal, June 11.)

tort TilE Su N.

AGRICULTURE,

There is • nothing which most concerns, or
should so much interest a large population,.as
their Agriculture. Major General BEATsoN, for-
merly Governor of St. Helena, his just given to
the British public a Supplement to the " New
View of Cultivation," which he published last
year. His theory and system are in practice at
Knowle Farm, near 'Tunbridge Wells, where
the results of his plan of cultivation may be seen
in his crops next month. General BE.ITSON, by
.his theory and practice, assumes to teach, and to
prove by experiment and practice, that the Corn
Lands of the British Isles may he cultivated
without dung, lime, merle, or summer fellows,
with a great reduction' of labour and expence.
His means are to till, the land w nth an implement
of his invention, which will perform all the ope-
rations of the plough, harrow, scarifier, &-c. &c,
on stitf clay land, with one horse, and pulverize
the soil in a more perfect manner than has been
usual. The proper pulverization of the stiff soils
is the great disideratum, and that on which their
fertility very much depends. The substitution
of this cheap, powerful, light and efficient im-
plement, for those now in use, is the mecha-
nical part of the improvement and economy
hich he has discovered.—His implements are
made by Wain, LEES, and other makers,
and when a model is seen, may be con-
structed by any tradesman in the country.
The economy and improvement which Ire has
discovered and practised, arid thinks suitable for
all clay lands, if not for all others, is in the prin-
ciple of manure. He considers, and thinks he;
proves by his practice, that no other manure is
required for the growth of wheat and all other
crops, on stiff soils, than that which may be made
on the field, by burning, or rather roasting, the
soil ; that is, by calcining the clay, and burning,
or roasting, the surface soil, with the stubble, &c.
on the land.--A light plough, with one horse;
sufficient for all the purposes of turning and pal-
vcrizing the soil, and a manure made on the field,
at a very small expence, equal to the great ex-
pence of dung, lime, or marle, are great and va-
luable economies for all situations, but of incar-
culable value to those soils and sites where the
ordinary manure can be obtained only at a great
expence, if at all, of which Sussex, Hampshire,
and other counties, offer many examples. Gene-
ral BEATSON calculates, that on his plan, and by
his process, his wheat will be raised this year at
40s. a quarter, allowing only 20 bushels an acre,
and at rent and taxes on his land of 30s. an acre ;
his crop ought to Le 26 to 30 bushels an acre.
General BEATsoN courts inquiry and 4xperiment,
and lays all open to public observation ; if wrong,
he desires to be corrected; if right, he wishes the
Farmers of Great Britain to profit by his inven-
tions, and the evidence and proofs of his pracike.
June 4, 1821. R.

SuicinE.---On Friday night last, Hugh Faw-
cett, of Coffee's Ford, Esq. County Fermanagh,
Attorney, confined in the Jail of this tow”...put
an end- to his existence by shooting. himself
through the body with a pistol. On Saturday
.last an Inquest was held on the body by William
Burrowes, Esq., Sovereign, when a verdict of
" Insanity "• was returned.—(Cavan. Papen)
A MoNsTEtt.----A few minutes before 9 o'clock
on Tuesday evening, as Mrs. II inDEN, of Chiches-
ter-street, Bartholomew's Hospital, in company
with another Lady, was going down Holborn,
when nearly facing Day and Martin's black-
ing manufactory, a monster, in human 'shape,
came unperceived behind - her, • and stabbed
her in the thigh with a sharp instrument, which
cat through all her clothes, and inflicted a de•ep
wound. The pain made her scream nut, when,
the villain turned back and ran off; but a young
man who happened at the time to be com-
ing out of a public house, hearing the Lady
-scream, and seeing the •Monster, run off, pursued
him with the cry of " Stop thief I", others joined
in the chase, when he was secured at the cor.
nor of Red Lion-street, having dropped the
instrument with which he committed the
Beal act, which was picked up •by the man who
saw him drop it. • It had a wooden handle,
with a blade about five inches long,. like the
prong of a fork. He was taken to Eagle-street
watch-house, where the charge was taken.
gave his name john Rinor, and said he was
a cabinet-maker by trade ; that the instrument
was a mat:king awl .which he had in his hand,
and that he Tan accidentally against the Lady, -
when, hearing her scream, he ran away, and find-
ing himself pursued, he
.dropped it. We are
happy to say that the wound, thOugh deep, is not
considered dangerous. Several other 'Ladies, •
within these few nights back, have Leen similarly
treated.
Coax-ExcnAXGE, JUNE 13.—We have had a
fresh arrival of Wheat this morning from Suffolk, besides a
considerable quantity_ which remained 'over froni Mondays
market, for which there was very little demand ;• but prim,'.
samples of white obtained Monday's prices; other descrip-
tions were nearly unsaleable, and prices nominal. Althoutb
the arrivals of Oats are large, yet the trade was-tolerably
on full as good terms as on Monday. • in Barley, Beans, Peas,
and ether articles, there is no altraticn.

BIRTHS.
Yesterday morning,. the 13th inst., Mrs. Connell, Friday'
street, of a daughter.
• Yesterday, the 13tii inst., Mrs. Philip• Page, of 14, King
road, Bedford-row, of a to7i. .

RRIED.
On Tuesday last, at Dorking, James Randall. Esq. of Ti'
coin's Inn, Barrister at Law, to Rebe, only daughter of Rich:'
Lownd
Oa , last, at Benenden, Cooke Tylden Pattenscn, of,
Iborndcr, ';ounty of Kent, to Miss Hodges, daugl'"
ter of Ifodges, of llempsted-place, in the'ktur
County, Esq.

DIED.
At Dover, on the 12th instaiit, John 111inet Fecwr' Esq.
aged 67 years.
On Saturday last, at Munster Ilousz, Fulham,
van, Esq. in his 79th yLar. .
At his housa, Broughton Maw, Edinburgh, on the 4th inst.
James Jackson, Esq. one of the Hon. Conmihisioners of .Excise
for Scoland.
At Dunfermline, on. the 25t1-.. May last, Dr- Stenhouse, of
Comciv Park. .. At I,:dinburgh, on the 3lst ult. Mr. James ,I oed Ranzy,
aged 24. Stephen Suli-

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