The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-06 00:00:00

year and eight months, the son of a poor shoemaker, !
residing at 27, Alsop-mews, Dorset-square. On the
jury viewing the corpse, they were much struck with
the extreme cleanliness, though evident poverty of
the apartment; but their attention was more particu-
larly attracted to the emaciated forms of the parents,
and five or six young children by whom they were
surrounded. It appeared in evidence, that the deceased,
without any previous illness, died suddenly, while
sitting on his father's knee, on the afternoon of Satur-
day last; and it further transpired that the wretched
i parent had been out of employment for seven weeks,
and the only means of subsistence he had was, by
pass ning, one by one, his articles of clothes and fur-
niture. He had not applied for parish relief, as he
had the greatest abhorrence of " pauperising his
family ;" more especially, he added, " as he had
once been a respectable man in the parish, and
had sat on juries before the Coroner, in
cases similar to his own." In summing up the
evidence Mr. WA KLEY observed,—" This was a case
of real distress. The jury had gone to the house and
found the child lying dead, without a coffin, the
mother and six children sitting round in a state of
starvation, and without a farthing in the world to
obtain subsistence! Yet not one word of complaint
was made, and had not the jury made the discovery
themselves, in all probability the real circumstances
would not have been known !" It is too much the
fashion in these days of fastidious refinement, to
consider the destitute and helpless as reck-
less, desperate beings, who are prone to guilt from
the circumstances of their situation, and utterly
scanting i❑ a sense of justice, consideration, and prin-
ciple. Here, however, is a case which proves just the
reverse, and we mentioned a precisely similar one
that was heard a few. days since at one of the police
offices. In the instance immediately.before us, we
find a rigi.l sense of self-respect, honour, and high-
minded principle rising superior to all those tempta-
tions Nith which squalid Poverty never fails to beet
her victims, and coming out of the tremen-
dous ordeal unscathed ! Had the parents of
these starving children rushed out into the streets,
and snatched a loaf from the first baker's shop they
came to, the offence would have been a perfectly
venial one; and dispassionate Justice, taking the miti-
gating circumstances of the case into Consideration,
would have relaxed the frown on her brow, and
leaned to the side of Mercy ; but nothing of the
sort appears to have been attempted; the almost ir-
resi,tible temptation was successfully struggled
against ; and the parents of this famished family,
with a heroism and magnanimity above all praise,
preferred rather to die a lingering death by starvation,
than to know themselves, and let their children know,
that they had stooped to the, crime of theft! And
so they sate with their surviving children round their
uncoffined boy, awaiting in silence and resignation
the welcome hour that was to dismiss them all from
life ! If ever there was a case deserving of public
sympathy, this is that one; and we hope that those
who, at the call of the Bishop of LONDON, have sub-
scribed so lavishly for new churches, will not forget to
subscribe at least the " widows' mite," for a case that
is a thousand times more deserving of their conside-
ration. •

We are glad to learn by accounts from Madrid of
the 28th ult., that no military executions had taken
place at Carthaiena, and that in all probability there
would not be a repetition of the horrible scenes which
Ror•CALI had enacted at Alicant. The Corporation
of the city had entered into negotiations with the
General, and while these were going on the insurgent
leaders, with the assistance of the chief authorities,
made their escape in a steamer. The intelligence
from Madrid is otherwiSe destitute of interest.
The Three per Cents. were done at 34 for cash,
and 361 at 60 days ; and the Five per Cents. at 23f
at 60 days.

In the French Chamber of Deputies, on Tuesday,
M. GARNIER PAGES brought forward his motion for
the conversion of the Five per Cent. Stock. It was
merely a matter, he said, involving the equilibrium
of the finances, and it ought not to be forgotten that
the conversion would produce the not contemptible
saving of twelve millions of francs a year. He con-
ceived that the reduction of interest would be parti-
cularly useful to agriculture and manufactures. The
first thing necessary for work of all sorts was capital,
and as long as interest was kept high agriculture
would in vain, from loans being exceedingly onerous,
make efforts to develope itself, and manufactures
would be incapable of resisting foreign competition.
As to the fitness of the present time, there were three
conditions to be observed in juding of it--everyth'ng
was secure in the foreign relations of the kingdom.;
• all was safe at home; and there existed commercial
activity and health at home and abroad. The Minis-
ter of Finance admitted the right of the State to
make the conversion, but did not consider the present
time opportune for such an operation. He conse-
quently opposed the motion. On Wednesday the
debate was resumed, when the Chamber divided, but
so equally, that the President could not say on which
side was the majority. On a ballot being taken, there
were—Tor the motion, 154; against it, 163: majority
for Ministers, 9.

The accounts from Naples in the Paris papers con-
tinue unfavourable. It appears from letters received
from that city, that an insurrection had taken place
at Paola, a town on the coast of the Mediterranean,
in which a colonel and several officers had been killed.
Reinforcements of troops were on their march for
Calabria.

On the Paris Bourse the Five per Cents. improved
in consequence of the opposition of the Government
to the conversion of that stock. On Wednesday, the
Fives closed at 122 f. 80e., and the Threes at 83f. 20c.

THE BOURSE-WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3.

First

Ilighest Lowest

Price. Price. Price.
French Five per Cents 122 45 .. 122 60 122 40 •• 122 40
Four-and-a-Half— •
lourperCents lO5 80 .• 105 80 •• 105 80 .. 105 50
Three per Cents B3 1 i .• 83 15 .• 83 10 83 15
Bank of France...
Latlitte Bank, 5,000. f. Sharessl4o ..5140 —5140 —5140
Belgian Batik..... • •
Belgian Fives,
1840. 108 108 •• 108 103
1842
Dutch Two-and-a-Half.
Spanish Active .• ••••• • • • • 34-1 341 • • 3•11 •• 34
Threes • 33 381 • • 33 .. 3s
Passive . •
Portuguese Five per Cents• • 47 .• 47 • • 461 • • 463
Neapolitan.. • ...... •.• 101 23 .: 101 40 • • 101 25 .. 101 40
Roman ••••• • .• • • 106 .• 106 .. 106 • • 106

RAILWAY SHARES.
St. Germain •••• • • • 825 .. 825 .. 825 .. 823
Versailles, R. 8.• ••• • • 405 .. 405 •• 397 50 .• 400
L.B.••••••
Rouen ••••••• • • • •• • • •• • • 937 60 938 75 • • 937 50 • • 937 50
Rouen to Havre. .....•••••. 700 .. 702 50 .. 700 .. 700
orieans ......
Strasburg to Bale• ••••• • • • • 305 • • 305 .. 295 .. 993
Avignon to Marseilles 766 23 767 50 766 2a •• 767 50