The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-02 00:00:00

114 P trtning

LONDON, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1844.

A new society, entitled the "Athenic Institution,"
has, it appears, been lately started at Birmingham.
As the origin of this institution is not a little interest-
ing, we subjoin a brief account of it. It seems that
about two or three years ago, four young men of the
working elasses being desirous of cultivating their
minds, decided on the establishment of a society by
which they might be enabled, in their leisure hours,
to engage in intellectual pursuits and rational sports
and amusements. They accordingly—though not
without difficulty—got together some twenty or thirty
young men of their own grade in society, submitted
to them their project, obtained their promise of co-ope-
ration, and then formed themselves into a sort of club
to which they gave the name of the "Athenic Institu-
tion." In this institution they divided themselves into
reading, writing, arithmetical, drawing,and other useful
classes, to which, says the Birmingham journal, they
added arrangements for the enjoyment of the good old
manly, out-door and in-door English sports and
recreations. For some time, as might have been
expected, their society continued on a small scale,
but gradually their numbers increased, the moral
influence of their example began to make itself felt in
the town, and they were at length enabled to take
large rooms, which they fitted up in a most tasteful
manner, and then issued a public address in explana-
tion of the objects of their institution. The next step
of this juvenile association was to choose a patron,
and after some discussion on the subject, they
selected Lord Joni( MANNERS, who replied in
the most flattering terms to their communication,
and accepted an invitation to dine with them on
Monday last, at their new rooms in Birming-
ham. At this dinner his Lordship, who was in the
chair, after expressing his cordial approval of the
objects of the " Athenic Institution," went on to ob-
serve that it was, in his opinion, necessary for the hard-
working men of Birmingham to enter their protest
against the modern dogma which would seem to
assume that no recreation was necessary for the work-
ing people of England, and which appeared to have
adopted for its motto what would, he had imagined,
have been held in universal reprobation—namely, All
work and no play. "He called it a modern dogma,"
added the Noble Chairman, " because history proved
to demonstration, that every nation of antiquity
deemed it a matter of the highest importance to pro-
vide for the relaxation and amusement of the working
classes." Not only the legislators and rulers of
antiquity had this considerate regard for the health-
ful recreations of the humbler and more industrious
orders, but those of our own country were equally
provident and politic in their views on this important
subject. Both before, and many years subsequent to,
the age of ELIZABETH, the amusements of the work-
ing classes were protected by Government with a soli-
citude truly paternal. Each season of the year was
allowed its characteristic holiday, when the highest
mingled with the lowest in unaffected good fellow-
ship ; amusements, suited to the period, were provided
both for the summer and the winter evenings ; great
historical events were commemorated with general re-
joicings; and nothing was neglected that could give
a healthy, cheerful, bracing tone to the feelings of the
community at large. The consequence was, that de-
spite the domestic troubles with which she was
so frequently beset, England was really and
truly " merrie England"—a land which could boast
as hardy, as industrious, and as happy a labouring
population as any recorded in history. Is that the
case now ? Can it now be said with any truth of
this country, that her operatives are cheerful and
orderly her peasantry obedient, contented, and
grateful ? Let the midnight vagaries of SWING, and
the rapid spread of Chartism, which is nothing more
than the voice of the poor man's despair, make an-
swer to this question ! The higher and the middle
classes have much—very much to answer for, in hav-
ing so long and so perversely neglected the interests of
the lower orders. If the peasant is alienated from the
landholder, and the operative from the manufacturer, it is
the latter, rather than the former, that are to blame for
such estrangement. When men are treated as slaves they
will exhibit the vices of slaves—when they are treated
as mere machines, they will exhibit the insensibility
of machines. To draw forth the kindlier and nobler
feelings of their nature, you must treat them with
respect—with forbearance—with humanity. This is
not only an act of duty, but an act also of the most
consummate policy, since there can be no sure
guarantee for the permanent tranquillity of a
country where the ;vast mass of the working
classes are kept in a state of subordination, no
from respect nor gratitude, but solely from an
apprehension of punishment. Fortunately, the higher
and middle classes of society are at length awakening
to a conviction of this truth; and we do hope and be-
lieve that the period is not far distant when the poor,
oppressed workman will no longer be able to say with
any truth, that he is treated with neglect and insult by
those who should be his best friends and benefactors.

For an admirable specimen of " Justices' justice,"
we refer our readers to our Gravesend police report .
It appears that a Mr. WILLIAM SMITH, a gentleman,
but who in reality, is the scion of a noble family,
and holds a lieutenantcy in one of the regiments sta-
tioned at Chatham, had, between twelve and one
o'clock on Thursday evening, kicked his heel against
one of the Star steam-packet boards, placed against
the rails in the crescent, and broke it in pieces. A
policeman inquired of him for what reason he had so
wilfully damaged the board. No satisfactory reply was
given, and the policeman then felt bound to take him into
custody, there having been numerous complaints re-
specting the breakage ofseveral steam companies' boards.
The prisoner not being in custody to meet the charge
on the following morning, Mr. OAKEs informed his
brother magistrates that he had been waited upon
early that morning by the friends of the unfortunate
young gentleman, in the hope that he might be li-
berated, as he had to mount guard at an early hour
on that day, and if he was not in attendance the con-
sequence might prove most serious to him. lie,
therefore, consulted with the police as to the offence
the prisoner had committed, and finding that it was
one of those foolish, boyish freaks, he allowed him to
be set at large, so that he might go on duty. They,
therefore, would adjudicate upon the case in the ab-
sence of the accused.

The other magistrate naturally asked it' there had
been no security given for the man's appearance on
his liberation from the police, and the report thus goes
on :—" Mr. OAKES (very low) —No, no ; the police
are satisfied. Now let us hear the evidence." Hav-
ing heard the evidence Mr. OAKES delivers judg-
ment in these words : " Well, we fine the ac-
cused ss. for the offence, and if the officer will go
down to the Falcon Tavern and present my compli-
ments to Mr. FRENCII, stating the amount of the fine,
it will be paid." This is the rich man's law. For the
poor man's law turn we to a case adjudicated
on the same morning, by the same magistrates,
in the same Court :—" A poor donkey-driver wa.3
charged with driving his ass without kbadge empower •
ing him to do so. Mr. OAKES observed that if the
laws were made they must be attended to, and the
least they could fine the prisoner was the amount of
expenses he had incurred, viz., 7s. Gd., which the poor
fellow reluctantly paid out of his hard-got earnings,
and was then allowed to depart."
Mother COLE, with her Prayer-book, was nothing
to Mr. OAKES. Admire his administration of the law
of jackasses ! With what dignified severity doth he
rebuke the delinquent donkey-driver—.« If the laws
were made they must be attended to." It is to be
hoped that he made the same observation to " the
unfortunate young gentleman" before he libe-
rated him at the request of his friends ;

and it is to be hoped that " the unfortunate young
gentleman" was duly penitent, and did not laugh in
his sleeve at Mr. OAKES as he mounted guard that
morning, and that none of the military friends of
" the unfortunate young gentlemen" will be seduced
into running even to Gravesend to have a ss.
" lark," trusting to the kind heart of OAKES to
liberate them in time to mount guard the
next morning, lest the consequences of not being
in attendance might prove most serious to them.
The consequences of non-attendance on his customers
that morning were no doubt most serious to the
donkey-driver ; but then he was not " an unfortunate
young gentleman." We are told by persons in
authority that the poor are becoming every day more
and more demoralised—that they are losing all reve-
rence for the laws, and pay no respect to those who have
heretofore been considered their superiors. Are the
distinctions thus made between donkey-drivers and
" unfortunate young gentlemen" likely to increase the
reverence of the poor man for the laws, or his respect for
those entrusted with their administration. English-
men like justice in all places, and if those in authority
wish to enjoy that respect from their fellow-subjects,
which has heretofore been paid to them, they must
administer the law, fairly and equally to all—
without favour, without affection, and without making
any distinction—" unfortunate young gentlemen" and
other classes of the community.

The news from Spain comes down to the 25th ult.
Accounts from Madrid, to the 24th, represent
that city as perfectly tranquil. Their Majesties, the
two QUEENS, bad been waited on by the corps diplo-
matique, to congratulate them on their return to the
Spanish capital.

News of the bombardment of Mogadore had
reached Madrid, at the date of these advices, and the
Prince DE JOINVILLE was said to have returned be-
fore Tangiers. According to the renewed declara-
tion of the Globe, peace had been concluded between
Spain and Morocco.
The other news from Madrid may be thus summed
up :—The Three per Cents. were done at 27 7-16,
at sixty days; the Five per Cents. at 20; and
the Floating Debt at 61i, at sixty days.
CORDOVA had been designated to act as Captain-
General of the province, in the absence of M. MA-
ZARREDE, and QUINTIN VELASCO, a brigadier of en-
gineers, had been appointed military commander.
The grand levee, held at the palace on the 25th
ult., in honour of the feast of the Infant Donna
LUISA, sister of Queen ISABELLA, was of the most
brilliant description ; and the whole assemblage
were struck, we are told, with the healthful ap-
pearance of both QUEENS. M. MAZARREDE was ex-
pected to forward his resignation of the the post of
Captain-General of Madrid, from the Pyrenees,
whither he had proceeded to drink the waters. It is
imputed tolhim that be was the main occasion of the
discontents lately manifested by the troops in garri-
ion, at Madrid, owing to his general mismanagement
of affairs; and particularly his suspicious nature,
which is asserted to have kept them constantly on
the qui roue, without any adepuate motive or justifi-
cation.

We note, with satisfaction, a somewhat modified—
if it be not yet a friendly—tone, in the observations
of the French journals of Saturday last, on the pro-
gress of events in Morocco, 'and their influence upon
the relations between France and England. The
Debats is almost facetious on some of the inconsis-
tencies which it assumes to have detected in the
lucubrations of some of our morning Contemporaries,
here, in their mode of treating these questions. The
Globe eulogises the juster appreciation which has
been formed of them by the men of sounder reason in
both kingdoms. The National somewhat sarcastically
qualifies its congratulations to the English press on
its return to views of " moderation and good sense,"
by the remark that " this return would have been
more meritorious, had it taken place a few days
sooner, and before the battles'of Mogadore and Isly."
The following extracts are sufficiently characteristic.
The Debats, after observing on the extreme atten-
tion with which the operations of the French squadron
on the coast of Africa are watched, here, adds—
" There is nothing in that which can surprise us, or
at which we ought to take offence. The war which we
wage on the Emperor of Morocco is a far more im-
portant matter to the English than that which they
waged with the Emperor of China could be to us. There
is not, whatever may be said, any parallel to be drawn
between the island of Mogadore and that of Hong-Kong.
If England had thought it right to take possession of
the whole Celestial Empire, we should not have con-
ceived any uneasiness for Marseilles or Toulon; but if
France should occupy in a permanent manner Tangiers or
Morocco, England would assuredly have some reason to be
uneasy. We therefore comprehend perfectly well the
sentiment of disquietude which is manifested by certain
English journals, but we regret for them that they do not
express it more reasonably, and that they do not better
know how to dissemble their jealousy or ill humour. It
must, however, be allowed that they do not all employ
the same language. The more sensible ones, such as
speak to men's reason, and not to their passions, as the
Morning Herald and the Standard, make no difficulty in
avowing that France is in her right—that patience, mode-
ration, and justice are entirely on her side. But there
are others, which not being able to contest the evident
right of France, have recourse to hypotheses,
and take the trouble of reasoning, or rather
not reasoning, on eventualities which to all
appearance will never take place. The Times,
for instance, is disagreeably affected by the occupation
of the island of Mogadore, and that prima facie appears
to it suspicious. However, after reflecting maturely, it
at last discovers that there is nothing to object to. But
if France were to take possession of other points of the
territory, if it should transform its provisional occupa-
tion into a permanent one, if it should turn Morocco into
a second Algeria, oh ! then that would be a grave case,
and England ought to demand explanations and repara-
tions. Why does not the Times say that if a French
squadron should go and bombard the Tower of London
or St. Katherine's docks, the English Government would
demand explanations ? Since it is in the vein of hypo-
thesis—why stop short when going on so well ? The
French Government has declared ten times over that it
has not the slightest intention to aggrandise its territory,
and that, if it were forced to take it, it would not keep it."
The Globe says :

"It will be seen by our extracts from the London
journals how far the reasoning of men of consideration
in France and England has dispersed those absurd va-
pourings of war which have obscured certain heated
brains. The fact is, that great affairs are like the ancient
poets ; they hate a crowd, and retire from it, because it
is passionate and tumultuous, while they have need of
calmness and moderation."

The National remarks that " the English press has
completely ceased joking about the skill of our marine
artillerymen ; the Times itself no longer says that the
tricolour flag has dishonoured itself in Africa, and its
rhodomontades have given place to the most pacific
reflections." And it declares its opinion that except-
ing only two of the London journals, " which fire up
more and more, and which even go so far as to pre-
tend that England cannot, without dishonour, abstain
from repressing by force the occupation of Mogadore,
all the other organs appear to have recovered the use
of reason, and acknowledge—first, that France had
a perfect right to do what she has done; secondly,
that the victories of our troops, instead of proving a
brand of discord in Europe, are a guarantee forpeace."

In Galig,nani s Messenger we have this notice :
" Some of the Opposition journals state on the faith
of accounts from Morocco, that munitions of English
manufacture were found both at Mogadore, and among
the stores in the Moorish camp, captured by Marshal
BUGEAUD." We take leave to doubt the fact; of the
animus with which the statement is put forward, thera
can be no doubt. But even if the case should turn
out to be precisely conformable to the announcement
of the French Opposition journals ; what then ?
Will they point out any treaty or obligation into
which we have entered with France, or any other
European Power, not to supply Morocco, with which
empire we have long had a considerable trade, with
arms and munition of war of British manufacture, if
the Government, or the subjects of the EMPEROR
should need them ? We spak more particularly of
that long interval, but just now interrupted, in which
our ally, the Moroquin SOVEREIGN, was at peace with
almost every other European state as well as our
own. We suspect that military arms and munitions
form a considerable portion of our exports, at all
times, to these African independencies. Besides, the
state parasol captured in the baggage of the Em-
PEROR'S son, turns out to have been made in Paris !
We cry " quits !"

THE BOURSE-SATURDAY, AtTOITST 31.

First Highest Lowest
_ .

Price. Price. Price. Price.
French Five per C rats ••• • .• 120 55 .. 120 65 120 40 .. 120 65
Three per Cents..... 80 CO .• 80 85 80 40 .• 80 85
Bank of France • • .• • • • • • 3045 ..3045 .•3045 3045
Laflitte Bank, I,ooof. SharesloBo ..1080 —lOBO 1080
5,000 f. Sharesso6o —5060 ..5060 ..5060
Belgian Fives, 1840 .• • lO4 .. 104 .. 104 .. 104
1842 .• . • .... 1661 .. 1061 .. 1061 .• 1061
Spanish Passive
014 Deferred ••• • .. 5; .. 57 .. .5i
Dutch Two and-a-Half .• • 611 • • 611 • . 611 • 611
NeePolitan ••••.. • • • ... • • • 97 90 • • 93 .. 97 90 .• 98
8.0214 a .......... 104} .. 104} .. 1041 1041