The Sun.
London, England, 1817-01-20 00:00:00

rp;t7tit. A.• F} iII.7IILICiNS.,

(i'llOA A CORRIIS'PoIIDRN:r.] .

The late' extraordinary increase of Porter)
not in the quality, but in price, has passed
quietly, by, and seems not ,to have attracted any
particular attention. That this should have been
the case is surprising, particularly as its pressure
must be severely felt by the inferior classes of-the
community, and by many of the bawlers for Par-
liamentary:Beform, who as eagerly swallow every
bait fop exercising their talents as they do their
favouritebeer:
_The', last send. preceding rises of
the BreWers 'to the Publicans were each at the
rate of As, per barrel, or 15s. per butt. The Pub-
licans, worthy souls, thought that as the price
had been risen- to them .15s. per butt, they could
do. MI other than increase it to the customers ISs.
per butt !! ! It is notorious that a butt of Beer.
contains 108 gallons,' whiclfty the Publicans in-
creasing in thefiret,instance from eighteen pence
to twenty pence per gallon gave them 18s. per
butt, and for .which they were only increased by
the Brewer 15s. leaving them a clear profit of 3s.
on that rise alone. The last rise has also given
them the same advantage by now charging twenty-.
!goonee per gallon, 50 that the two rises gives
them a dear profit (exclusive of any other cause)
of Six Shillings per butt. Surely this will attract
the notice of some member of the House of Corn-
mons, who will directly on the Meeting of Par-
liament propose some rcniedy for this increasing
evil. The avidity invariably displayed by the in-
dustrious Publicans in increasing the price of
their Beer forms a surprising contract with their
heavy movements in reducing the price. No
sooner does the broad cooper, as lie is termed,
visit them from the brcwhouse for the first men-
tioned purpose, than with a quickness only to be
compared,to lightning it is carried into execntion.
When his 'visit is for the latter purpose, it •is not
till after' the Publican's memory Chas been fre-
quently refreshed by his customers that he thinks
any thing of the affair.
No ;pretext. has been offered far the late in-
crease in the price of Beer, and as the war malt
duty has ceased it ought to have diminished in-
stead of being augmented. It would, perhaps, be
advisable for the Legislature to enquire whether
the increasing evil of raising the price of Beer
does not. tend to injure the' health and morals,
certainly, of the labouring classes, as it drives them
to have recourse to spirits for cheapness. The
.pernicious effects of which are so glaring as not
to need any remark, together with all the attend-
.iint-evilittiat invariably follow an indiscriminate
use of those ultimately poisoning liquors. The
Magistrates have done, in many districts, all that
is in their power to remove the evil, and in regu-
lating public houses, but much remains to do, and
which can only be effected by the Legislature.
Perhaps it would he advisable to revise the whole
of ,he Acts of Parliament which govern the ro,_
licans, and place them totally on a different loot-
ing. They certainly give,support to the revenue
by the Licences they are compelled to pay fo,,
and which Krems! granted ,to them until they pro.
duce their receipts of 'having paid !heir tuxes, and
then their privileges only extend from year to
year I This should be ameliorated, as many em-
bark, large stuns, and have only the certainty of
one year to enjoy the prospect of a return. This
it flat heo:case with other tradesmen, and these..
fore dvsvrves attention, for one min has .an eqoal
right
,with his neighbour its having his property
protected. N.

HAMPDEN CLUa.--At 12 o'clock on Saturday,
a meeting of several of the Members composing
the Hampden Club was 'held at the Freemasons'
Tavern, Great fJneen-street, for the purpose of
taking into consideration the form of a Bill ou
the subject of Parliamentary Reform, to be sub-
mitted in February next, for the approbation
of a .Generat. Meeting; in the event of its re-
ceiving which, will be presented to Parliament
forthwith by Sir F. ;notate. The draft of this
Bill, which has been prepared, embraces the
whole of the popular topics connected with the
uestion of Reform in the most detailed arrange.
sent, This 'meeting being merely of .a prelimi-
nary nature, and for the purpose of preparing the
Bill, was open only to the Members of the Club.
It appears by the returns made at the London
Hospital for one week, that .there are now no less
titan seven children in it who have been burnt
by their dothes catching tire.
The Opera of the Siege of Belgrade was lOC
night repeated to an admiring auditory. Mr.
Buinast had the full command of his . vocal
powers, and exercised theta with the happiest
effects,---(Publin Correspondent, Tuesday.)_.
An orchard, full .of young apple-trees, has slip-
ped from a at Bognor, in Sussex, across
one field, over a rivulet into .anotber field, where
the trees are principally stanriing as erect as if
they bad been planted many years.
The Lords of the Treasary'having determined
that the :drat Eight Prizes drawn To-Mot:mow
shall be entitled to 3700 Guineas, and the First
500 Bffmks.to,2s Quineas eoch, the advantage of
pirretiasieW a'TiCket or Share THIS DAY is ob.
11011 S ; 'for, independent Of the .ebove-13enefits,
,which in* he `drawn, the Four Grand Capitals of
20,000 and 5000 Guineas may also be drawn To.
morrore, us they are all foaling in the Wheel ;—to
afford every facility to those persons desirous of
availing themselves of these advawtages, the Act
of Parliament hai authorised IVLiBB'S Lottery ,
Offices, 9, Cornhill, and 17, Ladgatestreet, to re-
main open until Twelve o'Clock this Night (on or-
dinary occasions they ara obliged to be closed at
Eight).