The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-29 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 29, 1844.

man's evidence, and the petition, they report to the
House; lint without expressing any opinion upon it.
The petition of KING to the House of Common; sets
forth that during his residence in the Woodbridge
union workhouse, he had witnessed, among other
heart-rending acts of cruelty and neglect towards
the sick and other inmates of that establishment,
these : namely—" a poor man, aged 76 years, was
cruelly bound to the bedstead, the cord passing three
times over different parts of his body, to save the
trouble of (the nurse's) sitting up with him, during
the night ; in which state he was found dead, cold,
and quite stiff on the following morning ;" that pe-
titioner was acquainted with the names of several
other persons who were found dead in their beds,
having died in the night time, and on whose bodies
no coroners' inquests were held ; that petitioner
could prove the facts of two such cases; and of "other
two deaths caused by the extreme violence manifested
towards the individuals by the officers of the house,
and that as to these deaths the absence of a coroner's
inquest arose from the expediency of concealment ;
that petitioner having, in accordance with a sense of
duty, repeatedly petitioned the Poor-law Commis-
sioners to institute a full and searching inquiry into
these cases, they had refused on the ground assigned in
a certain correspondence (which then follows)
between petitioner, the Assistant-Secretary to the
Board, and the clerk of the Woodbridge union). The
petitioner refused, under advice of counsel, to furnish
any previous list of witnesses to the Commissioner.,
from apprehension of their being tampered with."
Our readers will probably imagine that there must
have been some gross exaggeration in such a cata-
logue of horrors as KING had thus opened to prove the
criminal misconduct of the parties in authority at the
Woodbridge union house. We are inclined to be-
lieve that of exaggeration KING has been guilty to a
great extent ; but, that one half, one tithe, of such
enormities should appear by the acknowledgement
and finding of the Poor-law Commissioners—them-
selves interested parties, and, we will say, in refer-
ence to their gratuitous vindication of the unfeeling
and most negligent ma.ster and mistress of the union
house—implicated parties too ;—that a fraction of
these atrocities has been committed, is a fact which
calls on Parliament itself for the sternest expres-
sion of its severe displeasure against the controlling
authority; under the jurisdiction of which—large,
inquisitorial, and well supported as it is, these
criminal delinquencies can have been committed.
They are a scandal to the national humanity
and civilisation ; a reproach to the county
of Suffolk; and a standing testimony to the im-
becility, as well as the injustice, of that vaunted
"Poor-law Commission," whose whole career will
have been but one long drain
.upon the public purse,
and one protracted outrage upon public feeling—if
they venture to commit themselves to such a mode of
dealing with such offences, as they exhibit in their
letter of the 20th of February last to the clerk of the
Woodbridge union.
An abstract of this report, and of the documents
embodied in it, which we give in another part of our
paper, comprise this letter ; and to it we earnestly
direct the attention of our readers.

they dreaded very much. M. de Kalbermattan is operating
a general disarming of the Lower Viilais. The troops under
the orders of this chief, were to occupy St. Maurice to-day
towards eight in the morning. They are also to occupy
Monthey and the other communes as far as St. Gingolph.
There is no truth in the report of the burning of villages.
The only fires were those of the bridges, and of a few de-
tached buildings."
'We read in the aurrier Suisse :—" In the midst of the
sad scenes of the combat of the Trient, where several Lower
Valaisian leaders were killed in crossing the torrent, we are
well pleased to cite the following fact :—M. Duvay passed
without being wounded, but he was made prisoner. The men
who had taken him wanted to shoot him on the spot. A
cure, whose name, we regret, we are unable to state, pene-
trated into the midst of them, and said, ' Unhappy men,
what are you about to do ? Do you forget that before a pri-
soner is shot time must be allowed him to prepare for death ?
Let me confess him.' Thereupon he took him by the arm,
and led him without opposition to some bushes which grew
on the banks of the Rhone, and where they were soon hid
from sight. The cure returned alone, and when the men
asked him what he had done with the prisoner, he replied
that he had escaped."
THE BOURSE—MONDAY, MAY 27.
First Highest Lowest Last
Price. Price. Price. Price.
French Five per Cents l2l 70 .• 121 80 .. 121 70 .. 121 75
Four per Cents lO7 75 .• 107 75 .. 107 75 .• 107 7.5
Three per Cents.• •• • 84 SO .. 84 60 .. 84 50 .. 84 60
Bank of France...w 3075 .•3075 . 3065 —3065
Latlitte Bank, I,ooof. SharesloBo —lOBO • • 1580 .. 1080

AMERICAN NEWS.

DISGRACEFUL RIOTS AT PHILADELPHIA,
WITH LOSS OF LIFE.
LIVERPOOL, TUESDAY AFTERNOON, 4 o'CLocit.
The Royal mail steam-ship, Hibernia, Captain
Judkins, has just arrived, having left Boston on the
16th, and Halifax on the 18th. She brings a heavy
mail, and a large number of passengers.
The dates brought by this arrival extend over a
period of fifteen days, no sailing packet having brought
late papers since the arrival of the last steamer. The
only important intelligence in the papers is the ac-
count of a dreadful riot that had taken place in Phi-
ladelphia between the native American and the Irish
population, originating, it is said, in some difference
about the repeal question. Several lives are reported
to be lost, whilst two Catholic churches, two Catholic
school-houses, a Catholic nunnery, and nearly 84
dwelling-houses had been burnt down. The power
of the authorities and the police appear to have been
quite set at nought, and nothing in the way of in-
terference appears to have taken place till the fury of
the mob was spent.
The following accounts of these lawless proceedings
are taken from the American papers, and they may,
therefore, be considered as not too partial to the Irish,
who, by-the-by, seem to have beaten the Yankees to
their heart's content. When the latter found they
could not match the Irish in fighting, in a malevo-
lent and cowardly spirit, they set fire to the Catholic
churches and schools, as well as the dwellings of the
poor inhabitants.
(From the Philadelphia papers.)
The joyful shouts of the peaceful gathering at Baltimore
had scarcely ceased to echo through our land, when from her
fair sister city of Philadelphia arose the savage cry of an en-
raged mob, which has enacted scenes of riot and bloodshed,
certainly the most appalling that have ever stained our
country's history, and almost without a parallel in atrocity
and brutality.
It appears by the United States Gazette that the Native
American party held a meeting on Monday afternoon at four
o'clock on a vacant lot at the corner of Master and Second-
streets, but before the meeting was organised a storm obliged
them to take shelter in the market-house near by at the
corner of Master and Cadwallader-streets. When the third
speaker rose to address the meeting, a man standing at the
outside of the crowd was heard to say to another, standing
next to him (both of whom are represented to us as being
Irishmen), " Now let's make a noise, so that he won't be
heard." They forthwith created a noise, and were remon-
strated with by some of the bystanders, who requested them
to let the proceedings of the meeting go on in peace. They
would not cease their clamour, and were finally compelled to
do so, in consequence of receiving a severe flogging.
This fight caused a little excitement, which was raised to
an intense degree, in consequence of several shots being fired
from the upper windows of the Hibernia hose-house, in
Cadwallader-street, fronting the market-house. By this volley
several wounds were inflicted, and the native Americans
gathered at the meeting, becoming highly exasperated, and
the Irishmen having gathered into a mob, they made an
attack upon them. A number of shots were fired from the
crowd of Irishmen, but they were finally compelled to flee.
The native Americans pursued them, and several of the
fugitives, finding themselves hotly pressed, darted into houses
and up alleys, in order to escape. Several of the houses into
which they were seen to enter were immediately attacked,
and the front doors and windows of two frame houses in
Cadwallader-street, below Master-street, and one in the same
street above Master-street, were battered in with stones.
Finally, the Irishmen rallied, and beat off the native Ame-
ricans, and there the contest ended for the time.
The worst result _of this disgraceful contest is seen in the
loss of life. From the beginning of the affray the shots
were frequent, and ono man was killed instantly, and five
severely. wounded.
The great excitement created in East Kensington by the
occurrence was intense.
Sheet' M'Michael was early upon the ground, and we
learn adopted active measures to prevent further violence.
FURTHER PARTICULARS—TWO MEN KILLED.
During the evening great crowds of people were gathered
in the neighbourhood of the scene of violence in the after-
noon, and about ten o'clock an attack was made upon a dwel-
ling-house in Second-street, just above Franklin. A cry was
then raised of " Go to the nunnery," and a crowd proceeded
up Second-street to Master, at the corner of which is a
Roman Catholic school-house. A bonfire was kindled at one
corner of the street, and the fence of the school-house set on
fire. About this time, when the crowd had halted in front
of the school-house, a volley of musketry was fired from the
house opposite, and when the crowd had parted, it was dis-
Covered that several were wounded; one young man was
taken up dead, a bullet having pierced his left breast, just
above the heart. Another was shot in the upper part of the
left lung with a bullet, and when we left was expiring. We
—al were so told that two other men were seriously wounded.
The native Americans then retreated, and up to twelve
o'clock (midnight) affairs remained quiet.
On Tuesday the riots were renewed with terrible atrocity.
In Kensington seven men were killed and a large number
wounded, and thirtybuildings, including the market-house,
were burnt. On the morning of Tuesday handbills were
Posted about the city, calling a meeting of native Americans
at three o'clock; before the time of meeting, however, a
large crowd of persons carried an American flag through the
streets, torn and defaced, having on it in large letters "This is
the flag that was trampled upon by the Irish Papists."
The speakers at the meeting at three o'clock vainly en-
deavoured to quiet the excitement. An immense body of
men, some 3,000, adjourned from the place of meeting to the
scene of the atrocities on the day previous at Kensington,
where the following barbarous scenes were enacted, as appears
by the United States Gazette :
Most of those present moved in a body to Kensington (at
the corner of Second and Master-streets), and proceeded to
organise a meeting, but they had scarcely nailed up their
flag (the same that is spoken of above) when a number of
boys made an attack upon the Hibernia hose-house. A
number of shot were then fired from houses in the vicinity
towards the meeting, and the native Americans, after dis-
persing for a moment, rallied and attacked the hose-house,
took out the carriage, ran the hose off the reel, and then
broke the apparatus up.
The native Americans then (between four and five o'clock)
took possession of the market-house, and for the next three
hours, the shots 'were frequent from the houses in its western
Vicinity. Men were seen lying upon the roofs of a row of
houses fronting the market ; and in every place of conceal-
Ment near the same
.place others were occasionally discovered.
; About fiveo'clock another attack was made upon the hose-
house, and a large new bell found in it was brought out into
the open square and shattered to pieces. Shortly after this
a frame dwelling-house next to the hostkouse was fired, and
from that time up to nine o'clock in the evening, the flames
continued to spread without stay until twenty-nine houses
Were consumed, the greater part of them being upon Cad-
wallader-street, and four upon the street facing the market.
About seven o'clock the market-house itself caught fire, and
at nine o'clock lay in a heap of ruins.
At seven o'clock the First Brigade and two companies of
the Third Brigade came on the ground, under the command
of General Cadwallader, and formed on Master-street, facing
north. Cannon were stationed so as to range on the street
fronting the market, and on Master-street westward. A de-
tachment of two companies, under command of Col. Murray,
marched to the north end of the market, and formed a cordon
across the street. The military had previously been formed
in like manner on Master-street.
• The Sheriff then detached a number of his constabulary
force (which had preceded the military on their march up),
and proceeded to examine all the houses from which shots
had been fired; in one of them a man named John Holmes
was found, and in the same room in which he was was a rifle
heavily loaded. He was brought out and consigned to the care
of the military.
In the meantime General Cadwallader made a brief ad-
dress to the great crowd assembled below Master-street,
urging them to preserve peace, and to act in co-operation
with ,the military. The whole affair rested in the hands of
the law, and he was bound to see that the settlement was
lawfully made. His brief address seemed to meet the general
approbation, and during the entire evening the crowd of per-
sons collected seemed disposed to let matters rest in the
hands of the civil and military force.
At half-past eight members of the Carroll House com-
menced to throw water upon the burning buildings, and
succeeded in stopping the progress of the fire northward.
At nine o'clock the United States engine arrived on the
ground, under escort of a detachment of the Lafayette Light
Guards, and immediately went into service. The Assistance
engine shortly afterwards went into service, also under an
escort of military, and shortly afterward nearly the whole
Fire Department were upon the ground. The fire was
then stayed, but not until a vast amount of property was
destroyed.
The result of the few hours during which the contest
between the native Americans and the Irish raged was that
seven men were killed and five mortally, and 16 more or less
dangerously wounded, among them was one who was
wounded by a shot fired by John Taggart. A negro, sitting
in the market-house, immediately fired at Taggart, and seve-
ral shot struck him in the forehead. Taggart then ran into
a house, but a number of the native Americana rushed in and
made him a prisoner.
He was conducted down to Alderman Boileau's office, who,
upon the oath of the spectators, committed him to Mova-
mensing prison. He left the office in charge of two officers
and a number of citizens, but when near Beaver-street the
crowd took him violently out of the hands of his conductors,
tied a rope round' his neck, and dragged him some distance
along the street.
His captors then passed the rope over the end of an awning
post, and pulled him up for the purpose of hanging him, but
the beam broke and he fell to the earth ; he was then dragged
for some distance, and finally left lying in the street, to all
appearance dead. He was, however, alive when taken up,
and remained so up to ten o'clock last night. He cannot,
however, survive.
S. Abbott Lawrence, a nephew of Abbott Lawrence, of
Boston, was standing on the outskirts of the crowd, when a
bullet struck him and caused him much pain. It appeared,
upon examination, that the ball had struck his waistcoat, and
lodged against a cent which was in his pocket, by which its
course was stopped. The cent was completely bent up, and
the escape of Mr. Lawrence may be certainly considered pro-
vidential.
Sheriff M'Michael was unceasing in his efforts to put an
end to the riots. The military were called out at four o'clock
in the afternoon, and they were put in motion at seven o'clock.
Had they arrived on the ground at four o'clock, the terrible
destruction of life would have been prevented, and the confla-
gration would not have taken place.
A meeting of Catholics, we understand, was held last
evening at the Cathedral of St. John, for the purpose of con,
sidering and adopting measures to allay the excitement,
The Bishop of Philadelphia issued an appeal to the Catho-
lics calling on them to shun all public places of assemblage,
and to do nothing that in any way should exasperate.
The military remained on (he ground during the greater
part of the night.
There is reason to believe that the immediate danger is
passed and the riot quelled. Most earnestly do we hope that
it May be the case.
On Wednesday morning the rioting was renewed and a
row of frame dwellings, from which the tenants have re-
moved, were
_fired, and soon after another row, likewise
untenanted, just in the rear of Cadwallader-street, in the im-
mediate vicinity of the late fire, were fired and destroyed. A
short time afterward, two three story buildings, at the corner
of Jefferson and Washington-streets, likewise untenanted,
were set on fire and shared the same fate.
HALF-PAST Two O'CLOCK.—The Catholic Church, called
St. Michael's, on Second-street above Master, has just been
fired, which, with the dwelling of the priest, on the north,
and small frame dwellings on the south, are destroyed. The
priest, under the protection of the military, quitted hia resi-

5,000 f. Shares.so62 50 ..5070 ••5062 50 —5670
Belgian Bank..•. •.••• • •• • 665 .. 665 .. 665 .. 665
1841....
Belgian Fives,lB4o • • •• •• •• 106 .. 106 .. 106 .. 106
1842 •••• •• 109 .• 109 .. 109 .• 109
Neapolitan.— . • • .. 102 70 .. 102 70 .. 102 70 .. 102 70
Roman, ex div.

RAILWAY SHARES.
St. Germain
Versailles, R. 8....... • • •• • • 386 23 • • 386 28 .. 386 25... 386 25
L.B....••.•••••• 250 .. 251 25 .. 250 .. 251 25
Rouen.
Rouen to Havre.... ••.• • • 775 • • 775 .. 772 50 .. 775
Orleans ...........1005 •.1007 50 .•1003 75 ..1007 50

Strasburg to Bale •• 261 25 .. 262 50 .. 260
Avignon to Marseilles.. •• 775 .. 7851 775
RAILWAY SHARES, FOR THE ACCOUNT.
St. Germain ..
Versailles, R.B. •. •
L. 8.•• •• •• 252 50 .. 252 50 .. 251 25 .. 251 25
Rouen •• 985 .. 987 50 .. 985 . 987 50
Rouen to Havre.. . 775 .. 775 .. 770 .. 775
Orleans ....•.....1005 ..1007 50 ..1003 75 ..1007 50
Strasburg to 8a1e.......... 261 25 .. 262 50 .. 261 25 .. 262 50
Avignon to Marsellles•• •• • • 777 50 .. 785 .. 775 .. 785

.. 261 25
.. 785

THIS DAY'S NEWS

PORTUGAL.
PARIS, MAY 28.
The French Government has received the fol
lowing

The accounts from Madrid are to the 21st. On
the evening of the 20th the Royal Family had safely
reached Quintanar. The Carlist Chief, long a faithful
adherent of Don CARLos, and two of his officers, had
heen at last taken prisoner, and shot. The Funds
continue to fall. On the 21st, the Three per Cents.
were done at 27i 9-16 II I for cash, and 28 at 60
days ; and the Five per. Cents. at 20 for cash, and
2(4 for 60 days.

The Paris papers of Monday announce the death
of the celebrated banker and politician, M. JACQUES
LAFFITTE. The melancholy event took place on Sun-
day evening, at seven o'clock. He had been suffering
for some time from a pulmonary complaint. A
favourable change had taken place in the morning,
and some faint hopes were entertained of his re-
covery, but soon disappointed. He was born in the
year 1767, and, consequently, had attained his
seventy-seventh year. From all accounts, he was a
man of very high character, uniformly consistent in
his politics, the unbending friend of liberty, and a
real lover of his country. Few men ever made such
sacrifices for the public good. That the Royal Family
of France know well ; and they also know that to
him, more than any one individual, LOUIS PEEILIPPE
owes his throne, though latterly this excellent man
was seldom or never seen at the palace. The follow-
ing just tribute to his memory appears in the Na-
tional:—" Al. JACQUES LAFFITTE died last evening,
at seven o'clock, contrary to the hopes enter-
tained a few hours before of preserving him.
At four his state appeared more satisfactory, and it
was only at six that the change came on which in a

short time terminated his existence. Up to the last
moment M. LAFFITTE preserved his intellectual
faculties fully, and he had the consolation of once
more embracing those members of his family whom
he loved the most. The deep and sincere grief that
reigns at this moment in his house would prove, if it
was necessary, how excellent was his disposition.
Death, in fact, has rarely struck so noble a victim.
For more than a quarter of a century the name of
M. LAFFITTE has shone forth amongst us at the
head of the list of the purest patriots, and for fifty

years all persons in distress were accustomed to
turn their eyes towards him as towards a Provi-
dence. M. LAFFITTE committed errors in politics.
The generosity of his heart was such that he
could not believe in the perversity of which some
men are capable, and this generosity rendered
Ein more than once their dupe. But the people,

whose feeling is so sure, never ceased to regard M.
Larrirrn as one of their best friends,- and they were
not mistaken. Every one has 'still in his recollection
ilie speech by which this great citizen bade farewell
this year to the place of President of the Chamber,
feeling a presentiment that he should no more ascend
that chair, s‘here he had just uttered such unaccus-

toured truths. France will not forget those words,
IThich are, -as it were, the political testament of
M. J. LAFFITrE. She will not forget the man
to whom misfortune never applied in vain. It

may be asserted that if all those on whom M.
LAFFITTI has showered his benefits should attend
h:s obsequies, never will a prince's funeral have
drawn together in a concourse greater in number,
and formed of persons in a higher rank of life:
The funeral was fixed for Wednesday (this day), and
as it would to a certainty be attended by vast crowds,
the authorities were making every preparation for
preserving order. The Funds were slightly affected
by Lis death, but soon recovered, and the Three per
Cents. closed at the prices of the previous day-
84f. 65c.

We learn by the Swiss journals that the fighting
-in the Valais had entirely 'ceased: The forces Of the
Upper Valais have been completely successful in their
conflict with those of the Lower Valais, "which are so

Isurganised that there is little chance of their being
to rally. Mcst of the other Cantons have called
out troops for the protection of their respective terri-
tories. The Canton of Vaud have even sent a batta-
lion into the Valais. The question of convoking an
extraordinary Diet for the adoption of measures for

the maintenance of general tranquillity, has been re-
solved affirmatively by several of the Grand Councils.
The Nourelliste Vaudois of the 24th has the following,
under the head of Lavey, May 21 :
"The engagement which took place this morning in the
defile of the Trient was an effort made by the entire column
of the Lower Valais to effect their retreat to St. Maurice.
The conflict appears to have been long. About 400 men suc-
ceeded in passing, by wading across the water up to the
waist, under a very sharp discarge of musketry. The rest
turned back to Martigny, to the number of about 200.
There, after having ascertained that they were surrounded on
all sides, they dispersed, with a view to escape separately,
though without much hope of succeeding. Messrs. Barman
and Joris formed part of this second troop; the latter was.
slightly. wounded in the forehead. It is understood that they
have both succeeded in effecting their escape. The cause is
entirely decided, and the struggle is even finished. The
Valaisian volunteers who occupied the position in front of
St. Maurice have just. returned, in consequence of the de-
mands made on them to do so. The prefect has given orders
not to allow any man in arms to leave the canton. They are
now bringing to the infirmary the wounded of both sides,
taken up from the place where they lay; there are at present
sixteen of them. The number of killed in the last engage-
ment is supposed to be about twenty."
Under the head of Lausanne, May 23, the same journal
says :—" The mail from Italy yesterday passed the Valais
without obstacle. The conductor of the diligence has brought
word that the Upper Valaisians are in number about 2,400
men, well armed and well organised, under the orders of M.
de-lialhermattan, and that they have provisions in abun-
dance. It was only yesterday, at four o'clock, that those
troops occupied Martigny. In taking possession of it, M. de
lialhermattan issued a proclamation, inviting the inhabitants
to return peaceably home, promisihg them protection for
their property and persons. The population of Martigny
viewed with great satisfaetion this occupation, because it
placed them under protection from any attacks from the in-
habitants of the lateral valleys, particalarly Salyan, which