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

PRINCESS'S THEATRE.

Blanche de Vainly is the title of a very interesting
two act drama, from the pen "of Mr. Bayle Bernard,
which was produced at this theatre last evening. The
scene of the first act is laid at Strasburgh, in the
year 1811, where we find Blanche de Valmy (Ma-
dame Eugenie Prosper), very young, very fasci-
nating, and very coquettish, residing with her uncle,
Colonel Chatillon (Mr. Granby), the commandant of
the garrison. Her hand is sought for by all the
officers, and she flirts with them all. Captain Franval
(Mr. Walton), who is devotedly attached to her,
appears for some time to be the favoured suitor. He,
however, introduces his friend, Captain St. Hilare
(Mr. W. Lacy) to his intended. St. Hilare is fasci-
nated by her charms, and, on Franval remonstrating
with her somewhat harshly, she gives her hand to St.
Hilare, and the first act ends with their marriage.
The period of the second act is 1815, just
after the second restoration of thb Bourbons.
Colonel Chatillon, now raised to the rank of general,
is appointed commandant of the district of the Rhine,
and is accompanied by his nephew and niece, the
Count and Countess St. Hilare. Blanche loves her
husband devotedly, but, through the machinations of
Franval, St. Hilare has been induced. to suspect her
truth. From the moment of their union Franval had
commenced his scheme of revenge by meetingßlanche
everywhere, forcing his attentions on her, writing
letters alluding to her former connection, and in-
sinuating that her affection for him still continued,
taking care that these letters shall fall into the bands
of St. Hilare who is driven almost to madness with
jealousy, whilst his constant reproaches have produced
such an effect upon Blanche as to have reduced her to
the brink of the grave. She has entreated St. Hilare
to accompany her uncle to the Rhine, and to take her
with them, hoping thus to escape the pursuit of Franval.
Shortly after her arrival at the inn, St. Hilare enters,
and charges her with having plotted the excursion for
the purpose of meeting Franval, whom he declares
he has just met under her window. Her denial of all
knowledge of Franval's arrival, her protestations of
her love and fidelity to her husband, are all in. vain.

former villainy, brings about the denouement by re-
storing St. Hilare and Blanche to each other, and
setting at rest the causeless jealousy of the Count.
There is a comic underplot admirably supported by
Miss Noel as Justine, Blanche's servant, and
Oxberry as Pierre, Franval's servant. These
two, baying made a match of it, set up an inn,
and Pierre, as a rigid Bonapartist, determines, in the
evil days of 1815, that if he cannot fight for his Em-
peror, he will at least charge for him, which he does
by making every Royalist pay double for the miser-
able fare that he sets before them. Madame Pros-
per was called for at the fall of the curtain, and was
received with shouts of applause and showers of
bouquets, and the piece was announced for repetition
every evening not devoted to opera. This piece
well deserves the triumphant success it has met with.
It is one'of the most interesting dramas that has been
produced for a long time, and will, no doubt, run for
the remainder of the season. The house was well
and fashionably attended.

COURSE OF MCCHAI
Amsterdam CF. 12 6
Ditto, at sight l2 4
Rotterdam 2U. 12 6
Antwerp 25 90
Hamburgh M.B. 13 14
Altona l3 144
Paris, 3 days' sight 25 65
Ditto, 3 mouths .25 85
Marseilles 25 90
Bourdeaux 25 90
Frankfort on Maine

Petersburgh, 3Us 36
Berlin

Vienna, effec. fl. 3 M 953
Trieste, ditto
Madrid 37

Cadiz • 3.6 i
Bilbao 36
Barcelona 36
Seville —

BUSINESS 0

SLUE.-(YESTERDAY.)
Gibraltar
Leghorn 3O 45
Genoa 25 90
Milan
Venice .......... 47
Naples ........
Palermo, per oz ll7
Lisbon 54
Oporto 534
Rio Janeiro.. 23
Bahia 23
Buenos Ayres
NeWl'ork,2l clys sight
Philadelphia --
PRIMES OF BULLION, mu oz.
Foreign Gold, bars.. '3 17 9
Portugal Gold Coin 0 0 0
New Doubloons-- 0 0 0
New Dollars 0 4 9i
Silrer in Bars 0 4 1

THE HOUSE.

It appears that Mr. Villiers has been trying for some weeks
to get a day for bringing on his motion on the corn-laws, and
has not yet succeeded. Up to this time two days in the
week, .Tuesdays and Thursdays, have been allowed for
motions, but after next Thursday it has been arranged that.
only Tuesday is to, be so appropriated. Another arrange-
mentof the House prevents a Member from giving; notice of
a motion for any motion-day later than the fourth after the
day on' which the -notice is given. Thus, while Tiesdays
and Thursdays were both open to MeMbers, a notice could
be given for either day a fortnight before ; but - not sooner.
Under the new arrangement a Tuesday may be selected four
weeks before. On the first day on which a motion day be-
comes open for notices, all Members who are anxious to
bring forward particular motions go down to try for the
day; they give their names to . the clerk at the table, who
puts all the names, folded up, into a box, and according to
the order in which the names are drawn out the precedence
of Members on.the day competed for is settled. Thus the
assignment of Tuesdays to different motions is an affair of
lottery. Mr. 'Villiers has tried his luck in this lottery now
three or four times, and has not yet drawn a prize. Lord
Harry Vane is first ou Tuesday, the 4th of June, with a
notice of a resolution on the coal duties. Tuesday, the llth
of June, fortune, which seems not to object in this way to
smile on Mr. Borthwick, has.secured for a repetition of his
motion on the Anatomy Act,,,Which caused the House to be
counted. out last week ; and. if it has not the same effect
again, Mr. Ward will probably, after the motion has been dis-
posed of, introduce his important motion for a Committee of
the whole House on the revenues of the Irish Church. Mr.Hutt,
has carried away Tuesday, the 18th of June, for the soap
duties. . We are glad to find that Mr. Villiers has intimated
his intention of trusting no longer to the chapter of accidents ;
but of taking a Government day for his motion, by bringing'
it forward 'as an amendment on an order of the day for going
into Committee of Supply. We have entered into this ex-
planation of the arrangements of-the House of Commons, as
to motions, because the public Jo not Understand how these
things are managed, and may -sometimes blame a Member
who has undertaken the conduct of an important question for
delays which are quite beyond his control. We must say.
that the Government seem to gain very dispropor-
tionately by the arrangements of the House. From Whit-
suntide to the end of the session the Government is to have
three nights in the week for its business. From the begin-
ning of the session till Whitsuntide they have had two nights
in every week. Have they shown such determination
to get their . Bills. forward—have they made such
good use of the time which has been hitherto
granted them, as to deserve now the indulgence of
an additional day in each week from the House? Will it be
found, when we approach the usual time for bringing the
session to a close, -that any material progress has been made
with important Government measures, even with three nights
a week? On the contrary, will it not be, as it always is,
that, the Government. will then ask for the additional assist-
ance of morning sittings, that a number of important mea-
sures which have been continually put off, with various ex-
cuses, will be hurried through in a very thin House, without
the possibility of adequate discussion, and that a number of
other important measures which the Government have pro-
mised to pass, and :which the House has given them every
facility for passing, will be at the last moment relinquished?
The business of the Government is not found to be materially
accelerated by the great proportion of days in the week con-
ceded to it by the 'House ; while the opportunities of acting on
public opinion; and bringing public opinion to bear on the Go-
vernment through such motions as that of Mr. Villiers, are most
unreasonably diminished.
:And what is the return made by the
Government. to the House for the liberality shown by the
House to the Government? Wednesday is appropriated to
Bills introduced by individual Members ; and on Wednesday
the general rule is, that there is no House, or, if a House is
made, that it is not kept. The Bills, however important
they may be—take, for instanee, Lord Worsley's -Incbssure
Bilt—are•no concern of the Government; all the retainers of
the Government are absolved from attendance, and it is
thrown upon the individual Member promoting the Bill to
'make and keep a:House. How often again, during the pre-
sent session,
:ass it happened on Tuesdays and Thursdays
that a House has not been made, or has been counted out in
obstruction of an important motion ? Lord Palmerston's
motion on negotiations relative to the Slave Trade, which had
been long looked for with so much interest, and which the
chances of the notice-lottery had so often compelled him to
postpone, was at last prevented froM coming on by no House
being made. None of the officials were in the House that
day at four o'clock. The House has been counted
out on Mr. Ricardo's motion on Commercial Treaties, on a
motion of Mr. Ewart's on the present state of our Taxation,
on Mr. Christie's motion on the Universities, and, perhaps,
on some other occasions ; but these instances are enough for
our purpose. It may be said that it is more the fault of the
House than of the Government, that there should be so often
fewer than 40 Members out of 658 to be found in it. Fault
of the House it most assuredly is ; but from a House so con-
stituted, of which dolts and fashionable idlers form so large a
proportion, what is to be expected? It does not say much
either, we are sorry to be compelled to add, for the attend-
ance f Liberal Members of Parliament. The game ofparly
is at present dull, and those who would be the most fre-
quently seen and heard of, if success seemed near, are now,
many of them, generally in the country, or away at dinner.
But there is still great ground for complaint that the Go-
vernment, to which the House concedes so much, should in
any way assist to thwart the motions of Members opposed to
them.—Chronicle.

LORD COTTENH.A.M'S DEBTOR
AND CREDITOR BILL.
(FlOlll A 'CORRESPONDENT.)
There is a disease of the nervous _system which
is most prevalent in the luxurious and refined periods
of civilisation ; it produces such a weakness and
effeminacy of mind, as renders the patient unable to
bear the sight of immediate pain and trouble, and
causes him to sacrifice some of the most important
permanent matters, either to himself, or his family,
or his country, for the remission of a little present
suffering. The affectionate and caressing sympathy
which is lavished on horrible murderers, sometimes
even by ladies of rank and education, is the most
inveterate (but not very uncommon) form of this
disease, but its symptoms aregenerally shown in the
anxiety to relieve various classes of evil-doers, as
incendiaries, felons, larceners,. and insolvent debtors,
from the ancient penalties awarded to their several
transgressions; with regard to this last class of evil-
doers, these diseased persons have been so eminently
successful, that they have succeeded, after some thirty
years' labour, in giving almost complete impunity to
all insolvents, no matter what may have been the
conduct, :wilful or involuntary, which has caused
their insolvency.
A public document, on which a legislative measure
now in progress through the Lords is founded, is a
striking example of this disease, and of its obliterating
effects on the moral sense and the judgment. The
report of the Commissioners appointed to investigate
the Bankruptcy and Insolvency laws, 1840, says page

xxiii,
" The arrest of a debtor who is wholly insolvent is
of no direct use whatever" (observe the crafty intro-
duction of the word direct—the question is, as to its
use, and its indirect use may be very great. If by
direct use be meant compensation to him who is in-
jured, scarcely any evil inflicted on the wrong-doer
has any direct use), " and of this nature are the
greater number of arrests in execution. An honest
debtor who can pay, will do so before the costs of an
action are added to his debt" (such a sort of debtor
none but a lunatic or a wicked man would sue by
law, therefore this remark is only an irrelevance or
worse); " or if he be under temporary difficulties,
and have his liberty, he will exert himself to procure
the means of payment" (and such an one would be
rarely pursued by his creditors). " A dishonest
debtor will probably avail himself of the facility which
the laxity of the present law affords him, to dispose of
his property before the hostile creditor is able to
seize it," (and, therefore, he will not dispose of his
property under a law more lax, such as has lately
been made, and under one proposed still more lax.
under the Commissioners' recommendation !)
" The practical Alffect of the law of arrest or final
process, combined with the insolvency law, is the im-
prisonment of numbers merely to be, discharged,
without opposition at the end of a few weeks," (and,
tnerefore, don't imprison them at all, intimates
this remark—would it not be more salutary, how-
ever, to imprison many weeks ?) " the conse-
quence is misery, waste of funds, and multiplied
frauds and perjuries" (always the consequence when
ill• doing men are liable to punishment), " whilst no
benefit arises to the creditor" (which is just the ques-
tion in dispute) ; " the arrest, imprisonment, expense,
are ruinous to the debtor" (which is the sad result of
all punishment) ; "in short, the ordinary consequence
is, disappointment and loss to the creditor, destruc-
tion to the debtor" (the common result when men
injure their neighbours, and when the injured seek
protection at expensive and imperfect tribunals, an
argument for the improvement of these tribunals, not
for their abrogation).
It is needful that error like this should be sup-
ported by some evidence, and let—not the trading
people, the intelligent and practical merchants and
men of the world—but any young gentleman much
within his teens, read the evidence and blush that
grave and dignified men in high places can be allowed
to write, unreproved such incoherence, on which, too,
laws are to be, and have been founded, which have
and will continue to confiscate millions of treasure,
claimed by honest men at the hands of idlers, spend-
thrifts, and rogues, who, under the guise and pro-
mise of honesty, were believed on their solemn promise
to pay. The report goes on to say :--
"That this has been the case since the abolition of
arrest on mesne-process, is most' fully borne out by
returns, which have been produced before us. By a
return made to us from the Court of Relief of Insol-
vent Debtors, it appears, that from the Ist Oct. 1838,
to December, 1839, being fourteen months—
"The number of Town cases was,
Of these there were out of gusty before
the day of hearing (was this because in
the interim they had settled with their
creditors ?) . ............ - ........
Discharged opposed (because the creditor
had failed of legal proof 2)
Discharged unopposed, because of the ex-
pense, and therefore additional loss and un-
certainty of obtaining a remand ;* or
rather, as is too often the case, the detain-
ing creditor is satisfied as to his debt, on
condition that he shall not oppose, while
by the discharge all other debts are
cancelled
_ _

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.—We are given to under-
stand, from undoubted authority, that Mr. Sergeant Goul-
burn, from Exeter, succeeds the late Mr. Merivale in Lon-
don; and that Mr. Bere proceeds from Leeds to Exeter; and
that Mr. Sergeant Lawes (the Chief .Registrar in London)
goes to Leeds.
DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT ISLINGTON.—This morn-
ing, at a few minutes before two o'clock, a fire of a very
alarming nature broke out in the premises belonging to Mr.
Callaway, grocer and tea-dealer, carrying on business at No.
44, Hedge-row, Islington. green. An instant alarm was raised,
which brought a number of the N division of police to the
spot, who, after considerable difficulty, succeeded in arousing
the whole of the inmates (six in number), but so rapid had been
the progress of the fire in the interim, that all escape by the
lower portion of the premises was cut off. After some time
the residents were taken out of the back of the building, and
thereby escaped a horrible death. A copious supply of water
was instantly procured, and by dint of great exertions the
flames were entirely extinguished by half-past two o'clock,
not, however, until the building, together with the stock in
trade and furniture was, for the most part, consumed. For-
tunately,. Mr. Callaway's loss is covered by an insurance in
the Sun fire-office. The origin of the fire could not be learned.
SINGULAR TENURE.--King John gave several
lands at Kipperton and Atterton to one Solomon Attefield, to
be heldby this singular service :—That as, often as the King
should be pleased to cross the sea, the said Solomon and his
heirs should be obliged to go with. him to hold his Majesty's
head; if there should be occasion for it, "that is, if he should
be sea-sick ;" and it appears by the record in the Tower that
this same office of head-holding was actually performed in the
reign of Edward the First.
INDIAN MAILS.-,--ALTERATIONS IN THEIR DEPAR-
.
TURE.—lnstead of the mails being dispatched on the last day
of the month, the mails to India, China, &c., are to be made
up and dispatched from London,' vid Southampton, on the
morning of the 3d of every month, and vict Marseilles, on the
evening of the 7th, except those days fall on Sundays, when
the mails are dispatched On Saturday evening.
RoYAL MARRIAGES.—TWO Royal marriages are
spoken of in the highest quarters, which are not devoid of
meaning and importance. It is confidently asserted that
two Neapolitan Princesses are the promesse spose of the
Duke d'Aumale and the Prince de Montpensier. Ono of the
betrothed is the daughter of the late King of Naples, by his
second wife, and a sister of the Duchess de Berry. The
other Princess is the daughter of the Prince of Salerno, and
was lately refused to the Duke de Bordeaux. By these mar-
riages the royal statesman of France will set at rest the sus-
picions entertained of his intentions upon the throne of Spain,
and place it beyond the power of -ltis'restless subjects to com-
plain of his not adopting a policy which .would. involve his
Government in difficulties and his kingdom in a Peninsular
war.— Times. • •
THE KING or SAXONY.—Preparations have been
made at the Brighton Pavilion, by uncovering the furniture,
&c., for the visit of his Majesty the. King of Saxony to
Brighton, for the purpose of inspecting the • Pavilion. His
Majesty will arrive by.a special train this day (Wednesday).
DEATH OF THE EARL OF ATIILONE.—WC have to
record the demise of the Earl of Athlone, the intelligence
of whose death was received by the Hon. Captain Frederick
and Lady Elizabeth Villiers, on Saturday last. • The Noble
Earl died on Tuesday, the 21st inst., at the Hague, where his
Lordship and fainily had fora long period resided. The de-
ceased William Guatauf Frederick de Reeds de Ginkle, who
was youngest son of the sixth Earl, was born 14th August,
1776,and married 7th of September, 1814, Wendela Eleanor,
eldest daughter of M. Burcel, by whom, we believe, the-Earl
has several children. The late Earl succeeded to the family
title on the death of his nephew, 2dlMarch, 1843. .
I),ISCIPLES OF JACK SIIEPPARD.—vn, Thursday
last there were five bdys in custody at Tarporley, Charged
with felony at Northwich, who, when asked their names, &c.,
answered as follows :—" I am Jack Sheppard, and am 11
years old ;" " I am Dick Turpin," said another, aged 13
years ; " and this is Jonathan Wild," pointing to a companion.
14 years old ; the two others gave the names of " Tom
King," and " Sugar." Jack Sheppard, whose real name is
Nathaniel Shaw, was called "Captain • Sheppard" by his
corn-rogues, owing to his having been more frequently con-
victed than any of the band. . The boys are well known iii
Macclesfield as notorious thieves, though of so tender years.
They were met by a police-constable between Northwich
and Delamere-forest, who, from their suspicious appearance,
stopped and searched them, when ho found the produce of a
, robbery effected at Mr. Hall's, bookseller, Northwich, upon
the parsons of the prisoners. They were committed for trial
' at the present sessions.—Chester courant. •
BRIGHTON, MAx 28.—Lord Wm. Harvey arrived
here this evenineby the General Steam Navigation Cern-
; pany'S Ateavalliip FAUN.

He rushes out with a brace of pistols, determined to
meet Franval, and fight him at once. The silent
agony of Blanche, as immediately afterwards the re-
port of fire-arms is heard, was admirably delineated
by Madame Eugenie Prosper. No words could have
produced half the effect. They have not met, how-
ever. The shots had proceeded from soldiers who
were firing after various of-the proscribed, who were
attempting to escape across the Rhine. A list
of the proscribed is posted on the inn door.
Among the names appears that of Franval ; and all
those in the list are to be shot within six hours after
their apprehension. Faint • and exhausted, Fran-
val enters the room, and, to her horror, Blanche re-
cognises in the fugitive, who implores her protection,
her former lover. He recognises her also, and de-
manding pardon of her for the past, is about to sur-
render himself to the soldiers, who are heard ap-
proaching without, when she bids him disguise him-
self in her husband's cloak, and producing her hus-
band's passport, tells the officer that they are the
Count and Countess of St. Ililare, and thus saves
him from arrest. The guards leave them. She per-
ceives her husband approaching, and conceals Fran-
val in her room. St. Hilare enters:; The innkeeper,
who has .come in for orders, makes some observa-
tions on his conduct when the tgoldiers were there.
St.' Hilare's suspicions are aroused—he orders the
innkeeper to leave the room—demands who it was
that had assumed his name, and Blanche, choking
with emotion, points to the list of the proscribed.
He sees the name of Franval ; and rushes towards
the room in which she had concealed him ;
she struggles to prevent his entrance, and the guards
enter and arrest St. Hilare himself as Franval. It
is vain that he protests he is St. Hilare—" The Count
St. Hilare," says the captain of gensdarmes, " has just
been escorted across the Rhine." " Ah, my pass-
port !" he exclaims ; the unhappy Blanche has given
the passport to Franval—to save him she has sacri-
ficed the life of the husband she adores. The acting
of Madame Eugenie Prosper throughout the whole
of this trying scene, was the most beautifully touch-
ing we have ever seen. There was no rant, no noise
—all was quiet, but the intensity of her agony was
only the more apparent, and the more harrowing from
its very quietness ; the quivering lip, the fixed eye, the
agonised expression of countenance, bore evidence to the
intensity of her anguish, more naturally, more truly,
and more effectively than could any of those exagge-
rated expressions of woe which an inferior artist would
have thrown into the part. Madame Eugenie
Prosper showed herself a true artist in her delinea-
tion of this harrowing scene. Her acting was true
tragedy, and tragedy of the very highest order. The
opportune entry of General Chatillon, who orders the
immediate release of St. Hilare, and the arrival at the
same time of a note from Franval, inclosing the pass-
port, and acknolyledging and craving pardon for 1135

Of the opposed remanded for punishment
Country cases during the same period
Of these, there were out of custody before
the day of hearing (see above) ..
Discharged unopposed.—lt is an ease way
to pay debts amounting to 1,0001. by
getting a friend to arrest, paying him in
full, some 201., chancing the non-inter-
ference (almost certain) of the other cre-
ditors, and thus getting whitewashed
Discharged opposed (the Judge being mer-
ciful man 2) ..
_ _

1,679

474

1,147

141
2,226

112

1,441

673

Of the opposed remanded for punishment.. 220
" Therefore the whole number imprisoned in town
and country was 3,905, and out of that number 2,758,
were discharged, either before the day of, hearing or
without opposition ; of those opposed, 1,147 were
nevertheless discharged, and only 361 remained for
punishment. Oat of the whole number, divi-
dends were paid in 199 cases." These re-
turns are very imperfect, and, indeed, all
bankruptcy and insolvency returns are so. What
we should have been told is, the amount of debts
owing by the 3,905 debtors, and the amount of divi-
dends paid, and all particulars respecting the various
sub-divisions. But even important as the returns
are, they will not prove the conclusion of the Com-
missioners, who say
Deducting 361 who were
:—"
reinanded, from the 1,147 who were opposed, it
would appear that 786 were opposed without
sufficient grounds ; then, adding these 786
to the 2,758 who were discharged unopposed, -it
would appear that, out of 3,905, the whole number
imprisoned, 3,544 were imprisoned who ought not, in
good policy, to have been imprisoned at all—for the
imprisonment of those persons produced no legitimate
advantage either to the creditors or to the com-
munity." Upon such statements the whole penal
laws of the country
might be abrogated ; the prisons
pulled down; police disbanded; and the lawyers and
judges sent to the colonies ; and the industrious and
frugal of mankind left an abandOned prey to the
cunning and the violent—those who have strong wits
and strong fists. For other 'Purposes than these
however, was the expensive machinery of government
designed.
It would have been just as rational, had they at
once said that the picking of pockets ought not to be
punished, because some persist in so doing in defiance
of the terrors of the law. But the question is—How
many more would be pickpockets if there was no
punishment ? Just as, how many more men would
have refused to pay their debts, or have rendered
themselves unable to do so, had there been no arrest,
no punishment, to constrain them ; and how many
snch are there pow, more tbtiu there used to bet
•

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

PROPERTY TAX.

A Return, showing the Net Amount of Duty collected under each separate Schedule of the Property and Income Tax Act,
for the Year ended the-sth day of April, 1843. • •

- • • Schedule Schedule Schedule Schedule Schedule I
A. B. C. . D. E. Total.
X. s. d. X. s. d. X. s. d. X. s. d. X. s. d. £. s. d.
On Assessments made by the
Commissioners for General -
Purposes 2,150,412 10 9 298,763 0 0 ... ... 1,235,147 16 8 38,711 0 03,723,034 7 5
On Assessments made by the
Commissioners for Special
Purposes on Profits of
Trade ....... ...„
•.• •.. ~. ... ... ... 231,837 13 0 ... .. 231,837 13 0
On Dividends of Public An-
nuities and other Pay-
ments into the Bank •of
England, and on Interest
on Exchequer Bills, and on •
Dividends payable out of
the Revenue ofany Foreign
State
... ... ... 812,982 13 1 ... .. ... ... 812,982 13 1
•••
On Offices and Pensions as- _
sessed by Commissioners
of Departments
... ... 221,946 11 3 221,946 11 3
..• ••• • • • ••• ••• •••
ENGLAND AND WALES 2,150,412 10 9 298,763 0 0 812,982 13 1 1,466,985 9 8 260,657 11. 34,989,801 4 9
SCOTLAND
-.. ... - :... ... *394,324 10 3

Total Collection £,384,125 15 0
This Account is made up on the Amount of Duty collected to the sth day of April, 1844, in respect of the year, 1842, ended
,:o April, 1843.
• - * The Amount collected in Scotland cannot at present bd distinguished in Schedule*;
Accountant and Comptroller-General's Office,
Stamps and Taxes, 21st May, 1844.

THOS. LIGHTFOOT.

AReturn, showing the Number of Claims of Exemption under the Property Tax Act received at the Tax-office up to the
20th of Kay, 1844 ' • the Number on which the Duty has been repaid ; the Amount of Duty repaid ; the Number of
Claims in which Orders have been issued by the Board of Taxes for discharging the Property of the Claimants from
Assessment ; and the Number of Claims now remaining in the Tax-office for Examination and Inquiry.
• Number of Claim's' received
NumfrobmerAosfsesClsamimelis
t0n,..w.. h..ic.h. Duty h.as. been repaid
Amount of Duty repaid - £69,101 9s. 3d.
Number on which Orders have been issued for discharging the Property of the Claimants
49,370
Number of Claims remaining in the Office for Examination and Inquiry
* Of these about 6,000 claims have been found defective, and returned to the Surveyors for correction or amendment.
t These claims will be disposed of during the present week.
Special Commissioners' Dpartment,
Stamps and Taxes, 21st lky, 1844.

JOHN FULLER.

since all punishment (nearly).' is removed by the
I mock humanity of the law? If the law-making class
were addicted to picking pockets after the Fleet-
street fisbion, as they are addicted to getting into
debt, i. e„ picking pockets after the Oxford and Cam-
bridge fashion, the lawyers would soon have made a
report, with a table something like the following:—
Number of persons taken into custody on
charges of larceny
Discharged by the magistrate for many
reasons, as—that the evidence was not
sufficiently technical to justify committal;
that the.prosecutor did not appear; that
the accused pleaded great distress, was a
very interesting young woman, or was a
man with a wife and six small children,
ill of typhus, or the prisons were full, or
because the magistrate was a man, who
had a feeling heart for the " unfortunate"
who did wrong (not who suffered wrong)
Of the remainder who were committed, bills
were ignored by the grand jury, chiefly
because the prosecutor did not appear,
that is, they were unopposed
Of those sent to take their trial, many were
found not guilty, because of some defect
in the form of the indictment; or, again,
because the prosecutor did not appear—or
a witness had broken down, bullied by
Counsellor P—; or the judge was care-
less, and did not clearly charge the jury ;
or because the jury were chiefly humanity-
mongers, who would not convict a fellow-
creature, and send him to prison for some
months to keep company with bad people ;
thus, in the end, of the original number
accused, there travelled on to punishment
only l4l
Thus, because of 1,679 captions, only 141 travelled
past the various bye-ways of escape, and reached the
goal ; therefore it is proved that the punishment of lar-
ceny is useless, and ought to be abolished ! Let the
vengeful prosecutor be satisfied that the law has granted
him a cessio bonorum,—a return of his watch if found
on the person of the thief, or else a nulla bona; but
for the poor unfortunate thief, why send him to pri-
son, to get his morals corrupted, and moreover prevent
his getting "a chance of a bit of bread for his Nancy
and the kids."

1,679

1,147

474

It is very remarkable that a man of the high intel-
lect and probity of Lord Cottenham should have
been misled by this childish report of the .Commis-
sioners; but it may be taken as a melancholy proof
of the sporadic character of this class of Neuroies.
The best treatment for it, as far as research has yet
gone, consists in abundant exercise in the open air,
and nutritious diet, neither slops nor stimulants, the
pressure on the brain is -by these means relieVeil, and
its firmness of substance restored ; while the diseased
trains of ideas are best broken by study of the early
English writers, such as South, Fuller, and Milton,
and, above all, by the study of the Holy Scriptures.

* A creditor lately opposed a man in the. Court at EXeter
who owed him 201., at a charge of 9/., and got nothing but a
remand for six months; thus losing by his public spirit, not
201., but 29/. Creditors do not arrest for vengeance, but they
press and press, to get all they can out of an unwilling deb-
tor, of whose real ability to pay they have no possible means
of knowing, and when he has allowed himself to be taken to
prison, they infer that he really cannot pay, or rather, that
he cannot be made to pay, but by further process too expen-
sive and laborious for them to hazard.

LIT ERATURE.I
THE TRIUMPHS OF TIME.
Bentley, London, 1844.
The " Triumphs of Time" consists of three tales,
all of which are written with a certain degree of
spirit and intelligence, though the longest, entitled
"The Previsions of Lady Evelyn" is, in some of its
leading incidents so improbable, that much of the in-
terest, which would otherwise attach to it, is de-
stroyed. We allude, more especially, to not a few of
the scenes which take place in the household of
Lord Glelimore, where the young hero, Gerald James,
is domesticated as a tutor, and which, though highly
wrought up, have certainly little in common with
real life. The most entertaining story in the collec-
tion is " Sealed Orders," which is a translation from
the French of Count Alfred de Vigny,l and turns
upon the melancholy fact of a blunt but kind-hearted
captain of a French vessel, having been ordered to sail
with two young people, just married, and greatly
attached to each other, ho are to be treated accord-
ing to certain sealed orders transmitted to the captain
by order of the French Directory, and which he is
not to open till the vessel has passed the line. On
opening these orders at the appointed locality, he finds
that he must instantly execute the yangrtiridegroom
as a traitor—a task which he accomplishes, notwith-
standing the deep interest which the manners of the
young couple have excited in his mind. The account
of his subsequent remorse, and of the madness of the
bereaved girl, is exceedingly affecting, indeed quite
painfully so.