The Sun.
London, England, 1842-05-27 00:00:00

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LONDON
FRIDAY MORNING, MAY 27, 1842.

The House of Commons was engaged nearly the whole
of the evening with discussions about bribery and Ips-
wich, which ended in withdrawing a motion to instruct
the Attorney-General to prosecute persons for
bribery, in refusing to appoint a Committee to inquire
into the bribery at Ipswich, and in issuing a new writ
for that immaculate borough. We infer from something
which Sir ROBERT PEEL said, that he has consented to
Mr. iloatticter Committee, as much with a view to en-
trap that Hon. Member into a failure as to put down
bribery ; and, consistently with that view of his conduct,
he voted to issue the writ for Ipswich, while he earnestly
deprecated all allusion to motives. The result is that
bribery is not to be prosecuted, and a borough already
convicted of corruption is to be invited to repeat the late
disgusting scene of gross bribery.
Sir ROBERT Nous, in the course of the discussion,
observed iery correctly, that Committees of the House
were not to be trusted, and were not trusted even- when
they had to decide on oath. We know no other tribunal
of the empire of which this can be said, or even justly
insinuated, The Hon. Baronet concluded, a fortiori, that
Committees of the House, prosecuting an inquiry not on
oath, and having no power to administer an oath, were
not for a moment to be confided in, e.nd therefore be con-
scientiously opposed Mr. O'CONNELL'S motion. On the
Hon. Baronet's view, all inquiries by Committees must
be useless, and the decision of a Committee, be it what it
might, would not command the confidence of the public.
Such is already the condition, according to one of its
own Members, to which the House of Commons
is reduced. From that • House, therefore, we
cannot hope to receive any inettsure to check
bribery. Do we intrust the guardianship of pro-
perty to the thieves of the metropolis 7. Po we employ
smugglers to collect and take care of the revetit
Do
we expect that the insane .should cure our lUnatics ? W'
do not. Why, then, should we expect the cure of
bribery from a knot of bribers ? The decision
of the House of Commons, last night, was 'in
accordance with its character, and we are far less sur-
prised at that, than at its having granted Mr. ROE-
BUCK'I Committee ; though that is now explained, by '
some old stagers supposing it will be a trap to catch the
ingenuous Young man. lie has undertaken to prove
what they believe he will fail to prove. -We hope, how-
ever, that he may outwit the cunning 01d foxes, and
escape without, iihe thezni hcitiour and character.

An explanation affordtd last night, by the
Duke of IltmtitNotoit !old the Ir'ati of IlinoN, of
their igtiortttiet of die t*i§tette Vt. £°rfhe Clneett's Let
ter." Both these Noble Lords werd Its say
that they were present in the Council when it Witt It-
solved to ig.ltit iitteit ti itiltift but they were not aware
that the order had peen tatrioti . Such n
subjedt jUstiy tiftbrded Lord kfidlititi it bandit for a
littictnerrittletiti aid tie fbilti,M fife tittl is'Tcible Lords
about the Government being carrieii dli rtson
with a set of clerks. In consequence, probably, o Loft]
KINNAIRD'S notice of the subject the letter has now
found its wfty before the public, and will be found in
another column of The Sot,

In the documents which accompany the itttefi the dis-
tress at Stockport, it is said, " did not assume a very
aggravated character, until within the last eight months."
It is coeval, therefore, with the accession to office of th.
PEEL Ministry ; and it does not seem difficult to trace a
connexion between them& The nepoft of the Assistant
Poor-law Conunissioncf.s, euticomittk Stockport, states
that, in the month ofAugust last, the twolarge factories
of Messrs, LANE and SONS and Messrs. CARR and Co.,
stopped wnrk,and tittl/44 nut of employment about 3,000
hands. But what had Sir noun PauL's accession to
Ace to do with that ? Much. To that period, the mill-
owners might indulge a hope that trade would be re-
stored by the propositions of the late Ministers respect-
ing corn, sugar, timber, and coffee, All hope was in
August extinguished, and the stoppage might be the
consequence of Sir,ltottrarr PEEL'S success.
In Mr. ASHTON'S evidence, who Is an occupier of
mills in Hyde, he states that one cause of the depression
of the cotton trade is the duties on foreign sugars, of
which he is an importer. The late Ministers proposed
to alter those duties, and such an alteratlon would no
doubt have been extremely beneficial to al.e whole cotton
trade, and had it been carried into effect would most
probably have saved Stockport from the accession of
calamity-which fell on it in August last. The proposed
alteration of the Corn7laws would have had kinignlr
Offeco to thotalteration in the sugar duties, and thus the
Auneese of Sii ROW= PEEL, in preventipg those Rite;

rations, is the real cause of the aggravation of the public
distress which ha taken place during the last eight
months. That distress, which his success aggravat!.,(l,
he has yet done nothing to relieve; and, in,spite of his
brilliant promises, his Administration will probably be
known to posterity as the inefficient and deplorable
Mirtstry.

---
BALL 'FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE
SPITALFIELDS' WEAVERS, AT HER MA-
JESTY'S THEATRE.
The Ball for the benefit of the Spite Melds Weavers
took place at her Majesty's Theatre last evening, and a
more gorgeously brilliant assemblage of beauty, rank,
and fashion, it has seldom been our lot to witness. The
ball was under the immediate patronage of her Ma-
jesty, who had graciously- signified her intention
of honouring it with her presence, and it must have
been highly gratifying to her Majesty to find her
loyal subjects coming forward in the manner they
have done to carry out her benevolent intentions for the
relief of the suffering population of Spitalfields. Never
before has the Italian Opera-house been so crammed.
The pit was boarded over, and, with the stage, formed
a splendid " Salon de danse,". tastefully hung with dra-
peries, which were festooned round the sides of the
boxes, and adorned with trophies, ancient armour, and
standards of different nations. The four centre boxes of
each tier were removed, in order to make room for.the
erection of the Royal Pavilion. This was supported by
five gilt-fluted columns, and surmounted by the Royal
arms. On the front was a Royal crown, embroi-
dered in gold, and the interior was illuminated
by three large chandeliers. Weippert's quadrille
band was stationed in a raised orchestra, at
the hack of the stage, and the band of the Horse
Guards occupied the front of the gallery, immediately
above the gallery stalls. The concert-room was fitted
up as a refreshment-room. Her Majesty and his Royal
Highness Prince Albert, accompanied by their suites,
entered the Royal Pavilion at ten o'clock, and were
greeted with loud shouts of congratulation from the
thousands at that time assembled within the walls of
the theatre. Iler Majesty and his Royal highness
gracefully acknowledged the compliment thus paid to
them. The bands then commenced the National
Anthem, and the coup d'oeil presented by the theatre at
that Moment was striking in the extreme; The im-
mense area of the theatre was crammed to suffoeation
by persons in every variety of costume—officers in the
uniform of every regiment' that is or ever hag.
been in the service; Turks and Greeks, Jews and Arme-
nians, Ilighlanders and Mollahs, Laplanders and Nea-
politans—all were there. The boxes were crowded with
the elite of rank, fashion, and beauty, and the whole sa-
loon was resplendent with diamonds and brilliants. All
rose en mime as the National Anthem struck up ; and
such a display of beauty and wealth and elegance, of
talent and honour and probity (for some of the nobles 4
and worthiest of the land were there), united to pay their
willing homage to their Sovereign, might well have
!nude that Sovereign feel proud of reigning over
such a people. Dancing then commenced, and continued
at intervals, but the saloon was so crowded. that at times
it was impossible to clear a sufficient space even to get
up a quadrille. Her Majesty took her seat in the front
of the box, and seemed highly delighted with watching
'lie busy scene. Her Majesty was dressed in a rich satin
Iress of Spitalfields manufacture, and wore the riband of
the Order of the Garter; her hair was dressed a la
Clovis, and on her head she wore a splendid tiara
of brilliants. His Royal Highness Prince Albert
was dressed in Field-Marshal's uniform, and wore the
decorations of the Garter, and of several other orders.
At intervals during the evening, several of the Nobility
present entered the Royal box, for the purpose of paying
their respects to her Majesty. Among them we observed
their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cam •
bridge, her Royal Highness the Princess Augusta of Cam-
bridge, their Serene 'Highnesses the Duke and Duchess
of Saxe. Weimar, and his Excellency Count St. Aulaire,
the French Ambazsador. His Grace the Duke of Wel-
lingtOn, dressed in a Field-Marshal's uniform, and wear-
ing several orders, entered her Majesty's box, about 11
o'clock, and having paid his respects to her Majesty,
retired.
His Grace was loudly cheered, and repeatedly ac-
knowledged the compliment by bowing. His Serene
Highness, the Duke of Brunswick and suite, occupied
a box in the lower tier. The Marquis of Normanby
was in the saloon, as were Sir Charles Wetherell, Mr.
Erle, and Mr. Hume M.P. Her Majesty and
Prince Athert and ;heir suite, retired to the
Royal refreshment room- shortly after eleven o'clock,
and after an absence of about a quarter of an
hour returned to the Royal box. Her Majesty
finally left the theatre at about a quarter after twelve.
On retiring her Majesty was greeted with the most
enthusiastic cheering, and the bands, as on her entrance,
played the National Anthem. Nothing cot'md exceed
the grace and affability with which her Majesty received
those who had the privilege of the entree to the Royal
box. Her Majesty's kindness and condescension seemed
to be thoroughly appreciated by all present.
After her Majesty's departure parties began to betake
themselves to the x;freshment-room, and the saloon be-
came somewhat less crowded. SpaCe was thus obtained
for dancing. Sets of quadrilles were formed ; circles
of waltzes began to move in " the mazy round;"
crushing was nelonger the order of the night; and those
desirous of reaching any particular point, had a
chance of doing so, without being carried away by the
stream of promenaders. Such, however, had not been
the cas.:.e during the earlier pert of the ever'ng. At the
time her Majesty ler.; the theatre, not less than five thou-
sand were present. The dancing was kept up with great
spirit during the remainder of the evening, and it was
not until five o'clock that the whole of the company had
taken their departure.