The Sun.
London, England, 1842-12-13 00:00:00

":•ItrontiMlittion

SUN OFFICE Three o'Cloch.

Another meeting of the Noblemen, Gentle-
men, and Magistrates of. the county of Renfrew
was held on Friday last, at which more alarm-
ing facts were brought to light relative to the
state of that country than have as yet fallen
under our notice. A correspondence was
read between the Chairman and Sir- JAMES
GRAHAM, who, while he condoled with the dis-
tress of the country, recommended as the remedy
increased local contributions, and positively de-
clined, on the score of the Government having
no funds, to give any relief. If it were for any
purposes of coercion, Government would find
funds enough; for purposes of benevolence, which
are not in truth its business, it has none. This
refusal of the Government was met by a resolu-
tion, unanimously agreed to, expressing sym-
pathy, with the suffering people, provid-
ing something for their immediate relief,
sending a deputation Ito London to insure
that their representations shall 'not be further
neglected, and throwing on the Government the
responsibility, should the people continue to
want food and employment. The remarks of
the Glasgow Saturday Post are apposite, and
ought to be laid before the public:—
The great leading feature in these repeated meet-
ings (it says), is the increasing and unmanageable
nature of the distress ; the means of preserving the
lives of the starving thousands, and the peace of the
country. The single consideration is merely how
life can be preserved, and whether or not all law, and
all order, are to be thrown aside, and the people left
to shift as they best may for themselves. Such a state
of things has not existed for the last three centuries.
From the statements of many of the speakers, as
well as from several memorials of the unemployed
laid on the table of the meeting—even in the resolu-
tions moved by. Colonel Mure, and unanimously
agreed to—but one spirit is breathed forth through-
out, and that spirit is, that the county of Renfrew is
on the verge of anarchy; that if the starving people
are not helped by others, they will put forth their
hands and help themselves, throwing aside all law,
order, and the right of property, which has hitherto
been so religiously preserved.
The resolutions of Colonel Mure, adopted by the
meeting, unhesitatingly declare that things have now
arrived at such a pitch that the Government must
step forward, and, with the national revenue, miti-
gate the distress of the working population in this
great manufacturing district. And, in the most plain
and forcible language which it is possible to use, the
resolutions and the meeting have also declared,
that if the Government do not step forward, after this
due and formal intimation, the landed proprietors
and the magistracy of the county have nothing to
look forward to but unlicensed plunder—the people
(as some of the memorialists stated), "applying to
their natural resources ;" that is to say, the strongest
helping themselves ; and the county. magistracy for-
mally, unanimously, and decidedly declare that, after
this last intimation given to the Ministers of State,
they will "disclaim all legal responsibility for the
consequences."

Anarchy naturally follows on the heels of
starvation, and it seems just approaching in every
part of the empire. What with agragrian mur-
ders in Ireland, incendiarism and beggary in
England, and 'men applying to " their natural
resources" in Scotland, we may well. say with the
Glasgow Post, such a state of things has not
existed for the last three centuries.
At the meeting the Provost of Greenock said
that on Wednesday last the number receiving
relief amounted to 932 families with 4,017 de-
pendents. This number did not exhibit the full
amount of destitution. He said in the census
that had been taken they included none of the
ordinary poor at all. He had ascertained from
proprietors of fbundries and ship-building yards,
that in thirteen establishments 1,920 men had
been discharged out of 3,288 workmen. Nearly
two-thirds of the workmenwere out ofemployment,
and their funds exhausted ! What can become
of the poor wretches ? Provost HENDERSON, of
Paisley, stated what is feared would ensue :

He might mention one case of a woman and eight
children who had applied to him•for relief, who stated
that for twenty-four hours she had tasted no food.
No later than last night a deputation of the unem-
ployed applied to him in the street—they were accom-
panied by hundreds of the population, and he believed,
if it had not been for the hope afforded them by this
meeting, and to which he had directed them to look,
an instantaneous breach of the peace would have been
the consequence. Such was the urgency of the case,
that if an immediate vote was not come to at this
meeting, the unemployed weavers and others of this
vast population would be out of bread by to-morrow ;
and the consequence would be that they would either
require peaceably to starve for want, or have recourse
to public begging and taking by force what they
could not otherwise obtain. That was the reason the
Relief Committee were alarmed, and the Presbytery
were alarmed, along with other public bodies. •
The Provost of Paisley and the Baillies, in a
memorial dated Dec. 5, tell Sir J. GRAHAM, one
of her MAJESTY'S Principal' Secretaries of State
—but whether he holds that office for his own
personal advantage or the benefit of the public
we will not decide—that
After Friday first, the day when the provisions
served out for the week, beginning on Wednesday
next, will be exhausted, the destitute people here,
amounting to nearly 10,000 persons, will have no al-
ternative but either to commence public begging en
mane.—to take food where they can find it, or to die
quietly of starvation in their houses. If they remain
peaceably in their houses they must of necessity perish
from want—if they go out soliciting food, either by
begging or otherwise, then they commit a direct
breach of the law.
What a condition for the people, who must
either starve or set the law and their neighbours
at defiance 1 What a conclusion to fine spun
theories about reduced tariffs and altered Corn-
laws; What a comment :pa the opulent gentle-'

men of England haggling for an additional shilling
duty on a quarter of corn and head of cattle ! What
apregnant illustration of the value and vvisdo:-.1- of
the six months' speechifying, which ended in
August last ! The sum of all is, that thousands
of the people already reduced to want, and des-
titute of employment, must starve or break the
law. That is the hard condition, the dreadful
alternative, to which they have been reduced by
a year's administration of Sir R. PEEL. Well
may the Magistrates of Renfrewshire, and well
may all men in authority, seek to throw back 011
him the . awful responsibility of such a vast ca-
lamity. We trust that he, too, is preparing to
shake it off him by. abolishing the laws which
make the State responsible for the subsistenc
of the people. Each man must be told to pro-
vide for himself, but lie must be free to do so.

A Morning Contemporary, speaking of the
Income-tax appeals in the City of London, says :
" Yesterday there was a very full attendance,
and many were the remarks against this tax. A
notice was put up, that it having been represented
to the Board that one of the appellants had ill-
conducted himself by making insolent obserVa-
tions, the Commissioners would not bear his case
until the close of the Commission, and that the
same rule will be enforced towards all others who
may thus misconduct themselves. The conse-
quence is, that respectable citizens and house-
keepers of the free City of London, who con-
sider themselves unjustly over-assessed, must
keep as quiet as school-boys,
when present-
ing themselves at the Property and Inclncome'
tax office, 36, Basinghall-street, if within
the hearing of the worthy Commissioners, or
their underlings." It would appear from the.
above passage that the Income-tax is not at
all
likely to lose any of its tyrannical and vexation:
character, in consequence of the temperate and.
conciliatory demeanour of those who have to ilk§
indicate upon it. On the contrary, these Jac
in office seem resolved, by their arbitrary
bear-
ing, to render this detestable impost
able as possible. What can be more insolent
than their official declaration that an appellant
is ey
Is guilty of " misconduct," if he happens
press a natural sense of dissatisfaction at his bei.liff
over-assessed? Is he first to be treated wits
gross injustice, and then to be bullied because he
resents such injustice.? We are, however, by I.l°.
as unbent.;
means sorry that the City of London Conlin:s
fashion.
sioners are acting in this domineering
and earnestly hope that their example may .be
contagious, and that the epidemic of official !r1
solence may be general among their fraternity
throughout the kingdom. It is the last load that
breaks the camel's hack, and the blustering be
haviour of the Income-tax Commissioners,mpo thet
very thing most wanting to render this
perfectly unendurable by John Bull, and to 10"
duce him, by one vigorous effort, to fling off the
burden.

The French papers, falsely called Liherali
abound almost daily with abuse of England. 1f
~j
they have no facts to which they can hang their
calumnies and vituperations, they publish reports
and fictions in order to place this country and herl,
Government in the most odious light, and if a
the French nation were animated by the sant
spirit, the peace of Europe could not be Pr'--
served for six months. War evidently is the (Ai-
d;
d
ject of these men. Justice, honour, the gon
their country, and the progress of civilization
they cast to the winds in a paroxysm of rage a
At"
the late successes and growing power of Einglan"
But before they stir up their countrymen to ill!r
they ought to reckon the cost, and ascent
whether the gain would he equal to the loss-
they imagine, isolated as France is, that till:
could accomplish what NAPOLEON, in the Zen
of his power, with all his skilful Marshals allo.ll
the most powerful army in the world, had
the courage to attempt? Steam has abollsoe
the use of flat-bottomed boats, and were 45
such mad projectas an invasion of England ttl'i
we could cover the Channel with a bulldr
.ave
men-of-war and a thousand steam-ships,
i Antic
they any force to meet such a
power? Our steamers could blockade eve'',
port of France, make ruinous inroads 12P°-
their fleets in harbour, destroy their -
their
chant. ships, and with them the suPPIY
men for their navy. And what would hector':
of Algeria, with an English fleet on the coasii
and Arabs in the rear; the one cutting off. 3
the razzias and ravages of
supplies from France, and the other avenging_
These very journals tell they have
not an ally in Europe, and unless Areed"ed,
assists them, they must fight single-hall ith
But America, even if she had a quarrel ,
this country, which, thanks to the late tr.ealteiss
is not probable, has tew ships of war, 11. ed don
money, and, we believe, still less Melina the;
the French ar.rny_e
to attack her best customer to Please, ced•
French. These plain truths have been Joie_
from us by the wild and the uni%iy.
ful conduct of a party which Englanu- '3, or
ported in opposition to all them ouarchle.,iie
Europe. Let us hope that the good sense 01,n,
fireble'rs
French nation will judge of these
according to their merits, and not followlea but
who, without any cause or any certain obj.lized
mischief, would plunge the two most cows,' r.
nations of the world into all the horrors of

501
The accounts from Barcelona are to the
'able
inst. The bombardment had done considel hi
Dirt,
damage to the city, and fires had broken
several places. On entering the place i,ie:ell3;
VAN HALUN issued a proclamation, in v".'-rillg 00
declared Barcelona in a state of siege 25 j°-pia•
ti circumstances
ona Guard, a
n d shall
a ithroeuqnuci reed, t h
a dissolved
t th e
i,
et
rhpeoentoo.
ti:
tutedtot.s
ot.
authorities.crim es shall
It
pwroassectubtoedugbhyt the r . the
that the
General would in addition to this Porli9,ll, of
inhabitants by levying a war contrktte,of
2,000,000 of piasters (400,0001.). The 115-
‘," ing
still remained outside the walls. The 01,1°' ~ge
account of the bombardment, and the dent of
dent
done to the city, is given by a Corresron
the Post, dated Barcelona, Dec. 6:— , steamer
I send you a few hurried lines by the first'
leaving for France, to giveyou a few details .° „aer
bombardment of Barcelona. The town can n 0 0:4,7
be recognised, it is destroyed in eral a the
pits, an ,
`rut
sev
buildings are still burning. The French to P
rendering every assistance with their eng:lnesu have
out the fire, and assist the inhabitants, wlioers• .
undergone f •
a rihtful bombardment of t we've° a the
The Captain-General of Catalonia cominenbaciflast
fire from the fort of Montjuich yesterday' red this
eleven, until past midnight. The firing' oned the
morning, and a parlimentaire again sawn" tof re-
sailors
town to surrender at discretion, or in the evenat foe
fe, sal, the bombardment was to recornn3e
nede the dis
o clock. The hard terms were accepted, an A white
armament of the corpus francos has began.
flag is waving on all the buildings to tlelnncierfl
arrangement. The troops, with the CaPtairi- e The
Van Halen and his staff have just entered., and
house of the French Consul received three shel's fort of
a cannon-ball, as the artillerymen from the ~a
Montjuich aimed at the dismantling of thetri-eel°lli'
flag which waved over the ouse
I have just been goingh over. the town to svit,7,e3
the extent of the disasters it has experienced fre3l' and
bombardment. The damage done is immense, ar:4
nearly all the houses have more or less suffered. ;
great many buildings are destroyed, amongst whict
is that of a deputy of the Cortes, Senor Velasegi
tiro
valued at 2,0001. Some notion may be forma
extent of the damage done by the shelling, whorl
mention that 817 bombs were thrown from the fort
of Montjuich. The Barcelonese will have it that the
ene the
ineers and artillerymen of the English, as well as
their ammunition, did all the mischief, although t
crews of the ships of war remained on board speet2"
tors of the work of devastation.
The Captain-General, by a decree dated yester'•
day, has dissolved the National Guards, and every in-
iividual who does not give up his arms will bP2
e e
nished with death. A forced contribution of 400,000/.
is imposed upon the population of Barcelona, and
th
state of seige is maintained. The Regent has not yet
entered here, but the Captain-General and Zurbano
are seen in the streets. It is impossible to describe
the
melancholy aspect of the population. The Englis,h
ships of war saluted this morning, and the Queen
s
troops replied from the fort of the Atarazanas.

The Paris papers contain little new of in-
terest. The KING, after presiding at a Cabinet
Council on Saturday, went to Fontainebleau, an'
was expected to return on Monday. The affair/
of Barcelona still form topics of discussi on Ir
these journals, and the letter of the E 11056:
Consul is commented on with kio little hitt'

The
Paris Tribunal, which, as we stated yester-
day'
d Idd nonsuited the sufferers from the acci-
eat on the Versailles railroad, have awarded no
coB4it against the Company, so that the plaintiffs
Nunn Pay all the expenses. The President
fo uEaucyr DE CHEZELLESi), in the midst ofpro-
u?ld silence, pronounced judgment as follows :
tciceording to the indictment it would appear that
surl'A castastrophe was owing to the following facts
heeircumstances—the getting off the rails and
oreak„mg of the right axletree, and one of the springs
o}' the Matthew Murray engine ; the insufficiency
fit,e number of engines of the Company; the un-
pi:`'s and bad 'state of the Matthew Murray ; the
'olg it with another locomotive of unequal force ;
atid,
ku , nally, the excessive velocity of the convoy,
to the
facts and circumstances are to be imputed
re accused.
tirtnjeapect to the getting off the rails and the
tha,alcoig of the right axletree and springs, it appears
• neither the judge-arbitrators (experts) nor the
hleers, or the other witnesses, in their depositions
orie peen able to determine, in a positive manner, the
kr in which these various accidents took place ;
e_ even on this point, upon which scientific men
Bire te divided, only conjectural opinions have been
koit; from whence it follows that the tribunal re-
ipte" In doubt in that respect, and cannot draw any
ten.ce against the accused ; when it is, moreover,
Zhahed by the unanimous evidence of the engi-
ti'l, and judge-arbitrators, that the spring and axle-
Were made of good iron, well wrought, and are
▪ susceptible of a long service.
iq `lroapect to the sufficiency of the material :—See-
-8 'oat this has not been proved, that even the engi-
of leharged by the Government with the inspection
4le railroads, gives favourable testimony as to the
theler of engines, and the fitness and good state of
s tatthew Murray machine.
the eeing that, according to the opinions of science, at
gio moment of the catastrophe the fitness of this en-
thee Cannot be impugned, and that, in considering
the Particular construction of the Matthew Murray,
the Tribunal has had no proof that the locomotive had
(korePutation of being bad, and presented signs of
pager, nor that it had been remarked by the coin-
-BthY, or that it had exceeded or even attained on the
e4,;°F May the bounds of the ordinary service of an
that, finally, it had been purchased from a
riiklut and experienced manufacturer, who had made
ho e Others of precisely the same kind, against which
114°°)Plaints nor protests had been raised, and the
°I. Which is still allowed both in France and abroad.
Seein
Itatt, g, in respect to the manner of placing the
with hen, Murray, that it was in strict accordance
th ,ellstorn, and that no blame can be imputed for
Ey '0 the accused, inasmuch as scientific men are
know divided on this point.
th Peet to the excessive speed :—Seeing that, on
fit;
`rmt, the evidence is contradictory ; that no ste-
t " Proof results thereof that the convoy went at a
N 'ed
tom to cause or aggravate the accident; and that,
faidige rest, supposing even this last point proved, the
iq th.alust be brought home to the accused; and that,
Ihls respect, the accusation had not been borne out.
Cou,t"eofp sect to the claims pin f dama as e
deeici Correctional Police have or
not the geps,owerth of
ing civil actions but accessorily for the public
detnol; and as no offence has been established, the
ids for damages could not be decided.
The Tribunal, for the above reasons, dismisses all
the
from the consequences of the indictment,
ti,condemns the civil parties (demanding damages)
•ie Cogs !
LL

115YD'S SHIPPING-(THIS DAY)

kiir"boN, DEc. 13.—Wind this day at noon, S. to
b., fresh breezes and fine clear weather.
(b,i!AL, DEC. 12.—Wind S.W., fresh.—Arrd. Finis
zeri6)) westward. A large ship (supposed the Swit-
an
p d), from America to London.
hieALatorru, DEc. 12.—Wind S.E. to S.W., fresh
bs and squally.—Arrd. Montrose packet, for Vigo.
(iitZER, DEc. 11.—Arrd. Louce, Westerwick, for
kiliiltarL after being ashore at Dungeness, and
t 7, OIL Put back, Liberty, for Stockton, having
p"shore on the bar. •
prszaouni, DEC. 12.—Wind S.W.—Arrd. off,
tie
t-fel!, White, New York.
, DEc. 12.—Arrd. Comet, Rabe, Havannah;
*ktV Bremen; Bordeaux Dunkirk, with four feet
}jai her hold, and has come into the harbour.
)444tmouTH, DEC. 12.—Wind, S.W.—Arrd. Tyne,
%;0,8, Quebec; Lydia, adiz, for Hull, with loss of
41;', boats bulwarks, Scc. ; Duchess of Gloucester,
,Arrat't Wight for Gloucester, leaky in topsides.
°ff—Mungo Park, Richardson, Monte Video;
siq Rockwell, Jackson, Charleston for Hull.
AtiTANREooE, DEC. 12.—Wind S.S.E. to S.W.—
Cb Swanton, Devonport ; Eliza Warwick, Davies,
illtleston ; F. Depau and Caledonia, Savannah ;
Curt Bean, Ritchie, Bombay; Reliance, Dunley,
behZ Lobelia, Thorpe, Demerara ; Zeno, Jamaica;
go4Lion, Allen, United States ; Seaton, Hope,
' and Gossipium, New Orleans.
rOII4:ARFORD, DEC. 9.—Sld. Terpsichore, New-
41nd•
fro,l4lrny, DEc. 12.—The Newcastle Trader, Lord,
nap I,llields, got ashore yesterday, in Rob
lit in Hood
;1t was assisted off, and towed in here last
leaky, and with rudder unshipped.
kot-IirtAWALD, NORTH ITIST, DEC. 7.—The Helen,
\lle t, from the Clyde to Limerick, was totally
ere eked at Girinish, on the night of the 4th inst.,
tt.aaNed.
ht c„!T,I-1, DEC. 11.—The Crowley, of South Shields,
\'‘itC,.n‘rlyth rocks this morning, but was assssted off
kt "Mage, and proceeded for Shields in tow of a
ale.

Ixe„
'lllE-TAX APPEALS- IN TUB CITY OF LONDON.
Yesterday being the general adjournment day
.for
the IZS those appeals which were not heard during
So's; Week, the Income-tax Commissioners met at
‘hetheic'ek, for the purpose of finally, disposing of
kit far the wards of Aldersgate Within and With-
(4,l'e tread-street Castle Baynard, Cordwainer's,
tillephithe, Cripplegate Within and Without, Far-
Noon. Within, St. Andrew's Holborn, St. Bartho-
Aret,B,,,, St. Sepulchre's, St. Dunstan's-in-the-
e Bride's, St. Martin's, Ludgate, Whitefriars,
and Sergeant's Inn. The number of ap-
ITtita who have presented themselves each day has
!atilj exceeded the 200 provided for, which has
14fa,', much delay, as many of them were rather
41444 cases to determine, and required a serious con-
-6
the ,4tiOri on the part of the Commissioners to define
pl meaning of the Act as regards schedules A
also ' respecting lands, tenements, and hereditaments ;
%e „t:rider schedule D in professions, &c. Yesterday
the was a very full attendance, and many were
pit raarks against this unpopular tax. A notice was
lhat'P, that it having been represented to the Board
14°I;e of the appe
' llants had ill-oonducted himself,
Ivolnitl4ing insolent observations, the Commissioners
RigNA hear his case until the close of the Corn-
ahi,llll; and that the same rule would be enforced
41.v.-4 all others who might thus misconduct them-
kill:The consequence is, that respectable citizens
Nsekeepers of the free city of London, who con-
% 9uithemselves unjustly over-assessed, must keep
the as schoolboys when presenting themselves at
Itree'Perty and-Income-tax office, 36, Basinghall-
taissitl at least within the hearing of the worthy Corn-
hoti....clrlers, or their underlings. It appears that the
t(4,- authorising the surveyor of taxes, Mr. Welch,
etitit harge the assessment made upon clerks, who
1407tisfactorily prove that their incomes are under
dell Per annum, does not extend to commercial tra-
kr, and they are assessed according to their an-
returns while out on journeys, which causes the
tkat complaints to be made on their part against
'4itistice of the assessment.
, MICHAEL, BASSISHAW, LONDON:A hand-
's4ll 41ver salver, weighing upwards of 100 oz., has
RecTi subscribed for and presented to Mr. Wadd, sur-
thtir of that parish, by his neighbours, as a token of
,I;061. Teem for his gratuitous medical services to the
'are °' that parish during a period of forty year's, bs, e-
Aet." Well as since the passing of the New Poor-law
th Mr. Wadd has resided upwards of forty years
0,4 t Parish, and during that period has never made
41th arge to any poor person residing within it,
well continually assisting them, by advice as
4laas medicine. The presentation took place at
a-~:a-hall on Friday evening, the 9th inst., when
gn encomium was passed on that gentleman by
'tly-Aslderman Farncomb, who kindly undertook to
eY to him the feelings of his fellow-parishioners.
iViLIVICT-GARDEN THEATRE.—The Merry Wives of
thisT°r, as adapted with music, was represented at
‘vits theatre last night. The character of Mrs. Ford
first supported by Miss Kate Howard, it being her
Ittld appearance on this stage, and was very pleasantly
hPrumisingly personated. The house was well filled.
AtehAb4ARKET THEATRE. The benefit of Mr.
aiolt r, the box-keeper of this theatre, took place last
-tot The performances consisted of A Cure for
qr Slezanne, with Celeste as the heroine : the
itei r a of
One'Hour ; or, A Carnival Ball, Charles
Ws and Madame Vestris acting in their migi-
fate aracters of Swiftly and Miss Dalton ; and the
°f my Husband's Ghost. The second piece was
•Doit,a‘ Charles Mathews' own comedietta of The
%,,,,,ger, the principal characters of which were per-
'l`Vag ep by himself and Madame Vestris. The house
A Vwded in every part.
(111)0, DUTY.—Many of our Whig friends are
.4
ed to the total repeal of the Corn-laws, and say,
fes„want revenue. Why, not corn a fair
Iv You
,It-r taxation ?" Our answer is,—Be it so. You
both
to he taxed. Well, let it be taxed at the
(10 it. """th foreign and domestic. But you dare not
tax The old women themselves would abolish your
tiev th their brooms and their pokers.—Correspon-
c;:)-1' the Liverpool Albion.
Gow PROFESSORSHIP OF CIVIL LAW.—Allan
back no~'he, Esq., Advocate (son of Lord Meadow-
%asi4",ll.g been, appointed Professor of Civil Law in