The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-10 00:00:00

RAILWAY UNDERTAKINGS.
(From the Times.)
It is a trite remark, that associated numbers often
refuse to acknowledge that responsibility which they
would not dare to repudiate as individuals. Corpora-
tions are said to have no conscience. And companies are
sometinats found who seem to have established their part-
nership on the principal of the two thieves who severally
denied, the one that he took, the other that he received,
the stolen goods. This peculiarity, which has been
called, by a happy blunder, " the irresponsibility of
numbers," is most signally exemplified in railway under-
takings. It is the bad pre-eminence of the promoters of
some among these schemes to stand before the world as
the disciples of repudiation. Their ambition appears to
be, to wear the seal and impress of Pennsylvania and
Mississippi; to be enrolled, perhaps at some future time
among the citizens of those honourable States. May
their ambition be gratified! England, certainly, is no
place fur repudiators; she has a foolish prejudice in
favour of honesty, an inveterate habit of paying her '
debts, at all risks, and without consideration of loss.
She would, doubtless, if her laws allowed, transport
these gentlemen, in the ordinary way, to the congenial
climate of republican America. But, unfortunately,
theirs is a cases omissus in the books; there is no special
punishment for them marked out and defined. The
omission may perhaps be likened, in its causes, to that
celebrated ono in the Roman Code, which need only be
hinted at. But though they cannot be conveyed to the
wished-for shores at the public expense, yet, if they will
go at their own, they will enjoy the pleasing reflection
that " they left their country for their country's good."
It is not alleged that all, or indeed many, railway com-
panies are amenable to these remarks; but it is certain
that more than one have already suffered themselves to
be charged v,ith swinlling and embezzlement, without
even deigning to notice the accusation. As to how many
more will follow the bright example, some estimate may
be formed from the declaration of the chief magistrate
of the city of London, that he apprehended there were
a great many cases parallel to theirs. Fur a proof
ethe reasonableness of this apehension we refer
to the police reports of the Mansion-house and
Guildhall, which appeared in our columns of Saturday
and yesterday. It would occupy toe much space to go
into all the cases at length, but for the sake of example
we give every notoriety to the names of the companies
implicated. These are the Great Manchester, Rugby,
and Southampton; the Great Leeds and London Direct;
and the Direct Birmingham, Oxford, and Brighton.
The first, as being decidedly the worst, we shall select
for a particular notice. The letters of allotment of the
Great Manchester, Rugby, and Southampton Railway
required the payment of a deposit of two guineas per
allure into a certain bank before a certain day. A Mr.
Chapple, to whom forty shares had been allotted, paid
his 841. within the limited time. On the following day
he received a printed circular from the office of the
Provisional Committee, signed by their secretary, to
the effect that the committee of management had de-
cided upon limiting the deposit to 10s. per share, and
that the remaining 325. would not be required until
January next. Mr. Chapple immediately applied to
the secretary for the balance he had overpaid. The
answer was ingenuous to a fault:—" The committee
of management had no notion of adopting that course."
lie then asked fur his scrip. The reply was equally
candid :—" It was the intention of the committee of
management to issue no more scrip." The coolness of
this proceeding would be laughable, if its consequences
were less serious. Oise feels something amounting al-
most to Mhuiration for such enormous effrontery— the
sort of sentiment one is apt to entertain towards the
unblushing impudence of a Brummel or a Jeremy Did-
dl T. To Mr. Chapple, however, it was no joke. He '
saw himself in imminent danger of losing his money
and his scrip, and, alas ! all his promised premiums.
So he betook himself to the Lord Mayor, and sum- '
monad the secretary. This gentleman did not, of
course, obey the summons. How could he be expected
to waste his time at the Mansion-house at such a busy
period as this. But he " appeared by attorney
and the attorney was very bold and a little indig-
nant. Ile submitted that his client had nothing
whatever to do with the matter, because he only acted
under instructions, and had no authority to pay back
the deposits. Ile apprehended that the committee of
management had a discretionary power in the issuing of
scrip, and they deemed it advisable to exercise that
power in the present instance, because they had found,
under exisiting circumstances, there would be no time
to get before Parliament in the ensuing session. Then
he contradicted himself a little, and protested " that he
knew nothing whatever of the company," and was
" wholly ignorant of any of the matters connected with
it," even of the name of its chairman ' • and he concluded
by expressing an opinion that the Lord Mayor had no
jurisdiction in the premises, and that he (the attorney)
would have taken no notice of the summons but for the
respect he bore his Lordship. His Lordship was at
first a little puzzled. He thought the matter had
better stand over. He was willing to give the com-
pany a locus pcenitentice. But in the end a better course
occurred. " Why not go at once to the Mayor's Court
and attach the money at the banker's ?" Why not, in-
deed ! What more ready and simple coarse to arrest
the progress of such a transaction 1 When the Com-
mittee can no longer get access to its funds, it must of
necessity seek a compromise. Landlords, and secre-
taries, and engineers, and stationers, and printers, all
must be paid. They look to their employers—the com-
mittee of management, who know their liability, and
have been accustomed with long impunity to look to the
deposits at the banker's to discharge it. Put these be-
yond their reaeh, and their panic comes in its turn.
Hitherto the Shareholders, or rather the Scripholders,
have been the only sufferers. Whilst these stood aghast
at the sight of letters of allotment that nobody would
buy, and certificates that were an abomination even in
Capel-court, the promoters of the concern stood by and
smiled. They had made their gains, and retired from com-
petition. They had depastured the field, and not a blade
was left for the poor stags to nibble. But now we hope,
with the help of the City authorities, to turn the tables
upon these thriving gentlemen. The Lord Mayor's ad-
vice is the salt which will make these leeches disgorge.
He has on more than one occasion declared that he will
go to the extent of the law for this purpose. His deter-
mination is much to be commended, and, if strictly pur-
sued, will shed no little lustre on his term of office. But
there must be no division of opinions on the civic bench,
no hostile thunders between Guildhall and the Mansion-
house, no breaking of lances between Johnson and
Jlusgrove. The judgment of the worthy Alderman on
a case before him not very dissimilar from the one we
have detailed, and which will be found in the Times of
yesterday, seems to warrant an apprehension of such a
conflict. It may be doubted if the law therein laid
down is stated with sufficient accuracy, and with the
necessary qualifications. Although it be admitted that a
party who has received his scrip, and signed the Parlia-
mentary contract, has contracted to bear his share of the
preliminary expenses necessary for obtaining the Act of
Parliament, it does not by any means follow that such a
liability exists where no such scrip has been
given and
no contract signed. To prove this position, it must be
shown that the letters of application and allotment
form tcgether a complete contract between the par-
ties, by which the allottee binds himself to become a
partner in the undertaking, and consequently assumes
all the acts and all the risks of the partnership: And
the proof must go further, for every agreement is mu-
tual, and there must be mutuality of consideration. If
the allottee of the so-called shares is bound to pay the
deposit in all events, and in the teeth of all hazards to
render himself a partner, it may fairly be asked, what
are the provisional committee bound to do? Can they
refuse to deliver his scrip to a speculator who has paid
his deposit, and is ready and willing to sign the Parlia-
mentary *ntract, and at the same time hold him to all
the liabilities of a partner? The letter of allotment is
the evidence of the allottee's title to be registered as a
shareholder in the company, should it ever be legally
constituted. It seems to be the only consideration he
receives for his money. Nay, more, the letter appears
on the face of it to express this consideration. And if it
does not, the consequence follows that the committee
have it all their own way. Such may indeed turn out to
be the law. But it will take a very long time to con-
vince the public of it—to make them understand that
they have been swindled' out of their money according to
law, and cheated by Act of Parliament.

ANOTHER CONTRAST.
(From the Examiner.)
A MINISTER OF THE A MINISTER OF THE
STATE. GOSPEL.
The personal property of The personal property of
Earl Grey, late a Prime the late Dean of Lincoln, a
Minister of Great Britain, Minister of the Gospel, was
was sworn to be under sworn to be under 140,0001.,
30,0001. exclusive of his various es-
tates of landed property, &c.
"Lay not up to yourselves
treasures on earth.,"

" Let your moderation
be known unto all men."

EXTRAORDINARY MATCH AGAINST TIME.—Mr.
Liley, a gentleman well-known in the sporting world, has
undertaken, for a bet of 1001., to ride, in saddle, on the
turnpike-road, from the Star Hotel, Newmarket, to the Angel
Inn, Islington, and return to Newmarket, within twelve
hours. The match will come off on Monday next.
REPORTING.—III connexion with the report of the
excellent addresses delivered at the great demonstration on
Thursday, of the opinions of a very large majority of the
citizens of Bath, and which will be found in our columns
this week, we would call the attention of our readers to a
fact indicative of a reform in other matters as well as in the
' corn-laws. 13y the kindness of Mr. I. Pitman, of this city,
whose systems of writing and printing by sound have made
such astonishing progress in all parts of the kingdom, we are
enabled to give nearly a verbatim report of the excellent
speech of R. Cobden, Esq., and which our compositors have
set up from Mr. Pitman's phonographic notes, there being
no necessity for their transcription. With all other systems
of shorthand writing, not only was there never known such
a thing as a reporter passing over to the compositor his notes
of a speech, an hour and a quarter in the delivery, but he
is often unable to decipher them himself. All that was ne-
cessary in this case, Mr. Pitman has assured us, was to give
the speech one reading the next morning—which he found
as easy a task as to sit and listen to the speaker, while be
dropped the consonant outlines of his words on paper—and
fill in a few vowels. We are convinced that we shall, hi a
few years, by this invaluable system, save all that immense
amount of toil which our present reporters have to undergo
in deciphering and transcribing their notes for the press.—
Bath Journal.

FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
TIMES.—The Ministerial decision is by this time
universally received not merely as a fact, but as the only
thing that could have been done. The denials are few
and vociferous. In the midst of an all but universal mur-
mur of approbation a few malcontents reiterate nega-
, fives and abuse, and enjoy that distinctness of audience
which is the privilege of singularity. Under colour of
not believing an announcement, which to them, of
course, is disagreeable enough, they daily discharge
showers of conditional invective on the Ministers who
have been so unkind as neither to value their opinions
nor fear their indignation. It is impossible to believe
this shocking intelligence (they argue), for then that
enlightened and high-minded Minister whom we brought
into power, who then pledged himself most solemnly
that he would always walk in the light of the Con-
stitution—that is, in the light of the sliding-scale—and
whose most intimate and confidential allies and
organs we have always been, would be guilty of
the foulest and most diabolical treachery to his
Sovereign, to the nobility and gentry, to all orders and
estates of men, to the clergy, to the farmers and la-
bourers, and above all, to our own most noble selves.
The supposition is laid down fearfully and humbly
enough. *We cannot believe that Sir Robert Peel has
been so base, but if he has, then he may see his portrait,
done in a bold, dashing style, in the columns of his par-
ticular friend. The fabric of abuse built on this contin-
gent foundation reaches to the clouds. There is Alp
upon Alp of rage and scurrility. For our own part, we
must confess ourselves so astounded by the fury of this
demonstration that we lose sight of the conditional ele-
ment. We have already pointed out the wanton folly
and cruelty of this course. Though a mere private and
ridiculous pique, the disappointed agitators are leading
their dupes into the most gratuitous absurdity and ruin.
Their make-believe incredulity fails to make the farmer
incredulous also ; it only makes him conclude that he is
on the eve of a dreadful calamity. In spite of them he be-
lieves, or' rather knows, that the days of protection are
numbered, but:lie listens:to his treacherous advisers just so
far as to think his wheat therefore will soon be good
for nothing. This is sufficiently indicated by the state
of the corn-market yesterday, as our readers will find
under the proper head. Since the continual meetings of
the Cabinet, the letters of Lord John Russell and Lord
Morpeth, and other ominous circumstances created a
general persuasion that something decisive would be
done, we are told that wheats have suffered a decline of
3s. to 4s. per quarter, and all other kinds of grain have
fallen in proportion. That this haste to sell arises from
a mere political delusion is clear from the fact that all
the best authorities, both in the Corn Exchange and the
whole mercantile world, are unanimously of opinion
that the repeal of the corn-laws will certainly, imme-
diately, and most considerably raise the prices all over
the world. We do not see how it can be otherwise. Nay,
if we have any one misgiving as to the wisdom of the
Ministerial measure, it originates in the thought of
what may possibly arise from the whole current of
British speculation being for the first time allowed free
play on foreign produce, just at the crisis when
the stock is most unusually low. The farmer is, of
course, only too easy a prey to these alarmists, from the
circumstance that his boasted protection has, in a man-
ner, insulated him from the corn trade of the world, and
kept him profoundly ignorant of it. He has not known
a regular competition with it; and has, indeed, known
nothing about it, except that it is a certain frightful in-
finity of mischief. Little is he aware that the average
of importations from the whole world does not exceed
the produce of one English county, or half the demand
of our metropolis, and, what is more, that it would take
many years of labour, skill, and money to increase that
importation. Hence the fatal facility with which he is
duped by leaders as ill-informed, perhaps, as himself.
Auy well-informed authority will open his eyes to his
error. Corn is not only a most legitimate, but a most
natural subject of speculation. From the earliest
times accumulations of grain have been the chief
means of increasing wealth, of acquiring influence, of
sustaining power, of preserving nations, and benefiting
the world. The certainty that, in a cycle of years, the
staff of life would become scarce and precious has led the
merchant and the prince to hoard up the redundance of
good years in order to supply the deficiency of bad ones.
The more accumulation, the more cultivation there has
been. It is the peculiar vice of the sliding-scale that it
has reduced the most beneficial of speculations into a
mere cast of the die. It has taken the trade from the
farmer and the merchant, and left it in the hands of the
gambler. While all other buying and selling has been
regular, honest, and profitable to all parties—while the
buying and selling of money, stocks, bills, and all
kinds of artificial and conventional wealth has been
the employment of prudent men--the buying and
selling of grain alone has been degraded to the
level of the roulette-table and rouge et noir. It
has been regular only in uniformly wrecking the
character and fortune of everybody who engaged in
it. Judicious and respectable men have instinctively
shunned it, and preferred any other use of their money
and exercise of their wits. There is, then, some reason
to fear an extravagant competition by the British
capitalist for the hundred thousand quarters of foreign
wheat still within his reach. It is a mere nothing com-
pared with the enormous sums available and ready for
speculation, or with the sums actually embarked in ,
other speculations of a much more uncertain character.
We believe it to be within the capacity of half a dozen
merchants of London to monopolise all the redundant i
produce of the world, both now existing and for years
to come—a monopoly far more likely to set up the ,
farmer than any sliding-scale his friends have ever
given him. At any rate, before he listens to a set of
disappointed alarmists, let him ascertain for himself the
quantity of corn which can at present be brought into
the market against him, and then ask, from his own
knowledge of agricultural affairs, how soon that can be
multiplied in any very ruinous proportion.
CIIRONICLE.—We are willing to admit, that no one
who is earnestly desirous for the accomplishment of any
object—for the success or public adoption of any favou-
rite principle—can be indifferent to the support of the
Times. We have therefore seen with the greatest satis-
faction the clear and unqualified advocacy which our
Contemporary has recently given to the general princi-
ples of free trade, and especially as far as they relate to
the corn-laws. We were, however, totally unprepared
to find the columns of the Times used for the purpose
of resuscitating, or attempting to resuscitate, one of the
most flagrant and barefaced fallacies ever advanced for
the purpose of supporting monopoly, or affrighting the
nation from the bare consideration of free-trade doc-
trines. It is a stale, and, until we saw it repeated in the
Times yesterday, we thought a worn-out trick of the sup-
porters of the protective system, to attempt to confound'
duties imposed for the purposes of protection with- those
imposed for revenue. It was by this juggle that the
protective system was first introduced, by which it
attained the firm footing which .it did in this country
and others, by which it is still maintained here and else-
where, and by which the prejudices and-fears of man-
kind are aroused to its support whenever its existence is
threatened. A repeal of the corn-laws is, or rather has
been—for we would still fain think that such a fallacy
now finds but few supporters—held by a large class as a
matter of unquestionable justice, but from consideration
of " The Debt ;" and free trade an unquestionable be-
nefit, but for the large annual revenue to which our re-
sources are pledged. These are the pretences which
have been artfully put out for the purpose of inflicting an
dmpost, in the shape of protective duties, on one part of
tae community for the sole benefit of another ; by which,
under the plea of revenue, one class has been enabled to
exact a tax, for its own private uses, from all others. But
the Times is surely not, at this time of day, after this selfish
fallacy has been laughed to ridicule, about to attempt to re-
vive it ; at a moment, too, when a large portion of the public
is in the most sensitive state with regard to changes which
our Contemporary now, with the majority of the coun-
try, deems inevitable. It is a time when the duty of
the press is rather to seek out and eradicate existing
errors, and to allay groundless apprehensions, than
again to drag to light and give the sanction of its autho-
rity to prejudices, which even those who have been most
interested in the maintenance of a vicious system no
longer venture to appeal to. And yet we find that, in
an otherwise able and useful article, in yesterday's Times,
this fallacy; is put forward in a most imposing and mis-
chievous form. In speaking of the effects of a repeal of
thecorn-laws our Contemporary says:—" But every great
political achievement involves a loss or a sacrifice. Here
there will be a loss and a sacrifice. We speak not
of classes or cliques, but of the country: And the
country, whatever it may hereafter gain in other re-
spects, will lose altogether and for ever in point of re-
venue. Nor are we justified in expecting that this loss
will be solely in the artiele of corn. Mr. Cobden
very recently informed a French journal that the League
confined its attacks to the monopoly of corn, because its
members knew that this being abolished, the aristocracy
would unite to suppress all others. This means, that if
the duties on corn are once removed, all other customs'
duties will follow. Is the country prepared for this ?
Are the national revenues such as to enable us to dis-
pense with customs' duties altogether ? Can we afford
to lose twelve or fourteen millions a year at once ? If
we do, how aro we to replace it ? By direct taxation ?
Do the people of England then seriously prefer direct
to indirect taxation ? If so, we should like to ascertain
from what time this penchant may be dated. All these
considerations must force themselves on the minds both
of the public and their rulers. That which we pro-
phecied may soon take place ; a concentrated attack
will be made on all customs' duties." It, does not re-
quire that we should appeal to the often-repeated objects
which all the writers and speakers in favour of free-
trade have had in advocating those doctrines, in order to
show how utterly inapplicable are the designs attributed
to them in the passage which we quote from the Times.
The proposition carries its absurdity on its face. Protec-
tive duties, so far from assisting in -any degrees the
efficiency of those imposed for the purposes
the
most far from aiding the Exchequer, ar
t od.
most insidious enemies with which they have to cor? e
of
Protective duties, like revenue duties, raise the price
commodities to the public, limit their consumption, cramp
the powers and contract our commerce, without yielielfitnif
e
w ,
in any case, a corresponding amount of revenue.
hole or any part of a duty goes to enrich private in 1-
viduals—and if it does not, then it is not a protective
duty—it is quite clear that while it is equally a tax on
the public, the Exchequer is in no degree benefited by
it. -Now the article of corn independently of the strong

POST.—The Railway share business does not greatly
amend. Here and there a trifling improvement may be
found in the quotations, but this is owing rather to par-
ticular circumstances than to any general alteration in
the tone of the market. Manchester and Southampton
to If prem. ; Rustrick's Direct London and Manchester
11 to a dis. ; Remington's ditto lf to ,1 dis. ; Groat
Western and Wycombe 4 dis. to I prem. ; South Union
to I ats. ; South Midland 24 to 3 prem. ; Ma iricl and
Valencia dis. (buyers.) The shares of the Hereford
and Merthyr Tydvil Junction Company, upon which a
deposit of 21.25. has been paid, were done in the house at
par to . prem. The agreement which the South-Western
Railway Company have made with the London, Salisbury,
and Yeovil Company, which provides for extensions into
Cornwall, is apparently favourable to those companies,
and may be regarded as a sufficient indication of the
benefit locally expected from the measure. The advan-
vantages derivable to the shareholders in the new lines
will arise principally from the experience and exertions
of the parent company, since they will participate in the
profits accruing from the original creation of traffic, and
incur no risk. It has been felt by many persons that
the guarantee of the South-Western Company, who have
closed their capital account for some years, after com-
pleting one of the cheapest lines in the country, and
with an increasing traffic and few liabilities, is prefer-
able to that of another great and, to a certain extent, rival
company, with an open and unknown capital account, im-
mense extensions and enga%ements, a most expensively
constructed line, and great expenditure in the working.
These considerations, together with the original and
long-standing monopoly of traffic, and the exten-
sive local support afforded it, are, we under-
stand, the elements on which the promoters and share-
holders build their hopes as to the London, Salisbury, and
Yeovil line, and the Cornish extensions. One-fourth
of the capital stock is to be held by the South• Western
Company, and the guarantee is 5i per cent., a division
of profits, and other advantages. It is said, more-
over, that Parliament will give a preference to lines
which are supported by capital already in profitable
operation to those of entirely new companies, so that
the gains of the existing lines may in some measure
secure those of the new ones, and that absolutely new
lines may he postponed until an increase of traffic in
the natural course shall call for them. At all events,
the Salisbury and Yeovil South-Western Shareholders
are, we hear, very sanguine of success, particularly as
the statistical returns of traffic look favourable. We
are no partisans, and may leave Parliament to settle all
disputes and differences between one company and
another. We would merely make known the views of
a company fully prepared, as we believe the one in
question to be, to seek its sanction in the way in which
they are placed before us.
TIMES.—A private leter from Fremantle says—" A
contract has been concluded with the Admiralty for the
supply of 400 loads of our timber for naval purposes.
There is little doubt but that this will lead to extensive
orders. We have wood in sufficient abundance to supply
all the navies of the world for 1,000 years, and only one
obstacle to contend with—viz., the want of vessels for
its conveyance. The sawyers are at work, and the
timber will be ready for putting on board before the Ist
of December next. - Another contract has been taken by
two parties at Port Augusta and Flinders for the supply
of 180 loads of hewn wood, to be ready for shipment
about January next, and to be sent home in a colonial
built vessel called the River Chief." From the circular
of Messrs. Gibson, Ord, and Co., of Manchester, we learn
that there has been a month of almost unexampled de-
pression, with a corresponding decline in prices. Consi-
dering that the Bank vaults are well stocked, and that the
foreign exchanges are in favour of this country, this is
attributed entirely to the late railway speculation. There
is no scarcity of money, but confidence in the trading
community is impaired; and it is predicted that the pre-
sent pressure will continue until the moat searching
scrutiny shall have separated the speculator from the
legitimate trader. In home trade nothing whatever is
doing. From China the accounts are considered un-
favourable, and no improvement is expected for months
to come, the market being already overstocked with
British goods. The Calcutta market had not improved
in prices, and in Bombay the trade in manufactured
goods was stagnant, owing to apprehensions of a failure
in the growing crops.
Some of the shareholders in the Rugby Railway Com-
pany, which lost its Bill last session, are complaining
that their deposits (less the expense) are not yet repaid
them. They think that ample time has elapsed to allow
of all accounts being settled and all claims satisfied.
CHRONICLE.—The railway deposit question creates
uneasiness, not only amongst the monetary interests in
the City, but throughout the country. The trade circu-
lars from Manchester complain of the badness of trade
and pressure for money, which they attribute to the
speculative action in railways, and the large amounts
locked up in deposits in the banks. We are inclined to
think that the anxiety on this subject will be found to
be greater than circumstances warrant. The supposed
amount of deposits is much larger than the actual one ;
when the real amount of them transferred to the Ac-
countant-General transpires, it will be seen that the cal-
culations have been greatly beyond the truth, made upon
the basis of proposed capitals.
The Corn-market was quite depressed to-day, and a
considerable fall in prices was experienced. This shows
that the rumour of corn-law repeal begins to take root,
and that there is more corn in the country than has
been generally credited.

OPENING THE PORTS. WESTMINSTER REFORM
SOCIETY.—Monday night a meeting of the Committee which
was appointed at a recent, meeting of the Westminster Re-
form Society, convened to take into consideration the pro-
priety of holding a public meeting of the inhabitants of the
city of Westminster, to memorialise her Majesty, for the
purpose of inducing the Ministers to open the ports, for the
admission of grain free of duty, was held at Stannard's
Hotel, Charles-street, Covent-garden, to carry that object
into effect, a delay having been occasioned in consequence
of the rumour that the Government had come to the deter-
mination of recommending to Parliament the repeal of the
corn-laws; Mr. Prout in the chair. Mr. Pouncey said that
Lord Jahn Russell had remarked, that after the public
voice had been so unanimously declared in favour of total
repeal, the Government would not take upon themselves the
responsibility of continuing the corn-laws. He thought so
too ; at the same time they ought not to hesitate, since
knowing that the Premier was favourable to free trade, they
ought to give him their support, in order that he might be
able so carry out any proposition he might offer for a total
and unconditional repeal of the corn-laws. Mr. Tubor, Mr.
Lewis, Mr. Reeve, Ise., having spoken to the same effect, a
sub-committee was appointed to take measures to convene a
meeting of the electors early in the ensuing week. Thanks
were then voted to the Chairman, who expressed hand is
_cotlnie
currence with the resolution unanimously agreed to,
meeting separated.
LORD DRUMLANRIG AND THE PRIZS-RlNG.—Vs-
count Drumlanrig has published a letter respecting
about to be tried in the Court of
b the-more
yid
in
Exchequer,
)eg the action
brought by
Caunt, the pugilist,.for the recovery of t
the late fight for the championship Of England for 200/., pa
h
over, under protest, to Benligeobayets, e stakeholder, in which
that if Caunt or Spring
-
his Lordship most positively .dolr,
or 2ny of the parties go to trial, he will exert all his influence
on future occasions to prevent them from entering the ring.
Ilis Lordship, who has been 1 great patron of boxing and a
backer of pugilists, expresses his indignation at the attempt
to reverse the decision of a referee, from which there is no
appeal, by commencing an action for the recovery of the
stakes. On the other hand, it is contended that the referee
(Mr. Osbaldeston) was not appealed to by the umpires, and
consequently his decision is invalid. The issue will shortly
be tried, and as thousands of pounds in bets are depending
on the verdict, the result is looked to with great interest by
the sporting world.
SPA-FIELDS BURIAL GROUND.—The decision of the
question referred to Mr. Bramwell, respecting the Spa-
fields burial-ground, will not be known until he has made his
award in the matter ; nor will any evidence or report he may
receive be suffered to be made public, the learned arbitrator
having decided that the proceedings should not be reported
until he has come to a determination on the subject. It seems
that a surgeon or chemist is to make an examination . of the
ground, and to report what portions should be closed, and
Iwhether the referee will be satisfied with that report, or re-
further evidence, will, of course, be for future considera-
tion,