The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-05 00:00:00

SPITALFIELDS' WEAVERS.

Last night, at seven o'clock, a numerous and most
respectable meeting of the influential portion of the
inhabitants of Spitalficlds, Bethnal-green, and its
vicinity, was held at the Soup House, in Brick-lane,
for the purpose of taking into consideration the best
means to distribute the funds (for the relief of the
distressed and unemployed Spitalflelds' Silkweavers)
now in the hands of the Lord Mayor.
Mr. RorEnT HANBURY, having been unanimousl)
called upon to preside, said that the meet.ng was con-
vened at the urgent request of the Lord Mayor, who
was desirous that the fund which was in his hands
should be distributed to mitigate the extreme distress
they were in. In order to ascertain the real condition
of the district means had been taken for that purpose.
and a census of the unemployed looms was cons;'
ercci
necessary. Great pains had been used obtain that
census, and, after the most car-,7u1 inquiry, it
was found that there were at least, 2,788 looms "em-
ployed at present. Those leems belnng to 1,883 fami-
lies, consisting of 3,537 Adults, 4,034 children under
twelve years of age, and 1,733 children above twelve
years of age, A small portion of the district still re-
mained unsurveyed. But no time should be lost in
examining it, in onhr that the extent of the distress
should be fel!y ascertained. The result of the inquiry
had convinced him that the time had arrived when
something should be done to mitigate the distresses of
the unzimployed.
A long discussion then arose as to the best plan to
be adopted, when the Reverend De L. Lawson
moved 'the following resolution :—" That in considera-
tion of the increased distress now existing among
the weavers and those connected with the silk manu-
factures, immediate steps should be taken to distribute
the funds now in the hands of the Lord Mayor, with
any other subscriptions that may be received."
The resolution was then unanimously agreed to.
Robert Banbury, Esq., was then appointed trea-
surer; and etkor resolutions were passed to forward the
object of the meeting, one of them being to the effect
that the district should be divided into 18 sections.
Arrangements to proceed further with the distribution
of the money being entered into, it is expected that
operations will commence this week.

SOCIAL IMPROVEMENTS IN
RUSSIA.

Among other social improvements the Russian Go-
vernment has been taking pains to promote the econo-
mical practice of insurance against the risk of fire
among the farmers and peasantry on the Crown domains
by way of example to other large proprietors. The im-
perial appanages, situate in the Governments of
'Ter, Nijny-Novgoro 1, and Saratoff, in which
the attempt has been made to -introduce fire
insurance, contain altogether twenty-six thousand
houses, 5,928 of which valued according to survey in
456,000 silver rubles, were assured in 1840 in the suni
of 228,000 silver rubles, equal to 798,000 rubles assig-
nation. The sum of 1,280 silver rubles was divided
during the year among the peasants whose houses had
been burnt ; which was equivalent to the whole premium
of / per cent. paid into the capital stock of the insurance
establishment, Taking into consideration that the number
of heads of families who had insured their buildings were
in the proportion of one-fourth of the whole peasantry
on the domains in the three Governments noted in the
enjoyment of the right, it may reasonably be anticipated
that the system can hardly fail to become general.
According to the statement published for the year
1840 by the Board of General Direction of the Fire
Insurance Association for the kingdom of Poland, it
appears that during that term 1,317 casualties had been
reported to the Society, 151 of which were in towns, and
1,166 in villages. Of the number, the association was
interested for 73 in the towns, and under this he id
paid away indemnities amounting to 400,697 florins ;
and for 787 in the villages, the compensation for which
ascended to 1,444,885. The total value of fixed pro-
perty insured was computed at 601,866,550 florins, and
that of moveables, the reliquet of 1839 inclusive, at
71,059,978. The payments on account of tnoveablo
values destroyed by fire amounted to 92,820 florins.
The system of " village loan banks," established also
under the superintendence of the Government in the
Imperial appanages of the Governments of Saratoff,
Vladimir and Vtatka, is found to be favourable to agri-
cultural industry. In 1837 the primitive capital of thew
banks amounted to 85,000 silver rubles, or 800,000
rubles assignation ; and since then, that is, in the space
of four years, this capital, being constantly and entirely
employed, has been increased 9,000 silver rubles by the
accumulated interest.

It may be hoped that these examples set by the Im-
perial Government for improving the condition of the
peasantry, industrially, socially and morally, on the
Crown properties, will not be lost, and cannot be even-
tually, on the great landed proprietary of the empire.
The Government is gradually operating reforms in the
most safe, and therefore the most durable, as well as
the most encouraging manner, by making them first at
its own cost, and so promoting them by the example of
its own success and profitable returns.

ROYAL SPORTING.
Frederick William was passionately fond of the chase,
and had in his youth a narrow escape from a furious
stag, which, in the rutting season, would have gored him
with its horns, had not Schulenbetg, the page, gene-
rously interposed to save him, and lost one of his eyes.
As soon as he had ascended the throne, he drew up a
precise calendar of the places and seasons for the diffe-
rent kinds of sport. Regulnrly on the 2Sth August
the King arrived at \Vusterhausen ; the Queen, with
the Royal children, was obliged to be there on the same
day, disagreeable as the place was to her ; and here the
Court remained for two whole months, engaged almost
every day in the most boisterous sports. The King
expended considerable sums on his hunting establish-
ments and parks. He kept twelve whippers-in, who
were required to be good huntsmen, good riders, and to
play well on the bugle-horn. They wore scarlet hunt-
ing-coats turned up with green velvet, green gold-laced
waistcoats, and leather breeches. Each of these men
had his own horse, which, as all these horses were liable
to be hunted to death, was uever to cost more than
thirty.five or forty dollars. Between thirty and forty
other horses, and upwards of one hundred dogs, were
kept for bunting. Though the game did a great deal
of mischief to the husbandman, yet its destruction was
prohibited upon very heavy penalties. The wild hogs
did, perhaps, more damage in this way than any other
species of animals. They had increased so incredibly
in Pomerania and the Marks, that, in the boar parks in