The Sun.
London, England, 1829-02-26 00:00:00

lIIINISHMENT OF POOR DEBTORS.

- Or
R 4 ' considerable time Alderman Wood has been
h_Ned in aninvestigation into the state of the
'—'l,6l2torsl Prisons in, and abput .the metropolis; and
the keen eye has detected the most flagrant abuse of
wh.Nwet -which the law gives to creditors, even
~°lutl the paltry sum of one • shilling is the whole
71,111 t due to theplaintiff. Very few are aware of
a„t ha° been developed in the course of this in-
t4en
"kipticiii • and Alderman Wood jntends, the mo-
hav tthe question of Catholic Emancipation shall
e been decided, to. propose a measure tp the
ter 0. Vstpmons, for: rescuing • the poor from
poet otheartless and vindictive creditors, The
bkinc,l
,instances of the effect of Court of
. etest cases -have.-been represented.
Will it be believed, that a person whci-swears be-
. Le the CoMmissioners of the Court of Requests,
another owes him a shilling, or a sixpence, is
:40*ed with the privilege of taking his debtor in
Veation and looking him up for twenty days jr!..
;',...4iteeroBB:Str ' eCt . r hyery day presents in•
teell of this description. Alderman Wood as-
iitiained from the Governor and his Deputy, who
is been acquainted with the whole of the preceed-
fOrP oases of the kind in-London and Middlesex
tioi:oe last eight years, that at• the lowest compute-
bl,soo persons have been imprisoned annually
.litt7hitecross-street Prison fqr trifling sums, each
es:5Z,---that the 'majority of those were made
eth7Plea of from a vindictive feeling—and that
boder creditors did not 'hesitate" to seize upon the
NA,I" of their 'debtors, in the expectation that the
4i,;l,,eitY for the Relief of Persons Imprisoned
elfe" would come for Ward and satisfy the
bc::‘• There are at this moment several poor la-
ei"3l; men in Whitecross-street Prison confined
tae of them, for the sum of two or three shillings,
e
(1041 P nees upon the execution being more than
the amount of the debt. They are doomed
by :Woe this probably ItniiVOidable want of means
(110:iviehV days of idleness, amongst several indivi-
tl4 swito are accustomed to gaols; and in many cases
tn°ral feeling totally perisheS, and with it the
sp ti
t of industry, the enl secwitx tp the dependent
call ' at IPwhat is
..ergendies:
. A.woman, who keeps
.-
et so a rally-shop (a shop in which goods are given
li %Itch a week tO•thelower orders, and on which
p 4412 of 100 per cent. is received) near the East
rlouse, has sent'a &eat numberof labourers
I
%Rs: i ll'the Hon. Colupany!s Stores to White-
Itreet. Prison.
Z,most cases the inevitable effect of thus depriv-
'Le Poor labourer of his liberty is dreadful. The
histtlhis Means of subsistence is stopped, off go
and children to the workhouse, and a new

scene of wretchedness is disclosed to the unhappy
family. When hii twf,.t.y.cia-r; Jiave expired, he
leaves the prison, .:Lice of a liveli-
hood without slivriiir liarol, fur -it, With regret, to
look for employincii! witl4.till the pioipects of f-t al Va.

. .
tion before him. following is the sum of pu-
nishment annexed to the crime oe owing Money to a
creditor who takes his debtor in execution :---

. . Confinement.
Debtors who owe under I/. - 20 days
Do. who owe ender 2/. and above 2L 40 days
• Do. who ewe under 3/. and aboKe 21 60 days
Do. who owe under 5/. and above 31 10(1 days
As far as can be. accomplished in this most in-
commodious of prisons, a classification has been
'Made—that is, the refractory and those who are
known to be bad characters, are kept distinct from
those who are not known to have blemishes upon
their names. It is difficult to attempt to do any-
thing of this kind, but within the last few months
there has been adopted a sort of friendly discipline,
which is likely to prove most advantageous to the

prisoners.
The expence arising from the arrests in execution
to the Corporation, who solely support Whitecross-
street Prison, is considerable. Each of the unfor-
tunate fellows who are locked up for a shilling or two
costs the City of London half a crown a-week, so
that a double penalty is inflicted for inability to
liquidate a debt of a shilling; twenty days' impri-
sOnment to the offender, and 7s. Gd. fine upon the
Corporation. Too much praise cannot be given to
a man who uses every effort to draw public atten-
tion to so injurious a system. Alderman• Wood has
ascertained that the tally-shops, by giving credit to
poor labourers, have crowds of them in constant
dread of being arrested, and that the articles fur.
nished to them could, often be purchased with ready
money for one quarter of the money demanded and
screwed but of then:).

LIVERPOOL, FEB. 24.—Our Cotton market
continues very dull, and the sales to-day do not amount to
1,000 bags.

CHARACTER OF IRISH SOLDIERS.—I must
confess I do love to be on duty or any kind of service with
the Irish. There is a promptness to obey, a hilarity, a
cheerful obedience, a willingness to act, which I have
rarely met with in any other body of men ; but whether
in this particular case, those qualifications have been in.
-killed into them by the rigid discipline of their corps, I
know not, or whether these are characteristics of the
Irish nation : but I have also observed -in that
corps (I mean the Sith Regiment, or Prince's Own Irish)
a degree of liberality among the men I have never seen
in any other corps ; a willingness to share their crust and
drop on service with their comrades ; and an indescribable
readiness in obliging and accommodating each other ; and
an anxiety to serve each other, and to hide each other's
faults. In the corps there was a unity I have neverseen in any
other; and as for fighting, they were very devils. During
the Peninsular war, some General Officer observed to the
Duke of Wellington how unsteadily that corps marched. The
Noble Duke replied, « Yes, General, they do, indeed ; but
they fight like devils." In some situations they are, per-
'haps, too impetuous; but if I know any thing of the ser-
vice, this is 'a fault on the right side ; and what at this
moment was thought rashness and madness, has gained
England many a glorious vietury.—Shipp's Memoirs.

MYSTERIOUS OCCURRENCE.--Yesterday
(Friday) evening, between the hours of four and five, a
gentleman walking along the Queensferry road observed,
just at the farm-house where the road from the Corstor-
plane-bill, crosses it in the direction of Stockbridge, a
hackney coach suddenly pull up, and a female demand
immediate release. This being denied, an elegantly formed
young woman, babited in the most fashionable attire,
sprung from the vehicle, clambered ever the dike at the
foot-path, and plunged into the ploughed field to the
eastward. A honnat, handsome shawl, and veil, were
immediately thrown out after her ; but they were
disregarded, and left in the mud, when the coach-
man, and another man on the dickey, who in
vain endeavoured to prevail on the young lady to
re-assume her seat, picked up the rejected articles,
and put them into the carriage. While this was passing,
another female who retained her place inside, sedulously
attempted to conceal herself. In the meantime, the chaise
drove off. The unfortunate girl paced the field, wring-
ing her hands, and giving vent to other symptoms of
grief. Several persons beheld her from a distance, but
no one ventured near her. We are ourselves inclined to
believe this an attempt of some infamous procuress to de-
bauch an unfortunate country girl. Be this at it may,
we are afraid, unless the poor creature in question had
been relieved by some charitable interference, she must
have perished during the inclemency ofiast night.—Edin-
burgh Evening Post,

Learning raises up against us many enemies
among the low, and more among the powerful, yet does i
invest us with grand and glorious privileges, and confe-
on us largeness of beatitude. We venture on our studies
and enjoy a society which we alone can bring together.
We raise no jealousy by conversing with one in preference
to another we give no offence to the most illustrious by
questioning him as long as we will, and leaving him as
abruptly. Diversity of opinion raises •no tumult in our
presence: each interlocutor stands hefore us, speaks, or is
silent, and we adjourn or decide the business at our leisure.
Nothing is past which we desire to be present ; and we
enjoy by anticipation somewhat like the power which I
imagine we shall possess hereafter, of sailing on a wish
from world to world.—Landor.

THE LEA R NED C A TS.--An ingenious
person, Signor 'Cipelli, is now exhibiting in Regent-
street, a few pupils, whose attainments will surprise the
world, even in these " March•of-Intellect" times. A
tortoise-shell cat, with five of her children, assisted by a
great black mouse, perform at the word of command, either
in French or Italian, a variety of hicks, in which the use
ful is blended with the entertaining. While the young
ones jump through an iron ring, or climb on the master's
shoulder, the elders turn a spit, strike hammers on an
anvil, grind rice, and roast coffee. Mamma puts a set of
church bells in motipn, and her eldest daughter draws
water for the family from a well. One of them will not
work until she is promised a few minutes' rest, and ano-
ther sensible individual refuses to turn the spit until she
gets a slice of the meat herself. There seems to be a per-
feet understanding between the Signor and his young col-
legians ; and it is not the least amusing part of the exhi-
bition to- observe the watchful eyes of the whole brood
following, him in a few legerdemain tricks, which he plays
off to vary the entertainment.
ChW of the most celebrated soldiers of the
French revolution was Latour d'Auvergne, who to the
qualifications of a soldier added no slight knoWledge of
literature. Traits of courage and noble actions abound in

the life of this extraordinary man. Disinterested and modest,
like one of his celebrated contemporaries, the Learned An-
quetil do Perron, he supported poverty with rare courage,
and' preferred it to an opulence which might have corrupted
the simplicity of his life. The Minister of War offered
him 400 crowns on his return ft.( m lisseland ; he took
1; ?q francs, and said, " If I have furt' er o casion, I will
come again." He carried into camp aSp rtan sobriety.
He refused the presents of the Prince du Bouillon, as he
had refused those of the King of Spain, and the first Consul
Napoleon. He always preserved his republican frankness
and dignity. " I offer you my credit," sa.id one of the re-
presentatives of the people. " arzept it." " Well then,.
doou want a regitnent " No—l want a pair of shoes."
In England, when married ladies are caught
in equivocal situations, a divorce is sued for, and the gallant,
if not shot through the bead, or disposed of in some
manner equally terrible, is sued for damages, which, it the
evidence is not very strong agaicst him, he will escape, and
then the cacmitol husband will be the only sufferer, the lady
will liye among her relations, and he, poor soul, will have
to allow her a separate maintenance. In India the frail
fair one would be burnt, in Persia beheaded, in Turkey
loaded with stripes, or kept in perpetual imprisonment,
which is also the case in Chine. In Aussie the wife pro-
mises her husband never to let him see her transgressions,
and he, promise% whenever she is so detected, to beat her
without. mercy, so they both know what each has to
expect—the lady transgresses, is beaten, taken agaiu
into favour, and all goes on as before. When a Russian
young lady, therefore, is to be married, her father, with
a cudgel in his hand, asks the bridegroom whether he
chooSett this virgin for his bride, to which the other re-
plies in the affirmative. Upon which the father, turning
her three times round, and giving her three strokes upon
the back, ". My dear (cries he), these are the last blows you
are ever to receive from me. I resign my authority and
:ny cudgel to your husband." The bridegroom refuses it,
and assures the father the lady will never want it, but the
father, who knows what the lady may want, insists upon
his acceptance. Upon this a scene of Russian politeness
ensues, while one refuses, the other offere the cudgel. The
whole, however, ends with the bridegroom taking it;
upon which the lady drops a curtsey in token of obedience,
and the ceremony proceeds,