The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-22 00:00:00

Writtion

SUN-OFFICE, Seven o' Clock.

EAST INDIA HOUSE.

(THIS DAY.)

, .
HILL COOLIES.
(Continued from our Afternoon Edition.)
The CHAIRMAN said the simple question before them
was 'whether there should be any law allowing the Hill
Coolies to leave ,their native land for the Mauritius, for
the purpose of bettering their condition. The whole
tenour of the Hon. Mover's proposition went to a total
prohibition, and he would ask what sort of liberty was
that ?—(Hear, hear.) By the British Constitution, every
man was allowed to make the most of his labour for the
purpose of bettering his condition, and to deny it, as it was
denied by this resolution; if carried, would be both op-
pression and tyranny:- He explained that means had
been taken to prevent the abuses that had prevailed, and
gave a direct contradiction to the assertion that the indi-
viduals were sent out as slaves. Many had returned
with what in England would be considered a fortune.
He must meet the proposition by a direct negative. He
concluded by reading an extract from the following
despatch, sent by the Court of Directors to the Indian
Executive on this subject—it is dated the 22d of
March :—" 'We have only further to desire that you will
carefally watch the operation of any law which you
may deem proper to pass under the authority now con-
veyed to you. for permitting 'the emigration of labourers
from India to the Mauritius ; and that you will without
delay repeal or modify it, in the event of its being
proved by experience that its provisions are not effectual
in affording in all respects the intended security for the
comfort and welfare of the emigrants." . He possessed
every confidence in the present Governor-General of
India, and- was convinced he would take every care that
reobidations should ba made for the safety and welfare of
the persons going. to the Mauritius to better their condi-
tion. .He must give the proposal every opposi.ion.
Mr.. MONTGOMERY MARTIN regretted that the
Chairman had met the proposition with a • direct nega-
tive. TLe question involved great principles in refer-
ence to the position they held as the Government of
India ; anti in reference to the freedom of the indivi-
duals acting under what had been termed the
spirit of the British Constitutional freedom, as
well as in reference to the inquiry, whether it
was a fair and just conclusion of Lord Stanley, that the
poverty, misery, famine, and desolation to which the
pcople of India were subjected, justified the deportation
of the Hill Coolies, to what was in effect a slave
colony. Could the Mauritius afford the relief those peo-
pie require.J. The island was already more densely peopled
than two-thirds of British India ; one-half of the island
Was mountainous and barren, and the other half had a 1
population of 150 to the square mile, before the extensive
deportation from India had taken place.. The
population of England was 288 to the square mile
anti considering that half 'the Island was barren and un-
cultivateable, its population was as dense as that of Eng-
ladd.—(flear, (tear.) Of the large numbers of Coolies
shipped to British Guiana' not a dozen were now existing,
and would it be fur the benefit of their character or
morals that they should be allowed to go to British
Australia ? He contended that other parts of the con-
tinent of Asia were open to the planters of the Mauri-
tius if they wanted labourers—such as China arid the
Burfuese empire. where the natives were always wanting
employment. If they permitted this deportation, the
most valuable export from India would become human
labour. This question showed that the natives of India
were at present totally inadequate to govern themselves.
The Court would be acting unwisely if, adopting the
pernicious doctrines of the present day, they sanctioned,
though only tacitly, an absurd, abominable, and cruel
principle. He implored the Directors to let the people
of India see that they might look with certainty for pro-
tection to this country.
General Bruccs saw no reason why they should in-
terfere .to prevent the Coolies carrying their labour
wherever they pleased: But he would put this question
On a larger basis. The people of this country
having prevented immigration by means of slavery,
into our tropical colonies, experience had shown that the
land in those colonies could be cultivated only by
laborers, natives of the tropics. Europeans could not
cultivate that land, and unless. laborers suited to the
olio at,-were suffered to immigrate, the owners of estates
in the colonies would be obliged to sell their colonies, as
they could not get them cultivated. With respect to
what had been said relative to the excess of population
in the :Mauritius, he must observe that a short time
ago,when he was there, the population only am ninted to
60,000 persons, or about 150 to the square mile. That
island, therefore, could.not be considered as over-popu-
lated. Among that population there were very few
females, and it was thus clear that the labouring classes,
unless recruited from time to time by immigration, would
die Off. As for the circumstances under which the de-
portation of coolies took place, he thought that in the
letter of the 23d of March, referred to by the
Chairman, every provision was made for the purpose
of effecting that persons going from India should be
perfectly free.
Sir JOSEPH LEPAGNE said he had but lately returned
from an extensive tour in America and the West Indies.
He had given great attention to the subject of immigra-
tion front Africa to the West Indies ;• and he was
astonished to find it proposed that the immigration of
the cu'otiee from India to the Mauritius, should be
on a different footing from that which Minis-
ters bad held out to the free Africans
imurigrating to the West Indies. He was in favour
of immigration. He was satisfied that agri-
culture could be conducted in the West Indies
and the :Mauritius, only by black labourers.
He, however, wished to understand whether titre
were any restrictions imposed on the Coolies immigrating
to Mauritius, which were not imposed on the Africans in-
troduced into the %Vest Indies. He had conversed with
the President of the United States and Members

of Congress, and • also with the Governor-Ge-
neral of Cuba on the subject, and all of them had ob
jetted to us that though having abolished slavery nomi-
nally, we were obliged to have recourse to it under
another form ; that we were introducing into the West
Indies from Africa a description of persons whom we
called free labourers, but that we bound them to ern-,
ployers by a contract of five or seven years' duration,
and that that was but
.another description of slavery.
His reply was, that they were totally mistaken, but
that he was - not then in a position to satisfy
either them or himself by any evidence on the subject—
however, that he was going to Jamaica, where he would
converse with the Governor-General, Sir C. Metcalfe, on
the matter. The information he had received from Sir
C. Metcalfe was to the effect that no contract between
the labourer and his employer could exceed one year in
duration. . _ .

(fhe meeting had not concluded when our report left.)
COMMON PLEAS-(THIS DAY.)

MoRTI3IER AND ANOTHER V. CRADOCK.

This was-an- action brought by the plaintiffs, the
eminent jewellers, to recover from the defendant, the
keeper of a- coffee-house, the value c f seven diamonds,
alleginl to have formed part of a necklace, of considerable
value, which was stolen from the plaintiffs. The necklace
was originally the property of Mr. Bult, a diamond
ree:chant, who left it in the hands of Messrs. Blagg and
North], also extensive diamond merchants, from whom
the (the diamonds) passed into the poss°ssion of the
plaintiff 4, in 1840. In October of that year, the necklace
was stolen from the premises of the plaintiffs, and die-
m °rids which corresponded in the cut, water, and proportion
with those of which :the necklace had been composed
were oXered for sale by the defendant to Mr. Hamal, a
diamond broker. In consequence of hand-bills which
had been issued by the plaintiffs, the defendant
was called to account as to whence he had
obtained the jewels. lais explanation did not
enable the plaintiffs, or the police officer whom they em-
ployed, to trace the parties from whom he stated he had
obtained the jewels. Under these circumstances the
att of was brought, to recover the value of that portion
which was traced to.his possession.
Several witnesses swore that the seven jewels sold to
Mr. Hennel belonged to the necklace ; and the Jury,
after a short deliberatiOn, found for the plaintiff's, in
damages 50.1.
CRIMINAL COURT.--(Tii IS 'DAY.)
:(Continued from our Afternoon Edition.)
The case of Barber and others this day broke down, and
they were acquitted on both indictments.

A young man of seventeen, named Philippe Ber-
geron, a clerk. to a notary at Guise, and son of a respectabi
non-commissioned officer, put an end• to his existence, last
week, with remarkable coolness and determination. The lady
of the house where he lived, in going up stairs, happening to
see some smoke coming through the key-ln,le of his door,
knurled, and, receiving no answer, had the lock forced. The
young man was lyin, dead near a brazier of charcoal, and
on the table were two letters addressed to scho4.l-fellows, in-
forming thsm of his death. There was besides a sheet of paper
on which I3ergeron noted down his sensations during his
mortal agony. The following is a verbatim copy:—" I, is
within ten minutes to four. lam going to put myself to death.
Eternity has no terrors for me, for I am not happy here below,
and therefore I must quit the earth. Five minutes to four—l
am a useless being in the world, and a charge to every one.
persons will perhaps affirm that lam mad. I am, how-
ever, in my perfect senses, and this charcoal, which burns at
s, limy side, in no way troubles me. lam anxious that my death
should be announced to my old friends at Saint Germain, and
the letter may be directed to 3loein. I begin to feel some
pain in my eyes and throat. Ten minutes past four..-I am
getting drowiy. Twenty-five minutes past four—l fear j shall
not be able to effect my death, for my head is oIL ted, and I
feel nothing whatever. A quarter to five —.I beg,!..l
,to
.feel a
buzzUg in my bead. Five o'clock—still the same, This was
all, and the writing of the last words was scarcely. legit!
Death came on with such rapid strides as to prevent his putting
down any more. It is believed that the young man deter-
!dried on self-destruction from not being able to cote in ex-
reuse and,cliTlay with some of his companions more favoured
by fortune than himself.'
Last week, during a violent storm, which burst
over Rennes and its environS, a peasant. named Reguault, re-
siding in the commune of Phelan, took refuge under an cult.
Searedy had he reached the spot when the electric fluid
-strn k the tree. At the noise of the thunder a young girl,
who had been at work with Regnault, ran to the tree also to
seek an asylum ; but, on arriving at the spot, she was horror-
struck at seeing the unfortunate man standing upright against
the tree, with his eyes protruding, his mouth wide open, and
giving no sign of life. She hurried off for assistance; hut
when a medical man arrived, he found that the man was quite
dead. The electric fluid had struck him on the head, piercing.
two small holes through his straw hat, as if made by musket
balls. The hair on tie hack part of his head was completely
binged. A cow, standing arnengst a herd, fifty metres from
Regnault, was also struck dead at the same time.
On the 13th inst., says the Memorial des Pyrenees,
the town of Tarbes was visited by a thunder-storm of great
violence. Eight horses out of It, which were being walked
out for exercise by three men, were struck dead by the elec-
tric fltrid, and one of the Men Was: also killed t. the btber two'
received severe injwies.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.

GLOBE.—Lord John Russell's apprehensions from
the Ballot are curiously contrasted with Mr. Wakley's ;
and those who prise the union of the Liberal party may
regret that the Noble Lord's expectations of its working
are not transposed to the mind of the Hon. Member for
Finsbury-, and the Hon. Member for Finsbury's to the
mind of the Noble Lord. In that case (as regards their
two persons) the Liberal party might be united—on
opposite grounds. The Noble Lord and Hon. Member
now entertain opinions which are opposite to each
other, as to what the working of the Ballot would be ;
and if they could but contrive to exchange them, they
might entertain opposite opinions still—but, on the
strength of those very opposite opinions, unite cor-
dially for the Ballot. This the Noble Lord and Hon.
Member are unable to do at present. Lord J. Rus-
sell opposes the Ballot ; Mr. Wakley speaks against,
and votes for it. All this difference might be remedied,
if an exchange only could be effected between the Noble
Lord and the Hon. Member of their reasons for disliking
or distrusting it. Mr. Wakley's reasons, if they could
be instilled into the mind of Lord John Russell, might
make him a supporter, instead of opponent, of Ballot.
Add Lord John Russell's, if entertained by Mr.
Wakley, would lead him to give it a decided, instead of
a very equivocal aid.
STANDARD.—The speakers on the Income-tax de-
bate were—Lord Clanricarde (who moved that the Bill
be read a third time in three months), the Earl of Wick-
low, Lord Beaumout, Lord Monteagle, and the Earl of
Ripon. Lord Monteagle occupied more than half
the evening in an elaborate, and we readily allow,
a very able defence of the financial olicy of
the late Government. It is common experience, how-
ever, that the utmost exertion of ingenuity and
eloquence will not supply the chasm in one's pocket, or,
as an homely proverb has it, that "fair words butter no
parsnips," and all that Lord Monteagle could say failed
to explain away
.the actual deficiency in the Exchequer.
He laboured, indeed, to reduce it by a skilful com-
plication of figures, and seemed to satisfy him-
self that he had brought it under 3,000,0001. We
like Lord Monteagle, and therefore we wish that
he was in a condition to make up the difference
between three millions and the truth, that we might call
upon him to hand over the balance; al there is no
chance of this we will advise the Noble Lord to apply
to the country for a part of the sum which he has
saved to it by reasoning down the deficit. His fate,
however, will, we fear, be like that of the scholastic
who proved that two chickens were three, because,
first there was one, and then two, and one and two
make three, and was put off with the third chicken
of his own creation for a dinner. To be serious,
Lord Monteagle's speech, clever as it was, was a
monstrous piece of trifling. The deficit is more than
ten millions, if there be truth in figures. The Bill was
read a third time, and passed, by a majority of 99
to 28. This great and salutary measure has thus
passed the two Houses of Parliament, with a facility
in both Houses, and a cordial assent on the part of the
people, unexampled in the case of any equally exten-
sive measure of taxation ; but how could it be other-
wise ? The great and growiug deficit was manifest to
the eyes of all, except, perhaps, Lord Monteagle ; and
from first to last no one has pretended to offer any feasible
means of supplying it except the tax upon property and
income. This bold and just measure establishes Sir R.
Peel's title to the admiration and gratitude of his
country, were the objections to his other measures,
whatever they are, multiplied tenfold.
COURIER.—The debate last evening on the Ballot
was, taken altogether, a stale and stupid business, just
such as we might expect where Mr. Ward was leader, and
frothy and fiery Mr. Shiel first falsetto. The historical
part of the Ballot in the Reform time was rehearsed over
again, and word for word the Irish orator delivered over
again the laborious and belaboured speech which he
voided in 1839 on the same subject, but from the other
side of the House, forgetting, till disagreeably reminded,
that " Hansard" lay on the table. and that Members
might possibly have ,memories. The only relief to a
vapid debate were the speeches of Sir James Graham
and Lord John Russell, and particularly the latter,
whose remarks on the experience of the Ballot in France
and the United States, although of little originality,
were pertinent to the occasion, and well put together.
The proposal of the Ballot is altogether a hollow proceed-
ing in the quarter whence it emanated and by which sup-
ported. It is not secret voting which is so much wanted
for the protection of electors out of the House, as the
Ballot in the House itself, under cover of which apostate
or corrupt politicians, like some who may be named,
might indulge in poi u 1:r speeches and revelin popularity
out of doors, whilst at the very same. time, being snugly
on the private pension list of the Government they would
be enabled under cover of the Ballot-box, to vote in the
reverse sense of their boisterous harangues, and so cheat
tie constituency whilst obsequiously obeying their orders
feom the Court. Such is the notoriously common practice
in the French Chamber of Deputies. If any one would
desire to know how the ballot box and universal suffrage
work in the United States in preventing bribery and
electioneering profligacy, it is only necessary to consult
thg history of the last election for members to_ Congress
in New York, as the facts were developed subsequently
before a special commission of enquiry. From the re-
sults which transpired and were proved on oath before
that commission, it will be gathered that the difference
between electioneering corruption, as practised in this
country, and that in the Union, is just equal to that be-
tween a wholesale business and that of a small retail
1 dealer. In the States they bribe by thousands; here by
hundreds only. Here we dismiss this trumpery ques-
tion, which really is not worth the summary notice we
have bestowed upon it.

STATE OF TRADE.
(From the Manchester Guardian.)
There was not the slightest appearance of improve-
ment in our market yesterday; the demand both for
goods and yarn was exceedingly limited, and the prices,
where business was done, were generally on a level with
the very lowest rates which have been previously paid.
June is, indeed, almost invariably one of the dullest
months in the year; and the inactivity consequent upon
the season, concurring with the general depression of
trade, tends greatly to diminish the prospect of any very
speedy improvement.
ROCHDALE FLANNEL MARKET, JUNE 20.—There has
been another good market for flannels to-day, though
the demand has not been quite so brisk as on the pre-
vious Monday. The prices are low, and have under-
gone no change to-day. Broke wool of coarse quality,
and skin wool, have been sold at an advanced price ;
but in other kinds there is little change.

COAL MARKE'

Ships arrived since P
d.

C.-(THIS DAY.)
ast market day, 12.

Chester Main
Hebburn Main l6 6
New fantield 3,100 r l3 6
Ord's Itedhedgh l5 0
anfleld Moor lB 6
Townl.l, l5 t,
West Wylam ....... ............ 15 6
Walls E d Lewin: e and C.. 15 0
Walls End Ormforth
Walls End ltiddell's i7 0
Walls End Todd's Bensham 0
Walls Endßelmont

I. d.
W. E. Braddyll'sHetton 40 3
Walls End Hetton VO 3
Walls End Morrison: l7 0
Walls End Cassop l9 9
Walls End Adelaide
Wails End ; arrington Tees 15 0
Wails Et d Bowburn
Walls End South Durham 11 6
Wal s d'l eau
1311 he ..... 15 1;
'Cowpen
11.1angennech Coal 0

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.
(THIS EVENING.)

HOUSE OF LORDS.

ROYAL COMMISSION--PROPERTY-TAX BILL.
The LORD CHANCELLOR, took his seat on the
Woolsack at a few minutes before Four o'Clock, shortly
after which the Commons were summoned to hear the
Commission read for giving the Royal Assent to the
property-tax Bill, and other Bills.
The SPEAKER, accompanied by several Members,
having taken his place at the bar, the Commission was
read, and the Royal Assent given in the usual form to the
following Bills :
The Property-tax Bill, the Australian Lands' Bill, the
Metropolitan Patent Wood-Paving Company's Bill, the
Ferrybridge and Boroughbridge Road Bill, the Charter-
house Estate Bill, the Bradwell Inclosure Bill, and the
Calmenton Inclosure Bill.
The Lords Commissioners were, the Lord Chancellor,
Lord Wharncliffe, and the Earl of Shaftesbury.
Some private Bills were forwarded a stage.
JUSTICES' JURISDICTION BILL.
The amendments of the Commons to this Bill were
agreed to.
Their Lordships then adjourned.