The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-21 00:00:00

IL' SUN, LONDON', PRIDAY _EVENING, NOVEMBER 21, 1845

Mr. Ballantine—Perhaps so, as to the human being, bitt
not so as to animals, and much less as to inert matter.
If there were a duty on the importation of sheep, but not
upon mutton, and that circumstances induced parties to kill
sheep at sea, would you, for the duty's sake, on the landing,
insist on giving the mutton a misnomer.—(Loud laughter.)
If I can show, by scientific men, that this substance is not
coal, surely you'll pause to consider. If one of the gases
were omitted from our atmosphere, it would net be the same
substance. _

Traders, and others, Inhabitants of the Borough of Man-
chester, in Public Meeting assembled,
" Showeth,—That your memorialists have every reason to
believe that the produce of the grain harvest, just concluded,
is seriously deficient both in quantity and quality, and such
as to cause a continuance of high and advancing prices in the
staple articles of human food.
" That, in addition to this unfavourable circumstance, there
leas occurred throughout a large portion of Great Britain, and
still more generally in Ireland, a failure in the potato crop,
by which the evil of a deficient grain harvest is certain to be
greatly aggravated.
" That your memorialists have a painful recollection of the
manifold calamities with which the country has been visited
on former occasions, when, owing to deficient harvests, the
pecuniary means of -the labouring population have been ab-
garbed in the purchase of food ; and they cannot contemplate
a continuance of the present high prices, and their probable
increase, without the most serious alarm.
"That your memorialists entertain the belief that, after
past and present experience of the frightful consequences of
a system of legislation, by which an industrious and skilful
people are prevented from supplying themselves with abun-
dance of food, no wise statesman will hesitate as to the pro-
priety and necessity of an immediate abolition of all restric-
tions upon the importation of foreign grain ; and they are
most anxious to impress upon her Majesty's Ministers the
importance of an immediate attention to this subject.
"Your memorialists desire to express, in the strongest
manner, their deliberate and confirmed opinion that the cir-
cumstances of the ccuntry require that the ports should forth-
with be opened for the free admission of all kinds of grain;
and, further, that her Majesty's Ministers will consult the
true interests of all classes in this kingdom by submitting to
the Legislature, at the very earliest opportunity, a measure
for the entire removal of all laws by which any restriction is
placed on the supply of food.
"Your memorialists would, in conclusion, respectfully, but
most earnestly, remind you how heavy will be your individual
responsibility, if you now refuse to act in accordance with
those principles the truth of which you have so often ac-
knowledged, and by the full adoption of which, and by that
only, they believe the nation can be preserved from disaster
and calamity appalling to contemplate."
Although he was there as their representative, he might be
allowed to address a few wards to them -as an agriculturist.
He had for some time paid much attention to the state of the
crops, and he had no hesitation in saying that at least one-
half the potato crop in the locality in which he resided would
not be fit for human food. Now, if that was a fair picture of
the general state of the country, what was to become of the
population ; more especially the agricultural labourers, who
would be compelled to consume the whole of their produce
before Christmas and left to starve in the spring? What will
be their condition in March next, when they come to sow
their crop for the coming year? That was a point not to be
overlooked, and he was sure Sir Robert Peel was not asleep
on those matters. The question then was, is Sir Robert Peel
to be made the tool of a section of the people, to the disad-
vantage of the millions who are starving?
➢lr. JOSEPH BROTHERTON, M.P., seconded the adoption of
the memorial; He said he considered the objects of the meet-
ing to be good, and the mew taken wise and politic. He
would ask, were they asking the Mini,ters for a favour or a
right ?—(" Right.") The landowners undertook to feed the
people, and they had not done so, and therefore the people
must now demand the privilege of feeding themselves. He
was of the same opinion as Mr. Walker, he believed Sir
Robert Peel could repeal the corn-laws, and he must be
made to know that the people demanded it as a right, and
were determined to have it.7-(Applause.)
The memorial was carried with loud cheers, and Messrs.
Philips, Brotherton, Kay, and Greg appointed a deputation
to present it.
Oa the motion of Mr. Robert Gardner, seconded by Mr.
White, thanks were voted to the Mayor, and the proceedings
terminated about two o'clock.

The MAGISTRATE—It would still be an atmosphere, though
there would be a difference, as there is between the atmo-
sphere of this Court and that of Hampstead-heath.
Mr. Pearson—lf you think you have a case, pay the dues
under protest, and try the question by an action. That has
been done in another case, but the action is allowed to stand
over.

_ .
11Ir. Burnell, of No. 1, Great Winchester-street, who was
acquainted with the process since the commencement,
thought the coal, as a substance, was completely altered by
the process to which it was submitted. The small coals were
subjected to the action of a very high temperature, until the
volatile sulphurous portion was evolved, then bitumen and a
portion of peat were added, which greatly increased the power
of combustion. _ _ _

In his cross-examination by Mr. Pearson, Mr. Burnell ad-
mitted that the bitumen used was coal-tar, and the portion
of peat, as compared with the tar, was but as one to a hun-
dred. He would not swear that all the sulphuric acid gas
had been evolved from the " fuel" on the table.

John Gnaws, formerly captain of one of the Waterman
steam-boats, had a good deal of experience in coaL Ile
would not call the substance on the table by that name. He
would call it " fuel." There was no sulphurous exhalation
from it, and he wished for the sake of the poor that it was in
more general use, as they could not then be cheated either
in quantity or quality.
The MAGISTRATE—WeII, this inquiry seems likely to make
an advertisement for it. lam held in some suspense, but if
I am called upon to come to an immediate decision, I must
express it as my opinion that the article is coal.
Mr. Ballantine—We are desirous of your decision, sir, but
should like it to remain over for a time, that you may con-
sider the subject, and that I may produce other evidence.
After some further conversation with respect to arrange-
ment, it was agreed to defer the further hearing until the
week after next.

THE OREGON QUESTION.
(From the New York Journal of Commerce.)
We fear our fellow-citizens are not sufficiently aware of the
precarious state of our foreign relations. It as well under-
stood that the Oregon negotiation is making no progress—
the claims of the two parties being irreconcileable, and
neither being disposed to yield. Meanwhile another session
of Congress is approaching, and it is more than prohable that
the House of Representatives will vote to give England notice
of our wish to terminate the joint occupancy of Oregon at
the end of a year, according to the treaty. Neither will it
surprise us if the Senate concur. In this case we have little
doubt that England will consider the negotiation at an end.
Not that she would call in question our right to terminate
the joint occupancy by giving the required notice, nor that
the giving of such notice would be in itself any ground of
offence. It is not the act itself, but the circumstances and
implications of it, which would make it offensive. England
would construe it as a virtual abandonment of negotiation,
and an appeal to the power of the strongest.
There is a great deal of senseless declamation about our
rights to " the whole of Oregon," and it generally comes from
men as ignorant as they are stupid. What do they know
about our claims to the whole of Oregon ? Perhaps they
have read an article in their country newspaper which told
them we had as good a right to Oregon as to Massachusetts ;
and perhaps they dreamed it. But we venture to say that
not one in a thousand of these noisy declaimers has ex-
amined the subject, or understands its merits. It is in truth
a subject of great difficulty. The evidence, even as far
south as the Columbia River, is not all on one side, by a great
deal. And when we come to latitude 49, the claim of Eng-
land is better than cur own. There is no doubt of this;
any disinterested man acquainted with the case would say
so. And here is another delicate feature of the negotiation.
In the first place, we will not concede; and in the next, we
refuse a reference. What alternative remains but a total
abandonment of the territory by Great Britain, or war?
We know of no other alternative.
Now we are certain that Great Britain never will abandon
the entire territory to us—we mean, up to 54, 40, the Rus-
sian boundary—come what will. She cannot do it without
dishonour. What can have put it into the heads of our
negotiators to make such a demand? Have we not again
and again offered to adopt latitude 49 ? and long since the
question would have been settled on that basis, had not
England refused. If we rightly understand the case, she
might possibly consent to that boundary now, as far west
as the Pacific Ocean, retaining to herself the whole of Van-
couver's Island, which extends about half a degree below
latitude 49. The right of navigating Columbia River would
be of no importance to her, if latitude 49 were adopted as the
biaundary.
If the question can be adjusted on this basis—namely, by
extending our present boundary, as fixed by the Ashburton
treaty, east of the Rocky Mountains, to the Pacific Ocean, we
contend that our Government is guilty of a gross dereliction
of duty in not accepting the compromise, and thus putting an
end to this last boundary dispute whieh we. can ever have
with England. Perhaps we are mistaken in the extent of
concession which England is prepared 1 o make by way of com-
promise; but latitude 49 has been openly advocated by some
of the more moderate English papers, including the Examiner,
as the proper boundary, and there is every reason to believe that
the British Government is disposed to meet us on what it
deems liberal terms. Although conscious of her power,
England does not want war with any nation—and least of
all, perhaps, with the United States, whom she can use to
much better advantage by trading with her than by fighting
her. England does not want war; but she will have it, and
we shall have it, as surely as we undertake to grasp the
whole of Oregon, to latitude 54. 40, or above latitude 49.
The conviction is strong in England that she " has rights"
to Oregon ; and although they are admitted to be imper-
fect, speaking of Oregon as a whole, yet they are too valid
to be wholly abandoned, or to be wrested from her by any
other Power.
England is the last nation in the world that we ought to
desire to measure strength with, especially at a point so re-
mote from even the frontiers of civilisation, and so accessible
to her fleets. Although it may be an unpleasant confession
to make, it is nevertheless true, that for many years to come,
whatever Power commands the ocean can command Oregon ;
or, at least, all the points of it accessible to navigation. A
march across the country with an army of any considerable
magnitude would be an achievement more difficult to be ac-
complished than Hannibal's passage of the Alps ; and when
they had reached their destination it would be equally diffi-
cult to maintain them. England, in case of a war about
Oregon, or a discontinuance of the joint occupancy,
would immediately fortify Cape Disappointment, at the
north side of the mouth of Columbia River, and
that would be the end of our communication with the
Oregon by sea. ;Our pot-valiant heroes do not know what
they are talking about, when they propose so summarily to
drive John Bull' into the Pacific. We here take it for
granted that we could have all our resources at command,
and should not require them at home to defend our altars and
our hearths. But even this could not be expected. If we
have trebled our population, and more than trebled our re-
sources since the war of 1812, so has England vastly in-
creased her available strength. She is completely ready
for a conflict—with us or any other Power. We are not ready,
and never shall be, till the horrors of war at our owu doors
compel us to buckle on the harness. We say these things in
the hope of cooling the ardour of some of our hot-brained
" patriots," who appear (on paper) to desire nothing so much
as bloodland carnage. We advise such men to be quiet. They
may have a chance to display their valour sooner than they
expect it. The state of public opinion is such, especially
at the west, that the President and his Cabinet may be
tempted to go farther in insisting upon doubtful rights in the
case of Oregon, than their own judgment would dictate.
There is, however, danger in the other direction. When men
form opinions unsustained by proper evidence, they are very
apt to part with them when they discover their error. It
may be very popular now to make unreasonable demands,
and insist upon them ; but will it be so, if it should appear
that these unreasonable demands have brought the nation
to a position which it cannot maintain, and from which it
cannot recede with honour? It is the part of true wisdom
to anticipate events, and so to steer the ship of State as to
avoid disasters on either hand. 'We feel a great degree of con-
fidence in the:present Administration, yet we confess we are
not without anxiety on the subject of which we are speaking.
We wish to see the Oregon question either left where it is, under
the belief that time will strengthen our cause, or else brought
to a speedy and final adjustment. The territory really in dis-
pute, i.e., the territory North of Columbia River, west of the
north branch of the same, and south of latitude 49, is of
little value, consisting chiefly of mountains or barren plains.
One month's war expenses, to say nothing of human life,
would be too much to give for the whole of it. We have
hundreds of millions of acres of better land, 1,000 or 2,000
miles nearer home, which goes abegging for want of occu-
pants. Much of it is the finest land which man ever set his
eyes on, not excepting the Garden of Eden. Now we admit
this is no good reason for relinquishing territory clearly our
own, but it is a reason against endangering the peace of the
country by insisting upon the possession of poor land at the
ends of the earth which is not our own, or of which our title
is so very doubtful that we dare not submit the question to
arbitration.
A vast extent of fertile land on our south-western fron-
tier has just been annexed to us, most of which is un-
occupied, except by Indians and wild beasts ; and if we
want more further off, we can purchase it more cheaply of
Mexico than we can knock it out of John Bull's brains.
As Mexico has concluded not to fight us, she must come
to an understanding with us on the subject of boun-
daries. Upper California is already in revolt, and she may
be willing, for a suitable pecuniary consideration, to set it
off to us. fixing her northern boundary at latitude 36, in-
stead of 42. This would give us the finest harbour on the
western coast—viz., San Francisco, and along with it some
excellent land. The river Sacramento, which empties into
the bay of San Francisco, takes its rise in Oregon—and,
in fact, for the best part of Oregon, San Francisco is the
natural outlet. If Upper California were ours, we need not
care if Columbia River were our northern boundary. We
should still have ten degrees of latitude on the Pacific, and
a really fine country, instead of mountains, rocks, and bar-
ren sands.
The forthcoming message of the President will be awaited
witk special interest, on account of its bearing upon the
Oregon dispute. We hope it will be such as to promote
pacific results.

At a meeting of the Town Council of Manchester, on
Wednesday, after the business on the notice paper had
been gone through,—
Mr. Councillor SHUITLEWORTII asked whether this was
not an adjourned quarterly meeting, and if so whether it was
not competent for a member of the Council to propose a mo-
tion of which notice had not been given ?
The TOWN CLERK, after a short consultation with the
Mayor and ex-Mayor, said although their circular did not
state that thisavas an adjourned quarterly meeting as well
as special meeting, yet he had read the proceedings of the
last meeting at the commencement of the business, by which
the quarterly meeting was adjourned to this day, and whether
there had been a circular issued or not for special business,
the Council would have met to-day by that adjournment,
and he conceived therefore that it was competent for Mr.
Shuttleworth to move any motion, though notice of it had not
been previously given.
Mr. Councillor SHIFTTLEWORTH said he would rather
not have moved the resolution before him if any other
gentleman of whom he saw many more competent, would
do so ; but if no one else rose to make such a motion he
must,—for he felt it to be a question of duty.—(Hear,
hear.) lie moved a resolution calling upon her Majesty's
Ministers to open the ports, and declaring that the Council
would hold them responsible for the calamities that might
result to the country should they neglect to do so.—(Loud
applause.)
Mr. Councillor PRENTICE said, although he had not pre-
viously heard the terms of the resolution, he felt bound to
second it with all his heart.—(Applause.) He must confess
that be, along with a great number of the members of the
Council, had been guilty of signing a requisition to the Mayor
to call a meeting on this subject to-morrow (Thursday), and
not having taken the trouble to read the heading carefully,
he had thought that it was to call a meeting of the Town
Council ; however, it turned out that it was a requisition to
call a public town's meeting. And he was pleased to see
that it bore the names of all the aldermen, and nearly all the
councillors of the borough. This itself was a pretty strong
test of the opini.m held upon the question by that Council.
Short as the notice was at which the motion was,brought be-
fore them, he thought the opportunity a favourable one ;
there was no doubt the Minister would be obliged to do
something, and as he had himself declared in Parliament
that it was the right of every man to buy in the cheapest
and sell in the dearest markets, they were only helping him
to carry into effect his own opinions. lie understood that on
a late occasion, when the Mayor was invited to Tamworth,
Sir Robert Peel took every opportunity of showing in his
person the respect he paid to the town of Manchester,
and if he paid that respect to him (Mr. Watkins) as
Mayor of Manchester, it was to be hoped that he would
pay the same respect to a memorial from the town of
Manchester when it was signed by him as the Mayor of
Manchester.-. 4 Hear, and applause.)
Mr. Marrnew TOMLINSON supported the motion, and said
he was happy to find that it put the responsibility of neg-
lecting to comply with its object where it was said to rest by
a gentleman once a distinguished member of their body—Mr.
Alderman Cobden—upon the Ministers.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. Alderman KAY, (late Mayor) Said he did not rise to
object to the motion, but he suggested that it would be un-
wise to affix responsibility where it did not exactly rest. Sir
Robert Peel and his colleagues could only open the ports with
the sanction of Parliament, and if they were to open them
during the recess, they would have to iisk Parliament, upon
its assembling, for an Act of indemnity. He suggested that
a committee be appointed, who should retire from the
Council, and put the resolution into such shape that it would
be less objectionable.
Ultimately, upon this suggestion, Mr. Alderman Neild,
Mr. Alderman Kay, Mr. Shuttleworth, Mr. Prentice, and
Mr. A. Heywood, were appointed a committee to retire, and
after an absence of about ten minutes they returned with
Mr. ShuttleViorth'e resolution slightly altered, and put in the
form of a memorial to Zit* Robert Peel.
Mr. SnirrnEwonvil said he thought at the time that he
and Mr. Alderman Kay were agreed on this subject, though
they expressed themselves differently and misunderstood each
other. Mr. Alderman Kay meant legal responsibility, and
he (Mr. Shuttleworth) moral responsibility. He had great
pleasure in moving the niailiorial, and that it be signed by
the Mayor on behalf of the Town Counell, and that the com-
mon seal of the Corporation be attached td it, and that it be
presented to Sir Robert Peel.--(Applause.) He felt that
after the sentiments he had expressed, Sir Robert Peel must
only be acting in aceordence with his own wishes and con-
victions in acceding to the prayer of their memorial, for
though closely connected with the itbidlords, he had as clear
a perception of our commercial interests as 017 of them, and
he (Mr. Shuttleworth) had no doubt that he was preparing—
if not in the ordinary sense of the term, in one sfe: h might be
readily understood—to " turn another sod "—(Heai; hear,
and laughter)—and to enable them still to occupy that posi-
tion in the country which they ought and must occupy.
Mr. Alderman KAY said he could not but look at the course
likely to be taken in the present emergency with singular
apprehension ; for though, on looking over the files of the
newspapers for the last six months, he found that though
Lord Stanley had abstained from alluding to the state of the
harvest, yet the Duke of Rutland (who was one of that class
who thought it right to enjoy the revenue from their estates,
without reference to the comforts of other classes), stated
at an agricultural meeting that the results of the harvest
had been satisfactory.—(Hear, hear.) Now he (Mr. Alder-
man Kay) thought that the Duke must have been sadly
misinformed, for in less than a fortnight after that statement
was followed by a report stating that the harvest in Ireland
was awfully deficient, and that the potato murrain was
almost universal.—( Hear, hear, and applause.) He trusted
that this memorial, backed by the others which were flowing
in from all parts of the country, would have the effect sought,
and with that hope he cordially seconded it.
After a few words from Mr. Tomlinson, the motion was
agreed to unanimously, and the Council separated.

DISCOVERY OF AN ILLICIT STILL AT BRIGHTON.
On Wednesday an elderly man, named George Blgnall, Was
examined before Major Willard, the sitting magistrate of the
day, on a charge of being concerned in Illicit distillation.
The charge was preferred by Lieut. Pratt, of the coast-guard,
and Mr. Newton, the supervisor of excise. According to the
evidence, Lieut. Pratt and several of the coast guardsmen
proceeded on Tuesday to a house in Gorringe's-court, North
lane, where they found a still of about 40 gallons at work,
the prisoner attending it. A bucket was placed beneath the
worm to receive the droppings of the still, which on Heiiig
tasted proved to be a weak kind of spirit. A Mlle-gallon
cask stood near, containing fbur or five gainns of the same
kind of liquid. On the premises were lbund four large casks,
one sunk in the ground, and all full of wash, some in a state
of fermentation, the quantity being nearly 300 gallons. The
liquid found in the bucket and small cask was handed over
to the supervisor, who, on testing it, found it to be a Spiriti
70.6 under proof, which was called, in the technical language
of the Excise, wines." It was explaintti to be the pro-
duct of the first distillation, and which was liable to duty,
but not chargeable till the completion of the distillation. The
windows of the house were boarded up, and a screen was
placed inside the door so that nothing was visible outside.
The statement of the prisoner was, that the liquid was used
only in the process of " bone bleaching ;" and an attempt was
made to show this in defence, Mr. Bennett, solicitor, being
engaged for this purpose. After a lengthened investigation,
however, Major Willard considered the case to be proved
urAler the 7th and Bth George IV., c. 53, s. 33, which inflicts
a penalty of 30/. on any person found in a private or unen-
tered room, manufacturing articles liable to excise duty. The
prisoner was consequently fined in that amount; and not
being able to pay, was committed to the House of Correction
to hard labour for three months
The Oregon is the name. given to. a steam-boat re-
cently launched at New York, which is ten feet longer than
the Great Britain. She is about to be placed On the New
Tork Alad Frffidciace atatim

ter. The house in Konigsberg, hearing of the great pro-
bability that the duty would be taken off in England, wrote
again a few days afterwards, in great haste, expressing their
hope the corn had not been sold, and desiring the factor to
put 10s. a quarter upon it. This circumstance alone proved
that if the duty were taken off, the difference would not go
to benefit the consumer in England, but to enrich the foreign
merchant. The very agitation of the question was produc-
tive of a great deal of needless alarm in the country. But it
was said the opening of the ports would be the means of get-
ting the corn-laws done away entirely. He was against
doing them away entirely ' • and he thought such a measure
would be perfectly ruinous to the agricultural interest of the
country. The country had never been without a corn-law
of one kind or other. and the great principle sought to be
established was, that the duty should vary inversely as the
price of grain, which principle had never been so effectually
carried out as under the existing law. Mr. Armstrong sup-
ported these views at some length, and concluded by declar-
ing his intention to oppose the motion.

Mr. S LOWERY, an 'extensive ship owner and timber mer-
chant, supported the motion, considering that wheat should
be put upon the same footing as flax, hemp, and other arti-
cles of importation, and then, when our ships went out to
foreign places, they could bring a return cargo of grain, if it
suited them, with Out reference to the duty. In many parts
grain was the only article the foreign merchant bad to offer,
and when the ship was prevented bringing that by the high
duty, she had to return empty, which was a serious inconve-
nience and loss to the shipowner, as well as to the general
merchant. The abolition of the corn-laws would place the
trade upon a certain footing, now it was entirely of a specu-
lative character; and what was the cause of the present higfi
prices? There was plenty of grain in the country, but the
holders of it were waiting till the duty got down, as they ex-
pected it would, to a shilling, when they would bring it into
the market in the hope of making more money than they
could by selling it at present. He approved of the resolution,
and trusted the Chamber would adopt it.
Mr. C. RAYNE having recently discussed the subject at
some length in the Council, did not think it requisite to go
into any elaborate details on the present occasion. The
early history of the corn-laws, to which reference had been
made by Mr. Armstrong, clearly showed that the object the
promoters of them had in view was to make the price of corn
dear in this country, so as to enhance the value of the land,
and hence, at one period, a bounty was paid on exportation,
which was subsequently altered, as population and the de-
mand for food increased, to a duty on importation, the effect
of both measures being the same—that of affording protec-
Coe, as it was termed, to native agriculture. The reason of
there being but little agitation against the corn-laws at the
periods referred to by Mr. Armstrong, was obvious. The
price of corn was so high that those laws became inoperative.
But when the pivot point was higher than it was at present,
the fluctuations were more violent, which showed that the
lower the pivot point was fixed, the more regular would
the price become, and if the duty were abolished altogether,
still greater steadiness would be the result. Mr.Rayne, after
illustrating these points, concluded by declaring his determi-
nation to support the motion.
The CHAIRMAN then put the motion to the meeting, when
it was carried on a show of hands, only three being held up
against it.
Mr. N. HINDHAUGH, who did rot vote on either side, said
he was not a friend to the sliding scale, but be could not join
in the propriety of admitting foreign corn free of duty at the
present moment.
The memorial was then signed by the Chairman on behalf
of the Chamber. _ _ _ _ _

A requisition is in course of signature in the borough of
Gateshead to the 111ayor, requesting him to convene a public
meeting of the inhabitants to take the subject into considera-
tion, with a view to memorializing the Privy Council in fa-
vour of the opening of the ports.

POOR.LAW CHARITY and PRISON

CHARITY.

A poor Irish woman named Fox, who had supported her
family decently for twelve years by keeping a stall in the
street at Holborn-bars, was run over by a cab in September
last, an accident by which her leg was broken. Being thus
suddenly deprived of the power of earning a livelihood, she
made her case known to the authorities of the union, and
was visited, as a matter of course, by the surgeon and the
relieving officer. The medical gentleman, she declares, per-
formed his professional duties to the end most humanely, as
well as skilfully; but the relieving officer told her that her
case was an infirmary case, and that unless she consented to
take up her abode in the workhouse he could do nothing for
her. She infomied him that she would willingly do as he
suggested if he would be so good as to assist, in the mean-
while, in preserving her furniture and the few articles she
used in her business, and she assured him that, without some
aid of the kind, she and her family must be thrown destitute
upon the street upon her recovery. To this appeal the re-
lieving officer turned a deaf ear. He would have nothing to
do with her goods, and, handing her the sum of eighteenpence,
desired her not to apply to the authorities again, as not a
farthing more would be forthcoming Not supposing it pos-
sible that the parochial liberality would be so cramped in a
case of such extremity, the patient applied a second time for
a modicum of aid, and sent her son to plead the cause of the
family, but he returned empty-handed, and so well bullied,
that he was afraid, notwithstanding the deplorable condition
of his parent, to make another experiment upon the justice
or humanity, or whatever else it is called, of the party in
power. Furthermore, when she recovered sufficiently to be
able to resume her former avocation, she made a last appeal
to the union for assistance in furnishing her stall, the con-
tents of which had been disposed of in her necessity; but
the answer had gone forth—she was to have nothing, and
thus the mother of a family, with a fractured limb, which
confined her to her bed for a period of about six weeks, was
got rid of at the small price of eighteenpence.
So much for poor-law charity !
We turn with pleasure to the other side of the picture, to
which what we have stated presents a disgusting contrast:—
At the time the accident occurred to the mother, the
daughter had been committed to Bridewell Hospital for a
misdemeanour, in which (as it afterwards appeared) she be-
came very innocently involved. The former wrote to the
latter some time aftewards, describing in a very feeling man-
ner the distress to which she was reduced by the refusal of
the union to give her any relief unless upon the condition of
a sacrifice of all those necessaries in which her future comfort
depended, and, above all, deploring the want of her daughter's
help at such a time to dress her wound, and administer to
her other necessities. This letter underwent, according to
the arrangements of the prison, the inspection of the Governor
of the prison (Captain Kincaid), and the melancholy tale,
which failed to awaken either the sympathies or the conside-
ration of the poor-law authorities, immediately found both in
him ; for it appears that, without the slightest delay, he sent
to ascertain the truth of the statement, and, having ascer-
tained it, he represented the case to the committing magis-
trate, obtained the daughter's discharge, and sent her home
to attend upon her mother, provided with the means of ade-
quately administering to her wants. Upon more strict in-
quiry, Captain Kincaid found the case to be one of real
charity, aad he continued to give personally, or to send, relief
to the family every week down to the day when she was
enabled to go to her stall, which, her benefactor knowing
that the parochial authorities had thrown up the case of
misery with contempt, supplied her with the means of fur-
nishing, and there she now sits daily, within ten yards of the
corner of Gray's Inn-lane, by the side of a lamp-post, called
Holborn-bar.

The case thus simply detailed is one in which individual
charity ought not to have been taxed. It is impossible not
to see that the humane part taken by Captain Kincaid on
this occasion was precisely that which ought to have been
taken by the authorities of the union, both in the nature and the
extent of the relief, and people cannot therefore understandwhat
the hearts of those worthies can be made of, seeing that, indivi-
dually, it would have cost them nothing to try, for once, the
experiment of humanity; but Alderman Farebrother, who
speaks out upon occasions on which the defects of the heart
are conspicuous more frequently than most of his brethren,
said, with striking truth some time ago, that the great ob-
ject of the unions seemed to be not the relief of the poor, but
how to relieve the parishes of the poor. Had the poor crea-
ture who thus, by a providential accident, fell into the hands
of the benevolent Governor of Bridewell, accepted the relief
which the relieving officer offered, she and her whole family
would, in all probability, have become paupers for life. She
refused the boon, and may never be again in a condition to
require the generous contribution of the authorities.