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

LORD ASHBURTON,

MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY FROM GREAT
BRITAIN TO THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Stn—The announcement of the above appointment,
or intended appointment, by the present Tory Admi-
nistration, and the cordiality with which it has been ap-
proved by the Morning Chronicle, the Globe, and the
Examiner, the respective organs of the late Whig
Cabinet, have struck with dismay every mind, alive to
the interest of this country and of humanity. It sounds
as the knell of departing freedom. For where can we
place our hopes when those on whom we trusted, almost
implicitly, bid us rely—on whom ? On Lord Ash-
burton I Is he not one of the greatest landowners in
the United States ? Are not his lands, too, exclusively
to be cultivated by negro—that is, by slave labour ?
Was he not, if he be not now, the greatest money jobber
in the world, the largest creditor of American debtors ;
the greatest holder of American securities as they are
falsely called ; the accredited agent (by his dependent
relations) of the Philadelphia United States Bank, of
swindling notoriety ;—in one word, was he not the Bri•
tish Biddle I

On him ! we are told to rely for the equitable adjust-
ment of all our differences with the United States, and
for the effectual suppression of that slave trade by which
alone can immense tracts of lands in Texas and Louisi-
ana, said to belong to him, be brought into immediate
culture ; or the immense claims, public and private
which he, and those for whom he acts, have on the slave
holding States of America, be redeemed. And is it
come to this, Messrs. of the Morning Chronicle, of the
Globe, and of the Examiner ? Are we to seek for
trustworthy men in the class of renegades to which
Lord Ashburton belongs ? And is it you who advise
us to do this ? Fob, how it stinks ! " Go, Counsellor!
—you and my bosom henceforth shall be twain."
For a set of Tory fundholders who have, at the in-
stance of a wily old fox, been cajoled into lending
money to American planters, to be laid out on the im-
provement
of lands, some of which are held by Lord
Ashburton, it is quite natural for them to call upon
him to go and look after his and their interests,
perhaps to save them and himself from bank-
ruptcy. That is . a thing to surprise no one,
nor can it be reasonably objected to by any
one who helped to force the ,present Cabinet into the
counsels of the Queen. The reports of the loans made to
the Americans by the leaders of the Tory faction were
too rife, and too generally believed, to leave to such any
ground of complaint upon this occasion. They knew
their men, and promoted them accordingly. But for
danzrem,maens,
oorr
tau, set of men professing
apirrocefetsinsi:gtotodeffecenidftoor the
last the cause of justice and of freedom, for them to
join in eulogizing such an appointment, was surely re-
served for the last extremity of British self-degradation.
From the remarks made in The Sun of last Saturday,
I am happy to see that in the ranks of the British press
there is still found one faithful sentinel. I trust that
others will be found to rally to him, and in that hope,
I remain, Sir, your obliged servant,
January 3, 1842. ABNER.

INTERVIEWS WITII LOUD WHARNCLIFFE, LORD PRESI
TheN
tE.,),1
IVo 11
IC.i En
gr RdEaSyl Dt
DENT OF THE COUNCIL, AND MR. W. E. GLAD,
STO
EhNe T
doe Fp
uTt
au tEi 0 Eno
hA
:RI
dD
aOnF
iTc ltt
ekr Dv
jEe.w
with Lord Wharnelitfe and Mr. Gladstone.
As in former cases, the deputation proceeded to ex-
plain the nature of the measure which they advocated,
and the economical and moral reasons upon which they
based their claim.
Lord WHARNCLIFFE testified, from his own know-
ledge, to the fact that the statements thus presented as
to the physical, the domestic, and the mental and moral
condition of the factory workers, were not in the slight-
est degree exaggerated.
Mr. GLADSTONE appeared to take an earnest interest
in those portions of our statement which had reference
to the educatioeal, the domestic, and the moral and re-
ligious statistics of the subject, and paid particular at-
tention to the proposed restriction, of which Sir Robert
Peel seemed tio doubt the practicability—namely, that
which would limit the employment of female labour.
Mr. Gladstone treated this subject in a very able and
practical manner. Agreeing in all the deputation stated
as to the evil effects, both on individual character and on
the domestic condition of families, which resulted from
the present mode of substituting female for adult male
labour, he asked, " What practical measures would you
suggest to make such a clause as you propose generally
operative r"The deputation, in their replies to this
question, were rather aided by Mr. Gladstone than
oitn,rwisa; and it was ailtimately suggested, that the ob-
ject might be effected' by ineans •of three ,regulations.
First, by fixing a higher age for the commencement of
infant female- labour than for the commencement of in-
lint male-labour in factories. Secondly, by limiting the
number of females in proportion to the number of males
in any one factory. Thirdly, by forbidding a female to
work in-a factory after her marriage, and during the life-
time of her husband. It will be seen that these sugges-
tlvilescltitlaYtreland impracticable
tions meet the case put by Sir Robert Peel, and at the
ptrh.eeseittint
same time obviate the objections. taken. •
THE BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER AND THE
•
:kinetthweasfiarlsstopleerey,
nature of its provisions illustrated by facts well known TRACTISTS.—We are enabled positively to contradict
to all conversant with the subject. The Deputation, the report, originating in a London paper; that the
fully The
cawnovraksisnegd,of
atnlicei
Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol was perfectly satisfied
that the short-time Committees and the friends of the by Mr. Williams's explanation of his Tract on Reserve in
factory labourer had been no parties to that measure religious teachin gaolich his Lordship severely censured
(the Act of 1833) ; that they had seen from the begin- in Ins late Charg his Clergy.—British Journal.
ot work, and they while on this part of the subject,
ning that it would n were thoroughly FIRE IN THE LONDON DOCK.—Yesterday
convinced that it had been adopted more as a means of morning, about six o'clock, a fire broke out on board the
evading, than satisfying the demand for the due regula- schooner Lady Ann, lying alongside the north quay of
tion .of the labour in factories. With respect to the the London Dock. Mr. Clement, the principal of the
education for which it professe's to make provision, it dock police, saw the smoke issuing from the forecastle,
was notorious that in most cases its provision had either and immediately collected the Thames police and land
been entirely evaded, or that what instruction had been policemen of the H division in the dock, and they scon
given had been imparted under circumstances which broke through a bulkhead into the forecastle, where the
made it a mockery both as to quality y and quantity ; and fire was raging; and by means of buckets of water thrown
one instance in particular was adduced, in which the on the flames, the fire was got under without doing much
damage. The fire is supposed to have been caused by
stoker of a steam-engine had been constituted the
schoolmaster, and the tire-hole had been made the the ignition of a box of lucifer matches which a boy
school-room. who slept in the forecastle placed under his bed to keep
After the ten hours' measure had been very fully can-
them dry. The boy narrowly escaped with his life.
vassed in its various bearings, the Deputaiion took the On the afternoon of Thursday week, as Wil-
liberty of laying before his Lordship and Mr. Gladstone Liam Pringle, groom at St. Fort, near Newport, Fife, was
(as they had already done with Sir R. Peel) their views entering the stable to look after the horses, one of them
as to the imperative necessity of passing it in connection kicked and killed him on the spot. No one was present
with an alteration of the Poor-law, in accordance with when the accident occurred ; but an individual who was
the dictates of humanity and justice, and as an instal- I passing, hearing the noise, entered the stable and found
went of good measures to the working classes. These the poor man quite,dead. The body was with difficulty
were matters about which the Deputation thought there extricated from amongst the animal's feet. , The strokes
should be no delay, as upon them an immense mass which he received must have been•dreadful, as a large
evidence had already been accumulated. key which he had in his pocket was driven into his body.
Lord WHARNCLIFFE asked whether the masters were He has left a wife and family to lament his lose. The
not generally opposed to the views advocated by the horse was shot the following Monday.—Scotch Paper.
Deputation in reference to the Ten Hours Bill? To I The Bishop of St. David's is said to be so
which it was replied, that the masters were nosy in fascinated with the beauties of the Welsh language, of
many instances becoming convinced, by dear-bought which he has made himself master, as to have determined
experience, that these views were correct ; that a ten to. trace it to its sources, as a key to the early history of
L hours restriction would be the only means of saving them i Wales.—BratolJournal.

MEETING OF SURREY BIAGIS-

TRATES.

Yesterday there was a full attendance of the Surrey
Magistrates at the Sessions-house, Newington, and
amongst those present were Mr. Puckle ( Chairman),
Earl Lovelace, Mr. Kemble, MX., Mr. Trotter, M.P.,
Mr. Hawes, M.P., Alderman Humphery, M.P., Col.
Challoner, Sir T. M. Reed, Captain Page, &c. The
business brought before the Court was of an important
character, and prior to its being gone into the Grand
Jury were called and sworn.
The CHAIRMAN, in the course of his charge to the
Grand Jury, observed that there was nothing parti-
cular in the calendar that
_demanded any observation
from him, except the case of, an assault and riot com-
mitted by thirteen persons on some officers in the exe-
cution of their duty. He was sorry that he could not
congratulate them upon the diminution of crime in this
county ; he had 14en at some pains to compare the
years 1830 and 1831 with 1840 and 1841, and making
every allowance for the increase of population, he
found there bad been a considerable increase of crimi-
nals during the last two years. This fact would be a
disappointment to those benevolent individuals who had
exerted themselves to improve the lower orders by edu-
cating them. He entertained an opinion, and it was a
strong one, that the children in many of our charity
schools and union workhouses were too highly educated.
Ile had seen them taught the use of the globl-s, geometry,
geography, and other branches of learning, which could be
of little or no service to them in after life, and in place of
which he considered it would be much more beneficial if
they were taught their moral and religious duties. He was
happy to say that our prisoners had been considerably
improved. He knew that there were men who enter-
tained the opinion that persons who had been frequently
imprisoned were irreclaimable ; he knew, however, bet.
to-. - By the Magistrates of Surrey an asylum had been
established into which offenders were received at the
recommendation of a chaplain of the prison, and they
were taught trades, and furnished with the means of
obtaining 'an honest livelihood. He was glad to say
that many who had been thus treated were become
good and useful members of society, and he hoped the
institution would have the patronage of all who could
contribute towards its support. Perhaps in a short
time the subject would meet with the attention of Go-
vernment, and in the meantime it was the duty of the
Magistrates to do all that they could to check crime in
their own county. He had heard that the plan had
' been followed up in other counties. He heartily wished
it might be supported, and attended with success.
The Grand Jury then retired, and the county busi-
ness proceeded. ,