The Sun.
London, England, 1842-11-11 00:00:00

COURT CIRCTJLAR.

HAYMARKET THEATRE.
An adaptation from the French, originally produced
at Drury-lane, some fourteen years since, under the
title of Love and Wrinkles, and thence transferred to
the Surrey, as My Old Woman, was revived at this
theatre last evening, under the title of My Old Wo-
man, or Love and Wrinkles, Mrs. Fitzwilliam sustain-
ing her original character of the Countess Xenia, a
rich young Russian widow of eighteen, who, during
the campaign of the French in Russia, herself
in danger from her proximity to the seat of war, as-
sumes the manners and appearance of an old woman
of eighty, deeming wrinkles a more effectual protec-
tion from the insults of the licentious soldiery than a
body guard of Cossacks. Falling in with the French
' troops, in the neighbourhood of Smolensko, she is
saved from insult and robbery by Colonel Girouette
(H. Holl), an officer in the French service, who, hav-
ing become subsequently wounded and a prisoner, is
by her received into her castle of `Vilna, and when
the French are ordered to Siberia, is saved from
banishment by a marriage with the " old woman,"
which makes him a Russian subject. The old woman
proposes, as soon as the ceremony is over, that he
should return to Paris, as he can, in consequence of
his marriage, obtain free egress from the Russian
dominions. Gratitude, however, prevents his accept-
ing her generous offer, and gratitude becomes love
when he discovers that his old woman is eighteen in-
stead of eighty. The old woman was excellently
acted by Mrs. Fitzwilliam. The tottering gait, the
enfeebled and tremulous voice, the shaking hand, all
the characteristics of old age, in short, were given
with consummate art, and without the slightest ap-
proach to caricature or over-acting. Her manners,
too, were completely those of a gentlewoman of the
old school, with just sufficient of the morgue aris-
tocratique to let those about her feel that they were in
the presence of the Countess Xenia, who could at
any time re-assume that dignity which, so long
as her condescension should not be abused,
she was willing to permit to remain in abey-
ance. Her dancing was admirable. The ball
scene altogether was very well got up.
•Buckstone's Michael Witzgoff, a consequential, in-
quisitive steward, was eminently quaint : his new
versions of old proverbs were rich, and elicited roars
of laughter. The comedy of Perfection, with Mrs.
Honey as Kate O'Brien followed ; after which Mrs.
Fitzwilliam as the Bell; of the Hotel, gave us a series
of American sketches from the life ; and Mr. Buck-
' stone's Kiss in the Dark concluded the evening's
' amusement. The house was well filled.

DEFINITION OF THE ,( POLISH
REFUGEES."
TO MICHAEL GIBBS, ESQ., ALDERMAN.
Literary Association of the Friends •of Poland,
Sussex Chambers, Duke-street, St. James's,
Nov. 10, 1842.
Dear Sir, When I had the honour of presenting
a petition to the Court of Common Council for the use
of the Guildhall for the purpose of giving there an
entertainment for the benefit of •the Polish refugees,
which, by the permission of the Court, has been
advertised to take place on the 16th instant, you rose
in your place, and said that " It had frequently
happened that persons apparently in distress had
applied to you, as sitting :Magistrate, stating that,
although they were Poles, they were not permitted
to participate in any funds provided for the Polish
refugees. You wished, .therefore, to be informed
what constituted a Polish refucee ?"
Being called on to answer the question, I did so in
the following terms :—" In order that a person should
be considered a Polish refugee, so as to be relieved
from the funds either of the Treasury or the Associa-
tion, it is requisite, in the first place, that he be a
native of Poland ; and in the next, that he able to
show that he served his country in some capacity or
other during the late struggle against Russia. No
person is relieved who does not combine these quali-
fications, and relief is not granted to those who have
been convicted of crimes or who are known as bad
characters."
This answer I believe to be correct, so far as it goes;
but I am sensible that it is not complete. I feel,
therefore, that I owe it to you, to the Poles, and to
the public, to make to it the following addition :
Besides the qualifications above mentioned, another
is requisite in order to entitle a person to share in the
Parliamentary grant, or in the funds of the Associa-
tion, and that is, that his arrival in this country
should have taken place previous to a fixed time. The
Treasury grants relief to no Pole, whatever may be
his claims in other respects, who was not known to
have been in this country on or before a day in the
autumn of 1838. The Association had admitted
claims to a later period ; but after having taken all
the means in its power to caution the Poles not to
resort to this country, finding that its funds were in-
adequate to meet the wants of those already here in
March, 1841, it came to a resolution that it would
grant no relief to any Pole who should land here after
that date. This resolution has been circulated all over
the Continent by means of the Polish newspapers pub-
lished in Paris. •
This rule I believe to be wise and salutary, but it is
certainly possible that, under it, instances may occur
in which Poles, who have served their country and
whose characters are -Unstained by any crime or mo-
ral offence, may be able to state with truth that they
are in distress and are.rdenied relief from any fund pro-
vided for the refugee/4. I am'not, indeed, aware that
there are at present any persons answering this de-
scription in the counti-y,• and it is possible that such
cases may arise.
There is also another class of Poles, who, having
served their country and being of good character,
have yet no title to relief from either of the public
funds, and may therefof6' truly represent themselves
to be in distress. This is composed of refugees who,
having once being recipients of the Government al-
lowance, have voluntarily renounced it in considera-
tion of a fixed sum, or who as it is termed at the
Treasury, have commuted {heir claims. The practice
at the Treasury is to allow'ithy Pole who declares his
intention of quitting the country, to receive at once,
on condition of his renouncing all further claim what-
ever, the sum which lie would otherwise get in
monthly payments during a year ; a sum which
scarcely ever exceeds 261., and is often little more
than half the amount.
Such a practice is well calculated to diminish the
claimants on the Treasury, and its effect has been to
reduce the number of Poles receiving allowances from
Government by nearly 150, during the last four
years ; but it must be owned that the Treasury drives
a hard bargain with the refugees, for what man in his
senses, and not in the position of a Pole, would con-
sent to commute an annuity for one year's purchase ?
The Pole, however, dragging out a miserable exis-
tence on 10s. a week, and .contrasting his present po-
sition with his former days of comfort and competence,
finds the temptation of being conveyed to some other
country too strong to withstand. Her therefore
eagerly subscribes to the terms offered ; and it too
often happens, that having in vain attempted to pro-
cure a livelihood elsewhere, he returns here after the
lapse of a year or more, and finds himself in a worse
situation than ever.
The Association has repeatedly represented. to the
Treasury the hardship of enforcing these conditions
on persons so circumstanced, and has shown that a
relaxation of the rule would involve but a trifling ex-
pense, since out of the 150 refugees who have com-
muted their allowance, there are now scarcely a dozen
in the country; but these representations have proved
unavailing. Nor can the Association provide for
these persons itself : in the first place, because'its
funds are insufficient ; and in the next, because byso
doing it would hold out still further encouragement
to others to commute, and the consequence would be
the transfer of a number now on the Government list
nep.mo r
atl,rt,yldea
assistance,
s thet
ahno
cwee'oe,
uvpnerrti,rnyieni;psome
ulyt
tthemoit
enabletoe't\mh'oietafford
pro-
vide them:with permantheenrtefsourper rt. N
iV.
ti cases,t
ch a
cannot
n
,nsamndays,tate truly that, although being
t themselves at
theSGucuhiipdehrasloi
Poles who have served their country, and who are now
in distress, their claims are not admitted. In every
case, however, in which such applications are received,
I beg leave to suggest that inquiry should be made
respecting them of the Association. Information will
be most readily supplied, and you, Sir, or any of your
brother Magistrates, will immediately learn whether
the applicants are in the receipt of relief, and if not,
the reason of their exclusion.—l have the honour to
be, dear Sir, yours very faithfully,
DUDLE'k COUTTS STUART, Vice-President.

WINDSOR, 'ThumpAr.—Her Majesty and Prince
Albert left this morning, attended by the Lord in
Waiting and the two Equerries, and accompanied by
:he Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal. •
The Royal party reached Slough at eight o'clock
precisely, and were conducted to the special train by
Mr. Saunders and Mr. Howell. Mr. Saunders, the
Secretary, and [r. Brunel, the Engineer, attended
th,;) trai'i from Slough. Mr. Gooch superintended
the drawing of the train, and in five minutes after the
arrival at Slough the train was proceeding. The
" Prince" was the name of the engine which con-
veyed the august party to the metropolis on their way
to Walmer Castle.
The Hon. Mr. Murray, the Hon. Mrs. Anson, and
the two Maids of Honour, will leave the. Castle in
the course of the day.

The Queen and Prince Albert, accompanied by the
Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal and suite,
arrived by a special train at the Paddington terminus
of the G-reat Western Railway yesterday morning
from Windsor Castle. The Royal party took their
departure twenty minutes before nine o'clock, in three
of her Majesty's carriages and four, escorted by a party
of Hussars, for Walmer Castle. Her Majesty and
his Royal Highness Prince Albert were in the fist
carriage. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of
Wales and the Princess Royal and the Dowager Lady
.Lyttelton occupied the second carriage. Lady Port-
man, Lady in Waiting ; Viscount Sydney, Lord in-
Waiting ; Lord Charles Wellesley (Clerk Marshal),
Equerry in Waiting on the Queen ; and Col. Wylde,
Equerry in Waiting on the Prince, were in the third
carriage.
Sir George Seymour had an interview with Lord
Stanley yesterday, at the Colonial-office. Captain
Fitzgerald, R.N., and Mr. James Erskine had also in-
terviews with his Lordship yesterday.

Counsellor Lamb, an old man when Lord Erskine
was in the height of his reputation, who was of timid
mariners and nervous disposition, usually prefaced his
pleadings with an apology to that effect; and on one
occasion, when opposed in some cause to Erskine, he
lappened to remark that " he felt himself growing
i.nore and more timid as he grew older." "No won-
der," replied the witty but relentless barrister, " every
one knows the older a lamb grows the more sheepish
he becomes."
DEATH or R. TRICIENESSE, Esct.—The death of
this much respected gentleman took place on Tuesday
evening at his residence, Beech Hill, near Wigan.
It is rather singular,. that three gentlemen who have
contested and represented the borough of Wigan
should cease to exist in the same year, but so it is ;
Mr. Richard Potter, of Manchester, was the first to
pay the debt of nature, then followed Mr. J. H. ICears-
ley, whose death we recorded a few weeks ago, and
lastly, the lamented gentleman whose death we have
the pain to announce.
The public will be sorry to hear that Captain Basil
Hall, R.N., whose literary and professional eminence
are so widely known, and who lately arrived in this
country from the Mediterranean, is still in a con-
dition of mind and body the most painful to contem-
plate—the result, we are informed of a Syrian fever,
which was not attended to in time. Capt. Hall is at
present at the Naval Rospital at liaslar.

-"The Lord Mayor's ball at Guildhall on Wednesday
evering last was attended by nearly 2,000 persons.
At ten o'clock (lancing commenced to Adams s
fashionable band of 30 performers, which played in
their usual style of excellence. Several of Adams's
new quadrilles were encored, and the dancing was
kept up with great spirit until an early hour in the
morning.
William Brougham, "P,
—sq., one of the Masters in
Chancery, his lady and family, on Monday last, left
Hall, in the county of Westmoreland, the
seat of fhL
Lord Brougham, his brother, for Southamp-
ton-building's, London.

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDA_Y EV0,r1.,,,t1G;, NOVEMBER 11, 1842.

AT THE MANOR-FARM; fliGkalt
STRAY MARE.—The owner may have her
Ilk. again on application at the above,'gre, hy)iaying the
expenses. • J. JOHNSON.
..........mvasoeseneriatOM=R9Fl2ol.ll

c_X*4
INK

seizure and destruction of property, the expense,
incurred in the present war, and the insults offered
to the representative of the British SOVEREIGN,
we can help ourselves by appropriating rich tract
along the sea coast. The Chinese would gladly
join in such undertakings were they assured that
our army and navy could protect them against
the vengeance of their rulers, and that means
would be furnished to them also for defending
themselves. Whatever French journalists may
say, it is evident, from all accounts that the
natives have no dread or even dislike of the

nglish, but regard them rather as benefactors,
who, in every town which they capture, distribute
the public granaries among the people, and con-
duct themselves towards the inhabitants in
the most orderly and peaceable manner.
These facts are certified by Sir HENRY
POTTINGER, who is entitled to more credit
than the editor of the Journal des Debats,
who thus describes the forlorn condition of our
troops in China :—" The English garrison in
Chusan (he says) has been literally starved out.
At Ningpo, st city of 200,000 or 300,000 inhabit-
ants, a garrison of only 800 could not procure
subsistence either by force or purchase." Pro-
bably this report has been furnished by some
veracious correspondent at Macao, or on board
the French frigate now on a visit to the
Chinese Seas. We have no objection what-
ever to their taking this view of the war,
but on the contrary, are glad that they
can thus derive some consolation for their hard-
fought and fruitless battles in Africa. We
have heard of no such accounts of starvation or
want of provisions, and the very fact of giving
up granaries to the natives proves it to be a pure
fiction. Would the English commit such an act
of madness if they had not food for themselvesl
The edicts of the EMPEROR, too, prove the con-
trary. He would not denounce with such gene-
rous indignation the deeds of his subjects, causing
the " very hair of his head to stand erect," had
they thus combined to defeat by starvation the
enemy they could not meet in the field.

The accounts from Madrid are to the 2d inst.
It appears that the.' forces sent by the Govern-
ment into several of the disturbed districts bad
been very successful in dispersing the brigands.
Two Neapolitan vessels of war, the Vesuvio
and Generoso, arrived at Gibraltar on the lOtl -
The first was to stop in that harbour, and the
other to continue her journey to England,
whither she was conveying the crew of tour
steamers constructing for the King of NAPLES in
London.

The Three per Cents. were done at 214 for the
20th inst., and the Five per Cents. at 26 for cash,
and 27 1-16, 27, 26 19-32 at 60 days.

The French papers are chiefly occupied with
comments on the meetings of the Delegates—
the official reports of the war in Africa, from
which we have given extracts—and with a curi-

ous trial, now going on at Paris, implicating a
great number of persons employed in a public
office, similar to that of Woods and Forests in
this country. Some of these officers were, em-

ployed to lay out new streets for the improve-
ment of the cavital, and it has been proved that
they had received considerable bribes from pro-
prietors interested in the intended lines. Their
main defence is, that their salaries were so small

that they had no other means of living in a style
suitable to their rank. The trial was still going-
on. We are glad to notice a remarkable
fact in one of the papers generally opposed to
this country—namely, an admission that En-
glishmen can beat Frenchmen, not at fighting,
but in making railroads. The Courrier Francais,
in alluding to the contract for the first section
of the railroad from Paris to Brighton, says :
, " This is the .second example of English con-
tractors, after having finished railroads in their
own country, coming to take part in ours. It is
well known that the Rouen railroad, in which
English capitalists have an interest, is exclu-
sively directed by English engineers. This is an
advantage for. France, because several methods
in use- on English lines, particularly in forming
the embankments, are superior to ours, and will
in this way gradually become known among us
and be adopted at last generally."
"The remnants of the Society of St. Simo-
nians," says the Commerce," who have confede-
rated with the Fourierists, have opened two
lodges at Lyons. One of these is engaged in
recruiting members to form a body for emigra-
tion to the Brazils, there to establish Working
colonies. The other lodge is employed in pro-
pagating the principles which they call Doctrine
Societaire. The Magistrates, howeVer, have been
rendered suspicious and apprehensive that their
meetings may end in disturbing tlie public peace,
and, exercising the powers given by'the laws, have
ordered the lodges to be closed: This was done
by the police on the 23d ult."