The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-25 00:00:00

ADVANTAGES OF RAILROADS.

„ . ITERATURE.
TEE ALMUM; or, MU
SE UM OF A.-1 /0.1 A/. ANTIQUITES. Ed:t d
6, -7110.11 AS liI(A7 ,
Correspowli,v 11, tithe (I.t.'ce .t!(?f F a,:ce. Tlt,.
-11111:t ludo, iv!, W. Farla).l. ES.A.
b This is a hook in wide') the liannatyne and the
4t(l3thurgn Clubs would have delighted ; printed in a
quarto size, on the very finest p per, with the most
I'4utifully clear type, and profusely illustrated by.
,exquisite copper-plate engravings and magnificent il-
'u'ainations—publigted, moreover, in an ornamental
cover
r—it has al:ogetlur a very aristocratical appear-
There is an excilent paper in the present
entitled "history of Art in the Midd!e
TAbg.es, as exhibited in Illuminated Manuscripts.”
ls Piper i 3 profusely illustrated by woodcut en-
eavings from ancient illuminations. From a paper
011 obsolete punishments we extract the following
ace"tint of the last recerd':d instance in which the
runithment of ducking was inflicted on a scold by
sentence of the law
Nearly all town account durin the sixteentcen-
tern and the commencements gof the seventeen th contain
catri ,
es relating to these implemi nts of punishment. The
Practice of ducking continued through the whole of the
d"tcPrith century, and the name, now no longer un-
c2tood in its originsl form, began to be changed from
Ining-stcol to ducking-stool. Instances of this
l);llishtnent being put in practice occur as late as the
rldille of the last century. In Brand's Popular An-
an extract is given from a London newspaper
k the year 1745, stating that last week a woman that
~.eePs the Qmen's Head alehouse at Kingston, in Surrey,
bboaaccordingly
ordered by the Court to be ducked for scolding, and
oI accordingly placed in the chair, and ducked in the
ofofN Thames, under Kingn.bridge, in the presence
or three thousand popoe.' The guilty individual
Pears to have been often carried to the place of punish-
IC" in procession by the mob. Our readers will re-
d, ember the description of such a procession in Hudi-
tr,ttC Which makes the subject of one of Hogarth's illus-
stions of that poem?,

ttIR WORLD OF LONDON.—A .NEW
SERIES.
Fisher Murray is already favourably known
the public by his paFers on London, which ap-
-1,14f1 from time to time in Blackwood. Mr.
array is a shrewd observer, and descants on men
d
.Bt. mariners in a bold, sarcastic, quaint style, whichtrol swlceedinglv amusing. Take the following on the
tr of Parliament, as an example :
Le:•'°roething awful is there in cuutemplating in imae
ton the power of Parliament.
"list corner of the mar or remote world is not, or
dejdlil°t been, at one time or another, influenced by its
.•,,erations' its orations, its enactments ?
itt rer e hat class or denomination of men does not
,mighty power extend ?
teti;f4t)thing is too large for the grasp of its long hand,
labairl too little. Sceptres it wrenches from the
Dyne of kings, and seizes picky ckets by the collar.
Se4•4Blies are by its might overthrown, and stalls of
aldgeoarian applewomen ; princes it binds in chains,
tti"etoitneipates the quadrupedal captives of the dog-
di sends firth havoc and desolation over
it„ lot lands, and at home forbiddeth little boys to play
aw Upon the pavement ; it changeth whatever it
eyko~and whenever it listeth changeth what it bath
t bringeth in an Act to amend an Act, and an Act
ItiZ°l3et (1 the amendment, and maketh an Act to explain
pwsing all understanding !
taketh the crown from the head of one man, and
th it upon the head of another ; and maketh every-
e3 "year allegiance to the same.
t,ehangeth its religion, enacting that everybody
tt believe that it bath changed, not from false to true,
toek true to false, but from true to true ; and
thatevery-
-64 '
doth not so believe, or pretend to believe, it
4'llll in their lives, liberties, and properties.
Lood;'• Piltteth at will its hand into the pocket of every-
,tahing therefrom gold and silver, nor disdaining
nisl'ejling everybody that this it doeth for his protec-
-141:17ng everybody submits, and bath no remedy. It
Akc'eth in its sleeve, and cajoleth, and coaxeth, and
Wroth with everybody ; it giveth anybody leave
upon everybody, and enacteth that anybody who
'titt "1, iiing upon everybody may live ho v they can ;
a`etnh
'anybody to be everybody, and everybody to
„tittislt,b,abbleth for six months in the year, more loqua-
'4otit,l,`",to fish-retailing fag of Billingsgate ; and al-
tDjtnif pretendeth to speak in a whisper, yet is indig-
'ts.talk be not retailed next morning over all the
Whi,4eginneth what it calleth its business when men
`4eiLness are asleep. It babbleth droningly through
tttl •"g hours of night, and the short hours of morning,
St e• th to bed when it bath levied enough taxes ; the
,Nt1„111 general then getteth up, to slave, and strive,
ight-tuggle to pay the taxes, and iaboureth all day, till
41)14 t' hen Parliament getteth up, goeth to the House,
tl-"" and levieth more and more taxes ; and this
e`o eternally, a machine of perpetual tax-motion I"
Murray, however, can be serious when occa-
i;equires and many of his reflections show
.that
sithroPtit deep thinker, a philosopher, and a philan-
, „e4;3‘• After describing the miserable abodes of
~`it;"salls in the metropolis, and expressing a wish,
N'aPital, now so superabundant, could be directed
fori,t,da the
classes,
of the dwellings of the
ng
he proceeds :-
14.141'llniess a man is either wealthy or a pauper, no
Astia4 -wen to give him a decent abode ; bumble in-
-11„190,,'1,111, ItY hide its head where it can ; as long as it is
ti.,"°g* order we take no heed of it ; but the minute
;'Nah'itooralized, or depauperized, we have the most
41e model-prisons to correct it, and the most beautie
41°4 lock it • '
jr WorkhouLes to up in.
}:t))ZerP°or working-man cannot afford to pay 201.
t it is impossible fur him to get a comfortable
toy h),Stid then, it will be in the outskirts, at a distance
can afford to cover an
op business, where builders
Gke ground with decent cottages ; but no man
No,' making his fortune by building in the heart of
.b.:4':deoellt cottages, one on the top of another."
.14.• is one of the best books that has been pub-
Lti London just such a book as Washing-
; icli‘t-n Lg
!night have produced on the subject, in
' e
q°l4 When he wrote " Salmagundi." All persons
ti
lberld to make the great metropolis their place
ei should not only read but study it.

t6s4B,'S FIRESIDE LIBRARY.— PETER
"00`,,k.31111L, THE S fIADOWLESS MAN.
11'4i4;14MISSO.
fir, 41,a reprint of the history of the renowned
Olt„,Wun sold his shadow to a certain mysterious
-all in Grey, and found the want of it ever after-
%Pip' 4' 'll.,
The present edition is illustrated with some
et,Wend-ents. From the Appendix by the pre-
'`°rextract the following account of the
tit ph, .
`itnees which induced Chamisso to write this
ttt,'Te tale
•„t cle,,,(lNin of Peter Schlemihl is to be ascribed in a
4,:leew're to circumstances that occurred in the life
V4111,,-riter. Daring the eventful year of 1813,
Movement bre out which ultimately freed
hiLfroin the )oke of her oppre,sor, and precipt-
lkikieouiov!nfal, Chamisso was in Berlin. E. very one
141 wield a sword hastened then to employit on
ttlh„ Germany and of the good cause. Charriesso had
4:ll,tte;„,t;laowerful arm, but a heart also of truly Ger
; and yet he was placed in a situation so
!'etielit's to isolate him among millions. As he was
he Parentage, the question was, not merely whe-
he should fight on behalf of Germany, but also whe-
liiihNl!'°uld fight against the people with whom he
!1,,t,' fleeted by the ties of blood and family relation-
`l,Zol,„"ee arose a struggle in his breast. I, and I,
forbidden at this juncture to wield a sword !
liti,tlt4,l, frequently his exclamation ; and instead of
Zdh s) mpathy on account of his peculiar situa-
c,i44l4 "„as frequently doomed to hear, in the capital of
11,4e),1,e head-quarters of the confederation against
14'its4ctiq Napo!e-en, expressions of hatred and scorn
el'tttl)l„againat his countrymen. He was himself too
Ype,'to mistake the cause of such expressions, which
IltZthit'etlY natural under the circumstances, but they
Irieta deeply afflicted him, when they reached his
this state of things his friends resolved to re-
Nltteirtdl, from_ such a scene of excitement, and to place
"A. ,:litereale quiet scenery of the country. An asylum
aim in the family of Count Itzenplitsch, where
kghtlinciently near t become acquainted with the
k/Ittit:ele*:elopment of the all-important crisis,. and yet
ft say unpleasant personal contact with it. Here,
Ile-',.„Yseat of Cunersdorf, scarcely a day's journey
V! te D'u'ria. wholly devoted to botany
.and other fa-
1/4,„tkihi Chamisso conceived the idea of Peter
,Atitt• and with rapid pen finished off the story.
,Ihttt-11,860 was often pestered with questions respect-
k.`"qttr.quen really meant by the story of Schlemihl..
,N,lB ly tl°lls amused as well as annoyed him. The
thatnT his intention in writing it was perhaps
klliqtr4ttl;4 8015recise a nature as to admit of his giving
lik;eeount of it. The story sprang into being of
It till ever
r,„ 3, work of genius, prompted by a sFlf-
Nt rh":,er, In a letter to the writer of this notice,
17t; Itita 0414 just commenced the story, he says, ' A
Pik 6. fast thing you would have expected from
y sho
le, It before your wife this evening, if you have
mil
she be desirous to know Schlemihl's fur-
aktv.`%alt-!'sres, and particularly who the man in the
eehj "-send me back the MS. immediately, that
b!)11,,k110%,149e the story ; but if you do not return it, I
"ttt titer tho meaning perfectly.' Is it possible for
hod submit himself to the scrutiny of the public
riatue
eo,) r
P14,,1v At
ye PART OF TILE WINDBOUND FLEET.—
c.,1411 an!terday the Thames, below London-bridge,
of ttslynated and bustling appearance, in consc-
re "e arrival of upwards of thirty sail of vessels
valll bl
I 'l4 `)Ps of a e cargoes, that had been detained in
the
01'4i th Channels, some of them nearly three
r 41.
ee late north-easterly winds. Among the
r;tl,4:ttes, ir.--frorn China, 3; Calcutta, 3; Ceylon, 1;
`•ktil 1. Demerara, 1; Antigua, 1; Alexandria, 1;
its,', 3', Novo, 1; Lisbon, 1; St. Michael's. 4;
41'tyte; i.lbraltar, 2 ; Marseilles, 1; Terceira, 2.
khoti 10:ther vessels from foreign ports having
_ tea . late to get docked yesterday. afternoon,
hthtth,Pre'stlalnt
;vanrious carts of the river above the Nero.
ti and a:t'i".ux of shipping will occasion considerable
'Ns e eoo,_ vlty at the Custom-house krid in the re-
, 1. Of where employment will be given to hun-
4c,temtlir"oe labour( rs.
kkLtitl6hlT4NCß EXTRAORDINARY.
ktc4 has — A butcher at
at •fro succeeded to a fortune, variously Esti-
Ntrt whim 8,000/. to 16,0001., by the death of his
,Pe4u was transported for uttering base coin about
4, - a
.I.
vi deaft u
fter wards reformed, married again,
"ble wealth.

There was a strange contrast be we; :n Mr. Morri-
son's siiee oh on Thursday right and tl:e resolutions
introduced by it. The speech was excellent, detail-
ti.st a., fuily as it is possible to detail, what are
tree infinite advaii:mges nroinheil to the country by
railroads, while the resolutions were such as mus'-, if
adopted, retard perlypa indefinitely the realisation of
these advantages. We have often reflected with plea-
sure upon the manifold benefits, whether for peace or
for war, which the country must derive from the
universal adoption of the railway system; but, we
confess, that tilr. Morrison's speech opened some flew
and gratifying views to us : we will mention two.
First, the extension of our fisheries, the large addi-

tion to the food and the employment of the-people,
as well as to our naval strength, to be anticipated
from a source from which no one ever anticipated
anything of the kind. The seas that surround
Great Britain, " that principal gold mine of the
Dutch," as iey were called nearly two centuries
ago by Sir Josiah Child—the Britih seas are, as
fisheries, perfectly inexhaustible ; yet hitherto the
produce of those seas—produce thAt, it cultivated,
would feed all Europe, has supplied little more than
an article of luxury to tl.e rich at home, and an article
of commerce with a few nations of the south. Fish
could not be carried inland with the celerity neces-
sary for its wholesome use, except at an expense that
placed is beyond the reach of the humbler and of
even the middle classes; hence the number of
fishermen and fishing-boats employed, except
during the herring fishery, has been comparatively
small ; another cause of enhancing the price of
this, certainly not the least wholesome article of
food, and preventing the habit of its use obtaining
among the people. By railroad, however, fish can
be carried in a state of perfect freshness from any ex-
tremity of the island to its very central point, and
we can at once see how rapidly will extend the
consumption of this savoury and eminently whole-
some kind of food, cooked more rapidly, more neatly,
and more economically than any other, when we
learn that in so populous a place as Manchester fish

of the best quality has been reduced to one-eighth of
is former price, reduced to a price equivalent in
household consumption to about three pence a pound
of the best butcher's meat. As the habit of consum-
ing fish grows, the numbers of fishermen and fishing-
boats will be multiplied, and in this way will be ex-
tended broadly the.basis of the naval power of Eng-
land, concurrently with a great increase to the com-
fort of her people. We can see no gap in the chain
of causes and effects ; but we repeat it—this is a
benefit from railroads for sseen by few, if by any.
The next advantage from railroads—scarcely, if at
all appreciated—is the circulation of labour. This
has proceeded to some extent ; but it is plain that the
operation of the benefit is not yet perfectly under-
stood, or we should not hear men saying, " How
can the labourer take advantage of railroads, when
it would cost him to travel 200 miles by the
cheapest mode nearly 17s. r The circulation of
labour, to be expected or to be desired, however,
does not contemplate journeys of 200 miles, or 100
miles, or more than 10 or 20 miles to the individual
labourer. Labour may circulate to any imaginable
extent, and yet the labourer not leave his paternal
cottage twenty miles behind him. Let us explain
what we man by an example :—There is a redun-
dant supply of labour, say at Dover ; a demand for
labour in London ; while the demand and supply are
equal in the intermediate places. This is the process
by which the balance between Dover and London
will be redressed. Without tearing men altogether
from old associations, and withdrawing them from the
protection and support of a good character, earned by
their former conduct, London will be supplied, let us
say, from Croydon; the deficiency thus created at Croy-
don supplied from Reigate, Reigate reimbursed from
Tunbridge, until Dover shall have found at Ashford
a vacancy created for its surplus labour. It is thus
that railroads will not only provide a means of circu.
lation of labour amply sufficient in all extreme cases,
but also render this practice of moderate emigration a
custom amol,g the people that will, in fact, permanently
adjust the supply to the demand. These two
advantages, from the adoption generally of rail-
road intercourse, the improvement of fisheries and the
circulation of labour, are, it is to be remembered,
mere additions to the other advantages with which
the public are familiar ' • but they are advantages
of inappreciable -value. We must 11'3W come to Mr.
Morrison's resolutions, which, so far from corre-
sponding with his acknowledgment of the ines-
timable importance of the promotion of railroads,
would impose severe restrictions upon the develop-
ment of this great element of social advancement,
by limiting the profits to be derived from • them
to their promoters. Mr. Morrison's suggestion,
however, rests upon the unfounded assumption, that
wherever there is no parallel competition there
must be monopoly and extortion. The assump-
tion is, as we have intimated, wholly groundless
in many cases ; eminently so in the case of
railroads. There will always be the competi-
tion of what we may call the moral vis inertic, in
cases where men are not under an absolute compul-
sion to move from place to pl ice, and it is impossible
to suppose that any considerable portion of the people
can he compelled absolutely to locomotion. If rail-
road travelling is made dear, men will not travel—
that must be the inevitable result. We have now
four or five journeys made for one that was made a
dozen years ago, merely because railroad travelling
is so much less expensive of money and of time,
which in England is money's worth, than coach tra-
velling; but let the railroad companies bring up the
twofold expense of travelling to the old standard, and
journeys will be reduced to a fifth of their present
number as the inevitable effect of the moral vis inertias
competition. This is the security that the public has
against excessive charges, and it is a security quite
sufficient.—Herald.

WILSON'S SCOTTISH ENTER-
TAINMENTS.

The announcement that Mr. Wilson would recom-
mence the favourite and popular entertainment of Prince
Charles's Adventures in the Highlands, comprising the
choicest of Jacobite songs and anecdotes, drew together,
last night, a crowded and fashionable audience at the
Music-hall. We have so often and repeatedly expressed
our admiration of this class of amusement, that it would
•be superfluous to repeat it here ; but we may remark
that Mr. Wilson, being the originator of these entertain-
ments, which hare now become so numerous, is entitled
to the highest praise of the public, which they fully tes-
tify by their numerous attendance to listen to his dis-
course of " song. and tale, not only last night, but on
every night of his appearance. All the songs of the
programme were deserve. dly applauded, and many were
lustily encored. Arming those were—" Wha would na
fecht for " Hey Johnnie Cope," and " Allis-
ter M‘Allister," all Is hich were sung with the
most thrilling enthusiasm by the " minstrel." After the
songs of the evening were given, Mr. Wilson announced
that he had the honour of being requested by Major
Burns, son of the "Bard," who, with a party, occupied
a box there, to sing " Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled,"
the composition of his immortal father ; also, in com-
pliance with another, to give the humourous song of
" Hame cam our gude man." The former was recited in
a spirited style, such as Wilson alone is capable of in-
fusing into a song of so noble and national a character ;
and the latter, by his happy mimicry of the dialogue
between the "gude man nod gude wife," elicited bursts
of laughter. At the conclusion of the entertainment,
Mr. Wilson received tokens of the enjoyment his au-
dience had received by the hearty applause with which
he was cheered on leaving the platform, which he well
deserved, for he is not only a favourite here, but also in
the provinces.

The Very Rey. the Dean of Chester and family
have been placed in mourning, by the demise, last week,
at Sudbury Rectory, of the reverend gentleman's
youngest sun, Lieutenant Thomas Anson, of the Royal
*Navy. The deceased gallant officer was brother to Mr.
George Edward Anson, treasurer to his Royal Highness
Prince Albert.

The oft-repeated rumour respecting an alteration
in the conveyance of mails to and from this island, and
the transfer of the service from the regular mail packets
to the Southampton steamers, has again been revived
during the past week. From the information we have
been enabled to collect, it would appear that there is
some foundation for the report this time, and that the
South-Western Company have received notice to be in
readinesS for the 15th of April.—Jersey Tines.
DINNER TO SIR HENRY POTTINGER.—At a spe-
cial meeting of the town council held today in their
hall, Wilson-street, it was unanimously resolved to in-
vite Sir Henry Pottinger to dine with the corporation
on the occasion of his visit to Glasgow, on the 16th of
April next ; also to prt sent Sir Henry with the freedom
of the city, in testimony of their respect for his eminent
public services.—Glasgow Saturday Post.
CONVICTS FOR VAN DIEMEN'S LAND AND BEE-
muDA.—About 220 convicts were brought from the Mil-
bank prison, in Westminster, to the Theresa, hired con-
vict transport ship, off Woolwich, for conveyance toNew
South Wales. About 200 convicts were brought dowh
last week, and put on board the Warrior, preparatory
to being transferred to the China, hired convict ship, fur
conveyance to Bermuda.
MILTON, NEXT GRAVESEND.—MT. William Crome,
of Erith Cottage, Old Kent-road, died on Saturday, the
15th instant, in the 80th year of his age. He was the
man that brought the first news to Lord Liverpool of
the glorious victory over the French army at Waterloo.
Mr. W. Crome at that time, was a resident at Ostend.

A SAGACIOUS DOG.— On Saturday afternoon a
large mastiff dog, kept by Mr. William Semmence, at
high Lanes, rushed into the dwelling-house, barking
and howling violently. The inmates, thinking this was
occasioned by some person passing by, took no notice
of it, till the faithful watchdog caught one of Mr. Sern-
mence's daughters by her clothes, and dragged her out-
side the house ; he then let her go, and began barking
and leaping up towards the roof, which the young wo-
man immediately dise.ivered to be on fire. It was soon
perceived that there was no possibility of saving the
house from destruction ; the inmates, therefore, con-
tented themselves +iih removing the furniture. The tire
soon extended to an adjoining house, occupied by
Nicholas Oliver, which was also reduced to ruins, the
inmates succeeding in saving their furniture. The pre-
mises were not inmed.—Falmouth Peace,