The Sun.
London, England, 1842-04-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY MORNING, APRIL 2, 1842.

ford, will cause no little consternation throughout
the grazing districts. Sheep, he says, are unsaleable,
even at reduced prices;, cattle that three mouths ago,
when the hopes of the breeders were still high, and
Sir ROBERT PEEL was their idol, were sold at 22/.,
now bring only 151. a head, a reduction of
more than thirty-five per cent., and all other ani••
mall used for food are liable of course to nearly
the same depreciation. Sir ROBERT PEEL, there-
fore, is placed in a. nice dilemma. If he yields
to the men that placed him in the Premier's
chair, and the Duke-of RICIiMOND said they would
make him yield, or turn him • out, he • will raise a
similar burst of indignation among the rest of the
community, who will charge him with the insidious
design of paving the way for the adoption of the
Income Tax Bill by a promised reduction oh articles
of consumption, which he never intended to carry into
effect. He must yield to one party or
the other, and we wish him joy of his choice.
his troubles are only commencing. He has deranged
all the interests of the country, without any chance.
of improving trade and commerce, and threatens to
load us with a tax which will more and more cripple
industry, and in the end excite dire hostility to his
Government.

We have before us copies of two diplomatic notes,
at this m3ment of considerable importance. The first
is the justificatory note of the- Greek Government,
addressed in December, 1841, to the Ambassadors
of England, France, and Russia, who had jointly
complained, on the part of the SULTAN, of cer-
tain unfriendly acts of the Greek Cabinet ; and the
second is the observations made by the Ottoman Envoy
at Athens upon that document, which was likewise
addressed to the N inisters of the Protecting Powers.
These documents have recently acquired a more than
ordinary degree of interest from the differences be-
tween Greece and the Porte becoming so great as to
lead to war preparations on both sides, which have
only been suspended at the particular instance of Sir
STRATFORD CANNING, and the special mission
,of
Prince MAVROCORDATO to Constantinople. The text of
these notes would fill four of our columns, but we can
very • well compress the entire substance of
them in less than half a column, with even the addi-
tion of here and there an observation of our own. In
diplomacy the' general rule appears to be that the
smaller the quantity of fruit the more abundant the
show of leaves.

The Greek Government states that, in manifestation
of its impartiality towards the Christian and Mussul-
man inhabitants of Greece, it, so early as 1833, pro-
mulgated a decree placing both upon an equal footing.
The observation of the Turkish Envoy upon this is
terse and forcible. He says that the practical value
of this decree is to be drawn from the fact, that not a
single Turk in Greece but resolved to emigrate, and
quit a country in which he was born.
The Greek Government next affirms that it granted
free permission to all Mussulmans to quit Greece
when they pleased. Upon this the Turkish Envoy
remarks, that hindrances were thrown in the Way of
Turks disposing of their property, by which they
were detained in spite of themselves; and that an ar-
ticle of the penal code threatened every inhabitant of
Greece with confiscation of property, who should quit
the country without the permission of the authorities.
The Greek Government states, that while it
afforded facilities to Turkish inhabitant: to emigrate,
the Porte refused to make a similar concession to
Greeks living in its territory. To this the Turkish
Envoy replies, that all persons born in the territories
ceded to Greece were allowed to return, and also all
Greeks who took part in the Greek insurrection, or
who were implicated in it at Constantinople, but that
the Porte could not allow its Mussulman subjects to
exhibit Greek passports, or to claim the exemption of
Greek subjects, because King OTHO had chosen to
grant them the rights of Greek citizenship. He ac-
cuses the Greek Government of adopting a system of
kidnapping Ottoman subjects, by means of letters of
naturalization, with which they returned to Turkey
only, to evade the laws of the empire.
The Greek Government declares that, with a view
to hasten the sale of Mussulman property, it ap-
pointed a Commission for that purpose, and ordered
that in all litigated cases the causes in which Mus-
sulmans were interested, should be heard first. The
°Turkish Envoy objects that the Commission, which
was to have been a mixed one, was composed wholly
of Greeks, and he cites instances in which Turks
were subjected to acts of great oppression.
The Greek Government sets forth that, after all its
sacrifices to the Porte the latter refuses to enter into
a treaty of commerce beneficial to both countries.
The Turkish Envoy answers that the Porte did enter into
such a treaty, that the Hellenic Government refused
to ratify it, and that the negotiations were not re-
newed, solely because Greece conspired against the
Porte in Candia, Thessaly, and Macedonia, thereby
proving that it was not a trade with Turkey, but
the destruction of the empire which she sought.
The remainder of these notes is taken up with
claims to property in Thebes, Zuitun, and other dis-
tricts, by the Greek Goveinment, on the part of Greek
subjects, which are all contested by the Turkish
Envoy. Taken altogether, they represent a state of
things by no means of a peaceful charac-
ter. The preservation of peace between nations
with so many incentives to war is a most
ticklish business. The Porte accuses Greece of
downright swindling, robbery, treachery, and short
of open war, of every crime which a Government can
commit against a neighbouring State. In the defence
of the Greek Cabinet there is nothing decided and
conclusive. The most serious charges it passes over
unnoticed. It does not deny the fact, and challenges
the proof of an interference in favour of the oppressed
Macedonians and Candiotes. Neither does it boldly
confess and defend such interference. The truth
is, that it cannot deny most of the charges
brought against it. But this is not the fault of the
nation. The KING is the person principally to blame,
for his miserable ambition soars no higher than to
involve Greece in a war with the Sublime Porte.

Many difficulties, which would otherwise prove
insurmountable, will, however, be overcome by
the presence of _ Prince MA.VROCORDATO and
Sir STRATFORD CANNING at the Porte. Their
long and friendly intimacy, and their entire know-
ledge of the imbecile character of the KING, will
prompt an unity of Councils which will have the
greatest weight with the Porte. Still great caution
will be necessary to prevent an outburst. A spark
would kindle into a devouring flame, the old hatred
of two of the most hostile races in the world.

COWES, ISLE OF WIGHT.
(FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.)
SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

Tho Dutch Koff Bermsrdina, Houtzaayer, from Am-
sterdam, for Constantinople, laden with a general cargo,
put in here on the 26th, with mast sprung, loss of sails,
and leaky, and is come into the harbour to repair ; the
cargo has been landed.
The English brig Baltic, of London, which sunk off
Poole souse little time back, was brought into this harbour
on the 27th, nearly full of water, having been raised by
means of spar decks and other assistance, under the
superintendence of Messrs. Thomas and John White,
the eminent shipbuilders at this port. We are informed
that they, with their foremen and shipwrights, had a
very narrow escape of their lives, when being off the
Chalk Rocks were overtaken by a heavy gale from N.W.
on Saturday evening, while proceeding in the brig to
this port, the steamer's tow-ropes broke, and the brig
and lives on board were left for some time to the mercy
of the wind and seas. which latter made a clean breach'
over the vessel, and placed her in the greatest danger of
foundering altogether ; their only boat was stove in.
MARCH 31.—As one of the boats of the coast-guard
was going its rounds this morning about one o'clock, the
deep groans of some one in great agony alarmed the
men, and they rowed to the
.quay Irons whence they
prOceeded. One of the crew landed, and folloWing the
sound, found a man lying on his face ; he alarmed the
inmates of the house, and on obtaining a light it proved
to be Mr. Joseph Richardson, a retired carpenter and
builder, who was in his 81st year, and resided with his
son. He had been for a long time in a very weak state
of mind, and precautions had been taken to prevent his
injuring himself, the windows and doors being nightly
thstened ; it appears he had succeeded in raising the sash
about 14 inches, and forcing himself through, he fell a
distance of about 30 feet, and fractured his skull so
dreadfully that he died before medical aid could be
called in.

TilE OR.iNGE.—In the 18th year of King Edward
the First, 1290, a large Spanish ship came to Ports-
mouth, out of the cargo of which the Queen bought one
frail of Seville figs, one frail of raisins, one bale of dates,
and two hundred and thirty pomegranates, fifteen citrons,
and seven oranges. The last item is important, as Le
Grand d'Aussy could not trace the orange in France
.to
an earlier date than 1333 ; but here we find it in Eng-
land in 1290, and it is probable that this was not its first
appearance. At all events it appears certain that Europe
is indebted to the Moorish conquerors of Spain for the
introduction of the orange, and not to the Portuguese,
who are said to have brought it front China.—Turner's
Manners of England.

%".'
et 11 W2l 341:1 ' t 4
na tt C

AND
ipti) Tit opitticn
‘,4V, tr %..•

" Who runs may read."

7011.LrG7.7.

The French anti Spanish mails have not arrived this
morning.
A letter from the Hague, of the 27th ult., states that
by a Royal resolution of the 24th instant, the Minister
of Finance is authorised, conformably to the law of the
27th of December, 1840, to capital sum of seven mil-
lions of florins, bearing interest at the rate of five, per
cent., to be inscribed in his name in the second great
book of the Active National Debt, with interest from
die Ist of April, 1842. The • Minister of Finance is
further authorised to tranfer this capital to other names.
These seven millions are the still disposable portion of
the twelve millions florins, after deducting the f►ve mil-
lions, which, by a resolution of the 14th of February,
were inscribed for the purpose of the iron railway.
His Majesty the King of Holland has authorized the
War Department to call out the Militia-men of the levy
of 1841, who are in the reserve of the severalcorps of the
army, to be clothed and exercised for three months, say
from the 25th of May to 25th of August this year.
The police of Brussels was on Wednesday set in
Lion, by news received from Paris, that the cashier of a
mercantile house had absconded with a sum of about
300,000 francs.

Letters from the frontiers of Poland, of the 13th of
March, express a belief that no insurrection has taken
place at St. Petersburg.

PUBLIC OPINION.
The Morning Advertiser repeats the advice which it
gave on Thursday to the people respecting the income tax :
—" The machinery of an income tax once fairly in the
hands of any Government-, and who can foresee the ex-
tent of its operations ? The danger is immiaent, and
the time pressing. Let every constituency, meet without
a moment's delay; and, as petitions cannot be received,
requisitions should be immediately forwarded to your
representatives, calling upon them to exhaust every con-
stitutional means which the forms of the House place
within their power, to defeat a measure which would
make you the taxed accomplices in the perpetuation of
the odious and destructive monopoly of bread—a mono-
poly which denies the bountieS•43f Providence to an in-
dustrious but suffering people."
The Chronicle thus compares Mr. Pitt's with Sir
Robert Peel's income tax :—" That income tax was to
support the war ; this income tax is to support the Corn-
laws. That was for protection against fitreign invasion ;
this, for protection against foreign grain. That was to
subdue the French ; this is to starve the poor. Sir
Robert Peel has surmounted Mr. Pitt's difficulty ; he is,
with greater facility allowed to approach the riches of
the rich ;' for he comes to increase them much More by
one impost than he takes away by the other. It it is sad
cant, this talc of touching the rich by Sir Robert Peel's
income tax. Both directly and indirectly, in itself and
in its connexion with the Corn-laws, it bears hard beyond
all proportion, upon the middle and industrious classes,
and through them upon the poor."
We take the following from the Times :—" We have
perused lately a sensible pamphlet by the Rev. John
Sinclair, on the efforts now making by the Church to
extend its means of education, which suggests some re•
marks on that subject. Without at all participating in
those exaggerated hopes which some people entertain of
the amelioratiog effect of mere reading 'and writing and
arithmetic on the habits of the people, we yet look upon
the instruction of the poor, conducted by right hands
and on right principles, as the most powerful instrument
of improvement which is within our reach. Instrument,
we say—nut cause ; for the tritest advanalges of instruc-
tion are to be found, not in itself, but in its usual and
natural accompaniments—not in the hnowledge which is
its immediate object, so much as in the sentiments and
habits which may have been given, with that knowledge
—not in the mere fact that a poor man can read, can
write, can sing, can-argue, so much as in the steadiness
and sobriety, forethought, self-command, and obedience,
by which such attainments, be they great or small, have
probably been gained."
The Post says :—" In looking over the Hand-loom
Weavers' Report, it is difficult to repress a sensation of
disgust, as one marks the style in which the concoctors
of that Report deal out the slang of that wretched
system of opinions which greedy commercialists are
pleased to style economical philosophy.' The Com-
missioners to whom we have referred are, undoubtedly,
shrewd, clever inen in their way ; but their guiding
principles are most false, and their views are, by conse-
quence, most narrow, most degrading, most mischievous."
The Morning Herald observe!, in an article on the law
of debtor and creditor:—" The London tradesman will
find some difficulty in persuading Sir Robert Peel, we
suspect, that if he will oblige the tradesmen of the
country by giving them some more summary remedy
than they, now possess against their creditors, the Right
Hon. Baronet will find them ready to pay double taxes
and pay double price for their bread. The tradesmen of
this country, in general, and especially of the metropalis,
are without doubt a highly respectable, very numerous,
and deservedly influential body in the community. But
we marvel. at the facility with which. this member of
that important body assumes everything against the
fraudulent animus of the debtor, as much as we do at his
other assumption, that if they were only released from
this liability to be cheated, it would be all well with this
great country throughout all its relations."

MONEY and COMMERCIAL NEWS.
Crry, FRIDAY EVENING.

Consols were extremely firm during the whole of the
day, and although s;_wee.il sales were made, prices ad-
vanced
.to, and closed at, 90 to 904- for Money, and 90j4,
to 901-- fur the Account: Exchequer Bills 31 to 33 prem.
The rise in' the Spanish Three per Cent. Stock has
continued and reached 25, but the quotation has since
declined to 241- 24 The -nominal value of the Five
per Cent. Active Stock not having been materially af-
fected by theli operations, ,it is a necessary conclusion,that the-present is one of the wild speculations which are
sometimes entered into by the dealers in Foreign Bonds,
with the hope of inducing the unwary to follow them,
and take the stock oft their hands at prices still
higher. That thiA' rise has no legitimate foun-
dation is evident > when their price is considered
—namely, 24. A slight improvement took place
also in the rates of most other Foreign. Bonds —Brazilian
being 664 671 ex div. ; l)ntch Td'o-an&a-Half 'per
Cents., 52 rt, the Five per Cents.. 100 ex div. ;
Por-
tuguese Five per Cent., 36 4-, the Three per Cents., 21 ;If ;
Colombian, 37 1-33; and Mexican, 40e 1- ex dir.
A fair amount of business was transacted in Railway
Shares, London and Birmingham beinglB4:l- 86 ; Great
Western, 27 23, and the Half Shares, 14 1 prem. :lir-
minghtun and Gloucester, 56 58 ; South Western, 59 60 ;
Gosport, 59 60 ; North Midland, 69 70, the New Shares,
34 351 ; and Brighton, which slightly improved, 36+ 4
per share. South Eastcrn and Dover, 231 23 ; and
Eastern Counties, 14 131 discount.
Some variation occured in the quotations of the Fo-
reign Exchanges. Amsterdam improved to 12 5, Rot-
terdam to 12 51, Hatnburgh to 13 121, 13 13, Frankfort
1511, Lisbon to 521- 521, Madrid 361. Antwerp receded
to 12..4 Paris 25E 80e. 25f. 85e., do. Short 25f. 55c. 25f.
60c., and Leghorn 30 021 30 05. Vienna remained at
9 52 9 53; and Trieste at 9 534, 9 54.

It must be noticed that the Spaniards are turning their
attention to the development to the minerals of that
country. During the month of February permission
to work no less than eleven new mines was applied for,
two of which were of Quicksilver. This-metal has long
formed the source of a considerable portion of the revenue
of the kingdom, being a Government monopoly ; and it
is to be regretted that an article so necessary in the
various branches of industry, should be placed as it is at
present. The effect of the contract now in force has been
to raise the price upwards of 150 per cent. upon what it
was before it was granted, and the result is, that far less
has been consumed both in this and in other countries.
It is to be expected that at its termination some arrange-
ment more advantageous to us will be entered into.

(From The Sun of Last Night.)
Several purchases in Consols have given great firm-
ness to the rn,.ricets, and the prices arc 893 90 for Mo-
ney, and 903 for the present Account ; Exchequer Bills
have experienced a rise since the morning, and are 30 to
33 premium. The New Three-and-a-half per Cents.
993 to 991 ; and India Bonds, 9 to 11 premium.
The prices of Railway Shares are better ; the transac-
tionsi however, are small, having been confined to Mid-
land Counties, 79} ; South Western, 593 591 ; New
Thirds London and Birmingham, 29 to 291; New Great
Western, 641; and Brighton, 361.
Some doubts even now are expressed as to the cer-
tainty of the payment of the dividend on the Three per
cent. Spanish Stock ; and there appears but little
hesitation in expressing an opinion that the sales
which have been made of these securities have not
been wholly on account of the holders of the coupons.
The extraordinary rise in the quotations, and the
eagerness to sell the scrip, are in themselves quite
sufficient to warrant suspicion, especially when
coupled with an uncertainty as to where the money
may be, which is necessary to be forthcoming
on the 11th inst. The most guarded silence is observed.
on the subject, and all that can be learned is that some
billy are in the possession of an eminent and highly re-
spectable capitalist who refuses to give any guarantee,
as do also the announced agents of the commissioners.
This stock opened yesterday at 20, left off at 221., and were
sold to-clay at 221, 241, 24, and 25 successively, which
is the present quotation. The Old Bonds are nominally.
243 244. Mexican, 403 ; Columbian, 263 27; Por-
tuguese, 35 351; and Brazilian, 661 67.
The proceedings under the bankruptcy of Messrs.
Wigney, at Brighton, are creating some interest in the
City. It is stated that legislative enactments are ab-
solutely necessary to prevent a recurrence of similar
transactions, affecting commercial afiliirs so greatly as
this and others of a like nature have done.
These numerous failures of late among private banks
had caused public attention to be directed towards Joint-
stock Banks, and if the former find the number of their
accounts diminishing, it is to this cause alone that it
must be attributed. The public do not understand the
possibility of a blinker who carries on legitimate
business only, and it is now thought that when such
occurrences take place, the parties should be made amen-
able to hiw far more strictly than an ordinary trader.
The present instance it is urged affords a fair op-
portunity for the Legislature to interfere.
Papers to the Ist February have been received front
the Cape of Good Hope. The want of labourers is still
complained of; and two vessels had been dispatched to
fetch a portion of the captured negroa from St. Helena.
The colonists were anxious that Government should make
Table Bay the rendezvous fur such unfortunate individuals,
in preference to the former island. Trade, it would ap-
pear, had not revived, although sanguine hopes were
entertained that an improvement would shortly take
place, but, according to the accounts which have from
time to time been sent home, some time must elapse
before such expectations are likely to be realised.
The burden of the merchant vessels which arrived
at the various settlements was 0,271 tons more
in 1841 than in 1840 ; of which English ships had
almost the whole, the increase on these being 6.877 tons;
and the remainder divided between the
.I)utch, "the
French, mid the Americans. The whalers had decreased
2,037 tons, of which our own vessels bore but 574 tons,
the Americans 1,251, and the French 367 tons.
The Dee steamer arrived at St. Thomas's on the 17th
February, and upon the arrival of the Actaeon, from
Turk's Island, with the mails from the Northward and
Westward, would proceed with them to La Guayra,
Porto Cabello, Curacoa, Trinidad, and Grenada ; then
return and go to the United States and Halifax. The
Actaeon had not reached St. 'Thomas's on the 19th.
LIVERPOOL COTTON. MA R KET MARCH 31.—N0
improvement has taken place, and business remained ex-
ceedingly dull, without any further alteration in prices.
The sales were 300 Surats, 3:} to 4Ft ; 80 Maranhams,
51 to 5,1 ; 20 Egyptian , 73; 50 Bahia, 63 to 61; and
3,550 American, at 41 to 61.
LivERPOOL SHARE SIAItKET, MARCH 31.—Edinburgh
and Glasgow were in request at improved prices. South
Western were also in demand, and die market generally
was tolerably steady. The sales were—Eastern Coun-
ties, 83 ; New, 4 1-3 ; Edinburgh and Glasgow, 451 ;
Great Western, Halves, 64 ; Ditto, Fifths, 103 ; Liver-
pool and Manchester, Quarters, 411 ; London and Bir-
mingham, paid up 32/. Shares, 581 ; London and South
Western, 603 ; Manchester, Bolton, and Bury, 533 ;
Manchester and Birmingham, 27 ; Manchester mid'
Leeds, Quarters, 41.55. 6d.; Midland Counties, 70; North
Midland, Italics, 341, and York and North Midland,
Halves, 52.
MANcuEsTER STOCK EXCHANGE, MARCH 31.—The
market continues bare of stock, with a good inquiry for
Manchester and Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester,
Edinburgh and Glasgow, and Bristol and Exeter. The
sales are, Manchester and Leeds Halves, 341 ; ditto
Quarters, 43 ; Bank of Manchester, 43. •
CLOSING PRICES
BRITISH FUNDS. •
Balk Stock — India Stock. --

3 per Cent Red Ditto Bonds ll pm
E per Cent Cons 9oh Ditto Old Annuities ...
3} per Cent Red..
New 31, per Cent
New 5 per Cent.
Long Annuities ;,oexpire I Ditto Small 33 pm
Jan. 1860.......... Bank Stock for Open...
Oct 1950. .., ..... India Stock for Acct....
Jan. 1860. ... .... , Consols for Ara 9oi
FOREIGN FUNDS.
Austrian, 5 p..& cent.... 113 .Portuguese, 5 per cent.
Belgian, 5 pei rent — 'Ditto, New Ditto —
Brazilian Bonds. ... ...... 66i Prussian, 5 per cent.
Buenos Ayres 6 per cult Russian, 5 per cent —
Chilian, 6 per vent..... .Ditto, Metallic ...... .
Colombian, 6 per cent.. ISpanish, 5 per cent. . 241
Ditto, 1824—,
....... , .... 27 Ditto, Deferred.... . _....
Danish, 3 per cent BOl French, 5 per cent. —f. —e.
Greek, 1825, 5 per cent — Exchange -..e.
Mexican, 5 per cent.... 40i IFrench, 3 pex cent —'. —c
Ditto, 6 per cent, 163.7 'Dutch, 2} per cent. .
Peruvian, 1825, fi per et. ;Ditto, 5 per cent... .
SHARES.
Bristol :-nd Exeter (70 paid) ..

1001

. .
Great Western Railway (65 paid) 92
• Ditto New Shares (50 paid) ... 64
London and Brighton (50 paid)
London and Blackwall Railway (25 paid)...
Ditto New Shares ( paid) ........
Landon and Birmingham (90) ......
Ditto New Shares ( 2 paid) 29
London and South Western

Manehestor and Birmingham (40 paid) ..... 24
Midland Counties Railway (100 paid)
North Midland Railway (100)
COURSE OF EXCHANGE—(YES'T'ERDAY.)
Amstellarn CF. 12 7i14-IGibraltar
Ditto, at sig-!tt
Rotterdam .........9 U l2 8 Genoa . ... 25 90
Antwerp
Hamburgh M.B. 13 15 Venice 47
Altona
Paris, 3 days' sight ... 25 70 Palermo, per oz 120
Ditto, 3 months 25 05 Lisbon
Marseilles
Bout &aux 25 95 Rio Janeiro 27
Frankfort on Maine... 152 Bahia
Petersburgh, 3Us ... 364 Buenos Ayres
Berlin--

Vienna, effee. ii. 3 Al. 955 Philadelphia
Trieste, ditto
Madrid ... 36 Foreign Gold, bars £3 17 9
Cadiz
Bilbao ... 35i New Doubloons 0 0 0
Barcelona - New Dollars 0 0 0
Seville ... 35& Silver in Bars 0 0 0

MADAME IY.A.RBLAY'S DIARY AND LETTERS.—
This fascinating work has advanced in interest and popu-
larity in each succeeding portion that has been published,
each volume presenting the reader with a new series of
public characters, and a new condition of society and
manners. In the third and forthcoming volume, which
will appear in a few dayS, the charming and accomplished
writer arrive s at that perimi of her varied and brilliant
career, which paced her in immediat-k attendance on the
person o[ Queen Charlotte, and bt ought her into an intimate
pet somd acquaintance with every individual of the
Royal Family, every one of Munn, from the King and
Queen themsAves on the throne and in the closet, to the
infant Princess AMelia in her nursery robes, are, as we
understand, placed before us precisely, " in their habits
as they lived." The dates of this third volume—viz.,
1786 and 1787, give us the period of that remarkable
event in the life of George 111., his attempted assas!,ina-
Lion by Margaret. Nichol Son, the minutest details of
A hich are, we understand, given from the very lips' of the-
King himself, as related by him to the Queen on the
night of the day when the event occurred.

YOUNG GIRLS EMPLOYED IN
COAL-MINES INSTEAD OF BEASTS !
COPY Or A PETITION' PRESENTED LATELY TO PA 'RUA-

MENT BY MR. RitoTllEirrox.
(Appendix to Se'ventli Report, No. 194.)
THE HUMBLE PETITION OF EDWARD WILLIAM BINNEir,

OF MANCHESTER, IN THE COUNTV OF LANCASTER,

G ENTLEMAN,

Showeth,--That your petitioner, in the course of his
geological pursuits, has had occasion to visit many of
the coal mines of Lancashire, where lie has often been
astonished to find great numbers 4ve lemobs employed, of
ages varying from eight years and upwards. Their occu-
pation is chiefly in pushing and drawing tubs or small
waggons full of coal' from the places where it is hewn
down to the waggon ways. The coals are- generally
drawn along the waggon ways to the pit mouth by
ponies ; but down the bays or boards (the passages run-
ning on the rise and dip of the seam) which are often at
considerable inclinations; sometimes as much as two
feet in five, and very low, these aniniuls cannot be em-
ployed, so women are made use qt in their stead. At first
view it is difficult to distinguish the sexes employed in a
mine, since both, when dressed, are clothed in rough
miners' frocks and trousers, and it was only by the ex-
posure of the upper parts of their persons and their
voices that your petitioner first noticed the females.
blacked and dressed as they were.

That the men in deep mines, where the atmosphere is;
very hot, generally work without any other article of
dress upon them than a slight nether garment.
That the employment of the female:;, as before stated,
is in conveying the coals from the 'Workings down to
the waggon ways ; each of them is provided with a
stout belt fastened round the lower part of her waist, to
the front of this is attached a strong chain, which fas-
tens by a hook to the waggon or tub. When drawing
the empty tubs or waggons up the inclined plane the
chain passes between the legs of the woman, who
creeping on her legs and arms drags them up very steep
inclinations, the whole length of the bays or boards. On
pushing the laden waggons down the waggon way, the
chain is used in steadying them.
That your petitioner will now give a simple nar-
rative of a visit made by himself to a mine in the county
of Lancaster, in the latter part of the month of last
September, which he believes will afford the Members
of your Honourable House some idea of an establish-
ment where females are employed. Your petitioner
was dressed as a miner, and went down into the pit in
such a manner as to see the workings such as they are
generally carried on, and without the colliers or their
employers being aware of his character as a visitor.
The shaft was 2.00 yards deep. Immediately after de-
scending it, your-petitioner traversed the waggon way
for abcut 500 or 600 yards, to the boards or bays down
which the coals were being carried in tubs. About 30
boys and girls were employed. The former being of
ages from eight to fourteen years of age.
The boys were mostly engaged in driving the waggons.
The girls were of ages varying from ten 3-ears and up-
wards, and were employed in drawing, by means of a
chain attached to the tub, and passing betwixt their legs.
and fastened to the front part of a belt around their
waists, the tubs up the bay, which there inclined one
yard in three ; in dragging they appeared to go nearly
on all fours, but their hands did not actually rest on
the floor of the mines, but on the sides, a few inches
above the floor.

That your petitioner, after proceeding up the incline,
went into a wide bay, where there were three persons,
namely, an old man of about 50 years of age, and two
young men. The coal was in this part being entirely
worked out.

This bay was from eight to ten yards long, and six
yards wide, and nu props or punches were used ; the
seam of coal was near five feet in thickness. The old
man had just left off work, and the others were engaged
in holding the coal.
Your petitioner entered into conversation with the
elder man, who was an intelligent person for his class,
and remarked that the bay was very wide to be worked
without props or punches being used.

He replied, that it was perfeetly safe,-as the roof was
good, and falls in the mine were not common.
While engaged in this conversation, a child, not four
years of age. crept out of a hole. The old man said
that he was his son, and that he would not he fit fix•
work for a year. On your petitioner asking the father
why he brought such an infant down into the pit, he re-
plied that his wife and daughters all worked in the mine,
and there was nobody at home to take care of the child,
so he brought him there to be out of harm's way.
At this period, some small pieces fell from the roof,
which caused your petitioner again to remark that it
was either not very safe, or there was a considerable
quantity of fire-damp escaping through it. The man
stated that he considered the roof good, and after a few
more observations, your petitioner went down the incline
about fifty yards to the waggon way. Here he was en-
gaged in observing the women and girls pushing the tubs
full of coal down, and drugging the empty ones up the
inclines.

The disgusting nature, of the employment of these
_poor creatures was bud enough in itself, but to hear the
awful swearing, obscene conversation, and filthy songs,
would lead any person to believe that he was in a land of
savages, rather than in civilised England.
Your petitioner had been in this place for about five
minutes, when a dull Leavy sound was heard, the mine
shook, and some of the lights Were blown out.
In a moment all was still as death. This silence was
not of more than a few seconds' duration, when several
heavy sounds followed. A cry now arose that a bay hail
fallen in, and a scene followed which defies description.
The men prayed, the women • howled and screamed,
and .soam ran one way and some another, making towards
the shaft. After a short lapse_of time,. some of the men
proceeded to examine tho bay which had fallen in, and
found it was that which your petitioner had left but a few
minutes before. The two young mon, being near the
side of it, hail escaped; but the poor old man and his
child, before alluded to, had. been•crushed' to death, and
buried under some hundred tons of the roof.

That your petitioner is convinced that the employment
of females in coal mines is to be attributed to the early
age at which children are • introd'uced 'to such j,laces by
their parents.: The parents, having spent most of their
lives in mines, and being thorougly accustomed to
the scenes they witness, see no impropriety in them. The
female children, brought down in early infitncy, have no
correct ideas of the dangers of a mine, the scenes of vice and
wickedness they witness, or the disgusting and laborious
nature of their employment.
If female children Were never allowed to enter a mine
under 13 years of age your petitioner considers that no
inducements could scarce prevail on them to even go
down into a pit, much less persuade them to mix with the
company and follow the laborious and unseemly employ-
ment which they are there subjected to.
That your petitioner has visited many of the collieries
in Lancashire and Cheshire, and be finds the moral and
intellectual condition of the working colliers in a
much worse state where females are employed in mines than
in those parts where the proprietors will not allow them
to work in their pits. Amidst the scenes before described
are children, brought at the tender ayes of eight and ten
yar's% There they pass their days until they become wives
and mothers. Can such employments as they are engaged
in, and such scenes as they continually witness, fit
them to become good wives and mothers, and make
the poor Man's home comfortable ? Colliers are
often accused of being an ignorant and disorderly
body
s
of men, without any inquiry' being made
a
the cause of their ignorance and disorderly con-
duct. • What 'can any person expect from a poor boy,
sent down into-a deep mine at six dears of age, into the
scenes which your petitioner has before described ?
Amidst them he passes his days, until he marries a girl
sent down into the mine at an early age like himself ;
probably both husband and wife continue their employ-
ment in coal-mines—it is what they have been brought.
up to, and by which they-are therefore best enabled to
obtain their livelihood. On 'coming out of the mine,
after a hard day's work, the poor wife has little time and
strength, even if she had the knowledge, to clean the
house and prepare •those, necessary refreshments which
man requires. The - husband too fre-
a hard-working
quently makes ne). allowance • for his wife's condition,
but abuses her, neglects his home, and runs to the ale-
house, and there spends the greater part of their joint
earnings.
That your petitioner is convinced that it is most de-
sirable that many of the children from six to ten years
of age now employedin mines should be sent to school
instead of passing their time amidst the dangers and
darkness of a mme, and witnessing the scenes before
described ; but at the same - time he does not consider
that there can be any great permanent improvement in
the morals and condition of the working colliers so long
as women are employed in mines.

Your petitioner, therefore, prays that your Honour-
able House will be pleased to adopt such measures for
preventing the employment of females in coal mines as
to your Honourable House shall seem meet.
And your petitioner will ever pray, &e.
EDW. WM. BINNEY.
February 26, 1842.