Star.
London, England, 1828-10-15 00:00:00

COAL MICTIIKS.

The important business which occupied the Bench
during the greater part of the day was a Report from
the Committee under the Act of last Session of Parlia-
ment for regulating the Metage of Coals in the county
of Surrey. The Report, which was a voluminous do-
cument, stated that, previous to the passing of the Acr
of last Session, an organised system of fraud, to which
some coal merchants and the coal meters were panic.,
existed in the county to a very great extent. The sub.
coal meters appointed under that Act had scarcely
entered on their office, when they were assailed by
coal merchants and persons in their employment, by
offers of bribes to betray their trust and ♦Mate
their duty. The sub-meters, in consequence. gave
information to their principals of the system of fraud
that they found was established, and the offers that
were made to them to become parties to it. The meters
communicated this information to the Committee, and,
after full consideration, they determined to advise the
sub•meters to take the usual bribes from the coal mer-
chants, and pay them Into the Coal-meters Office, giving
at the same time an account of the persons from whom
they received the bribes, and the nature of the service
that was required. The sub-meters had acted on these
instructiens, and annexed to the Report was all the in-
formation they had given; from which it appeared that
the system of fraud was carried on to an extent most
injurious to the public. The coal merchants were in
the habit of giving the sub-meter, who attended each
wharf, a weekly payment, varying in amount from two
to ten shillings, besides which they gave a bribe on each
delivery of coals, varying from, two shillings and six-
pence, which was what was usually paid 'on a delivery
of five chaldrons, to 12s. 6d. which, it had been
stated, was paid on a delivery of twenty-five chat-',
drons. There were several slang phrases, in use among
the coal merchants, and persons ru their employment,
by which they expressed the frauds they practised.-
1" Working the oracle," was one of those phrases,l

which meant removing coals that had beets mutated td
the purchaser back again to the merchant's store:
"Skimming a reonf' meant raking coals out of a barge
after they had been measured to the purchaser. Each
barge is divided into " rooms " containing five chal-
drons each, and Ent- allowing the rooms to be skimmed,
the established bribe to the sub-meter was two shillings
and sixpence a room, and in the operation about five
sacks were taken from each room. It was .also a
general practice with coal merchants and their clerks
to measure and surd coals from the wharf before
the meter came in the. morning, and after he was
gone in the evening, and to sign the meter's nama
to a certificate for the quantity so sent out. One
of the clerks, on being asked whether he had signed
a meter's name to a ticket which was produced to
I,im? replied, " yes, to he sure, I have signed hundreds
in the same way." One coal merchant measured
chaldrons from a ship into a barge, to be delivered
to a customer, to whom they were delivered out as 91
chaldrins ; when the fraud was discovered, the mer-
chant's wharf•cletk accounted for the increase by say-
ing, the barge had been under a night's rain, which
swelled the coals, and made them measure so much
more—(A laugh). On one occasion, when a coal-meter
interfered to have a waggon load of coals properly
filled, the wharf clerk observed, that he had no objec-
tion, as they had a measurenient at the house they were
going to before; but it they were going to a Nobleman
or man of fortune, he should have no objection to give
short measure, as they could afford to pay for ir. On
many occasions coals of inferior quality were marked
Walls'-end," for conniving at wnich the bribe to the
meter was 2s. 6d. or 3s. according to the quantity. The
Report concluded by stating, that the s)st.tm of fraud
was so highly injurious to the public, as to call for a
speedy and efficient remedy.
After the Report was read, a letter was read from a
coal meter, received alter the Report was drawn up,
stating that having discovered a considerable defi-
ciency in a quantity of 15 chaldrons of coals which a
merchant was sending out, and insisting that the defi-
ciency should be made good, the merchant offered him
a bribe, at the same time saying—" Come, don't maks
a bother about it; the coals will never be missed where
they are going, as my customers ate all respectable
people"—(A laugh).
The Report and a number of the documents having
been read,

Mr. Damao); said, that the Court having heard the
very extraordinary statement of facts contained in the
Report. he thought it was wholly unnecessary to oc-
cupy their time with comment. One observation he
could not help making was, that the enormous frauds
that were now proved to have existed in the coal vat,*
fully justified his honourable colleague and himself in
bringing in tie Bill of last Session for the regulation of
the trade, although it had received so much opposi-
lion in both Houses of Parliament. During its pro.
gress they were told it was a job got up for the pur-
pose of giving patronage to Magistrates. The Report
was the best answer to that charge, AS it clearly proved
that it was in the highest degree necessary for the pre-
tection of the public. He moved that the Report be
received and agreed tl ; and that it be referred back to
the Commits e to report what measures should be
adopted for the more effectual remedy of the limb
proved by the Report to exist, and that the Report be
printed. Perhaps it would be advisable to prosecute
the coal merchants against whom frauds could be
proved, but that was a proceeding which he thought no
Magistrate would advise on his single re.
sponsibility.
Mr. DRUMMOND said the Court should recollect that
they wire corning in collision with a very powerful
body, aril if the c:,arges made against the coal met.
chants could not be fully proved, they might be very
ready to take advantage of any alt of indiscretion on
the part of Magistrates.
Mr. BRISCOE said he, for one, could never consent to
the publication of a Report seriously inculpating . a
number of individuals on ex parte evidence, to which
they had no opportunity afforded them of making
any reply.
Mr. SUMNER said he was one of the Committee, and
had heard the evidence given by the meters, and had
repeatedly warned them all that they might be called
on to prove the charges they made in a Court of Jas•
tice, and they all declared they were ready to do so.
He would not hesitate to advise prosecution, only the
Committee had no funds to bear the expense ; but he
thought it would be for the public benefit that the men
who had practised the fiauds should be Showu up by
publication.
Mr. PALLMER thought k might be better to abstain
from publishing the names of the parties at present.
Mr.DeNtiroli amended his mo ion, omitting the pub,
lication of the Report.
The motion was then agreed to.

Daring last week, fire-arms were feinnionly taken,
at might, from two farmers, named Leaky, at Farthingville sad
Ardagb, on the bounds of the county of Limerick. Three dairy.
men were, at the lame time, Bogged at Milford. county Cork, by
the marauders.

Mist PATou yecterday concluded an engagemert
the Lessees of Covent Garden Theatre, on her oor n terms.

Great activity prevails at this momebt in the naval
arsenal of Bayonne. Several vessels, including a ship
of war (1800 tons but then, are upon the stocks.
The Minister of the Intetior has recently sent silver
medals to several physicians in provincial towns who
have been active in propagating vaccination.—Frencii
Paper.
The death of the Qtteen Dowager of WILMISCRITI
was conveyed by telegraph to Paris in the following
manner :.
" STUIGARD. OCT. 6.—Her Majesty the Queen Dowager of
Wirtemberg, sister of the King of England, died this day at the
Castle of Louisbourg, between one and two o'clock in the after-
noon, from the effects of dropsy."
Pi.ymnurn, OCT. 12. Phis being the anniversary..
of the birthday of I)nn Prunus, the Ponuguese here observed it by
alirand Festival in the Roman Catholit Chapel at Stonehouse, .
where iligh Maas was celebrated by their Priests, one or whom
' preached a sermon in the Portuguese tongue. The Port Admiral,
the Mayor, and most of the leading persons In the neighbourhood,
were present. Vast crowds were attracted by the novelty of the
occasion, and hundreds were disappointed candidates fee admission
to the Chapel. The War.pite, 74, Captain Watt.eld'Ais:;,enCm. &strike
ordered here to be paid oil loprurbecioicrean::iosnsionpirnign.
The first pet ii
was in the year 1614., which was soon followed by
many others, one of which was always in verse. At the
present time there are no less than 80 works of a similar
nature published either daily, weekly, monthly, or quar-
terly; and of these 70 are in the Danish language.

CORN-EXCHANGE, MARK-LANE, Oct. 15.
Owing to adverse winds, we bad no arrivals from Ireland; bit
having large supplies of ►oth English and Foreign sit.ce Mondays
with a considerable quantity of AU description, of Grain ritutiiilng
over unsold front that day, and but kw buyers at market dds morn-
ing, no sake could be,effected, although offered cirhiderably lower ;
therefore prices must be quoted nominally Zi ea Monday fur Wheat,
Barley, and Oats.

IMPORTATIONS SINCR MONDAY.
English qrs. Irish Foreign Flout
Wheat 11,000 lIIIMMIII 9,800
Barley 2,150 ........ 11,;00 sack/.
Oats 14,400 iiIII 1)200

.

IMITATION OF 11011‘CE, Bowc in. ODE 13.

Illandwia! thou, in whose translucent wave
I scatter fieMell and pour libations due.—
Sweetest of Founts! to thee
A wanton kid I •ow—
A kid whose budding horns his bosom Ml
With hope of loves and battles—but in •ain—
To-morrow shall his blood
Inc4rnadine tby stteatn
Fince though the flaming Dog star shoot his rays,
lie toucheth not thy waters clear and coot,
&id to thedrooping Socks
Refreshing draughts they yield.
0 harpy Fount! no spring or brook renowned
Thy name shall rival, while of thee I slug,
And of the Oak, whose boughs
O'erbang tby babbling stream.

J. F.

l‘e