eek.

In the House of Commons, on 14 June, Mr. T. Duncombe presented a petition
from W. J. Linton, Joseph Mazzini, and two others, complaining of their
letters being opened before delivery, and praying that "The House would
be pleased to grant, without delay, a Committee to inquire and give
immediate redress to the petitioners, and prevent the recurrence of so
unconstitutional and infamous a practice." Sir James Graham (Home
Secretary) replied that "the House must be aware that from as early a
period as the reign of Queen Anne, power existed in the hands of the
Principal Secretary of State, to detain and open letters passing through
the Post Office; and the House would also be aware that this power had
come under the review of Parliament, at so late a period as the year
1837, and by the Act of 1 Vic., this power of issuing warrants to open
and detain letters, continued still vested in the Secretaries of State.
He must, for fear of creating misapprehension by his answer, state that
the circumstances mentioned in the petition were, to a great extent,
untrue. As to three of the petitioners, he doubted if their letters had
ever been detained, and no warrant as to them had been issued; but, as to
one of the petitioners, he had to state, that, on his responsibility, a
warrant had been issued as to the correspondence of that person, which
warrant was no longer in force."

On 2 July, a Committee of Secrecy was appointed "to inquire into the
state of the Law in respect to the detaining and opening of Letters at
the General Post Office, and into the mode under which the authority
given for such detaining and opening has been exercised, and to report
their opinion and observations thereupon to the House." The Committee
met, took evidence, and duly reported, when it being shewn that the
privilege was not often exercised (the total number of warrants issued
between 1799 and 1844 being only 372), and that, of late years, the
average of warrants had decreased, the public were satisfied, and the
subject dropped.

Chantrey's equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, which stands in
front of the Royal Exchange, was uncovered, amidst much cheering. It
cost 9,000 pounds besides the metal.

[Picture: Barry, the Clown, on the Thames]

On 23 Sept. Barry, a clown at Astley's, fulfilled his promise of sailing
in a washing-tub drawn by geese, from Vauxhall to Westminster. He
successfully accomplished his voyage, and