The Express. — London, England, 1848-01-19 00:00:00

as Leh nt, sr as ua min 1,1 OVA. lad lON Ob. Id•- wed n - cii vex" emit lira mak oast H. come it tits night I act it VW were. I pig bean idend h TOO to th. Al th• nod- eta imam that the gas rifled as to destroy all 44, thati:rwouldPbe attended with diner*. t h e gas be rendered so pure as to prevent ft be, Zer an escape might take the building with a light ride. wilding, ea well as human life, might both be de hosa4l If the gas could be rendered pure without danger, dbe moat happy.—Mr. Lawrence, although lie did ot .spret the g w Isla was to_ be supplied was to be ren „....d • pure • n ot to be devoid ofmm a e scent by which its Zienes could be easily denial, still h th ought h could be w si pe t ioed as to destroy those umes whic at q u estion were ;Mammas and injurious to human life.—The question was ie - th put and carried and the murt then broke up. ROYAL DISPENSARY FOR DISEASES OF THE EAR.— t utee annual meeting of the members was held yester at the dispensary, in - Dean-street, Soho. Mr. Paulson, nay, • 3 e . p., presided. The report of the committee stated that,' o pme the establishment of the charity in 1816, upwards of mew catients, some of whom were deaf and dumb, had ured or relieved. In the last year the number of masts had been often in one day upwards of 180 ; mast those were labouring permins, domestic servants, artisans, g ad distressed foreigners , dependent for support oa their owa c orneas, and to whom any derangement of the function of w i s p; was a serious calamity. Several new remedies end o gles of treatment had been tested at the dispensary, and, In some awes with satisfactory results ; and they considered g u t th e proceedusgs of the past year had contributed gam th• improvement of aural surgery and the mamma e° L r inet over many distressing diseases. A very large propor. Meath' eases presented at the dispensary might be traced to wing in confined and damp tocalities,:to intemperance, want d cleanliness and out-door exercise, and insufficient or sdalarated food. In those cases in which the menu em (ailed to produce a cure nearly all were long coetinued, a• ka b eenne gl e cted in their earlier stages. It was satisfactory M a t* that in no single instance since the establishment of *charity had any unfavourable results followed the means ag ployed by the officers—the strongest possible proof of the igitias practised at the institution. A series of remlutions „ us payed, by which the meeting adopted:the report, and their acknowledgments to the Queen, Prince =land various members of the royal family, to the its°, Dr. Tattersall, the director and surgeon, Mr. y, and to other gentlemen, for their support of and lth*" to the institution. It was stated that in consequence s t the increased number of applicants the funds of the insti to* had so diminished a to become inadequitte to its wa its; and (or the purpose of supplying the requirements it WaS 11101 Ted to issue circulars to the venous societies holding molds for benevolent purposes, requesting their assistance awl IsPlwrt• CHEMISTs, AND DRUGGISTS' EARLY CLOSING Asecictertorn—A special general meeting of this society wa s held last evening at Andemon's Hotel, Fleet-street, for pm pup* of stopping further proceedings, and winding up its affairs. Mr. Clore presided. The chairman regretted to b as o blipad to pronounce a funeral oration over the society. gs eould not agree with those who saw evil in an extension at the time which the assistants of chemists and druggists n a g a their own disposal. The want of success which the wiser had met with would seem to ar g ue ver y p oorl y either t he sympathy of the employers or the energy a the employed ; but he would rather impute t w i g apathy to ignorance of its benefits than disbelief in thels.—Mr. Underwood, the secretary, then read a report which he bad drawn up. He commenced by stating that no society having for its object the abolition of late =lf business had seen so auspicious a beginning ,• but eke association had fallen lower than any other, and had besides fallen in debt ; and he believed the reason to bre, that only two of the committee-men had attended to their duty. In proof of the fact, he referred them to the minute-book. Under these circumstances, and finding that he WU 91,0,1ing money from his own pocket without soy advantage, be had called the present meeting. lie lamented the want spirit which had been shown by the chemists and drug gieJ, compered with the conduct of the drapers and other &diet in the same cause ; and he was in particular /Mud to use that many assistants in large homes tad refused to join the society without the Sie sta of their employers. In resigning his oBes, he would give up his accounts. The receipts of the society from subscriptions since he establishment in April last had mounted to 321. lls. 6d., and the expenditure to 461.195. ltd • which left a balance of 141. Bs. sd. due to the eseretary.—Mr. Penny moved the first resolution. He was one of the committee, and bad done his utmost to dis charge his duties, but the result was that out of about 600 chemists and as many assistants in the metropolis, sot more than 100 subscribed to the society. The com mittee being, therefore, disheartened he felt that they might be in some measure excused for their want of support. They had, however, endeavoured to re-organise the Ma d& lion, but it being impossible to get • working committee to gether, it Was thought better that the association should be kept in abeyance, in which state it had remained for soma months. Since the society was first proposed, at one of the meetings of the Pharmaceutical Society, several chemists in London had closed their shops earlier, and in one instance WO early as eight o'clock. He moved • resolution to the effect that the report of the secretary be received, and that the emaciation be dissolved.—Mr. Barnes seconded the resolution, which was passed unanimously.—lt was followed by other resolutions, expressive of regret at the termination of the affairs of the association, and the hope of the meeting for more active co-operation in any subsequent measures which might be taken iii furtherance of their objects; meantime they entreated those interested to contribute their efforts to wards the liquidation of the debt to the secretary.—Compli =votes to the secretary and chairman concluded the to MORTALITY IN LONDON.—The number of deaths during) the week ending Jan. 15 was 1,457, or 340 above the average. Of this excess 99 are stated to have died of Mum*, and 121 from diseases of the lungs and other imam of respiration. The deaths from small-pox and measles are also stated at nearly double the usual number ; typhus has likewise been unusually fatal. WINDOW DUTY AND PROPERTY AND INCOME Tam—Sir I have read with much interest the accounts or meetings in the metropolis for the abolition of the window duty ; and feeling assured that, without the co-operation of the populous towns and cities in the country, their endea lours will be of no avail, I venture to call your attention. sad, through the medium of your columns, that of the *entry generally, to the fact. I have reason to believe, and spec no slight authority, Viet the window duty is not to be repealed this session, but that the property and income tax are to be raised from 3 to 5 per cent., reducing the minimum este of liability to incomes of 1001. per annum. The equal rates of duty under Sir it. Peel's act were passed hurri ed ly, end under the promise of a three 3 ears' duration only; and I have no fear that the present House of Commons will inflict so monstrous an injustice as to visit the professional man or men of precarious income with the Muse amount of taxation as the owner of real property or landed estates, and this I think mvy be safely left to the wisdom of the legisla ture. Bat still the trade and profession of the country would, I consider, be doing well to get up memorials or *him on the subject. I have, however, I find, wandered ben my original subject, that of the duty on windows; but as the two (or rather three) taxes are so intimately con nected, I shall venture to say a few more words on both Pabitthl. Take my own case :—I pay rent for my dwelling kolas, 401.; and pay a property tax for the landlord of 11.3 e. 4d. per annum. lam said to have 20 windows, and my tax thereon for myself, 61.12 a. 6d. I have a professional km. of 3501., which costs me 101. 4e. 2d. Thus I pay for iaeome tax and window duty, 161. 16s. Bd. My neighbour, also professional, but not the same, lives in his own house, riled at 401.. upon which he pays property tax also, 1L 3e. 4d. From the fact of the house being rated • 401. it is not worth less, and is, in point of annnandation, superior to mine. It le, however, id numiere construction, and has but twelve windows at a ellied2J. 93. 2d. His income is assessed at the Was sum as easy own, and thus it will be seen without any advantage on ay part, but with an old house instead of a new one, there a difference of direct taxation in the window duty alone it 41. U. 44. Numerous instances of grosser inequality in the eponsion of this tax can be produced in every parish, WM/ wig object in troubling you with this letter is to rer mial en 'Gantry friends that the time is now come for active min s" by pi title's and other methods, against this ob noxious Mpost, which otherwise will again become the law of the land, and probably under the plea of necessity rennin n tar many years.— R. ATIORNEYS.—One hundred and seventy-emu madames have gis en notice this term of their intention to apply to be admitted to practise as attorneys in the Court et Clurea's Bench. There are also forty-two notices for n itwits of certificates. Loss OF AN ENGLISH BRIG.—The Trio, brig of 300 tens, from Monte Video to Plymouth, laden with wool and tallow, was wrecked on the rocks which abound on the emit of Brittany, near Mortal:. Out of the whole Clew, of the captain (Mr. Watkins), eight men, and a boy, the later alone was saved. SMALL DEBTS COURT, NORPOLIL—Sir Without great vigilance on the part of the press the Small Dale Warts may be made the means of a vast amount of pethy tyranny and oppression. Poor people seldom take bi or keep receipts. An unprincipled man may therefore, in nine at often cases, be pretty sure of recovering sm all mum which may have been contracted and discharged, it he sum mon the parties into the courts. I will offer you one instance date oppressive way in which it works. A man formerly in trade, but who failed through his own misconduct, having twice Of three times compounded with his creditors, life* on the mall sums he recovers through the small debts court: he wally has two or three, sometimes more, summonses out agairat parties every court day. On the last court day he summoned the wife of a labouring man for a debt of about 18s. When put upon his oath he said that the woman had paid him 13s. 6d., but he thought it made no difference whether he summoned her for the debt 1,4 1 claimed or for a larger sum. lie claimed on oath upwards of 4s. The woman had fortunately kept his bill, and produced it receipted for the whole amount, with the exception of Is., and he owned to the correctness of it. The judge immediately adjudged her to pay the Ihtt, with all the costs, amounting to sever al more, and ftf to beer her speak in her defence. She was ready to declare on oath that she bad repeatedly offered to pay the man the real balance of his bill, but that he refined to take Isis than the amount claimed. If the creditors had consi dered that the man bad any just claims upon these and ISAMU other poor people they would, one would have tleposed, have retained his books and recovered them them- Vfts.—A CONSTANT READER OF YOUR PAPER, AND A /MEND OF THE OPPRESSED. THE DREADFUL ACCIDENT AT EUSTON-SQUARE STATlON.—Charles Gage, one of the sufferer* by the fall of the buildings at the Euston.square station, died on Sun day in the University College Hospital. This makes the amid death amongst the wounded. The others are doing Cell ElRE.—Last night, about a quarter peat ten, a fire woe discovered upon the premiss of Mr. Laws, a baker, at Ile , Gibraltar-rent were &oldie' was spread, . Laws sad h4 were without delay - embed Oink, which y terra them, whoa a Impel abed et flame diet through the minims, sad etch suds fury did the eau travel, that it wee et ens tide Arced tpehew whole, .trews wed* have bales a Is ahem end ahem wee eesmakelely mtiok the Lads& =rail the an had gredeasly Weeded to the while of the ;nee =Use When, *eery room beiest=srel blaze u . The Wag supplied with an of water, the = d ac , epereting, and vast streams el water were end upon the learaime=. Not with.standing, the work of deshusties , and ft was net till .it 11 o'clock that the Ire we safely got under, and not until every partite of the with dm exception dike front shop, was deslzepud The total lose is considerable, and it is understood that the sneerer is not insured. The origin of the fire is ME plesillity known ; bet the opinion is that it was easelissed from the spark of a candle falling amore et sense wearing apparel. INQUESTS, YESTERDAY.—IdUICIDE OF A BURGEON. —Before Mr. Weller. M.P., at the trour Arms, Sey mour-strest, on the body of Mr. H. W. Bondi, summit era 30, lute of 7L Upper Seymour-street, &Mon-square: Kr. H. M. Aldridge, surgeon, of Upper Seymour-street, said he had known de-Ceased for five or six years. He wee formerly in practice in Melton-street, Ruston-mum; subse quently in the Mornington-road ; and bad resided a few months at 74, Upper Seymour-Ovid. On Friday evening • young woman, with whom deceased lived, asked him to come and see Mr. Boxall on the following day as he ill. Between two and three o'clock on i{sturday he went to see deemed, and found him standing near the fireplace _with his throat cut. On seeing witness, deceased exclaimed, " Ab, it's no use; I have dons It effectually." Witness went towards him, but deceased ran round the table, and struggled violently, throwing witness over • box. All this time - the blood was spouting profusely from his neck. It was some minutes before witness could secure de ceased. He then tried to stop the bleeding by prawns ill the vessels of the neck, and called for assistance. Deesued still struggled violently, and called out for presets add. He struggled to the last to prevent any attempt to save has life, and died in about a tooter of an hour from the time witness first saw him. He had mule a cut with a razor, dividing the carotid artery and all the larger vessels on the let side. Deceased was of a nervous temperament, and drank at times. He was very strange in his manners, and had told witness that he suffered from delirium tremens.—Mary Ann Norman deposed to having . lived with deceased for four years. He had latterly been in great distress, on account of his father, who resided at Brighton ' having refused to assist him. He went to Brighton on the 29th of December, and returned on the 6th inst. He said he had been staying with his father's friends, who made him drink brandy . till be was mad. On Friday night he was under a delus ion that he would be taken up at 12 o'clock that night and hanged at Newgate for a conspiracy to shoot his father, and he said he must die. This induced witness to ask Mr. Aldridg e to see him. Wit ..ss identified a note found on deceased's table as his hand writing, and said she saw him write it on Saturday morning. It was addressed, " Mr. Boxell, Brighton," and was as follows :—" Dear Father,—Will you be kind enough to send I MO a little money, as I am much in want of some.—Yours, Imgy, H. W. Bolan." (No date.) The witness made sewed charges against the father of the deceased of refusing lima amierance, but this was denied by a gentlemen, who mid th knowledge deceased had had 41. Os. within eight or sine days.—Other witnesses corroborated the foregoing inalsony.—The jury returned a verdict, Thatthe deceased destroyed himself while in an unsound state of mind." --- DEATH OP A MOTHER AND CRlLD.—Before Mr. W. Carter, at the Swan Tavern, Battersea Bridge, upon the bodies of Sarah Tout, aged 31, and Henry Tout, her son, 2 7 0 1 0 4 d, who alleged to have died from an insufficiency alLh i o n use o: in en th v e i v t iLin e iy to view the bo j d u i t el, and p roce eded on ffi to e aem door halation of hot and impure air was eo great as to drive beck those who were entering, the coroner remarking that he had not in the experience Meleven years met with so abominable a nuisance, and that it was more a pest-how" than a dwell for human beings.—Anne Poltstated that she was sister in-law of the deceased woman, who was the wife of William James Tout, a sawyer by trade, who had recently supported himself, his wife, and three children by making hat and bonnet boxes which e h hawked about the country. Wit etas had been living them the last five months. Her deter-in-law was only ken ill en Friday evening week, and on the following day she obtained a medical order of Mr. Tow, the overseer, and saw Dr. Connor's assistant, who also gave an order in kind to the relieving officer. The assistant attended within the hour, and saw both her sister and the child. Some medicine was supplied, and he visited them again on the Sunday evening. He did not visit them again until Tuesday, and in the interval the child had died and the mother had become much worse, and died the same evening, her boy having expired on the previous night. The mode. eine only lasted till Monday morning, and her sister bad no more till the doctor came on the ensuing day. Dewed had said that if she had more medicine she would be better. Her brother had not been home (until now), since • week before Chtiatniss ; sad the last time they re ceived any money from him was the lest week in the old year. There were two children still living—a gill and an infant four months old. For many . weeks past they bad been living very short indeed, and her sister often denied handl food that the children might have it. She was certain that her brother did all he could to support his family, but be earned very little ; and to add to their dinsem tkey r waived a letter from him on the 6th inst., stating that he was then Wag ill at Southampton, and bad not a flittlebig to amyl Mrs. Freeman, a lady in the neigteenetheed, hat been very kind to her deceased Suter during - her eenlinameat. sad since on many occasions they had no food but what that lady supplied. Deceased had an aversion to paro chial relief, and did not like making known her distress. — A woman named Wise gave evidence which went to show that the family were in a very bad state ; and she believed the illness of mother and child arm solely from want of food. They had the typhus fever, and one child was then suffering from it.—The Coroner said it was a great shame for the medical man to have exposed . the jury and himself to such a risk. lie ougkt to have informed them of the nature of the disease, or at least have seen that the holm was well ventilated before the jury entered it.—Mi. J. S. Miles, arem, and assistant to Dr. Connor, aimed the jury they had nothing to apprehend, and deionall dui he was called in to the deceased on Saturday week; dry were in a state of low fever, and exceedingly ill and ems. elated. He asked if the woman had food, and was told that she had none.—Verdict—" Died from natural causes."— ALLEOZD ILL-TREATIIINT OF AN APPRENTIC..—Befors Mr. W. Payne, at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, respecting the death of J. Heller, aged 17, an apprentice, who was alleged to have died from the effects o the ill-usage of hie master, Mr. Fletcher, gold and silver paper layer, regain. in Norfolk-street, Lower-road, Islington.—Mai7 MacdonaM, of 9, Newton-street, Holbore, the wife of a tailor, stated that the deceased was her son. and was apprenticed from Tooting School about four years and a heft ago. Ile lad been sinking for the last two years from want of proper nourishment and hard work, which he said was sixteen or e ighteen hours a day. It was two years ago when the master was first before the magistrate for beating him with a rope, and was reprimanded. The master appeared before the magistrate since that time at the instance of a policeman, who beard the boy's cries, but nothing was then done. The gni he had consisted of three slices of bread and butter and adlk and web., for his breakfast; two slices and the same for tea' boiled rice, or cheese, or bullock's liver for dinner, and sometimes he would have a couple of sausages and mime cabbage. Rice, however, was his chief dinner. She had f requ ently taken him victuals, but hie mistral would never let her see it given to him. About two menthe cep he did not come to his dinner on Sunday as usual, and she went en the Moaday, and he was lying on a bench fa the workshop with only his shirt and trousers OS. The next Thursday she took him home, when he and the following Moo complained of being very weak, Mae da), December 28, he was admitted into the hospital. Was. M`Donald, husband of the last witness, dated, that he had made a complaint to the master of the wheal, at Toot ing, of the boy's treatment, but he refused to interfere. — The Coroner said itjwas his duty to have done so.—WI/y=ld added that the last words the deceased spoke at home were, when he asked him what bad brought him to that state—" I Audi son m death-bed that Fletcher starved and worked me d eath. ; —Mr. Newell, assistant apothecary to the hospital, deposed that the death of the deceased was caused by consumption, of at least two years' deeding. In his it was the result of exposure to cold, or Bleeping in iilothes.—Thomas Round, an apprentice, deposed that he was bound two months after the deceased, and slept and eat with him. The work was not hard, except burnieh ing. They had three dices of breed and 'butter near an inch thick for their breakfast, and two for tea, and about a pint of tea at each meal. For dinner they had rice and sugar one day, liver and rice or liver and potatoes another, and bread and cheese another. They might ha ve eaten more or If they bad had it. Th e y alwa y s had meat two three times a week, and rice or cheese the others. No beer, but cold tea. They used to hum Id., 3d ,or 6d. a week for over .work, and they used to buy apples M other things with it.—Mrs. Fletcher explained that when Mrs. M`Donald complained that the boys had not sufficient hod, she was so satisfied they had, that after that she did not give them the hot supper she used to do. They had meat four timesa week, and rice and cheese the otherdayh She persisted they had both been treated well.—Mr. Fletc even her, the muter, asserted the same thing, and that they bad been preferred to their own children. They had been un tidy, and tried to get the upper hand of him. —The Coroner said it was not likely two boys of that age would attempt it. w aw he r n , u s u un d, da w y bola d d e —sheAfolinund*Mtrajwthoerkard t o o n i Rl a ° interfered e ment, and the deceseed once told her he Was eatislied.—The said she had no reason otherwise to complain of their treat- Coroner summed up, observing the great question was what was the cause of the consumption of which the boy died ? Ile should suggest that they should have ( further eeidence.— jury returned a verdict " That the d died of con- The hunPfi and they keeping the deceased on considered the conduct of the master and mistime very reprtheneible BATH.— II Ore diet"-- Mr. Baker, at the lialfrooon and Punchbowl public-house, such short A CHILD FROZEN TO D B f of the body of Bertha natives of Germany, and a few days si nce they left Rotter- Doßuckilti,..agletzdee‘four montecthsha.PeThone par view ents . of the deceased are the window of whichthe toe was veiled it an omnibus, on dam for the purpose of emigrating to America. Th . ey tra iner they ha an inch thick, a left Rotterdam, the deceased, who was a Teri and when they arrived at the first station, mother found was q uite dead. The child healthy child, the several hours, and she con sideredhad been lying upon her arms for se eo could not be the deceased was asleep. A .! gentleman, who said that ceased was examined by a medi cal of • obtained, and when they arrived at me nex a t station the de her death was caused by the severity th IR their dead child on board the Rainbow steana-veasel, which • " Found dead." cold having caught her breast. The parents then carried arrived in the river on Sunday Wt.—Verdict, THE EXP: WEDNESDAY FrVANING,,JANUIRY 19, 1848. THE LOSS OF THE AVENGER. The following letter from Mr. Lemma (the gene) to his wife, residing at Portsmouth adds anodise *onion to the narratives w*iia have already bees rehabbed of the law of the Avenger: . " MALTA., JAI. 4.—1 take this 1114SeMe eggerteW writing a few lines to you to tell you I ea/01W ing the most dreadful shipwreck ever keelefll. The Answer ran on a reef of rocks on the night of the lOek of Deeembee, about tan o'clock. I was is bed at the Was, hat was awoke by the shook. fluoridate at bed wed hew to beg he my •thess, but a very barmy see *dim the dig have her en tirely on her beset ea& I sea ea desk without ay &thee, when I was ordered le get the waiters lammed, Mat there was such a dos ems that net • Era would dear away the beats. At led ems et the einem. together with myself milts caplets", elewerd, loweeed gee et the boats, and zeit and Ism ethers shamed sir Am war ill.fated with byes that we abseil be able to reader gem eulelemee to our dew gel litieeelled bat I am any to say without seems We had hardly shoved off from the ship when the arelemaell meat over the side, taking with it the funnel aadmleashersolle•Mhieh fell in -board, and must have killed • ausabar et see. A minute or so ate' this the foremast and berm gek went, leering the ship • total wrath in less than 111 Was*. All this time the wind and see were driving our little ban away from our al ined ship, which we lost sight off la Ism than ea hour and • half, and in this time the wind blew a gale ; and I then began to inquire who was in the boat, whoa, to sty sorrow, I found that I had not a man in the boat who meld do a thing. It must have been nearly twelve o'clock when it came on to hail and rain ia such • way that I thought we should have been sunk ; one moment we were on the top of the monatain wave, the next seemed the bottom of the as. expecting every second to be oar last. We were all praying for daylight, and at last it came, bringing to our gars aU the horrors of the pre vious darkness. I then took a glance at my ill-fated cora- MiG. Oh, what a sight to sea !—four of the eight lying eer, or nearly so, at my feet, the wind still increasing, and the eta runner; mountains high, which broke over and nearly filled us a great many times. At last land op peered right ahead, and our little boat was tearing through the ma. We made out the land to be the coast of Barbary ; we were forced to run right for the land ; if we had not, we should have essuredly been lost. It was now about ten o'clock, end I found may eye. sight and sUrongth leaving me. Our boat was nearing the shore at an • rate and when within a few hundred yards of the land our little boat was canned, when four sank to rise no more • the other four reached the shore and fall senseless on the beech, or nearly so, bat coming to our noses we got up and commenced walkiint, we knew not whither. At /sat we fall in with an Arab, who took as to his hut, and gave us some warm milk, which brought us to our right senses, when we tried to make him understand we wanted to get to • place where we could get a vessel to take to the assistant* of our lamented shipmates. We got • vessel ourselves after travelling a hundred miles, which we did in two days, with our faithful Arab for • guide ; but I • am sorry to say when we got to the place where our ship ran on shore she was gone down, and every soul had perished, I belay in all 256 persons." The following extract from a prints letter, dated from Malta, narrates a narrow escape from the fate of the un happy crew of the vessel. The writer who was on his way to Malta, bad been hashed by Capt. Napier to sail as his guest in the Avenger: " The steam was got up, and the anchor actually weighed, but whilst this was going on we were bmrded by the sco of the Oriental Company's 'gent, at Gibraltar, with e letter from his father to Captain Napier, in which it was pointed out that, by • clause in the contract between government and the company, it is laid down that no ship of war is to take passengers, if leaving harbour at the same time and with the same destination as any of the company's packets, provided the latter have spare room for passenger* at the time, and farther referring him to an Admiralty order enforcing observance of the same. Neither Napier nor myself knew any thing of such • regulation ; and, from what I could make out, it seemed to me to apply to sending officers on duty by the Admiralty, but not guests; and I was disposed to pay no attention to the agent, and took no steps for leaving the vessel. Capt. Napier, however, on referring to the minute, came up, and said that he found it so specific, that he feared he could not have the pleasure of my com pany; so he sent me and another passenger in the ward room in his cutter on board the Pacha, which was at some distance. We were much annoyed at this at the time, being removed in a hurry from a fine ship to a erowded packet, and put to considerable additional expense. But mark the sequel. Captain Napier had told me, on my asking if we should see Algiers, that he intended to keep as much mid channel as he could, to avoid the rocks and islands near the African coast, and that he would sail es much as he could, to economise coal, in conformity to a meet foolish regulation, like many of those now enforced. He therefore, expected to arrive at Malta some days after the Pacha, and seat a message by her to the port admiral there, He sailed soon after one o'clock, p.m., on the 17th, but it was nine, p.m., before we left Gibraltar. The wind was quite fair, and afterwards freshened up almost to a gale, but we suffered no inconvenience except from the motion of the vessel, and arrived at Malta in safety on the morning of the 22nd. We several times saw the smoke of the Avenger ahead, end on the 20th saw her about noon, ten or twelve miles to the north-west, we having kept the coast, so as to leave the island of Galata to our left. Her funnel was smoking, and she was car rying a good deal of sail, and frnag of course very fast, and with a heavy sea. That night we experienced the effects of • strong current, which is known to set often to the south-east in this neighbourhood ; and we were once so near the shore that the captain changed the venal's course five points to the northward ; but we had moonlight, though hesy, so that there was no danger for us, who saw the land. The Avenger, no doubt, experienced this current, sad suf fered in consequence. As she did not appear at Malta, it was thought just possible that she had fallen in with some of the fleet, and joined the admiral. On the 28th, however, our nun were fully confirmed by the arrival of a letter to the port-admiral here, from the Avenger's 3rd Lieutenant." Sines perusing this letter we have learnt from the beet authority, that, contrary to a statement which has been very generally circulated, no supernumerary canon whatever were on board the Avenger when she was lost. teeny City: Gene Reeds, Rao , of Kilkenny. King's County: Is Barry Baldwin, Req., of Parliementaareet, London. Limerick: Francis Geoid, Req., of Thrensera. Limerick City: Henry Kausisell, Req., of Limerick. Queen's County Joke H. Leckie, Req., of Cleabrock, Crettyard. Tipp : Rieh. Pennefather, Esq., of Kam:- keen*. Wati~ • Simon Beggs, Req., of Ardmore. Waterford City : W. 8. Doyle, Req. of Newtown. STAFF OF TRa COUNTRY.—On Tuesday, the 11th, six families, consisting of IR individuals, were evicted in one of the mast crime-producing districts, at the snit of Mr. C. Bt. George ; end on Friday, a Mr. O'Hara, a land-agent, was occupied all day turning out tenants and levelling houses. At the sessions of Wexford the grand jury, bad to consider 80 bills of indictment. The proms of ejectment is proceeding rapidly in every stouter. The (Wowing proceedings, tending to give effect to the Coercion Act, are stated in the Westmeath Independent: — Lest night a strong body of police, consisting of twenty-five from each constabulary district of this county, emonnhag in all to 150, arrived here, and after a short stay passed on en rosin for Roscommon, where they an required to carry into effect the spirit of Sir Geerge Grey's bill, by a strict search throughout the entire of that county for all unregistered arms. Bub-Inspector Ireland, of Idttllirr, is in command of hie own district, end we have beengiv en to understand that N. Falloe, Rig., 8.1 , proceeds tit day in command of his own (the Athlete) district. The known activity of this lest-named officer induces us to believe that his portion of the mission will not entirely be without success. A troop of the 2nd R. N. B. Dragoons and a company of the 2nd (Queen's Own) Foot, with • party of artillery, left this garrison in aid of the civil power in dimming the peasantry. Judging by the reports we have received, the government, it appears, is determined oa the carrying out of this measure ell through the country at the mime time. Similar parties are detached to all the proclaimed districts. SCOTLAND. ED114117108, Jaw. 17. The reported death of Rear Admiral of the White Pringle Stoddart, inserted in a paragraph in the Glade under the imposing title of " Deaths of Flag Officers," turns out, according to the Kelan Mail, to be nnauthorfsed—the gallant officer being in his usual health. Defalcations to the extent of 4,0001., or some other considerable amount, are said to have taken place in the Glasgow Post-office, and an official inquiry is at present being instituted. Many rumours are afloat, but the above is all that can as yet be said with safety. Tho highland landlords, in their attempts to exone rate themselves from blame in the matter of relieving their destitute tenantry and dependents, are driven from post to pillar—the last exposure being that go vernment has not kept back grants for drainage, as was stated to the destitution inspectors. A great educational step has been taken by the es tablishment of a gymnasium in old Aberdeen. The want of intermediate educational institutions in Boot land has long been felt. Boys stepping at once from country schools into the universities has deteriorated the latter very considerably, and has caused the pro fessors so to popularise and dilute their prelections as to make colleges little better than upper schools. It is the object of the gymnasium to obviate this. According to the prospectus : 1. No scholar will be received whose age, character, ac quirements, and abilities do not afford ground to expect that, after three years' instruction, he may be qualified for enter ing with advantage on a course of study at the university.- 2. The general instructions will be conducted on the princi ple of securing a solid foundation for university study, by thorough scholarship in Latin, Greek, and mathematics, up to the point to which it is found possible to advance, rather than by attempting prematurely to realise high at tainments in say one of these branches of knowledge.- 3. A stated portion of time will be employed in the study of the English language, its etymology, Latin ,and Saxon—its syntsz t and the practice of its composition.-4. With the practios si thorough study and acquisition of elements in the difficult branches of Greek, Latin, and mathematics furnishing the means of a severe mental diseipline, and ju stly regarded as the most fundamental condition of a liberal education, it is proposed to combine a daily exercise by tried nom initrue dos la various branches of knowledge, collateral and add 'lenient to the study of religion, natural and revealed. 5. Au attempt will be made to cultivate the right use of the senses and habits of observation, by natural history excur sions, and other means; also, to promote right physical habits as respects bodily exercise, the regulation of the hours of study, &c. An important element in education will be secured by the inftmlitetion of the teaching of music.- 6. A paramount object of this institution will be the diffu sion of Christian pnnciples among our educated youth.- 7. No advancement will be allowed from a lower to a higher class in the institution, without satisfactory attainments in the subject of the previous year's study, proved by ex ination. IRELAND. Dtrimilt, SAW. 17. The Crown prosecutors are anxious to being Wil liam Crow before the commission. From some cir cumstances which have transpired, it appease probable that he was not guiltless of the blood of Mr. Wat son. There is a romantic story connected with the acquaintance of Mr. Watson and Crow which will appear in the evidence for the crown. 'lyre Tipperary Constitution beholds rare points of order in the operation of the special commission. The punishment of the accessory before or after inspires no terror. Frewen's deportation has created consider able alarm among the old sympathisers, if the follow statement from the Constitution be correct : Our readers will recollect that some time since an account of the capture of two brothers, named Cody, charged with the murder of a man named Holden near Olenhow r, ap peared in our columns ; and upon holden, occasion we detailed the difficulty with which their capture was effected. Since that period a third brother, charged with the same has been on his keeping, sa d, of course, must have shelter from the neighbmn. However when the onavia tion of Frewen was noised abroad, it ea used a general peels amongst the shelterers, and all determined to avoid the risk of a similar sentence. The result has been, that every door has been closed in the face of the third Cody, and on Wed nesday be came into town and surrendered himself ! This circumstance is one worthy of eongratulation, and shows that, if laws sufficiently stringent and adequate to the neces sity which demands them are enacted, the evildoer will be deterred from his ways of wickedness, and crime will be suppremed. The spirit of tranquillity appears however to be broken at intervals in the North Riding. Not later than Friday night last the servant of a Mr. Parker, within a short distance of Nenagh, was fired at, but not injured. Two marauders have been arrested and identified, tenants to Mr. Parker himself. A correspondent of the Freeman states the total consumption of sugar in Ireland to be about 33,000 tons, distributed as follows :—Dublin, 1,400 ; Cork, 7,000 ; Belfast, 5,000 ; Limerick, 2000, ; all other 5,000. The increase in the Irish consumption last year was about 5,000 tons, being nearly a fifth of the whole increase of the United Kingdom. The imports of en di ng from England were less in the past than any p a y e e c i t a . r, the increased quantity hav ing been received The perplexities in which the Grand Canal Com pany was involved axe as far as ever from reaching a conclusion ; the loanholders and proprietors of stock looking in wholly opposite directions. At the last of the multitudinous meetings and adjournments a set tlement was proposed to the loanholders which met with unqualified disapproval, that the Reduced Six per Cent. Debentures for 921. 6e., should be registered as stock at 901. ; the Reduced Five per Cents. in the same proportion at 75/. • Reduced Fours at 6 01 . , and the present stock shares at 151; Grand Canal stock rules miserably low. A company, to be called the Ennis Dock Company, is about to be incorporated, tocarry out theact for building docks in connexion with the river Feigns, now being I improved under the Board of Works. The expense is calculated at 8,0001., the number of eharee 320, and the directors six. The rates on vessels entering or lying by the dock to be 1 Id. per te a on coals, and 3d. en lead, iron, stone, and timber. —A-n-elaborate reply from the Archbishop of Tuna to the Earl of Shrewsbury will shortly appear. The Livening Freeman will contain the thunder. The Athlone board of guardians, by a majority el 12 to 4, have resolved on their own dissolution, accompanied with a request to the poor-law com missioner. to substitute a paid board. HIGH SHERIFFS YOE 1848.—Clare : Henry Steward Bar too, Esq., of Carrigaholt Castle, 'Mee. Eilkenoy : W. Villiers Stuart, ER., of Castlstowa, Carrick-oa-SRir. WALES. EXTRAORDINARY - CIRCUMSTANCE.—The Cardiff Guardian says: One of the most extraordinary preserva tions of human life, under circumstances of extreme peril, lately occurred in the Bristol Channel, reminding us of the • startling accident which many years ago occurred to an aged woman by the breaking down of Caerleon wooden bridge when ahe was crossing it, her subsequent voyage down the Usk on a portion of the fabric, and her rescue when on the point of being carried out to sea. At 12 o'clock, on the night of Monda the 13th of December, a young man named Lutton, of Cardiff, was engaged at work on the Duncan Riehie, a vessel which lay at anchor in the channel near the Flat Holmes, for the purpose of being repaired. In order to prosecute the work with vtgoar, ship wrights and others were kept busily em ployed day and night. A scaffold was hong along the stern of the vessel, upon which the workmen stood while following their occupation. This scaffold was not strongly formed, and at night canvass was placed around to protect fkom the wind the lights which the men wed. Lutton rod denly found the plank on which he stood split unde r him, and he was precipitated into the water from a height of 16 feet. He sank to a considerable depth, and on rising to the surface called loudly for assistance. He felt one end of the piece of the plank in the water, the other end being attached to the scaffold. This piece he got held of and pulled it'clown still calling loudly for help. He soon got astride on the piece of wood, which was nine inches wide, en inch thick, and eighteen feet long. Upon this he was borne down channel, continuing his cries for help. The mate of the vessel, who was in bed, heard him, ran upon deck, got the boat down from a suspended position with the assistance of others, in which position it had been for convenience placed, and with three other men fol lowed the poor fellow down channel, being guided by his cries, which they occasionally heard. Lutton says that he passed "scores of vessels" in his dangerous course, but mar no appearance of any effort being made to waist him, al though he cried out as loudly as he could. In all probability the sound of a human voice, proceeding from each a quarter, in the dead hour of a dark night, frightened those who heard it, and who were necessarily ignorant of the real cause. Sea men are naturally prone to be superstitious. However, after a voyage of two hours and a quarter, the boat with the mate and his courageous existents overtook Lutton, who was taken on board in a dreadful state of exhaustion; and at half-past live in the morning, the party succeeded in regain ing the vessel. It is supposed that Lutton was carried down at least fourteen miles. The weather was exceedingly boisterous. COMMISSION BY THE LORD LIEUTENANT OF ME HIONETHSHIRII.—E. Barker Gent. to be Sec. Lieut. in R o yal Merionethshire Mi li tia: PROVINCIAL. LOSPIUMSZA.a.mi• ADDITIONAL BATHS AND WASH -HOUSES US about to be estab li shed at Liverpool. The health committee have recommended the town council to adopt the public act for establwhing baths and wash-houses, and to raise a sum not exceeding 25,0001. for the purpows of the act, the council paying the interest annually, or such portion of it as is not covered by the receipts of the baths and 'rub-houses to be erected. There has been no step taken hitherto by the authorities so beneficial to the industrious working clamm, and so conducive to the improvement of the health of the town, as the erection of the existing baths ; and their per fect mosses fully warrents the council in erecting, not one or two adcliticmal in the town, but, if possible, one in each Ward. A MOST DARING with violence of a desperate character, was perpetrated at Dean Lock, on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, about four miles from Wigan, on Friday night. At a little put midnight three men attacked Molyneur, the watchman in charge of the o ffice and lock, and who, also, at the time, had under his care a considerable sum of money. For some nee an time he fought with them in a most determined man d so far succeeded as to cause rather a hasty retreat before the office drawers and, desk could be carefully examined. The thieves having taken possession of a bag of money were leaving the office, when the watchman followed them out, armed with a poker. One of the party here seized an axe, and another cried out, " Cleave his skull," or words to that effect, when the watch man boldly faced and disarmed the villain. The other two, however, coming to his assistance, Mohnen: was over powered, and much beaten, and was afterwards thrown into the canal, in a deep part, near the mouth of the lock; and had he not, fortunately, been a good swimmer, he must have been drowned. The villains then escaped, and Mohnen:, after swimming some distance, got out of the water. The thieves, in their hurry out of the office, left behind them a bag of gold of mere value than the one taken, and which, had &careful search been made, could not have escaped ob servation. A boat had passed the lock only about fire minutes previous to the attack; the parties in charge of it heard a noise, but conceiving it, as they said, to arise from a man and his wife quarrelling, they proceeded without taking any notice. A FIRE broke out at the cotton factory of Messrs. Brims and Dean, manufacturers, Dukinfield, on Sunday, which completely destroyed one pinion of the mill, and ha rendered the other inoperative for some time to come. The estimated damage, it is said, will not be Ices than 8,0001. or 10,0001., the machinery destroyed being all new. The pro perty is insured. By this fire upwards of 200 workpeople will be thrown out of employment for some time. WARWICKSHIRE. FRAUDS IN THE PRECIOUS METAL TRADE.—At the . police-881os at Birmingham yesterday, George Whiston, the , young . man whose remand fr om Saturday on the charge of " obtaining money under false pretences, 4 in the manner to be hereafter described, has been already noticed in the Express, was spin brought up for The premises on which this somewhat ingenious series of fraud was discovered were those of Messrs. Alston and Macferline, refiners and bullies. dealers, who are, it is supposed, losers by them to the amount of several thousands of pounds. The prisoner is a young man, also a refiner a nd his dealings with the firm have extended over a period of about eighteen months, but under an assumed name. The fraud was dis covered from the circumstance that the metal when refined would not loosely come up to the standard according to which it had been valued and paid for: four bars weighing from 37 to 103 ounces. which had been sold by Whieton, were examined and re-assayed. The result turned out to be so far from satis factory that Whist= was at once given into the custody of the polio,. From the evidence adduced before the magis trates, it appeared that the fraud was practised in the fol lowing manner :—A bar of very fine metal was sent to Meters. Alston's, for sale, generally in the morning ; the weight was ascertained, and the workmen in the assay de partment cot two pieces from the bar, which was then stamped with the instil'', of the firm, and the bar returned to the prisoner until the assay had been made. Whig' ton's practice, however, appears to here been, so soon as he re ceived the bar beta into his possession, to cast another bar of base metal exactly similar and of the name w. ight, at the same time cutting out two pieces from it and stamping it with an exact fac-simile of Mans. Alston's Initials. A few hours afterwards the pri soner, in the regular course of business, would send the bar hack to Messrs. Alston's, when there being no suspicion of what had been going on, the bar thus composed of base metal was paid for according to the value of that which had been sent in the morning. By this means ;the prisoner was, in one instance, paid as much as 14s. en ounce for that which was really not worth more than 2s. ; to such an extent has this been carried on, that within the hat few weeks, it is sup posed Whitton has received 1501. for metal ; the real value of which was little more than a fifth of that sum. There is a very strongcase spinet the prisoner, inasmuch asthe punch with which the initials of the firm were imitated was found on his premises, es well as a chisel exactly fitting the marks on the imitation bars. He was fully committed for trial, but bail for his appearance wan accepted to the amount of 4001. HAMPSHIRE. COMMISSION BY THE LORD-LIECTENANT. —O. &later, Gent., to be Cornet in North Hants Yeomanry Cavalry. nun tins...ruomstn.r.. OUR ARADERB RAT RECOLLECT that a few months sines a very extensive fire occurred at the village of N ceding worth, in this county. Boon alter its occurrence a fund was raised by . subeeription, for the relief of the indigent sufferers, and the circumstances connected with this subscription are so honourable to the neighbourhood and to the public generally, that they are worthy of record. Ina very short time upwards of 1,2.501. were collected, which was found to be a larger sum than was required, and the committee of man a gement have just issued a circular to the subscribers, stating that the amount of subscriptions being more than adequate to meet the exigencies for which it was raised, the committee have resolved oa returning five shillings in the pound to each sub scriber of one pound and upwards. All subscribers not claiming their dividend before the Ist of February next will be considered as consenting that the same be added te the funds of the Huntingdonshire Infirmary." It may be added that to prevent imposition every case where relief was afforded was strictly investigated by a committee of gentle men in the neighbourhood, it being considered of the utmost importance that white the truly necessitous were assisted in their difficulties, nothing should be done which could by any means constitute a premium oSEXn incendiarient. ES. FIRE AT BRAINTREE.—AbOnt four o'clock on Sa turday morning a fire broke out at Mr. West's brush manu factory, in the very heart of the town, and adjoining an ex tensive candle manufactory. The fire engines were soon at the spot, and, although the flames rifted with great fury, and threatened for some time the destruction of the candle manufactory, and much other valuable property contiguously situate, the exertions of the inhabitants were successful in confining the mischief principally to the brush manufactory and other property belonging to Mr. West. The damage is roughly estimated at 4,0W1. Mr. West's loss is said to be severed by insurance. LITERATURE. Borneo and tlw Indian Archipelogo . By FRANI 8. MAIM ItYAT. 1848. Sarawak; its Inhabitants and Productions : being Notes during a residence in thou country with H. H. the Rajah Brooke. By ticon Low, Colonial Secretary at Lebow. This work of Mr. Low is very complete and trustworthy. The author enjoyed ample and more favourable opportunities for scientific investiga tion of the natural productions of the territory vi Sarawak, and for observation and comparison of the various characteristics of the native inhabitants—of both Malay and Dyak race—than any other European, perhaps not even excepting Mr. Brooke; and the so count to which he has turned them is in these pages. Altogether, Mr. Low was in Sarawak and about the northern and western coasts of Borneo, for thirty months. At first he was engaged simply as a natu ralist—collecting seeds and plants. This pursuit led him further into the interior of the country than any Englishman had previously penetrated, and enabled him likewise to observe the habits and feelings of the people in their more ordinary aspect —gnawed by Rower, unconstrained by the presence of their masters. Subsequently he was appointed secretary to Mr. Brooke, and in that capacity added to the informa tion which ho had gleaned as a private observer what we may call an official knowledge of the country and its manifold resources. Besides all the advantages of position, Mr. Low appears to have i brought to his chosen task a good deal of natant shrewdness, some acquaintance with the ethnology and natural history of the Eastern Archipelago, a keen eye for the contrasts and coincidences of tribual character, an analytical turn of mind, and a generous sympathy with the fate and prospects of the human subjects of his investigation. These qualities—which are prominently conspicuous throughout the work— eminently fit Mr. Low for the task which he has undertaken; and the result of his labours is a consi derable addition and a more methodical arrangement of our stock of information respecting Borneo, and the principality of Sarawak in particular. In fact, the work before us is a manual of our knowledge of the country—of its mineral, vegetable, and animal pro ducts—which is not altogether without its interest for the general reader, but is more especially addressed, and will be useful to, the merchant, the missionary, and the legislator. 1 Borneo abounds in the most valuable minerals. Gold is found in considerable quantities; and that pre cious metal forms a large article of export from Bana -1 wak. It is found in three situations—in the suedes of limestone rocks, in the beds of rivers, sod IR ea I alluvial soil. It abounds moat in Sarawak, Baraboo,' Saugon, and Bonjar. The idle and listless Malays prefer to search the soil, as being the easiest though not always the moat profitable method of finding the precious ore. On the sides of the limestone rocks are found small holes, continuations of which penetrate the hill for a distance of forty or fifty feet. Into these the miner descends—the bottom opens in variably into a cave covered with earth of a loamy nature. This is brought up, and when washed, yields about one and three quarters of an ounce of gold to each bushel of earth. This is exceedingly profitable employment, and is carried on by all the poor and lazy classes of the Sarawak community; the wages of agricultural labour are consequently very high— and it is ex cee dingly difficult to hire men at all for ordinary work. How the gold could have been de posited in these caves is a curious question for the geologist and mineralogist to discuss—the merchant and the politician must deal with the fact as they find it, and be prepared for the effect which such a circumstance must necessarily produce upon the state of the labour market in the principality. The more laborious but certain methods of gold finding are carried on by the more industrious Chinese—who work in association, being all members of the great kung-si, or company, the officers of which manage all their affairs. A more valuable product still is found in Borneo. Its diamonds have long been celebrated as equal in size and beauty to those of India or BraziL Irons also found in quantity ; and it is supposed that formerly the Chinese smelted it and cast it into cannon ; but the quality of the metal is not good, and it would hardly yield a profit to the European capitalist. Tin and nickel also exist in abundance, and offer a more tempting field for mining operations. The tin is of the kind called stream tin—so abundant in Malacca and the Malayan peninsula—the nickel is found combined with iron and cobalt: it has not yet been worked. Silver, of course, is not found there, any more than elsewhere in the east in similar latitudes. Mercury is known to exist, but it has not been yet ob tained in sufficient quantity for the purposes of export. But as yet the most useful and profitable mineral ob tained in Sarawak is the antimony ore—being of a Tither and more valuable kind than that obtained in Europe. It was the discovery by the natives of the value of this ore which produced that insurrection of the Dyaks which resulted in the elevation of Mr. Brooke to the rajabahip, and laid the foundation of the permanent influence of England on the island. Soon after the establishment of the settlement of Singapore, the rajahs of Borneo fi nding that the anti mony of Sarawak commanded a ready sale there, forced the unfortunate Dyaks to work the mines, and exercised their cupidity and power with each wanton cruelty that the rebellion ensued—the putting an end to which was the price of the cession of the territory of Sarawak to Mr. Brooke. examination. Nearly, if not all, vegetable productions found in tropical soils art climates, are to be met with in Borneo. Capital and labour are alone required to create a great commerce out of the natural elements and means of wealth which are lavishly scattered about this beautiful land. The soil of Sarawak, with which Mr. Low is beet acquainted, consists, he says, of a rich strong yellow loam, of from ten to twenty feet in thickness, which is covered again by an average of six to twelve inches of a black and very productive vegetable mould, formed by the decayed vegetation of the primeval forests. This soil is admirably adapted for the cultivation of the sages-cane, which flourishes ilia without the slightest care from the Dyak,togreater perfection than in Ceylon under the skilful nurture of Europeans. An experiment has been tried to grow nutmegs—the cultivation of which is so costly at Singapore and Penang—in the coots nut, and other cheap styles of plantation, and with, we are assured, the most complete success. Oranges, cinnamon, cloves, and many other valuable exotica are also found to flourish in the soil of Sarawak, a fact which proves that the finer kinds of spices might also be cultivated with a little attention. Among the more ordinary, but not less valuable, products of the island, arc enu merated—rice, sago, coffee, cotton, pepper, the cocoa nut, tobacco, gotta perch*, and many others. The fauna of the country, so far as it is yet known, is also described by Mr. Low, and to _his descriptions we refer the curious in such matters. Mr. Low's account of the inhabitants of Borneo both of the Dysk and Malay races—though still for from perfect and satisfying, is yet more complete and apparently more accurate than any of those furnished by his predecessors. As we have said, he enjoyed some advantages in his observations which they had not; and as he seems to be a perfectly conscientious man, his opinion is well entitled to consideration. We are not sorry to find the Englishman, who is, perhaps, best acquainted with the character of the Malay, inclined to think it, on the whole, much better than its reputa tion. Europeans have formed their judgments of the ruling race of Borneo from the very worst portion of it—the pirates. It is true that the Malay character is not good ; but its imperfections arise from acci dental and removable causes, not from inherent defects of mental and moral organisation. Mr. Low thinks the Malay population would bear a not unfavourable comparison with the untaught lower classes of European nations. He regards them as little, if at all, mentally inferior,—and in some of those natural graces of bearing and of manner, the endowment of most Asiatic races, as infinitely superior to them : yet in their honest but unexagge rated confidence they more resemble the sturdy North American Indians than the servile and cringing Hindoos. They are Mohammedan in religion, and of the Sunni or orthodox sect: bat contrary to the pre cept of their founder, declaring that no true believer could ever be held in bondage—an injunction which more western Mussulmen evade by pretending to de tect some flaw in the creed of their slaves—they per mit the institution of slavery to flourish to an un warrantable extent. Their debtor and creditor laws are analogous to the ancient Roman laws on the same relations. The insolvent becomes the slaveofhis creditor ; and as the original debt, with compound interest at a most usurious rate continually added, multiplies it at a tremendous speed, there is no hope of a person once involved ever recovering his liberty. This institution is one that has frequently claimed the attention of Mr. Brooke; and we are assured that the pecuniary sacrifices which he has made in assisting persons un der these circumstances have been neither few nor slight. The Malays are excessively superstitious, and their spiritual superiors—" the descendants of the Prophet," as all Arabs on the island call themselves — exert an influence over them ouly to be paralleled out of the annals of Ireland or Portugal in western Europ e. The )yaks are, perhaps, in every respect, an in ferior race—less finely organised, and lees developed, both in their characters and institutions. Their re ligions are excessively vague. That they have a pantheon is, however, certain, for Mr. Brooke is one of their gods, whom they supplicate in prayers, and worship with simple rites. They implore him to send them plentiful harvests. When he visits one of their villages they wash his feet with water, which ceremony they believe endows the said water with divine virtues. They preserve it with great core, and pour it upon their plantations and fields in small quantities, to render them fruitful. The way k whisk the missionaries who have recently gone out to Sarawak will deal with these nations we do not know ; but we may add that this superstitious rite is innocence itself compared with the practice which formerly prevailed of taking heads upon all such oc. caaions. There are many curious points connected with the Pyaks, on which we could wish for still ampler infor mation. Mr. Low considers that he has found in their ceremonies indubitable traces of the ancient ritual of the Hindus. Further investigation into the yet existing remains of traditions and religions in Borneo may possibly do something to increase our knowledge of the early settlements of the whole of eastern Polynesia. The work which appears first upon our list has not the scientific claims of that which has just occupied us. It is written evidently by a young officer, with lively im pressions, a keen eye for novelty, and appetite for fun. But it contains many lively sketches, both from pen and pencil, and much valuable observation throughout a much wider range than that taken by Mr. Low. It is a useful supplement to the work of Capt. Keppel; at most of whose achievements the writer was present. His personal account of Capt. Keppel is highly to the honour of that commander, and indeed equally so to that of Mr. Brooke. I don't know," writes the author, " what the natives thought of the European Rajah Brooke playing at leap-frog, but it is certain the rajah oareu little what they thought. Every one loved him." Mr. Marryat displays a very good feeling towards the Dyaks, and even towards those receiving punish ment as pirates, who he thinks may not all have been so guilty. He dwells more especially on the castigation administered by the Semarang to the prahua and population of the Gillolo shore, where 350 were slam, and many women and children, and where it is at least very possible that the victims were no pirates at all, and neither meditating nor con cerned in piracy. Bat as Sir Edward Belcher is evi dently no favourite with Mr. Marryat, it may be well to maks allowance for any , strictures upon him. open or covert, made by the gallant middy. A truly interesting portion of Mr. Marryat's book is, however, his account of the expedition against Brani, and of the signature of the famous treaty, when " The platform admitted one of the steamer's guns to I,ok into the audience chamber, the muzzle pointed directly at the Sultan, and • man with the lighted tow in his hand standing by." It is satisfactory to see the good feeling that pre vailed towards the French and their admiral, whom the Semarang met on the coast of Sooloo. They were then treating for the sovereignty of the island of Basilan. They bad commenced by endeavouring to take forcible possession of it, but were beaten off by the natives, who killed a lieutenant and four men. The admiral offered the Sultan of Sooloo 20,000 dol lars for the island, which he refused. At the same time the people of Sooloo strove to get rid of such visitors by poisoning the springs where the vessels watered. A seaman discovered the circumstance by the effect which the water had on his feet. The French admiral had already laid in his stock when the English informed him of his danger. The description of the interview with the Sultan of Sooloo is amusing. " Behind the Sultan stood a young man very handsomdy dressed in crimson silk, who held in his hands an English finger glans. We were very much at a loss to know what his office might be, and also what might be the office of the finger glass ; bat our curiosity was soon gratified ; the Sultan beckoned the youth to approach, and as the latter presented the finger glass his Highness blew his nose in it." An extract of a different kind would be the very graphic picture which Mr. Marryat gives of the Minden, hospital ship. There is nothing more power ful in the pages of his great literary namesake, and probably his relative. But we have extended this review already to a sufficient length. UNPrERSITY AND CLERICAL. C A MERIDOZ.—QUEENS'COLLE6E.—There will be an elec tion at thi 'college, on the 10th Feb., to an exhibition tu the Michell Foundation. Candidates must be natives of the province of Canterbury, and of the full age of 15, but must not have exceeded '2O 'tan if members of the university, they must not have been matriculated more than 12 months. UNIVERSITY OP DUBLIN.—ERASIMS SMITE'S LECT' RE% ON NATURAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPET.—At a meeting of the board on the 10th of January, the Rev. Robert V. Dixon, M.A., F.T.C.D., was elected to this lec tureship. The professorship of natural philosophy is still vacant. x - • ". - 4 / 1 -; • r . .Z.l Al 42, IE ~