The Express. — London, England, 1852-02-10 00:00:00

Vie 01:omits. TO CORIMPONDINTO. A tom/ lair of • lbe tayous," •Wbag lb. arm swielrfs .o...u.."l.publbeed may Tiamlay sad Vriday sigh*. kg Or MIL ursosialsoisd Mt "Tie lapres,. Larks i nk p.m sist be si taw oft., by Two* es Os 1,4 pobbegloa. NIGH WATIIR AT LONDON SKIDOO. DAT—MOM , 111. lin Annie a. M. 41s. T....sonr—nerann 410. --Allston% GI. Ow. LONDOY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10. H o u is it that this terrible Ifolmfirth oataatrophe does not ratite that intense public interest which the de...friction of the Amazon aroused? The lona of life is nearly as large; the loss of pro perty is far greater ; the ruin and devastation are incalculably greeter; the surprise and suddenness of the deluge rival those of the conflagration; the meter.---as the tire,--came on its victims like a thief in tlw night, carrying off a multitude of sleepers to eternity ; m both cases horrors on horrors had aecumu- L it A ; and yet the feelings, the sympathy, and the bineviilenre of the country, which were so strongly and deeply stirred up by the tragedy at era, seem to be hut slightly moved (at a distance from the scene) by a walla disaster, which hex afflicted a whole dotriet on the land.. — How is this' Is it that as yet we have scarcely ncle-ed the Holmfirth catastrophe? That wo have not obtained in our mind's eye a pictorial view of the bursting of this immense reservoir, and the in undation its contents on a peaceful town, buried in slumber? That it wants the dramatic unity which gave to the terrible burning of the Amnion such simplicity in its awfulness ? 'That it leaves no tales of horrors be hind it, to imprint it for life on our memories? Is it that our sympathies for human suffering are limited—that our stock of benevolence has for • white been exhausted—or that politics occupy at present all our thoughts? hatever the cause, this llolmfirth disaster—this destruction not merely of a whole town, but the up rooting by bursting. roaring, impetuous, irresistible floods of a whole district—this sweeping away of great factories, carrying off and down the inunda tion huge pieces of machinery, as if they were but the branches of trees or the hurdles from a sheep-fold— this floating upwards of SO human beings into eter nity—has certainly not produced one-half the con sternation of the Amazon disaster; though it wants but few of its tragic mournful incidents; and has ter rible features of its own of even deeper interest. The surrounding towns of Manchester, Huddersfield, and Sheffield, have, to be sure, hurried to see the terrible ,sent; fur to them Holmfirth , and the valley in which it stood, was a daily reality, ascot of congenial industry and activity; there lived their neighbours, their friends, their acquaintances, their business connexions;—curiosity, too, took hundreds on Sunday to the afflicted spot, as if on a railway excursion to Alton Towers or Castle Howard. But here at a dis tance, where the very name of Holmfirth,—despite its great productive capacity and energy,—waseompara tively unknown, the newspaper accounts of the cotes tropbe have not made a deep impression. Let us shake off this apathy and arouse our selves to the obligation this lawful event suggests on as. Its consequences are too vast and serious to be borne by the locality ; and though the great manufacturing districts which surround and belt in Hulinfirth will do their part liberally, not even their benevolence can supply funds ade quate for the occasion. When, across the German Ocean, Hamburg was destroyed by fire, we contri buted not less than 30,0001. to the resuscitation of the Free City ; and when Quebec suffered from a similar cause, a Queen's letter appealed to our gene rosity for effectual assistance ;--and not in vain. Now we have at home, in the very centre of the island, a fatality of as great magnitude. Surely it has claims on our liberality larger than even those which a German city and a colonial capital so readily provoked? Where, as at Holmfirth, ruin has so suddenly , been brought on a whole district ; where, in fact, its property . has been either totally destroyed and seri ously injured; where the means of employment for the survivors are suspended, if not absolutely gone; money is the first thing wanted. It is the exercise of charity that must precede investigation, inquiry, and even reflection. Winter is not yet over, and the inhabitants of Holmfirth, rich and poor, have been deprived of house and home. ham who, ten days ago, were worth thawed,. ad teas of thousands, are now as helpless, obi even more hopeless than the labourers sal artisans to whom they gave employment. Prollas sional men. tradesmen, retired manufacturers, me all involved in a common ruin. In one night, pro perty to the extent of 600,00(1. was destroyed, and by it the activity, the enterrise the industry, and capital of a flourishing neighb ourhood have been ruined. Let our first impulse be to relieve such suffering ; then let us proceed to ascertain where the blame lies. Holmfirth was a tine specimen of British enterprise of the best sort, and it will, we fear, also turn out to be anothi r instance of the imperfect manner in which that enterprise is occasionally worked out. It was an attempt, and a successful one, to carry manufactures into the country, and there to move great works by water power. For that purpose the running streams of the valley were collected and impounded in reservoirs. This was done, under au thority of parliament, by the inhabitants themselves; • company was incorporated, commissioners were appointed, and funds subscribed. Enormous reser voirs were formed: so enormous, that the Bilberr7 one, when it burst, contained eighty feet in depth of water. These reservoirs were dammed in by huge dykes. Unfortunately, either the enzineering skill which planned them, or the capital which executed (perhaps both), was in sutfit ient, and the dam of the Bilbury reservoir was built on ground through which numerous springs percolated. These inured and weakened it; the water from the springs roes beneath the dam ; that from the reservoir oozed through it ; and when the lute rains filled the reservoir, the immense pres sure of the contents acted on an enfeebled bulwark; —sway it went,--and out rushed the water, carrying death, destruction, and ruin before it. Some few persona interested appear to have had their fears aroused ; but the great mass of the dis trict slept secure; fifty of the apprehensive watched the reservoir on the awful night that it burst ; but the rushing streams overtook them in their flight ere they could rouse the confiding town; and one old lady, a principal proprietor and sufferer, had in her incredulity of the waters which were about to sweep away her milt, to be dragged against her will out of her own house for safety. In the inquiry shout to be instituted it is to be hoped that in no national a disaster, the govern ment will be represented and take part. We live in an age of great public works, many of which, like this, involve r sit and danger to life and property; and though their exe cution is very properly left to private enterprise and capital, some central supervision for testing their sufficiency and their security ought to be exercised. In the case of railways we have it without any in- terference with their free agency; and there can be no glssd reason why the principle so usefully ap plied to railways should not be extended to all great works of a public description. Our factories, our mines, our lunatic asylums, and our railways are under adequate inspection ;—why not our canals, our great drainage works, and reservoirs and dams, such as those in the valley of the I (ohne ? Pecuniary assistance is, however, the first require mint; and the inure liberally that is given, the deeper will be the interest the public will take in investigating the causes, and in providing remedies against the recurrence of such terrible disasters as that which has swept away Holmtirth. What the state does in France,--and what it has, in the ease of our West Indian colonies, more than once done in England on such occasions,--let us see whether we cannot now tccomplish by our individual liberality, I and thereby show our superior fitness for administer ing our own affairs. THE ritYRTAL PAL tt•V---[To the Editor of the -4 New-street, Spring-gardens, 9th Feb., •.• paragraph the appeared in wveral or the ^.l "..l"oritolvi to the et; et that the public may obtain coil, iie.iilmismon to the Crystal Palace upon application P . our nth. e, we b•g to .ay that this announceincut is en• tinly toioulhoriwil by us. Your inserting this letter, in order to prevent the inconvenience that must arise to nu merous pcnon■, will oblige, Sir, your obedient servants — Pus, Ilititozeteotr, AND CO. FRANCE. PAWL KOWIDAT ETIIIIIIO. Yesterday the President paid • visit to Versailles. He went in • close chariot, attended by Edge!. Ney, and with an escort of cuirassers. The object of his visit wen, I am told, to address the officers of the garrison, who were reported to be extremely dissffected. Rumours had been circulated that it was intender; to place 200 officers on half pay in consequence of their °demist leanings. Gene rally the confiscation-decry has proved highly offensive to the army, from the coarse manner in which they are invited to partake the spoil. Notwithstanding the earnest desire of • few honourable men to make the most of the narrow footing offered by the constitution of January 14, in order to form a legal parliamentary opposition in the ('orps Legislatif it begins to be too obvious that they . will be forced to give over this course as en illusion, and wait patiently till the departments be come alive, as Pans already is, to the intolerable oppression of the government. The article of the Putrie which I described to you yester day is regarded as • manifesto of the Presi dent, proclaiming that no sort of opposition will be tolerated. In the meantime there is no pos sibility of the different fractions of the opposition coming to an understanding. When a dozen men of any party meet they . do so secretly, they . take all possible preenutions against the inter loping of policemen, and depart separately to avoid suspicion. Among the democratic candi dates are mentioned Prondbon, Carnet, Pierre Leroux, Charms, Cavaignac, I)ufaure, Bethmont, and Ferdinand de Lasteyne are spoken of among the moderate republicans. But there is no certainty in any list, sa no possibility of organization yet exists. The silence obs i ervable n the Moniteur during some days past is likely, I am told, to prevail more or less until the elections. The bud effector the late decrees upon public opinion has opened the eyes of the government to the impolicy of provoking more criticism than can be helped at this critical pe riod, when the country is on the eve of choosing its representatives. Although the government will cer tainly resort once more to a dissolution if the new Assembly should not be to its liking, of course it wishes to be spared the dangerous necessity of doing so. The fusionist party is displaying a good deal of activity in convassingoinder the auspices of M. Ducha tel. lam told that, notvrit hstanding the deeisioe of the leading legitimists to abstain from presenting them selves as candidates, Leo de Laborde intends to come forward for the Vaucluse. But you are aware that he and Larochejacquelin stand almost alone in the extreme Right. You are aware that Madame Georges Band has been some time in Paris, preparing a drama of her composition for representation at the Theatre du Oymnase. I understand that this celebrated writer had solicited an interview with the President, for the purpose of representing on the part of the rural inhabitants of the province of Berry the effects of the coup detat on that port of France. General Rouguet, Louis Napoleon's aide-de-camp, having answered that the President would receive Madame Sand, the latter went at the time appointed, and, during a long conversation, depicted to the Prince the sufferings endured by the peasantry, in conse quence of the multitudinous arrests. their terrors, misery, despair, and complete innocence of all par ticipation in the insurrection. The President was much impressed with the eloquent description given be this woman of genius of the misfortunes of those simple country people whom she has sketched so happily in her novels. But he positively declined to grant the amnesty which she solicited for them. He seemed, however to wish to convey the impres sion that vast designs of beneficence were rolling in his head; for he said that she would be astonished at what he would do, but gave no clue for arriving at his mysterious designs. Last night, I hear, • Madame Pauline Roland, a disciple of M. Pierre Leroux, and author of pamphlets on working associations, was arrested. It is also reported that sixty journeymen printers were arrested at the same time. A fresh list of senators is said to be on the eve of 1 appearing. About half the senators, I hear, will re ceive pensions. I lately mentioned a rumour that the Corps Le -1 gialatif would only have the privilege of voting the budget of expenses in a lump, and would not be allowed to examine the details. It is now said that that body will be relieved from the labour of con sidering the public expenditure altogether. They will be asked to vote the supplies, and it will be raid that as the constitution gives the power of refusing them, it is no business of theirs to inquire what becomes of the money. That would bo to re vive in a measure, the' system of impertinent and annoying parliamentary inquiries which it is the express intention of the present government to put down. Meanwhile 240,0001. a year is talked of as the civil list which the Senate will be asked to vote for the President. This, considering that he has not the domains prire , to keep up, would be about equi valent to the 480,000 f. which was allowed to Louis Philippe. I shall be much surprised if the civil list do not far exceed the above-mentioned sum. The President gives a ball at the Elyse.) to-night. The invitations are limited to 600. At the Bourse the Five per Cents. rose 5e., and closed at 102.85. The Three per Cents. rose 15c., closing at 61.60. Bank of France shares fell sf. Railways were well supported :—Rouen rose 15 ; Versailles (left bank), 7.50; Orleans, .5; Havre, Central and Lyons, 2.50 each; Boulogne and North ern, 1.23 each. BELGIUM. On the 6th inst. the construction of a telegraphic line was completed, by which the Belgian stations are placed in communication with that of Chsions ser-Saone, on the Lyons and Marseilles line. The printer of the Bulletin Francois writes to the newspapers to complain that besides the inculpated No. 5 of that work, all the copies of previous num bers, amounting to l;),000, together with the list of subscribers, were seized. _ . The Belgian newspapers contain accounts of inun dations caused by the recent heavy and continued rains in all parts of the kingdom. On the afternoon of the 6th the environs of Brussels were invaded by the floods, and at the same time two large breaches were made in the southern railway—one of them at the Tro6 Chandeliers,where theline wassimilarly damaged by the great flood of 1830. The Paris trains were stopped at Loth, where the second breach had oc curred, and the passengers forwarded by diligence. The goods train from Brussels ran off the line near Loth, and was overturned in the waters. A similar accident betel the goods train from Braine-le-Comte. Between the l'orte de Flandro and the southern railroad, the country was laid entirely under water. 'the environs of Mons were completely submerged, the southern suourbs to the depth ofseveral feet. At Liege the Meuse had swelled so as to overflow the quays. At Verviers, the Vcrdre was so high that fears were entertained for the bridge of Chaudfon taine. At Namur and Maestricht, the waters were rising a menacing height. _ ..... The electrons for the canton of Tessin have resulted in a decided victory for the democratic party. lir the canton of Berne li,ooo persons have signed the con stitutional act for procuring the retirement of the present conservative government. A letter from Berne, of the 6th, says: The struggle continues, and socialism will gain the day. The prevailing excitement will cotupel the government to have recour e to new elections. Excited pa soigne may be fatal to public tranquillity, and these incesmnt struggles will give fresh chances of success to the party of levellers. The government. groaning itself to • doubtful legality, sacs the moment approaching; it remains surrouuded with its friend. who, while doing full justice to its scruples, blame its we:dines". The canton of Vaud, wields is always a great partisan of Napoleonian idea*, is returning to more li oral ones, and the prottetion due to catholicism has made it listen to the complaints of those who call themselves the only believers. At Geneva there is still the same exaggera tion ; war exists between the brothers and friends. Ihnehot and some other violent men are in the frontier villages. The New Gazette of Zurich, of the tith, say;: We understand that the printer of the Tribune of Berne, a Frenchman named Michel, whose papers were not to ri'yte, hes been eapelleil by en order of the federal council. Hes wife was Rho "rimed to accompany him. - - The Swiss journals announce that on the proposi tion of a citizen of Geneva, Colonel flatlet, a sub scription is to be got up in all the canons to pay the sum of 2,300,tNJ01r., au❑ remaiuiug due by the can tons of the Sunderbund for tho military operations in 1846-7. THE EXPRESS, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 10. 18311. SPAIN. THE ATTEMPT ON THE QUEEN. Our Paris correspondent writes last evening as follows : " The last telegraphic despateh from Madrid is dated at one o'clock on the afternoon of the Bth, and was received at the Spanish emban7 to-day. It says : " ' The Queen has entered into convalescence.' "The Cbestiturionnel contains the following from Madrid, dated Feb. 3: ." I have just met one who comes from the Queen's chamber. This afternoon the news is bad. The peritoneum has been pierced by three inches of the puignard. Notwithstanding the bulletins, she has been much agitated the whole night, and only slept a little through opium. People go so far as to dread a sad issue within five or six days.' "Now it is evident that tke bulletins issued by the royal physicians deserve no reliance whatever. The remarkable postscript given above of the letter, ad dreamed from Madnd on the afternoon of the 3rd to the Conatitutiansel, especially tho ominous words at the conclusion, which allude to the possibility of a fatal termination within five or six lays, have pro duced a painful sensation in Paris. The precipita tion with which the execution of the assassin has been carried into effect is generally disapproved, as evincing a desire to hush up all inquiry. I find some particulars in the letter of the Constitutionnel, be sides those which I have already sent to you. It seems that at the moment when the Queen extended her hand towards Merino, meaning to receive the peti tion that she supposed ho wished to present, he seised her hand with his left, and stabbed her with his right. The Queen instantly uttered a shriek so piercing that it was heard from one extremity of the palace to the other. The poniard had been so rowdy and surely directed that it went through the thick velvet dress, the under garments, and the stays, and entered the body of the Queen' just above the groin. Count Pino-Hermoso, who, as you are aware, rushed op in time to parry a second blow, has, it is said, his fingers almost cut off. The Princess Royal was between her Majesty and the King, carried on a cushion by the Mar chioness de Povar. On hearing the Queen's cry, this lady's nerves failed her, the royal infant slipped off the cushion and fell to the ground ! 'The nurse who followed was pressed upon by the crowd and sank down in a corner in a fainting fit. When the Queen, after being carried to her room, asked for her child, it is said that nobody about her knew where the infant was, and that it was afterwards found in the gallery in the arms of a halberdicr, wbo had picked the poor thing up. The public mind in Madrid is in the greatest alarm. The extraordinary shriek of the Queen, which was heard by so many, leads to the belief that there must be some organic injury. People rake up various sinister predictions. It is remembered that sister Monja Pratrocinio, a nun, who is believed to have all the wounds of Christ constantly open on her body, and who is venerated by multitudes of the superstitious, said of the queen, She will bring forth a child, but she will not live.' The political consequences of the demise of the crown at this moment, are appalling to think of. In the present state of Spain nobody be lieves that a regency of 18 years, with the crown on the head of a child of six weeks old, is a rf , ginie that could last many hours. In Paris it is considered al most certain that civil war would break out at once. I am anxious not to exaggerate the grounds for alarm ; but I fear there is too much reason to believe the pri vate intelligence of the Constitutionnel. The official bulletins are most suspicious in their tone. One of them said that there had been no suppuration in the wound, which was a good symptom. Accord ing to another, suppuration was going on re gularly. In one of the bulletins it was said that Ler Majesty was going on well ' in the opinion of her ordinary physicians.' Bulletins seldom disclose the whole truth with regard to a royal patient, and Spanish bulletins are even leas to be relied upon than such documents in other countries. The person of the sovereign is so sacred that in theory it is not admitted to be acces sible to the common ills of humanity. When a King of Spain dies it is customary for a grand officer of state to go up to the bedside and ask the corpse when it will be his Majesty's pleasure to rise. It is well known that the death of Ferdinand VII. was concealed for a long time. I have , now before me a drawing (a copy of which I send you) showing the exact form and length of the fearful in strument with which the wound was inflicted. The blade isabout ten inches long. Now it app, ars from one of the earliest bulletins that tho wound is from seven to eight " ligncs," or about three-quarters of an inch in length at the orifice. Measuring upwards from the tapering point of the poniard I find that it must have penetrated to the depth of at least four inches to have made a wound of that size. It is, therefore, evident that what the bulletins at first spoke of as a slight wound must have been a very serious one, and the subsequent bulletins must be received with proportionate distrust. You already know that the poniard is described as of Albacete manufacture. Albacete is the Sheffield of Spain. The knife made there is the national weapon, which Spaniards know how to oso with fatal precision. The manufacturers there have worked for many cen turies upon the same pattern, originally taken from the Moors. They often scratch rudely in Arabic characters on the blade without in the least understatding its meaning, the following motto, With the help of Allah! I hope to kill my enemy.'" The following appeared in the Madrid Gazette of Feb. 2: OF Till COUNCIL Or. An event without example in our annals has taken place to-day. At the moment when their Majesties were leaving the Chapel It'lel to proceed to the Atoche, a wretch made an attempt on the precious life of her Majesty the Queen. The following is the bulle tin of the physicians of her Majesty to the Pre sident of the Council of Ministers Excellency—The weapon, after having grated the right arm, struck the region of the upper part of the spleen on the manse side. The wound is about three quarters of an inch in length. We communicate this account to you with the most pro found grief, in execution of our duty. God preserve your excellency. (Signed) JUAN FRANCISCO Baseman. ' J ura DRUNIN S. DIONISIO Soto. "Madrid, February 2. GERMANY. PRUSSIA. The Second Chamber continued on the 6th the discussion of the bullet. The sitting was occupied with several lively Eileen ipso the credits for the government police osastios, min In the adoption of the ministenal p no Free Evangelical congregation at Elblag WU akeeleed on the Ist by the police. Dr. Klee 's proposition for restoring the exemption from taxation enjoyed by the catholic and evan gelical clergy and schoolmasters before the constitu tional era, has been favourably reported on by the parliamentary committee appointed for its examina tion. The government oppose the exemption, on account of the loss it would entail on the state tree sury : minister., however, have given notice that they will shortly propose a measure relieving the landed property of ecclesiastical corporations from the burden of taxation. Count Mensdorff-I'onilly left Berlin Feb. 7 for Kiel. The ministerial Prussian Gazette states that his mission is to deliver up, in conjunction with the Prussian Commissioner, Gen. Thurman, tho federal authority hitherto exercised in the duchy to tho Danish Commissioner Count Iteventlow-Criminil, and forthwith to withdraw the Austrian and Prus sian troops. BAI)EN. Letters from Frankfurt state that the Orand Duke of Baden, Leopold 1., is dangerously ill, while the heir presumptive, his eldest son, is suffering an en feeblement of his mental faculties. The question of the succession to the throne is thus raised at a troubled time, as the plenipotentiary of Baden has just had occasion to memorialise the Frankfort Diet upon the dangers apprehended from the greet num ber of refugees who have gathered upon the frontier since December 2nd. The Noniteur of Feb. 3 coateinea royal ordinance diseolving all popular easociatione throughout the kingdom. ITALY. PIEDMONT. The Cbrrisrs Mercantile of Chaos of the sth dates that Messrs. MiLla and Brassily have offered Austria to And the necessary funds for the Tadao and Milan railway, on condition that the other lines of Lombardy and Piedmont be allowed to meet it. Negotiations on the subject have been set on foot with the Turin and Novara 'Railway Company and the Piedmontees government. SWEDEN. The powder magasine et Londden, near Liding tihro, exploded on the 24th. The shock shattered several thousand panes of glass in the city of Stock holm, particularly in the Palace. The magazine contained 2,800 cwt. of gunpowder, and the loss is estimated at 116,000 thelers. Two bodies only have been found among the ruins. ° LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S NEW REFORM BILL. Russell the D•ay New.) Lord John Russell last night explained to par. liametit and to the country his plans for repre sentative reform. At the very outset of his speech he put one point beyond doubt. All he had to propose was to be in the spirit of plans enunciated in the legislature at various bygone times. He was no innovator; he sought to make no novel or eccentric changes ; he was content to discuss parlia mentary reform as parliamentary reform had often been discussed befure, and was now ready—not to concede a single measure that should enfranchise the great mass of the people upon any one of the broadly popular plans proposed by the representatives of large democratic constituencies,—but rather to step with &cautious and precedent-loving prudence in the foot-prints of those who had gone before on " similar ends intent." Ho would, indeed, follow on the trail ho had himself made in 1832. Hie great anchor was the Reform Bill of that year—a measure on which he and his colleagues at that time must stake all hope of being remembered as statesmen use ful in their generation. Beyond the limits placed by that measure, he was willing to some extent to advance ; but his faith must be in the strict line of the constitutional changes then inaugurated. He would relax, and even improve, but not change. The Act of 1832 fixed the relative conditions of city and rural representation—a state of th i ngs not be now to materially disturbed. The increas e d intel ligence that has given rapid advance to commercial towns could be counted for nothing; the slow-coach pace of the country was to be considered equally worthy of being in at the goal. No re-adjustment of relative representation could be thought of. The old plan was still to be Me plan, from which there was to be from time to time a mere promise of change. How far this bold adhesion to ancient theories may be acceptable to the country remains to be seen. Apart from this leaning upon a threadbare political antiquity—this reliance upon peat beliefs and upon exploded parliamentary formulie—the pro- position of Lord JOAN RUSSELL has certainly its merits. He offers to extend the franchise in towns : so far so good. He reduces the voting rectum.' ements in counties:—whether for the benefit of progress, or of toryism is doubtful. Still in counties the step is in the direction of extension, and—let us hope—im provement He proposes to put the English and Irish members upon the same favourable position with the representatives of Scotland, by the abo lition of property qualification,—taking the common sense view of that question, by supposing that no man can spend his time in parliament who has not wherewithal to make out an income. He takes, moreover, a still further step in the way of liberalising the representation by creat ing a new class of forty-shilling voters from amongst those who are known to have ample intelligence, and who certainly enjoy that favourite qualification, "a stake in the country." With this view he offers a vote to all who pay two pounds a year in messed taxes. This is to a large extent very like linking more closely together the taxpayer and the voter, and thus identifying the man who pays feir the government with the man who,—by his vote, — supports or opposes the government. Such arrange ment of a more intimate communion between the governing power and the paying individuals, must, so far as it goes, be regarded as satisfactory. The disfranchising power of the proposed bill of the Minister, is, perhaps, one of the weakest points of his measure. He tells us that he has two seats on hand —to be allotted—two units of the six hundred and fifty-eight M-P-ships which may be given as an in stalment of the representative debt claimed by the nation. These he proposes to allot to Birkenhead and Burnley—thus throwing a sop to Cheshire and to Lanasshire. But he hints that St. Albans may be cut off from the roll of places to be entrusted with the duty of returning representa tives; and, hereafter, if they prove impure, other places may share disfranchisement.. Two favoured spots are to gain members, but till other municipal sinners forfeit existing rights in the chapel of St. Stephen, no more towns may hope for the honour of being distinctly • represented in the great council of the nation. No new Schedule A is to appear, and so far the vaunted precedent of 1832 is let at nought. No list of sacri fices maybe hoped for. No offerings are to be made on the shrine of offended decency—no atonements for no torious bribery or corruption. And London and Lancashire and Yorkshire may sigh in vain fur additional members to represent their growing wealth and intelligence. The little boroughs of great lords are to bo enlarged somewhat in their dimensions, and are to be rendered more extensive if not more pure. Their limited capacity is here after to be stretched until each is to include, as it would seem, its patch of county. And thus the places now under the influence of the territorial aristocracy are to be under such influence still. In fine, the Prime Minister's proposed change in our representative sys tem might be published to the world as—" The Re form Bill of 1832; Revised and Corrected by one of the Original Authors- Schedule A omitted." No pester breadth of sentiment—no broader scope of vision, but merely the old story brought forth fresh furbished and adapted, as Lord Jotot himself explained,—in accordance with his present views of the increased intelligence and enlightenment of England in lttS2. The radical members who spoke in the House of Commons last night saw the difficulties of the posi tion they had to take. The bill offered them by the minister is clearly a step in advance. They do not find in it all they wish for, and on ono point it is manifestly deficient. It ignores The Ballot,—a defi ciency on which they will, of course, have much here after to say. But going as it does in the clear direction of improvement, they were unable to launch at it that weight of condemnation which must have greeted any less satisfactory proposition. They stood by their colours, and asked all it was their duty to ask. But the tone of the house was tolera bly manifest, and it was that, judging by its first ap pearance, Lord J. RUSSELL'S bill promises to be come law. To the advocates of religious free dom ho offers a modification of the oaths; to the ultras he, in effect, concedes one "point of the Charter "—the property qualification ; fur the suffragists be lowers the qualification of voters in towns; to the landed interest he tenders votes to a lower range of tenants than the old Chandos clause men; to the boroughmengeru he suggests an exten sion without much chance of a real change in the quality of the small constituencies ; whilst to the politico-economic advocate for direct taxation the bait is held out of a vote for each artisan who contributes 40e. a year directly to the state. It is a measure of details, not one of principle ; —of morse's not !ease.,- au instalment and not an entirety. Yet, although this new Reform Bill may blink broad and influential subjects it ought to have included, it presents many popular features, and many clever adaptations to sectional demands, and little surprise will probably be excited or indig nation roused if it ultiniately beoomes,—in a modified and improved shape,—the law of the land. LIVERPOOL CHAMBER or COMMERCE.—The coun cil of tleir aweociation held n meeting yesterday, the tint time since the annual general meeting, at which the fol lowing officers were elected: Hugh llornby, Esq., Pr• si dent ; FAincis Strand, Esq., Viet-President; Samuel Stitt, Esq., Treasurer. An eaten...tint letter was rend from Wm. Brown, , M.P., on the subject of decimal currency, showing the facilely with which the present currency of the kingdom could be ec:tleol on this cone enient principle, such chnige requiring only the introduction of a single now coiu. Tho object was referred to a epeeist committer. Thu meeting then broke up. Of court. WINDSOR, Pin. 9. The Qom, attended by the Martinmas, of Douro, drove out in a pony carriage this ramming. Colonel the Hon. Charlie (hey, Equerry is Waiting, attended on horseback. The Prince's Royal earl Prince.' Alms took exercise in the Riding-house. The Earl of Malinke' and Lieat..Colonel Franeis Sey mour have received invitations, and are expected at the Castle this afternoon. Her Motesty will hold a Privy Council on Friday neat, the 13th last., at Buckingham Palace. SUIRJUOINSO were issued yesteray from the Privy Council office to the Minis ters and Waren of State. Mr. E. Wellerstein, Consul-General for the Republics of Guatemala and Costa Rica, had an interview with Earl Granville yesterday at the Yore' -office. M. van de Weyer, the Belgian Minister, business yesterday at the office of the Secretary of State fur Foreign Affairs. Lord Harris had an interview with Earl Grey yesterday at the Colonial-office. The Earl of Letbind had an interview with Sir G. Grey at the Home-effice yesterday. Despatches were ramived_iesterdsy at the Colonial-office from the Governors of the West India colonies. THE TERRIBLE CATASTROPHE AT HOLMFIRTH. ADDITIONAL PARTICOLANA. The once thriving and busy little town of Holm firth, whose inhabitants bays been regarded even in the manufacturing districts as a people of extraordinary spirit and enterprise, was on Sunday a scene of gloom and mourning, from the numerous funi rale taking place. The necessity of burying the dead had become a pressing neces sity, from the rapid decomposition which usually goes forward in cases where death has resulted from Grown log. Morning, noon, and evening, hearses, biers, and mourners were seen flitting about in all directions. The scene had a more strange effect from the un favourable circumstances under which the funerals took place. The inclemency of the weather, which had been the first cause of such ruin, misery, and death, now inter posed to prevent that decent and decorous attention to ex ternal forma in which the bereaved, more especially in rural districts, are anxious to manifest their respect fur the memory of the dead. All Saturday night end during the whole of Sunday the rain fell heavily, 'sometimes in tor rents, not only adding discomfort to grief among the mourners, but absolutely again raising the fears of the people almost to terror lest another of the reservoirs should burst, and overwhelm the town a second time. Between eleven and twelve in the morning a report actually spread that the Holme Styes reservoirs had burst; and just as the clergyman at the notional school—where the congregation bad assembled, in consequence of the Holmfirth Church being unfit to receive them—had taken his text, the report was communicated by a Sunday scholar running into the place and telling the people of their Mimi neat peril. An extraordinary panic was the consequence ; the congregation hastily quitted the school, and the chil dren rushed screaming to the hills, and the greatest con sternation prevailed for some time, heirs it was known or believed that the story was unfounded. The Huhu° Styes reservoir is situated on a weans called the Ribble, which empties itself into the river Mame at the entrance to Holm firth, and would, were it to burst, undoubtedly cause great loss of life and destruction of property. In all about sixty-two bodies were interred, or removed to a tem- I porary resting-place on Sunday, the coroner's jury having gone round early in the morning to the various inns where bodies were lying to receive evi dence of identification and grant burial certificates. Only three of thecorpees remained unrecognised by friends alts . these had been removed. The Charlesworth and Crossland families had burial places nigher up the valley, in the churchyard of the rustic little village of Holme Briggs, and graves had been dug for seven bodies; but during the night the incessant fall of rain, added to the waters of the flood which hid poured over the yard into the church, had tilled them to overflowing, and the eollined dead were deposited for a temporary resting place in the church. In some cases, where whole families perished, there was no one for some time to own or identify the dead. Their relatives in distant towns and villages, even if they had heard a vague and uncertain rumour of the inundation, had not apprehended that the consequences were so fatal; but fortunately most of the heads of families, or sonic of the branches of most of the families, were members of benefit and friendly societies. These societies were liable hy their rules to demands for burial fees in such cases, and it is creditable to the oMeen of them that they did not wait for the claim to be discovered and made by friends and repre- ' irritative', but actually made themselves instrumental in searching out the friends of such parties, visiting Iludden field, Halifax, Bradford, and other places to bring forward the next relatives—where such were discovered—that they might identify the bodies, receive the money, and see that the fitting funeral rites were attended to. The orders of Druids and Odd Fellows were particular) distinguished in this respect; and groups of members also were busily engaged on Saturday dispersed along the sides of the river searching fur the bodies of the dead. On Sunday the fall of rain was too heavy to admit of persons continuing the search, and the river Moline was swollen so that it had become a rushing torrent. There was perhaps only one thing the rain could not damp and re strain, and that was the recited curiosity of the people in surrounding towns. The Lancashire and Yorkshire, and Sheffield ltailwaye were running trains, frequently at in tervals of less than half ea hour; and people flocked in from Manchester (upwards of thirty miles distant), Leeds, She Meld, Bradford, Halifax, Wakefield, Sowerby bridge, Rochdale, Tochnordan, and a score of other towns, till the streets and roads were crowded like a fair. The turnpike-roads were also filled with a constant stream of vehicles full of people. It was extraordinary to see the strangers, despite the falling torrents, wending their way up the valley, after inspecting the scene of devastati in at llolmfirth, to Bilberry Mill, three miles higher, where the reservoir had stood. Well dressed people as well as opera tives —men, women and children of all ages--were amongst them, wet to the skin, shivering with cold, yet unable to find room in the few public-houses to shelter or warm themselves. The wind blew in sharp said fitful gusts, and now and then as the crowds moved along the hill sides, one of these gusts would catch up an umbrella like a kite, and hurl it down again deep into the valley or into the river. GREAT FLOODS IN THE MANCHESTER RESSHVOIRS. The heavy rain on Saturday night and Sunday caused great apprehension lest the immense reservoirs constructed by the Manchester elthotation in the valley of the Etherow, by impounding the waters of the river Etherow at Woodhead and Tonide, seventeen or eighteen miles from the borough, should burst away their embankments. The Tonide works are not complete, and so rapidly did the water rise against the embaukment on Sunday, that Mr. Bateman, the en gineer employed by the corporation, had great difficulty in preventing an overflow, which must have proved fatal. Such was that gentleman's anxiety at 10 o'clock in the morning, that messengers were mist down the valley to the villages, warning them of the danger. The Woodhead reservoir is of vast extent, being two mile@ in length, and from half to three quarters of • mile wide, and upwards of 100 feet deep at the lower end. The Tonide reservoir, close below it, is nearly as extensive, and had it bunt great destruction and loss of life would probably have resulted over a space of many miles down the river. Mr. Bateman, by keeping hack water in the top reservoir, and employing • great number of navvies to cut • deep channel for the bye-wash at the sides, happily averted the catastrophe. So great was the pressure that he had to discharge 3,200 cubic feet of water pee second from the reservoirs for the sake of security. The people of Vale House and other villages down the valley were seized with a complete panic, and were employed all the day with horses and carte re moving their furniture and property higher up the hills. BURSTING OP AN AQUEDUCT. The Lancashire end Yorkshire railway traffic was greatly impeded un Sunday by the bursting of an aqueduct which carries the river Hoch serene the Lancashire end of the tunnel at Littleborough over the line. The railway was for some boars a watercourse for the river, ' and it was found impassable for trams, until Mr. Watts, the engineer, had employed some navvies to cut a new channel fur the river by the side of the line Mr. Hall, passenger superintendent of the company at Manchester, with great promptness ordered up a number of vehicles from ltochdale, who transferred the pronengers from Lancashire trains to Yorkshire ones at the other end of the tunnel, and rice versa. By the evening one line of rails was restored to working order, and the trallic has since gone on without interruption. The tunnel is on a rising gradient, aad the water fortunately Mowed the other way. THE SUICIDE IN SALIBRURY-SQUARE.—Lnat even ing Mr. Payne resumed at Punch's Tavern, Fleet -street, the adjourned inquiry respecting the death of Mrs. Anas tasia Mary Mayor, the wife of an nffit.vr in the Est India Company's service.—Mr. George Carroll, f o re man t o M r . Daniel Butler, undertaker, of Furringdou.street, proved having since the last inquest was held found a small tum bler in her pocket, in which there k no doubt she had puureJ the poison previous to drinking it. A note in the deceased's handwriting was also found in her pocket, which was as follows : " I feel I can no longer contend with my pecuniary difficulties, my head is so confuse 1. I cannot decide upon anything. Ido cot know but te-rnoceou may be the first dark day of nothingness ; I can only hope it may be." An order of admission to the House of Lords was likewise found in her pocket, and 1.0:11C verses of a melancholy expression written by horeelf.—Mr. Charles Holding, of New Bridge-str e et, Bl ac kl r i ars , sa il that be had suede a pint murtein examination of the body. Ile found on opening the stomach a strong odour of oil of almonds, of which he was positive that she had ow Mowed a large quantity, probably 120 drops. The lest ne.l errober having summed up, the jury returned a verdict of "Tim. porary insanity." THE TRENT'S HOMEWARD Patotar,F..—The Trent, which brought home the Mexican and West India male on Sunday, was after her time owing to en accident that hap pened to the machinery of the Great Western it, the West Indies, end which delayed the departure of th • Trent from St. Thomas. It is singular that, notwithstanding the bad weather in the Channel up to a late period last week, the Trent experienced tine weather during the last 24 hours previous to her arrival at Southampton on Sunday after , anon, iso that tho weather mut rapidly have calmed. THE STRIKE--REOPENING OF TILE SHOPS. According to previous announcement the members of the Association of Employers of Operative Engineers yesterday re-epened their shops, which had been closed in consequence of the digitate with the Amalgamated Society, sine* the 10th alt. At Mandalay and Field's establishment ; we are informed, that three engineers (fitters), and a few boiler makers, making a total of about eight, signed the declaration u skilled workmen ; while seven foremen and eight apprentices quitted work rather than sign the declara tion proffered by the employers. At Simpsun's, Belgrave road, Fissile°, five foremen, and four apprentices' gave a week'. notice of leaving upon the same grounds, no skilled workmen being known to have gone in. At Rennie's, Holland -street, Blackfrisrs, three loremen gave a similar notice, as digit alas, it is stated, several firemen and apprentice. at Miller and itavenhill's, Olaashouse•fields, where eight skilled workmen, however,went in and signed, twii of whom are said to be members of the Amalgamated Society. At Orison's, City -road, 20 men w en t i n as " moulders." The number of skilled men who went in at other shops is said to be of no importance, and the members of the Amalgamated Society express full conti d nee in the continued failure of the step thus taken by the employers. It was stated yesterday evening, at the Central Commit tee of Unskilled La'iourers, that not more then 30 men belonging to that unfortunate claw had received employ ment. The labourers flocked early to sign the declaration, but having done so were told that there was no work yet, and that they would be sent for when wanted, mu an nouncement which caused a considerable amount of dis appointment. ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.-THE SEARCH FOIL SIK JOHN FRANKLIN. Last evening, a meeting of the members of this society took place at the Royal Institution, Albeinarleistreet, Sir Itonenica MUIIeIIISON, President, in the chair. The minutes of the last meeting having been read, and other routine matters having been gone through, Lieutenant Pis, It N., read a short paper on the rain ject of his journey to St. Petersburg, with a view to undertake an expedition in search of Sir John Franklin. Mr. Pint observed that he was under the necessity of stating that his wish to trace the expedition of Sir John Franklin on the north-eastern shores of Siberia had not been carried out. Never, perhaps, had it been the good fortune of any traveller to leave his native country under more favourable auspices. Lady Franklin, with that devotion and unshaken perseverance for which she was distinguished, provided :3001.; the Prime Minister, at the request of the Fresh!e rat of the Royal Geogiaphical Society, supplied him with funds to aid in the operations; the Secretary of State for Foreign Aliens directed one of the Queen's eireign service messengers, Captain Robbins, to accompany him to the Rus sian capital. Sir It. Murchison furnished him with intro ductory letters, and the public in general gave such strung evidence of their interest in the cause, that he felt justly proud of his mission. At Berlin he received the most marked attention, and approval of his plan, from the illus trious Humboldt and Adolph Ermann, both great Siberian travellers The King of Prussia, also, took a deep interest in the project, and strongly recommended hint to the Em peror of Russia. In St. Petersburg he devoted himself to the furtherance of his plan; and he referred those who might be interested in the subject to the correspondence which passed between the Russian government and himself, and which was now in the hands of the secretary of this society. The first document was a paper forwarded by the Chancellor of the Empire, Count Nesselrode, detailing the obstacles which would oppose his progress, and which would prevent the government front assisting. The second was his reply, in which he endeavoured to prove the feasibility of the plan. After this he hail a long interview with the emperor, in which he was permitted to state his reasons fur persevering, and was desired by his Majesty to put them into writing. This he did, and re ceived a reply front Admiral Matinochin. lie (Lieut. Pitn) refrained from offering any comment on the subject of the correspondence, and he was convinced that no one would regret the failure of his mission more than the president of this society. Ile begged further to state that there were two gentlemen who, though their names had not been men tioned, had opened their purses and tendered their assist ance—he alluded to Sir Francis Beaufort and Mr. John Barrow. Finally, Mr. l'im observed that the 3001. placed at his disposal by Lady Franklin had been refunded, and this sum could nut hut be acceptable at a time when that noble-minded woman was making renewed efforts to rescue her gallant husband. Wish respect to his own plan, he still maintained its feasibility, and he was rejoiced to find that, though circumstances had prevented him from executing it, others, acting upon the same idea, were about to prosecute &scheme which was similar to his own. Mr. Donald Bemoan was about to proceed to Bhering's Straits in a steamer pur chased by public subscription, to search the north-eastern shores of Siberia; and Commander It. Maguire, in her Majesty's brig Plover, would, it was believed, penetrate to Herald's Island to explore that region. Thet their efforts might ultimately lie successful wail the ardent wish of one who would himself incur any risk in order to discover traces of an officer for whom he entertained the highest admira tion, and of whom the laud that gave him birth might he justly proud. The CHAIIeSIAN wished to remark that the documents alluded to by Lieut. Pins were not under any suet of con cealment, hut they were of so voluminous a character that it was nut thought necessary or desirable to read them to the meeting. He very much regretted that the scheme pro'- posed by Lieut. Pirn was considered impracticable by the I Russian government, but it must be borne in mind that in their relations with a foreign government this was a ques tion for them to decide. They had not refused to Lieut. I'im the privileges he sought, but they had raised all objec tion—that, inasmuch as the expedition of Lieut. I'im would lead him into the vast and distant region of Tchuktchi, he would be Involved in great danger and risk. A large ex penditure and long preparation would be necessary, and it was feared that atter nil the result would very probably be that the young officer's life would he sacrificed. It was due, however, to Lieut. Pile's courage to say that, notwithstanding these objections, he still per severed and endeavoured to convince the hue , sian government that his scheme wee practicable. There was no doubt whatever that if the plan Lad been carried out, it would have added very materially to their knowledge of geography in northern Asia, and might also have thrown light on the fate of Sir John Franklin and his companions. He (the Chairman) was happy to state that Lieutenant Pim had now volunteered to join the Arctic Expedition prepared by her Majesty's government, and under the command of Sir Edward Belcher and his old officer, Captain Kellett. Ile had cot only returned the 3001. to Lady Franklin, but he handed user to Lord John Russell the funds placed by his lordship at his diem...it. and had ',premed a wish that the money might be appropriated to the subscriptiou for Captain lte-ateon, wit,, tit.treu L. AC complish the same objec . as Lieut. I'im by other means. Thanks having been voted to Lieut. l'im, and Mr. Peter mann, a paper was read by the secretory respecting IMO important discoveries in Africa by the Rey. D. Livingston and Mr. C.Oswell. The business then terminated. MANCHESTER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.—The an nual meeting of the chamber was held yesterday, at Man chester. Thomas Baxley, Esq., the president, took th e chair. Mr. David Prism moved hat the report of the di rectors for the past year be received and entered on the minutes. The motion was seconded by Mr. Joseph Sim son. afr. Itenry Ashworth, of Boltou, said it was very satisfactory to notice the prestress vrnich had taken place in the trade of this country since the adoption of free trade principles by the legislature. It was about the year 1842 that the change in the fiscal arrang.ments of this country commenced. Sir Robert Peel then bigan to re move tho duties from a very large number of arti cles, some at rates which rendered them prohibitory and many others mere or lees restrictive. Reductions of duty on some thousand articles took place about that pe riod, and from that time to the present we had seen the repeal of many obnoxious fiscal regulations. To show what had been the result of this policy, he referred to the pro gress in the exports of our produce and manufactures. In the years 1810, 1811, and 1812 the average of the declared value of the extorts was 50,140,6921. per annum. In the years 1819, 18.50, and 18:4, the average was at least 68,771,1641. per annum but as he had not the whole of the returns for 1841 ho bad only reeisotieri the exports to be the rams as those of 1840, though it was well known there had been an increase of three millions. In the three years 1840, 1841, and 1812, the average value of the export of cotton manures tures was 23 millions sterling. During the three years It;:."; 1860, and 18.51 they were nearly 28 millions in averege value, showing en increase of 20 per cent. In the woollen manufacture the average of exports in the former period was 6,800,000 f., and in the latter it was 9,000,8001., or an increase of 67 per cent. In the linen manufacture the ex ports during the first period were 3,500,000/., and the latter 4,800,0001. The average stelae of the exports of the bulk of our other manufactures, including earthenware, hardware, machinery, &e , was in the fernier pe, het 8,7 , -0,000r., and in the latter 14,800,tr0ft, showing an increase of 68 per cent. The motion was earrii ii unanimously, the directors and officers were appointed fur the ensuing year, and the meeting terminated. THE CITY OF LONDON CORPORATION BILLS IN PARLIANIENT.—Yesterday the bills proposed this session by the City of London Corporation came on for bearing on standing orders, and were declared to have compile d w ith their requirements. The first and most impartaut meaeure warn the bill proposed for regulating eleetbitin witi.in the City, and for cooferring rights and privileges upon persona occupying and rated to premise. therein. The bill p.opesee to extend the right of voting at elections to eves/ tea ernes who shall have occupied within the City or its liberties for a year and a day pre-sinus to the lot 8, ptemhzr in any year and rated to an amount of not les. than 10 . per No person is to be quililied to be chosen alderman, ehe riff', or comical. councilman, unless pios.eso d of real or personal caste of the valor:M . l,ooM, and rated to the police rate at not then de/. The second bill was fur cif, cting improvement- end widening of Cie north end at Dawgate-Lill, Threadneedle street, opposite Old Ilroad.street, tue south east corner of Markdare, end pail of the north side of Great Tower-street, for which purpose the oorporatimt propose to I raise 40,000'. on the ere:lit el the City revenues aid estate.. The third hill, culled the London (City) Small Debts 14x tension Bill," hir the more easy recovery of 'mall debts and demands then ii., proposes that actions to be thereafter commenced in the Shia Curt, fur sum. not above 601., shall be heard and determined under the provisions of the proposed set, nail Cod in certain cases, on agreement of the parties, the court shall have power to try, causes although the matter. be beyond its jurisdiction. Court to be held at Guildhall. The bill contains 137 clauses. s i )