The Express. — London, England, 1847-10-01 00:00:00

:, ter bm of Commerce, tame forward to propose the first Imola tliwywhkh was as follows : That maw to*. rimed the potato crop end the general dee delay of war Mown In Vilifi a meth, an extensiee draisi upon our reessesohose d Ilea bum either countries, our available m e s a ei =to tarry ea the necessary Meiners of the coon. try, end met no weeds mw being mole upon it for railway =individual he thought he might without any impro appear at that meeting. He bad had like many others abaafareminto of railways placed before him; but he bad reakeed them all, and, except in an executive capacity, b o lted sever possessed a single share ; therefore be could have no settlement in coming forward on that occasion. Bet, although not personally identified with it, he was not imassible to the (linemen now felt by those who were mixed up with them, or to the circumstances which had led to those disasters which the commerce of the country was now experiencing. Although railwaja were of great canto goatee 4o the country, the failing harvest of 1846 had th o wn them that it was at present impossible to employ tho capital of the country in two directions ; they could not expend their capital in supplying the people, and at the same time largely invest in railways. The foiling harvest bad withdrawn much of the floating capital from the commerce of the country, and still a vast proportion had been celled for permanent investment in the various railway projects before the country. He would for a few moments call the attention of the meeting to the tentaths of , the public journals en this subject during the last two years. The editors of the London Tuner had done themselves great honour by their continual reprobation of the speculative and adigested projects which had tom time to time been brought forward. The press had warned them of the impending national dilemma, and their own Chamber of Commerce, seeing the evils of the system, had %atoned the House , of Commons to take the whole sub r • yeet into their comideration, but unfortunately that peti tion bad been unnoticed. The Chamber of Commerce sub sequently directed the attention of the board of trade to the subject, hoping that the government would have introduced some measure to delay the progress of the various works. (Mr. Seeley here read the petition to which he bad alluded, which was to the effect that parliament having sanctioned the construction of railways, fur which capital could not be found, great lom and injury to the country would arise, if the powers of the directors to make calls was not limited). Had that good advice been followed by the govern ment, the country would have been spared much lose. It might, he admitted, be unwise totally to suspend operations ma some particular lines, for hundreds would be thus thrown out of employment, and the peace of the country most pro bably disturbed ; therefore, having one great evil to con tend with, they must take care not to raise another. It wee evident the legislature would not interfere with the seta of parliament already granted, and it therefore re mained for public opinion to he called upon to meth .. the evil. He knew that railway directors wool 'follow what they conceived to be their own interests; and • would be difficult for them to obtain pledges from asi th to suspend operations: they would do as other men of busies as did follow their own ideas, though the result of their proceedings might not benefit either the proyrietors or the public. He had observed in the Jlanchester Times a statement that the sum of 13,000,0001. had recently been ex pended in fifty of the railways in the country, in addition, and it was computed that the present market value of these lines was now about 15,000,0001. less than at the commence cleat of the present year, making altogether • sum of 28,000,0001., which might have been beneficially expended, entirely lust, and which might as well have been thrown into the sea. If railway directors could not see the fully of making further calls, he must say they were not men of business like other people. He had confidence that the expression of their opinion would give con fidence to real men of business, connected with railways, and public opinion being so expressed, would, he hoped, effect the objects for which they had as. scaled. He would conclude by expressing his strong con viction that it was necessary that railway operations should be discontinued. for it was quite impossible to find capital to carry on the commerce of the country, and have the same capital in railways. To the honour of Manchester, its monetary affairs had been well conducted, for the bankers generally had given good advice, but the existing system could not be continued without causing that which he could not contemplate without horror and dread. (Applause.) Mr. Alderman KERSHAW seconded the resolution. He did not pow." • single railway share, but he was there to sympathise with those who had made engagements in reilways which they now felt to be oppressive. Rail ways were certainly now becoming an important ele ment of commercial , success, and no person could have a word to say against their proper and prudent exten sion; but, in consequence of the deficient harvest alluded to, they could no longer carry on the businesa of the country, and pay the railway calls in addition ; and the question was, whether the manufacturing industry of the country was to proceed, or the railways to go on. Railway calls might be delayed without detriment to the country, but our manufactures could not be suppressed without the whole country feeling the consequences to an extent which he need not describe. What was the price of money that day? The difficulty of carrying on their commerce was rapidly increasing—the failures were daily more striking— arid the question asked now, day by day, was, what was to be the end of it ? He sincerely trusted that some scheme would be devised to protect the commercial interests of the country. Railway directors might make their be but they ca t would not met, or if met, it would be by obtai a money to do so, which would render railway property itse aimless. They sympathised with those engaged in railways, but they only wished those railways to be carried on which were for the benefit of the proprietors and the interests of the public. The resolution was carried unanimously. Mr. THOMAS (Rem moved the next revolution : That le the opinion of this meeting sn attempt under present cir cumstances to carry out the tarp number of railway propels sanc tioned by the legislature mold be to increase to • serious extent the existing derangement at our monetary altars—to aggravate an evil which is parsiping the commercial the country, and depreseing to an alarming degree the value of every description of investment, ' whilst it is to be apprehended that from the inability of shareholders In generelto pay the enthi which will have to be made upon them fur the cdostrucuori of the proposed new railways such works will have to lie 'emended lf not entirely abendoned, and the roomed the akar e bothers eacrificed. Mr. Oreig spoke at great length. New railway. were now almost sacrificed to the owners. Some had attributed the state of affairs to Sir R. Peel's money bill, but new rail ways had been undertaken to • large amount tinder the known circumstances. The first calls had not been paid in many instances where • fourth call was now made, and that should be resisted. He had no objection to the works of old railways going on, but he had to new ones. The prosperity of rail ways depended upon trade; if trade was crippled railways would be valueless. Mr. METCALF seconded the resolution. He considered the present state of the money market owing to the unwar rantable carrying out of railways. The sudden transition of capital from trade to railway speculation had mused the great primers now felt. They had been en deavouring to effect in five or air years what it should have taken twenty years to accomplish.—The resolution was paned without any dissentient. Mr. D. PRICE mom the third resolution: That In the opinion of this meeting the interests of the country at tante, and more especially the railway interest, require the pat ponement of new undertaking; anti this meeting strongly recom mends all railway companies to defer commencing new works until the lines now in course of construction are completed, and to apply to the legislature for an extension of the time allowed for the construe. tints of the lines thus proposed to be postponed. In the course of a long speech he deprecated proceeding with new railways at present. The trade of the country was paralysed. Men of the highest honour and integrity, who have always conducted their business prudently, had been brought into trouble and danger. He hoped a stop would be put to railway expenditure, aad they might then expect an extended tra de, and the country to be relieved from one of the greatest monetary crises they had ever experienced. Mr. Rawsow, in seconding the resolution, observed that ROM of the proposed lines were most absurd. They had two from Manchester to Bury, two from Manchester to Bolton, two to Blackburn, two between Liverpool and Preston, and * third making. There were two railways in Manchester, to connect the east with the west lines. If the money had been thrown into the sea it could not have been more effec tually lost to the community. No more goods would pass over them than if one only had been made. If the three different companies would unite, 3,ooo,oool.l:night be saved in the proposed new Preston lines, sad the public be equally accommodated. Mr. J. B. So rot, M.P., "poke in favour of the resolution. fa January last the capital of the M mehoder and Leeds Com piny was 5,500,0001.; since that time they bad made a all of 1,000,0001., making altogether 6,500,0001., and the present market value was 4,250,0001., showing a loss of 1,260,0001. from January last. He spoke for some time imager, after which the resolution was carried. Mr. Alderman KERSHAW having taken the chafe, • veto of thanks was passed to the Mayor, and the meeting POST-OFFICE IMPROVEMENTS. Sir,—ln the performance of my duties as editor of a monthly railway timetable publication, I joined the bills of various companies, so as to present at a glance the means , of retching a dintant pert on a trunk line. In so doing, a comparison of the mail and express trains led to what appeared to me would be a great public improvement in epistolary correspondence. As I consider the first step is to give the idea publicity, that its practicability, advantages, or disadvantages may be canvassed, I seek the medium of your columns for that purpose. To clearly comprehend my scheme it is necessary, in the Rest place, to give the following tables of the arrival and departure of the mail and express trains at the principal towns upon the line which I put forth as an example. Teams Lmrs Emumee. /Lid- Man_ h. m. h. is. Leedom Leeds (arrive at) York „ 3 35 an. ... 7 30 men. ... I 2 morn. Darlington 4 35 aft. ... 9 30 night ... 20 morn. Durham 5 30 aft. ... 10 23 night ... 20 morn. Nem „ aatia „ 8 5 even... 11 0 night ... 1 0 morn. 33errelek „ 8 3.5 night... 2 0 morn. „. 0 aft. Edlntrot „ 10 ID night.. 5 0 morn. ... 43 aft. 12h.331n. 18h.30m. 16h.45m. Team twit Earner. YAM Eurasia. Man. roa LONDOP. h. ro. h. ro. h. m. h. m. Edinburgh 7 10 morn... 9 0 morn... 4 10 aft. ... 440 aft. 13enriet 9BO morn,. 12 IS aft. .. 630 even.. fl 0 night. Neweamle Durham 12 0 DOM .. 353 aft. ... 9 25 night. .11 23 night. Darlington 1 3 aft ... 430 aft. ...10 13 night ..12 43 morn. Yo.k Leede 2 50 aft. 7 45 night ..12 20 MOM— 3 25 man. London 19 50 138 50 19 43 13 5 By the above tables it will be seen that the morning north express train leaves London 1 hour and 5 minutes before the morning mail, and arrives is advance of the mail, at Leeds, hours and 3.5 minutes ; at lork, 3 hours 63 minutes ; at Berliners', 4 hours 36 masts; et Duelists, 4 hours 36 Weans; et Newcastle, 4 hours 66 'ldeate' ; at Berwick, 6 hours 251 minutes; and st Edinburgh, 6 hosts 40 minutes. The express trains from Edinburgh to Leaden, after deduct la~ the of starting, ask" in town 6 hours 65 hale the sail. It is sok dote la this place,paren tles Orpasseek, the mud Oslo mikes a great number et gollewhile the seven toils masSUI wry few. Now, my oeuestiso b to owe the express Masi. esovey a bag et letters to *lt lowa at which they step, -the contents a whkat to be delivered inueediniely on the .snivel. Thin weld rn . ''sdelidenal labour and exposes Post-office, whisk I refine tole defrayed by envelopes: say roktatall, paper; ems wait/ hereeerussa red easily tle sorted met hirtke • I cannot intimate tie extra-ems weld incur to the peal daiieresent by sots ea arrangemeat, but as regards increase of revenue; The pekoe of the express enve lopes might range from 11. RI 2s. 6d.; and even at the maxi mum which I same I firmly believe would be accepted as e valuable beim. When we consider the immense monetary imigertmese of seed correspond/nos to the merchant, and the relief to the waled in eases of consanguinity, the. pur chase of • few hours time at such price would be considered cheap indeed. As regards newspapers, it is well known the mail is considered too Itardy a conveyanee, and that an extra price is given for " express copies," yet they are not generally sent by express, but mixed, trains. A merchant at Newcastle, as an instance, by receiving an expo ea news paper, can see the state of the markets and write to London by the mill the same night, whereas, if he waited the deli very of the newspaper by post he would be merely sending off his instructions at the time his agent eau be in receipt of it in his counting-house in town, seventeen hours in ad vance. I shall now proceed to point out the e ment state of communication, and the advantages to be derived in each town by my suggestion. Laeve.—Distance by raft, 2051 miles.—A letter paned in London at eight in the morning arrives at Leeds 650 in the evening, and is delivered the same night. A reply posted the same night would be sent out in London at three next day. Thus 31 hours elapse between the pasting a letter and receiving en answer. By using the morning express train the letter might be delivered in Leeds, allow full two hours for a reply being sent by evening mail, to be issued in London next morning at eight, saving seven hours. A letter sent by the night mail requires 38 hours before an answer can be received. YORK.—Distance by rail, 2191 miler.—A letter posted in London at eight o'clock in the morning is delivered in York the same night, leaving time to post an answer, which is de spatched et three o'clock in the morning, and delivered in London about three o'clock in the afternoon-31 hours. Using the morning express u an auxiliary, a letter would arrive in York 135 afternoon ; en answer sent by the 145 evening mail, delivered next morning in London at 8, would save 7 hours. A letter by the London evening snail requires 38 hours before en answer can be received. DARLINGTON.—D i stance by rail 2641 miles. A letter posted at 8 o'clock morning in London is delivered at 8 15 next morning. A reply by the first mail at 4.50 afternoon is delivered st 8 next morning in London. Thus, 48 hours transpire between the communication and response. A letter by the morning express would arrive at Darlington 4'45 afternoon. A reply by the 11115 night express might be delivered in London about 9 in the morning; this would be 25 hones ; or, a reply by 12.48 morning mail, would be 31 hours. A letter sent off by the London night mail can not be answered in town in less than 38 hours. DURHAM—distance by rail 286 miles. A morning London' mail letter is delivered in Durham shout 7 o'clock next morning; en answer sent by the first mail 335 afternoon, is delivered in London next morning at 8 o'clock; thus 48 hours elapse. A letter sent by the London morning express would reach Durham at 5.50 afternoon ; en answer by the 925 night express might be delivered in London next morn ing *boat 9 o'clock, being 25 hours, or, by the 11.25 night mail, 31 hours instead of 48. A night mail letter is delivered at 10.30 next day, and a reply by the 3.56 afternoon mail sent out in London at 8 morning occupies 38 hours. NEWCASTLE—distance by rail 305 miles. Letters by the London morning until are delivered at 7 o'clock next morn ing; a reply by the 115 afternoon mail is sent out in London at 8 o'clock next morning, being 48 hours. A morning London express letter might be delivered in Newcastle at 7 o'clock night, • reply sent by 9 o'clock night express be received in London at 9 in the morning, or if the rejoinder were sent by 10 50 night mail, and delivered in town 3 after noon , 31 hours in lieu of 38. A night mail letter is deli - vend in Newcastle at 11 o'clock next morning, and en an swer by 115 afternoon mail received in London at 8 o'clock morning ; making 38 hours. Benwick.—Distance by rail, 3701 miles. A London morning mail letter is delivered in Berwick next morning at 8.30; • reply, by the 12.15 afternoon mail, delivered in town' at 8 o'clock next morning, 48 hours. A night mail London letter is delivered in Berwick about 3 afternoon; a reply by the 8 night mail is sent out in London at 3 next afternoon, 45 hour,; but en answer sent be the 6.30 evening express I might be delivered in town at 9 the next morning, being 38 hours. . EDINEUROIL—Distance by rail, 4261 miles. London morning mail letters are delivered in Edinburgh et 7.30 next morning. A reply, despatched by the first mail avail able, the 4.40 afternoon, is distributed is London at 3 o'clock next afternoon ; being between the deepatch of letter and the receipt of answer 55 hours ; a reply sent by the 4.10 afternoon express might hasten the arrival in London six hours. The London night mail arrives in Edinburgh at 14.5 afternoon; these letters will be delivered about 6 o'clock; en answer cannot be scut until 9 o'clock next morning, which will be sent out in London et eight o'clock the following morning. making in all, between the letter and reply, 62 hours. I cannot show bow the express trains can at present be available to greatly hasten the despatches to end from Edinburgh ; but there is a detention of en hour on the line, from having to change carriages and passing in omnibuses at Newcastle, and Berwick also, owing to two stupendous bridges not yet being completed; when these are finished, and an hour of time gained by having • 10 night delivery of express letters at Edinburgh, and • 9 night deli very in London,) the correspondence would take 37 instead of 65 hours, or by using the Edinburgh mail in sending the reply, 48 hours. Should the express envelope experiment ever be adopted, it might be a matter for consideration whether they could not be delivered on Sundays, for as it is not probable each expensive leasers would be sent on a Sunday for business purposes on a blank trading day, there would be little fear of such desecration of the Sabbath by mercantile communica dons. At the same time, it appears cruel to withhold matters in which the most powerful feelings of the human breast may be interested. Suppose you were anxious to attend the death bed of a relative in Edinburgh, and you posted a letter at inquiry as to the probable result of an illness on Thursday night; the letter is received on the Friday evening, an as. swer is despatched by the first mail on Saturday, it uthis in London on Sunday, and is not delivered until Ileaday morning. Thus 86 hours may be spent in deep mesial anxiety and uncertainty. In placing this suggestion before the public, I have only called into service the mail and ex press trains; but, should the plan be entertained, there are many other trains that could be made subservient to the quick transit of letters. Other equally important parts of the country, through which the railroads pass, might be similarly benefited as those which I have used as examples in my suggestion. ENEAS ?decimal's. No. 111, Fleet-street. HISTORY OF PRISON DISCIPLINE. SECOND REPORT OF THE SURVEYOR-GENERAL ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF PRISONS. The earliest steps which were taken in this matter undoubtedly originated in the public exposure made by Mr. Howard, of the deplorable condition of our gaols. He has himself ascribed the commencement of that interest which he so long and ardently felt in the mitigation of the sufferings of prisoners to en incident which occurred in the early part of his life. On his voyage to Lisbon in 1755, which city he designed to visit immediately after the earthquake by which it had been destroyed, the packet in which he sailed was taken by • French privateer. The barbarous treatment which he with the rest of the passengers experienced in the Castle of Brest, in a dungeon in which they were all confined for several days, led him, in the first instance, to seek the mitigation of the sufferings of such of his countrymen as were imprisoned in the places where he had himself been confined in France. This humane feeling gained further strength and development from what he observed in the prisons of his own country, and particularly from what came under his immediate notice, when, some years after, 1773, he was high sheriff of the county of Bedford. He refers, in his account of the prisons of England and Wales, to the circumstances with which his discharge of the duties of that office made him acquainted, as those which excited him to undertake his humane journeys of in spection, in the course of which be visited most of the pri sons in England. In 1774 he was examined on this subject by the House of Commons, and had the honour of receiving the thanks of that body. Together with the remonstrances of this distinguished benefactor of mankind, another circum stance powerfully co-operated to produce a general desire for the improvement of our prisons. At the termination of the American war, the loss of our trans-Atlantic dependencies had deprived us of those remote colonies to which we had been accustomed for a long time to ftransport many of our convicted felons, and imposed on us the necessity of imme diately devising a substitute for the system of transportation which had been hitherto pursued. The result of this combination of humane remonstrance and political necessity appears to have been a general desire that something should be speedily done to improve our prison discip li ne. The first impulse to public feeling was given by the labours of Howard; and great is the obligation which the cause of humanity owes to the unwearied in dustry and ardent benevolence of this distinguished philan thropist. His labours were rewarded by that deep and na tional feeling of commiseration for the sufferings of prisoners which followed that faithful exposure of them, which his! earnest wishes for their mitigation and his truly Christian courage prompted him to make. But the attention of this excellent man seems to have been almost absorbed by the physical sufferings which it was his lot to witness. The very magnitude and intensity of those sufferings seem to have prevented him from looking beyond them to a consideration of the moral evils of imprisonment, which are even still more dep/orable than the prisoners' privations and discom forts, and without a proper remedy for which, even an im provement of his physical condition is but too often a greater incentive to his farther advancement in crime and vice. The impulse, however, was thus given to the desire and demand for prison improvement; it was prompt and , decisive, and to Howard the praise is most justly due. The first movement was made by individual magistrates, whose humanity and public spirit suggested the duty and necessity of endeavouring to improve the state and condition of the prisons under their own immediate jurisdiction and control. Of them magistrate we are bound to mention as among the foremost and . most distinguished, the then Duke of Rich mond, lord-lieutenant of the county of Sussex. It ap pears from extracts from the records of that county, • Thee were the dimensions of the sleeping cern ; the working cello were 11 feet 2 inches In height &Telford, THE EXPRFSS, FRIDAY EVENING. OCTOBER 1, 1847. - - _ effigingly tarnished VI by W. Y. B=4 ll . Tot. t h e present clerk of the pease, sad we bey; given s . Appendix (A), that on the find of Weber, 1 776. a , i oarter sessions at Petworth, it was erthesie M maaagq,senoa of the Lortarity and insalubrity of*, dill Pei at Bonham that a nem orison should be crested la ees. throaty with a pia. prec hi ce ,l 1 .. .. the Doke of litielemel. Ili that his grace not only fueriehed the Pim, ilia =itself, but also of the gaoler's house, chape l, P .M4 fa- Hrmary. Hie suggestions respecting a better site, the attached thereto, and the boundary wall, owe pll a and we find that his attendance and smodlimi &is the whole progress of the works, until their eempktdeek Is 177 9 , were assiduous and unremitted. To the judgment, perseverance, sad public spirit of the Duke of Richmond, and to the effectual cooperation of the magistrates of the county of Sussex associated with his grace, the public is indebted fur the earliest establishment of a system which is destined, we believe, at no distant period, to shed an honourable distinction upon those who were instru mental to its first introduction, and a hich is calculated to confer lasting benefits on our criminal population and upon society at large. But the strength and prevalence of the desire for the improvement of our gaga can best be estimated from the legislative measures which immediately followed the baboon of Mr. Howard, and the political necessity which had been induced by the loss of our American colonise. The first of these was the 19th Geo. 111., cap. 74, an enactment of great importance, which was the result of the joint labours of Sir William Blackstone, Mr. Howard, and Mr. Eden (afterwards Lord Auckland). These distinguished men brought to the preparation of this Act profound legal knowledge, diffusive philanthropy, and an ex tensive practical acquaintance with the subject. Their measure became law in 1778. In this enactment, the basis of all succeeding legislative proceedings upon this subject, and the theme of admiration and approval on various occasions in parliament, the principle of separate confinement of prisoner from prisoner, ac companied with labour and occupation, and religious and moral instruction, is clearly laid down and enforced. In the sth section we find it affirmed, " That if many offenders, convicted of mimes for which transportation has been usually inflicted, were ordered to solitary imprisonment, accompanied by well-re gulated labour and religious instruction, it might be the means, under Providence, nut only of deterring others but also of reforming the individuals, and inuring them to h abits of industry." Here we have the solitary confinement modified by labour, and accompanied with religious instruction, enjoined as a proper mode of punishing offenders, and enacted with a view to the effects which may be justly expected—sassoly,4ha de terring of others the reformation of the individual, sad the acquisition of h abits of industry. And, in order to guard against any ill effects which might attend an injudicious ap ' plication of the system, with reference to the health of the prisoners, the act not only expressly ordaiae, in the 30th sec tion, that the offenders shah " be kept entirely separate and apart from each other," but it also determines the proper dimensions of the apartments ; enjoining that offenders shall be lodged " in separate rooms or cells not exceeding 12 feet in length, 8 feet in breadth, and 11 feet in height ; nor less than 10 feet in length, 7 feet in breadth, and 9 feet in height." Thus we are enabled to slow that the principle of modified solitary confinement was recognised and en forced by a positive legislative enactment not less than sixty years ago, and that it was successfully carried out in the county . gaol at Horsham. This distinctly proves that the system is no novel and untried invention, unsuited to the character and unfit for the treatment of English criminals. It also incontrovertibly establishes the fact that the separate system is British—British in its origin, British in its actual application, British in its legislative sai.ction. But the improvements in prison discipline were notlimited to the efforts of individual magistrates, or to the 19th Geo. 111. cap. 74. for building penitentiary houses. In the year 1781 an act (the 22nd Geo. 111. cap. 54) was passed for amending and rendering more effectual the laws then in being relative to houses of correction. The provisions of this act are so important, as indicating the opinion of the legislature with regard to the necessity and advantage of se parate confinement, that we venture to insert in Ibis place • few of the clauses which bear upon the subject. The pre amble recites that " for many counties the houses of correc tion are insufficient in number, or deficient in building, and the apartments in them are very ill accommodated to the purposes for which they were intended ; by means whereof, and from a want of due order, employment, and discipline in such houses of correction, the persons sent thither fur cor rection and reformation frequently grow more dissolute mid abandoned during their continuance in such houses."-- Again, "Justices in settling and adjusting plans of new buildings, are hereby required to provide separate apartments for all persons committed upon charges of felony, and con victed of any theft or larceny, and committed to the house of correction for puoishment by hard labour, under or by virtue of the laws in being, in order to prevent any comma nication between them and the other prisoners." The immediate cons. queue* of this act was the construe titan of the house of correction at Petworth. We now pro ceed to give a short account of the penitentiary home at Gloucester. On the basis of the 19th Geo. 111. cap. 74 was founded that part of the act (the 25th Geo. 111. cap. 10) which concerns the penitentiary house at Gloucester ' • and Ia making rules fur the regulation of all matters convect ed with the treatment of the prisoners, the justices of the peace for the county (in whom the control over the management of the penitentiary was vetted) were directed to have regard to the discipline, provisions, and directions of , the 19th Geo. 111., concerning the two penitentiary houses therein men tioned, as nearly as should appear consistent with the more limited design of the penitentiary house for the county of Gloucester. The 14th clause of the 31st Geo. 111. cep. 46, containieg &provision of a similar nature to that introduced into the 19th Geo. 111., for shortening the confinement of offenders on the discovery of any merit or extraordinary diligence, extends to this prison. This penitentiary, as we collect from the evidence given before a committee of the House of Commons in 1811, by Sir George Onesiphorus Paul, through whose active exertions the consent of the legislature to its establishment was mainly obtained, was opened on the 25th July, 1791. The number of lodging cells originally provided for male prisoners was 32, and for females 12 ; these numbers afterwards increased to 54 cells for males and 18 for females. These cells were 8 feet 9 inches by 8 feet 2 inches, and 9 and 10 feet from the floor to the crown of the arch.* They were floored with paving -atones; the walls, which are about 18 inches thick, were of brick, and the cells were arched with the same material. The ventila tion was effected by underground flues. The amplain's duty waste read prayers every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, and to preach • sermon every Sunday, Christmas-. day, and Good Friday. On a review of the foregoing accounts of the prisons at Horsham, Petworth, and Gloucester, we are naturally led to reflect upon the early period at which the system of separa tion was first introduced, and the seal and judgment dis played by those excellent persons who projected and brought about its establishment. It is also impassible not to be struck with the beneficial effects which have uniformly at tended the system when fairly acted upon, and which ceased only when the overcrowding of the prisons rendered the execution of the plan impossible. We find that, under the operation of the separate system in these prisons, committals to them became uoprecedentedly few, and that recommit tals almost disappeared ; we find the health of the con victs excellent, their mental faculties unimpaired, their labours cheerful and constant, their behaviour or derly and submissive, and their religious instruction carefully attended to, and with the happiest results. When the system was broken in upon . and suspended b 7 the influx of numbers, for whom it was impossible to provide separate apartments, nearly thereverse of all this took place. Order was succeeded byinsubordination ; labour, instead of being voluntary, became distasteful andconstrained ; and religious instructien, with all its desirable consequences, was either neglected or became inefficacious. About three years after the completion of the Gloucester Penitentiary, the consider ation of a national penitentiary in the vicinity of the metro polis was resumed, agreeably to the proposal of the late Je remy Bentham, Esq., for the erection of a structure on a large scale for tke confinement and employment of offenders, and called by him • " Panoptioon." The plan of thisbuild ing was laid before the Lords Commissioners of the Trea sury by that gentleman, in a paper entitled " A Proposal far a new and low expensive moue of employing and reform ieg_convicts." The prosecution of Mr. Bentham's project was impeded by various obstacles, which it is needless to enumerate ; and it was not until a committee of the House of Commons, which (in consequence of a motion of Sir Samuel !tomato upon the subject of penitentiaries, in the moath of June, 1810) was appointed to consider of the expediency of erect ing a penitentiary house under the forementionsd acts, had fully examined Mr. Bentham's plan, that, in accordance with the recommendation of that committee, the measure , was regarded as inexpedient, and finally abandoned. It must, moreover, be borne in mind that the institution con templated by Mr. Bentham was merely a groat manufactory, without regard being bad either to the penal or moral objects of a prison. THE RAILWAY INTEREST IN PARLIAMENT. The following list of such members of the new parliament as are prominently connected with railways is from Herapalles Railway Journal : Abdy, T. N. (Lyme Regis), Dina - tm of the Lyon end Decoke-co Rail way. Ado& Colonel (Wicklow), Director of the Waterbed aad Dahlia Hallway. Adair A.& (Cambridge borough), Director of the fond& and Mier aatiwa Akaander, y. Nathaniel (Antrim county), Director of the &Abet sad Ballymena Railway. Amon, Colonel (South Staffordshire), Director of the Labdon sad North Western Railway. Attwood, John (Harwich(, Chairman of the Hawk& Railway. Barium, John (Harwich), Director of the Northern and Eastern Owinat Bailey, John - (Hereforthhire), Chairman of the BlrkeeiMeic UMW shire, and sftenhke Railway, Its Baldwin, Charles Barry (Totnes), Director of the 111116s1 Rant Western Railway. Barringn, Right Hon. Wm. Koppel (Berke), Deputraelrlnak al the G to reat Western Railway, Director of the Wilts, Seleerset, aid Weymouth Railway. Beckett, Wm. (Leeis). Bell, M. (South Northumberland), Director of the Newcastle and Carlisle J. Railway. - , sow (Dudley), Director of the London and Birmingham wa , William (North Eon), Dtd of dos !elm Unita Railway, and Cabmen of the North Omdlim Vales Blake, M. J. (Galway) • Director of the Ming fish =Be& ' w y of Ireland, and Royal Canal Bowling, Dr. John (Dolton), Directer7ll7= lB /. • Broadwoosl, 11. (Bridgewater), Dfreallir allat „. Bro T a k as . = (Tewlessebury), aatwat itarmy on the {MacMillan dell Broadly, H. (East Yorkshire), late Ciders gl 111;liall mg Railway. Butler, Pearce Somerset (Kilkenny), Manama ilks Waterielimla Kilkenny. Cavendish, lion. G. H. (North Derbyshire), men of the Maas cluster and Buxton Railway, wenehoster and Llitmin Railway. Oda & (Myth y,;:lerhire), Dtreetor et the Mks ea Drage Wee* • Itdammd (th am p, m , •IJ, late Director et the Ileedleirelers Lew. Cieglho, Wu. home 3, reotasea ot 'the Ileell-Weetera illing, Member do m ad rk, , sea Railway. hum (Ild lieteler stile laedes 4o 7 la Illiddlla Ma a tm MIMI Indlaalid Mid re), Meeker et Ihe Ibregeldre ° =: lB 4g mlitimilL ari a = . l7ales amilma llallway st eh. , Dtrestor iginh er sad the cielS:: 1111wer. Wm illalteacce-Triat), Direetor at the North °mil% llMmi.ltrar lem PeOl, lard (s moth Dins), Director et le MOM DM Dalike. Wah=tee a ll ai r w of esior the Waltman Railway. Doer, OaL ), late liteeler er Se deuthemptca and Dereboder Dail*, Der* Arthur Ilmiers Dtreetor of the Seib Wain Railway. D'h= „ the R ight Han. C. T. (inalbeth), Dfrester at the Ear • Neat larresr tarater), Meek, of lb* Motel sad Wake. Dela, Jerre (lbeibm). Illreetsr a( the antiorple, Nomination, and arias and arms lesesir Dom, Lard (SW, Dinar et ti:=l, Orr Id Railway. Denearabr, Hon. Oct. (Nara Yertaire), Dimellor *if the Gent Nothant. Domeasits Hon. Arthur (Emit Riatlierd), DieN/Nrilie Or Great North ern Railway. Ellioe,jun. (H. Andrew'.), Director ei the TilmOreeSar, Leeds, and kditiburat and Northern Railway& Ewen W. (Dumfries) Glyn, Gawp Carr (Randal), Chairman et Or Imam and North Women. Owe, W. O. (North Shropshire), Chairmen of the IllwerrennEy sad Chseler. Oraar. W. R. 0. (Sligo), Chairman of the Sligo awl Shemin Cereemell, Gilbert (Warrington), Chairman of the St. Helen's Canal and Railway. Oradisk Orden Parer (Presism), Chairman of the Brighten Rail 267Dbeller dthe Iliim&emer and Leeds, Liverpool, and Boxy iltZelliselme% Desks. and Sent olEo r Reenthi, C. W. (itemildelo, Dimoor of rico... imad Leeds Relwa Oner& r y. 'cellos John. led. (Merthyr Tydvill), Chairman or the Abadan Railway, MR Tale Railway, Director of the South Wales and couthemples and Dorelwiner Railway. liiiimeers. J. H. (Dublin Onanty), Director of Dublin and Belfeat Biniettimend Name Irma* Rolway, 80. Osamae Aloszakr (Dublin University), Chairman of the Drift Drift Doestella liad way, Deputy.Citairouta of the Dublin and harks Sri* Alex. (leshis a r b ),TE . eater of the Caledonian and Norther and Sarre . Biapaar, Hamienengt (Wells), Director of the Chest Western T. liallsre, S. Meellisp) Dirater of the Wilts, Draerest, end Wey. math and Orent Werra Biwa . igetrl(Orterrealt), of Jae Cargow, °Errands, Era Islusg. 11 Rama =AwallerZesiteniNforttalatlird, New Oalemsn Le t rand Ber- I* he. Ihrbse, W . glenservon), Director of Me bowler and Bury St. lEdnirmilt Seaway. Hat, W. (Gatahead), Director of the Liverpool, Marbaster, and Newcastle Railway. Ingram& Viscount (South StaNcedshire), Director of the North SW- Ire Railway Jackson, William (Hewes,- sod Holyhead Railway, lolhife, &r W. O. H. (Petereficld), Director of the Loados and Portsmouth Railway. Lomita., 1100. E. (Wpm), late Director of the Leeds and Think Director of the Chester Hallway. Lag, Henry Charles (liodmin), Chairman otthe Ely and Huntingdon Railway, and Lynn and Derrtiam Railway. Iltlleton,_llon. E. It. (Walsall), Director of the South Staffordshire Railway. Lock, Joseph (Moulton), Railway Civil Engineer. Lockhart, W. (Rik, Director of the Caledonian Railway. Long, Waiter (North Wilts), Chairman of the Wilts, Somerset, and Weymouth Railway. Lowther lion. Ca Henry Cecil (Westmoreland), Director of the Laneaeter and Carlisle Railway. Mai:Taggart, Sir J. (silgroo), Deputy Chairman of the Sligo and Shannon, Director of the Dendre Valley Railway. Maairiets Roo Dannely (Guildford), Director of the London and North Wort= Railway. fluelwighamehire Railway, &c. Manners, Lord George John Ramtiridgethire) Chairman of the New. 'Rehm and Cliesterfeird Railway. Marshall, James Garth (teeth), Director of the Leeds Dewsbury, and Manchester Rallwey. Meagher, T. (Waterford), Chairman of. the Waterford and Limerlok • Railway. Morpeth, Right Hoe. Lord Thrount (Yorkshire West), Chairman of the Rattan and Drillleld Railway. Monis, Darid (Carmarthen), Director of the South Wales Railway. Howse, Y. (Penryn and Falmouth), late Deputy-Chairman of the Great Northern Railway. Manta, George Frederic (Birmingham), Director of the Birmingham, Lichfield, and Manchester hallway. Mare, Col. W. (Renfrewshire), Deputy -Chairman of the Glasgow, Kilmarnock, and Ardrneam hallway, Director of the GLsgow, Barr head, and Neilston Railway. Newry, Lord F. J. N. (Newry), Chairman of the Newry and Ennis. kUlen Railway. Nugent, Sir Percy, Bart. (Westmeath), Director of the Midland Owat Western Railway. Ireland, and Royal Canal Company. O'Brien, Timothy (Cashel), Dirwtor of the Holland Great Western Railway, Ireland. Parker, J. (Sheffield), Lite Chairman of the Sheffield and Manchester Railway. Patten, .1. W. (North Laneashire), General Chairman of the Standing Order Committee. Peto, Samuel Morton (Norwich), Director of the Pontop and South Shields Railway. Pilkington, James (Blackburn), Director of the East Lancashire Railway. Price, sir Robert (Hereford), Director of the VaneHy Railway. Ricardo, John Lewis (Stoke-upon-Trent), Director of the Londonderry and Coleraine loathes,: Chairman of the North Staffordshire Railway. RuffeirJ, E. (Woreeeter), Director of the Osfewd, Worcester, and Wol verhampton Railway. Seim Lord Ed. AdoL (Tonnes), Director of the South Deem Scott, Hon. P. (Berwickshire), Deputy Chairman of the Laskin and South Western Railway. &pith, John Abel (Chichester), Director of the Preston and Wyre Railway, he. Spooner, IL (Warwickshire North), Chairman of the Birmingham and Onfon t Railway. Stephenson, Robert Whitby), RailwayCl.ti Engineer. SWIM, Right lion. R. Chief Cumuli...4oBer of Railway.. Thompeon, Wm. (Wiatraorehnd), Director of the Chester and Holy head Railway. Turner, Edmund (Truro), Director of the Wert Cornwall Railway. Verney, Sir Harry (Bedford), Chairman of the Buckinghamshire Railway. Villiers, Right Han. George Augustus (Cirencester), Director of the South Wales Railway. Vivian, John Henry (Swansea), Director of the South Wales Railway. Waddington, D. (Maid en ), Dematy-Chairman of the Eastern Counties Railway, Walmsley, Sir Joshua (Leicester), late Director of the Chester and Birkenhead &LAIR, Ward, H. 0. (Sheffield), Chairman of the Worcester and Rugby, Great Eastern and Western Railway, he. West, Frederick Richard (Denbigh), Director of the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway. Westhead, Joshua Proctor (Knareaborsugh), Chairman of the Swop ehire Union, Director of the Trent Valley, fie., Railway. This list comprises 104 members, representing the railway interest of Great Britain and Ireland. They will make up nearly one-sixth of tbe whole house. IRELAND, Dusitx Barr. 29. Mr. Moore, the recently elected M P. for Mayo, is about to do an act of liberality, which it would be well, socially and morally, other proprietors should imitate. In a mountainous district, in which he has property, Mr. Moore has conveyed by deed 32 acres of land, to which is to be attached a school, where the youth will be taught at the inane time how to culti vate the land as well as mere elemental information. Towards, erecting the .chool Mr. Moore has given the liberal contribution oflool., and next week is fixed for the foundation to be laid by the donor, who will be countenanced and accompanied on the occasion by Dr. M' Hale. Mr. John Reynolds was entertained yesterday by his constituents. The company was very numerous, over 700 having eat down to dinner. There were few men of worth among the entertainers, the high mer cantile class, as well as those more political, studi ously absenting themselves. Mr. John O'Connell pre sided. The proceedings . were not characterised by any circumstances requiring commemoration. A sum of 50,0001. is to be expended in Cork in the construction of a district lunatic asylum. The archi tecture will be in the style of the 13th century, and the structure will have accommodation for 510 patients. Lunacy is greatly on the increase in Ireland. The guardians of the union of Nenagh, in which three electoral divisions are rated respectively at ss. Id., 4s. 6d., and 4a, applied to the poor-law com missioners to permit them to re-assess, limiting the rate to 35., as has been permitted in other unions. The commissioners declined acceding, as the rate was originally based upon the estimate for relief under the Poor-law Act only ; but they offered to allow the col lectors to receive Ss. in the pound as a proportion of the rate, the remainder to be subsequently collected. This permission the guardians will not avail them selves of. In another part of the same county, Clogheen, in the southern division, the following stoaewhat exlasvesant and extraordinary resolution hes been repaid, and the principle of it ap proved of : btrebod th ;Tbot et re We Fed aria o r :herr. le Wry Wed of ro til lato mar owl ON= Jsw T yeatre sild = d i elr Wel le re et re reir, e, the gurdere et Oa pre of Oyler =Win re rditt Or dries MM l =Ad; tattai Ile dm poteweet the a orier etrel ear ert bee rite red re arra et Wes bie ds rea.lta. eel pm aria we era ftred) ez tei erzeaS su or thi rre f i t . teed le de re, l e i WI aver la re et eeilw Eg"reetelpelt r. n a isit i ariZrZ ed =rrs Nom raandra err sadt eimitter mere emery di weft repordea te the Ws et dr astelbror Mil vs we esarteest st las mat root isrlia • d° ' =lll= ma rderld rtrat. re ism et rift wen be pro lepers Is burr ass, ` YEW debserg dereribled tber by eirWaett Ye eat re Istrad Nod= ellibei yerta Wore air mai re dart err Or to et Oro niebetta air We at purr= la dr roar IMES ea Stow to or upon lour wilt prod* et etit-pneenstar. LUSH POOR-LAW COXIIIIMIION:417. Stephen Woolle Flana, a member of the Irldilter, _owl nephew to the late Chief ron Woulfe, has boa optimist an assistant poor law commissioner for Ireland, In the room of Mr. Stanley, who is now promoted to the secretaryship of the commission. Mr. Flanagan is a young man mot much known, but Mr. Stanley is a gentleman of ability and experience, and one whose assistance in the internal arrangements of the com mission must prove of the greatest vales. TUB SUFFRAOI3 IN DUBLIN.-Mr. Reynolds, M.P. for Dublin, gave in a dinner speech the other day the following picture of houselrdd snffrage in that city :—Dublin contains 21,00.' rateable houses. Of those 17,000 (and I em MUNI' that the figures should go forward to the public) ere entitled to the par2ementary and municipal franchise, being rated at 101. and npseurds. How many of those houses enjoyed the municipal trywhise in 1848 ? Only 6,200. And why_?— Because the people were too poor to pay the taxes. How e e ,;ny of those 6, e liot4 200 houses will enjoy the municipal (ran chime now ? Th - the town clerk is now made up for 1847 , an y o y e L., 17,000 h gilled that ought to enjoy the fran chise, only 3,140 rill—than 'wing • diminution of 2,060, as compared with the former date. A*3 how many of these homes will enjoy the municipal franchise: when the city is taxed to the extent of 180,0001. fur outi:oor relief? I believe in my heart not 1,000. STATE or rue COVNTIT.—On Sunday last a :-"feetieff of the Young Inlanders was hold in Kilkenny, for the e 'ETPOOF of founding a confederate club. The meeting was a private one, none but confederates being invited to attend. The Old Inlanders, or rather a mob in then interest, endenvoured to force their way into the meeting, end, not suoreedinr, attacked the house. The consequence was a collision, in which an old man named Neill had his head fractured by a blow of a hemmer inflicted by a Young Inlander. It is stated in the Tipperary Vmdieartir, that Mr. Bernal Osborne, M.P., is " clearing" his estates in Waterford. Fifteen families have been served with ejectment" An accident occurred to the Kilkenny down mail on Tues. day morning near the Royal Oak, canoed by a heap of clay placed upon the road by the contractors for the Grail Southern and Western Railway, who have at this epos thrown a bridge across the road. A lady who was a pas senger had her leg broken near the encl.. The other pas sengers had descended from the coach.—The people of Kerry, stimulated by the exertions making is other locali ties in the math-west to put forward their claims to a packet station, have need a county meeting to recommend Valentin. —The Mayo paper to-day speaks rather unfavourably of the condition of that county. Fever appears very pre valent, and is carry ing off more than an average number of persons beyond the reach of want. The recent high winds had injured the harvest, having shed the corn, oats and barley more especially, to a considerable ex tent. Doubtless much of this was caused by the negligent husbandry, which suffers the corn to become over-ripe ere it be taken down. The farmers, in order to render the loss es little injurious as possible, are " trenching in " the etuable, that is turning the earth over, and thus preparing to rise the 'bedded corn for next year's seed. The country markets are still rising in the more distant districts. In Castlebir oats fetch 6s. per cwt., and barley, Si. AL to 6s. ; potatoes, by retail, Bd. to fild. per stone. In Tralee prices are fully as high, potatoes indeed still higher, being Is. per stone. fhe jury impannelled on the inquest in the case of the bailiff shot a few days since scar Cork, while stripping the slates of a house from which a tenant was being evicted, has returned a verdict of" wilful murder" against some person unknown. John Northidge, the tenant evicted, is in custody on suspicion. SCOTLAND. EDINBURGH, SEPT. 29. The Education Committee of the Privy Council has written to several publishers of school-books in Edinburgh, regarding the prices at which large quan tities of some of the more approved class-books can be supplied. Hitherto the committee has not inter fered with the manuals used in any of the seminaries receiving grants ; and the object of the present step may either be to recommend a given series of text books, selected from the various manuals in current use, or to supply gratuitously, or at a reduced rate, the poorer schools with books of a suitable kind. Con sidering the success of the Irish school-books, and that their compilation and publishing have from the first been carried on by government, it is surprising that books should have been sought from the Scotch mar ket. By the new report of the Irish Education Com missioners, the revenue from the sale of school-books was 6,1291. 16s. 4d., while the free grants of books amounted to 3,142/. 16s 10d. The war with the Duke of Atholl is to begin in good earnest. After writing two letters to his grace's agent, the secretary of the Roadway Association re ceived the following answer : Sir —I am in receipt of your farther letter of yeaterdny as to your supplied " ancient rood through Glen Tilt." Upon resript of your former letter of 10th loot., t wrote to the Duke of Atholl upon the sub ject, but bare as yet received no answer to my conamouicauuct. I feel quite assured, however, that his Grime's understanding ii, that no ancient road such as you refer to edits from Blair to Braemar ; and consequently I feel pretty confident that the duke's determination will be to resist all attempt by the public to establish any right of way through (ilea Tilt. - - -•- •• - - On this letter being read at the last meeting of the association, it was unanimously resolved to commence an action whenever funds were raised, and steps were ordered to be taken for the collection of subscriptions not only iu thelargetownsof Scotland, but also inthose of England. The inhabitants of Lanark are also to tang the law with certain proprietors in their neighbour. hood who have thrown obstacles in the way of their annual perambulations of the burghal boundaries. In the meantime we have been consulting the original and recent Statistical Accounts of Scotland in refer ence to the state of the parishes wherein the forests of the Dukes of Atholl and Leeds are situated, and have noted down a few particulars. Glen Tilt is in Blair Athol, and Glen Lin Bay in Crathie— both parishes have fallen off in population. In 1755 Blair Athol had 3,257 inhabitants ; now it has 3,000. In 1733 Cathie had 2,671, now it has 1,712. The soil of Blair Athol is thus laid out : Tillage, 3,000 acres; uncultivated, 103,000 acres; natural wood, 50 acres; plantation, 2,000 acres : total, 110,030 acres. It is less cultivated now than for merly, bat what proportion of waste ground is re claimable, is not said. The produce is estimated as follows:—From tillage, 3,000 acres at 51., 15,0001. ; sheep, 7,600/. ; cows, 3,6001. ; goats, horses, wood, &c., 1,0131.: total, 27,1151. The rental is about 14,0001. per annum, and the deer in the forest are estimated - at 7,000. In Crathie, the surface contains 199,6.58 acres, of which 11,000 are under tillage. As to the tabooing of Glen Tilt, there is a " Report con cerning Forestries," dated 1680, wherein it is said, "This forreetrie now craved [as a king's forest], is not to be enclosed, as commonlie forestries are." And as to the alleged timidity of the deer when a biped is seen on the sky line, the animals must have greatly changed since 1755—f0r here are the exact words of the then minister of Crathie—" They are now so numerous and domesticated, that they are to be seen in numbers from the windows of the houses of Invercauld and Mar-lodge. In May last, 100 stags were seen feeding on the lawn." In 1842 the present minister of Crathie states that Braemar forest is let for seven years at a rental of 1,8001. So mach for road closers: now, as faithful chroniclers, for the abuses of the opposite system. On Sunday last the boat-house at Portskill, Roseneath, was set on tire, and in consequence no boat is in future to be allowed to land except at the ferry stations. Now, although the provocation here is great, yet, everybody acquainted with the Scotch character must know that Sunday arson could have been the crime of bat very few persons, and that it is, therefore, somewhat bard ' that the mass should be punished for these very few. As a contrast to the Hve-pound acre husbandry of Blair Athol, it may be mentioned that at a farm sale in Annandale, last week, oats brought 181. per Scotch acre, and potatoes 511. 2s. 6d. ; carrots, 461.85. ; and turnips 181. 3s. per imperial acre. " Give back the money" is the cry now being raised against the Highland Destitution Board. The work men in an Edinburgh establishment have begun the movement with a series of awkward resolutions, of which two an appended : That, Ahem& 11;e - tehtertbere Pas a large yanks of eh* her& W.), et a mews el the per When= were lid^ awl efts they wee ail metope Wow tely twolleetle el the bey, ise mem ewe), egg bees we vie to eat toe wary PP* piew, bet to bowl sew OW awe Pie Wires te the trawirer et Se Sept laftwery,settley wassider tactbiltedea espillyelleed le the eepeert the dew be WOW they hiww—Thet, awed the eiewitlee sat party lOW re. taw is am* with the sursmals lora at the edrorthere, the ssw.tetWebehwe awls then (eet let.) dal be endorsed over le the teewerer elite Is* Isimary 110. lode edwr bodies whetting eirelhei Wept Pe woe pis et Swabs at Weir Ware, It Wilt Mt welt ble phe erewarer s) arable ht pewee et law opted the ail eenwattee toe etc recovery. The robberies in Glasgow still methane, and es the Mail appears to have been enacting the part of criminal recorder with troublesome minuteness, it states this morning that the police have been inter dicted from giving it farther information. A Greenock yaeaAraph throws some light on the importation of a lt appears that the Trident, of that port, had picked up at sea a boat with six men. These, with the boat, the master brought to Greenock, and after lingering about town for a few days they dis appmre& They gave some account of their being part of a crew of a wrecked vessel, or some such story; but their true history is no doubt conveyed in a paragraph in the Bermudian of the 24th ult., which says, that six of the moat notorious offenders confined within the walls of Ilamilton gaol had made their escape. After clearing the wall which surrounds the gaol they seized upon a small clipper sail-boat, owned by Lieut. Ramsey, of the 42nd Regiment, and pro ceeded to sea. On the forenoon of the morning they escaped, having got clear early in the morning ; the government steamer Gleaner was despatched in pur suit, but a fine easterly wind had wafted the fleet little craft so rapidly over the sea that the steamer, notwithstanding a run of 60 miles after losing sight of land, had to return without any tidings of the object of her chase. The fines inflicted on the Campbelton jurymen by Lord Justice Clerk Hope are exciting much discus sion, and attempts are to be made for the revision of the circuit system. The circuit towns were fixed some eentueies ago, when travelling and accommoda hme.oifiesjuryaamthene cam and pbe w i tessee isna accommoda tion were different from what they now are, and it is hhavingrreasoned tone d d t , c 0,,, th a t fr i . t : i world 0 i or 1 . b O7:. d ; c . , -er, and more convenient, weep the judges to increase the number of trial towns, and go to the community . , instead of the com munity going to them. RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT OLASGOW.—i"olultra PA*: TICULARB.—It appease that a heavy lugga b w train from Edinburgh was being arranged at the top of the incline by the parties in charge, that it onitained amongst !Whey lug. age a quantity of heavy blocks of stone, some of ti em up.~ wards of a ton in weight, and that this train of goods trucka were let off in the usual way, with the necessary brakes and brakesmen in front. There was also, it seem, a number of extpty trucks taken down with the brakes, as on former oc casions. Owing to some mistake the empty waggons with the brakes were not properly coupled, •it coupled at all, to the heavy train—and the connivent% was that they sepa rated, Kadin this way came down the teasel for • time as two separate trains, the one distinct hunt the other. There were three men, two at the brakcs,, and the guard in the foremast waggons trucks, and foe a time they came down the lice at the usual speed, bet after gaining • certain ritomrshtnr they were overtaken by the heavy train, to which they ought to have bean connected, and sent down the incline at lightning speed. The resale was, that the men in charge became aware of their danger,. and one of them leaped off the train as it came oat of the tunnel, aad fortunately escaped with a few aligbe cuts and. bruises • another was got near to the ruins of the store, severely injured ; but M'Arthar, we regret to stale, was carried into the building, and there met with his death. Tom balding above the store was not tenanted, and of course no lives were lost in it, beyond that of the guard ; had it been ishahited, however, the calamity must have been dreadful. The line of trucks in all consisted of twenty in number, sod those thrown up into the storm were the empty ones. EMIOKATION.—The New Zealand Company intend to despatch two reverts of 600 tons hurthen eiels, en the 30th of October neat—one from the Clyde, and the oaks, from the port of London—with stores and emigrants for their new settlement, Otago. Each vessel will convey 200 settlers. THE GALE ON THE. FIRTH OP CLTD6.—Resposting disasters on the coast, from the ga'e of last week, a cor respondent of the Ayr Observer, at Drumlalearra (Arran) writes : " The brig Margaret, Captain King, from Trinidad to Clyde, with sugar, came ashore at Tomlin, west side of this Wand, during the late storm. The cargo is discharging in a damaged state. On the 19th current the brig Grecian, of Leith, Captain Hunter, from Archangel to Clyde , took the sound between Pledda and this island, and at high water struck on the ridge, and still holds on. They are discharg kg the cargo (tar) into the Defiance steamer, to lighten her. As yet she receives no damage. It is expected that she will be got off by the neat tide. On Thursday, the 16th instant, during a heavy gale from the north, the smack Royal Arch, of Belfast, came to anchor outside the harbour of Dninsore, where she sustained considerable damage, bat at tide time got safely into said harbour, and is now nearly repaired and ready fur sea. Also, on the same day, the schooner Hope, of Belfast, laden with coals, sprung a leak off the Sears in Luce Bay, and with much exertion the crew, keeping close at the pumps, were enahled to get the resod Into Drumore Harbour, where she is now repaired and ready for see. PROVINCIAL. LINCAfigl!tE. FLOODS.—Manchester and its neigbbourbpod hays been visited lately by very heavy rains, which haves° swelled the rivers Irwell, Medlock, and Irk, that much of the ma chinery which they work has been kept at a stand still, on account of the rapidity of the streams. At Stretford, the Mersey overflowed its banks. The lint beside it lice low, and forms a narrow valley, leading towards Cheshire. To save this land from damage by an overflow, a channel or swallow was, some years ago, constructed to draw away sur plus water from above the point where an irruption was likely to take place. This swallow was found insufficient to answer that end : all the fills in the lowlands were laid under water.—At Cheadle, higher up the .ame river, the water overflowed the highway. Thht portion of the London and North Western line between the Warrington junction and the town of Warrington was surrounded nearly the whole distance. The waters were first seen at Bury-lane, on the other aide of Chat Moss, and on the junction fine the appearance was that of a very largo lake, all traces of the liver and canal being obliterated, and the train seemed to be moving on in the midst of it.— An impetuous torrent descended upon Stockport and its neighbourhood : the Mersey, usually shallow at that place, became Ii feet in depth.—At Macclesfield, the heavy rains caused each a flood in the Bollin, which passes through, that the puddle-banks erected by the contractors for the protec tion of the works of the North Staffordshire Railway, now in progress at the lower part of V e town, were washed down, and the works for a time completely stopped. In some places, the workmen have been eiupl syed ever since in getting rid of the water, and erecting stronger banks for the pre vention of any similar accident in future,—At Wigan, the river had overflown the basks, and risen to such a height fiat the roofs of the workings of an old coal mine had given way, and the water was sinking into the hollow, with • fearful rapidity. The coal-owners working mines in the vicinity made an ineffectual effort to turn the current in another direction; the waters, however, continued to roll into the caverns, and continually increuing in size, for seve ral hours, threatening to flood out the whole of the adjacent mines, and which will, it is feared, do so to a great extent, for the quantity of water in the hollows must be immense. After the stream had somewhat reduced itself, and the sup ply to the hollows checked, there were visible three immense , or pits, one of them having the appearance of an old shaft, through which the water had penetrated to the mines below. The roof of another old pit, situated nearer to the river, also gave way, but from this there are not the same fears as at the one first mentioned.— The wire at Garstang was filled to an extraordinary degree, and the embankment at Stockingbridge, near St. Michael's, gave way, and an inroad was made into the adjacent roads and lands by the rush of waters through an opening about 70 yards long, by which about 100 acres of land have been laid under water ; whilst in the dwelling house of Mr. Stuart, of Stockingbridge, the water in the lower parts of the house stood at not less than a yard in depth. The roads, for two miles between St. Michael's end Great Eceleston, were ren dered quite impassable, being in most parts nearly two yards deep in water.—AU the works on the Crole were stopped on accouot of the size and rapidity of the river ; and at Bolton several houses were flooded,. A horse and a field of wheat were swept away. my 1014.19. VT • tin MALICIOUS DEsios.—A large piece of iron, the crane of the old fashioned wood ploagh formerly in use in this county, was placed upon the mils of the - Kendal and Windermere line, near to Staveley, on Tuesday night. Fortunately it was discovered by a man employed upon the line before the passing of the first train. A reward is offered by the company for the discovery of the guilty party. INDEPENDENCE FITNIZITD. 7 — A correspondent writes as follows:—" Stamford, Sept. 29.—This has been a day of rest excitement here, it having been marked by the first act of persecution on the part of the Marquis of Exeter against those of his tenants in the town who either voted fur Mr. Bolt, the independent candidate at the late election, or did not support both the Burghley nominees. All such who hold houses, warehouses, or land under the marquis, have received notice to quit their occupations, and are to be turned out as soon so the law will permit. A few did not vote at all, fearing that if they supported the man of their choice the result which has arrived would also be their fate. One poor old man, who had worked for a number of years on the Burghley state ' voted by mistake for the indepen , dent candidate : when he found out his error, he told a simple tale as to how he was flurried, and did not know what he was about; but the error was fatal, and he was dis charged with an intimation that the result of his blunder would teach him to be more collected in Mare. The man is likely to become a peeper. Many other cases of oppression might be recorded.' w.ust-trscultrev_ Alkll MIDLAND FREEHOLD LAND ASSOCIATION.—The principles and advantages of this association were explained fully eta meeting held in the Town hall, at Birmingham, on Wednesday night. Mr. W. Scholefield, M.P., presided. — Mr. Councillor Brook Smith said that, by means of the in stitution, not only habits of providence and can would be induced among the humbler classes, but it would effect a most important change in the character of the county elec toral body.—Mr. Ald. Weston said that, although the object In view partook of a political, it was not of a party character. —The Chairman very warmly advocated the principles upon which the emaciation was estabiished. It was calculated (he said) to confer benefits on the people social, political and moral. It would be the means of inducing forethought and prudent habits, and lead to the practice of economy and self.dental amongst the workers of the com munity. It opened its doors wide to men of aU sects, all parties, and all creeds.—Mr. Ald. ()each, of the Midlands Bank, pointed out with much perspicuity the advantages of the association to the artisan. It would be the means (he said) of affording a safe and profitable investment for small sums, and would materially change the character of county constituencies. All they wanted was an honest and inde pendent constituency, and they had no fear of getting a fair expression of opinion. He felt satisfied that this association would lead to the establishment of others, and that it would tend also to the social, moral, and politi cal elevation of the people. RENT. SOITTH-EASTERN RAILWAY MECHANICS' INSTITP vtos.—On Monday evening a meeting of the officers and workmen employed by the South-Eastern Railway Company wu held in a large room at their offices at Ashford, for the purpose of establishing a mechanics' institution. The chair man of the company presided, end several of the directors were present, who appeared to take a lively interest in the proceedings. The ltev. Mr. Green, of Sandgate, haring unplored the blessing of God on the society about to be formed, the chairman said that he trusted the institution they were about to establish would grow and extend as far beyond their present expectations, as the magnitude of the South Eastern Railway exceeded the anticipations of its first promoters, who proved in evidence that the line might be made fora million of money, and would have a traffic requiring ten locomotive engines, whereas it had already cost about five times the amount mentioned, and (2/ many well knew) the number of locomotives exceeded a hundred 7 -so h l ß i en t e ti d e itied co diwaith uld e tud t irec. h:y x fnofre:;perothmthoeeitir.epgrite.thoste. omhfaldef,iww?ualnysfardeercotaki:.l... workmen and their ImMes, Au the piano of the village, drawn more than twelve months before, would show, since they In. sladed a building for a society of this description, schools, a plus of worship, and public baths and wash-houses. lie was delighted to find that the men had taken a step in advance of them, and the directore heartily concurred in their pro- *. ,