The Express. — London, England, 1848-01-03 00:00:00

1 1 assembly in favour of the ministry. Other letters sty that the ministry had, after much discussion, come to a resolution to give to the Porte the satis faction it demanded in the Museums affair. Of the seven members of the cabinet, three voted in favour of this measure, two voted against it, and the re mainder retired. It is added that the effect of this decision in the provinces was much feared. The ministry - had resolved to demand of the Chambers an authorisation to intb mnify the National Bank for the losses it may provo to have suffered in the tumults at Petra& DEVIL OF THE ORLEANS. PRINCS ADELAIDE D' ES The Constitutionnel gives the following account of Mme. Adelaide's life : Madame Adelaide, sister to the King of the French, was born in Paris on the 2ei rd o f AL g ust, 1777, and wax the daughter of Louis Philippe Joseph of Orleans, and Louis Marie Adelaide de Bourbon l'enthiivre. This princess, whose character was ever remarkable for firmness and wit, has not figured officially in any p event.. and yet her part has L ot been en unimportant one. The King loses in her not only a most intelligent and devoted friend, but an in valuable adviser and s useful mediator. Mme. do Geniis first superintended the early education of Princess Adelaide and her twin sister, who died young. She inculcated the ideas of Rousseau on education, which then prevailed, and the politer arts were not forgotten : The influence exercised by Mme. do Griffis over her pupil, and her brothers, excited the jealousy of their mother, the Boehm of Orleans ; who, after somewhat violent alterectior.s, caused her to be dis missed. This was the cause of such profound grief on the part of the PlinCelS Adelaide. that her health suffered, and it became necessary to recall Mine. de Geniis. This lady, unwilling to submit to daily bickerings with the duchess, had the art to obtain permission to travel with her charge in England, and it was thus that the princess first became sepa rated from her mother. The events of the revolution were destined, however, to disturb the course of an existence which seemed out of the reach of all in juries of fortune. Mettle. Adelaide was placed on the list of emigre's. But her father, who was himself threat ened, soon obtained the revue ition of the measure. The princess had scarce, however, entered France with Madame de Geniis, than she received an order from Paris to leave the capital within 24 hours, and the country within three days ; and the Duke of Chart r, her brother, bearing of the ex tremity in which she was placed, came from the army to her aseistance. and brought her to Tourney. It was some time after this that the young exile and her governess settled at Schaffhituren in Switzerland, where the Duke of Chartres, who had in the meanwhile also been exiled, came to join her. The town of Schaffhausen offering little security they were soon induced to leave it, and proceeded to Z urich, which they were soon obliged al.a to abandon to go to Zug. There, under the name of an Irish family, they were enabled to stay for a month. Though the fife they led was exc:edingly retired, and seemed likely to escape public notece, they were recognised by some emigres, and it became necessary to seek another asylum. This was made doubly painful, as it involved a separation between the Duke de Chartres and his sister, he by his pre sence subjecting her to the severities of governments and their police. Their perplexity was great, but a lucky cir cumstance solved their difficulties. General Montesquiou was at that time in Switzerland, and had done certain ser vices to the government of Geneva, which had caused him to be generally looked up to in that canton. By his interven tion Mettle. Adelaide and Mine. de Geniis obtained leave to enter the convent of Sainte Claire, at Bremgarten, and re mained there until the 11th of May, 1794, when she retired to the house of the Princess of Conti, her aunt, in Hungary. From thence she went to join the l)ucheu of Figueras, in Catalonia, where she remained till 1808. The Spanish war Men commenced, and, being obliged to fly, she commenced a wandering Odyssey in search of her brother, whom 'he found, after many vicisaitudes, at Portsmouth, just about to embark. The delight of both at meeting is easily understood. They promised never to sepa rate from each other, and this promise was religiously kept. In January, 1809, the prinecu and the duke left for Malta, and some tine after she had the jel to witness the marriage of her brother and the Princess Marie Amelic, who, in marry ing an exile, little thought he would become King of the French. With the Restoration, a little repose was obtained for the existence of Millie. d'Orleens. The faults of the government then caused the Duke of Orleans to play a distinguished part, and obtained for him an influence which the revolution of July gave full effect to. Mille. Adelaide did not a little contri bute during the fifteen years' struggle, to rally round her brother the divers political influences which the restoration seemed to coalesce against herself. When in 1830 it became necessary for the Duke of Orleans to declare for the acceptance or refusal of the crown, Ma dame Adelaide bravely engaged for her brother, and offered to come to Paris first to share the dangers of the Parisians. Since then she has not ceased to share in, and serve the fortunes of the king. For some time past she had suffered from an asthma and disease of the heart. On the night of the 31st no signs were visible to foretel so quick a • dissolution, yet at one o'clock alarming symptoms showed themselves, and death shortly atter ensued. The body of the Princess Adelaide has been embalmed, and will be exposed from to-day in a ehapelle ardente at the Palace of the Tuileries. We are informed that the funeral of her royal highness is to take place on Wednesday next at Dentin. It is mid, observes the IXbats, that by her will her royal highness Mme. the Princess Adelaide leaves her forests of : Crecy and Armainvilliers to the Duke de Nemours, the forest Arc-en-Barrois to the Prince de Joinville, and her magnifi cent estate of Standen, with the chateau enlarged and em bellished by her, to the Duke de Moatpenaier. WEST INDIA AND MEXICAN MAIL. The West India Mail steamer Severn arrived last e‘ening at Southampton from Vera Cruz and the West Indies, and landed her mails, in charge of Lieut. Brand, ILN., Admiralty agent. Her dates are as follows: Vera Cruz, Dec. Ist ; Havana, 10th ; Nassau, 1 2 th; Bermuda, 20th ; Jamaica, Bth ; Jacmel, 10th ; Porto Rico, 12th ; St. Thomas, 13th • Chagres, 26th Nov. ; Carthagena, 28th ; Santa Martha, 29th. The Severn brings on freight spe c ie to the amount of 1,000,000 dollars, and the following passengers : Miss Randall, Mr. Bernard, Lieut. Harper, 2d W.I. Reg. MMrsHarper and two children, Lieut. Thwaytes, 2d W. I . Reg. ; Mr. Bissett, Mr. Finalise, Mr. Getman, Mr. Camacho, Mr. Telford, Lieut. Berry, Roy. Artillery Dr. Brown, R.N. ; Mr. Foraby , Lieut. Watson, ith Fusiliers; Mr. M'Oregor, Mr. J. Wiles and lady, Mr. Wm. M'Dowell. From Vera Cruz we learn that her Majesty's steamer Vixen had arrived there on the 30th of November, four days from Havana, bringing Percy Doyle, chary:: d'affaires from Great Britain to Mexico. The Vixen having landed Mr. Doyle, sailed next day for Jamaica. The only other English man-of-war at Vera Cruz was H.M.S. Daring. The dates from Mexico are of the 28th of November, 20 days later than those received rid New York. The Free American, Vera Cruz paper, of the let of De cember, says : " The government of Queretaro has at last, but too late, nominated commissioners to meet Mr. Trist, and hear the propositions of peace which the latter had the power to make ; but this power having been re voked by the Cabinet at Washington, they came too late. Humbug will no more be listened to by the Americans, and now that the Mexicans have found that out they seriously ask for peace. As we have said above, and before this, it was too late for our envoy extraordinary to he' to the propositions of the Mexican com missioners, and now they will have to go to Wash ington, if they have serious propositions to make to our government. Mr. Trist having been recalled, was to leave the city of Mexico on the 28th for Vera Craz, with a small train. The names of the commis sioners who arrived at the city of Mexico are Messrs. Canto, Cuevas, Atristain, and Rincon, all belonging to the peace party." The following important order from head-quarters shows that the commands issued br the United States government to make the Mexican government pay the expenses of the war, or at least a part of them, we to be carried out at once: RE.II)-OVARTIIIIS OP THE ARMY, MEXICO, Nov. 25. Ceder instructions from the government at home, requiring that this army shall, as soon as practicable, begin to raise, *this the country it occupies,' the means, in whole or in Pat part, of insintainieg the expenses of the occupation teal the federal government of Mexico shall submit terms of Mee which the United States may , honourably accept, it ordered that no uncoined bullion, bars or ingots, either of !old or silver, shall be shipped from any port of Mexico, until tbr farther orders of the government at home shall be made bean on the subject, so as to give time for said government to it the rate of export duty on such bullion, and perhaps a Railer duty on gold and silver coins. As the beginning of the change of system intimated above, all rents for houses or canal occupied by officers or troops of the army, in any or village in Mexico, will cease an soon as contracts may Point, and absolutely from and after the end of this !tooth, wherever this order shall be received in time ; and LI toner, necessary quarters, both for officers and troops, *hew the pul,lic buildings are insufficient, will first be ode tmded, as required, of the civil authorities of the several 4lts occupied by the troops, so as to equalise Its inconvenience imposed upon the inhabitants, and di !slab the some as much as possible. If the authorities fail Pot the troop. promptly in possession of such quarters, 4 01 the com man d ing officer, in every such case, following ‘II the sarc, principle of giving the least distress practicable ?Yu unoffending inhabitants, will cause the necessary moldings to be occupied. Subsistence, forage, and other Istellarie,, for the army, will be purchased and paid for as t imofore.—(Signed)—By command of Major-Gen. Scott, ILL Seers, A.A.A.G. It was generally thought in Mexico; that the war lined not end for some time to come. The failure (4 negotiations created a great deal of excitement 'a the people at Mexico, and they now begin to feel the consequence of their folly in refusing to accept the liberal propositions made before by Mr. Trist in the name or the United States government" The American army was divided as follows :- 6,000 men in Mexico, under the command of General Scott, wounded and sick not included • 3,000 in Puebla, under the command of Genera l Lane and Colonel Child ; 800 in Peroto; 4,000 iu Jalapa and incamped at Sedono, under the command of Generals Cushing and Marshall; 1,200 in Puente Nacional (National Bridge) : 6,000 went up to Mexico with Colonel Butler: and the train under Colonel Johnson ; 1,000 in Vera Cruz and Ulloa. The rate of exchange at Vera Cruz on London was 48d. at 60 days' sight. The Severn left her Majesty's ships Vindictive and Persian at Bermuda. JAMAICA.—The Colonial Bank has advanced its rate of commission to discount 1 per cent., making the com mission 1 per cent. in addition to the 6 per cent. for dis counting. The large amount of specie shipped and brought to England by the Severn, exciter some fears. We cannot, says De Cordova's Men-wade Intelliganerr, but view with regret the circumstance that a rather large amount of silver is being shipped by the present packet from the island. The difficulty to procure bills of exchange has given rise to this proceeding on the part of those who have no other means of making their remittance—a most alarming alter native, and one which, if it be not at once averted by the resumption of the banks to draw to the extent to which they had been previously doing, will assuredly produce great em barrassment in the business of the island. The quantity of specie in the colony is already too limited for the wants of the community ; and therefore do we question the policy of a proceeding which will further reduce the legitimate circu lating medium, At a meeting of labourers held in Hanover parish, a series of resolutions were pissed against the equalisation of the sugar duties, demanding that the principle of free trade be administered in more fairnewi, and that planters be allowed to export their produce to Britain in ships of any nation. His Mosquitian Majesty had not left Kingston at the date of the departure of the Severn, on the 26th of November. The committee appointed on the 19th to wait upon him with the resolutions which had been adopted by the board, met his Majesty in the governor's audience chamber, when resolutions were delivered to him to this effect: " That the council of Jamaica express the gratification they have de rived from his visit to the island, and hope that his Majesty's visit has been agreeable and satisfactory to him ; and should circumstances again bring him amongst them, his Majesty will meet a cordial reception, and one, they trust, befitting the sovereign of a people between whom and their country friendly relations have so lung existed." His Majesty re plied that " the council of Jamaica he valued most highly. His visit to the island had been agreeable and satisfactory to the utmost degree." From De Cordova 's 31Sreantik Intelligencer—Jamaica, Dec. S : _ . . not' a.—The continued paucity of the supply of this article Rube-' nt to our Lyme of the 20th ult., forma up the price of the pawls then on band to 50e. to 32a. in lota for immediate conPumption, and that rate was maintained until the receipt of 8.50 brie. from Baltimore, when 4fe. for the entire cargo was ambulated to, fur the money. This pare•' ie now being retailed in lots at 50e. per tort. Two other parcels of 2;io and 2.41 brie. respectively were engaged and sold to arrive, pre. viously to the receipt of the Baltimore cargo, at 425. and 44e. ; they however have not )et come in. MEAL—Notwith*tanding the rather inactive demand and limited consumption of meal, the stock, in consequence of there not having ►een any late arrivals of the article, has become tight, without how ever creating an abundance of ranee. We may report I is. to 20e. on being about the market price for small parcels. esecedingly name, the market being almost bare of Eitet In ia, and entirely cleared of Qtrolina. In the abeeuce of these Kirks, a eansiderable part of a parcel of 781 bags trom Carthegena, realised the high rates of 21%. to 21s. lid. for the usual description, and 225. 6d. fora superior quality. Ton teen —A parcel of Cavendish (lirs) has changed hands at per lb. The quantity at market is unusually large. No transactions In leaf have reached us. Rca.-40. lid. to do. UM. may be considered the market value of this article. The stuck is small. Sl'vAll range. from I7s. to 21e. per 1: Olbs., according to quality: some barrels very fair commanded 22a. COLONIAL NEW ZEALAND.—The New Zealand Journal of Saturday last rays : " We have received papers from Wellington rep to July 21, from Nelson to June 26, together with advice* from New Plymouth to the 16th July. The Wellington district war, as usual, tranquil and busy, pre milting no events calling far comment. They had just re ceived Earl Grey's instructions for the future government of the colony, and were satisfied with them for anything which appears in the newspapers to the contrary. We have no doubt that the last thing they dream of is the measure for cancelling them now before parliament, and that, too, be fore they have been permitted to work. From Nelson the intelligence is unimportant. No More disasters at Wanganui; and we have seen a private letter which would lead us to suppose that the affair would soon be settled. From this it would appear that Colonel Richmond havieg visited the set tlements, became desirous of proceeding to some distance up the river, and proceeded accordingly, accompanied by Lieut. Page, of the 58th Regiment, and others. Lieut Page had got some distance ahead of the party when he suddenly came upon the principal rebel chief (his name is not mentioned). With the promptitude which has always distinguished this gallant young officer, he immediately confronted the chief, and remonstrated with him upon the folly of provoking the enmity of the government, advising him, as Col. Rich. mond was at hand, to apply to him for pardon. From the open manner in which the advice was given, the chief at once assented, and accompanied Lieut. Page to the colonel, by whom he was received and pardoned, Lieut. Page receiving the thanks of the colonel. We have been favoured with I another extract from an officer of the corps serving at Wan ganui, in which he says, " the gallantry of Lieut. Page in the field is notorious." These testimonials have induced us to look more minutely into the career of this officer in New Zealand. The first we learn of him is as a lieutenant in the light company of the 58th, subsequently to the taking of Kawiti's pah at the Bay of Islands, at which action we sup pose he was not present, as we can find no record of it. He accompanied part of the 58th to Wellington, and was employed in checking the natives on the Hutt, on which river he was stationed with 50 men with no better defence than tents, having been left thus by his superior officer. Die satisfied with his position, he stockaded three houses, and the event proved the correctness of his judgment, for he had scarcely completed his defences when he had to sustain a night attack from two hundred natives, beating them off after a hard but unequal fight, in which he lost seven killed and four wounded, his men carrying the dead and wounded, and laying them down whenever the enemy showed fight. From another source we have gathered the following incident, which happened to him in this affair. At the time of the attack Lieut. Page was in one of the huts, accompanied only by two men. As they came out, a native coolly rested hie piece within three or four yards of him, the ball grazing the young officer's breast. The native was instantly cut down, and they fought their way to the remainder of the detachment, which then drove the natives across the river. A subsequent exploit of his we find to be the timely aid which be afforded to Capt. Reid of the 99th (since brevet-major) in securing a pass which the zeal of that officer had left unguarded, in case of retreat, as was the case, when, has it not been for the unauthorised in terference of Lieut. Page, he must have been cut eff by the natives. He at once saw the danger to which Capt. Reid was exposed, and, acting entirely on his own responsibility, saved him. For this service he }Braved the thanks of the governor, who stated in his despatches that "he had acted with great promptitude " THE CAMBRIA steamer, Captain Harrison, sailed from Liverpool on Saturday, on her first trip to New York. She will call at Halifax on her way out, and also on her return. be (Biwa. WINDSOR, SUNDAY.—Yealettifty (New Year's Day) a distribution of the Queen's Bounty of food, coals, and clothing, to the aged, infirm, and necessitous poor of Windsor and its vicinity, took place in her Majesty's Riding school. Several hundred families had been selected as de serving objects of the royal charity by the Hon. and Rev. C. L. Courtenay, assisted by the clergy of Windsor and Clewer ; and a member of each family was in attendance in the riding school. The Queen and Prince Albert entered shortly before 10 o'clock, accompanied by the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal, and the Princess Alice. The Duchess of Kent, the royal visitors at the Castle, together with the ladies and gentlemen of the royal house hold, were present at this interesting proceeding. Her Majesty and her royal consort, together with their illustrious circle, having inspected the different articles, the distribution commenced.—The Hon. and Rev. C. Leslie Courtenay was present, and officers of the Lord Steward of her Majesty's Household attended to arrange the distribution, which con sisted of the following articles 0f1,684 lb. of meat, 2,094 lb. of bread, 228 pecks of potatoes, 478 lb. of plum pudding; there were also given away 4.56 cwt. of coals; blankets, winter cloaks, and calico were also bestowed on the recipients.—The ceremony occupied an hour, and on its conclusion her Majesty and Prince Albert with the royal family, followed by the royal suite, returned to the Castle ; and the Duchess of Kent returned to Frogmore-lodge. The Duchess of Kent visited the Quern and Prince Albert yesterday morning. The royal sinner party yesterday included the Duchess of Kent, Prince Lowenstein, the Marquis and Mar chioness of Abercorn, Dowager-Lady Lyttelton, the Lady in Waiting of the Duchess of Kent, Lady Mary Howard, Ba roness de Speth, Mr. G. E. and the Hon. Mrs. Anson, Col. the Hoe. C. B. and Mr. Phipps, Capt. Francis Seymour, Capt. the Hon. A. Gordon, and Dr. Meyer. The band of the Royal Horse Guards performed during dinner. After dinner the Queen had an evening partl. The company ar rived at the Castle soon after nine o'clock. The following had the honour of being present :—The Marquis and Mar chioness of Downshire, Lord Marcus Hill, Hon. Henry and Mrs. Ashley, Hon. Miss Lvtteltoa, Miss C. Pole Csrew, Sir G. orge and Lady Couper, 'Miss and Mr. Couper, the Dean of Windsor and Lady Charlotte Neville Grenville, (2) Misses Neville Grenville, the Provost of Eton and the Hon. Mrs. Hodgson, the Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Hawtrey, Rev. William and Mrs. Canning, the commanding officer of the Royal Horse Guards (Co,. Bouvene) and Mrs. Bouverie, the com manding officer of the Grenadier Guards (Lieut.-Col. Crau ford), Mr. and Mrs. Challoner, Mr. Glover, and Lieut.-Col. Charles Begot. Her Majesty and Prince Albert gratified their noble visitors with the choral ode of "Sophocles," and the harmonies of Mendelssohn, by the performance of an abridgment of the dialogue ofthe " Antigone," which was Most expressively and effectively read by Mr. Bartley, aided by Mr. Bartholomew, the author of the English version, who assisted him u the speaker for a large chorus of the best se lected professional and amateur vocalists. Her Majesty's private band, most ably conducted by Mr. Anderson, and increased by the chief performer. of the Philharmonic orches tra, completed the admirable ensemble. The beautiful "Ode to Eros," as originally written by Mendelsohn, was for the first time (in this country) charmingly rendered by Messrs. Oenge, Peck, Beale, and Smithson. At the conclu sion of the performance her Majesty and Prince Albert ex pressed their approbation to Mr. Bartley, and were gra• ciously pleased to pay a similar compliment to Mr. Bartho lomew. The performance of the Antigone " was preceded by a monody to the memory of the departed Mendelseohe, expressly written for the occasion, and printed by command of the Queen for the company assembled, to whom it was re cited by its author, Mr. Bartholomew, who in it alluded to the principal compositions of the great lyrist ; MONODY. Come, modest:taking Pan, from thine Arcadian meads : Come with a cluster of thy deep-toned reeds, Cull'd on the rouge of Easton'. limpid stream 0 bring them hither, —hind them side by ride, And breathe in them thy sweetest, saddest theme : Methinks it should be that which Echo Pl:doing responsively ihy Maw of melody When ithe, consenting thus, beeline thy bride. Or, let me rather hear the mournful lay Attuned by thee on that unhappy day, When Death changed Syrinx to the sweet pipe, that Burgs When Zephyr breathes, or fans it with his wings. Itepeat again that lovelorn dirge to me And I will sing with tbee, A melancholy song fur ONE who died, — Died in the splendour of his manhood), pride,— Died, unticesy'd by Time, — Died in his prime' Tell Oberon, Titania, Puck, the sprite, And all the Faye who dane'd that summer-night Upon the Mower-embroidered green, Where Theseus wooed 11 . 111 Queen; Tell great Apollo, Bacchus, and hie choir ; Rennet restruag the dopkoclean lyre Of tEdigua, wad sad Antigone ; Who beautified the solemn pomp of Attune; Ile ' who resting thy Druid'a minstrelsy To charm the theme of their Waltan . rs night—is dead! Yes; TIE who blooded Ida 11.01unitAlmi 'ups In wordleaa songs, and Zion's hymn or praise Togreot Jehovah. Pegs. Pan bath fled, — He bath vanlsh'd, like a vision of the night! Thus Fable fades in Revelation's light; Thus Briars priests on Baal vainly call ; They rum their fled before Jehovah fall! Alas, the bard who sang these themes, is gone! Ilia lyre remains, but vacant is his throne : Who now ran strike its chords like Mendelssohu Oh, Minstrel of Elijah and St. Paul; Where shall we tool a geri , os to entwine Cecilnin harmonies profound us thine! Where is thy mantle ! dal,t dam let it fall Upon that fatal day When thou vase anatch'd away Or didat thou only kayo behiud The mighty cnwwtlone of thy mind! Such as we sing this night by lIER command, Who away* the Er-tamed .oeptre of our land: Whose laceuom here, Attended by the fair, the brave and great, (Blaze thew halls of her ancesn al state, Tu greet the new-burn yea. The Queen and Prince Albert, the ladies and gen tlemen ut the coin t, and the domestic household, attended divine service this morning in the private chapel of the Castle. The lion. and Rev. C. L. Courtenay officiated. The Duchess el Kent also attended the service attended by her lady in waiting. Yesterday Mr. Moon was honoured by submitting to her Majesty and Prince Albert the engravmg by Samuel Cousins, Alt.A., of kis Royal Highne,s Albert Prince of Wales, in the driss of a sailor, after the original picture by Winterhalter. TILE LORD CIIANCELLOR.—The health of the Lord Chancellor is gradually improving, and the noble and learned lord is satislactordy regaining his strength. It is, however, doubtful whether his lordship will be sufficiently recovered to preside in the Court of Chancery by tho com mencement of next term. IHE CHARTER-HOUSE.—We understand that the Archbishop of York will be the new Governor of the Charter-house, in the room of the late Berl of Harrowby. THE FRENCH EMBASSY.—(bunt and Countess de Jarnae returned to Hertford-house on Saturday, from visit ing Mr. Foley, at that gentleman's seat in Worcestershire. M. Felix Cotter has left the French embassy for Paris. We hear that M. Cotter is de,tined shortly to vacate his appoint ment as attache to the embassy for a high diplomatic post at the Belgian court. THE LISBON EximssY.—Mr. Fletcher Norton. eldest son of the lion. George Chappell Norton, has been, appointed unpaid nliacht: to the British Embassy at Lisbon LIEUT.-GOVERNOR OF LAlWAN.—William Napier Esq. has been appointed Lieut.-Governor of the Island of Labuan. Mr. Napier's experience in the public service at Singapore, of a people not quite dissimilar to the population of Labuan and Borneo, will render him a useful assistant to Mr. Brooke, and a proper subetitute is the government of the British settlement in the occasional necessary absence of the rajah in the neighbouring territory.—Obsereer. WESTMINSTER SCHOOL.—PriaCe Albert, on the occasion of his visit to the play, was pleased to desire that an extra week's holidays should he granted. The school will, therefuto, meet again on Wednesday evening, the 2nd of February. LORD WILLIAM PAGET.—We stated a few days since that a letter had been forwarded to Captain Lord W. Paget, requiring an explanation regarding a reward being offered fur his apprehension on a charge of obtaining money by false pretences. We observe by the official navy list for January that the name of Lord ti'. Paget is omitted from the list of captains. THE EXPRESS, MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 3, 1848. MARYLEBONE VESTRY. CONTEMPLATED INCREASE OF THE POLICE RATE. The magistrates having increased the pariah rental 22i per cent., fur the purpose of assessing the county rate, a meeting of the joint vestries of St. James and St. Marylebone was held to adopt measures to prevent an additional burthen being thrown upon the rate-payers ny the police rate, in consequence of the increase in the rental. At the meeting resolutions were adopted condemnatory of any increase in the police rate, and a memorial to the Home Secretary, pray ing him to prevent such an increase by a legislative enact ment, was also adopted. The following answer from Sir G. Grey to the memorial was read, at the vestry meeting on Saturday, by Mr. Flood, Whitehall, Dec. 29, 1047.—Sir, —Secretary Sir 0. Grey directs me to inform you that he dvs considered the resolutions of the joint seem& of St. James and St. Marylebone, which you forwarded him, requesting a reduction of the quota on which the police rate in levied, in consequence of the greatly Increased valuation u po n which the county is now assessed. And I am to inform you that Sir (2. Grey proposes to introduce a bill to authorise the Urnmiarioners of Police to reduce the police rate one penny in the pound in their warrants issued to the pansties of the county of Middlesex, provided the pre sent assessment is not reduced; und sir G. Grey Wools that an inter ment may be made to give the perishes the felt benefit of this reduc tion, if sanctioned by parliament for the visaing year.—G. M. Pulwea—To C. Flood, kleq. Upon the motion of Mr. Daniel, the above was entered on the minutes. MR. COCHRANE AND THE STONE-BREAKERE.—The report of the committee appointed to inquire into the complaints of the stone-breakers, as preferred by Mr. Cochrane, was read. It declared those complaints groundless, and that the language and conduct of the stone-breakers jeopardised life and property, and terrified the inhabitants.—The report was adopted, on the motion of Mr. Michie, seconded by Mr. Bell. MURDER OF TWO CHILDREN. On Saturday, Mr. Baker opened an inquest at the William the Fourth, Golden-lane, Clerkenwell, on the bodies of Amine Blake, aged 7, and Robert Blake, her brother, aged 5, with the murder of whom Esther Parker was charged the same day, on her own confession, at the Clerkenwell police-court. The examination is reported in our police intelligence. The Coroner observed that he was informed the witnesses, who were able to give evidence, were then at the Clerken well police-court; he, therefore, should not pursue the inquiry any further than to obtain an identification of the bodies. That could, he understood, be ascertained, as the father of the children would be brought before them to prove that fact. The coroner then, accompanied by the jury, proceeded to view the bodies, which lay on a bed in the front room on the ground floor at the horse No. 3, Cupid's-court. They were in the exact position they were left in by the accused. The elder child (the girl) was at the foot of the bed, with her head near the wainscoat, in a position from which it was evident a struggle must have ensued. It was the opinion of the jury that the child had been suffocated by a pillow having been placed over its mouth. There was a scratch across her throat about three inches in length. The other child was at the head of the bed, and presented appearances of his death having been caused in a similar manner. The bedclothes were in a state which showed that a most violent struggle had taken place on the part of the murdered children. There was no other mark of violence about the bodies than that above alluded to. lipen the return of the jury to the inquest-room it was found, upon the examination of the father, that the Christian names had not been rightly given. The jury were accord ingly re-sworn to the sight names, and they were again under the necessity of viewing the bodies. The following evidenee was then taken : Robert Blake, No. 3, Cupid's-court, Golden-lane, being sworn, raid—l am by trade a grinder. The deceased were my children, and were born in lawful wedlock. I have been separated from their mother, who is residing at Birming ham, about four years. I was married to her in the year 1836. I was living with a woman named Esther Parker, who passed u my wife. I have been living with her in Golden-lane about two years and a half. She is a widow.— Sy the Coroner : I last saw my children on Friday evening, between 5 and o'clock. I pat them both to bed. [The wit ness was here much affected, and seemed aimed overpowered.) 'f hey appeared in good health when I left them. I left them with the women who is charged with having murdered them. I intended to have gone to the theatre last night with a friend, and I went out for that purpose. It was a male friend. No serious words arose between me and Esther Parker. She followed me out with an intention of annoying me, and said I should not go. She wanted to pre vent me going to the theatre, as I would not take her with me. She said she would follow me step by step, go where I would. She followed me to several places, and I tried to get rid of her. After going through several streets I went to the Duke of Bedford public-house, in Golden-lane, with the intention of staying there, and of having a glass of ale with my friend, with whom I was going to the theatre. She followed me in. I told her to go home, observing that I did not mean to go to the theatre. Then, while she was in con versation with a person, I escaped. I hare not seen her since. Juror: Do you know anything of the civenmstances attending the death of the children ?—Witness : Nothing. I know no thing about ft.—Juror: What time did you return home, and when did you become acquainted with the deaths of the de ceased ?—Witness : I slept at the house of a friend in Goa well-street. About eleven o'clock that morning I was go ing down Golden-lane with a shoptnate to my work, when a person my shopmate knew told him of the murder.— ' Coroner : Then you never raw Esther Parker after you left her at the public-house, nor heard anything about her nor your children ?—Witness: No, not till my ahopmate heard of my poor children being murdered. That was the first discovery of it by me.—The Coroner said that he, the witness, must bring that friend forward at the adjourned inquiry.—Policeman Haynes, GI 15d, said that in the cell tho accused asked him if he was ant afraid to sit with her. She looked at her bands several times and exclaimed, " Is it possible that I could have cow witted such a crime ?"—Coroni r : Did she say how she did it, or make any confession ?—Witness: No, a ir.—A Juror observed that it was supposed the witness slept with a female in Goswell.street. The inquiry was then adjourned until Monday (this day). Tii QUARTER'3 REVENUE.—The accounts of the quarter's revenue will not be made up before Wednesday evening next, nor given to the public before Thursday morn ing. It is impossible, therefore, to give any accurate detailed statement beyond the fact which is a lready anticipated pretty generally, that a considerable falling off may be ex pected both en the quarter and on the year, as compered with the corresponding periods of 1846. This decrease, we regret to add, may be expected to be exhibited in the lead ing and important items which constitute thelargest sources of income, and which indicate the condition of our foreign trade, and the prosperity of our domestic condition. The lose on the Excise in the quarter just ended was fully anti cipated, and it is be placed to the account of the same causes which marked the decline in the last quar ter. The malt duties are always ascertained some time be fore they are paid into the receipt of the revenue. The falling off in the Customs may be attributed to the unusual dulness and depression of the last three months, rather than to any enures at all likely to exert a permanent influence on this important item of our national resources. It should be borne in wind that the depression now brought before the public view is entirely comparative. The receipts of this 4uarter even, though somewhat behind the corresponding quarter of 1846, are still of a fair average amount. The re ceipts of the former year were unusually large, from a com bination of various causes. The falling off in the present quarter and in the last exhibits no features of an alarming character. A large surplus was on hand at the last comple tion of the financial year, sad it is fully expected that the making up of the accounts to the sth of April next will, in spite of all the late causes for depression, exhibit a redure dancy of income over expenditure, which will leave he finances of the country in a safe and soundcondition. It is sad-factory to be able to state that, notwithstanding these unfavourable appearances teethe moineat, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will not be under the necessity of asking any assistance whatever from the Bank in this quarter, no more than is the lost. This fact will in itself be calculated to allay any anxiety that might otherwise be felt in quarters not suffi ciently informed, and will also enable the Bank to continue and extend the accommodation to the commercial cisme, which the increased means at their disposal have already enabled them to confer. The bullion continues to arrive in large quantities. Although the importations of grain still continue to come in to an extent which the present demand might not seem to countenance, still the arrivals are not to any hazardous extent, and may be easily accounted for by a desire to keep up stocks, which can be done free of all duty up to March, when the new sliding-scale will re-commence its operations for eleven months from that date. Everything bids fair for a steady and safe revival of trade and commerce with the opening . of the new year. Money is again abun dant for every legitimate purpose, and the accounts from the manufacturing districts are of the most satisfactory deecrip tion.—Obsercer. REVENUE ACCOUNTS.—The revenue authorities, having had undo. their consideration the reports of their examiner and comptroller-general, stating that great incon vemence is experienced in the examination of the monthly accounts from the outports, in consequence of the irregular termination of the official months, and recommending that from and after the sth of Jan. next, the said accounts be made up to the sth of each month inclusive, excepting those for October, which should be made up to the 10th of that month, and transmitted to the examiner and comptroller-general respectively as soon as practicable after the termination of each such month, and that the monthly payments also of day-pay, superannuation, die., be made to correspond w ith the above periods, the recommendation has been approved, and orders have been issued by the authorities to the col lectors and comptrollers, and other principal officers of the revenue throughout the kingdom, to carry the same into effect from and after the commencement of the next official quarter. Tun SEWERAGE COMMISSIONS.—AIderman Mus grave, chairman of the Commissioners of Sewers for the Tower Hamlets district, has thought better of his opposi tion, and has handed over to the General Sewerage Commis sioners for the metropolis all the books, papers, and cash, of the old board. Mr. Twigg, the chairman of the Holborn and Finsbury district, the second gentleman to whom we referred last week, has not himself taken any part in the transfer of the neoossary documents to the new commission, but a sufficient number of the commissioners of sewers for the district, who are authorised to draw cheques, &c., have signed the necessary authority, so that all the powers of the several district boards are now quietly centred in the new commissioners. This will enable them to proceed with a general and an harmonious action to the ordering of their Important and necessary improvements. Many people con found this new board with the Sanitary Commission, but it is quite distinct, although it owes its existence to the investi gations and the recommendations of that body, and it is ex pected will lend considerable aid in carrying out the altera tions so needful to the public health of the metropolis.— Observer. OPENING OF THE CENTRAL TELEGRAPH STATION it; THE CITY.—On Saturday the principal central telegraph station of the Electric Telegraph Company in Moorgate street, opposite the Bank of England, was publicly opened for the transmission of messages to all parts of England (De vonshire and Wales excepted ), and in the course of the day the clerks were in communication with Liverpool, Edin burgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Southampton, Norwich, Yarmouth, and various other parts. The price charged ap peared to give considerable dissatisfaction, 5/. being the amount demanded for sending a message to Liverpool con taining the same number of words as there H in this para. praph ; the time occupied in telegraphing the same not ex ceeding ten minutes. The company's patent expires in four years. REDUCTION OF NEWSPAPER TARES.-REMARKABLE Fittsled PoorEct.—A controversy is raging between the Times and Daily tines, relative to reducing the stamp to one halfpenny. I am quite sure that such a measure would be received by the public with satisfaction ; not that they should expect the newspapers to reduce their present pri , e, but because this enormous tax on education reduced from 33 odd per cent. to 17 the public would be the gainers in many ways. Of course a daily journal paying so large a portion of its receipts to government must economise somewhere, and the onerous tax reduced, the additional re ceipts could be laid out in improvements. While we are in England so far before other nations in most things, while our newspapers are vastly superior to those of any other country—because our public is willing to pay a good price fora good article—our government is behind hand with every other in its benefits to this great organ of mode-n civilisation. In all continental countries the stamp duty is lower than in Great Britain. In Belgium it is a farthing, 4-10 the of a penny, and one halfpenny, according to size ; it is about to be reduced to a uniform rate of one-fifth of a penny British. But I have, from an undoubted source, received some in formation connected with the newspaper press of France, which is interesting and totally exclusive in its nature. It is not known here to more than three journals as yet, and they are accordingly making their arrangements in secret You are aware that a rentsme is the tenth part of a decime, or I penny. The stamp duty on all printed *ems, newspapers, magazines, reviews, also on play-bills, placards, circulan, prospectuses, &c., is now 1,2, 3,4, 5, and 6 centimes, ee -1 cording to the size of the paper. The government are about, early in the next session, to reduce the stamp duty to two uniform rates of two and four centimes. The Prose, aware of this, is about to seduce its price from 1/. 12s. to 11. 95., but the meat remarkable project in connexion with this change is a new daily paper. I have reason to believe that it is issued by the government and the bankers, the object being to crush the opposition and radical journals. The number printed every day is to be 300,000. Of course the advertisements will be prodigious. It is to be given away in the following manner. In Paris, tobacconists, butchers, and bakers, are monopolist trades. The tobacco shops are government offices, while none but • certain number can sell bread and meat. The bakers are to be the distributors of this new journal. Every person com ing into their shop to buy a loaf will receive a copy of the paper gratis ; copies will also be left at the houses of all their regular customers. Your paper is now to be a part of your daily bread. Will you allow me to give an outline for a new Stamp Act in England, founded on the French prin ciple? I. The Tieles,Chroniele, Herald, Post, when published at the full size allowed by law, to have a stamp of one penny, but with liberty to ham three undamped supplements, half their full size, a week. 2. The Daily Noes ' North British Gaily .Vail, Sim, standard, Globe, itdrertiser, and any of the above when giving but hell their usual size, a one-halfpenny stamp, with liberty to give an undamped supplement thrice a week, one-half their own size. 3. The adver tisement duty, which exists nowhere else save in England, to be re duced to sixpence, or to increase with size of advertisement. Every day newspapers are extending in numbers, and the above would soon bring a much larger revenue than the percent system. But in France all weekly publica tions, whether political, literary, or devoted to news, have a stamp, and I do not see why a stamp duty should not be put on such publications as the Athenaeums, Literary Gazelle, Chambers's Journal, &c.; at one far thing it would yield a large revenue. One result would follow. most gratifying. A farthing stamp would not injure such publications as Chambers's and the People's Journal. But in London there is a large number of penny publica tions devoted to the production of what may be called the earbage of literature. These weekly journal., with prodi gious circulations, carry to the poor man's hearth the gross, sensual, immoral, and insidiously corrupting novels of France; the Mysteries of Paris, of London, and other works of a most vile tendency, are poured out every Saturday morning like cheap gin at a penny • glass, and do more to demoralise than any engine ever put in practice. I feel persuaded that a farthing stamp would seal the fate of these purveyors of blas phemy, sensuality, and vice. Between a penny and three halfpence appears to be drawn • moral line of demarcation. Nearly all penny publications are dangerous, most of all those which, assuming " family" titles, sad under false colours, and infuse their deadly medicine upon the domestic hearth, by the careless hands if parents. Government, by placing a stamp on these, would shut most of them up. And, as the taste for French novels is widely spreading, this. cannot be done too quickly.—Paris Correspondent of the North British Most. ACCIDENT FROM FURIOUS DRIVING.—On Satur day night an accident occurred in the Blackfriars-road, close to Rowland Hill's Chapel, which it is feared will ter minate fatally. About 8 o'clock, a Mr. Dailey, printer, in the New-cut, came dashing out of Charlotte-street, in a chaise, drawn by a spirited horse, which was proceeding at a furious rate, and knocked down a well dressed ( mug woman. Mr. Dailey did not stop, but pursued his headlong course till he reached his own house, near the Marsh-gate, where he was apprehended by a policeman who knew him, and who had witnessed the accident. He was taken to the Tower-street station, where he remains in custody ; and the unrortunate woman, who is net known, was rtmoved to Ouy's Hospital. THE WESTMINSTER MURDER.-1118tITICtiOILS have been received from the Secretary of State, by Mr. Cope, the Ooverror of Newgate, intimating that the extrema penalty of the law, in the ease of M'Coy and Sale, who were found guilty of the murder of Mr. Bellchambers, at the last session of the Central Criminal Court, is to be carried into effect. On the communication being made to the sheriffs they at once informed the two wretched men that all hope of a com mutation of the sentence was at an end, and that the extreme penalty of the law would be carried into effect on Monday, the 10th inst. The announcement had little effect on the convicts, who remarked that they considered justice had not been done them, as the evidence against them was purely circumstantial. ROBBERY OF PLATE AT MR. FARREN'S.—On Saturday information was given that the residence of Mr. W. Farren, the comedian, in Brampton-street, Brompton, had en the previous evening been robbed of a basket of plate of the value of 601., consisting of silver spoons and forks, sauce ladles, a silver tea-pot, and cream-jug, &c. The ser vant had carelessly left the area gate and kitchen-door open, and the rubbery appears to have been committed by two young men, who were calling at the houses on pretence of purchasing hire-skins. FIRES IN LONDON DURING 1847.—0 n Saturday, the official returns krpt by the fire brigade of the fires that occur in the metropolis and its suburbs were made up for 1847 ; from which we learn that no fewer than 989 have taken place during the past year. The looses, however, were not so serious as iu the previous year, 1846, when the number was 1,022. Between 400 and 500 houses appear to have been either consumed or seriously damaged, with a loss of property estimated at about 150,0001. Those in the provinces, accord ing to the lire offices returns, are far greater in extent than have been known for several pan. BISHOPRIC OF HEREFORD. The following is Lord John Russell's reply to an address to hint from the clergy of Bedford:— Wuituas ABBEY, DEC. 30, 1847.—Rev. Sirs,—l have re ceived with great satisfaction the expression of your opinion on the elevation of Dr. Hampden to the episcopal bench. I rtjoice to learn that you " have no share in those feelings of alarm attributed to the clergy, through the activity of a por tion of them," on the subject of that appointment. Two grounds have been taken to justify the alarm and account for the activity of which you speak. The one is the vote of want of confidence pasted by the convocation of tho Univer sity of Oxford is 1836: the other, the suspicion of unsound ness in the faith. _ ._ ..._ ._.._. With respect to the first ground, the Bishops of Durham and Norwich, and many other eminent persons, have pointed out the fallacy of piecing reliance on a hasty vote of convo cation, passed in a period of party excitement, without due examination, and void of ecclesiastical authority. Mr. Weodgate has gone further • he has said, speaking of a simi lar vote, " the proper appe al is net to the passions of a mixed multitude, like convocations, where, besides having no lawful jurisdiction in the case, there is no exposition of the law, no reference to precedent, no hearing of evidence, and where the same persons arc at once prosecutors, judges, and jurymen."' But let us grant that the convocation was justified in its distrust. Let us concede that the university properly decreed that Dr. Hampden should be deprived of certain functions and privileges belonging to his office, " be cause in his writings he had so treated theological subjects that in this respect the university had no confidence in him." Have we had no experience since 1836? Is it not possible that Dr. Hamp den may have used expressions, obscure or careless, which might induce the university to distrust his teaching of theo logy, but that the evidence of eleven years of sound and blameless conduct as professor of divinity may have removed the just causes of suspicion ? Such I should imagine to be the opinion of the heads of the university itself; for in 1842 they placed Dr. Hampden in the chair of a board of theolo gical examiners. Such I should imagine to be the conclusion of the great majority of our bishops; for they have required I from the Oxford candidates for orders certificates that they had received instruction in theology from Dr. Hampden. They were clearly under no obligation to de so. The Bishop of Exeter and a few other prelates have declined to receive Dr. Hampden's certificates, and have proceeded to ordain upon other testimony more satisfactory to them. So that, with the exception of five or six, our bishops must have freely, voluntarily, and deliberately required the proof of attendance on Dr. Hampden's instructions in divinity as a necessary preliminary to ordination. Can there bo stronger proofs of the confidence reposed in Dr. Hampden, first by the resident heads of the University of Oxford, and secondly, by the great majority of the bishop.? How few men have been elevated to the episcopal bench with a greater weight of authority in their favour ! The head of a theological board of examiners, the teacher of candidates for the priesthood---can those who recognised and confided in him in these characters have believed that be held himself unsound opinions in theology 1 He who was to examine others ? He whose training of young men was to 11%1'14 them to receive the solemn rite of ordination? barely, this were to malign the University of Oxford and the great body of our prelates. But further. I have else where alluded to the fact, ihat sometime before I recom mended Dr. Hampden to the Queen, I communicated my in tention to our venerable primate, and received from him no discouragement. It is true that the archbishop did not appear to think Dr. Hampden well qualified for the diocese of Manchester, neither on reflection did I think proper to recommend him to the crown for that see, in the peculiar circumstances of its population and Dr. Ilampden's studious career. But no one who has that veneration which I enter tain for the candour, piety, attachment to the church and state, and friendly kindness of our primate, will believe the calumny, that he thought the appointment might not hap pen during his natural or my official life, and therefore con cealed his opinion, that it would be an act of reckless insult and injury to the church! I feel no doubt that the arch bishop, whatever objections he might have felt to Dr. Hamp den in 1836, had become reconciled to his promotion by the orthodox and Christian character of his subsequent writings. It was therefore, on due consideration of the proceedings of 1836, and of subsequent years ; of Dr. Hampden's labours at Oxford ; of the many instances in which his predecessors had been raised to the bench ; of the policy of giving rewards to learning ; and lastly, of the zeal for our protestant reforma tion displayed by Dr. Hampden, that I named him to the Queen as successor to the Bishop of Hereford. I come now to the second ground of objection. After I had taken the Queen's please , and her Majesty had graci ously approved of the appointment, I received privately from the archbishop, publicly from 13 of the bishops, a warning that the elevation of Dr. Hampden would be dis approved by the majority of the clergy. Had this iobjection been founded oar any just accusation against the life and morals of Dr. Hampden, it was not too late to confess my error and withdraw my recommendation. But founded as it was upon a charge of teaching unsound doctrine, it be hoved me not to desert • clergyman whom the Queen had been pleased to nominate for a bishopric, without some authority or substantial proof. No such authority appeared. The conduct of the archbishop and bishops gave a strong pre sumption the other way. No such proof was given; you say, very justly, " None such have we found) no proof or evidence of any strange doctrine contrary to God's word, as held or favoured by Dr. Hampden." Ou the other hand, a strong testimony of the baseless nature of the charges against Dr. Hampden is to be found in the extracts made by his enemies from his writ ings ; " such extracts," as you truly say, "by their garbled form in some instances, by . false connexions in ethers, quite reversing the true meaning of the The gross dishonesty of these quotations has t ' e a e l r g ifity shown in an admirable letter by Archdeacon Hare. He ob serves, very justly, that by leaving out the first words of one passage, and the last words of another, we might extract from Scripture the dogma, " There is no God," and the pre- I an ce lie " l G earn o anecl sin." author of this letter did not ori i molly—indeed— cl app i ro y v a l e of . t r afi n point i r e t n . to ruin the reputation of Dr. Hampden, he must, in can dour, allow that if such means are to deprive a clergyman et those distinctions which our church boasts of maintaining as the rewards of learning and piety, a fatal blow is struck at • all profound inquiry, at all enlightened pursuit of truth, at all( lcrical independence. Let us not mistake our position. The church is not in that easy security of the last century which gave birth to b 0 , much negligence, to so much abuse of her wealth, to such a I perilous apathy. The church of Rome on the one aide, with / abundant knowledge, with imposing authority, seduces many to her communion. The right of private judgment is by many avoided as a dangerous snare ; the duty of private judgment is thrown off by many more as too heavy a burden. , On the other side the protestant dissenter assails the church establishment as an engine for fettering the conscience and I . taxing the property of the subject. Novelties have their L I charm ; the high churchman and the independent speak • alike with complacency of separating church and state. 1 , I know no better security against such a danger than an able I and Darned episco pal _ bench; a zealous and God-fearing pa , rochial clergy. Thus may the reformation be depended ; thus may the establishment be maintained ; otherwise, neither I parliament nor premunire can beat off the assailants of our i church constitution. But it i. said I have disturbed the peace of the church. There is no use in crying " peace, when them is no peace." i The appointment of Dr. Tillotson to the primacy provoked a • party whose- unrelenting fury pursued him to the day of his , death. They denounced him as a Socinian and an atheist, ; yet our Great Deliverer never made a wiser or more judicious t appointment. In our own day we have seen the learned i. Dr. Lloyd, once Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, i pursued with bitter invective, when on the Roman Catholic i Relief Bill he gave expression to the loftiest feelings of Chris • tian charity. .t You have spoken with praise of the sermons of Dr. Hemp den, and your testimony is in this respect peculiarly vale- • Earwig Appeal to the /umbers of Gn•ocation, by 11. A. Wood. gate, 8.A., &c., I able. Yea consider his appointment at " a circumstance favourable to the health of the church." It is in that view that, unconnected with and personally unknown to Dr. Hampden, I have recommended him to the favour of my sovereign. I earnestly and devoutly hope that your antici pations and mine may, by the blessing of God, be amply ful have the honour to be, with great respect, your most obedient servant, J. R1.7688LL. Rev. A. J. Crispin, vicar of Renhisld, fte. IRELAND. DUBLIN, JAN. I. The health of the chancellor is still prOgressice; the great seal, however, has been placed in commis sion. On Saturday Barons Richards and Lefroy, with Judges Torrens and Moore, were sworn in as lords commissioners. DISARMING TIM PEOPLE IN 1111 DISTVRBRDDISTRICIII. —Aa extraordinary Gazette has just been issued proclaiming the disarming of the people in the disturbed districts. AU persons in those districts are directed, on pain of two years' imprisonment, to deliver up their arms at certain depots named, save and except justices of the peace, or persons in her Majesty's naval or military service, or in the coast guard service, or in the unite of the revenue, or in the police or constabulary force, or special constables, or persons duly licensed to kill game, or persons to whom any license shall have been granted under the set. The places thus proclaimed are as follow : Tipperary County. Limerick County. Baronies of Upper and Lower Bunratty, Clonderlaw, lnchiguin, Islands, and Upper and Looter Tulle, in the county of Clare. Baronies of Orrery and Kilmore, in the county of Cork. Ba ronies of Athlone, North and South Ballintubber, Ballymoe, Boyle, and Roscommon, and the pa rishes of Crieve, Kilmacumsey, Kileola, and Kilnamaugh, in the barony of Frenchpark, county of common. Baronies of Olenahiry , and Upperthird, in the county of Waterford. Baronies of Ballybrit, Clonliak, Eglish, and Garrycastle, in the King's County. Baronies of Cloomahon, Tull)hunoo, and Upper Loughtee, Li the county of Cavan. Baronies of Canrigallen, Leitrim, and Mohill, in the county of Clare. Baronies of Ardagh, Grunted, and Langford, in the county of Longford. SCOTLAND. EDINBCROIt, JAN. 1. The solicitors before the supreme courts have pre sented a memorial to the Lord Advocate, pray ing that Mr. Tait, the senior sheriff substitute for Edinburgh shire, and who has been in office for 21 years, may be appointed principal sheriff, in room of the late Mr. Speirs. Mr. C. J. F. Orr has been appointed com missary clerk, in room of Mr. Gracie, deceased. The rumoured appointment by the crown of Professor Miller to the chair of clinical surgery is said, in some quarters, to be " premature," and perhaps may be so in the sense that the vacancy has not yet been for mally intimated. Messrs. Thorburn and Co. of Glasgow issued their annual iron circular thin morning. Of 130 iron fur nices in Scotland, 80 are in and 41 out of blast. The average price of pig iron during 1843 was 80s. 3d. ; 1846, 675. 3d.; 1847, 6.55. 4d. At the end of 1846 the stock in hand was 140,000 tons (at end of 1847, 60,000: during 1847 the exports have been 390,000 tons), consumed in foundries, malleable iron, &c., 150,000, in all 540,000 ; but as the make this year has only been 480,000, the con sumption has exceeded the make by 60,000 tons. Iron may, therefore, be expected to "look up" during the course of 1848. FIRES IN Entxstatcg.—The new year has been ushered in is Edinburgh by two destructive fires. Happening simultaneously the fire force was concentrated on the first, and consequently the devastation prevailed for a time at the second without any material check having been applied. The want of water was also lamentably and severely felt. — Fu tsr ' , mg. —A fire broke out on Saturday morning, in the engine -house in connexion with the printing establish ment of Messrs. A. Fullerton and Co., Edinburgh. Frian the inflammable nature of the materials, the fire soon assumed such a mastery that all attempts to confine its ravages to the place in which it we, first discovered ()manse impracticable. Owing to the scarcity of water, some time elapsed before the engines could be brought into' play. The fire continued to wax stronger es it went upwards, until reaching the third storey, it burst forth with great fierceness. In a very short time thereafter, the whole of the upper storey of the building, extending in length to about a hundred yards, was in a complete blaze. The fire was eventually subdued &bent eleven o'clock, but not until the second and third stories of the extensive building were completc ly swept by its ravages! Altogether, the damage done must amount to several thou sends; but the Mears. Fullerton are insured to an amount that will go far to cover the most of it. Upwards of 120 in dividuals will be thrown ont of employment by this calamity. —SECOND FlRE.—Scarcely had the alarm created by the above conflagration subsided, when a iv port was communi cated that another fire had broken out in the work shop of Messrs. Hay and Ahlis, plumbers and brass founders, Hill-street-lane. The fire was confined en tirely to the premises in which it originated. We learn that a large quantity of lead and other materials have been destroyed ; and as for the building itself none of it remains except the bare walls. PROVINCIAL ....... THE DARING BURGLARY NEAR BINGLEY has caused the greatest excitement in the surrounding neigh bouThood. On Monday last four men, who had been apprehended on the charge, were examined at Brad ford Court-house. Their names are Mellor, Calvert, and Hodgson, all of Baildon, and Waller, of Bingley. It ap pears that the prosecutor, Wm. Wood, is a strong athletic man, about 50 years old, and resides on • small farm at a lonely and romantic spot called Faweather, near Bingley. His house consists of three rooms, two on the ground floor, and a chamber over them. In this house he lives by him self, being a bachelor, and a man of rather eccentric habits. On the morning of Saturday, the 18th of September, he was awoke soon after one o'clock by some persons breaking through the house windows, Ile immediately jumped out of bed, seized a hedge knife, and went down stairs inh is shirt; and in the house, by the light of the moon, he dis covered four men armed with large sticks, and having their faces blackened. He asked them their business, when one of them, whom he knew to be Calvert, said they wanted money. The prosecutor then said that he had none for them, and at the same time gave one of them a blow with his hedge knife. They then made a brutal attack upon him, throwing him down, kicking him and beating him in a most savage man ' nor, one of them saying at the time, " Kill him, kill him." He contended with them for near a quarter of an hour, and then contrived to make his escape through the parlour win dow, The burglars, however, risu after him, and again seized him as he was climbing over the hedge. Here a se cond combat took place even more severe than the first. Se veral times he wrested their sticks from them, with which he defended himself. After he had struggled with them for a considerable time he became quite exhausted, from the nu merous wounds he had received, and great loss of blood ; and in this state they took him back into the house, and laid him on the door, quite naked; his shirt having been torn off in the scuffle. They then lighted a candle, and began to ransack the house, and took away with them about twenty shillings in silver, • few pounds of cheese, and other articles. After the burglars had cone away, the prosecutor crawled about 200 yards to the house of Mr. Denby, his nearest neighbour, and told him what had happened: he presented a shocking appearance, his head and face being covered with blood. A surgeon found a great number of wounds upon his head, one of which was four inches in length. His lege and arms were also covered with bruises. The surgeon does not yet consider him out of danger. From a description given to the Bradford con stables by the prosecutor the four prisoners had been appre hended, all of whom, with the exception of Waller, were identified. Calvert and Mellor had also made a confession of their guilt to Mr. Jowett, one of the ceustables. The prosecutor's shirt was exhibited in court, which hail the ap pearance of having been dipped in blood. A blood-stained coal rake was also produced, which was evidently one of the instruments by which the wound& had been inflicted. The prisoners said nothing in defence, and Calvert, Mellor, and Hodgson were committed to York Castle to await their trial. Waller was discharged. J. Pollard, Esti , who was on the bench, complimented the prosecutor for his cour.,gtous con duct, and expreseed a hope that the judge at York would consider that he deserved a reward. Re also hoped that others would imitate his example when attacked in a similar manner. WORCESTERSHIRE. THE MORMOSITEs IY ENGLAND.—The Worcester Herald of Saturday says: "Some instructive rarratives of the conduct of Mormonite missionaries and their dupe- have appeared frnn time to time in this journal. We have now to record an event which is astounding, when regarded as having taken place in the midst of a sane community. Sun day three weeks ago, a conference of Mormonites was held in a large room in Carden-street, Blockhouse—the place where formerly the Socialists used to hold their assemblies. At the conference a person from the United States attended, and acted as the moving spirit. There were about 300 per sons present, but, with the exception of half a dozen or so, they were entirely composed of country people. A great num ber of the men wore smock frocks, and the general appearance of the femalesbespoke them as belonging to the poorer classes. There w.s, however, a sprinkling of both 1, acs of that class which may ho placed between the middle and the lower —people well to do in the world, for their station in life, saving mechanics and their wives and first-clan labourers, who, by industry, and as much skill as could be exerted in their humhle sphere, have contrived to raise themselves out of the reach of that poverty in which the great majority of their fellows are immersed during their lives. The city put of the assemblage consisted apparently of mere curioaity seekers; our informant has been accustomed to mark the distinctions in people, and he states that this part of the audience did not exceed the trifling number above stated. The assemblage was drawn chiefly from the parishes of Upton Snodsbury, Grafton, Pinvin, Wyre Piddle, Crowle, Droitwieh, and Sales-green. Why the meeting was called a conference ' did not appear, and the only speaker was the Yankee above referred to. This individual s;oke ex tempore on the tenet. of Mormonism for a long space. He then ' ordained' several priests and deacons horn among the congregation, setting them apart to preach the Mor i monite gospel in various localities ; and one man named Fletcher he specially appointed to proend as a miiisionary to Norwich. The ceremonial was a rough burlesque upon the formalities used in the church on such solemnities. and the