The Express. — London, England, 1851-12-25 00:00:00

ol die no alterations, which would impede the future unction —that is to say, Austria is forthwith to I, e installed in the office of protector of the votcetionists in Germany, and I'ru4ia. is to bn /tested of the power to follow au independent comme rcial policy. The Prussian cabinet has de eined taking part in the icuna conference. But all the other German states send representatives; and very many of them will assuredly enter into the I Austrian proposal. Though no Prussiun delegate c onfer at Vienna, the cabinet of Berlin will learn , F tm enough what has pawed there, from the turn peasadings at the subsequent conferernv of Zollve rein members here, who will probably refuse,from the outset, to negotiate on the formation of a new union, ex cept in an assembly of all German states, and on the basis of the tennis resolutions. Prussia has, , tha does, but one course open. The stretching of the Zollverein ham north to south, and the uniting o f free-traders with protectionists by an untenable s •aproalise of principle, for the sake of gaining an ii,usive political footing beyond the Main, must be •••• u up, however difficult it may be to dismount f ro m a hobby, on which one has so long ridden. p eu ..4ia must boldly hoist the free-trade flag, and draw the line of commercial union from east to west. United with the Saxon duchies, Hanover, Oldenburg, Micklenburg, Holstein, and the Ilanse Towns, under a ststem of moderate and lucrative financial duties, and commanding the exist and seaports, it must gain tlic firm adhesion of allied interests among its col leagues, and the hearty friendship of foreign powers: while the wealth of its people, and its state revenue, would show rapid improvement. At all vents it world, by such it step, be for ever saved ran the danger of being migulphed by Austrian diplomacy ; because, if a general German customs' u nion were in future to be brought about, it could be farmed only on a free-trade principle ; and in such else Prussia,as the continental representative of that primiph., would rule the union. It is not the formation of a general customs union, but the ntention of protection, which endangers Trua nt p ditical position, besides damaging its reductive resources. Though the course de seribel be Prussia's last resource, and though M. von Manteutfel, who clearly sees this, is person ally ready to take the step, nevertheless a govern ment so monarchically conservative as that of Prus sia, geuerully sinks to ruin rather than let itself be paslwd to the adoption of a decided go-a-head pi in civic. 'lhe Austrian press, too, well knows the weak point on which it has to work, in order to prevent the Prussian court from taking an unwelcome turn in the nietter. It pretends that the Austrian pro ts are wholly directed against England, and pro mits a renewal of the continental system' order to punish Lord Palmerston for sending revolu 6.mery agents to the continent, with the design of fomenting &sten billet% and removing foreign indus try, in order that the Germans may be obliged to cut each oticr's throats with Birmingham knives, and be ,hroultal in Manchester calico. 'l'hc Coteau s Gazette, vary pertinently asks how it comes that the notable Austrian police has never yet succeeded in catching slehantinissitry with his instractionsfroin the British Foreign-Whey, and which chapter of Alain Smith teaches,. that a revolutionised country becomes a better customer' Nevertheless, such nonsense is se without effect in certain quarters. The alterna the now offered to Prussia between protection and Gov-trade is represented as tantamount to the choice between the government system of absolute Austria arid parliamebtary England—the option of an alliance with Schitartenberg, Radetzky, and Ilaynau, or with Palmerston, Cobden, and Kossuth—names being jumbled together as unscrupulously- as notions THE LEVANT. MALTA, Drc. 19. The accident which befell poor Magnsth, as men tioned is my last, has proved lighter than was at tr‘t reported, and the young man has escaped with a Kit rt concussion or the brain. The greateAt hopes are now smug:tined that the sufferer will be pre -14 11 ed. On the opening of the council yesterday, Sir W. Reid !rave the following address. I send you an nu pahle.hed copy. It is at once tirm, manly, and sen sible, and a fair index of ore• new governor's mind : COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENT. :rrixo or THU HMI DEC. 18;1.- 1•ItE'CSr ALL Sit NIEMBERI._ At half-poet two o 'cl ock p.m., h is l..cellency the oo r. nor, attended by his aides-de-camp, tot. red the council to and haring duly taken the oath of allegiance, took hi. scat us president of the couited, and read the following 'dart : " e are met this lac in consequence of adjnurnment Wm the 26th %tutted, meeting the council of government for the first time. I wish here pubbe.y, but briefly. to express the earn ed wish I feel that the recent change in this council, by sl.ish elective weathers have been introduced into it, may prove a beneficial measure for all interests concerned. In order to work out the principle of elective assem hhes suerceefully, forbearance in pressing new measures, and calmness in discussion, are amongst the brat requisites. hoe discussion, regulated by established rules, is an Listen bat element to representative bodies. Bat the gradual 'elution of political problems, which were formerly iIL un derstood, is rendering protracted discussion less necessary, and tending to remove party spirit from legislative assem blies. We require to meet Isere, in order to give legality te our pr.nsedings; but much advantage would be de ntist from habitually consulting with each other upon Immodest measures, and endeavouring to mature them, and to agree upon them,befure they are formally introduced is council. The crown, whilst admitting the elective prin tiler, has wisely reserved the right of legislating by order et the Queen in council. It will be for us hers so to con duct our proceeding* as to give as few occasions as possible f n fin exercise of this reserved right. We should admit no difference between elective members and members named the crown. It shall be my eoustant endeavour to protect the rights of elected members, as the best guarantee for tented action in this council. Never toeing sight of imperial um.nsts, we should all of us endeavour to cement still closer the union of Malta with England, by striving to ad vim, the interests of the Maltese people. " I find it is intended to erect a light-house on the west ern extremity of Ooze, and I have been instructed to pro .« a short ordinance for commuting the tonnage dues to Ti. : paid by steamsvessela. If you pass this ordinance, it rill become my duty to urge the completion of the light am., as speedily as possible. 1 can scarcely conceive an object of deeper interest to humanity than that of erecting bcseons to guide the mariner in danger ; and happily the erection of such lights coincides with commercial interests. " I have observed with great satisfaction your desire to unprote your charitable institutions. A proposal will be submitted to you for carrying out still further these inten teas, by the erection of new buildings for a lunatic asylum and a pear-house. If you agree to their construction, I tee nil you to come to an early decision regarding the `tbs- you may yourselves prefer for these buildings, in order that they may be begun without delay. 'fliese two subjects will be brought before you to-day. -objects of the different codes, in which you have a int.-rest, I hope will be proceeded with at our next WEST INDIA AND THE PACIFIC MAILS. (By Electric lclegraph.) (mon Ora OWN COMHESPONDINT.) SOVTIIAMPON, THURSDAY Moastso. The Avon has just arrived with the West India 01.111 Pacific mails. Her dates am:—Grey Town, •NYV. 22 9 th; Chagres, 24th; Carthagena, 27th; St. I homas, Jkc. ,ith. Amongst her cargo is specie to the value of 1 :2?1.5:04 dollars on merchants' account. Amongst the passengers is Doctor Cullen, the pro jector of the great ship canal across the Isthmus of Darien. Ile has come to England to advocate the adoption of the ship canal. At Demerara the weather has been highly favour able to the crops. 'There are, however, signs that a d'ang e is about to take place, and the wet season thaaf at this year to set in. A smart shock of an earthquake was felt at Port of Spain, in Trinidad, on the 23th ult., which frightened most of the inhabitants from their beds, b lit dad no material damage. Some of the neigh boating island s haw, it is feared, suffered severely . . ,At Trinidad th e wea th er h as b ee n s o favourable that several planters have set their mills about. 131 : cocoa crop promises to be an average one. From Jamaica we have accounts to the 30th ult. lie cholera is still raging badly in that island. b Ecltttslt or Carat: IN CAMBIUDOESIIIIIF--Not " 4 lanatteriolialtire and Bedfordshire, but also. we -toruslo aa7. L OW county, is crime considerably upon the u . Lev.. aad at taw Cambridge board of guardians, on "''''Lle7 last, so light was the busineia that the board hag began half past twelve. la the Cambridge borough the Lumbar of commitments from Oct. Ito Deo. 19, 414) '''''"l 7; for the corresponding period in 1841, 68— ?ek4t a damnation of 39. In the Castle, or county jail, tts samba in custody, the. 19, IMO, was 137 ; the Dm' t oted, yesterday was 110.—Caasbrirlie Independest THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 25, 1851. Commons. It was computed that out of the 658 members, there were at that time 338 interested in land, and it was said that that was a . proportion far too large. Now, my . lord, omitting all reference to the constituencies of Wales, of Scotland or of Ireland, numbering 187 in the whole, I give you here a list, which shows that nearly 300 of the English members alone must be of the class whose power was thought so extravagantly represented in 1832. There can be very little doubt that nearly 100 out of the 187 Scotch and Irish members arc landowners also. And if this be so, the preponderance in 1817 is far greater than it was before the Reform Act passed. During the twenty years which have elapsed since that measure was brought forward, the trade and manufactures of this country have made the most gigantic strides. Many branches of industry have doubled themselves. The increase in the cotton, woollen, silk, linen, and hardware trades, as shown by the declared value of our exports, has been quite enormous. Allow me to throw some of the results into the convenient form of a small tabular state ment. DECLAUED VALVES OF MUTI3II EXPORTS 'IB49. 1832. Cotton goods £17,300,000 '6,77.5,000 Woollcu goods 4,728.000 7,342,000 Silk goods Linen goods (1831) Hardware and cutlery Ilrass and copper good+ This enormous increase of production could not have becu effected witlicut great additional em ployment of labour. Hence we find that the ten dency of the population of Eng!and during the last quarter of a century has b..en to relinquish agricul tural for manufacturing occupations. Your lord ship is, doubtless, aware that between 1811 and 1811 the eentcsiinal proportion of families employed in agriculture in Great Brit:in declined from 33.2 to Zit The decline was marked in Scotland; it was still more so in England. That it was a progressive decrease is shown by the following statement of the centesimal proportions in 1831 and 1841 : ENGLAND AND WALES. 1831. 1811. Employed in agriculture Employed in rminufactures, &c. Employed otherwise 2) 90 31.27 The results thus exhibitedwill doubtless be marked still more strongly in the census returns of the present year. Those returns are not yet published in a shape that suits toy purpose, but the foregoing tables prove, stronger than words can speak, that throughout England, Wales, and Scotland, manufacturing in dustry in all its branches has been rapidly develop ing itself since the peace, whilst agriculture has remained stationary or has undergone decline. On the other hand, my lord, what has been the course of legislation ? It has been to increase the influence of the land in parliament. You have diminished by 79 the representatives of towns, and have increased by 64 the representatives of counties. You have given to 89 comparatively small agricultural towns a representation of 118, and you have only given to 10 large manufac turing towns a representation of 65! And this has been done in the face of the fact that the capital of England was daily investing itself more and more in its manufacturing industry; and that the labour of the country was gradually withdraw ing itself from agricultural occupations in order to engage in manufacturing and commercial occupa tions. It was in the face of these facts, I say, that you increased the legislative power of the land owners. 'Will it excite your surprise, then, if I tell you that the commerce and the manufactures of England, despite their rapid development and growth, arc at this time no better represented in the House of Commons than they were before the pass ing of the Itetbrm Bill? If I prove that position, I think I add something to the argument in favour of a redistribution of the borough members; and 1 promise you to prove it in the next letter I have the honour to address to you. I am, my lord, your obedient servant, ItUNSYMEDE. METIIOFOLITAN COMMISSION OF BEWERS.—Ycs terday a special court of this commission was held at their principal office, in Greek-street, Soho. The members pre sent were Mr. Lewes (the chairman), Sir J. !Ragtime, Major Dawson, Captain Vetch, and Mr. T. Allison. The following gentlemen were appointed to the undermen tioned offices under the commission : Mr. E. H. Woolrych, secretary, salary 8001., allowance in lieu of apartments, 1001.; Mr. J. Pollard, clerk of minutes, 110!.; Mr. G. S. Hatton, accountant, 3501.; Mr. Win. Lavers, cl erk of sur veyors' and contractors' accounts, 3001. ; Mr. I'. Coggin, clerk of rates, 2501.; Mr. Frank Forster, engineer, 1,000!., allowance for travelling expenses, 2001. ; Mr. Lovick, sur veyor of the Fulham and Hammersmith district, 3101.; Mr. Bazalgette, surveyor of the Eastern and Western divi sion of Weetininster, &e., MI.; Mr. Rue, surveyor of the Finsbury and Tower Hamlets district, 300/. ; Mr. Creasy, surveyor of thu Eastern division of the Surrey and Kent district, 2501.: end Mr. Grant, surveyor of the Western division of the same district, 3001. The Secretary stated that the blouse in the hands of the treasurer to the Commission on the 20th of December instant was 4,4161. Ga. On the report of the chief engineer, the following sewage works of urgent necessity were ordered to be proceeded with:—St. James's-street, Lie-on-grove, lowering of the sewers, estimated cost, 2/71.; Clarendon street, Finchley-ruad, cost 46/., of which 111. 10s. had been contributed by owners of property in the locality ; Tothill street, Westminster, a new sewer, cost' 36/. ; Sussex-street, outlet, cost tidS/.; Kerr_ish-town-road, outfall sewer in con tinuation of the Fleet, cost 1,8821. ; Kentish town, a diversion of the Fleet, cost 7911., of which 4111. will be contributed by owners of property iu the locality ; Hyds-hill Vale, Croom's-hill, Greenwich, estimated cost 1,3121., two-thirds of which to be provided by the commis sioners of Greenwich Hrspital ; and the Lee sewer, at an estimated cost of 1,8731. After the transaction of certain business of a formal character the court adjourned. COMMERCIAL DOCKS.—The directors of this com pany propose to determine on the best way for dealing with their rest, or surplus, and concerning the purchase of new works. THE GERMAN NEW YEAR'S EVE.—The very night which sees MC all lone and drew y on the pavement of Pic cadilly is a great " ball-night " with high and low, young and old, in my country. People must dance from the old into the new year, and consequently there are balls in the great hotels of the towns, and bailout the second-class inns, and balls in every village public-house ; in low smoky tap rooms on the first floor, where the stairs, which, as at fashionable balls and routs in this metropolis, servo as salle do conversation," and flirting-places, are so crowded that even the " Herr Biirgermeister " and the " Herr Pastor " find some di ffi culty in gaining the top and the entrance to the ball-rom. These two dignitaries of every village make it a point to visit all the dancing places, and to exhort to enjoyment and moderation. Their good advice is always followed to the letter while they are present, but when they are gone the tr , mpool the waltz be comes more rapid, brown sunburnt women rush violently onward in their giddy career, and stout, blue, brass-but toned coats are doffed and flung into the corner by peasant boys, carriers, and stonemasons, who, pipe iu mouth, and with their hats on, dance with a devotion which many countries emulate, but which none can surpass. And as MeaghtwmnonMwards morning, and t h e musicians drop off from sheer exhaustion, the melody of the last waltz is taken up by the girls, who sing it in inarticulate sounds, loud and low by turns, and alternately advancing and receding, as if swayed by the modulations of their primi tive music. This is the ancient " ballare," the singing of snatches of verses to the dance ; and here it is that the cu rious in the history of poetry must look for the origin and the last remains of the ballalL—Dickens's Howe/dad Words. _ • VW Ler •••• RARE BOOKS RELATING TO A.MERICA.—The library of the late Count Mondidier, extending over nine days' sale, has just been dispersed by auction, by Messrs. Put tick and Simpson, of Piccadilly. We scarcely remember to have seen a more extensive assemblage of voyages and tra vels in any sale, particularly of those in foreign languages. A notice of • few of the lots will perhaps be interesting. Lot 539, the rare collection of tracts by Las Cases, though imperfect, sold for 101. Lot 671, the original Spanish edi tion of Cortes' Letters on the Discovery of America, sold for 231.: this copy had a fac-simile leaf. Lot 836, a tract by John Eliot, entitled the Christian Commonwealth, sold for 51. Is. : this rare little piece was condemned by the Council of Massachusetts in 1600, se being " full of sedi tion." Lot 1,171, liackluyt's Divers Voyages, his first publication, though but a fragment, produced 81. Lot 1,203, Harlot's Account of Virginia, sold for 411.: this rare book was the first executed by the celebrated De Brys, and formed the basis of their future fame. The next lot, the French version of the same work, sold for 181.10 s. Lot 1,872, • tract by Dionysius Riche', bearing the imprint of Mexico, 1644, sold for 341. ; and a second and imperfect copy, form-I ing the next lot, sold for 271. 10s. Lot 1,874, the Doctrina Christiana of Pedro de Cordova, with the same date as the preceding work, cold for 501. This tract, the existence of which is known but to few, has been supposed to be the first work printed in America; but the inference of the auctioneer, as stated in the illustrative note in the catalogue, would seem to assign priority of a few months only to the preceding tract. The tract of Dionysius Richel has been hitherto undescribed by any hiograper . Lot 1,908, the Spanish and Mexican Vocabulary of Molina, an undescribed edition in quarto, dated 1566, produced 411. Lot 2,201, a i copy of Purelias's Pilgrims, in poor condition, sold for 211. Let 2,414, Roberts' Sketches in Egypt and India, sold for 281. 10s. There were also many curious books in the Eng lish language connected with American history which sold at high prices. It was stated that • very large proportion of the sale was purchased foe public and private libraries is America. THE NEW REFORM BILL. (Pecs tha Daily News.) TO LORD JOLTS RUSSELL LETTER VII. Mr MILD, Beyond the advantages which your lordship pro mised the Minn Act would produce, there was one act of justice which the bulk of the people cer tainly expected from it. I will net say that you gave us any reason to expect that the " old distinc tions" as regards representatives would be materially altered, but certainly it was believed and hoped that, to some extent, the Reform Act would equalise Cie enormous numerical disproportion which existed, prior to 1832, between the aristocracy and landowners and all other classes of members of the House of Commons. In the debates upon the bill, you spoke of '• admitting the people to a share of the repre sentation." By these words I presume your lordship meant to imply that among the members of the future house you expected to find more men who sprang from the people, who were allied to their interests and concerned for their well being. The obi, ct of my present letter is to inquire whether the Reform Act has fulfilled the expectations which were thus awakened, or whether the constitution of past and present parliaments is in all practical respects the same. Give me leave to premise that I am not one of those who see any advantage ordinarily in drawing class distinctions. The true interests of all classes of the people are, I believe, identical; and there seems to me to be no sounder axiom in political economy than that the prosperity or depression of one interest must ultimately act upon the others. But, at the same time, there seems no good reason why one class, no better qualified for the task than another, should set itself up to govern all the rest. Where any one interest is unable to protect itself, it may, upon the geueral principle, very fairly seek the assistance of another. But, where those engaged iu any particular occupa tion arc of opinion that they can best be protected by their own representatives, let them have the opportunity of lving represented, if they arc found to be entitled to it. The disfranchisement of certain nomination bo roughs, the enfranchisement of a considerable number of large constituencies, and the exten sion of the suffrage to Inf. householder, under the Reform Act, were measures thought likely to effect a fairer adjustment of the balance. Amidst the general anxiety for the adoption of " the Bill," there is too much reason to fear that many im portant considerations were overlooked. It was not observed, for example, that whilst you deprived (Ai small towns of the franchise, and hull-disfranchised 30 more, you in reality gave the counties, governed by the landed aristocracy, all the profit and advanH tage of this arrangement. The following table, my lord, will exhibit this comp'etely In th.• n- In the rt: dna d Itekormed In- De- Na. Of timbers Ti presenting I.drlnt s larks. erzaae. crcive. English counties 42 143 61 English cities and boroughs tiq 38 Welsh counties 12 3 . We boroughs • • • .•. Irish counties Irish boroughs 4l Scotch counties 'ill 30 Scotch burghs l5 Thus it will be seen that the English boroughs paid for everything—not only for the great increase m the English and Welsh counties, but even for the small concessions made to Ireland and Scotland. 'ibis was another way in which the "old distinction between town and country was preserved. But the increase of territorial influence thus exhi bited does not represent the full state of the case. in my more recent letters I have dwelt at length upon the enfranchised districts, or small counties, whieb may bo do scribed as " boundary boroughs." I cal culate, my lord, that you created 41 of those bo roughs, and that they return 57 members to the House of Commons. Add these 57 boundury-bo rough members to the 61 additional county members, and the total increase of influence given to the land by the Reform Bill is expressed by 114, or ore-sixth of the entire number of members in the House of Commons. For the purpose of arriving at a more complete view of the present state of things, it is, I think, worth while to classify the boroughs of England according to their character. I will take them as agricultural boroughs, manufacturing boroughs, cities, and seaports. - AORICULTEIULL 110ROIGHS. [All return 2 member* except where otherwise expressed.: Abington (I) Grimsby (1) l'eterstield (I) Andover Guildford l'untefriset Aruiuhl (1) Helstoue (1) Reigate (1) Ashburton (1) Hertford ltetlord Aylesbury Blanton Richmond Banbury 0) Horsham (1) Ripon Barnstaple Ilunt in.-.:on Rye (I) Ii Bedford mitl4l) St. Albans Beverley Knaresburough St. Ives (1) Bewdley (1) Launceston (I) Shaftesbury (1) Bodmin Leominster Shoreham Boston Lewis Stafford Bridgewater Lichfield Stamford Bridgcnorth Liskeard (1) Sudbury llridport Ludlow TAmworth Buckingham Lyruington Tavistock BurySt.Edmund's Lyiue Regis (I) Tewkesbury Caine (I) Lynn Thetford Chichester Id ddstone Thinik (1) Chippenham Maldon Totness Christ Church (1) Malmesbury Wallingford (1) Cirencester Malton Wareham (1) Cockermouth Marlboro' Warwick Cricklade Marlow Wells Devises Midhurst (I) Wenlock 1/urchester Morpeth (I) Westbury (1) Droitwich (1) Newark Wilton (I) Evesham Newport Woodstock (I) Eye (I) Northallerton (I) Wycombe Grantham Pcterboro' Total-89 boroughs, returning 118 members. 111•NUFACTI:111NO 1101t01:01111. .. Ashton-under- -....- iacidermi --: nstjr(l)ghettleld Lync (1) Leeds South Shields (1) Birmingham Leicester Stockport Blackburn Macclesfield Stoke-upon-Trent Bolton Manchester Stroud Bradford Newcastle-under- Sunderland Bury (I) Lync 'Tiverton Clitheroe (1) Newcastle-on-Tyne Truro Derby Norwich Tynemouth (1) Dudley Cl) Nottingham Wakefield (1) Frame (1) Oldham Walsall (1) Gateshead (1) Preston Warrington (1) Halifax Rochdale (1) Wigan Huddersfield (1) Salford (1) Wolverhampton rotal-10 boroughs returning 6d members. CITIES AND LAIIOE TOWNS. Bath Gloucester Reading Bristol Greenwich Rochester Brighton Hereford Salisbury Cambridge Hull Shrewsbury Canterbury Ipswich Southampton Carlisle Lambeth Southwark Chatham Lancaster Tower Hamlets Cheltenham. Lincoln Taunton Chester Liverpool Westminster Colchester London (4) Winchester Devonport Mary lebouo Windsor Dover Northampton Worcester Durham Oxford Yarmouth Exeter Plymouth York Finsbury Portsmouth Total-44 cities returning 90 members. ATIPORTS. _ . . Berwick-upon-Tweed Ilythe (1) Scarborough Dartmouth (1) Falmouth Whitby (1) Harwich Poole Whitchaven (1) Hastings Sandwich Weymouth Total-12 towns, returning 20 members. The summary of the foregoing is really interesting : No. of No. of - - _ Constituencies. Members. Counties, with the Isle of Wight — •• ii --- 7. . ili i29l — Boroughs Cities and Large Towns Manufacturing Boroughs 4O .• 85 176 Seaport Towns l2 .. 20 Monmouth District 1 .. 1 Universities 471 471 Thus we sec that the influence of the land, in comparison with that of the citizens and townsfolk, is predominant to the extent of a majority of 115 votes, or of upwards of onelyfili of the entire repre sentation of England in the House of Commons. In relation to the manufacturing boroughs, the agricul tural constituencies (exclusive of the counties) pre ponderate to the extent of 244 to 1. Now, I put it to your lordship, whether you believe that the people contemplated a disproportion of this sort when the Reform Act was accepted? If 1 look back to the records of the period is hen that bill passed, I find nothing so much complained of as the great pre ponderance of the landed interest in the House of , lit Court. WINDSOR, Dtc. 24. The following had the honour of dining at the royal table last evening: —the Duchess of Kent, the Lady in- Waiting to her Royal Highness, the Danntess de Speth, General Sir Julius Hartmann, Colonel Hon. Charles Grey, Lady Caroline and Miss Barrington, Sir George Cowper, Lieut.-Colonel Muller, and Captain Caudell. The hand of the Royal Horse Guards was in attendance during dinner, and performed the thrertare a' A underwitaper" Mawr. Selection "Linda de Charnauni" Will. x "Palre,t r.f Ihe lair" A te-rt. Aria "Itailytto Desercue" Galan "Review" Ifer Majesty's private band afterwards attended in the Castle, and pitied the following selecting' : °tenure, Naehtlager volt Granada" Tei itetto Fatale. let Act " Euryantbc" ...... Weber. The Queen walked in the Home Park and Slopes this morning. The Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, and younger members of the Royal Family, took their usual ex ercise. Prince Albert went out shooting this morning, attended by the Marquis of Ormunde, Colonel Hon. C. B. Phipps, Co lonel Hon. N. Hood, and Colonel Bouverie. General Sir Julius Hartmann, Li.mtenant-Colonel Miil ler, and Captain Gaudell took their departure from the Callao this forenoon. Her 313jesty will hold a Privy Council to-morrow (Friday), the 2Gth instant, at Windsor Castle. Summonses were faith:4 yesterday to tiie ministers and officers of state. Lord John Russell arrived in town yesterday morning, from the seat of the Duke of B. dined, Wuburu Abbey, Bedfordshire. His Excellency the Russian Minister had an interview with his loriLhip, at his official residence, in Downing -street. In the afternoon, Lord and Lady John Russell left town fur Pembroke-lodge, Richinond-park. The City Ilemembrancer had an interview with Sir George Grey yesterday at the Home-office. Do.p.t:ehes were sent off yesteril ,y hum the Cu!onial- Ake to the Governors of Hong Kong and Ceylon. GRANVILLE GEORGE LEVEBON-GOWIER, second Earl Granville, and now her hlajesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, is a comparatively young man, having been burn in 1813. He graduated at Christ Church, Ox ford; was for a short time attaché to the British embassy in Paris, and subsequently under-secretary of state for foreign affairs; was appointed a railway commissioner in 1:16, in which year he succeeded to the earldom ; master of the Queen Iruckhounds, July, 1816 ; vice-pri.sident of the Hoard of Trale, May, 1518; was M.P. for Morpeth, from February, 183 i, to February, 1810, and sat for Lichfield, from September, 1811, to January, 1846; was appointed a deputy-lieutenant of Salop, NH; second-major, Stafford shire yeomanry, 1818. Ea;l Livinville was, it must be re membered, chairman of the council of the Royal Commiiision of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Tue first cart was a dis tinguished diplomatist ; he was undo to the second Duke of Sutherland, and was long known as Lord Granville Leveson-Goaer. It is wanted that Lord Granville's ten th:odes ors decidedly liberal—mere so, it is alleged, on many points of general politic,i, than those either of Lord Clarendon or Lord Palmerton; though he lacks the pres tige of the sue and the long experience of the other. CHRIS iMAS AMUSEMENTS. The public will soon have an opportunity of en joying the fruits of all those labours which are so graphi cally described in the Christmas number of " Household Words." The tinted glories of the pictorial artist, the gro tesque handiwork of the property-men, :out the inspired jokes of the authors, arc all rapidly approaching that state in which Christina; audiences will have to pronounce on their respective merits. Pudding will soon divide the laurels with pantmulme, and the latter will essay the some what difficult task of soothing the pangs of the great annual indigestion. The note of preparation already glares in broad sheets on every dead wall, and each theatre claims for itself the possession of the great " hit" of the season. Time honoured pantomime still struggles manfully with modern burlesque, and in the great majority of instances forms the pine dc resistance at the theatres. A preliminary outline oral the good things promised will perhaps stimulate rather than satisfy the cravings of public curiosity, and at all events will prevent the holiday folks being completely overwhelmed by the accumulated splendour of boxing-day. Place, by right of seniority and size, must be given to OLD Dauer, the firrtgloricsof which have been followed by many derogatory vicissitudes, but which now, under the auspices of Mr. Bunn, is to be restored to pantomime anti tlm drama. It is , atiefactory to think that that great Thespian potentate has recovered his dominion in a highly- constitutional way. and without any revolutionary coup W. 40. Wonders are promised under the restored regime, and the well-known modesty of the manager's former announcement, encourages the hope that the promise will at least be equalled by the performance. The theatre itself is to shine in all the gorgeousness of Louis Seize decoration. Blue, and white, and gold, ore to replace the oingy crimson hue, and panels and cornices are to be laden with flower vases and figures ill all the showy colouring of the last days of the French monarchy. A monster com pany has been engaged, comprising comedy, tragedy, sell mum, to which the manager, who has great faith in muslin, adds a ballet of filly coryphees and figurantes. According to established umge, and for the same sufficient reason, no doubt, that introduces a real leg of mutton in " No Song no Supper," the fun is to begin with n dismal tragedy, which the children must ',sallow, as the Yankees do bitters before dinner, to give them an appetite for the fun to follow. The pantomime is to illustrate one of Ho garth's subjects, and takes for its heroes two specimens of that extinct race, the " London prentice." The young ladies and gentlemen who in the present day assist" in ' the plate-glass innyazins of the City will have much phila sopliie pleasure is contemplating these interesting remains of the pliocene period, and will complacently enjoy the scenic accessories of the story. A great feature is to be " lflo&.lriars-bridge (1711)," and it is important to note the date, as, if it were taken a hundred years later, the subject would he but n melancholy one for the scene painter. —Next in order, but second to none in merit, the lair manageress of the ].veers waves her magic wand, and opening the well-thumbed volume of that inestimable woman, the Countess D'Anois, puts the " Princess who was changed into a Deer " upon the stage in all the glorious hues of Beverly, and the gorgeous wardrobe of Queen Mob's milliner, who is specially retained at this establish ment. Although the tale from which the spectacle is taken is unhappily almost as scarce in these slays of "useful knowledge' as a genuine Elzevir, we will resist the temptation of showing our blackletter reading by un ravelling the plot, lest pleasant lair. Planche should lose even one of the laughs to which his merry dialogue is sure to entitle him. Thu "last scenes" of the Lyceum have ob tained a place in history, but they are all to be surpassed by the "denouement " of this Christmes.—The Brothers Brough have taken possession of the HAYMARKET, and, having put Count Anthony Hamilton to the " fast " school for a fortnight, arc about to introduce a version of one of his rather " slow " fairy tales to a west-end audience. Reading people will recollect how the count once under took to write pleasanter stories than the Arabian Nights, and how signally he failed in his attempt; hut in the hands of such experienced jokers as the Brothers Brough there is every probability of his attaining to a reasonable standard of sprightliness and hilarity. The story of " Mayflower" is selected, and the Count himself is introduced to explain the plot of the burlesque. This done, the gustotivo bumps in the juvenile cranium are first to be stimulated by a view of "The Palace of Barley Sugar," and then gratified by a more intimate ac quaintance with Bardbake the Great, Lord Albert Rock, and Lord Bullseye, names to them full of pleasant remi niscence and requiring no explanation. The killing glances of the Princess !Wield, the evolutions of the Amazonian guard, and a splendid :ruse en scene will complete the at tractions, and no doubt render the Haymarket one of the moat popular of the holiday theatres.—The management of the Putgezas's turns to that collection of lyrics at once nautical and national, by means of which Britannia has so long been enabled to " rule the waves," and introduces the faithless " Billy Taylor" as the hero of its pantomime. The dramatic capabilities of this romantic story are too well known to require any lengthened outline, and it only requires Mr. Keeley in the part of the " gay young feller" to bring out all the sterling pathos of the character. However, as that versatile actor does not reckon jumping head foremost through fiats among his "cards" we must be satisfied with the gymnastic portraiture of the ordinary pantomime actor. The ADEI, PHI will be worth a visit, if it were only to see Paul Bed ford " do " the Wolf in " Little Red Riding Hood " The holiday visitors must not expect to see merely a version of our own nursery tale, but an elaborate burlesque of Ludwig Tieck'a !tragedy, which Mr. Tom Taylor has judiciously selected as the groundwork of his fun. It is just the kind of thing fur the Adelohi stage, and the Adelphi company, and in such able hands as those which constructed " genes and his Lantern," will no doubt prove eminently successful. The plot is a most intricate piece of diablerie, and will require an immense amount of blue fire, and 0 Smith's moat sepulchral tones, to do it full justice. The OLYMPIC has secured what may be truly called the " pro lific pea" of Mr. Nelson Lee. The achievements of that gentleman have always been the object of our wondering admiration. Not contented with managing a wandering theatre on his own account, and performing all the principal characters himself, three or four times ! a dav, he writes with a fecundity which Lope de \ ego and Alexander Dumas, rolled into one, would in vain hope to imitate. We hear of his " prolific pen" at one-half the London theatres, we hear of it in the provinces, we hear of it in Ireland and Scotland, and by the last mail A news greatera s arrivedde wonder h is a it that htis it a is t work every h w s h r d c e a n f e a s in t i n n e n A t m l s r u i ca c cessfuL" and fully justifies his " well-earned reputation." Truly a peep into his repertoire of fun would be dangerous to the cachinnatory muscles; it must be a perfect California of jokes. In the present instance he carries us back to the Norman times, with a pleasing tautology christening his pantomime, " Red Hutu . ; ; or, Harlequin Fact, Fiction, and Fancy," and it will be a smart exercise teethe youthful mind to discover the " concatenation accordingly "between the first title and its equivalent. There are to be the Magic Balls of Fiction and the Enchanted Abode of Fact, followed by the Grove of Daffydowndillies, with the second Norman King appropriately seated in the centre. Sir Walter Tyrrel, the ancestor of our own Sir John, but not half so great a man, is to play a conspicuous part. An im mense number of genuine pantomime tricks will follow the introduction, and the whole will conclude with a brilliant scpresentation of the Abode of Fancy.—SADLER'S WRLIJI opens the ball with "The Yellow Dwarf, or the Enchanted I Orange Trce and the King of the Golden Mines," which the public may expect to be mounted with all the rare which distinguishes this establishment. The premonitory bill announces a real child's treat, in which en chanted groves and diamond palaces lead in daz zling succession to the comic business, which from the time of Grimaldi downwards, has always been a great card at Sadler's Wells. It is rather a long stride from Saillcr's Wells to the States, but the latter will be fossil equally worth a visit. Nothing is more remarkable in theatrical annals than the improve m, ut which has gradu ally been going on in the class of performance offered at this theatre. Ile ferocious cut and thrust melodramas, with their escaped convicts and murderers for heroes, have completely disappeared, to make room fur regular drama tic and operatic performances, of a very high order of ex cellence. The Christmas pieces have also felt the influence of progress. Coarse jokes and wretched scenery have given place to smart hits at passing events, pure and decent dia logue and incident, and a style of " mounting," which could not be surpassed on the more favoured side of the water. The Christmas entertainment is called " The King of the Gulden Seas," and besides its aurivrous splendours promises a rather novel review of the vegetable kingdom, which must prove a real attraction to all true hearted vege tarians. The great Austrian 1,2 a of the Exhibition will form no admirable vehicle for some novel pantomimic changes, and those who recollect the closing scene of last year, miy expect to find even its splendours eclipsed by the finale of the present. ASTLEY'A mounts Mr. Briggs on horseback, with all this comic casualties which Leech has rendered familiar, and revives " Paxton's Crystal Palace," in all its pristine magnificence. The wondrous Nelson Lye is again the hero of the libretto, and of course will prove that "none but himself can he his parallel." A tolerably extensive harvest of Christmas amusements has here been iudicated ; but if the holiday curiosity should still remain unsated, and the Christmas boxes still unexhausted, there are whole hosts of minor theatres in all parts of the town, each having "the best Cloaca and IM rlnptin living," and preparing the greatest imaginable quantity of gold and silver palaces, diamond seas, aud terrine demons for the delectation of their juvenile visitors. Tne ROYAL BARON or BEEF,—This noble old English joiut was brought into the royal kitchen at Wind sor Castle on Tuesday. The process of roasting commenced :a 11 o'clock on the morning of that day, and was not com pleted before 11 o'clock at night. he baron, which '1% . 41, Cut from a handsome Devon 10,•, Wl WIC 4301135. and will be placed cold on a bide table at the royal b anquet uu Christmas-day. FIRE AT THE ALDEUGATE-STREET DISTILLERY.— Yesterday morning, at a few mimics atter tight o'clock, a fire broke out on the premises of Mr. William liurbidge, the distiller, No. 71, Aldersgate—treet. The Hones ori ginated in the still-house from the following cause :—A man named William Elliott, employed as the still-man, was engaged damping a still charged with 1,269 gallons, when all of a sudden an adjoining still, containing between 301) and 400 gallons, oveithwed, and the spirit running into the furnace became ignited and caus,althe contents of the larger still also to take tire. The still-man did all he possibly could to cstingui,h the flames, hut was unable, and whilst so doing ho nearly lost his life, for the blazing spirits tit length rolled over the floor, tiring in torpid succes sion sundry casks, Cie., and bu h., face. The men to save his life was obliged to rush out of the building and jump into a cask of water, which cx , inguished the fire about the lower portion of his dress. When the engines arrived the firemen found the flames rising through the roof of the distillery high above the housetops in the neighbourhood, threatening to lay in ruins every building near. Fortunately a splendid head of water was procured from the mains of the New liver Company, and the en gines were worked with great vigour, whilst the firemen entered the premises with the branches frum their engines, and by that expedient were enabled to prevent the adjoin ing buildings from becoming ignited. fly these exertions the Haines were eventually extinguished. The precise amount of loss is at present unknown. Fortunately Mr. llurbidge was insured for the stock in trade in the Impe rial Fire-offire, and the premises nee reported to be insured in the Law Fire-otfiee. The whole of the roof is burned off the distillery, and the grain store is seriously damaged by fire and water._ THE LATE FIRE AT CAMDEN-TOWN.—The immense loss sustained by the eminent firm of Collard and Collard, in consequence of the total destruction by tire on the 19th instant of their recently-erected extensive pianoforte manu factory, indwell all the numerous clerks and workmen in their employment to bohl a very respectable mid crowded meeting last evening, at the Stanhope-A rots hotel, Camden- Town, to express their heart-felt sympathy with their em ployers in this most disastrous cal:tinily. The fact of such a meeting being about to be held having become known, several friends of the house, including the representatives of wine influential firms contacted with them in business, resolved to be presect en the occasion. The chair was taken by Robert Addison, Esq., of Regent-street, who opened the proceedings by some very appropriate re marks on the gratifying spectacle of so large a holly of men assembled together for PO creditable an object. After several remarks, highly complimentary to Messrs. Collards, as employers, a deputation was formed to se alt upon those gentlemen, to cominunicate the resolu tions that were adopted, and a subscription was entered into for the purpose of affording some compensation to those workmen who had lost all their tools, and were not insured, when a suns exceeding 1201. was subscribed in the room. Among the names announced as contributors were Messrs. Collard, 21/.; Messrs. Broadwuods, 10/. 10s.; Mr. It. Addison, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Stewart, Mr. Rowed, and Mr. :twilit, 5/.ls. each; Mr. Thomas, 41.; Smith and Sons and Mr. G. 1101-te, 3/. 3s. each. A resolution was afterwards come to that the members for the borough, Lord Dudley Stuart and Sir Benjamin Hall, be solicited to con tribute to the same. After a most cordial recognition of the services of the chairman. the meeting, which could not have numbered his than 400 persons, separated. ltustl.tN Corms IN INDIA.—In the course of last week Mr. 11. Flemilfg, the secretary of the Comm( rcial Association, received front the East India Company a num ber of patterns of Russian prints sold in India, and which enjoy in that country a considerable prestige over those ma nufactured in England. These patterns were accompanied by a letter, expressing the satisfaction which it would give the East India Company to receive any remarks which the Commercial Association might have to make upon the sub ject. In consequence if this communication, Mr. Fleming took the patterns to the warehouse of a Greek merchant, who is a director to the Commercial Association, where he found English manufactured goods exactly corresponding in quality and pattern with many of those which were sup. posed to be of Russian manufacture, but materially differ ing from them in price, the cost of the English goods being only about one-third of that of the Russian ones. Tho mer chant in whose warehouses these goods were found has ex ported to Persia millions of pieces of such goods, and, as the supposed Russian goods are sold chiefly in those parts of India which are adjacent to that country, it is probable that the goods with which the Russians have frequently been said to be supplanting us in the Indian markets are, after all, of British manufacture, though sold to the inha bitants of India at a price far exceeding that which would be necessary to allow a fair profit upon their exportation directly from this country.—.uanc/tester Guardian. ALARMING FIRE IN MANCHEsTEß.—Yesterday morning a large block of buildings in Market-street, Man chester, comprising four shops to the front of that street, with a restaurant below and two storeys of warehousing above, were discovered to be on fire. The fire had origi nated in the warehouse of Mr. George Hodgkinson, quilt ing and counterpane manufacturer, inintediately over the shops, and when discovered, at half-past eight o'clock, had gained considerable power. Two fire-engines, under the direction of Mr. Rate, were on the spot by 20 minutes to nine o'clock, and the flames were bursting through the windows and darting several yards into Market-street. The flames had also burst through several of the windows into Poole street, which is very narrow, and threatened destruction to the buildings opposite ; so that to all appearances the destruc tion of property to the amount of about a quarter of a mil lion sterling seemed almost inevitable. Fortunately, there was a good supply of water, through the instrumentality of street mains, as well as fire engines :immediately available. Mr. Rose and his firemen also displayed great intrepidity in mounting ladders and directing these mains through the windows. For some minutes after they had established themselves in window places, from whence the flames were darting with a heat which was almost intolerable and threatened the destruction of the firemen themselves, no impression was made upon them, but ultimately their praiseworthy perseverance prevailed, and in the course of an hour it was evident that they had the mastery and that the buildings were saved. So soon as the firemen were enabled to get inside the warehouse they commenced throwing out the whole of the stock (which, consisting of dry, flossy cotton goods, was very inflammable and could not he ex tinguished inside), in order that water might be thrown upon the goods in the street. The fire was extinguished altogether in two hours, after destroying about 1,500/. worth of goods in Mr. Iledgkinson's warehouse, which is covered by insurance. In the warehouse above, belonging to Mr. Geo. M'Cartney and Co., stuff and small wart manu facturers, there was a stock worth 5,0001., which, for tunately, has only suffered from heat and smoke, though the fire had once got hold of the floor and burnt through it. Messrs. Clarke and Whitelegg, hatters, had one of the shops underneath, and have suffered through the drenching of the water to the extent of 3001. Mrs. Stewares re , staurant suffers to the extent of 501 , and several of the other occupiers lose from 401. to 501. each. The whole loss will not exceed 2,0001., probably. MAN KILLED DT A POST Boy.—Celt evening, Mr. W. Baker held an inquest at the London Hospital, respecting the death of George Nash, aged 32, a coal porter. On Friday last the deceased was in the act of crossing the High-street, facing Shadwell Church, when a post boy, named George Manning, in the service of Mr. Maenamara, the General Post-office contractor, drove his horse against him, knocked him down, said trampled upon him. lie was taken to the Hospital, where he died on Monday. A wit ' ness named Gleaning said the deceased had not sufficient time to get out of the way, and the boy who did not call the hone, , only driving at seven miles an hour, which was allowed by opwuh gave contradic tory a w d a was goi ng so 1 act of parliament. Mr. Macneraarte gave the boy an excel n a a tt : a v i v d ke e rles r a pi d i , suck with and it ph ahim, stated lent character for careful driving. Mr. Johnson, the house : surgeon, said the deceased died from fractured ribs and other internal injuries. The coroner remarked on the cast:, I and the jury returned a verdict of " Accidental death.: r The boy, at the desire of the jury, was cautioned as to his t future conduct. RAWMARSH COLLIERY EXPLOSION. TILE INQUEST. RAWMARSII, WEDNESDAY. ! Our yesterday's despatch WON closed with the evi dence of John Roebuck, the engineman. Mr. John Charlcsworth Didgion Charlcsworth, of Stan- Icy near Waketield-1 and Mr. Joseph Charlonvortb, of Lifthouse, Mr. John Barri' Charlesworth, of Walton, and Mr. Wm. Charlesworth are the proprietors of the Warren Vale colliery. On Saturday night I scut by post a letter directed to Sir George Grey giving notice of the explosion at that colliery. I produce a copy of that letter. With respect to the explosion I ant unable to give any evidence. Mr. W. Goodison, the superintendent of Messrs. Charles worth's colliers, prmlucel plans of the pit made by Mr. Benjamin Sellars of the Haugh, which plans lie said he had examined and found accurate. Thus. Sylvester was the fireman. lie was appointed by Wm. Sellars. Sellars was appointed by Messrs. Charlesworth. Ills duty was to examine the workkgs before the men began to work. Sylvester had not to report es to the ventilation to any one but the men themselves. Witness was down in the pit on the littli instant and went through rho of the workings. They appeared perfectly safe. The min have several times complained to witness of having too, mu-h air. Atmospheric changes materially affect the ventilation of a pit. Davy lamps have not been supplied to the men, naked candles being deemed safe. . . Sy the jury. —It watt Sylvester's duty to use a Davy lamp. Ile had one furnish. d to him; but I cannot say whether he used it or not. I know there were more than two Davy lamps.—(TheCoroner : That is a very poor number.) —I use a candle when Igo into that pit. No one ever in timated to me an apprehension of danger in the pit irons want of ventilation. I never go to examine as to the safety of the exhitusted workings. There may be explosive au in those p:accs. The Coroner—Can you account for the explos4in ? Witness—No. I cannot even f. arm an opinion, unless It has Men caused by a trap door being left open. The inquest svc.» at a quarter past six adjourned to Wed nesday. The investigation was resumed at eleven o'clock en Wed nesday morning. 51r. Morton, the government inspector, was in attendance. Thomas Hague, of ltawinarsh, collier, who was in the pit at the time of the accident, gave the following opinion as to the cause of it: 1 think the explosion has been caused by the breaking down of the roof in a hank (the exhausted workings) where Joseph llugg, Charley Cousilis, and 'then. Sylvester were found dead. This benk had hew en the " weigh" ' as we call it—that is threatening to come down— for several days. 1 know that only frog others. It had been complained of among the men. 1 think by John Naylor, but there is none of the others to t, II the tale. Sylvester was found at the back of the stuff that had fallen. think he had gone to examine it. By the juryWe did not use a Davy lamp at any time. The air was good enough without. Vi hen ?;ylvester went doe nin u morning other men would ga with him. If ho had cautioned them, and kept them hack, they would Imam hated to see him. They have damned and cursed the banksman many a time when he has w.;:ited to delay them. If there had been Davy lamps there might have been no explosion, but you know the lamp might have burst, and then it would haVU been the PAM. I considered it safe to examine the pit with a naked candle. Was it a general role for the ;awn to try t'a , air for them selves in a morning ? Yes, it is the mares in this part of the country. If everybody went into their places to try fur themselves, what would were he left fur Sylvester, as tire trier, to try; how I ung would it take hies to go round An hour and a half. Theu he did not go down an hour and a half betbre Old men ? So; we had no signals iu ease of danger. It we found danger, we should have gone and told Sylvester. Charles Burgin, of Rme-hill, collier—l have been em ployed as a packer fur six months in the deep pit. I was at work on Friday. As noon as I felt the influence of the blast, I dropt down in the sleek to hide myself. I then heard others crying out. I told them to throw themselves down, ;ind be stilt. As soon as I thought it w:D. over (about half a mnute), 1 proceeded through the beak and into the horse gate and towards thu shaft. I had only gone a few yards when I stumbled over a man, whom 1 have since ascertained was George Linley. I took hold of him, spook him, and said .‘ hello." lle made no answer, and I thought he was dead. When I got to the bottom of the shaft I . . found others there, some of whom had escaped, and others were wounded. I asked them if any men had come out of the north side. They said no. I told them to remain where they were, and I would go on the ut , rth level us far as I could. I had not gone ten yan-s before I found a dead body. I told those who were waiting, and then went forward and found another dead body. I then went on to the first buard.gate to see if the trap-door was Op. I tuund it had been blown away and shattered to pieces. I thmight it was not safe to go torther, and returned to the shaft bottom. We stopped there till assistance came. I should think that was an hour after the explosion. We then got tarpauling sheets and nailed them up in place of the doors and stop pings, which were all blown down. We contioned that till we gut to the end of the level, where we found also about sit bodies. The witness dt-eribed the situation in which several other bodies were Mund, endowing others his own brother. The Coroner—What, in your opinion, was the cause of the explosion ? Witness—No man will ever know the secret, but in my judgment the third bcnk had broken in and driven the sul phur to the candles. I thought so both beaire and after I had examined the workings after the explosion. I cannot blame anyone fur the breaking down of the benk. It was a eircumstauce over which none of us could have any con trol. We make the packs so tight as to exclude the sir from the waste (the exhausted workings). I do that by the order of Mr. 40V11,011, to conduct the air up to the Mee of the workings, and not from tho waste. The " gosh" or waste, is full or gas with out any air to sweep it away. 11 ben the gus Lets filled the gash" it is forced up to the face and there swept away by the current of sir. The " vah" being thus lull of gas, and having nu air sent across it when a tall of roof takes place, the got is unavoidably driven out towards the place where the men's candles are. Mr. Murton—That is the very place of all others that you should keep it away from. The jury then, at half-past four, adjourn, next. The pit will be, in the interim, CZUMiII.I by Mr. Mor ton, the government inspector. On Saturday Mr. Morton will inspect the pit tinutteuiltol, except by 'note of the sur viving colliers. (In Monday lie will also inspect the mine attended by Mr. Byrum, mining-zoteut Fitzwilliam, Mr. Locke, colliery-viewer, Barnsley ; and T. 11. sock, colliery-viewer, Sheffield. to Tuesday TILE MURDER IN SOMERSETSIIIRE. The particulars of the horrible murder committed upon the person of the unfortunate mull George Bush, whose throat was shockingly cut on his way Luna l'ristun to Timsbury, on the night of tho Ist December, have, already aprcured in the Express. We are sorry to say that we very much (ear the perpetra tor of thu shocking transaction will escape justice, the whole affair being, notwithstanding the efforts of the Bath police, and the inquiries of Mr. Thornton, a detective officer from London, and who is still located in the district, enshrouded in impenetrable mystery. The proceedings already taken may be briefly slated as follows woman with whom the deceased lodged, to gether with her &milder, her son-in-law, and another man, were the parties first suspected by the police, and they were accordingly apprehended, and underwent several ex aminations before the magistrates. Front the evidence produced, and their own prevarications when accounting for their time on the night of the murder, a pretty strong circumstantial case was made out against them. Notwith standing their apparent guilt, how. ver, the police, in the course of their investigations, became co ,vinced that they were not the murderers; and James Evans, a butcher, living at Furmborougli, and who was drinking with the deceased at Priston on the evening of the murder, was taken into custody. The other pri-oners were at the next examination discharged, and the police then succeeded in adding such evidence as made out a very suspicious looking case against Evans. According to the testimony of the witnesses, he was drinking in company with the de ceased Buah on the evening of the murder at the Ring of Bells, at Priaton, and upon Bush leaving without paying for his beer, HUD, became exasperated, and made use of several threats towards hint. He immediately after wards left the house, and was away wane time. A person who had icen drinking with them went outside, when he saw Evans come from the direc tion of the corner of the lane leading to the field where the liody was found, and he then appeared anxious to go on home, notwithstanding that his brother-in-law, who lived in the next Ileum: to him at Farnborough, was still drinking at the Ring of Bells. Ile was ultimately, how ever, persuaded to go in and have some more beer, but he looked ill, and was very fidgetty tend desirous of getting home. Several other suspicious eircuirstances were ad duced against the prisoner, who was remanded fur further "i ts ' terday (Wednesday) Evans was again brought up before the county magistrates for the Bath division of Somerset, but, notwithstanding the efforts of the police, Mr. Hughes (chief of the Bath force) stated that neither himself nor Mr. Thornton were prepared with further evi dence against the prisoner. The leggings belonging to the prisoner, and upon which blood was found, have been, we understood, submitted to Professor Taylor, of London, and to Mr. Herapath, of Bristol, for analisation ; but their in vcstigation did nut carry the case any farther against the prisoner. The magistrates having expressed their desire to have the court cleared, Mr. Slack (solicitor for the prisoner), said he gathered from the coarse adopted by the magistrates at the last examination that they would to-day, if no further evidence wee adduced,discharge I and not commit the prisoner. Ile hoped, however, that the bench would either allow him to call witnesses (with whom he was prepared) to prove that it was impossible the prisoner could have committed the shocking murder during his absence from the Ring of Bella, or that the magistrates would intimate to him and to the public that he left the bar without that stigma which must otherwise be attached to a man once charged with murder. The room having been cleared, the public, after a brief consultation by the magistrates, were again admitted, when the prisoner was told that the magistrates bad resolved to discharge him, but that he: would be liable to be re-apprehende4l at any moment should further evidence be adduced against him. ANTI -DRY ROT COMPANY.—The aeeretary of thin defunct undertaking has sent in a claim for aervicei ' amounting to COI.