The Press. — London, England, 1853-05-21 00:00:00

MAY 21, 1853. otitital. THE NUMBER OF CAPITAL. CONVICTIONS in England and Wales during the fifteen years 1838-52 is set forth in a parliamentary paper just issued at 998, of which 209 were for murder, of whom 148 were executed, 2 transported for life, 11 received a free pardon. and the rest minor punishments. Ninety-five persons were convicted of attempts to murder, accompanied with injuries dangerous to life ; of these 4 were exe cuted, and 05 transported for life. For shooting and stabbing, 13 ; for rape, &c., 68 ; for unnatural crimes. 195, of whom 108 a ere transported for life ; for burglary, 56 ; ditto N..til violence, 107 ; for ' robbery, 20; ditto with violence, 108 ; by persons armed, 12 ; for arson, 1 ; ditto of dwellinghouses, 18 ; feloniously rioting, 12 ; for high treason, 9, of whom 7 were transported for life. Of the 998 per sons capitally convicted during the above period. 152 were executed. The sentences of the remainder were commuted as follows :-617 were transported for life ; 79 for 15, 41 for 10, and 19 for seven years; 4 were imprisoned for three years; 19 for two years and above one year ; 34 for one year or above six months ; and 11 for six months anal under ; 17 re ceived a free pardon ; 4 committed suicide ; and one died in prison. A PAIIIJAUENTART l'Arcn states that 14,413401 gallons of proof spirits were distilled in the United Kingdom during the year ending the sth of January, 1853. of these 5,180,312 gallons were distilled from malt only (Ireland and Scotland) ; 15.300,14 3 gallons from malt. with =naked grain ; 1,108,107 gallons from sugar or molasses, with unmated grain ; and 6,792 gallons from molasses only (Scot land). The quantity distilled in England was 6,303,276 gallons ; in Scotland, 9,041,218 gallons ; and in Ireland, 8,117,708. In the same year 9,820,00 8 gallons paid duty for consumption in England; 7,172,015 in Scotland; and 8,208,2541 in Ireland; making a total of 15,100,879 gallons, which paid 0,155,7081. in duty during the year. A MEmoutm. has been addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer by the provision and egg mer chants of London, acknowledging the value of the proposed remissions of duty on butter, cheese, and eggs, but praying, in the latter case, for a total repeal instead of a reduction from 10d. to 4d. per 110. The plea is that a uniform duty of any kind falls more heavily on the small and c hea p eggs consumed by the poor than ou the larger ones, and thus dis courages the use of an article of food which is every day increasing in importance to the working classes. T H E CHIEF BARON OF THE 'E XCHEQU ER has ap pointed Mr. J. Templer, who has for some time ably practised as a special pleader, to the vacant Master ship of the Exchequer. THE ORDNANCE SFRVEY of the County of Ayr is to proceed forthwith. A party of Sappers and Miners have already arrived iu Ayr for that purpose. THE LONO-PENDINO DIFFERENCES between Dr. Reid and the Office of Works and Public Buildings, on the subject of warming and ventilating the new Houses of Parliament, have at length been brought to a close by a court of arbitration. The arbitrators nominated respectively by the office and Dr. Reid were Mr. W. Forsyth, banister-at-law , and John Forbes, M.D. After a long anti elaborate investiga tion of the whole case, the arbitrators gave their award against the Government and in favour of Dr. Reid, adjudging to that gentleman 3,2501. INTELIJOFNCE has been received at Lloyd's, under elate Gslle, April the 17th, that the II ydaspes steamer had broken down on her outward voyage to Calcutta on reaching the Mauritius. The mails were sent on by another conveyance, and the Hydaspes is now making her way back to England under canvas. Loaf) PALvensros has issued to the authorities of St. Mary's, Newington, an intimation of his intention to apply to her Majesty in Council for an order to close the burial-mund of that parish forthwith. The authorities have offered VOL an acre for about twenty acres of land in Surrey, seven miles from London. THE SENDERLAND SHIPOWNF.RS are by no means disposed to accept Mr. Cardwell's bill as a boon. In a resolution unanimously carried at a very crowded and influential meeting it Was declared "that the bill is unsatisfactory, inasmuch as it makes no change in the constitution of the Trinity-houses, and leaves many flagrant evils and inconsistencies in the present pilotage law to be dealt with by the caprice of ill-constituted pilotage authorities, instead of re medying them by specific enactment." THE FIRST SIONE OF A MAGNIFICENT 'HALL in tended for the use of the Hull Literary Society and Hull library was laid on Tuesday by the Earl of Carlisle, assisted by Lord Londesborongh. The Freemasons of the district assembled in large force, and a splendid procession was formed. As amended bill of the Lords has just been printed, to authorise the sale of specifications under the Patent Act, and to dispense with the transmission of specifications to the offices in Edinburgh and THE PRESS. THE thirty-second party of female emigrants sent out through the agency of the Female Entigration Fund were sped on their way on Tuesday from Gravesend in the Widmer Cast/e. a fine vessel of WO tons burden, bound for Port Phillip. The fund, which was commenced in the winter of 1849, has amount:d altogether to 24,1031., of which 92'1. has been contributed by friends of emigrants towards paying their passage. The number of persons sent out timing that period up to the commencement of this year have been 1,071, anti then the balance in the hands of the committee was 3,N410/. 'Phis is, however, now expended ; and fur this reason, and also because there is not the same suffering and distress at home among the classes w hich t h e association was formed to relieve, it is not the in tention of the society to send out any more perfectly free emigrants. Tan eIIAIIIIVIILAIN OF LONDON.—Mr. Anthony Brown, who was elected in 1844, died on smalay last. The candidates spoken of in the City for the situation are—:Aldermen Sir John Key, Bart., Fare brother, ilumphery, and Sir William Magnay, Bart. Mr. William Hawes, who is not connected with the corporation, and Mr. Benjamin Scott, who has been several years performing the laborious duties of the office of chamberlain, are also candidates. Tun STRIKES oF WoutotEs continue anti spread among various trades and in different localities. The earpenters of Birmingham demand au advance of two shillings per week, with the pri‘ilege orienting work at four on Saturdays. The masters, it is said, have a very large amount of work on hand, and, as is often the case at such times, the men think it. a fit ting season to make unreasonable demands. The lamt and shoe makers of the saute city are in a ferment, and a strike isthreatening in that quarter. The carpenter: of Preston are demanding the same advances and coneys. sions as their fellows of Birmingham. In Salisbury the same class of operatives, by threatening to strike have induced the master builders generally to in , crease wages from Is. to 2s. per week. Owing to a scarcity of hands , the painters, plumber:, and brick layers participate in the advance. The South Shit+la shipwrights, a numerous body of operatives, have struck work. They now demand 30s. per week anti a half hour's rest per day. It. is every way probable that the request will 1w acceded to. The j oiners of South Shields are turning out. Journ►eyman tailors also struck for an advance of sixpence per day on Monday. A Btu, is now before the House of Lords, brought forward by Lord Berners, to "abolish poor-law re moval." His lordship proposes that "from and after the passing of this act it shall not be lawful fur any justices of the peace to remove or convey, or to order to be removed or conveyed, any person to any parish in England and Wales, on the ground that ho is legally settled there." TILE MORTALITY IN THE METRoPoI.tS, though regu larly diminishing from week to week, still remains above the average of the Reason. During the seven days terminating on Saturday last the Registrar- General reports 1,099 total number of deaths, the re turns of the two previous weeks having been 1,159 and 1,089. The average mortality in the ten corre sponding weeks for the years 1843-51, when corrected for the increase of population, amounts only to 1,027. Hence the deaths of last week show an excess of 7'2. A MEV:VINO ()V MF.RuiIAsTR (which was presided over by the Earl of liarrowhy) was held in the City on Tuesday, for the purpose of promoting the estab lishment of a mercantile and maritime college. The meeting having passed resolutions declaring that the city of London, as the focus of the mercantile inte rests of the empire, anti the nursery of the largest mercantile marine in the world, demanded that it should possess among its other institutions such a college, with a trade m useum, appointed a committee to carry out the object in view. The committee was recommended to consider how far ;resham College, or any other similar institution in the City. might be made to serve as the basis of it mercantile and mari time college. THE ELECTIoN OFEIcNoR ( TI I: ON Fold) Comm GAOL took place on Tueaday, at an adjeurned sessions. There were originally filly-six anditlates for the situation, but these were reduced by the com mittee to eight, anti ultimately to three, monelY, Li eu t e nant and Adjutant Harrison, of tho Royal Dragoons; Mr—lames Kelly, superinteteletit. of the Great Western Railway station at Rirmingliant ; and Mr. A. W. Maconoellie, warder of the cenviet depart ment at Wakefield gaol. The votes were—for Lieut. Harrison, 29; Mr. Kelly, 9; Mr. Nlaconechie, 5. Lieut. Harrison will enter on the duties of his (nee on the 20th of June. A RETURN has been issued, by order of the house of Lords, of British ships employed in the trade of the United Kingdom in the year 1852, compared with the year 1851. In 1851 there were 114,1 8 4 ships em ployed, of 3,360,935 tonnage, anti 141,937 men were employed, while in 1852 the vessels numbered 17,819, the tonnage 3,380,1484, and the men employed, ex clusive of masters, 159,503. 55 THE progress of the CRYSTAL PALACIS AT SYDEN - I%M. though marked by ROM of that extraordinary rapidity of execution nor witnessed with a tithe of that interest displayed in the erection of its great original in Ilyde-park, has still been such as to excite the wonder of those who remember that, but a few months since, the first column was raised upon green and grassy slopes, now buried beneath mountains o f earthwork, lost in deep excavations, or partially co vered with n crystal roof. 'there art , many reasons why so marvellous a rapidity RA that displayed in Hyde-park was not possible. nor indeed necessary. For the Great Exhibition it was essential that them time fixed for its opening long before the building was commenced should be punctually mothered to, as Any postponement would have ineonvenienced foreign exhibitors, and thus imperilled its success. The Crystal I'alace at Sydenham stiffens in almost every rospect from the character of the Exhibition in flydo. park. Except for pecuniary purposes, the Crystal Palace Company have no speeial reasons for opening their edifice upon any fixed day, and the directors have' prudently resolved not to risk success by any precipitate step. The character of the present build ing, differing so materially as it. dots from its prede cessor—the one being erected for a temporary, the other for a permanent, purpose—ationts a l s o gro unds for supposing that, even with the vast energies and of the etintrartors, it would net. be possible to complete it in the same s hort. p e riod as that occu pied by the boildiwf in Ilylle-park. At the pre sent moment the c olumns for the whole length of the building are erected, anti a very large portion of the that roofing is glazed ; the gallery doming is laid for a considerable distance along c avil side of the building, atfording the most eommatoling views of the surrutmdii u country. The circular roof of one of time end transepts is nearly finished, and about one third of the entire length; of the nave now supports the *relies which will earry the crystal roof. The whole of the piers are 113141 many of the columns for the wings of the Wilding aro raised in their places. In railer parts of the building own and horses are actively engaged in all those sperm. lions which must still be familiarly remembered by those who witnessed the novel and systematised pro ecedings by which the former Great. Exhibition was raised. The internal arrangements of the building aro proceeding with activity, but, while 111114.1 i has been achieved, very much yet remains to be done, and is hardly to be anticipated that the Exhibition will be tit for opening during the present. se ason. Ton sixth piddle drawing for rights of c hoice amongst the uncompleted shareholders of the Cots si-ttv Alive !Aso Sr 14:tvry took Owe sin Sattirday last, at the offices, 3:1, Norfolk .st reel, Strand, in presence of Viscount. Itanulagh, the Rev. Dr. Worthington, Mr. Fedor Lawrie, Mr. Crildm, and other members of the executive cemtnittee and society. Fifty four rights were drawn by members in the following counties :—Middlesex, Surrey, I lereffirdshire, York shire, Essex, Kent, libairester, mot I lots. Twenty five shares wt's' ambled to the list by seniority. It was annou n cedo loan the chair that the society had pr o gressed, and was progressing, in a way unequalled by any other society of a similar nature; that seme additional purchases of estates will shortly Is- made; and that. the next drawing will take pimp in the third week in dune, at the Freemasons' TILVITII. on thelr eaSten of the third quarterly meeting ef the moiety. A Preto' MEETINO atile inhabit ants of Ile. borough of Southwark was held on Wednesday evening in the theatre of the Southwark Literary Institntir al, to ex 1 41.54 disapprobation and abhorrence at the introduc tion of the spy system into England, and also sympa thy with M. Kossuth. The chair was ',yowled by Mr. A. Pellatt, M.P. Letters were rend front Sir Wahnsley, Lord It. C. Stuart, Mr. Bright, Inn Alcoa, met Mr. L. King, M.P.'s, excusing their now attend. awe on various grounds, but expressing courtirrence in the objeetm of the meeting. Amovo. the passengers by the Sown, which arrived on Monday at Southampton, was him.° Sidi, the eon of a prayerful African chieftain ruling the Trarz . as p e ople, whose territory a d j oins the French colon ial establishments between the Senegal and lis rivers. 'l'l)4 , prince is about twenty rani of age, with regular Aral, features. llis language is Amide, and his religien Mahommedan. lie visits England, with his father's consent, front m otives purely of curiosity. The T rarzas muster I 5,000 fighting men, and are on the most mm 14.11141 4, terms with the Emmett en the western coast of Africa. A Cover.vsv is being organised for the purpose of establishing a Crystal Pollute lh Glasgow, on the plan of the great institittion at Sydenham. Tilt; Marquis et' Clanricarde is named as the tamest certain successor of Lord Cowley as Ambas sador at the French Court. Paati.otrutArty CnANotts that have occurred since the opening of the session up to tho Whitsuntide holidays, and which, from the various casualties that Mal men and members, aro unutotally numerous, am thus set forth in a return moved for by Mr. Locke King : i I