The Press. — London, England, 1854-09-23 00:00:00

■ I .: +. SEPTEMBER 23, 1854. sons on 27th and 29th of July last, and in hitting been aiding and abetting in the destruction and re moval of the toll-gates across the Tweed; also with assaulting the officers of police in the execu tion of their duty, and with throwing stones at the toll-house, and breaking down and carrying away the wooden porch. The prisoners pleaded not guilty, and several police officers and the tacksman were examined, all of whom deponed to the riot, and to one or other of the prisoners having been present and having taken part in the proceedings. The tacks man, in the course of his cross-examination, stated that, sihce Friday week, when the gates were re erected, the same. rates were not exacted, and that they were only now one-sixth of the rate that existed when the riots took place. , A gig is now lid., and foot-passengers free. Mr. Boyd, the justice of the peace before whom the declarations were taken, stated M cross-examination that he thought the pri soner Rodger was weak in his intellect, although he considered he knew what he was about; and other witnesses stated that they saw him the worse for drink. The crowd on both occasions numbered from 1,000 to 1,500 persons. Exculpatory evidence was also led. Mr. A. R. Clark, advocate-depute, addressed the jury for the Crown, and was followed by Mr. Gifford and Mr. Patton for the prisoners. Lord Cowan, in the course of charging the jur y , said—" It has been stated that this toll, which has been exacted for a length of time, was no longer exigible froni the inhabitants at the time when these disturbances took place. I shall most sincerely re ,ice if the inhabitants of Kelso shall be found enti tled to pass along that bridge without paying any toll ; but what I want to impress upon you, and through you on the public, is, that be the exaction legal or illegal, neither you nor I are entitled, irre spective of the judgments of the law courts, by force pr masterful means, to prevent the exaction of a toll the levying of which has been sanctioned by statute for hall a century. The remedy is to go to the court of law, and, when it is fixed that the toll is no longer . exigible, then the civil power can be called in to prevent the trustees from exacting any more toll. if a party unites himself to a mob with the intention of countenancing any lawless act they have in view, he must be responsible to the laws of the country for the consequences of the acts of the mob. It is always a question for the jury to consider in such a case, quo aninw, with what mind the party has united himself to the mob; and this will be con sidered by you at. the present time. lam not at all moved by the remarks made by Mr. Patton, that probably a thousand people in Kelso united them selves to the mob. lam very sorry to hear it. lam sorry they did not feel it to, be their duty either to give their aid actively to the public authorites in Itadder to restore peace, or at once to leave the crowd." jury, then retired, and were absent about half an hour. When they returned into court they gave in their verdict, finding the libel against M'lntosh and Robson not proven, and Wild and Rodger guilty, but recommended the latter to the leniency of the Court. Lord Handyside then sentenced Wild to six months' and Rodger to three months' imprisonment. The Case excited great interest, and the court was densely crowded. On Friday week the printer and the publisher of the Kelso Chronicle were summoned suddenly to the Cross Keys Inn, where they were ushered into the august Presence of the sheritdepnte, the sheriff clerk, and the procurator fiscal of Kelio, who demanded to be informed who !rote such and such an article in the Chronicle of that day, and from what sources the information it contained was derived. One is at a loss whether to admire moat the naive im pertinence of this inquirT, or the official silliness tibial it dlShltiy'ed. If the article was aeditiOttsor ciangeroui the proper and the only dignified course wsis to indict the publisher; but, before dellig thiS, it irottld have been necessary to consult the law officers of the Crown—and local offieioustieis, excite , ' by local acrimony, could not, probably; brook to be delayed or thWarted by the cooler judgments in the .. , Tit* Brix , which the duke or Bedford, head of the Russell family, so graciously bestowed on the church of Rosel, in the canton de Tilly-sur-Seulles, has been landed at Caen, and is at this moment at Mr. Bourow's, the I.: g• Ish Con su l, Wh ence it i s to b e s h ort l y t r a ns f erre d o i t Rosel. The church pf this commune was built by tto family of Lord John Russell, and on a recent occasion his lordship's brother and nephew (Lord Hastings Russell), when visiting the locality, left with the poor of the parish substantial proofs of their munificence. TH6 HOTELS OF NEW IrOltE.-TV New York Weekly Herald stat es that th e v al ue o f the otels of all kinds in that city, exclusive of the large boarding-houses, is over twe've million dollars ; their population about nine thou sand persona, and their , money receipts seven millions of do lars yearly. There are two or three hotels, it is added, now In contemplation, which Will equal, if riot surpass, in extent and magnificence any one of those in operation at. present. It is the intention of Mr. Mormot, of the New Yolk Hotel, to erect a gigantic structure on the site of the Hippodrome. The building is to be constructed of marble;' and &tat will cost; *he t i completed, upwards of A million of THE PRESS: ST. GEORGE'S HALL I LIVERPOOL. Tnrs building, one of the grtindest of our provincial architectural attempts, was inaugurated on Monday with great ceremony. The civic authorities appeared in more than usual splendour, and a musical enter tainment was given counting Viardot Garcia, Miss Clara Novello, Miss Dolby, Sims Reeves, and Fornies, among the soloists, but without either orchestra or chorus worthy of the name. The building was originally purposed to find ac commodation for the musical festival driven out of house and home by the refusal of the rector, Mr. Brooke, to alter the parish church to be Used for their performance. In consequence of this a public meeting was called by those who felt an interest in the charities, and it was then resolved that a hall should be built expressly for the festivals, and entitled " St. George's-hall." A subscription was set on foot, and large sum guaranteed, to be paid by instalments. 'the first instalment was duly forthcoming, but the the second wits less easy to obtain. Just at this time the mayor and corporfition of Liverpool, having also come to the determination of building a hall for judicial purposes (with the arriere partake, no dodbt, of drawing the Lancaster assizes, to Liverpool), proposed to the festival committee that their two plans should be incorporated. This *as agieed tb; what remained of the instalment which had been paid was refunded, and the committee of St. George's-hall was forthwith instituted. From aniong a great number of designs, that of Mr. Henry Lonsdale Blmes t a London architect, was accepted ; in 1841 the building was commenced, and 1851 was far enough advanced towards completion to be honoured by a visit from her Majesty. Having accomplished a greater part of his design, Mr. Eimes went for the benefit of his health, to Madeira, where he died of consumption, and Mr, Cbckerell was appointed to succeed him. Under the superintendence of the last-named gentle man St. George's-hall has been completed. • The following account of the building is from a Liverpool publietition:— " Isolating the building, from stuTo' undin' g objects, it must be pronounced one of the most imposing combinations of beautiful, massive, classic designs Busting. , The com position is a unity of several styles, the Corinthian order being carried Qat throughout. The northern aspect is semi -circular, the columns being eight in number, and attached. Viewing it from the north-east, a very striking effect is produced by this projection, and the long row of pillars of the eastern facade. This is the longest aspect of the building, and is 140 yards ; thq columns rising to the height of46,feet, each four and a half feet in thickness. The central colonade advances 26 feet, and extends 200 feet; on either side the subordinate portion of the facade is extremely effective, and a striking contrast has been pro duced by the introduction of square pillars and pediinenta for statuary on the screen which rises between thein. Looking upon the building now from the south-east, another change presents itself, and .it is the most com manding view which can be obtained. The eye t..kea in the whole range of columns in the eastern façade and those of the southern entratiee. The south front is a noble design and specimen of workmanship, and were, It not that the ground sinks rapidly the effect would be complete. A terrace, however, bas been constructed, from which the portico and its stylobate ( carried onward to the eastern side) arise. The height from the ground-line to the pedi ment is 95 feet. In this portico, which recedes 21 feet, there is a doable row of massive, lofty pillars, eight in front and four within ; and above these is a piece of emblematic sculpture, specially worthy of careful inspec tion. The motto on the hall, under this fine design is 'Artibtis teems, Copciliis, locum Municipes comititue runt. Anno domini 1841.' the figures in this sculpture are Dirge and numerous, the weight of the whole being exalt 50 tons. They were executed in Caen stone by M r. W. G. Nicholl, from a design furnished by Mr. Cockerell. The uncovering of the sculpture in this pediment took place in the autumn of 1850. The western side is different from the other three, yet similar in style. Corresponding with the projecting façade at the opposite side we have a lofty screen, with square Contain= pillars, extending upwards. In this screen windows light up the numerous small apartments connected with the courts of law • and above, reseeding several yards, are the side vrindoirs,, Which throw light into the interior. The workmanship within is massive, like that without, much of the carpentry being of oak, and all highly finished. Within we find many apart ments, most of which are subordinated to the grand pur. poses of the hall—the courts of law." The RIVER-TRAVELLING PUBLIC have recently had their cariosity somewhat excited by the preeetiee of three Vessels-of-we in the Thames. They are the Navarre screw steam-frigate, 36 guns ; the Radetzky, also a screw steam frigate, carrying the same number of guns ; and the Eliza beth paddle-wheel steamer. The Navarre bas been lying oft' tireenhithe for the last mouth or so. She visited the Thames fur the purpose of manning the other two vessels, the lituletzky and Elizabeth, both of which were built for the Austrian Government by Mr. Wigram, of Blackwell. The Railetzky frigate was towed down to Greenhithe on Mohday ; the Elizabeth remains off litackwall, with her pennant flying. The three are expected to Sail in a few days. lr has been resolved to confer a grant of quarter sessions upon Brighton, which has long been sought fin by th e in habitants of that increasing and prosperous locality. Mr. Edwin James; Q.C. , of the Rome Circuit, Will be the first recorder of Brighton under this new ertanginsent. INWm! anli THE ELECTION FOR Kl%o's Lror took place on Saturday last, when Mr. G. H. Gurney was elected without opposition. There was a total absence of excitement, and nothing of importance in the speeches made on the occasion. THE ANNUAL DINNER of the Stow-on-the-Wold Agricultural Society was held on Friday week. A large number of influential gentry and yeomen were present. The speech of the evening was delivered by Mr. Henley, in responding to the toast, " The Members for the County " The right hon. gentleman observed that meet whom they might, and wherever they liked, the first thing each min said to another was this—" Thank God for what tine weather we have, and a fine harvest." Twice within the space of seven years had this country been almost in some degree, if not quite, on the verge of famine. Twice within that time had pestilence raged among them ; and some people thought it had been most fatal in its con sequences ip those years when there was a short supply of food, when the force of the pestilence would iu consequence necessarily fall upon the pour with large families ; but, be that as it might, this fact would 'come fairly home to the minds of all men—that if the produce of our own country, our native land, should be deficient, we should, therefore, have to pay so much the more enhanced prices for that which we got from abroad. lie was not going to reopen the controversy which had been carried on upon that sub ject, for that was now at an end, but they could not shut their eyes to the fact of how great a duty, how great an obligation, was imposed upon them, and not only fur their qwn personal gratification, but alsothe great and unportant duty, that the feeding of the people of this country must depend On the energy, on the skill, on the resolution of the agriculturists of this country,—to go on as they had hitherto gone on, more and More keeping pace with the increasing population for the vast supply of food, both corn and meat, which recent circumstances had succeeded in bringing into the market, because on that alone would depend whether the people of the country obtained their food at reasonable and tit prices. lie believed that all great and important improvements which had taken place during the hod forty years had taken place from the skill and energy, from the ability of the working owners and occupiers of the soil of this country, deriving great ad vantages, no doubt, from coming together to ice the work of others in societies of that kind, which had enabled them to produce the vast-increasing supply of meal. That there hid been an increase in the production of there could be no doubt, for where three quarters of corn used to be produced thirty , years ago four quarters were produced now, and where 11b. of meat was formerly produced now 21b. were produced. The manufacturers might scoff and sneer at the owners and occupiers of the soil, but he (Mr. Henley) should like to know; if they had been confined to the same number of mills for the last thirty years, whether they would have doubled the amount of their produce in the same way the farmer had done? A number of other toasts were given and responded to in the course of the evening. MIDDLESEX REGISTRATION.—tiIE CONNENVAtIVE LAND Socxxry.—Mr. Lancelot Shadwell, the revising barrister, held a court at Brentford, on Tuesday, for six parishes in that district. A htfrnber of claims were made in respect of' the Ealing rectory estate, purchased for the members of the Conservative Land Society, which were opposed by the Liberal party. Amongst the claimants were Viscount Maidstone, Sir C. W. Codringtoh, Bart., M.P., the lion. Colonel Lowther, M.l'., and many other eminent gentlemen. Mr. C. E. Lewis, one of the solicitors to the Conser vative Land Society, and Mr. Jones, supported the claims. The first case taken was that of Lieutenant- Colonel Abdy, who claimed as the owner of a plot of ground in Ealing parish by deed of ctinveyance dated Bth June, 1853, in consideration of 541/. Proof of value having been demanded by the objector, Mk. Lewis said the extent of the plot was twenty-seven feet frontage by 110 in depth. There was no One plot of the whole area worth less than 501., and some had been sold for 701. Messrs. Pritchett and bent, independent surveyors, had gone over the whole estate and measured the land. Mr. Pritchett gave evidence to the effect that the estate consisted of a great many plots, each of which, judging by his ex perience, was of the value of 3s. k toot frontage of twenty-seven feet, which, computed, would give 4/. per annum. Good roads and drainage had tended much to improve the value of the property. As the ground stood uncovered it was worth twenty years' purchase; but, if covered, it would be worth twenty five years' pit: chase. Plots for which 501. had been given *ere now worth 801. It was stated that four houses had been built on the estate. Ultimately, the whole of the claims in respect of the Ealing rec tory estate, ninety-one in humber, were placed on the egister._ • IHE GniwkELL Anenc EXPEDITION.—The second expedition sent out by Henry Grinnell, Esq., to the Arctic seas, under the command of Dr. Kane, was last heard from on the 23rd of July, 1853; when he was at Upperriaiic, on the West coast of Greenland; but lie is expected to report himself in New York in the coarse of next month. Should he not be heard from at that time; it will be surmised that he has de cided upon spending another *inter at the North. 897