The Press. — London, England, 1857-01-17 00:00:00

JANUARY 17, 1857. clerks in public or private establishments without the knowledge of their employers. Members disregar.ling this cwition are liable to be dealt with in such a manner as the committee may deem advisable. SEVERAL FIRES broke out in different parts of the metropolis on Thursday morning. In Stepney, the Old Kent-read, Pimlico, Goswell.street, and East street, Manchester.square, fires were raging about the same period. In two eases the deaths of persons burnt have ensued ; in Pimlico of a Mrs. Pelham, and in Old Kent road of a Mrs. Westcott. A great fire also broke out on Thursday night, at Mr. Soulter's, a ship-chandler, in Shadwell, and de stroyed property to a vast amount. A GREAT ANTIMPIUM TRADE MEETING was held at Freemasons'-hall on Thursday evening. The meeting was addressed by Mr. T. Chambers, the Hon. A. Kinnaird, the Rev. Baptist Noel, and others. Resolutions condemning this infamous trade, which had now risen to an import into China of 78,000 chests annually, were unanimously passed, and a petition to Parliament adopted, pointing out the illegality of English vessels being permitted to carry on such a trade in direct violation of treaties, and pray ing for the interference of the House to compel the East India Company to put an end to the trade. _ . PROFESSOR SAFFI delivered the first of his lectures upon Italy on Thursday evening at the 3larylebone Institution. The lecturer, confining his attention mainly to the past, traced the misfortunes of his country from the establishment of the temporal power of the Popes, and the consequent alliance be tween the heads of the Church and foreign despots. During the middle ages the l'opes had upheld the national dignity, but a decline had commenced in the sixteenth century, and had continued till the out break of the French Revolution, which had generally been hailed as an auspicious event by the more intel ligent Italians, although they were subsequently de ceived in their expectations. The influence of Napo. leon was, on the whole, to be regarded as beneficial, and the " Kingdom of Italy," which be established, at any rate impressed the people with the notion of national unity. The grievances which resulted from Austrian dominion were set forth by the professor in full detail, and the whole concluded with a panegyric of Mazzini, and the expression of a belief that the power of the Pope was morally defunct and only pre served:a fictitious existence. The lecture-room was numerously attended. AT THE USUAL MEETING OF THE COURT OF SEWERS a conversation arose respecting the late scaffold acci dent in Cornhill, in the course of which Mr. Deputy Harrison stated that he was authorised by the pro prietors of the premises where the accident took place to mention that they had in the first instance erected a scaffold at an immense expense, which they had been told was quite sufficient, but, in order to prevent such accidents in future, they were prepared in a few daysi to remove their business to other premises. Mr. Heywood, Surveyor to the Court, said the scaffold was as sufficient as it could possibly be, and no more could have been done unless the shop had been closed. The accident in question had in reality occurred in consequence of the incautious conduct of the workmen. They were about to raise a stone to act as a lever for a huge iron girder, and proper tackle had been fixed, which the builder, not an hour before, had told,them to be sure to raise; but as soon as his back was turned, they tried to raise it without using that tackle, and the consequence was, that when it got to a certain height, it over• powered them, came down, and knocked over one o f the men, fell on the edge of the platform, and then bounded below, upon the head of a man, who was standing under the edge of the scaffold looking upward. THE ItEGISTRAR•GENERAL'S RETURNS Show a low rate of mortality. The deaths of 1,135 persons only are returned, against 1,663 births. Vrobincial. THE OLD MANSION ON RICHMOND-GREEN, known as Hope-house, and devoted for several years to a school for the education of daughters of naval officers, was destroyed by fire early on Monday morn ing. The house having recently been purchased by the promoters of the new Cavalry College, a number of workmen had been actively employed in order that it might be opened for business on the Ist of February. The fire was discovered about half past five in the morning, but, as little water could be obtained for nearly two hours, no portion of the mansion could be saved, and when additional engines arrived, the exertions of the firemen were almost useless. It is supposed that the fire must have occurred from the carelessness of the workmen in leaving charcoal fires burning without any person to attend them. The mansion and premises are Insured in the Sun and Phoenix Fire Offices. It is stated that the destruction of the house will not materially interfere with the proposed opening of the college, u: its promoters will during the rebuilding either take premises in the immediate vicinity, ur oucupy Ihuir present boost; at Ituelitiniptuu. THE PRESS. A MOST DESPERATE ENCOUNTER WITH POACHERS took place on Monday morning between seven of the keepers employed by Sir John Harpur Crewe, Bart., of Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, and a gang of from sixteen to twenty poachers, at a place called Pistern Hills, in the parish of Smisby, and near to Sir John's residence. Late on Sunday evening seven of Sir John's keepers, out on watch, suddenly came across a couple of poachers setting snares. The keepers seized the men, but were immediately attacked by fifteen other poachers concealed close by. The keepers, though only armed with sticks, faced the poachers, but of course, against such odds, got most severely beaten. Three of them were dangerously wounded. A reward of 100/. has been offered for the apprehension of the poachers. VARIOUS PUBLIC BODIES IN MANCHESTER have paid a tribute of respect to the memory of the late Mr. Brotherton. At a special meeting of the Manchester Town Council, held on Saturday last, Mr. AldermAn Shuttleworth moved and Mr. Alderman Heywood seconded a series of resolutions expressing regret at Mr. Brotherton's death, and admiration for his public and private character, and condoling with his family on their great bereavement. Councillor Neild, Sir John Potter, and the Town Clerk made some appropriate remarks in support of the resolu tion ; and the council resolved to follow the remains of the deceased gentleman to the grave. The funeral took place on Wednesday, when upwards of a hundred private carriages attended. OLD ROCHESTER BRIDGE, which has stood for about four centuries, has been destroyed at last. Preparations for some time past 'nave been in pro• gress for its demolition, which was commenced on Tuesday. A party of the Royal Engineers, who have been employed for some weeks sinking shafts and driving galleries under the bridge piers, in order to blow them up, concluded their operations on Monday night, when 300 lbs. of gunpowder were deposited under the pier, calculated to contain some 800 tons of solid masonry. The powder was contained in tin cases inclosed in wooden boxes. The Royal En gineers were engaged at the old bridge during the whole of Monday night in preparing the galleries, after which the powder was deposited in the places selected. The operation of "tamping " then com menced, which consisted of surrounding the charges with materials to render the explosion more effective, and stopping up the head of each of the galleries with wet clay. The wires for firing the charges were laid in wooden troughs, to prevent accidents, and, a communication having been effected with each gallery, the charges were exploded simultaneously by means of the voltaic battery, which was under the direction of Captain C. E. Cumberland, Royal En gineers. The wire used for conveying the galvanic spark was the same as used by the Sappers and Miners for blowing up the Royal george at Spithead. The effects of the explosion were most satisfactory, and the destruction of that part of the old bridge most complete, the large blocks of stone of which it was composed being rent asunder and hurled into the river, the only sight visible to the spectators being a violent upheaving of the water and the disappear ance of the large pier. Notwithstanding the immense number of spectators present, the operations passed off without the slightest accident. The remaining portion of the Strood half of the bridge was destroyed on Thursday with great effect and without accident. Nearly 1,006 lbs. of gunpowder were used on that A STATEMENT of a curious character has neen made public in the Underwriters' Rooms at Liverpool. It is said that when a vessel belonging to London, the Kelpie, an opium clipper, was lost in ISM, in the China Seas, all her crew and passengers were sup posed to have been drowned. By the overland mail intelligence has just been received from China, stating that a ring known to have belonged to one of the passengers of; the Kelpie, had been lately offered for sale in Canton, and that inquiries were instituted which led to the discovery of the extraordinary fact that the crew and passengers had not been drowned, but were, at the latest accounts, living in a state of slavery, in the island of Formosa. No I'urtli:ll- par ticulars are yet known. THE LOWLANDS IN NORFOLK, in consequence of the heavy rains, have been much flooded, and at many points, on Sunday and Monday, nothing vas to he seen but one vast expanse of watars. On Monday afternoon a dense fog prevailed, and a lamentable accident occurred at Thorpe, near Nor wich. A man, one Watson, from Great Yarmouth, drove to the side of the river Yare for the purpose of watering his horse. The stream being much swollen, Watson missed the usual watering-place, drove into deep water, and was drowned before he could be extricated. The floods have stopped some of the numerous water-mills in the county. A PERILOUS LEAP INTO A CoALPIT was taken a few days since by the whipper-in of Mr. Roch's houn,ls while hunting at Bolton-hill, in PembrolceAltire. The whipper-in, James Morgan, in taking a hedge, jumped his horse into an unfenced coalpit, thirty foot deep, which lay unobsoryed on the other aide of 57 the hedge. Man and horse went down the shaft, at the bottom of which was a depth of eighteen feet of water. Fortunately the sides of the pit had been made sloping, so that before the horse was entirely submerged he gained a footing on the slope, where he maintained his hold. The rider was thrown into the water, but on rising grasped the saddle, and thus bald his head above water until assistance arrived, when ropes having been procured he was safely drawn up, and, save the shock, perfectly uninjured. The horse was next drawn out, also unhurt. A LIVERPOOL MERCHANT, a Mr. David King, was last week found drowned in Georgea Dock. The deceased resided in lodgings at Waterloo, was asingle man, and was last seen by his partner at two o'clock in the after. noon of Thursday week. At the inquest held on the body on Saturday, Mr. Rimmer, the deceased's part ner, stated that Mr. King had been in a dejected state owing to the death of his sister. The jury re turned a verdict of" Found drowned." Miss B—, the daughter of "an eminent julge," has been lately turned from the faith of her lathers, and last week was received as a nun in the Roman Catholic church at Brighton. The ceremony was performed by Dr. Grant, who was assisted on the occasion by the pastor of the parish, and the Rev. Mr. Simpson, a recent renegade from Protestantism. The church was thronged to excess from an early hour by a fashionable audience, anxious to witness the ceremony. _ _ _ LIEUT -GENERAL SIR F. COCKBURN writes to Cap tain Smethett relative to the widows and orphans left destitute by the loss of the Violet and her crew:—" These unfortunates, it does appear to me, are as fully entitled to public relief as those of the army and navy who were killed in action or died in hos pitals in the Crimea. The wreck of the Violet is quire distinct from the general class of wrecks, inas much as it was entirely caused by a zealous and gallant determination to fulfil a public duty, and I do think, if so stated in the London papers, a large subscription would be made there. It was the desire duly to fulfil the contract made with the country that led to the sad result." THE ART-TREASURES EXHIBITION COMMITTEE have obtained permission from her Majesty the Queen to make a selection from the works of meditetal art in the royal collections at Windsor Castle. The selec tion has been made, not so much to exhibit the wealth of the royal collections, as to illustrate by rare and select specimens those peculiar periods and styles of art of which examples of equal importance have not as yet been contributed to the exhibition. From amongst the many precious objects of the Royal Gold-Plate Closet, the committee have chosen some beautiful cups formed of the graceful nautilus shell, the more remarkable one being a large shell superbly set in gold, on which is represented the "Triumph of Neptune," and another smaller one, of very graceful composition, in which the cup is sup ported by a kneeling figure. Ivory goblets, carved by Fismingo, and the famous " Three Graces," jewelled plate. the Cellini shield, a fine collection of jewellery, old armour, sculpture, furniture, china, and tapestry, will also be made from the royal collections at Windsor. THE NEW lIALL OF TI'E MECHANICS' INSTITUTE AT HALIFAX was opened on Wednesday evening, by a public soiree and meeting. Mr. Monckton Milnes was present, and addressed the meeting at some length upon the question of education with regard to its el% feet upon our criminal population, maintaining that the extension of education was the only means to diminish crime. The meeting was afterwards addressed by Lord Wharncliffe, Dr. Sandwith, Mr. E. Baines, Mr. Crossley, end others. A WILL FORGERY C.1 . 11E was tried at Edinbur4h last week. Dr. Diony9r4s Wielobycki was charged with forgery, as also feloniously uttering as genuine a forged will, purporting to be of one Margaret Dar ling, lately residing in Rosefield place, Portobello, who died intestate on Oct. 16, 1856, with intent to defeat or injure the rights or claims of the children, while he had in his possession, or had invested in his own name, funds belonging to the estate of the deceased Margaret Darling and to Isabella Darling amounting to 3,0001. The evidence for the prosecu tion and defence occupied the court until Friday evening, at the close of which the chancellor of the jury announced the following verdict :—" The jury unanimously find the prisoner guilty as libelled, but recommend him to the mercy of the court," on the ground of his previous good character. lrelant. THE RIGHT HON. VISCOUNT DE VESCI and the Right Hon. the Earl of Belmore have been elected repre sentative peers ; the former in the room of the late Lord Hawardon, and the latter in that of the late Earl of Bandon. TIIF: INC031I: AN: AGITATION is rapidly spreading over Ireland. A great meeting has been held a. Belfast, while oth:...rs are convened at Armagh, Longford, and Claro, k. 0., in fact, very generally