The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1825-11-09 00:00:00

LORD NUG ENT AND THE GWENAPPE MINING COMPANY, y oree dsy Mr. Cooke, one of the Directors of the Gwenappe limingC'o~Psny, presented himself before Mr. Alderman Cox, at that the worthy Magistrate would (Wl l,llllll, and raPreased a hope rl ow h i m to read and swear to a statement which he hul pre pared to submit to the Lord Mayor that morning, but hail been edf so doing in consequen of his Lsniship's i win g left the Justice bloom nt an e .rl y hour. The state. be held in his hand was a complete refutation of the letter publithol by Lord Nugent, denying that he ever held any owes in the company, or that he ever authorised any one to sell • Mr. Cooke said that he hail travell e d 209 m il es , rit__,Pe s ho r ne Tri . eptfor three nights in his anxiety to defend his chi. . or which • 'Our had never been sttempted to be cast uovimoo . He had a letter, addressed to Mr. Stewart, under Lord „,.,„,:• owe hand, on which he aould rot utter a single coin. •• r t. bit w hich he was sure would appear to be a most unac. oentable contradiction of his lordship's public letter. In cense. ieoty of that knee to Mr. Stewart, he (Mr. Cooke) hod waited on L a d Nugenton the lath of September, when he found his Lord. mo rd with company—he supposed a dinner party. He , p a card, stating that he bad the honour to attend relative to toe Owe^sppe t;°rur6r7 ' and requesting to kn ow when he should g•Ni his Lordship at leisure. Lord Nugent immediately left his o , mr ,ny and came down to him, and so far front turning his heel o re hint, u might be inferred from the style of his Lordship's /t ent letter, he remained in conversation nearly an hour and • 10 ;,. As to the management of the Nada of the Company, it be put beyond doubt in a day or two, at a meeting of the sure b o iden that was about to be called, that there had never b e en the slighted misapplication of the money, the Directors hew n paid at of their own pockets every shilling of their expenses ; la d with rallakid .to the objects of the Company, Ito was pure it would yet . bs alb sioth that du: calculations of profit had been greatly tr ite m r . Alderman Cox said, his application appeared to be not as wa ry fraud committed upon the Company. but entirely a personal „, mo t ao of veracity between himself and Lot Nugent, of which hey I Magistrate, could take no cognisance whatever. mt. c oo i ng said, he 1 . 111.11 wi•led the Worthy Allerenan to hear the statement he was about to swear to, that it might find its Iry ate the Newspapers, as the sta:ements before the Lord .Mayor had. ale Ceske the. handed op the original letter from Lord Nuen: to Mr. hiesart, upon seeing the signature on which, he and, the Check at Messrs. Couttes hail expressed himself as haring no drubs whatever that it was his Lordship's hand. wr i t i ng , bat ow ascertaining Mr. Cooke's object, had begged not to b e mixed up is eke contention. [The deeement to which Mr. Cooke was sworn was to the same elect as his peeseat aid former statements on this subject.l The following is a copy of Cord Nugent'a letter to Mr. Stewart _ _ • Pall-ma/1, Tuesday Evening, Sept. 13, 1825. Flit.-1 have waited all yesterday and to-day, and have received etemunlestior , whatever relating to shares, nor hare I received ton Mr. Cooke the check for the account which has been so un neonambly, and upon so many different pretexts, so long delayed. Ams this oxt of conduct on your part, l must desire that my name n . s y be instantly withdrawn from the Overawe lining Com pel. and may not be tacit In any one of the totthcaming Com p:rill, of which you spoke to me.--1 am, Sir, yours. &e. Mr. Stamm (Signed) NUGENT. I must also desire that the cheek may be sent immediately fur the amount of the 111110 a ►ou wa, commissioned to sell fur me. THE SILK TRADE. o n Mostisyraening s meeting of one of the gocietin ofjootney. nun silt.weavers on held at the City of Park publte.house, Ilethnal.green, to take into consideration the late R-p , t of the Comnassioners of the Custo.na. on the late seizure W ult. on the p .. viiibiet of Messrs. Dcponillyy, Nourtier. and Co., which appeared in the 31ornin7, Papers or Monday, and which. if yea temper ittSpitled at the meeting be taken as the criterion, will 11\r; tl - t effect of uniting the hogliah manufacturers and their men, it aiming the cncruatnruenti. of their rivals, the French mann- tactr.rets. The Chair was taken by Mr. Ds:Asr. Mr. Rtsvetsc read the Report of the Commissioners, from l ank, be said, it would appear that the weavers of liethnal.green *A o not weave witliout the matrunions of French mechanics ; he, trotter. hoped they wool., give the chatge that direct contradic tica which, as Beitiali mechanics, they ought to give. Mr. W. WALLIN deputed from another of the Societies, stated that he tad waited upon Mr. Hale, as a member of the Corn. mittre. and was by him referred to one of those documents, which mentattsl dist English operatives were deficient in the art of ma. nutaitunn; silk without the instruction of French masters. Ile,' however, although not an old man, could recollect when silk, equal to the Frerch, was manufactured in Spitallieldn and Bethnal.green, ander their ohl maters. It was not more than 20 years ago, arid the English manufacturer used Italian silk, but Bonaparte's Mi. Jan decree closed that market against us, and we were oblit ed to substitute Bengal bilk, which was undoubtedly of inferior quality. He *IN bke I. we a weaves at Lyons maaployesi on such silk, and see what sort of work he would make of it. Mr. Fanshaw had and indiscreetly. Ile oug'a to have considered that the silk he ex. sailed had been warped and dyed in France, after which (if manu. loured here) it would be next to impossible for the weaver him. eel to distinguish between the two manufactures. He thought that if proper attention were paid to the culture and Meowing of Brigs& silk, it wool], in the course of a few years, enable us not wily to compete with but beat our Clinic rivals. liatil the coital et that period, however, he hoped the masters would be hid:lig:et towards their men, and nut endeavour to lower their rip.; for if the men were not well paid the masters could not elect good work. Some reductions which. they had lately at. tempted were upon the very same sort of goods which the French are introducing, a oitasure which he thought highly impolitic, Afar sheeting to the state of the cotton and woollen trades, locate to the quest:on of the Corn lows, by which, lie said, we were recta ell fr m a fair competition with the Fteach. Why, he wiled ask. catild rot an English grower sell as cheap as • grower is France ? Tbe answer was obvious: the Corn laws enable the landlord to obtain a high price for his land ; and their m ortal also, without a corresponding reduction ef rent. would lame the corn grower in as bail a situation as the poor weaver— with low wages and • dear loaf. lie noticed the conduct of a incse in the ciiy, where a placard had been posted, threatening a further reduction of wage. ; against which he hoped a re monitrance would be made to the masters. reminding them of t, tit minise on the removal of the Spitallields Acts,!which, they said, would afford Clem an opportunity of giving a !ermine. onion to suJi br.u.ches of the trade as were not comprehended In ttese Acts. Several other ap eches were delivered, and it was agreed that a derutstion should be appoiared to wait upon the masters; after stiet the matting separated. Loss or Tilt COMET.—(Friday evening, six o'clock.) Sim? one last, only one body has been picked sip. It was found floating, on IVednesslay morning, in Gourock Bay, much mediatd, w ith a few pence (without any doeu menu) in one of his pockets. No one could recognize him: he was therefore coffinial, and buried in Gourock (10rch-yard. In consiquesice of the favourable etate of the weather yesterday, it was expected the vessel would I:ave been raissl, but unfortunately, in the forenoon, about ebb tide, one of the chains slipped e 0 much that the work was suspendd. This morning the operations were re sumed, lbw without success. Nothing is new wanted, however, as she is now fairly slung, but more power, which can easily be acquired. O ne o f th e pri nc ip a l ow ne rs h as arrival from Fort William, to watch the progress of the u7 .;lertaking.—GlwrPtv Free l'rect. fhe acceunt of 17 persons having been taken from the fkring stick of the is de Castle has not bem confirmed. it gentleman who left Calais 011 Sunday evening last, and who was there the whole of Saturday previous, assures us nathir r : of the kind bad transpired up to the hour he left. The statement aptirmrs e iilei.tly to have arisen from the tact of a French fishing smack having, in endeavouring to to the O A le Castle, hen ups 't, whin all in her but one mart was drowned, mid the survivor was picked up by one YS 11 Deal Deal bolts, and ewried into that place. It.azknaU an I its ueglibourhood have been for several days A sane 0 • hustle and activity, in consequence of the appreacil;A:g launch of two fine vessels, which have been t+krtl up by the Company, for the China trade, atul which bate bell built by Sir liolsmt Illgram. The vessel to be lentched to-day is called tit- l'Almborgh, and is by mimes saremcnt 1304, but earl L.' I.luo tons. The other vessel, wl.:01 is to be lauttehe l on Saturday, is to be called the l n, rert , l! hie ; ht r tonnage is the saint, as that of the and she is reckoned to be an equally fine. At lIA •IN r nOt• It 6. Tile St. Katharine Dock In 3 . 10 i are proceeding to carry the provisions of the Act e: They have already purchastsl about three :h• of the freehold of the site and arc making the ne . Trangentents with the I;?aseholtlcra and oc"cupitrt. t: :acids of the church and building, late the pro p ; ty of the St. Kathari4C'S Hospital in the precinct, have h,ell advertised for sale, preparatory to the ground being lea - el; and it is expect- d that the works connected with thv mtratims, basin, and decks, will be commenced in the of January next.-011 Sunday divine service was rforrail at St. Katharine's church, for the last time pre v 'r•dy to its being pulled down to make room fur the new and so anxious was a part of the congregation to ;,r,sime some relit of that venerable edifice, that they 4 c 4 " 11 !) began to demolish the ornaments even before the nrcktion of the •ervice.lueli confusion Was the come ; and it was found necessary to call in the police to , 1 •-t , to the di , graceful scene. VIGO BAT. Our article of Thursday, on the Vigo Bay undertaking, has been construed, by one of our cotemporarier, ir. no very measured language, into a puff direct. If a plain statement of facts, in which we had no interest whatever, be a puff; we plead guilty to the charge—but not other wise. We stated that a certain number of galleons had been sunk in Vigo Bay, with vast treasure on board ; that a grant of the " sweepings" of Vigo Bay had been given by the King of Spain to Captain Dickinson, and that he again had arranged with eight respectable individuals for carry ing the grant into effect; that those individuals had fitted out a ship, with a diving apparatus, and that Captain Dickinson had sold some of his shares at an advance of 1,000 per cent. Now, we defy the writer in the Morning Chronicle to contravene a single assertion thus set forth ; and as he remarks on the price quoted so as to throw discredit upon it, we can tell him further, that shares have been sold in this country at an advance of even 1,500 per cent. (315/.), and in Madrid at 1,250 per cent. (or 313/0 With regard to his sneers at the respectability of the eight indi viduals who have embarked in this undertaking, we shall satisfy ourselves by observing, that if he had but taken the trouble to inquire who they arc, he would not have hazarded his own respectability by attempting to impeach theirs; and, if he will yet inquire, we will venture to predict that he will retract the insinuation he has thrown out to their prejudice. IVhether the immense treasure known to have been on board the galleons was or was not sunk with them, and whe ther the pieces-of-eight of which the treasure consiitel, were gold or silver, are facts that remain to be ascertained; but of this we are certain, that the Spanish Government, which has the beat means of knowing the value that was lost in the galleons, estimates the gross amount of treasure alone at twelve millions sterling. The rm rchandise may be and probably is gone; but without reference to it, a sufficient value will be found to remunerate amply those concerned in the expedition. A similar undertaking was gone into about 30 years ago, by an individual now living, who with his associates gained above 900,0001. by raising a galleon in Lagos Bay. A very few days will put the success of the Vigo Bay expedition beyond the reach of all scepticism. Ni. W CA THOM ASSOCIATION. From the Dublin Ewing Post of Saturday.] This hods met to-day, pursuant to adjournment, st the Corn Exchange tiooms. _age It. The linnuurable GO NC I LLC Frnexc II in the Chair. On the motion of Mr. t Mom NELL several new member& were admitted; one of whom was Mr. G. Blood, &respectable Protestant Gentleman. firs O'CONNELL gave notice of a motion for the next day of meeting, originating from a speech or siitiresa reported in the Aforeirto Chrintick of the 27th ult. to have been delivered on the 24th of the seine month, by a Mr. John Wilkes, to the electors of the Borough of Sudbury, in England. which 'peed' he (Mr. O'Connell), without 'naming any disrespect to Mr. Wilkes, de clared to contain the falsest and foulest charges ever uttered againat the Catholics. He contrasted the conduct of Mr. Wilkes with that of the Pmestant nobility, gentry, and clergy, on the same day (the 24th). at the alunatet Provincial Meeting, and declared that it struck Idol with astonishment and honor, that any portion of their fellow-subjects could be so bcsottedly ignorant as to believe the charges alleged by Mr. Wilkes against then) (the Catholics of the Empire), or that they could be courted by the assertion of false hoods so glaringly impudent as those attributed to the candidate tor Sudbury. Any one who was capable of so speaking of his fel. low men, was not a Christian ; he was, in his opinion, worse than the Infidel. Such bigotry was, he t h a nk e d G ot not to be found in Ireland. (Cheers.) They (the Catholics) never attributed to Protestants tenets which they disavowed, and which those attri buting them must know to be false. The assertions to which lie (Mr. O'Connell) alluded, were not uttered in the privacy of conversation, but for the express purpose of winning the con fidence of a people to intrust—to Mr. Wilkes, the noblest con. faience that could be reposed in man. Mr. O'Connell alluded to the inconsistency of the British Government regarding the dis. missal some time since of en artillery officer in Malta, for re fusing to fire a signal in honour of some public ceremony of the Catholic Church. That officer might have said to the Cont. mantler-in-Chief when he was deprived of his commission, "sou made me, when taking that commission, swear that the sacrifice of the Mass was damnable and idolatrous, and yet you punish me because I refuse to pay honour to an idolatrous ceremony." (Hear.) Such a proceeding he considered one of the most curious anomalies con nected with the entire conduct of the Government towards the Catholics. He then adveitid to the charges made by Mr. Wilkes—_ first, that of " divided allegiance," which he repelled in the strongest manner. if the Pope (said he) offered any opposition to the powers or prerogative of the King, they would not only disobey him, but would shed the last drop of their blood in opposing his authority. (Loud Cheers.) The next charge was, that the Catholic Church claimed the power of absolving town the obliga. ton of an oath." To this he would only reply, that but for the conscientious regard of the Catholics for their oaths they could sit in that House, to obtain a seat in which Mr. Wilkes scrupled not to utter those false calumnies. Another charge brought by the Can didate for Sudbury was, that " Catholics kept no faith with here. ties." Ile (Mr. O'Connell) did believe that there was not a man in England mad enough to utter such at, assertion in the face of high Heaven. (Cries of " ),ear, hear.") Why should rot bigotry niche progress in England when such assertions were not only allowed to be made in silence, but met in this country a sort of tacit approbation ? (Hear) Mr. O'Connell concluded by giving notice of a motion " to appoint a Committee, to dmw up a letter to Alr. John Wilkes, remonstrating with hitn en the unfounded statements respecting the Catholics, attributed to him in the public prints." (Applause.) Mr. O'llotestaw wished to make one observation on what had fallen from Mr. O'Connell. On the night of the memorable defeat of the Catholic Bill in the Lord', he hail met the great, the good Lord Fitewilliam (Cheera ) ; a Nobleman whose name ought never to be uttered in Ireland without eliciting sentiments of the most ardent respect and attachment. (Repeated cheers.) It was at a late hour that he met him. and he (31r. O'Gorman) advised his Lordship not to remain in the House longer, but retire, leaving his proxy for the Catholic Cause. His Lordship replied, it was, pro. bably, the last time he should ever have it in his power to vote on that question, and God forbid that he should not give it his tiro ewe support, and that he would that night be the last to speak for the Catholics. (baud applause.) Next day he again saw his Lordship, and when lie (Mr. O'Gorman) expressed his wonder at the allegations made by Lord Liverpool in the House, he replied that Lord Liverpool and those who supported hint had nothing now but misrepresentation to have recourse to—and declared that the Catholic Cease would be carried if the English mind were once disabused. (Loud cheers.) Mr. O'REILLY thought the Association did Mr. Wilkes too much honour to notice him at all. Dlr. Cow WAY was convinced that every member of the Associ ation well knew that it was nut with ref:Truce to the individual that the motion was proposed it was for the purpose of disabusing those •Ito had beard or read Mr. Wilkes's address. Mr. O'Coxirci.e. gave notice of a motion, for publishing to the British nation an accurate account of the persecutions which the Catholics of the Netherlands were at present suffering. In so doing, he alluded to the misrepresentations which the Eng lish press copied from the French Jacobin papers, the Cuatrrier Francois and Constikaionna, and gave a detail of the conduct of the King of the Netherlands to the Catholics of his kingdom. Mr. (PREtI.LY made some observations regarding the Educa tion Committee, appointed at the last meeting of the Association, and apologised for their not having prepared a Report to be sub mitted to the general body. Mr. CONWAY said, that on Sattirday last he had explained to the Association the reasons which prevented the Comnitkee from reporting. Ills explanation was such an apology as the Report which had been made on the state of Irish affairs by the Committees of the Houses of lords and Commons. (Rear, hear.) Mr. O'CoN tee t.t. spoke at some length to a motion of which he had last week given notice, respecting the publication of docu ments repelling the allegations contained in the Anti-Catholic petitions presented during the last Session of Parliament. All that the Catholics dented was discussion and investigation. During the last three years not less than thirty additional Roman Catholic chapels had been built in Engiand, and he had reason to know that there were now in progress of erection there at least eight more. But he looked not to the religious effect which that discussion might produce; it would at least have the beat effects as to the chip cause of tha Catholics. . . Mr. LUKE PLUSXLTT seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. O'Co Ng t.t. gave notice of a motion that the Doll,: French paper should be taken in by the Association. Mr. Coriolis' said, that having hail occasion to look into the !toile lately, he had seen articles in its columns as minutely conversant with Irish stairs as those in any Irish journal could possibly be. Mr. Cuanaw brought forward his motion for the publication of the names of the inernbm of the Association. in the Dublin Et'lllilte Pail, Frremnn'iJourncl, and Morning Itrisler. Mr. O'CoNNILL seconded the motion. An amendment moved by Mr. Critr.rtLy, that the names be also insetted in the Dublin Morning l'ov, was negaiieed without a division. Mr. } HANOI 3l'Dotextt.s. srs4 called to the Chair. thanks returned to the Honourable 13. Fe nExcii, and the Meeting sepa rated. A fellow, named Joseph be Petite, was convicted lately at Dublin, for vending indecent prints, and justly sen tenced to twelve months' imprisonment. A few prosecu tions of this kind arc needed at this moment in London. It is In the highest degree disgraceful to the police that works of the most obscene description are publicly dis played in the windows of a( veal shops in the leading tho ro•Thfares of the iretroputs THE BRITISH PRESS. DREADFUL FIRE AND HURRICANE AT MIRAMICIII. 11'e have received the Ha!flax Joirrnal of October 17th, and the Halifax Free Press of October 18th. They bring news of a most awful calamity. On the 7th ult. a fire, which had been burning in the woods, communicated with the neighbouring dwellings. " More than a hundred miles of the shores of Miramichi arc laid waste, independent of the north-west branch, the Ballibog, and the Nappan Settlements." From one to two hundred people have perished " within immediate observation," and two thousand persons are left without the means of subsistence. To describe the misery resulting from this tremendous visita tion is impossible. The total sum of it cannot yet be known. The local Government bad adopted immediate measures for providing every possible relief for the sufferers. A Committee had been formed, consisting of the Hon. the Attorney-General, Judge HiMurton, and Enos Collins, to superintend the necessary measures. The following are the details of this dreadful and exten sive mischief:— [From the Halifax Joimial , October 17.1 Amidst confusion and aistress, the inevitable consequences of the dreadful dispensation of Providence which has just befallen our devoted colony, it is altogether impossible to calculate or descrilt its destructive effects ; but to awaken the sympathy of those who, under the protection of Al mighty God, have escaped the awful calamity, it will be sufficient thus briefly to state, that more than one hundred miles of the shores of Miramichi are laid waste, independ ent of the north-west branch, the iUibog and aseNappan settlements From one to two hundred people have pe rished within immediate observation, and thrice that num ber are miserably burnt or otherwise wounded ; and at least two thousand of our fellow-creatures arc left destitute of subsistence, and thrown at present on the humanity of the province of New Brunswick. _ The number of lives that have been lost in the woods among the lumbering patties cannot be ascertained for some time to come, for it is feared that few are left to tell the talc. It ie not in the power of language to describe the unpa ralleled sc'ne of devastation which the parish of Newcastle at this moment presents. Out of upwards of two hundred and fifty houses and stores, fourteen of the least consider able only remain. The court-house, gaol, church, and barracks; Messrs. Gilmore, Rankin, and Co.'s; and Messrs. iVilliam Abrams and Co.'s establishments, are reduced to ashes. The loss of property is incalculable, for the fire, borne upon the wings of a hurricane, rushed upon the inhabit tuts with such inconceivable rapidity, that the preservation of their lives could be their only care. The ships Concord and Canada, and brig Jane, were burnt to the water's edge. and many others took fire, but by great exertions were saved. Two vessels on the stocks, belonging to William Abrams and Co., were entirely con sumed. About three hundred of the sufferers are already in Chat ham, and numbers of men, women, and children, are hourly pouring in, and throwing themselves upon the bounty of its inhabitants. Extract of a letter to a gentleman in this town, elated Miramichi, Oct. Ili: " In the midst of the utmost confusion, and the greatest destruc tion of life and property ever recorded, I write you those few lines, to solicit your aid, and that of all friends to humanity, to assist those of us who hare partially reaped from total ruin, to support the numerous distressed :ndividunie *rho are thrown upon us for fold, shelter, raiment, and modleaLessistanee, at a most unfortu nate season, with the prospect of a long and severe winter before us, and an unprecedented scarcity of provisious. The extent of destruction on the fatal night of the 7th inst. is unknown and inde scribable: nearly the whole of the parish and town of Newcastle lies in smoking ruins. The settlements of liallibog, Nappan. and back settlements of Chatham and Newcastle, are nut only nearly all destroyed, but few souls survive to tell the doleful tale. " It would melt the heart of the most unfeeling to see the nume rous iadielduals wbe have just mole- total destructioil by this fire, and many now perishlisg froult-Sheir wounds. Chatham has miraculously escaped destruction is a great measure; many of the shipping have sulTered much, and three loaded ships fell a sacrifice to the flames. Rankin and Co. have saved their dwelling-house only from its being situated so high that the hurricane blew the flames past and over it, which i,owever destroyed every other build ing belonging to them ; they saved their books and papers. Abrams saved nothing but what he and his family stood in, merely night clothes. It is mere mockery to try to describe the horrors this scene presents, and the abject distress that everywhere presents itself." - - Extract of a letter from a gentleman to It's brother dated Miramichi, Oct. 10 : " It is with sorrow that I make known . o you, that our late flou rishing settlement is laid in ashen. On the evening of the 7th cur rent, tire communicated from the woods, whic:i came with such dreadful violence, accompanied with a I urric me, that it literally showered down fire and sand, so that It it cs w. It the greatest ditE. cult) , we escaped Ishii our lives poor V imam made his retreat with Caroline to the house of Mr. 11. which escaped being burnt ; he got his right hand much burnt in getting out of the house ; Caroline is as well as can be expected. 1 staid behind at the store, endeavouring to sore our books, papers, &c., but it came so fast that I had to run for my life, and leave all behind—l took to the river, front whence I was take.i up by aship's boat, and carried on board. I bless God that our lives are saved, although our property is gone. The only thing we have saved is our timber, and a few things in Ledden's store; fortunately, this morning, some pork and flour have arrived from Liverpool tor us:; at precut we are getting a meal of victuals where we can find it. Those few persons who have their houses saved are kind to the distressed the tire commenced, it is said, somewhere about Bartibogue, and came up the bank of the river with a rapidity Impossible to be conceived, destroying all as it came. The people of Newcastle hail no ide. of the tire being so near, the smoke having been so great all day, that none could see where the flames were until they came down upon them. Many people have lost their lives; whole families hare been burnt to ashes round their. dwellings. The Chatham side of the river has escaped the destruction ; but the Newcastle side is en. tircly destroyed, with the exception of a house here and there in low situations, so that the fire passed over thew. " Mr. and Mrs. Robson have taken passage in the same ship they came out in (which happens to be the ship Lune, for Liver pool) to lay a statement of our losses and miser before our agents. The Governments of thole two Provinces will surely take into con. sideration our deplorable condition ! Last night I had to take my turn to watch a store with provisions which had been threatened by the hungry poor to be broken open. The 31agistrates, and ot h ers , are doing the best they can to feed them for the present ; but there are so many that it cannot last long without something else being done: numbers have expired with cold and hunger ; and many poor sick people, just rescued from the fever, have perished from the effect,' of fatigue, after having escaped the fire. " God only knows what is to become of this place, for the only article of expoit we have to depend upon fs, I fear, completely destroyed ; ter it seems, even now, its though the whole country is in flames. The make is so great that, in truth, the place seems buried in ruins and suffocation ; it has, indeed, a most aw tul appearance. " You may publish the particulars of the above, if you think proper, so that the distrrsa of the poor and miserable may be taken into consideration. God bless you all, and preserve you from the like calamity." [From the Halifax J'rec Press of October 18.) DREADFUL. FIRE AT MIRAMICHI. A most painful duty this day devolves on us—that of recording an astonishing and dire calamity which has be fallen the province of New Brunswick, involved multitudes in death or ruin, and visited a large extent of country with unsparing desolation. On Thursday last a verbal account was received of the conflagration which has taken place at Fredericton, by which 30 houses and 39 barns were consumed, caused by a fire in the woods adjacent to that town; and a rumour at that time prevailed that some of the back settlements near Miramicht had experienced a similar fate. But while anxiety was on the stretch for correct infor mation from Fredericton, the intelligence of the disaster at Miramichi arrived, and for a time the calamity that bad been expected at the one place was lost in the contempla tion of that which had befallen the other. It seems that the woods in that part of the country had been for some time on tire, but without exciting any appre hension of the catastrophe which was about to involve in ruin a large proportion of the population of the province. On the ith inst. the flames acquired an ascendancy, which rendered flight in some instances impracticable, and resistance unavailing. . The alarming progress of this destructive element hail been concealed by the state of the atmosphere, which it occasioned, until the night of that day, when, aided by a hurricane which increased its violence and rapidity, it burnt with uncostrolable fury upon the heads of its de voted victims. All the accounts that have been received describe the rapidity of the flames to have been such as to have precluded the possibility of saving property to any extent. In most cases, the unsuspecting beings, suddenly aroused from their slumbers, were unable to dress them selves, and immediate destruction was the consequence of a moment's delay. So instantaneous were the effects of the fire, that many persons who were saved owe their preserva tion to the vicinity of the river, into which they threw themselves, and were taken up by boats, or escaped on rafts of timber. In that part of Miramichi called Newcastle, out of 2.50 houses but 14 escaped ; and, indeed, the cir cumstance of any properey being saved is considered as a miraculous interference. Were we to give vent to the feetings that actuate us upon this occasion, we might depict a scene at which the heart of the most indifferent would sicken ; and even then we probably should fall short in description of the sad reality. It cannot be possible to conceive the picture which the devoted country that has been the scene of this visita tion now presents. Near two hundred persons in the vi cinity of Miramichi alone perished in the flames; and the loss of lives in the interior of the forests, where escape was impossible, must have been immense. What renders the event still more afflicting is the circumstance that the sur vivors are many of them dreadfully mutilated ; and the sick and several of the dying can no longer obtain the slightest shelter from the severity of the weather. An event so replete with horror is probably of rare oc currence, and the tidings of it have been met in Halifax with that promptitude and compassionate feeling which they must universally excite. Sentiments of sorrow, and a desire to render assistance, have been everywhere mani fested, and have not been confined to age, rank, or sex, and we feel a satisfaction in stating, that the exertions which have been made in this town, although not calculated to afford permanent relief, will be extensively beneficial in assuaging ate pangs of hunger, for famine has followed the course of the destructive element ;—and that the supplies of clothing that have been forwarded must, on their ar rival, render the situation of the survivors, in that respect, comparatively comfortable. Upon the receipt of the mail with the intelligence, on Saturday afternoon, gloom and anxiety were everywhere manifested; and on Sunday morning at nine o'clock a meeting of the inhabitants took place, when the following Resolutions were passed : •' That provisions and other articles for the relief of the sufferers be sent to the store of Messrs. Deblois and Mitchell. " That letters be written to different parts of the Province, re questing the aid of their inhabitants. `• That n Committee be appointed to request that collections may be made in the different places of worship in this town, on Sunday next, for this charitable purpose." A subscription was opened at the meeting, and before it broke up 1200/. were subscribed. A Committee of Ma nagement and a Sub-Committee to collect subscriptions throughout the town were also appointed, and, notwith standing the inclemency of the weather (luring the after noon of that day and the forenoon of yesterday, that sum was increased to 20001. Vessels were despatched with pro visions, others were laden in like manlier, and a large sup. ply of clothing and other necessaries were shipped on board of the Orestes sloop of war, which vessel sailed this fore noon for Miramichi. Where all have acted so generously it would be wrong to particularise, satisfied as we are that the reflection of having performed a benevolent action must afford the highest gratification to every virtuous mind. Melancholy as are the descriptions contained in the let ters received, we fear more heart-rending accounts arc yet to be received. Numbers must have perished of whom no accounts will probably be ever obtained, and many persons who have been mutilated and otherwise personally injured, will continue from time to time to be discovered in remote situations, or will perish through want in distant and re tired parts of the country. FURTHER PARTICULARS. A gentleman arrived in town yesterday from Miramichi, which place he left on Thursday ; he states generally that the fire continued to rage near tic scene of the recent con flagration, and that from the lumbermen who had come in, accounts had been received of the loss of several lives. One instance 44znentions where, of a party of 16 persona, but three of them had escaped. THE' AUNT. We lament to state, that letters, dated the 4th October. were re . ceived yesterday at the Colonial Office, from Fredericton, New Brunswick, which announce the melancholy loss of the right wing of the 1 .16t1t regiment of foot, in going from Halifax to Bermuda. Lieutenant-Colonel Berries fortunately had not embarked with the right wing. The 39th and 79th regiments of infantry have completed their augmentation establishment. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. HUNTING APPOINTMENTS. The Warwirkshire foz hounds trill tieet to-morrow at Tch. ington-henth, Saturday at Win:piton-bridge, and Monday, Nov. 11. rit —each day at a quarter betore eleven. 'she Worcestershire fox hounds on Friday at Croome Perry ‘Vood at ten. Mr. Montgomery, of Wartield, Berks, undertook on Monday to kill sixty head of game in eight hours with a double barrelled gun, to hunt and to pick up his own game. The number killed was as follows, on the Oxfordshire bills to the westward of Henley. upon. Thames. Mr. Montgomery breakfasted at Shtplake, three miles from where he started, having bagged in three hours sixteen hares, nine pheasants, a•rd eight partridges--Total 33. At four o'clock in the afternoon, the shooter having finished at Playltatch, three miles from Reading, the whole produce was twenty-six hares, twenty.two pheasunts, and fourteen partridges, winning the match of fifty sovereigns by two head. Partridges were scarce and wild. The pigeon shooting match at eleven birds each, for 100 rove. reigns aside, took place yesterday morning on Finchley Common, between Messrs. Osborne and Knutsford, of Kent and Surrey ce. lebrity. It was well attended, and was won by Mr. Osborne kill. ing nine birds, and his opponent eight. Mr. Knutaford lost two birds within a few yards of the bounds, or he would have won the match. The house of M. Rousseau, a restaurateur, near the Palais de Justice, war, the slay before Yesterday, the scene of a fatal event. About eight o'clock a loud report was heard in the kitchen ; the master of the house immediately repaired to the spot, where )m11)1111(1 one of his servant boys stretched in a disfigured state upon the ground. The un fortunate youth had that moment fired a pistol at his head. He was not quite dead, but was perfectly senseless ; he expired in a few minutes. The motive for this act of despair is unknown. This young man was of Rheims ;he had been in M. Rousseau's service about a month, and had behaved exceedingly well. It is merely known that he frequently went to the theatres, which bad more than once drawn down a reproof from 1 is master.—Paris Paper. In consequence of the continual state of danger and 1 alarm experienced as well by the passengers themselves as by persons using the same line of road as the Paddington stages, we hear it is intended to ertablish a permanent day patrol to watch their proceeding,s, and to bring to justice any coachman or cad offending in future.—Evening Paper. CtiRIOUS DISCOVERY.—A short time ago, a search hav ing been made among some ancient papears in Ileriot's Hospital, Edinburgh, there was discovered a challenge to mortal combat, addressed by the famous R tb Roy to the Duke of Montrose. It is in excellent preservation, and not a doubt can be entertained of its authenticity. It is at present in the hands of one of the sub-librarians of the Advocate's Library. . _ A LITTLE SINGULAR.—. C have been favoured with the following rather curious circumstance by • cotre spondent ; of course we cannot take upon ourselves to vouch for its accuracy :—" On cutting up a fowl which I had roasted for my dinner a few days since, you will be able to judge of my surprise on beholding, completely em bedded in the gizzard, a silver penny-piece of the reign of George the First, with a hole &Wet% through; through it was appended a piece of wire about five inches long. What renders this circumstance rather remarkable is, that the external part of the gizzard assumed the usual appear ance, although it was much larger than they usually are, and the fowl altogether was extremely fine in taste, and fat in appearance. —Cheltenham Journal. An iniMense cavern has recently been discovered in the Sxondary Limestone of the high Peak, Derbyshire, and is regarded by geologists as the grandest continuation of caverns hitherto explored. The access to and through it is perfectly easy, and after traversing various windings, there to a beautiful archway, from which a passage is made through to day-light, where the subterraneous visters ar rite at an elevated terrace, nearly on the summit of the mountain in which the cavern is situated, commanding the' finest views of the neighbouring romantic scenery. Outor compliment to his (:race, it has beer named the D,:vonslitre Cavern. LAW INTALLIGIBNCK. COURT OF CHANCERY, 20EsDAY, Nov. 8. ' WALI.AMS v. VOWRINO. After hearing the reply of Mr. PErYS, in this case, and Mr. PitEsrom, who followed on the same side, The LORD CHANCELLOR said, that this question arose upon, nn estate, which appeared to be vested in a widow. as the adminis, Pattiz If her husband. The Vice-Chancellor had thought it right to reserve the question, whether she took the estate for her own benefit, or as a trustee for the nest of kin. The Vice-Chancellor did not in his decree enforce the reasons upon witich his opiniotl was founded ; but he (the Lord Chancellor) !mew, that it was the custom of the Vice-Chancellor, for his own satisfaction, to keep by him the reasons which influenced his judgcleits and he (the Lord Chancellor) thought it his duty to consult with the Vice•Chaneellor on the subject. He should state to him his tiwn views, and learn whether the Vice-Chancellor concurred with hint, or wherein they diflited. Thus much he thought was due to the. Vice-Chaneellot as well as to himself. Ile would have been glad to know if in the manor there had been a surrender to administrators, sad if there had been a surrender, who held under that surrender the beneficial enjoyment of the property. I shall take it for granted that there ti no instance of any such surrender on the court.rolls. It was true the number of next of kin might be only two, but it might a. well be 20 ; and it' it was 20, and it was the custom of the manor only! to surrender to two, the copyhold may be split into aliquot parts. Upon the whole of the case, he thought it his duty to converse with the Vice-Chancellor, and would let the Counsel know his opiniod on an early day. FITZGIBBON W. MOORE. • This case being called on. Mr. IloaNE proceeded with the strgul ment in the absence of 3lr. Hart, who had not yet come into Court. Mr. Home .thought this was one of the. boldest petitions ever pre sented to a Court. On public principles. he said, st was one of the most important that had ever come before any Court. He did not deny that a jurisdiction had been exercised by this Court when children were tak en ti om t h e care o f their legal parent, and given to another person, who made the child • ward of Court, by a proper settlement of property. This teas a case where the custody of a child was sought to be taken from its parent and conferred upon other persons. Those persons were ?dr. and Mrs. Fitzgibbon, and in so stating the case it was necessary he should consider who Mr. and Mrs. litzgibbon were. Ile did not intend to throw any undeserved aspersions upon them, hut should treat the case as if the humblest individuals were concerned in it. The pe. tition purported to come from the children, of which the Act o!' Parliament left 11r. Moore the legal father. The petition Ism really from Mr. Fitzgibbon and his wife—from an adulterous wife, who eloped froin - her husband's house, and took with her hii legal children, with whom site went to France, travelling under a fic titious moue, and kept possession of those children to the present time. This was a case of the first impression. An adulterous wife and he': adulterous paramour came into an English Court, saying. `• I ant an adulteress!" "I ant an adulterer ! We hare violated your marriage -bed; we have ruined your domestic peace; and we now come forward to say that the children you believed to be yours were procreated in adultery, and are our natural children, and therefore it is that all those relations with respect to, marriage —the bond ot civil society in this coun t r y — are to h e broken asunder, and we aro to have possession of y our l ega l children. Ent those children had rights • and would the Court sit in judgment upon those rights, and, although they were born in wedlock, pronounce the children illegitimate ? Legitiniac_y was a right in this country, even In case there Wl4 no property. But to the present case there was a distinct right. The boy was invested with an entail male by his father. Might such a right be exchanged tor the settlement of Colonel Fitzgibbon. limited as it was with a proviso which trade it abso lutely worthless? The Long CHANCELLOR-111106 the guardian to that settles ment? Mr. 11ORNE—Lord Clare, my Lord. The Loon CHANCELLOR—The question seems to me to be, whether I ought to permit those persons to come in the name of those infar. s, alleging that the infants are illegitimate. I am called upon to consider a petiti on f r om c hild ren, w h o l am b ound to consider legitimate, stating themselves to be illegitimate, and to secure their right to a provisional settlement of 1;,000/. Three per Cents. by allowing them perhaps to wave a right, which, for aught I know, may be six times the value. Mr. Sue:Dee—My Lord, the entail male is stated on affidavit to he 20001. a-year. Mr. llortare resumed—What did the petition amount to ? If his Lordship allowed what was called the natural right, in opposi tion to the legal right, anti gave Mr. Fitzgibbon the sole sad un controlled management of the children, the settlement would still become null and void, if his Lordship at any subsequent period chose to control or direct the management, or in any way to inter fere. If his Lordship din not decide in favour of Mr. Fitzgibbon, the settlement win so much waste parchment. This, he insisted. was not a bona fide settlement, or one upon which an application to the Court could be properly founded. The infants could not to deemed wards of Court. But supposing it was a bona fide settle ment, it only gave the Court the jurisdiction of making the children wards; it gave no power over the settlement. Upon the strength of this settlement, however, it was contended that Mr. Moore should lease his right to the custody of his own children, although his liability to the burdens of his relation as a parent was manitest and undeniable. To warrant such an interference no imputation hail been cast upon Mr. Moore, except what was contained in the affidavits before the Court. In those affidavits, or one of them. it was alleged that the life of the infant would not be safe in the cus tody of his parent, and that the parent only desired possession of the children to exercise cruelty upon them, for the purpose of in dulging his re/refitment against Mr. and Airs. Fitzgibbon. These allegations stand on the affidavit of the Rev. Lord Brandon. They were unsupported by the affidavits of any other person. Thew,. happy mother of the child, w h o ma y be presumed to be acquainted with Mr. Moore's feelings and intentions towards it, comes forward with no such affidavit. Silence on her part was becoming, as it also was en the part of her husband, who ple a d s hi s natura l r i g h ts in his a ffi davit, but does not allege that Mr. Moore desired to pour out his wrath on the unofl'ending infants. The only one who de. posed to the intentions of Mr. Moore with regard ton child whom he swears he believes to be his own, was Lord Blandon ; and Mr. Moore in his affidavit utterly denied ;lie ullegations of Lord Bran. don, and adduced such reasons for the denial, that when the two affidavits were compared, there seemed little doubt that Lord Bran don's was founded in mistake and was untrue, as fur as it was ee posed to Mr. Aloore'a. L File Learned Counsel here Tead and com mented upon the affidavit of Lotd Brandon, which had already teen stated by the Solicitor-General.] The LORD CHANCELLOR—Where are the children now? Mr. SUODEN—My Lord, they are at Camden-town, in the care of some respectable persons, by order of the Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Dlr. 110 RAE continued—Lord Brandon drew his conclusion without giving any reason for his opinion; and in his affidavit there was a suppression of truth. Mr. Moore answered the Noble and Rev. Lord's imputation by a solemn denial, and if this denial was not to be relied ou, where went all the respect we hail been used to pay to the rights of parents? lle did not mean it as, an aspersion on Lord Brannon, but if a parent was not to be be lieved on his oath respecting his child, but was left nt the mercy of any unprincipled perjurer, it was better at once to sweep away all considerations relating to parental authority. Mr. Moore's affida vit, in answer to Lord Brandon's, stated—that Lord Brandon was uncle by half blood to himself, and uncle by whole blood to his hitt wife, Diana. Ile remembered Lord Brandon calling on him at Moore's Fort, whit propositions from Lord Clare. It was propaeed, if he gave up his claim to the children that the damages shouts be paid, that the divorce should pass the House of Lords unop posed, and that no alimony should be required. It he did not agree to give tip his right to the children, Lord Brandon said, that Lord Clare told him lie had interest enough with the Lard Chancellor to have the divorce bill thrown out in the House of Lorna. The L 0111) CHANCELLOR—I must bay a IrCitd for the Char.. miler. His name is not mentioned in the copy of the affidavit s hich I hold. Mr. llonNE--It is so mertioned inithe copy I read from. Mr. irAKEFIELD—NO such thing appears in Mr. Moore's afr. davit, my Lord. The LORD CIIANCELLOIL-.-I shall only say, that if any or.e .wore it, it was untrue. Mr. If oRNE continued to state the affidavit. Mr. Moore replied to Lord Brandon, that nothing should Induce him in give up h:s claim to the children ; that he defied Lord Clare, and would ap peal to the law. Ile positively swore that he never expressed tiny doubt of the male child being his, but well remembered say ing that he had some doubt as to the female child. He never said he would disinherit the boy and cut hint off with a shilling ; Ora the contrary, he showed L o Brandon!' atm Ito his will, mak. ing over all his disposable property on the buy,' He further stateci, that he asked Lord Brandon to witness the codleil, which Lord B. declined, and the same day d e p onent s i gne d the codicil, which still continues in full force. He solemnly disclaimed having ever said that he would get possession of the children to ansoythe Fitzgib bons, or any thing to that effect. Mr. Moors also stated hilts affidavit, that he was suffering much in mind and body when Lord Brandon called upon him, and that be expressed himself wamtty to his Lordship. He entered into a history of his swerings, in iv hid, he states, that when his wife's elopement was broken to him by MN guardian, Baron Pennefather, be disbelieved ft, and was, from the effects of the shock, for some time subject to apoplectic fit.. It was said at the other side, that the natural parents long had possession of the children ; th e y had possession, because the legal parent could not recover it. They travelled in France antler fietiooes names ; and when Mr. Moore consulted some eminent Frown lawyers, he was told that however dear the law may he in Eneend. it was doubtful whether the French law would deprive a mother et the custody of chtldren under the age of eeren. Mr. Moore took out a writ of lat6cor corpus in the Court of King's Bench, which was of little service when the parties were out of the country, and it was not till they tell into something like the contempt of that Omit, that the writ was with great difficulty served upon Mr. Fitzgibbon. a'_ ter his return from France. It should be recollected son, that thatigt. the children were so long in the custody of Mr. Fitzgibbon, thane was no idea of making a settlement until Oct. 31, the day before Term- Then that settlement was made, which was ahrgethet ink fee r.s purposes, because it made no permanent provision bt the children. If an order should be made on a petition it would,east a aloud on those children during their fives. The father claimed the right ie. the possession of his children, which the Mei and thesonstigeon gave him, and which by his own conduct he beds e,rts tinder these circumstances he was confident the Court 'llo2lc. •d:s. L.:int the petition with the marked approbation It duAred- • Mr. HART ROW removed his up men:, on the same tilde: ita which he was interrupted by the Auktg of the Court on Monday . He adrcrted to thy principle upon which the CoLq oughtt jaw. ~- 1