The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1825-01-04 00:00:00

LITERATURE. REVIEW OF Tlll WAREHOUSING SYSTEM, „NySCIED WITH THE PORT Or I.OIIUOSI. TAKEN )11 ISILLISMNS7TARY REPORTS ♦SI) OUVICIAL Duey. SIS. DT /JERRY LONOLANDS, ESQ. g o i n g laid before the public some extracts from an onvounts pamphlet, written in the way of reply to Mr. , es lands, we should feel ourselves guilty of injustice if 1 e o mitted to notice . the preface to his second edition of ; a b u ee pamphlet, which he repels the observations wii , e d i n that attack, and does it too with great temper o d good sense. 'fhe author of this Tract has expressed himself dc- NUS of being considered as not writing in his capacity of 'ecretary to the Irest India Dock Company. .. lie thinks it right to preface this seez-md edition with r esent of the expression of his wish, in full confidence hit honourable minds will not necessarily consider his on:lesion with that establishment incompatible with the ars: and impartial treatment of a g,reat public question ; r consider a charge of undue partiality proved against l ira, because he advocates its interest in common with that f others, which would suffer by incautious Innovations in sic Warehousing System. " The experience arising from that connekion has con ' nattily convinsed hint, that such innovations would b e o vally injurious to the public ; and vowed and distinct object of this publication was to prevent their adoption. " In an anonymous publication, purporting to be a Review' of this 'Tract, the charge of dishonest partiality is brought against theauthor, with much vulgar and il liberal abuse against the West India Doek Company. He had amicipsted that this mode of attack would be resorted to i s pla:e of argument, by some. of those interested in the dangerous speculations of the day : the personal abuse, therefore, be despises • the misrepresentations with which it aboun ds will be best answered by reference to the pas sages misrepresented ; sad the charge of partial omission, by the irrelevancy of the passages quoted as necessary to the elucidation of the subject. " The author disdains anything like recrimination, where the charge made against him is so grossly unfound ed : it cannot, however, be overlooked, that the writer of the illiberal attacks upon his motives has chiefly made ase of this Tract as a vehicle for recommending 'one of those spe:ulations, which he calls " proposed improvernebts of the port of London?' I'he main question of the security o the revenue re nains untouched by him, while the ne cessity for more accommodation is assumed without proof. The author, therefore, leaves his 'rract before the public, without any apprehension of the result of a comparison be tween the motives of one, who, holding an office which gives him the necessary experience, if not some degree of authority to speak upon this question, and who, from the consciousness of his impartiality, puts his name to his , work and a writer, who impugns the sincerity of his me 'tires. on the ground of his being connected with a ware housing establishment, while the same writer acknowledges an interested party in the erection of a rival one. Mr. Longlands brings to the discussion Of his subject a mind familiar with all the practical detail essential to a complete acquaintance with it ; he writes with great can dour, and his remarks throughout are manifestly the result of extensive and accurate information. YULE-CHRISTMAS. Yens Is the name given to CHIIISTMAs in the nerd 'lesions. Mr. Pinkerton has justly observed that this win "originally the Gothic Pagan feast of Yule, or Jul.' The ancient Gotha had three great religious festivals in the year; of these Isle was the first. It was celebrated at the time of the winter solstice, in honour of the Sun, whom the Goths worshipped under the name of Thor. As at this period the sun began to return, they expressed their joy in this manner, and endeavoured to secure a propitious veer.—Mallet's Northern Antiq. i. 130. This season among the northern nations was the rest season of Sacral-mt. On this occasion human victims seem generally to have been offered to their false goSs. * The Persians sacrificed horses to the sun. This noble animal was, indeed, sacred to him. We must view it as a remnant of the eastern idolatry, that the Goths offered horses at the Feast of Yule.— e. El. Sched. de Dis. Ger man. p. 102. " The Greenlanders at this day keep a Sllll.frast at the winter solstice, about December 22, to rejoice at the return of the sun, and the expected renewal of the hunting set'.' son.”--Crantz's Hist. Greenland, i. 116. r. Mallet, ti. 68. The term Yule is still retained in Scortaivir, where many customs analogous to those of the Goths are .pre served, • which may clearly he traced to Pagan onigin. Among others is the use that is made of the maiden, or last handful of corn that has been cut down in harvest, which is divided among the cows on the morning of Yule, some, times of the new year, to make them " thrive all t he year round." It is to this custom that BURNS allinles, in his beautiful poem, entitled The Auld Farinees New-veur coursing Salutation to his acid Mare, AI •GGIE, on giving her the accustomed rippor corn to hansel in the :k ew Year : " A guid New Vow I wish thee, Maggie ! Ilse, there's a ripp to thy auk! haggle," &c. This custom varies in different places. In some the horses generally get a feed of corn on the morning of Yule, and the maiden is given to the horse called the winder, which leads the rest in the plough. In Scotland several vestiges of idolatry still survive. in Angus, be who first opens the door on Yule-day expects to ' prosper more than any other member of the family . during the Year, because, as the vulgar express it, "he lets in 'Pule." The door being opened, it is cus tomary with some to place a table or chair in it, covering it with a dean cloth, and, according to their own language, "to set on it bread and cheese to YULE." Early in the morning, as soon au any one of the family gets out of bed, a new broom is set at the back of the outer door. The design is, "to let in /lie." These gross supersti tions, and the very modes of expression used, have un doubtedly had a heathen. origin, for Title is not only per sonified, but treated as a deity who-receives an oblation. There are also cane other ridiculous rites practised on that day. Any servant who is supposed to have a due re gard to the interests of the family, and at the same time not emancipated from the yoke of superstition, it careful to go early to the well on Christmas morning to draw water, to draw corn out of the stack, and also to bring in kale from the kitchen garden. This is meant to ensure prospe rity to the family. A similar superstitious rite is observed in the South of Scotland, on the morning of New-Year's Day. One of the family watches when the dock strikes twelve, goes instantly to the well, and carefully fills her pail. Ticullatrock.—Tana neehour Dizzies raiser An', liltin, Reed a sad gate : "Theflua , er u t he Ted! to our house guts An' I'll the bonniest lad yet." " Upon the morning of the first day of the new year, the country hues are sure to rise as early as possible, if they have been in bed, which is seldom the case, that they may get the flower, as it is called, or the first pailful of water from the well. The girl who is so lucky as to obtain that prize, is supposed to have inure than a double chance of gaining the most accomplished young man in the parish. As they go to the well, they chant over the words which are marked above with inverted conamaa."—ltev. J. Nicol's Poems, i. 30. Ibis scents to be a very ancient superstition, and may PerhAps be viewed as a vestige of the worship of wells, which prevailed runong the Piers. This rite WAS not un known to the Romans ; VI eta r makes Emma observe it on invoking the I :oils :- - Et sic effatus, ad undain Promait, summuune honsle de ptrgite trim/raw Multi dens nano, onerarittitte tethers virtu*. T/11' L ATE M R . WATTe—lViireintormed (says a Glas gow PaPer), that the workers, in the different departments of the ISeanston Cotton Works, Perthshire, have subscribed, and remitted the Inllowing sums, in aid of the Glasgow subscriptions, for the purpose of erecting a monument in memory of Mr. Watt : Mechanical Illepartintat :pining ditto 1! Lasing ditto f 4 >a 10 3 11 )1 4 1 0 .Cl 2. 5 10 Gaon Luca AT MANCUESTEL—The Thirty Thon g lull Pound Prizo, No. 1,478, drawn last Friday, was sold ..) Mr. Ilcaningway, jeweller, Market-atreet, '3ianeboiter, non in that town. CATHOLIC .4.S.S'OCIATION, DVBLIN. Tilts body met at their Booms on Thursday last, Dr. Massie in the Chair. The amount of the Catholic Rent, and subscriptions received for the week ending on the 30th December last, was reported to be ' 19Ai. piss Ca I. The Assistant Secretary then read several letters from indivi. duals, incloaing their contributions to the Bent. The following passages lathe letter front the Committee at Thurles, excited great attention. Ti. mode by which Poston:li% Prophecies are stated to be distributed, occasioned considerable mirth There have been emissaries within tao miles of this town, trying to stir up the lower classes, and distribute I'astorini's Prophecies, as they are called. A well-dressed faloW, in a gig, was seen driving uy a Smith's forge, near this town, and after he had passed, three vo. lumes of this work were found. Some of the peasantry have in. formed us, that he scattered them out whenever lie came to such places ; and the Clergyman of the parish (which is adjoining this) in which they were distlibuted, is making every exertion to get them up, and burn them : he yesterday informed me they were said to amount to the number of forty volumes. Our Committee are endeavouring to make discoveries ; and in order to mark our disapprobation and abhorrence et these preceetlings,and also of every. thing tending to riot, or breach of the peace, the Rev. Dr. O'Con nor proposed, at our last meeting, that the colleetomt be directed not to receive Catholic Rent front any persons who may be suspect ed of belonging to any illegal association, or remarkable for riotous or disotderly eondutt whtch was passed with acclamation." PLOTS. Mr. O'CoNNELL rose to give notice of a motion, relative to a renewal of one of the old expedients of the enemies of the Catholics —namely, the getting tip of fabricated plots. Attempts had been made in different parts of the country to create disturbances ; but all accounts concurred in stating the determination of the peope not to be seduced from their duty and their allegiance. Alluding to a late attempt at Bandon, the Learned Gentleman observed that it had failed, and that an Investigation had taken place, but no very active desire was apparent on the part of the ftlagistrates to prose cute the frames. He would strongly recommend to the Associ ation, to take up the case, and see justice administered. The pro secution of one plot-maker would do much to secure the tranquil. lity of the coilntry. It would open the eyes of the people to the arts of those who woukl lead them astray, and would be the best sort of protection the Association could extend to them Another most remarkable case had Just occUrred at Itoscrea. A pensioner of the name of Reynolds had actually made affidavit that he had seen sixteen hundred men assembled at night in the neighbour. hood !—(he counted them all, it seemed !)—and a paragraph, stat ing the fact, lin duly inserted in certain newspapers, and was now going its rounds through England, frightening the old ladies there. An inquiry *as held—else ground was exantined—and, as might be anticipated, the whole turned out to be a gross fabrication. Rey nolds absconded, and the Magistrates passed resolutions refuting the story, and addtessed the Lord-Lieutenant to deprive Reynolds of his pension. But this was not enough ; lie should he prose cuted for perjury. Mr. O'Connell said he had a communication from ',metres, describing an effort t. ade to create disturbance there. Letters written in blood bad been circulated, but fortunately two of the distributors had been detected. They had plenty of po lice at Loughrea, but it so happened that the incendiaries were taken up by simple Catholics. The manner in which Pastoeini was circulated, was described in the letter just rool. Ile bad seen a placard of a penny publication, called, " The Book of Erin." Mr. KIII'VAN said, lie had chanced to see a copy of The Book of Erin" at a public office in town, and that it was of a perfectly peaceable tendency. It was signed "Joseph," and dated " Annandale Cottage." Mr. O'CoNNEL t. said, that would be for the Committee to con sider, and concluded with touring, that the letter front Thurles, and the ewes lie had mentioned, be referred to a Collllllittee Agreed to. MISSION TO ENGLAND. Mr. O'Costwctc read the following letter. Ile might be ar. eused of vanity for so doing ; but he admitted he was vain of the friendship of the noble and excellent person who wrote it ; besides, it showed that some beneficial results might attend lite mission to England, which, though put off for a time, would not, behoved, be delayed eery long --( Hear. hear., hear.) : •• Torquay, Devon, 24th December. 11324. "My Dear O'Connell ,- 1 have received a letter from London, to say that some friends of Ireland, of high rank, wish to meet you in London ; and they pay me the compliment of asking mew be of the party. Tell me when nu arc likely to be in that city, and nothing shall prevent my meeting you. Perhaps you will visit Devon. The CliFords, Currys, &c. of this country are amongst the oldest and most respectable Catholic families cf England, and have tail. Irish feelings. " Ever most truly yours, " C'LONCLIRRY, " To Dah:el O'Conr.ell, Esq. 3lerrion.square South, Dublin." 31r. SItEIL said, the deputation to England would not, he thought, have hem, without avail. The English arc a wise, a generous, and a lofty-minded people, and we should have appealed to their wisdom, to their justice, and to their humanity. We should have disabused them of many great mistakes—we should have demoastrated to them that we are not unworthy of being incorpo. rated in the great community of llrl'tish citizenship—that our pun licit ethics are much better than they have been taught to think —that there is no dogma in our religion which renders us unfit for 'the enjoyment of civil freedom—that our creed was the faith of their great progenitors (cheers)--and that in casting contumely upon our opinion., they stamp damnation upon their fathers' graves. (Cheers.) We should hare told them mat the Barons of Runny. niede sere as good Citilellll as the Lords of Chancery-lane, and that the awned with which Magna Chars was won might be weighed against Lord Eltlon's mace. (Cheers.) Vie should have told them that the part which they have acted towards our country reflect.; no credit upon them in the eyes of mankind—that having the excel. IL nee of gigantic strength, they should net use it in the spirit of a gigantic d ~,,, ination—that liberty is like light, and is not impaired its participation—that the dis fr anchisement of seven millions of Bitish subjects cannot fad to be productive of great calamities; that we are placed in an unnatural, and, thereene, an injurious re lation towards the empir: ; and that it befits their dignity to inter pose between the contending factious by which the country is torn asunder--that they had too long turned our furious contentions into sport; and that it is unworthy of them to sit, like the spec store of a litanan ecere, at a gladiatorial exhibition of their slaves, and make a pastiale of the ferocious passions which are arrayed against each other in all the insolence of inglorious triumph, and all the wildness of infuriated despair. (Loud cries of hear, hear.) We should have told them that by a single act of magnanimous justice, they might put an end to the animosities which have cost so much English and so much Irish blood. That our emancipation would be an act of thrift, as well as of humanity, and that it became their prudence as well as the grandeur of their national character, and was a matter of economy as well as of honour, to make us free. " Reconcile us," we should have exclaimed, "as you are wise— as you are just, redress us—and in the name of mercy rescue us from our own paseions, and save us front the consequences to which your system of 'Mime and of penalty must inevitably Icati"--and what are those consequences? If they were no other than an increase of those heart-buroings and animosities, that toast either rapidily augment or be instantaneously re medied by a great and sanative act of legislative wisdom, their anticipation (and it requires but little of the spirit of political soothsaying to foretel results so manifest) should excite the virtue, if it does not awaken the alarm of every holiest and enlightened man, and enlist the good sense and the good feeling of the whole British community in cur behalf. (Cheers.) Things cannot stand as they are. Either a great national reconciliation must be efinted, or hostilities must be deepened—reciprocal antipathies must be strengthened—new force and activity must be communicated to the popular passion's—and if the fountain of bitterness is not sealed, it must be supplied. Are we to continue for ever in this frightful state? Arc we to be everlastingly arrayed and marshalled against each other by the infuriating peovocations of the law ? Are we to be bet with a rabitl and canine fury upon each other? (Loud cheers.) Are our detestations to be endowed with a disastrous im. mortality, is our hatred to be eternal, mid is the corroding senti ment which consumes the bosom, and preys upon the vitals of our country, to be like " the fire that is not quenched, and the worm that dieth not ?" (Loud cheers.) Are we to be doomed to an everlasting execration of each other; and when the present genera tion shall have past away, are our children to rise out of their cradles with the same tkelings with which their fathers descended into their graves? If there were no other calamity to be appre. honied, this evil should be regarded as a dreadful on e. But there are other results, which every wise man can foresee, and at which every good man must tremble. May God fauteuil that we should be instrumental iu bringing events about, the thought of which bends back the blood into the heart ? But is it because thorn events are t'rrible, that we should clasp our bandit to our eyes, and hide them front ourselves ? Is it because the shadows which coming events " have cast before them" are black and sinister, that we should fear to trace their dark and som bre outline ? For ourselves we may be able to answer ; we may vouch fur our continued endurance of infliction ; but can we give pledges for the prostration of those who are to come after us, and that our descendents will be the heirs to our patience, as well as the inheritor of (Rif wrongs ! (Loud cheers.) We cannot enter into any such recognisance (cheers), but this we can do ; we can protest that we shall omit no endeavour to prevent the feeling of anguish from being turned into a pameysin of wild and frantic rage, and try to keep back those ebulliticias of national emotion, which it is not less our interest than it is our bounden duty to re strain, and which, for a considerable period, are not likely to burst out. NVe have been accessed (it is right I should speak the unvar nished truth) of etwertairting designs of a revolutionary tendency. The men who have adduced this charge pros etl it to be untrue, but there are many who may be misguided by their calumnies,. and as we are the martyrs of intolerance, there are others who, in forming an estimate of our intentions, may be the victims of mistake. There are three tests, by which our desibns may be reasonably tried--our, larguage, our conduet, and our personal interests ; and to aty one of these grounds of presumption we may fearlessly ap peaL Our language lies been unifomtly modetate, conciliatory, a id pacific, in all the public documents which have issued from our body. The measures which we have adopted have been in accord ance with the views of the local Government. sod we have omitted no means to inculcate the propriety of subordination to the law and the cuncitutional authorities of the country ; witness the resolu tions passed at the late Aggregate Meeting, and the address of Mr. O'Connell to the people of Ireland. But there is a further sal a far more accurate touchstone of the %natives of men to be found in their obvious interest ; and I will venture to aasert, that he amongst us who could deliberately premeditate a political con. vulsiJn, urust be utterly insane. I II) cut hesitate to tleclare, that THE BRITISH PRESS. to my judgment, the individual who could fora moment entertain a scheme so preposterous, should be accounted a sanguinary and much fitter fur an asylum titan for a gaol. There would not be s chance of success to redeem the crime of such an undertaking. Human life would be wissivil without bounds and without avail. Carnage would be loaded with all the guilt of inutility, and flame would light the sky,and massacre wet the earth, and hope could nut put in its equivocal apology or :Mod its dubious extenuation d outrage, of dishonour, and blood. (Loud cheers.) Ido not maw to say, that if I hid been born an American, I should not have joined the stsnilLril of the Republic. Ido not mean to say, that if I had been born a Portuguese, 1 should not hare enlisted under the banners of Braganca. Where is the Greek, with a heart in his bosom, who would not " take by the throat and smite the circum cised dogs ?" Where is the Creole that would not exclaim that the land of Montezuma should be free ? (Loud cheers.) But the efforts that were noble and just in Portugal, and in America, and in Mexico, or in Greece, derived their nobleness and their justice goon the prillabilities of success, which consecrates and canonises all great political undertakings. In Ireland, the rebel against the law would revolt against nature. Providence appears to have pre ordained tide junction of the two countries; and without arms, with. out organization, without concert, with nothing but an undisci plined multitude for the accomplishment of this object. what could the leader of a rebellion expect to achieve ? And where is he— where is the Catiline, or rather the Spartacus, who is to head this Servile War ? Is lie to be found among the wealthy burghers of the metropolis ? or are we to seek the great disturber among the Bishops of the Association ? Is the Primate to convert his mitre to a calque, and his pastoral staff to a pike ? Or is it my Lord Kenmare, with his fifty thousand a-year, who is to shake the dire dice-box in this desperate game, anti commit to the hazard of revo lutionary contisci.tion ? But, perhaps, it is among the lawyers that this rtgenerator is to be found—Th e lawyers ! Loud in debate, and bold in peaceful council, But of a slow, inactive hand in war." It might as well be intaiiinl that we would pull down the dome of the Four-Courts on our' heads, as subvert a Government in whose Tullis we could not fail to perish. Is it not as rotorious as that there Is light in the heavens, that we and every man who has raised his voice in this assembly, must be blown away on the first explosion of a mine to the train of which they tell us we arc about to apply the match ? Mr. O'Connell excite the people to commotion ! lies he " eaten of the insane rout ?" Is he utterly titiltious?—has he been struck with political lunacy ?—is he, in a word, stark mad ? Who is Mr. O'Connell ? Is he a man without station, rank, or fortune ? Has he nothing to lose, and everything to gain from a political convulsion ? Is he without the enjoyments that make men cling to life-make the it in lova with peace, and give them an endearing interest and a tender solicitude iu the tranquillity of their country ? Is it his ambition to d r i ve th e vesse l aga i nst a roc k, that when it is breaking up lie may catch at • single plank, which he could hold but for a moment, and which would be washed away from him by the next breaker that should burst upon his head ? (Loud cheers.) Gracious (foci ! what feelings would they attribute to hint ? I. as he no home. no character, no stay, no child? (Hear, hear, hear.) " He," says Lord Bacon, " that bath children, gives hostage to the law ;" and where is there • man that has a . ingle touch of the parental instincts about his heart, who would not re coil from a desperate enterprise, in which, with his own e x i s t e n ce , he would have to plunge the dearer portion of himself? (Hear, hear, hear.) So much for the man to whom, by the general suf. ' huge of his country, the leadership of its people has been assigned. But are the people disposed to rebellion? The pitch cap and the triangle are formidable mnemonics. They know that the first in surrectionary movement would be followed by the re-enactment of scenes of which they have had a terrible experience. They have not forgotten the shrieks of torture, the reverberation of the whip, the bursting bowels, the scorched forehead, and the lacerated back. The spectre of Fitzgerald stalks through the land ; the cries of IVright are still rineing in their ears; tiny hear the screams of the victim and the torturer's laugh. They still hear the groans that i,sued from the hiding-house and the Castle-yard—groans to which Castlereagh was deaf, but which will not the in heaven. (Loud cries of hear.) There is in these recollections a terrible admoni tion. The people recoil from the gulf to which the Orange faction would impel them : hut if the people shrink from every revolu tionary enterprise, are they to suppress their complaints ? Are our hearts compounded of different materials front the rest of mankipd? '• Bath not the Jew eves ?" says Shylock. Hatli not the Catholic eyes, hands, organs, adictions, senses, passions, as the Protestant hath 1 Fed with the saute food, hurt with the same weapons, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as the Protestant is? If you tickle us shall we not laugh ? —if you poison us shall we not die?—if you torture us shall we not bleed ?—and if you wrong us—the Jaw says shall we not revenge ? —but I would say, shall we not complain ? (Loud cheering.) PROSECUTION OF THE COURIER. Mr. Mos steLL-31r. Chairman, the Committee have de. liberated on the expedient.) , of commencing proceedings against the Courier newspaper for the libel upon Maynooth College, and the result of their consultations is an opinion that such proceedings ota4ht to be instituted. The Committee were desirous that this should be done by a civil action, because in that case the defendant would have an opportunity of pleading the truth as a justification ; but this mode of proceeding is rendered Impracticable by a techni cal difficulty arising from the peculiar construction of the College of Maynooth, which, although a permanent, is not • corporate body. The mode, therefore, to which we must resort is a criminal prosecution, which, however, is to be accompanied by an offer, that those who are connected with the paper shall not be affected by the measures, if they give tip the author of the paragraph, which bears strong evidence of Irish origin. There is an Act passed since ' the Union called Judge Johnson's Act, under which it is competent for us to prosecute in any county in Ireland where the Courier circulates, and ft is but just that the Courier should taste of this bitter chalice. Mr. O'COXXEIiI. read the Report, which stated that the Corn. mittee were unanimously of opinion that the publication in the Courier of the 16th instant, so tat' as it related to the Royal College of 3laynooth, ought to be made the subject of a judicial in vestigation. The Committee propose— First—That a prosecution for the libel in question shall be forth with instituted its such part of Ireland as shall be deemed most likely to ensure a fair and impartial trial ; and that the expenses of such prosecution shall be defrayed by the Catholic Association. Secondly—That such prosecution should, if possible, be instituted against the author of the publication, and not against any person connected with the public press. Thirdly—That an immediate communication should be made by a professional Dentleman, to the Proprietors of the Courier, in forming them of the intention to Institute the ptosecution, and offering to abandon all idea of prosecuting any person connected with the newspaper, in case the author of the publication in ques t on shall be given up. Fourthly—That such communication to the proprietors of the Courier should contain an undertaking that the defendant, in such peoset-ution, whoever lie may be, shall be at liberty to I,ive the truth in evidence, as a complete defence; and further, that the pro secutors will enter into a regular and written consent, that there shall be a verdict of acquit il entered up, in case the truth of the matters contained in the libel shall be established. The Committee further beg leave to suggest, that the Law Corn. mittee should be empowered to enter into an arrangement with the proprietors of the Courier to have the matter tried in Ireland, in the shape of a civil action rather than a criminal prosecution ; bus this can be done only in case those proprietors will consent to waive the technical difficulties which at present render the civil action impracticable. The advantage of the civil action would be this, that the truth of the libellous matter might be put upon tecord and pleaded in bar: because in civil actions truth is (as it plainly ought in all cases to be) a perfect defence. DANIEL O'CONNELL, Chairman. Mr. O'CoXYELL then moved that the Report should be received and that the Resolutions, by which it was accompanied, should be adopted. 31.1.ounumt seconded the motion, and it was carried unanimously. (OBBETT. Mr. °Toxic:mt. said, with respect to Mr. Cobbett's works, I already stated, that the Report of the Committee was to be subject to their consideration as to how far any interference on our part might clash with the interests of the trade. I see from the Moroing Reg4tee of this morning, that Mr. Cobbett has engaged one Gen tleman as a regular agent in Dublin, and others have advertised his works for sale. We shall, therefore, postpone the report until we see how far any steps on the part of the Association may be expedient. THE CATHOLIC RENT. Mr. J. I). MULLEN read a letter from Kinnrgad, stating that the publication of the names of the members had had a very salutary effect in promoting the collection of the Rent. Mr. O'Coxxxxx again rose and slid—Mr. Chairman, I trouble you so seldom (a laugh), that I am sure I shall be permitted to say a few words: I am very glad to see Mr. Mullen moving on the sub ject of the Rent, and I shall be still better pleased if be will take the trouble of mewing actively through Francis-street and Thomas street (A laugh.) 'l'o speak seriously ; it is much to be lamented that the Rent in Dublin is not as forward as it ought to be. Really efforts ought to be made to give those who are anxious to contribute an opportunity of doing so. If some gentlemen would ta'-ie the trouble of dividing the different parishes into streets, and devoting a little time in the course of the week to visit the residents, I am convinced a great deal of good could be effected. I otvscll have received a hundred complaints, from persons interested fur the success of the cause, of the want of collectors. At tine close of the proceedings, Mr. O'rxessksrry, one of the reporters for the Morning Post, delivered an explanation of the circumstances under which he had appeared at the police oilier, In Mr. O'Connell's case. It was quite exculpatory of Mr. O'Flaherty, and was extremely well received by the Meeting. After the reading of several letters, thanks were voted to Doctor bleats:, the Chairman, and the Association adjourned at j six o'clock. EI-OTTICIO AGAINST SIR HARCOURT LESS.—ite have just learned that an ex-oJJiei(• has been filed by the Attorney-General against Sir Harcourt Lees, Bart., for some seditious expressions which appeared in a letter of his inserted in the Correspondent newspaper. It is said, that Sir Ilarcourt has already engaged Mr. Saurin and several of the most eminent lawyerv, and that it is his intention to summon Lord Sithnouth on the trial.—lrish Times. ALAesis.—The most comical farce of all is enacted every Sunday in Arklow. The folk there will not go to church without a military guard inside and outside the gates. So saith our correspontlan ; but, really, our own feeling is, that the joke is too . ricli to be true.—Tite Dub!illferling Register. FALSE RETURNS IN MARK-LANE, TO ENHANCE THE PRICE OF CORN. Yesterday, a subject of the utmost importnnee was brought before the Loan Mayo': and Mr. Alderman TRostrsos. by the Receiver-General of the Corn Returns at 31ark.1ane, in consequence of a practice which has for sonic time existed amongst some of the corn-factors. _ _ The justice-room at the Mansion-house was crowded during the investigation, anti the greatest possible interest was manifested. The defendants are corn-factors of respectability, atal were legally assisted on this occasion by Mr. A Dot. onus and Mr. Law; upon the other side was Mr. BOLL•ND. The LORD Illaroa and Mr. Alderman THOMPSON were attended by the City Solicitor. Mr. HONLEII, the chief clerk, stated, that the defendants, Messrs. Frederick and Thomas Roston, of Mark-lane. corn-factors, appeared upon set information charging them with having made false retoma to the inspector. He then read the information, which statd particularly the nature of the offence, as it was after wards described by the Counsel for the prosecution. The defendants pleaded Not Guilty. 51r. Itot.tann said, he attended in support of the information, which was filed by Mr. Jacobs, the Receiver-General of the Corn Returns, for the purpose of repressing a most dangerous practice which had for some tare existed—he meant the practice of falsify ing the returns of the corn sold, in order to enhance the priez in the market. This scheme had succeeded in the early part of the year with respett let one article, and attention wax drawn to the tubject in consequence, *lilt respect to bailey, of which there were great quantities in bond from foreign parts, and which perhaps it was anxiously wished b interested permits should by any means what ever be released. The Untruth which the defendants were charged with having told, was, that between the II th and I tith of October, they had caused to be returned to George Levick, the Inspector of the Corn Returns for the City of Loudon, an account in which they represented that they had sold 842 quarters of barley, at Ms. per quarter, when in point of fact they had made no such sale. The proceeding against the defendants was founded on the Act of the Ist and 241 of (leo. 4. c. 117, sec. 12, which said—" And be It further enacted, that every such corn-factor shall, and lie is hereby required, to return, or cause to be returned, on the Wednesday in each and every week, to the said Inspector of Corn Returns, an ac count in writing, signed with hts own name, or the name of his agent, of the quantities of each respective sort of British Corn, ao by hint sold and delivered during the week, with the total quantity and value of each sort of corn, and by what measure or weight the same was sold and delivered during the week, with the prices thereof, the amount of every parcel, with the total quantity and value of each sort of corn, and by what measure or weight the sante was sold, with the name of the buyer thereof, and of the person for whom such corn shall have Ven sold by hint respec tively, in default whereof, every such Cotraattor shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay the sum of IW." The Act then goes on to state, that the Inspector of Corn Returns shall transmit weekly an account of the quantities and prices of corn received by him from the Corn-factors to the Receivers of the corn returns. Without going, Mr. Holland observed, to the full extent, into the nature and effect of the offence complained of, it was obvious that it tended greatly to the injury of the fair trader, by contributing to raise the price of barley. The injurious effect upon the consumer, also, was very great ; for, although barley was not absolutely so great a necessary of life as wheat, no one could deny the extensive importance of H. The practice was thus of double injury. The Court were aware that when grain attained a certain price, the ports were open for the admission of foreign corn, and it would be seen that there were individuals who were desirous of seeing that effect produced, and did not hesitate to falsify the returns, for the purpose of producing it. Be should stall Mr. Levick, the inspector of the Returns, to prove the particular return put in by tire defendant, and he should also call Messrs. Gosling, the persons to whom the barley it. question purported to be sold, to prove that they bought no barley at the time, answering the description mentioned in the return in any respect. He (Mr. Holland) understood, that for the defence it would be attempted to be set up, that there had been some sort of sale or other. Now, not only was it required by the Act, that there should be a bona fide sale of the articles, but that there should be an actual delivery • and it could be no answer to this charge to say, that there had been a delivery by sample, for there must be an actual delivery of the bulk, otherwise fictitious sales might be made of any quantity, the same sample bag world serve in twenty instances, and the purpose of the Act would be entirely defeated. The Receiver-General of the Corn Returns had brought this case before the Court, rather than proceed against the defendants in the Court of Exchequer, a prosecution which would have proved extremely inconvenient and expensive to the defendants. Mr. Anot.rnos said, the 49th section of the Act provided against such prosecution, and therefore the prosecution before two Magistrates, which was the only one that could be maintained, was no great act of mercy or forbearance. Mr. Levick, Inspector of the Park Returns, was then called— He stated that he was Inspector of the Returns. Mr. Anus-anus claimed the production of the witness's ap pointment, and when it was produced objected to it as inralri. The Act states (sec. 7.) "That the Inspector of the Corn Iteturtis for the city of London, shall be appointed in the manner herein after directed : that is to sty, the several proprietors of the Corn Exchange its Mark•lane„,ahell, and they are hereby authorised and required to meet, situ under their hands and peals nominate and appoint tit and proper person (not being a corn-factor, merchant, clerk, agent, or other person buying corn for sale, or for the sale of malt, meal, or dour, made thereof) to be Inspector oftdrnlteturni, and every such Inspector shall be, and is hereby required, within one week after he has received his appointment, to deliver the same to the Lord Mayor," &c. It then goes on to require the Inspector to give bonds, to take an oath for the due performance of his office, and also to cause the certificate to be enrolled at the Sessions. The witness, on his cross-examination by Mr. Auotattits, said that he believed there might be about sixty of the pmprietori of the Corn Exchange, but he could not positively say. A general meeting was sumrooned for the purpose of appointing hint accord ing to the Act. He was appointed by those who attended, and lie believed that the signatures, about twenty in number, to his ap pointment, were the signatures of those who then attended. Mr. Anot.rurs contended that the appointment was worth no thing at all, as it hail not the Mgr:attires of all the proprietors of the Corn Exchange. lie could not help the defects of the Act, but it clearly required that the appointment should be made and signed by all the proprietors. Mr. HOLLAND in answer to this objection referred to the next sec tion of the Act, which said, in case the proprietors, or the major part of them, shall refuse or neglect to appoint as aforesaid, then the Lord Mayor and Aldermen might appoint. The Act, in thus mentioning the " major pert" of the proprietors, did away with the position contended for, that the signature) and attendance of every one of them was necessary. There was every reason to believe, until the contrary was shown, that those who did sign the appoint ment were the major part of the proprietors. The LORD Maros and Alderman Tito SIPSOg, after consult ing the City Solicitor, declared the appointment to be valid. The witness then produced the return of the alleged sale, which was signed by the defendants, John and Frederick Ruston. Cross-examined by Mr. Anocant's.—The returns in question had a tendency to raise the price too high. lie calculated the average from the various returns he received. Mr. A noLPH Vs.—Have you not the power of refusing or dis. allowing returns when you suppose them to be too low ? Ni'itness.—l have never seen any thing of that kind in those returns. Mr. ADOLPHI:S.--I ask you, have you never disallowed or kept hack returns, because they were in your opinion too low? ll'itness.—l swear I never have disallowed or kept back one. The witness here complained that an unjust insinuation was in tended to be conveyed by the question. Mr. A noLPHUs said, the question cooveyed no more than it was intended to convey, as he hail an idea somehow or other that returns were occasionally kept back. There were some persons whose profits would be mluced by the raising of the prices. The witness solemnly declared that he never had disallowed a return. Edward Gosling, the witness who was summoned to prove that no such sale as that stated in the return had been made, was then called, but he did not appear. The Solicitor for the prosecution said, be did not expect that the gentleman would appear. 31r. HOLLAND admitted that this information must be quashed, and he therefore proceedei to the next, which was against the same defendants, and alleged, that on the 10th of November they made a t'alse return to Mr. I aevick, stating, that they had sold tin certain persons under the name of Ford and Co. 2.17*.0 quarters of barley, at 495. per quarter, to Messrs. Court! and Co. Mr. Levick produced the return, which was , signed by one of the defendants. Ile said he knew Mr. Ford as a buyer of barley, butt be knew no ouch persona as Gourmand Co. William Ford stated, that he is a maltster, residing at Nine Elms. Ile had a partner named Hewitt, and they were sometimes called Ford and Co.. Ford and Hewitt, or Hewitt old Ford; but his partner did not take an active part, and he alone was known nn the Corn Exchange. Ile did not sell on the day mentioned in the roam 2,410 quarters of barley, through the defendants to 51ensts. Gonne and Co. Mr. Anna en its cross-examired the witems, to shoat the some other house, under the name of Ford and Cu. might hate been con cerned in the transaction. The witness said, he knew ao other home of that name that dealt in barley. Mr. HOLLAND hoped that Mr. Adolphus had come Mate MACE ceptionable defence than that which had been adopted in the former case, in answer to such a charge. Mr. ADOLPHus then addressed the ('curt for the clefenalents. Ha said. that without taking into consideration the policy or ism.- policy of those infomiations, or of the Act of Parliament under which they were laid. and widloat saying whether or not the inane then erect of those returns was to raise the price of corn, he *mild observe, that there might be some scheme, sanctioned by those whose object it NW to keep down the rice of corn to an improper rate, :mil that something might have been necessary to counteract the operation of such a motive. There were one or two propositions Set forth by his Learned Friend, which were very far from being well-founded. He (Mr. Adolphus) contended that it was not ne cessary that there should be a delivery of the bulk in order to coo. 'ulnae a delivery within the meaning of the Act of Parliament. A delivery by anomie lii been held, under the Statute of Festal, c h e is y cl ith ien a ts ho ga m y e e n o a f in t ed he to be a good delivery, and hould be a good delivery here. With res t bu l i F t eu s e s h a :r o asti sl a ist , ila o c f hmt liei e l Y in w , teri a 'ee h i o anc d c ir r— or t d s i nh t d h icen e. h n to purchase the quan tity of barley specified, and that they did purchase it of a house name I Font and Co.; hut the p root of this io p n w of ties th . e t l h e a t t te i r t co wo n u m la nsa pe io d n ia in ps g case was clogged with be better to gas.: nu esadence ir.tswer to the case fix the anti iti as as tO to le t t i to re s p. ere rcidu th ct e " the y : n to y bduiy6, :inn. This was the account given of the case by his clings ; end. if his Lordship and his brother Magistrate thought the cue I. .t informer ass made out, they would convict the defendants. di however, this was only brought forward as an example, they wool.: perhaps consider that the lowest fine, of 40s. would answer the pur pose of the prosecution. The LOUD Maxon .24 Alderman TIIOMP:i 3N had Lot it'.e slightest doubt that the Rfentiants had contravened the Act, and felt it neceaaary to convict them in the penalty of 101. and costs. The penalty fixed by the Act is hull 40s. to 20(. The next case called was an information agrtinat Messrs. Doggie and Savage; corn-factors, for having made a false return of the quantity of Bri tish Corn, sold by them between the lUth and 2.1c1 of October, stating that they had sold for James Thomas to George Walker, 974 quarters and three bushels of barley, at ads. per quarter, irhich statement was altoi„sethcr false. The defendants were called upon to plead, but did welt appear: Mr. Lorne' arrideared as Solicitor for the defendant', and wider took to plead in their behalf. Mr. BOLLARD said, the personal attendance of the defendants ' could not be dispensed with. Such a thing he never knew ih a Criminal case. Mr. LOFTY said, that one of his clients had been bedridden tot many years, and the other had long been :lo unwell as not to he able to attend. Mr. ROLLAND seemed disposed to wave the objection, k'dt One of the witnesses, Mr. Walker, being' tailed and not appearing, the Learned Counsel refused to make any 'concession. Mr. Law requested that the case would he given up, as hie client had not, for many years, been able to take in active part in business and was not likely , to he ever able to attend. To this it was replied, that they mutt be made answerable bit the conduct of those who carriCe On business otl. their behalf. The person who served the summons on the defendants, depcseee. that a lieu lie served the suinenons on Mr. Savage, that gentletn. , l was lying on a sofa; could not swear that he was ills, when witne-. served the other defendant. Mr. Boggis, that gentleman walked c"t of one room into another to receive it. Alt. llot.t.axn, after a few observations, arced that the case should stand over. Mr. LOFTY hoped it would te Posti s ioned for three months. This proposal was pertniptorily rejected by the Solicitor for the pro- secution. Mr. Law observed, that in th e interval the P.ill !night ben. pealed. . Mr. Boi.z. Alf n said. tve believe (for many things wave indistinctly stated; indeed acme parts of the speeches, as well as of the evi dence, were inaudible), he hoped so, in order that some move penal statute might be snbatituted. The fate was ultimately ad:mimed. the Solicitor far thetwersettl: tion being determined to pursue every case without exception. LIVEIII S OOI,, SUNDAY Ev:\INC. Arrived the John, from Newfoundland ; Mount Veri non, from Virginia; Star, from Dublin • Fawcett, from Xerrport ; and Town Of Liverpool, rrom bu,blin. The Mount Vernon brings Charlatan rapers to the 2d December only. At a meeting of the Compost Council Of the Corpora tion of ibis city (Durham), held Tuesday last, Mr. Ship perdson; one of the Aldermen, gave notice of his intention to propose, at a fiiture day, a safes bf restlotions, which, it they be adopted, will afford an opportunity to many indi viduals who are at present ineligible to vote at the election of Members to serve for this city in Parliament, of becoming possessed of the right of suffrage. The Resolutions alluded to will be to this effect:— That it Is expedient to grant the elective franchise to such inha bitants of the city and suburbs (not having • right to it upon the ordlnary groundio as, from habitual residence and connection with the interests of tne place, may be presnoved to have reasonable mo tives for electing lit ite.tbmourable representatives. That to prevent the granting of it to persons who trisV merely desire it for some temporary purpose of individuals or ;mines. cer tain tees be exacted upon the admisson to freedom of all who have not a positive right thereto, and that to these persons a residence of five (or ten) years within t he city or suburbs be deemed an iadis pensible qualification. 'Prat in the companies of MerchaCS and of Drapers the fee re quired be 21:. (or AN.) and 10/. 10s. t or Lilo in any of the other companies. That of the sums received • moiety be at the disposal of the Companies into which the new freemen shall respectively be ad mitted . • and dust the other moiety be paid to the 3layor, and be applied by hid! tb the relief of such indigent I:eemen as would ethers tae be dependent upon the bounty of otheri, or upon parochial support.—Durham Chronicle., . NATIVE Oass.—The following extract from 3fcure's Lessons on 3f ineralogy and Geol..g . th will tend to show the value of the mines with which this country shopnill:-:- " It will appear singular, that although Cor eafl hai been known as a mining county above two thousand yeals, yet no notice was taken of Ores of Copper Mat were met with in workjng. for Tin, until the beginning of the last century. flow cmiened, she's. -must have been the knowledge of minerals amongst the ownos at mines! Thousands of tons of this valuable material remained un noticed, or sewed only to mend the roathi. Since that epoch. per haps not less than 100,C00.0001. sterling have been produced trom the Copper Ores of Cornwall ! And at a rude airnite, Cornwall produces at the present above a million annually of Copper. So little were the (Ins of Lead truism (excilit the &trillion blue lead ore) in our time, that both white and green ores of that sub stance have been for years lying and neglected in heaps both in Derbytbire and Wales, whfeh have ;Met been tarried to a very profitable account ; nay, of late years, a road repaired with Whet Lead Ore and Calamine, has been taken up and smelted ! Countet•Ttox 117 THE. AYIISHIRE COAIA2ARRIE/ll. Ira, Dee. 30.-IVe have another combination in this county to record, and, in this inktinee, ot In some mints, it has been accompanied with outrage and thk tle,trs etion of property. There are a number of coal-works in the neigh bourhood of Irvine, and the only *ay at present taken of conveying the coals to the vessels at the harbour is by carts. The carters, conceiving their payment for this work ton low, insiet for four-pence additional a cart, and, in order to compel their employers to comply with their wishes, they have combined and struck work. Whilst the law stands as it is, ithis of itself may not beitlegal; but some of then have proceeded farther, and have rendered themselves amenable to the law by the; conduct. The combination, it seems, was net univer.ial. A few of the carters still per formed the work on the former terms. These persons, of course, became obnoxiOns to those with whom they did not join, and, at once to terrify them from their quiet course, and bereave them of the instruments of their labour, on the night of the 13th current some of those who had entered into the spirit of the combination proceeded to their houses, took away six casts, and broke them to pieces, throwing the fragments into the water of Irvine. A precognition of thy circumstances was instantly taken and communicated to the Sheriff and Procurator Fiscal, who proceeded to Irvine and completed the investigation. The consequence is, that four persons have been sent to prison to stand trial, and the whole affair, we understand, has been laid before the Crown Contisel.—Glasgout Herald. MELANCHOLY OCCCRIIENCE.—!bout a fortnight since, a young woman was delivered of a child in St. Martin's workhouse, and was considered to be loin; well; but in two or three days she was seized with an ititiainmation of the bowels. She was most assiduously attended bs' Mears. Simmons anti Gosna, the parish surgeons, hut their skill was unavailing, and she died on Christmas-eve. Obi the morning of Christmas-day the two gentlemen above-tam dolled attended at the workhouse for the purpose of op:L ing the bode, an operation which, melancholy to relate , has already cost one of them his life, and has placed the other in extreme danger of the same fate. Mr. Simmons, while in the act of removing the intestines, slightly lace rated one of his fingers, but paid no attention to the cir cumstante at the time, and it singularly happened that in the course of the operation, Mr. Gosna wiped hi , hands upon a cloth, in which a pin was sticking, and scratched his finger, so as to bring the blood. On the following day (Sunday) Mr. Simmons bad a violent pail! in the arch, extending to the shoulder, and two tninouts formed under the arm near to the arm-pit. The taalady increased, and he breathed his last on Sunday ermine at his house at Pimlico. Mr. Gonna was similarly at tacked, and continued up to yesterday in extreme danger. The pure short-horned ox, Prince Palatine, by Ilemilt, out of Manuscript, bred and fed by George Ticker, Esti of Elemore, near Glasgow, was last week slaughtered at Newcastle, by Mr. Jameson, butcher. Its weight was as follows :—First fore-quarter, S3Vt. 741 b. ; second ditto, 31st. I jib. ; first hind-quarter. 3Sst. 741 b. ; retold ditty, 33st. SO.; total, 12Sst. Tlb., per stone of 141b5., exelusn,t of tallow and offal, viz. :—tallow, 16st. This., °fut. 31st, 121 b., making the living weight, Isust.,slh. ft ass six years old, and had nothing but cxnnmon store feeding till near four years old, and was allowed by judges to have the greatest quantity of beef, with the least bone, 'Catty animal that ever met the public eye. it was exposed for sale in Newcastle market on Christmas Eve, ma, lie understand, was soon bought up at 9d. per lh. It is a singular fact, which has been verified by the ex perience of many years, thar, while the rout of the mad coach from Edinburgh to Inverness, along the alas; , M frequently blocked up with snow, the road through to very midst of the Grampians, by Dunkeld, lhlnacardceb,, 8:e. is coterarativel free of all o b struction. - i. t .~ ~.