The Sun. — London, England, 1862-04-17 00:00:00

NORTHERN STA2ES O 1 AMERICA. (From Me correspondent of the lima) NEW YORK, APRIL 1. Tl.ongh the Federal Government has established a censorship over the electric telegraph, it does not thereby guarantee the authenticity of the news that it allows to flash along the wires. Last week, after the announcement of the capture of Newbern, every one credited the intelligence transmitted almost im mediately afterwards, that Beaufort and Fort Macon had been evacuated by the Confederates, and that the notorious steamer Nashville had been burnt by her commander, to prevent her falling into the hands of her foes. These events were so highly probable that disbelief was out of the question. But of the three facts thus communicated to the public, with the sanction of the Government, only one turned out to be true. Newborn had fallen, but the Confederates held Beaufort and Fort Macon; and the captain of the Nashville, a man who seems to be as fortunate as he is desperate, had run the blockade established against him by two small vessels, of which only one was a steamer, and reached the open sea in safety, with a parting shot from the foe, which proved as harmless as a salute. Perhaps by 1 his time more is known in England of his doings than is known here. The merchants of New York are annoyed and indignant at his escape, for he sent up the rate of insurance on every trading vessel carrying the Federal flag over the Atlantic, and if he do not fall in with another Harvey Birch or two on his way to British waters, and burn, sink, or destroy them, it will not be for the want of will, but from the absence of opportunity. Mr. Gideon Welles, the Secretary of the Navy, is evidently too slow. It was known that the Nashville had lain for weeks under the shelter of the guns of Fort Macon, and that there were three channels to the sea, by either of which she could make a run, Yet, though he deemed it necessary to set a watch over her movements, he seems to have thought that an old and next to useless steamer, and an old sailing boat, were quite sufficient to guard the three chan nels against the exit of one of the fastest steamers afloat, commanded by one of the most dare-devil and adventurous seamen that ever trod a deck. As regards the official and other telegrams from the various points of war, the only safe course is to dis believe them till they are confirmed by the surer information conveyed t4trough the post-office. So puzzling and unreliable are they that one journal yet persists, on the faith of them, in asserting that the story of the escape of the Nashville is as fabu lous as that of her burning, and that she dill lies at anchor under the walls of Fort Macon, ISLAND NO. TEN. Commodore Foote has not yet succeeded in crack ing that very hard nut in the Mississippi, Island No, 10. It is now 17 days since the siege began, and, although the Commodore has his nut-crackers in his hand, the nut resists the pressure as it were iron to the core, and had nothing like a yielding kernel inside. The operations were suspended for some days by floods in the river, but, if the tele graph tells truth, they were recommenced on Fri day, but as yet without result. While the Federal forces are thus impeded in their efforts to force a way down the Mississippi, public expectation is roused by the announcement of a still more import ant effort to force a passage upwards to New Orleans, The plans of the Federal commanders are of course not known or divulged, but the geo graphieal position of the Crescent City seems to justify the anticipation that it will be attacked simultaneously from the river and from Lake Pont chartrain. If the scraps and odds and ends of in formation that reach us at intervals from the South are not utterly unreliable there will be harder fight ing here than there has been anywhere since the days of Bull Run. The Confederates are perfectly aware of the strategical as well as the commercial and political value of New Orleans, and they have had nearly 12 months to organise its defences by land and water. Public rumour asserts that no re sources of nature or art have been neglected to render it as impregnable as modern science can make it. The river is said to be fuller of engines of de struction than fish, and the land defences between Pontchartrain and the city, a distance of six miles of swamp and jungle, through which the famous Shell Road is pierced in almost a straight line, are described as being far more formidable than any thing ever yet constructed on this continent. At the date of the last advices (always presupposing that the telegraphic wires convey the truth) an in vading fleet of 200 vessels, including a mortar flo tilla under the command of Captain Porter, had I crossed the bar of the Lower Mississippi, and was cautiously making its way up the river. New Orleans will not fall without a desperate struggle, and is more likely to be the Sebastopol of the war than Richmond or Corinth, or any other of the places where the Confederate generals are reported to bo making a stand against the advancing hosts of M'Clellan and his victorious lieutenants. THE MERRIMAC. The public mind in this city still continues to be disturbed on the subject of the Merrimac. That mischievous vessel has been thoroughly overhauled at Norfolk, the damage she received in her duel with the Monitor has been repaired ; she has been I mounted with guns of a longer range and heavier calibre than before ; a new iron prow, in lieu of that which snapped off, like the snout of a swordfish in the belly of a whale, when she ran into and sank the Cumberland, has been replaced by another of greater strength and dimensions ; and she is declared to be ready at a moment's notice to take to sea, and attack New York or Boston. It is true that the Monitor is watching her movements, but the fact is not deemed sufficiently encouraging to put the public mind at its ease. The people of Boston are in a similar state of discomfort. Their city in the estimation of the Confederates is par excellence the " Yankee " metropolis ; the head quarters of abolitionism—the Mecca and Jerusalem of what the Democrats call " nigger worship;" and the whole South would greatly rejoice at any damage that could be inflicted upon it. But neither Boston, New York, nor any of the seaboard cities, if they escape present danger, will long re main unprotected, for three several agencies are at work to provide iron-clad frigates and gunboats for the defence of the coast—firstly, the great corn inercial cities ; secondly, the Atlantic States; and thirdly, the Federal Government ; all of which have voted, or are about to vote, money for the purpose. Already the Government has entered into a contract with the builders of the Monitor for the immediate construction of six vessels of the same character, but 40 feet longer, with proportionate breadth of beam, and all other necessary qualifica tions for carrying a much heavier armament. Still it is felt that the l‘lerrimac is not unlikely to steal out some dark night and pour a few shells into the shipping, into the East River, or even into Broad way, and be off again before the citizens have time to turn into the streets to see what is the matter. TH E SLAVERY QUESTION. Upon the irritating as well as vital question of slavery the policy of Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward has been eminently cautious, These statesmen desire above all things to restore the Union, and as th e y cannot restore it und er present circumstances by proclaimidg the emancipation of the negroes, which would confirm every Waverer in the South in the fiercest hostility to the North, and convert the war into a war of extermination, not to be ended except by the intervention of the Europ ean Powers, they have made the social subordinate to the politi cal question, and endeavoured to win back th e fat. tei log allegiance of the Border Stares and conciliate the more decided enmity of the South by declaring their determination to unhold the letter of the con. stitution, and to take no action on the subject of Slavery that shall not be initiated and approved by the slaveholding States themselves, Thou gh Mr. Lincoln and 11.1;. Seward have all their lives been the friends of the slave, and though no wan in the United States has incurred more odium in the South than Mr. Seward for his eloquent and courageous efforts to prevent the extension of a system which he condemned, but which he, backed by the most active and intelligent party in the State, was unable to eradicate, the extreme Abolitionists, who would rather the heavens should crack than that theoreti cal justice should not immediately be done, are loud in their denunciations of these statesmen. General Fremont, who endeavoured to thwart the President's r policy, receives all their support and praise, and General M'Clellan, with whom the President acts in perfect oneness of counsel and of purpose, is declared to be a " Quaker" or dummy General—to have been deterred from attacking Manassas by Quaker" or dummy guns, such as the Chinese for merly employed to frighten Europeans ; while the old charge, that the Constitution of the United States, which recognises the legality of slavery in the States where it exists, " is a league with death and a covenant with hell," is reiterated in news papers and lectures and dinned into the ears of a people who obstinately persists in declaring that they are not fighting for the emancipation of the blacks, but for the Union of the whites. Mr. Wen dell Phillips, who was pelted with rotten eggs and stoned last week at Cincinnati for avowing that he had been a D sunionist for 19 years, and would be a Disunionist again if the South were re-admitted with its peculiar institution intact, has found this week a co-mate in misfortune in the person of the Rev. Mr. Aarn, a Baptist preacher at Burlington, in Vermont. For reiterating the old cry about the league with death and the covenant with hell, the reverend gentleman, who is 70 years of age, was pelted with eggs and stones, and nar rowly escaped severer ill-treatment. And this was in Puritan New England, where the world has been taught to believe the anti-slavery feeling is as strong as the love of free discussion. These, and a thousand other indications of the current of national sentiment, show plainly enough what is neither appreciated nor understood in England, that the North is passionately in earnest in its desire to re construct the Union, even at the expense of gua ranteeing the maintenance of slavery in the cotton States, but not at all in earnest in the desire of obtaining freedom for the African race at the ex pense of the Union—a race which, in spite of all that may be alleged to the contrary by anti-slavery lecturers, the North hates or despises, and places under social as well as political ban. Between Secessionists on the one hand, and Abolitionists on the other, Mr. Lincoln, as I think I observed in my last, has a difficult game to play, but his unpre tending honesty and sturdy common-sense enable him to play it with a degree of success which a man of more brilliant talents and accomplishments, but with less steadiness of character, might have failed to attain. Meanwhile, the cause of the " contrabands," as Negroes are called in the slang of the newspapers and the streets, has come before Congress as inve terately as usual, and more particularly with refe rence to the existence of slavery in the district of Columbia. The Northern friends of emancipation, while reluctantly admitting the constitutional right of the Southern States to hold slaves within their own limits, have always denied their right to main tain slavery in the national capital and the district around it. The question, as was to have been expect ed, has lost none of its original importance in conse quence of the war. The proposition before the Senate is to emancipate the slaves in the district of Columbia, with compensation to their owners, to which Senator Doolittle, has moved an amendment that such emancipated slaves be not suffered to remain in the district, but that measures be taken to trans port them further South, to Mexico, to the West Indies, to Africa, or anywhere they themselves please, provided it be beyond the limits, present or prospective, of the United States. Mr. Doolittle, like many others, has no love for slavery and little, if any, love for the Negro, and thinks it a misfor tune that there are Negroes anywhere, except in their native Africa. Mr. Sumner made an eloquent speech on Monday in support of the original pro position, and it is likely that it will pass the Senate, though not without strong opposition from the pro slavery members whom Secession has still left in that assembly. The owners of slaves in the district, many of whom are women and who let out the ser vices of their human chattels as coachmen, hack drivers, gardeners, barbers, &0., allowing them to retain a portion of their wages for their subsistence, appear to be alarmed at the measure, and to fear that emancipation may be decreed without compen sation, or at a price they deem too low. To make safe they are taking advantage of the time occupied by the discussion to remove their " property" fur ther South, and to sell it on the best terms it will fetch. The gap thus left in the ranks of Negro labour is supplied by escaped " contrabands" who pour in daily from the seat of war. Few of them, however, seem to venture so far North as New York. _RAILWAY AND OTHER COMPANIES. DUNDEE AND ARBROATH. On Tuesday a meeting of this company was held in Dundee, to consider the propriety of amalgama ting with the Scottish North-Eastern Railway Company. Mr, R. Fergusson presided. The CHAIRMAN moved the approval of the terms recommended by the directors —namely, that the two lines should be worked as one concern, and that the gross revenue for both lines, after deducting the cost of working, &c., should be divided between the two companies in the proportion of 85 per cent. to the Scottish North-Eastern and 15 per cent. to the Dundee and Arbroath. It was also stipulated that the dividend payable on the ordinary stock of the Dundee and Arbroath should not be less than 6 per cent. for the present year, and not less than 7 per cent. in all time coming. The arrangement was to subsist for 20 years, or until an Act was ob tained. The Chairman said that the revenue of the Scottish North-Eastern had been increasing for a number of years back in a proportion more than equal to that of the Dundee and Arbroath ; and had the proposed arrangement been in operation for the last five years, the shareholders would have received from the 15 per cent. a dividend fully equal to that paid to them. He moved the adoption of the report. Mr. GTBSON seconded the motion. After considerable discussion, the motion was car ried by 2,679 votes to 351 against an amendment for two months' delay. The same day, the agreement was unanimously approved at a meeting of the Scottish North- Eastern Company held at Aberdeen. RAILWAY BILLS. The following Committee, No. 14, of the House of Commons, on Scottish Railways —namely, Mr. Mowbray (Chairman), Mr. Bellew, Mr. A. Smith, Mr. Brooks, and Mr. Butler Johnstone, has been appointed to commence its inquiry after Easter into the bills for the Caledonian Railway (Leith branches), Edinburgh and Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth and Fife and Kinross, North British, Edin burg'a and Perth and West of Fife, Edinburgh and Glasgow and Dumbartonshire, and Edinburgh, Dunfermline, and Perth Railways. LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST.—This company, in compliance with an order of the House of Lords, have reported that the number of houses inhabited by the labouring classes which they pro. pose to take for the enlargement of their station in the parish of St. Olave, Southwark, amounts alto gether to 50 ; that the number of persons to be dis placed thereby amounts to 398; that their bill does not propose to provide houses in substitution for them ; and that there are plenty of houses and lodgings of the same character to be obtained in the neighbourhood. ROYAL MAIL STEAM. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held yesterday at the London Tavern, Captain Mangles in the chair. The report was taken as mad. The working account for the year 1861 showed that £269,243 had been received for the Government contract, £210,208 for freight, £302,200 for passage money, a nd £21,521 for hire of the Avon and Parana— making together £803,172, The expenditure amounted to £527,594, leaving a surplus of £ 275,578 . To this sum was added £1,451, the balance from th e preceding half -Tear, ma ki ng £277,029. Out of this was deducted £l,OOO for the o of ffi p e r e e r m s' iassessu nanLee f London at, £4, u 2 t B h i a m w prittotne andoff tthheevcaolluoe. colo nies, £27,1 48 to meet Joss on ships sold, £84,552 written off value of ships f or deterioration,XB4,ss2 placed to credit of repair and r enewal account, £154 balance of interest, £30,000 for dividend declared on the 23d of October last—total £231,690; leaving a balance in favour of the company o f £ 45,339. The repair and renewal account Showed a balance in favour of the company of £6,320, the general reserve fund a balance of £4,829, and the insurance account a balance of £207,313 also:in favour of the company. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report and statement of accounts, said that at for mer meetings it had happened they had to refer to a number of items being in excess of those of the previous year, but on the present occasion there was no necessity for adopting that course ; and so far as the working account was concerned, he had to state that the whole of the disbursements were £5,000 less than in the previous year, while the receipts were about £30,000 more. The direc tors had appropriated 1 per cent. in addition to the usual allowance for the repair and renewal account, as they had done on a former occasion. The in crease in the age of their ships rendered that course advisable, and he might mention that, in spite of the large sums already set apart for deterioration, the value of the old ships stood at a larger figure in the accounts than the directors liked. In past years a debit stood against the repair and renewal account, and in 1858 it amounted to £40,000; but that debit had since been entirely written off, and they had now i a credit of £6,300 to that account. Their large iron ships had not :yet arrived at that age when they would require considirable overhauling. During the present year they would have five ships to re pair, —namely, the Clyde, the Conway, the Tamar, the Tyne, and the Thames. They would, there fore, not object to the appropriation of 1 per cent. additional for the purpose he had mentioned. By the sale of the Dee and the Parana, the amount would stand as much to the debit of the account as it did now to the credit. Looking to the fact that they would soon be in treaty with the. Government for a renewal of the contract, the directors recom mended that the surplus in hand should not be in terfered with. With regard to the assurance fund, towards which they subscribed £l,OOO a-year, he mentioned that 213 per sons in their employ had assured for £30,000, and they would thus see it had done some good. The report adverted with satisfaction to the feet that on a recent occasion the directors had been enabled, without delay, to place two of the company's steamers at the disposal of the Government to con vey troops to Canada. In his humble opinion, see ing that the Government could obtain, under their present contract, ships of such a class from the com pany that gave general satisfaction for the expedi tious conveyance of troops, and that they could dis charge those ships when they pleased, he did not believe they could dispense with so important a service. The importance of British Columbia was increasing every day, and they were benefiting largely by the traffic to that country. The directors were quite alive to the advantage of increasing the popularity of the line via Panama, of which a con siderable number of passengers had availed them selves. They hoped the Government would look at the necessity of subsidizing a Ens direct by Panama to British Columbia rather than by way of California, which was an American set tlement. He believed very little was known of what subsidized steamers did for the coun try. It had been asked by a shareholder how it was that, out of so large a surplus as £275,000, so small and so miserable a dividend should be doled out to them. He believed there was nothing more popular with shareholders than a bonus, but it was most desirable at this time for them to forego the popularity and to have as large a reserve es possible in hand. He did not wonder that,they should wish a larger return, but when it was considered what all steam companies had to do, and the unavoidable expenses they had to incur in keeping up their fleet, they must admit that the determination of the directors was a wise and pru dent one. The company had only divided 6 per cent, on their shares, which were now under par, and he thought no one could say that 6 per cent. was a large dividend for such an undertaking. The folly of yielding the command of the seas to the French, he thought, would not be adopted for the purpose of withholding the sub sidy from the Royal Mail Company. The French Government had made contracts for 20 years to run steamers from a French port to Brazil, with a subsidy equivalent to 12s. 3d. per mile run ; also one to run steamers to the West Indies, with a subsidy equal to 15s. 6d. per mile run ; and another to Mexico, calling at Cuba, with a subsidy at the rate of 21s. 10d. per mile ; while the present sub sidy allowed for the whole service performed by the company's steamers was equal to 9s. 10d. per mile only. There were four or five ships on the Brazilian line, two a month in the West India line, and the present Mexican line had about the same number. He did not think it probable that the Government would give up the mails now carried by the company's ships to the French company. He was personally answerable for those observations, because he had not taken the opinion of his col leagues on the subject. First-class steamers such as theirs would be the only vessels that could get away from the heavy iron-plated steamers that would probably be adopted for war purposes. He believed that at present no two men acquainted with the matter could agree in opinion as to the kind of war ships that should be constructed ; but it was probable that after the Government had ex pended two or three millions of money something tangible would be arrived at. Ships of war were not so fast as the company's steamers, the latter being the only ones capable of keeping up com munieation with the colonies, which he hoped would never be suspended. (Hear, hear.) Mr. R. GURNEY, Deputy-Chairman, seconded the motion for the adoption of the report. Mr. V. KNIGHT considered the affairs of the com pany very satisfactory, and argued that they ought to have a bonus of £2 per share out of the large balance in hand. Mr. Alderman DARIN remarked that on a former occasion certain persons managed to extort a bonus from the directors—he believed it was in 1856, and after it was paid they sold their shares. The divi sion of so large a bonus at that time was, he consi dered, a most unfortunate event for the company ; but now they were within lass than two years of the conclusion of their contract, and it was there fore of the utmost consequence they should retain as large a reserve as they could. Mr. SIMPSON moved an amendment to the effect that £750 be added to the insurance fund, and.that a bonus of £1 per share be taken out of the insur ance fund, and paid with the dividend to the share holdei s. Mr. WARD thought that each year's accounts should bear the profits and losses of the year, and that there wore now plenty of means in hand to pay the proposed bonus. Dr. BEATTIE said it was impossible for any com pany to perform the mail service without a subsidy; and if an old company could ne,t do it, with all their experience, he would ask how could a new company do it ? He considered that everything was con ducted by the directors with the utmost regard to economy, and that consideral Ile mischief would arise to the company and the cc ►untry if the system of short contracts for such ii nportant services were continued. He agreed with the directors that this was not the time to give a 1 )onus out of the avail able surplus. Mr, POWELL thought the Government did not intend to terminate the contr set with the company. It was impossible to work a atoll contract without a subsidy, and if that was the object of the authori ties he hoped the directors Pon Id tell them they must wind up the company. He believed the assets would realise enough to pay tl .enl back J. 360 a share, and a bonus of £5 or £10„ which would not be much after 20 years' workin g, Mr. GURNEY explained t'nat tb e present position of the company was very (Vilferer .t from what it was in 1856, when the bonus was paid to the share holders. They h a d received i .n...that year £400,000 for the hire of ship s to convey troops to the Crimea. They never could ge t a bon us tout of the present contract for the mails. They • had not been able to divide more than 6 per cent. out of it, and to pro vide for depreciation. It w. As of the utmost import ance they should be able t o show the G overnment they had the requisite mea na to perform the service efficiently in every respect 4 which no new company could command. On a show of hands, f ;he amendment Was nega- THE SUN, LONDON, TffU'RSD ArY VEINING, APRIL - Y 17, 1862. tived by a large majority, and the motion for the adoption of the report was carried. Captain G. J. Redman and Mr. T. R. Tufnell, the retiring directors, were re-elected, and also Mr. J. Capel, the retiring auditor. The proceedings then terminated. THE BOILER EXPOsION AT PRIEST- FIBLLS. BILSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING. The disastrous occurrence which took place yes terday at the Millfields Ironworks, near this town, has created much excitement throughout the dis trict, and the scene of the calamity has to-day been visited by thousands of persons. The total number of deaths up to this afternoon is 23, including nine married men. Several of the survivors are in a very precarious state ; among these is a woman who was employed in washing " gleeds" at an extreme part of the works; she has sustained many injuries —among others, fracture of the backbone and injury to the spine. A few additional particulars may be given to those which have already appeared. The works are literally blown to atoms ; huge fragments are strewed in all directions ; the immense boiler, raised from its bed, was hurled high in the air, across the works and the West Midland Railway, and now rests one end firmly embedded in the ground a dis tance of nearly 250 yards from the spot on which it was fixed. There were 10 furnaces in operation on the side of the works in which the explosion took place; all these are shattered to atoms. The more distant buildings on the premises bear many traces of the violence with which material was cast at them ; the tall chimney alone appears to have escaped serious injury. The roofs of the forges were supported by cast-metal pillars ; these are forced asunder, and the buildings have fallen in. The " office" is by an outer wall some distance from the spot where the explosion took place ; an im mense fragment of metal was thrown through the roof of this building, and now lies in one of the upper rooms. Some of the brickwork was thrown 200 feet high. The injuries which some of the poor men received are of a character too shocking to be described; several of them were frightfully scalded, besides receiving various fractures. The escape of Mr. Rose, the proprietor, was miraculous ; he was in the very part of the work where the explosion took place a few minutes before it occured, and had moved away in a particular direction not many yards. He appears scarcely to have heard any sound ; but, suddenly seeing the men running away, and material flying about, his first impression was that some part of the machinery was broken. As he was hurrying off he was himself struck in several places, and is a good deal bruised; finally Mr, Rose got over a wall. At present nothing is known as to the cause of the accident ; but, as the head engineer escaped un hurt (having crept into the engine-house just before the explosion took place), it is most likely that he will be able to give some account of the occurence. Mr. Rose had not been in possession of the works more than three months, and the calamity which has befallen him has naturally excited much sym pathy for him on the part of his neighbours. A portion of th; works only had been got into opera tion ; it was that where the manufacture of puddle bars was going on. Preparations were being made for getting a plate-mill and bar-mill into work. Mr. Baker, the mine inspector for the district, was on the spot in the course of the afternoon, At the time of the occurrence there were upwards of 100 men employed on the works. Several of the men who were killed have left families, and in that as well as other respects this casualty is much to be deplored. An inquest was commenced before Mr. T. Moss Phillips, the coroner, at the King's Arms, in this town, this afternoon. Lieut.-Col. Hogg, the Chief of the County Constabulary, was present. One of the first witnesses called was Wm. Bridg water, the manager of the works, who spoke to his identification of the bodies of several of the men found in the ruins, all of whom had been employed. All of them had received outs or bruises, or were scalded to death. Other witnesses were called for this purpose, and ultimately the whole of the bodies were identified. John Freeman, a carpenter employed at Messrs. Gibbons, Millfields furnaces, which adjoin, was called. Ho said—l was on the opposite side of the basin, the basin which divides the works at the time the explosion occurred. I * heard a bumping noise, and then saw the boiler go up. It was thrown across the railway a distance of 200 yards. Imme diately afterwards I saw a man jump into the canal and swim across from Mr. Rose's works. I got into the works as quick as I could. I saw the bodies of three men in a boat which was in the basin, about a dozen yards from the boiler—they were all dead. The injuries they had received was so great that it was impossible to discern their features. I infer that the injuries were caused by the hot bricks. I asked about the engineers, and was told that one of them, Joseph Starkey, had been on the boiler 20 minutes before it exploded ; and that Thos. Starkey had been on it 6 or 7 minutes before it burst. There were two boilers at work on that side of the engine —it was the outside boiler which exploded. I saw one of the fragments of the boiler plate measured ; it was 5-16ths thick. This portion of the plate was from the lower part of the tube, near the bottom •of the boiler. I had not heard any whistling or escape of steam before the explosion took place. The whistle might have sounded without my hearing it. Samuel Rhodes, a puddler, of Monmore-green, went to the works for the first time on employment yesterday morning. Just before the explosion occurred was at work between the two boilers, but at the time it happened was between the forges. Had never seen either of the engineers before the accident. Witness was in the midst of his work when he heard the explosion ; but had not heard any whistle previously. He made his escape as fast as possible, but was struck many times with bricks, and received injuries on the arm. The young man who had worked with him was found in the canal killed. Richard Rowley, engineer, was next called. He said—l am an engineer employed at the works. I have known the boiler which exploded ever since it was erected, which is about 10 years since. I was on duty on Monday night, and left the works at seven o'clock on Tuesday morning. Everything was then in good working order. Joseph and Thos. Starkey succeeded me when I went off duty. The holier which exploded was a four-furnace boiler; there wero two floats and a whistle, the former causing the latter to sound when there was a scar city of water. The boiler was egg-shaped about 10ft, 6in, in diameter ; the plates about 7-16ths, the height of the boiler from 28 to 30ft. When the mill was full on, it was worked up to 401 b. to the square inch ; at the time of the accident it was worked at 351 b. The boiler was made by Mr. Elwell. Until three months ago, the boiler had not been worked for four years. I and Starke y examined it before the work was recommenced, and found it in working order. Since operations were resumed the boiler had been cleaned every fort night. The last examination took place on the Monday in :last: week. I think the boiler was too large; my impression is that it had more on it than it would bear. I had never any caution or notice that the boiler was defective. There was a slight leakage a month ago at a rivet ; a peck of bran was put in and no leakage hcd occurred since. I made an examination of the boiler-plates after the explosion, and found a good deal of scurf. Had the boiler been overheated that scurf would not have been on. The bell of the safety-whistle had been re moved from the boiler after the explosion, but the portion of the screw left was in a perfect state. I believe the boiler was too large for a high-pressure boiler. I am unable to account for the explosion. Do not believe there had been any deficiency of water. By a JurTman--There was scurf on the top of the main or upright tube. The feed pipe was within 2ft. Gin. of the bottom of the boiler. The feeding was by hand. Joseph Johnson, engineer, of Bilston, sworn — Put up the boiler which had exploded eight or nine years ago, It was a furnace four-flue boiler: Be lieved it was only 7ft. bin. in diameter. It was set to work at 351 b. to the square inch. Considered it safe to work at 50Ib. They were half-inch plates before they were set and bent. Examined portions of the plates after the explosion ; they seemed to be good, and of good iron. Was of opinion that the cause of the explosion was an excessive pressure of steam. Had the balance of the ball been at the ex tent of the lever, it would not have caused a pres sure of 501 b. to the inch. It was most likely that the " clack" was not in good order, and that the steam generated faster than it passed away. A minute or two before the explosion there was a roar as of thunder, which shook the ground, and follow ing instantly a rush of steam and the ascent of the boiler. Witness was in the adjoining work, not more than forty yards off, and described the motion of the boiler as resembling that of a balloon. It rose to a great height. The inquiry was at this point adjourned until Thursday next. ANTI-SLAVERY DEPUTATION TO THE AMERICAN MINISTER. At two o'clock yesterday afternoon his Excel lency C. F. Adams, United States' Minister to this country, received a deputation of the members of the Committee of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, at his official residence, to receive an ad dress from the committee: The deputation consisted of,Mr. Saml. Gurney, M.P, Mr. John Ivatt Briscoe, M.P., the Hon. A. Kinnaird, M.P., Messrs. Josiah Forster, Henry Sterry, Robert Alsop, William T. Sargent, Gerard Ralston, the Rev. Dr. Carlisle, and L. A. Chamerovzow. The following is the text of the address : " To HIS EXCELLENCY CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, UNITED STATES' MINISTER TO THE COURT OF ST. JAMES'S. " Sir,—The Committee of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society are gratified at being able to offer an address of cordial welcome to an Ambassa dor from the United States of America to this coun try who holds principles in harmony with their Own. "This important and elevated office has been most appropriately conferred upon y ou, Sir, whose senti ments on the subject of slavery have ever been in sympathy , with those of the British nation, and who may be said to inherit them in direct descent from one of the most illustrious Presidents of the Ame rican Republic. "The committee are rejoiced to welcome you as the representative of the first Government of the United States which has taken any active measures towards the removal of slavery, and they desire to pay it, through you, a tribute of confidence and re spect. For many years they have watched with the deepest interest the development in the Northern States of public opinion through all its phases, and anticipated with anxious solicitude the day when a predominance of sentiment against the extension of slavery should inaugurate a new and memorable era in the history of the country. " The committee desire to express their unquali fied satisfaction at the avowed determination of the President and his Administration to put down the African slave trade, and consider that the cause of humanity is deeply indebted to them for the de cided attitude now assumed against all persons im • plicated in the prosecution of this most infamous traffic. But, while the measures the United States' Government is adopting are evidence of a resolution which cannot be too highly commended, the com mittee respectfully submit that others equally de cisive are imperatively required to prevent the abuse of the United States' flag for slave-trading purposes. It is notorious that the Transatlantic African slave trade is carried on almost exclusively under cover of that particular flag, and the committee would therefore venture to suggest that the United States' Government should, without delay, concert with that of Great Britain the means of preventing the abuse referred to. "The committee feel it incumbent upon them to express their extreme gratifieation at the several propositions tending towards abolition recently in troduced to the United States' Legislature, more especially those for the removal of slavery from the District of Columbia, and for according Go vernment aid to any State desirous of emancipating its slaves. While these measures may, indeed, when judged of from the committee's point of view, fall short of actual right to the oppressed and in jured slave, the committee rejoice in them, and hail them most cordially, as full of promise for the fu ture, and as steps approximating to the absolute requirements of justice and humanity. " The committee view with profound sorrow the unhappy contest between the Northern and the Southern sections of the Republic. In the presence of so appalling a calamity, they can only give utter ance to the fervent hope that the fratricidal conflict may soon cease, and peace be restored to the land ; and that, with the abolition of the true cause of the strife, a common ground of union may be found and a divided community be again joined in the bonds of brotherhood. " In conclusion, the committee would assure you, sir, of their personal esteem and consideration, and of their very sincere desire for the welfare and the prosperity of the nation you represent. " 27, New Broad-street, E.C., April 4." The address having been read by Mr. Chame rovzow, his Excellency made the following reply :-- " Gentlemen of the Committee,—l receive your communication in the spirit in which it is made,and with every desire to reciprocate the friendly senti ments it conveys, as well to your country generally as to yourselves in particular. " The desire of the people of the United States is to extend the blessings to be obtained under free institutions as far as possible, consistently with the preservation of every existing obligation, over the entire service of their territory. Against the pro secution of this policy au appeal to arms has been taken by a misguided portion of their number. The ultimate effect can only be to accelerate the same general result, under circumstances rendered need lessly distressing to all. It is the earnest wish of the Government to see the end so brought about as to avoid all the deplorable consequences that may follow wilful and violent resistance. I trust that those deeply interested in the issue may avail them selves in season of the means left open for their re storation in safety, and that the common ground for a re-union may be, as you express it, the voluntary removal of the true and only cause of strife. " I think I can assure you that the President's attention is closely fixed upon the subject of the African slave trade, and that every effort will be made by the Administration, as far as it is possible under present circumstances, to co-operate with her Majesty's Government in putting an end to the abuses to which you allude. I am not without hopes that effective means may be found to pre vent, for the future, the desecration of the national flag by the pirates engaged in the nefarious traffic. I pray you to receive my thanks for the very kind allusion you have made to myself, and to assure you of my cordial sympathy with you in the arduous labours in which you have been so long and so honourably engaged." The Hon. A. Rinnaird, Mr. john Ivatt Briscoe, and Mr. Josiah Forster having addressed the Minis ter on the subject of the memorial, the deputation withdrew. A DEVONSHIRE SHOOTING-BOX FOR THE PRINCE or WALES.—It is understood (says the Western _Morning News) that the negotiations which have occupied some time, respecting the purchase of a shooting-box in Devon shire for his Royal Highness the Prince of ,Wales, are completed, and that a fewpreliminaries only are required to transfer Werrington Park from the ownership of the Duke of Northumberland to that of the future King of England. The park is an occasional residence of his grace, and lies about a mile and a half from Launceston—one portion of it is in Cornwall, but the seat is Devonshire. The park is supposed to have been in existence for about 600 years. and about the fourteenth century was the property of the great Odulph, Duke of Devonshire. I I [AnvEnTrs;;;;;;.]— Holloway's Ointment and Pills.— Outward Sores.—Daily experience confirms the fact which has triumphed over opposition for 27 years—that no means are known equal to Holloway's remedies for curing bad legs, sores, wounds, diseases of the s ki n, erys i pelas, abscess, burns, scalds, and, in truth, all cases where the skin is Eroken. To cure these infirmities quickly is of primary importance, or the compuLory confinement in doors weakens the general health. The ready means of cure are found in Holloway's Ointment and Pills, which heal the sores and expel their cause. In the :very worst cases this Ointment has succeeded in effecting a perfect cure after every other means had failed of giving any relief, Desperate cases best display its virtues, THE PRINCE CONSORT MEMORIAL. Yesterday at three o'clock the committee in the city of London engaged in raising a fund for a national memorial of the Prince Consort held a meeting at the Mansion-house. There were present the Lord Mayor, Mr. Henry Cole, C. 8., Mr. S. Gregson, M.P., Mr, George Godwin, Mr. Charles Hill, Mr. W. Foster White, Mr. Henry Ghinn, and Mr. Goodman. It was stated that the fund up to that day amounted in the aggregate to about £45,860. of which upwards of £1,600 had been re ceived within the past week alone. A letter ad dressed to the Lord Mayor by the secretary to the Oriental Bank was read, to the effect that their Bombay agent had made arrangements with the Agra and United Service Bank for receiving con tributions in aid of the fund, and remitting the amount by each mail to this country. The LORD MAYOR, in reply to a question by Mr. GREGSON, said, of late doubts had been entertained whether the block of granite in a quarry belonging to the Duke of Argyll, in the Island of Mull, upon which the attention of her Majesty's Committee of Advice had for some time been concentrated, would answer as to grandeur the purpose of a monolithic obelish in perpetuating the Prince's memory. Drawings of the stone carefully prepared had recently been laid before the committee by the chairman of the Mull Granite Company, from which it appeared that, although it was about 115 feet in length, yet it undulated in places very considerably, so much so that when lines came to be drawn along it, making an allowance for the necessary form of an obelisk, some of those indentations were within the lines, thus detracting from its aptitude for the pur pose in view. The company had been at some ex pense in uncovering it as it lay, and, although per haps its precise character and dimensions could only be satisfactorily ascertained by degrees in the pro cess of quarrying, still the defects in its breadth in places to which he had alluded had induced the com mittee to pause before incurring greater expense in a work which might, after all, prove abortive. In no other quarter had they heard of a stone of suitable proportions. The Lord Mayor added, he was afraid the great mass of the people of this country had yet to be educated, so to speak, into a thorough appreciation of the grandeur and appro priateness of the obelisk, and especially a monolithic obelisk, for monumental purposes. There were some who appeared to regard the setting up a huge stone for such a purpose as simply symbolical of a barbarous age. With great respect for the opinions of others, he could not help saying he altogether dissented from such reasoning ; besides, it was well known that it was not until the Egyp• tains had reached the highest point in their culti vation of art that obelisks became conspicuous fea tures in their style of architecture ; and he thought it would have been a glorious thing for England, where a monolithic obelisk worthy of the name was utterly unknown, to have made this occasion for erecting one of consummate grandeur. During the last week contributions to the fund have been received at the Mansion-house at the rate, on the average, of more than £2OO a-day, and there are unmistakeable signs of the subscription being taken up in many new quarters, and among others by congregations in churches and chapels, officers in the army and navy, the inhabitants of municipal towns, poor people in rural and other parishes clubbing together their pence through their clergy man or some benevolent lady, and, above all, by persons of modest means who probably had been at first deterred from contributing with the wealthier classes, THE RIPON STEAMER, SOUTHAMPTON, 'WEDNESDAY. A trial has been made to-day of the engines of the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamship Ripon, in the presence of Mr. 3. Dinnan, Admiralty Engineer Inspector, Messrs. Ritchie, A. Lamb, and Lovell, of the Peninsular and Oriental Company's staff, Mr. John R. Ravenhill, of the firm of Raven hill and Salkeld, the makers, and subsequently the improvers of the Ripon's engines, and other gentle men. This trial was rendered somewhat remarkable by some very interesting and valuable experiments made with the surface-condensers which, during the recent overhaul and refit of the ship, were added to the engines. These condensers consist of about 27,000 feet of tubing (more than half a mile), in six feet lengths, of a total exterior area of about 4,800 square feet, around and among which a constant stream of cold sea water is circulated by means of two powerful centrifugal pumps (Appold's patent), the exhaust-steam passing through them, and being, by contact with the cold metal, immediately con densed, the vacuum thus obtained ranging from 27 to 29 inches. At the conclusion of the Admiralty trial on the 26th ult. a slight accident happened to the apparatus for working one of the centrifugal circulating pumps, whereby the pump was rendered temporarily useless, and a plan (which was some time since applied by Mr. A. Lamb, the superin tending engineer of the company), was then tried of disconnecting both pumps, and allowing the sea water to pass through the condenser with only such impetus as was given to it by the ship's way, the condenser being thus rendered self-acting. The re sult then Obtained was so satisfactory that, it being necessary for the Government inspector to see the engines working with the pump-gear repaired, another trial was made to-day, and the plan in question again adopted, with equally satisfactory results. The mean speed obtained, with 51b. of steam and 201 inches vacuum, was 6.542, with and against tide ; revolutions, 114 : consumption of coal about Bcwt. per hour. The Ripon, it may be mentioned, is of 1,908 tons and 450-horse power. It has thus been proved satisfactorily that in the event of future accident to the pump-gear a good result can be obtained by this self-acting circula tion, which, by the addition of a lip-plate on the exterior of the ship, may, it is thought, be mate rially improved. A circulation may also be obtained, if required, by means of• the donkey pump, or by both it and the self-acting circulation combined. After the completion of the experiments the steam was raised to its usual pressure of 201 b., and the Ripon returned to Southampton at a high rate of speed. She will sail hence on the 20th inst. with the Calcutta, China, and Australian mails. A WHOLESALE CONFESSION. There is a manufactory near St. Petersburg, at which about 2,000 hands used to be employed. On a week previous to a certain Easter Sunday, while confession was going on, in order to take as .ttle time from Mammon as possible, the machinery was stopped in sections, and the people were per mitted to go in batches according to the nature of the work they were employed at. Weavers confessed together at one time, spinners at another, and so on. Connected with and adjoining these works was the church where confession took place, and a private passage led from the works to the church, by which the penitents passed into the church; having con fessed, they went into the street by churchthemairkn e entrance to go home. Now in Russia all w oPoPle searchers are strictly searched by male aanced female of employment ; as they pass out from their place but, in confessing _the church the rch by the pri vate way to confess a year's sins inlump, the diereeacetonto, when these particular wor kp eo ple went right of search had never been enforced. But on a certain day- the director of this factory received a hint concerning this omission, and took his measures accordingly. At 11 o'clock a large batch (400 in all) of women,' young and married, girls and old wives, left their various posts, and took their way across the yard, with demure and penitent looks, to the private entrance, where they were admitted as usual, filling the stairs and passages, When all were inside the bottom door was bolted and guarded. Means of escape being thus cut off, the front rank, on approaching the door of communication with the church, found half a dozen searchers, backed by as many policemen. The first two women searched were stripped of a largo quantity of valuable mate rial secreted under their clothes, in their boots—in fact, wherever they could stow it. Each had as great a weight of plunder as she could possibly carry. The work of searching went on, but the mass of women on the stairs and in the passages got scent of the presence of the searchers. The word was passed, a peculiar sound was heard as of many Persons dressing and undressing, and in a few minutes the women were all standing as innocent as lambs, and as harmless as doves, up to their knees in material, valued according to an after com putation at £5OO. This had been going on for years. But let it be remembered that the people are not taught morality and honesty as part of their religion.-411 the Year liound. POLICE INTELLIGENCE.-April 16. WORSHIP-STREET.—Wm. Beland, a young man describing himself as a journeyman baker out of place, was charged before Mr. Leigh with steal ing ils. 4d. from the person of Henry Fluke, resid ing in Old Fora-road, Bow. The robbery occurred on the night of the 6th inst., when the prosecutor,while in company with a friend, was, while passing through a street in Spitalfields on his road home, seized from behind and held round the throat with such tenacity that, as he alleged, he could not speak for the space of two minutes after wards, and was unable to resist the rifling of his waistcoat pocket, which was turned inside out, the contents fortunately consisting of the small amount mentioned. Three men were engaged in the out rage, and all escaped ; but the prisoner, who was sworn to as being one, subsequently was appre hended at a coffeehouse of very doubtful character in the Kingsland-road. He denied his guilt, and was fully committed to the Central Criminal Court for trial. James Connor was charged with stealing a deal box containing various property belonging to Thos. Sadler, of Earl-street, Finsbury. This robbery occurred on the 15th inst., when at an early hour ,in the evening the prosecutor's wife left the house, securing the door, but not the front parlour window. On returning at 10 o'clock she perceived the sash up and missed the box in ques tion ; circumstances also tended to show that the robbery had but just previously been effected, and about five minutes after 10 o'clock, Rouse, 145 H, while on duty in Whitechapel, met the prisoner with the box on his head hurrying forward. The account of possession not being satisfactory, the thief was taken to the station-house. Mr. Leigh ordered a committal for trial at the sessions. This class of offence is again frequent. WESTMINSTER.—A few days ago John Jen kins, a middle-aged man, was charged with inter marrying with Elizabeth Bates, his former wife being then and still living. The accused was first married on the 29th of May, 1847. at Trinity Church, Bristol, in his own name, to Jane Bray, and secondly on the 9th of December, 1855, at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, in the name of John Chapel, to Elizabeth Bates. The second wife, who knew he was married, led him so wretched a life, according to his own account, that he determined to rid himself of the incumbrance and undergo the punishment of the law in pre ference to being further troubled with her. To effect this he induced his brother to procure the certificates of both marriages, give him into cus tody, and employ a solicitor to prosecute him, and he was remanded until yesterday, preferring con finement in the House of Detention to liberation upon bail ; but when he again appeared before the magistrate, it was stated that the ease could no further be proceeded with as both witnesses to the first marriage were dead, and nobody could supply' the defective proof, under which circumstances Mr. Paynter discharged him. Prisoner had no sooner emerged from the dock than he was followed by his second wife, who was in court waiting for him. SOUTHWARK.—Wm. Harwood, a sullen-look ing lad, about 17 years of age, was brought before Mr. Burcham, charged with stabbing his mother, Sarah Harwood, and threatening to murder her. The complainant, a middle-aged respectable-look.. ing female, who exhibited a wound on the right side of the face, said she was sorry to saythe prisoner was her son, and one of seven children left her by her husband to maintain. He had a most violent tem per and was continually in the habit of insulting and beating her. On Monday he came home and commenced abusing her, and when she remon strated with him, and begged him to keep quiet, he snatched up ali the crockery within his reach and threw it at her. He then seized a knife from the drawer, and flew at her, saying he would mur der her. In her endeavour to get away from him, he stabbed her near the eye. She immediately came to this court and obtained a warrant. The prisoner, who seemed much excited, said it was all lies what that woman had stated. He never touched her. Mr. Burcham remarked to him that such conduct on his part was not at all seemly from a son to a mother. Prisoner—Oh, she is a bad one, and will say any thing. Mrs. Harwood here informed his worship that his conduct was so bad that she could not put up ti with it any longer. He actually called her a bad name and all her children bastards. Prisoner—And that's true. You know it. Pat not going to put up with your nonsense. Mr. Burcham was of opinion that the lad could not be in his right senses. Here was a respectable woman bringing up a large family in as careful a manner ad possible, and attaeked in a shameful manner by one of her sons. He should remand him for a week, and send directions to the gaol for the medical officer as well as the chaplain to pay some attention to him. The prisoner was led away laughing. COUN7RI MARKE TS: .....k. ..n.,b)b.••••bw.......0...... BOSTON—APRIL 16. The supply of was limited of both red and white wheat, but the demand ruled brisk, and prices were at Is advance on former currencies. Barley scarce, with a steady trade, and fully is dearer. Oats in limited show. Beans and peas at late terms. HULL--APRIL 15. At to-day's market there was avery small supply of English wheat, which sold quickly at fully 2s advance on late prices. Foreign sorts are in good request, and at an improvement of from is to 2s in value. Barley at fully is more money for fine malting samples; grinding steady, at last week's quotations. Beans and peas at former prices. Oats moved off more freely. Wheat.... Old white.... per qr s4s Od to 58s Od Old red New white .. ~ New red .... , Dantzic, Konb , &c. old white 56s oa to 62s Od Dutch, Belgian, and French. 58s Od to 62s Od Baltic and Hamburg, red . . 58s Od to 59s Od St. Petersburg and Riga, old. 508 Od to 52s Od Barley.... English malting 348 Od to 37s Od Grinding 3ls Od to 33s Od Saai and Oderbruck Holstein and Danish 34s Od to 36s Od Grinding 3os Od to 31s Od Oats English, old Archangel and Riga, per st oBl2id to 13d Friesland and Dutch oBl3d to 0s131:1 Swedish and Danish o Bl2id to 0813 d Beans ....English, old, per qr New pigeon 42s Od to 44s Od New tick. 4os Od to 42s Od Egyptian 3Bs Od to 40s Od Peas Foreign breakers Grinding Tares .... Spring. —s Od to —s Od Indian Corn Linseed, feeding crushing •• 4os Od to 528 Od Linseed cakes (Hull) SO 15 oto SO 0 0 Foreign Bl5 oto 910 0 Rape cakes 6 0 oto 610 0 Bones 5 5 oto 510 0 SALISBURY-APRIL 15. At to-day's market wheat was in moderate supply, but in much bettar condition. Best dry parcels moved off at is over late rates, but other sorts generally were no dearer. Barley in fair supply, at last week's prices. Oats, beans, and other articles rather slow, but firm. INDIA AND CHINA STATION.—The number of ships and vessels on the India and China station in 1858 was 74, the complement 11,865, and the annual expense £1,019,904. In the present year the number is 38, the com. plement 3,982, and the cost £456,048. The cost is thus analysed :—Wages, £170,785 ; victuals, £73,100 ; wear and tear of ships, £111,149; coals, £99,659; £1,355 for medi cines, &c., making up the £456,048. BIRTHS. DALYELL.—On the 13th inst., at 2, Hope-street, Edin burgh, the wife of Li eu t.-Coonel Dalyell, 21st Fusiliers, of a daughter. FITZWILLIAM.—On the 12th inst., at Wentworth Wood House, the Countess Fitzwilliam, of a son. MUSGRAVE,—On the 15th inst., at 5, Ulster-terrace, Re gent's-park, th e w i fe of the Rev. Vernon Musgrave, vicar of Mattersey, of a son. TONGE.—On the 14th inst., at Starboro' Castle, the wife of W. J. Toage, Esq., of a son. MARRIAGES. GRAIN—COOPER.—On the 15th inst., at St. George's, Bloomsbury, John Peter, eldest son of John Grain, Esq. of Taversham, Cambridgeshire, to Agnes, only daughter of William Cooper, Esq., of 13, Bernard-street,;Russell square. GREEN—LLOYD.—On the 10th inst., at Church Kirk, K. E. Green, Esq., of Bank House, Accrington, to Emma, only daughter of Nathaniel Lloyd, Esq., of Foxhill•bauk) near Accrington. DEATHS. FREESTUN.—On the 16th inst., at 22, Gloucester•square, Hyde-park, Colonel Sir William Lockyer Freestun, K.C.T. GRANT.—On the 14th inst., at 26, Blandford-square, John Grant, Esq. MURRAY.—On the 15th inst., at 15, Esq., of Touchad am , Kensington-garden terrace, Hyde-park, John Murray, and Polmaise, aged 65. NPNAnt.— On the 12th inst., at St. John's-wood, Major M'Nair, aged 66. ODY,—On the 15th inst., at his residence, 292, strand, Mr. Ody, of the firm of Salmon, Ody, and Co, aged 80. Clapham, and for ILSON.—On the 15th inst., at Eltham, Mr, W. of Larkhall-grove, many years of 37, Walbrook, city. aged 51. LONDON: P r i n t e d p and Publi s h ed by JOHN cHApLill, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Office, N 0.1 1 2, • Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the County 0 1 xidoilesext--ThAnday,Liprii 17,1862. , and the tivel throe Pow( Juf of C a the c reinee the st remuz The 1 Eller N ciai st tee fo Sat silver looalil , rc All broke "le cc fttim i of the API .rek e willt case o deduc Th e ( She T o th ~, Get nuac allot l eBB n u ornp Ivn Dank( Just T~