The Sun. — London, England, 1862-02-05 00:00:00

THE GOLD REGION OF B.RITISII COL U.,1181A. (From the Correspondent of the Times.) VICTORIA, VANCOUVER ISLAND, Nov. 29. I have not written much on the subject of British Columbia of late, because the accounts which reached us throughout the summer and autumn were of so glowing a character, and gave so superlative a description of the wealth of the upper gold country, as appeared fabulous. The reports from Cariboo were really so extravagant in their character that I did not feel justified in giving circulation to them on hearsay evidence: Being now, however, in pos session of proof of the general accuracy of the very flattering reports which regularly reached Victoria by every succeeding steamer from British Columbia during the whole period of the mining season just over, I feel justified in communicating them. The portion of British Columbia which has yielded nearly all the gold produced this year, and which is destined to attract the notice of the world to a degree hitherto not accorded to the country in the aggregate, is a newly-discovered district called Cariboo (a corruption of " Cerf bceuf," a large species of reindeer which inhabits the country). The district is about 500 miles, in the interior, north (or north-east rather) from the coast of British Columbia and the mouth of Fraser River. It is not far from the sources or " head waters" of the south branch of Fraser River and the Rocky Mountains, and forms " . a patch of coun try—a broken, rugged mass of mountains and streams, 50 miles from north to south and 30 miles from east to west, as far as yet known from recent exploration—round three sides of which the south branch of the Fraser makes a great bend or semicircle from its source to its junction with the north branch, near Fort George, a trading station of the Hudson's nay Company, in about lat. 53 deg. 50 min. N. For the sake of accuracy, 1 should mention that this branch of the Fraser, although now popularly called the south branch (and which the Hudson's Bay Company called the north branch from the northerly direction of the first portion of its course), is really the main body of the river. Its sources are at a distance of some 60 or 70 miles westwardly from the main chain of the Rocky Mountains. The bend of the river, which embraces the new mineral region within its curve, runs a course north-west 180 miles, and then takes a south-west course of about 50 miles in length. This large section of country is believed, from the appearances presented on various parts of the surface, to be auriferous, both in quartz (gold. matrix) and in placeres, throughout its whole extent ; but the portions hitherto " prospected" (as the miners phrase is for the search for, and for the discovery of gold) are confined to the dimensions given above-50:4 30 miles. Fraser River does not acquire its great velocity in this part of its course, which runs through a com paratively level country until it enters the regions of the Cascades and other mountains through which its waters rush with an impetuosity which causes many obstructions to navigation. Consequently the river is navigable from Fort Alexander ; in lat. 52 deg. 37 min. north for steamers of light draught of water, say three to four feet, up to Swift River, a distance of 45 miles, and which is within 40 miles of Antler, in Cariboo—a fact which will facilitate the traffic of next 3 ear by shortening the land car riage of the present route. Cariboo is in New Caledonia, as known in the division of districts west of the Rocky Mountains, by the Hudson's Bay Company, when they held the licence to trade with the Indians in the country which now forms the colony of British Columbia. I cannot state the geographical position of Cariboo with accuracy, but the centre of that portion of the district which was the scene of this season's mining may be taken as lying between the sources of Antler-creek, Swift (or Cottonwood) River and Swamp river, all of which flow, and run in opposite directions, from a chain of mountains called " the Balled Mountains," traversing the district. This central point (by a correction of Arrowamith's map) is in north latitude 53.20 deg., west longitude 121.10 deg. The mining localities are distinguished by local names given to them by the miners this year. Here are some of them :—Antler-creek,Keithley'a-creek, Hawey's, Williams's, Nelson's, Lowhee, Cunning ham's, Lightening, Vanwinckle, California, Canon, Grouse, Goose, Steven's, Salt Spring, Burns's, Snow shoe, Jack of Clubs, and Last Chance Creeks, all being streams (creeks) of various sizes ; most of them of small size, issuing from the Bald Moun tains, which rise to a height of from 7,000 to 8,000 feet above the level of the Pacific Ocean. Other mining localities are called Chisholm's Gulch, Davidson's Gulch, and Hall's Gulch, &c. (" Gulch " is Yankee for a ravine.) I insert these names, because they give an idea of the extent of the gold diggings hitherto unequalled for their productiveness, because they are likely from this fact to acquire celebrity abroad, when their wealth begins to be distributed over the world, and also because the nomenclature will assist the reader to understand the references in the following nar rative : Cariboo was discovered late in the season of last year, but its riches were not developed till this sum mer. - I can only spare room for an epitome of the mining operations of the season. In May the miners got to work on Antler-creek, and some of the new hands —raw at the work— " took out gold to the value of 200 dollars a-day each, while new claims were daily opened with like prospects of success." One man, working with a rocker, a very slow and inefficient implement, took out 400 dollars (X4O) in one day ; while two men washed up 16 ounces (worth £44 Ss.) a-piece in one day, also with a rocker. A Mr. Smith earned 331 b. (worth £lB5 65.) in one day. His claim averaged 26 to 30 ounces a-day. What are called " Bench claims," terraces situated 100 feet above the water of the creek, were yielding from 4 to 8 ounces of gold to each rocker every day. Few claims yielded less than 50 to 100 dols a day to the hand. Confi dence in the mineral wealth of the district was in spired from the first, It was seen to exhibit all the characteristics of a rich gold region, and bore a striking resemblance in all its features to the richest regions of California in 1849. In the early part of this month (May), there were 5 feet of snow on the ground, but this did not prevent several miners from getting to work. A company of five men were getting out 37 ounces a day. Two men had got out 9 00 dols in two days. As the miners constructed flumes, which economised manual labour and en abled them to discard the slow and tedious rocker, the results were much highs, amounting to all so rts of amounts from £lOO to £5OO a day to a com pany composed of three to five and six men. On Reithley's Creek the yield was not so large 25 to 75 dols, and in some cases 100 dols a day to the hand w ere the results. We know in June that one man fr om fort Yale has earned 1,800 dols in about a fortnight by the remittance of the dust. Other creeks were now being discovered, and they were worked with varied success, ranging from is to e pan of " pay dirt" to x o a day to the , hand. The truth of the se accounts wd a Rasoubted at the time, but they had the effect of i adulcing a consider able emigration of mine rs f rom which other increased c re a d s i egd gings in the country to C ar ib oo, the mining population to about 1,40 0 by the end of May, and the number was constantly receiving fresh accessions. On the 9th of J une 30,000 doll. in gold arrived from Cariboo, besid es the suins. carried by 35 men who came down on business, and who, it is supposed, returned to the m i nes. The same day -10,000 dols arrived, some of which was a'so from Cariboo. These receipts awakened con fidence, and a description of the gold of the dis trict, which corresponded with the character of accounted for the enormo us that just received, earnings. The gold was all coarse gold, granulated, gravelly stuff, mixed with pellets and pebbles of pure metal of considerable size. Of the fine scale gold of Fraser River, a man could not physically wash out so much as the reported indi vidual earnings, but of such nuggets as then came down it was easy to take out pounds' weight in a day. Freshets from the melting snow carried away the flumes, and the miners' labours were sus pended for some time towards the end of May by the floods from the melting snow of the adjacent mountains, and there was a scarcity of food. The roads, or tracks and trail s , at any time only fit for mule travel, were then impassable for animals, and 1 provisions had to be carried on the backs of Indians, who were paid 50 dols a day for packing. Labour ing men, who had no mining claims of their own, were hired to work those of the miners - at 7 and 8 do's, and found. Provisions were relatively high in price. Flour was at 38c (is 7d) per lb. ; bacon, 75c.; beans, 40c ; tea, 1 dot 50c ; sugar and coffee, 75c per lb. Single meals at the restaurant's, consisting of beans and bacon and a cup of bad coffee, cost 2 dols (8s 4d). A correspondent of one of the newspapers in Victoria, writing from Cariboo at this time, quotes the prices of what, in the grandiose style of these parts, he calls " miners' luxuries," as follows :—A tin pan (worth 3d) sold for 8 dols (X 1 12s 9d); picks and shovels, 6 dols each ; ditto, with handles, i.e., shovels, 7 dols 50e each (£1 4s Gd and £1 lOs 6d). Washing was charged at G - dols a dozen pieces (£1 4s Gd). The latter is the only item of luxury I see in the " Price Current," and I cannot believe the laundryman was much patronised. It was added that " business of every description was lively." At such prices a man would need to earn his £5 to £2O a day to enable him to keep business lively. These wages and prices show the large gains of the miners. The first news of operations in June exceeded the glowing accounts of May. The melting of the snow kept many miners idle, and the country was covered with mud and slush, which made travelling almost impossible. However, those who could work earned largely, one rocker washing out 50 ounces of a forenoon, and three men washing out 100 ounces from a flume in a week. Omitting these big strikes, which fell to the lot of the favoured few, we find that the fickle goddess was more sparing in her gifts to others. 50 dols. to 100 dols., and as low as 20 dols. a day, are quoted as individual earn ings. A person on the spot wrote, what seems to have been the truth, judging from what one knows of the temper and habits of the miner,—" Those who have claims are making piles. Those who have not are making nothing and have nothing. These were the unlucky ones, who would not choose to work on hire, and who were waiting on Provi dence for 'something to turn up,' and for good weather to set out on a prospecting' tour, from which many of them would return footsore, and strapped,' i.e., 'dead broke.'" In June intelligence reached Cariboo that gold had been discovered on the east side of the Rocky Mountains in British territory. This news, and the return to Antler Creek of exploring porties with a report that they had found "favourable in dications of gold and plenty of rich quarts veins, 30 miles off," added intensity to an excitement already at fever heat. Many of the miners wan dered about the pathless wilderness "prospecting" for rich and yet richer "claims" which would con tain the philosopher's stone, and lost their time and their strength and health in their restless wander ings, and earned nothing. Presently the weather improved, provisions be came abundant, new discoveries were being made at great distances apart, and success attended the efforts of all who worked steadily and stuck to one spot. On Keithley's Creek a party of five "divided" 1,000 dols from one day's labour, and their daily average was a pound weight of gold a day. Several " sluices" were set to work on this creek, and the results were 20 dols to 50 dols per man per day. There were 200 men on this creek, of whom 75 were at work about the middle of June. The gold found was in small nuggets, of the value of 6d. to Bs. sterling each piece. No quicksilver was used to amalgamate the gold, which made a vast saving in time and expense, and which enabled the miner to make such large gains as I have stated above. Another fact, peculiar to the Cariboo Diggings generally, is that the go ld is found near the surface—a few inches, a foot or two, and very seldom more than six feet below the surface. There is an efflorescence of gold near the surface in the virgin soil of most gold-bearing countries, but I never knew it so gene ral as it is here. The diggings on Snow-shoe Creek were ope.ned in June, and yielded 12 to 25 dols to the hand per day: The native Indians very quiet, civil, and industri ous ; very useful as carriers of provisions, &-c. The mule trails rendered Impassable ; but the Govern ment apropriated 2,000 dols for opening a bridle road to the district, and the miners of Antler and of Keithley's subscribed 800 dols to open a trail to the former place. Labourers' wages at Antler, 8 dols a day; at Keithley's, dols a day—and board in both cases. A conxiderable number of hands thus employed. When a member of a "company" cannot work himself, he pats a hired man in his place. We had from the first discovery of this gold district heard most unfavourabi9 reports of the severity of the winter season, which was said to render the country uninhabitable. '1 he matter was set at rest by some Canadians who wintered in Cariboo last year. They found the intensity of the cold so much less than in the Canadas that they represented the climate as mild compared with that of their native country. It is inhospitable from the altitude and the abundance of mountains, the level land being about 3,000 feet and the mountains 5,000 feet more above the level of the sea. The spring is wet, and the summer subject to frequent rains. The snow falls in October, and when the winter is fairly set in the weather continues cold, clear, and dry. The mining season continues from May to October at present; but when accommoda tions increase, and the miners begin to tunnel the banks and hills for gold, as they soon will do, the winter will present no obstacles to continuous work, under cover of adits, during the whole sea- son. A mining claim is a (parallelogram) :piece of ground 100 feet wide, running from hank to bank of a creek. The depth is indefinite, varying, of course, with the width of the creek. Each miner is entitled to one of these " claims," and there may be several miners associated together to work a claim. In case of such an association amounting to five miners, the "company" would be entitled to 500 feet of ground in width, and running from bank to bank. At first many miners "took up" claims in simulated names, and thus caused a monopoly— an evil which was remedied by the Government Gold Commissioner when he visited the ccuntry in the summer. Under the mining laws of British Columbia, which are well adapted to the country, the miners have the power to regulate their own mining affairs, such as settling the size of claims, which must vary in dif ferent localities, Cc., with the assent and assistance of the Gold Commissioner in each district, and sub ject to the approval of the Governor. The provisions of the mining laws are very sel dom, if ever, complied with in all respects; but still the mining operations are conducted with exemplary propriety, and no body of men, upon the whole, could conduct themselves more peaceably than do the miners of British Columbia. All disputes are submitted to the Commissioner, and if his decision is not acquiesced in an appeal is taken to the judge of the Supreme Court of Civil Justice (the only one in the whole colony), who goes circuit to all the inhabited parts of the country. While on this subject I should not be doing justice to the country if I failed to remark upon the ab sence of crime generally in British Columbia. The fact is as remarkable, considering the heterogeneous nature of the population, as it is gratifying. It speaks well for the miners, and for the magistrates also, who are a very efficient and respectable body, all young men in the prime of life; and I am cer tain, from my knowledge of his character, that the moral effect of the judge's free intercourse with all classes, of hi s di s i nterested counsel when appealed to extra-judicially —as he frequently is, to settle disputes—and of his urbanity, is very beneficial. The exercise of his good nature prevents litigation, and the fearlessness with which he punishes crime prevents the commission of heinou s o ff ence s. July ope ne d with increased exertions and pro portionate r esu lt s, in consequence of the disap pearance of the snow. Six miles from Antler, 31 ounces were " cleaned out" in n only two feet und er the surofacee. day n i e n b a ot h to o m le was composed of " rotten slate , "—a favourable formation, indicative of gold. 8,00 dols had pre viously been taken out of th e same claim. Another spot was discovered where the pay-dirt was two feet thick and full of nuggety gold, 1,000 dols was paid for a claim, which the purchaser re• sold shortly afterwards at a profit of 500 dols. Wages now rose to 10 dols a day. Quartz leads (the matrix of gold) of considerable breadth were discovered near Keith ley's. Some claims began to pay as high as 1,000 dols a day, and several from 20 to 25 ounces. Four days' work yielded a man 104 ounces, and some men from Victoria were making two and three ounces each a day. The town of Antler growing " like magic." Instead of 10 houses, as it counted last month, it now boasts of" 20 substantial stores, whisky shops, and other edifices, surrounded by any number of tents. Provisions still rather dear in consequence of the scarcity caused by increased consumption ; meals, 2 dols ; flour, 70c per lb ; beef, 50c (2s) ; beans, 00c per lb ; and liquor—' Minie rifle and tangle-leg, warranted to kill at any dis stance,' was snapped up at 50c (23) a glass." The prosperity of the town was in part .indebted to an evil influence. Professional gamblers track the successful miner as the carrion crow scents the dead on a battlefield. " The chink of money and the sound of gamblers' voices is heard at all hours. Monte and Paro Banks and Poker Games are all the go. Large sums of money change hands con stantly." I heard of one party who lost, between three of them, 27,000 dols. I met a Spaniard on his return fron Cariboo. He is a muleteer, and was engaged in packing. On my asking him about the richness of the mines, he an swered that the gambling was as rife and carried on as high as in California in her palmiest days. The Spaniard did not penetrate far into the mining region, neither did he gather many statistics, He saw piles of gold bullion and of 20-dollar pieces laid out on the gambling tables, and he sAw a bank of portentous size, and he saw large stakes played and won and lost ; and all these evidences of wealth satisfied him that " the country was saved" with out going beyond Antler. He had been informed that Cariboo was a ‘i fizzle ;" but at Antler he changed his opinion, and went vigorously into the packing business, made money, and is now building a house to enjoy his otium cunt dignitate. It is hard to suggest a cure for this vice of new mining countries. The miner requires relaxation, and no healthy means of relaxation exists. He will adopt the first and readiest. I do not see what the Government can do except to discourage it. It cannot put it down with the strong arm, for the rapid growth of population and of wealth outrun Government administration in these cases of sudden developments of the treasures of the earth. The magistrate intimated that he would hold the tavern keepers who permitted gambling in their houses responsible. Beyond this his means of enforcing the law would not carry hin►. The vice will wear itself out, as it did in California. In August and September mining was at its height. Here are a few facts culled from a mass of correspondence and verbal information received here :—On the Antler Creek the rocker yielded 50 ounces of gold of a forenoon. The average yield on the fluming claims is 60 ounces a day to the hand. Later the creek yielded 100 and 130 ounces a day from small claims. Three-quarters of a mile below the town of Antler 40 or 60 ounces a day to the hand, obtained by a company of two men from one of the richest claims on the stream. Since last spring these two men have taken out 18,000 dols with a rocker. Mr. Donnell's claim not paying so well for the last three weeks, but up to that time it gave 60 to 100 dols a day. The town site is threat ened to be washed away, as the miners are entitled to all mineral ground which lay waste when they staked it off for mining. Water for sluicing sold at 50c (2s sterling) an inch (cubic measure, flowing through a square tube), yet after paying this heavy charge the yield left 40 to 50 dols a day to the miner. Eleven companies on this creek making large gains. Others not doing so well-15, 20, and up to 50 a day to the hand only. On Keithley's Creek the companies were making from 50 to 100 dols a day to the hand, and on the hillside (dry diggings) 120 dols a man per day. The miners were by this time enabled to extend their means and appliances to save manual lubuur. " Flumes were built of enormous size and length, with numerous wheel-pumps to supply water for washing the gold, which were to be seen turning constantly, as far as the eye could reach." "The magnitude of the works was surprising." These were due to the neighbouring sawmill, which pro duced lumber on the spot, and must have also yielded a rich return to the proprietors, for the price was high, of course, 25c a foot and upwards. The mining " holes" were described as shining with gold. When the " bed-rock" was laid bare it was found studded or paved with " lumps" of gold, and every shovelful contained a considerable amount, in some cases to the value of £lO sterling, and re quired no washing, the nuggets or pellets of gold being picked out by hand. The diggings were now found to be not only rich but extensive, which led to a new enterprise. A drift was driven into one of the hills. This " tun nelling" is now the chief mode of working practised in California, where the efflorescence of gold has been long exhausted, and where the placers are nearly so. Labourers were in demand (in Cariboo) for this work at 8 dols a day and board, so that, with health, no man who chose to labour could fail to make money. A miner told my informant, at this time, that his " claim" would last him ten years " to work it out." The Lowhee Creek yielded to four miners on the first two days of their work 5,200 dols, and on the third day 72 ounces. These returns appeared fabulous, yet private information and published accounts agreed as to the facts, and in duo time similar statements were verified by the appearance of the miners with the gold in New Westminster and Victoria. The miners were now in good heart. Their con dition was much improved by the abundance of salmon caught in the Fraser and other up-country rivers. There was abundance of grass also on the mountains all through the summer—a supply as necessary as human food, as all commodities being " packed" there were many mules and horses to feed. A miner writes that his gains far surpass any thing ever produced in California, and cites the fact of 1,700 dols. having been dug out of two crevices in the rock less than three feet under the surface. In fact, the explanation of the enormous yields is, as I before stated, the large, solid, nugget.y charac ter of the gold and its proximity to the surface. Men who had never mined before, tradesmen, mechanics, and labourers new to the work, did just as well as the old, practised miner. This result will cease as the efflorescence of gold near the sur face becomes exhausted. Then some skill and much labour will be required to produce far less results than paid the exertions of the Cariboo men lart season. " Veins and boulders of quartz are seen in every direction in the hills, such as would of themselves create an excitement in any other country," but they are here neglected for the placeres, which are so much more easily worked. A person writing from the diggings, says, " The country is covered with quartz and with indications of volcanic action," and concludes " that this is the richest gold country in the world." The development of the wealth which lies in quartz must be obtained by the application of capital and engineering and mining skill. It is a fit subject for the capitalists of England, and as capital has justas much protection in British Colum bia as in any part of the Empire, and property and life are equally as well protected, I have no doubt the quartz magnet will attract the necessary capital in due time, and that we shall hear the Stock Exchange resound with the quotations of shares in many mining companies in Cariboo and elsewhere in the colony by and by. At this time (in autumn) a man who left Victoria penniless arrived with 2,000 dols. in dust, which he had dug in about two months. Williams's Creek which finally turned out the greatest success of all the creeks for rich single yields, began in August to produce, Dawson and Co. took out 50 ounces in one day, and in a few days reached the bed-rock, when in one pan of pay-dirt they got 600 dols: Abbott and Co., on sinking three or four feet, obtained 900 dols. in one pan full of dirt. This extraordinary fact was confirmed by Mr. Abbott himself when he came down to Victoria the, other day. He and his two partners made each a fortune in less than three THE SUN, LONDON ; WEDNESDAY EVE MING, FERRI/ A. 11 0, 1862. months. I will come to their case more in detail presently. Several new creeks discovered in July and August which prospected well. Several layers of pay•dirt, that is, strata of gold-bearing gravel and of blue clay, one over the other, with layers of earth be tween, now found, so that increased workings lower down in the same ground produced gold. On Vanwinckle Creek the best claim produced 100 dols to 200 dols a-day to the hand. The com panies, above and below, average 50 dols and GO dols a-day to the hand; and the diggings near the were in California in 1849 equally surface, i j e w h s as they .t Gold dust was worth 16 dots 30e to 10 dols 50c the ounce (X 3 Os 10d and £3 17s 7d), and it was taken in exchange for goods at 17 dols the ounce. The average ley of the gold has not yet been accu rately ascertained. Some of it gave 918-I,oooths fine, which is very high. Some gave from 800 to 900-I,oooths fine, and the average is taken at 850 fine. I need hardly remark to you that I would not have lent myself to giving currency to these mar vellous stories, were I not fortified by my own knowledge of the general truth of all I write. THE lIABTLEY COLLIERY ACCIDENT ;NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, MONDAY NIGHT. The inquest on the bodies of the 199 men and boys who were buried alive in the Hartley Pit at the late accident, and whose bodies were recovered on Saturday week, commenced this day at Seaton- Delaval, a village close by the colliery. The coroner and jury were assisted in the inquiry by Mr. K. Blackwell, the Commissioner specially sent down by the Home-office for the purpose, and by Mr. Dunn, the Mining Inspector of the district. No new facts of any importance were added to those already laid before the public by to-day's inquiry. The first witnesses examined were the banksmen who were at the mouth of the pit at the time, and who described the sudden fracture of the beam, and the disappearance of the outer half down the shaft. Their evidence threw no light on the cause of the accident. The next witness was Thomas Watson, one of the eight men who were ascending in the cage at the time. Five of them were killed, bat he and two others :were rescued almost by a miracle. He gave the following narrative of his escape. " It was about half-past 10 when I and seven others got into the cage to ascend the shaft. We had got about half-way up when we heard a sudden crack in the shaft, and a moment after there came down a tre mendous crash of falling timber, which struck the cage. Before we were struck something passed by us down the shaft like a flash of lightning. The crack we heard seemed close by us in the shaft; it did not come from overhead. It might have been one of the spears' (pump rods) breaking, but I should not like to say. We were all thrown out of the cage by the shock. Four of us were killed on the spot. When we came to consider we concluded from pocket, that the spears were broken , as the engine had stopped ; and we thought that the shaft had closed up over us. One of the men in the upper deck of the cage had some matches in iv i e a n his the cke bottomt , and we struck a light. The first thing I did was to examine the state of the rapper ropes (by which the signals are to the top), and I found them all right. I wrapped a leather belt round them with the intention of climbing by them to bank, but one of the men with me made such a stir about his boy who had been carried away down by the falling timbers that I slid down the pumps to look after him. I found him lying among a mass of timber. I remained with him until I was rescued. I was the last man taken up. They let down a common loop from the top for me, and I went up in that. I could not see in what state the shaft was, for it was all filled with smoke, and the wind very soon put ,the candle out." Ralph Robinson, the next witness, who was also ascending in the cage, gave a similar account of the accident. About half-way up there was a sudden crack somewhero in the shaft; how far off it might be he could not tell, and then they heard something falling down the shaft all the way from bank. A shower of timber folloWed, which crushed the cage, and struck all the the men out. He remained in the ruins until nearly nine at night. John Short, the enginewright in charge of the engines, described the immediate means taken after the accident to rescue the men who were in the cage below. They found the shaft stopped up by ruins of the brattice timber, about 30 fathoms from bank, before arriving at the high main. There was great difficulty in passing a rope through this to the men below. When they were got up the tim ber in the upper part of the shaft was cleared away, and steps then taken to clear away the timber be low. By working incessantly during the night they cleared away the impediments to within about five fathoms of the middle seam, and it was then that they began to meet with falls from the side of the shaft. Up to that time they had only the timber to deal with. The brattico was all gone in that part of the shaft, and the pump trees had all been carried away. The sides of the shaft had given way slightly in the upper part of the shaft, but when they got within five fathoms they began to give way to a very considerable extent, and there were falls all right along. The sides of the shaft were generally lined with 11. in. boards, se cured by round cribs 61in. thick. He co aid not say how much of the shaft was walled or how much of it was unlined altogther. He had only been at the pit for a twelvemonth, and there had been no occasion to repair any part of the shaft in his time. They found the main pump rod broken off at from 10 to 12 fathoms from the surface. The pump-trees which were originally fixed on the north side of the shaft were twisted across to the south side by the fall of the beam. Mr. William Coulson, of Durham, the master sinkPr to whom the work of clearing the shaft was intrusted, was the next witness called. He said that being at Newcastle on the day after by chance, he heard of the accident, and stopped at Hartley on his way further north to see how matters were get ting on. Finding the state of things so serious he offered his services, which were accepted. He de scended the pit about 5 o'clock, and found the shaft in a very shattered:state. All the timber was swept away, both of the main brattice and the side lining, except here and there where there was a timber hanging loose from the side. About five fathoms above the yard seam all the rubbish Lad stuck fast in the shaft. He set to work clearing away the timber—stowing it in the upper seam, instead of taking it to bank, to save time. This went on until Saturday night, when the stone from the side of the shaft began to fall in very extensively. Many tons fell in, and it was very dangerous for the men. This was about four fathoms from the middle seam. Very little had fallen above the level of the high main coal, but at the point where the men were working the shaft opened out to 30 feet wide in some places. It was necessary to fence the shaft ' up at this place, which took them twelve hours. This brought them to Sunday morning. The timbers of the brattice were jammed fast in toge ther, and there was also a great quantity of large pieces of stone, but very little small rubbish. What there was fell through to the bottom as the large timbers were drawn out. On Sunday morning they began to work at a small opening by the side of the shaft, which they continued to work at until Tiiesday morning, when, after getting out a large balk of timber, there was a sudden rise of gas, and some of the men had to be carried to bank speechless. They were working with candles at the time, which, if anything, burned more brightly in the gas than before. It rose gradually in the shaft, beating the air back, and a canvas brattice was then put in to carry it off. This took till Thursday morning. At this time, in addition to the danger from the gas, the shaft was also in a most unsafe state from the continual falls which were taking place. When the gas came up from below he gave up all hopes of the men being sav ed, and shortly after, when a hole was made to the furnace-drift, one of the pitmen passed through and found that all the men were dead. His opinion was that the lodgment of the ruins of the brattice took place just about the yard seams on the timber stays, or " buntings," on which the pumps rested. If it had not been for the enormous falls which took place, they certainly would have got through the rubbish two days before they did ; and the stones then brought away, by filling up the interstices of, the mass of timber ruins, kept back the gas. In reply to a number of questions Mr. Blackwell put to him as to the state of the shaft, Mr. Coulson said he could hardly tell whether these falls would have taken place had the shaft been securely lined with brick. The walling in the upper part of the shaft was much cut by the fall of the beam, but no rubbish was brought away from it. No part of the shaft was walled except the upper part. All the rest was lined with timber. He himself had sunk the shaft 17 years ago, but he could not say whether the lining had been repaired or not since. The ex planation of the cause of the accident given by Mr. Coulson, who has had 48 years' ex perience of shaft•sinking, and who has sunk 84 pits in his time, corresponds very much with the opinion expressed in my former letter. He found that the main "spears" or pump•rods were broken about 12 or 14 fathoms from bank, and the second spear opposite the middle seam, and their breakage was the cause of the accident. When they parted, the beam lost its weight as it was making its upward stroke, and broke in the middle. The appearance of the spears at the points where they broke were as if they had been pulled out, not snapped. They were broken by tension not by a blow, and it could not have been the falling beam which broke them. The buckets of the pumps might have got wedged, or a clack might have fallen, but in all probability it was the wedging of the buckets. That would account for the breakage of the pumps in such a manner, and it would take place just at the turn of the stroke. The beam was broken by concussion, not by any tensile strain. The cross head (connecting it with the piston-rod), which was of malleable iron, broke at the same time. If the beam had broken at the down-stroke it would have been caught by the catch-pins, and would not have gone down ; but, being broken in the up-stroke (" going into the house" is the technical term,) it had all the length of its stroke to fall, and the spears, from which it could not flee itself, having doubled over, it fell right down into the shaft. The next witness called was William Adams, one of the two volunteers who first penetrated through the debris and discovered the dead bodies. The first two they found were lying dead on the furnace bars, and a little further on there was a dead body lying in a doorway, keep ing it open. Just beyond that were at least 100 bodies close together. Most of them were lying on their sides, as if they were asleep. There was no water in the seam. Some of the men had corn in their pockets, and in one or two of their boxes, when they were brought up, there were candles and tobacco. The air in the workings at that time did not affect him at all; it seemed quite good, and the candles burnt well in it. Mr. Humble, the resident viewer of the colliery, gave a similar account of the discovery of the bodies. On Tuesday morning he forced his way through the hole which had been made in the rubbish into the furnace drift. Descending by that, he found two men lying on ashes of the furnace, on their faces. There were also several men lying and sitting be hind it. In the furnace drift were other men lying and sitting against the walls. Passing through the doors at the end of this drift, in the passage leading to the shaft he found a large number of men lying together, as if they had laid down to sleep. From thence he passed along the gallery leading to the staple, and there he found the rest of them lying in heaps together. The air was bad all the way, but on getting within a short distance of the staple he could no longer breathe, and was obliged to return. The candle he had with him burnt brightly all the time. There was a bad smell, which he believed came from the dead bodies of the men and horses. He had no reason to believe that there were any bodies left behind in the pit. The air at the top of the staple was very bad—so that the men would get no relief by going there. The air in the pit was generally good, and there was no trouble with the gas. His explanation of the bad air which killed the men was, that the smoke from the furnace would pass down the shaft and back through the lower main, up the staple, into the middle seam, where the men were ; and so the air would be vitiated. The furnace would probably keep alight for half an hour or 40 minutes after the accident. Mr. Blackwell put several questions to the witness as to the state of the shaft, but, not being responsible for it, he said he could not speak as to the condition in which it was at the time, nor had he ever examined it particularly to see whether it required repairs. Whenever, in his passage up and down the shaft, he found a plank deficient, he reported it and had it repaired. After Mr. Humble's evidence the inquiry was adjourned until to-morrow. MIDDLE SEX SESSIONS.—Feb. 4. (Before the Assistant-Judge.) The Governor of the House of Detention, Capt. Codd, attended to answer the complaint preferred by Mr. Best on Monday against him, of having re fused Mr. Justice Mellor's clerk, with a solicitor engaged for the defence, to see two prisoners. They were admitted within the gates, and the inner turnkey was informed that the gentleman was the clerk to one of her Majesty's judges, and that he attended to take the affidavits of the prisoners, it being necessary that such a course should be taken in order that an application might be made for a certiorari. The turnkey refused to admit him, and the reason given for the refusal was that he (the clerk) had no letter from the judge to show who he was. The Governor urged that this was neces sary according to the rules and regulations of the prison as laid down by the visiting justices. The turnkey went to inform him of the application, but before he could get to the inner gate the judge's clerk had left. He had however waited 20 minutes. The Assistant-Judge said it certainly was an irre gular proceeding, especially as the turnkey was in formed of the purpose for which the clerk attended —but no doubt it would not occur again. Frederick Eyles, 18, waiter, was indicted for stealing two sovereigns, the moneys of W. Brown ing, his master. He pleaded guilty. Mr. Tayler prosecuted ; Mr. Ribton was for the defence. The prosecutor was a lodging-housekeeper, at 36, Duke-street, St. James's, and the prisoner had been in his service some months as a waiter. He was "a young man from the country," and when he entered the prosecutor's service he had but a shil ling in his possession, though when apprehended he had a savings bank book showing a deposit of £3O in the name of Mary Eyles. In consequence of suspicion, marked money was placed in the prosecutor's desk, and two sovereigns were found in the prisoner's box. The prisoner had a latch key and used to let himself out at night after his master's house was closed, and associated with prostitutes and all sorts of bad characters; he kept a girl, and had two opera glasses, one for his own use, and one for her's. His lordship sentenced him to six months' hard labour, and in the most kindly manner expressed a hope that on his liberation he would strike into a good course of life ; if he did not he would be a lost man. James Daley, 29, hawker, was convicted of steal ing a watch from the person of Bristow Tully on Hungerford Bridge. ( The prisoner, when before the magistrate, con tended that he could not be sent to these sessions, his point being that the offence was committed in Surrey. Lockyer, the prison officer, said this was with the idea of his not beity , recognised as an old thief and a frequent inmate of the Middlesex prisons. He had been convicted four or five times. The Court sentenced him to four years' penal servitude. James Hanshar, 31, lately a police constable at Hampstead, was indicted for unlawfully and mali ciously wounding Sophia Hanshar, his wife. Mr. Cooper was counsel for the prosecution. Mr. Rowden was for the defence. The prosecutrix stated that on the 23d of Janu ary she wasat home at Burrows, Hendon, when her husband came home at about half-past one o'clock, and asked her if any one was coming to take away her things, or to go away with her. She said, " No, decidedly, no one." He then said, "Will you . continue to live with me now." She said, "How can I when you have used me as you have done P" This referred to past times, more particularly during the last 18 months. She was cutting out work ; words having dropped, she received a fear ful blow on the head, and another as she was trying to get away, Ohp paid—l turned round, and saw that the blows were given by a poker which he held in one hand, and as I closed upon him, he kept me off, and again struck me. I went round to the other side of the room, and ho there struck me again twice, I put up my arms to save my head, when I received two more blows, which disabled me. I fell, and as I was falling or on the ground I received another blow which broke my finger. I lay on the floor and pretended to be dead to save myself from further violence. He came in front of me as I lay on the floor, his coat, which he had previously taken off, being then on. He had not the poker. He looked at me, and took hold of my injured h an d an d th rew it d own , sa yi ng " I have killed you." He went out at the door, as I thought, to escape ; b u t I staggere d a f ter hi m, be lieving that he had done th a t w hi c h wou ld kill me, and I did not wish him to get away. He saw me coming after him and he stopped. I went across the road, and a man came up and asked me to have a policeman. I said " No." The defendant said " I've done it." I then sat on some steps, and some persons came to my assistance. My husband then went away. This poker (produced) is the same I was assaulted with. This chenille net (produced) I was wearing when I received the blows. From further evidence it appeared that the de fendant went to Mr. Growse, surgeon, at Hendon, and asked him to go immediately to his wife, as he was afraid he had murdered - her. The surgeon asked him what he had done that for. The defen dant then said she had dishonoured his bed, and he should go and give himself up to Sergeant Hughes. The surgeon found the prosecutrix with five con tused wounds on the head, no doubt caused by such a weapon as a poker. Sergeant Hughes said the defendant was a con stable ander him, and on the 23d of January he came to him,'surrendered himself in custody, and said he believed he had killed his wife. The wit ness said " How so ?" The defendant said "By hitting her with a poker," and he believed she was dead. In answer to questions the defendant said " Yesterday morning I found her having intercourse with a lodger named Collier, who works for Hud son. Today I went home and found all her things packed to go away with that man to-night, when I certainly did hit her on the head." Inspector Webb, Hampstead, said he booked the charge against the defendant, who, after being cautioned in the usual way, said—" Yesterday morning I came from duty at six, and saw the night duty go off. I turned down the road a little way, and went after them. 1 turned and went home and upstairs to bed. Joseph Collier, a lodger in the house, slept in the same bed as I did ; my wife slept with her mother. When I had been in bed a quarter of an hour he got up. My wife got up at the time, and they both went down stairs together. I heard whispering, and Collier said to her, ' You go home for a week, and I'll send for you.' They went to gether into the middle room of the house, and I heard more whispering. I got out of bed and stood on the top of the stairs and heard this. They were there a minute or two. I went down and found them in a certain situation. I said, ' This is it, is it P' Collier said 'So help me God, I have not done anything, James.' I said What is the use of your saying that when I saw you ?' My wife aggravat ingly said, 'We did not, but our intentions were good,' I ordered him out and he went." Further he said to the Inspector,—" I have been dishonest to my wife, and finding her in that position with Collier I thought she was as bad as me. I wished her to live with me; but she said she would not, and that what I had found out and seen she in tended to write to me about. Next day I came home and found her things packed up, going, as I believed, and still believe she was going, to live and cohabit with this Collier. I became very excited, and, knowing hardly what I was about, hit her with the poker." The prosecutrix was subjected to a severe cross examination by Mr. Rowden—She denied that there had been any improper familiarity between her and Collier, but admitted that he had been in the habit of kissing her. Letters had passed between them. She was now living in Cirencester-place, and her sister paid her rent. Mr. Rowden, addressing the jury, said he could not resist a verdict against the defendant for a common assault, but he hoped the jury would, under the circumstances, exonerate him from the more serious counts in the indictment. On the defendant's be half he had to submit that, finding his wife in an act of criminality with the man Collier, and after wards seeing that it was her intention to go and live with him, he was morally, though not legally justified in what he had done, and that the most lenient course would meet the justice of the case. His Lordship then summed up most carefully ; and The Jury found the defendant guilty of a common assault, at the same time strongly recommending him to mercy on account of the extreme provoca tion he had received and his character. A witness proved that the defendant had been nine years in the police, and bore a good character. He had lost his situation in consequence of this ease, and had two children to provide for. His Lordship sentenced him to two months' im prisonment. FROM THE GAZETTE OF LAST NIGHT. FOREIGN-OFFICE, JAN. 25. The Queen has been graciously pleased to appoint Ed ward St. John Neale, Esq., now Secretary to her Majesty's Legation in China, to be Secretary to her Majesty's Lega tion in Japan. The Queen has also been graciously pleased to appoint Thomas Francis Wade ' Esq., C. 8., to be Secretary to her Majesty's Legation in. China. FOREIGN OFFICE, FEB. 1. The Queen has been pleased to approve of Mr. Henry B. Rammond as Consul at Dublin, and of Mr. James W. Mar shall as Consul at Leeds, for the United States of America. WHITEHALL, FEE. 3. The Queen has been pleased to appoint Patrick Fraser, Esq., Advocate, to be Sheriff of the Shire or Sheriffdom of Renfrew, in the room of Robert Macfarlane, Esq., ap pointed a Lord of Session in Scotland. - CROWN OFFICE, FEB. 3. MEMBERS RETURNED TO SERVE IN THE PRESENT PARLIAMENT. Borough of Coleraine—Sir Henry Hervey Bruce, of Downhill, in the county of Londonderry, Bart., in the room of John Boyd, Esq., deceased. County of Oxford—Lieutenant-Colonel John William Fane, in the room of George Harcourt, Esq., deceased. WAR-OFFICE, PALL-MALL, FEB. 4. 2d Regiment of Life Guards—Lieutenant Sir Samuel Hercules Hayes, Bart., from the 10th Foot, to be Cornet and Sub-Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Ewart, promoted. IGth Lancers—Gentleman Cadet John Palmer Brabazon, from the Royal Military College, to be Cornet, without pm chase, vice Alan John Colquiroun, appointed to the 42d Foot. Royal Artillery—Surgeon Richard Francis Valpy De Lisle, having completed a period of 20 years, full-pay service, to be Surgeon-Major, under the provisions of the Royal Warrant of Ist October, 1858. Military Train—Captain Edward Jervis has been permitted to-retire from the service by the sale of his Commission. 3d Regiment of Foot—Captain Francis Houlton Hartwell, from the 17th Foot, to be Captain, vice Wm. Henry, who exchanges ; Ensign James Edward Foster to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice John Awdry, who retires ; George Agar Alexander, Gent., to be Ensign, by pur chase, vice Foster. 6th Foot—Captain Isaac Harmond, from 97th Foot, to be Captain, vice Henry John Lawrell, who exchanges. 7th Foot—Lieutenant Henry Edward Harrow, from the 59th Foot, to be Lieutenant, vice Frampton, who ex changes. 9th Foot—Captain Arthur George E. Morley, from 90th Foot, to be Captain, vice Wm. Lawrence Murphy, who has retired upon half-pay ; Quartermaster-Sergeant Patrick Boylan to be Quartermaster, vice James Parrot Arrowsmith, who retires upon half-pay. 10th Foot—Lieutenant Robert Annesley to be Captain, by purchase, vice George Frederick Coryton, who retires; Lieutenant Walter Hedger to be Captain, by purchase, vice George Wm. Graham, who retires ;' Lnsign Ed. ward A. R. Roe to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Annesley ; Ensign Alex. Fraser to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Hedger; Archibald Glen, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Roe ; Arthur William King, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Fraser. 11th Foot—Clifford Wharton Charles Kemeys-Tynte, Gent., late Lieutenant Ist Somerset Militia, to be En sign, by purchase, vice Lloyd, appointed to the 16th Foot, 14th Foot—Surgeon John Elliott Carte, M. 8., having com pleted a period of 20 years, full pay service, to be Surgeon- Major, under the provisions of the Royal Warrant of Oct. f. 16th Foot—Ensign Basil Clifton Westby to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice John Pennefather, who retires; En sign Charles Whitworth Lloyd, from 11th Foot, to be Ensign, vice Fitz-Herbert, appointed to the Rifle Bri gade • John Edward Orange, Gent., to be Ensign by Westby. 17 Henry, from th e 3d F oo t, t o b e Captain, evta ic ai e cPe Frian Wm. Houlton Hartwell, w h oexc h ang es. purchase,t h F o Foot—Captain t 19th Foot—Lieutenant Wm. Henry Moffatt to be Captain, by purchase, vice Brevet-Major Fredk. Montagu Alison, promoted, by purchase, to an unattached majority . 21st Foot—Capt. Thomas Gardiner, from half-pay, late 98th Foot, to be Captain, vice Charles Hill Freason, who re tires upon half pay. 24th Foot—Lieut. Robt. C. T. Atthill, from the 50th Foot, to be Lieutenant, vice Oliver Goldsmith, who exchanges. 25th Foot—Ensign Wm. Grogan Knox to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Charles Edward Gore Browne, pro moted, by purchase, to an Unattached Company; Gerald Monteath Shirley, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Knox. 28th Foot—Ensign Ellis Houlton 'Ward to be Lieutenant, without purchase, vice Wm. Alfred Steward, deceased. 29th Foot—Lieut. Henry Grantham Fulford, from 97th Foot, to be Lieutenant, vice Francis Wm. Prittie, who exchanges. 33d Foot--Capt. Joseph C. Smythe, from 531 Foot, to be Captain, vice Francis A. Ball, who exchanges. 34th Foot—Capt. Wm. Cody, from half pay, late 3d West India Ite.iment, to be Captain, v i ce Ed war d H erman Marsh, who' retires on half pay. 36th F,ot—Lieut. Clement Sheriff T. Sale to be Captain, by purchase, vice Horace Edward Willet, who retires; Ensign George Cotton Dumergue to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Sale; Wm, Sketrett, Gent., to bo Ensign, vice Dumergue. 50th Foot- 7 Lieutenant Oliver Goldsmith, from 24th Foot, to be Lieutenant, vice Robert C. T. Atthill, who ex changes. 53d Foot—Captain Francis A. Ball, from the 33d Foot, to De Captain, vice Joseph C. Smythe, who exchanges. 55th Foot—Ensign Francis Holt Tate to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Edwin Charles Hilton, who retires; Francis Hoey Wade, Gent., to 100 gilsign, by purchase, Vice 'fate. 59th Foot—Lieutenant Wm. John Frampton, from the 7th Foot, to be Lieutenant, vice Harrow, who eNmhanges. 03d Foot—Ensign Major Dawson Hill to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Charles AWsini J crrvt, vita plug tion, by purchase, has been cancelled ; Gentleman-Cadet Wm. Bigg, from the Royal Military College, to be En sign, without purchase, vice Hill. 69th Foot—Surgeon Huntley George Gordon, M.D., hav ing completed a period of 20 years full-pay service, to be Surgeon-Major, under the provisions of the Royal War rant of the Ist October, 1858. 75th Foot—Captain Oswald Wm. Every, from 90th Foot, to be Captain, vice Thomas Carlisle, who exchanges; Ensign Anthony Rowband, to be Lieutenant, without purchase, vice George Benjamin Singer, deceased. 79th Foot—Surgeon Thomas Goldie Scott, M.D., having completed a period of 20 years full-pay service, to be Surgeon-Major, under the provisions of the Royal War rant of the Ist October, 1858. 85th Foot—Ensign Wm. Frederick Hancocks to be Lieu. tenant, by purchase, vice Boles Reeves, who retires ; Avery Jebb, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Han cocks. 88th Foot—Ensign John James Davidson to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Lewis Mansergh Buchanan, who re tires ; Frederick Maddan Maitland Mapleton, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Davidson. 90th Foot—Captain Thomas Carlisle, from the 75th Foot, to be Captain, vice Oswald William Every, who ex changes; Captain and Brevet-Major William Temple Parratt, from half-pay Unattached, to be Captain, vice Morley, appointed to the 9th Foot. 95th Foot—Lieutenant Henry Gresham Pasko to be Adju tant, vice Lieutenant Sexton, promoted. 97th Foot—Captain Henry John Lawrell, from 6th Foot, to be Captain, vice Isaac Harmond, who exchanges ; Lieutenant Francis William Prittie, from the 29th Foot, to be Lieutenant, vice Henry Grantham Fulford, who exchanges. Rifle Brigade—Lieutenant Frederic Arthur Riley to be Captain, by purchase, vice Brevet-Major Henry Wilmot, who retires ; Ensign Robert Hamilton Lloyd Anstruther to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Riley ; Ensign Walter Hepburn Melitas Fitz Herbert, from the 16th Foot, to be Ensign, vice Anstruther. 3d West India Regiment—Captain Gillian Maclean Ross, from half-pay Unattached, to be Captain, vice James Francis Birch, who retires upon half-pay. PURVEYOR'S DEPARTMENT.—Deputy-Purveyor John Thomson to be Purveyor to the Forces, vice William S. Rogers, deceased ; Deputy •Purveyor Alfred Pope, to be Purveyor to the Forces, vice William Anderson, placed on the retired list. UNATTACHED. Major Edward Burgoyne Cureton, from 12th Lancers, to be Lieutenant-Colonel, by purchase ; Captain Frederick Anthony Trevor, from the 4th Foot, to be Major, by pur chase ; Lieutenant Maurice George Beaufoy Fitz Gerald, from the 97th Foot, to be Captain, by purchase.: BREVET. Captain Chasles Jolliffe, Royal Marines, to be Major itt the Army. MEMORANDUM. The undermentioned officer upon half-pay has been per mitted to retire from the service, by tho sale of his com mission, under the conditions of the Horse Guards' Cir cular Memorandum of the Isth February, 1861 :—Cornet Archibald Glass, half-pay, late Land Transport Corps. BANKRUPTS. James Davis, Tabernacle-walk, Finsbury George Rowley, oilman, Islington Felix Lievin Bauwens, St. Ann-street, Westminster Richard Cooke, tin plate worker, Freemantle, Hants Charles Roads, oilman, Walworth-road Joseph Pyefinch, railway guard, Hoxton Edward Wilson, gingerbeer maker, Poplar New Town', Henry Hammond Stammers, tailor, Strand William Naughton, grocer, Naughton, Norfolk Thomas James Walton, merchant, Bishopsgate, City Kadir Bukhsh Turkish bath-man, Finsbury George Bickerdike, gas engineer, Lower-road, Islington William Whiteman, builder, Pimlico Isaac Simm, coal merchant, Edge lane, near Liverpool George William Brown Drury, surveyor, Preston William Henry Sharpies, yarn agent, Manchester Parnell Johnson, cabinet maker, Market Rasen, Lincoln Walter John Stone, Llandudno, Carnarvon Richard Balahaw, joiner, St.. Helens, Lancashire Mary Jones, farmer, Bryndn, Llanidloes Henry Hinks, coin merchant, Bicester, Oxford Daniel Church, clerk, Peckam-rye, Surrey Samuel Aruis, fish curer, Suffolk William Pipe, butcher, Fraralingham, Suffolk John George Stratton, mining agent, Walworth, Surd Samuel Finney, blacksmith, Leek, Staffordshire Wm. E. Matthews, boot maker, Birmingham Wm. Law, brewer, Birmingham Richard B. Blakeway, farmer, Heathton, Salop Henry Thomas, farmer, Herefordshire Pantaleone Constantine Salvago, merchant, Manchester Joseph Myers, furniture dealer, Old Kent -road John Baylie, attorney's clerk, Southwark Joseph H. Challenger, pianoforte maker, Brixton Thomas J, Ekstedt, pianoforte manufacturer, Newington Robt. Smith, sen., builder, College-et,, Camden-town. Charles WSWest, bookbinder, Bouverie-at., Fleet. street Nathaniel D. Norris, hop merchant, Hereford Wm. H. Tomkins, printer, Walsall Thomas Philpnt, innkeeper, Shrewsbury Henry C. D. Borne, grocer, Boston Wm. A. Dolby, land agent, Syston, Lincolnshire Humphrey M. Freestun, commander, R.N., m o netott Grove, Somersetshiro COUNTRY MARKETS. .... sil,k BRISTOL-FEB. 4. Our market this morning was bettor attended and the Barley lower. was generally more active, at late r a t es . tia lower. Peas and beans dull. Best black oats firm, inferior almst unsaleable. SHEFFIELD-FEB. 4. At this market to-day there was an average supply of wheat, which met a dull demand ; and prices were at a to is per load less money. Of barley the show was fair, and malting gave way slightly. Beans declined 6d per load. Oats unaltered. Red wheat, per lead of 3 imperial bushels 20s Od to 228 Od White I. /9 228 6d to 23s Od New red , , 22s Od to 23s ed New white ~ ~, 24s Od to 268 Od Beans ~ tf lBs Od to 19s Od Peas, per qr 54s Od to 55s Od Grinding barley, per qr 32s Od to 36s o+l Malting ditto, „ , 38s Od to 40s Od Oats 2ss 6d to 34s Od Millers' prices for flour-2s 2d, 2s 4d, and 2s 6d per 141 b. LEEDS—FxB. We have a moderate show of grain to-day. Thero is a very depressed business doing in the wheat trade, and sales are difficult to make, even at a &cline of is per qr from last Tuesday. In barley little doing, and prices fully Is under late rates. Oats id per stone, anj beans Gd per qr cheaper. MARKET HARBOROUGII—FEB 4. At this market to-day there was a slow trade, tad we had a limited show of wheat. For inferior sorts pima were cheaper—old, 50s to 598 ; new, 60s to 64s per 16 stone. Barley at about the rates of the week previous, 'flatting selling at 34s to 37s per qr., grinding 32s to 33s pei 30 at. Oats, 23s to 32s per 24 at. ; beans, 4/s to 465; new, 38s to 46s per qr. NORWICH CATTLE.' The show of store cattle to-day was large and god, consisting of Scots, shorthorns, and Irish. The atte:Ad ance of buyers was tolerable, with a dull trade, and price were unchanged. Scots, 48 to 48 6d ; shorthorns,' 3s Gd to 4s 6d ; Irish, 41 6d to 4s Od ; Devons, 4s to 4s 6d (estimated weight when fat). Fat beasts a large show and sales slow, at 7s Od to 7 8- . 6 c per 141 b. Sheep—There was a better supply of sheep in the prat and a fair sale. Fat sheep, 8s Od t o 8 s 6d per stone ; prime, Os Od. Pigs—A fair supply. Store pigs, 16s to 20s; fat pork, 78 Od to 7s 6d per stone. FOREIGN MAIL PACKET LIST. MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton. Feb. Igo via Marseilles Feb. 13. Brazil and Cape Verds, by British packet. March 8. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena March 3. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton Feb. 18. via Marseilles Feb. 13. Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton Feb. 10. India (Calcutta), and Ceyl on , v i a S on th ampton Feb. 1 8. 1 via Marseilles Feb. 13. India (Bombay), via Southampton Feb. 10. via Marseilles.. Feb. 4. Lisbon Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Feb. 10. via Marseilles Feb. 4. Newfoundland ..Feb. 5. Oporto and Vigo .............. Feb. 1 1 . U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet.... Feb. 5. by U.S. packet.... by Canadian packet. Feb. •-•-• W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe Feb. 10. Bahamas, vi a N ew Y or k .... Feb. 13. Mexico • • .. Feb. 28. All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, 1 Feb. 13. California, and British Columbia.. BIRTHS. BLACKETT.—On the Ist inst, at Wylam-Oakwood, Nor thumborlaud, the wife of Ed war d A l gernon Blackettp R.N., of a son. LAEONE.—On the 4th inst., at Denmark-hill, Mrs. Alfred Lafono, of a daught er . WEAR.—On the 3d inst., atWimbledon, Mrs. Henry Webb of a daughter. WHITEHEAD.-- On the 4th inst., at 30, Inverness4errsoet Kensington. gardens, W„ the wife of John Whitehead, Esq., of a son, MARRIAGES. SHORT—DANxs.— On the Ist inst., at Edgbaston parleh church, Mr. Septimus Short, of Penang, India, to Clarst the second daughter of Mr. Danks, of The Vale, Edg baston. PLOWNIAN—Smunr—On the 4th inst., at Charlton Church, Kent, Thomas Henry Plowman, Esq., of Dorchester, to Mary Carter, the second daughter of the Rev. R. Carter Smith. DEATHS. BARKER.—On the 2d inst., at Kensington, Mr. WiMar a Barker, aged 70. CHADWICK. — On the 3d inst., at his mother's residence , Haverstock-hill, William 'Winter, eldest son of Williams Chadwick, Esq , of Grove-park, Surrey, aged 38. GREENWOOD. — On the 2d inst., Thomas Greenwood, Es'l' J.P., of Crayke Hall, Yorkshire. KENNEDY.-0n the Ist in s t., th e L a d y Ni gel K enne af t the last surviving child of the late Major Frere May. STUART.—On the 2d inst., at Chapel-street, Jane, daitgli: ter of the late Gener a l St uar t , C. 8., and widow of t'° Right Hon. Admiral Lord George Stuart. UPTON.—On the 3d itst., Edward Upton, Esq., of tig er Thames•street, and Clapham, aged 62. WoRT,I,EnoE.—On the 2d inst., at Ruffins, Chevingt, A lln near Bury St. Edmund' s , J o h n Worlledge, Esq., aged 63. LONDON : Printed and P u bli shed by 311:111D0 YOUN r No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Tnn SUN Office, No. 112,StranO. in the Precinct of the Savoy in the County of b1id_44. 04 Wegueadish February 5, 18024