The Sun. — London, England, 1859-01-31 00:00:00

IRELAND. DUBLIN, SATURDAY MORNING. THE IRISH JUDICIAL BENCH. The retirement of Mr. Justice Crampton, after 25 years' service in the Court of Queen's Bench, took place yesterday in presence of a large assem blage of the bar and the public, including, of coarse, several ladies. The Attorney-General, on the part of the bar, pronounced a glowing eulogium on the professional and private worth of the learned judge. now about to quit the busy scene where he had played so active a part for nearly half a century. Mr. Justice Crampton briefly, but eloquently, re plied. He then bade farewell to the Chief Justice and to Judges Perrin and O'Brien, and on retiring from the bench he was greeted with a hearty burst of applause from the bar and the spectators. The following sketch or memoir of the ex-judge is taken, from the Freeman of this morning :—" Though not of the first order of judicial intellect, Judge Cramp ton was an admirable working judge,and thoroughly conversant with every department of public busi ness in the Queen's Bench. He had a refined mind, perhaps too subtle for general use, and not reliable from the sudden and unexpected turns it was wont to take in the course of argument. lie was remarkably urbane and bland in his demeanour, though his temper sometimes strayed from the con straint in which he habitually held it, and then he would let loose some of those sharp and sarcastic things which he knew how to point in such per fection. Other judges counsel could gauge with some approach to certainty, but the most acute never know whether Judge Crampton went with or against him. He would smilingly assent to a pro position—nodding his head in very decided appro bation, but when judgment was to be given all the nods would often prove only lures to lead astray.' He was a man of many and various acquirements, perhaps the most learned on the bench, though he very rarely obtruded his extra-judicial erudition on the bar. At an early age he was distinguished in a field which, in the beginning of the present cen tury, attracted great competition. In 1807 he gained the second Fellowship of Trinity College, the first having been obtained by the late Bishop of Waterford, Dr. Sandes. In 1816 Mr. Crampton was appointed Professor of Common and Feudal Law in the University, which he held until his pro motion to the bench, when he was succeeded by Judge Longfield. In politics he was not very de cided, but his middle age tendencies inclined to mild Liberalism, which, after great efforts, could screw itself up to a reform in Parliament. When Lord Grey's Bill was convulsing England, and the Reformers swept all before them, Mr. Crampton had his weather eye open, and rode like many others on the favouring gale. He was a very respectable gentleman, ex-Fellow of college, Professor in the University. a good lawyer and advocate, and alto gether acceptable to the hypocritical Liberals of the day, among them the present Premier, then Chief Secretary for Ireland. In 1832 Mr. Cramp ton was appointed Solicitor-General, and having entered Parliament for one of the English Whig, boroughs, he assisted Mr. Stanley in draughting and carrying through the Irish Reform Bill, one of the most unsuccessful and embarrassing pieces of legislation of modern times. Previously he had made a grand Reform speech in contesting the University, and compared the efforts of Toryism to arrest the Reforming spirit to a pebble combating l i with the mighty flow of ocean !' When he reached the bench, however, in 1834, he forgot all about Reform and returned to the love of his earlier years. He was always snapping at Reform and B,eformers, and mention of the House of Commons appeared to have much the same effect on his lord ship as a red rag shaken before a turkey cock. For some time it was supposed he would have reserved his seat for the Liberal party. He received all his promotions from a Liberal Government, and to them he should, on every principle of justice and honour, have resigned his seat. Conservative judges fol low the rule of party, which in this respect is a commendable rule, because it accords with our ideas of gratitude and good faith. Though Judge Crampton had ceased to be a Reformer, he was, at least, bound to restore the office to the representa tives of the Reform party. But let us not be too political on a question which should exclude all hasty considerations. Judge Crampton has ren dered good services to the public, and well has he been rewarded for his gentle labours. The Attor ney-General commends that rare virtue in the out going judge which he would wish to see repeated in another. Surely two judgeships in a month would content less inordinate desires, and satisfy less ambitious hopes." The _Evening Post adds some items to the fore going narrative :—" Mr. Philip Cecil Crampton, who has thus closed his public career, had been a Whig barrister, and was appointed, in 1830, to the office of Solicitor-General under the Administration of Lord Grey. At the general election in 1832 he was one of the Liberal candidates for the represen tation of the University of Dublin, the other being the late Hon. Frederick Ponsonby; and in his speech at the nomination—the profession of Reform principles having been then the passport to popu larity and office—he said that he gloried in the avowal that he was a Radical Reformer. Mr. Crampton failed in the contest, in which he and Mr, Ponsonby were opposed and defeated by Mr. Lefroy, the present Lord Chief Justice, and Mr. Shaw, the Recorder ; but soon after, in 1834, the Whig Solicitor-General was solaced for his discom fiture by a judicial seat in the Court of Queen's Bench. Mr. Crampton owed that appointment to his political connexions and to his profession of Liberal and Reform principles. It has now become our duty, as a journalist, to treat him as a public man closing his career ; and truth compels us to de clare that he took a final farewell of Liberal principles on the day that his appointment as a judge had ren dered him for life independent of the great party of which he had been so zealous a supporter. On as cending the bench, Mr. Crampton did not altoge ther cease to be a politician ; but he was no longer a Liberal in profession or practice, and the Tory party, to which he had been previously so eagerly antagonistic that it became his boast that he was nothing less than a Radical Reformer—that old Tory party from that period had his undisguised sympathies, and, so far as it could have been ren dered consistently with his judicial functions, the same party had his support." THE ABANDONED DEMONSTRATION. A Conservative journal (the Leinster Express), - which at first rather encouraged the projected meeting of the landlords, so far, at least, as the re pression of agrarian crime was an object of solici tude, n ow says :—" We never could concede to the landlord clas s a super i or i ty so l e l y to en titl e them to the discharge of the several duties appertaining to the maintenance of peace, and much less can we acknowledge their predilections in behalf of those industrial projects calculated to promote the pro sperity of Ireland. Territorial possession, no doubt, gives a certain stati on and stake, and there are many landowners who a re a li ve to theruetsptohnsibility o ftheir position cannot b e denied; b ody,they are to be excl us i ve l y entrusted at"th, as a with, or consulted upon, any of th ose measures whichen d to the public welfa re , i s no t a l one a gross con d uc e to "ye but an 4 insult to the un d ers t an di ng, the judgm ent,a, and enlarged views of men o f industrial wealth , enlightened mind, and liberal education. The de signation of a Landlord meeting,' justified in some measure by a departure from the terms of the requi sition, as circulars are stated to h ave b een sent ex clusively . to the possessors of landed estates, has been the principal cause of the failure : for that it was a decided failure it is useless to deny ; and the most judicious mode of retreat appears to have been under the shield of an Address of the Landed Proprietors to the Lord Lieutenant." Apropos of the abandoned meeting, an Orange journal contains some curious revelations of the reasons which led to the sudden hauling down of After allud ing to the brilliant the landlord flag. auspices under which the meeting had been con voked, the Derry Sentinel angrily asks :—" Why, with such prospects and under suc h favourable cir cumstances—in the midst of the spring-tide of v success, did the committee haul down the ir colours . Were they unequal to the occasion ? Did they shrink from the responsibility they had assumed ?_ Did they waver as to the soundness of their policy ? Did the Marquis of Downshire refuse to take the post assigned to him ? No. The committee were firm and confident, and Lord Downshire was wait ing for the telegram to start from London in order to take the chair. The meeting was abandoned, we are sorry to say. The movement was arrested by Parties acting on behalf of the Government. Some of these acted gotesethemselves mittee, an d their id part i n th e gu i se o f f r i en d s , others set th e Kildare -street their are -street Club in motion, and pressure on all th e hi ghe influence to bear with the utmost - that were to Y assist in the meeting, b s t personages repr esen ti ng i t as a ras h proceeding, injuriou s t o the Government and cal culated to endanger its e • object sought could be bet,twexri co, while the without t ined through wh s o tirring up a the action of the Executive dangerous agitation. The persons lind committee in to carry out this plan assisted the comrn compefe r g ay to , their rooms so effectively on Thursday and that at length they felt themselve s give way, substituting for their intend o a l e lutions a memorial [to the Lord-Lieutenant. 1 )- t must be admitted that it is quite natural that such a movement should be distasteful to the Govern ment. All Governments wish that the public mind should be kept as quiet as possible, and that hostile agitators should have no pretext for carry ing on their trade, on the principle that ill.condi tiorwd dogs should not be aroused from their sleep, even by the barking of well-disposed dogs. It is quite possible that the movement might have been made the subject of a motion in Parliament which would be troublesome to meet ; but as the Govern ment would have had no connection with the meet• ing, we do not see how it would have been cora -1 mitted by any proceedings of the Liberal party, while its endeavours to amend the law would be strengthened by a demonstration so important, just before the assembling of Parliament. But, at all events, whether some busy friends of the Govern ment, more zealous perhaps for their own personal advancement than for the improvement of the country, were right or wrong in the course they adopted, and whether the committee were right or wrong in not resisting the pressure, and holding the meeting at all hazards, which would, in any case, have been an influential ono, certain it is that faith has been broken with the public. A very strong feeling of disappointment and indignation has been produced throughout the country, and a heavy blow has been given to the confidence of the community in any statement of a similar kind that may hereafter go forth to the world." Had the meeting been held it is pretty certain that the defections would have been more curious than Lord Downshire and his friends could have been led to anticipate from the pairing off of such men of mark as Lord Monck, Lord Massareene, and politicians of that stamp. No one can accuse the two city members (Messrs. Grogan and Vance) of lukewarmness in any movement of their tparty, and yet both those gentlemen, it is said, were thoroughly opposed to the project for the revival of the old system of political agitation in Ireland. Phcenix or Riband societies may even still partially flourish, but the platform, whether at the Rotunda or inlConciliation-hall, is quite out of date—in fact, it has become an object of positive aversion. RAILWAY MANAGEMENT. Why does railway property stand so low in the market ? How comes it to pass that £300,000,000 of good money invested in good work produce only upon an average the interest of Consols without being half as negotiable ? No new questions, these, certainly. They have been often asked, but they cannot be asked too often until they are truly answered. Towards that most desirable exposition we beg now to contribute one very material fact, and that is that the fault, wherever it lies, does cer tainly not lie with the public. There were two great parties to these wonderful specimens of national enterprise—the subscribers who found the money, and the people who were to provide the returns. No railway, however thriftily constructed, could ever have been expected to pay a fair dividend, except on the supposition that the inhabitants of this country were to travel five times as much as they ever did before. The speculation was something like that of the penny postage. It could only answer on the presumption that demand would be indefinitely magnified by the improvement of the supply, and this demand it devolved on the public to exhibit. Now, what we say is, that the part of the public in the transaction has been most liberally performed. The one thing which has never failed a railway company is traffic. Whenever directors have found money's worth,the public has invariably come forward with money. We do not believe a single instance could be produced in which a line fairly suggested by the presumed requirements of the country has not realised, and far more than realised, all the returns estimated in respect of the traffic likely to arise. In that department the cal culations have always been sound, and that this element of success is still as powerful as ever, after 20 years' trial, was plainly to be seen in the remark able report of the London and Brighton Company which we recently published. The shares of that company stand at 113 or 114, as high a mark as is reached by the 5 per Cent. Stock of the Russian Empire, or the 6 per Cent. Bonds of the Canadian Government. The dividend declared on the last half-year was 31 per cent., the stock of the line, including plant, engines, and permanent way, was reported to be in the best possible order, and credit was assumed for a " eons - taut improvement goir!g on daily." Here, then, seems to be a real niodelline, or, at any rate, as things go generally, a property of a perfectly satisfactory character. We cannot exactly forget that all railways were once expected so confidently to pay upwards of 10 per cent. that legislative provision was made for the disposal of the inevitable surplus ; but those were " halcyon days," and ideas since that time have been consi derably brought down. So, when we hear that a line divides 31 per cent, for the half-year, and maintains its stock at 10 or 15 per cent. premium, we naturally ask on what system it has been managed, and how a state of things so agreeable to all parties has been brought about. These queries are very plainly answered in the chairman's speech, from which statement we learn that the whole thing has been done by treating the public hand somely, and receiving the handsome treatment which the public gives in return. The course pursued by the company for the last ten years has been uniform in principle and uni form in result. It has consisted in studying the accommodation and interests of the public, and re lying on this process for producing its own returns. In no one instance has the system failed. Whenever trains were made more convenient, and carriages more commodious, the outlay was replaced imme diately by the increase of custom. The directors took a resolution once of improving the position of second and third class passengers. They furnished the second class carriages with stuffed seats and backs, making them almost as good as first class ; the old second class vehicles they . passed over to third class passengers, and consigned the un covered carriages to extinction altogether. " Just the way," some of our managing friends will observe, "to cut up first class travelling en tirely." Well, it did reduce the number of first class passengers a little, but it increased the passengers of the other two classes so very largely that the decrease on the former head went for nothing. As to reduction of fares, there seems to be literally no limit whatever to the com mercial paradox that the less the companies ask the more they receive. The London and Brighton Directors have diminished their prices so incessantly since 1848 that the reductions have averaged up wards of four distinct abatements in each year. In some years reductions were made seven times over. In particular, the charge for season tickets had been materially lowered, and the con sequence is, that whereas the amount reesived by the company on this head was £lO,OOO in 1848, it had risen to £37,000 at the last audit. Taking all branches of traffic together, the increase during the period specified was no less than 75 per cent. - As the secret of all this success the Chairman observed, that it was a false and foolish policy for a company " to try to get as much out of the public as they possibly could." The principle is un doubtedly sound. A Railway Company, it is true, tries naturally to get as much as it can, and what ever it gets it must get from the public ; but it should do this as the London and Brighton does— by fair allurement, instead of griping extortion— by enticing people to give, and not by forcing them to pay. Give the public la. good bargain, and they will deal so largely with you that you will be sure of your profit ; try to stint them by " scamped" work and bad accommodation, and you will infal libly lose both your money and credit together. The experiment about the second-class carriages illustrates the whole system of railway mana,re ment. On many lines it has been a fundamental principle with the directors to drive passengers into first-class carriages, and thus swell the amount received from first-class fares. With this view second-class carriages were rendered as uncomfort able as possible, and second-class fares raised s aliaost t o th e l eve l o f t h e c l ass a b ove t h em. B u t what came of thi s no t a bl e sc h eme ? C erta i n l y no t expected. went Pe what tickets, a teras opheneesi,thorerdidtoonekt travel at orto other at all. The fact is that the public can be easily led, but can never be driven. It is very free-handed with its money, but only on condition that the meney's worth is forthcoming. It will not put up with hard t erms or bad rail way carriages comfortaaleusage. Make your b , your charges low, and your service effective, and people in goo d wea th er will almost live o n the line as the Americans do on their river steamboats. There shows is ing feature about the present age than n t o he more strik ing of all classes to spend mon e y. I t not onlyreadiness me ans, but it proves somethin g more. It proves that there is a disposition to enjoyment and genera l confidence in the future. It is th e • a opposite symptom to that of harding, which h s ows itself when a country is socially stagnant or politically insecure. Get up any spectacle, ceremony, exhi bition, or amusement, and one thing i s certain __ that it will not fail for want of patronage. Only make it really worth seeing or hearing, and the people who will flock to see and hear it will so on repay the cost. It is the same with any watering place, seaport, or place of recreative resort. When the season comes, if the offer is truly tempting, the demand cannot be supplied. The history of the whole case is simply this—that for one man who had a sovereign to spend and the will to spend it 60 years since, there are fifty now. 'Whole classes have entitled themselves to some of the sweets of existence, and are disposed to taste them. Now, .nothing could be more advantageous to railways than the p reva l ence o f a spirit like this, but the companies must deal with it by gratifying their Customers, and not by • • grinding them.—times. THE INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY. HILARY TERM, 1859. At the examination of candidates for admission on the roll of attorneys and solicitors of the superior courts the examiners recommended the following gentlemen, under the age of 26, as being entitled to honorary distinction : 1. Edward Young Western, of 4, Caroline-place, Guildford-street, London, aged 21, who served his clerkship to Mr. Edward Western, of Great James street, Bedford-row, and Messrs. Young, Vallings, and Jones, of St. Mildred's-court, London. 2. James Slater, of 26, Warwick-place, Pimlico, aged 22, who served his clerkship to Mr. John Hunt Thursfield, of Wednesbury, and Messrs. Ashurst and Morris, of 6, Old Jewry, London. 3. Robert Payne, of Oxford, aged 21, who served his clerkship to Mr. John Marriott Davenport, of Oxford, and Messrs. Davies, Son, Campbell, and Co., of Warwick-street, Regent-street, London. 4. Charles Tatham Fearon, of Assington, Su%lk, aged 21, who served his clerkship to Messrs. Andrews and Canham, of Sudbury, and Messrs. Gosling and Girdlestone, of Gray's-inn, London. 5. Frederick Blasson Carritt, of 9, Milner-square, Islington, aged 22, who served his clerkship to Mr. Frederick Carritt, of Basinghallstreet, London. The Council of the Incorporated Law Society have accordingly awarded the following prizes of books : To Mr. Western, the prize of the Hon. Society of Clifford's•inn. To Mr. Slater, the prize of the Hon. Society of Clement's-inn. _ To Mr. Payne, one of the prizes of the Incor porated Law Society. To Mr. Fearon, one of the prizes of the Incor porated Law Society. To Mr. Carritt, one of the prizes of the Incor porated Law Society. The examiners have also certified that the following candidates passed examinations which entitle them to commendation : Lethbridge Cowlard, of Launceston, aged. 22, who served his clerkship to Messrs. Gurney and Cowlard, of Launceston, and Messrs. Bell, Stewart, and Lloyd, of Lincoln's-inn-fields. Robert Ellett, of Watton, Norfolk, aged 22, who served his clerkship to Mr. Edward Robert Grigson, of Watton, and Messrs. Trinder and Eyre, and Messrs. Eyre and Lawson, of John-street, Bedford row. _ _ _ Henry-Ivimey, of 1, Ampthill-square, Hampstead road, aged 22, who served his clerkship to Mr. Joseph Ivimey, of Southampton-buildings, London. Rayner Lewis, of Tewkesbury, aged 21, who served his clerkship to Mr. Lauriston Winterbotham Lewis, of Tewkesbury, and Messrs. Brewster and Son, of Nottingham. The Council have accordingly awarded them certificates of merit. The Examiners have further announced to the following candidates that their answers to the questions at the examination were highly satisfac tory, and would have entitled them either to a prize or a certificate of merit if they had been under the age of 26 :- 1. John Ward, of 36, Arlington-street, Camden town, aged 30, who served his clerkship to Messrs. Moseley and Tayler, of Old Jewry-chambers, London. 2. William Beck, of 5, Shakespear-terrace, Stoke Newington, aged 33, who served his clerkship to Mr. George Tamplin, of Fenchurch-street, City. 3. John Battye Fenton, of 8, Ely-place, Holborn, aged 32, who served his clerkship to Mr. Francis Tarrant Fenton, of Gravesend, and St. Benet's place, City, and Messrs. Jaques, Edwards, and Layton, of Ely-place London. The number of candidates examined at this term was 108 ; of these 94 were passed and 14 post poned. MILITARY FORCES OF FRANCE. The Constitutionnel of yesterday contains the fol lowing reply to an article in our paper of Thursday last : The Daily News of the 27th, in an article the kindly spirit of which we are happy to acknow ledge,•announces that "the Emperor Napoleon has at his disposal 400,000 men ; but that, if we deduct from this number the 130,000 men he requires at Paris, a considerable force at Lyons, and the 70,000 men occupied in. Algeria, he would only have 130,000 men left to place in line in case of war." Although we have the well-founded hope that the Emperor will not have to employ the forces of the country, we consider ourselves bound in honour to rectify the facts. At present Algeria occupies in fact 70,000 men, but our rule would not be endangered by reducing this figure to 50,000. Paris at present has not a garrison of 130,000 men, but only of 30,000. Lyons has a garrison of 16,000 men, but they are by no means indispen sable, and might be considerably reduced. We shall give the force of the empire in case of war, and it will be seen that, without having re course to any extraordinary measures, France could collect a very considerable army. On the Ist of April, by keeping the whole con tingent of the Class of 1857 under arms, and not granting furloughs, we have under our flag 568,000 men. On the Ist of June, by calling in the entire con tingent of the class of 1858, we should have under the flag, as may be seen by the following tables, 632,000 men, and with the volunteers, who in case of war always amount in France to about 50,000 men, we should attain the figure of 682,000 men. The general strength of the army on April 1, 1859, will be :-Infantry (serving and belonging to the classes preceding the year 1857) 208,721 ; on furlough, 99,000 ; men of the class 1857, and serving, 43,500 ; total, 351,228. In the same way the cavalry is 46,900 ; 12,500 ; 12,700 ; in all, 72,100 ; the artillery, 27,450 ; 13,900 ; 2,900 ; total, 44,250 ; the engineers, 6,710 ; 4,600 ; 450 ; total, 11,760 ; military train, 4,870 ; 4,440 ; 450 ; giving a total for the force actually serving of 294,658 men, of men on furlough 134,400, of men belonging to the class 1837 of 60,000, and in all 489,058. Fur ther, there is the squadron of the cent gardes, equal to 142 men, the imperial guard 29,800, the staffs, gendarmerie, foreign and indigenous corps; all of which are recruited on the voluntary system, 49,000, giving a grand total of 568,000 men. Although the annual contingent is 100,000 men, it is only put down as 60,000, because 18,000 are excused every year, 5,000 are set apart for the navy, and 17,000 sent home to support their families. The men on furlough liable to be called in are soldiers, nearly all of whom went through the Crimean campaign, to whom leave of absence was given from economical motives, and who in a week could rejoin their corps. The strength of the army on the Ist of June will be in totals as before, and respectively for the in fantry 390,978 ; cavalry, 83,800; artillery, 46,450 ; engineers, 12,110; military train, 10,120; cent gardes, 142; imperial guard, 29,800; the othor corps,ispecified above, 49,000 ; volunteers, 50,000 ; giving a grand total of 672,400 men. The regiments consist of battalions, war squad rons, and depots. In case of war the depots would be more than sufficient to maintain tranquillity at home, besides feeding the battalions and squadrons of war. Let U 3 admit for these depots a number equal to 100,000 men, to which are to be added 25,000 gendarmes, Parisian guards, &c., and 50,000 for Algeria, making in all 175,000 men kept at home, and which have to be deducted from the above grand total of 672,000 men, leaving 497,000 men. Thus France, instead of being able to place in line only 130,000 men, as the Daily News sup poses, could if required place 500,000, without changing the working of her military institutions in any way. We repeat that we do not give these figures to make a parade of Our forces or prepare the public mind for a contest ; on the contrary, we believe firmly in the maintenance of peace ; but, after all, the best mode of maintaining it for a great nation is to prove that she is not disarmed. DEATH OF MR. ALEXANDER, THE OCULIST.- Death has taken away another of the medical notabilities of the metropolis. Mr. Alexander, surgeon oculist to her Majesty, died on the 20th inst., at his residence in Cork street, aged 76. The deceased gentleman succeeded many years ago to the practice of Sir Wathen Waller, and enjoyed during the greater part of his life a very large practice as an oculist. He was known as a very dexterous and remark ably successful extractor of cataract. He always did this operation without an assistant, and attributed much of his success to the practice of not interfering with the eye for several days after operation, unless something aroso which called for interference. The eye was covered by a simple light bandage, fastened to a nightcap. Mr. Alexander at tended many members of the Royal Family, and operated for cataract upon the late Duke of Sussex with complete success.—Medical Times. INDIAN MILITARY DEFENCE.—A memoir was read at the United Service Institution, on Friday last, by Mr. Hyde Clarke, on " Indian Military Defence," with the object of sh ow i ng th a t , i n consequence o f th e adaptation of the healthy regions of India to European constitutions, the military system should henceforth be based on the occupa tion by English troops, and colonisation by English settlers, of these hill regions, so that India may be held by an Eng lish army, instead of by a native army, in the tropical cities liable to revolt. Mr. Clarke showed that the Himalayas, the Vindhyas, the Ghauts, Neilgherries, Shevarass, and attached table lands, could support a large body of English settlers, with an abundant supply of cheap native labour. He urged the extension of the Madras line to the Neil gherries, of the Northern Bengal Railway to Darjeeling and Assam, and other lines, as an important auxiliary mea sure. The hill regions so occupied would, he pointed out, beiome a barrier against the aggression of Russia by land, or of France by sea. The approximatien of the Chines. frontier to Assam had now become important, as millions of Chinese immigrants might enter from that quarter. LAW INTELLIGENCE.—.Tan. 29. COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH. (Sittings in Banco, before Lord Campbell and Jus. tices Wightman, Crompton, and Hill.) At the sitting of the Court this day Lord Camp bell delivered judgment in two cases which had been previously argued. The first case related to a contract of sale, of no general interest. The second case was the following, which related to the deduction of certain expenses in the rating of a canal : THE QUEEN V. THE COVENTRY CANAL NAVIGATION COMPANY. Lord Campbell delivered the judgment of the Court in this case. The gross earnings of the canal in the respondent parish were £lB5, and the ques tion was whether the expense of maintaining two locks in the respondent parish, amounting to £lO5, was to be deducted from the gross earnings in that parish in ascertaining the rateable value, or whe ther that expense ought to be thrown upon the whole line of the canal. His lordship, after review ing the case, said the judgment of the Court wa s i n favour of the latter view. He then observed that there was considerable difficulty in applying the rule laid down in the Parochial Assessment Act to canals and railways passing through many parishes; and the Court had hoped that the Legislature would have relieved it from the difficulty by laying down rules of rating more applicable to a species of property rapidly increasing in amount which did not seem to have been in contemplation when the Parochial Assessment Act passed. But the Legislature declining to interfere the Court had been driven to dispose of all those cases in the best manner they could, and they saw no aggra vated difficulty in applying to them, whether the companies were carriers themselves, or received their profits in the shape of tolls for using the means of conveyance which they furnished to the public, without furnishing the vehicles to convey or the moving power. For the reasons stated the judgment of the Court was in favour of the respondents. THE QUEEN V. STEELE AND ANOTHER. In this case the Court had granted a rule calling upon the publislers of the Carlisle Journal to show cause why a criminal information should not be filed against them for a libel published in the Carlisle Journal, imputing to Messrs. William James and John Fawcett, two magistrates, that they had been actuated by corrupt motives in the execution of their office. The libel complained of arose out of a dispute which had taken place be tween the inhabitants of Carlisle and the trustees of the Carlisle and Penrith Turnpike-road, who had recently erected a toll-bar near Carlisle, so as to intercept the traffic between the town and railway. The turnpike-gate had been broken, -and many of the inhabitants had refused to pay the toll, being advised that it was illegal ; but the prosecutors, who were two of the trustees of the road, and also magistrates, directed a police officer to be placed at the gate, with orders to prevent any breach of ' peace, but not otherwise to interfere. Upon this the defendants published the articles complained of, imputing to the prosecutors that in what they had done they had been influenced by corrupt motives, and acted under feelings of irritation. Subsequently, on the application of the prosecutor's attorney, the defendants retracted the imputation of corrupt motives, but they reiterated the charge of acting from feelings of irritation. Mr. S. Temple, Q.C., and Mr. Manisty, Q.C., now showed cause against the rule at considerable length, and entered into a long history of the local dispute, as set forth in their affidavits, which they showed that there was no ground for the in terposition of the police, inasmuch as the gate had been broken merely in the assertion of a right, and there was otherwise no ground for apprehending a breach of the peace. The town-council had taken the opinion of counsel, and were advised that the toll-gate was a nuisance, and that steps ought to be taken to abate it. Th• learned counsel contended that the article in question, since the allegation of corrupt motives had been withdrawn, contained nothing which was not well justified by the facts. In the course of the argument, Lord Campbell suggested that the defendants should now withdraw all imputation of corrupt motives, and pay the costs of the present rule. That would be a good test of their sincerity. This having been done, Lord Campbell said that the most ample latitude was allowed in commenting on the opinions of judges, who ought not to be acute in criticizing the terms employed ; but it could not be allowed that corrupt motives should be imputed to them. Mr. Knowles, Q.C., and Mr. Wetherall appeared in support of the rule. Rule discharged on payment of costs by the de fendants. THE QUEEN V. STORRAR. In this case a rule had been granted calling upon Dr. gtorrar to show cause why an information, in the nature of a quo ?currant°, should not be exhi bited against him, to show by what authority he exercised the office of member of the Medical Coun ci! of the University of London. The Attorney-General (with whom was Mr. Wellsby) now appeared to show cause against the rule, and said Dr. Storrar had been appointed by the Senate of the University, which consisted of a Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, and Fellows ; and the question intended to be raised was whether the members of the Medical Council were to be elected by the Senate only, or by the Senate in conjunction with the Graduates of the University. The question turned on the construction to be put on the terms of the last charter, and the only doubt he (the Attorney-General) had was whether the question ought to be argued now, or whether it was of sufficient importance to be argued on a return to the writ. Lord Campbell thought the question was of very great importance to all the graduates of the Um versity of London, which had already become a very distinguished body. The Attorney-General said the question was cer tainly one of great moment, and if their lordships thought fit the question should be raised on the record. The rule was accordingly made absolute. Mr. Edward James, Q.C., and Mr. Littler, ap peared in support of the rule. Lord Campbell said the Court would give every facility for having the question heard and disposed of at the earliest opportunity.--Rule absolute. BUSINESS OF THE COURT. Lord Campbell left the Court idiaalf past two o'clock, in order to attend in the Court of Criminal Appeal. His lordship gave notice that on Monday (this day) Mr. Justice Eric - would sit in the Bad Court and take motions, Monday being the last day of Hilary Term. THE QUEEN ON THE PROSECUTION OF THE REV. ALFRED POOLE V. THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTER- BURT-JUDGMENT. In Michaelmas term Mr. Bovill obtained, on the part of the Rev. Alfred Poole, a rule calling upon his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury to show cause why a mandamus should not issue command ing him to make or cause to be made, an inquiry into the matter of the appeal of Mr. Poole, accord ing to the provisions of the statute Ist and 2d Vic., cap. 106, and to hear the said appeal, and to decide upon the merits thereof. The Attorney-General, Dr. Twiss, and Mr. Sum ner appeared on the part of the Archbishop of Canterbury; Mr. Bovill, Q.C., Dr. Phillimore, and Mr. Coleridge were counsel for the Rev. A. Poole. The Attorney-General having shown cause against the rule, Lord Campbell, after conferring with the other learned judges, said----We think the mandamus must go, and that there shall be a hearing. All we have to consider is, whether there has been a hear iig. There has, in my opinion, been no hearing, and therefore the rule must be made absolute, so that the Rev. A. Poole might have a hearing. I give no opinion as to the form in which that hear ing should be. The archbishop, I have no doubt, will have most excellent advice, and have no doubt now the hearing will be satisfactory, and that justice will amply be done to all parties. The rule must be made absolute. The other learned judges concurred. BAIL COURT. (Before Mr. Justice Erie.) TYACK V. DANIELL. Mr. F. Russell moved for a rule nisi on the part of Mr. Daniell, the defendant in a plaint originally entered in the County Court of Redruth, to set aside an award by arbitrators to whom the matter was referred. The learned counsel based his appli cation on three grounds—first, that the arbitrators, after one of them had promised Mr. Daniell's attor ney not to proceed on a certain day when he could not attend, had heard Mr. Tyack and his witnesses ex parte; secondly, that at a subsequent meeting, on the 23d Dec., Mr. Daniell applied for an ad journment to enable him to call two witnesses— Mr. Pryor and Mr. Downing, whom he believed would contradict Mr. Tyack in certain statements which were not true, and had come upon Mr. Daniell by surprise, and that the arbitrators pzo ceeded to make their award on the next day, with out hearing those witnesses; and, thirdly, that the award was not final, as it did not notice Mr. Daniell's claim of set-off in respect of some shares in a mine which Mr. Tyack was bound, but had failed to deliver. Justice Erle—You may have your rule at your peril. Rule nisi granted. Two or three other motions having been disposed of, and a great number of attorneys sworn on ad mission, the Court rose at half-past 11 o'clock. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. (Sittings in Banco, Hilary Term.) GARTON V. GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY. In this case Mr. M. Smith, Q.C., showed cause against a rule for an injunction, under the Railway and Canal Traffic Act, enjoining the defendants not to charge the plaintifffor the collection and delivery of goods from Bristol, the plaintiff, as a carrier, doing that for himself. The learned counsel con tended that the carriers made great profits on packed parcels, and had, in fact, eight parcels out of twelve carried for them for nothing as packed. parcels. The charge made was for the carriage of goods from terminus to terminus, and no charge was made for the collection or delivery of the goods. The Court, without calling on Mr. Collier to sup port a rule, said the rule must be made absolute. It was a great pity that some of the facts stated had not been brought before the Court in Baxen dale's case, which determined this.—Rule absolute. THE RHYMNEY RAILIVFY COMPANY V. THE TAFF VALE RAILWAY COMPANY. In this case Mr. Phipson showed cause against a rule for an injunction under the Railway and Canal Traffic Act enjoining the defendants to afford to the plaintiffs dtic and reasonable facilities for carry ing, forwarding, and delivering their coal traffic at the junction, by making a proper side station there. Mr. Bovill, Q.C., and Mr. Welsby appeared in support of the rule. After the case had been heard for some time, at the suggestion of the Chief Justice it was ordered to be referred to some competent engineer to decide what was requisite and what ought to be done to accommodate the traffic, which in the article of coals was said to be very great.—Referred accord ingly. (SittingS at Nisi Pruis, at Guildhall, before Mr. Justice Byles and a Common Jury.) MAYHEW V. STONE AND ANOTHER. Mr. D. Seymour was for the plaintiff; Mr, Atkinson for the defendants. This was an action brought to recover damages for an assault and malicious prosecution. The plain tiff was once a soldier, and afterwards a cab proprie tor at Hounslow. A Mr. Smith, who resided in the neighbourhood, having missed a set of harness and a pair of shears, a reward was offered for the recovery of the property. It seems that Stone and the other defendant, Harrison. who is a fish hawker, recovered it, and on t'ieir information the plaintiff was indicted on the charge of having stolen it. Stone swore that the plaintiff had sold him the shears, and Harrison swore that the plaintiff had sold a portion of the harness. The plaintiff was tried and acquitted, and he now brought this action• to recover damages for the injuries which he had thus sustained. The cir cumstances of the case were very complicated, aid the evidence extremely lengthy, but the main ques tion was, did or did not the plaintiff sell the stolen property ? The defendants swore distinctly that he did, the plaintiff sworeas distinctly that he did not. The learned Judge, in summing up, told the jury that there was no evidence of assault, inasmuch as the plaintiff had, on hearing of the charge, gone to the police-office to give himself up. As to the count for malicious prosecutio - i he said there was plenty of evidence to show that the defendant Stone was much exasperated against the plaintiff. Stone had sold his business as a cab proprietor to Mayhew, and disputes had arisen between them which were still unsettled, and Stone had, according to the case of the plaintiff, threatened to get the other de fendant for a £5 note to swear against him and have him transported. After the reward had been offered Stone, with the assistance of Harrison a-id other persons, traced the harness, which seemed to have gone to London, and then the two defendants gave information against the plaintiff, on which proceedings were taken. The evidence given by the defendants' witnesses was in direct opposition to that of the plaintiff in almost all the important points in the case, and having heard a very minute and lengthy summing up from the learned judge, The jury retired, and in about 20 minutes re turned with a verdict for the plaintiff— Damages £125. The announcement was received with loud cheers from the bystanders. This was the last cause in the list. COURT OF EXCHEQUER. (Sittings in Banco, before the Lord Chief Baron, Mr. Baron Martin, Mr. Baron Watson, and Mr. Baron Channel.) lIARRISON V. PEARCE. Mr. M. Chambers applied for leave in this case to appeal from the decision of this Court, upon the ground that the evidence of injury to the plaintiff's trade as a printer and publisher, end the diminu tion in the circulation of his newspapers subsequent to the date of the writ was not admissible, the ac tion having been brought the day after the publi cation of the advertisement alleged to be the libel. The Court said that they had very carefully con sidered the question, with every inclination to re lieve the defendant if they could have done so, but had found it utterly impossible consistently with the law, and that as they all were very clear upon the judgment pronounced no leave of appeal could be given.—Leave to appeal refused. ANTHONY MARTIN Y. BARTON. Mr. Joyce obtained a rule calling upon the plain tiff to show cause why all the proceedings in this action should not be stayed without payment of costs to him or his attorney. It was an action to recover a sum of £8 16s. 6d., the balance due upon a bill of exchange for £l3 10s. It was stated when the rule was moved that the plaintiff was not the holder of the bill, and that the action had been brought in his name, as be lived more than 20 miles off, in order that proceed ings might be taken in the superior court instead of the County Court. Mr. Huddleston, Q.C., showed cause against the rule, saying that the plaintiff was a bona fide holder of the bill, and that it had been transferred to him by his brother, Samuel Martin, and that it was paid through the plaintiff's bankers at Glocester, and presented in London in the usual manner. Mr. Joyce supported the rule. The Court said that they would reserve their judgment until after the he aring of the next case. SAMUEL MARTIN V. HULLS. This was a rule obtainedbfMr. Griffiths, calling upon a Mr. Padmore, the plaintiff's attorney, to show cause why ho should not answer the matters in the affidavits, and pay the costs of an appiication and order for taxation, and of this application. The defendant was sued upon a bill of exchange for £9 35., but the writ never was served. Mr. Padmore claimed £2 14s, for costs, which the de fendant paid, declaring his intention of having the costs taxed. Mr. Baron Bramwell, upon applica tion, made the usual order for taxation, and Mr. Padmore under the order delivered a bill for £1 9s. 6d. ; this was only reduced by-3s. 6d., and which sum being less than one-sixth of the bill, defendant was not entitled to the costs of taxation. 6 , Mr. Huddleston, in showing cause againt li athe rule, contended that Mr. Padmore had a riglitqo send in his bill as he had done, and, as the defendant had not succeeded in striking off one-sixth of it, Mr. Padmore was not liable for the costs of the taxation. • Mr. Griffiths was heard in support of the rule. The Court, in giving judgment, said that the rule In the first case must be made absolute. With regard to the present case, the rule would be absolute, ex cept as to that part which called upon the plaintiff's attorney to answer The matter in the affidavits. Their Lordships severally commented in very strong language upon the conduct pursued by Mr. Padmore, saying that he was bound to have deli vered his bill for the amount he had received, and that delivering his bill for the lesser amount was a mere trick to evade the order made by Baron Bramwell, and as this was Mr. Padmore's first offence, the Court would only visit upon him the costs of the taxation and the motion, but in all future cases brought under their notice, where attorneys had knowingly endorsed their writs for a larger sum than they were entitled to receive, the Court would strike them off the rolls. COURT. FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF CROWN CASES RESERVED, JAN. 29. (Present—Lord Campbell, Barons Martin and Watson, and Justices Crowder and Willes.) THE QUEEN V. BERRY. The prisoner was indicted for perjury under an order of affiliation. The points reserved were, that the summons was issued without an infor mation being given on oath, and therefore there was no jurisdiction in the magistrates to hear the case ; and, further, that one of the allega tions, that the prisoner had sworn he had not paid any money towards the maintenance of the child within 12 months next after its birth was not ma terial. The case was argued last Saturday, and stood over for judgment. Lord Campbell delivered the judgment of the Court (except that of Baron Martin). As to the second question, of materiality, the Court had no doubt. As to the second point, the omission of the oath previous to the summons being issued was not objected to at the time, and was not absolutely ne cessary, although the Court thought it would be better for the party to be examined on oath before the summons issued. The conviction would there fore be-affirmed. Baron Martin dissented—Conviction affirmed. THE QUEEN V. SKEENE AND FREEMAN. This case was argued last Saturday, the great question being whether a disclosure made in the Court of Bankruptcy after evidence to the same effect had been previously given in a police-court came within the statute of 5 and 6 Vic., c. 39, which declared that parties making such disclosure should not be liable to be convicted of an offence under that disclosure. Mr. Ballantine having then been heard on behalf of Skeene, and Mr. Giffard on the part of Freeman the learned judges *ook time to consider the question. To-day judgment was to have been given. Lord Campbell said the judges wished more time to consider the question, and therefore judgment would be given on Saturday next at 3 o'clock. MIDDLESEX SESSIONS, Jan. 29. (Before the Assistant-Judge and a Bench of Magis trates.) Jeremiah Donovan, 48, and James Weeks, 16, were indicted for stealing a cashbox, containing £92 in gold, £l6 in silver, I 0 U's representing £5O, a silver medal, commemorative of the passing of the Reform Bill, some foreign coins, &c., the property and money of William Ricketts, the master and employer of the prisoner Weeks. Was pleaded guilty. Mr. Metcalf, instructed by Mr. Beard, prosecuted. Mr. Ribton defended Donovan. The prosecutor was a tea dealer, Roadside, Whitechapel ; and the younger prisoner stole the cash-box and absconded. He was taken by police constable Coppin, 579 K, at Plymouth ; and he then made a statement to the effect that he gave the box to a man, who took it to a hole in a vacant piece of ground near Bonner's-fields, and broke it open. He had the greater part of the money, which he spent at Bristol; he bought a horse for £l9, a saddle and bridle for £4105.. he lost £l3 in tossing with a publican, and then sold the horse and saddle and bridle for £4 10s. which he had given for the latter. Weeks was admitted evidence against Donovan, whom he swore was the man he gave the box to ; and another witness deposed to seeing Donovan in the hole where Weeks said the box was opened, and where subsequently the box was found. Mr. Ribton addressed the jury at considerable length upon the points in the evidence, and after the learned judge had summed up, the jury retired, and after considering for four hours, they came into court, and asked the learned judge to read over some portion of the evidence, which having been done, The foreman of the jury said he was opposed to his brother jurymen, who disbelieved the boy's evidence. The Assistant-Judge having explained the evi dence, the boy was called, and some further ques tions were put to him, and his employer was also questioned as to his previous character, who stated that up to the present time he had always found him perfectly truthful, and had placed the greatest reliance upon him. A Juror said he had not partaken of any food that day, having come to the court without his breakfast, and wished to know if he could have some refreshment. The Assistant-Judge said he could not comply with his request, as it had been the law of this country for 800 years to the contrary. Another juror said it was very hard that they should all be locked up for one man. The Assistant-Judge ordered the jury again to retire, and said he would come again at ten o'clock to see if they were agreed ipon their verdict. The jury at half-past five were again locked up. At twenty-five minutes past ten o'clock the jury were directed to be brought into court. The Deputy-Clerk of the Peace inquired if they were agreed upon their verdict. The foreman said they were not, nor was there any probability of their being so. They had had a storm, there was now a calm, for they were all about going to sleep for the night. The Assistant-Judge—Are you unanimous in opinion that you will never agree ? Several jurors—We are. The Assistant-Judge inquired if there was any point upon which they had formed a misconception, or imperfect conception, for if there was he should be happy to explain it. The Foreman—There are eleven on one side and one on the other, and the grounds ;of the objection are The Assistant-Judge—l would rather not hear them, un less it is a point which I can clear away by referring to the evidence. A Juror—We disbelieve the evidence of an accomplice. The Assistant-Judge said, on the material points of the boy's evidence no cross-examination had taken place on the part of the learned counsel for the prisoner, and there had been no imputation whatever on the character of the boy up to the time he had been in his employer's service. Having committed this offence, he came forward and stated all he knew about it. He had never committed any other crime, and as soon as he was caught he told the whole story as far as he was concerned. After some further discussion, the foreman said he did not think there was any probability of their agreeing, and that if they went back to their room he did not think that it would forward the ends of justice. The Assistant-Judge said, if the following day were not Sunday, he should have no difficulty in the case, for reasons which the jury might possibly conceive for themselves. The Foreman said that several of the jury were tradesmen, and had been to market early, and keep ing them all night might be attended with dan gerous consequences. The Assistant-Judge said they had better again retire, and he would wait a short time to see what could be done. The jury, at ten minutes to eleven o'clock, again retired to their room. At a quarter-past eleven o'clock the jury were sent for, and a juryman com plaining that he, suffered severely from want of food, Mr. John James, a medical man, was called to examine him, and having done so he said he found the pulse very low, and if locked up all night with out food or stimulants he believed serious results would ensue. He was unable to continue to per form the functions of a juryman on account of ex haustion arising from the want of food. The Assistant-Judge : Are you still unanimous that you will not agree ? The foreman—We get ruder every time we re tire. We will not agree ? Two other jurors were then examined by the medical man, and he repeated that they were both unfit to be confined for any very lengthened period without / food. The Assistant• Judge, on the evidence before him, said he could not safely keep the jury longer toge ther, and_therefore he ordered the jury to be dis charged. The Court rose shortly before twelve o'clock. DISASTROUS CONFLAGRATION AT SHEFFIELD. SHEFFIELD, SUNDAY, 11.30 P.M. About 10 o'clock a fire broke out on the premises of Mr. Charles Unwin, timber merchant and furni ture broker, West-bar, Sheffield. For the last half-hour it has been raging with terrific violence, illuminating the sky to an extent which-must be visible for miles, and casting a glare on the whole town. The premises are extremely extensive, having a considerable frontage to West-bar, and extending thence to Spring-street. They comprise large furniture shops and stores, with extensive timber-yard and workshops behind. The stock is is immense. The conflragration extends over the whole premises, and throws up a blaze many yards above the loftiest surrounding buildings. There appears no possibility of preventing the flames consuming much adjacent property, and the loss will , probably be enormous. The conflagration is the most serious which has occurred in Sheffield for many years. The cause of it is not yet known. MONDAY, 1 a.m. The conflagration is abating. The whole of Mr. Unwin's premises are completely gutted : large portions of the walls are down ; nothing saved. The fire only extended to a shop and a few cottages adjoining Unwin's. A brisk north-west wind blow ing. The burning premises were sheltered by the Surrey Music-hall. Ther e i s a t remen d ous crowd. The military were called out to clear the streets. The same premises, having been previously on fire, the surrounding property has fortunately been protected by high walls. The building is insured in the Sheffield Fire-office. Stock not insured; estimated damage over £lO,OOO. NOVEL EMPLOYMENT FOR A PIGEON.—A few days ago, as a man named James Dando was leaving the Barnet Railway Station, he suddenly burst a blood vessel. He was instantly conveyed to the Barnet Union workhouse, and although every attention was paid to him he very shortly expired. It appeared he had gone to Barnet to start some carrier pigeons, and rather a novel experiment was tried to discover his friends. A note was attached to one of the pigeons, and it was instantly liberated. The result was that a brother of the deceased arrived at Barnet and recognised the dead body of his relative in about an hour afterwards. The deceased resided at No. 2, Jenner's court, Blackfriars. [AnvEnTisEkENT.l—Holloway's Pills and Ointment.— For all skin diseases, owever inveterate, these medicines are a sovereign remedy. While the Ointment passes through the pores of the skin, as water saturates the soil, or as salt penetrates meat, the Pills act upon the blood, which they correct and purify. The whole physical machinery i s th us r endered healthy, regular, and vigorous. The cure thus effected is not partial and temporary, the disease is en tirely and for ever driven from the system, and the patient need not be apprehensive of its return. As these medicines have no violent action they do not necessitate any interrup tion of the ordinary avocations. Direction s f or th e use o f these noble medicaments are affixed to each pot and box, TREATMENT OF RAILWAYS IN TVAR• As any agreement for peace the next fortnight may bring is, according to the views even of the most sanguine, to be only " for the present," might not the capitalists of London and Paris advan tageously avail themselves of such interval as may be granted to see if some understanding is possible on the treatment of railways in war ? The alarm lately manifested on the question will appear to many entirely unreasonable, but the extent to which it prevails, and the consequences that have followed show that some clear doctrine must be en forced, or that there can be little further progress in that description of enterprise on which the ad vancement of Europe at this epoch especially depends. Let those who are afflicted with the kar, which some recent quotations have shown to pre vail, that railway property must be almost anni hilated in War, put their views into shape, and try for a remedy. People will never again invest their money in continental lines if it is to be at the mercy of the first potentate who chooses to attack his neighbours or to incite their subjects to insurrec tion. Happily, the country that has the greatest interest in the satisfactory adjustment o f this matter is France. Not only have her people in vested largely in the railways of Italy, Austria, Russia, and other counties, but her own works of the kind are more extensive than those elsewhere , and if she is to set the example of wanton de struction, the ultimate penalty of retaliation must fall upon her with double force. Uuder such incen tives the Emperor Napoleon should be foremost to express concurrence in any rational propositions that might be drawn up. Russia has the next in terest in the matter, because upon the speedy con struction of railways the maintenance of her un wieldy power must greatly depend, and she instill panting for 35 millions sterling, which she may utterly forego the hope of raising if she cannot give some guarantee against the results of embroil ments such as those which at the present moment she is suspected of fomenting. Austria also has a heavy stake, and that of Piedmont, looking at her relative position and resources, is still more serious. The United Kingdom, from its insular position, is alone free from danger. Under sued circumstances would not each continental Power be glad to join in the recognition of a few general rules that should serre to allay vague distrust ? In all the discus sions about the isthmus routes of Central America, Mexico, and Suez the common consent of the world to uphold the neutrality of the property has been paraded among the essential inducements to sub" scribers, and, if we are not to relapse into bar barism, some code must be accepted that shall bear upon railways in the same spirit. But for tile ruinous fluctuations of the past month the argument would scarcely have seemed necessary. It is diffi cult to conceive what promptings of strategy, ° r even of the wildest revenge could lead to any break up of such works by contending armies. To cut off from from its opponents the me ans of communication a hostile force would have nothing to do but to remove s h or t di s t an ces 0 1, rail, open a trench, or throw up a mound, and the, moment the temporary neces s ity was over th e first effort of the occupying Power would be to restore the means of traffic. At the same time such traffic would be wholly out of the question except upon defined and legal terms, because if war is to bring violence and rapine upon private individuals and the authorities of every railway would on the news of the approach of any army remove all their materiel and stores to the most distant point, and at the last necessity take their engines to pieces. Meanwhile the Government business on such routes as still remained open might probably yield more than compensation for the local inter; ruption, and in any ultimate terms of peace ah damages would h ave t o b e we i g h e d . E very thing' therefore tends to encourage a belief that the peril ° to investments of this descripton have, from the novelty of the subject, been greatly exaggerated. Each Government would naturally protect such undertakings with its utmost power, while an in" vader could gain nothing but the execration of the people and historical infamy by pursuing an opl)°' site course.—Times. COUNTRY MARKETS. ROCHESTER—JAN. 29. The stands at this exchange were again well furnishe d with samples, and there was a large attendance of the tolB ll and country trade. For the best white wheat 46s per qr• was obtained, but the general sort 3 ranged from 40s to 44 5 1 being a trifle less than the terms of last week. In red wheat transactions were limited at 39s to 43s per qr. The con tinued arrivals of barley from the Baltic ports have had 01 0 effect of reducing the prices of grinding sorts is per quarter. Malting sorts firm, prime lots ;etching as high as 445, but the average was 38s to 425. The oat trade firm, and ra ther brisker. Beans is higher, good sorts ranging between 42s and 465. Peas firm, and sold readily at 40s to 44. NORWICH—JAN. 29. With a short supply of wheat in the market, the trail°, was steady, at about the rates of last week, with an upwar u tendency in the value of the best samples. Barley cow' manded late rates. Oats a free sale. Beans and peas-in limited demand and without quotable change. Wheat, white 44s to 46s Beans, Mazagan.. 22s to 3 45 I red 38s to 43 s Middle & small 33s to 403 Barley; • 36s to 40s White peas ......40 s to 42 5 I Oats 23s to 28e Grey.. ...... ..40s to 42$ _ Averages for- the week : Wheat 2,5771 qrs., at ...... . . 41s 3d Barley._ . 7,384 " ........33a 2d Oats -- Od NOTTINGHAM —JAN. 29. At to-day's market a moderate business was transacted in wheat, white of good quality being in fair demand as about the rates of last week Fine barley fully supports late rates. Less inquiry for oats, and firm. Beans are scarce and fine qualiti es i s per qr.higher. White wheat, new, 46s to 51s Barley, grinding.. 28s to 3 25 Red do. 4os to 46s Oats, old, .. 303 to 315 Old white 44 s to 49s New do 28s to 31 5 Red do. 38s to 413 Beans. 46s to 50 5 Barley, malting.... 40s to 44s I Peas ....- - :-.s 0 ---.3 LEICESTER-JAL 29. At this day's market there was ra --- thera liberal supply , of wheat, and sales were effected at the quotations of this day week. Forei gn w h ea t fi rm. B ar l ey i n good request, alia, • prices in f avour o f se ll ers. B eans an d peas scarce, an d higher. Oats Steady, and in some instances they realised a trifle more money. Wheat 44s to 48s I Oats.. 2Bs to 38 5 White do 40s to 43s Beans, new 42s to 5 05 Barley ....40s to 44s I Ditto, old .44s to 48 5 Fine flour, 31s I Seconds, 29s j Thirds, 27s per sack. CHELMSFORD-JAN. 28. -- --- The wheat trade is dull to-day, and even in the retail business prices must be noted the turn in buyers' favou r • No material change in other articles. Wheat, white... .40s to 46s Peas, Partridge 44s to 46s red......32s to 42s White 41s to 43s Barley 34s to 418 Boiling 42s to 48s Chevalier ....37s to 45s nun 44s to 468 Grinding 27s to 33s Beans Tick 38s to 408 Malt 7os to 73s liarrow Ticks 33s to 428 Chevalier 72s to 73s Mazagan 36s to 3 95 Oats 25s to 35s DUBLIN—JAN. 29. At this day's market there was only a moderate attend ance of buyers, and the demand was good for wheat, and the better samples of oats and barley. In Indian cora an improvement has taken place. Wheat, - white 22 6 to 25 6 Do., red 2l 6 to 23 0 NJ., new Barley Oats Do., black lO 6 toll 0 s. d. s. J. Do., new Bere Rapeseed Oatmeal l2 6 to 14 0 Bakers' flour Indian corn BIRTHS. CHAPMAN.—On the 28th inst., at 41, Wimpole-street, the wife of Palmer Chapman, Esq., of a daughter. RAYDEN.—On the 28th inst., at Upper Norwood, Mrs. W. M. Rayden, of a daughter. ScARGILL.—On the 28th inst., at 34, Stanhope-street, Park place, Mrs. Edward Scargill, of a son. STEWART.—On the 27th inst., at 25, St. John's-wood-park, N.W., the wifo of Francis Stewart, Esq., of a son. MARRIAGES. BASTAMD—WOOLLCOMBE.—On the 27th inst;at Plymptoll St. Mary, the Rev. William Pollexfen Bastard, youngest son of the late E. P. Bastard, Esq., of Kitley, Nix., to Caroline, second daughter of Rear-Admiral Woollcombey of Hemerdon. WHEELER--WooLcocx.—On the 29th inst., at St. Mary's, Bryanston-square, Charles Wheeler, of 34, Warren street, Fitzroy-square, to Catherine Woolcock, of 13, Old Quebec-street, Oxford-street, eldest daughter of the late John Woolcock, of Truro, Cornwall. DEATHS. BENNETT.—On the 25th inst., at 18, St. James's-street, London, Mr. John Bennett, of St. Aldate's, Oxford, aged 76. BERKELEY. —On the 27th inst., at Smethwick, near Bir mingham, Charles Berkeley, Esq., of the Birmingham Plate-glass Company. Cott NT.--O n the 27th inst., in Montagu-square, Franey+, daughter of the lath Sir Nathaniel Conant, of Portland place aged 78. COOPER.— On the 27th inst., William Cooper, E sq ., of Hoebridge place, Woking, Surrey, and formerly of York, aged 66. DE MICHELE.—On the 28th inst., at Old Steine, Brighton, John George De Michele, Esq., aged 59. .ARRIS.—On the 28th inst., at 20, Bloomsbury-square, William Harris, Esq., aged 87. LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Middlesex, Monday, January 31, 1859, THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 31, 1859.