The Sun. — London, England, 1860-01-02 00:00:00

ELECTION INTELLIGENC'E. READING. MEETING OF THE LIBERAL ELECTORS. A large meeting of the Liberal electors of Read ing took place on Wednesday evening last, in the New Hall. The chair was occupied by the late Mayor, Mr. C. J. Andrewes ; and on the platform were Sir Francis Goldsmid (the Liberal candidate) ; the Rev. W. Legg, 8.A., pastor of Broad-street Chapel ; Mr. Alderman Darter, Mr. Alderman Wal ford. Mr. Councillor Boorne, Mr. Councillor Collier, Mr. Councillor Clark, Mr. H. H. Cowslade, Mr. T. Rogers, Mr. C. Barber Mr. Easton, Mr. S. Gostage, Mr. Barrett, Mr. S. Beggs, Mr. Leach, Dr. Buck, Mr. Chancellor, &c. Sir F. GOLDSMID, on stepping forward to address the meeting, was loudly cheered. He commenced by remarking there were many new voters whom the last registration placed on the list, and of whom, he was told, the Conservative Association boasted they were entitled to two-thirds. (Laugh ter.) Now, he had no doubt, from the result of his canvass among these, that the majority of them would enrol their votes in his favour. (Hear, and cheers.) Many electors, too, who at the last election supported the Conservative cause, had seen the error of their ways ; and when they put these things together they would find no difficulty in understanding the grounds upon which he based the conclusion that the week after this would see him placed in the position to which he aspired. (Loud cheers.) Thus much would be about all ho need say, if he had simply to give an account of his own proceedings ; but he must advert to the pro ceedings which had taken place on the other side. The course taken by the Liberals was straightfor ward aid simple, but the course which they had seen adopted on the other side was one of going backward and forward, and one which required some attention to understand. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) Beside that, there was a matter to which he desired to advert, and that was the attempt to put forward, in order to injure his posi tion as a candidate for their suffrages, the cry of religion. He would refer to the handbill signed by Dr. Cowan—(hisses, and cries of " Shame ! ") and circulated in the town ; it was reducible to two propositions, the first being that those who would vote for him would reject Christianity ; and the second, that in electing him as their member they would run the risk of bringing down upon this happy country the judgments of Heaven. (Deri sive cries, and laughter.) He would now examine that extraordinary document, and request them to consider with him what was the doctrine of the Christian religion upon this subject ; he did not ask them to take his opinion upon the matter, but he should say, if he might imagine cr judge for him self on the subject, that the Christian religion, being a religion of peace, could not adopt as one of its principles that those who held other religious views should be deprived on account of their con • scientious adherence to them of privileges to which, as citizens, they were entitled. While that might be his own opinion, he did not ask them to take it, but to consider the opinions of Christians as eminent for their piety as Dr. Cowan ; of politicians who were far more entitled to respect for their experience and deliberate judgment than either Mr. Benson or Mr. Simonds ; and of ministers of religion, belonging to both Church and Dissenting bodies, who were to the full as able and as zealous in their attachment to Christianity as the clergyman who, a fortnight ago, he (Sir F. Goldsmid) was told, chose his pulpit as the place for the utterance of a political diatribe. (Shame.) When the opinions of all those pious Christians to whom he had referred were in favour of the Admission of the Jews into Parliament, he woull ask what grounds Mr. Benson or his sup porters had for declaring that the electors of Read ing would abandon Christianity if they adopted the views of all those eminent persons? (Hear, hear.) The person to whom he would first refer was he who brought forward, as long ago as 1830, a bill for the removal of the Jewish disabilities—Mr. Robert Grant, afterwards Sir Robert Grant. He was a per son not merely of professed Christianity but he was 1 a man commanding and deserving, from his religi ous life and conversation, the highest respect of Christians who knew him. On that occasion he did not succeed, but in 1833 he brought forward the bill again, and succeeded in carrying it through the House of Commons. (Cheers.) Now, the next per son to whom he would refer was Lord Bexley, who in the same year brought forward the bill in the House of Lords. He was not only a Christian but a Conservative also, yet he professed Christianity and Conservatism of a different class from those of the Tories of Reading—(cheers)—and considered that neitherhis attachment to the one nor the other pre vented him exerting himself to procure justice for the Jews, by their admission into Parliament. (Cheers.) On that occasion the present Archbishop of Dublin and the then Bishop of Chichester spoke in favour of the bill proposed by Lord Bexley. The bill was passed again and again in the House of Commons until 1858, and during that time many persons, distinguished for their religious zeal, were exerting themselves in favour of the measure. Among these were Dr. Thirl wall, Bishop of St. Da vid's, and many other bishops ; and on the very last occasion, when the bill was brought for ward and car ried, seven bishops of the Established Church voted in favour of it, (Cheers.) Then to return to the Dis senters; during the whole of the period—or at all events during a large portion of the time—petitions were sent from all parts in favour of the measure. The deputies of the four Dissenting denominations were always among the petitioners. He might mention the names of a number of eminent indivi duals, but he would only select two, because they were conspicuous as being persons remarkable for their religious zeal, while at the same time they took an active part in favour of the removal of the Jewish disabilities. The fact was Sir William Page Wood, now Vice-Chancellor, who was known as belonging to what was called the High Church party, but who was one of the most liberal of men, and a most zealous Christian, and who was one of the most generous benefactors to churches and schools for religious education that could be found. He exerted himself to procure the admission of the Jews into the Legislature, by endeavouring to show that the law, even before it was altered, sanctioned their admission. He would next refer to Lord Car lisle, who was a distinguished member of the Evan gelical party. He was a liberal man, and disposed to good works, and the first speech he made was in support of the removal of the Jewish disabilities. (Cheers.) On a subsequent occasion he brought forward in the House of Lords the bill fee that pur pose, and throughout the whole of the struggle— from 1833 to 1858—he did whatever lie could in its favour. That furnished another example of not only a Christian, but an eminently pious and bene ficent Christian, who warmly supported the admis sion of Jews into the House of Commons. (Cheers.) lie would not multiply individual instances, for he might detain them all night by noticing these ; but would now refer to great bodies of Christians who had displayed in the most conspicuous manner those same opinions, and he would first allude to the citizens of Laudon. (Cheers.) If this consti tuency would contract guilt by returning him (Sir F. Goldsmid) to Parliament, the citizens of London must have incurred far greater guilt by return ing a Jew time after time until the measure was passed, allowing Jews to sit. (" Hear," and cheers.) In 1817 the city of London returned Baron Rothschild to the House of Commons, and again and again they submitted to the loss of the services of one of their members rather than aban don that which they considered to be one of the greatest principles of civil and religious liberty— that no man should Ise debarred, on account of his conscientious views, from enjoying privileges to which he was entitled as a citizen. (Cheers.) But he had not yet done. There was another body, more important far than the citizens of London, a body which represented the whole of this kingdom; the august assembly of which Mr. Benson was seek ing to be made a member, but which, according to his own statements, had rejected its Christian duty and its Christian faith;. he, of course, meant the House of Commons. (Cheers.) During the 25 years from 1833 to 1858, whenever the question W4S brought forward—which was some 10 or 12 times —the House of Commons passed the bill for the admission of Jews into Parliament by large and in creasing majorities. (Cheers.) Thoso acts were the acts of an assembly elected by the nation, and yet they did not call down upon tile people of this coun try that judgment which, Dr. Cowan so impiously predicted. On the whole, then, he would say, that when they found that all those eminent Christians, belonging to all parties in the Church and to all denominations of Dissent, that all tho3e,g,reat bodies —the citizens of London and electors of other bo roughs, and' the Parliament which represented them all, were in favour of the removal of the obstruction which prevented .Tews from taking. put in the na tional legis 7 ation, lie did feel that the cry which had been raised against the Jew in Iteading was got up entirely for party purposes. (Ikar, hear, and cheers.) This objection was not a religious but a political one—(cheers) —and they would find with reference to men who opposed, or were in favour of the ad mission of Jews into Parliament, that it was not as they were Christians or not Christians—not as they were religious or not religious, but as they were Tories or Liberals. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) The ministers of the Established Church, from the connexion of the Church with the State, were often Conservatives in politics ; but though it thus happened that many . ministers of the Established Church might be op posed to the admission of Jews to Parliament, he had already shown them that that portion was by no means shared in by all (as distinguished prelates and clergymen of the Established Church were in favour of the admission of the Jews), and that Dis- senting ministers and laymen of all denominations and all parties in the Church entertained the same opinion. (Cheers.) He regretted to have been obliged to drag the discussion of religion into a political contest, but they knew that it had been forced upon him by the conduct of a few on the other side. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) The worthy baronet then proceeded to argue upon the serious part of the question, and here remarked on the complaint which he had made of the absurd attempt to revive against him, on account of his conscientious adherence to the faith in which he was born and bred, an obsolete prejudice. He would suggest for the future use a better form for expressing this remarkable idea. (Laugh ter.) The great Spanish novelist, Cervantes, puts into the mouth of his comic hero, Sancho Panza, the following justification of his moral and religious character :—" I am a good man," he says, " and a good Christian. My fathers were Christians before me. I hate Jews mortally. What more is ne cessary in order to deserve eternal happiness ?" (Loud laughter and cheers.) But this objection, in truth, was not a religious objection, but a political one, and was made by those who should be called the old Tory party, as Conservatives was too re spectable a name for them. (Hear and cheers.) The attempt to disguise the really political nature of the cry breaks down and fails. (Cheers.) In fact the whole of this opposition on the subject of faith was merely an attempt to throw over Tory. ism the bright mantle of religion ; but in this attempt they soiled and tore the sacred garment and the ugly old Tory coat peeped through every rent. (Loud cheers and laughter.) He feared he had detained them too long—cries of " No, no,") — and would only now make a few other remarks. Among those who were the champions of this holy Conservative cause—(laughter)—he was told there was a gentleman who devoted much of his time to horse-racing—a game not generally reckoned as a sacred pastime. (Laughter and cheers.) He would adopt language familiar to that gentleman's ear, and state that al though it now appeared that he (Sir F. Goldsmid) would not have, as was anticipated when he last addressed them, a quiet walk over, he had only to keep himself in good training in order to win by several lengths in the commonest of canters. (Loud laughter.) The grounds on which the opposition to him was raised had given to that certain success additional importance. It was a matter of conse quence that the Liberal party should not lose a seat, nor the borough of Reading its reputation for its consistent attachment to Liberal principles, but it became of greater importance still when an attempt was made to mislead the borough into returning a Tory member by this wretched endeavour to repre sent as an abandonment of Christianity an act which had been approved by many most pious Chlistians as a fitting homage to the principles of religious freedom. (Loud cheers.) After several able speeches from Mr. Boorne, the Rev. W. Legg, Mr. Roger, and Mr. C. Barber. A vote of thanks to the Chairman was proposed by Sir F. Goldsmid, and carried unanimously. The meeting then separated. CONSERVATIVE MEETING. A meeting of the Conservatives took place at the Town-hall on Wednesday evening last. The hall was well filled, and there appeared to be the greatest unanimity of feeling among all present. The chair was occupied by Mr. H. J. Simonds, and on the platform were the principal leaders of the Conservative party. Mr. BENSON, on rising, was greeted with enthu siastic cheering. He said he had hoped, when the announcement was issued that they were to meet that night, that he would have had before him many men who had not pledged themselves before they had heard him, but members of all shades and denominations of politics, and he did not anticipate that their opponents would have called another meeting for the purpose of drawing a number of the electors to the New Hall. He would have been glad if Sir F. Goldsmid had dared to meet him in public ; and if that gentleman would have the courtesy to invite the electors of all denominations to attend him, he (Mr. Benson) would have implored in the most abject terms to be allowed to be present at the meeting. He assured them he was not afraid of Sir Francis Goldsmid. (Cheers.) A partisan of Sir F. Goldsmid's had taken strange views of the subject, and argued from the Word of God itself that they were bound not to return a Christian to the Senate of this country. He wished it to be understood that he entered into this contest upon religious grounds. He staked all upon that issue, and considered that the contest-was entirely between the Christian and the Jew. (Hear.) Sir Francis Goldsmid's partisans declared that it was upon the ground of that gentleman being a Jew, as opposed to a Christian, that he was thought worthy of repre senting this borough. True he might be better acquainted with the Talmud, and might be read deeper in the histories of Josephus: (Laughter.) He (Mr. Benson) had, under peculiar circumstances, entered into this contest, believing that his sup porters had the cause of Christianity at heart, and having done so he would fight the battle to the end. (Cheers.) It had been asserted that the Parliament of England had determined upon admitting the Jew to its councils ; but he ventured to state that the Parliament had not yet excluded from ;the oath which each member had to take, "on the true faith of a Christian." It had been tried over and over again ; that pet Whig baby, Lord John Russell, had tried it more than once without success. But when it was found that the subject was raised and discussions caused by it, year after year, it was granted not by an act of legislation, but by a side wind—by a resolution—that the Jews should be admitted. And how was it managed ? The electors of London had chosen for their representa tive Baron Rothschild, and they were told—Here is a man who holds a share in the destinies of Europe and who can, if disposed, buy up not only the city of London, but hundreds of boroughs ; if you give him a scat he will be quiet. and there will be no fear of other constituencies electing a Jew in pre ference to a Christian. (Hear.) It was not sur prising, however, to find that since then two Jews had been elected. (Hear.) Mr. Benson then re peated his dermination to contest the election with all his ability, and concluded by intimating his readiness to reply to any questions that might b© put to him. Dr. COWAN was loudly called for, and spoke for some time, expressing his opinion that the Legisla ture of this country should be essentially Christian, and that no Christian could conscientiously advocate the admission of a Jew into that Assembly. Mr. G. RUSSELL, of Swallowfield, made a very humourous speech, after which the proceedings terminated. RECENT WILLS `.__ND BEQUESTS. The will of Col. Edward George WalpoleKeppel, of Lexham Hall, Norfolk, and of Grange-terrace, Brompton, was proved in London by his brother, the B. Wm. Arnold Keppel, 8.A., and Captain Thomas Edward Bigga, of Bryanstone-square, the joint executors. The personalty was sworn under £25,000. His freehold estates he has made charge able with annuities during the life of his wife aid the widow of his brother ; and, subject thereto, are devised to his male issue, and in default thereof to his said brother William and to his heirs male. Ho has bequeathed the house at Brompton and the fur niture to his daughter. The residue of his property he has left to his wife and daughter or other chil dren. The will is dated May 28, 1859. The trust disposition and settlement of Dr. Peter Fullarton Watt, M.D., formerly of St. Andrew's, Fifeshire, and late of the city of Glasgow, which had been registered in Scotland, was also adminis tered to in the London Court of Probate by Thos. Paton, Esq., one of the executors. The widow takes a life interest over all his property, and at her death there are annuities to be paid to his two daughters ; and on the youngest of his ohildren at taining 21 they obtain a vested interest over the property, which is to be equally divided amongst them on the decease of their mother. The will of the Rev. Thos. Ludbey, M.A., Rural Dean and Rector of Cranham, Essex, was proved in London, on the 27th of Dec., by the executors, Anna Maria Ludbey, the relict, Augustus Charles Velez-, Esq., the son-in-law, and Augustus Cunning ton, Esq., of Braintree. The personalty was sworn under £20,000. He has left to each of his execu tors a legacy of £2OO, to his son and to each of his three daughters £6OO, and by his demise they par ticipate in a sum of £13,000 under the will of their mother. To his wife he leaves a life interest in his estates, and bequeaths to her all the furniture, plate, linen, china, and other effects, and the car ria,,,es and horses, as well as the residue of his property, for her own use. To his children and grandchildren he leaves specifically among them the property held in trust during the life of his wife. The will is dated the 15th March, 1856. The will of Arthur Vansittart, Esq., of Footseray, Kent, and of St. John's Wood, has been proved, and the personalty sworn under £12,000. Th‘ estates at Chewer and Nev Windsor are under settlement, and there are no bequests beyond the family. The will bears date the Bth of November, 1858.—Illustrated London News. COLLISION ON TIIE DIVER._ On S a t ur day after noon last about five o'clock the B r it ann i a screw steam vesse l, bound for Cadiz, was proceeding down the river, and when off Deptford Dockyard she ran d own a- steam-tug vessel which was towing a schooner upwards. The crash was distinctly heard on the steam-boat pier at Greenwich, a distance of half a mile, and the steam-tug being completely split up was fast sinking when she was taken in tow by a similar vessel which was fortunately near. THE :SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 2, 1860. THE GREAT SHIP COMPANY. The Chairman has issued the following circular to the shareholders : _ " Gentlemen,—As much misrepresentation and misconception exist with regard to the history and position of the Great Eastern, it has occurred to me that it might, at the present moment, be instructive and useful for me to place before you the actual facts, which, going back as they do to a period anterior to the first projection of the Great Ship, justify my asking your attention to a retrospect of my connection with the undertaking. " It is so far back as 1851 that I became asso ciated with others in the formation of the Eastern Steam Navigation Company, the object of which was to afford the public the advantage of a semi monthly communication with the East, and of a com peting line by Trieste. The direction was composed of several English merchants of high standing, Mr. Crawford, the present member for the City, being chairman, combined with Mr. Edlman and Mr. Goshen, representing the Austrian Lloyds. At the end of that year I visited Calcutta, and the various ports en route ; and on my return to Europe I con ferred with Baron Bruck, the Chairman of the Aus trian Lloyds, and now Finance Minister of Austria, as to the measures necessary to be taken to carry out the objects of the company. In the course of the same year Lord Jocelyn obtained the appointment of a committee to inquire:into the question of Indian steam communications; and that committee having reported in favour of the establishment of competing lines in the hands of distinct companies, the Eastern Steam Navigation Company tendered for one monthly service. The mode in which they were defeated is fully detailed in a letter which appeared in the Times under date 10th August last, and I need not recapitulate the facts in this place ; but I may simply observe that the result of the grant of the double service to the Peninsular and Oriental Company was to preclude the possibility of estab lishing any competing line by the Red Sea route. At this period the late Mr. Brunel, profiting by the experience of the previous few years as to the im mense gain in point of economy, space, and speed, by increased size in ocean steamers, conceived the daring project of adopting a new form of competi tion, by the construction of a vessel able to carry fuel for the longest voyage, and thus to perform the ' journey round the Cape.of Good Hope at great speed, and with many other advantages over all existing steamers; and ho, in conjunction with Mr. Scott Russell, laid their plans before myself and one or two members of the board, to report on the com mercial merits of the scheme. It is only due to my self and to those who were first associated with me in investigating these plans to mention here, that, although satisfied, after very mature deliberation, of their merits, if the soundness of the scientific and en gineering principles involved were fully established, we hesitated as to the prudence, looking at the ques tion in all its commercial bearings, of attempting at once so great an innovation, and we urged, as an inter mediate step, the building of ono vessel of 10,000 to 12,000 tons ; but we were overruled and the larger vessel was commenced. In a financial point of view we have been proved to be right, for there cannot be a question that lel the smaller vessel been built, the capital of the first shareholders would have been amply sufficient to complete and send her to sea, and that in the Crimean war and the Indian mutiny she would have done good ser vice to the State, and more than cleared her origi nal cost. At the same time it is only due to the genius of Mr. Brunel to prove the soundvess of his calculations as to the larger vessel, and that ulti mately, although the financial consequences to those concerned in the first arrangements have been di :astrous, the Great Eastern will, with proper support and feeders, be probably commerciatly even a greater success than a smaller vessel. Dur ing the progress of the building of the Great Eastern the contractor unfortunately became in volved difficulty, and I had imposed on me the very painful duty, on a committee of works, jointly with two other members of the board, of suspend ing the payment of the engineer's certificate in his favour for a large amount, a measure by which that money was saved to the shareholders. A sort of interregnum followed, during which the engineer took charge of the progress of the works, until the unexpected delay and ruinous expenses of the launch—a matter in which it is needless to say the directors had practically no voice—involved the undertaking in serious embarrassments. You, gen tlemen, and the public generally, have done ins the justice to recognise that to my unceasing toil and exertions, the resuscitation of the enterprifre from what was generally believed to be irretrievable ruin is mainly attributable ; :and when the arrange ments were completed I was asked to accept the one rous, but what has proved to be by no means enviable, position of chairman of the Great Ship Company. One of the first measures of the directors was to in vite ten ders for the'complete finishing of the vessel for a fixed sum ; but in a work of such magnitude, and in many respects of such novel construction, much difficulty was experienced in getting sufficiently clear and binding specification to ensure that any con tract would really include the completion, in all respects, fit for a sea voyage. With none of the parties tendering had I, at any time, any personal interest whatever, and the circumstance before alluded to tended to induce me to prefer a new con tractor being employed; but in this as in all other matters connected with the ship I waived all per sonal considerations and feelings ; and finding that Mr. S. Beale, ALP., Mr. R. M'Calmont, and several of the old and influential shareholders, representing collectively, with their connexions, more than half the capital, and who assisted at our deliberations before the arrangements were concluded, concurred in considering that, as Mr. Scott Russell possessed all the plans and models, and was the only engineer who would undertake to complete the paddle-wheel engines, on which a large amount of money had been already expended, while his tender differed from all others in embracing entire completion as a first-class ship, and being willing to give good security for the proper completion of all the work, he was the most suitable party, we agreed to accept his tender. An agreement was at the same time made to place the work under the control and re sponsibility of Mr. Brunel, as engineer; and to name competent arbitrators to settle, from time to time, all questions on which disputes might arise. Having, at great personal discomfort, resided prin cipally on board the vessel for many weeks, in order to press forward the completion, I can say, from my own knowledge, that any objections raised by the engineers, the captain, or myself, to any part of the work, were always brought before the notice of the arbitrators, who had from the first, and still possess, the power of deciding on all ques tions connected with the contract. Although, in addition to the share capital of £330,000, the com pany possessed a borrowing power of £50,000, as a working fund, and to provide against contin gencies, always considered a large item in such an unprecedented undertaking, we could not overlook the fact that, notwithstanding the efforts of the directors and the other friends of the enterprise, a considerable amount of the first capital remained unsubscribed ; and the unremitting exertions of myself and my colleagues were directed to urging on the engineer and contractor the completion of the ship by the time named in the contract, in order to enable her to cross the Atlantic before the win ter, and thus obtain employment which would assist in placing the unsold shares, and in other ways contribute to replenish the company's exchequer; and but for an engineering neglect, with which the directors cannot in any way be chargeable, this end would have been accomplished. As the re quirements of the Board of Trade were neither numerous, nor needed much time to execute, it was thought still possible, even after this accident, to have carried out the original plan ; but the report of the surveyors who were called in was of a cha racter to throw on the directors a very grave re sponsibility had any further accident occurred on the long voyage, and it was consequently decided to keep the vessel for the winter at Southampton. The requisite funds leave been raised on mortgage to. discharge existing obligations and to meet cur rent requirements ; and the arbitrators are employed in taking the necessary evidence to enable them to arrive at a decision with regard to the final settle ment of the 'contractor's account. Pending their decision you will not expect me to make any re marks which would appear to have a tendency to anticipate their jedgrnent ; but I may repeat, that the work necessary to render the vessel fully com petent to undertake a long voyage, embracing the requirements of the Board of Trade, cannot involve any heavy amount, and that for any ladies of the contractor the company hold good and valid secu curity. It was always a matter of notoriety that the Great Eastern was constructed as the pioneer of newa system of ocean steam navigation, and that the full advantages of such an important innovation could not be realised by working tliG vessel singly, but that if successful, she should eventually be coin billed with a line of simildr vessels with such modifica tions and improvements as experience migut show to be necessary, with feeders for the various Eastern markets. With the exception of the accident off Hastings, which in no way affects the soundness of the principles involved in the construction of the great ship, or warrants any diminution of the con fidence displayed by the public when she anchored at the Nore, she has, as far as present experience has furnished grounds for an opinion, realised the expectations generally entertained by the projec tors ; and unless we look for explanation in the mis representations or exaggerations of interested par ties, and probably to the want of concord even in your own camp, itis impossible to comprehend how the shares, which stood at par when the vessel was to all intents and purposes an untried experiment, should be now at a depreciation of half their value. Judging by offers which have already been made to commence the employment of the ship in a regular trade, it may fairly be assumed that the opinion of her being in most respects a great success is not con fined to the actual shareholders ; but in whatever form the arrangements considered best calculated to place her in a field of permanent and profitable em ployment may be carried out, I beg to assure the shareholders that my confidence in the undertaking remains not only unshaken, but confirmed by expe rience; and I look forward, without any misgiving, to her forming, at no distant date, one link in a great chain of communication which will diminish by one-half the time now occupied in distant ocean voyages, and be a source at once of advantage to the public, and of profit to those more immediately interested. " I may be permitted, in conclusion, to say a few words on matters personal to myself, but on which it is desirable the shareholders should possess correct information ; indeed, I may say that nothing but the desire to afford them the most explicit details on all points would have induced me to break the silence I have preserved in the face of a tissue of misrepresentations with which for weeks past myself and my colleagues have been assailed. I have now been connected for a period of nine years with an undertaking which I have always considered rather of a national character than a mere private speculation, and have devoted much of my time and energies to its pro gress, seeking no emolument or reward which was not contingent on its success. In the old and new companies I have lost a very large amount, and although I still continue one of the eight largest shareholders in the present company, the restora tion of the existing shares to par would go but a very small way to compensate for such sacrifice ; while against this loss of time and money I have never received a sixpence in any way whatever, ex cept the trifling fees which have during the past few months been paid to me and other members of the board, for directors' attendances. I can further prove, when called nn, that not only by the late chairman, by Mr. Brunel and others, have I been looked on as one of the main supports of the enter prise, but that from first to last I hive contributed to save the shareholders many thousand pounds of money; while the difficulties which have sur rounded the undertaking at various times cannot be considered as having been within the control of myself or my colleagues. Nothing but the consider ation of what was due alike to my own name, iden tified as I have been from the first with the under taking, and to my brother shareholders, would have induced me to continue to combat the incessant diffi culties with which it has been surrounded, difficulties, sometimes I regret to say, occasioned or enhanced by some of those on whom we ought to have been able to rely for cordial support and co-operation, and I have neither the wish nor the intention to continue in such a position one hour longer than is necessary to fulfil the duty I have undertaken of endeavour ing to free the concern from its embarrassments, and carry it forward to complete success. Courting inquiry, as I do on every point, and adding the as surance that at the general meeting on the 11th January every required explanation will be afforded, I would ask the shareholders whether, with these facts before them, they will continue to give their cordial support and confidence to myself and those who created and have preserved this great property, rather than to others who, with a short-sighted and ignoble policy, are sowing broadcast the seeds of suspicion and distrust, and circulating misrepre sentations of the grossest description, which they have ample means of knowing to be totally un founded, with the view of promoting their own per sonal aggrandisement, even at the risk of ruining the enterprise. This letter will not be without its use if it induces my brother shareholders to reflect on the true position of matters, and to pause until they have data on which to form a sound judgment as to the past and of the present and prospective value of their property.—l am, gentlemen, your faithful servant, " R. J. It. CAMPBELL. " 11, King William-street, London, Dec. 20, 1859." The following letter has been addressed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to Mr. Campbell : " Downing-street, Dec. 5, 1859. "My dear Sir,—lf I rightly understand your letters of the 30th and 2d, you have not failed your self to perceive that there are reasons which must prevent the Government, at the present moment, from entertaining any proposal for the employment of the Great Eastern. Among these reasons are the intention to propose the renewal of the select com mittee on subsidies, the general duty of the govern ment to avoid anticipating the judgment, or fetter ing the hands of parliament, in a matter which it has taken under special consideration, the heavy demands from other sources upon the Treasury; and, lastly, the as yet incomplete condition, accord ing, to documents in the public journals, of the Great Ship herself. The questions, what are the claims of the old ocean route compared with that by the Mediterranean, and again with the isthmus of Panama, deserve a more open and careful inquiry than can be undertaken by a minister or a depart ment in the course of its ordinary duties. I hope they will receive this full examination at the hands of the committee. You ask for an assurance that no new fixed subsidy shall be given for Indian or for Australian service, until the result of the Great Eastern voyage shall have determined certain ques tions. My answer is that it is the desire, and so far as it depends upon them, the intention of the government to avoid all engagements which might embarrass and prejudge the future, until they them selves, and until parliament shall be in a condition to take a comprehensive view of the whole subject as to routes, as to cost, and the mode of meeting it, as to the proper object of subsidy from the govern ment, and as to its effect upon the competing enter prise of private parties, and upon the mastery of difficulties and improvement of steam navigation.— I remain, my dear sir, faithfully yours,, (Signed) " W. E. GLADSTONE. " R. S. R. Campbell, Esq." THE LA TP OF CI:JURO' _RATES. (From the Liberator.) If we were to attempt to summarise the results of our legal meditations upon the law of church-rates, they IA uuld probably run pretty much as follows :- 1. By the general law of Christendom, and also (according to high authority) by the law of Eng land, the repair of the church fabric and the pro viding of things necessary for divine worship were, from time immemorial, imposed upon the Tithe—a fourth part, and afterwards a third part, being set apart to that end. 2. There is no trace in our law of any machinery whereby the making or payment of church-rate could at any time (prior to recent enactments) be enforced by process of common law. 3. Such making and payment were originally enforced by the ecclesiastical courts, which, being in unlawful usurpation of authority, they were " prohibited" from doing by the Court of Queen's Bench ; and they still are so prohibited, except in so far as they have, in some cases, been allowed by Act of Parliament to proceed to such enforcement. 4. The ecclesiastical courts, by virtue of their constitution, can make no order affecting the land, but their decrees affect tho person only of the plain tiff or defendant before them 5. Thee objects for which, in legal contemplation, a church-rate could be made, embraced only the repair of the fabric, and the provision of things necessary for divine worship; but, by connivance of the ecclesiastical courts, rates are in most cases made, not for these objects, but for objects wholly alien thereto, such as the feasting of churchwar dens, payment of illegal and unseemly fees to arch deacons and their officers, and a certain sensuous luxuriousness among the congregation, whick must be inappropriate, in contemplation of law, to the duties in which they are presumably engaged. 6. At the time when the compulsory enforce ment of church rates thus ceased to be, in certain cases, illegal, all men were of one religious belief. 7. The law of church rate has for many years been the subject of contention and dispute; it hav ing been at one time contended that churchwar dens alone had the power to make a rate; and at another, that the minority in vestry could make a rate ; and divers other weak inventions having been imagined, some of which are still subsisting— as appears by a certain declaration of the arch deacons of England and Wales, and sundry other evidences. 8. It is now the law of the land, that if the ma jority of the parishioners duly assembled in vestry be of opinion that the fabric of the church is in actual want of repair, or that provision is requisite for the decent performance of divine worship, the vestry may make such provision by such lawful ways and means as to such majority shall seem fit. 9. Among such means the vestry may include an equal and sufficient rate. 10. The law takes no means to enforce upon, but leaves it optional with, the vestry to make any pry vision or none for the aforesaid purposes ; and while the law rigidly scrutinises the validity of any pro. vision, if made, it accepts, in all cases, the decision of the vestry against any rate, or other provision as final, 11. All men are not now of the same religions belief; and the state of things lids passed away in which the maintenance of Church-rates is either desirable or possible. Wherefore it is humbly submitted that they had better be abolished. IHE NAVY. The Urgent, screw troop ship, Commander W. E. Hire, sailed from Portsmouth at noon yesterday for Queenstown, with 10 companies of the 2d bat talion 24ta Foot. The troops arrived by rail from Aldersliott on Saturday, the train being taken into the dockyard, where the troops alighted, and were marched at once on board the Urgent, in compliance with the orders of his Royal Highness the Com mander-in-Chief. This is stated to be the first time that a train conveying troops has entered the dock yard, the custom being for the troops to leave the train at the company's station at Landport, and march through the town into the dockyard. It is also the first instance of a regiment marching with out its ammunition, as is the case on the present occasion with the 24th. The following are the names of the officers and the number of troops &c., embarked :—Col. C. H. Ellice ; Major Bazalgette ; Captains Glyn, Clarke, Barclay, Browne, Gaskell, Tarte, and Hitchcock; Lieuts. Franklin, Pulleine, Foott, Hallowes, Ogilvy, Farquharson, Leech, Chamberlin, Goldsmith, and Sawbridge ; Ensigns Hewitt, Wardell, Airey, Eaton, Hitchcock, and Bramhead ; Paymaster Streatfield ; Quartermaster Cusack; Surgeon Holloway; Assistant-Surgeons Colohan and Hollingsworth, and two officers' wives ; 37 sergeants, 17 drummers, 39 corporals, 616 privates, 50 soldiers' wives, 42 soldiers' children. Adjutant Surplice embarked with the regiment, but landed again and joined the detachment at Winchester, in consequence of orders received by telegram to that effect. The part of the regiment stationed at Winchester consists of one field officer, two captains, four subalterns, 10 sergeants, three crummers, eight corporals, and 95 privates, with their proportion of women and chil dren. There also remain 17 in the custody of the civil power, and two men in the garrison hospital at Portsmouth. The greater part of the regimental baggage remains at Portsmouth, the Urgent being unable to take it, owing to her having embarked as large a proportion as possible of the regiment. The Queen Charlotte, three-decked sailing ship, in the steam basin at Portsmouth, was commissioned on Saturday by Capt. R. S. Hewlett, C. 8., to take the place of the Excellent as gunnery ship of the port. The Lucifer, paddle steamer, which left Ports mouth on Wednesday last for Portland with a moor ing lump in tow, put back to Portsmouth yesterday, in consequence of the rough state of the weather. Staff-Capt. J. Pope, of the invalid depot at Chat ham, who has been appointed Adjt. of the 2d Sur rey Militia at Guildford, has been succeeded at St. Mary's barracks by Brevet Lieut.-Col. J. de Tessier. Intelligence has been received at the head-quar ters of the Royal Engineers, Chatham, that the officer selected by the authorities to command the expedition about to be despatched by the Govern ment to New Zealand is Capt. J. W. Gordon, R.E. The selection of the non-commissioned officers and men who are to compose the expedition is now be ing made at the Royal Engineer establishment, Brompton barracks. The Royal Engineers will be employed in making a careful survey of the whole of the island, and in the various engineering works required to be undertaken for the improvement of that colony. The following appointments were made on Satur day at the Admiralty :—Capt. A. P. E. Wilmot, C. 8., to the Sanspareil, commissioned ; Capt. E. K. Barnard, to the Nile, commissioned ; Com. J. F. C. Mackenzie, to the Nile; Lieut. W. M. Sanctuary, promoted t• be commander on the reserved list, vice Lloyd ; John F. Williams, chief engineer, to the Cumberland, for service in the Galatea; Thomas Ramsey, chief engineer, to the Wellington, for service in the Nile ; W. Pitt, chief engineer, to the Sanspareil ; T. Brown, chief engineer, to the Ex cellent, for service in the Bee ; R. C. Reynolds, first-class assistant-engineer, to the Excellent, for service in the Stork ; J. G. G. Dunn, first. class assistant-engineer, to the Ariadne ; John Bruce (B), first-class assistant-engineer, to the Alacrity; J. A. Kitt, acting second-class assistant-engineer, to the Sanspareil ; J. P. Lloyd, second-class assistant engineer, to the Sanspareil; J. Osborne promoted, and appointed second-class assistant-engineer to the Alacrity ; G. W. Robins, third-class assistant.-engi neer, to the Sanspareil ; W. Frazer, acting third class assistant-engineer, to the Sanspareil ; G. T. Crook, third-class assistant-engineer, to the Ala crity; W. Brock, acting third-class assistant-engi neer, to the Alacrity ; J. Aitken, acting third-class assistant-engineer, to the Hogue; E. Carling, act ing third-class assistant-engineer, to the Royal Albert ; J. N. Ross and C. W. Baillie, masters' assistants, to the Queen. QUARTERLY NAVAL OBITUARY. The following officers' deaths have been officially reported at the Admiralty during the past quarter : - Vice-Admirals—Right Hon. - Wm. Earl Walde degrave, Abel Ferris, J. Pringle, Sir H. L. Baker, Bart., and J. Brenton. Rear-Admirals—S. Thornton, W. Holt, and W, B. Bowyer. _ _ _ Captains—W. Dawson, W. B. Monypenny, Vansittart, S. M'D• Skene, 1). Weld, W. C. Swill fen, W. Slade, and Durell De Saumrez. Commanders—W. Tringham, H. Bernard, A. Wodehouse, J. Broughton, W. Apreece,W.Edwards C. Tindal, J. R. Hownam, W. Walford, G. God dard, W. Phipps, R. Hetherington, T. G. Nichols, P. Hodder, 11. Davies, William Purde, and .Tames Henderson. Lieutenants—J. H. Bellamy, C. Servante, A. C. Sutton, L. de la Cherois, G. W. Bloxsome, R. J. Hibbs, R. Coles, C. Hare, H. A. D. Thornton, C. Merriman, H. W. Mason, S. Moss, J. Groome, E. L. Jones, E. Lewin, and J. Price. Masters—S. Creak, E. J. Kellow, H. Andrews, and D. Quinton. Deputy Inspectors General of Hospitals—F. Mansell and James Wilson. Surgeons—D. H. Wright end W. Turner. Assistant Surgeons —J. F. Stoddard and E. Reid, Paymasters—W. Soady, A. Jeffreys, and A. Inderwiek. Paymaster's Assistant—G. F. Slaughter. ROYAL MARINES—Major General S. Garmston ; Captains H. Timpson, H. Brown, G. Pattoun, and H. C. M. Hawkey; and First Lieutenant R. F. Tucker. The following officers' names have been removed from the official Navy List of the present month and quarter : Lieutenants—M. P. Costello, F. M. Carter, and J. B. Balfour. Mate—W. F. Richards (1853). Second Master—C. W. Stevenson (1853). Naval Instructor—W. Roy (1846). Paymasters' Assistants—W. D. Broom, F. Olver, and W. Mould. THE ARMY. During the recent very unfavourable weather the troops at Aldershott have been in a great mea sure confined to their huts and barracks, even the usual marching out two or three times a week for a distance of eight or ten miles and back having been constantly interrupted. The weather, indeed, for the last fortnight at camp has bean most tempe tuous, with such incessant storms of heavy rain that the surrounding country has been almost con verted into an immense quagmire, which even the drainage in the immediate neighbourhood of the camp itself fails to do more than mitigate. The total force at present in the Aldershott division, including men on furlough, amounts to 16,000 of all arms, of which number about 13,000 are actually in camp, divided into three brigades of infantry and ono of cavalry, as follows :-Ist brigade con sisting of the Ist battalion of the 11th, second ditto of the 19th, the 58th Regiment, and Royal El thorne Militia ; 2d brigade, the 2d battalion of the 11th, 2d battalion of the 18th, the 2d battalion of the 20th, and the King's Own or Ist Tower Ham lets Militia. The 3d brigade consists of the 2d battalion of the 12th R e gi men t, I s t battalion of the 16th, 2d battalion of the 11th, and the 2d or Royal Lanarkshire Militia. The cavalry brigade is only composed of the 18th Hussars and 15th Dragoon Guards, with two troops of Horse Artillery. With the infantry are four field batteries, with detach ments of the Royal Engineers, Military ' Train, and a complete hospital staff—in fact,the whole per sonnet and 'materiel necessary to enable a division of 15,000 men to take the field at a moment's no tice. The 9 d battalion of .the 24th was, until its recent oToss insubordination, attached to the 2d brigade, but is now en route for Cork. No regiment its has yet been named to supply place in camp. The very novel punishment which the authorities have inflicted on the men of the 24th for their recent murderous breach of discipline has ex cited no small amount of surprise in camp. The reason of this feeling will be evident to our readers at a glance, Few regiments like being quartered at Aldershott for any - long pe riod ; indeed, the only reason for which the men like it at all is, that they have less night duty there, having at least four or five nights a week in bed, while at all other quarters in England the men are on duty nearly every other night. The novelty of this indulgence at Aldershott, soon wears off, especially when against it are balanced the dulness of the camp and the excessive fatigue duties enforced there in the way of reaclinaking and draining. For the wear and tee); of clothes consequent upon the latter work "baba" money was formerly allowed. Now it has been discontinued, to the great disgust of the men, so that for these and other causes there are very few regiments which, after a month's or six weeks' dirty at Aldershott, would not rejoice to escape from it to any phrters, and more Fatima larly during the winter. If, then, insubordinate regiments are only to be punished by the infliction of a boon for which they long, how is discipline to be maintained there at a ll ? Soldiers aro apt at learning these lessons, and will not be slow to per ceive that while no amount of good conduct liberates them from Aldershott, they have, on the other hand, only to turn round and murder one or two of their comrades in another regiment to be at once ordered off, like the 24th, to some pleasant garrison town. A monopoly of the roadmaking and draining at Aldershott for a couple of months would really be an efficacious punishment for a riotous regiment, and the north and south camps are sufficiently wide apart to keep asunder the most pugnacious corps. One thing is certain, that, with the present novel mode of punishment, the Commander-in-Chief will only be able to keep regiments at Aldershott as long as they themselves may please to remain, and not a day beyond. Major-General Hay, Inspector-General of Mus ketry, has visited the camp at Colchester, and in spected the 9th and 10th battalions. The Major- General instituted a searching inquiry into the course of practice pursued during the past year, and examined the men to whom prizes had been awarded in respect to their knowledge of the theoretical principles on which the new system of rifle instruction is based. About 25 inva lids, belonging to the 9th and 10th battalions, have left the camp for Chatham, in order to receive their discharge. In the course of the past week a rather serious disturbance has taken place between some of the City of Dublin and Donegal Militia on the one hand, and some of the privates of the 6th and 56th Regiments on the other. Fists and bludgeons were unsparingly used on both sides, and before a strong picket, despatched to quell the disturbance, could reach the scene of action, two men belonging to the 56th Regiment were seriously hurt. It seems the combatants had an old grudge against each other, and resolved to settle the matter by a regularly concerted fight. EXECUTION AT YORK. YORK, SATURDAY EVENING. Charles Noimington, who was convicted at the recent Winter Gaol Delivery for Yorkshire, to-day forfeited his life for murdering Mr. Broughton, at Roundhay, in August last. The execution of the ill fated youth took place at noon, upon the scaffold behind York Castle. Immediately after the jury pronounced Nor mington guilty, and the learned judge had passed sentence of death upon him, the culprit became very much exhausted, and was unable without assist ance to walk from the dock across the Castle-yard, and to the condemned cell. On arriving in this apartment, IN ormington was greatly depressed, and burst into tears, but said nothing at that moment. Mr. Green, the deputy-governor, who was present, impressed upon him the importance and necessity of making good use of the short time allotted to him in this world, and net to utter another lie. Normington then said—" I will not. It was me that did' it, and the other man stood by. It was me that got his watch. I gave it to him (meaning the other man), and he kept it while we got to Leeds. I went t o p awn it. I had not been in his company before that day. We went that morning near to Marsh-lane Railway Station, and he told me his name was --, and that he lived near —." Normington did not just then recollect the name of the place, and said that " a fair is held there, but I cannot tell the name just now. It was about four miles from —. He was years of age, and -- in height. We went to two or three pawn shops, and after we had pawned it (the watch) I gave him 3s. of the money, and kept the other myself, and then we parted. I have not seen him since. He pulled his (deceased's) waistcoat open, but it was me who took his watch." We do not mention either the name of the man alluded to or his place of residence, lest such pub licity should defeat the ends of justice. With this explanation our readers will know the reason why the blanks are not filled up. The morning following his conviction, Norming ton was visited by his mother, who during the painful interview begged in affectionate terms of her son to tell the whole truth. The culprit replied, "I have—l have told Mr. Green all about it." Mr. Green then inquired of Normington, " Is it -- where the other man lives ?" and he replied, " Yes, that's the place ; it is about four miles from —." On Monday last the culprit was visited by his father and his cousin, and of course the interview was of a heartrending description. Nothing, however, transpired at this visit which requires special remark. The mother of the culprit again saw her son on Wednesday last. She was in great distress, and she earnestly im plored him to pray for the forgiveness of his sins. He replied, " I have already done so," and then went on to state his belief that he should obtain pardon from God. The culprit has more recently acknowledged that ho was the man who murdered Mr. Broughton, in similar terms to those he had used previously. He partook of his meals with an appetite as good as the rest of the prisoners, slept w e ll a t n ights, and seemed quite resigned to suffer the death that awaited him at noon to-day. It is worthy of observation that the culprit was entirely devoid of education, he could neither read nor write, and he lamentably proved in his case., at least the truth of the remark that " Ignorance is the parent of vise." Being desirous of addressing his parents and other relatives, but not being able to use the pen, several letters to them. 'were written for him, the communications containing the senti ments which he wished to convey, and some parts of the letter are couched in his own language. We subjoin copies of two letters sent to his parents, which were handed to our correspondent after the execution to-day : " My DEAR MOTIIER,—I send you these few lines, and I sincerely hope they will find you in good health. lam glad to tell you that lam quite well, and my mind is quite easy ; and I assure you that I do not fear my fate, for I put all my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. In him I hope to find rest and pardon for all my sins. I hope, dear mother, that you will not fret, but pray for me, and believe me I have quite resigned myself, and do not dread the hour so fast approaching. I pray the Lord to give me strength here and pewee here after. I believe in His promise to pardon the greatest sinners ; and I believe he will forgive me and grant me the rest I pray for. T..herefore, dear mother, do not fret for me. I can 'assure you I feel very happy in my mind. I hope and believe that I shall soon be in everlasting happiness and nest; for believe me, I f e a r no thi ng , t rusting en ti re ly in the Lord. I hope • you will y - pray unto Him, and that aP-a enjoy eternal happiness. ou will be saved This, dear mother, i and it is hopeds my sincere prayer for you, shall meet again in the k i ngdom we of heaven, where we shall be far happier than hers, in the wo - z - ld of trouble. I think of all my friends, and pray f or y ou a ll , an d h o p e you will do the same for me. " I remain, dear mother, your affectionate son, " CIIARLES NORMINGTON." York Castle, Dec. 28, 1839. "Dear Father, ---I have had my mother h ere t o and have taken my last fare wgtor .very part world. It is hard to well see moef thishe r dear parents, but it is the Providence with you, my will be beneficial to you and of God, wh i c h I hope inm otrhnLn all my friends, God o and I pray to that my fat e may be a warning to everybody, and be the means of bringing saving knowledge o f the truth as it is Christ Jesus. Dear father, if it be God's will that we should not meet again on earth, I hope that we shall meet in heaven. I have one wish to express to you, which I hope you will grant me. I am perhaps going a little too far in dictating to you, but I itope you will consider my last, and, I may say, my dying wish, that is, I hope you will be again reconciled to my mother, and I hope you will live together again and be happy, I don't want to hurt your feelings, nor yet to upbraid you with anything, but I wish to say that things might have been different if you and mother had lived in the fear of God, but I pray that you will begin now, when I shall have a hope of meet ing you again in heaven. Unless you do there will be no hope for you. Dear father, I hope you will take these things into consideration. You know what a great sin you have committed by leaving in mother and your family to the wide W or ld i n the way you do. Dear father, I could die now con tent if I thought you and my mother would live together again. I pray for you and I forgive you, and I hope God will forgive you. I now must con clude, with kind love to all ; hoping to meet you all in heaven. I must now bid you an eternal fare well, and may God bless you and all my friends. "I remain your affectionate son, " CHARLES NORMINGTON." The culprit caused to be written two other let ters, one to his mother, and another to his uncle and aunt. Norrnington exhorted his mother to pray for him and for herself, and stated that ho was at peace with the world, In the communication to his uncle and aunt, he stated that " I do not despair but the Lord will pardon me. I own Ido not de serve pardon, but I hope and trust in Him, and in His mercy, ' for. He delighteth not in the death of a sinner, but that he should turn from his wicked ness and live.' " This juvenile malefactor, only 18 years of age, since his condemnation uniformly manifested a pro per demeanour, and showed tokens of a religious spirit, the whole tenor of his conduct being quite beosining of any person placed in his awful posi tion. The Rev. J. C. Thompson, the chaplain of the Castle, was unremitting in his attendance ul ou the murderer. This morning the culprit rose early, and WEN soon after visited by the Rev. Mr. Thompson, who prayed long and earnestly with him. At noon the proces sion was formed and moved to the scaffold. In a few moments afterwards the criminal had ceased to exist. There was, as usual in such cases, a large number of spectators. FINALE OF TEE FORREST DIVORCE CASE. The famous Forrest divorce case, which has been dragged through all the intricacies of the law for nine years, has .at length been brought to a termination. The cause was first tried in New York in 1850, when the jury gave a verdict in favour of Mrs. Forrest, awarding alimony at the rate of three thousand dollars per annum, Mr. Forrest, dissatisfied with this award, appealed, and all possible means were employed to obtain a new trial. To those who take an interest in the turn ings and windings, the quips and quirks —we are almost going to say the absurdities of the law—the contest was exceedingly entertaining. There were motions and countermotions, demurrers, replies, and rejoinders, applications for commissions to the other end of the world, or the North Pole, perhaps ; delays, postponements ; and, in fact, everything that legal ingenuity could suggest was done to gain time. So, six years slipped away, Mr. Forrest had continued his triumphant artistic career, and still maintained the place which he has held at the head of his profession during more than a quarter of a century. Mrs. Forrest, resuming her maiden name, essayed the stage, but with only moderate success. Mr. Forrest's fortune was at least half a million, while she had only her professional earnings. He declined to pay her anything what soever in the shape of alimony, having, like the Jew of Venice, "an oath in Heaven" to contest the case to the bitter end. The only money re ceived by Mrs. Forrest from her husband was some small allowances while the cause was being tried. And now, when the final issue is reached. —when the judge who presided at the trial, and the most important w it nesses w h o t es tifi e d upon it are dead, we have an award which compels Mr. Forrest to pay at least double the sum given to Mrs. Forrest by the jury, and three times what it could have been settled for previous to the trial. The re feree awards to Mrs. Forrest four thousand dollars per annum from the time of the trial, and compels Mr. Forrest to give bond and mortgage.security for its prompt payment. What with counsel's fees, and incidental expenses, &c., the sum total to come out of the great tragedian's pockets, to say nothing of the wear and tear of his temper, which must have been something awful, will not be much less than a hundred thousand dollars ; and, withal, he has a fair prospect of paying alimony for many years to come, Mrs. Forrest's being considered, in. the assurance view, a good life. In fact, annui tants, like office holders, rarely die, and never resign their claims. COUNTRY MARKETS. CAMBRIDGE—DEc. 31. *, There was a fair supply of wheat, and, with a rather steady demand in the trade, white moved off at 46s to 48s ; red, 40s to 46s per 36 stone. There was riot much doing in barley to-day ; malting 40s to:42s ; g;finding, 24s to 30s per 30 stone. Oats at 18s to 26s for rew ; old oats, —s to —s. Beans in limited supply, and a good sale—new, 3A. to 40s ; old, —s to —s per 38 stone ; peas, 38s to 41s per 36 stone. NOTTINGIU_M—DEc. 31. We had a small attendancr, at to-day's market, and a fair supply of grain. An advr,nce of is per quarter on wheat was maintained, with a rather steady demand in the trade. Malting barley a fair 81/ pply, at for mer p r ic es ; inferior sorts a fair show, and heavy. Oats a small show, and a. dull sale, at previous rrAtes. Beans a small supply, at the extreme prices of last week. White wheat, new, as to 52s Red do 44s to 47s Old white ...... 48s to 52s Red do. ....... 44s to 473 Bexley, malting 33 s to 45s Super. flour, '3ss to 39s ; Barley, grinding 28s to 31i Oats, old, .. 22* to 25s New do —s to —s Beans. 42s to 45a Bean 4 new.. —s to —s ne, 31s to 33s per 20 stun N ORTHAMPTON—Di - ie. 31. At this corn-market wheat was in scanty supply, with. a more healthy trade, at about the rates of this day ee'n night, prices ranging from 48s to 52s for white, and 44s to 46s for rod. There was a fair business passing in barley, —34 a to 44s per qr. Oats in limited show, with a heavy sale, quoted at 23s to 27s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 44s to 48s; new, —s to —a. Rye, —s to --s; malt, 64s to 665. GLOUCESTER—DEc. 31. At our market there'•was rather a good attendance, and a fair business done. Trade has been hardly so good this last week. English white wheat, 45s to 465; red, 43s to 45s per qr. Foreign, 45a to 50s per qr. STAMFORD-Dm, 31. At our market yesterday wheat went at an advance of is on last week's . prices, with a tolerable supply. Barley in demand, realising the extreme prices of last week for fin! qualities. In oats not much doing, and late rates barely maintained. Beans still in favour of the seller. Wheat ...........42s to 48s Oats.. 24s to 27s I White do ......... 45 s t o 51s Beans 43. to 52. Barley 2Bs to 45s I Ditto, old ........—s to —s DUBLIN—DEc. 30. Our market was pretty well attended this morning, and there was a moderate supply. We repeat the quotations of last week, with a dull trade. s. d. s. d. Wheat, white 28 0 to 30 0 Do., red 27 0 to 29 0 Do., new Barley Oats Do., black l2 0 to 12 6 s.d. s.d. Do., new ..... 11 0 to 12 • Bere Rapeseed Oatmeal l3 0 to 15 6 Bakers' flour Indian corn FOREIGN MAIL PACKET LIST. In the following table E signifies that letters are despatched by evening mails from London, and ➢i by morning mails. China,pvpioiartet 0, DESTINATIONS. Despatch Despatch Port of Mail of Mails. Despatch. due. Australia and Mauritius, vial Southampton !Jan. 12, M Southamp. Jan. 10 Ditto, via Marseilles , Jan. 18 , E Jan. 4 Bahamas and Havana via New Jan. 20, E Liverpool Jan.lo York port Feb. C c a a n p a e d o a t , &c.Go Good d y C H a o ri p adn e, . pckt.) Jan. Dee. 2 5 8 : Liverpool,EElDevon . overd l ue Ascen sion, and St. Helena . v P ia en S a o n u g t'ha a m n p d to S n in . g . a - Jart. 4 31,( Southamp. Jan. 2' 'Jan. 10, ml overdue Gibraltar, via Southampton.. Jan. 4, MI Southamp. overdue Honduras and Blewfields .... Dec. —, Ikl Southamp. Dec. India (Calcutta) and Ceylon, Ditto, ...........Jan. 4, M Southamp. Jan. 2' via Marseilles Ditto, via Marseilles In D dl i a tto ( , B v o i m a (Bombay), via, S . o . u . t . 1 .1 .. jam 3 , ampton .......... . ......... Jan. 12, IL Seuthamp. overdue Liasubdon}„.Blrsalzianlsd,l2u.7o . Jan. 4 ' Lisbon, Vigo, and 00i 1 i0 .Y. . r .. e .. 5. . Jan. 7, 7 9 , 31 M LutthhamampP.• Jan. Jan. 5 1 Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southanipton ..... • ........ Tan. 4, 31,Southamp. overdue Ditto, via Marseilles Mexico and Havana Jan. 17, M Southamp. Jan. 10 Newfoundland United States and British N America (by Irritish packet) Dec. 31, E Liverpool.. Jan. 5 Ditto (by U. S. packet) deira, and Tencriffe Jan. 23 E Liverpool.. Jan. 10 West India, California, Vene zuela, Chili, Peru, Grey town, New Granada, Acc. PARLIAMENTARY REFORM.—BIRMINGHAM, Dec. 31. —The Mayor of this town has called a town's meeting for Friday evening next, "to consider the question of Par liamentary Reform." The requisition to his Worship No call this meeting lay at various places of public resort for signature several days ; to the requisition published, about 100 names are arviEnded, and in a note it is stated that " about 500 other names" are appended. Of the modest hundred names published, not more than a quarter of them are known, even hi local circles—such is the interest taken in Mr. Bright's L.eforra Bill in a population of more than a quarter of a million. BIRTHS. BECIIRR.—On the 27th Dec., at Hollybrook, Skibbereen, Ireland, the Lady Emily Becher, of a son. DYER..—On the 12th Nov., at Calcutta, the wife of Alfred K. Dyer, Esq., of a daughter. GAROOCK.—On the 27th Nov. last, at Colombo, Ceylon, the wifo of Col. Garoock, Assistant-Quartermaster-Gena ral, of a daughter. McMA.uoN.—On the 29th Dee., the wife of Col. McMahon sth Dragoon Guards, of a son, stillborn. MARRIAGES. DAvinsoN—SowTEn.—On the 22d Dcc., at St. Paul's, Derby, William Alexander Davidson, Esq., M.D., King's Dragoon Guards, to Mary, elder daughter of the late William Sowter, Esq. DEVEZE—Scnmayi. — On the 29th at St. Marylebone Church, T. L. G. Deveze, Esq., of Dec.,Nimes France, to Cl e mentine Victoria, only d aug ht er of H. Schmidt, Esq., of St. John's-wood. , PRINSEP — IIUNTER.—On the 30th Dec., at Edinburgh, Ed ward Augustus Prinsep, Esq., of her Majesty's In dian Civil Service, Punjab, to Margaretta Eleanor, youngest daughter of the late James Hunter, Esq., of Thurston, N.B. DEATHS. ANDERBON.-011 the 24th Dec., at St. Aubin, France, Caroline, wife of Sir James C. Anderson, Bart. GLYN.—On the 11th Dec., off Aden, on his return from India, Major R. It. Glyn, aged 28, Captain 2d Battalion Rifle Brigade, fourth son of George Carr Glynn, Esq., M.P. JONES.—On the 30th Dec.,Mr. Samuel Jones, of Annett's crescent, Islington, aged 71. RowTox.—On the 25th Dec., at Shrubland-road, Samuel James, oldest son of Samuel Rowton, Esq., of Dalston, aged 42. WILKINSON.—On the 23d Dec., at Harperly-park, Dur.. ham, aged 69, George Hutton Wilkinson, Esq. WRIGHT.—On the 21st Dec., at the residence of his sister , Bouloome-sur-Mer, Edward Richard Wright, Esq., cosedtan. LONDON : Printed and Pu'olished by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Priv:tots at The Sun Office, No. 112, strand, in the Precinct, of the Savoy, in the county of Aliddlesez, Monday, .V.anuary 2, IE6O. ~' 'V ant et I ben ter Tna the an, RA I by W. Hy ( N Re] tnn rQst :orb loch tt,el .►.,t